Everybody Knows

Lin had to find a doctor to handle her pregnancy. She knew she did not want a midwife to deliver the baby at home. She wanted painkillers in the hospital, and since it could be hard to get a doctor in private practice, she and Kuzon went looking right away.

They settled on a woman who had been declared best OB/GYN in Republic City, two years running.

The woman had a waiting list, but when the secretary saw that Lin was a Bei Fong, she managed to pencil her in. It also didn't hurt that Kuzon smiled at her warmly.

Lin was mad. "Did you have to flirt with the secretary like that?"

"I was just making sure you got an appointment as soon as possible. When you flirt, they manage to squeeze you in."

"Who taught you that?"

"My mom."

When he said his mom, he meant his adopted mother. His birth mother he referred to as mother. Lin didn't get the distinction at first, but as she started to learn more about each woman, it started to become clear. "She is a flirt?"

"Oh a big one. My mother makes fun of her for it all the time."

"It sounds like they had an interesting relationship."

"Oh they do. Maybe one day I'll tell you about it."

He was so fucking glib sometimes. Damn, she could kiss that smirk right of his face, but underneath the cocky exterior was a very sweet man. He said he'd arrange his schedule so he could make it to all of her appointments. She told him it wasn't necessary, but he wanted to be there for every step.

Until the first trimester was over, the only people Lin had told was Bumi, Kuzon, her doctors and HR, as they would have to sort out her medical leave. When it was closer to her due date, she would announce an interim chief.

She and Kuzon had quite a debate about her working schedule, but she eventually agreed to reduce her workload in phases: starting with reducing her hours on the street until she was only doing in office work and training other officers, and eventually she would stop doing night work and would take off work completely for the last two weeks of her pregnancy.

Lin hated the idea of not working, and she was a very strong, very capable woman, but Kuzon had some good points too. She's a very recognizable figure. She's pissed off a lot of bad dudes, and one of them may try to hurt her child if they can access her. The stress from working so many hours would not be good for her or her child and the smoother the pregnancy is, the better the odds she will be able to return to work when she wants.

Once the first trimester ended, she had to figure out how they were going to tell people. Unlike Tenzin, she did not want the whole world knowing her business. Kuzon was going to drive to his mom's house and tell her in person. Lin wasn't sure where her mother even was.

"How would I find her?"

"Maybe her friends know where she is. Even if they don't, they'll tell her once she contacts them and then she'll know to come here."

Her mother's best (living) friends were Katara and Zuko. She felt more comfortable telling Katara than Zuko despite her failed relationship with Tenzin. Zuko had always been caring, but he was a bit distant when it came to familial stuff. His wife had done most of the child rearing for their daughter, the Crown Princess.

"I'll write to Katara and she'll want to come see how the baby's doing anyway."

"What about your other friends?"

"She lives with Kya and Bumi knows. He found me puking, so it was pretty obvious."

Lin sent a letter to Katara the next day. She knew it would take a few days to get to her, at a minimum, so she wasn't expecting a response for couple of weeks.

When Kuzon drove to his mom's house and told her the news, she was so happy that she tackle-hugged him, kissing both his cheeks while he was on the floor. "I'm gonna be a grandmother!"

"Yes. You have to meet Lin. She's absolutely fantastic."

She frowned. "You mean Lin Bei Fong."

"Yes, you know her?"

"I saw her a few times when she was a child, but does she know who you are?"

"Not yet, but I have to tell her anyway. What if our kid's a firebender?"

"That's a good point. If your child has your flame, then everyone will figure it out."

"Do you think my mother will get in trouble?"

"Leave your mother to me. I've been keeping her out of trouble since before you were born."

"Sounds like you struggled with it."

"Don't make me smack you," she teased before she ruffled his head. "I am proud of you. I wanted you to start a family and stop spending all your time making money."

"I was good at making money. I wasn't so good at dating. Luckily, neither was Lin."

"Well, your mother loves the car you got her, and she drives like a maniac."

"HAHA!"

"She's already gotten three tickets."

"She's only had it a month."

"Well, that's your mother for you."

"Will you tell her or should I?"

"I'll tell her. She'll want to bust your balls about it, but I know she wants to be able to meet at least one of her grandkids."

"I do want you to meet Lin, after I tell her of course."

"I'd like that."

Katara was surprised to learn that Lin, of all people, was having a surprise baby. "I know this is unexpected. I never thought I would have gotten knocked up by a man I took home from a bar, but he wants to be there for me and our child, and he's been nothing but supportive. He even agreed to take a year sabbatical so I could go back to work. I better hold on to him. I don't think I'll ever get a better offer."

Kya came in. "What's in your hand?"

"I got a letter from Lin."

"REALLY?" Kya snatched it and over Katara's objections read it. "SHE'S KNOCKED UP!"

"She wants help finding her mother."

"Oh yeah. Aunt Toph's gonna be a grandma. This is going to be hilarious!"

"I'm sure this isn't going to be easy for Lin. She didn't exactly want children."

"Maybe she just didn't want Tenzin's children," Kya said nonchalantly. "I'm going to visit her while you track down Grandma Bei Fong."

Katara shook her head. Her daughter was always inviting herself places.

Before Kya got to the Republic City, Tenzin learned about the baby. Pema had fallen down some stairs and he insisted on taking her to the doctor to check on their baby girl.

They were on their way into the doctor's office just as Kuzon and Lin were leaving.

"What are you doing here?" Tenzin questioned.

"I'm pregnant," Kuzon retorted.

Lin laughed until she realized no one else was. "This is awkward."

"You're pregnant!" Tenzin yelled.

"Well, yeah I am."

"How could you have a child with him? You barely know him!"

"At least I procreated with an adult and not a child I used to babysit."

"You used to babysit her?"

"We did, together."

"OOH Cradle robber!" Kuzon sang at him.

"She's my wife!"

"Doesn't make her any older," Lin retorted. "And this is none of your business!"

"NONE OF MY BUSINESS! You told me you never wanted kids, and you make one with him as soon as you met him. What did he do, ply you with liquor until you opened your legs?"

Lin smacked him in front of everyone. "You have no right to talk about him like that. News flash Tenzin, I wanted someone who wanted me whether or not we had children. I wanted to be an equal partner, not some baby factory. Pema, good luck with this idiot. You'll need it."

Lin took Kuzon, and they left quickly. "What an asshole!"

"I feel bad for his wife. I would hate to be pregnant and watching my husband clearly hung up on his ex."

"I think you would hate being pregnant."

He rolled his eyes. "My mother wants to meet you."

"She wrote to you already."

"Apparently, she came to visit my mom like a few hours after I had left. She's all excited for a grandbaby."

"Does she want a firebender?"

"I'm sure she'd be happy with any grandbaby, but I think she'd have a special gleam if it were a firebender. I think an earthbender would be cool though; it would be the first one in our family."

"Are you all firebenders?"

"My sister's a waterbender"

"But she's not your mother's child."

"She is," he told her. "I'm a twin. She had my sister adopted by a friend of hers who was from the water tribes, so she'd blend in. She doesn't look Fire Nation at all. I doubt she even knows."

"You're father's water tribe?"

"Yeah. I know. I don't look it at all."

"I have no idea what my father even was, so I can't comment on that. I look just like my grandmother."

"Then she must have been a pretty lady."