Chapter 2: Voices
Even without work and having Tenzin, Uncle Aang, and Aunt Katara helping her with her five-month-old son, Lin felt like she never got a moment to rest. By now, she was fully adjusted to living on the island full time. It was so different from living in the city. She had more space compared to her small apartment downtown near the station, but she also had more chores. Instead of dropping her clothes at the cleaners on her way to work, Lin had to wash everything by hand herself. She helped Katara cook all of the family meals since there no restaurants or take-out/fast food options on her way home. And lastly, there was a little human being that demanded her attention for at least an hour every two hours for her to feed him. Tenzin could be trusted with changing their son's nappy, and with picking up toys, and with cleaning and burping after Lin finished feeding, yet still both Lin and Tenzin felt like there was some sort of imbalance.
Tenzin played music for the baby and told him stories about his childhood growing up with Lin, Kya, Bumi, Suyin, and Izumi. He told his son about all of the pranks that Bumi and Kya used to play on the various inhabitant's on the island, and occasionally the citizens of Republic City on the mainland.
"Tenzin, stop filling his head with their nonsense. What if he grows up unable to take anything seriously?" Lin asked Tenzin one evening as she set the table for dinner. The family of three and the two grandparents they lived with happily.
"Then he will know how to play games and be a child and be happy unlike you two," Aang jabbed with a smirk.
"Dad!" Tenzin yelled defensively.
Katara hid her laugh behind her napkin before regaining her composure and clearing her throat.
"We know how to play games!" Lin exclaimed holding her son to her breast.
"You know how to spar, really well," Aang corrected her.
"It's not like Kya and Bumi played games. They just played pranks!" Lin argued.
"And mean ones at that, " Tenzin added.
Katara laughed again.
"If you say so," Aang muttered with his tea already up to his lips while both Lin and Tenzin exhaled in unison.
Lin looked over at her partner then down at their son who was asleep in her lap. She was happy. While Kya and Bumi were the greatest nuisance she and Tenzin had ever known when they were younger, they were still rather fun. They presented a challenge and an opportunity. They were Tenzin's siblings, and practically Lin's considering how much time she spent on the island. They were challenging to deal with, and impossible to control, but every interaction was an opportunity to practice patience, love, loyalty, and sometimes, the ability to kick ass efficiently. That night, Lin decided. That night they would start trying again to give to their son, a little sibling, to love and defend, and to fight with occasionally. Yes, a sibling would be good for their baby.
"Tenzin," Lin said quietly that night as she turned down her side of the bed.
"Yes, Lin," Tenzin asked mirroring her motions.
"I think I am ready to start trying for another baby. I know it may not happen immediately; Katara says that breastfeeding interferes with fertility, but you never know when you might get lucky, and I want to go again," Lin said turning down her side of the bed.
"Lin, are you sure? So soon? What about returning to work?" Tenzin asked.
"The triads haven't done anything big in months. I am not needed right now. Besides, the world is bigger and more important than one city's police department. Hasn't our parents' goal and our goal always been the balance and peace of the world? We need an Air Nation," Lin told him as she climbed under the covers and rolled over to face him.
"I know," Tenzin said gently running his fingers through her wavy black hair. "I am sorry it has all fallen on you though."
"It's not a burden. It is an honor," Lin said lightly touching her lips to his for a short kiss. "It is more than an honor. It is a dream for me. I want this, not just for the world, but for me too."
"You really mean that?" Tenzin asked with one hand behind her neck. Lin tilted her head into it.
"Yes. Our son makes me so happy. Even when he is nothing but a sleeping little lump of life, he makes me happy."
"He makes me happy too. Just like you," Tenzin said reaching to pull her body closer to him.
"Thank you for waiting for me," Lin whispered as she felt Tenzin's hands slide her pajama shirt up and her pants down.
"I will always wait for you," Tenzin replied covering her lips with his own, bending the air straight out of her lungs and brain to make her fall limp, but not unconscious beneath his body.
He straddled her and propped himself up on one hand beside her head while the other positioned his member between her legs.
She gasped as he filled her completely with one quick thrust with no foreplay, determined to make quick work of her.
Lin bit down on her own hand trying to not make a sound knowing full well the walls of the main house were paper-thin leaving them with little to no privacy. It was just one of the few downsides of living on the Island. Though they were safe from organized crime in the city, they were not safe from the petty gossip of the air acolytes.
Just as they moved apart, their son in the other room started crying.
"You stay. I'll bring him to you," Tenzin insisted, leaping out of bed quickly, pulling on a pair of pants as he sprinted from the room.
Lin took their son in her arms and offered her breast to him. Making love with Tenzin and feeding their baby were two very different, yet equally satisfying actions that left Lin in a state of pure bliss that she never wanted to end.
The next day, Lin emerged from the main house with a basket of laundry to take to the washroom when Tenzin called her over.
"It has happened! He is mobile!" Tenzin announced beaming with excitement.
Lin looked down at the baby that Tenzin allowed to crawl around on the ground only after Lin's insisted that the young lad become acquainted to the earth. The baby was indeed mobile. He pushed himself forward rather clumsily with his big left toe while supporting part of his weight on his left hand. With his belly towards the ground he then sort of rolled over slightly to give his right limbs room to catch up again.
"Left-handed, just like his mama!" Tenzin exclaimed positively beaming with pride as he wrapped his arms around Lin's waist from behind resting his chin on her shoulder for an instant before kissing her cheek.
Lin raised a hand to hold his head still so she could turn and kiss his lips. She tilted her neck so he could be more comfortable on her.
"My Lady! Councilman Ryuuk is here to speak with you!" an air acolyte announced running up to them as quickly as possible.
"Ryuuk of the Northern Water Tribe?" Tenzin asked.
"Yes!" the air acolyte gasped.
"Take the baby!" Lin said quickly to Tenzin.
"Gina, could you take this to the wash room? I'll tend to it after I speak with Ryuuk!" Lin asked the air acolyte.
"Yes, Ma'am." The air acolyte said taking Lin's basket of laundry.
Lin watched Tenzin disappear inside the main house just in time for Ryuuk to arrive in the courtyard. Lin turned around with the same stone face she used when interrogating murderers in what felt like a lifetime ago.
"Councilman," Lin addressed the Northern Water Tribe Native.
"Chief, it has been over a year since we've seen you at a station. We were beginning to worry," Ryuuk said with a sly smile that only one who was plotting something bad would ever brandish to the world.
"Why? My leave of absence specifically listed no return date,
"Your leave of absence?" Ryuuk asked.
"The one you and your fellow councilmen unanimously approved. Must I remind you that it stated I would be gone indefinitely and slated my return only guaranteed in the event of a nation-wide emergency? The city is at peace, resting just like me. Triad activity has been at an all time low and I am of no use dealing with petty thieves and poor drivers wreaking occasional havoc on the streets," Lin reminded the man.
"Of course. I was just making sure. Until recently, you never took time off, even when ill. There were rumors that you never slept, only served your city,"
"Well, they say time changes all things, doesn't it?" Lin asked.
"I suppose so," Ryuuk sighed.
"Is that all you came here for, Councilman Ryuuk? To see that I am still breathing?" Lin asked impatiently.
"Yes, forgive me for the intrusion," Ryuuk said bowing low.
"I will forgive you, but I will not forget the uselessness of this meeting," Lin said, her eyes narrowing.
Just then, the door of the main house opening interrupted both of their trains of thought. "Is everything alright out here?" Avatar Aang asked emerging.
"Avatar Aang?!" Ryuuk exclaimed smoothing his robes hastily.
"Councilman! It is always a pleasure! To what do we owe this pleasant visit?" Aang asked as Lin masked her glare.
"I was actually just leaving. I simply wanted to check up on Lin." Ryuuk explained.
"She couldn't be better. Lin, dear, would you mind helping Aunt Katara in the kitchen? The arthritis in her wrist is acting up and she wanted so much to make Tenzin's favorite stew for his birthday!" Aang asked Lin, effectively providing her an escape from having to tolerate Ryuuk.
"Yes, Uncle," Lin said politely bowing to Aang before fleeing the courtyard for the kitchens.
Ryuuk watched very closely as she went.
"She seems, different," Ryuuk said suspiciously.
"She finally gets sleep now. The station has always been very demanding on its Chief. She simply burned out and needed time to recover her sense of being," Aang explained sympathetically.
"She is weak," Ryuuk said flatly.
"Hardly," aang replied. "She is the strongest woman I have ever seen."
"Even her ancient mother, Toph Beifong, never took breaks from the Force,"
"And her family and her city suffered from it. Not even the great Toph Beifong could bring the city to its heel as Lin has managed to do, allowing the Chief to take leave. I suggest you tread carefully around her, Councilman Ryuuk. It never does one well to make a Beifong Lady angry," Tenzin said.
"Is that a threat, Avatar?"
"No, it is simply a warning. It is an Avatar's duty to protect all of humanity. If that requires I warn you against attacking a dangerous and powerful lady, so be it."
The air was heavy with a dense rage that loomed over the group. Katara sat at the table with her only grandchild in her lap while his mother paced, fuming. Avatar Aang sat beside his wife with one hand on the table, picking his nail, waiting patiently for his daughter in law to cool down. Tenzin stood with his back pressed to the wall, not wanting to be in the path of his wife's fury.
Chief Beifong's harrowing leave of absence from the Republic City Police Force to indulge in selfish desires provides the perfect soil for the bending Triads to grow their influence resulting in a recent insurgence of organized crime! Incidents reach an all time high as the police department struggles to...
"Bullshit!" Lin yelled slamming the newspaper down on the kitchen table.
"Lin, honey, mind your son's young ears," Katara reminded her.
"I'm sorry, love. I'll try to be more mindful of my use of profanity," Lin said cupping her baby's mushy face in her hands, and touching her nose to his forehead.
"I never did like Ryuuk," Tenzin muttered with his arms folded angrily.
"Now, now, let's all just calm down," Aang said calmly.
"He called me lazy, weak, afraid of taking charge of my city and incapable of living up to my mother's legacy. What does he know of legacies? He's just some nameless peasant bastard born in the tundra who has no claim to anything other than the slander he prints on these spirit damned pages!"
"LIN!" Katara scolded.
"Don't listen to him. You are half his age and still have served the city extremely well for nearly twice as long as he's lived here. The time has come for a change. You serve the world now by just being with Tenzin," Aang said rising to put his hands on Lin's shoulders, effectively freezing her in place. Lin folded one arm acros her torso and perched the elbow of her other arm on it, resting her chin on her fist pensively.
"But I don't want to reture from the police force and give up what my mother spent her life building. There is still so much to be done," Lin finally said.
"You don't have to. When you are ready, the city will welcome you back with open arms regardless of one councilman's opinion on your most recent actions," Katara assured Lin.
"Lin, how about I return to work, to… keep the council in check?" Tenzin offered.
"If just one of us returns to work, then it will be obvious that we have a baby, ESPECIALLY if I am the one to stay home!" Lin argued.
"Then you can both return to work. The little badgermole won't ever be unattended with both Aang and I here to watch him!" Katara suggested.
"But I don't want to burden you with a baby especially after you've already suffered raising three," Lin replied.
"Lin, listen to me. Watching my grandson learn and grow and explore this expansive world we call home is no burden. It is an honor. You'll understand that too some day when you're ancient like me and your babies are stressing over babies of their own," Katara explained.
Lin thought very intensely for a moment considering all of her options. Finally, she relented. "Thank you, Aunt Katara," she said with a heavy sigh.
"And Lin," Katara added. "When you do return, please be careful. With you no longer drinking moon tea, you don't know when you may be surviving for two people instead of just you."
"I know, Aunt Katara," Lin said kneeling before the old waterbender. "And moon tea makes no difference in how I behave. I'm already living for more than just me," she said taking her son in her arms gently. Even though he was no longer inside her belly, he was a part of her and always would be.
Lin returned to the station full of energy and smiling. Her officers hadn't seen her in over a year and couldn't have been more grateful to have her back and be rid of the annoying, and rather inept deputy the Council had put in her place during her leave.
After analyzing the already collected evidence, Lin managed to halt the sudden uprising in organized crime and squash the three main Triads that were vying for control of Republic City's underbelly. With the use of well-planned and well-executed sting operations, the police department managed to capture a rather staggering number of regional leaders and mercenaries associated with the groups. The impact was enough to irreparably disrupt the hierarchy within the Terra Triad, Agni Kai Triad, and Triple Threat Triad.
But after all the action, Lin became bored again, and wanted nothing more than to return to her peaceful island life and watch her baby boy dig around in the dirt, blow spit bubbles and babble strings of incomprehensible sounds that he thought were words.
"Chief, the report is ready for your 10 AM presentation to the council," one of Lin's subordinates said offering her a folder containing the summary of that week's police activity for her to present and deliver to the council that Friday morning.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Ping," Lin said accepting the folder with a nod, and leaving the Police Headquarters for city hall that morning.
Her metal shoes tapped quietly with each step on the smooth, polished marble floors of that excessively lavish building. Her hair swayed as she walked towards the council chamber. Her chin tilted up with pride as she knew exactly where she was going. She practically grew up running the halls of the Police Station waiting for her mother, or running the halls of this very City hall waiting for Councilman Sokka to finish the day's proceedings. Now she was there, working.
As she passed a few groups of secretaries, scribes, reporters, and other support staff that called the City Hall Building their main office, she noticed many of them staring. What? Did she spill her tea on her uniform or something? She looked down. Nope, nothing…
"Her bust is larger."
"And her hips,"
"But her waist remains the same,"
"She must have had a child,"
"That would explain the length of time she spent away,"
"She is probably still feeding,"
"Liu Ling was right! Oh! Could you believe it?!"
Lin's smile faded, her chin dipped slightly, and for a fleeting instant, she considered turning around and marching right back to the police station. Her confidence washed away by something as frivolous as the whispers of a couple of empty-headed women heading out of City Hall for their lunch break.
A familiar scowl had affixed itself to the Police Chief's face by the time she entered the main Council Chamber.
"Chief Beifong! What a pleasure to see you after so long! You're looking positively radiant this morning," Councilman Ryuuk said enthusiastically with the most artificial grin one could muster painted on his wrinkling face.
Tenzin frowned at his remark and Lin's eyes narrowed impatiently.
"Cut the garbage, Ryuuk. Let's get this over with so I can leave. On Monday, the force recorded seven arrests, executed three successful sting operations, one undercover investigation in a sector of the Agni Kai Triad's ring, and one house visitation for an orphan recently taken off the streets… Of the seven arrests, were for public intoxication and indecency resulting in an overnight stay, two were for traffic violations and the accused were fined heavily and released that day, and the one remaining was charged with assault and arson and sentenced to fifteen years of manual labor for being a detriment to the peace of this city..." Lin said sternly recounting out the relevant activity of the police force that week. She answered the councilmembers' questions curt and concisely providing them with just enough detail to make sure they didn't need any more. The grueling meeting lasted two hours before everyone in the chamber was dismissed for lunch.
"LIN!" Tenzin called running after his lady.
"Have I ever mentioned to you just how much I hate diplomacy?" Lin asked Tenzin, turning to face him with the most irate expression he'd seen her don in over a year.
"Have I ever mentioned how much I miss seeing you all day?" Tenzin asked thinking of the light green and yellow robes she wore on the island that fit her perfectly, much better than the bulky uniform armor she wore in the city, as he placed his hands on her small waist somewhat possessively.
Lin's frown deepened as he kissed her cheek then she turned away. "Not when I'm in uniform, please. I can't have people thinking you're a weakness for me," she said shoving him gently.
"Lin, you may wear steel, but you're still not a machine. Loving someone is not a weakness. Besides, the city has known we have loved each other since we were preteens. It is nothing new."
"Still, I'd rather not feed the gossip generator in the City Hall Lobby," Lin replied stepping away from him.
"Did something happen?" Tenzin asked, concerned.
"Several of the secretaries were analyzing my body as I walked in this morning. They were talking about how my bust is bigger, probably from feeding and how my hips have changed after birthing. Any one who has had a baby can see the change, and my uniform, though bulky, hides none of it. I'm afraid," Lin answered.
"Don't worry. They will not hear any confirmation from you or me, and Mother and Father have both sworn to keep our little secret. You're safe," Tenzin reassured his lady, taking her to lunch before personally returning her to the police station so she could resume her responsibility as the city's formidable chief of police.
A/N
If you're wondering why the baby has no name yet, don't worry. You'll find out why soon enough :). Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the reviews. I really do love hearing from all of you!