I hope that you are enjoying the story.

TaangFanToph. I am glad you liked it, thank you.

Aang reluctantly let Toph's hand go, when they entered their room. He then moved over to open the doors onto the balcony. Hoping some air would calm the situation. The action of walking over and opening the door he hoped would give him a little more time to think through the best way to tell her all that he had found out in way that would make sense, especially when he didn't fully understand it all himself. Toph closed the door behind her, then leaned against it. Needing the support. Neither of them wanted to be the one to break the silence, but one of them had to.

"What else did he say." Toph's voice seemed out of place in the silent room.

Aang was avoiding looking at her, he gazed out at the stars. "Don't waist anytime with the pleasantries do you. Straight to the point, that's really rude you know." He tried to smile, but he couldn't.

"So is avoiding answering a direct question."

He now found he smile a little. "Yeah, but it's not as rude as….."

"Aang." Her voice was still very low, but it was enough to get through to him.

Aang finally turned to face her and slowly made his way over to where she was standing. Stopping half way, to sit on the bed. After letting out a deep breath, Aang finally answered her. "You can unlock the power of the avatar sprite in you by opening the seven chakras." His eyes never left the floor in front of him.

Toph nodded her head along with his words. "And the rest."

At this minute Aang hated that Toph could read him so well. It was so hard to keep things from her, even when you were trying to do so for her own good. "Ozai is just a puppet, Koh is behind it all."

None of this was really making any sense to Toph. She had heard Aang talking about all of this stuff before, but she never thought in a million year that any of it would ever have anything to do with her. She wasn't even sure she knew for sure who Koh was. Finding out she was the fated sprite was hard enough to understand, but to find out that she didn't fit into what that normally meant. That was almost impossible for her to get her head around. She was a person of facts, she liked what she could see, feel. It was necessary for her to live like that to survive. Walking towards Aang bridging the gap between them, Toph made her decision about what she was going to do now. There was only one way she knew how to deal with things like that.

"I'm going to deal with this my..."

"No! You are not going anywhere near Ozai." Aang was now on his feet, looking down on Toph from the few inches he had on her.

She knew he was going to react like this, but she wasn't going to back down. "It's me he's after."

"Yeah and how is it you plan to deal with it. Force is not going to help you with this."

She knew that was true, but it was all she had. It was the only way she knew how to deal with a situation like this. In the back of her mind was a voice that told her to listen to him, he knew what he was talking about. More so than she did. A lot more than she did. There was just one thought that kept going through her head that stopped her from doing what he instincts told her to.

"I'm not going to let anyone get hurt because of me."

Aang didn't have a comeback for that. There had been times when he had felt the same way, but this was different. At the time it felt like it was because of him, now with time adding a new perspective on everything. It was for an ideal, the freedom that they sided with him, what he represented. Not him himself. He could try and tell this to Toph, but she wouldn't understand. It had taken him years of distance to see it all clearly himself. He however was not going to let anything happen to Toph, he would do whatever it took to stop that from happening.

"Toph you know I can't let you do that." As he spoke he placed his hands on her shoulders. "I will do anything to keep you from danger, even if you are the one that is putting you in danger."

Tears started to build up in Toph's eyes. She really didn't want to have to do this, she would hate herself for it but he wasn't leaving her with any other choice. The rational part of her brain was being silenced by an over welling desire to end all of this whatever it took.

Rather than pushing his hands off her, she shrugged them off. Her words came out cold and emotionless. "I don't have to do what you tell me too."

"I love you, I think that gives me some right to..."

"I don't love you!"

She never meant to yell it out like that, but she had to make him stop talking. For once in her life Toph was grateful that she was blind, she didn't want to see the look on his face, feeling his heart rate almost stop was bad enough.

Once the shock had worn off a little Aang tried to force a weak smile, it only lasted a second. "What are you talking about. Toph you're really scaring me." His hold on her shoulders tightened a little as he moved her a little closer towards him.

Taking a deep breath, to gain some strength Toph answered her husband. "I'm sorry, but I don't love you."

Aang's hold on her by her arms tightened even more. He was using more force than he had intended "Aang you're hurting me."

"Then we did you marry me, twice! What was that..."

Aang was starting to shake Toph, she had never seen him get this anger with her. It really scared her. "I was trapped, you gave me a way out. To get away from my father I would have done anything and you only said you were falling in love with me. Then you spring that you are in love with me, and a wedding. I couldn't say anything. Then….I got pregnant and..."

"I bet you were glad when our baby died. You got your way out! Didn't you." Toph couldn't feel her arms any more, Aang was holding on so tightly. She was scared of him now, but he had just pushed her too far.

"YES! Yes I was glad."

Before he knew what he was doing Aang had let Toph's left arm go, as he lifted his right hand back. He saw her flinch, turn her head away. The fear in her eyes was the worst part. He dropped his hand to his side. He would like to think that he would have stopped himself if he hadn't caught her eyes. The truth was he didn't know for sure.

"Go." His voice was almost a whisper. Toph was now free to move his hands off her shoulders, but she didn't. "Just go!"

When she was able to focus again Toph was on the other side of the closed door. All of the air in her body left her, as did the strength in her legs, as she sank to the ground. The tears she had held back, now fell. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it might burst through her chest. Once she had wiped the tears away, and got her breath back Toph got to her feet, and walked along the corridor. She knew that he was going to react badly, but she never imagined he would react like that. He really did love her. She had just lied to someone's face for the second time that day, and in her life.

None of what she said was true, she loved him, now more than ever. That was why she had lied to him, to keep him from getting hurt because of her. She had to deal with Ozai on her own, this was all about her, so she would be the one to end it. Aang would never let her go, so she lied.

She told herself that there was a way to put it right when this was over, but now she wasn't sure. Aang might not want to hear what she had to say, or he might not believe her. She told herself that if that did happen, she could live with it, as long as Aang was alive. No matter how much she told herself something, she could never fully believe herself.

Thank you for reading. I hope that you liked it.