So here's the start of the drama I promised you. Don't hate me.

I'll try to post the next chapter by Thursday, I have a really busy few days coming up and I haven't typed it yet.

blah, blah, blah, Bryke made ATLA and LOK, blah, blah

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Untitled 43rd Chapter

Toph sat across the table from Lin, drumming her fingers on the granite. Her breakfast lay in front of her getting colder by the second, but she was in no mood to eat. She rested her chin on her other hand and did her best impression of staring at her daughter. When Sokka had finally devoured his mountain of food, kissed Toph goodbye and walked out the door she spoke to her daughter, "So Linny, you and Gramps have been together for what, two years now?"

Lin regarded her mother across the top of her newspaper "About that long." the twenty year old said and went back to her reading.

"So what are your plans, for the future I mean?"

"We don't really have plans." Lin said, turning to the next page.

Toph had never been a very patient person and all this dancing around the subject was irritating her. She wanted to know what was going on, and she wanted to know now.

She'd been feeling it for months now. At first it was faint, but then it grew stronger and stronger. She tried to wait for Lin to say something herself, but two months had passed and Lin hadn't said a single word. Toph folded her fingers together in front of her chin and got strait to the point "Lin, does Gramps know?"

"Does Tenzin know what Mom?" she asked, still reading her paper.

"Does Tenzin know that you're pregnant?"

The young woman flipped her paper over backwards and squinted her eyes at her mother "How long have you known?"

"Lin, give me a break. Did you think I wouldn't notice another heartbeat?"

She cast her eyes down in shame "I knew, I was just hoping it was still too early for you to tell."

"You didn't answer me. Does Tenzin know?"

"No," she answered, "I haven't told anyone except for the doctor."

"So when are you going to tell him?"

"I'm not." Lin said coldly.

"And why not?" Toph demanded." You should've told him as soon as you found out. Why would you keep that from hi- Lin, this is Tenzin's baby, isn't it?"

Lin knotted her face at her mother "Is that what you think of me Mom?" Toph didn't react. "Of course it's Tenzin's"

"I can't think of another reason why you wouldn't tell him."

"He doesn't need to know." she said quietly, "Nobody needs to know."

"What do you mean by that?" Toph asked.

"What I mean by that, Mom, is that after next week this won't be an issue so you don't need to worry about it."

Lin put her paper down and headed for the door but Toph was right behind her, "Lin, wait."

The daughter exhaled and dropped her hand from the door knob with an exasperated huff "Yes, mother."

"Look Lin, I know how you feel. When I found out I was pregnant with you I was scared out of my mind. I didn't know what to do, but that was never an option and I'm so glad I didn't consider it. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Why don't you tell Tenzin and you two can talk about it. I don't want you to make any rash decisions."

"Mom, I've done nothing but think about this for two months. I have not made this decision lightly."

"But Lin-"

"Mother! I'm done talking about this." Lin snapped and she walked out of the house.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

Lin did not feel well at all. As if it wasn't bad enough that she and her mother had barely spoken in three days now she was having searing back pains. They had started the night before while Tenzin was walking her home from work. She did not let on that she was in pain. She just kissed him goodnight, went upstairs to her apartment and went to bed.

The metal bender curled herself into a ball trying to stretch the pain out of her back, but that just made it worse.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

Toph went upstairs to make sure Lin was up. She noticed the night before that Lin didn't seem quite right. "Linny, are you awake?" she asked. She heard her daughter groan and felt her foot touch the floor lightly. The police chief's heart skipped a beat when she noticed that the presence she'd been feeling within Lin was extremely weak. Toph unlocked the door with metal bending and walked in. "What's wrong Lin?"

"Mom, I'm fine." Lin said pushing stiffly to her feet.

"No you're not," Toph said back, "and neither is the baby. I'm calling Katara."

"Mom, I wish you wouldn't." Lin said, but Toph had already left and was headed downstairs.

A few months earlier, Teo and his had installed these things he called telephones in the houses of his favorite guinea pigs. Toph picked up the earpiece and hit the button that would call the island.

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Tenzin was on his way through the house gathering his things so he could go to class. So far it had been a good morning. He got up, meditated and ate breakfast with Aang, fed the bison, took a shower and got dressed. He only had one class that day and then he and Lin would go to Republic City's dock and wait for Bumi to arrive.

As the young man passed through the kitchen the telephone rang. "Good morning." he answered. No one spoke, "Hello?"

"Gramps, I need Katara to come to the house." Toph said at the other end of the line.

"Okay. She's out feeding the lemurs, but I'll leave her a mes-"

"No Tenzin, I need her to come now." Toph said as calmly as she could muster.

"What's wrong Toph? Are you okay?"

He heard her sigh "I'm fine, but Lin, she's not feeling well. I need Katara to come as fast as Hariti can bring her."

Tenzin didn't say another word, he hung up the phone and ran out to where Katara was "Mother, I need you to come with me now. Lin's not well."

Before Katara could answer, her son had scooped her around the waist and was calling for Oogi. Oogi came instantly. Before he could land Tenzin and Katara were on his back, "To Lin Oogi." he said as he grabbed a tuft of the bison's fur for support and his mother grabbed on to him.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

When they got to Toph's house the door was open. Tenzin followed his mother up the stairs and to Lin's room where she was laying on the bed in a fetal position. Her mother sat on the bed behind her holding a warm towel on her hack.

"Lin. What's wrong?" Tenzin asked before Katara could say anything. The young woman stiffened at the sound of his voice.

Toph answered, "She's having back pains and-"

"Mother," Lin cut Toph off quickly, "Could you please take Tenzin downstairs, I'd rather talk to Katara alone."

Tenzin looked back with worry as Toph closed the door. The last thing he saw was Lin wince as Katara pressed the water to her back. In all their lives he had never seen her in that much pain. Lin was a fighter and she never let pain stop her, so he knew this must have been serious.

~.~.~.~.~.~.

The second the water touched Lin, Katara had a flash. The same type of flash she'd had when she was pregnant with her children, the same as the flashed she had both times Kya was pregnant, two small hands. But, unlike in all the other visions, the hands faded away before the vision did.

Katara focused on what she was doing. 'I'm too late' she though to herself, 'I'm too late again.' She held her head down and spoke to the young lady "Lin, how long have you been in pain?" she asked lightly.

"Since last night." Lin answered sheepishly.

"I'm sorry Lin, there's nothing I can do but ease the pain so that you'll be able to rest."

After Katara finished with Lin and stepped quietly out of the room she stormed down the stairs and found Toph in the living room, "Where is he?" she asked gruffly.

"He's outside on the step, but Sweetness, listen."

Katara didn't give Toph time to finish. She swung open the front door and smacked her son across the back of his bald head.

"Mother!" the young man called out as he grabbed his head to keep her from landing another blow.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" she demanded, "Did you know she didn't feel well last night? You should've said something!"

"Mother, I didn't know she didn't feel well. She didn't say anything." he rushed out, rubbing the red handprint on his head.

"Katara!" Toph said from the door, trying to get her friends attention but her rant continued.

"Okay, fine." the water bender went on, "You may not have known she felt bad last night, but you could've told us she was pregnant. How long did you plan on keeping that from us?"

Toph was by her side now. She quietly said "Katara, he didn't know."

Tenzin stood up to face his mother with a look on his face like she had never seen. Her baby boy looked like his world had just crumbled around him "What did you just say?" he asked.

She looked at him, "You didn't know?" he stood stunned, shaking his head, "Tenzin, I'm sorry."

The air bender looked at the expression on his mother's face and he knew instantly. He bent himself across Katara and Toph's heads and up the stairs.

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Tenzin tapped on the door quietly before he stepped in, "Lin." he said lightly, poking his head in the door, "How are you feeling?"

"Better." she said demurely.

He stepped into the door and closed it behind him silently. Then he crossed over to the bed. There she sat propped on a pile of pillows, her long wavy hair frizzy and pulled over one shoulder. Tenzin pulled the chair from her desk to her bedside and sat down. A million things passed through his head to say to her, but the first thing that came out was "I'm sorry."

She couldn't look at him, "You shouldn't be. You didn't do anything."

"I wish I'd known." he lamented. He asked gently, "Why didn't you tell me?"

She still didn't look up "It doesn't matter now Tenzin, I just want to move on."

He placed a hand on her leg, "You could've told me, you know. You can tell me anything. You do know that, don't you?'

She lifted her eyes to him "I know that, Ten."

"Then why didn't you tell me?" he asked again.

She looked back to her hands folded in her lap and whispered, "You didn't need to know."

Tenzin drew back. He turned his head slightly and looked at her out of the corners of his eyes "Why on earth wouldn't I need to know?" he asked, trying not to get upset.

Lin got irritated. If he was determined to make her say it, then here it was "I wasn't going to keep it." she said turning her head away from him.

"I..I don't think I heard you." he said in disbelief.

She turned back to him "I said I wasn't going to keep it."

Instantly, a deep red radiated from the base of Tenzin's neck to the top of his head, "What was that?" he asked, trying not to lose control of his anger.

Lin held her calm demeanor despite the fact that she could practically see steam coming from Tenzin's ears. "Tenzin, you heard what I said."

Tenzin closed his eyes and inhaled. He placed his thumb on his chin, brushing it across his short beard while he rested his forefinger across his mustache, "It sounds like you said that you were carrying our child and you decided to get rid of it without even talking to me."

"This wasn't your decision." she snapped, "You're not the one who would have had to put your whole life on hold."

Tenzin balled his mouth and exhaled, "So you're happy this happened?" he said clasping his fist to his pants.

"It was for the best." she answered.

A gust of wind filled the room and Tenzin got up and stormed out.

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"I've know for a couple of months now. But I only found out a few days ago that Gramps didn't know." Toph said to Katara as the two women sat next to each mother on Toph's couch. "I told her to talk to him, but she's so stubborn. She has to do things her way."

"And what was her way?" Katara asked glancing over at Toph.

The earth bender inhaled then exhaled sharply "She was going to have an abortion." Toph was about to say more, but she felt Tenzin coming down the stairs, "Gramps is coming, and he's in a mood. She must've told him everything."

"Mother, we're leaving." Tenzin growled as he stomped through the living room.

"Tenzin, stop. Talk to me for a minute."

"No Mother. You can stay here if you want, but I'm going home."

~.~.~.~.~.~.

Katara and Tenzin said nothing on the way back to Air Temple Island. The only sounds were the occasional groans from Oogi. Finally Tenzin stroked his hand on the bison's head and said "I'll be okay."

When they landed, he got down and headed to the meditation pavilion. "Tenzin." Katara called out as she ran after her son. "Tenzin, won't you talk about it?"

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Aang heard his wife calling after their son and he looked up to see him trudging across the hill as she trailed behind him. Then he heard the younger of the two say "No mother. I don't want to talk about it." as he continued forward, then he stopped short and turned, "There is something I want to know." he said and he walked up to his mother.

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Tenzin looked down into Katara's eyes "Did you see it? Like you did with Kya? Did it work the same way with me?"

"Tenzin, that doesn't matter now." Katara said.

"You didn't say 'no'. You did see it. What did you see?"

"Tenzin, I don't think-"

"Mother, please. I need to know. When the hands opened, what did you see?"

"I saw a spiral," she said in almost a whisper "of air." She wanted to cry when she saw the tears well up in his eyes.

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Aang watched as Tenzin stepped up to Katara. He seemed to be asking something that she didn't want to answer. Then he saw her tell the young man something. The two stood there for a moment then he growled in anger and bent a wave of air out around him that Aang felt where he was standing.

"Tenzin! Get back here!" Aang yelled as he started towards them just as his son turned to walk away, "Tenzin! I know you hear me!"

Katara stepped in front of her husband "Aang, leave him be. It's been a bad morning for him."

"What was so bad that it excuses him bending at you?"

"It wasn't at me, it was out of frustration." she said as she stepped to her husband and placed her hand on his chest. "Just listen."

As Katara went through the motions of telling him all about the events of that morning, Aang felt so overwhelmed that he sat on the ground. When she finished he dragged his hand down the length of his face. "And all this happened this morning?" he asked.

"Yes. He's hurting so much Aang. Maybe he'll talk to you."