The new Avatar had been found. Katara was leaving Air Temple Island almost immediately to oversee the training. There was a going away part of sorts. Just a small gathering with Toph and Lin being the only guests.

The White Lotus was keeping information about the new Avatar pretty quiet, so Toph and Lin were very interested to hear details.

"Obviously, she's a waterbender," Katara began.

"She? I'd forgotten it was a girl. Kind of weird to think about. Though, I've always said Aang was in touch with his feminine side," Toph mused. "Her name's Kara? Kori?"

"Korra," Katara corrected, giving Toph a long-suffering look. "From what the others say, she's quite a little spitfire. She can already bend water, earth and fire, and she's only five."

Five? Lin tuned out of the conversation, suddenly inundated with her own thoughts. Had it really been five years? Sometimes if felt like everything had just barely happened. Other times it felt like a century. So much had happened, but with the affair, little had changed.

She glanced at Pema sitting next to Tenzin across the room with her arm though his and her head on his shoulder. Their fingers were laced, and Tenzin idly stroked his thumb over hers. Lin could recall perfectly the sensation of his stroking thumb. On her hand under the table. On her bare shoulder blade as they kissed. On her lips while he studied her eyes. On her scar when she sat in his lap.

Had Tenzin ever accidentally stroked Pema's cheek expecting a scar? There was one time he had kissed Lin's stomach. The action was so unexpected, she demanded an immediate explanation. He mumbled something about "good luck" and "trying for a baby." It had put her off for quite a bit.

Lin was pulled back to the conversation when Katara teasingly said to Tenzin, "You'd better make sure your bending is up to scratch. It's only a matter of years until you'll be the one teaching the Avatar."

"Isn't air the last element?" Pema chimed in. "I'm sure Tenzin will have had plenty of practice—" She beamed at Tenzin before continuing, and he returned a broad smile. "—teaching his own children before Korra's ready for him." She placed a small kiss on his cheek, and he buried his nose in her hair.

The exchange was unremarkable to the others, but it caught Lin's attention and stayed in her mind long after she'd gone home.

Some time later, after Katara was cozily settled at the South Pole, and when things at headquarters had greatly slowed down, Pema called Lin at home.

When Pema identified herself, Lin winced, afraid the purpose of the call was to denouncer her for sleeping with Tenzin. The paranoia was a new thing. It seemed the guilt of almost three years' worth of betrayal was finally catching up.

"This is incredibly short notice, I know, but I'd really like for you to come eat with us tonight. In half an hour actually," Pema said cheerfully over the line.

"Of course. Do you want me to bring anything?" Lin asked, greatly relieved at the casual request.

"Just yourself."

"What's the occasion?"

Pema only giggled before hanging up.

How strange. Nevertheless, Lin turned her stove off and poured the water she'd set to boil down the sink. She popped into her room to grab a coat, but stopped when she noticed something on the bed. A plain white sheet of paper lay on her pillow. It appeared blank, but at the bottom there was a cramped message. "We need to talk." Tenzin must have dropped by after work, or perhaps during lunch.

He only used this method of communication when he was trying to be dramatic. For example, the time Pema left to visit her parents, so the two of them spent a weekend abroad just because they could. Or when he apologized for forgetting her thirty-eighth birthday; he'd never forgotten a birthday before then.

Lin didn't disagree with the message one bit. She just wasn't sure if they wanted to talk about the same thing. She wondered briefly if Pema inviting her over was a coincidence. Probably not. Anyway, she had only the travel time to Air Temple Island to decide what she was going to say…when she ended things.

Pema was practically bursting with excitement when Lin arrived. She barely touched her food. Her impatience was evident as Lin and Tenzin ate at their own pace.

"You're finally done, are you?" she teased once Tenzin pushed his empty plate away.

"You're obviously dying to tell us something," Lin commented with a hint of a smile. "Perhaps you'd like to do so now?"

"Yes." Pema leaned forward slightly and took a deep breath. "It finally happened. I'm pregnant! Tenzin, we're having a baby!"

Lin and Tenzin whipped their heads to face each other, eyes wide and mouths agape. Tenzin quickly directed his gaze back to Pema, an enormous smile spreading across his mouth. He was by her side and embracing her in an instant. The question died on Lin's lips. He hadn't known. Pema hadn't told him beforehand. Spirits, that girl trusted her too much.

"I can't believe it!" Tenzin rambled. "This is the best news!" When he couldn't think of anything else to say, he resorted to covering Pema's face in kisses.

Lin's stomach lurched as she was vividly reminded of Tenzin's reaction to her pregnancy. The fervent kiss that made her forgive him. The way he had repeated her name over and over like an imbecile. It had made her laugh…the way Pema was laughing now.

When Pema was able to calm Tenzin down, she smiled over at Lin and said, "I figured it would only be fair if you were here for the big news. After all, I found out about your baby before Tenzin did."

Lin nodded understanding, though it didn't make much sense to her. The situation was entirely different. The explanation certainly did nothing to dissolve the lump in her throat or pit in her stomach. "I'm very happy for you. Congratulations," she managed before striding from the room. She didn't stop walking until she stepped outside. Then, she ran. She ran until she had to stop for breath. There, she stood hunched over with her hands on her thighs, gasping for air because she felt she was drowning. After a moment, she threw up. She wiped the taste from her mouth with a handkerchief she'd had in her pocket by some miracle before staggering away from the mess and crumpling to her knees.

Tenzin found her there, still breathing heavily.

All the calm, rational words she'd planned on the way were cast aside. "We have to stop! Spirits, we have to stop," she choked. "Whatever you wanted to talk about—it doesn't matter. Because we can't do this anymore." She angrily palmed tears from her eyes. "I was going to tell you anyway. Going to end it." For some reason, she felt it important he knew that.

"It's exactly what I wanted to talk about," he said, crouching down and laying a hand on her shoulder. "I've realized…I love my wife. I'm in love with Pema." He made a peculiar noise in his throat. Lin wasn't surprised to see tears shining on his face when she looked at him. "And now with a baby… We both know why this needs to stop."

"That doesn't make it easy," Lin said thickly. She threw her arms around his neck. He held her tight. "One last kiss for good luck?" she breathed in his ear.

Tenzin pulled back, moving his hands to either side of her face. Lin clutched the back of his neck.

Their noses had barely met before they were interrupted.

"What are you doing?" Pema's cry killed the almost kiss, and they released each other immediately.

"I… Oh my spirits!" Pema was clutching at her mouth and struggling to stay on her feet. She appeared to be gagging somewhat while her breath came in short gasps tinged with the beginnings of a good cry. "Have you…? The whole time?"

Tenzin rushed to support her, but she pushed him away. "How could you!?" she shrieked, tears falling freely. "And now of all times! I just told you… A baby, Tenzin!"

Lin managed to find her feet and took a step toward Pema.

The irate woman pointed a shaking finger at Lin and shook her head. "And you, Lin? I…trusted you…more than anyone!"

"What we did is wrong. Unspeakably so," Lin tried to explain. "There's no way we can make it right, but it's over!"

"Get out," Pema cried, turning away. "Out of my sight! Away from my home! And don't you ever come back!"

Lin swallowed and couldn't refuse. She gave Pema one last glance before she ran again. But she couldn't outrun the shame and the regret.

Lin didn't see Tenzin for nearly a year after that. He'd appointed an Air Acolyte to stand in for him on the council. He and Pema had gone to the Western Air Temple. Pema had the baby there. A girl. Jinora. An airbender.

During his absence, Lin's feelings of shame and regret turned into bitterness. To think of him was painful. She turned the pain into anger. When he returned, she wanted nothing to do with him.

The next time she saw him outside of work was six years later at her mother's funeral. Toph's death was unexpected, and Lin was in a bad way. Tenzin, then the proud father of two girls and of another child on the way, tried to reach out to her. But it was too late. By then, the only thing she cared about was her city.

She hated him. She hated how easily he could smile at her in passing. She hated the compliments he'd sometimes offer. She hated the fact he was able to get over it. That he was able to leave it behind and carry on. It wasn't supposed to be this way. They were supposed to remain friends. She was supposed to be involved at least a little in his life, so she could share the happiness he found in his family. She could never have foreseen a future where she wasn't welcome on Air Temple Island anymore.

Not this loneliness. Not the loneliness that shaped her into a living statue. When her men or the press or anyone referred to her as heartless or said she was made of stone or that she was an automaton, she didn't have anything to prove them wrong. She didn't need compassion to protect her city.

Not that she was without happiness. She found great satisfaction and enjoyment in her metalbenders. They became her family. Though, perhaps no one but Saikhan realized this. And eventually, her hatred toward Tenzin lessened to mild intolerance.

Things didn't change much for Lin. Gangs came and went. Crime rose and fell. It was until the Equalists started causing problems with their chi-blocking that Lin became concerned for the welfare of her city. And even then, they weren't much trouble until the Avatar showed up.

That was when things started getting serious. It was also when Tenzin decided he needed to be in the middle of everything.

He pulled her aside to speak in private for quite possibly the first time in eleven years.

"Tarrlok's playing you, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

As if she'd never handled Tarrlok before. He'd been weaselsnaking himself into trouble for more than a decade. "I know what I am doing and the risks that come with it."

"In that case, I'm going to be by your side during the match."

What was the matter with him? "You don't need to babysit me," she said brusquely.

"It's for Korra." That explained it. "I want to make sure she's safe."

For some reason, knowing Tenzin's intent angered her. Perhaps the slightest sliver of her heart wanted Tenzin to care about her again. Even if it was in an annoying, overbearing sort of way. "Do what you want!" she said, throwing her hands in the air. "It's not like I've ever been able to stop you before." She stormed off, barely giving Korra a glance when the young girl addressed her.

Lin was so bust the rest of the day, she easily put the encounter with Tenzin from her mind. Especially the split second her heart yearned for his company again.

When he approached her in the arena, she did her best to maintain a front of cool indifference. She thought she'd be able to pull it off until…

"Lin, with so much on the line, it would be nice if we could help each other out, at least for one night."

His tone was so sincere and sad, her mask slipped and the words were out before she could stop them. "Like old times?" Well, not exactly like old times. The friendship part.

His eyes told her he knew exactly what she meant. His smile was genuine and familiar when he replied, "Like old times."

Until the last resilient hope
Is frozen deep inside my bones
And this broken fate has claimed me
And my memories for its own
Your name is pounding through my veins
Can't you hear how it is sung?

A/N: Hope you like it. I hope you give a review. (Though don't be offended if I don't reply to reviews. I'll be sans internet for a looong time after tomorrow.) For the alternate ending, reread Chapter 20 - Helpful. There'll be a link to the alternate ending there. Thank you to all that reviewed and read. I appreciate your support.