I own none of these characters; Nickelodeon does. If only I could...
Sorry about the delay. Summer institutes don't leave me enough free time to write and publish.
Anyways, happy reading!
A melancholy silence filled the air.
"Have you at least...tried?" asked Katara.
"Of course we have! The last time was a couple months ago, after the doctor gave us the news," stammered a slightly blushing Lin.
Katara only nodded.
"I've more or less come to terms with the fact that I may never have kids naturally," Lin said.
"But that's not an option for Tenzin."
Katara hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
"You know, sometimes we do beat the odds. Aang beat Fire Lord Ozai. Toph had you. You will have children! I promise."
Lin let her words sink in for a moment. Katara was like another mother to her; she could trust her with just about anything.
"Katara, what do you mean by that?"
"By what?"
"That Mom beat the odds by having me?"
The master waterbender sighed. She had hoped Toph would have been the one to tell her…
"You aren't the only Beifong to have issues like yours before," told Katara. "Your mother and grandmother before all had it. But they perservered; Poppy had Toph and Toph had you." Katara smiled.
"Oh dear, we've been out too long-we should get some sleep," she said. "Let's go-tomorrow we fly."
It was at that moment that Lin's knees buckled.
"Lin?"
"Sorry-I just don't feel well," mumbled Lin.
"Yes, your mother feels the same way about flying. Come on-I'll take you to your tent."
When Lin awoke, she found Korra zipping around the campground pretending to be an air bison, with her airbending doll being Tenzin. Upon seeing her, she ran towards Lin and threw her arms around her legs.
"Necklace lady! I missed you!" she said, her big blue eyes staring back.
"I'm here now, water lily," she said, picking her up and "flying" her through the air before putting a giggling Korra down.
Suddenly, Lin turned very pale.
"Lin, what's wrong?" Tenzin asked, worried about her sudden palor.
"I just feel very sick to my stomach," she mumbled before proceeding to throw up in a nearby bush. "Let's just go. I want to go home."
Tenzin could only watch in shock as she dusted herself off and walked Korra and herself up to Oogi's saddle and settled themselves in.
"But shouldn't we wait at least a couple days until-" he interjected, but was quickly silenced by a steely glare from his girlfriend. "Fine, we'll go."
The rest of the trip passed uneventfully. Despite a couple more morning incidents, she was fine for the rest of the time.
It was night when the group reached Air Temple Island in Yue Bay. Lin carried a sleeping Korra off the air bison while Tenzin and an acolyte helped in getting all the bags in order. Lin was tucking the little girl in when she heard a conversation between Tenzin and his mother.
"Tenzin dear, what are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that she would make a good wife and mother!"
"Why would you do that! Do you not appreciate what you have now?"
"I do but-"
"If you really did then we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we? Now go. I wish not to speak anymore on this subject."
Lin could then hear Tenzin's irritated steps outside the room, which quickly faded into the hallway. She didn't know what to think-after all, her relationship was falling apart right in front of her due to her...issue. She sweetly traced Korra's face.
"You're such a sweet girl, my little water lily," she cooed. After giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, she went to join her boyfriend (should she even use that term anymore?) in their room.
Tenzin woke in the morning to see a sleeping Lin beside them. His face gave way to a small smile. She was so peaceful and beautiful when she slept. Her perfect porcelain face, with mint-green eyes closed and berry-colored lips that were just begging for a kiss made her look...innocent.
Not that he would tell anyone. Goodness knows how Lin got if anyone told her she looked too youthful to be head metalbender. She'd just about rip their heads off, Beifong style.
It was that fight, that drive that both attracted him to Lin and made him want to flee. He had known since they were five that they would be best friends, 20 that they would be together forever, and 30 that she would be the one to have their kids.
Only thing is, he wasn't sure that idea would become reality. Ever since the doctor had given them the news he didn't know what to think. Gone were the days of anticipating the arrival of children in the house. Where there was once joy and happiness, there was only pain.
It was not only her fault, though; it was his as well. He had spent too long focusing on mastering Airbending and running Republic City that he had lost sight of raising a family. By the time that he and Lin were starting to seriously consider children, it had been too late.
He was startled from his reverie by a timid knock on the door. In the doorway stood a mousy youth. She had brown hair with bangs that fell right into her chocolate eyes. She didn't speak much, but she was a hard worker. Tenzin liked that about her.
"Hello, Pema," he greeted her as he strode towards the doorway. "What brings you here today?"
"Your mother wishes to speak with you in the tea room, Master Tenzin," she whispered as she fidgeted.
Tenzin couldn't help but smile. She reminded him of a baby bird in need of a protector.
"Of course, Pema. I'll be over shortly."
She smiled and blushed at the fact that he remembered her name, then disappeared to complete her other tasks.
Tenzin was still thinking about Pema when he heard Lin turn over in her sleep. She was really coming into her role as a surrogate mother to Korra, something he hardly dreamed would occur. He continued thinking about Lin and Korra when he met his mother at the tea room. Quickly seating himself and pouring a cup of jasmine tea, he listened intently to his mother.
"I have been going through the mail you've been needing to catch up on," she said.
"Really? Thank you so much, that was very kind of you."
"Be glad I did. I just found out we're getting company today."
