AN: Not sure what happened or why Ch 14 wasn't showing up before... *glares at FFN*

Hope it works this time! *crosses fingers*

Ch 14- Missed

Aang was excited! Beyond excited! He hadn't seen Toph or Zuko in so long. Nearly a year! He couldn't wait to see them. He dragged Katara behind him as they ran up the stairs to the Fire Nation Palace after leaving Appa and Momo down in the stables to rest.

"Don't worry, Aang, they'll be there!" Katara laughed as she tried to keep up. Despite the war and trying aftermath, he still had that same childlike exuberance. She was glad for it, it made her feel hopeful about the future of the Four Nations. "Slow down! We have to wait for Haru!"

"Tell him to hurry up!" Aang laughed. Haru was a grown man — he had the mustache to prove it, didn't he? — he should be able to keep up.

"You left him all the way back there!"

His laughter ringing in her ears was the only reply she received.

"Wait for me!" Haru called after them.

Aang only sped up. He had grown considerably during their extended trip. With longer legs, he covered more ground faster than before and he towered over Katara. Okay he didn't tower, but he was taller than her. Though he had yet to pass Haru. Sokka, who hadn't made the trip with them choosing (or being forced to, depending how one looked at it) to stay in Kyoshi Island to help Suki with their wedding preparations, said it was only a matter of time before Aang was taller than him. The young monk could have sworn the Water Tribe warrior had tears in his eyes whenever he said it. Suki only laughed at her fiancé.

That was another thing. Aang still couldn't believe his friends were getting married. He was so happy for them, but it just reminded him how much older they all were now and how easily it would be to drift apart. Maybe that's why he wanted to see Toph so badly. He was sure she hadn't changed much. She was too stubborn for that.

They crossed the renovated courtyard and Aang was tempted to airbend them straight to the Palace. He could already see Zuko standing there, a line of guards around him. He searched the crowd of people and wondered where Toph could be.

...

Just because Toph had run away from home and didn't want to go back didn't mean she wanted something bad to happen to her parents. Sure, they weren't going to win any awards for their parenting skills, but she still loved them. So when Zuko offered any ship at his disposal so she could return to Gaoling, she took him up on his offer. She even considered his suggestion of sticking around for their friends. They were supposed to be arriving any day. But as much as she wanted to be there when they arrived, she couldn't waste precious time waiting around to see if they showed up. Her dad might not have until then…

Iroh was nice enough to make the trip back to the Earth Kingdom with her. Together they boarded the Fire Nation's fastest naval ship and set sail. They'd only been travelling two days and already she missed land. Even picking her toes lost some of its appeal.

"How much more do we have to go?" Toph whined.

Iroh studied the pai sho board. "We are still a day of travel away…" Aha! She could not beat him now.

Toph sighed dramatically. Maybe she should have waited for Twinkletoes and Sugar Queen. Too late now, she thought. She turned back to the board and made her move.

"That should do it."

Iroh sighed, "Not again." Was he ever going win?

...

"I can't believe we just missed her—them!" Aang corrected. He'd been looking forward to seeing his Sifu again. "Maybe Appa and I can catch up to the ship and get Toph home faster?"

Zuko shook his head. "They must be less than a day away by now, you wouldn't make it in time. I'm sorry, Aang. There would be no point in you going after them now."

"Except to see Toph, of course," Katara added helpfully.

"Yeah, I guess," Aang said, trying not to sound as disappointed as he felt. He smiled at the Fire Lord then not wanting Zuko to think he wasn't happy to see him. "So, how are you, Sifu Hotman? How's Mai?"

...

Toph had convinced her old friend that she would be just fine travelling the rest of the way alone. She didn't want anyone else around when she finally faced her parents. Iroh understood the need for solitude when dealing with private, personal matters.

"If it is not too much trouble, Miss Toph, please send a note to the Jasmine Dragon to let me know you arrived safely."

"Sure thing, Pops. And thanks again for coming with me."

"It was my pleasure to travel with such a lovely lady. Only next time, I will have to remember not to wager all my money," Iroh laughed, clutching his belly. He then hugged the young girl and watched her as she began her trek back home.

...

"How was I supposed to know Mai broke up with him?" Aang asked Katara as his head fell to the table. "I really need to stop putting my foot in my mouth."

"I'm sure he knows you didn't mean anything by it," Haru assured, trying to be helpful.

Aang looked up, trying not to glare at him. "Yeah, you're probably right. I better go apologize."

...

As she banged on the grand doors to her lavish childhood home, Toph couldn't help but be worried. What if her dad…? What if he wasn't getting better?

After the servants' initial shock, they let her in and Toph walked through garden and then the house stopping just outside her parents' room. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

...

Aang walked along the long Palace corridors turning right, then left, until he stood outside the Fire Lord's study. He needed to apologize to his friend, so he squared his shoulders and knocked gently on the door.

...

"Toph!" her mother cried, wrapping her up in a tight embrace.

"Hi, mom. How's dad?"

"Oh, Toph! Come in, come in!" her mother dragged her further inside the room. "He's...not well. But, he has been asking for you. He's missed you so much! We both have!"

Toph had never heard her mom so agitated. The woman hardly seemed like her mother. She was crying openly in front of the servants, who were standing only a few feet behind. And she was hugging her! Toph could hardly reconcile the woman she remembered to the one standing before her now. But she kept that out of her voice as she asked, "What happened to him, mom?"

...

"Aang, what is it? I'm busy."

"I'm sorry, Sifu Hotman."

"Stop calling me that!" Zuko yelled from behind his desk. Then he let out a breath of air and added, "And there's no need to apologize, Aang. There's no way you could have known Mai left."

The Avatar could see his friend was still upset and he wanted to make things better the only way he knew how, by lending a sympathetic ear. "So, do you want to talk about what happened?"

...

Toph stepped further into her father's bedroom. The smell of the many ointments, remedies, and teas that had been used to try to alleviate whatever ailed him was overwhelming and she stepped back to be near the only open window. His heartbeat was slow. Slower than it should have been even while asleep.

"What happened to him?" Toph asked again. The servants excused themselves.

Poppy reached for her daughter, but seemed to think better of it and refrained, keeping her hands at her side. "It's...not easy to talk about."

"Mom, tell me."

There was a long pause and then her mom spoke.

"Do you remember when you were staying in Ba Sing Se after the war ended?" Toph nodded and Poppy continued, "Your father had written to the Avatar. He planned to bring you back home. We just missed you so much, Toph," she explained. "And since the war was over and you had fulfilled your mission to train the Avatar so he could defeat the Fire Lord..." Her mom sounded…excited. Almost proud. "...we thought it was the right time."

Off to the side, her dad coughed, but when he didn't wake up, her mom pressed on. "Over many months we heard so many stories of what you did. You and your friends. I don't think we understood what you were capable of. We had no idea. I had no idea. After the initial shock wore off, I was…I am very proud of you. It took some getting used to, of course. And with the way people talked, well, it wasn't easy." Toph crossed her arms over her chest in defiance waiting for her mom to try and shame her into apologizing, but that didn't happen. "However, none of that mattered when we received that letter from you…we were so relieved to know you were safe."

Toph could hear her mom sniffling and her own tears threatened to fall. It was everything Toph had ever hoped to hear from her mother. It...hardly seem real.

"It was a very difficult decision to make, but we decided to let you finish the course of action you had set upon when you...left. However, once the war was over, we thought it was time for you to come home and-"

"Don't you think that's for me to decide?"

"Perhaps." Her mother sighed. "Perhaps not."

"What?"

"Hear me out," Poppy insisted. Toph had never had such a long conversation with either of her parents and she was at a loss. Should she let her anger drive her words or actually listen to what her mom had to say? Toph relented and nodded, asking her mom to continue. "I realize now you weren't happy here, but we're still your parents and you are underage."

"So, you're going to force me to stay, is that it?"

Smiling sadly at her daughter, Poppy shook her head. "No, of course not. I hope you'll wish to stay here. Ultimately, it's your decision, Toph."

Her mother wasn't lying, but Toph found small comfort in the words. It was hard to believe they would simply let her do as she liked. After years of trying to control every part of her life, it was difficult to trust they'd allow her to live it as she wanted.

"How did he get sick?" Toph asked instead.

"The carriage your father rode in to Ba Sing Sei was so slow, he was forced to abandon it halfway to travel the rest of the way by ostrich-horse. But it rained nearly every day and when he arrived at the inn we had been informed you were staying in, you had left. Your father didn't remain there long, but the trip home was just as bad. The rain and the cold are to blame for his condition."

"He's been sick all this time?" Toph asked, the guilt eating at her. "So, it's...my fault?"

"No, no," her mother replied placing a gentle hand on Toph's shoulder. "He got better, but there was this wheezing that was always present. And, a persistent cough. About a month ago, he awoke with a fever and since then…since then he's only been conscious for a few moments at a time."

"How did you know where to find me?" Toph asked.

"We've always known. Even after you managed to escape from Xin Fu and Master Yu," Poppy admitted, sounding ashamed. "When a local cabbage farmer discovered them stuck in the metal cage they tried to trap you in, we ordered them to return. They were paid half the promised sum for their attempts and promptly dismissed. I promise you, they were never instructed to hurt you."

Toph smirked at that. "They couldn't if they tried."

Lao coughed again and that time, he did wake. Both women turned towards him.

"T-Toph…is that really you?"

She nodded, surprised at how relieved she was to hear his voice.

"You're back."

"For now," she replied.

His heartbeat spiked and she knew she shouldn't have said that. It was mean,maybe even cruel. But, she wasn't about to take it back either.

A nurse knocked.

"It's time for Mr. Bei Fong's medicine."

A few servants walked in as well, removing an empty tea pot and bringing in clean towels.

"Thank you," Poppy said, dismissing them. Toph felt the footsteps as they scattered to others parts of the house.

The door shut again, Poppy turned to her daughter once more. "Toph, please," she begged, "We only wanted you back. We want you here, where you belong."

The earthbender had had a lot of time during her stay in the Fire Nation to think of what she would say to her parents if she ever got the chance. So the guilt that had been eating at her left for a moment and the anger that usually simmered just below the surface when she thought of her parents erupted full force.

"No, you don't! You don't want me, you want me to be something I'm not! I only came to say goodbye to you both. I was too scared to do it last time so I ran away, but I'm not concerned with what you think anymore! Dad, I'm glad you're alive and I really hope you get better, but what you did to me all those years? Hiding me? Being ashamed that I was your daughter!? Then, hiring those jokes that try to pass themselves as earthbenders to force me back?"

"Toph...please," her mother sobbed.

"Please, what? It's not like you were any better!" Toph was on a roll now, she couldn't have stopped her tirade if she had wanted to. "You let him do it! Not once did you stand up for me!"

Her mother sobbed uncontrollably to her right and her father's heartbeat slowed to a dangerous level at her left while Toph closed her eyes to hold back the traitorous tears fighting to get out. This was the reason she had not wanted to return. All these emotions — hers, her mother's, her father's — making it hard to breathe the air was so think with them.

"It was stupid to come back." Toph's hands had turned to fists at her side. If she didn't leave soon, she would end up crying in front of them. That's the last thing she wanted to do, give them any power over her. "I'm outta here."

"Wait…" Lao tried to speak, but was stopped by a series of violent coughs. Poppy was at his side in an instant trying to help him to some tea.

Toph was torn between taking off like the quiet, little girl she'd been forced to be demanded she do or wait like she knew any daughter should. She chose to wait.

The coughing ceased and Lao sat up, then tried to stand. With his wife's help, he managed to do it.

"You're right," he declared. Toph could sense he was having trouble standing. His muscles trembled with exertion and she realized he was a lot thinner than she remembered. Still, his words felt like a trick. Something he forced himself to say to keep her there. Maybe he was trying to buy time until the men with the wooden cage arrived. "We were-no," he shook his head, "I was wrong."

Toph blinked. She knew what a proud man her father was and she had expected anything but that to come from him. For him to admit to being wrong…it was like Toph admitting it. It was something big, huge even! It was the only reason she stayed put.

"You're...not lying," Toph stated, surprised.

"No. We've spent two very long years without our daughter. We want you back with us."

"Will you stay, Toph?" Poppy asked, the hope so evident in her voice. "You came back home. Will you please stay?"

...

Aang laughed at the Fire Lord. Zuko smiled at the Avatar.

"Yeah, that sounds like Toph," the airbender said.

"No kidding. The Royal tailor nearly quit. Twice."

Now that the awkward conversation about Mai was over and the unnecessary apology was accepted, they fell into a somewhat comfortable exchange. Aang was still too optimistic for Zuko, but the Fire Lord was trying. They started talking about Haru finally working up the courage to ask Katara out on a date, but only after getting permission from Chief Hakoda, Sokka, and even Aang. Aang didn't say that it took him a whole day to agree, but did admit Haru was a good person and treated Katara with nothing but respect. The conversation moved on to Sokka and Suki getting married, then they discussed some of the work Aang and Katara managed to accomplish all over the Earth Kingdom. Zuko explained some of what he'd been able to do as the new Fire Lord when Aang asked. Then, inevitably, the conversation had returned to Toph.

"What else did she do? I can't imagine that's the only trouble she caused."

Zuko looked up at the boy. There was genuine interest in his young face, along with something else.

"She's been robbing my guards blind. No pun intended."

Aang laughed anyway. "What do you mean? She stole from them?"

"More like scammed each one out of a month's worth of pay."

"Oh, yeah. She's good at that," Aang laughed again and went on to recount their time in the Fire Nation when Toph had been nicknamed The Runaway and a large bounty was placed on her for similar unsavory acts. Zuko watched the way the young boy's face lit up as he talked about their mutual friend. He recalled Aang's letter and how he mentioned numerous times that he missed Toph and it didn't take Zuko long to realized why.

"She's grown," Zuko declared, once there was a pause in Aang's story.

"She's taller than me, isn't she?" Aang stood up, an anxious expression overtaking his face. The Avatar had grown, too, Zuko noted. He was probably as tall as Sokka.

"No," the Fire Lord grinned at him. "Height wise, only two inches, at most. I meant she's matured."

Aang swallowed.

"Oh. Matured."

The young monk tried to picture Toph mature. When he was alone he did so from time to time. It made him nervous…in a good way. He'd thought about her a lot, actually. The first few weeks since they left the Fire Nation, he couldn't help think about her. Or that kiss. Or the fact that after he had a bad dream, she slept next to him and let him hold her hand all through the night. Or that one time he saw her in just her wrappings. And that led to other thoughts just…popping up. At first, he figured it was only because she wasn't around, but inevitably, he thought it maybe...possibly...could be something else he didn't know exactly how to describe.

Zuko noticed the slight blush that crossed Aang's face. The Fire Lord tried not to smile.

"Yes," he said instead, "She helped rebuild a lot of the palace grounds that were destroyed during the war and most the courtyard, too. Didn't accept any compensation for either. And, once she was satisfied with the Imperial Guards, she moved on to the military. Said it was a joke, actually."

"Oh. Heh," Aang scratched the back of his head. "You meant that kind of matured."

Zuko never thought the moment would come, but he actually wished Sokka were there. The Water Tribe warrior would have made a comment about Aang's reply, saying something like, "What kind of mature were you thinking about, Aang? Hmmm?" Or, something to the effect.

"Can I, um, ask you something, Sifu Hotman?"

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose at the name, but replied, "Sure."

Aang opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by someone at the door before the question could be asked.

"Here you two are! I've been looking for you everywhere."

It was Katara.

"Everything all right?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah, you just left me all alone with Haru."

Aang cocked his head to the side. "But… he's you're boyfriend."

Katara glanced sideways at the Fire Lord. "No, he's not. We just went out on a few dates. He's really sweet, but—"

"No offense, Katara, but I've heard this before," the airbender smiled at her and she knew he was right. He had listened to her through all of Ba Sing Se and most of Omashu as she tried to figure out how she felt about the shy and sweet earthbender. Aang had suggested she be honest with Haru, claiming that Katara letting him know she wasn't interested in him 'that way' outside the Jasmine Dragon was one of the best things she had ever done for him. It ranked right up there with discovering him in that iceberg and using the water from the Spirit Oasis to save his life. "You know how I feel about it, but you can tell Sifu Hotman, though. I'm gonna go check on Appa and Momo. See you guys later."

Once Aang closed the door, Zuko turned to her.

"I promise not to judge too harshly," he said, offering her a lopsided smile.

For a moment, Katara forgot what they had been talking about.