Tenzin had been able to get a decent night's sleep, but he couldn't shake the feeling of unease following him this morning. Meditation didn't provide him the refuge it usually did, and while he hadn't heard outright gossip from the air acolytes or White Lotus guards, news of what happened to Bolin must have spread across the island.

Everyone he'd seen that morning seemed out of sorts in a way Tenzin couldn't quite put into words, but his focus was on the boy he'd been asked to care for as Lin walked down the ramp onto the docks.

"How is he?"

"He hasn't left his room all morning," Tenzin told her while they walked back to his home. "But he let Pema in a few hours ago, so she's with him right now."

"Has he said anything about the funeral?"

"He's barely said anything at all. Is the ceremony ready?"

All set, just waiting on him," Lin answered. "The place Hiroshi Sato recommended did a great job."

"Is he there?"

"He's with his daughter. Tarrlok's there too."

"The councilman?" Tenzin hadn't expected to hear his co-worker's name. He'd only been elected a few months ago after arriving in the city from the Northern Water Tribe, and he hadn't given any major reason to dislike him, but it always felt like he was hiding something.

"Do you know a different Tarrlok?," Lin asked rhetorically.

Tenzin didn't answer, opening his guest room door instead. Inside, Bolin and Pema were laying on the bed, his wife reading him a children's story while the boy rested his head on her stomach.

"And then, Wei Jin took the orb from Jin Wei-"

"Ow," Bolin interrupted, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"What's wrong?"

"Your tummy just kicked me."

"Sorry," Pema apologized, brushing her own hand where his had just been. "Jinora's been getting more restless this week."

"Your tummy's named Jinora?"

"No," Pema chuckled before explaining. Jinora's the name we picked out for the baby." And it all felt so much more real to Tenzin whenever he heard it.

But this didn't give Bolin clarification at all. "Why do you have a baby in your tummy?"

Pema's mouth stayed open ever so slightly, caught off guard by the question that might require an answer she wasn't ready to give.

Tenzin spared her the embarrassment and cleared his throat, directing their attention to the doorway where he stood with Lin.

Bolin's face didn't light up like it had when he saw Lin yesterday, but it didn't crumble like when he woke up either. Now he seemed...despondent.

"Hi."

"Hey...you ready?"

"Yeah...," he told Lin quietly as he got off the bed and walked over to them.

Lin had never been one for small talk, and Tenzin had lost count of how many times it had made things awkward at social gatherings, though it actually felt appropriate here. It almost felt disrespectful to dance around the reason she was really here.

Everyone was silent on the ride over, and Tenzin felt his gaze being pulled to the statue of his Dad on his memorial island, where inside he lay at rest with Appa.

When Oogi landed outside the cemetery, he gave his companion the signal to stay in the air again, before greeting the men at the entrance. "Councilman Tarrlok. Mister Sato. Thank you both for coming."

"Of course," the businessman responded, before looking down at Bolin. "We wanted to offer our condolences in person."

Bolin was standing in between Tenzin and Pema, and he gave the man a little nod before a young girl that appeared to be around Bolin's age stepped out from behind Mister Sato.

"Hi," she said quietly, reminding him a bit of Bolin. "I'm sorry about your family."

"Thank you."

"I...lost my mom too."

"Really?" His eyebrows raised with the question. He must have been so used to only hearing sympathy or pity, that he hadn't expected to hear someone who might understand. "I'm sorry. What's your name?"

"Asami Sato."

"You have two names?"

"What?"

Tenzin leaned down to explain. "She has a surname. That's a name a whole family shares, like Toph Beifong and-"

He was interrupted by a whack from Lin that Bolin didn't notice. Of course. "-And Toph's father, Lao Beifong, share the Beifong surname, like her and her father."

"Ohhh," Bolin realized. "I'm Bolin. It's nice to meet you, Sato."

"No, Sato's her surname," Lin corrected. "Her given name is Asami."

Bolin still seemed confused, but he took the information in stride. "Sorry," he told the young girl in front of him, but she didn't seem to mind.

"That's ok." Then she paused before speaking again. "I like your ferret."

He introduced Pabu to her, and the furry creature seemed to take a liking to her, hopping from his shoulder to hers like he'd done yesterday morning. It had an uncanny ability to blend in with Bolin, staying close to the boy and staying almost unnoticed for long periods of time.

While the young children conversated with each other, Hiroshi turned to the adults standing nearby. "Councilman Tenzin, could I have a word in private with you and the police chief for a moment?"

"Oh...um, alright." Bolin looked back for a moment as he walked away, but eventually turned back to keep talking with the girl he just met.

"Mister Sato, I wanted to thank you for paying for this funeral."

"Of course. As soon as I heard it felt like it was the least I could do. And it's kind of you to be looking after him right now."

"Yes..." Tarrlok agreed. "That's not a situation anyone should endure alone, much less a child."

Tenzin's gaze must have unintentionally shown his curiosity, because the young waterbender explained. "I lost my older brother when I was eleven, and my father a few years later."

"I'm sorry." Tarrlok silently acknowledged his condolences, and addressed the businessman. "Mister Sato, what did you wish to discuss?"

"Unfortunately I can't stay for much longer, but before I go, I had some questions about the investigation into what happened to his family."

Lin hesitated. "It's...still ongoing, I can't tell you anything that can't be shared with the public."

"Of course, I just need to know...that...man. Do you think it's the same person that broke in and killed Yasuko?"

Now Tenzin understood his interest in what had happened to Bolin. If Republic City had a celebrity couple, it would've been the Satos, and the violent death she suffered, in her own home no less, shook the city to its core.

"Mister Sato, based on what we found at the crime scenes, there's no evidence that the man that attacked his family is the same person that broke into your home."

"But how many people could be capable of doing something like this? If there's more than one person, how many do we have to worry about?"

Tarrlok spoke next. Sir, we're doing everything we can to keep people safe."

"Spare me the platitudes," he scoffed. "What's happened to this city? People can't even feel safe walking down the street at night anymore. Even in their own homes!"

"Sir-"

"I think it's best we cut this conversation short. I don't see any good outcome if it continues."

The businessman walked off after that, closely followed by Tarrlok, trying to offer... Tenzin wasn't sure, he just leaned on the cemetery wall next to Lin.

"Well, that could have gone better."

"Could've gone a lot worse, too," Lin pointed out.

"Still...do you think he had a point?"

"About what?"

"Do you think the city's changed? From what it was when we were kids."

"Maybe," Lin answered, deadpan. "But it's not like this stuff didn't happen back then. Or now in other cities."

"But did it happen to people like the Satos? To children? And it's not just the crime. You saw the apartment Bolin was living in. And that was supposed to be for four people? It doesn't feel like we're doing enough to help."

"I don't know," Lin bristled. "But do want to stay here and wax philosophy, or do you want to go and actually help the kid?"

She walked back to Bolin, and Tenzin, after sighing for a moment, joined her.

"Where are they going?," Bolin asked, looking at Mister Sato and his daughter walking away.

"He couldn't stay," Tarrlok explained. "He had other things to attend to.

"Oh."

"Abbott Shung." Tenzin heard footsteps and recognized the man, dressed in robes similar to his own. "It's good to see you. Are you performing the ceremony?"

"You as well, Master Tenzin." He looked down at Bolin for a moment, then back to the adults. "If everyone is ready..."

All eyes were back on the boy again, but he didn't meet their gaze. He looked down at Pabu and scratched behind his ear for a moment before murmuring "Ok."

They walked together through the cemetery, and Tenzin noticed how well it was maintained. No signs of decay or neglect, and the whole area was adorned with cherry blossom trees dropping petals along their path. It was a beautiful place. Hopefully Bolin would be up for visiting when he got older.

Then they arrived at the gravesite. The holes had already been dug, and the coffins were suspended above with a mechanism meant to lower them into the ground.

"W-where are they?", Bolin asked, walking up and placing his hand on the smallest coffin, filling Tenzin with a confusing mixture of sadness and anger. "Where's Mako? A-and Mom and Dad?"

"They're right there, sweetie." Tenzin noticed the crack in Pema's voice and draped his arm around his wife. They had to keep their composure, for Bolin's sake. He jerked his hand away, as if it were a hot stove, and backed into Lin's leg, clutching on when he realized who was behind him.

"Those are coffins," Tenzin explained. It's a tradition in some funerals for bodies to be put in there to be buried." Bolin didn't respond.

Abbott Shung cleared his throat, and when Tenzin gave a silent nod, began speaking. "Dear friends, we are gathered here today to..."

Tenzin zoned out of the Abbott's speech, looking down to Bolin instead. He wasn't attached to Lin's leg anymore, instead holding Pabu while he stared at the coffins of his family, watching the pink petals fall on them from the nearby trees.

When the man finished speaking, the coffins were lowered into the ground, and Bolin's eyes squeezed shut. Tenzin put his hand on the boy's shoulder, as did Lin, and he could feel him trembling. He waited for the breakdown to come, the tears to start flowing, but he held them in.

They thanked the Abbott again as he left, and Tarrlok excused himself not long after. "You can say goodbye alone if you want," Pema encouraged.

"..."

"Take however long you need. We'll be right here."

Bolin walked forward while everyone else watched from a distance. They weren't sure how much time had passed while he looked down at the graves of his family. When he finished, he walked back and climbed onto Oogi by himself. He didn't say a word on the way back or when they got to the island, just right to bed without a word.

The next morning, Bolin still wasn't talking. Pema had to coax him just to get him to keep eating. They prodded for conversation, but it went nowhere. He stayed curled up in bed with Pabu, while Tenzin and Pema took turns sitting in a chair next to him.

The day after that was more of the same. Lin was able to stop by, but even she couldn't get him to talk. Tenzin felt stuck, with no idea how to help Bolin until he was informed he was receiving a call.

"Hello?", he talked into the radio.

"Tenzin? Is that you?"

He felt some of the tension leave his body when he recognized the voice. "Mom. It's so good to hear from you."

"You too, sweetheart. How have you been?"

"It's...been a difficult few days," Tenzin understated. "Lin has us looking after a boy that lost his family a few days ago."

"Yes, she told me about that yesterday. How is he doing?"

"Not well, I- wait, you've been talking to Lin?"

"...Yes?"

"For how long?"

"I never stopped, dear," she explained with a little laugh.

So his mother and ex-girlfriend were still talking, that was...news. At least their breakup hadn't damaged her relationship with the rest of his family.

"Anyway, he hasn't left his room for days. Hasn't said a word to me, Lin or Pema since the funeral. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed him to do it."

"No, you did the right thing. He needs to accept that they're gone in order to heal from this." She paused before asking her next question. "Has he lashed out at you at all?"

"He got upset when he visited his family's apartment and I found a photo of them, if that counts. Otherwise he's been well behaved, apart from the occasional complaining. And giving food to his fire ferret."

She laughed again. "Your dad used to do that for Momo all the time. You were too young to remember." Then she got serious. "Do you think you can bring him here with you and Pema?"

Right. They'd agreed months beforehand that he and his wife would travel to the South Pole so that his mom could help deliver the child. But convincing Bolin would be a tall order. "We haven't even been able to get him out of bed...but I bet he'd love to meet you." Then a smile came back to Tenzin's face. "You should've seen him when I told him who my Dad was."

"Alright sweetie. Keep me in the loop."

After that, Tenzin told Pema the plan, and they went together to Bolin's room.

"Bolin?" He said his name quietly as he slid open the door. "We wanted to talk to you."

When they entered, Pema opened the blinds to let some light in, and that got the boy to stir, disturbing Pabu's perch on his stomach. He was facing them now, but Tenzin couldn't tell if he'd been crying or not, but his expression still remained the same from when they'd been at the funeral.

Tenzin spoke first, while his wife sat on the bed. "Pema and I have been talking, and-"

"Are you kicking me out?" He sat up, looking completely terrified. His voice cracked when he spoke, as if rusty from lack of use.

"No, sweetie, no." Pema tried to comfort him and put a hand on his leg, but Bolin jerked away, whimpering.

"It's okay, honey," she whispered, as he tried to calm down from his initial panic, clutching Pabu to his chest. "It's okay."

When he seemed a little more settled, they continued. "We were planning on taking a trip to the South pole, to visit my Mother and have her help with Jinora."

"...Your Mom is Katara, right?"

"Yes. And we wanted to ask if you wanted to come with us."

Hope briefly flickered in his eyes where there'd been fear moments ago. "R-really? You mean it?"

"Of course." Tenzin wasn't sure where the mistrust had come from, but he also had no idea what had been going on in the boy's head the past few days. He wished he knew what to say or do to help, but instead he had to hope his mother did.

Notes: I know, another sad chapter, but I promise it gets happier soon! Also enjoy writing little Asami with her Dad and Tarrlok being not total bad guys.