I was wondering about the identity of Lin's father, much like many of you probably have been! I started playing with the idea that Lin might've just been adopted by Toph, and out popped this story!

Enjoy!

"Isn't there an off button to that baby of yours?" Toph shouted, pointedly at Katara, clearly frustrated.

"Toph, you could try to be a little considerate. He's a baby, they don't do anything but cry, sleep, eat, and make messes!" said Katara, rocking Tenzin while he cooed happily.

"Well, can't you control him? You need to do a better job of pacifying your kid! You know, some of us would like to sleep in every now and then."

"Toph, you should've gotten used to it by now, we already went through this with Kya and Bumi," Katara reasoned calmly.

"Maybe you and Aang need to stop popping babies out whenever you get the chance!"

At this point, Katara had reached her limit with Toph. To top it off, Tenzin began bawling again.

"If you had your own children, maybe you'd be more understanding." She admonished Toph as she left the room with her child. Sokka let out a low whistle as he and Suki walked into the room, having just rose from their sleep.

"Good morning, guys." Sokka's greeting was awkward. His attempt to break the tension was deemed unsuccessful as Toph left the room. Slamming the door on her way out, the earthbender made her way back to her room to cool off. Katara's words had attacked her sore spot- her love life, lack of a family. With Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Zuko all having started families already, she felt a bit left out. Her mask of confidence was broken. She was easily one of the most powerful and versatile Earthbenders who ever lived. She prided herself on her skills, and was praised by others as well. Her metalbending academy had received much acclaim, and she was a very formidable opponent in any battle. Love, and any luck in it, was the one thing she had given up on. She blamed her own childhood and bad relationship with her parents for not being able to form her own relationships. She built walls around herself. She was always trying to prove herself to others, and often scared boys off with her tough exterior. Of course, having a crush on Sokka didn't help much either. She mentally kicked herself for never going after him, never taking a chance.

"Probably wouldn't have helped anyway. He's always had an eye for that prissy fan girl," she somberly said to herself. She sat alone in her hut for a few minutes, just thinking to herself, and ignoring any knocks on the door from Katara. She definitely wasn't in the mood for an annoying motivational speech. Resting her feet up on the bed, she was unable to sense who was at the door anymore, completely isolating herself. At the sound ofmore knocks, she grew annoyed. "Get out of here Katara, I told you, I don't want to talk!"

"It's Aang!" said the voice behind the door. Toph reluctantly let him in.

"What's the matter Twinkle Toes? Need help changing a diaper again?"

"Actually, I just came to see how you were doing. You wouldn't let my wife in, so I came." replied Aang, trying to break the walls she'd built up. "You know, you don't always have to act so distant. It's all right to show emotions every now and then." He gently nudged her, hoping his friend would reveal her troubles so that he could help her somehow. Toph sighed.

"I think I just need to be alone for a while. I hate being here in the Southern Water Tribe. There's absolutely no Earth anywhere and it's so hard to see on snow."

"Do you want to take a day trip to the Earth Kingdom? Maybe all you need to feel better is to throw some rocks around for a little while." Aang suggested. A faint smile crept on Toph's lips at the prospect of watching Aang dodge her blows as she bended boulder after boulder at him.

"You mean it? I'd really like that."

After taking off on Appa together, they flew in silence until Aang spotted an woodsy space that looked perfect for earthbending.

"I think I found a nice spot where we can throw rocks at each other!" Aang exclaimed, steering his bison to make a nice landing.

Toph shifted all of her raging emotions to her bending. Feeling at home with the vibrations of the earth that served as her only way to see the world, she bended rock after rock like there was no tomorrow. During the middle of their sparring, a faint cry was heard. Accustomed to the cries of infants after recently having his third, Aang's ears perked up. "Did you hear that?" he asked Toph with concern, airbending up to the top of a tree to find the source of the cry. Toph shrugged.

"It's just a baby crying, Twinkletoes."

"In a thick forest? I didn't notice any villages nearby while we were on Appa. I think we should go check it out." Toph followed Aang back to Appa.

"Whatever you say, Aang." she conceded.

"The sound sounded like it was coming from upstream. Let's follow the river for a bit!" Following the river and flying fairly close to the ground, the remains of what looked like a camp caught Aang's eye.

"I just feel broken tents and leftover belongings everywhere." Toph observed, walking around the scene to see what more she could find.

"It looks like someone tried to burn down this camp. Katara and I ran into one of these a while ago- a band of radical Ozai supporters had tried to set fire to a refugee camp, but we stopped them in time." Charred bodies and belongings littered the scene, making it hard for Aang and Toph to stay there much longer. "I guess we arrived too late to save any of these people," Aang said softly, angry with himself for not preventing this incident.

"I wouldn't say that, Twinkletoes. Here's one survivor!" Toph came up in front of him, holding a basket in her hands. Aang peered into the basket, wide-eyed.

"You found the baby! Where was she?"

"Under that bush . . . I guess she was hidden away so that she wouldn't be harmed during the attack." Toph replied, holding the baby tenderly. "Is she okay, Aang?"

Aang took the baby from Toph, and the baby began to wail again. He gingerly lifted the blanket up from around her face. "She has a few insect bites, and a couple cuts on her face. It also looks like she hasn't been fed for a while. Looks like she could use some healing from Katara." Aang replied, airbending himself, Toph, and the baby onto Appa.
Katara applied an herbal paste of raw honey and plum blossom to the insect bites, then tended to the cuts. "What lovely emerald eyes she has! I can't believe you two just found this little girl under a bush! It's terrible that there are still attacks happening in Ozai's name, especially after the war ended so many years ago,"she said, handing Toph a bottle. "I need to get Tenzin ready for his nap, but once he's asleep, I'll come back to check on the baby."

Toph awkwardly held the bottle and approached the infant, not sure how to hold her. Aang lifted the baby into Toph's arms, guiding one hand under the baby's head to support it.

"It takes some getting used to, doesn't it?" he smiled understandingly, noticing Toph's reaction.

"I can feel everything. Her little heartbeat, how small her fingers and toes are. She's beautiful, isn't she?" Toph breathed softly, feeling the little life she held in her arms. The infant began hungrily drinking the milk from the bottle, kicking her feet happily. "She's so small, I'm almost afraid I'm going to break her or something."

Aang chuckled. "You'll get over it. I was almost terrified to hold Kya for the first few days," he admitted, watching Toph interact with the newborn. Seeing Toph's vulnerable, softer side was a rare occurrence. Katara walked back in, holding a squalling Tenzin. "Someone won't take his nap. Let's see if Daddy has any luck," she grumbled, lifting the toddler into Aang's arms. Rocking his son back and forth, eventually finding a comfortable rhythm, the toddler fell asleep on his father's shoulder.

"Looks like Mommy needs a nap, too," Aang teased, noticing Katara's disheveled appearance.

"Ha. Ha." Katara rolled her eyes in fake annoyance as her husband placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

The baby girl in Toph's arms was finally finished drinking and grew fussy once again. Holding her against her shoulder, she awkwardly patted her back.

"Um, there, there?" she attempted to soothe the baby.

"Toph, be careful not to bounce her too much, she might-" before Katara could finish, the infant had spit up on the back of Toph's green tunic, much to the earthbender's disgust. Aang and Katara, however, found it slightly amusing. As Katara fetched a rag to clean the mess up with, Aang attempted to comfort Toph. "Don't worry, we'll hand her off to an Earth Kingdom orphanage first thing tomorrow," assured Aang, still holding his son.

"An orphanage?" Toph repeated, feeling the baby's eyelids beginning to close over her deep green eyes.

"We'll see to it that she goes to a good home." Aang promised, heading into the other room to check in on Kya and Bumi, who were already fast asleep. After Katara changed the baby into one of Kya's onesies from when she was an infant, Toph placed the baby into Tenzin's crib. It was decided that for the night, Tenzin would sleep with Aang and Katara. She gently stroked the baby's cheek before setting her down into the crib.
Toph awoke with a start in the middle of the night. The shrill cry she heard belonged to the baby girl, no doubt. Lighting a small lantern and lifting the infant into her arms, she pacified the child with a gentle rocking motion. She sensed Katara standing behind her. "I'm actually impressed. You're not too bad with children," she joked, taking a seat next to Toph on the floor.

Toph managed a smile. "You know, I never thought I was cut out to be the motherly type. That was always your thing. But this really isn't so bad," she admitted, lightly tracing her fingers across the baby's face, trying to picture what she might look like.
"I don't think we need to take her to the orphanage, Katara... I think I've got this. She has a safe home right here." Katara smiled, watching how gently Toph handled the infant, how her face lit up whenever she had her in her arms.

"You know it'll be a great responsibility and challenge, right? Good thing you won't need to do this alone. We're all here to help." After receiving an affectionate punch to her side as her gesture of thanks, Katara returned to the kitchen to prepare another bottle for the infant. Toph held her closely and whispered to herself.

"I'll name you Lin. You're going to be a badass fighter just like your momma soon enough. You'll keep me sane whenever Sokka hits the cactus juice. You'll grow up with the rest of these children, with so many people to love and support you. I'll make sure you have the wonderful childhood that I never had."

Please leave feedback! Constructive criticism and praise are both appreciated :)

-Bhavana