Lin was getting mad at everyone and everything. Tenzin began to start fearing going into their apartment. One night when they were in bed Lin confronted him about it.
"Are you cheating on me?" She asked her boyfriend. Tenzin's eyes widened at the question.
"What?" He asked in disbelief.
"You're never home. You don't go around me. So, are you cheating on me?" She asked
"No," Tenzin replied immediately. He took her hands in his and looked into her green eyes that he loves so much. "Lin. I love you more than anyone in the world. You're everything to me." He said.
"Then why are you avoiding me?" She asked. Tenzin sighed and knew he had to come clean.
"The truth is that, lately you've been a little short tempered." He said honestly.
"Are you scared of me?" She asked.
"No," Tenzin lied. "Ok, yes." He said truthfully. "I'm sorry." Lin put her hand over her mouth and tried to stop the tears coming down her face.
"I'm a monster." She said. Tenzin repeatedly told her that she was not, but it didn't matter. "Yes I am. I've made the only person who I really care about fear me. You're scared of me so much that you don't want to be around your nine months pregnant girl friend!" She yelled at him. She hugged the numb on her stomach where her unborn baby laid and stayed silent.
"I'm an idiot." Tenzin realized. "I was so focused on how mad you were that I completely forgot that you needed help." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?" He asked. She turned to face and kissed him on his lips. She deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love you," Lin said to him with a smile.
"I love you too, boulder brain." Tenzin told her. Lin smirk and kissed him again.
"Airhead." She mumbled against his lips. "Do you need this shirt?" She asked him. He quickly discarded the shirt and fell down on the bed on his back. Lin went on top of him and began to trail kisses down his neck. "Airhead," She said pulling away.
"Yes?" He asked wanting to get back to what they were doing.
"My water broke." She told him.
Tenzin woke up in his bed with Pema beside him. Tenzin has never wrapped his arms around Pema while they slept. He felt bad, but Pema didn't want to anyway. At first Tenzin felt cold with out Lin's body close to his. His heart swelled at the memory of holding her in his arms. The day their child was born was the happiest day of his life, but today is the saddest. He told all his Airbending students that they have today off. Pema and the kids knew not to disturb him on this day of the year. Tenzin got up and dressed in to regular clothes. He wore a dark grey jacket with black pants. He used the hood of the jacket to put on his head and went to the docks to enter Republic City.
Ever since Lin's memory dream last night she hasn't been able to fall back asleep. She watched as her daughter, Jade, wake up for her sleep.
"Hey kid," Lin said to her daughter.
"Hey mom," Jade responded while running her eyes.
"Can you look after your siblings. You know what day it is." Lin said to her. Jade nodded.
"Yeah, go ahead. I've got everything under control here." She said to her mother. Lin exited the hospital and went straight to a bakery near the police station. When she got there she saw the regular cashier and ordered her usual on this day of the year.
"Hi. Can I please have a green creamed filled donut?" She asked. The cashier nodded and handed to donut to Lin.
"Here you go Chief. I'll see you next year?" The cashier asked.
"Like always." Lin said. Before Lin could leave she heard the cashier speak.
"Before you go," the cashier started. "I think you should know something." Lin turned around and waited for the cashier to tell her. "There's only two people who order a green creamed filled donut." Said the cashier. "You and," the cashier hesitated on what she was going to say next, but she thought it would be for the best. "Master Tenzin. He also honours her death by buying the same donut." Lin was shocked by what the cashier told her, but didn't let it show. She cleared her throat and put back on her tough face.
"So?" She asked.
"It's just that she would be twenty-five. Maybe you could celebrate together." She said.
"I don't think I could do that," Lin told her.
"Why not?" Asked a man behind her. Lin slowly turned around and was face to face with Tenzin. Lin looked down and avoided his sight. The cashier reached over and handed the donut to Tenzin. Tenzin grabbed the donut and gave the cashier her money. "Lin can we talk?" He asked her. Lin grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside with her. They went to Avatar Korra Park and sat down at a bench.
"Are you okay? I know how hard today is for you." Tenzin told her.
"I'm fine Tenzin!" Lin snapped.
"Lin," Tenzin said. "You don't need to keep your wall up around me today." He told her. Just then Lin started crying and hugged Tenzin tight. He wrapped his own arms around her. Lin cried into his cloak. Tenzin buried his head in Lin's hair. Her inhaled the scent of her hair. It smelled like lavender and green tea from her conditioner. It surprised him that after all these years Lin still used the same hair product. Tenzin pulled Lin closer to him and cried tears into her hair. He missed having Lin this close and holding her.
"I still remember the day she was born." Lin mumbled into his robes.
"So do I."
Lin was screaming at everyone and Toph was having trouble using her earth bending to hold together the hospital.
"I can't do it!" She cried to Tenzin.
"Lin just one more push, you can do it." Katara said to her.
"One more push my ***!" Yelled Lin. Tenzin mouthed an apology to his mother and went in front of Lin.
"Lin, look at me." He told her. Lin avoided his gaze. Tenzin knew what he had to do and it wasn't going to be nice. "Look it me!" He yelled at her. Lin looked at him with a scared look in her eyes. "You are Lin Bei Fong! You put that baby in there. You forgot to take your pill. You are at fault here and you are not going to be a baby about this!" He yelled at her. He got right in her face and spoke in a low quiet voice. "Get over yourself, and push, that baby, out." Tenzin got behind Lin, leaving her shaken.
"Alright Lin. Time to push." Katara told her. After a lot of screams and weird images, a beautiful baby girl was handed to Lin. "Here we go. Baby girl Bei Fong." Katara said to the couple. She left them alone in the room and gave them a moment alone with their daughter. Lin looked at her daughter and a huge smile was spread across her face.
"Wow," was all Lin could say.
"She's here." Tenzin stated. "We're officially parents."
"That sounds so weird." Lin said to him with a smile. She looked over to her boyfriend and kissed him softly on the lips. "I'm sorry about what I said before. I was just in a lot of pain and I was scared." Lin explained.
"It's okay. I get it. I'm sorry for what I said before." Tenzin said to her.
"Don't be. If it weren't for you I would have never pushed the baby out." Lin said. She looked back at her child and saw her open she eyes. They were a beautiful amber colour. "She's perfect." Lin said to him.
"I know the perfect name," Tenzin said to her.
"It's not the name of some famous guru is it?" Lin asked. Tenzin laughed and kissed her on the top of her head. Lin moved over and offered him to sit down on. Tenzin sat on the bed a rubbed the head of the baby girl who was staring up at them. "So? What the perfect name?" Lin asked.
"What about Amber?" Tenzin suggested.
"Amber," Lin repeated. "Let me test it out." Lin cleared she throat and spoke in a funny voice to their child. "Amber! Go to your home! Be home on time! Don't take anybody's garbage! Demand respect!" Lin said. She shrugged and smiled to her boyfriend. "You're right. It's perfect." Lin said. She kissed him chastely on the lips and looked back down to her baby.
"Welcome to the world Amber Bei Fong."
Tenzin held Lin tighter and Lin cried into his cloak harder. Lin pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. She cleared her throat and got out her donut.
"Want to eat them together?" She asked. Tenzin got out his donut and waited for her signal. "Three. Two. One." At the same time the two ate their donuts at the same time. When they were done Lin was the first to speak. "I picked a good donut." She said.
"Yeah, it's delicious." Tenzin agreed. The two sat in silence when Lin spoke up again.
"This is usually the time when I go to her grave. Want to join me?" She asked. Tenzin nodded and the two silently walked to their daughters grave. On the way there they bought some yellow roses. When they got there Lin sat down in front of her grave and read the words on the stone.
Amber Bei Fong
Lin put the roses in front of her daughters grave and stayed silent.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save her." She said to Tenzin without looking at Tenzin.
"I'm sorry I didn't protect her." Tenzin told her. He sat down beside Lin and pulled her in for a side hug. No one could have saved her that day.
After Amber was born the family made it a tradition that every winter the family would go and skate on Republic City's ice rink every Saturday for as long as the rink was available. When Amber was four years old the family went skating at the pond for the last time they could that year. Amber has been skating since she was three and was now a great skater. As the couple skated at a calm pace their daughter zoomed past them.
"Amber! Be careful!" Shouted Lin after her.
"Sorry mom. I'm too awesome to stop." She shouted to her mom as she skated backwards. She went back to skating frontwards and left her parents behind.
"That kid is going to be the death of me," Lin told Tenzin. She heard him laugh and kiss her on the cheek. They held hands and skated to catch up with their daughter. The next time they saw her she was twirling around on a spot on the rink.
"She reminds me so much of you." Tenzin told Lin. Lin rolled her eyes stared at their daughter.
"Please. She's 100% you." Lin told him.
"How about she's half mine and half yours?" He told her.
"I can live with that." Lin smiled. She kissed him quickly on the lips and went to where their daughter was. Tenzin watched as Lin and Amber spun around in twirls. If someone told him four years ago that him and Lin were going to have a child and he was going to be this happy, he wouldn't have believed them. He now can't imagine his life without Amber and Lin being the mother. This has definitely been the best years of his life. He went to where his girlfriend was started to do twirls with them. Amber was the perfect mixture between the two. She had Tenzin's body structure and personality, but she looked exactly like Lin did when she was younger. She had her black hair, face structure, skin tone, and also some of Lin's unique charms. The only thing that made Amber stand out from her mother was her amber eyes. Everyone thought that Lin had an affair at first when they saw her eyes. They later found out that Lin's father was from the fire nation and he probably had amber eyes. That had to be where Amber got them. Bumi and Kya were still not convinced so they took her to get a blood test. They were wrong. Amber was 50% Tenzin and 50% Lin. Everyone loved baby Amber. Katara and Aang were obsessed with their granddaughter. Katara kept feeding her and all Aang wanted to do was play with her. Toph and Sokka also loved the child, but had a different approach than Katara and Aang. Toph taught the kid how to tell if someone's lying and how to pull scams. When Toph and Amber got together someone was going to lose their money. Sokka taught her how to defend herself even though she didn't have any bending. Amber was a fast learner and was already learning how to use a sword. She mastered self defense for close up fighting and she perfected how to use a boomerang. Sokka took pictures of her at any chance her could. He has enough pictures of her to fill city hall. Bumi and Kya visited as often as they could. They love their niece and is most of the time a bad influence on her. Lin is captain of the police force and finds it hard to spend time with her daughter, but somehow always finds the time.
After the family was done skating the left to go home. Amber held both of her parents hands as they walked home. Amber rambled about on how she made a new friend at the ice skating rink and on how she wanted to take lessons.
"Can I please sign up?" Amber pleaded. "I promise it won't be a waste of time and I'll be super good!" Amber told her parents.
"What do you think Airhead?" Lin asked her boyfriend. "Can she go?" Lin asked. Tenzin knew it didn't matter what he said. Even if he said no she would still sign her up. Tenzin found a whole new side of Lin since she became a mother. She smiled more, and she could never say no to their daughter.
"Fine," Tenzin grumbled. Amber hugged her father and repeatedly thanked him. As they walked down the busy streets a man in a black mask came out of the shadows and stood in front of the family. He grabbed Amber and put a knife to her throat.
"Give me your money and your kid won't get hurt." The man spat. "Don't bother calling the police. They won't be here in time." He told them.
"We don't need to call the police," Lin told him. Amber then elbowed the man in the gut and got out of his grasp. She then kicked him and punched him in the face, sending him falling over backwards. Lin pulled out handcuffs from her bag and handcuffed the man. "I'm the captain." Lin told the man. She pulled the man up and began to walk to the police station, when the man water bent some near by ice and made it in to an icicle. He then shot it right in the middle of Amber's chest. "Amber!" Lin shouted. Tenzin caught their daughter before she fell and cradled her in his arms. "I'll get him to the station. Bring her to the hospital!" Lin ordered him. Lin brought the man to jail and filed a report against him. Once she was done with the police work she ran to the hospital.
"Amber Bei Fong. I need to know where Amber Bei Fong is." Lin said in breaths to the front desk lady.
"Are you a family member?" The nurse asked.
"I'm her mother." Lin told her.
"Then why aren't you in there with her." She asked skeptically.
"Because I was arresting the man who shot her in the chest with an icicle!" Lin shouted out her. The nurse quickly told her the room number in fear. Lin ran to her daughter's room to see a weak looking Amber. Lin approached her daughter and kissed her on the head. "Hi sweetie. How're you feeling?" She asked. Amber could barely open her eyes to see her mother's face. When she face Lin's face she put on a small smile.
"Hi mom," she said weakly.
"What did the doctor say?" Lin asked Tenzin. Tenzin was holding his daughters hand and kept his eyes on her at all times. He looked sadly to Lin, and she knew the answer. "no," Lin said shocked.
"I'll be fine mom." Amber told her mom. Lin felt tears fall down her cheeks as she looked at her daughter, knowing she won't have a long time to live. Amber looked over to her father and asked him for a request.
"Daddy. Can I ask you something?" She asked. Tenzin nodded. "I know you need to have more airbenders, but can you promise me not to leave mommy?" Amber asked. Tenzin glanced over to Lin with shock in his eyes. He never expected Amber to understand the repopulation of the air nation, but somehow she does.
"I promise," He told her. Amber weakly smiled and glanced back her mother.
"Mommy, can you sing to me?" She asked. Lin nodded and began to sing.
"Leaves from the vine, falling so slow, like fragile tiny shells, drifting in the foam. Little soldier girl comes marching, brave soldier girl comes marching home." Lin sang to her. With the last note sung Amber closed her eyes and took her last breath. Lin broke out entirely in tears and Tenzin began to sob. "Please wake up." She said to her dead daughter.
The funeral consisted only of the people who Amber cared about. There was Lin, Tenzin, Katara, Aang, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Izumi, little Iroh- who was only a few years older than Amber. The two got along well and were very good friends. There was also Mai, Bumi, Kya, and some of the officers from the police force. Everyone said a few nice things about Amber, and some of their fondest memories of her. At the memorial Lin and Tenzin were talking with some people when three members of the White Lotus came to party.
"Hello, Master Tenzin and Captain Lin." One of the White Lotus members said. "We are so sorry for your loss." He said.
"Thank you," Lin said to them.
"Of course we are all wondering the obvious question here." Another member said.
"What question?" Tenzin asked suspiciously.
"When you and Lin are going to have more children. The world needs more airbenders and she is not getting any younger." A member said. Lin glared at the White Lotus man and exploded.
"Excuse me! It's my daughter's memorial! How dare you ask me when I'm going to have an airbenders! Get the **** out!" She shouted at them. Everyone turned their attention to Lin and the White Lotus, but decided to stay quiet. Once the White Lotus members left Lin walked into the kitchen and broke out in tears. Coming in after her was her mother. Toph sat next to Lin where she lying on the floor. She pulled Lin into a side hug kissed the top of her head.
"Do you want me to throw them in jail?" Toph asked her daughter once she settled down from crying. Lin let out a small laugh and moved closer to her mom.
"No." She told her. "Thanks for being here with me, mom."
"I should have protected her." Tenzin said to Lin as her head rested on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise." Tenzin said to Lin.
"Don't be. We both ended up with four great kids. I wouldn't have done it any differently." Lin said to him. Tenzin felt a pang of sadness at what she said. He would have liked to be there with his other kids as they were growing up. He was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of a beautiful voice.
"Leaves from the vines, falling in so slow, like fragile tiny shells, drifting in the foam. Little soldier girl comes marching home, brave soldier girl comes marching home." Lin sang to Amber's grave. Tenzin stared at Lin for a while. He then looked back at the grave. He closed his eyes and put his hand on the grave.
"We miss you, sweetie." He said to the grave. He looked back to Lin to see her looking down at the grass. "You're voice is still perfect." Tenzin said to her. Lin glanced in Tenzin's direction. She was going to say something rude or not believe him, but on this day it felt like she had to let down her walls.
"Thank you," She said to him quietly. She felt Tenzin grab her hand and intertwined their fingers together. They stayed silent like that for a while when five people came running up to them.
"Daddy, why are holding Lin's hand?" Ikki asked. She then looked at the grave and realized the situation. "Who died?" She asked.
"My daughter." Lin responded. "21 years ago today, she died." She told the airbending children. "She was four years old." Lin said. She closed her eyes and looked down.
"Lin. I am so sorry." Jinora said to her. She sat next to her and hugged her. Lin wrapped her arms around the girl and rubbed her back.
"Thanks kid." She said. She swallowed thickly and stood up. "I need to get the station. I'm as late for work as it is." She said. Without letting anyone respond she ran from the grave yard.