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Settled against fresh bedding, and in a clean nightdress, Lin crooked a finger at her husband. He scooted onto the bed, a bundle of baby and blankets in his arms.
“Little one, this is your mommy,” he murmured, angling the baby so Lin could see. “She’s very tired from bringing you and your sister into this world which is why I’m holding you for now.”
Lin leaned against Tenzin, reaching out to stroke the baby’s cheek with two fingers. “Hello, little one.”
Anxiously, she inquired, “Where’s your mom and this one’s sister? Is something wrong?”
“I’m sure Mom is just being thorough, they’ll be back soon,” Tenzin reassured her. He pushed down a twinge of worry.
Lin was half-asleep when Katara returned cradling their second new addition. She smiled, but Tenzin’s heart skipped at the tension he saw underneath the smile.
“Mother?”
Katara carried her charge over to the bed and sat down, rousing Lin.
“Hey, here she is - she’s okay isn’t she?” implored Lin. Katara looked from Lin to Tenzin before speaking.
“She’s healthy, Lin, ten fingers, ten toes, but...when she opened her eyes, I saw - I wanted to check - ” Katara swallowed hard. “They’re cloudy - I thought it might be - we won’t know for sure for a while, but - ”
“She’s blind?” Tenzin asked softly. Biting her lower lip, Lin brushed a finger along the baby’s arm.
“She might be,” Katara admitted. “I could be wrong. If she is, I can try to heal her although sometimes, some things can’t be healed.”
Silence reigned for a long moment before Lin broke it.
“Can I hold her?” she pleaded.
“Of course,” answered Katara. She laid the baby in Lin’s arms. The infant’s fingers flexed and she emitted a tiny cry. Lin and Katara couldn’t help but smile, tears threatening.
“It doesn’t matter,” Tenzin declared as he blinked his own tears away. He caught Lin’s eyes.“If she’s blind then, well, she’s blind. That’s all. It doesn’t make her any less perfect.”
Katara wiped tears on her sleeve. She sniffed and asked, “Have you decided on names?”
“Akira for this one?” Tenzin said, briefly lifting the child he held.
Lin nodded and added, “And Tamami for this one, Tam for short” as she gazed down at the one in her arms.
Overcome by exhaustion, Lin soon succumbed to sleep. Katara helped Tenzin tuck the newborns into the waiting bassinets, placed a step away from the bed.
Taking possession of the rocking chair between the bassinets, Katara urged her son, “I’ll stay and watch over them. Go tell everyone else the good news.”
When he wavered, she fluttered her hand at him. “Go on - the faster you do the faster you can come back.”
Tenzin went. A few seconds later, Katara heard Sokka’s whoop, Toph’s holler, and shrieks from Sora and Rohan.