Author's note::sniff:: All good things must come to an end. Since this is finals week, I decided to go ahead and wrap this up, so I don't get too distracted (as if...now I'll just be distracted by something else).

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Walking down the hallway, Poppy paused as she passed Toph's bedroom. Every day, she told herself that she wouldn't do it…and yet every day, she gave in. She slowly slid the door open and stepped into the empty room. Everything about the room, from Toph's bed to her closet full of robes, brought Poppy much pain and grief. Why do I keep coming in here if I know how it will make me feel?

It had taken Poppy quite a while to accept the fact that her daughter was gone. In the days after her departure, Poppy walked into Toph's room to wake her up in the morning…only to remember that she wasn't there, and the pain was renewed. She couldn't go anywhere without being reminded of Toph…she accepted the fact that Toph was gone, but she would never get used to it. She turned away from the room and closed the door, vowing to remind the servants to keep everything tidy in there. Dust had begun to settle on the furniture, and Poppy wanted the room to be clean…just in case Toph came back. It was an empty hope, she knew, but it was better than no hope at all.

Gloom had settled over the Bei Fong estate. Poppy made a cup of tea and looked out the window, saddened to see Lao sitting at the open gate, like he did every other day. Several weeks had passed since Xin Fu and Master Yu returned to the estate, with the news that Toph had become even more powerful than before, and there was no way they could contain her. Lao had done some serious thinking since then…he dismissed all the guards and sat in front of the open gate every single day, waiting to see if Toph would come back on her own.

Poppy sighed and walked out to him, tea in hand. He didn't take his eyes off the road. "Lao," she said, "there's no need for you to punish yourself like this."

"I was a fool, Poppy," he said, quietly. "I spent her entire life trying to be her guardian, when I should have been a father to her. I never got to know her, like a real father should." He looked down in shame, remembering how upset Toph had been on the night she left. "I wasted twelve years."

She laid a hand on his shoulder. "We share that blame, then…she was born blind, but she could see better than any of us."

Silence passed between them for a few minutes. "What if…" Lao asked, "…she never comes back?"

"She can take care of herself, Lao…"

"I know that now…but she was determined to join the Avatar, and the Avatar was killed at Ba Sing Se. When we got the news, I thought she would come back, but she hasn't. She's still out there somewhere, and we don't even know…" He couldn't bring himself to say it, but they had to face the truth. Their only daughter was fighting in a war, and they had no way of knowing whether she was alive or not.

Poppy patted his shoulder. "She's a brave little girl, and she's strong. We will see her again, Lao."

"I hope you're right."

Nothing more could be said. Poppy patted his shoulder and walked back to the house. Lao watched her as she left…She was a much better parent than I was, he thought, sadly. She always believed in Toph.

Lao turned his eyes back to the road, but he was distracted by something in the sky. A red spot in the sky was growing larger as it came closer. Lao recognized it as a hawk, and as it neared, he realized that it was a Fire Nation messenger hawk. That's strange…why would a messenger hawk come here? The poor thing was exhausted from its long trip, and it rested on the back of Lao's chair. He retrieved the message from the compartment on the hawk's back, looking for an address. "Bei Fong Estate", it said on the paper. So, it wasn't a mistake…

Curious, Lao unrolled the message and began to read. He nearly fell out of his chair at the first words. "Dear Mom and Dad…" A message from Toph!

It took him a few minutes to recover from the surprise. For a moment, he wondered if he and Poppy should read it together, but he decided that he could not wait. He took a deep breath, anxious to see what his daughter had to say.

"Dear Mom and Dad,

Katara is helping me by writing down everything I want to say. And since I have a lot to say, she's got her work cut out for her.

I can't believe that it's only been a few months since I left you. I admit it…when I first left, it felt wonderful. I was very angry with you both, and running away was more than just a way of following my dreams…I wanted to hurt you as much as you hurt me. At the time, it felt good and right, but afterwards, I felt guilty. I tried not to think about it, but recent events have forced me to think about it.

I'm writing to you to ask for your forgiveness. I held a lot of anger toward you for keeping me locked inside, but I've let all that go…I realize now that you were only doing it because you loved me and didn't want me to be hurt. I've forgiven you, so now, I want to ask you to forgive me. I'm sorry that I kept my life a secret from you. I don't know how things would have played out if you knew about my skills from the beginning, but I do know that it was wrong for me to lie to you. You have my forgiveness, now I just want yours.

If you're still angry, then be angry at me…please don't blame my friends for my mistakes. They mean more to me than anything in the world, and we've already been through a lot together. In case you couldn't tell by the hawk, we're in a risky position. We have a dangerous mission coming up, and I'm not going to lie to you…we could all die out here. We all know it, and we've already had some close calls. However, I regret nothing…I knew what I was getting into when I ran away. The world needs us, and we will fight for it at any cost, even our lives.

That's not to say that I'm not afraid…to be honest, sometimes this mission terrifies me. But I will keep going. No matter what you may have heard, he is alive. And as long as he is alive, then hope is, also.

I love you both. It took me a while to realize it, but…I always have.

Your daughter,

Toph."

Lao noticed that the signature was written very sloppily, as compared to the rest of the letter. Next to the signature was a small note: "Katara wrote the whole letter for me, but I asked her to help me sign my name myself. I hope it doesn't look too bad."

Lao couldn't keep the tears back any longer. Such brave words, coming from his little girl. He looked to the sky, calling out with his heart.

I'm proud of you…my little earthbender.

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Author's note again: Well, there you have it! Thank you all for your reviews...seriously, you guys are what kept me going. I never thought this thing would go as long as it did. Thanks to all of you for your support, and thanks for making this my most successful fanfic yet. I'll be writing more in the future, so I hope to see you then!