It had just been over one year since tragedy struck the soon to be parents of Po and Tigress. For something happened that no parent should ever have to go through in their lives, and that's the loss of your own child. As you see, Master Tigress had a miscarriage which meant the loss of her and Po's unborn child. When that event happened to the two, they both feel into a deep and sorrowful depression, as they felt responsible for the loss of their child, though mainly Tigress as she felt she had failed her duty as a mother to protect her child from harm. And though they have gotten better over the year, it still pains them every day of their lives. But just a few months ago, Po had come up with an idea, that just might fulfill their dreams of becoming parents and that was… adoption. At first, Tigress was a little hesitant on the idea of adopting a child, she feared that if she did, that she might loss that child to. Something she didn't want to go through again, but after a lot of pep talk and comfort words from her husband Po, she knew that she was going to do everything in her power to make sure she wouldn't lose this child but keep them safe no matter what it took. So, after talking with their friends and master, it was decided that the two were going to adopt a child. And that day was just tomorrow.
Night had fallen onto the valley of peace, which made everyone begin to get ready for bed and this included the warriors up at the palace. As Po was in his room along with his wife Tigress who was in the bathroom getting ready for the nights rest.
"Can you believe it Tigress, tomorrow we are going to be parents," Po stated with happiness before he sat on the bed and began to kick off his sandals as well as take off the wrapping on his ankles.
"I know Po, and I must say I'm excited," Tigress stated with a smile on her face, as she changed into her night gown which was red with little pink lily patterns on them. After getting dressed, she headed over to the bed and sat next to her husband.
"But I'm also scared Po, I mean what if we don't give this child the love and affection it deserves and needs," Tigress said with a sad tone while she looked at Po who just gave a warm chuckle.
"Don't worry Tigress we will, I know it," Po stated softly, gently placing his left paw on Tigresses right paw causing Tigress to grab a hold of it tightly.
"I hope so Po, I hope so," Tigress said before giving her lover a peck on the lips and rubbed her head against his. The two then crawled into bed next to each other and kissed each other before saying.
"Goodnight my love." They then turned to opposite sides to which Po automatically fell asleep, while Tigress gently put her right paw on her belly and sighed.
"Please gods don't let me fail as a mother again, just please." Tigress thought, as a few tears ran down from her eyes down from her face. She then gently closed her eyes and awaited the next day to come.
The hours then passed with what seemed to be at a fast pace, and before everyone knew it the golden sun was back in its bright blue sky. When that happened, Po and Tigress had gotten up with quickness and got dressed in their usual clothing which took only about 10 to 20 seconds cause of their excitement.
"Are you about ready kitten?" Po asked with a smile on his face as he looked at Tigress who was putting on her sandals to complete her dressing. She then walked over to Po and held his paw.
"I'm ready Po, let's go," Tigress said with a smile on her face making Po nod softly. Po then slid the door to their room open and walked out and began to walk down the hall to the kitchen to tell everybody they were going.
"Hey guys, me and Tigress are heading out," Po said as he and Tigress looked at their friends who smiled.
"Well just make sure you guys pick the right child out," Monkey said with a grin on his face before getting a whack on the back of the head by Viper who just shook her head.
"What Monkey meant was, just let your hearts guide you to the one," Viper said with a smile on her face as she looked at the two who nodded.
"We will Viper," Tigress said with softness in her voice giving a head nod to her friend.
"Yeah but guys, what if your hearts don't lead you to any children, than what are you going to do?" Mantis said only to receive glares.
"What I'm just asking," Mantis said in his defense as he gulped and held his thingies up in defense. But when Mantis asked this, Po's facial features turned from happy to worry in the blink of an eye.
"If that happens Mantis, then I guess… the gods don't want us to be parents," Po stated as he looked to the ground with sorrow in his eyes. When Tigress seen this, she tightened her grip on his paw which made him look over at her and smile. That's when they heard a voice behind them say.
"You have nothing to worry about Po," the voice said making the two turn around to only see Shifu looking up at them with a smile on his face.
"Master Shifu," Everyone said in unison.
"Po, trust me, you will find that one child that you will love with all your heart. Believe me, when you first see him or her, you will know," Shifu stated as he looked at Po who just nodded at his master.
"Yes master, and thank you," Po said with a smile as he gave a bow to his master who returned the bow and after a few moments the two returned to their normal positions.
"It's no problem Po, now go you two, a child is waiting for you," Shifu stated with a soft smile on his face making Po and Tigress do the same.
"Yes master and hopefully we will be back soon with him or her," Tigress said as she looked at Shifu who gave a nod before Po gripped Tigress tightly and began to rush to the palace doors with Tigress making the others chuckle.
It took the two but a few minutes to reach the palace doors and exit them, then a another 10 minutes to walk all the way down the thousand steps mostly cause Po kept having to stop every few minutes or so but kept going with excitement and a few kisses from his feline. Once down the steps they made their way through the valley greeting the villagers who waved and say 'hi' to the two, but finally their walking came to a stop as they had reached the one place that Tigress was for some of her cub life and that was Bao Gu Orphanage. The Two then stood their looking at the building for a little, before each grabbed the others paw with tightness and smiled at one another.
"You ready?" Po asked.
"Yeah Po, I'm ready to be a mom," Tigress stated warmly making Po smile softly. They then walked up to the door and when they did Po began to knock on it and before too long one of the guardians who was a sheep wearing a gold robe opened the door and was surprised to see who it was.
"Oh my, the dragon warrior and master Tigress, what brings you two here?" The sheep asked with a wandered tone as she looked at the two masters.
"Well, I assume I heard what happened one year ago with me and my wife," Po said as he looked at the sheep, who shook her head with softness.
"Yes I did, and I'm very sorry for your loss," The sheep said in a sad tone.
"Thank you." Po said as he and Tigress bowed their heads and looked at the sheep.
"Well after talking about it for a while, me and Tigress have decided that we would want to adopt," Po said which made the sheep's eyes light up with joy.
"Well this is joyful news, please come in the children right now are playing, so you can walk around and meet them if you want to," The sheep said in a soft tone before gesturing her hand inside the building to which Po and Tigress slowly walked in to indeed see the children playing. The two then looked back at the guardian.
"We will thank you so much," Po and Tigress said in unison before bowing to the sheep who was returning the bow.
"It's no problem now if yo-," But before the sheep could finish her sentence a child's cry could be heard coming from one of the rooms in the building, making the sheep look back at the two.
"If you will excuse me please." The sheep said before she rushed off down the hall leaving Po and Tigress who were looking at the children.
"Ok Po, let's go find our child," Tigress stated with a smile on her face, to which Po gave a nod. And when he did, the two split up into separate directions and began to walk around greeting the children.
And as they were meeting the children, both Po and Tigress came across a lot of fun and loving children all to which had very sad back stories. As most couldn't even remember how they got to the orphanage in the first place, and very few could remember their birth parents. And though they all seemed like the perfect child, it just seemed that neither Po's or Tigresses heart fell to them, which saddened the two deeply cause they thought all the children they meet were perfect, it was just their hearts that were telling them differently and that they weren't the one. After, meeting almost all the children in the orphanage the two walked up to each other both with sad looks.
"Maybe you were right Po, maybe we aren't meant to be parents," Tigress said in a deep sorrowful tone as tears began to whelp in her eyes. All she wanted to ever be was a loving mother and it seemed like that one dream was getting crushed.
"Don't say that Tigress, I know our child is somewhere we can't give up my love," Po stated before pecking Tigress on the lips letting her know not to give up hope yet. Just then the guardian came back out and walked up to Tigress.
"Master Tigress, I need your help if you don't mind," The sheep said as she looked at Tigress who looked back at Po and then back at the sheep.
"Sure, what do you need help with?" Tigress asked with a wandered look on her face.
"Just follow me," The sheep said as she began to walk back down the hall.
"Ok." Tigress said as she began to follow the sheep down the hall and as they did Tigress could hear a child crying and it sounded like the same cry just not too long ago.
They continued down the hall until they stopped in front of a room which had a bamboo door and behind it was were the crying was coming from. The sheep then opened the door and walked in which Tigress soon followed. As they had entered a small room, with bamboo flooring, and wood walls, with a little window about half way off the ground which sunlight was coming in. Though after a little look around, Tigress then turned her attention to what was in the middle of the room, which was a little woodened crib and inside of it was a crying little baby cub. A lion cub to be exact, who was wearing a pair of light blue pj's with gold butterfly patterns, and who had light tanned fur, a small narrow tail with black fur at the end, little paws and foot paws which had sharp black claws, white whiskers, and little scruffy ears.
"Is this the child you went to, when me and Po had just arrived?" Tigress asked with a curious tone, while looking down at the kit, who was whaling its arms and legs around.
"Yes it is, but for some reason she just won't stop crying, I tried feeding her and rocking her, but nothing seems to work," The guardian said after she gently picked up the cub from her crib and began to hold her.
"So how can I help?" Tigress asked with a weird look, not knowing how she could change the situation any differently.
"Well, I thought that maybe she would want to be held by someone else, or at least someone who would she would feel more comfy with," The sheep said as she looked at Tigress, who just slowly walked over to her and the infant and stretched out her arms.
"Let's see," Tigress said softly before the sheep placed the crying cub in Tigresses arms, and when she did, Tigress pulled the cub close to her chest and looked down at her.
"It's okay little one, there's no need to cry anymore, now let's see that that bright smile I know you have hidden deep down," Tigress sang more then said which seemed to make the cubs tears start to slow down and look up at Tigress with her bright blue eyes.
"That's right little one, you don't need to cry, you're safe and secure, and no one can change that," Tigress sang as she looked down at the cub, who stopped her crying soon after and smiled up at Tigress. It was then when Tigress seen that cub smile at her like that, something snapped in her like a connection had just been made from her heart to the cubs heart. This brought tears to Tigress as she sang one last thing.
"Now that I see that loving smile of yours, I know you know you're safe and that you know you always will be, no matter what." Tigress sang in a soothing tone, as she gently brought her right paw up to the cub. When she did this, the little cub grabbed her hand and began to swat at it playfully.
"You're natural Tigress," The sheep complimented with a smile on her face.
"Thanks, but if I may ask, what's her name?" Tigress asked while letting the cub still play with her paw.
"She doesn't have one unfortunately; we just got her a week ago and haven't come up with one yet. All though, you could give her first and permanent name Tigress," The sheep said as she walked over to Tigress and smiled up at her.
"What do you mean?" Tigress asked a little confused on what the sheep meant.
"Well Tigress what I mean is that, you can adopt her and you and Po can be her foster parents. That is if you want to though," The sheep said while she placed her hand on Tigresses shoulder making the tiger look down at the cub that stopped playing with her paw and was rubbing against her chest like Tigress was her own momma which made Tigress smile warmly.
"You know my master told us that we will know when we first see him or her, and when I look at her, I feel like she is my own flesh and blood, like our hearts are connected as mother and daughter," Tigress said softly, gently placing her paw on the cub's cheek and rubbing it smoothly.
"I love her. So, yes I do want to adopt her, but I first have to ask Po after all we both are going to be raising the child," Tigress stated as she looked at the guardian with seriousness.
"That's fine, let's go show Po quite possibly his new foster daughter," The sheep said to which Tigress nodded and headed out of the room with the cub close to her chest. It didn't take long before they reach the court yard again and when they did, Po saw the two and walked up to them after playing with a little bunny girl.
"Hey Po, come look," Tigress said as she looked at Po who had a curious look on his face not only from his wife's words but she seemed to be holding a cub. When Po got to them, his eyes lit up from the cute little cub.
"Oh my goodness, look at you little one," Po said with a happy tone, giving the cub a little smile making her giggle and reach out for Po with open paws. Po then gently grabbed her from Tigress and held her close.
"Who's this, little one," Po asked as he tickled her little belly making her laugh and smile all at the same time.
"Well Po, if you want to, our foster daughter," Tigress said, looking up at Po who looked back with a bit of a shocked face and then back down at the cub.
"Foster daughter hu," Po said quietly before he gently put his on the cub's cheek and when he did, the little cub grabbed it with her paw and began to rub against Po's paw, loving his warmth and softness. Such a sight made Po's heart fill with softness and like Tigress felt like this was own child, his own flesh and blood, and felt his heart connect with hers. All the things Shifu said when they find the right child and he was right they have.
"Let's do it Tigress, let's bring her home," Po stated happily which made Tigress do the same. Tigress then walked over to Po and she along with him both gave the cub a kiss on the forehead making her smile and rub her head against her mom and dads.
"Alright then, let's do the paper work and you two can take your daughter home," The sheep said making the two nod before they all went to the counter and began to fill out all sorts of paper work until they came to the last most important sheet of them.
"What you like her name to be, you two?" The sheep asked, ready with the pen to mark down her official name. When asked this, Tigress looked up at Po who smiled.
"You choose Tigress, I'm happy with whatever name you choose for her," Po stated making Tigress feel a little pressured as she had to decide her daughter's name, she didn't want to mess it up. But after a few minutes of thinking of many names, she finally came down to one she knew would fit perfectly for her new daughter.
"How about, Dao – Ming?" Tigress suggested looking at Po who shook his head.
"Sounds perfect Tigress, our little shining path," Po said in a fatherly tone, before giving his daughter who had fallen asleep a little kiss on the forehead making her squint and cuddle up to her father's chest as much as she could making all their hearts melt.
"Dao – Ming it is then." The sheep said with a smile, filling out the last of the adoptive papers with their cub's name. She then handed all the papers to Po and Tigress and led them to the door where she looked at them.
"I hope you two have a happy life with her, but I'm sure you will and she will to. And if I may say you two, she couldn't have gotten better loving parents," The sheep said with softness making Po and Tigress blush from the compliment.
"Oh but before you go, here," Before she went to her desk and grabbed a little silver blanket and handed it over to Po who wrapped his daughter in it, making sure she stays warm.
"Thank you, and thank you for giving us our daughter," The two said in unison, giving a huge bow to the sheep that returned it and replied with "You're most welcome."
And after that, Po and Tigress began to walk back to the jade palace with their new daughter, ready to be loving parents to her and to always love her unconditionally no matter what.
Well that was a long one shot, this is something I had to write about for reasons I can't say. But I hope you guys liked it and sorry if it seemed rushed I wasn't trying to make it rushed at all believe me, but leave a review if you want to guys.