A/N: This is another rather short chapter. It leads into the next one though, which is much longer. I can't promise that I'll get another chapter of this posted before Christmas. If not, then I'll try for the weekend. I hope you all have a good Christmas and happy holidays!


Po sighed as he reached for another scroll while setting the one he'd been reading aside. The table was covered with scrolls to the point that he could barely even see the table under the scrolls. He'd lost count of the number he and Tigress had already read through. So far none had any of the answers they were looking for. No good answers at least.

It was looking more and more like Ru Jian was right. The only way for Shifu, his dad, and the others to be cured was for Po to die.

'That would be pretty easy now though,' Po thought to himself. 'Since I'm dying anyway.'

He wondered if the monkey knew about the theory that he'd die because of the stone. Maybe that was why he had risked giving Po any kind of power. Because he had known it wouldn't matter in the end.

Wow, he was being really morbid.

Po glanced over at Tigress as she intently read over a scroll. The flickering candle light gave her fur a strange glow and reflected off her eyes, making them even more hypnotizing than they normally were. She was beautiful. That was nothing new though. He had always thought she was beautiful and just over all amazing.

Liling had been right about him loving Tigress. He use to tell himself that it was just a crush, an infatuation because of her totally awesome Kung Fu. The more he got to know her though, really know her, the more he realized she was awesome for a lot of other reasons too. He hadn't even realized he'd been falling more and more in love with her until after they'd returned from Gongmen City. Then it just...clicked. It seemed so natural. Like he'd been in love with her all along.

There was just the problem of Tigress or Shifu killing him because of it. He'd much rather stay alive and keep Tigress as his best friend than to get killed because he was stupid enough to try something more than friendship.

Now he might die anyway though. Shifu wouldn't get the chance to kill him and if Tigress maimed him it wouldn't really matter. Hadn't the goose said that it was a mutual, soul mate, type of love that kept the warrior's wife protected from the Bai Yin Touch though? If she was right, and that was what was keeping Tigress from getting zapped, than it would mean that the feelings were mutual. It would mean Tigress loved him as much as he loved her.

That thought left him a little breathless and he didn't think it was because of the stone's curse. Could it be true? His heart began to race and his eyes widened at the thought, his gaze shifting from the feline and down at the scroll and back nervously. Would it be worth it to ask?

Po snapped himself out of that line of thought and focused on the scroll in his paws again. This wasn't the time. 'Definitely not the time', he told himself.

Tigress was working so hard to fix all this. He knew it was for Shifu and the others as much as it was for him, but it still made him feel...special. She wouldn't give up. And neither would he. They still had a lot of scrolls left, after all.

With a surge of determination Po unrolled the new scroll, ready to jump back into the search, but just as he began to read the first line a burning pain shot through his chest. He dropped the scroll as his paw flew to his chest, just over his heart. The pain was worse than it had been the first time.

His lungs constricted as the burning sensation moved down his sides. He shut his eyes tightly against the pain and tried to focus on getting air into his lungs.

"Po."

Tigress' voice cut through the haze and his racing heart. He forced his eyes to open and was met by her intense stare. Even though she was still sitting across the table from him, it felt as if she were right there next to him. All he could see were her eyes, the light still giving them a gleaming and hypnotic appearance.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Her calm voice soothed the momentary panic he felt. As the pain began to ebb away he let his paw fall from his chest and lay limply in his lap. He nodded in reply. "Yeah. I'm good."

Tigress didn't look away from him to go back to reading the scrolls though. Instead she stood up and walked around the table to him, her eyes never once leaving him. Po swallowed thickly as she stopped next to his chair. "We've been here for several hours now," she stated. "We should take a break."

He glanced over at the piles of scrolls still littering the table. They'd gotten through a lot of them, but still had several to go. Maybe a short break wouldn't hurt though. "Yeah," he agreed. "Good idea."

"Let's go." Tigress turned and he watched as she headed towards the archway which opened up into the outside hallway.

"Go where?" He stood up as she stopped half-way across the room. "I'm supposed to stay secluded remember? So I don't zap anyone."

"Fresh air might do you some good, Po. We will be sure to stay away from everyone else. Ru Jian showed me a side entrance which we can use."

"A secret entrance? Awesome!" he exclaimed with a grin. "Right behind you!"

Tigress gave him a small smile and inclined her head in acknowledgment before leading the way. He followed after her while trying to shake off the weird tingling sensation that was still lingering in his right leg.