'Sportacus was tired, he hadn't slept the entire night whereas the Mayor and Bessie had fallen asleep a little after 2am. But knowing he could have a short nap later he set about his morning exercises. As he was finishing his sit ups, He heard Stephanie stir. Wanting to rush to her but wanting to give her space he watched as she got her barings.

'Good morning Stephanie.'

He said quietly, watching her jump in the air frightened. He flipped beside her and took her hand. He didnt need to say anything. Staring into his eyes she knew he knew what happened to her parents. Feeling tears well up she did the only thing she could think of it her 10 year old mind. She crawled into his lap, put her arms round his neck and cried. Deep heart wrenching sobs escaped her lips.

Sportacus was crying silently. He couldn't bare seeing Stephanie like this. Seeing her sad upset him, but he could see this had practically destroyed her right now and it was killing him that there was nothing he could do except hold her and rock her slowly. He and Stephanie had always had a very special relationship. Ever since that day she had sent him the letter requesting him to come to Lazy Town because none of the other kids wanted to play. They had become close, closer than he had with any of the other children and he frequently thought that if he ever had children he would want them to be like her. He looked up at the other adults in the room who had woken at Stephanies cries. Milford nodded, took Bessie's hand and led her out to the kitchen, knowing his precious niece was in good hands with the resident hero.

'Spo...Sport..Sportacus, they.. 'they're gone..' Stephanie managed to splutter out, wiping her nose on her sleeve and hiding her face in his neck. One hand on her head and holding her close Sportacus replied with

'I'm so sorry Stephanie,so sorry.' This made her cry harder so he continued to rock her gently.

Once her sobs turned into sniffles he sat her up and looked at her tear stained face.

'Stephanie I'm here for you okay, any time, day or night, all you have to do is send me a letter and I will be here immediatly okay?' Stephanie nodded, and resumed her place against him, taking in deep breathes and finding comfort in the smell of his aftershave which she noticed belatedly was the same her father used to wear when she was little.

After getting showered and changed Stephanie sat at the breakfast table, munching on some toast. She didn't want to go to school, but she knew her parents would have wanted her to and Sportacus was always telling the kids that school was very important.

After eating breakfast the Blue hero, who had been sat talking with her Uncle, held out his hand and walked her to school. Squeezing his hand tightly the closer they got he knelt down in front of Stephanie and said

' Remember, anytime you need me, just send me a letter, everybody knows what has happened, your friends know not to pester you and if you need a moment to yourself you just need to tell your teachers okay?'She took a deep breathe and nodded. wrapping her arms round his shoulders she hugged him tightly and started to walk through the gates.

' Stephanie' Turning, she could see him rummaging in his backpack. Taking out two objects he knelt back down and placed them into her hands. She couldnt help smiling at the rich red apple, they were her favourite type of sportscandy! But she was a bit confused as to why he'd given her a blue ribbon. Her face must have shown her confusion, as he took it out of her hand and tied it round her wrist.

' If your feeling sad, hold this ribbon tightly and remember that it's okay to not be brave all the time. You are allowed to grieve and there is no shame in doing so, and eventually you will stop crying, the pain will never go but it will ease.'He kissed her forehead and watched as she walked towards her friends who all surrounded her in a group hug.

Turning he flipped and jumped back to his airship, hearing the first bell ring as he ascended his ladder.

That first day at school was more difficult than she imagined, Stephanie found herself crying frequently but having her friends there helped immensely. Trixie would always come into the bathrooms and hug her if she needed a cry, for once not saying anything just hugging her until she stopped. Pixel, being taller than her, had taken to putting his arm round her shoulders and walking to class. Ziggy held her hand and Stingy even offered her his handkerchief , after reminding her that it was His and she could only borrow it. of course, but it was the thought that counted.

As the weeks wore on Sportacus and Stephanie spent more time together than previously. Being the only one to lose a parent very young he was the only one who truly understood how she was feeling. He became more than a mentor and a big brother. She would never tell him, but be became like another father to her. Even in the dead of night when she woke with a nightmare he would appear and help her get back to sleep. Her uncle had long accepted that Sportacus was the best one to help her heal and had even given him a key to the house for when these nightmares happened.

3 weeks after that day she ventured outside to play with her friends. If they were suprised to see her out they didn't let it show, and welcomed her back as if she had only been gone for a day. Playing basketball and soccer, she started to feel better. Sportacus was right, she would always miss her parents. But as long as she had her family and friends around her she knew things would be okay. Life Goes on even if your sad, all you need to do is embrace it.