Healing the Bear

"AAAAHH!" Po screamed as Tigress was about to punch him to next Thursday; the two were sparring. Today would be now seven weeks since Crane and Viper's relationship started off. Let it also be known that Song was still here. Po dodged Tigress's attack and recovered. Fortunately for him, that was when Master Shifu stopped the spar. As the two were resting in the training pit, Vince's feet dangled from the walkway. Po sat down criss-cross on the floor looking up at Tigress with a goofy smile.

"What?" Tigress asked, wondering why he was smiling like that.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Po smiled.

"Yes, of course, I remember it had a lot of bad things," Tigress said looking away sadly. "Why?"

"When I first met you, I thought that you were going to eat me," Po replied making Vince and Tigress chuckle, "I wanted to stay away from you, and I was scared of you." This made Tigress frown a little.

"You wouldn't be the first," Tigress murmured. "And what about now?"

"Now? I don't know what I would do without you," Po smiled as Tigress blushed from his comment.

"Well...thank you," She answered showing a ghost of a smile.

"Keep it up, charming, and you might actually marry her," Vince teased, making both of them blush.

"Stop teasing her, Vince," Po muttered, trying to protect her. Vince shrugged. Just then, Crane walked in.

"Hey, Po? Could I talk with you for a second?" Crane asked. Po and Tigress looked at each other briefly. Po shrugged.

"Okay," Po said as he walked out with him. They traveled to the Sacred Peach Tree. "So what do you want to talk about?" Po asked picking a peach from the tree.

"I want to see it," Crane said calmly.

"See what?"

"See Fang Po. Viper told me about you," Crane replied. Po nearly choked to death on the piece of peach in his mouth. He spat it out as he gasped for air.

"W...Ww what?!" Po asked. Then he saw Viper coming up the hill with a confident smile on her face. "Viper, why would you tell him?" Viper grabbed Crane's arm gripping it tenderly.

"I don't keep anything from my boyfriend, Po," She smiled. Po sighed. In a blink of an eye, Po turned into Fang Po. Needless to say, Crane was astonished. "This can't be surprising for you," Fang Po retorted.

"Wait, you fell on Po?" Crane asked like a broken record player. Viper rolled her eyes.

"You're still on that?" She asked laughing only nervously. Then she heard a noise coming up the mountain. "Quick! Change back!" As soon Po changed, Zeng got to the top of the mountain.

"Master Po! Your father...he's in the hospital!" Zeng exclaimed. Viper and Crane's eyes grew wide. They looked towards Po, but he was already down the mountain.

"It's a crippling disease. The doctor is sure that it won't...you know," Monkey explained. Tigress, Crane, Viper, Song, Leng, and Vince were all in the kitchen with Master Shifu.

"So, it's just putting him in bed rest?" Tigress asked.

"Yes, but I know that Po must be taking this hard," Monkey sighed sadly, "Mr. Ping is Po's father and the one who took him in. It's going to be hard for him."

"I couldn't imagine if my mother were to die," Crane said openly, shivering at the thought.

"So when Po comes, we have to help him heal," Master Shifu demanded. Everyone agreed. Just then, Po came in.

"Hey guys!" Po said with a cheerful smile. Everyone was shocked.

"Um...hi Po," Song replied a little confused, "How are you doing?"

"Good," Po said with the same cheerfulness. He got something to eat and headed out to his room. Everyone left in the kitchen was surprised.

"That was...interesting," Crane replied.

"No tears stains, no looking down at the floor, no frown, this isn't normal," Leng relayed off. That's how the rest of the day went on. Po seemed completely fine through out the day, even through training. The others thought that Po was actually okay, but Tigress, Vince, and Leng knew better. Vince and Leng sat on the top of the Jade Palace steps. "Do you buy this 'completely okay' Po?" Leng asked.

"Not for a minute. Something is wrong with Po, and he doesn't want anyone to know. But we can't help him," Vince said sadly.

"Why not?" Tigress asked interrupting their conversation. Vince stood up and sighed.

"Because we, though it may look like it, are not as close to Po as you guys," Vince replied. Tigress took this into consideration. It was true; Vince and Leng were distant compared to the others, even in Tigress and Po's friendship. Friendship. A state that Tigress was wondering about. She shook her head to shake the thought off.

"You're right. So what do we do?" Tigress asked.

"I think I know what Po is doing. Po has been the emotional support beam for the team for a long time. I guess he thinks that if he breaks, then the whole team will break," Vince explained.

"Why would Po be our emotional support beam?" Tigress questioned. The walking serpentine crossed his arms.

"Think about it, Tigress," He remarked, "How would you act if you didn't see Po's smile each day in the morning?" Tigress hadn't thought about it like that. Po was the person that made sure that everyone was okay. He even helped Master Shifu in his times of need. Now the person who helped everyone was helpless to help himself.

"Okay, I understand. So what do we do?" She asked.

"WE don't do anything. It's YOU that must do something," Leng said pointing to her. Tigress's eyes widened. She looked at Vince.

"Go to him. Comfort him. Because right now Po's thinking that the comforter can never comforted. Prove him wrong," Vince instructed. Tigress stood there for while before bowing and walking away to Po. Po was at the Peach Tree meditating. Tigress climbed the hill where Po turned to see her.

"Oh, Tigress, what's up?" Po said casually. Tigress paused. Should she do this? What if Vince is wrong and this just goes very wrong? She shoed it away. It didn't matter. This was her panda...as Mantis would say.

"Nothing, I... was just wondering if I could talk to you," Tigress requested. Po patted his hand on the ground next to him to offer a seat. Tigress sat down next to him with her knees tucked in to her chest.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Po asked.

"Po, are you okay?" Tigress asked quietly.

"Of course, Tigress. Why do you asked?" Po replied.

"Well, your father's in a bad place right now and you seem to be completely unaffected."

"I know, but I'm okay, seriously."

"Po...do you feel like you can't be helped?" Po looked at Tigress in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You help me, the others, and even Master Shifu. I was wondering if we've ever helped you and...we haven't. Mostly because you act like you don't need any help. Please Po...let me help you," Tigress pleaded as she put her hand on his shoulder. Po looked at Tigress's eyes. He could never say no those eyes.

"I...I'm not just a helper for you guys," He muttered as he stood up, "I'm a helper for the entire village. Unlike you guys, or anyone in the village for that matter, I know everyone in the village, on the mountain, and sometimes beyond. It's because I've been an emotional support beam for everyone, even my father," He paused.

"Is that why you don't think you can be comforted? Because you feel that your problems aren't big enough?"

"Because my problems aren't worth it. My pain is nothing compared to others' pain. That's why I try to brush away fear, hate, and hurt. Because if I crack, then everyone will fall," Po said almost bitterly. Tigress stood up and came beside him.

"Po...even comforters need comfort. If the beam continues to stand without anyone maintaining it, it will crack and crumble. Please Po, your problems are just as important as everyone else's if not more. You're a helpful person, but even you need help. Please...let me help you," Tigress pleaded. Tigress noticed one single tear fell from Po's emotionless face. "Come on, sit by me," Tigress said as she sat back down. Po sat by her. Po sniffled. Tigress put her arm around him. "It's okay."

"I'm fine," Po said muddily. He was breaking. Po was surprised when Tigress brought his head to to rest on her shoulder. Then Po started to cry.

"It's alright, it's alright. Let it out," Tigress soothed. So that's how Vince found them, sleeping on each other. Vince made sure that the others didn't disturb them. By morning, Po was a lot better and a lot closer to Tigress.

to be continued

Trivia

1. Who was in the hospital?

2. Did Po seem distraught when he heard the news about his father?

3. What did Vince say that Po was?

Answers to chapter 12

1. A fox

2. Fang Po

3. To apologize for not being a good friends