Here are some deleted scenes from my story, To Be a Father. They were just sitting there on my computer, so I decided to add them just for the heck of it. At the end is an alternate ending (actually the one I originally intended to put in). I hope you enjoy (and that I'm not ruining the story by adding this... Don't hesitate to tell me if it does. I'll gladly remove it.)

This was originally intended to be placed early on in the story, following the line "Before she knew it, Shifu and the others began to walk outside."

Tigress approached the door, feeling lighter than normal, more husk than a warrior. Again her weakness stared her in the face, throwing salt into wounds she thought had callused over. She now remembered why she let that part of her die out long ago, why she must again let it shrivel and turn to dust like an unwatered plant. It was a liability, a chink in her armor that she cannot allow.

She began preparing for her sparring match.

This scene was meant to be Shifu's last flashback, before Tigress arrived in his room. I had intended to place it after "He racked his mind for a memory, but he couldn't find one."

As if guided by someone else, he entered another flashback.

Shifu was walking down the hallway containing Tigress' room, as he was wont to do. His ear twitched as he heard a faint sobbing. Concerned, he approached Tigress' room. The sobbing become more noticeable as he did so. He opened the door and stepped into the room to see a clearly distraught Tigress curled up into a ball on her bed.

"Tigress?"

Nothing.

Shifu walked to the edge of her bed, torn. It grieved him to see Tigress in this state. "What's wrong?"

Slowly, she sat up. Her eyes were red. Shifu waited. Hesitantly, she explained. She had had a crush on a local tiger, but was unable to work up the nerve to talk to him. The tiger had left town that morning. Shifu didn't know how to proceed; he was caught utterly off guard.

"It's... I..." It's okay, he had wanted to say. He wanted so strongly to tell her that she was important to him, that he loved her. But he did not, would not, could not.

"Come." He decided to teach her some new forms, to take her mind off her pain. In the end, that was the greatest kindness he was able to give.

Shifu watched, hating himself for every moment of weakness, every harsh comment, every instance where he didn't tell her he loved her. Now he truly saw; he had deceived himself into thinking that his actions were out of love, that he was protecting her from a fate filled with pain and darkness. He had been such a fool. His actions weren't out of love, but fear, a fear of failure, of pain, of loss. Now he saw that he had never been protecting her, but harming her in the worst way imaginable. She couldn't even walk away, for he was unknowingly leading her on. His discipline and focus fooled her into believing that her desires were just beyond her fingertips. If she only reached a little farther, tried a little harder...

But she could never reach it. No matter how much she practiced, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how many times she trained until the skin peeled off her knuckles and blood ran down her forearms, she was never good enough. And it was his fault. She had done everything to deserve his praise and more, but couldn't give it. He had failed another child. He wasn't a father; he could never be a father. He didn't deserve to be a father.

This is the ending I had originally planned. For reasons I already stated, I cut it. However, to those who are interested, here it is.

When he looked up Tigress was standing in the doorway with a look of shock on her face. Shifu wasn't afraid – Tigress may become angry but she would never lash out at him. Instead he felt shame. A profound shame. It only deepened when he saw the bleeding gashes on her paws. He expected to see Tigress' countenance to slowly distort in anger, and what he feared more than anything: hate.

Neither happened. As Shifu looked at her, he saw fear, fear and...hope? It was the same hope he thought he saw in her earlier that day, a faint longing that came from a dream deferred, an unfulfilled longing. He tried to say something – wanted more than anything to say something...

"I trust your training went well?"

Tigress winced. Bowing in the traditional manner, she muttered "Of course, master."

Shifu nodded and walked out of the room. Before he got to the end of the hall he heard a loud crash. Even though he knew what had happened, he returned to Tigress' room.

Looking in, he saw that the dresser was laying on its side, a splintered dent in the side. Glass and clothes were everywhere. Tigress was sitting on her bed with her head in her paws. As Shifu approached, she looked up at him with the eyes of a caged animal. The hurt in her expression caused him physical pain. He looked into her eyes, searching for the hope that had so recently flared within. All he saw was darkness.

"Tigress, I'm... I..."

Why can't I do this? Shifu wanted to tell her how much he loved her. He wanted to apologize, to make amends, to try and heal her. He hated himself for his weakness, for his blindness.

"I..."

The words wouldn't come out.

A drop of water fell in front of him. It took him a second to realize that he was beginning to cry. Shifu's vision began to haze, and he soon realized that more tears were threatening to fall. He looked at Tigress again, that inexorable hope beginning to battle its way out again. Shifu saw in her face not a warrior, but the cub he brought home from the Bao Gu orphanage.

He turned and began to walk away, feeling a stronger hatred for himself than he had ever felt. Soon he was stepping out the door, making his way to the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. He looked at the training hall, and felt something in his throat catch as he observed the specter of a juvenile Tigress running, a sense of sheer joy on her face. It was the first time she had been at the Jade palace. A stern red panda came up behind her. The mentor. The instructor. The one who had 'saved' her. The small panda cast her a disapproving look, an insignificant trifle that cut worse than daggers. Shifu saw her joy crumble, pain and confusion inscribed on her face.

Just then, a few peach blossoms, lazily drifting through the darkness, flew through the image, causing it to disperse. Shifu looked down as one landed by his feet. He fell to his knees.

And he cried.