Finding Family - A Care Bears Fanfic

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CryosR
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Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2022 2:38 am
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Finding Family - A Care Bears Fanfic

Post by CryosR »

I've really missed forums as a way to meet people, the slower pace and "post and leave it" style suit me more than shouting to make my voice heard on Discord. But with that preamble out of my way I've decided to try posting more of my recent stories here. I'll start with this one that's finished but I won't be posting it all at once, I'll try to post once a day and hope you guys enjoy it. Also I wrote this story with my friend TakeCareBear who owns the character of the same name featured in this story. I often use her character for my writing with permission

Finding Family

Chapter 1: Accidental Adoption


The silver bear with a white tummy wandered through the colorful forest. He couldn’t remember how long he’d been here, only that he’d been running away and the muted autumn colors of the forest had changed to something much more vibrant and colorful. One thing he knew was why he was running; his strange powers.

He slowed to a stop in the middle of the forest and took several deep breaths. There was some fruit around but he wasn’t hungry. He felt the energy welling up inside him again and walked into a thinner area of the trees. “Ok, just need to let it out.” He touched the sides of his head.

The energy rushed out faster and stronger than he was prepared for and his eyes shot open wide. A ring of blue energy exploded out from his body, slicing four trees surrounding him clean from their bases. He stood still for a moment, then heard the creaking of the trees surrounding him, which slowly fell sideways and crashed to the ground. The silver bear winced then looked around, seeing that the trees had fallen in a perfect square.

“That was… too much,” he shook his head. His ears perked up when he heard the sound of crunching through the undergrowth then panicked and bolted from the clearing away from the sound.

A red bear with a white tummy hiked though her forest. She’d been here for as long as she could remember, 7 or 8 years she guessed. She considered it her forest since besides the animals she’d never seen anyone here. Depending upon weather she alternated between living in a cave in the back of the Forest and living under an incredibly large multicolored Oak tree, as this tree had a section of the trunk missing where she could store her books and things.

Today, she was simply walking her forest and checking things out. She stopped suddenly, hearing a strange noise in the not too far distance. Something she’d never heard before.

“What was that?”

She hurried a bit, hearing the leaves crunch under her feet but not stopping to think that she might scare whatever it was off. She was used to being alone and facing any fears head on - she had no choice in the matter. Whatever this was, she wanted to know more about it.

Her eyes widened when she got there. Four trees down in an almost perfect square, and the energy in this section was unlike anything she’d felt before. She shivered, not necessarily in fear but simply because it felt so different.

“How did this happen?”

OoOoO

The silver bear kept on the move from that day onwards, trying to contain his “outbursts”. Every so often he heard the sounds of human voices nearby and moved on to make sure he was never discovered, and he wasn’t for months.

It was getting close to winter when he settled near where the forest thinned out that he could see light breaking through the trees up ahead.

“They keep getting closer, they’re curious.” He took a deep breath. Whoever lived in this colorful forest kept nearly finding him and he wasn’t sure if they were trying to find him or it was just bad fortune. He had to make a decision, stay in the forest and in the cover where he knew people lived, or leave and take his chances outside.

The sudden snap of a twig nearby made up his mind, he’d take his chances. He turned and moved towards the light.

The silver bear held up his arm to shield his eyes from the sun as he stepped into unfiltered daylight for the first time in months. He squinted but kept moving forwards, then froze. Ahead of him was a small town with buildings made out of… clouds? He looked down at his feet to see that the dirt had been replaced with the same cloud-like substance. He reached down to touch it, he had often wondered what the cloud felt like and they were damp.

He shook his head and stood up, this was a bad time to think about that. Buildings meant people and people meant being chased again. He turned around to go back into the forest but heard a voice behind him.

“Wait, please don’t go!” the voice was urgent but soft.

For some reason, the silver bear didn’t run but turned to look at the voice. It belonged to a green creature, looking sort of like a slender green horse with long silver hair and a spiraled horn sticking out of her head.

She smiled, “Don’t be frightened. I’m not going to hurt you.” She held out a hand. “My name is Life Heart Unicorn, who are you?”

The Silver Bear stood still for a moment before turning around. He was afraid, but the unicorn seemed to exude an air of calm. “I…don’t have a name.”

“Oh… that’s sad.” Life Heart approached him, “Are you alone?”

“Yes,” the silver bear nodded.

Life Heart got close enough to touch him. The silver bear flinched and his felt his power flare up again which made Life Heart step back. “Oh my! This is something I’ve never seen before.”

The silver bear stepped back, “Please don’t hurt me!” he held up his hands defensively.

Life Heart could see the fear in his eyes and stepped forwards, “I know what you’ve been through, being chased by people because of your powers.” She made it to him and extended her hand, “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. Will you come with me?”

The silver bear felt calmed by her voice and reached out to take her hand, “Ok.”

OoOoO

The red bear never did find out what had happened or what had caused it. The few books she had didn’t give her an answer and she knew it wasn’t weather related. On the other hand, that near perfect square had made a perfect reading spot. And sometimes, she swore she could still feel a bit of the same energy she felt the day the trees had fallen.

Several months later, she stood near the rainbow river fishing. Taking a brief break she looked down the river only to be startled by some type of ship coming at her. It was still far enough off that they probably hadn’t seen her, but she wasn’t willing to take that chance. She quickly picked up the fish she’d caught and her fishing rod and headed back toward her cave in the distance.

Late in the afternoon the red bear emerged from her cave. She wanders the first carefully looking for whoever had landed. She was curious, but not dumb. She was determined to find them, before they found her. Knowing all the ins and outs of the forest, had its advantages. They wouldn’t see her unless she wanted them to.

Suddenly she heard crying in the distance and that changed all her plans.

She quietly headed for the direction of the cries. Once there, she peered through the bushes knowing she wouldn’t be seen. The noise was coming from a blue rabbit cub wearing a diaper. He wasn’t much more than a toddler. He’d somehow fallen into a rosebush and was covered in several thorns. A yellow monkey (who appeared to be just slightly older) sat in a tree taunting him.

“I climbed the tree and you can’t… You fell…. Hehehe!”

“It hurts….” Cried the rabbit. “It’s not funny… it hurts.”

These cubs were on the boat? Why? Is this how she had ended up here? The red bear knew what she had to do. First of all, the rabbit needed some help. Then she’d deal with the monkey and give him a piece of her mind. She still approached cautiously.

“Can I help?” she asked.

The rabbit jumped, which made him cry a bit more. “Here… let me help.. I know how to get them out. I promise. It’s happened to me too.” Something about her calm voice settled him.

“Can you weally?” he asked. “Will it hurt?”

“Yes I can… It’ll hurt for a bit. But not near as much as it does now.”

She removed the thorns easily as she’d done countless times on her own. He whimpered a bit, but instantly felt better. She removed several on his paws, a few on his tummy and chest, and a few on his back. He’d fallen hard into the rosebush. “Tried to brace your fall with your paws, didn’t you?” she asked. He nodded.



“Did we get them all?” she asked him after a few minutes.

“My foot….” he pointed. “It hurts too…”

“Ah.. yeah… that one’s smaller. I missed it.. sorry…” She gently got it out too.

“Thanks! That’s better!”

She smiled… “sure… no problem.”

“You have to watch out for those bushes,” she warned him. “They have sharp thorns, as you’ve found out the hard way.”

He nodded still sniffling, “that hurt..”

She nodded, “How did you fall in there, anyway?”



“I was trying to climb the tree…” he pointed.

“Why’d you want to do that? Rabbits aren’t meant to climb trees…” she pointed out. He frowned and hung his head.

“Yeah.. Swifty.. you can’t climb the tree… you can’t catch me….” Playful Heart teased further.

This did not set well with the red bear. If possible, her fur got even redder. She was furious.

“And YOU….” The red bear began firmly and angrily, turning towards the monkey in the tree, “Teasing him for falling when you knew he was hurt. How DARE you? That was downright mean and completely uncalled for. Get down here, now….”



This time it was the monkey’s turn to frown. He hung his head a bit as he slid out of the tree. He didn’t know who this was but he knew he was certainly in trouble when Noble Heart found out.

“What made you think it was ok to taunt him?” she asked.

He shrugged and looked at her slightly confused.

“That’s not an answer. What made you think it was ok to tease him?” She tried rephrasing the question.

It’s not ok…. I’m sorry Swift Heart… Are you ok?”



“Yeah… I’m ok… thanks to her,” replied Swift Heart. “I forgive you, Playful Heart.”



The red bear blinked… “Swift Heart? Playful Heart?” she asked curiously.

“Yeah, my name is Swift Heart. I run weally fast! Wanna see?” He seemed to have already forgotten about the thorns and the taunting. Without waiting for an answer he went running around this section of the forest at top speed and then returned. “And his name is Playful Heart. He likes to tell jokes and tease but it’s not always funny.”

At this point, Noble Heart approached, having seen most of the exchange. The red bear wasn’t expecting him. She was ok with the cubs, but not with someone older and bigger than her. She didn’t want to fight over territory. She dove back in the bushes and started to run off. But his voice stopped her in her tracks so she hid instead.

“It’s alright… I’m not going to hurt you.” He turned towards the thick bushes and trees. He couldn’t see her, but he didn’t think she’d completely run off.

“I’m Noble Heart Horse, their father… of sorts,” he explained. “Thank you for helping out Swift Heart. We didn’t mean to startle you or invade your home.”

"We?" she questioned.

This confirmed she hadn’t gone too far…

“Yes, counting me… there were 11 of us on the ship.”

She approached again cautiously, walking through a nearby path.

He pointed to the clearing nearby. There was a raccoon playing with some sort of device, a pig picking berries off a bush, a penguin playing in the water hole nearby, a lamb playing in the grass, a dog chasing his tail, a cat grooming herself. It was then that She also noticed a small elephant hiding behind Noble Heart.

They are, Bright Heart Raccoon, Treat Heart Pig, Cozy Heart Penguin, Gentle Heart Lamb, Loyal Heart Dog, Proud Heart Cat.” He paused patting the small elephant on the head, “And this is Lotsa Heart Elephant. He’s been a little nervous since we left True Heart and the Bears.”

In his arms he held a small lion cub, “and this is Brave Heart Lion.”

She could tell the lion, lamb, and the elephant were clearly younger than the others… but none of them were more than toddlers. He had his hands full.

“Why did you leave them? Why are you here?”

“That’s complicated,” Noble Heart replied.

Take Care nodded… “Well…. Good luck… I guess…” She shrugged and then headed back into her forest.

“Where are you going?” asked Swift Heart.

“Back to my tree,” she answered, pausing.

“Why?”

“Because it’s where I live….” She answered.

“Why?”

She looked at him curiously. This little rabbit just wouldn’t stop. “Why do you ask so many questions?”

Noble Heart burst out laughing. “I ask myself that every day….”



She smiled a bit getting his message, but turned to leave.

“Do you have to go now? What’s your name?” asked Noble Heart.

“I don’t have one,” she answered.

“You don’t have a name?” asked the pink elephant…. “Where’s your famiwly?” Their misuse of certain letters of the alphabet was kinda cute. She didn’t remember doing it, but then again… she’d never really had anyone to talk to either.



“I don’t have one….” She answered, slowly walking back in the direction she came from.

This time it was Noble Heart’s turn to ask a question. “How did you get here?”



She shrugged. “I woke up here one day. I’ve been here since… I guess I’ve been here eight years or so..?” She questioned the last part; it was hard to keep up with time.

“You’ve been alone all this time?” Noble Heart asked.

She shrugged, “Yep… See ya later…. Maybe..”

OoOoO

The Silver Bear stood inside a large building that was shaped like a big red heart. He had been nervous for the whole walk with Life Heart but hadn’t tried to run. She was the first person he’d met who wasn’t trying to chase or hurt him so he felt safe. Now he felt nervous as he stood in front of three older bears, one iridescent blue, one grey and the other cream colored, and about two dozen multicolored bear cubs, all in diapers and with strange emblems on their bellies.

Life Heart was talking with the bears then turned to face the Silver Bear. “Welcome to Care-a-Lot, this is True Heart Bear,” She pointed to the cream colored bear, “Grams Bear” the grey one, “And my mate, Sage Heart Bear,” she took the blue bear’s hand.

“And these are the Care Bear cubs,” True Heart spread her arms out to indicate the multicolored bears behind him.

The silver bear gulped, nervous with all the eyes on him. He raised a hand, “Hi…”

“Hello!”

“Hi!”

“Hiya!”

Voices erupted from the cubs. An orange one with two crossed smiling flowers on her tummy jumped forwards, “Hi, I’m Friend Bear! Who are you?”

“I… don’t have a name,” The silver Bear said.

“Aww, that’s sad,” A green bear with a complicated heart design on his tummy had stepped forwards. “I’m Love Heart Bear.”

“Hi, Love Heart Bear.” The silver bear said.

“Now you two, don’t crowd him.” Grams walked forwards and carefully pulled them back, “These two are always eager to make friends.”

“He has a special power,” Life Heart stepped forwards, “I can feel it in you, don’t worry.” She tapped her horn, “I can use magic and my mate can use elemental powers. What can you do?”

“Show us!” Love Heart peeked out from behind Grams.

“Yeah, show us!” A yellow bear with a smiling sun on her tummy named Funshine piper us.

“Please, I want to see,” a green bear with a shooting star on her tummy name Wish Bear said.

The silver bear gulped, “OK, just… stay back. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” He scanned the room and saw some wooden blocks piled up in a play area and pointed a hand towards the block. He grimaced for a moment and the blocks began to wobble. Everyone watched the blocks as the one on top of the pile lifted up and began to float towards the bear’s hand, until he managed to grab it out of the air.

“You can use the force?” A dark blue bear with a raincloud on his tummy named Grumpy Bear asked.

“What’s the force?” the silver bear turned to face them.

“I don’t think that’s it, it’s from a movie the cubs have watched.” Life Heart stepped forwards, “You’re psychic and rather powerful for your age. I can teach you how to control it if you want, and are willing to stay.”

“I can stay here?” the silver bear was fidgeting with the wooden block in his hands.

“If you want,” True Heart stepped forwards.

“Life Heart and I can look after you,” Sage Heart walked forwards to take Life Heart’s hand. “Do you want to stay?”

The silver bear looked up at them, then nodded, “Yes.”

“Then you need a name,” True Heart said. “what do you like to do?”

“I like to be… alone…” the silver bear said.

“How about Independent Bear,” Sage Heart suggested.

“Ok…” the silver bear sounded unsure but wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Just hold still,” True Heart’s tummy symbol glowed and fired off into Independent Bear’s tummy leaving his own symbol in the place: a small red heart with a ring of ten yellow stars surrounding it.

“Are you my big brother?” Love Heart asked.

“If you want him to be,” Sage Heart said. He ruffled Love Heart’s hair, “he’s mine and Life Heart’s son, the rest are adopted.”

Independent Bear just stared at them in confusion.

“Don’t worry, we’ll explain everything,” Grams took the bear’s hand, “Let’s find you a room.”

“Ok,” Independent Bear nodded and let Grams lead him through the building.

OoOoO

Noble Heart had been quick to invite her in the family, but she hadn’t been quick to accept. After all, she’d spent the last several years living completely on her own. Through reading, she’d learned to crest her very own fishing pole allowing her to fish in the Rainbow River. She’d learn to collect berries and nuts, and various crops automatically grew in the spring, summer and fall - she didn’t really have to do much to keep them going. By building a fire she could keep warm on cooler days and cook as well.

Noble Heart had been a bit shocked the first time he learned that she knew how to build a fire, but her answer had been simple, “how else was I supposed to stay warm and cook?”

She had him there... almost.

“You wouldn’t have to do that anymore if you lived with us.”

“I like being alone. I’m not used to being in a house, I like the outdoors.”

So, he backed off and let her take her time. Almost every day she’d come by for a while in the afternoon while they were all outside. She’d always refused to come in the house. But she enjoyed hanging out with all of them and playing with the cubs. She and Gentle Heart Lamb and Bright Heart Raccoon seemed to be forming a bond. The little lamb loved her dearly. He’d noticed the red bear was great at looking after and protecting each of them- showing them which berries were safe to eat, and showing Noble Heart where the crops grew. Not to mention, she showed the cubs various thorny bushes, and some areas that had rather large holes in the ground that they needed to avoid.

“Hey red bear!” Gentle Heart greeted, reaching up for Take Care to pick her up. The red bear obliged “Good morning, Gentle Heart.”

“You need a name,” Loyal Heart spoke up. “We can’t call you “red bear” forever.”

She shrugged.

“I’ve been thinking about that.” Noble Heart nodded. “You have a real knack of taking care of things. Everything from helping Swift Heart that first day, to showing us how you’ve survived here all these years and taking care of the cubs. I think we should call you Take Care Bear.

The cubs cheered. She thought about it and shrugged, smiling a bit, “alright.”

A few weeks in, a very rainy fall set in on The forest. They couldn’t go outside and hadn’t seen her in the last three days. The cubs kept asking about her but Noble Heart really didn’t have much to tell them.

“Do you think sssshe’s ok?” Asked Cozy Heart.

“I do. I’m sure she’s toasty warm in her cave.”

“Why would she want to stay in a cave when she could stay with us?” Asked Playful Heart

“It’s just what she’s used to guys. I think eventually she’ll join us, but we can’t force her to.”

Gentle Heart had taken to staring out the window. “I wish she’d come...”

“It’s too wet. She’d make herself sick gettin out in this mess. We don’t want that.”

The cubs agreed, although they clearly missed her. Gentle Heart let the curtain fall for a bit, and tried to get interested in playing, but it didn’t last. She was soon back at the window, watching. She hadn’t been sitting there five minutes when she suddenly called out... “I see her! She’s here!!”

“What!?” Noble Heart peeked out then hurried to the door.

“Take Care, you’re getting soaked! Come on up here.”

She chuckled, “It’s just water, Noble Heart.” But since he didn’t seem interested in meeting her outside she stepped onto the porch.

“Come on in...”

“I just came to make sure you guys were ok, I wasn’t going to stay.”

“Please......” begged Gentle Heart practically jumping on her, “I’ve really, really missed you!”

“Ick... you are wet!”

Take Care chuckled. “It’s just water.”

“Cold water, seriously... please come in and dry off and stay a bit.” Noble Heart insisted.

“Please?” Gentle Heart asked again.

“Oh.. alright.”

Noble Heart turned to find 8 more cubs standing in the doorway and a 9th crawling towards them. “Would someone go and grab Take Care a towel?”

“I will!!!” 7 cubs cheered. Bright Heart quickly realized everyone was going to volunteer, so he didn’t. And Brave Heart wasn’t really talking yet, he simply sat and waved.

Take Care stepped inside behind Noble Heart. The house was certainly warmer, she had to admit.

Swift Heart had been fastest, so he passed her the towel which she used to dry off a bit. Then she spent the remainder of the afternoon visiting and playing with and reading to the cubs. Noble Heart convinced her to stay for supper. And then she stayed all the way up until the cubs bedtime, reading them a story.

Once they were asleep, she prepared to leave, but about the time she got to the front door another massive rainstorm hit.

“Please don’t, Take Care. It’s after dark and pouring down rain. I know you know the forest well, but what if you were to get hurt out there and be stuck in the rain.”

“Noble Heart, I’ve been in that forest all hours of the days and nights and in all weather.”

“Please... you can stay here tonight. You can have my room, or sleep on the couch, whichever you prefer. Just for tonight. That’s all I ask.”

She could see his concern. It was raining crazy hard. She’d be soaked to the bone in just a couple of minutes.

“Alright... just for tonight.”

During the first bitterly cold winter snow, a few weeks later, she actually came looking for a place to stay.

“I’m having trouble keeping a fire started with all the snow. I wondered if I might could stay a few days...”

“Stay FOREVER!” Suggested Treat Heart.

Take Care grinned, “I don’t know about that... but I would like to stay warm and hang with you guys for the next few days, if that’s ok.

When 10 little cubs attacked her in a hug, she could safely assume it was a yes.

“Absolutely,” Noble Heart agreed, “happy to have you.”

A few days turned to a couple weeks, she’d leave for part of a day to check on her cave and to bring back a couple of books and any other belongings she decided she needed. She didn’t have much. Noble Heart had given her a space upstairs at first, but that was further away from the cubs and she liked being near them and looking after them. So she’d take the room across the hall.

“I gotta admit, warm showers and having a fireplace under a roof is kind of nice...” She spoke as she entered the living room one night after taking a shower.

Noble Heart grinned, “I assume your baths are done in the rainbow river.”

She nodded. “Yeah... it’s pretty cold this time of year, even freezes at times.” He shuddered. She chuckled, “it’s all in what you get used to and adapt to.”

“Alright, in that case, do you think you could adapt to living here?”

“Ooohhh I see what you did there...” she chuckled.

He nodded, “I understand you’re older. I understand you’re more independent and you don’t necessarily need me looking after you constantly. That said, I’d love to be someone you can come to and talk to, and I’d love to be able to help you when you need it. You are pretty incredible with the cubs and they love you dearly. We’d like to have you join us, as a big sister and perhaps... eventually... as a daughter.” He’d thought about this and phrased it carefully so as not to freak her out as she really didn’t like the idea of having anyone in charge of her... he’d already figured that out.

“You have been very kind letting me stay and I do love the cubs. Thank you for letting me be me and not pushing me too much. Yes, I think I’d like to stay. I’d like to join you. If it’s ok, I’ll go get the rest of my stuff tomorrow.”

He nodded, “welcome to the family, Take Care. We’ll make it official with the cubs in the morning.”

The next morning they told the cubs. There was so much yelling and cheering that Take Care felt like her ears would explode. They tackled her in a hug, knocking her to the floor. Once they calmed down a bit, Lotsa Heart finally commented... “she needs a tummy symbol.. and that’s the truth!”

Noble Heart agreed and used his Care Bear Stare to give her a symbol, a smiling light red apple.

And her new life with them began.
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Amazee Dayzee
Posts: 25880
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:24 pm

Re: Finding Family - A Care Bears Fanfic

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

This is definitely a nice fanfic you wrote! It came out really splendidly!
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CryosR
Posts: 164
Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2022 2:38 am
Location: Regina SK Canada

Re: Finding Family - A Care Bears Fanfic

Post by CryosR »

Thank you, but it's not done there's five more chapters, here's the next

Chapter 2: Book Buddies

Independent Bear settled into his new life in Care-a-Lot with relative ease, or at least he wasn’t given too much time to think about it. Life Heart started teaching him how to control his psychic abilities almost immediately, apparently just as concerned as he was that he might accidentally hurt someone.

He wasn’t asked to help out much with the cubs, mostly allowed to see to his own entertainment, especially once he was taught how to read. He didn’t have many books to read through, other than children’s books or story books that the older bears read to the other cubs.

Something else he was trained in was swordsmanship by Sage Heart. As his power and skill developed he learned he was being trained to help defend them if ever someone came to try and harm them, like the being he’d only heard of named “Dark Heart.”

Unfortunately for his privacy, the Care Bear Cubs were endlessly curious and when he wasn’t being trained one of more of them would follow him around and try to watch him practise, which he refused to do lest he hurt them. He didn’t dislike the cubs but he still preferred his solitude when he could get it.

One day, he decided he needed some real privacy and left the Hall of Hearts early in the morning, after eating breakfast and leaving a note for everyone to read that he had gone to the Forest of Feelings to get some private training done. He had a wooden katana he was training with held in his hand as he headed into the forest.

OoOoO

Take Care had a week full of cub sitting as Noble Heart had been on missions most of the week. She’d grown to love them all, including having Noble Heart as a father figure. But there were certainly times when her patience was tested and this morning had been one of those times. The cubs were hyper, bouncing all over the house and getting into mischief nonstop. Even Gentle Heart, normally the calm and gentle one was found wrestling with Cozy Heart over a toy. This landed them both in time out. Swift Heart had snuck outside again without permission and Playful Heart had made a game sliding down the banister and even managed to get Treat Heart to try it. Treat Heart, not being near as athletic or graceful as the monkey, hand landed smack dab on her face with a nasty bump on her forehead.

“ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Take Care hollered.

The cubs currently making mischief froze. Treat Heart was crying, still lying in the floor, and the two in time out were staring at her. They’d never heard her yell like that.

“That’s enough.... you’d better settle and settle down fast! Swift Heart and Playful Heart... you have a time out in the kitchen.” They headed to the kitchen table, sitting at opposite ends

She picked up, Treat Heart and took her to the kitchen, sitting her up on the kitchen counter.

“I’m sorry....” she cried.

Take Care sighed then softened. She didn’t like it when they were hurt. “Looks like you’ve got a nasty bump on your forehead, are you hurt anywhere else?”

She shook her head. “Just my head.”

“Ok... let’s get you some ice. Don’t even think about moving.”

Treat Heart nodded as Take Care found a plastic zip baggie and put two ice cubes in it. Treat Heart put it to her forehead when Take Care passed it to her. “Sit right there while I work on breakfast. I’m keeping an eye on you.”

She didn’t have to cook breakfast. Noble Heart came back from an early morning mission and was immediately informed of the morning’s events. He offered to handle breakfast knowing she really wasn’t fond of cooking anyway.

“I need a break. I’m heading to the forest for a while.”

“You don’t want breakfast?”

She grabbed a banana and a couple of apples and poured herself a thermos of tea... “Nope, I’m good. I’ll be back before dinner.” She grabbed a small backpack, putting a few of her favorite books inside, and at the last minute she grabbed her fishing pole, just in case she got tired of reading, and headed to her reading spot, where the four trees had fallen into a near perfect square.

As she closed the door behind her, she heard Treat Heart ask, “am I allowed to move now?” She couldn’t help but laugh at the statement as she walked away from the house while munching on one of the apples.

OoOoO

Indy didn’t really know where he was going as he walked through the forest. He held up his wooden sword and began slashing as he walked through the forest, working through his forms like Sage Heart had instructed him. He was working up a fair sweat as he finally stopped near the rainbow river.

“I’ve gone this far?” he swiped his forehead and held his bokken over his shoulder. “At least I should be able to practise out here.” He looked around for anything on the bank that was small enough to practise with. A few rocks nearby served as a good start for him as he reached out with his mind and lifted them off the ground and floated them closer, thankfully without them wobbling. He took another deep breath and held his bokken in both hands, more energy flowed through the wooden blade which lit up with a pale blue aura and he struck at the rocks.

“YOW!” he shouted as the charged sword bounced off the rocks, which then fell to the ground and landed on his foot. “OWOWOWOWOW!” Indy dropped his wooden sword and grabbed his injured foot while hopping around on the other. He sucked in air through his teeth until he mis-hopped and fell on his butt. “Ugggggg.” He groaned as he looked around for his sword, then psionically pulled it into his hand. “Enough practise today.” He got to his feet but couldn’t put all his weight on his injured foot and was forced to limp away, using each tree he passed for support.

Take Care passed through the section of the forest the cubs were allowed to play in and then entered the denser sections, tossing the core of the apple aside when she was done. The birds would enjoy it. It wasn’t too terribly long before she heard odd noises. Someone else was here, but who? And why?

She still had a bit of the mentality that it was her forest, and she now had a family to help protect from anything crazy. She knew all about Dark Heart. Noble Heart didn’t hide it from her, wanting her to be fully prepared should something happen.

Then she heard the yelp... and the yelling. Someone was hurt. She took off in that direction. The backpack she had on one shoulder flapping against her and the books inside hitting her square in the back.

She saw him before he saw her, a sliver bear, limping and muttering to himself.

“Who are you? What are you doing here? And... what happened?” The words were out of her mouth before she really thought it through. Her tone might not have been quite as kind as a typical Care Bear, but the look on her face did show one of concern for him.

Indy looked up and was startled to see a red Care Bear the same age as him. The pain in his foot reminded him to prioritise his concerns, “My name is Independent Bear, from Care-a-Lot. I came here to practise without the cubs following me.” He winced again, “and I dropped a rock on my foot while practising.”

“Owww, that sounds painful,” she replied...

She looked down, noticing his foot was even bleeding a bit, but not too badly. Knowing they were close to her reading spot and it would be a great place for him to sit for a while, she pointed it out to him, just off to the left of where they currently stood. “Think you can make it there? It’ll be a good spot for you to sit for a while, and I’ll take a look at it and see if I can help. You can lean on me if it’ll help.” She realized she hadn’t even introduced herself... “I’m Take Care Bear, by the way.”

“Thank you.” Indy accepted her help to prop him up as he staggered over to the clearing. As soon as he sat down, Independent Bear took stock of surroundings. “I think I’ve been here before.”

“Really?” Take Care asked. “You don’t happen to know how it happened do you? I heard noises over here one day, came to check it out and the four trees had fallen. It was... strange. There was such a strong energy left behind. I swear I could feel the remnants of it for weeks after. I know it wasn’t a storm as it was a beautiful day. And I couldn’t find anything in my books to explain it, although it’s not like I have a library of books anyway....” She realized just how nerdy she was probably sounding, but she didn’t let it bother her... after all, those books and the knowledge she’d acquired had helped her to survive on her own all those years. It was important. “I’ve used it as a reading spot ever since then. I can sit here for hours. It’s quiet and peaceful.”

She sat down on the ground and placed her backpack in front of her. A small stack of books, the banana and apple she’d brought along and her thermos soon appeared in front of them, along with a small first aid kit.

Indy held up his foot once he saw the first aid kit so Take Care could get a better look. Her description of the event jogged some memories in the back of his mind. “Actually, I do. I did this.” He saw Take Care’s shocked expression so he continued. “I was running from some people, I always was, and then I just found myself up here in the Forest of Feelings, I didn’t know that what this place was. I was having a bit of a power backup when I got here and I… just exploded, sort of.” He averted his gaze for a moment and took a deep breath before Take Care could ask the questions, “I’m psychic, at least that’s what Life Heart told me. I can do things with my mind and that day I accidentally cut these trees down. I ran when I heard someone coming, I guess that was you.”

“Yeah... that was me...”

For a few minutes, she didn’t say much else. She was too surprised to know what to say. But then again. She’d felt the energy that day. She knew it had been something “different.”

She was also busy looking at his foot. It had been cut by the rock and was already bruising where the full weight of the rock had hit. But since he could put some weight on it... it probably wasn’t broken at least. However, even as she touched it, she could tell it was still seriously painful.

“Hang tight.... I’ll be right back.”

She headed off back into the woods, probably thoroughly confusing him until she returned a couple of minutes later with a long thick leaf of a yellow plant. She broke it open and a thick white goo started seeping out.

“I discovered this helps with pain.”

He didn’t protest, so she applied it and then wrapped his foot with a large piece of gauze from the first aid kit and secured it into place.

“Hope that’s better...” and now she just had to ask.... “So... psychic? Like... You can read minds?”

Indy sucked in air through his teeth as the gauze was tied. “It is, and no I can’t read minds. I have a sixth sense, or at least I’m working on it. It’s supposed to warn me about danger. But I can move things with my mind,” he turned and pointed to a small twig on the ground which levitated upwards and into his hand. “I can channel it through this sword,” he held up his bokken, “To try and cut things. I was trying to do that with the rock, but I’m not strong enough and I, dropped it.”

Take Care took a quick look at the weapon: a long piece of wood carved to resemble a Japanese Katana, but with an edge too dull to cut anything.

“Well... at least you can’t read my mind. That would just be plain weird.”

Take Care thought for a few moments.

“Hmm... Your sword is wooden, which isn’t the most sturdy of materials and it’s a bit dull. I know you were using your powers to assist you and I kinda understand the idea of channeling through it. But wouldn’t it make more sense to have a stronger and sharper weapon? Or am I looking at this wrong? And... why a rock of all things?”

She paused again for only a moment. “I’m just curious, I like learning about pretty much everything so forgive all the questions.”

Indy smiled, “It’s fine, it’s nice to talk to someone who isn’t trying to teach me anything, or a little kid who needs my help getting something off a high shelf. As for the wood,” he swung the bokken half-heartedly, “it’s a training sword. Sage Heart says I can’t have a real sword until I know how to use it without hurting myself. I was trying to cut a rock because True Heart and Grams don’t want me cutting down trees…” he stared at his bandaged foot for a moment, “guess I’m still at the ‘hurting myself” phase.”

“A training sword makes sense, I guess. And... Accidents happen... though maybe pick one that’s slightly less sharp next time.”

Indy sighed then turned to Take Care after setting his foot down to make sure it wasn’t going to hurt, “Do you live with the Care Bear Cousins?”

“Yeah, I’m with the cousins now. I grew up in the forest alone. I met them the day they came. Heard Swift Heart crying... he’d gotten caught up in a thorn bush after Playful Heart convinced him to try and climb a tree. I got the thorns out, and kinda scolded Playful for taunting him. Noble Heart wanted to take me in and adopt me right away... but.... that didn’t set to well with me.” She chuckled, “It took a while. Well... really several weeks over the winter... we got some bad snowstorms. It was hard for me to keep a fire going at the cave. So I stayed with them. And ultimately, decided to stay permanently.”

“They’re great. Though this morning was rough and I needed a break. Knowing Gentle Heart... she’s staring out the window begging me to come back.” She smiled. “I really do love looking after them, they’re a lot of fun. Never a dull moment.”

“Do you cub sit? Or spend most of your time training?”

“I haven’t had to cub sit yet, there’s four of them to share the work load, even when Life Heart or Sage Heart are training me.” Since Take Care was opening up, Indy decided to do the same, “I used to live on earth, I don’t remember when I became… like this,” he stared at his human-like hands, “but I know people were afraid of my abilities so chased me. Then one day I was just… here. I ran into this clearing and cut these trees down by accident then I just ran around in the forest to hide from whoever was here until I found Care-a-Lot. Life Heart found me right away and… she was the first person I saw like me, sort of, and the first one who was nice to me. I met the Care Bears then Sage Heart and Life Heart adopted me and started to train me.” He held us his bokken, “they said with my powers I could help protect them, if I practise. The cubs are always asking me to show them psychic stuff but… I’m afraid I’ll hurt them. I ran into the forest this morning so I could get some private practise time without them following me,” he looked down at his foot. “I try to find time to read when I’m not training. I kinda like my solitude.”

“I’m sorry you were chased and treated poorly. And I’m glad you found everyone in Care a Lot. I do hope they aren’t trying to turn you into some kind of soldier though... unless that’s what you want.”

Indy had probably figured out by now she was pretty opinionated.

“You’re more independent. The name fits. I get it. I am too. I honestly don’t remember my life before here. All I remember is waking up here about 8 years ago. I don’t know if the memories were so bad that I blocked them out, or if something or someone wiped them. That’s one question I don’t know if I want the answer too. I have a feeling that whatever happened, it was bad.”

She quickly changed the subject... “There’s a stack of books if you want to read. Or you can practice with your powers... I don’t mind either way. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing what you can do. I really don’t think you’d hurt me. But I get it if you don’t want an audience.”

“I think I’ve had enough practise for today, well mostly.” Indy pointed to the stack of books and levitated one off the stack and into his hands. “As for being a soldier… well I’m not good at looking after kids, or at least I’ve never tried. But… I want to help protect them however I can and if I have these powers I want to do something with them, especially since Life Heart helped me get them under control, so I don’t do this again,” he tapped the log they were sitting on. He looked down at the book, “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

“Good choice...” She marveled at his ability to move the book with just his mind. “The levitation skill must seriously come in handy. That’s just plain cool.”

“Heh, thanks but I mostly use it to get stuff off high shelves. Or put stuff up there the cubs aren’t supposed to have.” He shuddered at a stray thought, “I’m just happy none of them can do that.” Both bears shared a brief laugh at the thought.

She picked up the remaining few books and rummaged through them. She’d read them all, most of them multiple times, but “A Wrinkle in Time” caught her eye. She’d only read it once and it hadn’t been her favorite... perhaps she should give it another try. She moved back a bit, so as not to crowd him. She respected and appreciated his desire for space. “For what it’s worth, I like what you did here.” Take Care leaned back on the log as she opened her book and began to read.

Indy smiled, “Thank you, I was worried the grown ups would be mad at me for doing this. Promise not to tell anyone?” he asked as he opened the book.

“The secret is safe with me. It’s a crazy act of nature as far as anyone would know. Plus, Noble Heart never comes back here this far anyway.”

For the next two hours, Take Care and Indy sat in silence and read their books, not talking to one another as their minds disappeared into their imaginations. Hunger finally compelled them to look up.

"How long have we been here?" Indy asked.

She looked up at the sky then at the shadows of the trees to try and gauge time. “It’s somewhere around 1:00, I think. It’s hard for me to gauge it exactly,” she answered. “Definitely past lunch time.” Her stomach growled again.

“I brought the apple and the banana with me, plus the thermos of tea. I wasn’t quite prepared for company.” They couldn’t help but chuckle. “But there are tons of nuts and berries that grow nearby.” Pointing the small fishing pole she continued, “or we can fish.”

Indy tested his bandaged foot, it still hurt but not enough to stop him from walking so he stood up and set the book back on the pile, “I foraged here for a while, I still remember what’s good to eat. I’ll gather if you fish, I never fished before. I left a note for the Care Bears so they know I’m out here.”

“Sounds good. I told Noble Heart, I’d be back by dinner and we don’t eat till nearly dark... so I’ve got plenty of time.” She grabbed the fishing pole and headed off towards the Rainbow River. “See ya in a bit.”

Indy waved the set about scouring the area for food. Thankfully he still remembered his foraging skills and found a considerable pile of nuts and berries. He took the chance to practise his telekinesis and levitated them in an increasing ball of food as he gathered them. By the time he was satisfied he had a bundle almost the size of a soccer ball following him around as he set out to find Take Care.

Finding the Rainbow River was easy enough, Indy just followed the sound of the rushing water. Once he was out of the trees he spotted Take Care sitting on the bank, fishing line in the water.

She heard him coming and looked his way, immediately chuckling. At the round ball of berries and nuts he had floating beside him. “Again... that’s insanely cool. I’m almost done. They aren’t biting as well today.... I didn’t collect much bait. Trying to get one more so we have two each. They’re kinda small. Then I’ll get a fire started to cook them.”

Indy nodded, one thing he knew was that he didn’t want to raise his voice to scare the fish away. As if in respond Take Care got a bite on her line. She pulled on the line at a ninety-degree angle just enough to completely hook the fish. Then began lifting him out of the water to the short. “Score.” She added him to the pile with the other three then headed over the small pile of wood and kindling she’d already gathered to work on getting a small fire going, just enough for them to cook on. They didn’t need anything huge that would just be harder to put out.

Indy sat down as Take Care got the fire going and separated the berries and nuts from each other. Once the fire was hot enough they spitting the fish and began to cook them, neither bear being particular about needing to gut the fish.

Take Care really couldn’t think of anything to talk about so they ate mostly in silence. The meal was quite good though; it had been a bit since she’d been fishing and cooked over an open fire. She couldn’t help but think back to being alone in the forest for all those years. She seemed to be a little lost in thought as she ate.

Indy finished off the fish he was eating and pulled a bone from his mouth that he tossed on the small pile of them they had made, “This is nice. I don’t think I’ve relaxed like this… ever.”

She snapped out of her own thoughts when he spoke. “Really? Not even while living with the bears?”

“Nope,” Indy shook his head.

“Too many cubs I guess...” she chuckled. “I know there are more bears than cousins.”

“That’s what True Heart tells me, but it’s not just that. Most days I have to train my psionics and swordsmanship and even when I do have time off the cubs keep coming up to me to ask me stuff.”

“Well... that makes sense.” She answered. “Most days I’m cub sitting while Noble Heart is on missions. And even when he’s home, I really do like hanging out with them. I don’t come to these parts of the forest as much as I used to.”

Indy turned to and smiled at Take Care, “Thanks for helping me with my foot, and letting me hang around.”

“You’re welcome. It’s nice having the company.”

Indy stood up, testing his foot, “I think I’m going to come back here. I hope we can keep seeing each other. It’s nice having someone my own age to talk to.” He offered a hand to help Take Care to her feet.

Take Care accepted his paw... “Thanks. I agree. We’ll definitely see each other again. If I’m not here, I’m at the house.” She pointed in the general direction. “If you want to drop by. If not, we’ll just meet up when we can.”

As she spoke she used her thermos, filling it with water from the river, to put the fire out. She wouldn’t even think of leaving the area until she was certain it was completely out.

“Thanks, I might just come here though,” Indy dumped dirt on the fire to helped smother it. “See you later, I should get home.” He waved over his shoulder as he headed back to Care-a-Lot.

“See ya!” She called as she went back to her reading spot with her fishing pole. She still had a couple of hours and wanted to read a little longer.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Finding Family - A Care Bears Fanfic

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

This chapter is another one that is very nice! It truly goes well with the first!
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CryosR
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Location: Regina SK Canada

Re: Finding Family - A Care Bears Fanfic

Post by CryosR »

Thank you

Chapter 3: Cubsitting Chaos

From that day forwards, Take Care and Indy became friends. Neither of them tried to hide their friendship from their families but they still preferred to spend time at the reading spot when they could.

Take Care would bring a different set of books every time they’d come. Eventually, she even convinced Indy that it was ok for him to borrow one till their next visit- Their own little mini library of sorts.

Often times, she’d bring her sketch pad too. She liked to draw, even if she wasn’t that great at it.

She hoped eventually he’d feel comfortable showing her what he could do with his powers, but she understood he liked to use their time together as downtime... where he didn’t have to practice or demonstrate.

One day, a massive caring emergency came in that demanded all the five older Care Bears to leave the Kingdom of Caring for missions. It wasn’t just them needing to go help kids on Earth, they suspected Dark Heart was involved. With no time to make alternate plans, and Indy’s lack of cubsitting experience, Noble Heart conjured, with some effort, a small bus out of clouds and gathered up all the cubs and Take Care to drive to Care-a-Lot.

“You sure you’ve got this?” Asked Noble Heart as he finished getting ready. “This is going easily be triple the amount of cubs.”

“You said yourself that there’s not much choice. Someone’s gotta watch them and I certainly don’t want to go to earth and deal with Dark Heart. The cubs are a breeze compared to that. Plus, Indy will help.”

Noble Heart chuckled and nodded.

“Alright, load up!” Called Take Care. She’d had the forethought to quickly pack two backpacks. One with books she could read to all the cubs and enough crayons and paper so they could draw. In the smaller one, she had each cousin cub pick a couple of snacks and drop them in. Everything from fruit, peanut butter and crackers and pretzels - they could each be so different. She didn’t have time to plan any further, but maybe this would help.

She headed out to the bus, dropping her two backpacks in the seat as she made sure all 10 cubs were on the bus. Then, she took her seat and Noble Heart took off for Care A Lot.

She couldn’t help but be a little nervous as they got closer and closer.

Indy was waiting in the entrance to the Hall of Hearts with True Heart, Grams Bear, Sage Heart and Life Heart Unicorn as they watched the bus approaching.

“Are you sure you can handle this? I can stay and help,” Grams Bear said.

Indy gulped as the bus landed and drove towards the Hall, “I can do this. You said Dark Heart is dangerous so I can do this, with Take Care’s help.”

“That’s fine,” True Heart watched as the bus stopped in front of the Hall of Hearts and Noble Heart and Take Care helped the cousin cubs off the bus.

Playful Heart immediately tried to start showing out by climbing out the window...but Take Care caught him in the act and shot him a look. “Unless you want to be my first one in time out, you’d better rethink that plan.” Take Care warned. He got back in the seat and then walked down the aisle of the bus, down the two steps and out the door.

She looked at Swift Heart... “I’m watching you too. No running off.”

“I know, Take Care. We haven’t been in Care A Lot in a long time. I could get lost or hurt. I’ll be good.”

She nodded and only hoped he would continue to keep that attitude.

“It’s gonna be a long day,” she mumbled to herself as she climbed off the bus.”

“Hey Indy! Hi cubs! Ready for a fun day?”

The bear cubs had only met Take Care once. She’d only met Grams and True Heart once. And she’d never met Sage and Life Heart but she assumed there wouldn’t be much time for introductions.

Indy did his best to smile, “I am,” he looked over his shoulder at the menagerie of colorful cubs behind him. Truthfully he was freaking out quite a bit internally but one thing he had learned about cubsitting was not to let the cubs see him freak out.

“Alright then, everyone inside and we’ll see you later,” True Heart, Sage Heart, Grams and Life Heart hurried past and onto the bus. Life Heat passed a rather thick notepad to Indy.

“Just be careful,” Life Heart said.

It wasn’t long before the bus had taken off and Take Care and Indy had ushered the Bear and Cousins inside the Hall of Hearts, Indy shutting and locking the front door behind them.

Almost as soon as the door shut, Love-a-Lot bear walked up to Indy and Take Care. She looked from one to the other then asked, bluntly, “Is Take Care your girlfriend?”

“No.”

“We’re just friends.” Indy and Take Care’s respective replies came without any awkwardness or stumbling, shutting down the pink bear’s inquiry right away.

“Aww…” Love-a-Lot pouted.

“Love-a-Lot likes reading love stories whenever True Heart finds them,” Indy said, “I think she drew up a couples chart for the Busytown books.”

“I did! Wanna see?” Love-a-Lot perked up.

“Sure, in just about bit, you go get it while I put my stuff up, ok?”

Love-A-Lot cheered and took off. Take Care walked to the kitchen and put her bags on top of the fridge where the cubs couldn’t reach. Then she had to spend the next few minutes looking at the chart, pretending to have a great interest in it.

Most of the bears and cousins cubs seemed to be trying to figure out what to do... they weren’t used to being around each other.

“You’re a bear... how come you don’t live with us?” Asked one of the yellow bears with a sunshine symbol. She had to think for a second... Sunshine Bear was too obvious of a name... No.... what was it? Funshine... yeah that was it.

“Because I grew up in the forest, Funshine. I was there long before the cousins came. I had no desire to leave it. I like living with the cousins”

“But you’re a bear...”

“And Life Heart is a unicorn but she lives with you guys...” Take Care reminded her.

“Hmmm... hadn’t thought about it that way,” Funshine answered. “Sorry...”

“No apology needed. It was just a question.”

“You guys can all play together for a little while... then we’ll find some other fun stuff to do.” She’d spotted the playroom quickly almost as soon as she walked in. “Cousin cubs... they have a bunch of wooden blocks... why don’t you team up... one bear and one cousin per team and let’s see which team can build the biggest tower without it falling down.”

She turned to Indy as the cubs ran down the short hallway. “Do they have a daily routine or schedule, anything I should know?”

Indy watched the cousins and cubs run off and almost immediately start dividing up to make a big tower. Love Heart Bear and Brave Heart Lion immediately teaming up.

“Let’s see,” Indy looked at the notepad Life Heart had handed him, “I know they lie down for a nap after lunch… 1:00pm naptime, snack at 3:30pm… Right now is playroom time.” He looked up from the notepad, “She wrote this for me just in case I had to watch them alone for a while.”

“Well... that’s convenient... at least I got the first one right....” she chuckled.

She lowered her voice a bit, but with all the noise the cubs were making they probably wouldn’t have heard her anyway. “I brought crayons, coloring books and paper in case we need a quieter activity for later. And since the cousins can be kinda picky, I let them pick and bring their own snacks. Also brought my first aid kit, just in case you find any rocks to drop on your foot again.” She smiled, as she was teasing him on the last part.

Indy couldn’t help but chuckle, “You’re never going to let me forget that are you?”

It didn’t take long for towers to start falling, meaning the teams were out. Once they were out, they seemed to automatically find another team to cheer for. Soon, all that remained were Bright Heart and Grumpy, Love Heart and Brave Heart, and Wish Bear and Gentle Heart.

Love Heart and Brave Heart were building too eagerly, both reach up to put a block on top at the same time and knocked the tower over, Love Heart and Brave Heart both stared at the pile of blocks on the ground, Love Heart even kicking one in frustration.

Grumpy and Bright Heart were more methodical in their approach and soon they had a two block lead on Gentle Heart and Wish. Gentle Heart paused as she had to stand on tip-toes to try and stack on top of their wobbly tower. She hesitated, and in that moment, Grumpy accidentally stepped on one of the base blocks, knocking the tower over.

“We won!” Wish Bear jumped up in triumph, accidentally bumped into Gentle Heart who accidentally knocked the tower over.

Gentle Heart stared at the tower right as Indy and Take Care entered the playroom to check up on them. She turned to Take Care, “I’m sorry, I wanted you to see our tower.” Gentle Heart looked like she was about to cry.

“Ohh, it’s ok Little One...” Take Care hugged her. “You two still won, and I’m very proud of you. Plus, I think we should have one more round of this game.”

She turned to the full group. “Everyone switch up partners and let’s do it one more time. Then you can have free play until lunch.”

“This way I can see your next tower,” she smiled at Gentle Heart.”

“I didn’t mean to bump her... I was just excited we won. I’m sorry Gene Heart.” Wish Bear spoke softly, afraid she’d be in trouble.

“I know that..” Take Care answered. She ruffled Wish Bear’s head fur.

“You two go find partners... quick...”

Soon they were all teamed up again.

This time Grumpy and Loyal Heart were teamed up together and ended up being the winners.

“Ok... pick up the blocks, unless some of you still want to play with them, and you can have free play.”

Used to sticking fairly close and supervising the cubs, Take Care sat down against the wall by the door to keep an eye on things. With this many cubs, there was going to be mischief and bickering at some point. It would take a miracle for there not to be...

She looked up at Indy who was still standing... “figured the game would give them a chance to get to know each other again as they haven’t been around each other much. Plus, it builds on teamwork skills a bit.”

“It does,” Indy nodded then whispered to Take Care, “Thanks for the help, honestly I’m trying not to freak out with all this responsibility.”

She shrugged... “It’s no problem. I’m used to it... I find that coming up with games and activities for them to do helps. Making sure they know who is in charge is important. The cousins know my limits... doesn’t mean they won’t test me... but they do know where I draw the line. I don’t have that luxury with the bears. Our biggest issue is going to be any mischief they come up with and getting them all down for a nap. Well.. that... and lunch.” She seemed almost nervous over the idea of making lunch. He’d sat down beside her at this point and she looked over at him.

“So.... How good of a cook are you? I am not looking forward to having to prepare lunch for all these guys... I can barely handle cooking for the cousins. As crazy as it sounds... I can cook over an open fire way better than I can a stove. I hate it. I burned my hand again last night. It still hurts....”

It was then that Indy noticed the bandage she had around it for the first time. He guessed he’d been a little too freaked out about cub sitting to notice.

“I can make soup and sandwiches. They taught me how to use a knife carefully, probably so I won’t cut myself by mistake when I get a real sword, so I can help make a lunch tray, or heat up soup.” Indy suddenly froze, “Wait…” He suddenly darted off.

Swift Heart had been doing his best to behave, but he just couldn’t stay still. He had watched until Take Care was distracted talking to Indy and every other cub was making enough noise to cover him before he bolted for the playroom door. He only managed to take three high speed steps before Indy intercepted him and scooped him off the ground.

“Hey!” Swift Heart kicked his legs.

“You can’t go off exploring on your own, I got lost in here the first couple weeks I lived here and you don’t know your way around.” Indy chided the rabbit.

Take Care was up and following him out the door quickly.

“Swift Heart Rabbit...... what did we talk about?”

They stepped back into the playroom where Indy put him down. Take Care immediately grabbed his paw before he could take off again. He tried to pull away but her grip tightened.

“I....” there was no excuses that was ever going to work and he knew it. “I’ll go take a time out....”

She pointed to the corner of the room nearest them. He trudged over, and sat down facing the wall, sighing.

“How did you do that?” She asked Indy. “How did you know he’d gotten out?”

“I didn’t ‘know’ at least not that it was Swift Heart,” Indy tapped the side of his head, “It’s that sixth sense I told you about. I knew there was danger and where it was as it was about to happen but until I grabbed Swift Heart I didn’t know it was him. I just knew I had to act on it or something bad would happen.”

“Well... that could make this cub sitting gig even easier....” she smiled. “And I’m officially hiring you for lunch food prep.”

Ten minutes later, she let Swift Heart out of time out after having a talk with him. No sooner did she finish that, until she saw Birthday Bear trying to climb on one of the bookhelves. “Indy....” But neither one of them would be able to get to the cub in time, the shelf would easily fall. She tried anyway and took off running for the other side of the room. Too late. It was tipping over and Birthday Bear screamed in fear.

Indy only had a moment, the sixth sense flash in his mind was too late he shot out his hands. Birthday bear still fell but the bookshelf halted at a 45-degree angle. The books started to fall out but Indy grabbed each one in his telekinesis as they fell out until half the books were floating in the air in front of the bookcase. Birthday Bear hit the ground and started to cry as Take Care scooped him up and away from the bookcase.

“Get away from bookcase!” Indy shouted. He didn’t have the precision to push the books back into place so once Take Care had pulled Birthday out of danger and the cubs backed away Indy let the books fall and pushed the bookshelf back into an upright position.

Everyone in the room seemed to freeze. Birthday Bear wailed in fear. Take Care held him against her and rubbed his back.

“Is he ok?” Asked Treat Heart in concern. Apparently she’d made a new friend today and she was clearly worried about him.

The little guy showed no signs of letting up in his cries and Take Care knew that fussing at him wasn’t going to help. They’d need to have a talk about what had happened but not while he was this upset. She sat down in a nearby chair with him.

“Hey.... did anything hit you?” She asked him.

He shook his head. He was crying too hard to speak.

“Alright....”

He continued sobbing.

“He’ll be ok,” Take Care answered Treat Heart’s question. “He got incredibly lucky that we saw it when we did. The experience scared him, as it should.” It had frightened her as well. Her own heart was still pounding. If that bookshelf had fallen on him, they’d be dealing with much worse injuries than her first aid kit could help with.

She looked up at Indy, “Nice work. Thank you for holding it back.”

She patted Birthday’s back. “You’re ok, little guy... thanks to Indy.”

Indy swiped his forehead in relief, “No problem, as long as Birthday’s alright.”

“Is that your psy…phy sick?” Loyal Heart asked.

Indy nodded, “Yes but that was more draining than I thought. Is everyone else alright?”

A chorus of yesses greeted him, to his relief and Indy walked over to the bookcase to start picking up the books by hand.

Bright Heart eyes him curiously “Why don’t you just push them back in with your mind?” though it was the first time he had seen Indy do this, Bright Heart quickly figured out what it was.

“I’m not that… precise yet,” Indy began putting the books back on the shelf, “I could only shove it back so it didn’t fall and nothing else fell out.

“Can you make us fly!?” Playful Heart jumped over, getting in front of Indy.

“No! I could seriously hurt you if I did that!” Indy’s voice was a bit harsh but at the looks of some of the Care Bear Cubs, Take Care figured out he had probably been asked to do that a few times before.

“Playful Heart... his powers weren’t given to him in order to entertain you. Back to playing guys.... and quit pestering Indy. He’s a bit busy putting the books back.”

It took several more minutes but Birthday Bear began to calm down. He finally looked up at her. “I guess that wasn’t such a good idea?”

“Oh really... Why do you say that?” It was a cross between the sarcasm she could be famous for and a genuine question...wanting to make sure he knew the error of his ways.

Indy gave her a bit of a sideways glance, but she wasn’t paying attention.

“I..... almost got hurt.” Birthday Bear answered.

She nodded.

“And... I made a REALLY big mess...”

She nodded again. “Why were you climbing up there in the first place?”

“I wanted a book but it was too high to reach.”

“What should you have done instead?”

“Asked Indy to get it... or you...”

She nodded. “You could have been seriously hurt. That wouldn’t have been just a scratch or a bump. That shelf was heavy and it would have really hurt if it had fallen on you. If you need help reaching something, ask me. Don’t EVER do something like that again.”

He nodded hanging his head a bit. “I’m sorry...”

“I appreciate that. But Indy’s the one who’s currently cleaning up the mess, so you really owe him an apology. And a thank you for making sure that shelf didn’t fall on you,” she answered.

Birthday Bear nodded, “thanks for holding me and making sure I was ok.” He hugged her.

“Didn’t get the name Take Care Bear for nothing...” she smiled at him. “Now... go talk to Indy.”

He nodded, hopped out of her lap and headed towards Indy.

Indy stood on his toes to put a book away and looked down to see Birthday standing at his feet and staring at the floor, “I’m sorry Indy.”

Indy smiled and reached down to ruffle the yellow bear’s head, “As long as you’re safe, sorry and you don’t do it again. If you want to help hand the books to me so I don’t have to keep bending over.”

“OK,” Birthday seemed to be eager to make amends so started picking up the books and handing them to Indy as he stocked them back on the shelf.

It didn’t take much longer to get the books back on the shelf, and Indy stood back to check the spines, “I think that’s the right order.”

Birthday pulled on Indy’s leg then put his hands on his stomach when the silver bear looked down at him, “Indy, I’m hungry.”

Indy looked up at the clock that had been hung up high on the wall, “11:45, Lunch time?” his question was greeted with a chorus from every cub in the room, “OK, I’ll get it started, Take Care can you get them to the tables? I think there’s spare chairs in the hall closet for the cousins.” He headed for the kitchen to get lunch started.

“Will do... but we’re not leaving the playroom looking like a tornado hit it. It’s clean up time guys....”

There were several groans of protests from the bears, but the cousins pretty much went straight to work knowing Take Care was serious. The bears followed their lead, and Take Care helped. Once things were mostly straightened they all went to wash their hands and then headed for the dining room.

“Can I help you with the chairs?” Asked Loyal Heart.

Take Care nodded. “That would be great, buddy.” He grabbed one, scooting it down the hall and into the dining room and passing it to Cozy Heart.

“Ladies first... Noble Heart taught us that!”

Take Care chuckled, “very nice.”

Soon enough chairs were acquired and everyone was situated at the tables.

Take Care joined Indy in the kitchen... “need any help?”

Indy was working up furiously in the kitchen, he stopped the chopping and turned to face her once the knife was still, “Dump that into the strainer in the sink,” he pointed to the boiling pot of water on the stove then went back to chopping.

As Take Care carefully picked up the boiling pot and transported it to the sink, she watched how fast Indy was chopping up carrots, and then oranges into slices a bit too fast for her to follow. She dumped the water into the strainer and saw it was full of celery chunks.

“Raw celery tastes nasty and takes forever to chew, this is the only way they’ll eat it,” Indy said.

“Swift Heart will eat any raw vegetable,” Take Care said as she shook the colander to drain the water.

Indy laughed, “Well he is a rabbit.”

“Well, True,” she smiled. She was thankful she wasn’t having to chop or cook. He seemed to have the chopping and soup making under control.

“I’ll work on sandwiches.” she spoke up, checking the fridge. There were several different lunch meats and cheeses and the bread was in the bread box on the counter. Pulling everything out, she set to work on the counter opposite of him to make sure she wasn’t in his way. Grabbing a smaller knife, she cut the sandwiches in half diagonally, making them into a triangle shape.

The soup in the other pot was just chicken noodle from pre-made packages. Indy checked it as he finished up the last plates of fruit and vegetables. It only took a few more minutes to make sure everything was done and they loaded up the food trolleys with lunch. Indy set the soup pot next to a small pile of bowls on one and the two of them wheeled the food into the dining room.

“Nice work...” she praised.

Soon, all the cubs were served and happily eating and talking amongst themselves. Take Care and Indy took the taller table, where the adults normally sat and had their meal there. They were mostly quiet, focused on eating and keeping an eye on all the cubs - for any disagreements, mischief, or anyone wanting a second helping.

By some miracle, no fights broke out during the meal. It was after the meal when they had to put them down for a nap that things got insane. Indy was able to pull out the sleeping mats to line the playroom without much fuss but when he announced, “Alright cubs, naptime.” They seemed to gain a burst of energy they had to burn off.

Even with his sixth sense Indy couldn’t be everywhere at once, it actually made his head ache as he couldn’t shut it off as every cub did their best to get out of naptime. Swift Heart taking off through the halls and Playful climbing over the couch were just the two most prominent examples. Only Loyal Heart and Gentle Heart went straight to lie down for a nap.

Take Care had been trying to clean up the lunch mess, but quickly figured out it would have to wait. After scolding the cousins for acting out and trying to drive Indy crazy she had a thought.

“What about a story? She asked them all. She knew there was almost no chance the cubs were going to settle without it... at least not the cousins. They were just too used to it.

“Charlotte’s Web!!!” Called the cousins.

Take Care nodded. “We can do that, but we’ll have to start back at the beginning” The cousins didn’t seem to mind this idea a bit.

“What’s Charlotte’s Web?” Asked Cheer Bear.

“One of the best stories ever...” answered Treat Heart, “about a pig and a spider and friendship.”

“Everyone on your mats and I will go and get it.” They were still a bit reluctant... Playful bounced up and down near his before practically dive bombing onto it.

Swift Heart tried to make another run for it when she exited.... but she caught him. He really was wound up. So she bent down to his level and made a suggestion. “Tell you what... I might need some help reaching that backpack... think you could give me a hand?” He nodded.

Truth be told, she didn’t need a bit of help, it was simply a way to let him use up a bit more energy and maybe he’d settle down a bit.

Swift Heart and Playful Heart both loved to try and climb things, but it was rare that she actually gave them permission. This time though, she watched him closely as he hopped up up on the counter and then climbed on top of the fridge.

“Which one?”

“The blue one...”

“Ready?” He asked.

“Yep...”

He tossed it down to her.

“Can you catch me too?” He asked.

“I probably could... why don’t you climb back down the way you came.”

“Oh... ok...” a couple of careful hops and he was back down to the floors. But she’d been standing right there, just in case. “That was fun.”

“Good.” He looked up at her, with a question on his mind. She could tell. “What’s on your mind?”

“Take Care.... Why did you guys get upset with me earlier but you’re letting me climb now?”

“Because earlier you snuck off without permission which is dangerous. This was a helpful way for you to get some energy out and I knew where you were and could make sure you did not get hurt.”

“Ohhh... yeah... that makes sense...”

They headed back to the playroom. She heard a lot of voices and talking and hoped nothing too crazy was happening. Thankfully Indy had managed to keep the kids, if not calm, at least in the playroom while Take Care had fetched the book, answering questions from the cousins about what he did, as the bears had informed them that Indy often disappeared during the day to go off with Sage Heart and Life Heart. He thankfully didn’t have to say much before Take Care returned.

He sighed in relief, “I’ll leave naptime to you while I get lunch cleaned up.”

Swift Heart went straight to his mat and lay down calmly... at least as calmly as he ever did things.

“No problem...” she told Indy as he hurried towards the door. Normally she had to get 10 cubs down and then clean up the lunch mess, so this was like a break for her. She loved reading anyway and would get to introduce a new book to the bear cubs. It was a win-win for her.

“Alright... everyone settled? Lie down guys...let your imaginations decide what the characters and the scenes look like as I read.” She flipped off the overhead lights; she could use the light from The windows to read by. She sat on the floor as close to the middle of the room as she could get so that everyone would be able to hear and there would be no complaints. “Here we go...”

They were off on an adventure, with a book that she has read hundreds of times, and the cousins had heard multiple times. She gave different characters different voices and read with enthusiasm. The more focused the cubs became on listening to her read, the more calm they became. One by one, they began to relax and drift off to sleep.

After every chapter, she would pause and look up to see if anyone was still awake. By the time she finished the third chapter, there was only one. A little lamb who could never get enough of the story... just like her big sister, Take Care. Ironically, she was also just two mats over from where Take Care was sitting. Take Care carefully and quietly moved over to the cub and began rubbing her back as she quietly read the fourth chapter. Soon, the little lamb closed her eyes, being unable to resist a nap any longer. “Sleep tight Gentle Heart...” Take Care whispered as she marked her place and closed the book.

She got up, took a quiet lap around the room just to make sure all of them really were sleeping (she’d been fooled a few times and had learned that lesson) before quietly leaving the room and closing the door behind her. She went looking for Indy to see if he needed any help but since nearly thirty minutes had passed, she suspected he’d be nearly done.

Indy had gathered up all the dishes and was just in the middle of washing the last set, placing it in the massive drying tray to drain into the sink. He heard Take Care enter the kitchen as he places the last plate in the tray and drained the sink. He swiped his forehead, sweating from the heat of the sink’s water.

“Are they all asleep?” he whispered.

“Yeah... they’re all out. I’d say it’s a well earned break for us. Though we should probably stick fairly close in case someone wakes up.”

Indy nodded and retrieved two large water bottles from the fridge, “Want to step outside? It’s too hot in here right now.”

“Yeah... that sounds good.” She answered, taking the water bottle he passed her. “Thanks. Cub sitting 10 is crazy enough... glad I don’t have all of them everyday. They’re cute... but whew... it’s a handful.”

Indy and Take Care leaned up against the front door of the Hall of Hearts, both all but chugging their water to rehydrate after the exhausting morning. They stood in silence, mostly letting the breeze cool them off in silence.

Indy was the first to speak, “So, what do you think you’re going to do when the cubs grow up?” He didn’t really wait for Take Care to reply before he continued, “I know what I’m going to do, I’m going to protect them.” He squeezed his water bottle, thankfully empty enough that it didn’t spill, “I want to be strong enough to stop Dark Heart, or anyone else from hurting them, no matter what.” He relaxed, “I mean… I know I have a choice but I don’t think I can help kids on earth. I can barely share my feelings with anyone other than you, not sure I could do the same for a bunch of strangers I have to meet every day.” He took another gulp out of the water bottle.

“Noble Heart and I have talked about it. He’s tried to get me interested in taking missions... but it doesn’t really work. I’d need to train with him and we can’t exactly do that and leave 10 cubs at home. Plus... I have no interest in it. I don’t know what happened to me before I ended up in the forest, but I definitely think humans caused it. I’d never really contemplated it before, but after meeting the cousins and being adopted into the family, it left me wondering what happened to my first family. I just have this strange feeling they were probably killed by humans, though I don’t remember anything.”

“I understand the idea is for the Care Bear Family to help humans, but who’s going to help our family when we get sick or hurt?”

He looked over at her and she nodded. “Yeah... I am. My goal is to become a doctor. I’m not sure how we’re going to work it out yet, but I’ve got to do it. Meanwhile, I’m reading anything I can get my hands on and trying to learn everything I can. It’s not going to be easy, but I’ve got to do it.”

Indy smiled, “I know you can do it, Take Care, especially after how I saw you in action today. Looks like we both have rough roads ahead.”

“Thanks,” She chuckled, “you’re not so bad yourself with that sixth sense kicking in the way it did to keep Swift Heart safe and keeping that bookcase from crushing Bedtime. I think you are well on your way to protecting us all.”

“Thanks you too,” they clunked their bottles together in a makeshift toast before they finished them and returned inside, just in case the cubs decided to wake up.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Finding Family - A Care Bears Fanfic

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I just love the way that this is coming out! Awesome work!
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CryosR
Posts: 164
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Re: Finding Family - A Care Bears Fanfic

Post by CryosR »

Thank you

Chapter 4: Determined Departure

Time passed as the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins grew up, as did their teenage guardians, Take Care Bear and Independent Bear. It wasn’t long before things with Dark Heart came to a head. True Heart, Noble Heart, Grams Bear, Sage Heart and Life Heart took off after what they thoughts was Dark Heart. Sadly, even with Take Care and Indy looking after them, Dark Heart began to capture the members of the Care Bear Family with the help of a girl named Christy. Tenderheart, despite warnings from his guardians, launched a rescue mission with the remaining ten members of the family only to be captured.

Thankfully, Indy and Take Care caught on before anything too serious could happen and broke the Care Bears and Cousins out of their cages. Dark Heart was taken aback but held his own against the assembled family until his attacks nearly killed Christy, who had saved his life earlier. With help from the Care Bears, Dark Heart cast off the darkness to save her life and become human.

Noble Heart had managed to pull some strings over the years and found a high school willing to allow Take Care to Self study from Care a Lot. Take Care had managed to pass high school in two years, with honors. But college and medical school were proving harder. No one was interested in a Care Bear who happened to be a near genius and wanted to become a doctor.

This changed after Dark Heart was defeated. Christy’s parents, in an fortunate twist of fate, were both doctors. Her father was on the board of a medical school in Arizona. They’d pulled strings, raised a fuss, and threatened to stop financially supporting the school with donations if they didn’t give Take Care a chance. Money talks. So Take Care was in. Take Care would have preferred to have earned her way in with her brains... but she was desperate. She’d prove to them all she deserved to be there. She had to get in there first.

Now, she was leaving next week. It had happened so quickly once Christy’s parents had gotten involved. It would be years before Take Care would return to the family. Rather than coming home for holidays and summers, she planned to attend school year round to finish faster.

For now, she couldn’t stop studying. She grabbed her backpack full of books and headed out the back door of her small home. She found a tree in the edge of the forest which would offer plenty of shade and pulled out a stack of books - biology and anatomy, literature, pharmaceutical drugs, algebra, chemistry and physical science. The stack felt massive and she immediately began working and reading.

Indy had kept up his training as well, though his was far less gruelling he was no less dedicated to it. Taking a break for the day, he decided to stop by Take Care’s house in the Forest of Feelings to see how she was doing. He found her surrounded by her study books, her nose lodged deep within on. He paused when he was a couple meters away, not wanting to disturb her.

She worked on the algebra first - wishing she had Bright Heart’s help because he was actually better at all types of math than she was. But she knew she was going to have to figure it out so she didn’t call him. She simply worked as hard as she could until she felt a bit burned out with it. Then she switched to physical science and did the same, then to biology, then to anatomy. Honestly, she wasn’t worried about literature; that would come easy for her. Hours later, her stomach began to growl... but she couldn’t quit... not now. When it growled for the third time, she realized she was going to at least have to take a break and grab a little food. It was getting hard to focus. She closed the book and looked up

She spotted him. It looked as though he was about to turn around.

“Indy? What brings you by? How’s training going?”

Indy turned back, “Training’s going fine, and I came by to see you and see how you’re doing.” He turned to the pile of book, “Are you alright?”

“Studying....” she sighed feeling slightly overwhelmed at the moment. “But I have to take a break. I don’t really want to nor do I have time to stop, but I kinda forgot to eat lunch. My stomach has kindly decided to remind me of that fact.”

She wasn’t sure if he’d heard the news or not. She figured he probably hadn’t. “Christy’s parents were able to pull some strings and get me into school. These are some of the books I’ll be needing.”

Indy nodded, then gave a small smile, “I’ll make you lunch. Any requests?”

“Seriously... what would I do without my best friend?” Anything he made turned out well, unlike her own cooking. “Surprise me,” she smiled, picking up the anatomy book as he walked closer.

“Leave it to me,” Indy patted her shoulder then turned to enter her house. He knew exactly what she needed: grilled cheese with a bit of butter on the bread was a favorite comfort food of hers when she felt stressed, even if that wouldn’t be enough to satisfy her hunger. To make sure she got enough he made tomato soup with milk and added a pile of cooked carrots to the two plates he fixed up.

“Food’s ready,” he spoke from the back door of her house to where she was still studying.

She finished the paragraph she was on, before marking her place and putting the book down.

Indy reappeared at the door, wondering if she’d been so absorbed in the textbook that she hasn’t heard him. It wouldn’t have been the first time. “It’s going to get cold...” he chuckled.

“Sorry. I’m coming...” she answered.

He ducked back inside. She joined him shortly and met him at the table. He hadn’t sat down yet. He was still waiting on her.

“You know me well... it looks great. Thanks Indy....”

“Always happy to help,” he only sat down when Take did and they dug in. As they ate a hundred thoughts passed through Indy’s mind, chief among them was if she had to leave so soon. Take Care had been so busy with her studies and Indy not wanting to disturb her that he hadn’t brought up the idea that he was afraid of her leaving, since she was the only other Care Bear of his age. But that was selfish, she wanted this more than anything; to pursue her career as a doctor was Take Care’s dream and Indy wasn’t going to stand in the way of that, even though it meant he wouldn’t see or likely every hear from her for years.

“Is it good?” was the only question he could manage in-between mouthfuls.

“Delicious.” She answered. She’d devoured half the grilled cheese sandwich almost as quickly as she’d sat down, but she’d paced her self a bit after that.

She was worried about leaving him. They’d been friends for years. The times they’d spent together in the forest were some of her favorite memories. The times they’d spent teaming up to watch the cubs had taught them both responsibility and teamwork. They’d always each even more independent but being as they were the only ones of similar age, they had a bit of a bond and a strong friendship.

And she... was about to leave that. For the next few years, they probably wouldn’t see each other at all. Things were going to change in a huge way.

At the same time, she needed to do this for the family... for the entire Care Bear family and for herself. They’d been incredibly lucky that none of them had become seriously hurt or ill, but that could change in the blink of an eye. Especially now that more of them were taking on missions around humans. It worried her.

“I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without you and your cooking while I’m gone.” She answered further, not sure what else to say. Goodbyes would be coming much faster than she wanted them to.

“From what I’ve heard, you’ll be eating microwave dinners most days,” Indy wasn’t sure how to even make a joke out of it.

“If I don’t forget to eat...” she only half-joked.

“I’ll miss you.” He almost smacked himself for saying that.

“I’ll miss you too,” she admitted. “But... I need to do this and our family needs this too. You have your ways of protecting. This is mine.”

Indy nodded, “I know, and I know you’ll do great.” He paused for a moment, “How long till you leave?”

“Next Thursday...” she answered.

“Not even a week…” Indy stared at his food. They finished the meal in silence and Indy started to gather up the dishes, “I’ll clean up.”

“I’ll help....” she answered. “You wash I’ll dry?”

“Don’t you want to go back to studying?” He asked.

“Dishes won’t take that long,” Take Care answered.

“Alright.” Indy carried the dishes over to the sink and began to fill it up. “So how long will you be at school?”

Take Care shrugged, “Honestly, I don’t know. However long it takes, less than usual since I’m not taking any extended breaks.”

“Oh…” Indy had hoped for a more concrete answer but he just had to accept that. Finally, with the dishes done, Take Care went back to her studies. Indy lingered for a few more minutes before he headed out of the Forest back to his home. He wasn’t in the mood for more training today.

Thursday came before they knew it. She’d packed everything she thought she would need, including all the textbooks in the back and trunk of the cloud car. Much to her chagrin, the family had thrown a going away party the night before... so today’s goodbyes were reserved for those closest to her.

She’d already visited Bright Heart and Gentle Heart... though she was the most worried about how Gentle Heart would handle it as they’d been as close as any two sisters could be.

Now, it was just her and Noble Heart.

“Think about it, when you come back here your dream will have come true. You’ll be a doctor.” He smiled.

“If I don’t crash and burn and fail...” her nerves were getting the best of her.

“You won’t, Take Care.... you won’t. But even if it doesn’t work out, I’ll still love you.”

She smiled, “Thanks Noble Heart... but I think you’re kind of required to.”

Now that it was here, she was starting to get nervous. She’d never been so far from home for so long, and she’d never been around humans much. This was going to be an adjustment and with no one in the family she’d grown so close to, there to support her. But... she’d come to the forest all alone and she’d survived all those years.... surely she could handle earth.

She looked out the window as Indy approached.

“Back in a bit...” she told Noble Heart. “Then I guess we’ll go.” He had planned to ride down with her and help her get situated though he wasn’t even sure how much she would need or want him there.

“Hey Indy...” she called as she met him in the front yard.

Indy stopped, “Hi Take Care.” Indy did his best to smile but gave up after a moment. “So are you ready for this?”

“Yes...” but she paused for several seconds before continuing. “I think so.... I don’t know.” She sat down on the edge of the porch.

Indy sat down next to her, “You’re scared.” It was a statement not a question. “I don’t know if it can compare, but when Life Heart and Sage Heart started training me, I was scared too.”

“You wondered if you could do it? If you’d be good enough?” She asked. It wasn’t really a question. She knew the answer because she was feeling the same right now. “I mean... this is what I want more than anything. Why am I letting it scare me now?”

“Because up until now it was just ‘something that was going to happen’ but now it’s here.” Indy twiddled his fingers in his lap, “As for me, I did wonder those things but… I was scared because it was the first time someone ever told me my powers were a good thing. Humans were scared of me, chased me and called me a monster… Sorry I’m getting off topic.” He turned to Take Care, “I guess what I’m saying is that it will never be as bad as you think. And even if it is, I know you can do it. You’re smart, smarter than anyone here, except maybe Bright Heart.” They both chuckled, “And… I know you can handle any kind of stress thrown at you.”

“Thank you. That means more to me than you know.” Without even really thinking about it she hugged him tightly. “I’m going to miss you. Don’t find too many other best friends while I’m gone. Ok?”

Indy hugged her back, “I don’t think I could find another best friend if I tried. I’m going to miss you too.”

She let go of him. “You easily could. You’re a good guy. Thanks for always being here and encouraging me and letting me be me. I know I’m not always the easiest to put up with.” She looked at her watch, a gift from Noble Heart. She sighed again, but this time felt a little more determined at least. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll be late if I don’t leave soon.”

Indy let her go and stood up with her. “OK. Good Luck, Take Care.” He watched her as she headed for the cloud car.

Noble Heart came out of the house with keys in hand. Take Care turned back for one last hug from Indy. She couldn’t quite resist. After all, it was going to have to do her several years.

Then she climbed in the cloud car with Noble Heart and the two headed for earth.

Independent Bear watched the cloud car fly away until it disappeared, then sighed and walked away. He had been at the going away party the last night but hadn’t spoken to Take Care directly, at least not until he could talk to her one-on-one. He still felt her last hug. He’d wait for her to return and when she returned… they would both be adults and finished their training.
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CryosR
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Re: Finding Family - A Care Bears Fanfic

Post by CryosR »

Chapter 5: Eminent Endeavors

Six years away from the family.... six long, crazy, torturous years. Some days she wasn’t so sure why the Care Bear family was so set on helping humans. With the ways she’d been treated by then during medical school she didn’t particularly like most of them. There were a few exceptions. Maybe it was because her family helped mostly kids. Kids were definitely more accepting.

Four years of medical school and two years of a residency program on earth and she was done. She’d decided not to pursue anything further as she didn’t plan to stay on earth anyway.

Noble Heart had attended her graduation two years ago, and popped in to see her a few other times but as busy as she was, they hadn’t had time for anything more than a quick lunch. Other than that, she’d been on her own. Now, though she was slightly nervous about returning after all these years, she couldn’t wait to get home. She loaded up the last of her belongings, said goodbye to her roommate and study partner, Abby, and headed home.

She touched down in her own front yard some time later and immediately began unloading. Before she knew it... her stuff was scattered all over the living room floor. But she’d been sidetracked. Now that she was home, there was so much to do. She needed a clinic and equipment and medications... some of it she’d been pondering and planning for a while, but now that she was home it seemed like a more pressing issue.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her front door. She had hoped to have some more time to herself before she got swarmed by her family. She sighed and turned to answer the door, only to be greeted by Independent Bear.

Indy smiled, “Welcome home, Take Care.” In the last six years, Indy had grown up. He was as tall as the founders now, maybe a bit taller and he had let his hair grow out, reaching the middle of his back, his muscles were more defined and he wore a black longcoat and nothing else.

She couldn’t complain that he’d dropped by. He was certainly on the list of family members she wanted to see soon, even if she hadn’t quite wanted visitors this soon.

“Hey.... thanks...” she answered. “Good to be back.” She paused. “Good to see you. You really grew up.” She was almost nervous. She’d thought about him a million times while she’d been gone but each time has tried to push those thoughts out of her mind.

She’d asked Noble Heart about him a few times, in between asking about the cousins.

“How are you? It’s been a long time... what have you been up to?”

“I’ve been good. I’m now an official guardian of the Kingdom of Caring, thanks to Sage Heart and Life Heart,” he looked Take Care up and down, “You’ve grown up too.”

“That’s incredible! Knew you’d do it... never had a doubt.” She answered and he knew she meant it.

Where Indy’s hair was down his back, she kept hers closer to her shoulders. Short but long enough to pull back if she wanted to - and most days she did. Today however, it was down and a bit curly. She’d lost weight too, no longer the typical slightly rounded and chubby Care Bear she once had been.

Realizing just how messy the living room currently looked, she apologized, “Sorry for the mess, I haven’t had a chance to unpack yet.”

Indy looked over her shoulder and smirked, “I can see that. Before you stress over that, want to go for a walk?” he offered his hand to her. “I haven’t visited our reading spot since you left.”

“Yes!!” Her answer came out in a bit more of an excited tone than she planned. Then, rather than just taking his paw, she pulled him into a hug first. It had been six years since the last hug and she couldn’t wait any longer. “You really haven’t been there in the past 6 years? Why not?”

Indy hugged her back, “I did go once, about a week after you left, but it didn’t feel right. Just reminded me that you weren’t around. It was lonely…”

She took his paw as they headed out the back door and toward the forest... “Yeah... I missed you too. I was crazy busy most days, but I missed you. It’s good to be back. So much I need to work on, but it’s good to be home.”

“I’m happy to have you home.” Indy walked hand-in-hand with Take Care down the path in the forest, “A lot’s happened while you’ve been gone. We have a couple new enemies, No-Heart and Cold Heart. The cubs are almost teenagers now. The adults are all talking about getting a school set up to teach them more advanced things.”

“A school is a good idea... who are they thinking about for teachers?” She was hoping not to get roped into that right away. but knew with all the knowledge she had acquired it would make sense for them to ask her.

“Not sure, they haven’t told me much about it yet. I’ve been too focused on No-Heart and Cold Heart,” Indy said.

“Tell me about No Heart and Cold Heart. Just how dangerous are they? I think Noble Heart was trying to keep me from worrying - he mentioned them but didn’t really give me many details.”

Indy scratched his chin, “Well Cold Heart’s this mad scientist obsessed with cold and has an assistant named Frostbite. He’s not much of a threat even with the cubs. No-Heart’s a different story. He’s a powerful wizard and he keeps coming up with new schemes. Worst was something called the ‘cloud of uncaring’ that almost beat us. A kid Wish Bear helped managed to stop it but… it was a close call that day.” He turned to Take Care, “Sorry, didn’t want to worry you.”

She nodded, “Glad it worked out and everyone was ok. I get it. I needed to stay where I was and focus on studying and learning and putting that into practice. But now that I’m home, it’s important that I know. Especially if he could end up hurting one of you. That makes it my problem. We both protect in our own ways.”

“So... what do you want to do once we get there?”

“Mostly just talk somewhere I know we won’t be disturbed,” Indy looked away for a moment, “I really missed you while you were gone. I thought about you every day.”

She smiled... “I know. Maybe I should have tried to come home a few times. I think I was afraid I might not go back if I did. I really missed you too.”

Indy smiled, “Maybe, but there’s no point wondering about it now, you’re home.” They finally arrived at the reading spot and sat down on one of the fallen logs. Indy took a deep breath and rubbed the still intact bark on the log, “It’s nice to be back here, to think this is where it all began for both of us…”

She sat down beside him. “It really is… you going a bit overboard with your powers created the place and then we found each either near here some time later. Remember that first day - you foot injury due to the rock? Meeting up here so many times over the years when you weren’t training as I wasn’t cub sitting.” She chuckled a bit and paused for a moment growing a bit serious.

“You really waited for me, didn’t you? Six years later and you still care as much now as you did then...”

“I did and I think I care even more,” Indy said. “You not being here, it made me think about how I felt about you.”

She smiled and he could tell it meant the world to her to hear that but she was struggling a bit with her own feelings. She cared for him deeply but just how much was she ready for. There was so much she still had to do. How much was he ready for? Would he be able to handle the fact that her career was always going to be a huge part of who she was? He protected them with his powers but she had to be ready to handle any injury, attack, or illness that came their way and it was a daunting challenge. One she wouldn’t and couldn’t back down from.

“In the crazy and stressful moments, and in the moments where they made getting my education very difficult, which was quite often, I’d think about you. All the time we spent together, the meals you used cook for me, the times we hung out and talked or read back here. That time we both had to cub sit together and you saved Birthday from being flattened. Those memories helped to keep me going and reminded me just how special you are to me.”

“I thought about you too when things got tough,” Indy leaned up against her, “When I had to fight No-Heart or Cold Heart’s monsters, or training was getting tough, I just remembered there had to be a home for you to return to when you finally finished. I wanted to make sure there was a home here for you to return you.”

She kissed his cheek, “Thank you. You did it and I’m home.” She snuggled into him a bit more, really noticing the muscles, “You definitely built up some muscles along the way.” She grinned.

Indy blushed when she kissed him and smiled, “Thank you. I had to get stronger, you slimmed down too. Everyone here seems to have stuck with the ‘pudgy teddy bear’ look, except Champ.” Indy smiled, “Want to stick around here or should we head back to your house and unpack?”

“Stay for a bit... I’d almost forgotten how nice it is back here. There’s a million things to do when I get back to the house. A few more minutes here might be nice. Plus... I can hide out from the welcome home committee. I’d be willing to bet there’s party planning going on.”

Indy smiled, “I don’t need a sixth sense to know they’re doing that. And I’d like this too.” Indy put his arm around Take Care’s back.

She chuckled, “Yeah. I guess you don’t need the sixth sense for that.”

She yawned, still leaning on him. She could have almost fallen asleep but forced herself not to instead choosing to level with him and open up a bit.

“I really like you, Indy. There are some feelings here I never thought I’d have for anyone and coming home has only made that stronger. I don’t know exactly where we go from here... but....”

“I know, I feel the same way. Things I’d never thought about until I saw you again today.” Indy said, “We have our own responsibilities but we can figure something out.”

She nodded. “Yeah... I hope so.”

They were quiet for a little while, each leaning on one another enjoying the closeness and company they hadn’t had in so long, and even years ago they’d never really leaned into or snuggled up to one another. It was definitely different.

A few minutes later their peace was broken by a faint sound nearby, Indy's ears perked up as he felt the tingle of his sixth sense in the back of his head. "Take Care, can you hear that?"

“Yeah...” Take Care focused on the sound because it was a good distance away, then jumped up quickly. “I think that’s someone crying - like a cub, but how?”

Before Indy could even answer. She took off- jumping over the log and running through the forest toward the sound. Someone needed her and there would be no stopping her from going and helping. Indy was right on her heels a moment later, just two steps behind her. Just as inclined to help as Take Care was.

Take Care slowed as the cries grew louder and she knew they were getting close and didn’t want to scare the cub too much.

Ironically, the sound came from near one of the largest trees in the forest, which was where she first remembered waking up as a cub. Indy matched her pace as she slowed.

“Quietly...” she told him. “I don’t want to scare it and have it run off.”

She approached carefully and could see a light blue bear cub sitting in the grass under the tree crying.

“Hi kiddo....” she called softly.

The cub looked up at her clearly afraid and freaked out.

“Goodness you’re little... I was 5 or 6 when I found myself here... how on earth did you get here?”

“Probably the same way we did,” Indy whispered. He reached out to the cub slowly, palm upwards, “Don’t be afraid, we’re Care Bears, we’re here to help.”

The cub studied them both for a minute, as her crying began to calm. She reached for Indy’s outstretched paws and grabbed onto them, pulling herself up to her feet, then Indy gently picked her up.

Take Care smiled and chuckled a bit. “Well that was certainly easier than I thought it would be. And you used to be nervous around the cubs?”

“She’s just one, and she’s scared,” it was then he felt the cub shivering, “and cold,” he focused his psychic energy into his hands, sending a warmth into the cub. After a moment the cub stopped shivering then turned to Take Care and reached towards her. “I think she wants you to hold her,” Indy carefully passed the cub to Take Care, “You’re the doctor, anything you can tell me?”

“Alright, kiddo... come here...” Take Care took her. The cub immediately grabbed onto her and snuggled into her fur, trying to keep herself warm. Take Care used her own Care Bear stare to create a small blanket and then wrapped it around the cub and checked her pulse.

“Let’s get her home... I can check her over completely there. She’s got a bit of fever but it’s not bad. Not sure how long she’s been out here but at her age any length of time out here is too long in my opinion. Your warming energy definitely helped.”

“Ma-ma...” the cub looked up at her.

“Sorry kiddo.... I don’t know where you mom is... but we’ll look after you for a bit and find you a home... don’t worry.” Take Care looked at Indy, “do you mind driving us back? She seems to have decided she’s not letting go of me for the moment.”

“Not at all,” Indy’s tummy symbol lit up and he conjured a cloud car, then took the driver’s seat. Once Take Care was seated in the passenger seat with the cub in hand, Indy drove them back to Take Care’s house.

"How did you warm her up?" Take Care asked.

"Little psionic trick I learned, mostly for the times I needed to go after Cold Heart," Indy said.

“It’s quite genius... able to keep yourself and others warmer with it!” Take Care complimented as they landed. She headed into the house thankful that no one else had shown up yet, and grabbed the red duffel bag off the chair before attempting to lie the cub down on the couch.

The cub however, immediately started to cry and grabbed for her.

“Hey... don’t fuss kiddo... I want to make sure you are ok...” as she picked her back up, she noticed something. The cub already had a tummy symbol - a greeting card, with a frowning sunshine with a thermometer in its mouth on the front of the card.

“Ok... that wasn’t there when we first found you...” she looked at Indy. “Was it?”

“No... it wasn’t.” He answered.

The little cub grinned and snuggled back against her chest. “Ma-ma...”

“Oh, kiddo... again... I don’t know where....” Take Care paused and an odd look began to spread across her face - one of confusion, shock, and surprise at her sudden revelation. “No way.... I’ve read about it... didn’t think it was actually possible.”

“Read about what?” Indy was a bit confused as he stood next to the couch and looked down at the pair of them.

Take Care tested her theory. She put the cub back on the couch and then got up and began to walk away. The cub immediately started screaming. “Ma-Ma!!!!!”

Take Care picked her back up, “ok.. ok... I get it... calm down... I’ve got you....”

“She’s imprinted. Basically, she’s made an incredibly strong emotional connection. For whatever reason, she’s decided that I’m the one she trusts. I’m her new mother.”

The little cub then looked at Indy... “da-da...”

Take Care tried passing the cub to Indy. “Da-da” she repeated. She accepted and stayed with him a minute or so before reaching for Take Care once more.

“And I think she’s done the same with you on a milder scale.”

Indy almost jumped, then couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the situation, “Did we just become parents?”

Take Care rolled her eyes and gave a resigned smile, “More-or-less.”

Indy passed the cub back to Take Care, “So what should we call her?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know... I’ve never named a cub before... the cousins already had their names.”

“You’re a near genius...” Indy reminded her with a chuckle, teasing her a bit. “Surely you’ve got this...”

“Her tummy symbol is some type of greeting card. It appears to be a get well soon type card. What about Get Well Bear?”

“Sounds great, Take Care.” Indy turned to the mess of partially unpacked… stuff strewn across the floor. “I guess I’ll get this stuff put away, or at least out of the way. Where should I put it?”

“Red bag stays with me. I’ll need it for her if I can ever get her to let go of me long enough for me check her over.” Take Care shook her head at the cub, but had a slight smile on her face.

“The others... you can toss them in my room, if you don’t mind. I’ll unpack tonight.... unless you see something you’re just eager to put away.” She chuckled. They both liked things neat and tidy as a rule. Having a cub was going to be interesting because cubs didn’t care about being neat, not one bit...

“This is going to get really interesting. How am I supposed to build and run a medical practice with a one-year-old cub?”

Indy waved his hand across the room and all the objects levitated off the ground and together then towards Take Care’s bedroom, which Take Care watched wide-eyed.

“You’ve really come a long way,” she commented as Indy returned.

“As much as you have.” Indy hung up his longcoat by the door then sat down next to Take Care, “As for how you’ll manage,” Indy gave her a kiss on the cheek, “You won’t do it alone. Everyone will help you get your practise set up, and I’ll help you raise Get Well.”

“Thank you...” Take Care returned the kiss. “Well... she has decided you’re ‘da-da’ so.... you’re hired.”

The cub refused to leave Take Care’s lap for the next couple of hours, so Take Care finally resorted to lying her down in her lap so she could examine her. But the little cub had nothing more than a small cold that would pass in a few days. At this mild she didn’t even need anything for fever. She relayed it to Indy and then added, “but she’s going to need a diaper change and want a bottle soon... and I don’t have any. I can fashion temporary diaper. But we need to see if we can round up a few bottles.”

“I can get those. Should still be some in the Hall of Hearts,” Indy stood up, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Great... while you’re doing that, I’ll go over and inform Noble Heart and True Heart that I came home, became the family doctor, and a mom, all on the same day... that should be a fun conversation.”

Since she knew Noble Heart and True Heart were living together, it stood to reason she’d be talking with both of them at the same time. And it was two less family members they’d have to explain it to later.

Indy gave a nervous laugh at the thought as they exited, “How about I drop you off at their place then pick you up on the way back?” he offered as he headed for the still conjured Cloud Car.

“Sure... it’s not that far of a walk, but might not be a good idea to have her outside that long at the moment.” She grabbed the small blanket and followed Indy out the door to the cloud car.

It really wasn’t a long walk and Indy dropped Take Care off a moment later, promising to be back as soon as he had the baby supplies from the Hall of Hearts.

Take Care knocked, holding Get Well with her other arm, though the cub really had no problem holding on to her. In fact, she still seemed to prefer being as close as possible to Take Care.

“Take Care, I was looking for you earlier.... what’s this?!” Noble Heart had seen the cub.

“A very long story.” Take Care answered. “Mind if I come in?”

“Of course not, want some tea?”

“No... it’s fine...”

“I’ll make some more...” Grams spoke up and Take Care realized Sage Heart and Life Heart were inside as well. “Am I interrupting a meeting? Do I need to come back?”

“Absolutely not. You and Indy are part of our leadership team now. Really you always have been as far as I’m concerned, you know that.” Noble Heart answered.

“Especially now that Independent Bear is the guardian of the Kingdom of Caring,” Life Heart beamed with accomplishment.

Take Care wasn’t sure if there was going to an offer to give her an official title, but she gently shot it down. “He told me, and that’s awesome. But don’t need a title, just the ability to do what I’ve been training for six years to do. I’m going to need some help in setting up the clinic and getting equipment.”

“Told you she’d say that...” Noble Heart chuckled.

“Come... sit...” True Heart waved her over. “Tell us what happened...”

So Take Care did. She figured she might as well tell the whole story, but did leave out the details of them cuddling and cheek kissing. Not that everyone in the room didn’t catch the hints that she and Indy were growing closer.

“Here’s the issue... the cub has imprinted. She’s made a very strong emotional connection to me and almost as strong of one to Indy. She’s decided, for whatever reason, that I’m her mother and he’s her father. I’ve read about it... but didn’t actually think it was possible. I can honestly say that is. She’s done it. She has to stay with me... if I were to hand her off to someone else to raise it would do serious emotional and psychological harm. Indy’s offered to help, since she made the connection with him as well.”

“If you’re sure,” True Heart stood up, “As long as you’re here we want you to meet some other new members of the family.” She motioned for Take Care to follow her as she lead her into another room.

Take Care was lead into a nursery with three cubs sleeping in cribs, a blue bear, a pink bear and a pink horse with wings. True Heart carefully stroked the two bear cub’s heads and whispered, “This is Hugs and Tugs,” she indicated first the pink then the blue cub, “They’re my children, mine and Noble Heart’s.”

Life Heart had followed them and walked over to the pink horse, “And my daughter, Sweet Heart Pegasus. Before you ask, I don’t know why she’s a pegasus instead of a unicorn, it’s just an odd quirk of magic.”

“Things have changed up here.” Take Care adjusted her hold on Get Well gently, who had turned to look at the other cubs in the room. “Well at least I’m not the only one who has to look after a cub.” She looked down at Get Well, “And you’ll have some friends your age too, Get Well.”

OoOoO

Indy moved through where the “WELCOME HOME TAKE CARE BEAR” party that was being set up in the Hall of Hearts. He waved hello to the various bears and cousins all scattered around the room, they hadn’t asked him to help because they respected that parties weren’t his thing, either in the set up or the participation, didn’t mean they hadn’t thrown one for him when he received his own title of guardian. As soon as he was out of the main hall, Indy beelined for the old supply closet.

He sighed in relief when he found that almost all the old baby supplies had been kept, albeit covered in a fine layer of dust. “Ugg, going to need to clean most of these.” He looked around for a bag then his eyes trailed across one of the old intact cribs, Gentle Heart’s old crib in fact (all of the old stuff had been stored in here even from the cousins). He got a small grin and pulled it out then began loading the old cloth diapers and bottles into the crib itself before he picked up the crib and began carrying it out of the hall.

After a brief detour to the kitchen to check for baby formula (thankfully some still sealed in cans was leftover, or had it been provided by the Hall itself, Indy wasn’t sure), Indy ran into Love Heart Bear as he ran to the kitchen to grab a tray of snack food for the party. Indy tried to head for the side door before Love Heart could question him, but was too late.



“Indy, what’s with the old baby stuff?” Love Heart asked.

Indy stumbled slightly, catching a bottle in his telekinetic grip before it fell out of the crib and putting it back, “Just getting some needed supplies.”

Love Heart just stared and scratched his head, “Supplies for what? A baby?”

Indy didn’t feel the need to lie, not like they wouldn’t find out soon anyway, “Yep. Take Care and I adopted a cub we found in the Forest of Feelings.” Indy hurried out the side door before the green bear could fully process what he had said.

“Wait what?!”

Indy winced slightly as he packed the Cloud Car’s trunk with his cargo and strapped it shut with a bungee cord. His sixth sense was flaring like crazy as he got in the driver’s seat and took off, “I think I just lit a powder keg.”

OoOoO

“So... you’re going to run a medical practice and raise a cub? And Indy’s helping? Are you two a couple... or?” Grams got right to the point. “I could take the cub...”

Take Care groaned. “Did you hear any of what I just said?”

“Easy Take Care....” Noble Heart warned... Everyone knew she had a temper but for once True Heart defended her.

“No... Take Care is right to be a bit frustrated. She’s protecting her daughter. We adopted all these cubs. We know how much we love each one of them and what we’d do to protect them... she’s doing the same. It’s not going to be easy. But we know she’s nothing if not determined.”

“Indy and I are not a couple. Yes, we like each other. What that future holds, neither of us know. His job is to protect the family using his abilities and training. As the family doctor - my job will be to try and prevent illnesses and injuries and treat them when they do occur. So we both have a desire to protect and care for others... we just go about it a bit differently. We both realize this isn’t going to be easy.”

“And yes, I’m keeping Get Well - it’s not optional. It has to be this way.”

A knock on the front door seemed to dispel the tension in the room as Indy stepped in. “Take Care? Get Well? I got the supplies, are you ready to go?”

“Yes,” Take Care stood up, “Gotta go, I have a lot to do. We’ll talk about setting up my clinic tomorrow.” She left before anyone could protest.

“Did it go well?” Indy asked as Take Care exited the house.

“Better than it could have, True Heart stood up for me,” Take Care took her seat in the passenger’s side again. “Find everything?”

“Bottles, cloth diapers, a crib and even formula,” Indy got in the car and they drove off back to her house.

She nodded, “sounds like you got it all. Thank you.”

They were soon back to her house and setting up in the one extra bedroom she currently had. It was obvious that this was going to be a temporary solution. She was going to need a bigger home and clinic and she wanted (and now needed) them to be connected.

“Gentle Heart’s crib… I didn’t realize Noble Heart had even kept them...” Take Care commented, walking in as she was trying to burp Get Well from the bottle feeding. Not only did she get the burp, but also a sneeze. Take Care wiped Get Well’s nose with the cloth.

Indy nodded, “it was the first one I spotted and I know how close you two are. If you’d rather not use it.”

She stopped him, “no, I think it’s perfect. I’m going to change her diaper and try to get her down for the night. She needs some extra rest.”

“Alright, I’ll get these cleaned up.” Indy headed for the kitchen to wash both the bottles and cloth diapers. It didn’t take too long and Indy had them hung up and sitting out to dry when he returned to Take Care.

Take Care had just lay Get Well down to sleep in Gentle Heart’s crib when Indy entered the room, “Sleeping softly?” he whispered.

“Yes, she is.” Take Care was about to say more when Get Well tummy symbol started to glow from beneath the blanket and at the same time the painting of Gentle Heart’s symbol started to glow. When the glow finally subsided Gentle Heart’s symbol on the crib had been replaced with Get Well’s: a greeting card, with a frowning sunshine with a thermometer in its mouth on the front of the card.

“Wow... will you look at that?” Take Care whispered loudly. Their daughter stirred just slightly and Take Care immediately regretted her excitement.

“Guess she’s officially part of the family?” She whispered quietly after a few more minutes.

“She is,” Indy gave Take Care a kiss on the cheek, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” As he was about to leave he felt his sixth sense go off and bolted to the door, opening it quietly right before Sage Heart had a chance to knock.

“Shhhh,” he whispered, “Take Care just got Get Well to sleep.”

Sage Heart nodded and saw Take Care approaching just behind Indy, “I just wanted to let you both know I told everyone you couldn’t attend the ‘welcome home’ party because you had to look after the new cub,” he smiled, “They took it pretty well, but Bright and Gentle said they’d stop by after the party. We told the rest of them not to swarm your house.”

“Well.... this is one way to get out of a welcome home party...” Take Care chuckled, the full weight of the day starting to catch up with her.

“Thanks, Sage Heart... I appreciate you asking everyone not to bombard us.”

“No problem, let us know if you need any help.” Sage Heart nodded then left.

“I’m going to head home then, call me if you need any help.” Indy said.

“She and I should be ok... thanks for everything today.” She kissed him on the cheek.

Indy blushed then turned to leave, not bothering with his Cloud Car and just walking to home.

OoOoO

Construction in the Kingdom of Caring was a lot easier than it was on earth. Noble Heart and True Heart had discovered techniques with their tummy symbol to let them rapidly construct or expand buildings with basic layouts using only their tummy symbols, useful when Noble Heart had needed to expand the Cousin’s nursery home to accommodate a new room for Take Care when she had first joined them. With Bright Heart’s help Take Care had drawn a basic layout she’d need for her clinic which would also double as her house from now on: waiting room with reception desk, exam room, surgery theater, supply closets and the rooms of her house: kitchen, bedrooms (one for herself and one for Get Well), bathroom and living room.

The clinic/house was set up between Care-a-Lot and the Forest of Feelings, out in the open so anyone could see it but as close as it could be to everyone who might need to visit. Getting her medical supplies and machines took a bit longer, in fact by the end of it Take Care wasn’t entire sure how they had pulled it off so successfully. But after two months the clinic was fully set up and operational and Take Care was ready to start her new career as the Kingdom of Caring’s doctor, they just needed to move in her personal possessions.

Indy had been an immense help, helping Take Care to move and position all her furniture and equipment in the house, save for the few days he was called away to deal with the most recent attack or scheme from Cold Heart or No-Heart; he took his duties as seriously as Take Care did. Today he had just finished helping Champ and Brave Heart set up Take Care’s living room; they finished just as Take Care entered with Get Well awake and watching from her arms.

“Alright there!” Brave Heart and Champ set down Take Care’s couch then turned to face her: Champ had taken to wearing a red sport’s jacket and headband everywhere while Brave Heart was just wearing a brown western jacket. “What do you think, Take Care?” Brave Heart grinned.

She looked, it wasn’t exactly centered in the room and she was a bit weird about that... “Mind pushing it about 5 inches to the left so it’s a bit more centered? Other than that, looks great.... what do you think Get Well?”

There was no answer from the little cub, she simply gave her mom an odd look then spotted Indy. “Da-Da!!”

Indy smiled and walked over to the two as Brave Heart and Champ moved to accommodate Take Care’s request, and held out his finger to Get Well, who grabbed it eagerly. “Yes, da-da’s here.” He chuckled.

“I think that’s everything, sports fan,” Champ swiped his head, “Ready for lunch?”

“Am I ever!” Brave Heart felt his tummy gurgle, “Gonna join us?” he turned to Indy and Take Care.

“You go on ahead, Get Well’s got a pretty strong grip on me here,” Indy smiled.

“Alright, we’ll make sure Birthday and Treat don’t eat everything,” Champ said. Brave Heart just rolled his eyes and helped push Champ out before he could say anything else awkward.

“Thanks guys!! I appreciate all your help!” Take Care called as they left, chuckling at Champ Bear’s comment.

“You too, Indy... you’ve bent over backwards to make all of this work and move everything in. Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Indy was still looking at Get Well, who didn’t seem to want to let go of his finger. Seeing the cub’s expression finally prompted him to ask something he’d been thinking about during the entire construction of the Clinic. “Take Care, can I ask you something…I mean something besides the leading question I’m asking now.” he was stumbling over his words a bit.

She smiled.... she would have teased him and said that he just had asked her a question but he beat her to the punch. “Yes... you can ask me anything, you know that...”

Indy took a deep breath, “Take Care, can I move in with you? I mean I’m already coming by every day to help with Get Well and you’ll need the help now that you’re being a doctor for everyone so if she wakes up in the middle of the night,” Indy took a deep breath, “and… I want to be here to help you.” He mulled over if he wanted to tell her anything else.

Take Care was taken aback by this one... this was a huge step and not something she had seriously thought about. They were great friends and in all honesty it was more than just friends and she knew that, it was just hard to commit to. But she was going to need the help, and they did make a really good team.

“Yeah.... you can. It makes sense...”

Indy brightened up, "Thank you, and... Well there's something else I need to say." Indy started to blush as he worked up his nerve, "Ever since you've come back and we've been looking after the little one," he smiled down at Get Well, "I feel we've gotten closer. When you weren't here I thought about you all the time, just waiting until you came back. I feel...I... Take Care I think I'm in love with you."

By now Independent Bear's face was completely red and the sight of her 'da-da's' face turn the same color as a tomato made Get Well giggle and shriek with laughter, finally letting go of his finger.

You wouldn’t think Take Care could get much redder than she already was... but Indy’s confession had challenged that idea because she certainty grew two shades redder for a minute. She hadn’t been expecting that.

She really hadn’t been expecting this one... at least not yet. Eventually, maybe. She watched as their daughter giggled like crazy at Indy’s tomato red face and couldn’t help but laugh herself. Get Well was truly tickled over it.

“Ok... ok... kiddo....” Take Care tried to get her to settle because it seemed to only be making Indy worse.

It didn’t really work. She kept giggling and shrieking with laughter. So Take Care just ended up pulling a still very red-faced Indy into a hug.

“Red doesn’t suit you the way it does me,” she gently whispered and teased. He laughed.

Then she took a more serious approach, something she was well known for. “It’s ok... I mean... I think it’s been building a long time. Probably since we first started hanging out in the forest but especially since that day we cub sat all the cubs. I felt something back then, when we went outside to talk. We had so much in common - our independent nature, our love for reading and being outdoors, a desire to protect and serve and help others, albeit in different ways. Before I left, you supported me like no one else, except maybe Noble Heart, but with him as my father it’s different. You knew it meant not seeing me for years, yet you never once tried to hold me back instead you supported and encouraged me. We’re the only two of a similar age, kind of in the middle of everyone else. And yes, I feel it too...let’s see where this goes. I need a bit of time to focus on being the family doctor but maybe we can build a bigger relationship along the way.” It was all she could promise because her mind was swimming. First finishing medical school and residency, gaining a daughter, setting up a clinic and beginning to run it, and now Indy’s confession and wanting to move in. She felt a little overwhelmed but she was trying not to freak out for his sake.

She chuckled, “On the other hand... this does put one more thing on my plate because now we need another bedroom for you.”

Indy exhaled and his face turned back to its normal silver color, though he was still a bit red in the cheeks. “I think I can handle that. I’ll talk to Noble Heart after lunch, hopefully he can do more of that ‘building magic’ they used to build this place. Want to head to the Hall for lunch?”

“Yeah... let me make a bottle for her first though, just in case she doesn’t like what they’re serving.” Since she was a little over a year old, Take Care had started her on solid foods already - softer items and things she could easily eat and not get choked on. Still, she wanted a bottle on hand just in case. Better to be prepared and not need it than to suddenly find yourself with a screaming cub.

“You mind taking her?” She asked, getting ready to pass the cub over to him so she could head to the kitchen. “Won’t take me but a couple of minutes then we can go.”

“No problem,” Indy took Get Well into his arms, “Hear that, Get Well, I’m going to be living with you from now on.”

Get Well giggled and smiled up at him.

Take Care smiled, he really was making a good father to the cub. She’d had no plans on being a mom anytime soon. All those years of cub sitting had burned her out a bit, so she thought. Plus she wanted to focus on her career. But Get Well had changed things up a bit. She loved the little cub. But it was going to be challenging. Maybe now it wouldn’t be quite so hard.

Soon she had the bottle ready and put it into the small diaper bag - with a couple of extra diapers and some bibs, and put that strap over her shoulder.

“Ok... we should be good to go.”

Thankfully, by the time they got to the hall of hearts everyone was already seated and eating. Indy and Take Care were able to get their food and retreat to a quiet corner of the cafeteria (something also added by building magic once the Cubs were old enough to eat on their own) and eat their lunch in relative peace, each of them feeding Get Well alternately.

Love-a-Lot Bear, wearing a short skirt and pink blouse, watched them intently with a huge smile on her face. "Aww just look at those two lovebirds," she cooed, "like a new married couple with their little baby."

This earned her an elbow in the ribs from Love Heart Bear who was seated next to her. "Remember what True Heart said about starting rumours and poking into other people's love lives"

"Especially those two, they prefer their privacy," Brave Heart added, he was seated next to Love Heart.

Love-a-Lot huffed in her seat and went back to her lunch, but she was determined to have the last word, "I was still right about them being a couple."

Everyone at her table groaned, they weren't going to hear the end of this for quite a while.

They were far enough away where Take Care couldn’t hear so she didn’t notice at first, but when she glanced around she saw Love-A-Lot and groaned. And she saw Brave Heart give Love-A-Lot a sterner look. She could imagine the conversation taking place.

Love-A-Lot caught her glance and grinned. Take Care shot her a death glare that clearly said “mind your own business.”

Normally, she couldn’t read lips well that well, but she could clearly tell that Brave Heart told Love-A-Lot... “told you so.”

Take Care looked at Indy and nodded that direction... “it begins.... Love-A-Lot is up to something...” she fed her daughter another small bite of turkey. Get Well was clearly enjoying it as she kept clapping.

"Just our luck," Indy rolled his eyes, "at least it looks like Love Heart and Brave Heart can keep her in check for now. I'll let you know the instant she sets off my sixth sense." Indy wasn't quite sure how much he was joking as he took his turn to feed Get Well.

Gentle Heart and Bright Heart approached the other two chairs at their table. “Would you mind if we join you?”

Take Care looked up, “please... before Love-A-Lot gets the idea to steal the chair.” She rolled her eyes.

Get Well saw it and tried to mimic the action, only half succeeding. All four of them cracked up laughing which made the little cub start giggling again. Luckily, Indy had held off on the bite of food he was about to give her.

Bright Heart was wearing a fur lined baseball cap and vest while Gentle Heart was wearing a long skirt and a rather loose sweater.

Gentle heart was the first to get her laughter under control, "Aww Get Well's so cute," she reached over to tickle the cub under her chin which only made her giggle more.

"So Take Care, are you ready for this? Being a doctor I mean," Bright Heart hastily added to clarify what he was talking about.

Take Care chuckled at the clarification to his question. “Yes... been waiting a long time for this. Looking forward to beginning. Not that I want you guys sick or hurt... just that.. well, I’m ready to help. More than just bandaids and ice packs.”

Get Well seemed to have lost interest in the meal and reached for Take Care... “boddle”

Take Care picked her up. “Bottle time, huh? Well... I’m glad I packed it” She reached down and into the small bag and pulled it out. Get Well took it and popped it in her mouth, snuggled in to Take Care a bit. “Ma-ma...” Take Care kissed the top of her head. “Love you, kiddo....” she whispered.

Take Care looked back over to the two... “Since she imprinted on both of us and Indy is her father, he’ll will be looking after her while I work. When he needs to deal with No Heart or Cold Heart, then Noble Heart has offered to help.”

Bright Heart was perceptive enough to figure out what was going on, "So you're moving in together?" At the looks he saw from Take Care and Indy he hastily added: "I mean he's going to have to go over there every day to look after her so it would make more sense if he just moved in so he wouldn't have to make the commute everyday. Also I've seen his house, Indy lives a pretty Spartan lifestyle so it doesn't have much he has to move in."

Indy couldn't help but smile, "always the perceptive one Bright Heart."

Take Care nodded, preferring to keep things private but obviously this wasn’t something that they were going to be able to keep silent. Still she didn’t want any crazy rumors flying around. “As soon as we can get an extra bedroom added on. Guess I should have planned for a bigger home and clinic. Didn’t realize I’d need expansions first thing,” she chuckled.

“That seems fast, sis. You haven’t even been home that long,” Gentle Heart commented.

Take Care smiled, “We’ve known each other since we were teenagers. We make a good team.”

Get Well had recently acquired the walking skill though she was still wobbly. She tossed her bottle down on the table and climbed down from her mom... making the few steps over to Gentle Heart and held her arms up.

Gentle Heart looked at Take Care almost asking for permission.

“She’d like you pick her up...”

“Well, I figured that much out.” Gentle Heart replied with a chuckle, as she carefully picked up Get Well and sat her in her lap. The cub immediately reached out to feel her wooly fur and looked at her curiously.

“Hi sweetheart...” Gentle Heart looked down at her

“Hi!” Get Well spoke back and then put her head against Gentle Heart’s chest and her thumb in her mouth. With the other paw she waved at her parents.

“She likes you,” Indy chuckled. “Maybe you could babysit sometime when I’m busy.”

“Maybe,” Gentle Heart reached down to let Get Well grab her finger.

“So what have you heard about what happened while you were gone?” Bright Heart asked.

“Well... looks like we have two new enemies, No Heart and Cold Heart and you guys grew up a ton...” she was summarizing. “What else did I miss?”

“Mostly their various plans,” Gentle Heart shuddered, “No-Heart once trapped me in a maze on one of Birthday Bear’s missions.”

“And then there was Cold Heart’s concrete rain,” Bright Heart sighed.

“Cold Heart is insane in every definition of the word,” Indy’s tone carried a weariness of exasperation.

“Oh, there’s the school the founders are planning,” Bright Heart lit up. “They’re actually talking about working with people on earth to set it up. I don’t know all the details but they said we’re going to be in school with human children, but still here in Care-a-Lot.”

“I didn’t know what,” Indy sat up straighter. He and Take Care exchanged looks, both were nervous about the idea of humans going to school up here.

“A school with humans? Have they lost their minds?” Take Care asked. She wasn’t too loud but her tone clearly showed her displeasure with the idea.

Bright Heart and Gentle Heart were a bit taken aback. Take Care tried to cool her temper with a second question that was bugging her.

“Concrete rain? Like… it rained concrete or turned things to concrete?”

Indy sighed, “He flew around dumping concrete on everything, as though that would make people stop caring somehow. He got the idea from a kid who wanted more places to roller skate.” He turned to see the look of bafflement on Take Care’s face, “I just responded to it, then spent the better part of the day banging my head against the wall.”

“Good thing the walls are made of clouds,” Gentle Heart couldn’t help but giggle.

“As for the school, we’re all a bit skeptical but… hold on,” Bright Heart pulled out a notepad he had been keeping notes on, something he had to do with all the thoughts for inventions among other things wandering around his head, and flipped through a few pages. “Oh right, Love Heart found another lost Care Bear Cousin on Earth living with a human family, but she didn’t want to leave them to live up here. I didn’t meet her personally but I saw her, sandy yellow fennec fox named Cassandra Avalon. Noble Heart gave her the name Confidence Heart Fennec.”

“One thing led to another and then they announced they were going to try and link her town, Readington, with something like the Rainbow Rescue beam.” Gentle Heart looked up at Take Care and realized they might have gone on a bit too much.

Bright Heart took over again, “The Rainbow Rescue Beam is my own design, a teleporter we can use to jump right to caring missions. I’m still working on it.”

Despite everything, Take Care couldn’t help but smile, “Are you sure you need to go to school, Bright Heart?” Bright Heart beamed at the praise but didn’t say anything.

“Wait, another lost Care Bear Cousin? There’s more?” Take Care asked.

Bright Heart spoke again, “There’s the pandas, Perfect and Polite. Tenderheart, Swift Heart and Good Luck found them in valley surrounded by snowy mountains and invited them to live up here, but they couldn’t adjust and decided to return home. They have to stay there because their love keeps the valley from being taken over by snow and ice again.”

“And Good Luck has a crush on Polite,” Gentle Heart added.

Take Care shook her head, “ok... yeah... I missed a lot and that’s the understatement of the year.”

“Crazy enemies with crazy plots, new family members living on earth... at least some things never change.” She smiled. “Thankful to have you two as “little” siblings. I missed you guys. Bright Heart, That Rainbow Rescue Beam is a great idea. Keep working on it.”

A few more minutes if conversation passed, but Indy quickly noticed Get Well was just about to fall asleep. “I think it’s someone’s nap time...”

“Yeah... We’d better head back to the house...”

“Aww... it’s been fun spending time together and holding her. She’s really precious.” Gentle Heart almost hated to pass her back.
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CryosR
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Re: Finding Family - A Care Bears Fanfic

Post by CryosR »

Last chapter

Chapter 6: Found Family

Thankfully, Noble Heart was able to add an extra bedroom to the clinic across from Take Care’s for Indy to sleep in without any difficulty. Indy easily settled into his new life, as Take Care got up early to look after the clinic he would wake Get Well up and look after her throughout the day: feeding her, changing her and even playing with her; he even made some of her toys (soft plush toys) fly around to entertain her at times. Though she was busy with the clinic, on slow days Take Care would spend some time helping look after Get Well. It was fortunate that the blue cub was such a calm child.

Years passed by as things moved forwards. Deals were struck with people living on earth and the construction of the Care-a-Lot escalator school began (so named because it taught Kindergarten all the way up through Grade 12). Like the clinic, construction moved ahead at light speed compared to what it would have been on earth, though a thorough set of blueprints were drawn up before any construction began, as adding rooms to a building this big would be much more hazardous than it was for the clinic.

One night, Take Care and Indy were awakened by a sudden cry from Get Well. “MOMMY! DADDY!” Both jumped out of bed almost simultaneously and bolted from their rooms. They both opened their doors to find Get Well crying while standing right between them and clutching her stuffed panda in her arms.

“Hey kiddo.... what’s wrong?” Take Care asked.

“What happened?” Indy asked at the exact same moment.

Get Well was normally a calm cub and rarely got up in the middle of the night unless she was sick. It was immediately Take Care’s first worry.

They both moved at the exact same moment to pick her up, Indy getting to her only a split second faster.

“I.... I..... had a bad dream... I’m scared” she sobbed as she gripped her panda with one arm and grabbed Indy in a hug with the other.

Indy rubbed her back with his free hand, “There, there, sweetheart, it’s just a nightmare. It can’t hurt you.” He reassured her.

Take Care out her paw on her daughter’s shoulder as Indy rubbed her back, “Yeah... just a dream, nothing will hurt you. Neither one of us would let anything hurt you. It’s alright.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Take Care asked thinking back to her days when the cousins were cubs and had bad dreams. Some of them liked to talk about it. Some of them didn’t.

Get Well shook her head, "N-no... I...I...I don't want to be alone..."

Indy carefully picked her up, "Want to sleep with daddy tonight?"

Get Well shook her head and reached back towards Take Care, "No, I want to be with both of you."

Take Care and Indy exchanged glances. They hadn’t really thought about this “problem.”

“Oh kiddo...” Take Care began. “Why don’t we read you a story for a while and stay till you fall back to sleep.”

“No.... Please....” She cried, practically shaking in fear. “I need you. I want you both to sleep with me.”

“I’m not sure your bed is big enough for all of us,” Indy smiled.

Get Well had the perfect solution to this at least in her mind.

“Mommy’s bed is....”

It was true. Indy only had a single sized bed, true to the ‘spartan lifestyle’ Bright Heart had described, while Take Care had a double sized bed. Indy and Take Care shared looks then looked down at Get Well’s pleading face. Seeing her so frightened, they couldn’t say no.

“Alright, just promise not to wake mom and dad up,” Indy turned to Take Care for her confirmation.

“I won’t...” Get Well agreed. “I’ll be super quiet. I know mom has to work in the morning.”

Take Care nodded and shook her head with a slight smile. Then she waved towards her bedroom, “alright.... alright... come on then...”

Indy carried Get Well into the bedroom and let her crawl in next to Take Care, then he crawled in after her. Instinctually both older bears hugged Get Well and held her close. Get Well stopped shaking and smiled, snuggling into the mattress between her adopted parents. “Good night,” she mumbled, “I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart, now go to sleep,” Indy whispered back.

“Love you both...” Take Care answered, yawning, so tired she barely even realized the full magnitude of the confession she’d just made.

Indy’s eyes shot open as he heard her but he stayed still. Did she mean that? Of course she did, Take Care wouldn’t lie about something like that. He lay there, thinking even as the girls fell asleep, until he felt his eyes forcing closed. Time for life shattering revelations later, all that mattered was that Get Well needed them to sleep. He dozed off knowing he’d have to talk to Take Care about this tomorrow.

Take Care awoke and groaned as rays as sunshine flooded in through the window, beating the alarm clock this morning. (Which she promptly turned off.) She wasn’t a morning person, but then she remembered her daughter and Indy were in the room. “Wait.... Indy’s still here?” She thought. She should have known he wouldn’t dare leave their daughter. He really was so good to them both.

She shook off her thoughts and decided to use the hall bathroom instead of her own to try and keep from waking them - Slipping carefully and quietly out before gently shutting the bedroom door behind her and walking across the hall. Maybe they could get a few more minutes of sleep, while she grabbed a shower to try and wake herself up. She just had a feeling this was going to be a busy day and after doing this for three years she could practically sense it.

Get Well stirred slightly as Take Care left but didn’t wake up for a time. It wasn’t until Indy started to stir that she woke up and saw that Take Care wasn’t there. “Mommy?” she whispered.

Indy woke up as Get Well tried to fidget free. He saw he was still in Take Care’s bed and the night’s memories came flooding back. “Mommy has to get ready for work,” he whispered. “You don’t have to get up if you don’t want to.” Truthfully he hoped Get Well would want to stay in bed. He didn’t want to have to talk to Take Care until he had a chance to mentally prepare for the conversation, and shower.

Get Well snuggled into Indy and dozed back off.

Take Care finished her shower, dried off and headed for the clinic. She turned on the computers and picked up some of the files she’d been working on the day before. Since she hasn’t quite finished charting the previous afternoon, as Get Well had begged her to come and play a game, she sat down to finish it now, before filing it away.

Before she knew it, she had her first patient and the day had begun. She knew Indy and Get Well had gotten up, but hadn’t even had a chance to say good morning.

Once Indy had gotten up, showered and made breakfast for him and Get Well (just toast and cereal) he decided he could wait to talk to Take Care until later. He never disturbed her during her open hours unless there was a medical emergency with Get Well. Thankfully he was able to keep and eye on her and even smiled when Get Well tried to read one of Take Care’s old medical journals from when she was in school. She was very bright for being so young and Take Care didn’t object.

Indy decided the best option was to talk to her after lunch, when she hopefully wasn’t as busy. He started in on the food, making chicken noodle soup and sandwiches, hoping the smell would reach Take Care and remind her what time it was.

Having been so busy she hadn’t even had time for breakfast, other than a banana, the smell of the soup certainly got her attention. She’d just finished with her final patient for the moment and her stomach growled. She headed towards the kitchen.

“Still reading that journal, huh?” Take Care asked her daughter ruffling the fur on the top of her head. Get Well nodded. “I think dad has lunch about ready... and I’m starving. Let’s go eat.”

“Ok....” Get Well put it down and followed along behind her.

Indy had the table set for lunch when they walked in, pulling out the chairs for both of them, and pushing Get Well up. “Have a fun morning?” he asked as he took his own seat.

“She chuckled, “depends on your definition of fun I guess. I enjoy it, but it has its crazy moments. Several patients so far today - One burn, one needing a few stitches, a couple of colds, a sinus infection and a case of flu who is on strict orders to stay home because I don’t want that spreading around.”

“How about you two? I see someone’s been trying to read my medical journals again.”

Get Well nodded before she started to eat, “Uh-huh, I wanna know how do it.”

Indy laughed, “She’s enthusiastic. I’ve kept an eye on her and read some more of The Taggerung. Not much else until lunch.”

“You can learn it someday, Get Well, if you decide that’s what you want to do.” Take Care spoke before turning to Indy.

“Thanks... for making lunch and watching her. Pretty sure I’d forget to eat some days if it was just me around here.”

Indy smiled, “Anytime.” He ate slowly, watching at Get Well tore through her food, apparently eager to get back to reading.

“Slow down a little, Get Well, we don’t need you choking on food,” Take Care corrected her. “You’ve still got plenty of time to read and play today.”

Get Well nodded and slowed down - a little. Take Care began to eat her own soup and sandwich and was very thankful for the break.

Get Well still finished before either Indy or Take Care. “May I be excused?” she asked.

“Yes, if you put your dishes by the sink,” Indy said.

“Ok!” Get Well jumped up, taking her dishes to the sink before leaving the kitchen.

Take Care shook her head and smiled.

“Really can’t believe how interested she’d getting in my job. She’s four... I don’t want her thinking she has to decide her future now. Maybe I’m overthinking it.” She shook her head, and paused for a bit before continuing.

“Four years ago, before I came home... would you have ever imagined this is where we’d be?” Take Care asked Indy as she finished and took her own bowl to the sink and began running hot water and adding dish soap. Indy walked over and added his own dishes to the sink.

“No, but I didn’t imagine you saying you loved me either,” Indy said softly. There was a moment of silence before Indy continued, “Last night, while we were helping Get Well sleep, you said you loved us both. I know I’m probably reading too much into it…” he trailed off.

Take Care thought back. She barely remembered saying it, but she had. She thought for a few moments. She’d been pondering their relationship for a while. She’d just been scared and busy but both of those were really just excuses. After the last few years, it was pretty obvious they worked well together and they could be so much more. She felt so much more and had for a long time.

“Well... It’s true... I love you both.”

“It’s been on my mind a while. I do love you, Indy. As more than just a friend, and as more than just Get Well’s dad. I love you.”

Indy face lit up, “You do?”

“Yes.”

Indy took her hand, reaching over to shut off the tap just in case, “My feelings for you have only grown stronger since we adopted Get Well, I see your work and dedication and I’m impressed every day. I love you, Take Care Bear.”

“And I see your dedication to us, and the entire family, dealing with No Heart and Cold Heart. I rarely have to cook or clean. You take care of most of that while I work, and you love that cub just as fiercely as I do.”

She leaned in a bit and kissed him gently, a risk she was finally willing to take. Indy kissed back, putting his arms around Take Care as he did so.

She wrapped her arms around him too, letting the kiss get a bit more passionate before they gently broke away.

“Well... the cat’s out of the bag now,” she grinned.

Indy chuckled, “I’m happy it is.” He gave her a soft kiss, “We should probably get the dishes done.”

“I’ll wash... you dry?”

“Sure...” he agreed.

She grabbed the sponge and began scrubbing dishes. It really didn’t take that long, the hardest part was the pan he’d cooked the soup in and even it wasn’t hard.

“The school’s opening this year, Get Well will be old enough to go to kindergarten, “Indy said.

“She will. It’ll be odd not having her home most of the day. But it’ll be a good thing for her, and give you a bit of a break.”

Indy nodded, “Yeah. Actually we’re going to have a chance to take down No-Heart for good soon, if we can,” he paused for a moment. “I admit, I’m scared.”

“Well.... I’d call you crazy if you weren’t scared, Indy.” she smiled softly. “What’s the plan? Anything I can do to help?”

“Just be ready for when we come back,” he turned to give her a kiss on the cheek before he put the last bowl away.

“Obviously,” she answered. “The clinic is always prepared. I ever know how many injuries you guys are going to come back with. Thankfully, it’s always been pretty minor.” She smiled.

“Thank you,” Indy nodded, “This is a bit awkward but… could we still sleep together from now on? Even if Get Well doesn’t need us every night?”

She thought for a moment on his question. “Yes, we can. Guess you’re moving into my room.”

“Guess so, we can keep my room as a guest room I suppose,” he smiled, “guess you have to get back to work.”

“Yeah... lots of charting to catch up on from the morning...” she smiled. “You know where to find me if you need me,” She headed that direction, but not before chatting with Get Well a couple of minutes, helping her pronounce a few words in the medical journal (and explained what they meant), and giving her a hug.

“I wanna come work with you.”

Take Care smiled, “trust me, you don’t right now. Right now, I’m just doing paperwork. It’s not the fun part. Read and play, kiddo... enjoy your afternoon.”

“Ok…” Get Well sounded a bit dejected until Indy arrived.

“Want to go for a walk?” he offered, “we can go see the new school.”

Get Well smiled, “Yes.”

Indy took her hand, “See you later, Take Care,” he gave her a quick kiss.

Take Care wished she could join them, but knew she didn’t need to put off the charting. It had to be done, and was just as important as everything else. She headed towards the clinic to work.

“Have fun, you two...”

Later that night, Indy and Take Care lay in bed together. Get Well didn't seem to be having any nightmares yet. "Does this feel weird?" Indy asked.

"A bit..." Take Care admitted, "I mean... last night Get Well needed us so we were there for her and now we're just..."

"Together," Indy scooted closer.

"Yes," Take Care put her arms around him. "But... I like this."

"Me too," Indy pulled her close.

Take Care smiled and snuggled up against him, laying her head on his chest. "I love you."

"I love you too," Indy gave her a kiss on the forehead. Eventually, they fell asleep
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