This series has officially become longer then I had expected and surpassed any of my other stories. In any case, I enjoy writing about Care Bears and I do very much enjoy this universe that has been created. Thank you Niccunningham for suggesting these shorts, and I hope you have a very happy birthday!
I own nothing. Care Bears belong to their rightful owners and idea for this story goes to Niccunningham.
Enjoy the story!
For a land high above the clouds, it might come to surprise that the Kingdom of Care-A-Lot would get any form of precipitation. While it was true that living on the clouds did prevent much more drastic forms of weather, like any other country, the weather and seasons changing still had it's effect on the land.
One day, within Bright Heart's third year of life, the little Raccoon found himself indoors while a soft rainstorm poured outside. His parents were away on a Caring Mission along with the others, leaving him in the home under the supervision of Grams Bear and in the company of Hugs and Tugs. The three of them were currently situated by the window sill, watching as rain fell and collected on the glass, where they would make up games, such as betting on which water drops of their choosing would make it to the bottom of the window first.
While they stood their, giggling and cheering on the drops, Grams came out of a nearby room, carrying a modestly-sized box with the word 'TOYS' labeled in black marker on the front. Even though the book was full, and she was getting on in her years, it was nothing the senior bear couldn't handle. She walked towards the center of the room and plopped it softly down on the rug before calling the children.
"Cubs! I have something for you to see!"
Looking away from their water race and immediately taking notice of the very appealing box in front of Grams, they broke away from the wall and went to sit in a semicircle before her.
"Whatcha got there, Grams," Tugs asked, curiously poking at the cardboard.
"Well it would appear that I happened to find some toys that have yet to be played with and I decided that you three would be the perfect candidates for the job." The trio cheered as she lifted up the covers, revealing a treasure trove of toys inside.
"Hey, I remember these," Bright Heart was first to exclaim, reaching in and pulling out a remote control cloud car and the remote. "I got this for my birthday. Haven't played much with it though. Wonder why?"
Hugs reached over beside him and pulled out a toy train, and took to rolling it on the rug. "It's because you've been going to school and you have been spending more time outside with us," she replied, then proceeding to mimic train noises. Beside her, Tugs nodded and pulled out a star-buddy plushie, to which he immediately brought to his chest and snuggled his head against the soft, yellow fabric. "It's also because you've gotten sick lately and maybe they didn't want these to get co-co-"
"Con-tam-in-at-ed," Grams offered, slowly enunciating each syllable.
"Yeah! Contraminased," he slurred, then shaking his head upon realizing his mistake.
"Con-tam-min-at-ed," Grams said again, more slowly this time.
"Con-tam-inated," he said, then puffing out his chest and grinning at his accomplishment.
"Contaminated," Bright Heart repeated. "That means gets germs on things, right?"
"Yes dear. Remember, you were coughing quite a bit, so your parents removed your toys for a while to ensure they didn't get all germy and that some other person might catch the sickness," Grams explained. Bright Heart nodded in understanding.
"Have you've guys ever gotten sick before," he asked. Tugs shook his head, though Hugs nodded her.
"Yes we have. Hugs and I, when we were very, very little, we got something that made our tummies hurt and made us cry a lot," she said. After thinking for a few seconds, Tugs remembered the event she was telling and nodded as well.
"Yeah, me and Hugs felt awful. But then the others gave us a warm bath and made sure that we were taken care of. It quickly passed afterwards." He paused for a second, then turned towards Grams, who was quietly sitting in the armchair nearby, knitting in silence. "Grams, what was the name of the things we caught."
Never looking away from her clicking knitting needles and soft pink yarn, Grams replied, "I believe it was Colic."
"Colic, okay," he replied, resuming snuggling his toy.
"So when you both got colic, did you have to move your toys away so that they couldn't get contaminated," Bright Heart asked. Both the cubs looked at him, then each other, then to him again, before shaking their heads.
"No, we just took a bath, got nice and comfy, and slept the rest of the night," Hugs replied. Bright Heart gave another nod, then drawing his attention back to the controller in his hands.
"Well that's good. I'm glad we're all healthy and not sick," he replied. "And I'm glad we get to play with these toys of mine."
With a grin and the flick of a switch, the motor on the tiny car began whirring and soon the cloud mobile began softly flying through the air. As the kids played with their toys, Grams gave a smile chuckle and smile, before finishing another row to the scarf she was making.
By the time Bright Heart's parents had come home, the rain had finished falling and the sun had just begun to set below the horizon. The two were in rain gear, since their mission had unfortunately been under all the clouds where a much larger storm had occurred, but they were grateful to finally be back home.
As they approached the doorway, Grams was already present, smiling at them as she held both Hugs and Tugs in each arm. The two were happily snoozing against her chest and on her shoulder, exhausted from a full day if playing indoor.
"Thank you for taking care of them Grams, I hope they weren't too much trouble," Noble Heart said. Grams shook her head and smiled.
"Not at all, they were all wonderfully behaved. I enjoy taking care of them and they all appeared to have had a wonderful day, despite the rain. Bright Heart is in his room right now if you want to go see him," she responded. Nodding fondly at the lavender bear, they bid their farewells as she went out to bring her own charges home. The two cubs shivered as the cooler air touched their fur, but the gentle lull of her heartbeat, combined with the softness of her fur and shawl, kept them from waking.
As the two shrugged off their rain hear on the nearest coat rack, Noble Heart began the climb upstairs towards their son's room, "I'm going to go check on him," he announced.
"I'll be in the kitchen, starting up dinner," True Heart replied, before chuckling to herself. "It's a bit late, though at least we won't be going to bed with empty tummies now."
Chuckling in reply, he made his way up the stairs and down the hallway towards the closed door that was his son's room. Giving a short knock, he called out," Hey son, we're home."
It was quiet for a few seconds, though his ears perked up when he heard a small, almost whimpering reply of, "dad." Concern began creeping up over him at that response and he grabbed the knob and slowly turned it before peeking in.
"You alright son," he said, examining the room before finally spotting his son on the bed. At first he thought that his response night have been partially from him waking his son up, but then it became clear to him that Bright Heart was very much awake, clutching his stomach tightly, and his face was scrunched up in what appeared to be pain. "Son," he asked again, entering the room and coming near to his son's side.
"Daddy," Bright Heart whimpered. To his horror, Noble Heart saw a tear trickle down from his closed eyelid. "H-hurts," he moaned.
Noble Heart's paternal instincts went into gear instantly and he quickly looked over him. "Son, where does it hurt?," he asked.
"Muh- my tummy, my legs, dad," he stammered out, before began crying. "I think I got colic," he wailed.
Though Noble Heart began to feel panicked, he channeled his leadership skills and addressed the situation at hand. Seeing that True Heart was better at medicine and stuff, she might be able to determine what was really wrong. With remarkable precision, he reached over and picked up his son, wrapping him in his blanket. Bright Heart moaned again and buried his head into his father's fur.
True Heart was in the kitchen at the moment, debating on whether or not sandwiches or pancakes would make a better dinner meal. Both were pretty good, and she wasn't on planning on doing too much cooking due to the time, though as she was deciding between the two, she heard the sound of muffled crying. Setting down the bread and the pancake box, she walked into the living room, gasping as she saw her husband walk down the stairs with their child, swaddled and crying against him.
"What's wrong." she asked, dinner forgotten as she approached them.
"He says his stomach and legs aren't feeling well," Noble Heart explained. "He says it may be colic."
"Colic? Oh dear, that's the third illness he's gotten so far." Turning to the sobbing raccoon, she cooed softly, offering to take him from his father. "Brighty? Son? Is there anything else that you're feeling sick in?" He shook his head, but still pressed his head against her neck, searching for comfort and relief.
"Well if it is colic, then we should definitely do something about that. Honey, please run upstairs and start drawing a warm bath. Not hot, just warm. I'm going to get some fluids within him before coming up to give him a bath. It should help," she explained.
"On it," he replied, trotting up the stair. Bright Heart was still sobbing, so True Heart kept murmuring softly to him and brushing away his tear.
"Don't cry sweetheart. You're father and I are here and we're going to make things all better." After pausing a moment, she smiled and asked, "would you like me to make you some hot cocoa to drink? You can even have it while in the tub."
Sniffling, he managed to look up and nod, cracking a small smile.
"Well alright then. Let's go get you taken care of."
By the time the water was drawn to a good level and put at the ideal temperature, the two of them entered the bathroom. A sippy cup filled with a warm cup of chocolaty delight was in Bright Heart's grasp and he took small sips of it now and then. Even though he was hurting, the taste of the sweet drink helped make him feel better. Besides, no one could beat his mom's hot cocoa.
"I've left the powder out and there's some warm milk leftover if you want to make some hot cocoa for yourself dear," she explained. Noble Heart nodded, before taking him from her.
"I'll get some after we've taken care of this," he responded.
Carefully removing the blanket from around Bright Heart, he softly set the young kit into the pool of warm water. Bright Heart moaned a bit as his blanket was removed and replaced with the tub of water. His limbs seemed to curl up as he gave another cry at how his tummy felt. Both parents leaned down and began softly speaking him to him, reassuring him that he would be alright and that it would all pass soon. They gave him gently tummy rubs and head/shoulder pats to sooth him.
Slowly, but surely, Bright Heart began to relax, his cries slowly turning to just whimpers. The sippy cup soon was emptied and Bright Heart began to nod off. After spending a good amount of time in the tub, the parents drained the water and quickly re-swaddled him again in a towel. Together, they returned to his room and swapped the towel for his pajamas and his blanket.
"I promise you should feel a lot better in the morning, sweetie," True Heart reassured, giving him some kisses to his forehead. Bright Heart nodded, his lips drawn in a small frown, though already the soft hand of sleep was already beginning to null the pain. Giving a yawn, he began to wriggle down into his covers more comfortably..
"Thanks mom. Thanks dad. Goodnight," he whispered, before shutting his eyes.
"Goodnight son," they both replied. Noble Heart walked over and flipped on the switch to his star-shaped night light before joining True Heart out the door.
A few minutes later, the two parents were in the living room, the remainder of the hot cocoa in their mugs while they sat in the armchairs. A log had been placed in the nearby fireplace and it now roared to life with a comfortable, dancing fire.
"Poor dear, this is the third illness he's had in his three years and the second in the last one," Noble Heart said, clutching his cream-colored mud while steam wafted from the sweet liquid.
"Mm. Well he is rather young and hasn't developed his immune system fully yet. Thankfully colic is a very short-lasting disease, though perhaps we should take him to the doctor in the morning, just to check things out." She took a sip from her violet cup, the warmth soothing her nerves a bit.
"Sounds like a plan. I'm just grateful that he's okay now." She nodded, before standing up and walking over to him, sitting down beside him.
"As am I." She stretched out her arm and wrapped it around his back in a comforting embrace. "He's a good boy. We're so lucky to have him."
He reciprocated the embrace, going further to kiss her cheek sweetly. "And we're good parents too."
The two stayed in the chair for quite some time after, just cherishing each other's company, until well after the flames died down and the night went on.
I have a second part for this collection of shorts planned. I hope everyone reading this enjoyed it and once again I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Niccunningham. Please leave a like and/or a review and I'll see you next time. Sincerely, v.t.7