Voices. All I could hear was voices. Slowly things were starting to come back to me out of the darkness I was in. I was waking up and could feel softness beneath me, and I was warm. That didn't seem right. Last thing I remembered I was running outside.
As I came more awake I could feel a dull ache throughout my body. I shifted position to see if that would help. It did, as well as making the voices become louder.
"You see that? She moved. She's waking up."
"But her eyes aren't open."
"That don't matter." Something grabbed one of my hands. "Swift Heart? Can you hear me?"
Swift Heart? Who was he talking to? Intrigued I decided to try opening my eyes. It was slow, kind of pitiful now that I think about it, but the room was really bright. And really white.
"There ya see? Ah told ya she'd get around to it."
Looking to my left I saw a strange looking lion holding my hand and gasped, trying to flinch away from him.
The lion laughed, "Hold on there. It's just me Swifty."
I wanted to tell him I had no idea who he was, and my name wasn't Swifty when something changed in my mind. It kind of felt like a curtain was being pulled up. He was right, my name was Swift Heart. Swift Heart Rabbit if we were going to be technical. And I was a Care Bear Cousin. This was my leader Brave Heart Lion. He was ok. How on earth could I have forgotten that?
Shaking my head to clear it further I asked, "Brave Heart?" Just to be sure. Looking around to see who the other voices belonged to, I saw a pale yellow bear, a purple horse, and a brownish red bear. Come on brain, lift another curtain for me.
"Take Care had said that memory loss was completely normal in her situation." The horse said.
Excellent! So my patchy brain was to be expected. But why? What happened to me? Oh wait, that one should probably be said out loud. "What's my situation?"
Their eyes all came back to me. It should have made me feel insecure and uncomfortable but it didn't. Somehow I knew they all genuinely cared for me.
"There was a fight with No Heart," I knew that name! It sent a cold shiver down my spine and it showed on my face. Brave Heart was still gripping my hand and he gave it a squeeze. The pale yellow bear continued, "He got ahold of you somehow and made you disappear."
"Made me disappear?" I tried to remember where I was before now. Going back to the darkness, I started from my last memory. I was running outside. Well that made total sense, I loved to run. It was my favorite thing in the whole world. But there was nothing about a castle or an evil wizard.
The other bear could tell I was struggling, "He turned you into a human and hid you away on earth. It was weeks before we even knew where to start looking for you."
Another curtain lifted, "He put me in Chicago. My name was Sharon and I worked as a mail carrier." More came flooding through the curtain and I sat up, also removing my hand so I could massage my suddenly aching temples. "It was so dull. Same thing day in and day out. And it was winter, so I was either trapped inside or trudging through cold and windy streets."
"You never did like the cold." The horse told me with a smile.
I smiled back to….Noble Heart. "Yeah and living there definitely didn't cure me of that. But that was his plan. He would put me somewhere totally miserable so I wouldn't be able to remember you guys." Pausing I looked to Brave Heart, "How did you guys find me?"
"It wasn't easy. Like Tenderheart said, we were looking forever. But there wasn't even a trace of you. No care signature, nothin! Then this morning, Wish Bear was on Star-o-Scope duty like always and the Caring Meter started freakin out. Not droppin but goin up." He got to his feet; clearly this part of the story needed some action poses.
I tried not to laugh at the reenactment but with Brave Heart that is really hard to do.
"So she focused the scope on the coordinates it got and saw some woman runnin through the park in Chicago. As she watched she got faster and faster and faster."
"Meanwhile I was watching the data being collected in the Careputer. Bright Heart had programmed it to recognize even the smallest trace of your care signature. The reading kept going up so I went to go tell Wish the news."
Brave Heart jumped in front of Tenderheart, cutting him off "And I was with Wish when she figured it out! Wasn't hard when you started to glow blue. So we all got together and realized it was you and Tenderheart and I jumped in a cloud mobile as fast as we could."
"But you were unconscious when we found you. And you were ummm…..I guess transitioning is the best word for it? You were sort of half human half bunny." Tenderheart told her.
Nodding to him I began to recall my end of the events, "It was the first nice day we'd had since winter started and work had been awful that day. So I decided to go on my first outside run of the year and blow off a little steam. I remember it was really rough going at first, my legs were so out of shape and my breathing totally sucked. But as I went things began to loosen." Remembering that feeling that had filled me I couldn't help but sigh, "I began feeling warm. And happy. The better I felt the faster I wanted to go. After a while the cold didn't even affect me. All I noticed was everything flying by. Oh! That's when the glow started, from here." I put my hand on my stomach, right over my tummy symbol. Seeing the familiar heart and wings I smiled at it, "It got so bright that it blinded me and that's the last thing I remember."
True Heart smiled at me and nodded, "You were always at your best when you were running. It was what made you who you are. So it's no surprise your true Care Cousin self started to fight back when you were doing what you loved."
"And once they got you here I helped you with the rest." Another bear entered the room. He was orange with a smiling apple on his stomach, mostly obscured by his white coat. His name did not escape me.
"Oh gee lucky me Take Care." He smiled at me good naturedly, "I shouldn't be surprised you remember my name. Normally we remember the things we have strong feelings towards. I suppose your aversion to see me all these years for check-ups paid off."
Without realizing it I made some sort of snarky face at him.
Brave Heart laughed and slapped me hard on the back, "You're getting more like you by the minute."
"If you say so. I'm still deciphering who exactly that is." I replied while rubbing my head again.
Take Care made a note of something on the chart in his hands, "That's not unusual. You were basically of two minds inhabiting a single body so it is only natural for some things to be lost." Looking at me he smiled again, "But I see no reason to keep you here."
Relief filled me. "That sounds great. Would one of you mind coming with me? Just so I don't become that crazy girl wandering around alone?" I asked my assembled audience.
Not surprising, Brave Heart's hand went up like a rocket. "I gotchya covered! Besides, I know someone who has been going out of their mind from worrying over you."
"Really?" Moving my feet over the side of the bed I dropped to the floor. Standing next to Brave Heart I was a little shocked to see I only came to his chin. As a human I hadn't been tall, but I wasn't that short either.
"Yeah. Don't tell me you forgot about Cozy?" His face fell slightly. Wow he was taking this memory loss harder then I was.
But lucky for him the mention of her name brought back a rush of memories, "Brave Heart I barely know who I am. Remember. But I know who you're talking about. She's my best friend after all. Which come to think of it is pretty crazy since she loves two things I hate!" Just thinking of the penguin's igloo made me shudder. "She's probably by the river huh?"
"Greaaaaat idea Swifty! Leeeet's go!" He grabbed my arm and practically dragged me out the door. Behind us Noble Heart called, "Be careful with her Brave Heart."
"Should one of us go with them? For her protection?" My sensitive ears picked up on Tender Hearts comment but not True Hearts response.
After a few feet Brave Heart released my arm. Before I could ask him anything though, he hugged me tight, lifting my feet off the ground. "Ah'm really glad you are okay Swifty! We were so worried about you. Ah should never have let him take you."
"Hey it's cool. I'm here now and I'll get better. You're a great leader Brave Heart….I think….I'm sure you did all you could." Patting his back, I tried to make him feel better. I really did get the feeling he liked to keep his family safe, and I'm sure he felt like a tremendous failure when my stupid butt got into trouble. "Plus I bet it was my own fault No Heart got me. I mean come on. I can be downright stubborn when I want to be right?"
He laughed and put me down. "You got that right." Walking side by side we resumed our walk to the river to look for Cozy Heart.
Naturally we met a few others on the way. We were passing by the Caring Meter, not the giant heart lollipop I learned, when a purple raccoon Cousin spotted us. He was sitting on the railing and looking at schematics while calling directions to someone inside the machine.
Seeing us he had stopped mid-sentence. "Swift Heart!" He jumped down and kicked the leg of whoever was inside, "Grumpy! It's Swift Heart! They found her." Without waiting for this 'Grumpy' guy he came running down to us and hugged me as well.
The hug was a good distraction. I got a really unpleasant feeling in my stomach when he had said 'Grumpy.' It was really strange.
"Are you okay Swift Heart? You look sick." His concern was adorable.
"Yeah…..Bright Heart, right?"
Brave Heart stepped in to clarify the situation. "She is suffering from memory loss. But Take Care says it should come back."
"What a relief!"
A blue bear with a cross expression came down from the Caring Meter. Wild guess, this was Grumpy. "I don't know why you are carrying on like it's a big surprise Bright Heart. It was her caring signature that overloaded the Caring Meter. That's why I'm up in the blasted things gizmos trying to get them synched again." He looked at me, frown still firmly in place. "You can't do anything subtly can you?"
Whoa! Hold up! I was not about that tone. "I'm sorry Grumpy Bear. Did you have other very important things to do today?" Something came to me, "Was there another washing machine on the fritz again? Or a light bulb emergency? A thousand pardons handyman!"
"Ha! Just like with Take Care! Seems like the only people she ain't got a problem remembering are the ones that make her angry." Brave Hearts comment had Bright Heart laughing as well.
Grumpy continued to polish the gear in his hand, trying in vain to remove the black grease off it. The more I looked at him the more uneasy I felt. "Well I was going to say I'm glad they found you. But then I remembered how quiet it has been with you gone. And how nice it's been to not be randomly run over."
What was his deal? Not that I wanted a hug from everyone but come one! I thought it was some major crisis that I had vanished! I could feel my temper rising, "You know come to think of it… Chicago isn't looking so bad. Even in the dead of winter it is warmer than being within 10 feet of you."
"Alright that's enough you two! Damn!" Brave Heart put his arms between us. I hadn't even realized we had gotten so close when we were trading insults.
"Don't worry Swift Heart. Soon you'll be used to Grumpy's grouchiness again." Bight Heart assured her. "Don't take anything he says too personally."
My anger was evaporating already. "Oh something tells me I don't usually. I just like to get a rise out of him. Sound about right?" I directed the question to Grumpy with a snide little smirk.
"I'm not the only one. You get on everyone's nerves at one point or another. Now if you excuse me, I have handyman things to do." He turned and headed back to the Caring Meter.
"Seriously, why have we not given him a Percocet or some uppers? Did I say something to him before I vanished?"
"Nah. You two are always going at it over silly things. But like ya said, they don't last long."
Bright Heart excused himself and headed back to help Grumpy with the Caring Meter. As we walked away my stomach continued to feel uneasy until the Caring Meter was out of sight. We walked down the rainbow path towards the distant collection of colored trees, all the while Brave Heart gave me the rundown of the other Cousins and Bears so I wouldn't be caught off guard. For the most part, I did remember who he was talking about after a gentle reminder.
When we crossed into the Forest of Feelings, I felt a smile spread across my face again. There must have been some magical line we crossed because the air was warmer all of a sudden and I finally felt a true sense of belonging. This was my home. I was so at peace that when the loud hooting sounded behind me I yelled and jumped into Brave Hearts arms. Embarrassing!
"Whoops sorry Swifty! Did I scare you?" Playful Heart Monkey dropped down from a tree branch in front of us. Funshine Bear was with him, no surprise there. She was beaming as brightly as her sunshine tummy symbol.
"True Heart asked us to make sure you guys made it here okay! We didn't think you'd be up and about this soon."
I wiggled out of Brave Hearts arms, "Really guys. You are making a big deal over nothing. It was just a goofy No Heart spell and some minor amnesia. Nothing I can't handle." Damn could I play the confidence card or what? But it seemed to reassure them.
"Yup. You certainly seem like yourself. All the same, we were all really worried about you." Funshine told me, coming forward to give me my welcome hug. See? This is what I was talking about. Stupid Grumpy Bear.
Flipping to the ground Playful came over to do the same. A memory of hand buzzers and shaving cream came through my mind and I tightened my grip on Funshine, keeping her between us. "Oh no monkey boy. I will hug you when you have been thoroughly searched and proven safe!"
Laughing he held up his hands for me to see, "Fair enough! Just know I am happy you are here."
"You two haven't seen Cozy by chance have you?" Brave Heart asked them.
"Yes actually. She is waiting for you by the dock. She and Wish have been there since you all left to get Swifty." Funshine took a step back from me. "We are going to head back to Care-a-Lot. But you'll be at dinner tonight right?"
"Uh yeah I assume so. If my brain hasn't crashed by then." I assured her with a smile.
We split and continued to the river dock. Thinking of something I asked Brave Heart, "This is going to sound really egotistical….but you guys didn't like, stop doing caring missions or living life just because I was taken did you?"
"In the beginning we wanted to. It was scary Swift Heart. You just vanished. But True Heart and Noble reminded us how pissed you would have been if we had done just what you said."
They were right. "Hell yeah I would have been pissed. Especially since I'm 90% sure it was my own dumb fault I was caught. One person is not worth sacrificing the whole world."
He smirked, "You know Grumpy said almost the same thing when we were trying to figure out what to do."
I rolled my eyes and groaned, "Okay you don't think he is still holding a grudge from when I was 3 and broke his favorite truck toy do you? Because I will buy him another truck!"
"No Swift Heart I don't think that's it. But you know, it couldn't hurt to try. He was just saying what none of us were brave enough to." He was trying not to laugh but he was failing.
I smiled at him before looking at the path ahead. Already I could hear the whooshing of the Rainbow River through the trees. It was only another couple of yards before the dock came into view. As promised, on the dock waited Wish Bear and the purple penguin who was my best friend. Without a doubt. Seeing her I actually made the first move this time and ran at her. She tried to waddle to me but her strength had never been moving on land. When we finally met up I couldn't help but throw my arms around her.
"Ssssssswift Heart I have been ssssso worried about you."
Oh that whistle! How could I have forgotten that adorable speech impediment that had talked me through all my worst problems and kept me laughing through the long sleep over nights. Her flippers squeezed me tight making me smile. "I missed you too Cozy. I didn't realize it till now. But now I know and I feel like crap forever making you worry." Pulling back I got a good look at her and frowned. Something seemed off. "You look thin?"
She looked down embarrassed, "I wassss ssstressss sssswimming. I had to keep moving or elssssse I would think about what would happen if you never came back."
Guilt stabbed through me. Why is it no one can do guilt like your best friend? Hugging her again I gave her cheek a kiss, "I am the worst friend ever! Trade me in for the next model!"
She laughed at that, "No way. It took me forever jussst to get you trained. I don't have the patience to do that again!"
"I beg to differ Cozy. You are one of the most patient people I know." Together we looked over at the aqua bear and saw her wiping her eyes with a handkerchief Brave Heart must have given her.
"Wish why are you crying?" As bad as it sounds we were never super close. So this emotional display was surprising to even my addled brain.
She waved a hand at me, "It's just that I was wishing so hard for us to find you. And it wasn't working. I've never had that happen before. And I felt so bad for Cozy and the other Cousins because they just weren't the same without you." Thinking she said something offensive she gasped and rushed on, "Not that we didn't miss you too Swift Heart! Oh gosh I didn't mean that at all!"
"Relax Wish Bear. I know exactly what you meant. Thank you for wishing for me all the same." I gave her a big reassuring smile.
"Ssssso where were you?" Cozy asked me.
"Can we sit and I'll give you the run down? I am starting to feel a little light headed." It was true. I probably shouldn't have done so much walking after a body transformation. But I never really had a warning about how to handle such situations.
"Tell you what gals. It's almost dinner time an I know the others can't wait ta see Swifty. So how about I drive us back ta Care-a-Lot and ya'll can catch up on the way."
"See. This is why you are the leader." Beaming at my compliment the four of us piled into a newly created cloud mobile and headed back to Care-a-Lot.
Dinner was much as I expected it to be. A short welcome back speech by True Heart and Noble Heart, followed by a whole mess of hugs! Seriously! Probably going to be bruised tomorrow! But it was worth it. I wouldn't give up a single one. The longer I spent with my family the more I remembered of my past life. Soon enough Sharon the postal worker was a distant memory. The whole thing felt like waking up from a long dream.
When Lotsa Heart got his arms around me I thought he was never going to let me go. Talking to him was a relief because his short term memory loss made me feel so much better about my recovery.
Cheer, Harmony, and Love-a-Lot had cornered me at one point and I found myself once again telling them about my experience on Earth. They also had heard about how rude Grumpy had been to me earlier and had assured me they had read him the riot act. Picturing the grouch cornered by three strong willed females definitely made me smile.
I really began to feel better when I got hit by one of Playful Hearts token jello balloons. Normally I would have been irate, I knew that. But something about the familiarity of the act and how he had gotten around everyone to get me just made me feel so comfortable. So naturally I vowed to get him later, after I had time to think up a good revenge.
Now as I sat looking out at the room full of my family, and picking at the food on my plate, I tried to remember just how No Heart had gotten me. I remembered going there with some of the others to recover something. I had been told to speed through the castle and look for it. But the last thing I could remember was getting locked in a room by Beastly. No Heart must have been waiting for me in there. It didn't matter which of us he got, all he needed was a distraction to keep the others from doing caring missions. I was just the lucky rabbit to be chosen. So lame. But whatever. It was in the past and done with. Fidgeting in my seat I tried to get more comfortable. I was getting that odd feeling under my skin again. Something wasn't right.
"You okay Sssswifty? You're looking a little tired."
Tired! Yes that had to be it. It had been a pretty big day after all. "Yeah I think the day is finally catching up with me Cozy."
"Well I sssuppose ssssomething had to eventually." Her joke made me laugh. "You can go home if you want. Everyone will undersssstand."
"Thanks girl. I'll catch up with you tomorrow okay?"
"Want ssssomeone to drive you?"
Feeling the unease in my legs I shook my head. This feeling I knew how to handle. "Nah. I never did get to finish my run from earlier after all. And besides, I think I know the way to my burrow." Waving goodbye I made my way out of the Hall. Outside, I took a deep breath of the evening air and set off. My legs kept moving faster without me having to tell them to. It was amazing. The jittery feeling evaporated like mist in the morning. This was all I needed. This was all I ever needed.
Luckily I actually did remember how to get to my burrow. Coming to a stop at the top of the ladder I climbed down, preparing myself for how it might look. Opening the door however I was pleasantly surprised. Someone, probably Cozy and the other Cousins, had kept it clean so I wasn't inhaling months of dust. "Home sweet home."
Moving over to my couch and plopped down on the sofa cushions with a happy sigh. I thought I would just drift off there, but that twitchy uneasy feeling was back again. "Seriously? What did I leave the stove on in Chicago? Because that is out of my control." Sitting up I looked around my burrow, left leg bouncing up and down slightly. "Maybe a hot shower would help?" Anything was worth a try. Getting up I headed into my bathroom and turned the knob on the shower. Instead of water coming out, I got an angry gargling noise followed by some super rattley pipes.
"You know. Somehow I'm not surprised. Ugghhh." I knew I had to swallow my pride and call our resident handyman to come help me out. The thought hadn't even finished processing in my mind when my stomach dropped again. "This is not normal. Why the hell do I feel like I'm being eaten alive every time I either see or think of Grumpy? We must have had some sort of fight before all this went down.
Finding my care phone on the counter I pulled up Grumpy's number and called him.
"Yeah Swift Heart?" I could hear noise behind him meaning he was still at the dinner.
Be nice. Be nice. Be nice. "I know I totally don't deserve it because I was less then pleasant to you earlier," Even though you started it, "but something is going on with my pipes and I have no water. Think you could come take a look."
He didn't say anything at first. I could almost sense the smugness coming off him through the phone and it made me want to throw it against the wall. "Give me a few minutes to grab my tools and I'll be right over. Don't touch anything till I get there." He hung up.
My mouth fell open, was that actually a civil conversation? "Bright Heart was right."
Wasting time until Grumpy got here, I decided to check what was In stock in my kitchen. Not surprisingly, there wasn't much. I had been gone for 4 months so most of my preferred healthy foods would have expired by then. I was glad someone had thought to throw them away. Working on a list instead, I was about halfway through when there was a knock on my door.
"It's unlocked. Come on in." Things I never would have said in my Chicago neighborhood.
Grumpy came in lugging his tool box, and closed the door behind him. "So what's the issue?"
"I told you. I turned on the shower but nothing came out. It just sounded like it was going to attack me." Leaving the kitchen I met him at the door. There was that stupid feeling again. Two hands might as well have been wringing my intestines out. He was looking around my burrow and took a step past me, "Here it's this way. I appreciate you coming. I would have understo-"
Grumpy's hands grabbed me and pulled me against his chest, hugging me very tight. "I'm sorry about the caring meter. But when they said you had memory loss I couldn't risk you spilling the beans." His one hand was on my lower back, the other was stroking the back of my head.
My heart had started hammering the moment he put his hands on me and pulled me close. Now my brain was using the adrenaline to figure out just what the hell he was talking about. And wait, shouldn't I be pushing him off me? Not resting my head on his shoulder….even if it feels right. "What are you talking about?"
Feeling him pull back slightly, I tilted my head up and looked him in the eyes. His thumbs came up to stroke my cheeks. Holy crap where did my legs go? Was he this attractive earlier?
"Try to remember Swift. Remember what happened before." He hugged me close again. His heart beat under my cheek just as quickly as my own. I thought about what he said, "But when they said you had memory loss I couldn't risk you spilling the beans." So he had been rude to me on purpose. To put me on the defensive. After all, it wasn't unusual for us to fight.
Something else was coming up from the depths of my mind. It was the last foggy bit I had left, I was sure of it. I remembered Grumpy and I on a caring mission together and getting stranded. We of course started bickering over something stupid. I had asked him why he was always picking fights with me and why he could never take my side just once. And he had said that if he did, he would know for sure he loved me and it scared him. All he ever wanted to do was be on my side but he couldn't because I was always against him so it was clear I didn't feel the same. And I had told him nothing could be further from the truth. I fought with him because we got to spend more time together when we argued and because I enjoyed it. I also remembered how I reprimanded him for telling me how I should feel about him when it was the exact opposite. That was when he had kissed me.
My mental block broke like a damn after a heavy rain. Grumpy and I had been dating secretly for a year before I vanished. We hadn't wanted to tell the others because it was frankly none of their business, and we didn't think they would understand. But it didn't matter to us. What we had was real and amazing. That was why he had been so nasty before. He was afraid I would out us.
Slowly my arms came up to wrap around him, "You are so much stronger than me. Grumpy I am so sorry. You must have been out of your mind worrying about me."
"I looked every single night for you Swift. All over the world from dusk to dawn. It was hard to time it just right, and some nights I couldn't stay out as long as I wanted to because someone needed something." As he finished talking I felt his lips softly kiss the top of my head. My eyes closed and I burrowed my nose in his chest.
"It sounds like you did a good job. No one seems to suspect you." The feeling of wrongness around Grumpy made so much sense now. How could I feel right when he wasn't holding me?
His fingers came around to tilt my head up to look at him again, "It was the hardest time of my life. I have been waiting all day to get you alone. The last thing I wanted to do was fix that stupid caring meter." Without wasting another moment he lowered his lips to mine, kissing me intensely. I was warm and fluttery all over again. Kissing him back I brought my arms up and around his neck to bring me closer to him. His hands drifted around my back once again.
The fidgety feeling was gone. All feeling was gone actually. As Grumpy kissed me and his hands caressed me, I went numb all over. How on earth had I not jumped him the moment I saw him? Oh right! Memory loss. Something about this kiss though told me the same thought had crossed his mind. Seriously though, Grumpy's performance at the Caring Meter should have won him an Oscar.
Needing air I pulled back. He wasn't to be interrupted though. Grumpy's lips puckered against my neck, slowly making their way down to my collarbone.
"No one is going to miss you tonight right?" "Unnuhhh." Was all he could manage. I sighed in relief, "Thank the wishing star." As he reached a sensitive spot I gasped and grabbed him for balance.
His responding chuckle was like catnip to me, "Same old Swift Heart." "That's what they tell me. But hearing you say it means a little more." I smiled at him and started our next kiss.
Grumpy's hands went everywhere, checking me over I assume to make sure I was intact. Mine were doing much the same to him. The longer we kissed the more I missed him and the more I needed him. It seemed sort of backwards to me but today had so been out of the normal I wasn't about to question it.
Feeling him stoop over more to grip my waist, I effortlessly lifted my legs up to wrap around him. This brought use eye to eye and made kissing that much easier. We took a moment to smile at each other. Grumpy's hands skimmed down across my butt and then up the underside of my thighs. Biting my lip I moaned, "How could I forget you."
"You didn't really. I saw your face earlier. Something in you knew who I was. I wasn't worried." His lips found the hollow at the base of my neck and kissed it gently before our lips met again. Rubbing his shoulders I took his lower lip gently in mine, sucking on it briefly. Feeling him take a few steps towards my bedroom and then pause, I kissed him harder. "Keep going Grumpy. You're on the right track. My memory is fully back. And that most definitely needs to happen." Without wasting another moment he carried me into my room kissing me the entire way.
Laying me on the bed he bent over me. "Wait, one thing." Stopping he looked at me, "Yeah?" "You are still going to fix my shower right?" There was that laugh again. I think it might just be my favorite noise in the entire world. "Yes love. I will fix your shower." I was fully reassured by his next round of hot sweet kisses. If I was lucky, I would be forgetting all sorts of things over the next few hours.
One of our care phones going off woke me the next morning and from the way Grumpy started grumbling and growling I could hazard a guess whose. I felt him carefully remove his arms from around me as he slid away. Losing his warmth at my back made me slide further under the blankets.
"Tender Heart do you have any idea what time it is? What could you have possibly screwed up already." Snickering at his tone I rolled over to face him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to me. Hearing me moving Grumpy twisted around halfway to smile at me. Completely on reflex I smiled back, it was just so natural.
I could hear a muffled voice coming through the phone and when it stopped Grumpy asked, "Well do you need it done right this second? I mean you did just wake me up. I haven't had breakfast or-" Tender Heart cut him off speaking in a more excited manner. Rolling his eyes he reached his free hand over to stroke my hair and ears. It felt amazing and my eyes were growing heavy once more because of it.
"Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a bunch. Give me 20 minutes and I'll be right there. Yeah whatever bye." Hanging up the phone he tossed it back on the night stand.
"Poor handy man. Can't even have one day to sleep in." I teased him, gazing up at him through half open eyes.
He sighed and leaned down to kiss me. "Apparently the sink in the Hall won't turn off. And no one else knows where the shut off is or how to use a wrench." His eyes drifted all over my face. Smiling at him I asked, "Looking to make sure I'm still pretty? No one looks good in the morning honey."
"You always do." He assured me before kissing me several more times. "Just making sure this isn't a dream and you are really here." This time I kissed him, hand moving to rest on his hand. "I'm not leaving you again." I assured him, and I meant it.
"I won't ask you to wait for me here. I don't know how long this will take." Getting up off the bed he went to gather his clothes. "Plus I probably shouldn't head back here till night anyway. Don't want anyone wondering why I'm hanging around."
Sitting up in bed I watched him move around my room, "Nope that would be bad. I'll just work on reaffirming myself with things up here." Grumpy looked over at me in concern so I quickly assured him, "Don't worry. I'm fine. After last night," I could feel myself blushing and it made him smirk, "I am remembering more every second."
Seeming assured he nodded and grabbed his jacket. That's when I remembered something else, "Hey wait! You said you would fix my shower and you never did. I would like to finally be able to scrub up you know." As I spoke he began to look more and more amused. "Did I miss a joke?"
"Don't even worry about it Swift." Coming to the bed he placed his hand on my cheek, kissing me slowly one more time. "All I have to do is turn your water back on."
"You didn't even look at it yet." I replied.
"I don't have to. I'm the one who turned it off. Right after I saw you at the Caring Meter yesterday." He told me, looking insanely proud of himself.
My jaw dropped. He had orchestrated this whole thing. He knew I would want a shower and if it appeared to not be working, I would have to call him to come over. Grabbing my pillow I chucked it at him, laughing, "Grumpy Bear you crafty devil."
"What can I say. I needed to be sure you weren't getting away from me again." Our eyes met and we shared a smile. "I'll turn it on on my way out. Love you."
"Love you too." As he left my room I fell back on my bed, still smiling like a dork. My mind kept replaying the scenes from last night over and over again. I couldn't believe how happy that bear made me and again I wondered how I had gone all that time without him. Just getting through the next 10 hours without being able to throw my arms around him seemed impossible. But…..I was always up for a challenge.
"Well, let's get this day going." Rolling out of bed I finally headed off to my shower.