Pippi slept for two days. Annika stayed by his side all she could. Tommy knew that Pippi must have said something to her, because she seemed to be thinking a lot. When he woke up, Willie was invited over to bring soup. She got upstairs to see Annika at the foot of the bed as Tommy finished rubbing light cream over the wounds.

"Hey. I brought homemade chicken noodle," she said, holding up two thermoses.

"Mm," Pippi sighed as Tommy helped him sit up. "Sounds good, Willie. I'm starved."

She poured the hot soup in a bowl and handed it to him with a spoon. He sipped some broth and purred happily.

"It's really good, Willie," he said, his voice raspy.

"Thanks, Pippi," she responded with a smile.

He ate slowly, polishing off both thermoses. He sat back when he was done, handing the empty bowl to Tommy. Willie froze when the blanket slipped off Pippi's belly. She stared in horror at the torn flesh. She hadn't seen just how bad it was. Tommy cleaned his throat.

"Willie, you're staring."

Willie blinked and looked away. "Sorry, Pippi."

Pippi pulled the blankets up, looking embarrassed. Tommy grabbed him.

"Don't be like that," he said gently, tilting Pippi's chin up. "Please?"

"I'm sorry, I just…I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Don't worry about it," Tommy said with a smile. "Now, you rest up. Annika, why don't you read to him some more."

Annika read him to sleep for two more days then Pippi was allowed out to eat in front of Tommy's house. The other bears were eager to see him. At least, they were until he staggered out and the sunlight hit those terrible wounds. There was dead silence. Even Holly couldn't find anything positive to say as Pippi tentatively lowered himself into his seat. Tommy gave them a look and they all sat down.

Pippi ate slowly, enjoying the burgers greatly, but he couldn't feel happy. Not with them staring at him with such pity.

"Whoa! Sorry I'm late!" Anna shouted, skateboarding in. He froze when Pippi turned toward him. "…That has to hurt."

"Yeah. Not pleasant," Pippi said with a hesitant smile.

"Sorry for stating the obvious."

"Don't be. Everybody else is ignoring it like it's not there."

"Isn't that what you want?" Holly asked.

"Not really. Ignoring it won't make it go away. Isn't that right, Peter?"

"Yep," Peter said with a nod as he and the other teens walked over. "Won't make the nightmares go away. Won't make the phantom sensations go away. Won't make the past change. In my experience, it only makes it worse."

"Heya Pippi Longstocking," Chris said, walking over to kiss him lightly.

"Heya, Sammy," he said, smiling softly.

"Ugh, don't call me Sammy."

Pippi snickered, leaning back against the table. "Okay, Sam."

"Thank you."

"Where's Mikey and Sofe?"

"Daddy had to go into work," Jessie said with a smile. "He just got back and Mama's waiting for him to get ready before they come here."

"Mm, those burgers look good," Violet Alden said, licking his lips.

"Would you like one?" Willie asked immediately, carrying the platter over. They all took one, eagerly biting into it.

"Mm, she can still cook!" Peter laughed in between chews.

"And you can still talk with your mouth full," Benny said as she appeared with Henry James Alden, who had clearly just gotten out of the shower and thrown on the first thing he'd seen.

Peter looked guilty and swallowed. "Sorry, Mama."

She smiled and mussed his hair. "That's my little bear."

"Pippi Longstocking!" Henry James Alden said, hurrying over to observe the wounds. He frowned. "Damn, Grumps. That's worse than my parents ever did to me."

"Your parents didn't have claws," Pippi said matter-of-factly. "And Annika is over there."

Henry James Alden glanced over at the little cub then smiled. "Sorry. I forgot."

"You shouldn't curse," Annika said with a nod. "Uncle Tommy told me that."

"Well, we can't all live up here in Care-A-Lot with the perfect little bears," Violet Alden said dryly.

"What does that mean?" James Henry Alden demanded.

"Your problems don't match ours," Benny said softly. "Not that they're any less problematic, but they're different."

"Like what?" Anna asked.

"I'm being bullied by a boy in school because he wants sex with me," Jessie said quietly.

"Sex?" Annika asked. "I wonder what that is."

"No, Annika," Pippi said firmly. "You don't need to wonder that. Not at your age. Don't ask again."

Annika stared at him for a moment then nodded. "Okay."

"Ah, to be that young again," Benny sighed.

"Yeah," Violet Alden snorted. "That way they can toss us across the room instead of just hitting us."

Anna hesitated, looking at the others, whose gazes were locked on the table. Well, from what Pippi said, they didn't mind questions…

"So…were all of you ab-abused?" he asked, his voice coming out much weaker than he would have liked. The Care Bears all glared at him.

"Don't ask something like that, Anna," Tommy scolded.

"Yes, we were," Henry James Alden said matter-of-factly. "And he's welcome to ask. If we don't want to talk about it, we'll tell you."

"How bad was it?" Annika asked.

"Blood and bones, Annika, blood and bones is all you need to know," Jessie said with a shake of her head.

"We aren't going to talk about what happened in detail. Not with Annika here," Henry James Alden said. "Pippi Longstocking has asked us to keep her age in consideration. The things we suffered were terrible things that little ears should not hear."

"I am thankful that you do as Pippi asked. She has already seen his wounds," Tommy said with a shiver. "Even I can hardly stomach that much blood. Bathing him was difficult."

They nodded, and Benny spoke up. "I'm a nurse. If your house was bigger, I could have helped you. But it is not."

"Nurse, eh?" Anna asked. "Sounds cool, I guess. You know, we never get to see if our kids grow up to be what they wanted…or not."

"Most kids don't, Anna," Pippi said. "But Henry James Alden did. He's grown up to work on cars. He's just shy of owning his own business and making his own hours. Benny's wasn't nursing, but they don't have the money for her to go to medical school. They barely have enough to make ends meet, what with four kinds, maybe one more on the way. Peter just turned sixteen and is working with Henry James Alden to make money to supplement their funds, but his dream is to be a social worker, and he's not going to reach it anytime soon. Jessie and Violet Alden are within six months of becoming old enough to work. Until they get jobs, things are going to be pretty tight."

With that said, Pippi bit into a hot dog, keeping his eyes on the table. The bears stared at him for a moment then looked to the humans. Those problems were so…grown up. It wasn't at all what they were used to. Yet Pippi had said them flawlessly, without really needing to think about it. It slammed into them the momentous thing that Pippi had done. He had stayed with the kids, kept in contact, as they grew up. He knew them. Knew them in a way that was so foreign to the bears. Once they hit twelve, if they even kept coming back for that long, the Care Bears took their charms away then sent them home, never to be heard from again. Anna frowned.

"Pippi?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me something." Pippi looked up, his blue eyes guarded, so Anna continued. "They were abused by their parents, right?" The blue bear nodded. "Alright. Riddle me this. Where are their parents and why aren't Peter, Violet Alden, Jessie, and Chris living with them?"

"There are some things, Anna, that you do not want the answers to."

Tommy's gaze snapped up to look at Pippi. "What did you do?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do! Where are their parents?"

"Jail. For child abuse."

"All of them?"

"…Not Henry James Alden's."

"Where are Henry James Alden's?"

"Ask yourself something, Tommy," Henry James Alden said lightly as he grabbed a plate. "Do you want Annika to know?"

"He didn't."

"He didn't what?" thw girl asked.

"Annika! Go get your book!"

"Which one, Uncle Tommy?" Annika asked, looking from face to face.

"The Starbuddy's Underwater Creatures."

"But I can't find it."

"Go find it then."

"But—"

"Now, Annika!" Tommy barked.

She gave a little squeak of fear and sprinted for the house. As soon as the door had slammed shut behind her, Tommy stood up and grabbed Pippi's shoulders.

"What did you do to Henry James Alden's parents?!"

"I killed them."

Dead. Silence. Anna shook his head and laughed nervously. "Y-you're joking. R-right?"

"I didn't know that human beings were so…delicate. I toned it down for the others'."

"Pippi…" Tommy murmured. "You…I…What?"

Pippi shrugged. "They're dead already. No use crying over split blood."

"What do you mean you 'toned it down' for the others, Pippi?" Anna asked.

"Just what I said. I didn't kill them. Just left a few scars."

There was more silence as they tried to take that in. Tommy finally stepped forward.

"You cannot do that anymore, Pippi, am I understood?"

"You can't stop me, Tommy. I do it for a reason."

"Abusing the parents?"

"Who abused their children. Henry James Alden?"

Henry James Alden stripped his shirt off, causing the other bears to stare at the markings. Pippi wasn't the only one with scars.

"I still can't condone this, Pippi," Tommy said.

"I don't expect you to. Now let's eat."

They settled down to enjoy the food. They were all staring at Pippi. How could he? They all jumped at Annika's voice.

"Uncle Tommy! I found it!"

Oh, how they wished to be that young again.