Sorry the Prologue was so short. He's more.

Morning in Care-a-Lot. Tenderheart yawned as he made his way into the Hall of Hearts for breakfast. Already there was much of the Care Bear Family. After helping himself to a plate full of pancakes, Tenderheart took stock of who was there and who wasn't, the latter undoubtedly already had caring missions.

"Hey Tenderheart! Good morning." A voice called from behind him.

"Good morning to you too, Brave Heart. Mind if I join you?"

"Make your self comfortable," the lion said as he moved over.

"Thanks." Tenderheart returned as he sat down next to him. "Sleep well?"

"As much as could be expected. Playful Heart was up all night and did his best to make sure the whole Forest of Feelings stayed up too."

"Sorry to hear it." Tenderheart sympathized.

"Not as sorry as we were!"

"Well, hopefully he'll be so tired today that he wont have the energy to stay up tonight."

"Here's hoping." Brave Heart said around a yawn.

"Same here." Tenderheart and Brave Heart turned just in time to see Bright Heart Raccoon sitting down across from them. "I barely got any sleep last night."

"What? Were you up all night working on your inventions?" Brave Heart queried with a grin.

"No, I got all my work finished early yesterday, for all the good it did me."

"You do look tired." Brave Heart admitted. "You've got dark rings around your eyes." There was a brief silence, Bright Heart and Tenderheart gave each other a quick glance as they debated who would tell Brave Heart that raccoons always had dark rings around their eyes.

"Which brings up the interesting question of just how you tell when a raccoon is tired," Tenderheart mused to himself.

They were spared the awkward moment when Lotsa Heart Elephant strode into the Hall of Hearts in a typically subtle manner, blowing his trunk like he was in a marching band, jolting everyone in their seats.

"Anyone order a wake up call?" Brave Heart asked as he rubbed his ears, trying to regain his hearing.

"I don't know, but that'll sure wake anybody up in the morning." Tenderheart said as he climbed back into his seat. "Except maybe Bedtime Bear."

"I'll settle for my good old alarm clock any day," was Bright Heart's remark. "I wonder if he did that to wake himself up, as much as the rest of us."

"Either way it looked like it worked." Brave Heart observed.

"I'm not so sure of that, Brave Heart. Look." The two cousins both turned to what Tenderheart was pointing at, only to see Gentle Heart Lamb swaying slightly in her seat, impossibly still looking tired and worn out, even after Lotsa Heart's dramatic entrance.

Heading over to her, Tenderheart gently laid a paw on her shoulder. "Gentle Heart, are you okay?" Tenderheart asked, his voice full of concern. She jerked up, apparently surprised at his arrival.

"I'm okay," she bleated softly, sounding very tired. "Just sleepy."

"Are you sure?" Bright Heart asked, appearing next to Tenderheart. "Maybe you should go back to bed and lie down for a while." Gentle Heart shook her head.

"I'm fine."

"Well, if you're sure Gentle Heart." Tenderheart said with some reluctance. "But if you change your mind no one will hold it against you if you decided to go home and rest. I'm sure someone else can cover for you today. Okay?" Gentle Heart nodded in agreement, then left to put her plate away.

"Remind me to have a word with Playful Heart later." Tenderheart said as an aside. "Staying up all night is one thing, but it's not right that he should keep Gentle Heart and the other cousins up as well." Bright Heart nodded in agreement and watched Gentle Heart leave.