The first hour was pretty uneventful. Bedtime staid alert, which would have struck most as odd, but then again he was usually more alert and clear thinking at night since he slept all day. Bright Heart's ability to see in the dark—just one of the benefits of being a raccoon—allowed him to watch and take stock of the situation. That left Tenderheart at a disadvantage in addition to being tired, but drowsiness wasn't going to stop him from keeping a vigil over his friend.

Still, waiting was hard. Especially when they didn't know what they were waiting for. The hours ticked away with agonizing slowness. Bright Heart looked at a clock on the wall and winced when he saw the time.

"Tenderheart and I are both going to be half-asleep tomorrow. Now I know how Bedtime feels during the day." He thought sleepily. Almost by chance, he turned to Gentle Heart just in time to see her scrunch her face up in fear, or maybe even pain, and begin to twist under the covers.

Bright Heart immediately nudged Tenderheart with his elbow and pointed. Within seconds all three Care Bears were focused on Gentle Heart's plight.

"What's wrong with her?" Tenderheart asked in concern, barely remembering to keep his voice down.

"It looks like she's having a nightmare. A bad one." Bedtime answered in a whisper.

"What do we do?" Bedtime frowned at the question.

"For now, we wait and watch. It's generally not a good idea to wake someone up in a situation like this unless we have to. We have to get an idea of just what's wrong, otherwise this'll just happen tomorrow night."

"So what is wrong?" Tenderheart asked, not able to keep the frustration out of his voice. Bedtime didn't answer. "Bedtime?"

"I…I don't know. I never seen a nightmare this bad." Bedtime said as Gentle Heart began whimpering in her sleep, her face contorted in pure terror. "It isn't night terrors, and there's little else that could cause this naturally…" He trailed off, unsure of what to do and so resigned himself to more watching. Soon it became too much for them to bear.

"Gentle Heart!" Tenderheart cried as he bolted off his chair. Bright Heart was half a heartbeat ahead of him and had already crossed the room to Gentle Heart's bed.

Bright Heart started gently shaking her shoulders as he held her up. "Gentle Heart! Wake up! It's okay, you're safe here…"

Still not awake, Gentle Heart's eyes began shedding tears that rolled down her face and onto her blankets. Bright Heart decided to switch tactics and began running his fingers through her wool-like hair as he sat on the edge of her bed. It had always calmed her down when she was little, so maybe…Tenderheart was apparently thinking along similar lines and began to rub her back in a comforting manner.

Slowly, Gentle Heart's sobs began to quiet and her eyes began to dry. Bright Heart shook her shoulders once more and the lamb began to stir. "W-what? Bright Heart? Tenderheart?"

Bedtime, Tenderheart, and Bright Heart all breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief. "Gentle Heart," Bedtime began, "Could you tell us what-" He got no further than that because Gentle Heart grabbed Bright Heart in a crushing embrace and began sobbing into his shoulder. The raccoon was stunned at first, but then began to gently pat her back and hold her close.

"I-it was t-terrible!" Gentle Heart hiccupped in between sobs. "I've n-never been s-so scared in my l-life!" She clung to Bright Heart even tighter, threatening to cut off his breathing, not that Bright Heart noticed. He was too concerned with the crying lamb in his arms.

"What was it? What did you see?" Tenderheart asked, hating himself for having to put her through this, but saw no alternative. Gentle Heart mumbled something into Bright Heart's shoulder. Bright Heart stiffened, but neither Tenderheart nor Bedtime heard her. "What?"

"No Heart." Gentle Heart said, louder this time. The room was silent, save for Gentle Heart's subdued crying. The other three Care Bears exchanged a glance. Tenderheart looked to his two companions and then to the lamb in Bright Heart's embrace. Suddenly tonight seemed even longer. And all thoughts of sleep banished themselves from their minds. They had work to do.

"No Heart…"