Tenderheart was surprised when he found Bright Heart alone. He had expected that nothing sort of a mob could drag Gentle Heart away. Not knowing just how close to the truth he had just come, Tenderheart walked over just in time to see the raccoon stir.

"Gentle Heart?" Bright Heart yawned sleepily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Sorry, no. Just me." Tenderheart said. "You feeling better?"

"Take Care gave me something to dull the pain." Bright Heart said, his eyes still a bit bleary. He rubbed them again. "Do you know where Gentle Heart is?" Tenderheart shook his head.

"I expected her to be here."

"That makes two of us." Bright Heart said quietly, but not so quietly that Tenderheart couldn't hear him.

"Is there something going on with the two of you?" Tenderheart asked. Bright Heart blushed, but unlike Gentle Heart didn't immediately deny it.

"I-I guess so. Ever since No Heart, you know…" Tenderheart nodded. He didn't like thinking about what the sorcerer did either. "I thought that he'd succeed. I really did. I thought that I'd never see Gentle Heart again…and I couldn't imagine life without her. I started thinking about all the things that maker her great and thought they'd be lost forever. Her smile, her eyes, how shy she was...She's fine now but I still…" He trailed off.

"You're still thinking about how great she is and how close you came to losing her?" Tenderheart finished.

"I know, it doesn't make much sense, but—"

"Actually Bright Heart I think it makes perfect sense." Tenderheart said. "You're in love."

"I'm WHAT?"

"Think about it. What's that rule, the one about the simplest solution usually being the correct one?"

"Occam's Razor." Bright Heart answered automatically.

"Well, what does that tell you?" Bright Heart frowned as he thought it over. Could it really be that simple? "It would explain a lot." He thought to himself. Aloud he said, "What do you think of all this?"

"Me? I think it's great." Bright Heart raised a questioning brow as Tenderheart answered. "Really, I do. I'm your friend, Gentle Heart's too. I've seen the way you two act around each other and it's about time you realized just what it was you were feeling. Besides," Tenderheart added with a grin, "It isn't often I get to help other Care Bears like this."

"Glad to be of service." Bright Heart said, rolling his eyes.

"I mean it. All the time we're helping others share their feelings. I think it's about time I got to help my family in the same way."

"So what should I do?" Tenderheart coughed as he scratched his head in thought.

"Well, truth be told this really isn't my area of expertise. Maybe I should talk to Love-a-Lot Bear-"

"NO!" Bright Heart said shooting straight up in his bed as if he was stuck with a pin. Tenderheart seemed taken aback at the swiftness, to say nothing of the volume, of Bright Heart's rejection. Bright Heart realized that he had probably been too vehement and quickly added, "No thank you." He cleared his throat. "Sorry Tenderheart but if you told Love-a-Lot then I'd never hear the end of it; and let's face it, Secret Bear, she isn't. If she knew, five minutes later, the whole Kingdom of Caring would know too."

"I wouldn't have to name names or anything…" Tenderheart pressed.

"If you were in my place, would you want Love-a-Lot getting involved?" Tenderheart paused as he thought about his answer. As much as he liked Love-a-Lot she did have a tendency to get carried away, especially on matters of the heart.

"…No, I guess not." He sighed. Bright Heart shrugged and held out his paws in a 'See?' sort of gesture. "Okay then, not a word to Love-a-Lot. What about Noble Heart and True Heart?" Bright Heart frowned in thought.

"I guess that's a good idea…I just don't know what to do. I feel like I should tell someone, but…" He trailed off.

"But what?" Tenderheart asked, slightly taken aback when Bright Heart started to fidget and blush.

"This is just so embarrassing!" The raccoon exclaimed finally. "No one else has had problems like this. I feel—I don't know, dumb maybe—for not being able to solve this on my own."

"You're not dumb, Bright Heart. This would be confusing for anyone. But that's why I'm here to help. No one's expected to know everything."

"I am." Bright Heart said, running his paw through his headfur.

"No you aren't…"

"Yes I am! Everyone always asks me how to solve problems or fix things. Asking someone else for help seems like saying to everyone that I'm not as smart as they thought I was." Tenderheart winced.

"Well I can't speak for any of the others, but I'm sorry if I ever gave you the impression that I expect you to have the answers to everything. It's an unfair burden to put on your shoulders and I'm sorry for having contributed to it. But there's no shame in asking for help, that's what family is for." Bright Heart fidgeted as he digested this.

"What will you tell them?" He asked finally.

"The truth." Tenderheart said. "That you and Gentle Heart have feelings for each other and you want advice on what to do."

"And if they don't know what to do?"

"We'll worry about that if it happens. When do you want me to talk to them?"

"As soon as you can I guess. I don't want this dragged out any longer than it has to."

"Then I'll go find them now." Tenderheart said. "You just, um…"

"Stay here?" Bright Heart said dryly. "No worries there. It's about all I can do."

Tenderheart flushed. "Sorry. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Thanks Tenderheart." Bright Heart said.

"Anytime." Tenderheart gave him a farewell wave and hurried out the door. If he was lucky he might be able to catch Noble Heart and True Heart alone. They usually had lunch together at Noble Heart's home.

Tenderheart knocked at the door. "It's open!" Came the call from inside. Opening the door, Tenderheart found Noble Heart and True Heart sitting at the kitchen table over a cup of what looked to be tea.

"Tenderheart, I didn't know you'd be coming too! Grams said she'd be here in a few minutes so perhaps if you wanted to join us you're certainly welcome to."

"Thank you True Heart, but that isn't why I came." Tenderheart paused, trying to think of the best way to continue. "I'm here to talk about…a friend."

"Oh?" True Heart answered, smothering a grin, as Noble Heart raised a questioning brow. "And what is your…friend's…problem?"

"Well it sort of involves another Care Bear—"

"This Care Bear wouldn't happen to be a girl, would it?" Noble Heart asked, trying to smother his own grin and succeeding only by the barest of margins.

"How'd you—? Well, yes it does. Only he doesn't know quite what to do now that he knows he has these…feelings for her."

"Well Tenderheart," True Heart said as she draped her arm on his shoulders. "I think the best thing to do for now would be to tell her how he feels about her and let it progress from there. I'm sure she feels the same way."

"He's kinda nervous." Tenderheart pointed out. Noble Heart nodded but said,

"It's understandable but it'll only get worse the longer, you…er, he puts it off." Tenderheart looked at Noble Heart and True Heart with a questioning glance. They both looked like they were trying not to smile at something.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked them a bit put off by their odd behavior.

"Oh we're fine." True Heart said covering a grin with her paw. "It's just that we didn't expect this just yet."

"Well I don't think he did either." Tenderheart said. The two elders started chuckling under their breaths when Tenderheart said 'he'. Tenderheart was starting to see a pattern. "It isn't me!" He protested, which just set Noble Heart and True Heart off.

"Of course it isn't dear." True Heart smiled with a slightly patronizing air as Noble Heart nodded, still grinning.

"I knew I should've made Bright Heart do this himself when he got better." Tenderheart muttered. That was enough to stop Noble Heart and True Heart cold.

"Bright Heart?" True Heart asked in confusion.

"You mean this isn't about you and Love-a—oof!" Noble Heart wheezed as True Heart elbowed him in the ribs. Tenderheart looked at them with something approaching exasperation, not catching Noble Heart's slip up.

"Tenderheart if they're something you've been meaning to tell us, don't be afraid to." True Heart said, patting his hand. "We'll always love you." Tenderheart blinked not quite understanding. Then he did and began blushing incandescently.

"No! That's not what I meant." He moaned, holding his head in his paws. "I'm talking about Bright Heart and Gentle Heart! They're in love!"

"Are you sure about this?" True Heart asked, surprise evident on her face. Noble Heart was sitting right next her, looking no less stunned at Tenderhearts' announcement.

"I'm sure. They've stuck together like glue lately and ever since Bright Heart's accident, Gentle Heart's hardly ever left his side."

"I can't believe it." Noble Heart breathed. "Bright Heart and Gentle Heart? In Love?"

"Stranger things have happened, I suppose." True Heart said, still dazed. She turned to her life-long companion. "Noble Heart, what do you think about—Noble Heart?" True Heart looked on in amazement at the ever-widening grin on Noble Heart's face.

"And here I was afraid that no one else in the Kingdom of Caring would get to know the joy I feel with you," He said, laying his paw on top of True Heart's.

"Very smooth." She smiled. "I'll admit, there were times when I thought that raising them as a family would hurt them in this regard." Noble Heart nodded. Raising the cubs together as family did help bring them together, but they feared that it would preclude the possibility of them forming any romantic bonds. After all, how difficult, not to say confusing and scary, would it be to fall in love with someone you'd considered to be a brother or sister up until then, even if they weren't? And since the Care Bear Family was a fairly small community, it would be impossible to look for love outside it and almost as difficult to look inside. Stellar Heart Tiger and Regal Heart Lioness were newcomers to the family, so their marriage didn't turn that many heads; and since Perfect and Polite Panda were raised apart from the others, Goodluck Bear's crush on Polite failed to do so either. But Bright Heart and Gentle Heart now…

When Noble Heart spoke that thought aloud, True Heart snuggled up to him. "The two of us not withstanding?" Noble Heart smiled.

"We were born and raised before the Care Bear Family was created. The others have known no other way of life. I was afraid that we had denied the ultimate expression of caring, the greatest thing they could ever experience."

"To love and be loved in return?" a new voice asked. Noble Heart and True Heart fairly jumped and Tenderheart spun around. None of them had noticed Grams Bear entering the room.

"How long have you—never mind I don't want to know." Tenderheart said as he rubbed his still warm cheeks. Grams chuckled and made her way to the table.

"So you've figured it out? About Bright Heart and Gentle Heart, that is." Grams added when Noble Heart and True Heart didn't catch on right away.

"How did you know?" Tenderheart asked.

"Call it Grandmother's intuition. I have my ways, dear. Never fear."

"That isn't all that reassuring." Tenderheart murmured to himself.

Grams just smiled. "So what should we do about our resident lovebirds?"

"We do nothing Grams." True Heart said firmly. "That goes double for you. Oh don't give me that innocent look Grams, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I can see it in your eyes that you're planning something. No meddling. I mean it."

"Oh, all right True Heart dear. If that's the way you want it." Looking at a clock she clucked her tongue. "I'm sorry to cut our tea time short dears, but I have to go." After planting a kiss on their cheeks, Grams bade Noble Heart, True Heart, and Tenderheart goodbye. A few minutes later, Tenderheart also excused himself, wanting to get back to Bright Heart as soon as he could.

He had barely set his paw out the door when Grams Bear waylaid him. "Grams?" He asked in surprise, only to be sushed.

"Come along dear, we have things to plan."

"Plan for what? What things?" Tenderheart asked, a sinking feeling growing in his stomach.

"Why, for the happy couple of course!"

"Um, didn't True Heart tell you not to? I mean, Bright Heart and Gentle Heart still haven't talked to each other about this—"

"Oh, don't be such and old fuddy-duddy, Tenderheart dear. A little help never hurt anyone."

"First time for everything." Tenderheart sighed. "Grams please, at least let me talk to them first? Before you plan anything?"

"If you insist. You know I only have they're best interests at heart." She said as she patted his cheek.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Tenderheart thought to himself as Grams headed off on her own direction. She started humming as she walked away. There was something about that encounter that bothered Tenderheart. He didn't realize it until much later though. The tune she was humming had been "Matchmaker, Matchmaker."