For the next few weeks, it was business as usual, bringing children up to Care-A-Lot and helping them work through their issues. Cheer quickly got over the harrowing experience, but she was unsettled. The idea of repression was a terrible one to her, but she simply could not think of any other way that her memories wouldn't be there. She searched her memory, but the only thing she knew for sure was that it wasn't too long ago that she'd first felt the balled-up emotion. There was no way it, whatever it was, had happened when she was a cub.

Grumpy seemed colder to everybody, avoiding them all and becoming even more of a loner. He occasionally wanted alone time, but this was a new record. He spent as little time with the others as possible, staying in his Care-A-Van, which he'd moved to the Gloomy Glen. Whenever he did spend time with them, the bears noticed that he was quieter, more withdrawn. They treated it as one of his normal reflective periods. But as the days turned to weeks, concern began to work its way into their hearts.

Grumpy didn't notice or care. He was too busy with nightmares almost every night, which left him tired and drained. There was the usual nightmare, the one with his parents, a memory so sharp that it cut his mind a little deeper each time he relived it, and then there were new ones. He figured they were stress-induced because they featured his growing fears of rejection. He began to sleep less, too afraid of nightmares to really rest, and he even began to pretend to fall asleep when Bedtime made his rounds. He refused to talk to Sweet Dream; he knew her take on nightmares being a normal part of sleep. All he felt he could do was suffer.

Wonderheart in particular was confused as to why Grumpy would now push her away after only a brief Care Hug and only smile a little at her laughter and jokes. She was growing uneasy, so when her birthday came around, she made up a beautiful invitation for him. She spent hours on it, carefully cutting out construction paper hearts and gluing them together to form her own belly badge. She used a special glitter pen that had been given to her by a girl named Abby to write out each word, double-checking her spelling.

When she was done, a beautiful yellow, pink, and red heart invitation covered in glitter sat before her, and she slid it into an envelope, which she addressed in blue glitter pen to Grumpy. After adding glittery blue hearts all over the white envelope, she was finally satisfied. She took the invitation carefully into her hands and hurried down the stairs.

"Uncle Tenderheart!" she called.

"In here, Wonderheart," Tenderheart said from the kitchen.

She walked in to see Birthday Bear and Secret Bear sitting at the table, and they both smiled at her.

"We were just discussing your birthday. I was about to come and get you," Tenderheart said.

"Why?" Wonderheart asked.

"We need to know what flavor of birthday cake you'd like," Birthday said with a smile.

Wonderheart tapped the invitation against her belly as she thought. "I think chocolate with strawberry frosting," she said decisively.

"Delicious!" Birthday exclaimed.

"Yummy," Secret whispered, her eyes sparkling.

"Sounds good, little Wonder," Tenderheart said. "Now, was there something you wanted?" He looked down at the envelope in her paws. "What have you got there."

"A special invitation for Grumpy," she said, holding it up for them to see. "I think he's been sad, so I was wondering if you would take me to see him so I can give this to him."

Tenderheart looked surprised. "Sad?"

He thought for a moment then realized that Wonderheart was right. Grumpy wasn't just grumping like usual. He was actually sad about something. Grumpy was rarely sad about things. Grumpy, yes, sad, not usually. No wonder he was isolating!

"Of course," he murmured, his fingers dancing over his belly badge, which glowed softly. "I have a feeling you're right." He glanced at Secret and Birthday, who waited patiently. "Why don't you see if Funshine can take you? He's out in the garden practicing his skateboard moves."

"Oh. Are you busy, Uncle Tenderheart?"

Secret and Birthday giggled. "It's a secret," Secret whispered.

Wonderheart would normally have been eager to find out the secret, but she glanced at the glittery blue hearts inked onto the envelope.

"Okay. Bye!"

The little bear hurried outside to find Funshine, not even stopping for Floppy Bunny. Funshine was practicing his kickflips, his face intense with concentration. When he landed a perfect trick, Wonderheart cheered.

"Yay! You did it!"

Funshine placed one foot on the ground and smiled at her.

"Whatcha got there, little Wonder?"

"An invitation for Grumpy. He's been so sad, so I thought I'd make his myself. Can we go and give it to him?"

Funshine nodded, unsnapping his helmet and popping the board up into his paw. "Sure. Call the Ride."

Wonderheart hurried over to the spinning rainbow sign and the cart materialized out of the clouds. Funshine deposited his board and helmet on the porch, neatly leaning on the wall to prevent any accidents, then scurried over and sat down. The rainbow buckles clicked across their laps, and Funshine spoke.

"To the Gloomy Glen."

Wonderheart looked surprised. "But that's not where he lives. He's on the other side of the Forest of Feelings."

"Nope," Funshine said, looking out across the clouds. "He packed up and moved the Care-A-Van to the Gloomy Glen."

Wonderheart frowned. "I wonder why." She looked down at the invitation. "Is it because he's sad?"

Funshine looked at her again. "You said that before." He worried his bottom lip, thinking back on every time he'd seen Grumpy the last few weeks. The blue bear had looked so despondent, so upset. And he knew at once that Wonderheart was right. "Huh. I guess he is sad."

"Why?"

"Dunno. He was fine until…"

Funshine trailed off. Grumpy had been fine until the end of that wild storm, until he'd talked to Cheer about repressed memories and flashbacks. After the party, he'd left without saying goodbye, and that was the last time he'd acted normal.

Wonderheart was looking at Funshine with her big blue eyes, worry in their depths. She wasn't the only one worried about Grumpy. Share and Cheer and Harmony were uneasy about the extended change, and Tenderheart had asked if they'd had any idea what was wrong. None of them knew. But now it was obvious. Grumpy was sad. But why? Funshine couldn't remember talking about anything that would have made him sad. Unless he was really worried about Cheer?

That could be it. Grumpy and Cheer had an interesting relationship. From the mess with the Care-A-Lot Crystal to having their feelings swapped when they'd gotten the Feelings Flu, they'd had their share of disagreements as well as a strange respect and understanding. He could be trying to figure out how to help her, and maybe he wasn't getting anywhere.

The Rainbow Ride cart swung gently into place at the edge of the cloud that contained the Moody Mountains and the Gloomy Glen. Funshine unbuckled and helped Wonderheart down. She tenderly held the envelope to her chest as she stepped onto the ground, then she took Funshine's paw, and they headed into the glen.

The woods around the glen were dark, the trees enormous and old, towering above them. Wonderheart was usually wary of the glen, but she matched on, determined to give Grumpy her invitation. She just wanted him to smile again. When the familiar Care-A-Van came into view, she sighed with relief and ran forward.

"Grumpy! Grumpy!"

There was the sound of a crash and a yelp, then Grumpy stepped around the side of his van. Funshine froze where he was, staring in dismay at the visage before him. Grumpy's blue fur was rumpled and darker than usual, as if he hadn't bathed in a while and just let the dust build up. His eyes were wild as they looked over Funshine and Wonderheart, who was running in for a Care Hug without noticing the rough shape Grumpy was in.

"Grumpy! I'm so glad to see you!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his middle.

As Funshine approached, he saw that Grumpy looked exhausted. He closed his arms around Wonderheart, but there was something wrong. His expression was bewildered, yet blank beneath that. No smile touched his lips, no sparkle in his eyes. And he pulled back from the hug very quickly.

"What brings you out here, Wonderheart?" Grumpy asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"My birthday," Wonderheart said.

A look of horror flashed across Grumpy's face. "Was that today?!"

Wonderheart laughed. "No! I made you an invitation! The party's next week."

Grumpy relaxed a bit, but Funshine saw that his paws were shaking as he swallowed. "Made me an invitation, huh? Well, this I gotta see."

Funshine could tell that Grumpy was not okay, but he was putting on an act for Wonderheart. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, and he took the envelope. He carefully looked over the outside before carefully slitting the envelope open. He pulled out a construction paper heart that matched Wonderheart's belly badge. His smile softened, but it still wasn't right in his eyes. He made a show of shaking out the invitation and cleared his throat.

"Grumpy, you are hereby invited to my birthday party. There will be yummy cake and tea and my favorite dinner of tacos and nachos, which I know you love. Please come. Wonderheart."

Grumpy swallowed again then smiled down at Wonderheart. When he spoke, his voice was gruff and shaky. "Of course I'll come, little Wonder. Thank you. It's a beautiful invitation."

Wonderheart had succeeded in making Grumpy smile, and she laughed and skipped around him. Funshine continued to stand and stare at Grumpy. He could almost feel the sadness that surrounded Grumpy. His voice wasn't quivering because he was so happy. He was touched, but there was a hint of undefinable pain around the edges.

"Hey, Wonderheart," Funshine said, startling both bears. "I think Grumpy needs a bunch of sweet flowers. There are a lot over there. Make him a bouquet."

Wonderheart beamed. "Okay! Which are your favorites?"

Grumpy glanced warily at Funshine as he answered. "Love the purple ones that look like little bells."

"I'll get you some!"

When Wonderheart was far enough away, Funshine approached Grumpy, scanning his face.

"What?" Grumpy groused.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Grumpy said, looking away. "Just haven't been sleeping well."

"Why?"

Grumpy didn't answer. He looked so sad…

"You know Cheer will be okay, right?" Funshine asked.

Grumpy blinked at him stupidly. "What?"

Funshine paused. Maybe he wasn't worried about Cheer…

"The flashback? Her panic attack?" He paused, studying Grumpy's confused expression. "I thought you were worried about her."

"Nothing new for me," Grumpy said dismissively. "She'll be just fine. If she can remember, we'll work through it."

Funshine nodded. "You just seem sad lately. We're worried."

Grumpy stiffened, his face going blank. He kept his eyes on Wonderheart and didn't answer Funshine. The yellow bear was alarmed.

"Grumpy?"

He didn't reply, but his belly badge began to darken to grey, like a storm was brewing on the inside. Then Wonderheart came hurrying over, her arms full of wildflowers.

"Here!"

Grumpy took them and smiled tightly. "You should get back home, little Wonder."

Wonderheart blinked. "Why?"

Grumpy looked into the sky. "There's a storm coming," he said quietly. "You should be safe at home when it gets here."

Wonderheart looked at Funshine, her eyes wide. "Did Uncle Tenderheart say there'd be a storm?"

Funshine shrugged, keeping his eyes on Grumpy. "You should come over. You can hang at my place."

"No." Grumpy did not shout or scream. He spoke calmly, but with a finality that was frightening. "I'll be fine on my own. I can handle storms."

Funshine swallowed. "Grumps…"

"Take her home, Funshine. Then batten down the hatches. It's going to be bad."

Funshine took Wonderheart's paw and pulled her along, staring back at Grumpy. He looked down at the flowers filling his paws, and a pained look crossed his face. The yellow bear thought for sure he would drop them and turn away. But Grumpy held the fragrant flowers to his nose and breathed deeply before turning and carrying them around the side of his Care-A-Van.

The ride back to Tenderheart's was quick, and as they landed, the wind suddenly picked up and the scent of rain hit them. Funshine turned to see a massive storm front coming up. He hurried her into the house, warned Birthday and Secret that a storm was coming, and headed for his home. He pulled the walls down and secured his hut for the storm. It hit within the hour, with howling winds and pummeling rain.

Funshine sat still, warm and dry in his hut. He was disturbed by Grumpy's behavior. He'd looked off and sounded strained. Something was wrong, but what was it? He was sad, but not about Cheer. So what was wrong?

"Nothing new to me."

Funshine sat up straight. Nothing new to him? Was he talking about worrying about Cheer, or was he actually talking about the flashbacks and panic attacks?

"Nothing new to me."

Funshine stood up and started to pace, his mind on overdrive. Cheer had described the feeling of the panic and other emotions as not her own. He had dismissed it at the time, believing Grumpy's repression theory. But what if she wasn't just trying to find words to describe an odd feeling? What if the feelings really weren't hers? When she'd gotten the Feeling Flu, she had received Grumpy's feelings. What if some of his feelings were so strong that she had retained them deep inside of her?

Funshine paused, not hearing the rain lashing at his hut or the waves crashing on the shore. What if Grumpy was the one with flashbacks and panic attacks? What if the recent storms came from him? What if the trauma inside of him was trying to get out, trying to find relief? Grumpy had always been available to help every single Care Bear and child with their pain and their anger and their sadness. But what if Grumpy was the one who needed help and he was afraid to ask?

Thunder crashed outside, nearly deafening Funshine. He jumped, his heart pounding. If he was right, Grumpy needed help at that very moment. He needed to get to Grumpy. Even if he had to brave the storm to reach him. Without a second thought, Funshine tore out of the house and sprinted into the tempest. He only hoped he wasn't too late.