Starcross

Part 1

Sometimes, the hardest part about being a Care Bear was having to help children deal with grief. Tenderheart took a good majority of these cases all his lonesome, but he could refer the child to another Care Bear should there be a need. Most of the time, the grief was related to a major move or a pet passing, so the care mission could go on in an almost exact pattern to help the child recover. Very, very rarely did the Care Bears ever tend to a child who had a parent pass.

When the caring alarm went off, and Tenderheart went to see who needed caring help, a horrible pit in his stomach told him that he would be helping a child with grief.

That was the first time he had heard the name Clairinda Bennett. In the next few years, it wouldn't be the only time either.

Clairinda Bennett: currently five years old, born in August and a lover of sunflowers. Then came the part Tenderheart didn't want to read- Clairinda's mother had died three days ago from a car accident. Clairinda had been in the car as well, but she had managed to survive with only a broken arm. The accident had left her perpetually terrified regardless. Tenderheart let out a small whimper in realizing how much of a mess this case could be if he messed something up.

So, completely ignoring protocol, he took a cloud car and went to earth.

. . .

No one could get little Claire to move. The five year old sat on the front porch with an arm in a sling, staring straight ahead at the neighbor houses across the street. The arm in the sling was holding a small stuffed cat while the uninjured arm absently stroked one of the cat's ears.

Beside her was her father, Matthew, who was and was not actually with her. A travel agent by trade, work never stopped for Matthew when technology could dictate one-on-one consulting at all hours of the day.

"Shoot, the computer's battery is about to die..." Matthew mumbled to himself at one point. As he started to get up, he gave Claire a small peck on the head before telling her, "Be right back Clara."

The girl barely moved as her father left. She just barely blinked as a walking teddy bear with a big red heart on its tummy walked over to her.

"Mind if I sit with you until your dad comes back?" the little bear asked Claire with a warm smile. The girl did not seem to acknowledge the bear, but did make small movements of scooting over so it could sit.

"Thank you." the bear smile once more as he came over to sit. Claire tracked it with her eyes as it started to make itself comfortable. From there, the bear didn't say another word, instead looking up at the sky with a sense of wonder and appreciation.

Claire turned her head -just slightly- to get a better look at the bear. He was about her height, his fur was a light brown with eyes that just about matched his fur, and on his white belly was a large red heart. He didn't seem like a stranger to the young girl, despite never meeting him before, and he just looked so... fluffy that she didn't even realize she was leaning against him until catching herself. The bear laughed at her as she jumped away from him and shamefully hid her face.

"I don't mind if you want to lean on me." the bear told her kindly. "I know that something happened to someone you loved recently, and I'm here to comfort you. Take your time."

Suddenly, Claire turned her head to the bear with wide, fearful eyes. Visions of horrible sounds of metal crunching and lights of other cars and sirens terrorizing the child's thoughts.

"M... mo-mommy..." the little girl started to cry. The bear only nodded as he extended his arms to her. Claire looked at them, then the bear, and soon found herself burying her face in the bear's nice, warm fur.

"Shhh... It's alright." the bear softly said into her ear as he stroked the top of her head. "Let it out, it's alright..."

After what seemed like hours, Claire started to get up and wiped her tears away with her uninjured hand.

"There, see? Much better." the bear smiled at her, helping her wipe a wet strand of hair from her face. The two kept eye contact for several moment, allowing Claire to see nothing but tenderness in the bear's eyes. Whoever it was, they really cared about her... for some reason. Noticing her expression change to one of more skeptic origins, the bear felt the need to introduce himself.

"My name is Tenderheart, and I'm a Care Bear." he told her. "I know you might not want to talk right now, but you don't need to tell me your name, I can guess it! Let's see..."

Thinking over whatever her name was, Tenderheart got up and started to pace in front of the porch steps. The little girl watched, tracking him with her eyes and the rest of her body remaining still.

"Now, lemme think..." Tenderheart the said -mostly to himself- as he continued to pace. "Your name is... Marcella?"

The child blinked- Tenderheart tried again.

"Lucinda?"

Another blink.

"Barbella?"

To Tenderheart's amusement, the girl's face scrunched into a look of disgust for a split second.

"How about..." the Care Bear then mused, looked at the girl as he spun on his heel, "Clairinda...?"

In that moment, the girl twitched and gave a motion that could be deciphered as a nod. Tenderheart stopped pacing and went back to the girl.

"Clairinda is your name?" he asked once more with a smile.

In a soft, broken voice, the girl finally spoke; "D-daddy calls me.... calls me Clara."

"Do you like being called Clara?"

"C-Claire."

"You like being called Claire?"

This time, the child gave Tenderheart a firm nod. In return, the Care Bear smiled at her.

"Did you know that Claire means 'bright?'" he then told her. Claire gave shook hear head, holding her stuffed cat tight. Tenderheart was utterly pleased with himself at this point; he had gotten Claire out of her traumatized shell enough to talk and engage with him. Good, now it was time to follow protocol again.

"Hey Claire," the Care Bear then started to suggest, "I live in a place called Care-a-lot. It's high up in the clouds, but it's very pretty to visit. Would you like to come with me to see it?"

For a moment, the idea sounded wonderful but then Claire remembered something. She turned back to her house and let out a small, "Daddy..." to indicate that she needed permission to leave.

"Don't worry," Tenderheart assured her, somehow close enough to place a hand on her shoulder. "We can tell you father where we're going. I won't take you anywhere your father won't allow."

Claire looked back at Tenderheart and seemed to register the idea for a moment. It was only a moment after that she gave the Care Bear her first genuine smile since he met her.