___ to (took care of) (6)
I believe the answer is:
tended
'to took care of' is the definition.
(tending is a kind of taking care of)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for tended that I've seen before include "Was inclined to have taken care of" , "Was prone to" , "Had leaning toward, or looke after" , "Nursed" , "Had an inclination, or looked after" .)