Chapter One

Papa and Smurfette ran as fast as they could but skidded to a halt when they saw the chaos outside.
Smurfette gasped. "What's happening, Papa?"

Papa could only watch in shock. Smurfs were flying around in a whirlwind. Gargamel had Grouchy captured and was stuffing him in a burlap sack, which was wriggling from the Smurfs already caught inside. Papa glared as Gargamel's cruel laugh rang in his ears.

"No!" He shouted. He ran off towards Gargamel, fury in his eyes. Smurfette trailed behind, watching in shock as Papa grabbed a flying spear and jumped high into the air. "GARGAMEL!" he yelled as he threw he spear. Nosmurf had ever heard Papa so angry…..no, not angry. Furious. The spear flew straight and true, right towards Gargamel's back. It would've hit its mark, but Gargamel turned at the last second, knocking aside the spear.

"Not so fast goody blue shoes!" Gargamel laughed as he grabbed Papa with a blue bolt from the dragon wand. Papa let out a pained cry, vaguely hearing Smurfette scream his name.

Gargamel laughed as he watched the elder Smurf struggle. The sight of Papa in pain was pure bliss for the wizard. "Now, it's time to break their little blue wills."

"No!" Papa grunted as he was pushed just out of reach of the Smurfs.

"Are you watching closely, Smurfs?" Gargamel taunted. On the ground, Vanity and Jokey reached for Papa, but suddenly recoiled in fear at the sight. Papa watched sadly, convulsing every time electricity from the wand ran through his body. "You're beloved little papa is about to meet his little blue end." Gargamel laughed. "Upsy-daisy!" He threw Papa into the air. Clumsy and the other Smurfs shouted and screamed, terrified, as Papa fell. But nothing could be done. Gargamel laughed as he prepared the strike. Patrick came skidding around the corner just as Gargamel launched the fatal blast. He could only watch as the spell was launched.

The blast met its mark, and Papa hit the ground.

Smurfette screamed and Gargamel laughed. Apart from that, everyone was shocked still and silent. Patrick was the first to snap out of it and rush to Papa, but a blast made him stop before he could be fried. He turned to the thrower and found Gargamel, staring at him and making it clear that he was the next target.

"You again?" Gargamel laughed. "Goodbye." He raised the dragon wand above his head. "I'm really..."

Suddenly, Gutsy came flying in on the motor toy. "This ends here!" He declared. "This ends now!"

"...really going to enjoy this." Gargamel started to throw a blast, but Gutsy flew in and snatched the wand.

"Freedom!" Gutsy cried as he flew off with the wand.

"Son of a Smurf!" Gargamel cursed. "Get back here!" Gutsy laughed as he flew farther away.

"Go Gutsy!" Clumsy cheered. The Smurfs joined in, laughing at Gargamel's misfortune.

"Come back here right now with my wand!" Gargamel shouted.

Gutsy laughed again, waving the wand around. But then, the wand hit a motor on the flying toy and was thrown from Gutsy's hand. "Oh no! Crikey!"

Gargamel saw the wand falling and, dropping the sack of Smurfs in the process, reached out to catch it.

Clumsy started running across the roof, reaching for the wand. "I...I got it!"

"Clumsy..." Smurfette whispered in despair.

"So this is how it ends." Hefty groaned.

"Our goose is cooked." Handy agreed. Brainy helped the Smurfs out of the bag, and even they agreed that the situation wasn't looking good.

"I got it! I got it!" Clumsy called as he jumped off the roof. Gargamel reached expectantly for the wand. Clumsy fumbled a bit as he reached for the wand. Gargamel watched as the Smurf and the wand sailed over his head. Clumsy hit the ground, bouncing a little. But he had the wand in his hands when he stopped. "I got it!" He cheered.

Gargamel let out a frustrated yell. "Give me my wand." He started running towards Clumsy. "Give me back my wand!"

Clumsy yelped as he launched a blast. The bolt hit Gargamel and sent him flying, high into the air and crash landing in a pile of recyclables. He grunted and groaned as he stood, glaring towards Belvedere Castle.

"How dare you?" He stumbled out into the street. "How dare you defy the great and powerful Garga-"

HONK!

BAM!

If only he had seen the bus coming. Alas, he did not. Gargamel groaned as he slid down the front of the bus that just hit him.

"SMURFS!" He yelled.

Azrael watched as the bus passed him. "Are you dead?"He meowed. He busted out laughing until he accidently fell backwards, yowling as he hit the ground.

The Smurfs gathered around Clumsy, cheering and chanting his name. They picked him up and tossed him in the air. Grace came running up into Patrick's arms. They looked down at the celebrating Smurfs, smiling.

"Clumsy." Grace sighed. "You're a hero."

"I'm a hero?" Clumsy breathed. Grace and Patrick nodded. Clumsy smiled from ear to ear as he was set down. "I'm a hero!" He cheered, swinging his arms back. He slapped Grouchy ad Gutsy in the face, knocking them to the ground. "Oh, so sorry guys." Clumsy chuckled. "Definitely ruined the moment."

"Clumsy!" Hefty laughed. "You little mook you!" He playfully punched the smaller Smurf's shoulder.

Smurfette hugged Clumsy tight. "You were brilliant!"

Brainy suddenly pushed thru the crowd. "Where's Papa? Did you rescue him?"

Everyone's eyes widened in realization.

"Papa!" Clumsy gasped. He went sprinting off, the other Smurfs trailing behind in fear of what they'd find. Patrick and Grace slowly walked towards Clumsy, also afraid for Papa.

Clumsy was kneeling next to Papa, holding the elder Smurf's head in his lap. Papa had scorch marks on his clothing and burns covering his arms, face and chest. He was still and silent, no matter how hard Clumsy tried to rouse him. The other Smurfs were still and silent. Smurfette started crying into Hefty's shoulder. Grace rested her forehead on Patrick's chest, squeezing her eyes shut. Slowly, Dabbler Smurf came forward and knelt next to Papa. He put an ear to the elder Smurf's mouth and listened. Then he pressed his fingers against Papa's neck. His head snapped up.

"He's alive!" He cried. Everyone stared at Dabbler.

"Are you sure?" Gutsy asked wearily.

"You studied medicine for only a few days." Grouchy noted. "How can you be sure?"

"Because I know what a pulse and breathing is." Dabbler snapped. "And I think I can help him."

"What about the portal?" Brainy asked. "It won't stay open forever."

"Can't we bring Papa with us?" Clumsy asked. His voice was choked and his eyes were red.

"In his condition, he could die in transportation." Dabbler said. "I would have to treat him here."

"We can take him back to our home." Grace offered. "He'd be safer there."

"We have medicine and bandages." Patrick added.

"We won't leave Papa behind." Hefty said firmly.

"There won't be another chance to open the portal for at least a month." Brainy said.

"If Papa stays, so do we." Grouchy stomped his foot.

"You're not being reasonable." Vanity huffed.

"Oh, so I guess you want to abandon Papa, huh?" Grouchy snapped. "Is that what you want, pretty boy?" He gave Vanity a shove.

"Don't shove me!" Vanity growled.

"Like this?" Grouchy asked, shoving Vanity again.

"Touch me again and so help me I'll smurf you into next week!"

"Bring it you smurfin' daisy!"

There would've been quite the fist fight had Gutsy not let out an ear-piercing whistle to get everyone's attention.

"Listen up!" Gutsy snapped. "We can't all stay with Papa. We have a Smurf village to rebuild. So Dabbler and I will stay with Papa and you all go home to rebuild the village. Smurfette, you're in charge. I promise we'll return the very next chance we get; with Papa by our side." Patrick mentally noted that Gutsy never said, "alive".

The Smurfs seemed reluctant, but soon found it was hard to argue with Gutsy. So the Scottish Smurf gingerly held Papa in his arms and led the Smurfs to the waterfall. Hefty came across the dragon wand as they walked and promptly snapped it in half and threw it into a pond.

Everyone was disconsolate and staring worriedly at Papa as they jumped into the portal. But they managed a smile as they waved good-bye to Patrick and Grace. Gutsy still had Papa and Dabbler was beside him. Clumsy was with them as well; Gutsy had tried to steer the accident prone Smurf towards the portal home, but Clumsy was like a stubborn Smurfling. No matter how hard they tried, no one could move Clumsy more than a foot from Papa.

"Hey little hero." Grace said softly as she knelt by him.

Clumsy sighed. "What kind of hero am I? I couldn't save Papa."

"Oh Clumsy." Grace gently scooped up Clumsy and cradled him in her hands. "You can't blame yourself for this. Papa will be fine. You blasted Gargamel far away and your family is safe."

Clumsy glanced towards the portal. "Yeah, I guess that makes me a hero."

Grace laughed softly. She leaned down and kissed Clumsy's head before setting him back down next to Gutsy. The Scottish Smurf offered a soft smile, but Clumsy's eyes were downcast.

As Narrator Smurf jumped into the portal, the last Smurf to jump, Patrick, Grace, Elway, Clumsy, Dabbler, and Gutsy turned to walk away. As they made their way down the path, Elway suddenly turned, giving a deep woof. Everyone turned to see a couple Smurfs running after them: Brainy, Hefty, Grouchy, and Smurfette to be specific.

"What the blinking flip are you doing?" Gutsy demanded. "You were all supposed to go home."

"We didn't feel comfortable leaving Papa behind." Smurfette said.

"I thought I told you that you were in charge." Gutsy half-growled.

"Farmer's taking care of it." Hefty assured. "He's taken care of the village on his own before and he said he'd be happy to smurf it again."

"All the Smurfs agreed that a few more of us should be with Papa when he wakes up." Grouchy insisted.

"Oh for the love of Smurf." Dabbler groaned. "Brainy, go back to the waterfall and smurf the blue moon spell. All of you get back home."

"Not without Papa." Hefty said firmly.

"We all agreed." Brainy added. "No Smurf left behind."

"But you-" Dabbler started.

"Come on then." Gutsy urged. "We have to get Papa someplace safe."

Dabbler stared. "But-"

"Come on, guys." Patrick urged. "Let's just get home and get Papa comfortable."

Dabbler looked a little peeved. But he agreed and the little group of Smurfs followed their human friends and their Basset hound. A few minutes later, Patrick's phone rang.

"It's Odile." He groaned as he answered. "Hey Odile."

"Patrick, I just wanted to say 'thank you'." Odile looked up at the still blue moon. "Finally someone has given me what I want." She smiled as she hung up, happily walking from her party.

Patrick looked at Grace. "I think I'm not fired."

Grace smiled. "Wow." They smiled as they kept walking. "So that's a new job..."

"Mmhmm." Patrick nodded.

"New baby..."

Patrick smiled.

"Some interesting new friends."

Patrick laughed and looked down at the Smurfs at their feet. He gently put a hand on Grace's pregnant stomach.

"Congratulations, Patrick." Clumsy said. "Looks like I didn't screw up too badly that time."

"Guess not." Patrick agreed. "Thanks Clumsy."

Grace smiled. "So, Patrick, if you really want a bigger place-"

"Bigger?" Patrick scoffed. "You kidding? Then we'd be further apart."

Smurfette smirked knowingly. The Smurfs smiled as Grace and Patrick hugged.

"Oh Grace." Patrick sighed. "I smurf you."

Grace laughed a little and they kissed. Clumsy grimaced. "Yuck."

"You'll understand when you're older." Smurfette grinned.

The group got to the apartment and Grace quickly made a little area for them in the living room. She grabbed washcloths for pillows and a hand knit blanket. Gutsy, with the help of Patrick, got to the couch and gently laid Papa on the towel that was set out. Dabbler shooed the other Smurfs away and got to work. Patrick ran off and returned with the first aid kit. The other Smurfs waited by the window while Dabbler and Patrick worked. Grace joined the Smurfs.

"He'll be alright." Grace said softly. "I bet Dabbler is a great doctor."

"He's pretty good." Grouchy nodded.

"For someone that studied medicine for only a week." Hefty added with a slight chuckle.

"Is Papa really gonna be ok?" Clumsy asked worriedly. His eyes were still pink from crying.

"He'll be fine." Smurfette nodded. "He's been hit with worse, right?"

"Can't say." Gutsy shrugged. "But I know he's a fighter."

"Papa's always taken care of us." Brainy said in his lecturing tone. "He's raised all one hundred of us since we were babies. And he always will because he-"

"Brainy, if you don't smurf up I'll smurf you out of this mushroom and to the ground below." Hefty growled.

Brainy looked sheepish. "Sorry."

Grace couldn't help but laugh. The Smurfs had to grin. But they jumped when they heard a sickening crack. Their heads whipped around to the couch as Patrick stood up. He had a look on his face, like he was about to throw up.

"What's wrong?" Clumsy asked worriedly.

"Turns out Papa dislocated a shoulder." Patrick grimaced as he sat beside Grace. "Dabbler just reset it. He's bandaging up Papa right now."

"How does he look?" Smurfette asked.

Patrick sighed. "I'm not a doctor. Your guess is as good as mine."

Brainy looked close to fainting, but Clumsy supported him. Grace went to set up some makeshift beds while the Smurfs and Patrick talked. They spoke in hushed tones, not wanting to distract Dabbler while he worked. It didn't alleviate any of the worry that invaded their minds. Clumsy kept glancing at the couch, repeating the motion so much that Gutsy had to pull Clumsy closer to the window, talking to him to divert his attention. It didn't stop the accident-prone smurf from keeping his eyes on the ground.

After maybe an hour of working, Dabbler finally came up, wiping his forehead with his hat.

"How is he?" Clumsy asked quickly. He would've run towards Papa had Gutsy not held him back.

"I would say he looks half mummy." Dabbler sighed. "But, frankly, I've never seen a mummy so I can't be sure."

Grouchy rolled his eyes. "I hate mummies."

"Is he still alive?" Hefty asked impatiently.

"He's breathing fine and his pulse is steadily getting stronger." Dabbler nodded. "But I want to set up around the clock watch. If anything happens, I want to know about it. Even if it's something small." The Smurfs nodded in understanding.

"Can we see him?" Smurfette asked.

"He probably won't wake up, but sure." Dabbler led them to the couch where Papa lay. The red-clad Smurf was still, minus the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. At the same time, he had bandages around both arms and wrapped around his torso, from his hips to his shoulders. A damp cloth had been put over his forehead. He had a peaceful look on his face.

"Just watch his breathing and his heart rate." Dabbler instructed. "To check his pulse, put your thumb here on his wrist." He showed the smurfs. "If anything happens, even if you're unsure of it, wake me up. I won't yell or anything." He walked over to the makeshift beds and snuggled down in the one closest to Papa. The other Smurfs did the same; Gutsy took the first watch. Patrick lingered behind. He stared at Papa, noting how still he was. In all honesty, Patrick was barely hanging on to the hope that Papa would make it.

"Sleep well guys." He said. Gutsy offered a smile as Patrick walked off to bed. When the human had disappeared, Gutsy turned his gaze towards Papa, his smile disappearing. He pulled the blanket farther over Papa to hide the bandages. Now he truly looked like he was just sleeping, not half-dead. Gutsy felt a smile creep on him, but tears were also forming in his eyes. Embarrassed, though nobody could see him, Gutsy wiped his eyes. He resumed his watch on Papa, praying that by morning Papa would be awake.

"Goodnight Papa." Gutsy whispered.