Chapter Two
The next morning, much to everyone's dismay, Papa was still showing no sign of waking up. No one had reported anything last night, so there was at least a little good news. But the look on Dabbler's face said everything: Papa wasn't looking much better. Breakfast was served, but no one really ate. Grouchy sourly noted that they were still low on smurfberries. Brainy was the one to put salt on the wound; he reminded everyone that a blue moon couldn't be smurfed again for at least another two, maybe three weeks. If Hefty wasn't so depressed, he would've kicked Brainy off the table.
"So what do we do?" Smurfette asked.
"We need a plan." Brainy said. "We're going to be here for a while. We need to smurf up some food to sustain us."
"Can't you eat our food?" Grace asked.
"We could." Hefty nodded. "But it won't work for long."
"Why not?" Patrick asked.
"Smurfs have a specific smurf diet." Brainy said in his lecturing tone. "Our digestive systems are meant for only a few certain foods otherwise we would smurf."
Patrick raised an eyebrow. "Someone translate please."
"Smurfs can only eat a few types of food." Clumsy explained. "We can eat regular human food, but if we eat too much of it, especially in one sitting, then we get sick smurfily bad."
"And in some cases, we die." Gutsy added. "Either from starvation or too much human food."
"Oh dear." Grace sighed. "Can we find your kind of food here?"
"Probably." Dabbler nodded. "Some of the foods we like are human foods. Like bread."
"We also like sarsaparilla." Clumsy noted.
"Ok." Grace nodded in thought. "So how about we make a list of foods you eat and I'll go shopping today."
"Also, I think we should look for some medicine." Dabbler noted. "Or something to keep Papa healthy. We can't feed him or give him water if he's unconscious. He needs nutrients or all this work to treat his wounds will be for nothing."
"Sounds like he needs an IV drip." Patrick said.
"What in smurf's name is an IV drip?" Gutsy asked.
"Obviously it is a special method for making potions." Brainy scoffed. "It must be too advanced for your minds. But not for my smurfy mind that can understand-"
Brainy screamed as he flew across the room, courtesy of Hefty's foot.
"Actually, an IV drip is something hospitals use to keep patients hydrated." Patrick explained. "It gives them nutrients so they can survive while they're knocked out."
"Will it help Papa?" Dabbler asked.
"It'll keep him alive while we treat his wounds." Patrick explained. He looked at his watch. "I gotta go. Still have work." He stood and ran off to his room.
"Well, how about I get dressed and you guys make a list?" Grace suggested. "I'll go out and get some groceries." The Smurfs voiced their agreement and Grace went to change. Smurfette, Clumsy, and Grouchy started their list of smurf foods while Dabbler, Gutsy, and Hefty went to check on Papa. Brainy was still trying to untangle himself from the yarn he had landed in. When Grace was ready, Smurfette and Dabbler opted to go with her; Smurfette to get some fresh air to clear her mind and Dabbler to search for medicine to help Papa's burns. Everyone else was staying at the apartment, watching over Papa and trying to kill some time. Patrick hurried to work, giving a quick good-bye to the Smurfs before leaving. After an hour of being in an empty apartment, the remaining Smurfs felt quite bored.
"I smurf something pink." Hefty droned.
"The flower." Gutsy said in a monotone voice.
"Correct." Hefty sighed. "Clumsy, your turn." When they heard snoring, Gutsy and Hefty turned to find their accident-prone friend had fallen asleep. Hefty elbowed Clumsy, jolting him awake.
"Sorry." Clumsy yawned. "I didn't smurf much sleep last night."
"Why's that, laddie?" Gutsy asked.
"No reason." Clumsy shrugged. "Just nightmares."
"Wanna talk about 'em?" Hefty suggested. "That sounds ten times better than playing 'I Smurf'."
"They're not very smurfy." Clumsy sighed.
"Talk about it, laddie." Gutsy encouraged.
"I hate nightmares." Grouchy said as he and Brainy climbed up to join them.
"It's a fact that talking about your problems makes you feel better." Brainy said.
"We can't fix what we don't know is broken." Hefty added.
Clumsy looked around at each Smurf, and he knew that they weren't going to leave him alone. "It's the same thing every time. I'm at home, in the village, with all the other Smurfs...
DREAM SEQUENCE
Clumsy laughed as he kicked the ball back towards Farmer. The country Smurf gave the ball a good boot with his foot, sending the ball flying through the air, high over everysmurf's head, landing in a basket of smurfberries Greedy was carrying. Smurfberry juice and squished smurfberries sprayed in his face. Everysmurf laughed at their now red-faced companion.
"Sorry Greedy!" Farmer laughed.
"No problem Farmer!" Greedy chuckled as he licked smurfberry juice off his lips. "This is a whole new way to eat smurfberries!" There was another round of laughter.
"I think the ball rolled over there!" Clumsy said as he pointed into the forest. "I'll go get it!" He went running off, tripping over his own feet as he went. Soon, he found the red cloth ball resting under a bush. He grabbed it and turned around to run back to the others. But when he did, Clumsy was met with a peculiar sight. The trees and grass of the forest had been replaced with stone walls and a stone balcony. The smurf ball was now a spear. Clumsy walked out to see Gargamel capturing Smurfs with the dragon wand and stuffing them into a sack. He was hardly aware of dropping the spear as he stared at the scene in horror. Suddenly, Clumsy was on the ground just twenty feet from Gargamel. The wizard had Papa caught in a bolt from the wand.
"Are you watching closely, Smurf?" Gargamel laughed at Clumsy."You're beloved little Papa is about to meet his little blue end."
As Gargamel spoke, Papa was held just a foot away from Clumsy. Papa's eyes were full of fear, full of pain. Clumsy tried to reach out and grab him, but no matter what he did, Papa was always just out of reach. Like an invisible force was holding him on a short leash, taunting him.
"Let him go!" Clumsy shouted, tears in his eyes and streaming down his face. "Please! Just leave him alone!"
Suddenly, the tendrils around Papa's chest glowed brighter. Papa cringed, gritting his teeth in pain. His eyes were half open as he stared at the Smurf before him. Clumsy kept trying to take Papa's hand, but their hands remained inches from each other.
"C-Clumsy..." Papa's voice was just a whisper.
Suddenly, Papa was thrown into the air and blasted to the ground. He lay there, motionless. Clumsy rushed to his side, desperately trying to wake him. When Gargamel's laugh rang out, Clumsy's head jerked up, only for his vision to be clouded with a bright, electric blue light.
END DREAM SEQUENCE
"I wake up after that." Clumsy finished. "I constantly looked over at Papa to see if he was still breathing. When I tried to go to sleep again, the nightmare came back."
"Every time?" Hefty clarified.
"Every time." Clumsy nodded. "I can't stop worrying about Papa."
"We're all worried." Grouchy noted. "But none of us had nightmares like that."
"We didn't know." Gutsy said, patting Clumsy on the back. "But look at Papa." Everyone glanced at said Smurf. His chest was still rising and falling slowly. "He's still breathing. He's still alive and we're all going home when he gets better."
Clumsy looked up into Gutsy's eyes, tears threatening to fall. "How can you be sure?"
"Honestly, I can't be sure." Gutsy admitted. "But we can never give up hope. Losing hope is truly losing the battle." Clumsy smiled, nodding a little. Gutsy wiped away a stray tear and spread out his arms. "Smurf hug?" Clumsy laughed a little and nodded, wrapping his arms around Gutsy's chest and burying his face in the crook of the Scottish Smurf's neck. Gutsy pulled him in close. Grouchy, Brainy, and Hefty joined the hug, each one of them holding back tears.
Later, when Grace had returned with Smurfette and Dabbler, there was some good news. Grace had managed to find proper smurf food; at least enough to hold them over and not make them sick until they could go home. Smurfette was especially excited to show off the sarsaparilla they found. Unfortunately, the only other "smurf food" to be found was bread and various vegetables that were usually grown in the village.
"Has Papa woken up yet?" Smurfette asked hopefully.
"'Fraid not, lass." Gutsy said sadly.
Dabbler gave a quick checkup. "Stable. Or as stable as he can be. We still need to figure out how we're going to feed and water him when he's out cold."
"He won't eat or drink anything?" Grace asked worriedly. "Not even soup?"
"Tried." Dabbler sighed. "He won't swallow. And I'm worried it'll go down his windpipe."
"We need that drip thing Patrick was talking about." Brainy said.
As if on cue, Patrick came through the door. "Hey everyone! I have a surprise!"
"It's not like Jokey's surprises, is it?" Clumsy asked worriedly.
Patrick raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Jokey Smurf's surprises usually explode." Hefty said dismissively. "What's the surprise?"
"I have someone that can help us." Patrick announced. "She's a vet." He looked behind him. "You coming or not?"
"This suitcase is heavier than you think!" A girl's voice called from the front door. "That and I'm carrying my backpack and my medical bag!" There was a sudden yelp followed by a THUD!
"Hold on!" Patrick called as he ran out.
"What's a vet?" Smurfette asked.
"A doctor specifically for animals." Grace explained.
"But Papa's a Smurf." Brainy said. "Are Smurfs classified as animals in this world?"
Before Grace could answer, Patrick returned with a suitcase in hand and a girl right behind him carrying a backpack and a small, black duffel. The girl was sixteen, a little shorter than Grace, with wavy/curly brown hair that went down to her waist. She had deep, sapphire blue eyes sparkling behind her rectangular, black framed glasses. She wore camouflage cargo pants, a black T-shirt, combat boots and a leather jacket. A red bandana was on her head, keeping her hair away from her face.
"Everyone, this is my niece, who will be staying with us for the summer." Patrick introduced. "Her name is Mirabelle."
"No one calls me Mirabelle except my mom." The girl said. She was currently rummaging through her backpack, and therefore not paying much attention. "Everyone calls me Mira. Patrick, you do realize that Grace knows me?"
"Not talking to Grace." Patrick said. "Remember what I said about my other friends you need to prepare for?"
"Yes." Mira nodded as she looked up. "But why did you tell me to be prepared?" She froze when she saw the Smurfs. She continued to stare at them and they stared back for a long moment.
"Surprise." Patrick said in a singsong voice. Grace smiled a little nervously. The Smurfs waved happily yet sheepishly.
Mira was still for a moment. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them a few times. "Why do I see little blue people?"
"Mira, these are the Smurfs." Grace introduced. She pointed to each Smurf as she said their names. "Clumsy, Gutsy, Brainy, Smurfette, Grouchy, Hefty, and Dabbler."
"There's also Papa." Clumsy piped up. "He's in the other room."
Mira blinked. "Someone pinch me. I have to be dreaming."
"It's not a dream." Patrick assured.
Mira sighed, setting down her bags. "Ok, before I run out of here and sleep on the streets, please explain to me exactly what's going on here."
Patrick and Grace had Mira sit down as they explained everything with the help of the Smurfs. Everything from how the Smurfs got to New York through the portal to the battle at Belvedere Castle. Mira listened carefully, but asked for tea halfway through the story "to calm her nerves". When they came to Papa's condition, she paid a little more attention, but the deadpan look on her face wasn't promising.
When they had finished, Mira asked bitterly, "You asked me to bring my medical supplies to treat a mythical creature from my mom's stories?"
Patrick bit his lip. I may have touched a nerve there. "Mira, you're the only doctor I know that would look at these guys and not run screaming."
"I'm not doing it." Mira said, shaking her head. "I came here because my dad's on a business trip and doesn't want to leave me home alone. I'm here as a house guest and am happy to help around the house as payment. But I'm only a vet; not even officially. I take care of dogs, cats, mice, reptiles, and the occasional fish. But I do not operate on mythical creatures."
"Mira, they're not mythical." Grace assured. "They're real. And one of them is hurt and needs your help. For someone your age, you're a great vet. And we need your skills."
"Even if I was willing to do it, what could I do?" Mira asked. "I can perform basic surgeries at the most. I don't know the anatomy of these guys. I wouldn't know how severe the condition is. And I would have to know the severity of the situation in order to give a diagnostic. That's only if I was actually going to go through with this."
"Please listen to us." Grace pleaded. "We need your help."
"I will not kid myself by giving a little blue humanoid a checkup." Mira scoffed.
"Mira, I know this is hard to believe." Patrick said. "I get that. But your mom-"
"Don't you dare say anything about my mom." Mira growled. "I don't care what you were going to say; you know nothing about her."
Before Patrick could speak, Clumsy came forward and touched Mira's hand. "Miss Mira, please. Papa Smurf needs your help. We don't know what to do and if you don't help, I'm scared Papa's gonna die."
Mira stared down at the little Smurf. His words caught her off guard. Flashes of memories started appearing before her eyes and disappearing the next moment, like lightning strikes. Plus, how could she say no to those big blue eyes that were steadily filling with genuine tears? She sighed.
"Where is he?" She asked.
Patrick led Mira to the couch, Grace and the Smurfs following. Everyone sat around the couch and watched. Mira seated herself at the foot of Papa's makeshift bed and pulled out a stethoscope from her bag. She moved the blanket and placed the scope end on Papa's chest. She listened closely to his breathing and heartbeat. She opened his eyes and checked his pupils. She checked for broken bones. Dabbler reported that he had been unconscious since last night. Mira nodded in thought and took out some scissors. She cut away Papa's bandages and her eyes widened a little at the sight of the burns. She inspected every one of them, gently lifting Papa to look at the ones on his back. When she was done, she redressed the wounds and pulled out a clear bottle, a tube, a thin needle, and a bag of clear liquid.
"Thank heavens he's small." Mira said. "He won't need as much as a dog or a cat. But I need to hang this on something."
"The lamp?" Grace offered. Mira looked up at said lamp and nodded. She attached the tube to the bottle and the needle to the free end of the tube. She pulled out a clamp and tightened it on the tube. She poured the clear liquid into the bottle and hung the bottle onto a bar on the lamp.
"What's that for?" Gutsy asked wearily.
"This is the IV drip." Mira explained. "I have to insert the needle into a vein to get the stuff into his system. This way he's getting nutrients he needs and we don't run the risk of him vomiting if we tried to feed him." Mira gently held Papa's wrist and squeezed it until she found the vein in his hand. The Smurfs' eyes widened a little when she put the needle into the vein and secured it with a piece of tape. She loosened the clamp on the tube and allowed the liquid to drip down into Papa's hand.
"The IV will sustain him while he's knocked out." Mira explained. "When he wakes up, we'll see how his stomach handles food."
"Great." Grouchy huffed. "Now what's the bad news?"
"His burns and cuts are pretty bad." Mira said. "He's a bit feverish; if I hadn't cleaned his wounds, they might've gotten infected. I don't know what he got hit with, but it can't be good. I'll watch him tonight to see if he reacts well to the IV solution."
"Thank you, lassie." Gutsy sighed in relief. "This means a lot to us."
"You owe me big time." Mira snapped at Patrick. She stowed away her med supplies. "I'll be awake for the rest of the night, so all of you can sleep. I'll take a nap tomorrow morning."
"Can we stay out here with Papa?" Brainy asked. "I think we'd all feel smurfier if we were closer. You know, in case you need our help."
"I highly doubt I'll need help with something you don't understand." Mira scoffed. "But...as long as you stay out of my way, I suppose you could camp out here in the living room."
Everyone seemed a little more relaxed. It was late at night when everyone went to bed. Mira remained on the couch to keep an eye on Papa while the Smurfs made their beds on the coffee table and the chairs. Mira pulled out her laptop and started typing away. When she noticed the Smurfs still weren't asleep, she started humming softly. Though they fought to stay awake, the gentle lullaby cast its spell, and the Smurfs soon nodded off into their dreams. Mira smirked in triumph. The lullaby, however, was now stuck in her head, and she found herself singing it. It was a Gaelic lullaby, one her half-Scottish mother used to sing to her when she couldn't sleep. Mira had memorized the English translation, but the Gaelic words sounded much more beautiful.
Mira looked over at Papa and noticed his breathing had gotten quicker. He was twitching and had a look of pain on his face. A nightmare no doubt. Mira thought. She leaned in closer to Papa and sang the lullaby, pulling the blanket a little farther over Papa's body. By the end of the song, Papa had relaxed. Mira felt a smile on her lips, but then she frowned and sighed.
"What are you doing, Mira?" She whispered.