Please pardon my word-vomit.

FreakingCrazy - I'd say less violent and more... unashamedly enthusiastic. :P Thank you for your kind words. You're basically my incentive to get off my butt and keep working on this. Well, you, and the fact that I'm so tired of having this unfinished.

Thoughtful's first story is beginning to draw to a close. While I fear the climax won't be as intense as some other stories, it seems right.

Though I am excited to finally be able to put the 'complete' status up.

ALERT- This story had been plotted out June 2012. Every similarity is coincidental, and I guarantee I copied off of no one. Everything with the exception of Gutsy is based off the cartoons.

Thoughtful copyright me, Benny D.

Smurf y'all later!


Thoughtful opened her eyes. She closed them again.

"Are you Smurfs ever going to stop doing that?"

A rustle of movement as Papa, Hefty, and Brainy withdrew from their positions an inch from her head. Through the audible sigh of relief, there hovered the heavy fog of people smothered with embarrassment and trying desperately to avoid showing it.

As they stewed in their own humiliation (serves them right. Why couldn't a girl sleep in peace?), Thoughtful pried her eyes open for real. Back in her own mushroom house, with the warm sheets under her and the high ceiling above...

She shot upright. "Gargamel!"

Hands on her face, on her arms, on her shoulders, calming hands, calming voices, Gargamel nowhere to be found. Thoughtful tried to still her panicked heart as her family hummed words of comfort to her. "What... what happened? I think I blacked out?"

All three of them nodded solemnly. Their gazes kept flickering away from hers, to the end of her bed. Nervously, like they didn't want her to know. She levelled an unwavering stare at them, serious as the grave. "Papa. What happened to me?"

The elder Smurf reached out, covering her hand with one of his own. The weight, the warmth, did little to reassure her. "Thoughtful, listen. You know back when you first came, what I said about having too many visions at one time with no rest in between?"

She said nothing, eyes never leaving his. Papa Smurf sighed, breaking away first. What was so hard to say that he couldn't look her in the eyes?

Brainy said it for him. "You almost died, Thoughtful."

The tone, the tremble, the very texture of his words struck her in the heart like a wooden stake. One by one, she met Hefty's gaze. Papa's. Brainy seemed very interested in the wood of her bedframe. The weight of the world slumped their shoulders and stooped their backs in a way that would put Slouchy to shame. She'd done this. She'd caused so much worry and despair. She wanted to apologize twenty, fifty, a hundred times over for bringing so much pain on them all. But words seemed to stick in her throat.

Papa seemed to take her choked silence as a request for more information. "When you didn't make it to the forest edge, Hefty went back to look for you. Gargamel had gotten you again. He came back to get me and Brainy, and we all went to get you."

Those sweet, caring, thoughtful, stupid Smurfs. They could have gotten killed.

"Now you need to rest." Papa's voice shed some of the underlying darkness and rose to the more decisive 'protective father' mode. "Twenty four hours bed rest. Ahp," he held up a hand in response to her open mouth, "no complaints. I don't want any more surprises. You rest your mind, and that leg." He started down the spiral stairs before Thoughtful had a chance to protest, Hefty right on his tail.

Brainy lingered a moment, half turned, like his body wanted to leave but his brain wouldn't let him. And Thoughtful realized something. "Brainy?"

His turn had a snap to it, but it didn't look eager. Upset might be a closer word, but it was hard for Thoughtful to tell with his face turned away from her.

"What did Papa Smurf mean, 'rest my leg'?"

Brainy blanched just the tiniest bit. He reached over and pulled the covers off her right foot. From the toe to the thigh, it was wrapped in bandages. For too long, both of them just stared.

"Brainy," she started, voice low. "What happened?"

His tone matched hers. "Gargamel didn't want to wait until morning. He boiled some water and we came just as he was dumping you in. Hefty caught you before... but your leg..."

She couldn't imagine what it must look like under the bandages. "Why doesn't it hurt?"

"The salve. Honey and poppy, with a bit of a spell. Supposed to take away the pain."

His sentences came oddly clipped. He wasn't saying all that he meant to. Flipping the blanket back over her leg, Thoughtful forced his attention back to her face. He wouldn't look at her directly. "Brainy? What's wrong?"

Only a simpleton would miss his clenched fists, even as he muttered a 'nothing'. Turning on his heel, he started for the stairs. "Thoughtful?"

Her heart leaped. "Yes?"

He didn't turn around. "Stay there or I'll kick your smurf."

That was out of character for Brainy, but his footsteps faded before Thoughtful could call him back.

Unsettled, she leaned back on her pillow, staring at the Brainy-shaped space at the top of her stairs. What could have possessed him to act like that? Had he gotten hurt too? Maybe she should ask Papa to~

So suddenly did her mind flash back to her conversation with Smurfette that she believed she was having another sighting. Lucky for her, this memory was far more recent.

"Tracker and Brainy are fighting over you. I think they both like you a lot."

That couldn't be the reason for Brainy's behaviour just now, could it? If liked her the way Smurfette thought he might, shouldn't he be happy for her return? What could explain his icy attitude? Why did her being alive and mostly well make him so irritable? This couldn't be about Tracker too, could it? Had something else happened between them while Thoughtful was asleep? How long had she been asleep anyway? She'd have to ask Tracker for details, maybe he'd be more willing to talk than Brainy was. But if he wasn't? Could she handle such blatant snubs from her two best friends?

She stayed up for a long time, thinking. When her mind grew tired and her heart heavy, she drifted into sleep.

On and off she dozed for who knew how long. Finally, she reached a point where her restlessness couldn't be confined to a bed; she had to get up and move around even if it killed her. It had to have been at least 24 hours now, right?

Testing out her bum foot, and being pleasantly surprised when it hardly hurt under her body, Thoughtful headed unevenly for the door.

WHACK!

Thoughtful's own exclamation was dwarfed by the grunt of the door-blocker. Peering around the crack, she saw Hefty on the other side, rubbing his tail with a grimace. "Hefty! Are you alright? What were you doing so close to my doorway?"

He focused hard on a spot a few feet above her head. "S-shouldn't you still be asleep?"

Oh, so that was it. "Hefty, were you guarding me?" No doubt Papa Smurf's idea. Did no one in the village trust her?

Mask of bravado fading a little, Hefty took on the air of a scolded Smurfling. "Papa wanted to make sure you would rest. He said he knows how you can be~" she let out a disbelieving scoff at that, "~and he doesn't want to have any more scares like with Gargamel." Finally gathering himself, the burly Smurf crossed his arms, like that was the end of the discussion. "Now, back up to bed with you."

Unbelievable. This went farther than concern; this was house arrest! Thoughtful was tempted, hoo boy was she tempted, to shove past Hefty and do as she pleased. Of course, the result of trying would simply be him barring her way, physically putting her back to bed at worst. A futile attempt. Arguing would be a worthless endeavour, Hefty could out-stubborn a mule and, frankly, Thoughtful didn't have the mental energy to try. Letting out a weary sigh, she shut the door and returned upstairs. When she was finally released, she and Papa Smurf were going to have words.

The elder was right, of course. Thoughtful would admit that. Among the things she wanted to do in her life, 'die young' was not on the list, and she could see Papa's reasoning. But as she tossed and turned, trying vainly to find sleep when she just wasn't tired, Thoughtful concluded that twenty four hours bed rest was an insane amount of sleep for a Smurf. Save maybe Lazy.

After extensively pondering what ink was made of, if one's jaw could close indefinitely if one's teeth were gone, and how many times it took to get the first guitar to work, she sat up in bed, rubbing her temples. Any longer under this roof and she was going to break something. The afternoon sun bled onto her floor, tantalizingly warm and inviting. And infuriatingly teasing. What she wouldn't give to be outside right now, playing her flute or exploring the forest~

She stilled as an idea slammed into her brain.

The window.

She stood in the glorious fresh air before she even registered that she'd climbed onto the roof. Ah, freedom tasted sweet. Every lungful of the open sky energized her body. Thoughtful only realized how clammy she felt after being exposed to the breeze, and what a relief it was.

A Smurf passed beneath her and Thoughtful shied away, out of sight. Probably not a good idea to get seen. What if Papa had put out an alert? Or if someone told him they saw her up and about? She'd get the scolding of her life. Best to stay out of the public eye. Meaning, not in the village.

Some fancy footwork and several heart-stopping close calls later, Thoughtful trotted through the forest without a care in the world, keeping out of sight by traveling through the bridge-like branches of the enormous oak trees. She settled in a spot against the trunk, sufficiently away from the ears of the village, and pulled out her pipes. Sometime later, called by the earthy notes, Quintoro emerged from the branches above and slithered quietly onto her lap.

For blessed minutes they sat, enjoying nature in all its glory, Thoughtful finally free from Papa's well-meaning but smothering eyes. Just relaxing, the breeze on her face, sun dappling through the leaves, rough bark under her fingers, comforting weight of an animal companion nearby. She closed her eyes to drink in the sensation, never wanting it to end...

"Why is it always me finding you napping in weird places?"

Thoughtful prided herself on the successful stifling of her vocal exclamation, but she still had to take a minute to calm her thundering heart. "Tracker Smurf, you should really make some noise when you move."

Tracker swung, laughing, from a higher branch to sit cross-legged in front of her. He set his walking stick across his knees, leaning back on his hands. He appeared to be trying, and failing, to suppress an amused grin. "Seriously, though. What are you doing up here?"

She regarded him carefully. Had Papa discovered her disappearance? Did he actually go so far as to sic Tracker on her? Did the woodsmurf know anything about her confinement? As he stared at her, eyes so honest with a slightly quizzical tilt of the head, she thought herself silly for entertaining the idea.

No reason to lie to him. "Papa Smurf trapped me in my room."

His momentary expression of confusion melted to understanding. "Riiiiiight, because of the Gargamel thing." Did everyone in the village know about that? "Had cabin fever, did you? I sympathize. Papa Smurf does this at least once to everyone in the village, you know." His smile adopted a sly quality. "You're not the first to escape, either."

"Oh? What was your adventure with the overprotective Papa?"

The two of them fell into easy conversation, comfortable, friendly. Talking to Tracker, tension flooded from Thoughtful's body, tension she didn't even realize she carried. Why, though? Why were her shoulders tight?

The conversation lulled, and Thoughtful looked at her friend, really looked. Pleasant. Open. The exact opposite of Brainy this morning.

Oh, of course. Brainy. Now would be the perfect time to ask if they'd had a spat, but all of Tracker's signs were screaming negative. Was that not the reason for Brainy's snub? What else could have him in a fuss?

In case Tracker was masquerading for her benefit, Thoughtful approached the subject cautiously. "So... have you seen Brainy at all today?"

He stared at her as he processed the question. His nostrils flared slightly as he took in her scent, eyebrows knitting together. "You're beating around a bush of some kind."

Curse him and his phenomenal nose. How could he even smell that, anyway? No point trying to hide anything from that Smurf. "He didn't seem very happy with me when I first woke up. I suspected..." how to phrase this delicately? "... that something might have happened between you two? Did I do something wrong?"

Any hint of amusement vanished from the woodsmurf's posture, but no hostility darkened his eyes. "If Brainy and I were having a quibble, what makes you think you'd be at the center?"

Oh boy. How to explain this... Thoughtful found herself pulling at her fingers and shifting in her spot. This was about as far from the easy conversation before as a Smurf could get. "Well, um, some weeks back, Smurfette and I had a... talk."

She spared him a glance. His face remained expectant.

"She said," Thoughtful continued, "that you might have been fighting with Brainy... over me?"

One eyebrow raised.

She lost her nerve, the next words tumbling out of her mouth. "And I didn't want to be the cause of any fights in the village, especially not between brothers and two of the best friends I ever had so if you did fight could you please make up because I don't like it when you argue!"

Finally, a tiny smile quirked up the corner of Tracker's mouth. "Thoughtful, we weren't fighting over you. At least, I wasn't."

Now it was Thoughtful's turn to stare, non-comprehensive. "T-then... what was it?"

Tracker leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees. "I admit, I suspected Brainy was... inclined towards you. Pheromones come off that Smurf like grime comes off Gargamel. I know he's sometimes not the most considerate Smurf. I just wanted him to know that I wouldn't stand for you getting hurt. You're a very caring individual, open to practically anything, and I didn't want Brainy to take advantage of that." His gaze drifted off to the left, contemplating something else. "That was resolved quite a while ago, though. We haven't had a discussion like that since."

"So," she wanted to make sure she had things straight. "So you're... not interested in me?"

"Oh, please, don't get me wrong, I think you're a wonderful girl! But I see you only as a sister, Thoughtful. Please don't be offended."

Offended? The moment he clarified his standing, Thoughtful had been nearly crushed by relief, for she shared his sentiment; he was her brother, her friend, her confidant. That was enough.

Brainy. Brainy though. That was still as confusing as it had ever been. Especially since Tracker brought Brainy's apparent feelings to light. Oh, she suspected something, but she figured it was typical spring fever; that it would pass. Maybe... maybe it never would. Was she okay with that? And that still left the question of why Brainy was so miffed at her! It wasn't like she'd done anything to him, she'd been unconscious for who knows how long!

She huffed, a childlike action. "I understand nothing."

Tracker, politely waiting while she wrestled with her little existential crisis, laughed heartily. "Welcome to the world!"

They turned back to happier subjects, the veil of tension lifted. Thoughtful revelled in the simple action of talking to a friend. She needed this. She and Tracker hadn't engaged in deep discussion in too long. Through it, though, was the intimate sense that something had changed between them: something unspoken finally brought to light, something weighing heavily on them both lifted in one swift movement. With the subject of interest behind them, Thoughtful felt as free as when she had stepped out onto her roof.

The day merged to night too quickly. All at once, Thoughtful noted that she could barely make out Tracker's outline in the descending gloom. As if by mind meld, the feathered Smurf stood, brushing off his pants and shouldering his walking stick. "We should probably head back." His cheeky grin shone in the scarce moonlight that filtered through the trees. "Papa Smurf might have sent out search parties."

He offered one of his hands. Thoughtful took it, adopting a snooty stance as she pulled herself upright. "He'd never suspect me of going against his orders. I'm far too agreeable for that."

"Agreeable? That's a side of you I haven't seen before." He dodged her playful swat to his head, chortling. He sobered a little, gesturing to her foot. "Do you need help climbing down?"

The raven-haired Smurfette glanced at it, remembering her injury. It throbbed a little now, the salve probably old and needing to be changed, but it was manageable. "I think I'll be fine."

Together, the two Smurfs snuck back into the village, Tracker giving her a hoist back on to her roof (Hefty still stood resolutely at the door, though maybe a little more drowsy now than before). Hissed goodbyes found them parting, Tracker vanishing into the shadows of the village paths and Thoughtful slipping back through her window.

Her bed lay before her, sheets practically glowing in the light of the moon. How could something so constricting in the morning be so inviting now?

She crawled underneath her blankets. Between napping all morning and the afternoon's revelation, sleep would not some easily.

Thoughtful Smurfette had a lot to think about.