Hewoo! SF here :D And because I am again procrastinating drawing the rest of Act 1 for The Clumsy Project movie, I cranked out another chapter :D

And because I gave y'all a terrible hint last time as to what song inspired me to make this, (XD) I'll give you two hints:

Hint#1- The song name starts with an "S"

Hint#2- It was made in 2005.

Hint#3- One word title.

Happy guessing! :D And go grab a box of tissues, this one's a tear-jerker T^T

(Slouchy)

A couple weeks passed since we found out about the cancer. Snappy, Nat and me tried to be at every one of Sassette's treatments. The medicine made her tummy real upset, and she was pretty much always too tired to play after. After the first two weeks or so, her skin started looking paler. Her hair was loosing some of its shine. Her cough sounded worse. It felt so hard to believe… Like all this was some terrible dream we'd all wake up from, and everything would be normal and smurfy again… But one morning, about two weeks after Sassette first started taking the medicines, we woke up from that dream, and landed in the beginnings of an even worse dream…

Sassette had woken up in the night, coughing more. I rolled over and looked up at her from my bunk. She was sitting up facing the wall, huddled in her blankets. I flipped up the covers and climbed up the ladder. "Sassette?" I whispered. "You okay?"

She turned around and looked at me. Her eyes looked dark and deep in her face. Her skin was pale and sick- looking. Her freckles looked real dark compared to her skin. "Slouchy…?" she whispered, her voice sounding scratchy, "I woke you up again, didn't I?"

I shook my head and fixed my hat. "Nah… It's okay, Sassette." I yawned, sitting next to her and swinging my legs over the side, "Sorry y'don' feel good again…"

She coughed more, then swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat next to me. She shivered a little bit, then wiped her forehead and huddled in her blankets. "Need me t' go get Papa smurf?" I asked.

She shook her head, then coughed again. She sighed a little and put her head on my shoulder. "Slouchy…?" she rasped.

"Yeah?" I replied, hoping my cheeks weren't red.

"Whaddyou think it's like?" she asked, "y'know, Heaven?"

I felt pretty shocked by her question. I couldn't even find an answer for her. "I… I dunno, Sassette," I said finally, "Papa smurf says it's sposed t' be real pretty… Lotsa flowers, an' pretty rocks, an stuff… th' best music in th' whole world… even better than all th' hundred smurf's orchestra… an' it's always warm…"

I looked more at her. "I guess I think it's like that…" I said, "Whaddyou think?"

She coughed more and shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno… I think maybe it's like what you said… but with more frogs."

She started coughing harder. I patted her on the back to try and ease her coughing. Once she'd finally stopped coughing, she wiped her hand on the blanked, then buried her face in my shoulder, whimpering a little bit. My cheeks felt real warm, and I felt this weird feeling in my tummy. Something in my chest felt like it hurt, I guess cause I felt so bad for Sassette. I looked at her blanket, and saw a red smear. "No matter how many times it happens…" she said, "I always feel so scared…"

I put my hand on her shoulder and rubbed it a little. "It's okay, Sassette…" I whispered, trying to make her feel better, "you're not the only one who's scared…we're all scared…"

She coughed more, harder and with much more power behind it. She shivered a little, then wiped her forehead. Her cheeks looked kinda flush, so I put my hand on her forehead. "You feel kinda warm…" I said, "C'mon, I'll take you to Papa smurf."

Sassette shook her head. "No… I do'wanna…" she said, "I do'wanna wake'm up…"

I nudged her and tried to get her to come down the ladder. "I think he'll understand," I said, "C'mon."

She coughed a little bit and conceded defeat. She followed me down the ladder and then got a jacket from her dresser. I helped her pull it on as she coughed again, then put mine on. I heard a shuffling in the bed underneath Sassette's bunk. Snappy muttered and sat up. "Wha…" he yawned, "Wha're you guys doin'?"

"I'm takin' Sassette t' Papa smurf." I said, "Go back t'sleep, Snappy."

He muttered, then rolled over and drifted back to sleep. Sassette and I walked through the village, the light of the full moon covered in a shroud of clouds. I had no idea it was so cold out… Then again… we had just finished the harvest. And it was getting close to Christmas…

We reached Papa smurf's lab. Sassette coughed and pulled her jacket around her as I reached up and knocked on the door. It was a few minutes before Papa smurf finally came to the door. "Slouchy, Sassette." He said, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "It's nearly four o'clock in the morning, what on smurf are you doing up?"

"Sorry Pappy," Sassette apologized, then coughed in her fist.

"She woke up an' couldn' fall back asleep." I said, patting on her back.

Papa smurf cringed a little and let us in. He put his candle on the table next to his potions. "I'm sorry, my little smurfling," he said, distractedly, "I'm afraid I can't give you a potion to help you sleep. It might conflict with your medicines."

Sassette pouted a little and coughed. She sat down and pulled her jacket around her. Papa smurf went to a little kitchenette area in the corner of his lab, and put a kettle on the stove. "I do have a home remedy Grandpa used to give me when I was just a smurfling."

He mixed a hot drink for her, then sat across from us. Sassette drank the hot liquid in slow sips, getting more tired as time went by. Once she was all done, she gave her cup back to Papa smurf and yawned. "Tired"-yawn-"turtles, Pappy…" she muttered a little. "I'm real sleepy now…"

Papa smurf yawned too. "Good, Sassette… Now, it's about time you two went back to bed." He said, checking the clock in the corner.

Sassette pulled her coat around her and nodded lazily. We shuffled to the door. "G'night, Papa smurf." I said, watching him walk back up the stairs.

"Good night, Slouchy," he replied, rubbing his tired eyes, "Now go on and get some sleep."

I closed the door behind me as quietly as I could. Sassette and I walked slowly back to the bunkhouse. "Thanks for doin' this for me, Slouchy," Sassette said, sorta out of the blue, "You're a true friend."

I shrugged a little. "It's nothin' Sassette." I replied, "you'd smurf th' same for me."

"Yeah, bu' still…" she said.

She stopped walking, and gave me a hug. "Thanks for everythin', Slouchy…" she said softly, "This whole thin's been so scary…. An' you, an' Nat, an' Snappy… You guys've been so smurfy…"

I felt my cheeks get warm. I hugged her back a little and patted her on the back. "You're welcome, I guess." I said, "I'd'a thought lookin' after ya'd be jus' somethin' friends do… Didn' think it was that big'a deal…"

I felt something cold and wet on the back of my neck. I looked up, only to get another one of those somethings in my eye. "It's… It's snowing…" I muttered a little bit.

Sassette looked up, then broke away from our hug. She smiled widely, then clapped her hands together and closed her eyes. "Wha're you doin'?" I asked.

"I'm makin' a wish, silly!" she said, her voice sounding more like a whisper. "If you get caught in th' first snow've winter, you're sposed t' make a wish."

I'd never heard that anywhere before. "Where on smurf didja hear that?" I asked, confused.

"Nowhere, but c'mon!" she said, "First snow've the year's gotta have some kinda magic to it, right?"

I couldn't fight that logic. I put my hands together and silently sent a wish to the heavens. I wish Sassette would feel better… "Brr… Shiverin' salamanders… It's cold out here." Sassette said, warming her hands and yawning.

"C'mon… we'd better go back to bed." I said, nudging her a little bit. "It's late…"

She nodded a little and coughed. We went back to the bunkhouse and went back to sleep in our bunks. When I woke up the next morning, Snappy and Nat were both awake. But Sassette was still in bed, the blankets pulled up over her head. Snappy and Nat were both dressed and poking her through the blankets. "Sasseeete…" Snappy whined a little, "C'mon, we're gon' be late for breakfast, wake up!"

The blanketed lump rolled a little, and pulled the blanket tighter. "No…" it said, plainly and sadly. "I-I'm not coming out…"

Something wasn't right. Nat and Snappy must've heard it too, cause they climbed up the ladder and sat next to the lump. "C'mon, Sassette." Nat said, poking and prodding her a bit. "Y'can't jus' stay in there forever, y'know."

"Yes I can…" Sassette said, sadly, "Jus' watch me."

I got out of bed and joined them up on Sassette's bed. Snappy huffed a little and tore the blanket off her head. "C'mon, Sassette!" he said impatiently, "You're not gon' stay here all d-"

He froze when he saw Sassette sit up and glare at him, her face stained with tears. I looked at her pillow. There was a weird clump of—something on top of it. It was kind of an orangeish red, and it almost looked like… No… Could it really be….? "I'm gon' go get Papa smurf." I said, jumping down from the bed and pulling on a pair of pants under my nightshirt.

I rushed to Papa smurf's lab, not stopping to talk to anyone. Once I got there, I knocked on the door. As if he could tell it was urgent, he came to the door quickly. "Slouchy! What's wrong?" he asked.

"I dunno," I said, "bu' I think there's somethin' real wrong with Sassette…"

He closed the door behind him, and followed me back to the bunkhouse. Snappy and Nat seemed to have been banished from her bunk, and she had pulled the blankets back up over her head. "She won' come out…" Nat said, looking up at her with a serious face.

Papa smurf climbed the ladder and sat on the bed next to Sassette. He patted the blanket. "Go 'way, Snappy!" Sassette almost yelled.

"Sassette, it's me. It's Papa smurf." Papa smurf said, prying the blanket from up over her head.

Sassette sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She wiped her eyes and hugged Papa smurf. "P-P-Pappy…" She sniffled, "I'm scared… I'm real scared…J-just lookit…"

She grabbed the red clump on her pillow and showed it to Papa smurf, sniffing and sniveling. Papa smurf froze and stared at it for a moment. Almost immediately, he started blinking a lot, like he was trying to blink away tears or something. He put the clump back on her pillow and turned her away from it, rocking her and stroking her hair. Tears were bubbling from his eyes, and he shuddered with every breath. Snappy, Nat and I looked at each other, worry in our faces. "Papa smurf," Snappy said, "Wha's wrong?"

Papa smurf tried to pull himself together and look at us, tears still running down his face and disappearing in his white beard. "One… One of the side effects of Sassette's medicines…" Papa smurf paused, "One of the side effects of the medicines is hair loss…"

Snappy and I shared a confused look. "Wha're you sayin' Papa smurf?" Nat asked.

Papa smurf thought for a moment, and then looked directly at us. "I'm saying," he said, pain in his face, "Sassette may loose her hair… Much more than just a few little clumps…"

Something didn't exactly click with me… "Bu' why're you so sad, Sassette?" Snappy shrugged, "None of us have hair, an' we don' feel sad."

He's right. The only smurfs with hair're Papa smurf an' Grandpa. I thought to myself, and they don't really count, cause they have beards, not hair like Smurfette or Sassette, or Nanny. Snappy's observation only seemed to make her sadder. She started crying real hard, and hugging Papa smurf real tight. Papa smurf held her tight, rocking back and forth a little, stroking her hair soothingly. "Shh… Shh… It's alright, my little smurfling…" He whispered to her, "how about you help Greedy and I make decorations for the Christmas party? We'll need lots of smurfy decorations."

Sassette shook her head. "N-no… I do'wanna, Pappy…" she sniffled.

Papa smurf gave her a little squeeze. "Sassette… I know you're feeling sad right now…" he said, "but you can't spend all day in bed… Besides, Greedy and I need your help. Nosmurf smurfs decorations quite like you do."

She smiled a little, feeling a little better having been complimented like that. She gave a little sigh and wriggled out of Papa smurf's arms, and shimmied down the ladder. I watched as she pulled on a coat and waited for Papa smurf by the door. "Go on ahead, Sassette, I'll meet you at Greedy's kitchen." He told her, slowly getting down from the bed.

Sassette shrugged a little and ducked out the door. Papa smurf stood in front of Nat, Snappy and I. "Sit, boys." He said, plainly, "I believe it's time we had a little smurf-to-smurf-to-smurf-to-smurf talk."

Snappy crossed his arms and looked away looking real guilty. "You're not in trouble, Snappy." Papa smurf said, patting him on the shoulder. "I just want to talk."

Us three smurflings sat down on my bed. Papa smurf stood on the ladder and picked the clump of hair off Sassette's pillow. He held it in his hands a minute or two, worry in his face, then dropped it in the wastebasket. Then he sat down on Snappy's bunk across from us. "First, I'd like you three to know, you are very, very brave for being able to smurf through something like this with Sassette," Papa smurf said, smiling proudly at us. "You're being very grown-up with all this… this… unsmurfiness, and I'm very proud of you three."

"Thanks, Papa smurf." We replied in unison.

"But," he continued, "I do think we need to talk through a few things…"

I pulled my legs up on the bed and sat criss-cross-applesauce. "Like wha', Papa smurf?" I asked.

"Well," he said, his smile fading, "For one thing, one of the reasons Sassette's so sad about…" he paused, trying to find the right words. "…Today…"

Snappy shrugged a little bit. "I jus' don' get it, Papa smurf." He said, "None'a th' smurfs have hair. No'un 'cept you an' Grandpa, an' Smurfette an' Nanny. Other than that all us're bald."

"Yeah," I said, "wha's so bad about loosing her hair?"

Papa smurf sat and thought a moment, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Snappy… What makes me Papa smurf?" he asked at last.

Snappy tilted his head. "Whaddyou mean?"

"Just what I said," Papa smurf asked, "What makes me Papa smurf? How do you recognize me from all the other hundred and two smurfs in the village?"

Snappy covered his mouth with his hand and thought for a moment. "Well," he said, "Your clothes are red, not white… an' you're older… an' your beard, I guess too."

"Right," Papa smurf replied, "And how can you tell who in the village's Hefty?"

"Aw, that's easy!" Nat jumped in, pointing at his arm "his heart tattoos!"

"Yes, yes," Papa smurf said, "Now what about Tracker?"

"Red feather in'is hat."

"Harmony?"

"His horn!"

"What about Vanity?"

"His mirror, an' th' flower in'is hat."

"Or maybe Brainy?"

"His glasses!"

"My point smurfing," Papa said, "Every smurf has something about them that identifies them, something that is uniquely their own. And one of those things that makes Sassette Sassette, is her red hair."

Snappy crossed his arms and looked away. "Snappy, how would you feel if I said you could never, ever wear your yellow shirt again, you had to wear your white trousers and white hat like every other smurf?"

Snappy was quiet. "Or Nat, what if I said you weren't allowed to talk to your animal friends? Or wear your overalls again? Or your hat?"

Nat held his hat in his hands, picking at a loose straw. "Slouchy, would you feel smurfy if I said you couldn't wear your red shirt, or wear your hat like that?"

"No… I guess I wouldn't…" I replied, playing with my fingers in my lap.

"One of the reasons Sassette feels so sad, and scared, about loosing her hair is because it feels like she's being robbed of her identity." Papa smurf explained, "It is something that is uniquely her own and she's scared to have it taken away so suddenly, so… Without any real warning."

So that's why… I thought, looking down at the floor. I feel so bad for what we said earlier… "Do you understand what I'm saying here, boys?" Papa smurf asked.

"I think so, Papa smurf." Snappy said, looking ashamed.

"Good," Papa smurf stood from his spot on the bed, then sat on my bed with us. "Sassette is smurfing through one of the hardest times in her life right now, my little smurflings."

"Yeah… we know…" I said, still looking at the floor.

"But you three are making it a little easier on her," he said, smiling, putting a reassuring arm around us. "You three are what's keeping her happy and making her feel a little less scared. And I'm very proud of you for it."

I smiled a little. "Gosh, Papa smurf," Nat said, "I thou' doin' tha' was jus' part'a bein' a good friend. I didn' think it was tha' big'a deal t' jus' be there."

Papa smurf chuckled a little and squeezed us. "Much bigger than you know, Nat. Your being there is the best thing you can smurf for Sassette right now. She needs you, and your friendship to keep her spirits up." He said, looking at all three of us.

We hugged him back. "Bu' Papa smurf," Snappy said, "How're we gon' help'er with how she's loosin' her hair? We don' know what it feels like. How're we 'sposed t' help her?"

Papa smurf looked right at Snappy and thought for a moment. "I think the best thing you can do for Sassette is be a shoulder to cry on," he said, "There's a distinct possibility she may loose all her hair. She'll need your love and support now more than ever."

We were all very quiet for a moment. "Papa smurf?" Nat said, "Will her hair ever grow back?"

Papa smurf nodded, "Yes, Nat, it will. But not for a long time." He said, "And when it does, it might be different than how it was before she started the chemotherapy."

Papa smurf stood up and started to leave. "You smurflings had best get some breakfast. It's been a long morning already." He said, "Then you should go outside and enjoy the first snow of winter."

"Okay, Papa smurf" we all muttered.

(Smurfette)

A few days had passed since Sassette had started loosing her hair. She had been refusing to come out, playing with all her toys inside the bunkhouse instead of outside in the sun. I honestly can't say I blamed her. But today she couldn't just stay inside. She had to go to Papa smurf's lab for her medicines. Papa smurf sent Brainy and I to go get her.

Brainy knocked on the door. "Sassette! Oh Sasseeeette!" he called into the house.

Snappy was the one who answered the door. His face was fixed in a scowl, as always and he leaned on the door frame. "Sassette's sleepin' Brainy. Whaddyou want?" he said.

"Papa smurf wants Sassette so he can give her her medicine, Snappy," I said. "May we come in?"

"Y'can, but I doubt she's gon' come out." Slouchy's voice answered from inside the house.

He let us in, then went back to playing with a little wooden horse and knight. Slouchy was sitting on his bed, thumbing through a picture book. Nat was laying on his bunk above Slouchy his legs hanging over the edge and a butterfly perched on the rim of his hat. Sassette was huddled in her bed under the covers. Brainy strode over to her and adjusted his glasses. "Sassette, Sassette, Sassette!" he wagged his finger, shaking the little smurf. "Don't you know too much sleep is just as unsmurfy as not enough sleep? And like Papa smurf allllways says-"

"Aw, smurf up, Brainy." Snappy said, climbing up the ladder and pushing his hand away.

Snappy shook the little blanketed lump gently. "Sassette… Y'gotta get up so you can take your medicine..." he said.

The little lump in the bed moved and yawned loudly. "Sleepy squirrels, Snappy… Can't I jus' sleep a lil' more…?" she said.

"Sassette, Sassette, Sassette," Brainy started, wagging his finger again, "You cant just sleep the whole day away, because-"

He stopped once Sassette sat up and glared at him. Her skin was pale, sallow. Her eyes looked sullen and sunken in her face. Her hair looked more like a thin, sickly red veil instead of the once thick, lovely auburn waves I had come to know. She coughed and swung her legs over the edge of the bunk. "Can't Pappy smurf jus' come here for those yucky medicines?" she asked. "I do'wan' anysmurf t' see me like this…" she sniffled a little and ducked her head, "They're… they're gon' look at me funny…"

Slouchy and Nat looked up from what they were doing and climbed up on the bunk with her. "It's ok, Sassette." Nat said, "We'll make sure nosmurf hurts your feelin's, Ok?"

Sassette pouted a little and looked away. "Nat… My tummy hurts…." She said, making a sour face. "I really do'wanna go t'day…"

"We know, Sassette." Slouchy said, patting her on the back. "But'cha gotta take your medicine, or else y' won' get better."

Sassette kept looking down, then climbed down from the bed. The smurflings pulled on their coats, then closed the door behind them as they left. The walk from the bunkhouse was long, so much longer than it ever was. I saw what Sassette meant by funny looks… As we walked through the village, some of the smurfs stopped their snow- shoveling and watched her pass. A couple of them muttered amongst themselves, giving her looks of pity and bewilderment. Sassette ducked her head, and moved closer to Snappy and Slouchy. Her pace quickened as she moved through the uncomfortable scene.

The smurfling boys surrounded her, making almost a shield around her. Sassette still looked sad and ashamed, but it looked like it was lightened by the boys' presence. Slouchy had a knowing, sleepy-sad look on his face as he walked to the right of her. Nat seemed to study the ground, his eyes dark with uncertainty. And Snappy led the way, his ever-present scowl giving him a protective, almost challenging feel.

As we approached Papa smurf's lab, Jokey came out from wherever he'd been hiding out carrying his yellow and red surprise box. But before he could speak, or laugh, or anything, all three of the smurfling boys inched closer to Sassette, glaring at Jokey. They silently dared him to say or do something with their protective body language. Sassette simply ducked her head and avoided eye contact. "Now's not a good time for one of your pranks, Jokey." Brainy said, all seriousness in his face, and for once no condescension in his tone.

Seeing Brainy and the smurflings so serious must've clicked with Jokey, because he slowly backed off. "I think that's the first time I've ever seen Jokey smurf away from giving out one of his surprise boxes…" I half-whispered to Brainy.

Brainy smiled a little smugly. "Well of course that's the first time! I've never said anything to him about it, or else he probably would've stopped sooner." He said, his arrogance returning to his voice.

I rolled my eyes and knocked on Papa smurf's door. "Come in, my little smurfs." he replied.

Brainy opened the door and held it open for the smurflings and I. I smiled a little thanks and sat on a nearby stool. Sassette sat on the bed in the corner, the smurflings on either side of her. Brainy joined Papa smurf by his books and potions. Papa smurf got Sassette's medicines from his medical bag, then sat next to Sassette on the bed. He screwed a barrel of a syringe into a needle stuck in an amber-colored bottle, then tilted it upsidown in his hands and pulled the plunger. The yellowish liquid filled the syringe, and Papa smurf unscrewed the barrel from the needle and put the bottle back in his bag. Sassette looked away, picking at a loose thread in her pink overalls. I watched as Papa smurf moved a tube with lots of notches on the ends from the inside of her overalls. He screwed the syringe barrel into one of the notches of the tube and squeezed the plunger, injecting the medicine through the tube, through the sick little smurfling's veins. Sassette coughed, and held her tummy. She looked almost green in the face. She brought her knees to her chest and groaned a little bit. I was about to join her on the bed to try and comfort her, but the smurflings beat me to the punch. Snappy sat almost behind her, holding out a bucket he picked up from the floor. Nat sat to her left, almost in between her and Papa smurf. Slouchy took her hand reassuringly. "Bet'cha million smurfberries you're gon' get sick." He said dryly.

Nat gave him a sour look. Sassette suddenly snatched the bucket from Snappy's hands and emptied her stomach. He rubbed her on the back. "Now y'gotta pay us back… which means y'gotta get better." Snappy added.

My heart sank a little in my chest. Poor Sassette was going through so much… And where was I? I couldn't even comfort her, the smurflings had already cut in. Papa smurf gave her the rest of her medicines, and put away the bottles and medical equipment. Sassette stayed curled up on the bed, holding her tummy. The smurflings stuck around her, comforting her and trying to talk to her to keep her mind off her upset stomach. There was a knock on the door. "Come in." Papa smurf called.

Farmer opened the door and walked through. "Pa' smurf, Ah need a few extra hands in th' Iceberry fields, but every'un's still busy with gettin' ready for th' Christmas party next week…" he said, then paused when he saw Sassette in the bed. "Ah… Dad gum, shugah…"

He sat next to her and ran his hand over her forehead. "I don' feel good, Farmer…" she said, closing her eyes and huddling close to him. "My tummy feels really icky…"

"Ah know, shugah… It'll be okay…" He half-whispered back, putting the remainder of her hair back behind her ear.

The smurflings sat around them, whispering amongst themselves. I wanted to do something, ANYthing. I walked to the bed and sat on the edge of the bed closer to Sassette's face. "Sassette…?" I said weakly.

She looked up at me and coughed. "I know I haven't really been around as much as I should be," I said, feeling my voice catch in my throat, "B-but I want you to know I'm here for you now. And I'm sorry I haven't been here more."

She smiled a little bit and took my hand. "It's… It's okay, Smurfette…" she said. "I understand."

I smiled a little and ran my finger over her cheek a little. "It'll be over soon, Sassette," I said, wishing I knew what to say, "You're so brave for being able to go through this..."

"Worried whippoorwills… Thanks Smurfette." She said coughing into her fist. "Bu' I really ain't that brave…"

Farmer watched her cough and patted her on the knee. "Sassy, yo're th' bravest lil' smurflin' in th' whole world fo' smurfin' through this… An' guess wha'." He said, not waiting for an answer, "Ah talked t' Greedy, an' he said he's gon' make all your favorite cakes for th' Christmas party."

Sassette smiled and looked up at him. "Hungry hummingbirds… That sounds smurfy, Farmer!" she said, "Bu' I'm not goin' to th' Christmas party."

Farmer and the Smurflings looked at each other curiously. "You're not goin' to th' Christmas party, Sassette?" Snappy piped up.

"Bu' you've been talkin' 'bout it for weeks! It's your favorite holiday!" Nat added.

"Yeah," Slouchy chimed in, "I know you're sad 'bout loosin' your hair an' stuff, bu' it's Christmas. Y'can't jus' stay at home…"

She shook her head a little. "It's not jus' 'bout my hair anymore…" She said softly, running her fingers over the thin veil that was her hair, "I guess I've kinda gotten less sad about it…"

She rolled over, burying her face into the pillow. "It's… it's the looks I get…" she whimpered, "all those eyes smurfed to me… an'-an'-an' all th' whispers an' stuff… It- it just makes me think it'd be a mistake for somesmurf t' bring a girl with no hair t' this party…"

She cried a little in the pillow. I felt my heart sink in my chest. I didn't even know what to say to her that could make it better. I just put a hand on her back and rubbed it a little bit. Snappy and Nat on the other hand scooted right over to her, and forced her to look at them. "Don' be stupid, Sassette! It WOULDN'T be a mistake!" Snappy protested, then bared his fists like his idol, Hefty, "An' if anysmurf thought it was, why I'd- I'd—"

"What this hickory nut's TRYIN' t'say," Nat intervened, "We won' let anysmurf hurt you. Not with those looks, an' not any other way. Anysmurf who DOES try an' hurt you answers t' US."

Sassette looked up at them and smiled a little, but kept her face buried in the pillow. We tried to reason with her more, but our words seemed to fall on deaf ears. Farmer seemed to be the first to realize, because after awhile he turned to the smurfling boys and asked them to help with his Iceberry harvest. They initially refused, as always, but eventually caved and left with Farmer. I gave Sassette a few little pats on the back. "See you at supper, Sassette." I said in a quiet goodbye.

She looked up and smiled at me. "Yeah…See you at supper."

How wrong I was…

(Slouchy)

We were helping Farmer with the Iceberry crops. We'd done it a thousand times before, but now it seemed so much less fun than normal. Sassette seemed worse today at treatment. She always had an upset tummy, and sometimes she did puke, and all, but she just looked so much sicker today… I think Snappy and Nat could tell too. They seemed to have the same amount of energy and eagerness that I did. That really wasn't much. Smurf, I think even Farmer could tell something wasn't smurfy about her today… she didn't even want to go to the Christmas party—she never misses out on the village Christmas party! Christmas is her favorite holiday. I didn't know all those looks from the others hurt her so much…

Somewhere else in the village, there was a loud bell noise. "You boys go'n wash up fo' supper," Farmer said, picking a few more of the pale blue berries, "Ah'll go check on Sassy."

We quietly went back to the village and washed up. "Maybe we shou' go check on Sassette too." I suggested.

"Nah," Snappy replied, "She's prolly at dinner anyways. We'd jus' be wasting th' trip."

I shrugged. He's right. No matter how sick she is during the day, she's always been better by dinner. We walked to the mess hall. I opened the doors, and expected to get tackled by a little pink and blue blur.

But we weren't.

In fact, I couldn't even see Sassette anywhere. She wasn't sitting at our table. She wasn't waiting in line. She wasn't anywhere. And neither was Farmer. Vanity was sitting all alone next to Smurfette, no Farmer in sight. "Guys," I said, turning back to Nat and Snappy, "Somethin's wrong…"

They nodded uneasily. "C'mon." I added, "Les' go talk t' Smurfette."

They followed close behind as I walked to Smurfette and Vanity. "Hiya Smurfette!" Nat said loudly.

She turned around and smiled sweetly at us. "Hello Nat, Snappy, Slouchy." She looked confused for a moment, "where's Sassette?"

I shrugged. "That's what we wanted t' ask you." I said. "We haven' seen'er since she smurfed her medicine."

"Oh dear," Smurfette said. "You don't think she's still at Papa smurf's lab, do you?"

"I'm not surprised," Snappy said, "She was so sad 'bout loosin' her hair an' stuff she's prolly hiding there."

Vanity turned his attention from his mirror. "Yeah, bu' tha' doesn' explain why we can't find Farmer either." Nat added, "He said he was gon' go check on her, bu' he hasn' come back. Isn't that jus' a little strange, Snappy?"

"Something IS strange," Vanity muttered, "But dinner isn't over yet. He's probably just trying to convince Sassette to come out and see my pretty face." he cast a conceited look at his mirror. "Looks this good can probably cure the sick, you know."

Nat, Snappy and I shared an eye-roll. "Well, I'm not sure about half of that," Smurfette said, an amused look on her face, "but Vanity's right, he's probably just trying to convince Sassette to come out. You three should have some dinner, then we'll go check on her."

Something still didn't sit right with me. But Nat and Snappy both agreed, and stepped into line for dinner. Once we had our dinners, we ate pretty fast so we could hurry over to go check on Sassette. Actually, I think we were the first to finish. "We'll meet you over there, Smurfette." Nat said as we all went out the mess hall door.

We all walked over there, a slightly faster pace than normal. Once we got there, the door was closed and the windows had the shades down. Snappy and Nat looked at me, sharing the same scowl of concern. Snappy knocked real loud on the door. Brainy was the one who answered it. "Oh. It's the smurflings," he said, looking uncomfortable. "Papa smurf is very busy right now, try smurfing by later."

He tried to close the door, but Snappy put his foot in between the door and the frame. "Bu' Brainy, we're just lookin' for Sassette." He said, "We haven' seen her since she smurfed her medicine today. Is she still here?"

Brainy looked like he was sweating nervously, looking everywhere, trying to think. He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "O-Of course not, don't be ridiculous!" he stammered.

A loud coughing noise coming from inside the lab proved him wrong. "Brainyyy…" Nat frowned and crossed his arms, "why're you lying to us? Where is Sassette?"

"This is for your own good, smurflings," Brainy replied, trying to push Snappy's foot out the door with his own. "Trust me, trust me, this's for your own good."

"I do'wan what's 'for my own good!'" Snappy said defiantly, refusing to move his foot, "We wanna see Sassette!"

Brainy must've known we weren't going to leave, because he rolled his eyes and shook his head in defeat. "Okay, okay!" he said, opening the door more, "But you can't say I didn't smurf you…"

We moved around him and looked around the lab. We froze at what we saw. Farmer smurf was sitting beside a bed. Sassette was under the covers. But she had these weird tubes in her hands. And one big tube with in her mouth down her throat. That big tube was connected to a big machine that seemed to pump something at a steady rhythm. Sassette looked like she was struggling to stay awake. Stay awake or stay… "P-P-Papa smurf…?" Nat asked in a voice I couldn't recognize. "Wh-wh-what is all this?"

Papa smurf had been standing by his table with all the potions, tears in his eyes as he watched the machine. He looked at us, and walked around the table to meet us. He put his hands on mine and Snappy's shoulders, then started to lead us upstairs. "Smurflings…" he said, pain in his voice, "we need to talk."

I felt real scared hearing him with that—that voice. He never sounded so scared, or so sad. Not even when we found out about Sassette's cancer. Once we were upstairs in his bedroom, away from all the unsmurfy noise downstairs, he sat us all down on his bed, and sat across from us. "Boys…" he said, "You understand that none of this is your fault?"

The three of us looked at each other and nodded. "And you realize that nothing could've been done to prevent this?"

We looked at each other again, our faces looking more scared and nodded. What was going on downstairs? "My little smurflings…" Papa smurf said, wiping his eyes, "I…I'm afraid we may be very close the end of Sassette's fight. That machine downstairs is the only thing that's keeping her breathing right now…"

My heart nearly stopped. Did he… Did he really just say that? "Wh—Whaddyou mean, Papa smurf?" Snappy said, shock all over his face. "Sh… She was just FINE earlier!"

Papa smurf stood up and sat with us on the bed. "I'm saying, Snappy," he said, putting a hand on Snappy's shoulder, "She took a turn for the worst after she smurfed her medicine… I'm saying that Sassette might not live through the night."

I felt tears in my eyes. "NO… She… She can't die…" Nat squeaked a little, hugging Papa smurf and wiping his tears. "She… She's our friend… She can't…."

I sniffled and cried a lot, and hugged Papa smurf too. "It's not fair… it's just not fair…" I said in between more crying.

"I know, my little smurflings." Papa smurf said, wiping his eyes, "Sometimes these things happen. Sometimes, no matter how strong somesmurf is, sometimes strong medicines and close friends just aren't enough."

Even Snappy had started crying. He pulled his knees up to his chest and shook his head, wiping his eyes and runny nose with the backs of his hands. "NO… She PROMISED!" he almost shouted, wiping his eyes, "She PROMISED!"

He got down from the bed and immediately started running down the stairs. Papa smurf let go of me and Nat and followed him. Nat and I followed him too, trying not to trip as we ran down the stairs. When we were finally downstairs, Snappy had pushed Farmer aside, and folded Sassette's fingers into a fist with her pinkie out. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. "You PROMISED you weren't gonna be sad! You PROMISED us we were all gon' go on tha' trip! R'member? You made us PINKIE-PROMISE you we were all gon' go on tha' darn trip!" He shouted loudly, linking their pinkies, "You NEVER let us forget our promises. Now it's OUR TURN. You- you PROMISED us you weren' gonna leave us… Tha' you were gon' be okay…" he started to break down next to the bed, "You promised… S-so please… D-don' die, Sassette… P-please…"

Papa smurf carefully uncurled their fingers and let Snappy sob into his shoulder. Nat and I moved up to where her face was. "Snappy's right," I said, wiping my face, "You always hold us to our promises… An' I promised you you'd be okay… An' you promised us we'd all go on tha' trip…" I linked our pinkies like Snappy did. "S-so promise us you'll be okay tonight."

I don't think she could talk with that pipe down her throat. But she gave my finger a squeeze. Her glassy, almost bloodshot eyes gave me my answer. I promise… But I can't guarantee anything…