Notes: Hey every one, I'm back in business! This part didn't come out exactly how I imagined, but it is a crucial turning point of the story.

Thank you for all the wonderful, kind reviews. I love each and every one of you.

It was really weird, seeing Brainy and not saying a word to him.

And Clumsy saw Brainy everywhere, all the time. It was kind of hard to avoid some one in the village, after all; there were only so many places to go. Clumsy would be on his way to the dam to work and he would pass Brainy on the way. Or he would be going to see Papa about something and there would be Brainy, leaving the lab. Or he would be down by the river and there's Brainy. Everywhere, everywhere, everywhere he was seeing Brainy…

And they didn't say one word to each other.

Half the time, they didn't even look at each other.

Brainy was like a ghost, drifting through the village, usually with a book tucked under his arm. He seemed to be wandering aimlessly, rather than with authoritative purpose as he usually did. It was strange to see and it made Clumsy feel uncomfortable, starting down deep in the pit of his stomach. He wondered if Brainy felt the way he felt – Lost, confused and uncertain. It certainly seemed so.

But he wasn't really sure how to approach the other Smurf and make amends.

And that was making him even more distractible than usual, which, given his usual state of mind and equilibrium, was bad.

Which was precisely why, this afternoon, Clumsy was so lost in his thoughts –his horribly depressing thoughts about how there was no way to solve this Brainy problem- that he was completely unaware of his surroundings until there was a startled yelp of "Azrael!" from behind him.

The day had begun normally enough – Well, as normal as his days were lately. Slouchy had politely asked him to go on a walnut hunt after lunch, excited at the prospect of having pancakes the next morning. How could Clumsy possibly deny the little Smurfling that? He liked Greedy's pancakes himself and if there was one rule in the village that everysmurf was vigilant about, it was that you didn't let the Smurflings go off into the woods unaccompanied by an adult.

Hefty had overheard and said he'd come along too, and they had set out armed with baskets and dragging along a half-asleep Lazy, who they all knew would be asleep beneath a tree once they stopped, but none of them minded, because the company was good, the day was pleasant and that was just the way the world worked.

And now, here they were in the forest, scouring the ground for walnuts and tossing any that hadn't already been tapped by a squirrel or chipmunk into the baskets they brought with them. Clumsy's heart hadn't really been into the task and he'd been lost in thought –thoughts of passing silently by Brainy at breakfast- until pandemonium broke out when Azrael leapt –snarling, jaws snapping- from behind a bush.

There was panic for a moment as they scattered, Hefty roughly shaking Lazy to wake him, then dragging the other Smurf towards cover. For a moment, Slouchy looked torn between trying to save his basket of nuts, which he subsequently tripped over, sprawling on the ground right in the mangy cat's path.

Clumsy didn't hesitate at the sight of Slouchy in danger, just stumbled forwards, throwing himself down on top of the little Smurfling, sending the two of them tumbling off into a patch of ferns as Azrael lunged at them.

Chaos reigned for another moment as they rolled, Clumsy's vision clouded with a swirl of green and forest and Azrael, who misjudged their location and went crashing off in another direction, and then bright white as his head collided with a rock hidden among the ferns.

The world swam before Clumsy's eyes as he slumped to the ground, considering the irony –a word he understood thanks to Brainy- of being hurt by something he loved (something he loved, like Brainy, who hurt him all the time) before everything faded to black.

Brainy was seated on the ground, back against the stone wall of the well, a book in his lap, when the commotion began.

It started with Lazy moving faster than any of them had ever seen, calling out "Papa Smurf! PAPA SMURF!" and waving a hand spastically in the air. Slouchy was hurrying along beside him, the knees of his pants torn and dirty, clutching Lazy's other hand and crying, another sight which was unusual to behold.

There was nothing surprising about other Smurfs coming barging in and looking for Papa. They were always getting themselves into messes because they just did things without thinking first or went someplace they shouldn't or touched something they weren't supposed to. If they just would listen –to him, to Papa, to any one who knew what they were doing!- these things wouldn't happen all the time.

The fact that it was Lazy and Slouchy, though, that was different. They were usually too, well, lazy to get into any trouble.

Mildly curious, Brainy closed the book and rose, intent on finding out what happened.

And that was when he saw Hefty.

A crowd of curious onlookers was forming by that point, clustering around to see what the ruckus was all about, but all Brainy could see was Hefty, Hefty cradling a limp Clumsy in his arms as he carefully hurried towards Papa's laboratory.

The buzz of the crowd, the sound of Lazy's shrill shouting, Slouchy's crying, the whirl of activity…All of it faded away as Brainy silently –automatically- fell in step a few paces behind Hefty, gaze fixed on what he could see of Clumsy from behind – one dangling foot; the peak of his always-crooked hat.

How had this happened? What had happened?

Brainy had always known something devastatingly terrible and possibly irreversible would happen to Clumsy, simply because he was himself.

And that was why he wanted so badly for Clumsy's life to be different, so he wouldn't one day stumble and fall and fail to get up again.

Papa emerged from his lab, brows knit, a worried frown on his face. He knew as well as the rest of them, for Lazy to be calling for him, it must've been something bad. The usually idle Smurf was not one for going to Papa for every little thing, like some of the others were wont to do.

Hefty and Lazy and Slouchy –who was wiping away the last of his tears- were trying to explain, all talking over one another, gesturing, desperate and worried. And Brainy took in none of it at all; the only thing he could hear was the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears.

And then there was another flurry of activity as the crowd moved, seemingly as one, towards Clumsy's house, Hefty leading the way, Clumsy still bundled in his arms. Slouchy's hand was one again clutched in Lazy's and they were whispering to one another as they walked, the rest of the village trailing behind them.

And behind that came Brainy, as if in a trance, an automaton in a world of living, breathing emotions. He felt frozen, chilled beyond comprehension. He had always known this would happen, but he had never truly believed that it would, deep down inside. Clumsy was so lively, so vibrant. It was impossible to imagine him so still and silent and broken, and yet…there he was.

In Brainy's heart of hearts, he had always hope this would be the one time he was without a doubt, one hundred percent dead wrong.

Dead.

The word flickered unbidden through his mind –along with that image of Clumsy absolutely still in Hefty's arms- before he banished it, not allowing himself to even consider that possibility.

Because this was, after all, his fault.

If he hadn't been so hard on Clumsy…Clumsy would have been here with him, safe in the village. He wouldn't have gone out into the woods with Hefty and Lazy, because they would have been busy with something together. He wouldn't have gotten hurt so badly…Wouldn't be in trouble now. Brainy could have kept him safe, could've helped him, would have known what to do.

Instead, the world was rushing on around him as every one else worked to take care of Clumsy, while Brainy stood there, forgotten, frozen…The catalyst of all these events.

And there was nothing he could do to slow it all down and fix the problem.

So he just continued to stand there, in the doorway now, watching as the other Smurfs fussed about Clumsy, tucking him in to bed, gently applying ice to the nasty bump on his head, as Papa spoke to them quietly, telling them what to do for Clumsy. Lazy was hugging Slouchy, patting his back, as Hefty paced the room, full of nervous energy.

No one seemed to notice Brainy the silent shadow in the door, desperately wanting to fix everything and undo what he said, change the things he did.

Or perhaps, worst of all, no one even wanted him there.