A/N: Long wait for a short chapter, I know. Argh! Damn writer's block.

But this story is definitely not dead. It is coming along slowly but surely.

Thumbelina wanted to meet her Papa right away, but his snoring almost drowned out the sound of her stomach grumbling. So Jiminy suggested she eat something first. He had something other than the kitchen in mind, though – his arms were soon linked with hers, and the two of them were hovering through the translucent and clean new morning. Thumbelina grabbed his sleeves for dear life, trying not to catch a sideways look at the forest. What had once been home was now a vast jungle of greens browns, and blackness.

But she wouldn't have to go back there. The rest of her life might even be better than the time she'd spent in the forest. Maybe being tiny wouldn't be the worst thing. After all, now she had a family.

Jiminy rested her on something familiar and sturdy – a twig – and soon, he'd picked a grape for her from the gleaming green bunch above her head.

"Gods, it's enormous!" Thumbelina exclaimed as she crawled to its side.

"It may help you adjust if you think of it as a melon," said Jiminy as he twisted the stem.

Thumbelina stretched out her arms. It was far bigger than any melon she had ever seen. Why, you could rest a large cantaloupe under the crook of your elbow. She doubted she could even get her two arms around this.

As she marveled at this bizarre meal, Jiminy removed the stem and tossed it to the ground. He reached for the hole it left and peeled off a strip of thick green skin. "There you go! Enjoy, but pace yourself."

Thumbelina didn't realize how long it had been since she'd last eaten until there was already a crevice as deep as her elbows in the side of the grape. Her arms were sticky and dripping with pulp.

"Pace yourself, Thumbelina!"

Thumbelina tilted her head apologetically as she tried to wipe her hands on her legs. "I was so hungry . . . ugh. That filled my belly quickly." She chuckled faintly and held her stomach

Jiminy bowed his head before fluttering to her side. "It's one of the many things you'll have to get used to . . . Are you alright?"

"I – no, I –" Thumbelina began to go cross-eyed and suddenly couldn't feel her arms. Gravity took hold of her once again, making her entire body collapse. She had only enough control so that her fall was not off the edge of the branch.

Luckily, Jiminy was there to catch her. He grabbed her shoulders, stifling her fall until she regained feeling in her extremities. She steadied herself against his abdomen and inhaled profoundly so as to signal her quick recovery. Relieved, Jiminy began to push her away. But Thumbelina would not have it. She held on despite his freezing up because she needed a jacket to absorb her tears.

"It's just too much," Thumbelina whispered after a painful silence.

With a sigh, Jiminy lowered the two of them down, leaving the grape's remains behind. They returned to the house, but instead of the kitchen, this time Jiminy took Thumbelina to the bedroom, where Gepetto had an oak cradle made and ready for her. On the whole, its size was more suited for an average baby, but it had contained a down pillow that made a much more comfortable bed than the umbrella. As he set her atop the pillow, Jiminy began to whisper an assurance that she would adjust, but her eyes were already closed. For the second time, she'd fallen asleep in his arms.

Thumbelina needed to see her father. He'd been promised to her and as yet, she hadn't seen him. She still felt lost, and until they met, she was certain she would stay lost.

She woke up in a dark place, but there were just enough dusty lines of light above her head for her to see an outline of her surroundings. A line of trees surrounded her –

No. This was her new small world. They couldn't be trees.

Closer examination showed that they were manmade wooden poles of some kind. It seemed a very inefficient prison for a two-inch tall girl, until Thumbelina crept between two of the poles and saw how far she was from the ground. With a gasp, she stepped away and sat down so she could collect herself. As she did so, she heard a threatening sound, like the rustling of a bear whose cave she'd made the mistake of sleeping in. Instinctively, she readied her fists.

But as her vision adjusted, it became obvious that whatever had made the noise wasn't a bear. It was a human man, on the other side of the room, turning in his sleep.

Papa.

All her life, she'd wished for this. All of the food she collected, all of the predators she bested or befriended, all the shelters she'd scavenged together – they'd all been in the hopes that she would survive the forest long enough to see her wish come to fruition, and finally, it had paid off.

Or had it? She didn't feel lucky. She felt lost. The thought of approaching this sleeping human being had her terrified, and not in an exciting way.

Nonetheless, this was her reward. She had to go to it.

Thumbelina took a deep breath and approached the wooden poles again. Cautiously, she poked her head through two of them and looked down, where she saw another, longer wooden pole that supported her bed. The leg had complicated, minute designs carved into it all the way down. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Thumbelina discovered that her tiny feet wedged themselves perfectly into some of the carvings. Within minutes, and with minimal splinters, she'd climbed to the floor.

The floor was hugely vast, an entire wasteland between her and her wish. Breakfast and sleep had only energized her enough to get her across. Once she reached Gepetto's bed, all there was left to trek was the cat-sized set of stairs from the floor to the mattress – an easy climb, similar to the steppes that Rumpelstiltskin had led her up to get to his mansion. But she couldn't proceed. All she could do was shout.

"Papa! Papa!" she belted as loud as she could.

It seemed to take effect. Gepetto's snoring waned, and his stirring became more focused.

"It's me, your daughter!"

The snoring stopped altogether, and finally, Thumbelina shouted louder than ever:

"I'm your daughter! Thumbelina!"

The figure atop the bed rotated, lifting groggily from the torso up. With some reluctance, Gepetto was waking up, sitting up, turning his head so he might see her, standing, crushing . . .

The slippered foot descended like a boulder rolling down the steppes. Thumbelina screamed futilely, anticipating a quick death as she stood paralyzed. Thankfully, a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her away before she was squashed like a giant grape.

She and Jiminy (she couldn't see him, but it had to be Jiminy) hid under the bed for at least a minute while Gepetto stumbled around half-asleep and finally, bewildered, returned to bed.

"Oh my gods, Jiminy, I thought you were a monster when I first saw you!" Thumbelina said once she caught her breath. "I'm sorry!"

Jiminy sighed. She could hear him breathing heavily from the rush to save her, which seemed distinctly un-buggy. "It's my fault – I'd planned to introduce you myself, or at the very least warn you." Thumbelina felt him shakily place a hand under her chin. It shocked her, and not simply because of the gesture itself. It was the most genuine human kindness she'd felt in years, and it was coming from an insect. "I know it's a difficult transition. You will adjust. I promise."

Thumbelina's head drooped, though she didn't push his hand away. "Oh, how can you know that?"

There was a long pause before Jiminy spoke again. "I was once a human man myself."

A/N: Part of the reason this took so long is because I had to cut a lot of useless, fluffy description. "We know she's tiny and we know this is new to her," I told myself. "Just get to the plot already!"

Yeah.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review!