It had been a few days since Brainy's incident. Nobody had seen any sign of Jokey, causing some tension in the brainiac. Life in the village had begun to continue for every smurf, though Brainy was still quiet. The embarrassment he had felt had worn off, though he still refused to offer advice, out of slight fear of being tormented and bullied. Gutsy, Hefty, and Grouchy always had an eye on Brainy, making sure nobody gave him anymore trouble. Their mere presence made it so Brainy was easily invited in others activities. Sweepy and Handy, who were also worried for Brainy, were part of a few smurfs who didn't need the presence of the strong smurfs to include the brainiac in any of their projects.

Brainy sat on the outskirts of the village, watching the afternoon clouds go by. He took come comfort in watching the fluffy puffs pass peacefully. It wasn't long, however, before the empty feeling of loneliness crept into his chest. He tried to ignore it, as he heard footsteps coming toward him. Brainy closed his eyes briefly before turning his head to to see Sweepy, Gutsy, and Hefty approaching him.

" 'Ello mate!" Sweepy was clean, having bathed off the day's grim. "What are you doing out 'ere?"

"Watching the clouds," Brainy tried to make his voice sound calm, with very little luck. The three staring at him caught on quickly.

"What's on your mind lad?" Gutsy too a seat next to the smaller smurf.

Brainy sighed, knowing all to well he couldn't hide from them. "I'm just thinking about everything."

Hefty frowned as he and Sweepy also too a seat next to Brainy.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Sweepy asked.

Brainy shrugged. "I don't know what good it'll do."

"Will make you feel better," Hefty replied. "And maybe we can help you figure some things out."

Brainy sighed and laid down in the grass, groaning in exasperation.

Weepy set his broom, also clean for the day, on the ground before placing a hand on Brainy's shoulder.

"Com' on mate," he spoke calmly as Brainy put his hands behind his head. "You can tell us anything."

Brainy closed his eyes ans he finally spoke. "I haven't seen Jokey in some time. I'm constantly looking around from him, expecting him to jump out from behind something. I believe what I'm experiencing is called hyper-vigilance, a common side affect of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD."

Sweepy blinked as he tried to process the comment.

"Are you sure about this lad?" Gutsy asked. "PTSD is serious."

"Alright I'll bite," Hefty interrupted. "What's PTSD?"

"It's like an illness, but of the mind," Sweepy replied.

"Basically," Brainy interrupted. "Someone with PTSD becomes constantly stressed, through sadness, fear, or anger, after a traumatic event."

The three smurfs stared at Brainy, not knowing he had such knowledge.

"Didn't know that," Hefty replied after a few moments. "That sounds serious."

"Do you know if you have it mate?"

Brainy closed his eyes again. "I'm not sure. It's hard to diagnose by yourself. Someone has to observe the symptoms and make a decision on whether it is or isn't PTSD."

Gutsy sighed and leaned back in the grass. "Lad, from what I've see, you getting the first few symptoms of the disorder. But I think it's in the beginning stages, meaning it hasn't fully developed yet. We caught it in time. Right now you are recovering from a recent trauma," Gutsy glanced at Brainy's belly and arm, both now fully healed. "And that's what's making you scared."

Brainy subconsciously shifted his hand to his stomach, as if guarding it from more pain. Sweepy took notice and placed his own hand on top of Brainy's.

"I'm glad you told us mate," he said gently.

"Me too," Hefty replied.

"Same here, laddie."

Brainy grinned a little. "Thanks for listening."

The three smurfs smiled. "No problem," they said in unison.

Brainy's smile got a bit bigger as they glanced at each other with amused expressions.

"You think it's funny huh?" Hefty teased. Sweepy and Gutsy caught on quickly and grinned. Brainy's grin vanished as he also caught on to Hefty's playful tone.

"Oh no you don't!" Brainy jumped up as fast as he could, only to be pulled back down by Gutsy. It didn't take long before Hefty was holding his legs still, removing his shoes in the process. Gutsy held Brainy's hands above his head, grinning down at him.

"This is not fair!" Brainy began to grin at the play time.

"Yes it is mate," Sweepy smiled.

"What'cha guys doing?"

The four smurfs turned to see Grouchy and Handy coming closer to them.

"Just havin' some fun with Brainy," Gutsy grinned as Brainy tried to wiggle loose.

"Care to join us?" Sweepy offered, trying to keep from chuckling.

Handy couldn't help but giggle as he knelt down beside Sweepy. Grouchy crossed his arms, but a grin played on his lips. Brainy looked up at the grouch, a nervous grin on his face.

"Help?"

Grouchy sighed before kneeling on Briany's other side, causing the brainiac's eyes to go wide. "Grouchy!"

"You didn't specify who I help."

Brainy tried to break free from his entrapment, but it was too late. Tickling from all five smurfs soon dissolved Brainy into a hysterical fit of laughter. Brainy cackled like a madman, and it wasn't long before his face turned red.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! COME ON GUYS! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I-I-I CAN'T TAKE IT! HEHEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Brainy squealed as Grouchy began to tickle his navel.

"I found a sweet spot!" irritability had long since vanished from him. Sweepy and Handy switched gears and assisted in tickling around Brainy's belly button, giggling the entire time. Hefty was busy with Brainy's feet, tickling the arches and toes at the same time. Gutsy would switch back and forth between the neck and the arm pits, while Sweepy went back to tickling the ribcage, much like a piano. It took five minutes before they decided Brainy had had enough torture, and one by one they released him. The instant his "bonds" were removed, the brainiac curled into a ball, still giggling hysterically, causing the other smurfs to chuckle. Once Brainy calmed down, he sat up and looked at them.

"Smurfit all!" he tried to sound angry, but his grin gave him away. "You guys know how ticklish I am!"

"We know lad," Gutsy briefly tickled Brainy's sides, causing the smaller smurf to squeal. "Tis why we do it."

Brainy tried to retort, but laughter came out instead. The other five began to laugh as well, having enjoyed the time they were spending together.

"It's almost sunset," Handy finally spoke up from his giggling. "Maybe we should head back to the village?"

Brainy thought for a second before a grin played on his face. "Hold on a second."

The other five glanced at him, with slightly concerned expressions.

"What's wrong?" Grouchy finally spoke.

Brainy grinned. "Nothing's wrong."

"Then why wait to head on back?" Handy asked.

"I want to show you smurfs something," Brainy jumped up to his feet and started in toward the forest. The others hesitated before getting up themselves and following the brainiac into the forest.

It was a good five minutes before they reached Brainy's destination. A large tree, taller than most of the others, stood proud in the forest. Brainy began to climb up, leaving five curious smurfs down below. When he noticed nobody was following him, he giggled.

"You've got to climb in order to see it!"

The other five also started scaling the large tree, Handy sticking close to Hefty incase he fell (Handy wasn't very strong, or used to climbing things without ladders). After some time, Brainy finally chose a branch and walked across it to the center, taking a seat facing west. Gutsy, bold as ever, swung himself until he was by Brainy's side, with Sweepy jumping next to him. The other three, Grouchy next to Brainy, climbed the easy way and took a seat next to the brainiac. What they saw dazzled all of them.

The sun had just started to sink behind the mountains in the distance, turing the sky brilliant colors of gold and purple. A few birds flew off into the distance, setting the perfect mood for peace and tranquility.

"Brainy, it's beautiful!" Handy exclaimed.

"It's like I can smurf the whole world from here," Hefty replied.

"How did you find this lad?"

Brainy grinned. "I was having a bad day, and I sorta took off into the forest. I found the tree and decided to climb up, trying to escape Vanity for a while. I stayed up there for hours, just looking at the view. I come here often when I'm upset. It's just something that gives me some peace of mind."

The five glanced over at their younger brother, grins on their faces. It wasn't long before The all had their arms around each other, gazing at the sun as it disappeared behind the mountains. As the content sigh escaped his lips, Gutsy looked over before giving the brainiac's side a gentle squeeze. Brainy giggled before resting his head on Grouchy's shoulder. Grouchy, not wanting to upset the moment, let Brainy do so for a very long time. And for a moment, Brainy wasn't worried about Jokey, or wasn't feeling left out of life. For one moment Brainy Smurf felt completely at ease, surrounded by the warmth of his brothers as the last rays of the sun fell behind the mountain.