Title: To Thy Own Self Be True
Raiting:G
Author: White Werewolf
Category: Dale/Gadget. Mention of Dale/Foxglove, Chip/Gadget
Spoilers: Post end of series
Disclaimer: Chip n' Dale's Rescue Rangers is owned by Disney and Bueana Vista.
Summery: Dale goes out for a walk with a friend, and finally let's her know the truth.
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"I don't get it."
He looked at the screen, with a sigh that escaped his lips. "I just don't get it."
"What don't you get?"
He looked at the entrance of the room as his friend entered. "Dale…"
The chipmunk sighed again quickly and smiled briefly at her. "Nothing."
She knew that tone in his voice. Something was hurting him, something that was surrounded by pain.
"Dale…" The critter said cautiously as she walked over to him. She sat down beside him, and saw the sorrow in his eyes. "Golly, Dale. What's wrong?"
He shook his head, "Nothing, Gadget." He then went back to the television. "Just watching the old tv."
She scanned his vision as she noticed that he stared at a blank screen. "Dale, there's nothing on."
He smirked, "You noticed that too?"
Gadget looked at him. He wasn't acting like his usual goofball self. The one chipmunk that always brought laughter into her life. "Dale, you're scaring me."
He continued gaze at the blank screen.
"What's wrong? Is it Foxglove?"
He snorted, "Foxxy?" She nodded. 'Figures you would suggest her, Gadget.' He paused a moment. "Never mind." He got back to his feet, and headed for the door. "Going for a walk, Gadget. See you later."
She didn't like that tone in his voice, and didn't like this whole demeanor. He was acting so 'un-Dale-like.' The blond mouse watched him open the door. "Dale, wait!"
Dale turned around, "Gadget…"
She ran cross the room and quickly joined him. "Lemme join you."
"Gadget, I was kinda hoping to do this on my own."
She shook her head. "Dale, there's something wrong, and I want to help. What's with you?"
She waited for a reply, but he just headed out the door. Looking out at the midday sun, he let the warmth shower over him as he scurried down the bark of the tree. The whole time, enjoying the quiet of the autumn air.
But it wasn't quiet.
His name kept being called by the woman that never saw him the way he wanted to be seen.
He reached the ground, and stood erect. After fixing his collar on his Hawaiian t-shirt, he headed out for his walk.
"Dale! Will you just stop?"
Dale sighed as he turned around and saw Gadget approaching him. "I just want to be left alone, Gadget."
"Dale, what's wrong?"
He shook his head, "Nothing."
She shook her head, "It's not nothing. You're not acting like yourself."
He glared at her, "You mean like my normal goofball self? You mean like a chipmunk who is always being mistreated by Chip. My best friend, and he still thinks I'm a goof."
Dale stopped walking. "No matter how many times I show that I can be value to the team, I'm always seen as the clown. Someone who jokes around constantly, who watches television, who watches movies, and lazy."
She never heard him like this.
He looked at her, "Gadget, all my life, I've been the jokester. Never taken seriously. And they wonder why I always am attached to a screen."
Dale scratched the back of his head, and shook his head. He wanted a response, but nothing happened. Sighing, he shook his head. "Never mind." Then he started to walk again.
"Dale, will you just stop. What the hell is wrong with you?"
He turned to face her. "I'm tired, Gadget. I'm tired of being made fun, being always put down, having to wait till nightfall just to talk to someone who can understand me."
As soon as he mentioned that last part, she understood who he was talking about. "Foxglove…"
He nodded. "We've been together for about a few weeks, and while talking to her is great. And I do love to stay up late, but I hate that I only have a few hours of her time before I actually do go to sleep.
"But I need more. I need someone who can know the real me. But nobody likes the real me."
"What is the real you? I mean, c'mon, Dale. You spend your days watching television."
He nodded, "I know, Gadget. But when you think of the alternative, television is the better deal."
Her forehead scrunched forward. "Alternative?"
Dale said silently as they walked further into the park. "When I was younger, I was kinda slow. I admit it. When trying to make friends, I tried being at their level, intelligently, and it backfired. I tried to be how you think Chip is. I tried to be smart, tried to be logical, but I couldn't do it."
She nodded slowly, "So you turned to television."
He couldn't help but let out a slight smile. "Right. With television, I didn't have to worry on how to act. I could just sit there and be my natural self. Watch the shows, enjoy my life."
Dale paused for a moment, getting his facts in order. "Then I talked to others about television, comic books, video games, and so on, and they could all agree. I found something everybody loved, and I felt accepted. And then I felt a little more relaxed."
"What they saw at that point was just a mask. Something I put on so I wouldn't be made fun of for my intelligence. But when I was alone, I focused more and more on my studies. During school, I tried to research, tried to do what was needed. I even got help from a therapist. Eventually, I pulled through.
"I learned tricks. As it turns out, I have Dyslexia."
She looked at him, "You have a reading disorder? But we see you reading all the time? Those comic books, those horror stories."
He nodded, "Only because I learned tricks. But, that's beside the point. When I tried to show my friends, the real me. They laughed at me. Said I was a goofball, and that you watched too much television to know anything."
Gadget then looked at him, finally understanding what he was saying. "So, rather than go with further rejection, you just went with it. And then became 'the resident goofball.'"
He grinned. "Yep. And that's how every sees me."
She looked at him, "But Chip never…"
Dale replied, "Haven't told him. Tried to, but he said I was a goof. So, I gave up. Then I look at these characters on television that are like me. They have troubled pasts, finally 'admit' the truth and are all loved. I try doing that, and nothing happens. So, I just embraced the goofball Dale."
Looking at the sky, he said to her, "And the thing that hurts the most, Gadget. The one thing that hurts the most is that I have to wait to nightfall before I can be my true self. I like Foxglove and all, but having to wait till night isn't exactly what I like to do. I'd actually like be myself during the day, but I can't. It hurts too much. I have to be the joking chipmunk again, the lazy one.
"It's not fare to Foxy. It's not fair that I'm awake during the day either, and she has night. She needs someone that is also nocturnal. I like her and all, but I can't be that for her.
A moment passed as he sat turned to his friend. "Sooner or later, she's going to find someone who is like her, and dump me. She might be fine with me now, but it won't last. I need someone during the day, she needs someone during the night. And I don't know what's going to happen when that starts. Then when it does, I'll be all alone again."
She shook her head, "Golly, Dale. I didn't know you felt that way."
He nodded, "And then the jokester chipmunk returns full time, and I get lost in the background."
"I know you, Gadget. I know you'll say you'll want to hang around the real me more, but as soon as we get back home, we'll meet back with Chip, Monty, and Zipper, and you'll just blend back into the rest of them. I'll be the jokester full time, and I'll be the Zeppo of the group."
"Zeppo?"
He nodded, "Forgotten Marx brother. Only I'll be the forgotten chipmunk."
She went for his paw, and grasped it. "No you won't Dale. I'll be there for you."
Dale sighed, "No you won't, Gadget. You'll just go back to thinking I'm a goofball."
Gadget never heard him like this. This was something of a discovery. She always thought he was a goofball, someone who made her laugh. Someone who helped her, and made her feel better during the day.
But in truth?
He's the one that needs to be felt better. He's the one that needed the most cheering up, the one with more support and true friendship. He did have something with Foxglove, but it looked like he felt that was a doomed relationship.
He needed someone to be his friend, and she wanted that to be her. She wanted to prove to him that he wasn't a jokester.
She looked at his deep dark eyes, and saw all the pain that he had within them. She wanted to make him feel better. So she edged closer to him. "I want to tell you something, Dale."
He looked at her, and could tell by her voice that she was showing concern and compassion. "You will always have me as a friend, and you can be your real self in front of me."
He sighed, "I wish I could believe you, Gadget."
Gadget replied, "You can." She moved her head closer, and kissed him briefly on the lips. "I promise."
Dale's eyes widened as she pulled away. "You kissed me?"
She nodded, "It seemed like the only way I knew you'd believe me. Dale, I know you had feelings for me."
"You did?"
Gadget replied, "Yeah, I did. I know you and Chip both had feelings for me, but I didn't know how to handle them. Before the Rescue Rangers came along, I was really known for going outside and making friends. You four became my family, Dale. And I didn't want to lose that. Especially after my father died, I was all alone. And if I tried to form a relationship with either you or Chip, I couldn't face it if you left me. So, I turned to my inventions, and that's where I spent my time."
She paused for a moment. "But after you told me all this, I really feel close to you, and I think if we take this slowly, we can work on this relationship. This way, you know that you really will have a friend that would hang around with you during the day, and you can finally be your true self."
"But what about Chip and Foxglove? He likes you, and Foxy likes me. Hell, I even like her."
She said, "I know, Dale. We'll talk to them, let them know what's going on. If you want, Dale, if you're willing. Break-up with Foxglove now so she can find someone else sooner then later."
He looked at her, and couldn't help but feeling a sensation that he enjoyed. He was actually being himself, and not being made fun of. "Truth be told, I do want you Gadget. My god, I've liked you since we first met. But I couldn't hurt Foxy."
She glanced at him. She didn't want to lose him. Especially after they let out the truth. "We'll talk to her tonight, Dale. Let her know that she's a valued member of the Rescue Rangers, but what you two have isn't right for either of you. Dale, you deserve someone who can be with you during the day, and can see beyond the joking chipmunk. Foxglove needs someone like her. Someone who's nocturnal and can be with her during the night. Because, frankly Dale. You do sleep during the day. And your system isn't made for that."
She added, "Sooner or later. Your body's going to catch up with you and you won't be able to function during the day or night."
He let out a breath, and agreed. "I think if we do this right, we can finally let ourselves be true, and show the others what we're really like."
She smiled, "I think you're right, Dale." Turning around, she said, "Let's go home."
He soon found his paw being held, and couldn't help but have a warm feeling as well. "Let's go home."
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The End