Foxglove slowly opened her eyes and looked out the window just as the sun was starting to rise on a crisp spring day. Though naturally nocturnal, she had long since altered her own sleeping habits to match those of the other Rescue Rangers, and the sun didn't hurt her eyes nearly as much as it used to. She fluttered down from her perch near the ceiling of her room and stepped over to the window, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of fresh morning air, enjoying the scents of the new flowers carried on the light breeze.
As she dressed for the day, her thoughts drifted to how much had changed since she first came here… in fact, since she'd first met Dale and the others. She sometimes chastised herself for not seeing immediately how rotten the would-be witch she had been partnered with really was, even though she'd been the only one to show the young bat anything vaguely resembling kindness up to that point in her life. She also recalled her elation the day she came by to visit and was asked to move in and become part of the team; Dale and Gadget had already set this room up for her in hopes that she'd accept the offer.
Foxglove's reminiscing also brought her thoughts to somewhat darker times, far more recent. She had finally gotten to meet the family that had once rejected her; though things were slowly calming down, there was still some bad blood there. She could still feel shadows of the pain of Gadget's disappearance and presumed death, even though Gadget was alive and well and planning her and Chip's wedding. The desperation the team felt in Washington when Gadget, under the control of others, attempted to assassinate the President, and Chip was nearly killed saving her life, was still palpable in her memory.
The bat's drifting mind was snapped back to the present by a knock on the door, followed quickly by Dale's voice. "Hey Foxy, you decent in there?"
"I'm dressed, if that's what you mean," she chuckled softly. "C'mon in, cutie."
Dale slipped quietly through the door and smiled at her. She had been infatuated with the chipmunk from the day… well,night… she'd met him, and those feelings had only grown stronger in the couple of years since. "Monty's gettin' ready to make breakfast; he sent me up to ask how hungry you are."
"Cheese flapjacks, huh?" She giggled a bit at Dale's surprised look. "I can smell the cheddar from up here. Tell ya what: why don't I just go down with you and tell him myself?"
"Works for me," he said with a grin, and offered her his arm, which she gladly accepted. On the off chance she really stopped and thought about it, Foxglove wasn't really sure why she was so attracted to Dale. Maybe it was his childlike optimism, or perhaps his carefree way of thinking. It could even be that someone in the spirit world had plans for the two of them; she considered consulting her crystals on the matter once, but decided instead to just go with the flow.
The pair made their way downstairs, the smell of cheese growing ever stronger as they approached the kitchen. Stepping inside, they found Monty busying himself over a bowl of batter with Zipper perched on a nearby counter looking on.
"Mornin', pallies!" he called as they entered. "Right beautiful day it's startin' out ta be, eh?"
"Morning, Monty," Foxglove grinned back. "It'll be better once some of those flapjacks get from the griddle to my stomach."
"I'll second that!" Dale piped up, his stomach growling a bit as if on cue.
"Consider it unanimous," Chip's voice announced from the doorway as he and Gadget entered, followed closely by Tammy. "Can't save the world on an empty stomach."
"Can't plan a wedding on one, either," Tammy added, giving the Rangers' leader and resident genius a sidelong smirk.
"Too right," Monty nodded, pouring some of the batter into a griddle on the stove. "Well, jus' 'ave a seat an' I'll 'ave yer bellies full in two shakes of a dingo's tail." Just as the group was sitting down, however, a loud knock came from the front door.
"Golly, who could that be?" Gadget wondered aloud as she went to find out. Though she wouldn't admit it, Foxglove somewhat envied the mouse inventor; a strange twist of fate had allowed her to be genetically compatible with Chip, which was a factor in making their wedding possible… at least Foxglove suspected it was.
Gadget returned a moment later in the company of a squirrel. His light brown fur was accentuated by a faded denim jacket and flowing black hair nearly as long as Tammy's braid.
"Guys, this is Nathaniel," Gadget informed them. "He says he's here looking for you, Foxy."
"Me?" The bat quirked an eyebrow quizzically. "What'd I do?"
Nathaniel smiled warmly at her; his eyes, though striking, seemed… off, somehow. "It's not what you have done, Miss Foxglove," he said, fixing his eyes on hers, "but rather what you could do. You are educated in the magical arts, correct?"
"Well, yeah," she replied somewhat hesitantly, quickly reassured by Dale inching closer to her. "I've still got a lot to learn, though."
"Well, so do I," the squirrel's head tilted slightly, the corner of his mouth lifting a bit further when his eyes strayed from hers for a second. Glancing in the same direction, Foxglove noticed that Tammy had been inadvertently staring at their guest since his arrival. "That's why I've come here; I'd like to ask you, Miss Foxglove, to be my teacher."
Foxglove felt a mix of nerves and relief wash over her at this. She turned her head back toward the stove for a moment. "Monty? You have enough batter for an extra helping?"
"I kin make it easy enough," the mouse replied.
Foxglove returned her attention to Nathaniel, giving Dale's paw a subtle squeeze to reassure both him and herself. "Why don't you join us for breakfast, and we'll talk about it…" she couldn't help but shoot Tammy a sly grin, "… assuming there are no objections?" The others agreed, Tammy faster than the rest, and Nathaniel helped himself to a seat as Zipper flew down from his perch and set another place at the table.
The following couple of weeks were both nerve-wracking and exciting to Foxglove. Nathaniel came by Ranger Headquarters at least once a day, and proved to be an exceptional student, having quite a bit of knowledge and always eager for more. Though it was often difficult to come up with a lesson to really challenge him, Foxglove found a delight she'd never imagined in sharing her knowledge with her student. She also noticed that Nathaniel was spending more and more time at HQ after the day's lesson, and she could see the beginnings of a relationship starting to develop between him and Tammy. A couple of times, she'd joked to Dale that he was coming by more to see her than to learn anything, a comment which usually elicited a shy grin from Nathaniel and turned Tammy bright red in embarrassment.
One evening, after Nathaniel had left for the day, Foxglove returned from a quick exercise flight to find Tammy lounging on the couch, a silly grin crossing her features.
"Gee, I wonder what's on your mind," she quipped, giving the squirrel a knowing smile.
"Aw, c'mon, Fox," Tammy sighed in mock exasperation, "gimme a break, will ya?"
"There's no point in hiding it," the bat said, sitting down next to her. "Even Dale can tell you've got a crush on the guy, and he was clueless that I was hung up on him at first."
Tammy giggled a little. "Guess it's pretty obvious, huh? I can't help it. Nate's smart, funny, cute, sweet… what more could a girl want?"
Foxglove arched an eyebrow slightly. "Nate? First time I've heard him called that…"
Tammy smiled, fingering the end of her braid absently. "Yeah, I call him Nate an' he calls me Tam; I think it's kind'a cute."
Foxglove chuckled a bit and stood up. "Well, I'll leave you to your fantas… um, thoughts. I'm kind'a tired, so I'm gonna go ahead and roost a bit early. If you see Dale when he gets back from the club, tell him I'm sorry I didn't come down."
"Will do." Tammy laid a paw on her wing as she started to leave. "Fox, ya think I've got a chance?"
Foxglove smiled and gave her paw a squeeze. Though not really a teenager any more, Tammy still had a teen's insecurities. "I think you've got a good chance; we don't just talk about magic, y'know."
Tammy returned the smile, and Foxglove slowly made her way upstairs. She paused a moment by Gadget's door; she and Chip were inside, discussing their future and possible children. She glanced back down to where Tammy was still sitting, lost in her own thoughts, then headed for her own room, her ears drooping slightly at the thoughts going through her mind. She had just closed her door when she was startled by a voice from the shadows.
The voice was Nathaniel's. "Foxglove? I need to tell you about something…"
The next morning, Foxglove was in the middle of throwing a few things into a bag when Dale came up. He let himself in, since she hadn't closed the door all the way.
"Hey, Foxy! What's…" his normal bright smile turned into a puzzled look. "What's goin' on?"
She turned and gave him a soft smile. "Dale, I have to leave for a little while… family business. I just found out about it last night. Nathaniel's visiting his parents, so he probably won't be over for a few days."
"Um, okay," Dale still looked puzzled. "Can'tcha tell me what's wrong?"
Foxglove shook her head. "It's not anything wrong, really… it'd take too long to explain." She wrapped her wings around him, giving him a gentle hug. "Take care of yourself, okay? I'll tell you what's going on later."
"You take care, too," he replied, returning her hug and seeming somewhat reluctant to let go. "I'll see you when you get back."
She started to say something, then stopped herself and smiled, kissing him on the cheek before pulling away to grab her bag and run out the door, nearly colliding with Tammy as she did. She called an apology over her shoulder as she sped on.
"What the heck was that all about?" the squirrel asked Dale, rubbing her shoulder where it had hit the wall dodging the departing bat.
The chipmunk just shrugged. "I dunno… she said somethin' about 'family business', but she said it'd take too long to explain."
"Weird," Tammy said, staring down the steps. "I could hear her pacing up here half the night… hope everything's okay."
"Yeah," Dale sighed, his concern apparent in his eyes, "me too…"
A week passed, and Dale was sitting in front of the television playing a video game, though his heart wasn't really in it. He was trying to find any way he could to distract himself from the fact that there'd been no word from Foxglove since her mysterious departure, largely because the more he thought about it, the more he missed her. He heard Tammy coming up the stairs from the med lab when there was a knock on the door.
Nathaniel smiled as Tammy opened the door. "Hey Tam."
"Hi Nate," she gave a small smile back. "C'mon in."
Dale looked up as Nathaniel entered. Following behind him was a very pretty female chipmunk. Contrasting her light tan fur, her dark brown hair fell to about her shoulders, the poof of her bangs not unlike Dale's. Her trousers and open-sided top hugged her slender form perfectly. What was most striking about her, however, was her violet eyes; like Nathaniel's, they somehow looked not quite right.
"Guys, this is Fran; she's an old friend of my family's. Fran, this is Tammy, and the one over there on the couch is Dale."
Fran smiled warmly as she shook Tammy's paw. "Soyou're Tammy, huh? Pleased to meet you; Nathaniel's told me quite a bit about you…" Her smile broadened as Dale got up and approached. "He's told me a lot about all of you Rangers; in fact, it's gotten hard to get him to talk about anything else."
"Pleased ta meet'cha," Dale forced a small smile as he shook her paw. He noticed, though briefly, something vaguely familiar about her eyes.
"I know my lesson isn't scheduled for another two hours," Nathaniel continued. "I was just showing Fran around and thought we'd swing by and see if any of you wanted to join us for a picnic."
"Well, the lesson's kind of a moot point," said Tammy. "We haven't heard from Fox for about a week now."
Nathaniel arched an eyebrow at this. "Oh?"
"Yeah," Dale told him. "She said somethin' about 'family business' and just took off."
"That's a shame; I was hoping to meet her," Fran said with a soft sigh, then quickly brightened. "Would you two or any of the other Rangers like to come along?"
"Well, Ranger-wise, what you see is what we got," Tammy replied. "Chip an' Gadget left this morning to go see Chip's parents, let 'em meet their future daughter-in-law, and Monty's father's in town, so he an' Zipper are out with him." The apparently love-struck squirrel batted her eyes at Nathaniel. "I wouldn't mind coming along, though; Dale?"
Dale shrugged, putting his controller away and shutting off the game and the TV (something he usually forgot to do). "Sure, why not?"
The four of them spent the rest of the afternoon in the park, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Even Dale's dreary mood seemed to lighten, due in part to Fran's near-constant attention on him. Tammy seemed a little edgy about this at first, but Nathaniel's attention on her quickly distracted the girl.
From that point on, Fran was Nathaniel's constant companion whenever he came by HQ. Though Dale had to admit that he enjoyed her company, he still grew more and more concerned about Foxglove's continued absence. It had been nearly a month since her strange departure, and he could feel the void within him that she had filled. He suggested going out and trying to find her once, but Nathaniel reassured him that she was fine, mentioning that the two of them had cast a spell once to "know" if the other was in danger, and told him that she'd come back when she was ready to. While this was enough for Dale, Tammy slowly grew more and more suspicious… of Fran and Nathaniel both. She had on several occasions voiced concerns… privately, to Nathaniel… about Fran's openly forward behavior toward Dale, but he dismissed this, easily changing the subject with a well-timed compliment.
One evening, Nathaniel and Fran dropped by to find Dale once again parked in front of a video game. They both could tell by his posture that he was thinking about Foxglove again, though he did brighten some when he saw them. "It's a gorgeous night," Fran said dreamily, giving Dale a coy look. "Wanna come for a walk?"
He set aside his controller and shut things down. "Sure. Um… Tammy's kind'a busy, though; she's workin' on somethin' down in the med lab."
"You two go ahead." Nathaniel shrugged, then pulled a book out of his pocket. "I'll wait for her here." Dale nodded as Nathaniel sat down on the couch. Fran wrapped herself around Dale's arm, and the two of them left.
Nathaniel was nodding to himself, likely about something in his book, when Tammy came up from the med lab. "Nate? Where's Dale?"
Nathaniel closed his book, looking up at the clock, then smiled over at her. "He and Fran went out for a walk; they left about half an hour ago."
"Uh-huh," Tammy replied, her expression turning sour. "So you just happened to have a book with you and decided to stay behind while they had some 'quiet time' together?"
"I was just waiting for you," he said innocently.
"Sure you were," she snarled back. "You knew Fox wasn't here when you started bringin' her around; I wouldn't be surprised if you were the reason she's been gone. You're tryin' to hook the two of them up behind her back!"
"Now Tam, wait a second; I…"
"Don't give me any more of your crap!" she cut him off, her temper flaring further. "How could you do something like this to her?! You know how she feels about Dale; I thought she was your friend! And to think I… ooooh!" She stalked toward the door, growing angrier by the second. "I'm gonna go find Dale, then he an' I are gonna look for Fox, and don't you dare try to stop me!"
He leapt toward her, grabbing her arm as she reached for the door. "Tam, please, just lis…" His words were cut off by her free hand slapping him across the face.
He sighed, lowering his head, then returned his gaze to hers. It was clear in his eyes that the pain inside him from the blow was worse than the sting in his cheek could ever be. "You win. I'll show you where Foxglove is, and then you and I will find Dale and Fran together."
Tammy eyed him suspiciously. "How do I know you won't try somethin' funny?"
Nathaniel held his arms forward, wrists together. "If I've lost your trust that completely, go ahead and bind my wrists. I have to have free movement of my arms to cast any spells."
She looked into his eyes for a moment… those peculiar eyes… then sighed, some of her anger starting to ebb. "No, I'm not gonna go that far, but if anything happens to me, you've had it, buster." Nathaniel nodded and led her silently out into the night.
It was nearly two hours since they'd left when Dale and Fran returned to Ranger headquarters. "Huh," commented Dale, parking himself on the couch. "I wonder where Nathaniel went."
Fran smiled and sat beside him. "Oh, he and Tammy probably just went out for a while." She looked away for a moment, then met his eyes with hers. "Dale? Have you ever given any thought to starting a family?"
Dale arched an eyebrow at her. "I'm not sure wherethat came from, but with everything goin' on with Chip an' Gadget, yeah, I've thought about it."
"And…?"
Dale thought a moment longer. "Sure, I guess… it might be fun to have kids of my own. I'm kind of a big kid, myself."
"I hadn't noticed," Fran giggled, still gazing intently into his eyes. "So what's stopping you?"
Dale gave her the same look Chip usually gave him when he said something dumb. "I'm a chipmunk; my girlfriend's a bat."
Fran smiled, lowering her eyelids seductively. "I'm not."
Though it took a moment to sink into Dale's mind just what she was implying, he sighed when it finally did. "I'm sorry, Fran; I like you an' all, but… well, I couldn't."
She tilted her head slightly. "Why not?"
Dale sighed again. "I've known I was crazy about Foxy almost as long as I've known her… heck, everyone's known that. I… I guess it took her being gone for so long for me to realize I was actually in love with her."
Fran's eyes widened a bit as Dale continued. "Like I said, it might be fun to have kids, but… well, if I had to choose, I'd rather my 'family' be just me an' Foxy than have all the kids in the world.
"This is probably gonna sound kind'a mean, but I think the main reason I like hanging out with you so much is 'cause you remind me of her. The way you talk, the way you act… even your eyes; you're practically a chipmunk version of her… but you're not really her."
Nathaniel had just come in the door at this statement, with Tammy's arm hooked around his. "Actually, Dale, she is."
The look on Fran's face was a mix of surprise and fear; Dale's was surprise and confusion, so Nathaniel went on. "I've apologized to both Foxglove and Tammy for my deception, and it's time I apologize to you, too. You see, I've known all about the Rangers for a long time now… including what really happened in DC. I knew about the relationship between you and Foxglove, and that was the real reason I came here: not to be herstudent, but rather her teacher."
"Wait a minute," Dale's mind was still reeling. "You mean to tell me Fran is Foxy?"
Tammy nodded. "We just got back from the cave Nate's living in. I've seen the proof with my own eyes; he's telling the truth."
He looked from Tammy, to Fran, back to Nathaniel. "But…how?"
"You recall when you and Foxglove first met," asked Nathaniel, "and the witch she was with turned you into a frog?"
"Hard to forget," Dale said ruefully, "I still feel bad about almost eating Zipper".
Nathaniel nodded in understanding. "Spells like that, to turn someone else into a different species, are a dime a dozen; spells to change yourself are a lot harder to come by. I found one, four years ago, that could only be cast when certain astrological conditions are right, which only happens one night every two years. I've used it on myself twice; first to turn myself into a wolf, then into the form you see now. I was born human."
"There's just one thing the spell doesn'tchange, though," Tammy cut in. "Fox an' I both noticed that Nate's eyes don't seem to fit somehow, an' you yourself have said before that her eyes…" she motioned toward Fran, "… remind you of Fox's."
Nathaniel nodded. "They say 'the eyes are the windows to the soul', and they're right, in a way. Since the soul doesn't change, the eyes don't either."
The pieces were clearly starting to fall into place in Dale's mind. "So you came here pretending to want to learn from Foxy when you actually wanted to teach her that spell… why?"
"Fran" answered for him. "Because he knew I wanted to be able to give you what Gadget can give Chip: a family of our very own." She shook her head, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "Oh, Dale, I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. One of the conditions of the spell is that if someone who knows me in my true form finds out who I really am, the spell is broken and I change back…" She stopped and thought about this a second, then looked up at Nathaniel. "Speaking of which, why haven't I?"
"I was looking at the spell while I was waiting for Tammy; turns out I misunderstood it. The spell's only broken ifyou tell someone who knows you who you really are; someone else telling them has no effect."
She nodded, then turned back to Dale, taking his paws in hers. "Dale, I love you so much… I'd do anything for you. Is this what you want, for us to be able to start our own family?"
Dale smiled softly, looking into her eyes. "I can tell you what I want very easily: I want you to tell me who you are."
She looked a little confused. "But Dale, you know who I…"
He placed a finger on her lips. "Please… I want to hear it from you."
She nodded, finally understanding what he meant. "I'm Foxglove."
With those words, her entire form slowly began to shimmer and glow, soon seeming to become pure light. The light form shifted, changing shape; arms and paws forming into wings, ears growing and becoming more radar-like. Then, the glow began to fade; when it was gone, the familiar form of Foxglove sat in the exact position that Fran had once been in.
Dale threw his arms around her and held her close, nuzzling her cheek at the feel of her wings wrapping around him. "Now this is the Foxy I fell in love with." He pulled back just enough to press his lips to hers in a warm, tender kiss.
Tammy shook her head slightly. "I still don't get why she was gone for a whole week, though."
"A new body takes some getting used to, trust me."
Tammy let a small smile cross her lips, then seemed distracted by her own thought. "Nate? You gonna turn into somethin' else again in two years?"
"Nah," Nathaniel chuckled a little. "I can think of a few good reasons to keep this body for a while." Feeling Tammy's arm slip around his waist as they watched them, he draped his arm over her shoulders. "I guess the old saying is true…"
She looked up at him. "What old saying?"
"If it ain't broke," he smiled and gave her a gentle hug, "don't fix it."