A/N: First AATC FanFic. Please rate and review.
Chapter 1: The Accident
"Dave… is she going to be alright?"
Theodore's little voice vocalized the thoughts running through everyone's mind.
"I think so, Theo. You guys are pretty tough." Dave comforted the small green-clad chipmunk curled up on his lap. "I'm sure she's going to be fine…"
The small hospital waiting room was not very busy tonight. Several small groups of people were scattered around the room all waiting treatments for their various ailments. The group that stood out from the rest the most was the one nearest to the counter. An average looking man leaned forward resting his slightly unshaven face in his hands. In his lap sat his two youngest family members dressed in green. Theodore and Eleanor both rested uncomfortably as Dave tried to comfort them. In the chair next to him were two more of Dave's small adoptees. Alvin, the trouble maker, was wearing his red hoodie and was sprawled out taking up most of the chair space. Brittney, dressed in pink, competed with Alvin as they lay on the chair in what seemed to be the night that would never end.
Simon, the last remaining chipmunk in the group, paced impatiently in front of both chairs. The worry that had been on his face at the beginning of their visit was slowly being etched away and replaced with an expression of pure exhaustion.
Simon glanced over to the waiting room clock. Five minutes till we will have been here for seven hours! He turned to Dave. "Dave?"
Dave sighed knowing another question he couldn't answer was coming. He raised his head and looked to the chipmunk, "Yes Simon?"
"Do you think she'll forgive me?"
"What?" the question had caught Dave off-guard, "What do you mean?"
"Do you think Jeannette will forgive me for this?" Simon asked dejectedly
"Simon. The accident was just that-an accident. It's no one's fault. If it is anyone's fault it would be mine for not watching you guys closer." Dave attempted to comfort Simon. "Jeannette is going to be okay."
Simon returned to his pacing. This had all been his fault. His mind returned to the scene that had been the source for this evening's misery…
Simon and Jeannette were both working on their seed-germination projects in the garage. Jeannette was preparing different types of soils that would be used in the experiments.
"I just love agricultural experiments don't you?" Jeannette exclaimed as she added the last of the topsoil to her planter. "It makes me feel like a farmer." She stated proudly.
Simon smiled. It was good having someone who shared his passion for the sciences."Yes, I am taking a fancy to this assignment also."
Simon looked towards his science partner. She definitely comes out of her shell when we're working. Simon thought. We will definitely have to work together more on these projects… I'm 'definitely taking a fancy' to this assignment partner as well.
Simon chuckled to himself as he continued to watch her work for a few seconds. She seemed to feel his gaze and lifted her eyes to return the gesture. For several seconds the two stared at each other from across the work bench.
Simon suddenly noticed the unusual situation and broke the silence, "Hey, I uh… I'm going to get the,… uh… the next…thing…" he stammered nervously.
"The fertilizer?" she asked a smile creeping across her face. It was strange for her to have someone else be the awkward, clumsy one.
"Yeah…the fertilizer…. It should be up here." Simon said as he began to climb a stack of shelves to get to the top shelf where Dave kept all of his lawn care chemicals.
"Shouldn't we get Dave to get it for us?"
Jeannette's question burned in Simon's mind as he paced back and forth… If only I'd have listened to her… Why didn't I listen to her? Why? WHY? WHY?!
Simon returned to his flashback…
Back to the unstable shelving unit.
Back to the moment that made his gut feel sick.
Back to the sound of the crashing units…
Back to Jeannette's painful scream as the units landed around and on top of her…
"Dave Seville?" a voice broke through and interrupted everyone's thoughts.
"Yes?" Dave almost jumped up, but remembered the chipmunks in his lap and quickly set them aside as he bounded up to the receptionist counter.
"The Doctor says you may all come back to see Jeannette now." the receptionist stated.
"Finally…" Alvin mumbled as he followed the group back to see their sister and friend.
A nurse led them through several double doors and down a hallway leading them to a small one-patient room. All eyes immediately went to Jeannette who was seemingly dwarfed in the large hospital bed. Two doctors were on the far side of the room and a nurse was taking down vital sign information on a clipboard.
"Is she going to be okay?" Dave asked the doctors standing across the bed.
"She sustained multiple fractures and cuts. And we'll probably see a lot of bruising and swelling. But no chemical poisoning, which is what we were afraid of. All things considered she should be fine." The one doctor who answered held out his hand and introduced himself. "My name is Doctor Hemming and this is Doctor Binder, the Veterinary assistant for this case."
Dave shook both their hands and the men turned to the other chipmunks. "If you'll excuse us we have to have Dave come and fill out some paperwork." Dr. Binder explained, "Everything is going to be fine. You might also have to excuse some of what Jeannette says… she's on a very powerful sedative… she might seem kind of…loopy. But she's in no pain right now I assure you."
Dave looked up and the men motioned Dave outside the room. He followed reluctantly, still wanting to be near the chippettes that had had him worried all night. The three men walked down the hall and entered an office. Dave assumed it was one of the Doctor's, probably Dr. Hemming's office. The two Doctors stood across from Dave as he took a seat in front of the desk. Dr. Hemming took a seat and began to explain…
"Mr. Seville, I wasn't lying when I said Jeannette should recover cleanly from this accident…She has several severe fractures and went through some severe internal trauma, including damage to the internal organs and a significant amount of blood loss. She should be able to fully recover from these injuries and be back to normal within a month."
Dave let out a small sigh of relief, "Well then why did you call me back here? You could have told me that in front of the kids… or did you call me back to discuss some form that I forgot to sign?" Dave asked slightly annoyed at being pulled away from his injured kid to discuss something small.
"No, this is actually far from trivial, Mr. Seville." Dr. Binder corrected Dave
Dr. Hemming continued…"Yes… When I drew blood to test and see what exactly had gotten into Jeannette's system, mainly to check and make sure she wasn't being poisoned from any chemicals she may have come in contact with during the accident, I… may have discovered something…serious…"
Dave leaned forward "What do you mean?"
"I don't know." Dr. Hemming replied
"How can you say something is serious and you don't even know what it is?" Dave exclaimed
"The human body is smart… and according to Dr. Binder the chipmunk's bodies are as well… Jeannette had some slight increases in blood levels that raised some red flags to me. We're going to send of another sample of blood to have it tested… Something is going on inside of her, something predating this accident, and we should be able to know what it is within the week."
"So you're telling me that something is wrong, you don't know what it is, and you'll know what it is in a week?"
"Within a week"
"And you can tell me that it is serious, but you don't know what it is?"
"It may very well be extremely serious or nothing at all. At this point we just want to be sure." Dr. Hemming replied.
"So what do you want me to do?" Dave asked
"Well, Jeannette is going to be here for another day until she is taken off of the medication. After that, everything should be normal with her recovery until we get the test results and can determine exactly what is wrong and what to do from there."
"So should I tell her and the kids?"
"I wouldn't." Dr. Binder interjected, "it's best to not worry them unless we have to."
"I agree." Dr. Hemming added.
"Then I'll try to keep this quiet… anything else?" Dave asked
"Yes… we need you to sign these forms." Dr. Hemming handed Dave a thick folder filled with lots of lines requesting his signature.
"Figures…" Dave mumbled as he took the Dr.'s pen and began to fill in the information where it was requested.
Back in Jeannette's room the Chipmunks and Chippettes had gathered around their sedated friend. They all were somewhat taken back at her appearance. Massive swelling and bruising had disfigured the young chippette. Brittney was the first to speak to her.
"Jeannette? Jean?... can you hear me?" Brittney spoke with slightly more than a raised whisper. With no response Brittney tried again, "Jean? Are you feeling okay?" she asked a little louder.
Jeannette giggled and began to mumble something that no one could understand.
"Huh?" Brittney chipped as she does when she doesn't understand something.
Simon was the next to try. "Jeannette? Can you hear me? I'm sorry about what happened…"
"Ooooooh…Muffins!" Jeannette exclaimed as if she had just made a fantastic discovery.
"Umm… Jeannette?" Simon was slightly puzzled
"But the purple is better…" Jeannette argued in response
"Hehe," Alvin chuckled mischievously, "This is great! Hey Jeannette, what do you think about school?"
"I want the seven one" she slurred
"Alvin, stop it! You shouldn't make fun of someone when they're hurt." Eleanor interjected
"Make it BLLUUUEEE!" Jeannette yelled and started to giggle uncontrollably, "Pink, BLUE, pink, BLUUUE!"
Though she fought it, Eleanor's smile couldn't be contained and quickly following it a giggle of her own… "I think she is dreaming of that movie we watched the other night…"
"Sleeping Beauty?" Theodore asked
Jeannette interrupted them all with another outburst, "BLUE, BLUE, BLUE!… I like blue, I like Simon Blue… Simon likes blue… I like Simon…I want a Simon blue… I like the Blue one…I hate pink…not blue…" The last few words were hard to make out as Jeannette rolled over and seemed to fall into a deeper sleep.
The chipmunks all looked at each other before turning to Simon. "Well, um,… that was… awkward." Simon voiced the opinion of those in the room.
About that time, Dave walked into the room. "Well guys, how's she doing?" Dave asked returning to the side of the bed.
"Oh she's GOOOOD!" Alvin mimicked Jeannette's sedative-influenced voice.
"What?" Dave didn't understand.
"She's fine…just a little loopy like the doctor said…" Brittney told Dave. "She seems really tired."
"I'd agree." Dr. Binder stepped inside, "It'd probably be best if you guys let her get some rest and come back here tomorrow when the sedative starts to wear off. Besides, it's way past visitor's hours."
"He's right… and you guys need to get some sleep before you start getting sick from staying up too late," Dave told the chipmunks. "Get your stuff together. Let's go." Dave motioned to the door.
Dave began to leave himself before Dr. Binder tapped Dave on the shoulder. "Trust me. I'm going to take the best care that I can for her. She'll be alright… I'll make sure of it."
Dave and the Doctor shook hands before Dave pulled his keys out and began to leave. He stopped in the doorway and looked back at the one he was leaving behind. Goodbye Jeannette… So small and delicate… please don't have something more serious wrong with you…Dave thought. "Goodbye Jeannette. See you tomorrow." Dave said as he left…
"Goodbye…" Jeannette mumbled in her sleep