Alvin was feeling pretty confident now. He managed the earn the trust of a gang of street toughs, he knew where their hideout was, and he even was filled in on their operation of robbing a music store later tonight, after midnight. All Alvin had to do was completely ignore all the obvious questions Dave is going to be asking him when he gets home like "where in the world have you been?", "What have you been up to?", "How do you explain yourself?", and tell Dave what's going on, and have the police make all the necessary arrests tonight... but more importantly, he'll be taking Brittany's rapist out of action. Alvin got so excited about the possibility of having this guy, this terribly sick guy, known to the public as 'The Shadow of L.A.', and known to this gang as 'Tone', arrested. The thought of doing that for Brittany, for the girl he loves, made Alvin feel ten feet high. Alvin couldn't wait to get home and go over his new plan with Dave, so he slowly picked up speed, and pretty soon, was running home, as fast as he could. The gang, however, was still discretely following behind him. The ring-leader, Mutey, didn't trust Alvin. He never saw Alvin before, and found it odd that this kid, whom he never saw before, suddenly pop up at the meeting, knowing their hand signal, being filled in on the plans for the night... Mutey didn't trust Alvin at all. Dave paced back and forth in the living room, while Simon and Theodore sat on the couch, watching him.
"Um, Dave?" Theodore asked. "If you walk back and forth too much, you might wear a hole in the floor, and fall into the basement, and Simon will be very mad at you for ruining his lab!"
"Not now, Theodore..." Dave said, exasperated.
"Aren't you being just a little over-anxious about all of this, Dave?" Simon asked. "I mean, this isn't the first time Alvin's been in trouble..."
"I know," Dave said, "what worries me is when the trouble Alvin is in will be the last trouble he'll ever be in..."
"If Alvin doesn't get in trouble anymore, won't that be a good thing?" Theodore asked.
"That's not quite what I mean, Theodore..." Dave said.
"What Dave meant is that one of these days, Alvin could get into trouble that could be very costly." Simon told Theodore.
"I didn't know you had to pay to get into trouble." Theodore said.
"Theodore..." Dave said, almost to the point of pulling his hair out, "what I'm saying is I'm worried one day, Alvin could get himself seriously hurt, or even killed!"
Theodore paused. "Oh... well... that changes everything."
"Uh, Theodore..." Dave said, "why don't you go in the kitchen, and whip something up, or something."
Theodore paused again. "Dave? Are you trying to get rid of me?"
"Just go!" Dave yelled, scaring Theodore into running in the kitchen.
"Uh, Dave..." Simon began.
"Now what's your complaint?!" Dave asked.
Simon took off his glasses, cleaned them a bit, before replacing them on his face. "Dave, seriously, I think for your sake, you should take a deep breath, and try to calm down... how many times has Alvin gotten out of trouble just as easily as he's gotten into trouble?"
"I realize that, Simon," Dave said, "still, I swear, one of these days..."
"Do you doubt Alvin?" Simon asked.
"Do you have confidence in him?" Dave asked.
Both Simon and Dave paused for a short while, unsure how to answer each other's questions. Dave doesn't necessarily doubt Alvin, he certainly knows that Alvin is actually quite capable of handling himself, despite the consequences of his actions. At the same time, Simon doesn't necessarily have confidence in Alvin, but he certainly doesn't doubt that Alvin can take care of himself either. Back at the hospital, a nurse escorted Brittany down the hallway.
"Can I see my little sister, please?" Brittany asked.
"Okay," the nurse said, "but just for a little bit, she's still conserving her energy."
The nurse took Brittany into Jeanette's room. Brittany dashed over to Jeanette's bed.
"Jeanette?" Brittany asked. "Jeanette?"
"I'm afraid she's still asleep, dear." The nurse said.
"Is she going to be okay?" Brittany asked.
"Hopefully..." the nurse said, softly, as she placed her hand on Brittany's head, "come on..."
"I love you, Jeanette..." Brittany said, as the nurse began to take her out of the room.
"I... love... you... Brittany..." Jeanette mumbled.
Brittany turned around, and saw Jeanette had lolled her head to the side, to catch a glimpse of Brittany, but without her glasses, she couldn't see, so she squinted. Jeanette parted her lips to speak again, but fell asleep again. The nurse took Brittany into a room of her own.
"Why did you want to see me?" Brittany asked.
"Well, as I understand it, you've been through a little ordeal lately." The nurse said.
Brittany hung her head in embarrassment. "You're talking about me being raped, aren't you?"
The nurse nodded. "Mm-hmm... something that we need to draw medical attention to."
"My bruises are almost gone, and I can see out of my eye again, it just hurts to touch it... see?" Brittany touched the outside of her black eye. "Ow!"
"No doubt your bruises will go away, sweetheart," the nurse said, "but we need to talk to you about something else..."
"What?" Brittany asked.
"Miss Miller?" Eleanor asked.
"Hmm?" Miss Miller responded.
"Are the nurses going to take care of Brittany, too?" Eleanor asked.
"I don't know, quite frankly, what they're going to do, Eleanor," Miss Miller said, "I'm just nervous about something..."
"What?" Eleanor asked.
"Nothing..." Miss Miller lied.
"You were right..." Eleanor said, softly.
"What about?"
"About Brittany still needing us."
"Of course she still needs you," Miss Miller wrapped an arm around Eleanor, "like I said, Brittany was upset, and said some things she didn't mean, but during these hard times, what she needs the most is to be surrounded by the ones she loves, and that includes you and Jeanette. You girls are truely inseperable. Brittany would be so lost without her little sisters... and I know you girls would be worse off without your big sister."
"Yeah..." Eleanor said, wiping some tears from her eyes.
"This has been quite a traumatic experience for everyone." Miss Miller said.
"Even you?" Eleanor asked.
"Of course, even me," Miss Miller said, "my mind is in a million places right now... one of my children has been raped, my other two have been hit by a truck, one of them is in the hospital, while the other sprained her ankle, meanwhile, the hooligan who attacked Brittany is still on the loose... when you get to be my age, the only thing you usually have to worry about is hip-replacements..."
Jeanette was woken up enough to realize she was in a hospital room, so she reached for a remote, and buzzed for a nurse for assistance. Another nurse walked into the room.
"What seems to be the problem?" She asked.
"What am I doing here?" Jeanette asked. "I don't remember anything happening..."
"Well, you were struck by a truck..." the nurse began.
"I was?" Jeanette asked.
"Yes, you received quite a nasty blow to your head, which is why we have it stitched, and bandaged for you. You lost a lot of blood, so we're making sure your I.V. is changed when needed, and you've already taken two bags."
"Gee..." Jeanette mumbled.
"You might have also had some trauma to your legs, but we're not too sure." The nurse added.
"I need to call my mother..." Jeanette said.
"She's here, would you like to see her?"
"Yeah..."
"I'll get her for you." The nurse said, with a smile, as she left the room, while Jeanette bundled up in her blanket. She felt cold.
The nurse that took care of Jeanette stepped out in the waiting room. "Miss Miller?"
"Yes?" Miss Miller asked.
"Jeanette's awake." She said, with a smile.
"Oh, thank heavens..." Miss Miller said, as she took Eleanor by the hand, and was escorted down to Jeanette's room.
Shortly thereafter, Jeanette looked up, when she heard the door open, and squinted to see who was walking in.
"Miss Miller?" Jeanette asked.
"Oh... look at you..." Miss Miller said, with tears in her eyes, "are you in any pain?"
"I don't know..." Jeanette mumbled, "I feel kind of numb right now... I don't know how I feel..."
"Where are your glasses?" Miss Miller asked.
"I don't know..."
"Oh, my poor baby..."
Eleanor grabbed a chair, pulled it next to Jeanette's bed, so she could stand on it, to see Jeanette.
"Hi, Jeanette." Eleanor said.
"Ellie?" Jeanette asked, with a squint.
"How about it?" Eleanor asked. "We got hit by a truck, but lived to talk about it."
"Yeah..." Jeanette said, without an ounce of interest.
"Hey, Jeanette?" Eleanor asked.
"Yeah?" Jeanette responded.
"I know this isn't the time... but thanks for getting my foot loose..." Eleanor said.
"Sure, no problem." Jeanette said.
"Do you need anything, darling?" Miss Miller asked.
"Another blanket, I'm freezing." Jeanette said.
"I'll go ask the nurse for one." Miss Miller said, as she stepped out of the room.
"Oh, Miss Miller..." the nurse, attending to Brittany, called out, as she walked down the hallway.
"Yes?" Miss Miller responded.
"I'm glad I caught you, I wanted to talk to you about Brittany..." the nurse said.
Miss Miller turned pale. "She... she... she isn't... is she?"
"Well, we don't know," the nurse said, "we really wouldn't be able to tell at this point."
Miss Miller turned ever paler. "Is it even possible for a girl her age to get... get..."
"If whoever engaged in a sexual intercourse with her was able to produce sperm," the nurse said, "and released in her, which is obviously what happened, then yes, it is possible."
Miss Miller hung her head, tears welled in her eyes, she let out a loud, sad sigh. She couldn't bare the thought of Brittany, an eight-year-old girl, pregnant.
"I wouldn't worry about it at this point," the nurse said, "like I said, we wouldn't be able to tell for sure at this point, the earliest we would be able to test and see would be at least three weeks, but hopefully, we won't have to worry about that at all."
"Did you tell her that?" Miss Miller asked.
"I was hoping you could talk to her about it." The nurse said.
"I don't think I could..." Miss Miller said, softly.
"Who better to talk to her about it, than her own mother?" The nurse asked.
Miss Miller sighed. "And she's been through enough trauma already..."
"I know, the poor dear," the nurse said, "I can just see the trauma in her eyes... it's a very traumatic experience. Especially for a girl her age." The nurse shook her head, "what is this world coming to?"
"That's exactly what I'd like to know." Miss Miller said. "Well, thank you... where's her room?"
"Right down here, if you'll follow me..." the nurse led Miss Miller to Brittany's room, where she was sitting on top of the doctor's stool.
"Are you okay, Brittany?" Miss Miller asked, as she stepped into the room.
"Not really..." Brittany said, "I just saw Jeanette, she looked awful..."
"I know..." Miss Miller said, as the nurse placed her hand on her shoulder, before leaving the room. "Brittany... there's something I need to talk to you about..."
"What?" Brittany asked.
Back in Jeanette's room, Eleanor was worried about Miss Miller.
"She's never had to deal with anything like this before..." Eleanor said.
"I know..." Jeanette mumbled, "all three of us, like this... me laid up in the hospital, you with your sprained ankle, Brittany being the victim of rape..."
"You think Miss Miller is stressed out?" Eleanor asked.
"No doubt..." Jeanette said with a sigh.
After several, tiring minutes, Miss Miller walked back into Jeanette's room, followed by Brittany. Miss Miller had brought Jeanette her extra blanket.
"Here you go, dear..." Miss Miller said, handing Jeanette her blanket.
"Thank you." Jeanette said, softly.
"Jeanette!" Brittany cried. "I'm going to have a baby!"
"What?!" Jeanette and Eleanor shrieked.
"The doctors don't know for sure," Miss Miller said rather sternly, not wanting Brittany to talk about it, "but hopefully, you won't."
"Why is Brittany going to have a baby?" Jeanette asked.
"We'll talk about it later," Miss Miller said, "right now, I'm going to take Brittany and Eleanor home."
"You mean you're just going to leave me here?" Jeanette asked.
"The doctors want to keep you here overnight," Miss Miller said, "but don't worry, we'll be back first thing in the morning."
"Okay..." Jeanette said, nervously.
Miss Miller leaned over, and very easily, gave Jeanette a kiss on the cheek. "Just bundle up in your blankets, and take it easy."
"Okay..." Jeanette said, quietly, as she watched her mother, and her sisters leave the room.
The drive home was really tense for everyone, especially Miss Miller.
"I just don't understand," Eleanor said, "why is Brittany going to have a baby?"
"She's not going to have a baby!" Miss Miller snapped. "I hope..." she mumbled under her breath.
"I don't want to have a baby!" Brittany cried. "I haven't even finished grade school yet!"
"You won't have a baby!" Miss Miller yelled, startling Brittany and Eleanor.
Back in the neighborhood, Alvin finally made it home, which he happily busted through the front door, and began calling for Dave.
"Dave!" Alvin called. "Dave! Dave!"
Dave came running from the den. "Alvin?! Alvin Seville, where in the world have you been?"
"Snoopin'." Alvin said, casually, "but that's besides the point."
"Alvin!" Dave yelled.
"Dave, we need to call the police!" Alvin said, "I found the guy who raped Brittany, and I know that he, and his buddies are planning to rob a music store tonight! If we can tell the police, they can catch them in the act!"
"Are you sure, Alvin?" Dave asked.
"Positive!" Alvin squealed.
Outside, Miss Miller pulled into the driveway, next door. She stepped out of the car, and had her daughters do the same. Eleanor got out of the car, followed by Brittany, but Brittany had to stop.
"My shoes are untied..." she said, as she bent over to tie them, while Miss Miller and Eleanor stepped into the house.
A yard away, the gang made their way to the Seville house.
"Razzle-dazzle, is this where what's-his-name lives?!" Slinko asked.
"Say... what is his name, anyway?" Chunky Monkey asked.
"Never mind that," Tone said, "check it out..."
Tone pointed over to the left, where Brittany was kneeling on her driveway, tying her shoes.
"Dude, is that the girl?!" Tox asked.
"Yeah..." Tone said, sheepishly, "come on..."
Brittany finished tying her shoelaces, but when she stood up, she saw she was surrounded by six, scary-looking guys, one of which was the one who raped her. Brittany was terrifyed.
"You boys like what you see?" Tone said with a chuckle, as the rest of the gang all smiled sickly, at Brittany.
Brittany started sweating, tears were forming in her eyes, she held onto to her skirt, tightly. Alvin dashed out of his house, wanting to relate the plan to Brittany, but saw what was happening.
"Hey!" Alvin called out at them.
"Alvin!" Brittany screamed. "Help me!"
"You know that pipsqueak?" Slinko asked.
Brittany nodded, blinking back tears. Mutey pointed to Tone, Tox, and Chunky Monkey, them pointed his thumb towards Alvin, signalling them to take care of Alvin, while he, Slinko, and another, un-named member of their association gang up on Brittany. With the sanp of his fingers, and with lightning speed, Slinko grabbed Brittany, as she started kicking and screaming, and began to run off with her, followed by Mutey and the unknown gang-banger, while Tone, Tox, and Chunky Monkey ran towards Alvin, and tackled him to the ground. Dave stepped outside, to see what the commotion was.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Dave screamed, as he ran to Alvin's aid.
"We're not through with you, pipsqueak!" Chunky Monkey said, quietly.
"We're coming back for you, after we have some fun with the girly!" Tone said.
The gang-bangers got off of Alvin, and took off in a flash, behind the rest of the gang, when Dave ran over to Alvin.
"Alvin, are you alright?!" Dave asked his bruised up son.
"Never mind me..." Alvin mumbled, a little dazed, "they've got Brittany... we need to save her..."