Seville Seven Plus
About This Story: Following an accident, some news surfaces that is destined to change things for the entire Seville family. The chipmunk siblings deal with this new information and try to process things. Warning: some chapters contain more adult themes than others. Age-wise they are 15. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman, & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.
About This Chapter: Rated PG-13, for mentions of medical and pregnancy-related content, as well as some sexual references.
Pairings: Alvin/Brittany, Theodore/Eleanor, Theodore/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Alvin/Jeanette
10. Cloudy Picture
Alvin wolf-whistled as Brittany entered the main part of the clinic room in her custom-made maternity patient gown that Eleanor designed for her. She had just changed into the gown from her usual clothes behind a curtain in the corner of the clinic room. It was over a month after Brittany's stay in the hospital when she found out she was pregnant. With their school final exams done, and Christmas just a few days away, the five other chipmunks and Dave were present with Brittany for her first ultrasound visit. At the moment, they were waiting in the exam room with her for the doctor.
The patient gown was rosy pink - of course - with some tiny yellow flower buds in a pattern. It enveloped her small frame like a wrap-around bathrobe, but with snap-up short sleeves like a hospital gown. The waistline of it was empire-waisted for comfort, similar to a Victorian nightgown, but with a slight V-neck and a few snaps below that. The hem of it came just below her knees, and there was also a small hole in the back to leave room for a chipmunk tail.
Brittany rolled her eyes, but smiled and beamed at Alvin's wolf-whistle, taking it as a compliment. To her little sister, who stood to Alvin's right, she said, "Thank you for making this for me, Ellie. It's very cute, and comfortable. The material is also...so soft. And since it covers the back better than conventional hospital gowns, I won't mind wearing it walking around the house, even if we have visitors."
"Glad you like it!" Eleanor squealed as she patted her sister's arm. "I had a feeling you would as I made it for you. But I figured, since this is only the first official OB-GYN visit, that this would be a good test-run, and I would have time to make any necessary adjustments before the third trimester."
Brittany chuckled and leaned in for a hug. "Oh, Auntie Ellie is already spoiling us! Watch out, though. I may get so comfortable in this that I'll even wear it a few years after Baby comes."
Alvin smiled as he hugged Brittany from the other side. "In that case, Ellie-Girl will have to make a matching one for me."
Eleanor motioned to the snap-closed V-neck. "I'm sure Alvin will especially need this feature after Baby comes, so he can breastfeed more conveniently."
Alvin giggled, "Well, I want to help any way I can." Looking at Brittany, he asked, "Are you ready to get comfortable and relax on the exam table?"
"Sure." Brittany chuckled as Alvin hopped up to sit on the padded exam table so that he could pull Brittany up, while Eleanor helped steady her from below. Brittany heaved a sigh as she leaned her head against Alvin's left shoulder.
He placed his arm around her, rubbing her back as he did so. "Are you alright, Britt?"
"Yeah, I think so." Brittany sighed again, as she made some room for Jeanette to sit on her left side and rub her back. Brittany chuckled again as she glanced at the stirrups at the foot of the exam table. "Do they expect my feet to reach those while I'm sitting here? Uh, that's not happening!"
Jeanette suggested, "Well, if we need to, Alvin can hold your right leg out of the way, and I can hold your left leg. You just lie down and relax for now."
Alvin helped her lie down. He held her right hand in his left hand, while he used his right hand to rub her belly - which still didn't show. "Oh, I think I just felt Baby moving!"
Brittany smiled at him. "Oh, Alvin, I wish I could tell you that wasn't just my stomach growling, but I think that's all it was."
"I'm a little concerned." Simon started pacing the floor at the foot of the exam table. "I mean, Brittany should be starting to show at least a little more by now. She's entering her second trimester. But she's actually lost some weight."
Brittany answered him, "That's because I haven't been able to keep much food down, I've had so much nausea." She seemed to think for a moment. "Although, if I crave something weird at odd hours of the night, like a peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich on rye bread, I can actually keep that down. Thanks, Theo!" She glanced over at Theodore, who shared a brief chuckle with her.
Theodore smiled as he remembered his bonding moment with Brittany and Alvin. It was almost three weeks after Brittany came home from the hospital. Late one night, around one or two in the morning, everyone else was in bed. Theodore started coming downstairs for a late-night snack, but he thought he heard a noise downstairs, so he returned to his room to get a baseball bat and a flashlight-and-lantern combination.
After stealthily making his way down to the kitchen, he shone the flashlight in the direction of the noise.
Brittany gasped mid-bite as she was caught in the beam, like a deer in the headlights. "It's just me. I'm sorry, I'll replace the food when I can, I was just hungry!"
Theodore lowered the flashlight, switching it into lantern mode. "Oh, it's you, Brittany. Sorry if I scared you. But if you were so hungry, why couldn't you just eat at the kitchen in the Treehouse?"
Brittany sighed. "We were out of mayonnaise. But you're welcome to join me for a late-night snack." She motioned to an empty bar stool next to her at the kitchen island.
As he sat down, he chuckled, "So, what have you been craving tonight?"
She motioned to the food she put on a plate in front of her. It looked like she made some small sandwiches out of some pieces of dry rye cracker rounds. "It's peanut butter and mayonnaise on various kinds of crackers and bread rounds. I think I like the rye ones the best." She glanced at him. "Sorry if I'm grossing you out."
Theodore blinked without looking her in the eye. "Actually, you're not grossing me out. I mean, I've heard of plenty of other things that have made me lose my appetite for a few hours." To take his mind off the most recent thing that caused his loss of appetite - hearing Brittany's diary entries - he motioned to the sandwiches on the plate. "And you're actually not the first person I've heard of who combined peanut butter and mayonnaise. I'm also really glad you made small cracker-sized sandwiches, since I've been kinda curious about trying it. But I didn't want to make a full-sized sandwich in case I didn't like it. I would feel bad about wasting two whole slices of bread. Is it OK if I try one?"
"Sure, Theo." Brittany shrugged.
After Theodore took a few bites, he shrugged. "Hmm... Not that it's my new favorite food, but that's not bad. Next thing they should make - peanut butter salad dressing."
Brittany giggled. "That actually sounds delicious!" They shared a laugh for a moment, followed by a simultaneous sigh. A slightly more concerned look crossed her face. "Can I ask you something, Theodore? I mean, I haven't really spent much time hanging out with you since I got home after my accident. And, I'm not sure if the hormones have made me a little more perceptive, but I kinda feel like you haven't been yourself. You've seemed more withdrawn and distant than usual. Is everything alright?" She placed her left hand on his right shoulder.
Theodore sighed. "I'm sorry if I've been so distant from you...and from Alvin, since your stay in the hospital. It's just...difficult to look you guys in the eyes...now that..."
Brittany blinked. "Theo, please tell me that wasn't the first time you learned about how babies are made."
He chuckled. "Oh no! I had that talk with Dave when I was about nine. And I remember Alvin telling Simon and me that he...went to the next level in his relationship with you. I mean, I had known several weeks before your accident that you guys...slept together. But there were just some things that Alvin didn't tell us - like his premature blast in the shower, that he almost farted on you, that you guys' mouths got so much action that you had to brush your teeth vigorously the next morning, or even that you were on top of him for a lot of it..." He clapped his hand over his mouth and winced, realizing he said too much.
Brittany just blinked in shock. "Wait... How would you know about all that stuff? Unless you..." She buried her reddening face in her hands. "Oh my gosh! Did you read my diary? Oh my gosh! I'm so embarrassed! Oh gosh, oh gosh..."
Theodore rubbed her shoulder. "Uh, I didn't actually read your diary, but Jeanette read it out loud for Eleanor, Simon, and me. I'm so sorry, Brittany! Sorry for taking part in invading your privacy like that, and for not telling you about it until now. At the time, we were looking for clues to make sure things were OK between you and Alvin, and that he would take responsibility for his baby, and not ditch you." As he noticed her catching deep breaths, he also prayed aloud, "Oh, please don't go into labor right now. I have no experience delivering a baby. I wasn't even conscious for my own birth!"
Brittany sighed deeply, but started laughing a little. "It's OK, Theodore, I'm not going into labor. I'm sorry if anything in my diary...robbed you of some of your innocence. I never intended anyone else to read it. It was just so important and so meaningful to me that I just wanted to..."
"To remember every detail of it, like a favorite movie played in slow-motion?" Theodore finished for her. When he saw Brittany blink in surprise, he shrugged. "Sorry, I liked that line. And if it's any consolation, I thought you did a great job of writing it - we all thought you could change the names if you ever wanted to have it published. Eleanor still refers to you as her 'new favorite porn author', or you and Alvin as her 'new favorite porn stars'. She said your diary entries even rivaled some stuff she found in Miss Miller's private stash - and by that, I mean the stash of books poetically describing interactions of people's privates."
Brittany blinked again. "Wow, as I was taking my relationship with Alvin to the next level, I had no idea that I would be taking you and the others to another level with us. I mean, now that I know that you know, I kinda have a whole new respect for you, Theodore. You know?"
Theodore chuckled. "What do you know? I can look you in the eyes again! And without also imagining the look of 'blank-wonderment' on Alvin's face as you directed his gaze from your 'bra area' to your eyes." He clapped his hand over his mouth again. "Oops. That lasted two seconds. Oh well...total respect to you, though. I mean, you've got a great set of..." he motioned to her chest area, but couldn't do it without blushing uncontrollably. "...Uh, you know...a great physique. But you're also blessed with a good, kind heart underneath that. And I'm blessed to know you and count you as one of my friends and family members. Alvin is even a better person because of his relationship with you - no matter what level that relationship is."
Brittany placed her arm around Theodore's shoulders, pulling him into a hug. "Oh, Theo! How can I ever stay mad at you? You're so sweet! Even when - or especially when you deliver such a heartfelt and adorably awkward apology. I totally forgive you for reading my diary. And I hope to include you more in the sequel."
"Really? Your diary has a sequel?" Theodore giggled as he returned the hug.
"You know, God willing, of course." Brittany chuckled. "We plan on making you and Simon godfathers, while Eleanor and Jeanette are godmothers. Oh, if Alvin and I have a little boy, I hope he'll be sweet like his Uncle Theodore!"
"Aww! I'd love that!" Theodore giggled. "I'm so glad things are good between us, Brittany. Now, the real test will be whether or not I can look Alvin in the eyes - especially when he gets out of the shower and he's just wearing a towel. I guess until the reading of your diary, I always wondered what you saw in him. And now that I know, I still can't look directly at it. You know, Alvin just doesn't care about covering up if just Simon and I are in the room with him, that towel just comes right off!"
"OK, OK." Brittany laughed awkwardly. "Good grief! I think we've hit all the highlights of the awkward times between Alvin and me. Do we want to talk about anything else? Like, how are things between you and Eleanor?"
"Well..." He chuckled with a slight blush. "Eleanor is amazing! And we have so much fun together. Oh, did she tell you about the time we went to a new level in our relationship?"
"Whaaat?" Brittany slapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry if that was a bit loud. I won't tell Dave, I promise. But, Theodore, you dog, you! I can't believe Eleanor didn't tell me! When was this?"
Theodore giggled. "Well, since we all know about you and Alvin by now, I thought I'd share the crazy awkward thing Eleanor and I did. It was when Alvin and Dave stayed with you in the hospital that first night. But before you freak out, it wasn't that level you and Alvin took your relationship, but it was still a big step for us. Ours was more of a...'rounding second base, stealing a bit of third', and our action was mostly above the waist, so we're still virgins. We shared a six-pack of beer that Dave left in the fridge, then we fell asleep on the couch watching TV. When we woke up the next day, we had some bad hangovers. I was in my tank top, with my pants unzipped, and her bra was tucked into the waistline of my pants. We went to the Treehouse, where Jeanette took care of us with some breakfast, then Simon came over, and they tucked us into bed, and read us a bedtime story."
"My diary, right?" Brittany giggled.
"Yeah, that's when we read it." Theodore nodded. "Only that wasn't the first book Jeanette picked up. The first book was one of Miss Miller's stash, which Eleanor was reading, but we all enjoyed your diary more. It was also found to be a good cure for hangovers. We also thought that your account of the morning after gave us some good reasons to...you know, do a better job of saving ourselves."
Brittany was laughing some to herself. "Wow, just wow... I have so many questions for Eleanor right now." She lightly pounded her right fist into her left palm. "Sounds like I need to have a 'sisterly chat' with her."
"Oh please go easy on her, Brittany." Theodore begged. "I won't find another girl like her anywhere else in a million years. And going to bed angry is never a good thing..." He gasped with an idea. "Since it's probably cold outside, would you like to sleep over here? You could sleep in Alvin's bed. I'm sure he would like the surprise of waking up to find you snuggled next to him."
Brittany smiled as she thought about that. "Sure, Theodore, I would love to sleep over. Let me just put up the food I got out." As Theodore helped her put up some of the food and remembered to grab the bat and lantern, she turned to him as they left the kitchen and went upstairs together. "You know, I'm so glad you could join me for a late-night snack, Theodore."
"Sure, it was a sacrifice for you I was happy to make." He giggled. "I mean, you're sacrificing your figure to have Alvin's baby, so I thought I could sacrifice my figure and share a late-night snack with you." They shared a laugh as they came into the boys' bedroom.
Brittany sat on the right side of Alvin's bed and pulled the covers back so she could lie down next to her boyfriend - and the father of her baby. His back was to her. She could hear the steady sounds of his breathing, and she pecked a little kiss on his right cheek. "Sleep well, M'Hunky-Munk." She whispered.
Alvin rolled over to face her. "Brittany! M'Lady! Am I still dreaming?" He mumbled.
Brittany chuckled as she rubbed his chest. "Nope. I came to your house for a late-night snack. Theodore joined me, and invited me to sleep over."
"That's awesome!" Even though he was still sleepy, he put his arms around his girlfriend in a warm hug, which picked her up and dragged her over him so that she was now lying on his left side. "Oh, Britt! I'm so glad you can sleep over! Is Teddy-Boy still awake?" He glanced over at Theodore's bed, where his little brother was sitting on the edge, still watching them. "Teddy-Boy! Come join us!"
"OK." Theodore shrugged as he came over to Alvin's bed, snuggling under the covers on Alvin's right side. "But we'll have to keep it down, since we don't want to wake Simon or Dave."
"Right." Alvin muttered as he pulled Theodore and Brittany into a sandwich-hug. He chuckled over in Theodore's direction, "Oh, Teddy-Boy, thank you so much for inviting Britt to sleep over with us. And I'm really sorry about the smell on your side of the bed."
"The smell?" Theodore raised an eyebrow.
Alvin explained, "Yeah...that spicy food we had for supper tonight is getting its revenge on me. Why else do you think I moved Brittany to my other side?"
Theodore rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, you'd rather fart on your own little brother than on your girlfriend. We all know that by now."
"Huh?" Alvin seemed more awake as he sat up and looked from Theodore to Brittany and back. "Did I miss something?"
Brittany chuckled. "Well, Alvin, apparently while I was in the hospital, your brothers and my sisters got together and - long story short - they read my diary entries that I wrote about you and I...and our...time we slept together..." She explained the rest of the story to him, along with Theodore's occasional help chiming in.
Afterward, Alvin just stared straight ahead, blinking his eyes rapidly, while his mouth was agape. "Wow... I didn't even know Britt wrote about it, much less that everyone read about it. I don't really know what to say, or where to go from here."
Brittany squeezed his left hand. "I'm sorry, Alvin! It's just...that night meant - and still means - so much to me, and I didn't want to risk forgetting any part of it. I'd love to let you read it sometime, if that helps. I mean, our siblings have all seen the nude drawing I did of you last spring, and they've seen the sheet music and lyrics of the song you wrote called 'Her Divine Body' about me. If it's any consolation, apparently they all enjoyed the read. And Theodore couldn't look us in the eyes without blushing! He especially couldn't look directly at you whenever you got out of the shower."
Alvin placed his hands over his face and started laughing awkwardly. "Not that it would be the first time that seeing me naked has made Theo uncomfortable." He shared a chuckle with his brother as he glanced to his right. He looked back to Brittany. "And it wouldn't exactly be the first time I've read your diary, Britt. But the last time I did that was years ago, when you couldn't stand me enough to be in the same room with me. We sure have come a long way since then!"
Brittany chuckled as she rested her head against his left shoulder. "So true. And now, ready or not, we're bringing at least one baby into the world together. But I can assure you that my diary doesn't trash-talk you now, like it did back in the day."
"Yeah, she had plenty of good things to say about you." Theodore added. "I always wondered what she sees in you, Alvin. And after reading that...I still don't know why she's settling for you when she could clearly do so much better."
Alvin made a fake-out move to make Theodore think he was going to hit him. When Theodore ducked, Alvin chuckled and glanced over at Brittany. "I would get mad at you, Teddy-Boy, but I totally agree." He pulled both of them on top of him in a sandwich-hug and just held them like that for a few moments. He suddenly gasped. "Wow, I just felt the baby move! This is awesome!"
Brittany blinked. "Wow... Alvin, how can you feel the baby move when I can't even feel the baby move?"
Theodore released a sarcastic sigh. "Alvin, you do know that's my belly you're feeling?"
"What?" Alvin pretended to be surprised, so he rubbed his hand a few inches upwards. "Oh man! Where did my favorite mountains go?" To be sure, he moved his hand back to belly-level, then a few inches downwards. "Oh yeah, I've got one of these, too - "
"Hey!" Theodore quickly slapped Alvin's hand away. "I'd ask 'How do you like it?' But I already know the answer to that - all too well!"
Brittany groaned in mock annoyance. "Hey, boys, please no roughhousing. There's a lady with a baby present. Can we just go to sleep?"
"Sorry, Brittany." Alvin and Theodore apologized together. The three of them shared a happy sigh as they snuggled back down to get some sleep.
"Just breathe, Britt." Alvin assured her back at their present clinic visit while patting her right hand. "Hee-hee-hoo, hee-hee-hoo..."
Brittany smiled at him. "Careful, Alvin, you might go into early labor."
Eleanor giggled, "Gee, Alvin, at least wait until your cervix dilates ten centimeters. And we don't want you to get there before Britt does."
Everyone laughed as Alvin pulled his knees up to his chest and rocked. "OK, OK, those breathing exercises are more for me than for Britt, as I'm obviously very nervous. To think, this is only the first ultrasound! Imagine what a wreck I'll be in when Baby Seville actually comes!"
Jeanette reached across Brittany to pat Alvin's back. "It's alright, Alvin. I've been studying up on this stuff, and I'll be right there with you and Britt the whole time. Just relax...close your eyes...find your happy place, just like we've talked about..."
Alvin remembered just the previous weekend. He knocked on the door of the Treehouse to bring Brittany a smoothie she could enjoy while they studied for finals together. But Brittany wasn't the person who answered the door.
"Oh, hey, Jeanette!" Alvin smiled. "I stopped by the smoothie place for lunch, and thought I'd bring one back for Brittany. Maybe then we could study for finals."
Jeanette smiled. "Come on in, Alvin! Brittany isn't here right now. Eleanor took her to the pizza parlor, where they were also going to meet Theodore. But you can still hang out and study with Simon and me. I'll put the smoothie in the fridge."
"Oh, Simon's here, too?" Alvin blinked as he wandered up the stairs into the sitting and living room.
"Oh, hey, Alvin! I just finished." Simon waved as Alvin came up the stairs, followed by Jeanette. He was currently shirtless, but was putting his button-up shirt back on, along with his glasses. He also straightened his hair a little, which was a bit messy.
Alvin's jaw dropped and he started blushing as he looked from Simon to Jeanette and back. "Whoa! I'm so sorry. Did I come at a bad time? Oh, I see what Britt and I started!"
Simon and Jeanette looked at each other and started laughing. Simon explained, "It's alright, Alvin. Honestly, Jeanette was just giving me a back and neck massage while we studied." He winked over at Jeanette. "But I'd be lying if I said my sciatic and pudendal nerves weren't stimulated in some way."
"Likewise." Jeanette winked back at him. She chuckled as she explained to Alvin, "But I still kept it professional - to the best of my ability. I mean, the others barely left ten or fifteen minutes ago. We've just been studying anatomy so far."
Alvin had a smug expression on his face. "I bet you have! 'Studying anatomy' - is that what you kids are calling it these days?"
Jeanette rolled her eyes. "Oh, Alvin, you sick munk. Are you going to kiss your baby with that mouth?"
Simon chuckled. "And for your information, Alvin, we were studying up for our A and P class, while she massaged me, if it isn't obvious by our notes lying around near the massage table."
"Oh..." Alvin stepped over to look at the professional-looking massage table, custom-made to fit a humanoid chipmunk. "Oh yeah, the massage table that you and Jeanette actually made several years ago. I'm glad to know we can still fit on it, since we've all grown since then."
Simon explained, "Well, we have adjusted it a few times since then."
"Would you like a back and neck massage 'appointment', Alvin?" Jeanette offered. "Simon just finished his appointment. Now he's not as stressed about studying for finals."
Alvin thought for a moment. "Well, I have been a little stressed lately, not just about finals, or Christmas preparations, but... Well, I guess I can tell you all about it while you massage my back and neck."
"That's the spirit!" Jeanette made her way over to the massage table.
Alvin removed his shirt and sat on the edge of the table. He pretended to cover his bare chest as he glanced over at his brother on the couch. "Oh, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable shirtless with Simon in the room."
Simon just rolled his eyes and looked back at his notes.
"Wow, Simon," Alvin marveled as he assumed a prone position on the table. "I think you were really enjoying your 'appointment' - and Jeanette must've stimulated your 'A' so much that your 'P' was trying to drill a hole in the middle of the table."
Simon groaned and slapped his hand over his reddening face. "Alvin! Quit thinking so dirty! The 'A' stands for anatomy, the 'P' stands for physiology, and I had my pocket-sized utility tool kit in my pocket for a while. Jeanette's massages are so great that it made me forget that my utility kit was still in my pocket." He shared another wink and a chuckle with her as she started rubbing Alvin's shoulders.
Jeanette changed the subject. "So, Alvin, I can feel some tension in your shoulders. You said earlier you've been stressed about finals, Christmas preparations, and... Is anything starting to scare you about your impending fatherhood?"
"Pretty much." Alvin sighed. "I guess this time next year, I'll be studying for finals while trying to get Baby ready for his - or her, or their - first Christmas." He chuckled. "I know this time of year the radio stations start playing a lot of our early recording of 'Christmas Don't Be Late'. Wow! We were...what...two or three when we recorded that?"
Simon nodded. "Yep, we were two. But we were five when we did a remixed recording with the Chipettes."
Alvin chuckled. "To think, we could do another remix in a few years, once our baby learns to sing... Oh... As exciting as it is to think about what our baby will be like, it's starting to get real to me this time of year. I mean, this upcoming Mother's Day, Brittany will actually be a mother! And this upcoming Father's Day, I'll actually be a father! We're actually gonna be parents! We're actually gonna be holding a baby...maybe with Brittany's eyes...and my...last name."
Simon and Jeanette chuckled with him. Jeanette assured him, "We'll all be there to help you in welcoming this baby into the world, if you want."
"Thank you so much, Jeanette...and Simon." Alvin sighed again. "I really can't imagine going through all of this without a family like you guys. I've heard of other teen parents who had to run away together, or get married in a hurry, and have to raise a baby on their own - without the help and support of parents or siblings. Yikes! I can't imagine how they do it!"
"We couldn't imagine you and Brittany running away together, and you needing to get a job and be the breadwinner while she's on maternity leave." Simon shrugged. "We aren't sure if we even trust you guys raising our future niece or nephew alone - especially after the 'Slammer Cuddle Bug Incident' in middle school." He winked and chuckled at his brother to make his sarcasm more obvious.
Alvin chuckled with him for a moment. "Hey, Jeanette, you understand some stuff about psychology and meanings of dreams and stuff, right?"
Jeanette blinked. "Yeah, somewhat. Have you been bothered by any unusual dreams, Alvin?"
Alvin seemed to think for a moment. "Well, in the most recent one - that's kinda been recurring - I walk into a nursery that looks empty, except for some baby cooing sounds I hear coming from a small crib. When I look in the crib, I see a baby in a pink footie-onesie, with a pink bow in her golden strawberry-blonde hair. Basically, she looks just like Brittany - or pictures I've seen of Brittany as a baby. At least she seems happy to see me as I pick her up and hold her. She's so adorable! I start calling for Brittany to come see our cute baby. I even walk around the house with the baby trying to find Brittany. Somehow, the way the baby looks at me when I call for Brittany gives me this weird impression that the baby is Brittany, not just Brittany's and my daughter. So, there I am, raising Baby Brittany as if she were my own daughter - feeding her, changing her, dressing her up, reading her bedtime stories, singing lullabies to her. And it's just me with Baby Brittany, and I'm totally clueless on what to do when she starts teething, or crying for no apparent reason. I obviously love Baby Brittany very much - I cry when she cries, and I feel so overjoyed the first time she looks at me and says, 'Da-da'. That's pretty much it for the dream. Weird, huh?"
Simon speculated, "Perhaps in your dream, you were learning to look at Brittany and see her as her dad - or as Dave - would see her. There's no way you could look at Brittany as an object of your lust when you see her as somebody's daughter. Weird as that dream seems on the surface, it's kinda sweet. I'm proud of you for sharing that with us, Alvin!"
Jeanette giggled. "I think it's a sweet dream, too! Not weird at all - I mean, I've had much weirder dreams, so I'm not judging you there." She smiled at him. "I think that dream shows how you feel protective of Brittany, and how you have emotionally connected with her. Now you see her as your treasured baby. You love her!"
"That's reassuring to hear - from both of you." Alvin smiled. "I'm also trying to think positive from this dream and think that it shows how I feel about Brittany. I hope it's not a prophecy of me raising a baby as a single father - I mean, Dave could do it, but that doesn't mean I can. There's still that bit of fear as to why I've had those dreams, I'll admit. There's kinda that fear that Brittany ran off and left me with a baby. But there's also that fear in my dreams that Brittany was somehow reincarnated as a baby after she died of birth complications - if that happens, I don't think I could ever forgive myself for knocking her up." He sniffled, wiping away a tear.
Jeanette paused her massage to smooth some of Alvin's bangs out of his face. "Alvin...I'm sorry if you feel that way. I hope my massages aren't hurting you too much."
Alvin smiled at her, despite a few fallen tears. "Not at all, Jeanette. Your massages are just what I need. You're so good that it's like you reach into my very soul and help me release a lot of hoarded emotions and stuff. Simon knows how much of an emotional hoarder I can be - I hoard emotions the way other chipmunks in the wild hoard acorns. You've even been able to teach Brittany how to do that - to give massages that cause me to open the floodgates on hoarded emotions! That was one of our earlier bonding times, when we were...like...eleven, I think."
Jeanette chuckled as she ruffled his hair. "Let me go get you a glass of water while you tell me all about that. In the meantime, Simon and I can also teach you some deep-breathing and meditation-type exercises that could help."
"Wow, thanks, Jeanette!" Alvin smiled as she went downstairs.
"Good morning, I'm Doctor Cassie Reynolds. Sorry to keep you waiting... Which one of you is my patient...Miss Brittany Chipette Miller?"
Brittany raised her hand. "That's me." She also pointed to her stomach. "And Baby."
Dr Reynolds asked, "And you are wanting all six of these other people in the room with you for Baby's first ultrasound? You would like all of them to be involved?"
"Yes, since some combination of all of them may be around when the baby is born. They're my family, my posse." Brittany nodded.
Dr Reynolds continued, "OK, and just for the record, how is everyone related to you or Baby?"
Brittany patted Alvin's back while he smiled and raised his hand. "Alvin's the baby-daddy..." She patted Jeanette's back and motioned to Eleanor. "...my sisters - Baby's aunts..." She motioned to Simon and Theodore. "...Alvin's brothers - Baby's uncles..." Lastly, she pointed to Dave as he put up the book he was quietly reading to wave for the doctor. "...And we've decided we'll call him 'Grand-Dave', since he's Baby's grandfather - our dad." She chuckled when she saw the confused look on the doctor's face, "Let me clarify something - Dave officially adopted the guys when they were three or four years old, and he's had custody of us girls and been our guardian for the past ten years, but my sisters and I have a different last name so people don't think all six of us chipmunks are biologically related - so this Baby is not conceived from an incestuous 'Game Of Thrones' situation."
Dr Reynolds chuckled as she nodded and looked at the chart. "Thank you for clarifying that for me. Let's see...all of your vitals look good so far. Since you've had trouble keeping food down with the nausea, weight loss is actually normal for the first trimester, but we still have time for Baby to put on some weight. And you're taking your prenatal vitamins..." She moved over to the ultrasound machine. "Now, let's take a look at Baby..."
Brittany got comfortable on her back, with the help of Jeanette and Alvin. She also had a clinical towel lying across her lap for extra cover as Dr Reynolds put some clear gel on her belly. Alvin and Jeanette held her hands excitedly as they stared at the screen.
"Hmm..." Dr Reynolds blinked at the screen. "By fourteen weeks, we can usually see something or hear a heartbeat. But because you...have a smaller frame and smaller stature than my average patient, we may just have a harder time finding it through the abdominal route." She took off the head of the ultrasound reader, and looked at a set of other adaptors. "We may need to try the vaginal route. This one is the smallest vaginal adaptor we have, and I will use lubricant."
Brittany nodded calmly, but Alvin's eyes went wide. "Whoa! Won't she still need an 'upper-dermal' for that? It won't still hurt her if you just use lube?"
"You mean an 'epidural', Alvin." Simon corrected with a groan.
Brittany chuckled, along with Dr Reynolds. "It's OK, Alvin." Brittany squeezed his hand. "Not that I don't appreciate your concern, but the doctor is using lube, and it still looks smaller than a baby's head. I doubt I'll need any drugs for this." She giggled and said in a mischievous tone as she patted his arm, "Besides, I've been satisfied with something bigger than that of yours up in there when this baby was conceived."
The others all laughed as Alvin covered his reddening face in his right hand. After a few moments, Alvin caught his breath and beamed over at her. "Oh, Britt, you are being too generous."
"You got that right!" Theodore giggled.
Dr Reynolds circled them back to the ultrasound. "Hmm...there's the placenta, and the amniotic sac..."
Alvin blinked. "I'm glad you can actually tell what everything is, since the picture just looks like a swirling storm cloud to me."
"Aww! It all looks just like you, Alvin!" Eleanor giggled.
"I see everything in here for a healthy pregnancy..." Dr Reynolds began. "Except for anything that looks like an embryo or a fetus."
"There's no actual baby?" Jeanette asked.
"I don't understand..." Brittany began. "Am I pregnant or not?"
Dr Reynolds explained, "Technically, you were pregnant, but you possibly had a first-trimester miscarriage that is either called a 'blighted ovum' or an 'anembryonic pregnancy'. I could give you a pamphlet on it... We don't have to make any treatment decisions today, but you are welcome to write down any questions you may have, and we could discuss options at a follow-up visit, possibly whether a D and C is necessary if you haven't naturally passed it all by then..."
The rest of Brittany's appointment seemed to pass by in a blur. All she felt she could do was blink in shock, as the others looked at the pamphlets and asked a few questions. Brittany didn't know what to think or feel. So many questions were swimming through her head. "I just had a miscarriage? How did I not know that? What did I do wrong? Was it being hit by the car over a month ago? Was something wrong with my eggs? Or my uterus? Or Alvin's sperm? Was I not supposed to be on top of him during intercourse? Or was he not supposed to be on top of me? Was it the blast of cold water in the shower? Is it because I would have been a bad mother, anyway?"
"Thank you, Dr Reynolds." Dave shook her hand at the end of the appointment. "We will think about our options over the next month or so, and hopefully decide what to do at the follow-up appointment."
Brittany quietly changed back into her usual clothes and filed out of the room with the others. Dave talked to the receptionist to set up a follow-up appointment in six weeks.
After they left the clinic and quietly got into the car, with Brittany and Alvin riding shotgun, Dave looked over at them with his fatherly concern as he started the car. "Brittany, are you OK? You've been quiet since the ultrasound."
Brittany blinked. "Huh? Oh yeah, there's so much to think about. I mean, as scared as I was when I first found out I was pregnant, I actually feel disappointed and even sad to learn that there is no baby." She sniffled, and a few tears fell from her eyes.
Alvin put his left arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug, allowing her to do more crying against his chest. He rubbed her back for a few moments before looking up at his father with some tears in his own eyes. "I feel the same way, Dave. I was freaking out about how my life will change with a baby - but some of those changes were exciting to think about. But now that there isn't going to be a baby, my life isn't returning to normal - it's, it's..." He couldn't finish, he was too busy sobbing.
"Falling to a new low?" Simon finished for him with a choke at the end, from where he sat behind Dave.
Eleanor sniffled from the seat behind shotgun, "Yeah, I was kinda looking forward to being an aunt!" Theodore silently pulled her into his left side for a hug.
From the seat behind Dave, Jeanette rested against Simon's right shoulder in the shelter of his arm. "I think we all share in the feelings of loss."
It took a few minutes for everyone in the car to have a communal cry, before Dave regained his bearings well enough to be able to drive home.
Brittany turned to Alvin and asked him in almost a whisper, "Aren't you glad we didn't get married in light of this?"
"Oh, Britt..." Alvin held her and kissed the crown of her head as she rested against his chest. "I'm certainly glad we didn't rush to get married before Baby was due. But I still love you so much, Brittany Charlene, M'Lady, and My Princess! And even though we have different last names and sleep under different roofs, I've considered you part of my family for the past ten years. I-I-I don't know what else to say..." His voice sounded shaky toward the end, but he continued to hold her for the rest of the drive home.
Dave parked the car in the driveway and let everyone out. As he opened the front door to the house, he glanced back at Brittany, who was still walking with Alvin's arm around her. They finally separated at the door. "Brittany, girls, would you like to come inside with us?"
Brittany shook her head. "No thanks, Dave. I'd like to take a nap in my bed at the Treehouse. I kinda need some alone time to process everything that happened."
Dave turned to comfortingly rub her back. "OK, I'll send one or all of my boys over to check on you in a few hours. Have as restful a nap as you can, alright?"
"Thanks, Dave." She nodded to her father as her sisters walked with her up the stairs to their Treehouse.
Once inside, Eleanor and Jeanette went to the kitchen to sit at the breakfast bar, while Brittany went upstairs to the bedroom loft. They could hear her flopping onto her bed, followed by the muffled sounds of their sister sobbing into her pillow.
Jeanette removed her tear-fogged glasses and set them on the bar. "Part of me wants to be up there to comfort her."
Eleanor pulled her into a comforting embrace. "I know, this is hard for me too. But we need to give her time..."
A/N: My friend Don once made and ate a PB & mayo sandwich on wheat bread. Since it wasn't the first time I heard of that combo, I asked him to tear off a piece for me so I could try it to see what all the hype was about. I didn't want to make my own full sandwich in case I didn't like it, then it would be a waste of some bread & PB. It sure wasn't my new favorite sandwich, but it actually wasn't bad.
When Theodore says he wasn't conscious for his own birth, that is a reference to another of my fanfics called "Munks Meet More Mutants", where they are 11 and meet the Ninja Turtles, and the Chipmunks end up watching some video footage of their origin story. In the story, Theodore was (almost) a stillborn, but may have been saved by the mutagen.
Simon's pocket-sized utility tool kit is the one he had in the Nickelodeon cartoon episode "Overlooked". When Alvin mentions the baby hopefully has "Brittany's eyes" and his "...last name", it was a line that made me chuckle in the 2003 Adam Sandler movie "Anger Management". The "Slammer Cuddle Bug Incident" Simon mentions is from the Nickelodeon cartoon episode "Baby Mama Drama", where Alvin wants to name a baby Slammer, and Brittany wants to name the baby "Cuddle Bug". Alvin talks about being an emotional hoarder in the 2015 movie "Road Chip". Alvin and Brittany bonded when they were 11 over Brittany giving him a back massage in my other fanfic "Chip In The Head". "D&C" stands for "dilation & curettage". Brittany's line "aren't you glad we didn't get married in light of this?" is a line Anna Kendrick's character said in the 2012 movie "What To Expect When You're Expecting" following a miscarriage.