It's Always Blind

by El Squirrelo

An animal-rights court battle threatens to tear the Seville family apart. With the risk of losing everything, the Chipmunks are forced to rely on each other to survive.

10. Closing Arguments

I'm sorry this took so long to get done (I have plenty of excuses that I won't bore you with), but hopefully there's still some interest and it lives up to expectation. In the future I'll make sure to segment uploads more, but in this case I felt I should include the whole chapter in one go. It's obviously quite long though, so if you want a place where you can split it, I recommend the point where it briefly shifts to Dave's perspective.

This is the last chapter of this story, but I will be including an epilogue…within the week, most likely (possibly syncing up with the in-world timeline). It's up to you if you want it or not. It'll be short and have an extended author's note at the end, so in theory it shouldn't take long at all.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the conclusion!

---

"Siiiimon!" Alvin's extended drone called from the hallway. It was entirely unnecessary; if Simon wasn't down in the den with them already, there was only one other place he would be. Alvin pushed open their bedroom door and welcomed himself inside.

Simon sat at his desk right beside the doorway, slouched over a lamp-lit textbook and ignoring his brother's calls.

"You coming? We're about to watch a movie," Simon caught Alvin's gesture back out of the corner of his eye.

"Go away, I'm busy," Simon dismissed, keeping his focus locked on the open books on the desk.

Alvin crossed his arms and wandered closer. "What's got you in such a bad mood?" He prodded.

"I'm not in a bad mood, I'm just studying," Simon explained, but predictably that wasn't enough to dissuade his brother.

Alvin moved closer and peered over Simon's shoulder, much to his discomfort. He scanned the pages of the textbook but couldn't make any sense of it. "What kind of language is that?"

Simon rolled his eyes. "It's not a language, it's algebra." He turned to spot Alvin scratching his head. Clearly it was beyond him. "That's what I thought."

"Why are you studying, uh…algebra?" He almost forgot the word already.

"As you probably don't recall, I got put in an advanced class for mathematics this year."

"Oh, math!" Alvin snapped his fingers in understanding.

Simon held back a groan. Explaining anything academic to Alvin was like teaching classic poetry to a dog. They seemed entirely incompatible, and even if he did understand the basics, he didn't show it. "Yes, math," he responded simply. He figured that surely Alvin would take the hint and leave him to it, but courtesy was never one of his strong points.

His brother kept pushing. "Can't you take a break? We're all waiting on you down there."

Simon sighed. "I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"Why not?" Alvin quickly shot around to the side of the desk, almost throwing Simon off balance.

Simon took a moment to readjust his glasses before answering face-to-face. "Not that it matters to you, but I…got a D on the last test." His own disappointment filled the confession.

Alvin raised a brow. "So?"

"You get Ds, Alvin. Not me."

Alvin gave him a familiar care-free smile. "I don't see what the big deal is."

Simon turned back on his chair towards the book and fell onto his hand. "I know you don't."

The change of stance didn't seem to throw Alvin off. He took a moment to reconsider what he said, but he didn't lose his stride. "I mean it was probably just a fluke, nothing to worry about."

"What makes you so sure?" Simon couldn't build up any kind of enthusiasm. Academia was his thing; his one distinct quality that made him important. How could he not be worried about letting that slip away?

"Come on, Simon, you're the smartest guy I know. You'll be fine, trust me." 'Trust me', those two little words he'd throw out whenever his confidence exceeded his wisdom. "You messing up has got to be some kind of freak accident."

Simon paused; the straight-forward approach made him actually consider the advice. "Do you really think that?"

Alvin's confident bow returned. "Would I lie to you?"

"Constantly." Still, it was something to think about. It was entirely possible that it was a once-only thing, but it was hard to count on that. He wasn't like Alvin; he couldn't just stop caring about things just because they might not be his fault. His life didn't work like that.

"Simon…"

He blinked back into focus. "What?"

"What do you say? Going to come watch the movie?" Alvin leaned over his desk.

"What happens if I refuse?"

Alvin shrugged. "I guess I'll just have to stay here until you change your mind."

"Go ahead, it doesn't bother me." Simon turned away and returned focus to the textbook. More often than not, Alvin was bluffing. This obviously didn't matter enough to him to keep to his threat.

He read through the next question. 3X + (2D+1) over 2 equals 3D, so that means X equals….equals…his eyes slowly veered away from the page and over to his still-staring brother. To call that distracting would be an understatement. "Alright, fine," Simon closed his text-book and pressed it against the wall. "One hour, then if I still feel like studying, you'll leave me to it. Understood?"

"That's all I ask." Alvin gestured to himself modestly.

Simon conceded and turned off the light. He didn't understand why it was important for him to be a part of the night at the time, but he never really questioned it either. He just gave in to Alvin's persistence and walked by his side to the den.

He couldn't even remember the movie, but he remembered enjoying it. Family movie night was just one of those things that was easy to take for granted; in retrospect, he could see why Alvin was so insistent on not breaking the tradition.

He completely forgot about the studying.

---

Within seconds of the school-bell ringing, the two chipmunks had made their way into the cover of the park-side bushes. They crouched into hiding, peering between the leaves at the predicted flood of students and faculty leaving school grounds.

"Alvin?" Simon whispered.

"What?"

"Why are we hiding in the bushes?" Alvin was always the leader. Out of habit, Simon just ended up following him, even though it didn't seem to make any sense this time around.

"So we don't get spotted and kicked out!"

That must have seemed so obvious to Alvin. He squinted through the bushes and eyed the oblivious crowd; Simon almost didn't want to correct him. "We're already 'out'. They can't kick us out when we're not even on school grounds."

Alvin stayed quiet for a moment and intensified his spying. "I knew that!" He lied and sprung out of their camouflage.

Just in time, as luck would have it.

"Alvin?" A familiar gentle voice called him. He turned and spotted their teacher on her way towards the park with purse in hand. "What are you doing over there?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing!" Alvin brushed the dirt off his clothes anxiously. He cleared his throat and decided to start again. "Actually, what I mean is we just happened to be in the area, so we…uh…"

Alvin had drawn a blank. Why he always resorted to lying when caught off guard, Simon would never know. "We actually wanted to speak with you, is what I'm sure he means to say," Simon composed himself behind his brother with ease.

"Right…" Alvin agreed slowly. It wasn't really important now, but it did occur to him that Simon was actually speaking for him. He wasn't sure how he felt about that; probably annoyed, but it didn't matter. "We wanted to ask you about Dave's trial."

Miss Stone lowered herself to breach some of the obvious height difference. "Oh, I heard about that. He has his appeal coming up soon, doesn't he?"

"That's the one," Alvin confirmed.

"Well if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."

The brothers looked to each other, as if both amazed that things were working out so smoothly. "T-there is, actually," Alvin's surprise was clear. "You could testify for him when the trial comes up; that'd be great."

Miss Stone smiled and nodded once. "I'd be happy to." She stood back to her full height and gestured to a white car to the side of the park. "Would you boys like a ride home?"

"That could be a problem," Alvin noted.

"It's no trouble at all. It'll be a lot safer than walking."

"What Alvin means is that we don't really have a home to go to," Simon explained. Again taking over for Alvin.

Miss Stone's expression quickly shifted to concern, but her voice stayed as thoughtful as ever. "What do you mean by that? Where have you three been staying?"

"Well, Theodore's staying with the Millers, and Alvin and I have been staying in their old treehouse. But there was a bit of a storm and...let's just say at least half of it is still there." Simon knew the look he got in response without her having to say a word. "It's fine, it's just not so easy to drive to."

After a moment of thought, Miss Stone simply shook her head at the situation. "I can't leave you boys to live in a place like that. Maybe you could stay with me for a little while instead."

Simon blinked. "Really?"

"Quiet, Simon!" Alvin whispered to his brother, then turned to Miss Stone with a laugh. "That would be perfect! I'm sure we'd both love-"

"Wouldn't you get in trouble for that?" Simon froze Alvin mid-sentence.

"I don't think so," Miss Stone pondered, but didn't seem too worried. "You're not students right now, so just think of it as me helping out a friend." Clearly she meant Dave – it was a good thing that she considered him a friend even if they barely spoke to each other outside of school business.

Simon caught Alvin's eye and shrugged. I guess there's no harm in it; and it looks like Alvin's game… "If you're sure it'll be alright," he gave in.

The two continued a brief discussion with their teacher before following her to her car. Exactly how the discussion went was outside of their watcher's earshot, but he figured enough out to put the pieces together.

Harry made a mental note of who the boys were talking to and snuck away from the schoolyard. He didn't even feel bad about it; he tried to do things their way, but they turned him down and he had to get his money somehow. "Sorry, boys, but business is business!" He snickered to himself.

---

Miss Stone's home was smaller than the boys expected. They were under no impression that she lived in luxury, but they'd been unknowingly spoiled by bigger houses for almost as long as they could remember. This quaint little abode was a single story to their double with no basement or attic to speak of, and the bulk of it could fit in their kitchen. It didn't lack in functionality though; although the kitchen and living rooms were small, they seamlessly blended together to conserve space. To the one side were the two bedrooms – one clearly the guest room – and to the other, the bathroom.

'Humble' is the word Simon would use to describe it, were it not immaculately maintained and clean. Even the guest room was tidied to the point of resembling a hotel. He had to wonder what kind of company she'd keep that would require the place to be so orderly, or even if she had people over at all. Somehow he found it hard to imagine Miss Stone had much of an entertainer side.

Their host led them to the guest room and gestured them inside. "Will this room be alright?" She asked, as though they had any other option.

Simon stepped inside and gave the room a sweeping glance. Two single-sized beds on either side of the small room, both grey and white and almost within an arm's distance of each other. It was 'cozy', but a lot better than a drafty treetop. "I'm sure we'll be fine," Simon assured her. "We really appreciate the trouble."

"It's my pleasure," Miss Stone waved. "I only wish you boys had come to me sooner." She smiled kindly and started to turn away, but span back when the thought hit her. "Oh, but if anyone comes by, you'll have to be sure to stay quiet. I'm not allowed…" she paused and pressed a finger to her lips to consider if what she was about to say was offensive. She decided to play it safe and dismiss the issue. "Never mind, it's nothing to worry about."

As soon as Miss Stone left to give the boys a moment of relative privacy to admire their room, Simon let out a sigh. Not allowed pets, I'm guessing.

"Simon?" Alvin looked to him curiously.

Simon pretended to inspect the room instead of facing Alvin directly. "It's nothing, don't worry about it." He knew he wasn't hiding the disappointment in his voice well anymore, but Alvin thankfully let it slide. He seemed to do that a lot lately.

---

Amazingly, Miss Stone's home lacked a television. She had few shelves of books and a chess board, but beyond that there seemed to be nothing around to keep entertained with. It wasn't much different to being in the treehouse, really, but the impression of being watched by an authority figure kept the boys from having any meaningful conversation to pass the time.

It wasn't long before dinner time put that problem aside. They were both much hungrier than they realized and were relieved to have someone there to make them dinner, but it was pretty clear that Miss Stone wasn't too knowledgeable about their diet.

When she split her serving of roast beef, Simon did his best to stomach it out of politeness, but he just about gagged on the very first mouth-full. "We don't really eat meat," Alvin explained for him. Queasiness followed pretty quickly and made talking into an unnecessary risk. That it could have such an effect was embarrassing, despite being entirely natural.

Miss Stone didn't seem too offended, although she did make sure to apologize repeatedly. The boys simply made do with the salads instead.

The whole situation felt entirely too awkward. It was as close to a family dinner as they'd had in a long time, but the night was almost silent other than the faux pas. Simon was too embarrassed to speak, Alvin was still unsure of how to act with his ex-crush, ex-teacher, and the two didn't have much to say to each other that they felt comfortable with their host overhearing.

That night was another matter entirely.

After dinner, they brushed their teeth – with unopened tooth-brushes Miss Stone happened to have in supply – and made their way to bed. Miss Stone checked on them once to make sure they were settling in, then bid them goodnight and closed their door.

The beds were incredibly inviting after having nothing but hard wood for so long, which was probably the most welcome change of all. Still, they fought off sleep as long as necessary to talk in private.

With no sound coming from outside their door, Alvin was the first to break the silence. "You still awake?" He asked, turning to his side.

"Yeah, I'm awake," Simon answered in a hushed tone.

"So… how was the beef?"

Simon laughed lightly at the unexpected question. "About as good as you'd expect from putting a dead part of a cow in your mouth."

"You'd think she would have known about that, being a teacher and all," Alvin grinned.

"It's not her fault. I guess it's not exactly common knowledge." Simon smiled when he responded, but that smile faded away quickly. He was having a lot of trouble keeping his mind in check lately. He shook it away and shifted focus back to Alvin. "So, how are you liking the accommodations?" He asked.

Alvin shrugged. "It beats sleeping on the floor."

"I can agree with that. It's a bit of an adjustment, but I suppose it's a lot better than the alternative." He turned to face Alvin, not that he could see much in the dim light without his glasses. Miss Stone was probably the biggest thing to adjust to for both of them. She was being nice and all; it was just a bit of an unusual situation to be in. Simon could only assume more-so for his brother. "Are you sure you're ok with this, Alvin? It's not too awkward for you, is it?"

"Please, Simon. If I couldn't handle being around girls who had a thing for me, I would never leave the house!"

I wonder what that 'thing' is in his head…Simon mocked to himself. He got a small laugh out of it, then silence started to set back in.

After a few moments, Alvin sat up in his bed. "Hey, Simon, I've been thinking…"

"Don't strain yourself."

"…I've been thinking; I still have a question left." Simon stopped and thought over it. By his count, they should have been even. Evidently, he miscalculated. "When we went to see Brittany, you said I could ask the next question, but you were the one that went next."

Simon's eyes widened. "Oh, right!" He raised his finger in recognition before giving his brother his full attention. "Alright, Alvin, what's your question?"

"That first night, after the trial…you were crying about something, weren't you?"

"You know I was," Simon pushed him to elaborate.

"Well, what were you crying about?" Alvin was sure he was on to something. Simon asked him pretty much the same question a while ago; he was just following the same train of thought, as far as he could tell. "There was more to it, wasn't there?"

Simon's enthusiasm vanished immediately. "Alvin, I…" he started to object, but somewhere along the way his thoughts took over and stopped him from finishing the sentence. He sunk back against his pillow. "I know the whole point is to ask difficult questions, but that's…"

"Have I just hit the jackpot?" Alvin was a little too excited about having finally asked the right question.

"It's just not something I can talk about, ok?" Simon turned over defensively.

Alvin watched him for a moment. Simon was practically sulking; this had to be something big. "Oh, well now I HAVE to know!"

"Alvin…" Simon spun around and paused at the curious stare his brother gave him. "You're really annoying, you know that?"

Alvin smirked and gave a shrug, "I'm coming to terms with that." His stubborn grin clashed with his brother's scowl for a moment before he realised Simon was seriously defying him. "Wait, you're not going to answer this one either, are you?"

Simon sighed and turned apologetic. "It's not that-"

"Save it!" Alvin turned and crashed onto his own pillow, thrashing his sheets in his wake. Of course Simon wouldn't talk about it. He hasn't talked about anything real so far; that wasn't going to change any time soon.

For a second, Simon could swear he caught a glimmer in his eye. "…Alvin?"

Alvin was getting fed up with the whole routine. He didn't care if it seemed childish – after everything, he deserved more than this. "Either talk to me or don't, but if you're just going to pretend, you can just leave me alone!" How could he not think he was just being toyed with? He had the right question, he was giving all the honest answers, and Simon still gave him nothing. He could say he'd open up as many times as he wanted, but it was getting painfully obvious that this was only meant to work one way.

"I'm…" Simon held out a hand to his brother only to hesitantly pull back. He kept his eyes away and blinked away at the dark – he could feel the resentment Alvin was building up. This was starting to backfire fast. The whole point was to make them closer, but his inability to involve himself was about to mess things up worse than if he'd just left things alone. He couldn't do that to Alvin – heck, he couldn't bear the thought of doing that to himself. "Alright." He finally answered. "We…we can talk."

"Right." Alvin refused to turn back, not entirely believing him.

Simon took notice. His heart seemed to ache at that, either out of worry or panic for what he had to say. Even if Alvin couldn't look at him, he had earned an explanation, no matter how deep Simon had to dig to give it to him.

He looked off into the darkness, somewhere towards the floor, and began to think. The best way he could get this out was to just bring his thoughts to the surface. Simon took a deep breath and let his voice break through the bitter silence. "Doesn't it ever bother you?" He slowly looked over to his brother, slightly relieved to see he wasn't being ignored any more. "Being the way you are, I mean."

Alvin raised a brow. "What, talented? Famous? Handsome? Help me out here."

"No, I mean…don't you ever feel…uncomfortable in your own skin?"

"Well, no." That answer didn't come as much of a surprise. "Is this about your…"

"No, it's nothing like that," Simon answered before the 'outside interests' pause. "This is something I have even less control over." He sighed, desperately wanting to open up but honestly unsure of what to say. "I know it's not anything you'd understand, but don't worry… it's not important."

"Simon," Alvin pushed gently, "come on, you can tell me."

Simon cringed at the biting pain his chest. "It's not that I'm not trying to. It's just not easy for me."

"That bad, huh?"

Simon bowed his head. "I don't even want to think about it. It's hard to explain, but it… physically hurts."

Alvin tapped his chest. "Right here?" He got a pained nod in response. "Like there's something pulling at you from the inside and you can't get it out, right?"

"That's the feeling." Simon didn't expect Alvin to know it so clearly, but he was strangely grateful that he did. "How do you know that?"

"You're not the only one who gets that, you know."

Simon slowly looked away and stared intently at the nothingness, trying to fight himself. Everything was telling him that it was alright to talk. Alvin had earned his honesty, and his trust. Even before their situation, Alvin would never abuse anything like this, no matter how trivial it seemed to him. He'd blackmail and he'd taunt with a lot of things, but personal matters were respected. Even if he could rarely ever turn to his brother, he could always count on him to at least have good intentions. Still, for some reason his heart wouldn't let him speak. "I-I think I'm just…afraid…"

"Simon," Alvin drew his attention. "You have to face your fears, remember?"

The younger chipmunk closed his eyes and held the bridge of his nose to focus. It was going to be difficult, but Alvin was right. "Ok," he swallowed. "I can do this."

Alvin smiled, not that Simon could see it.

"I-It's not that I don't trust you, Alvin…I do, but there are some things I don't like to even let myself think about, let alone talk about." His chest was aching in some stubborn attempt to keep him quiet, but Simon kept focus to drown it out. Maybe if he could just vocalize his thoughts, he could ignore how wrong it felt. "See, I kind of envy you. You can be so ambitious and free, and I really admire that."

A thick smile appeared on Alvin's face. "Well, I can't blame-"

"Please, Alvin, let me finish," Simon returned a worried, almost tortured look. Alvin took the hint and stayed quiet. "I'm not like that. I'm not like you. Not in any of the ways I want to be, at least. I'm not happy being stuck the way I am."

Alvin waited, but after a long moment of silence, he asked the question his brother clearly wasn't answering. "What way is that?"

Simon took another long breath and looked to his elder with weary eyes. "Do you know the one thing that all my heroes have in common?" Alvin thought about it, but Simon answered for him. "It's that they're all people. I'm…I'm not. We're chipmunks, and that's what bothers me."

"What? Why?"

"Because…" Simon hesitated again. "Because they're right. We are just animals. I can try to convince myself otherwise, but self-delusion isn't going to change that fact. I'm just an animal, and that's all I can ever be."

"Simon…"

"No, there's no need to say anything. I know you think I'm being crazy, but that's the way I feel."

"You ARE being crazy!" Alvin just about shouted. "You're more than that, and you know it. You're a rock star, and a genius. You've won awards, for crying out loud!"

"Right," Simon agreed with no enthusiasm. "I have won plenty of awards. But not for being brilliant; I'm just good at studying what makes other people brilliant." As much as he hated when he thought about this stuff, it happened a lot; he had plenty of time to dwell on the details. "Even if I was, it wouldn't matter. Think about it: if I were to cure all disease in the world, in ten years time, do you know what people would say?" Alvin stayed silent. "They'd say 'did you know that all disease was cured by a chipmunk?' That's what people remember, not me." He had to pause to bite down the growing tears.

He slowed his breathing to spite his aching chest and continued. Despite his efforts to stay composed, he was struggling to keep the words coming. "A-and it's not that I don't enjoy performing – I do – but I… I just want there to be more to my life than that. I just want to matter, but apparently that's too much to ask." He let out a quivering sigh, unknowingly letting the restrained tears loose. "When it comes down to it, even the smartest dog in the world is still just a dog."

Simon refused to look at Alvin in the wake of that revelation. He reached up to rub his eyes, only then realizing that he was crying. He wiped away the tears, but his mind was stuck on all the unpleasantness – he didn't have the conviction to keep them from coming back any more.

"Well you matter to me," Alvin assured.

Simon smiled; he couldn't deny that was somehow a comfort. "I know. I appreciate it. It's just..it's just not the same." He felt ashamed for saying that. It was true, but it seemed so selfish. Regardless, he didn't have the energy to go on any longer. "S-so that's why I was crying," he summarized and forced himself to be steady. "I don't like to think about this stuff, but that night just brought it all back, and I didn't know what to do.

"By my count, that makes us even. I don't want any more questions…is that ok?" Simon pleaded.

Alvin nodded sadly. "Yeah, ok…"

With that, it should have been over, but that couldn't be the end of it. Just thinking about it dragged back everything that Simon wanted so desperately to forget. To think that his whole life was just one big gimmick, and nothing he could do would make it worth any more than that. He could dedicate his whole life to a cause, but what would it matter? At best he'd be 'the smart chipmunk' and reduced to trivia. That wasn't fair.

Simon fought back the end of a whimper and almost fell forward on his bed. He didn't want to be getting emotional in front of his brother again, but he couldn't help it. It was a selfish problem to have and a ridiculous one to dwell on, and yet the thought of it was just too painful to bear. What was the point if it all ended up counting for nothing?

He slowly drew his eyes open to the sight of Alvin kneeling on his bed. It barely phased him that he didn't hear him coming. Simon looked at him, confused. "Al-"

"Don't," Alvin interrupted with a newfound sternness. "Stop talking…" He took his brother's hand and gently pulled him closer. The tears in Simon's eyes were clear, even without any light, but it was what was behind them that made Alvin act. It was that sadness he kept seeing in his brother; whether Simon knew it or not, he was crying out for help.

Alvin tightened his grip and guided Simon towards him. They locked together in the dark, pressed firmly together in a kiss. Both boys gave into the heaviness of their eyes and felt every aching second in full.

Simon gave in completely. The painful loneliness melted away in an instant and left him wavering in some strange serenity. It was almost overwhelming jumping from one extreme to the next, but that only made the feeling that much more significant. The sense of relief was breathtaking…and something else. He couldn't even cry anymore with Alvin there to keep the tears down.

Slowly, they both drifted away. They seemed to float there for just a moment before reality sank back in.

Alvin blushed at the bewildered look on his brother's face. "Was that bad?" He panicked. "I didn't mean to… I mean, it just seemed like – "

Simon's voice silenced him. "No… it was perfect." Perfect…Simon's mind caught on that word.

Alvin fidgeted slightly and turned from the glimmer in Simon's eyes that he assumed was still left from the tears. It took a few moments of apparent awkwardness before he excused himself. "Goodnight, Simon," he whispered as he climbed back into his own bed.

"Goodnight…Alvin," Simon replied slowly; he almost stumbled over the words. He laid back on his own pillow and absently brushed the cold from his cheeks. His heart was still pounding, but it wasn't painful anymore. Something was different.

---

At some point in the night, Simon stirred awake. He looked at the ceiling and let out a quiet sigh. The night was peaceful and the bed – as solid as it probably was in reality – felt like a cloud. There was a lot going on in his life, but right then he should have been at ease.

There wasn't anything really bothering him that he knew of beyond the usual. It was kind of peculiar that he couldn't sleep through the whole night. The last time this happened was way back when – oh, of course… Back when he got hung up on those unpleasant thoughts right after Dave's conviction. It figured he'd get caught up in that thought-cycle again.

A shuffling to his side caught his attention. Alvin, of course. Just the sight of him seemed to help Simon put the unpleasantness aside, which was something that didn't come so easily. As much as he hated having to bring that stuff up again, he felt strangely unburdened now that he had someone to share it with.

For whatever reason, he decided to climb out of bed and move closer to his brother's side. It was just something about the mood of the night – he wanted to be able to focus on him more clearly.

Simon watched over his brother as he slept; mouth half-open in slumber. Alvin had been – dare he think it – sweet to him lately. Despite all the arguments and brawls they'd gotten into over the years, there was still this connection between them. It was something intangible, but significant all the same. He didn't even know what that 'something' was, but its existence was undeniable.

He smiled at the sleeping figure. To think that behind that big ego there was this kind and caring boy…

Simon gently reached out a hand to Alvin's cheek. He had to touch him, just enough to feel that he was there, but…

He pulled away. That was crazy; he could see that Alvin was there and he had no other reason to risk waking him up. Alvin had enough trouble getting to sleep without being woken up for nothing. It was completely illogical, but still, the urge was there. A lot of illogical urges were there.

Simon cupped his hand and turned back to bed. What is wrong with me? He thought, collapsing back onto his pillow.

The bed was warm and welcoming. It should have put him to sleep in an instant, but his newly incomprehensible thoughts ran wild and kept him awake.

---

It was early morning when Simon decided to get out of bed. He probably drifted off a few times during the night, but trying to sleep was a chore. As soon as the time of day deemed it acceptable, he threw in the towel and settled for what little rest he had.

Weary-eyed, he crept out of the bedroom, mindful of his still-sleeping brother.

"Good morning, Simon," Simon jumped at Miss Stone's greeting. "You're up early," she noted, looking at the clock.

Simon rubbed his eyes. "I didn't really feel much like sleeping."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

Simon yawned and wandered over to the table with his ex-teacher. The tiredness was obvious in his manner and he didn't really have any idea of what to do now that he was up, so it seemed like as good an option as any.

Miss Stone poured some milk and cereal into a glass bowl and pushed it across to him. "Here, have some breakfast. It'll make you feel better," she offered. "Are you alright to have milk?"

Simon leant on his hand and pushed around the cereal with a spoon. "Don't worry, milk is fine."

"I'm sorry I didn't ask last night," she apologized again. "I had no idea you boys couldn't eat meat."

"You can blame biology for that. It's not that we can't eat meat, we just…don't." Dave had never given them anything of the sort to eat. He didn't abstain from it himself, but he never ate it at family dinners. It was evidently a 'chipmunk' thing that he'd come to live with.

He'd probably give them meat if they really wanted it, but they all simply went along with the diet he raised them on.

Simon sighed. He missed Dave.

Miss Stone misread the reaction, but she wasn't far off in connecting the dots. "Simon, I overheard what you two were talking about last night."

Oh no…Simon mentally groaned.

"I didn't mean to listen, but I did hear what was bothering you." She gave a concerned gesture, despite Simon avoiding her gaze. "If you ever feel like talking about it, you know you can come to me. Or I'm sure Dave or Victoria would want to help."

Victoria? She must mean Miss Milliken. The informality threw him for a moment. "I appreciate the thought," he turned to her, "but I'd really rather not talk about it. In fact, I'd rather keep it private all together," he hinted cautiously. He was a lot calmer than he expected given the confrontation, but he still didn't want to go down that path.

Miss Stone nodded. "Ok, Simon. If that's the way you feel about it. But you really should talk to someone."

"Don't worry," Simon smiled at his bowl. "I have someone I can talk to." He remembered the feeling from that night. He never would have thought he could confide in Alvin before. This whole experience had really opened his eyes. If he hadn't taken that gamble by being with Alvin in the first place, who knows how much they would have missed out on?

On that note, his smiled dropped. He has someone he can talk to for now. How long that'll last is another matter.

---

The prison walls were something special in their own way. Cold, dreary and monotonous, yet somehow comforting. By all accounts it was a miserable sight, but it was constant and eventually started to carry a sense of security.

Dave leaned back on his cell-room bed, turned and pressed to the wall. At first he was a mess; both cautious and overly assertive, though mostly just restless. Over time, that changed; as much as he hated being stuck in there while his boys were all alone in the world, he started to adjust to the thought that there was very little – if anything – he could do for them from where he was. He never put them out of his mind, but he had his worry in check. Mostly.

It definitely helped that they seemed to be coping well on their own. Dave had no idea how he could have handled things if he didn't get to see them at all. The visits really were the saving grace of the whole situation. One or two in-mates resented him for the special treatment, but that didn't bother him in the slightest.

"Hey, Seville! You awake in there?" The perpetually-damaged voice of his neighbour – who went by the name 'Morris' – called through the cell wall.

Dave sighed. He wasn't in the habit of shouting through walls that early in the morning out of courtesy. "I'm awake," he responded anyway, keeping his voice barely louder than normal.

"You've got that appeal coming up soon, don't ya?"

"That's right, just two days now," Dave was counting down to it for a while. Rarely out loud if he could help it.

"Good! Guess that means you'll be seeing those boys of yours soon." A silence took over when Dave had nothing to say in response. Morris waited a few seconds, then continued on his own. "We're sure going to miss you in here. In fact, a couple of us guys are getting together to do something REAL special for ya…"

Dave was almost too afraid to ask what that was. He knew he wouldn't get a good answer out of it, but he swallowed and asked anyway. "Gee, like what?"

"Oh, I don't want to spoil the surprise. You'll know soon enough."

---

Time seemed to move fastest when Miss Stone was out teaching. Alvin and Simon were predictably left home until after school hours, tasked with entertaining themselves. Strangely enough, that didn't turn out to be much of a problem.

There was a distinct lack of things to do, but being in each other's company – and out of the unintentionally watchful eyes of their host – made the situation more pleasant than anything they'd had in a while. Not exactly the most enjoyable; it was more that it was the first time throughout the whole ordeal where they had no obligations to worry about.

After a short snack, they set up the chess board on the lounge table. It was an activity they both enjoyed – Alvin for the competition and Simon for the tactical plays. They bounced back and forth, one-upping each other and merrily chatting between turns. It occurred to Simon that despite the stressful situation they were in, they were completely at ease with each other.

He moved a bishop to claim Alvin's knight, then paused with his hand above the board. "Alvin, about what we talked about the other night…"

Alvin tore his eyes away from the board and towards his brother. Simon didn't seem to be getting torn up at the mere mention of it, but he still seemed at least a little reluctant to talk. "I thought you didn't want to think about it," Alvin commented.

"I-I don't, but I think I owe you an explanation." Simon settled back on his seat. His tone was sincere, not depressed like last time – something he could pick up on himself. "It's actually about one of the earlier questions you asked me."

"Huh?" Alvin shifted a pawn. "Which one?

"The one where you asked what I got out of this," Simon clarified. He'd spent a lot of time pondering the situation. After all, they had a lot of quiet and it was a better thought than the alternative. "Well I did give you my answer then, but I think there's more to it. That…stuff that I don't like to think about comes up a lot, but I have noticed that I can ignore it when I'm with you." He swooped the pawn with a rook. "Which isn't to say you're some magic cure, of course. It's just that when I have to worry about keeping you out of trouble, I don't worry about myself as much. In a weird way, I guess I just needed a little chaos to keep my mind off things, and that's where you came in."

Alvin twiddled his fingers above the board, searching for a piece. "Kinda funny that I needed you to boss me around, then."

"Oh, Alvin, that was almost poetic," Simon jested. Chaos and order. Clever.

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind. Just make your move."

Alvin picked up a piece and moved it across the board.

Simon grinned. "A fatal mistake, my little friend," he taunted and took the piece with one of his own. "See, this is why you never win. I'm always thinking three steps ahead while you're-"

"Checkmate."

Simon blinked. "W-what?" He scanned the board. He's right. "How did you-"

"Easy," Alvin shrugged smugly. "You're always thinking ahead, so I just have to be in the moment." He eyed his brother – the silence meant he won, so he countered with a lecture of his own. "You know, you really should learn to be more impulsive if you want to be a winner like me."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Well I did win, didn't I?"

"Touche," Simon laughed. "And how long do you think that will last?"

"Please, Simon," Alvin gestured to himself with a smirk, "Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride. Nobody's gonna slow me down."

"Oh no?"

Alvin grinned. "I've got to keep on moving."

The pair shared a laugh. "If you're so confident, then how about a rematch?" Simon proposed.

"You're on!" They both got to work on resetting the board. For the first time in ages, their worries were completely out of mind.

In that insignificant moment, they were content with how things were.

---

It was finally the day of the appeal. Dave had done everything he could to prepare himself; he kept out of trouble, kept in contact with his lawyer, and even had a substantial amount of help from his boys on the outside. They even opted for what his lawyer referred to as an 'expedient trial'. In essence, it would play out the same as last time. They'd present their testimony on the same case, with the same crime being pursued and with a single judge to sway. The catch was in the timing.

Usually a trial would last days, or even weeks, but this time they'd have the hearing conducted in a single session. It involved a bunch of legal maneuvering that Dave didn't totally understand, but the idea was that they could blindside the prosecutors with their testimony before they'd have time to reorganize themselves.

It was usually a risky move, since the defence would be at just as much of a disadvantage, but the 'animal rights' group was about to lose a great deal of ammunition, and that was worth exploiting while the chance was there.

Mr Parrish ushered Dave into the passenger's seat of his car before taking a seat of his own. Dave wasn't considered to be violent nor an escape risk so security was minimal. "Today's the big day. Excited?" Mr Parrish asked, pulling out onto the street.

"More nervous, actually," Dave replied honestly. "I just want this whole ordeal to be over with."

"Not getting along with the other in-mates?"

"Oh, no, they've been very nice to me. It wasn't at all what I expected."

"You expected big, scary men out for blood?"

Dave shrugged, "Well, yeah."

"Ha! I hope it gave you a new perspective. Most of the people in there did barely anything more than what you're accused of. It's mostly just a bunch of men who make bad decisions."

"I guess I misjudged them," Dave admitted. "But I still would much rather stay at home with my boys."

Mr Parrish hummed in agreement. "You know, it's quite the hole someone's dug for you. I can't imagine you brought on a grudge like that."

"It probably wasn't me he had a problem with. I don't even remember the guy," Dave had been informed of JB's involvement, but he'd never met him or even heard his name that he could recall. It wasn't exactly unheard of for him to get caught up these issues anyway though, and it was usually for the same reason. "It was probably something that Alvin got up to."

"Alvin…is that the boy in red?"

"That's right."

"That little kid? I can't picture him hurting a fly!"

"Well no, but you haven't seen him when he gets worked up, believe me. And he gets worked up all the time." Dave started to reminisce over their earlier years. "One time, he stole all the money from the house and buried it in the back yard. It took me days to figure out what was going on, and just as long to dig it all back up."

Mr Parrish used the brake at a red light to send Dave a curious glance. "What was he up to?"

"That's just the thing," Dave laughed, "he thought he was planting a money tree. It must have been something he saw in a cartoon. He even took the time to water it before I caught on." Mr Parrish shared a solitary chuckle of his own. "Alvin's not a bad kid. He's just…excitable, that's all. Maybe too excitable, but he doesn't mean to misbehave."

"Excitable, you say? You could have fooled me. He barely said a word when he came by to visit you. I don't think he ever smiled."

Dave sighed. "He hasn't seemed himself lately, has he?" He asked, even though Mr Parrish had no way of answering. "I don't know what's gotten into him."

"Oh, I don't think it's so mysterious." Mr Parrish glanced him a smile, then returned focus to the road. "He's a kid that's losing his father; that kind of thing can get to children at his age."

"Why would it only be Alvin?"

"I wouldn't know where to start guessing about that. But children react differently; they're probably all affected in one way or another."

Dave turned to his escort with intrigue. "You seem to know a lot about this sort of thing."

Mr Parrish nodded dismissively. He kept driving, not giving a proper answer for a while. Right when Dave seemed to drop the issue, he spoke up. "Has your lawyer told you that I'll be testifying for your defence?"

"Uh, no, he didn't mention it." Dave seemed curious. "Can I ask why?"

Mr Parrish seemed to be hesitating, but it was always at least slightly hard to read his expression. "Because, Seville, I believe you're innocent. I've made enough bad decisions in my life to recognize them, and I don't see any of them on you."

Throughout the rest of the trip, Mr Parrish explained himself to Dave. He had no hidden agenda, but his motives seemed pretty clear when the personal stories came out.

"I'm a father too, you know. I had two boys just like yours; not twins, but they were a happy pair. We were a good family once. Happy kids, stay-at-home wife, and I was starting to get promotions as a prison officer.

"But then the promotions kept coming. I was a good guard, and I always stayed back when worked needed me, but my wife…she was never too pleased with that. We needed the money, but I kept putting the prison first and eventually it just became too much."

Mr Parrish explained that he was barely ever at home, so it didn't seem like a big change of pace when his family left him. The nights were quieter, and work was getting to be more important by the day; in theory, nothing was that different.

"What about your boys?" Dave asked as they pulled into the parking spot.

"I still saw them from time to time, but work made that hard for them. Now they're grown up and just moved on with their own lives."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's alright, I can live with my mistakes. I wouldn't talk about them if I couldn't." Mr Parrish unbuckled his seatbelt and leant back on his seat for a moment. "The point is that I let my work life come before my family, and I lost it all. You, Mr Seville," he turned to him, "there's not a doubt in my mind that your boys come first."

"Thanks…" Dave undid his seatbelt and left the car with his escort. "I hope the judge sees it the same way," he added.

---

Alvin and Simon had a lot of time to think on their way to the courthouse. They were confident that they could win this; they'd put in too much effort not to. The plan was going smoothly, even more than expected. Still, they both had lingering doubts.

What happens if they're wrong? If everything works out, they go back with Dave, and things go back to normal. Otherwise…

It occurred to both of them that their current arrangement seemed to be working. They were getting along fine staying with Miss Stone, and as far as they could tell Theodore was doing fine with the Chipettes; if the worst happened, it wasn't like they were unprepared.

They weren't too keen on the idea of putting Miss Stone in the position of keeping them around, though. They were sure she'd do it, and that they could adjust, but it really put her under obligation.

Still, it was an option. At least while they were with her, they seemed to be able to get away from their problems.

"Alvin! Simon!" Theodore came running down the courthouse halls and dove into a three-person hug.

"You two look energetic this morning," Brittany noted, walking in Theodore's wake with her sisters. "What happened?"

It was only at that point that Simon remembered they were meant to be fighting. He looked across at Alvin over their little brother's shoulder and gave a warm laugh. "I guess we just worked out our differences."

"Really?" Theodore looked up to them hopefully.

Alvin nodded. "Really."

"That's great!"

They didn't need to keep up the charade any longer. Enough time had passed, and they were both finally well-rested enough that they couldn't even fake being exhausted with each other.

Jeanette stepped closer to be heard over the passers-by. "How did you two go with Miss Stone?"

"Oh!" Simon forgot they'd never reported back. "Everything's all arranged on our end. We've actually been staying with her the last few days."

"Really?" Brittany asked. "Then where is she?"

"She had to go and check in with Dave's lawyer. I'm sure we'll see her once we're inside."

Brittany took a breath and filled her stance with confidence. "Well, we better get in there. They could be starting any moment now."

Simon doubted that, but that wasn't his first concern. "Wait, you don't have to stay if you don't want to."

Their welcoming party was already on the move down the hall. Brittany looked over her shoulder. "This involves us too. We're staying."

Simon let out a breath of his own and followed from behind with his brother. They knew the room to go to, and even if they didn't, the Chipettes did, so finding their way was no problem.

As they came to the entrance, Simon noticed Alvin had stopped behind. He turned. "Alvin?"

Alvin was frozen. He threw his hands into his pockets and focussed a pained glare at the floor. He forced a few breathes and tried to compose himself, but making his legs work was trickier.

"…Alvin, are you ok?"

He let out a gasp at Simon's touch. He didn't notice him close the distance. "Y-yeah. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

Alvin shrugged him off and pressed on into the courtroom. He was just trying to keep moving; he didn't need Simon there trying to help him right now.

Simon stood and watched for a moment. It was strange; Alvin was acting the same way he did when they went to the prison. So it wasn't the prison you were afraid of? Simon pondered. He couldn't deny that he was concerned, and maybe a little curious, but he put that aside for the time being. He followed his brother inside.

Jeanette gently called out to Simon from her aisle seat half-way down the room. "Simon!" He stopped by her side. "Are you sure things are alright with you two?"

Simon nodded. "Yes, we're completely fine now."

"What about Alvin? He didn't look so good."

So it's that obvious. "He's just…nervous I guess."

Jeanette nodded slowly in response. Simon could tell that didn't put her mind to rest, but it was enough for now. "That makes sense." She was clearly unconvinced. Simon started to walk away when she called to him again. "Simon…" He paused and looked back. "Look after him, ok?"

He smiled, despite the strange request. "I will," he promised and continued on. He moved to the last row and took a seat beside Alvin – right behind where Dave would sit – and waited for the trial to start.

---

Dave arrived a few minutes later and took his designated seat, turned over the divider to greet his boys. The Chipettes watched from afar, but couldn't make out anything that was said. The expressions and mood said enough on their own.

Dave wore a pleasant smile that still managed to expose his worry. He said something-or-other to the boys and gave a reaching hug to the youngest. Even with Theodore's back turned, the happiness there was clear. Simon, typically, barely left his seat, but still managed a happy greeting and a hug.

The curious exception to the happy reunion was Alvin. They could barely see the top of his cap over the back of the seat. If he were any more withdrawn he'd be burrowing into the wood.

Brittany kept her eyes fixed to him. His brothers were practically celebrating while he could barely move…it was too obvious that something was going on.

"You expect us to wear prison clothes?" Alvin popped up as Dave handed each of the three a black vest. His eyes widened immediately at his own outburst and he sat back in his seat in a sulk.

"Come on, Alvin. The guys made these especially for you." Dave re-stated. Simon had explained in their last visit that they couldn't use their old vests. They ended up scrapping them as makeshift bandages early on to help their feet through all the walking – a trick they learned from Dave, actually.

Alvin continued to sulk. "Fine, I'll wear it," he conceded and slowly pulled it on over his jersey, never letting his gaze drift back to his father.

The strange manner didn't go unnoticed. "Alvin, are you-" Dave was silenced by the call of the bailiff. He wanted to find out what was wrong, but as the man made very clear: the court was in session.

---

The judge took his seat and resided over the courtroom. He recited a long line of legal jargon before beckoning to the Defence – represented by Dave's lawyer – and the Prosecutor – JB's slimy minion – to do the same. They presented opening speeches, basically covering what points they wanted to prove. How Dave was a good, well-meaning father, or how he was an abusive musician out for money and various other nonsense. Simon was the only one really picking any meaning out of it, and even he got tired half way through.

Finally, the Prosecutor brought out their first 'witness'; JB himself. That was unexpected, to say the least.

"Mr Jeremiah Burns, could you please explain to the court your experience with the accused," his proxy-lawyer gestured to the room.

"Certainly," JB's thick Texan accent stuck out immediately. "Ah was lookin' to acquire some property belongin' to that there man's parents," he pointed to Dave.

"Go on."

"It was all arranged and done in the full spirit of the law, but what I did'n count on was that he would send them 'boys' of his afta my family!"

Quiet gasps filled the court. "What exactly did they do?"

"Well, ya see, he made 'em perform at my little darling's birthday party as a distraction, then they made off with my favourite car and voided the deal. Even worse than that, they vandalized the place right under mah nose!"

That's a lie! Simon argued to himself. He tried to scam Grandma and Grandpa Seville, we were just fixing it!

"One more question: This property you were trying to acquire; what exactly was it?" Simon knew what was coming next.

JB crossed his arms. "A farm, ah course. Where else would you keep your animals?"

Alvin managed a slow turn to Simon. He knew that'd get to him, but he hid it well. He kept silent and seemed to ignore the statement entirely.

After that, it was their lawyer's turn to ask the questions. This was the moment they needed.

"Your company is financing this lawsuit, isn't it, Mr Burns?" he prodded.

"That's right."

"And you stated that you blame the defendant and his boys for losing out on a business acquisition?"

"Those animals of his were entirely responsible! So yes."

The lawyer turned to the judge to deliver the blow. "Your honour, this organization has pressed no similar charges in their history. It's clear that this case is targeted directly at my client and his boys, and therefore broad evidence should not be permitted."

The judge pondered for a second and looked down at JB. "Do you deny these claims?"

A chilling smile spread on JB's face. "Oh course not, your honour," he responded calmly. "We're simply keeping our business direct for now, and ya gotta start somewhere."

The judge nodded.

"Simon, what just happened?" Alvin whispered to his side. He thought that was what they were hoping for, but Simon seemed worried.

"That…that was too easy," Simon whispered back, eyes locked to JB's wicked grin. "That's what we wanted to happen, but…I think he saw it coming." He was definitely worried; that element of surprise was their biggest advantage. Something went wrong.

---

Next up was Sy Heaves – Dave's boss. Unfortunately, he was summoned by the prosecution.

"They're costing me a fortune," the large, bald man slammed his hand on the counter for emphasis. "This trial alone is costing thousands! Those boys do more damage than any rock group I've ever seen, and now this? I say either let him go or make him stay, but do it now before he wastes another dollar!"

You parasitic little protozoa! Simon cursed.

"And about his…ahem," the Prosecutor made to laugh, "'boys?'"

"What do I care? Throw them in the zoo and maybe they'll be worth something."

Alvin threw his head into his hands and groaned. He knew Simon would be hurt by hearing something like that, but he didn't expect that he would be too. That was a low blow.

Simon put a hand on his brother's back and pat him for comfort.

Their lawyer stepped up in defence. "Mr Heaves, would you describe the group as unruly?"

"Does that mean destructive and out of control? Then of course I would!"

"How, then, have they remained in your service for so long?"

"That's all Seville's doing," Sy admitted. "He can keep the little brats under control somehow, and they do manage to turn a profit of-"

"Nevermind the financial details," he hushed. "How does Mr Seville keep them controlled?"

Sy pondered for a moment. He actually seemed to be out of ideas. "I don't ask those questions, I just sell records."

"So you've never known the defendant to be abusive?"

"Well no, I –"

"Thank you, that'll be all." Their lawyer turned and left the slightly dazed witness to his leave.

---

"Harry?" Simon gasped under his breath.

"And your last name?" The judge asked for clarification.

"It's just Harry. I'm kinda like Cher," Harry explained in his naturally strained voice. The judge nodded and motioned for the Prosecutor to proceed.

"Harry," the slimy man began. "What can you tell the court about those in the defendant's care?" It was a roundabout way of referring to the boys.

Harry transitioned into a rehearsed gesture of thought. "Not much, but I did have them stay with me for a little while."

"Why is that?"

"Well it was obvious that they were better off with one of their own kind." Simon tensed at the start of the spiel. "It wasn't so different, you know. I had them perform for just as much as they'd normally get, but I can understand what they're going through."

"And what about the defendant? Is he not capable of that himself?"

Harry switched to a look of hesitance. "Gosh, I don't really want to criticize, but I could never tell a lie. He's just not cut out for it; he doesn't know how to treat them. Besides, even when I was looking out for them, they were barely holding it together.

"If you want my opinion, I think they put on a strong face around him, because we're not cut out for that kind of thing. I don't know how he gets them to work for so long; it isn't natural."

Alvin gritted his teeth and cursed in a whisper. "Harry, you no good slimeball!" He turned quickly to his brother. "Simon, why aren't we stopping him? He can't say things like that, can he?"

Simon sat there, eyes locked to the scene infront of him. He was almost paralyzed by it. "He…he can't."

"Then why isn't our lawyer doing anything?"

"Because that's exactly what they want." Simon's expression turned grim. "Harry's there to convince everyone that we're just animals, even though by their own rules that means he can't testify."

"So?"

"If we stop him, that's like us agreeing with them. Either he gets to explain why we're animals because we disagree, or he doesn't because we agree. He'd be sacrificing our rights by objecting." Simon's chest tightened – they were trapped.

Harry rambled on and the Chipettes continued to watch, but at that point they were focussed more on their friends in front row. They were all as behaved as could be expected, although it was easy to see that none of them liked being there. Jeanette, in particular, took notice.

She knew from talking to Simon how difficult this had to be on them. As well mannered as they were, it had to be eating them up inside to have to just sit there and hear their world being turned upside down…again. Only this time they knew the stakes first-hand, and in some odd way it was more personal.

Jeanette had to wonder if that made things better or worse for them – Alvin and Simon specifically. She was only taking guesses at what they were feeling, but between the two of them, they had a way to open up without realizing it. They'd been like that since the day she met them, even though they never seemed to be aware of it.

"Do you think they realize how close they are?" Brittany whispered, as though reading her mind.

Jeanette watched the two brothers, framed by the heads of strangers in the way. "I don't think so. I mean, there's obviously a connection there, but I don't think either of them notices how much they let each other in."

Brittany turned suddenly with her brow raised. "What? No, I mean look how close they are! They're practically holding hands!" He gestured over to them.

"Oh, right," Jeanette adjusted her glasses. "That's what I meant."

Brittany wasn't far off. The two were physically much closer that they realized. They weren't holding hands, and even if they were, no one behind them could see, but it would only take another inch.

The prosecution continued. "So the concerts?"

Harry shook his head sadly. "Just terrible!"

Without warning, Alvin shot out of his seat and around his brother, then stormed from room. He moved quickly; most people didn't seem to notice he was mobile until he was half way out.

Just as abruptly as he started, he fired out the door.

Simon didn't even have time call him back or catch his face – but then again, it was mostly hidden anyway. It broke his focus on the trial for a moment and left him looking back over the courtroom in Alvin's wake.

His eyes locked with Jeanette's for a moment. There didn't have to be any further communication; he caught the message and got up from his own seat.

Theodore looked up at him with worry. "What's going on?" He whispered.

Simon spared a quick survey to see if they were being watched – they were, but the trial carried on anyway. "Don't worry, just…stay here. I'll go check on him." He made his own way down the middle of the courtroom and back out into the halls. Alvin was way ahead of him and moving fast, but he was pretty sure he knew where he'd end up.

---

Alvin burst through the bathroom door, at least thankful that there was no one else around. His eyes squeezed shut and he dug his fingers into the fabric of his clothes; anything to tear the pressure away.

The door creaked open and closed again behind him. He knew without turning that it was Simon.

"Alvin? Are you ok?" Simon's voice crept up from behind.

"Do I look ok?" Alvin snapped.

Simon folded his arms. "I can't tell. Turn around, let me see." Alvin - still hunched and slightly shaking - obeyed and slowly turned to face him. Simon's arms dropped. "Alvin, you look like you're about to explode…"

Alvin groaned and grabbed his stomach. "Argh! That's exactly what I feel like!"

Simon took a step closer, just in case he needed to reach Alvin in a hurry. "I think you'd better sit down," he advised.

"No, I'm fine!" Alvin shook his head – a gesture that would have been more powerful if he wasn't still clutching his belly. "I just need a moment, that's all."

"A moment for what?"

Alvin drew a blank. When he thought about it, he didn't even know what he meant. He was just doing whatever he had to to keep it down. "Nothing, just go back to the trial…I'll be fine."

Simon stood defiant. "I'm not leaving you like this." He got an exasperated groan in response. It was beyond obvious that something was wrong; why would Alvin even bother trying to hide it? "Alvin, what's wrong?"

The shaking chipmunk did his best to brush the question off – he physically twisted at the words to push them away. Naturally, it didn't work. "'What's wrong'? Weren't you even paying attention?" He pulled his arms away from himself and deflected.

Surprisingly, Simon didn't bite. Alvin nearly froze at the continued concerned gaze his brother gave him. He blinked and stood down. Simon wasn't there to fight him, and even if he was, Alvin didn't really feel like fighting.

He tightened a hand into a fist and forced his eyes to the side. "I'm just a little angry, ok?" He waited for a response, but only felt silence creeping up. "And…I'm scared…"

"Scared?" Simon asked carefully. "What is there to be afraid of?"

"Come on, Simon. You saw how it's going in there. Tell me you aren't thinking it too." He turned back from his avoidance. "Simon…what if we lose?"

Simon noted the water building behind Alvin's eyes. He was keeping it in, but just barely. Simon had thought about it too, for a lot of the time they were in there. Things weren't looking good. Every advantage they had was turned against them, and even though they hadn't brought out their side, JB's seemed way ahead of them in planning. He didn't even want to think about what it'd mean to lose this now – in fact, all his energy went into avoiding that.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"Simon snapped back into focus. Did Alvin just apologize?

Alvin wasn't looking at him. He seemed genuinely ashamed, but Simon couldn't figure why. "This is all because of me. I get that it doesn't change anything, but I'm sorry."

"What, for this whole case?" Simon was stunned. "It's not-"

"Don't tell me it's not my fault!" Alvin snapped. " I'm not a baby, Simon, and I know you blame me too so just drop the act."

Simon shook his head. "I don't blame you for –"

"I said don't!" Alvin interrupted again. "You say that, but deep down you do. I know it."

It was obvious that Alvin didn't want to hear excuses. His insistence that he was to blame was painful to hear. But as much as Simon hated thinking it, Alvin did have a tendency to get them all into trouble. Some part of him knew that maybe if Alvin wasn't so headstrong, none of this would have happened. "…I guess, maybe deep down…"

Alvin let out a muffled noise – almost a whimper – and turned quiet. "You weren't supposed to actually say it…"

Watching his brother on the verge of tears brought Simon there himself. That was probably the wrong thing to say, but he couldn't just take it back. "I…I don't mean to…I know you didn't want…"

"But it happened anyway," Alvin jumped in. He tried to do the right thing – he really did – but it always backfired. Usually it didn't matter, but this time he'd really done it. He ruined everything. "I was just trying to help…"

Simon wiped away his first threatening tear. "I know." That last layer of defence Alvin had left was falling away – it was like watching his brother falling apart.

Alvin was getting erratic. He shuffled with his hands and seemed to keep shifting focus to nothing in particular. He couldn't help but start to ramble; any little justification he had just started to spill out in the hope that someone would listen. "I never wanted anything like this to happen! I just…just try to have some fun or…or do the right thing and…"

"Alvin," Simon tried to interrupt.

"…and it just all falls apart!" His panic kept building. "I…I try to be good…I can't help if it sometimes it doesn't work out…"

"Alvin…"

"…and now Dave's life is ruined and it's all…"

"Alvin!" Simon grabbed his shoulders and spun Alvin to face him.

The little chipmunk froze in his brother's hold. "What?" he said quickly.

"You can't keep talking like that." Simon shied away himself for a moment. He didn't mean to snap, but Alvin was really beating himself up over this and it wasn't fair – on either of them. "You're meant to be the brave one. How am I meant to get through this if you can't?"

Alvin looked up with glistening eyes, trying to read Simon the way he'd always read him. Simon looked so hurt, but he couldn't understand why. Tears were starting to run down his cheeks. "What…?"

Simon took a breath. "I…I don't know what will happen if we lose…but we'll be alright," he knew he was trying to convince himself as much as Alvin. "We always manage…somehow. A-and no one's going to blame you if this doesn't work out." Alvin didn't seem the slightest bit convinced. "Well…ok, they might, but they'll forgive you."

"Dave won't…" Alvin sniffed.

"Dave too. Come on, Alvin; when has he ever not forgiven you?"

Alvin turned away to wipe his eyes. "That doesn't matter," he uttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"…Nothing." He hesitantly looked back to his brother. Simon was still holding his shoulders, but his grip had turned gentle and forceless. He could have brushed it off easily if he wanted to.

He started to notice what was going on. Simon had tears of his own and desperation in his eyes, but he was as composed as always. Was that for his sake?

"You're scared too, aren't you?" Alvin observed.

Simon forced a smile. "I'm terrified."

Alvin's head dropped. His shoulders twitched with his breathing; he couldn't hold back anymore and started crying, face barely obscured by his cap.

Simon couldn't bring himself to watch, but he stayed there, hoping that somehow his presence helped. This was certainly Alvin at his weakest. The only other time he came close was back outside of the prison, and Simon was quick to connect the dots – even at a time like that, it was all he could do to stay concerned.

He kept his hands firmly on Alvin's shoulders. There was something Alvin said earlier that made him think; something that he probably wasn't meant to take notice of. He didn't want to make matters worse, but he had to ask, so he spoke softly. "Alvin…who are you angry at?"

"I…" Alvin looked up in a moment of carelessness. "It doesn't matter," he resigned again.

That's what I thought…Simon put the pieces together. It wasn't a happy realization, but they rarely were. He put his arms around Alvin's back and pulled him into a hug.

Alvin blinked but he didn't resist. If anything, he welcomed the comfort. "Simon?"

Simon opened his mouth to tell Alvin what he figured out, but he stopped as soon as he remembered, this is exactly what Alvin told him he didn't want him to do. He'd respect his brother's wishes, although it wouldn't stop him from thinking it. He'd figured out what made this so hard on him. Alvin, that's not fear…what you're feeling is guilt. You're blaming yourself for everything, and not just for this. You can't do that to yourself…it's tearing you up inside. "Don't…" Simon breathed. "Just, don't…" Is your ego really so big that you'll give yourself all the blame? Simon hugged tighter, then felt Alvin do the same.

For a moment, they both stood in each other's arms and simply cried together. They were both hurting and afraid, but they also had one little comfort to come back to.

There was something strange in that embrace. Although it was impossible, Simon felt like he could feel Alvin in his arms more than just physically; like he could feel the ache in his heart like it was his own. Alvin seemed to think that he was ruining Simon's life, but that wasn't it at all. Alvin was so significant in his life that nothing could destroy it as long as he was there. It was in that that Simon realised: maybe there was something more between them than he thought, or perhaps he simply wanted there to be.

In those thoughts, he forgot about the trial and the problems that were waiting for them, he just lingered in the moment. He just wanted what they had, whatever it was that let them be there for each other when no one else could be. The pain could wait – this is what matters.

Finally, Alvin's breathing started to even out. "I'm glad it was you that followed me."

Simon smiled, but his heart sank when Alvin finished the thought.

"You're a good brother."

Right…brother.

---

The two stayed in the bathroom for a while longer than they needed, spending most of the time hidden away in one of the stalls. They may have gotten to air out their worries, but they still had a lot of built-up stress to get out. At the very least, they needed the time to recollect themselves physically; neither of them was too eager to rejoin the public so obviously after crying.

Eventually, the trial was halted for a brief recess. Alvin and Simon took the chance to reconvene with their brother and the Chipettes in the halls to find out what they missed.

Not a lot, as it turned out. JB's side brought out a similar lineup to last time and seemed to angle as much of their case as possible on Alvin's past acting up, but none of the four placed any blame on him themselves.

Alvin was still sick to his stomach over the whole mess. Simon noticed that the second he stepped out of that bathroom, his discomfort returned full-force. It must have been torture for him, having to put up with that for so long.

"Are you ok, Alvin?" Brittany asked the shuddering boy in sincerity.

Alvin shook at her and held his belly, but tried to downplay it. "I'll be fine…" he groaned unconvincingly.

Brittany raised her voice to be heard over the passers-by. "If you need to go home or something, Miss Miller's waiting in the car. We didn't want her to come in incase she got involved, but…well, she's there if you need her."

Alvin nodded and gave a dismissive thanks, but it was then that Simon noticed a figure moving away from their group with haste. Harry! His eyes flicked open. He was certainly running back to JB with something, and that couldn't be good. No one else seemed to notice, but Simon didn't bother to inform them; there was nothing they could do at that point anyway.

Brittany looked up at a clock on the wall. "Looks like we need to get back…" she noted and gave Alvin a concerned look. He was adamant in carrying on, so the group slowly made their way back to the court room.

---

While the trial went on, another debate raged within the middle chipmunk. As the inevitable drew closer, it became impossible to ignore: he was having some pretty strong feelings about Alvin lately, and they felt like more than just brotherly. It was something that he hadn't anticipated; this whole 'relationship' thing was just there as a coping strategy; heck, he was hesitant to consider it a relationship at all. It definitely followed relationship rules, but that was just how the situation worked out.

It would last until this whole mess was sorted out and not a moment longer – that was the plan. It was an extreme counterbalance to an extreme situation. Then why can't I just let this go?

He couldn't get the thoughts out of his head. Alvin was his brother; his twin – or triplet, even, if you wanted to get technical. He was off limits as far as actual romance goes. This whole thing over the last few weeks was just temporary…something to get them both through it, that's all. A special circumstance and nothing more. When did it start to become something real? When did I start to fall for him?

Simon rubbed at his brow and did his best to not peek over at the brother to his side. It didn't even matter anymore; one way or another, this problem would resolve itself. It was just hard to let go of what the two of them had built up over the last month now that he felt like there was more to it. The thing that really bothered him was that some part of him wanted Dave to lose – just to legitimize the two of them staying together – and that was despicable.

"So you believe Mr Seville is innocent?" Their attorney asked Mr Parrish; most of whose testimony Simon had spaced out for.

Mr Parrish folded his arms and nodded his head. "Absolutely." He'd spent most of the time talking about his family life and years of experience handling criminals. It was nothing that Dave was unfamiliar with anymore, but the little bits that the chipmunks picked up were enlightening.

Their lawyer thanked Mr Parrish and stepped down, leaving the Prosecutor to his rebuttal.

The slimy man twiddled his fingertips. "You've been the governor for several years now, correct?"

"That's right."

"So you're well familiar with all the rules and regulations you're required to follow?"

A subtle shift in his eyes showed Mr Parrish caught on to the line of questioning. "Yes, I am."

The prosecutor grinned and paused in front of the stand. "So tell us; how is it that these boys were allowed to meet with the defendant week after week without a guardian?"

Simon groaned dropped his head into his hands; it was another trap. "I let them in using my own judgement," Mr Parrish responded, hoping to avoid playing into the man's hands. "If you want to hold me accountable, you're more than welcome to press charges."

"There'll be no need," the Prosecutor turned confidently to the judge even though he kept his attention on Mr Parrish. "As I'm sure you're aware, there's no documented rule forbidding animals in prison."

Mr Parrish passed the boys an apologetic look. He genuinely tried to avoid that conclusion; he even tried to throw himself to the wolves, but they were ready for him.

The Prosecutor joined his hands behind his back and wandered back to his seat, dismissing the governor from his duty.

---

Dave's lawyer stood and called out their next witness. "We'd like to bring out Principal Victoria Milliken," he announced.

Right on cue, Miss Milliken took the stand, dressed as formally as expected – complete with pearl earrings and a smooth white coat.

"So, Miss Milliken, what's your relationship with Mr Seville and his boys?"

"Well," she held out her hand over her wrist like she was passing out the response. "I'm the Principal at Thomas Edison Elementary so I've spoken with Dave and his children from time to time. Mostly about Alvin." She chuckled; a welcome change from the accusatory glances everyone else seemed to have.

The lawyer nodded. "And what brings you to the court today?"

"Brittany and Jeanette – those two girls over there," she pointed them out, "came to me to ask about testifying on their friends' behalf. So that's what I'm here for."

"So you came just because they asked you to?"

"Oh, of course not! I think it goes without saying that Mr Seville is a father first and that those chipmunks are children to him, but if I have to sit up here and explain it, that's just what I'll have to do."

The Prosecutor raised from his seat. "Objection!" He cried.

Before the judge could speak, Miss Milliken piped up herself. "Oh, please, I spent years in business school and graduated with honours. I don't think you can pull any legal maneuvers to stop a professional from giving their professional opinion."

He raised a finger to carry on, but conceded the point. "Objection withdrawn."

Miss Milliken gave a smug smile and spun back to the lawyer.

It was actually quite a surprise that she could handle herself in a court setting so well. Evidently she'd crossed paths with enough knowledgeable people to pick up on some valuable tips and tricks. More than once she was able to put the Prosecutor in his place when he tried to interfere.

Even when the Prosecutor took over, she managed to avoid the traps.

"You removed them from the school for being a safety hazard, correct?" The Prosecutor directed.

"Actually, I kept them around as long as I could and no one heard a peep from any of them." She leant over the counter and brushed the air.

"You kept them around?"

"I wanted to keep an eye on them. You took their father away and forced them on to the streets…that's no place for children."

JB's lawyer moved back to his corner and retrieved a thick document, then flicked through it to some unknown page. It sort of gave the impression of someone losing their place in a play. "Let's see…" he quietly read to himself before turning back. "You were aware of their legal status following the last trial?"

"I probably had a note on my desk somewhere," she feigned indifference.

"And yet you waited until the school board forced you to remove them. You even claim you let them back in to speak with you after the fact. You recklessly endangered countless children for…how long was it? Two weeks? Three?"

Miss Milliken leant back and crossed her arms. "They're just children, for heaven's sake."

"No, Miss Milliken," the Prosecutor tapped at a page. "Even according to your school board, they're animals."

"The school board can go suck a lemon!" She dismissed with a casual wave. "I've been a principal for years; I think I've had enough experience to tell the difference between a wild animal and a child. Those three certainly stir up a lot of trouble, but boys will be boys."

The Prosecutor was growing frustrated. "How can any of us trust your judgement when you so clearly give preferential treatment to these students?"

Miss Milliken pressed a hand to her chest. "I would do the same for any one of my students if this happened to them."

With that, the Prosecutor backed down. The best he'd done was instill some doubt in the principal's testimony, but there was only so much weight one witness could give to their side.

---

The next – and final member of the Defence's lineup – took her seat in the witness' stand. Her name was read to the court as 'Miss Linda Stone' before Dave's lawyer begun the questions.

"Tell us about Dave," he started simply.

Miss Stone put a finger to her lips and seemed to choose her words carefully. "Dave is a wonderful man. He's kind and thoughtful, and I've never known him be the selfish type."

"So, in other words, he's not the type to make someone do something against their will?"

"He would never do a thing like that. I don't think he has it in him to be mean-spirited." She started to go off on a slight tangent. "I teach his boys in third grade, and I've never seen a more responsible parent."

The lawyer nodded confidently and took a look over the court to gauge the crowd reaction – they seemed to be taking note of the testimony, which was certainly a good sign. "Thank you, Miss Stone." He passed off the questioning to his opponent.

The Prosecutor walked forward and paused for a moment infront of the stand. "So Mr Seville would never be exploitative?"

"Of course not," Miss Stone defended.

"Then why do his 'boys' perform at all? Surely a series of live concerts on top of school work is a stressful situation; how is this considered 'responsible parenting?'"

"T-the boys love it!" She was momentarily caught off guard, but she recomposed herself seamlessly. "They love to perform; they come into class with stories about it. It's something that they enjoy."

"Mhmm," the man hummed. "Are you sure they enjoy the performance, or are they just conditioned that way? And if it's just for fun, why charge for it? That doesn't seem like something that comes from kindness."

Miss Stone seemed to freeze, not knowing how to respond.

JB's lawyer took advantage of the vulnerability and pressed on. "I'm told you're keeping two of the chipmunks in your home. That's a violation of your tenant's agreement, isn't it?"

Simon's eyes widened. Oh no…he thought. That wouldn't hold up against Dave, but just mentioning that dashed any chance he and Alvin had of staying with their teacher if this ended against them.

"Objection!" Their lawyer interrupted. "That has no relevance to this case." The Prosecutor held up his hands in resignation.

He didn't hold off for long. "You and Mr Seville were in a relationship, am I correct?"

"That's right."

The Prosecutor inched inwards and gave a horrible grin. "Then how can you speak objectively about him?"He waited a few seconds for a predicted non-answer, then backed down.

Dave's lawyer rose to his feet quickly to salvage the testimony. He took his opponent's spot in the centre of the court and redirected the question. "You broke up with Mr Seville, though, didn't you." She nodded in confirmation. "Can you tell us why?"

"We both agreed that it would be too complicated for his boys if we were together. He didn't want to make things difficult for them."

Their lawyer bowed his head. "Thank you," he concluded.

---

At that point, Simon thought it was over. That was everyone that was meant to testify, and they'd all spoken to each side. He rubbed his head, trying to figure out where they stood.

It didn't look good. They had a few solid character witnesses, but JB had managed to put their status into question with every one of his own. It even had Simon wondering about their situation himself; he knew Dave loved them, and he'd never in a million years think there was any kind of 'animal abuse' going on, but the case put forward was strong and raised a lot of points against the family.

At least they seemed to have shown that Dave isn't a bad person. It's just that that probably wouldn't be enough.

The Prosecutor rose from his seat. "Your honour, the prosecution would like to bring out a surprise witness," he turned and faced the boys for the reveal. "We'd like to summon Miss Beatrice Miller."

Alvin groaned and clutched his stomach under the whispers in the court. Several rows back, Jeanette and Eleanor shot each other shocked expressions.

Simon turned and held a hand on Alvin's back, not really paying attention to where they were. "Alvin, are you ok?" He barely spoke above a whisper. Even Theodore had turned to keep an eye on him.

Alvin nodded his head and let out a muffled squeak instead of saying yes. He rocked low in his chair to rhythm of Simon's comforting pat, but couldn't say a word.

It was hard for Simon to blame him. It was fairly obvious that Harry had passed on Miss Miller's name to JB; enough that Alvin would have to realize it himself, even if he didn't see Harry when Simon did. This could very well be the last nail in their coffin, and in Alvin's mind, he could assume full responsibility for it.

"Oh dear, is this where I sit?" Miss Miller droned as she was led to the booth. It looked like she barely knew where she was, but it wasn't anything special.

The Prosecutor thumbed his coat in complete confidence. "Miss Miller, could you explain you relationship with the defendant."

"With who?"

"…with Mr Seville."

"Oh, right!" Miss Miller gave a cheerfully ignorant smile. "Why, I used to babysit those boys of his. Still do, as a matter of fact."

"What is it you do now that would make that any different?"

"Well I have my own children to worry about, you know."

The Prosecutor grinned. "Do you now?"

"Well yes! Those are my girls, right over there," she flicked out an arm to gesture to the Chipettes.

Simon froze. No, no, no! Please don't drag them into this! It was obvious what he was trying to do. JB knew he'd pretty much won this case, but there was enough of a connection that he could line up the Chipettes to be next.

"I understand they're in a similar situation to these chipmunks. Tell us about them." Clearly a sign that he was going for the connection. Simon could barely stomach it.

"Oh of course! My girls got into the business with help from those boys, if I recall. Show business is a big part of their lives now. I used to be quite the star myself you know!" She fiddled with her hair.

"How big a part of their lives? Bigger than Mr Seville's chipmunks?"

"I don't know about that, but I make sure they get their proper schooling done before I let them out on their concerts. They do need discipline, you know."

Please, Miss Miller…stop! Simon buried his head in his hands.

"Discipline, you say." The man smiled. He didn't even need to push the parallel - it was abundantly clear already – and she was feeding him exactly what he needed. "That's very forward of you. You don't think that oversteps your boundaries?"

"What?" Miss Miller looked baffled. "Of course not!"

"You don't believe that it's abusive for a manager to-"

"Why, I'm not their manager!" Miss Miller interrupted.

The Prosecutor hid an overzealous laugh. "Then who is?"

Miss Miller raised a finger to scold the man. "Brittany's been their manager for years, and shame on you for your tone!"

What? Simon lifted himself back up and blinked disbelievingly. That couldn't have been what he just thought it was…and yet, the Prosecutor seemed thrown. He didn't even have a comeback.

The court was riddled with hushed chatter. That little revelation made all the difference; the Chipettes weren't chipmunks who performed for a human manager, they performed for themselves, and Miss Miller just took care of them. The parallel was already drawn…and that just disproved JB's whole argument.

"She takes care of their careers; I'm just there to do my motherly duties, as they say."

A wicked grin spread on Alvin's face. "…Gotcha."

Simon turned to him, still in shock. "Alvin?" He made a sudden recovery. He wasn't hunched or panic anymore; he was just smiling.

Alvin turned that smile to his brother. "And you called me a bad liar!"

Several rows back, the younger Chipettes caught the same grin on Brittany's face. She looked to them both and put it simply: "NOW we're even."

Miss Miller droned on at the flabbergasted lawyer, singing praise about the Chipettes; she pointed out how she took them in after child protection services got involved at the school, and how she could always trust them to be independent. It was a slew of evidence in their favour, but Simon couldn't get his head around how it happened at all. Alvin was a mess only seconds ago.

Did this mean he knew this would happen? Did he conspire with Brittany to put this whole trap together? It would have been safe to assume that Harry would react as he did if he thought what he heard was genuine, so perhaps it wasn't a particularly elaborate plan, but the act was outlandishly thorough. It was almost perfect; it was even JB's side that raised the question, so there'd be no doubt that the testimony was genuine, and obviously JB didn't have the time to do proper research beforehand because she was their 'surprise witness'.

It raised one question that deeply worried Simon, though: how much of this was just an act? As Alvin looked up at him with a victorious grin, he couldn't even see that quivering boy he'd been comforting not so long ago in the bathroom stalls.

Theodore peered over his brother to Simon, noticing that the mood had quickly changed and everyone was whispering about…something. "Simon, what's going on?" He asked.

Simon caught his breath and swallowed down his own bewilderment as best he could. "I-I think…I think we just won."

---

Simon was right.

Alvin's little deception had completely turned the tide of that trial. Simon could barely string a thought together when the judge declared Dave a free man. Who could have predicted that one of Alvin's over-thought schemes would actually work? No, more importantly, who could have predicted that Alvin and Brittany would ever team up for a scheme? It was crazy to ponder how everything came together. They put so much work into everything as a group, but it was their hidden plan that pulled it all together.

He figured they must have planned it for a while, maybe even way back when they were first putting their other plans together. There was only so much time that Alvin and Brittany were even on speaking terms…that had to be it. Still, the best he could do was hazard guesses as to the details.

More than anything, Simon wanted to confront Alvin about the depth of the whole scheme. But he realized that it wasn't important; it didn't matter how much was an act when the end result is the same. Dave got set free because of that trap, and Alvin's made a full recovery now that his guilt is gone. Anything else would just be overcomplicating things.

It was later that day that the boys were allowed to go home with Dave. By then it was night and fatigue had set in from the enormous affair. Their house was still stripped of all but the barest of essentials and all four of them had to make do with sleeping bags, but it was worth it just to be home as a family again.

---

The next morning, Alvin, Simon and Theodore spent at least their first waking hours ushering their old stuff back into their room. It was an incredible chore – especially the bed frames, which would have been impossible without Dave's help. Some clothes and furniture followed, but a lot of their belongings were still being processed from storage.

Even as empty as it was, their room was still a little safe-haven for the boys. The matters of the last month seemed distant and out of the way now that they were back in that little space they shared.

Alvin lit up as he plucked his skateboard from a mover's box. "My skateboard!" He cheered and pulled it into a hug. "I missed you!"

Simon rolled his eyes. "I'm sure the 'painted wood on wheels' missed you too."

"You're just jealous because there's none of your stuff in here," Alvin retorted. Simon was sitting on the base of his bed and wasn't actually looking, but it was kind of true.

Theodore shuffled through the box himself. "None of my stuff is in here either," he complained. "It's all Alvin's."

Alvin smirked. "Of course it is! They have to prioritize these-" a thought suddenly hit him. "Hey, how do they know what stuff is ours anyway?"

Simon half-raised a hand in answer. "They probably have it on file somewhere. And I guess Dave gives them a list of anything they forget."

"Hmm…" Alvin assembled a plan. "So that would explain where our big-screen TV went missing!"

"We didn't have a big-screen TV," Theodore pointed out.

"I know that, but they don't! Think about it: One little list and we can have indoor Jacuzzis, cotton candy machines…top of the line stereos!" Alvin's eyes shone with the possibilities. "Come on, we have a list to write!" He took off and urged his brothers from the room.

Theodore jumped to his feet to follow his red-blur of a brother, then stopped at the doorway to glance back at Simon.

Simon hadn't so much as tried to get off the bed. He gave a kind smile and excused his little sibling, "You go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute."

Theodore obeyed and charged around the corner, leaving Simon to himself for a moment.

Simon's smile slowly faded away. Theodore was happy again, and Alvin was completely fine. Any problems they had were behind them now.

He took off his glasses and let out a long over-due sigh.

Everything was back to normal...