Chip-ergarten

About This Story: The Chipmunks start Kindgarten and meet some mysterious new friends, the Chipettes. Some similarities may overlap with "The Squeakquel", only they are in Kindergarten. Warning: some chapters contain some harsher adult(-ish) themes, even though age-wise they are 5. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman, & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.

About This Chapter: Rated PG-13, since there is mention of injury, and some talk that implies child molesting

Pairings: Alvin/Brittany, Simon/Jeanette, Theodore/Eleanor

21. Daddy's New Girl

"Jeanette!" Dave was surprised to see the girl chipmunk walking into the living room with Alvin and Simon as they came home from school. At the time, he was carrying a tray from the kitchen with snacks and medications for the two little chipmunk patients in the living room. He set it down on the couch cushion next to the one where they were both sitting so he could welcome the kids coming home from school. Alvin and Simon ran to hug him after leaving their bags and backpacks by the stairs.

"Oh, Jeanette's here?" Eleanor looked over the arm of the couch with Theodore. She muted the TV while watching "SpongeBob" so she could give her sister more undivided attention.

"Dave! Eleanor! Theodore!" Jeanette waved at them as she came over to see them. "You guys look like you're feeling better. That's good."

Theodore smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, kinda."

Eleanor smiled through a sniffle. "I definitely feel better than we felt on Sunday, and even better than yesterday." She looked around. "Did Brittany come with you?"

Jeanette sadly shook her head, while she held onto her glasses to keep them from falling apart.

Dave came over to her and picked her up for a gentle hug. "I'm so glad you made it, Jeanette! It's so good to see you!"

"Dave, I've missed you!" Jeanette smiled as she leaned against his shoulder for the hug and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I've missed you, too." He affectionately smoothed her bangs away from where they still hung over her right eye. It was at that moment that he noticed her black eye, the fresh scab from the scratch, and the temporary tape job holding her glasses together. "Oh, Jeanette, Sweetheart, what happened?"

Jeanette burst into tears. "Oh, Dave! Yesterday afternoon, while Brittany and I were rehearsing in Ian's apartment, Ian put Brittany in the Punishment Cage, and he threw me across the room. I hit my head on the front door, which broke my glasses. But I opened the door and escaped before he could get to me to hurt me again. I told him that I quit working for him, and he threw all of my stuff out into the hallway of the apartment complex. He said that if I told anyone in authority about what he did, he would barbecue Brittany. I spent half an hour gathering up our stuff into plastic bags, then another half hour getting it down the stairs and out the door. I didn't know what I would do once I was on the street. It was scary, since it was getting dark by then, and I was also hungry and tired, and kinda dizzy from hitting my head, which throbbed for the rest of the night.

"But then I saw this mother cat with her five kittens in an alley. It was like they took pity on me. The mom was licking my face and her kittens were nuzzling me, telling me everything would be OK. She was like an angel! I told her what happened, and she asked three of her kittens to keep an eye on Ian's apartment window all night and make sure nothing happened to Brittany in the Punishment Cage. They also found a wagon for me so I could carry all my bags to school. She knew the way to get to the school, and she and the other two of her kittens stayed with me throughout the journey. It took me most of the night to get to the school, but Mama Cat showed me some bushes near the front steps where I could set down my bags for the night. And I could leave the wagon by the bicycle rack, where someone else could use it.

"She asked if I was hungry, and I knew where the school cafeteria was, so I showed her and her kittens the alley behind that, where I found some leftover chicken or fish in the dumpster for them, as a way of thanking them for their kindness. One of the kittens even found an unopened bag of mixed nuts for me, since he remembered that I said I was a vegetarian that doesn't eat anything with a face. I thanked the little guy, who even used his claws and teeth to help open the bag for me. He's only four months old, and his name is Reginald, but he was very helpful and sweet, like his Mama. The cats also showed me a broken sprinkler head on the school grounds, so we could all get a drink, and I could wash off a little. After that, I slept on my bags under the bushes, while Mama Cat kissed me goodnight and stayed with me until I fell asleep. Once I woke up, it was daylight, and some teachers were getting ready for class to start. The cats were gone, but I was so grateful that they showed up when I needed them.

"I soon saw Giorgio dropping off Brittany for the day. Once Giorgio left, I went up to Brittany and gave her a hug. I was glad Ian didn't barbecue her, and that she was OK. She was surprised but delighted to see me. She helped me carry the bags from under the bushes to the foyer atrium inside the school. We exchanged stories about what happened to us that night for a while. She didn't believe me about the cats - not that I expected her to, anyway - but she smiled and hugged me until I fell asleep again. She said she would wake me when it was time to go to class. Instead, she woke me when Simon and Alvin showed up. Sure, I was tired, scared, and in pain from last night's experience for most of the day, but it has gotten so much better since the boys told me they would take me home and help me carry my stuff. And now I see you, Dave, and I can see that Ellie and Theo are feeling better, so my life is good once again!"

Dave blinked upon hearing her story, but he smiled at her and affectionately stroked the back of her head and neck. "Wow, Jeanette, that story is...a lot to take in. I've heard - and sometimes even seen firsthand - that God works in mysterious ways. If anything, you're giving me some great song-writing material. But I'm just glad that you're OK, Jeanette." He gently cradled her into another warm hug. "And I'm thrilled that you came back to live with us!"

Simon tugged on Dave's pant leg to get his father's attention. "Dave, I told her earlier that I could fix her glasses in five or ten minutes once we got home and I got to my tools."

Dave looked into Jeanette's eyes for a moment. "Is that OK with you, yet? I can carry you wherever you want to go, so you don't have to worry about tripping over anything you can't see."

"OK, Dave." Jeanette smiled as she handed him her glasses.

"Thank you for volunteering to help her fix her glasses, Simon." Dave knelt and handed off Jeanette's glasses to his responsible son.

"Yes, thank you, Simon! I appreciate it!" Jeanette beamed as she saw the blue blur of Simon disappearing from view as he went down to the basement.

"Anytime, Jeanette!" Said the blue blur. Even though Jeanette couldn't see his face without her glasses, she knew he was smiling.

Dave stood fully upright and looked at Jeanette again. "While he's fixing your glasses, Jeanette, I can take you upstairs to my bathroom and clean and bandage the scratch near your eye. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great, Dave." Jeanette smiled as she squinted at him. "You might need to bandage my tail, too."

"Your tail?" Dave hadn't noticed that yet. But he took a quick glance behind the girl he held in his arms. "Oh...I see... What happened to your tail?"

Jeanette shrugged. "Ian tore off a clump of fur from my tail right before he threw Brittany in the Punishment Cage, and me against the apartment door."

Alvin cut in, "One thing that Jeanette didn't mention yet that most impressed me was that she actually bit Uncle Ian before he threw her! Did you know that?"

"Whaaaat?...!" Eleanor and Theodore stared at her in shock.

Dave started chuckling with wide eyes. "Really? Biting anyone seems so unlike you, Jeanette."

Jeanette looked down as if she wasn't near as proud of it as Alvin was. "I only did it because of what Ian was doing to Brittany. She's my sister, and I wanted to protect her."

"Did you actually draw blood?" Eleanor eagerly asked.

Jeanette couldn't see, but she made a disgusted face in the direction she heard Eleanor's voice. "I think so, and it was one of the worst tastes that had been in my mouth in a long time - at least since I gave up meat."

"Wow..." Eleanor marveled.

"Respect!" Theodore giggled with a slight sniffle.

Dave looked into her light violet blue eyes again and asked with his fatherly concern, "But what was Ian doing to Brittany that was so bad that you felt like you needed to bite him?"

"Well...umm..." Jeanette motioned with a slight nod of her head towards where she knew the other kids were, then she glanced downward.

"Huh?...Oh...oh, I see." Dave said quietly as he started to understand the nature of the situation. "Yeah, I'd probably wanna bite Ian in that situation, too. Would you feel more comfortable telling me more about that once it's just the two of us? Maybe after I bandage your eye and your tail?"

Jeanette breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, thanks, Dave! I would like that."

Dave knelt down in front of Alvin. "Hey, Alvin, would you like to be my special helper again?"

Alvin raised an eyebrow. "For real, Dave?"

Dave smiled. "Yes, please, Alvin. Would you please make sure that your little brother and your little sister take their medicine before they finish their snacks? I already measured out their medicine in those little tiny cups on the tray. I just need someone to make sure they take their medicine and take care of them while I go upstairs to take care of Jeanette. Will you please do that, Alvin?"

"Okey dokey, Dave!" Alvin winked at his father while he nodded enthusiastically. He skipped over to the couch to give the little chipmunks their medicine on the tray, while Dave stood and started ascending the stairs with Jeanette securely in his arms.

Once Alvin found the tray with the tiny medicine cups on it, he made sure to give one of each to his little siblings. "Here's Teddy-Boy's medicine...and...here's Ellie-Girl's medicine."

"Thanks, Alvin!" They smiled at him as they accepted the offered medicine cups.

"What kinda medicine is this, anyway?" Alvin asked them.

Theodore shot a questioning look at Eleanor, who answered him, "This pink milky stuff is our 'Annie-Body-Ick', but it's not really as icky as it sounds."

"Yeah, it kinda tastes like strawberries!" Theodore giggled.

Eleanor pointed to the cup full of the clearer liquid. "And this is our cough syrup."

"Like the kinda syrup you pour on pancakes, but we just drink this by itself." Theodore added.

After they both downed the first two tiny cups, Eleanor pointed to the third and final cup. "And this last one is our 'Kids Motor-Inn', which helps with our fever and sore throats."

"It tastes alright." Theodore shrugged as he lightly clinked his cup with Eleanor's as if they were toasting, before they gulped down this one. "Dave says the doctor wants us to take these with food."

"Oh yeah, sure!" Alvin picked up the plate of crackers, grapes, and popcorn and held it out to them. "Can I have some of the snacks without getting sick?"

"Sure!" They both motioned to the plate as Alvin helped himself to a few things near his end of the plate.

Theodore explained, "Dave says we're getting better. And I like to share snacks and other things, just not germs."

"So what all did you guys do today?" Alvin asked once he swallowed the food in his mouth.

Eleanor's mouth was empty at that time, so she said, "Well, we've mostly been in the living room in our jammies all day. Dave read a few books to us. Then he let us watch TV and some movies while we took naps on the couch, and he worked in his office. We watched 'Peter Pan', and 'Beauty And The Beast', and then we took a nap."

"That's when I thought of a good nickname for you." Theodore added. "Ellie-Belle. Kinda like Tinkerbell, since you liked her green dress, and you said you liked Belle, too, since she just needed purple glasses to look like Jeanette."

Eleanor giggled. "Oh yeah, and we fell asleep on the couch, and at one point we woke up, and I was surprised that I could fall asleep without my teddy bear, which we realized we left on Dave's bed. But Theo was warm and cuddly, so I forgot that I didn't have my teddy bear. I said I should start calling him My Teddy Bear, since you sometimes call him 'Teddy-Boy' or 'Ted'. But he says it's weird when other people besides you call him 'Teddy-Boy', so somehow I thought of shortening 'Teddy-Bear' to 'T-Bear'."

Theodore giggled. "I liked that so much, and we knew that was a winner." He patted Eleanor's arm and smiled at her, before he looked back at Alvin. "But you can still call us 'Teddy-Boy' and 'Ellie-Girl', while we'll keep 'T-Bear' and 'Ellie-Belle' as the nicknames we call each other."

Alvin giggled. "That's too cute! I like those nicknames for you guys. Kinda like how I call Brittany 'My Princess', and she calls me 'My Hero', from our playing castle on the slides as I rescue her everyday at recess. But we're the only ones who can call each other that." He started looking sad as he thought of his best friend Brittany. "Oh, Brittany... I'm sorry that me and Simon couldn't talk her into coming home with us. She said she would go to Ian tonight to rehearse for your halftime show as a solo gig. She says Ian won't hurt her, since she's his 'superstar', but I still don't trust Ian. Hmm...I'd like to go there myself and take a bite out of him!"

"That reminds me..." Eleanor began, "What did Ian do to Brittany that made Jeanette want to bite Ian? Did she tell you?"

Alvin shrugged. "Brittany kinda told us, but when we asked Jeanette she didn't want to talk about it."

Eleanor's eyes got wide. "Oh, did Ian get too 'hands-y' with her or something?"

Theodore gasped. "You mean he touched her, you know...there?"

Alvin winced. "Something of that nature, I think. Brittany said Ian was even kinda rough with her. I sure hope he doesn't hurt her tonight." He suddenly had an idea. "Maybe we should get Dave to drive us by Ian's house this evening to kinda...check on her. You know, make sure Ian doesn't barbecue her. We have Eleanor and Jeanette, so I'm sure they can tell us how to get there."

Eleanor shrugged, "Well, Jeanette would know better than me, since I'm too short to see much out the window during the bus trips. All I could show you is how to get to the apartment once we're inside the building. But I don't know how to get in the building without a key, unless the doorman at the front desk can let us in. And I don't actually want to see Ian, or Giorgio, but I would love to see Brittany."

"I'm just curious to know where Ian lives, in case we need to help save Brittany. I don't want to see Ian or Giorgio either. Could we maybe drop off a basket of muffins for them, with little notes written to Brittany wishing her good luck for her solo gig?" Theodore brainstormed.

"Yeah, something that Brittany will know is from us, but that Ian and Giorgio won't know is from us." Eleanor smiled.

Alvin gave them two thumbs-up. "I like this plan so far. Imagine how awesome it'll be once we talk about it with Simon, Jeanette, and Dave!"

As Dave took Jeanette up to his bathroom, he had to keep her posted on just about every twist and turn he took between the living room and there, in order to keep her calm.

"And here we are in my bathroom." He announced. "I'm going to let you sit here while I get out the first aid kit. It's in the same spot where you sat to watch me shave the other day."

"Thanks, Dave." She sighed. "And I won't move from this spot until you tell me otherwise. Not that I can see well enough to go anywhere right now."

"I understand." Dave nodded as he picked up the first aid kit from one of the drawers. "I used to wear glasses and contact lenses as a kid and as a teenager, and I couldn't see much without them until I had laser surgery in my mid-twenties. I'm sure glad I had that done years before I met the boys, otherwise I'd have to replace my glasses or my contacts just about every month."

Jeanette giggled as Dave held a washcloth dampened with cold water to her right temple. "Wow, you wore glasses as a kid?"

Dave chuckled. "Yep, sure did. In some of my kid pictures, I even look like Simon so much that I start to forget that my boys are adopted." The two of them shared a brief laugh before Dave was hit by a more serious wave of his fatherly concern. "So, I'm just wondering about this, Jeanette, but what all did the teachers do today when they found out what happened to your eye and your tail? Or even about your and Brittany's living situation with Ian?"

"Well..." Jeanette thought for a moment. "I didn't actually...tell them about our living situation with Ian."

"What? Why not? And what did you tell them when they asked about your eye and your tail?" Dave gently stroked his fingers across her left ear.

Jeanette looked like she wanted to start crying again. "I felt bad about not being completely honest with them, when as teachers, they just wanted to help. But Brittany told me that she would go back to Ian tonight, and so that Ian doesn't barbecue her, I had to keep the secret for her sake. I just told the teachers that I accidentally fell down the stairs at home, and that I was reading while walking, without paying attention, and I got my tail stuck in the elevator door. To think that last week, I was asking Simon to lie for us, while this week Brittany asked me to lie for her about the same thing. I feel so guilty! This must be how Simon felt last week." She looked up at Dave. "But I'm so glad you already know about all of this, Dave. It feels so good to finally get this heavy weight off of me that has dragged me down all day. It's such a relief to be able to live with you instead of Ian, Dave."

Dave was quiet for a moment as he took in this information, but Jeanette couldn't see his facial expression. She didn't know what the silence meant. "Uh, you did say that we could live with you, didn't you, Dave?"

Dave patted her back. "Oh, yes, I did, Jeanette. I mean, if it were up to me, I'd be perfectly happy having you and both of your sisters live here with us. I only hope that our family lawyer is good enough to fight our legal battles so that I can get custody of you girls from Ian. I'm a little worried that if Ian finds out you girls have been coming here, and if he gets hold of a good lawyer first, that he'll be able to charge me with kidnapping." He gently rubbed her back, "On another subject, I may need you to either lean very far forward or turn you to the side so that I can disinfect and bandage your tail. I just want to warn you so that I don't scare you."

"Oh sure!" She swiveled to her left side, with a little of Dave's guidance, so that Dave could still monitor the scratch next to her black eye. "Any luck with the lawyer situation today? Or were you busy caring for Theo and Ellie?" She slightly winced as the disinfectant stung the wound on her tail.

"Sorry, Jeanette." Dave soothed her. "I actually did get to talk to our family lawyer and tell him a little about what is going on. We had a fifteen-minute phone conversation, and he is actually working on a case out of town this week, but said that he would be able to look more into our situation once he gets back in town by the end of the week. It may be that nothing really happens for us until after our big performance in two weeks. But that may be OK, since Ian is at least bound to find out by then where you girls have really been staying. I will just keep hoping and praying for the best until then." He sighed as he finished securing a bandage around Jeanette's tail. "There you go, Jeanette!"

"Thanks, Dave!" She glanced back at her tail, testing how well it moved in the bandage. She smiled and stretched out her arms in Dave's direction. As Dave picked her up to hug her again, she gave him an encouraging smile. "Well, Dave, I trust you enough to know you can do this. I mean, before this past weekend, I was afraid of water, but you not only taught me how to swim, but how to have fun and enjoy the water." She leaned in to hug him around his neck. "Mmm...I believe in you, Dave...Daddy! Oh, how wonderful it feels to be able to say that to someone! Especially someone like you!"

Dave cradled her and pecked a little kiss on her left cheek. "I love you, Jeanette. And I'm so happy to welcome you into my family. You are such a sweet, intelligent girl. Right now I'm actually feeling sorry for Ian for not seeing that in you. He really doesn't know what he's missing and what kind of treasure he's giving up - with all three of you girls, of course. Come to think of it, even if you guys and girls didn't sing, my life would still be so much richer just by having all of you in my life and in my family."

Jeanette sighed happily. "To think, I've been a big sister for so much of my life, but until this past weekend I've never really been anyone's daughter. Is this what it feels like?"

Dave returned her smile. "And until this past weekend, I've never known the feeling of having a daughter in my life. Now I feel that I have three."

"I know, I miss Brittany, too. And I worry about her." Jeanette looked saddened.

Dave remembered something. "Oh yeah, did you still want to tell me about what happened last night? Or more about what Ian was doing to Brittany before you bit him? We could sit on my bed, if you'd feel more comfortable there."

Jeanette sighed as she nodded. "Yes, that would be nice. But it would still be kinda weird not being able to see you as I talk with you."

"Well, I wonder if Simon has finished fixing your glasses by now." Dave cheered her up. "And why don't I also get dinner ready, since you haven't had a decent meal since..."

"Lunch, yesterday, since you packed one for me." Jeanette added.

"Right." Dave nodded as he carried her out of his bathroom. "And you also probably haven't had a nice warm bath and a good night's rest since Sunday night. We can get those going for you after our family dinner."

A/N: I was asked back in Chapter 19 how Jeanette managed to carry all those bags from Ian's apartment to the school, so I came up with the help from the alley cats. In the Nickelodeon cartoon episode "Good Luck, Mister Whiskers", Jeanette even says "Oh, I've been a cat whisperer for, like, years." If Eleanor's description of the medicine still isn't clear, the "Annie-Body-Ick" (antibiotic) is one of those amoxicillin suspensions, where water is mixed with a powder before it is picked up (at the pharmacy), and it also comes in a strawberry or bubblegum flavor. The cough syrup was Bromfed DM (Brompheniramine, Pseudoephedrine, and Dextromethorphan), and the last one was Children's Motrin (Ibuprofen). Dave is shown with glasses in some of his childhood photos in the cartoon episode "Let's Make A Deal".