Chapter 17 – Love's Missed Opportunity
"Am I seeing things?" Tammy questions. She starts rubbing her eyes then reopening them to see the same chipmunk still sitting at the table.
"You're not seeing things, Tammy, this really is Chip." Gadget confirms, quickly reaching for the broom.
"Too right, the lad here actually did survive that fire after all." Monterey chimed. He begins to pat Chip's back, almost causing the chipmunk to drop his cup of water from his paw.
"Of course, the bump he got on his head did cause him to forget pretty much everything. So, we are trying to jog his memories a bit by bringing him back here." The Aussie mouse explains.
"I don't believe it," Tammy starts in a dreamy state. "You're really here!"
"Uh, yeah, I am." Chip shrugs.
"Daddy," Tucker squeaks from his lap. "Can I have another cookie?"
Chip puts his cup down, reaches the plate of cookies, and hands his son one.
"Here you go, champ." He says to the young chipmunk.
Seeing the little chipmunk chomp happily on the cookie made Tammy realize something that she almost missed. Again, she shakes her head in disbelief.
"And you have a family now?" The squirrel cries out in shock with a subtle tone of disappointment.
Chip raises his brow at her before addressing his wife and offsprings. "Uh, yeah, this is Clara, and these are our kids; Amber and Tucker."
Clara waves at the squirrel is a shy manner, while the twins perk up and give a full-wave.
"Hello," The twins' chirp in unison.
Tammy instantly starts to gush at the young chipmunks and their cuteness. "Oooh, I can't believe how adorable you two are!"
She tweaks Tucker's nose, and giggles as he starts to blush. "…And you both look so much like your father, too."
Chip couldn't help to blush at that comment, either. So many people have commented on how the twins look like him.
"We were just showing Chip our new Training room when the twins got hungry." Gadget explains after sweeping up the bowl fragments. She then proceeds to put the strawberries into a new bowl with Zipper's help.
Tammy again looks up to Chip and frowns slightly. Chip nervously glanced back.
"You don't remember me, do you?" She finally asks.
"To be honest, you do look a bit familiar, but I'm still having a hard time remembering." Chip explains, as he subconsciously rubs the back of his head again.
One right after the other, the twins start to yawn.
"Oh-ho, looks like two little chipmunks are ready for a nap?" Tammy teased.
"No, we're not tired." Amber protested while rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"Ah, I disagree, young lady," Clara argues. She rubs her daughter's head, affectionately. "It's been a long trip for you two. A nap is a good idea."
A realization hit Chip as he sheepishly looks over to his former teammates. "Um, there wouldn't be a bed we could borrow for our kids, would there?" He asks.
"Sure," Dale stands up. "You can use my bed." He offers in a subtle gruff tone.
With that, Dale leads the family downstairs. They come to a door, and Dale opens it to a room with two beds.
Walking in, Chip feels he should know this space, but it's different somehow he can't quite place a finger on it. For a chipmunk sleeping in this room alone, why would he need two beds?
"This is my bed," Dale says, pointing to the semi-made one. "The other one we can fix up for you guys for later." He adds, telling Chip and Clara.
After covering the sleepy twins with a blanket, Chip turns around to look again at the other bed. The sponge mattress is rolled up to one side, while the frame has boxes and scrap paper piled on top.
A realization hit him. This room did have two beds, bunk beds to be precise. Chip continues to look around the room. Yes, it is different, but it used to be his room. He didn't stay in it alone, though. He had a roommate. Chip returns to the second bed before looking over to Dale. The other chipmunk temporary looks surprised, then guilty as he looks away, before returning to a more natural stance.
"This use to be our room. We since took apart the bunk beds, and I've been kind of using the second bed as temporary storage for boxes and papers of some of our cases." Dale explains.
Chip's turn to look away, he can't help to feel he's missed so much since the accident. With a half-smile, he returns his gaze to Dale.
"I understand," he tells him with a shrug.
After Chip and Clara walk past, Dale frowns over at the second bed. Slowly he closes the door so that the twins can sleep in private.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
As the next hour and a half went, the Rangers successfully showed Chip and Clara the rest of the headquarters without the interruption of the twins. They are finally finishing the tour by entering the last room.
"…And this is Gadget's workshop; this is where she comes up with her fabulous inventions." Monty announces.
"Awe, golly, they're nothing, really." The blonde mouse blushes.
"Mr. Dale, are you back yet?" Midge's voice echoes from the hangar upstairs.
"I should go check on what Midge wants, and to update her on the situation here." Dale shrugs. "…But, please, by all means, continue looking around." He adds before exiting.
Monterey leans over to Chip. "Go on, pally, have a good look at some of these old inventions. Do they ring any bells?"
Gradually, Chip walks ahead. He starts having a good look at some of the machines built. They are put together out of human trash and spare parts. Most classic vehicles and weapons are broken or stripped apart so much that any remainder of its original form is lost. He does stop at one craft, made with an old bleach bottle and broken wings attached to a framework. A once red balloon, now deflated and folded over the seats in the cockpit.
Though completely dismantled, Chip still has a sense of familiarity towards it.
"We used to ride in this, didn't we?" He finally asks.
"It was our first Ranger Plane." Gadget clarified. "I built it during our first mission as a team."
"We were after something that was stolen…a ruby, I think?" Chip questioned his recollection of said mission.
"Yeah, that's right, pal." Monty nods approvingly.
"Wow, Looking at all these marvels, I can see you really did go on a lot of adventures. I'm starting to feel I'm meeting you for the first time again." Clara chuckles with a hint of nervousness.
Sensing her insecurity, Chip walks up to Clara, takes her hands into his, and just his smile alone comforts her.
"To be honest, I feel like I'm meeting myself for the first time again too." He chuckles, easing her even more. "Are you still enjoying the tour, though?" Chip asks her.
"I am," Clara smiles back to him.
Seeing the loving couple suddenly has Gadget realizing something. Turning away, Gadget realizes the way Chip looks at Clara. The look is the same one Chip gave her that day before the fateful night. He smiled at her, just like he's smiling at Clara right now. Back then, she was too focused on her inventions that she couldn't imagine herself falling in love with anyone. How could she have been so nieve?
A tiny voice starts crying out from down the hall, which brings Gadget back to the present.
"Mommy… Daddy, where are you?"
"Oh, sounds like the twins are up from their nap." Clara deduces.
"Time seems to fly by so much faster when they're asleep." Chip jokes.
"I'll go get them. You can stay here and see if you remember more of these incredible machines." His wife suggests.
Clara gives Chip a peck on the cheek before heading out towards the hallway.
"Wait, I'll come with you." Tammy offers, and races to catch up to the chipmunk.
"Well, since the little tykes are now up, I'll go start preparing a dinner feast for tonight," Monterey suggests.
"You really don't need to go to so much trouble." Chip attempts to assure the mouse's actions are redundant.
"No trouble, Chip, this is a celebration. Come along, Zipper; I could use your help." Monterey jerks his chin off to the right while addressing the little greenfly.
Zipper nods, always eager to be of help. The little winged bug follows his large mouse friend out of the workshop, leaving Chip alone with Gadget.
The chipmunk notices the blond mouse from the corner of his eye. He gradually glances over to her as she turns her head slightly with blushing cheeks.
"Guess that means we are alone, huh?" Chip shrugs in a half-joke, and half observation.
Gadget blushes even more. "Yeah, I guess so." She nods in agreement. Again, she starts to remember; many times, Chip saying those words. Usually, just before he would attempt to tell her something, perhaps on how he felt about her?
Sensing his presence nearing, she almost is afraid to look up at him. Chip reaches for one of her small inventions on the table beside her. Gadget suddenly feels embarrassed, it is a project that is incomplete, and perhaps will never get completed since the Rescue Rangers are always busy.
"Some of the stuff in this room looks familiar." Chip starts. He points with his nose over to the side of the room. One object Chip points to once a red thermos modeled in a way that would hold passengers. It has a broken aerosol spray can that is still barely attached to it.
"That, for example, looks familiar."
Gadget smiles, "I'm impressed. That's used to be the Ranger boat." She frowns as it nearly was lost under at sea. "It was one of many failed inventions. We were lucky to find that much of it."
"Oh," Chip tries to remember why it failed, but nothing seems to recall in memory. He continues to gaze around the room until something else catches his eye. "What about that one?"
He points to a yellow bottle, similar to the shape of the Ranger Plane, only hit has broken blue wings.
"That was the Ranger rocket…it never even got off the ground." Gadget shrugs.
Chip scratched his head, probably that is why it isn't even registering in his mind. Something else catches his eye, and he points to a former skateboard with one missing wheel. A pink hairdryer that is cracked and falling to pieces; alongside it, a small battery block.
"Say, that sort of looks familiar." He says, pointing at it.
"The Ranger mobile?" Gadget again looks away, embarrassed with these broken vehicles. "Another failed invention. It literally fell apart during its first test run."
Realizing that Gadget is feeling heartbroken with her failed attempts, Chip walks up to her. He places the unfinished project back onto the table and reaches over to takes hold of her hands.
Without realizing it, Gadget's face grows even hotter.
"Listen, I may still have foggy memories, but I am starting to remember more about you just by looking at your creative engineering." Chip starts, "You may have invented a lot of stuff that failed, but through that failure, you learned from it, and created things that not only worked but helped us out in our missions, not to mention many lives too."
Hearing those words does make Gadget feel like Chip has never left. She looks up into his eyes. Those beautiful dark eyes that hold intense focus, and compassion. How could she not have seen him the way he saw her all those years ago? The feeling in her started to overwhelm her. She gradually leans in, not thinking of what she is doing.
Chip's affectionate smile slowly drifts into a frown. He realizes that Gadget is getting much closer to his face. Quickly, Chip jerks his hands away as he backs away a few steps. With cheeks blushing, Chip swallows a lump in his throat.
Gadget is utterly shocked at what she almost had done. She quickly covers her mouth, entirely embarrassed by her actions.
"I am so sorry," she apologizes shamefully before turning away from the chipmunk. "I can't believe what I almost did there."
Taking notice of Gadget's slumped posture made him realize that she is trying to hold back from crying. Another memory of his past starts to surface, memories that involve this blond mouse. Chip shakes his head; his actions back then were worse then what Gadget just did. Looking sympathetically back at her, he tries to think of something that could help her feel better.
"I-it's okay," Chip takes a deep breath before continuing. "I remember now that I used to try and get your attention a lot. The outcome was a bit more embarrassing then what just happened."
Gadget removes her hand from her mouth. "So, it is true you had feelings for me once?" She questions, not even turning to face Chip.
Chip nods his head, yes, before answering with words. "I did," he carefully admits. "…But I'm with Clara now. I don't have those same feelings for you anymore. I'm sorry."
Though Chip knows it isn't anyone's fault, he can't help but feel guilty about this situation.
"No need to apologize." Gadget sniffled before looking over her shoulder. "I'm the one that got lost in the moment. I just realized, after all this time, that you tried to tell me how you felt, but I was so oblivious about the whole thing, and now it's too late. That is something I just have to live with."
"Though my feelings have changed, I just hope this doesn't ruin our friendship," Chip asks worriedly.
"I'll be fine, Chip, and no, I don't want this to ruin our friendship either." Gadget wipes away a stray tear before extending her arms for a hug. She is relieved that Chip responds by wrapping his arms around her in a supporting manner.
They pulled apart just as the sound of little feet run towards the room. Chip turns to see his children moving with high speed right for him.
"Daddy!" They cry out in unison.
Chip kneels to pick them up and gives them a huge hug.
"Hey, you two, did you have a good nap?" He asks the twins.
"Yeah, it was okay." Tucker sighs, rubbing some remaining sleep from his eye.
"You guys want to see some super cool stuff?" Chip asks them.
"Sure!" Amber cheers and her brother nods, yes, with excitement.
"You see all these amazing machines…?" He starts.
The twins look around in awe. "Whoa," they both gasp in astonishment.
"They were all invented by Gadget here. She's a real genius…" Chip concludes with a proud smile. He turns around so that the kids can look at her too.
Gadget blushes from Chip's praises, she knows he is saying that to make her feel better, but still is not sure if she deserves the title of 'genius.'
Looking over by the entrance, Gadget sees Tammy walking back in with Clara. Knowing how happy Clara is watching her husband talking to their kids, made Gadget feel a bit jealous. On the other hand, though, she is indeed fortunate to have a chipmunk like Chip in her life.