Chapter 21 – Who Says This Has To Be the End

Chip stands in front of the plexiglass case, where he discovered his hat and jacket. Something in his mind has him debating his next decision. Yes, joining the Rescue Rangers again, and beating Fat Cat was like reliving old times. However, he is no longer living in the old times.

His anxiety during the mission is proof that there are still some things he needs to sort out his life more before deciding to come back to his old job. Gradually, Chip slips the hat off his head. As he is about to reach it back onto the stand, he is startled by a voice behind him.

"Chip?" Gadget calls out. "What are you doing?"

Chip turns to see not just Gadget, but Dale, Monty, and Zipper as well. They each have a confused expression across their faces.

"Oh, I figure I will leave my hat and jacket here." Chip explains.

"Leave your hat and jacket?" Dale parrots. "You're not staying?"

"I do want to stay, but," Chip takes a deep breath, looking down at the hat still in his paws. "Just not right now. There's a lot for me to take in, and as I came to realize last night, that I'm not quite ready to be back in the game."

"What do you mean?" Dale pouts. "You and Clara were amazing against Fat Cat and his gang."

"Maybe," Chip shrugs. "But what you guys don't know is that I also had an anxiety attack when we got there." He starts to admit. "That moment when I froze could have affected the mission."

"But Chip," Dale begs. "You are better than that. I know you can improve with each mission."

"Thanks, Dale," the other chipmunk reaches over with his paw and places it on Dale's shoulder. "But it really isn't just that. I recently regained a lot of my memories, not all of them, but a lot. I also need the time to absorb this information and process it."

Chip pauses to see his family walking into the room. With a smile, he continues. "Besides, I also have two very important reasons why I can't come back right now." He says, nodding his nose in their direction.

Dale and the others turn to see Clara and the twins. Understandably, Chip meant that his children are more important than returning as a Rescue Ranger. The team gives a sad smile before turning back to him.

"I think I understand," Dale replies.

Chip also returns a sad smile and hugs Dale.

"You've done a great job, Dale, I'm proud of you." He praises. "What you and the others have done with the Rescue Rangers exceeds farther then what I could've imagined."

"You really think so," Hearing Chip's praises, brings such emotional warmth to Dale's heart. Unable to prevent them, tears start to roll down his cheeks as he squeezes tighter in the hug.

Chip pulls back to show that he, too, has tears threatening to escape his eyes. "You bet I am."

With a sniffle, Chip continues. "You know this shouldn't have to be a goodbye. I'm hoping we all get to visit each other often, and perhaps the odd time, we could join you guys in say smaller missions. Not to mention, I still haven't met your new recruits yet."

"Absolutely," Gadget, cheers.

"Too right, bucko," Monty adds, with Zipper giving a little cheer too.

Chip continues to smile at his friends as he nods approvingly. "That is great," he says with a sigh. Turning once again to face the display case, Chip adds. "In the meantime, both my hat and jacket will be safer here."

He puts the hat on the stand first before taking off the jacket and hanging it up. Chip notices the plaque and is slightly embarrassed as he pulls it out. He turns to show it to his friends with a blushing grin.

"Does this need to stay in there?" Chip asks, holding up the memorial plaque of him.

Dale chuckles as he reaches for the plaque. "I'll take care of that."

For the moment, Dale lays the plaque on the table. He will probably find a space for it in his room later.

Chip grabs his vest from the back of one of the chairs. As he puts it back on, he pauses with another deep breath. "I suppose we should be heading back home then."

"I'll go get the Ranger Wing prepped." Gadget states sadly, before heading out of the room.

"…And I'll go get some snacks ready for the trip." Monty adds before he and Zipper leaves towards the kitchen.

"Would you like me to help?" Clara offers.

"That's a bonzer idea, Luv; I'll welcome the company." Monty politely accepts.

Chip, Dale, and the twins are now the only ones left in the room. The twins rush up to give Dale a big hug around the waist.

"We'll miss you, Uncle Dale." The two of them chorus, holding the red-nose chipmunk as tight as they could.

Nearly falling over, Dale replies. "Awe, I'm going to miss you too. But like your daddy said, we will defiantly visit often."

Chip chuckles in amusement until an idea comes to him.

"Say, why don't the four of us go down the slide a few times before heading for home?" He suggests.

"Yeah!" The twins cheer.

"Come on, Uncle Dale!" Amber squeaks as she grabs Dale's hand and escorts him to the stairs.

Chip picks up Tucker and follows them.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Three and a half weeks later…

Tucker is sitting on the couch watching a cartoon on TV. In the background, there is the sound of a dog barking and chipmunks chattering. However, the little chipmunk is doing his best to ignore it. Beside him is the computer tablet, and its screen suddenly turns on. A text shows up saying, 'In Coming Call.'

Amber hops onto the couch and notices the tablet blinking. She turns to glare at her brother.

"You idiot," she growls at him. "Someone is trying to call us. Why aren't you answering it?"

"Because I didn't notice it until you pointed it out," Tucker growls back. "…And I'm not the idiot, you are!"

Choosing to ignore her brother, Amber rolls her eyes and reaches for the tablet and presses the 'answer' button.

Almost immediately, the screen changes to show Dale sitting on the U-shape couch with Gadget, Monty, and Zipper in the background.

"Hi Uncle Dale," Amber cheerfully waves.

"Hi-yeah kiddo, is your daddy there?" Dale responds with a wave.

Tucker, smartly mutes the TV and instantly sucks in a breath.

"DAD!" He screeches.

The sudden scream from Tucker causes Amber to shutter and glare at her brother.

Dale and the others can hear off-screen a dog's barking getting louder. Chip suddenly hops on the couch. He holds up his index finger to the tablet screen.

"Give me one second," he quickly says before hopping onto the coffee table.

The barking continues to increase in volume, and the sound of happy yips and slobbering licks as a dog enters the room.

"Ach, down boy… Good boy, Pablo" Chip praises the puppy. "Now, go find Boston."

In the background, from the other room, the Cockatoo overhears Chip and cries out, "NO! Don't find Boston!"

The twins giggle at what they see, leaving Dale and the others only to imagine what is going on. Monty and Gadget both sit down on either side of Dale, eager to find out what is happening.

"As you can see, it is real chaos here." Chip laughs as he returns, a bit drenched in slobber.

"You guys got a puppy now?" Gadget asks.

"Not exactly," Chip shrugs. "Yolanda, Holly's girlfriend, is out of town this week and asked if she would look after Pablo."

More barking is heard again, as well as crowing from Boston.

"Pablo found Boston." Amber giggles as her brother, chuckles.

"So where is Holly, since she's supposed to watch the puppy?" Monty asks.

"Oh, she's at work." Chip responds with a shrug. "She'll be home in roughly three hours, or so."

Something off-screen catches Chip's attention, and he smiles.

"Oh good, Jezebel's back. She always seems to have a way of handling the puppy." He says.

"Pablo, Boston!" Jezebel hisses. "That is quite enough out of both of you!"

Gradually, both dog and Cockatoo quiet down.

"Naptime, Pablo, lie down." The cat instructs to the puppy.

With a little whimper from the canine, the room is defiantly calmer.

Jezebel's tail is seen from behind the coffee table as she adds, "Keep it down, everyone, I'm going to have a nap too."

"Okay," the twins acknowledge the cat's instructions.

Clara finally walks up the plank to the couch with a half-eaten green grape in her hand. Almost unnoticed is the fact she is not wearing her black belt.

"Hey, honey, we are just talking with the gang on MyChat." Chip tells her as she sits down beside him.

"Hi Clara, how are you?" Gadget calls out with a wave.

"Oh, I'm doing alright." Clara smiles and waves back with her free hand. She glances over to Chip and asks, "Did you tell them yet?"

As she waits for his response, Clara takes another bit of her grape.

Chip blushes slightly and shakes his head, no. "Not yet."

"Tell us what?" Dale asks eagerly.

The twins hop-up towards the screen before Chip has a chance to explain. "We are going to have a baby brother or sister!" They both shout excitably.

At first, Dale and the others are surprised to hear the news. Their surprise turns to happiness for the family on the screen.

"Well, Chipper…" Monty coos in a subtle innuendo tone.

Chip turns an even darker shade of red all across his face. He tries to play it cool with a wide grin, though.

"When did you find out that you are pregnant?" Gadget asks.

"I guess we found out about…" Clara pauses to think, before concluding. "Two days ago…?"

"We would have told you sooner, but Yolanda called and, well, chaos as you noticed earlier." Chip chuckled.

"You can't imagine how happy we are for you two, congratulations." Gadget cheers.

"We were thinking of having the weekend off to come to visit you guys. Would that be okay?" Dale asks.

"That will work out great." Chip responds. "Yolanda will be back, and Pablo will be gone by then. Everything should be quiet again and perfect for visiting."

"Great, I can't wait," Dale says. His eyes suddenly show a tad of sadness. He doesn't want to stop talking to Chip, but they do need to get back to work soon.

Chip notices, and it has him feeling the same way. He swallows an emotional lump in his throat.

"Hey, Dale," he finally says.

"Yeah," the other chipmunk responds.

"Stay safe," Chip says, but then pauses for a moment before smirking. "…And try not to be so serious." He finishes in a joking manner.

Dale chuckles at the ironic comment. Tears threaten to show from his eyes as he replies. "I will."

"Guess we'll see you in about four days," Chip says.

"Until then," Monty adds with a wave 'goodbye.'

"Bye," Gadget chirps as she too waves at the screen.

Reluctantly, Chip reaches for the red button on the screen and presses it. The image of Dale, Gadget, Monty, and Zipper disappear, and a text shows in their place:

'Call Ended."

Note: Thank you for your interest in this story. Did you enjoy it? Please take the time to post a review of your thoughts on what I wrote. Stay creative, everyone!