Disclaimer: Alvin and the Chipmunks and all related characters and indicia are the property of Bagdasarian Productions, LLC.
Alvin was making his way home after a long afternoon on his paper route. He hoped he wouldn't be late for his cartoon program back home. Of course, it also depended on if he did his homework on time.
Wonder if Simon will help me, the red-clad Chipmunk thought.
As Alvin continued on his way, he noticed that the wind was picking up. It had been a relatively cold day, and it looked like the wind was going to decrease the feel of the temperature more. Alvin didn't mind it at first and he soldiered on despite the chill creeping through him until it seemed to pierce his fur and even his skin.
"It shouldn't be a problem for me," Alvin said confidently. "No wind gets the best of Alvin Seville."
...
Back home, Simon had helped Theodore finish his homework and was now engaged in reading Principles of Microbiology while his younger brother was getting a snack of grapes in the kitchen. Dave was at the recording studio, so Simon was in charge.
"Where is that big brother of ours?" questioned Simon. "He's usually home earlier after his paper route."
No sooner had Simon spoken then he heard a knock on the door. He and Theodore went to answer it and found Alvin waiting outside.
"Miss me?" he grinned.
"As if," replied Simon with an edge of sarcasm. Then seeing Alvin's wounded look, he grabbed his brother in a hug and said, "Relax, Alvin. I'm merely joking. Seriously, what is this you've got jammed up in your ear?"
Quick as a wink, Simon seemingly pulled a quarter from Alvin's left ear, which Alvin couldn't help but exclaim at with excitement. But then he groaned when Simon said, "Now let's have a look at that homework."
...
Alvin worked on his homework for the next thirty minutes with Simon's help. However, when the half-hour mark was past, Simon noticed his brother holding his head and groaning. At first, the blue-clad Chipmunk thought Alvin was just tired of doing homework, but a closer look told him something else. Alvin was sweating slightly and looking uncomfortable simply sitting there. He turned to Simon and coughed hard, saying, "Simon, I really don't feel good."
"You do appear a little out of sorts," admitted Simon. "Let me fetch the thermometer."
He did so, and Alvin sat in his chair with the thermometer under his tongue for a few seconds until the number came up: 99.4.
"Tsk, tsk," murmured Simon. "You're close to running a fever, Alvin. We'd better you in bed before you get any worse."
"Okay," mumbled Alvin.
With that, Simon went to find Theodore while Alvin changed into his pajamas. When Simon got to the living room, he found Theodore on the couch with a bowl of grapes. The youngest Chipmunk looked up and said, "Is Alvin all right, Simon?"
"I don't think so, Theodore. He looked like he was having a headache while I was helping him with homework. He almost had a temperature last I checked. I'm afraid our big brother may be ill."
Theodore gasped when he heard that and immediately went to hug Simon, forgetting about his snack for a moment. "Will he be all right?"
"Don't worry, Theodore. It's nothing life-threatening," Simon assured him. "But we have to let Dave know and soon. I'll call and see if he can come home early and you can keep an eye on him until Dave can take him to the doctor."
With that, Theodore went upstairs and helped Alvin get comfortable in his bed while Simon called Dave.
...
Fortunately, Dave was able to come home early and take Alvin to the doctor while Simon and Theodore stayed home. Theodore had just finished preparing a meatloaf dinner when Dave came through the front door with a very sleepy Alvin in his arms. Theodore was the first to come over to Dave to ask about Alvin, and Simon hopped from the couch to join him.
"How is he, Dave?" the youngest Chipmunk asked.
"He's fine, Theodore," replied Dave. "Alvin just caught the flu today on his way home. There's been a bug going around recently and Alvin's one of the unlucky individuals who ended up catching it."
"Will he get better soon?" asked Theodore in an innocent tone.
"He should," Dave assured him with a quick ruffle of Theodore's hair. "In the meantime, we just need to be careful around the house and help Alvin get well."
"We'll help Alvin get better as soon as possible, Dave," Simon said. "We owe it to him as his brothers."
Dave smiled at Simon's display of brotherly affection and then carried Alvin upstairs. He gave Alvin a hot bath, then when Alvin was in his pajamas, his brothers came in to see him. Simon gave Alvin his cough medicine and Theodore brought him some warm orange juice for his throat, and then Dave had the younger boys go downstairs for dinner.
"We'll bring you some food later if you need it, okay, kiddo?" he said to Alvin.
"Thanks, Dave," Alvin said with a slight cough.
"You rest up, Alvin," Dave soothed. "I'll be checking on you a little later."
He kissed his boy's forehead and then left the room to let Alvin get a little rest.