Everyone's reviews have really kept me motivated to keep writing. (especially Atomos, Fairie-kittie, and RavenChild!) Thank you all so much for the compliments!

I have had so much fun writing this…and I can't tell you how much it means that people are enjoying it. Thanks!

Pyxelle

Chapter 15

"Do you think Dave's home yet?"

Simon shook his head. "He's not due home until tomorrow, so if we're lucky, he'll never even know we were gone."

"That's good, I suppose." Theodore said without much life in his voice. "At least we won't get in trouble."

Simon opened the door to their house and wished that he could do something to cheer Theodore up. They had just dropped off the Chippettes, and even Eleanor hadn't been able to raise Theodore's spirits, so Simon doubted he would have much more luck. "Let's just get unpacked and get you into bed."

"Okay, I guess." Theodore said. "Would you mind helping me into bed before you unpack? I think I want to go to sleep."

"Sure, I'll meet you in there. Just let me grab the bags from the car."

"Okay." Theodore said as he wheeled himself to their downstairs bedroom. Simon ran out to the van and quickly finished unloading it. When he came back in, Theodore was still sitting in the doorway to their room, his bulky chair blocking Simon's way in.

"Theodore? I kind of need you to move if I'm going to be able to get this stuff put away."

"Simon, you'd better look at this."

Simon dropped his things to the floor and peered over Theodore's shoulder. "What on earth?"

Their bedroom had been completely rearranged. Theodore's adaptive bed was still in its usual place, but nearly everything else had been moved to a new location. Simon's bed had been pushed closer to Theodore's and was now wedged up against the wall. Three dressers lined one side of the room, when there had only been two when Simon and Theodore had left. But most confusing of all was the wall that until today had been virtually empty. A single bed rested in front of it, covered in a red and white-checkered comforter, and posters of a few famous rock bands were taped to the wall above it. Two red caps hung from hooks on the wall, and a guitar case leaned against the bed.

"I hope you guys don't mind that I moved my stuff downstairs by you. The upstairs bedroom looked really lonely with just my things in it."

Simon spun around, not believing his ears. "Alvin?"

Alvin stood there, hands in his pockets, still wearing the ripped blue jeans and black turtleneck but also sporting his signature red cap. He smiled a little. "It is all right, isn't it?"

Simon's answer to that was to pull him into his arms and crush him into a hug – and this time Alvin returned the embrace just as tightly. Alvin was home! Finally Simon released him. "Whoa, Alvin." He said, a smile threatening to split his face in two. "Enough with the lethal hugging, okay?"

Alvin laughed a little, the relief apparent in his voice. "Sure, Simon. No problem."

"Hey, guys? Guys?" Theodore's voice called excitedly. "I'm kinda stuck here in the doorway, if you haven't noticed. And lethal or not, I want a hug too!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Theodore!" Both Simon and Alvin backed away from the door, allowing Theodore to spin his chair around to face his brothers.

Theodore and Alvin just looked at each other for a moment. "Well?" Theodore finally said. "What about me?"

Alvin wasted no time bending over and holding his baby brother close. It wasn't as exuberant as the hug he had given Simon, but it was even more tender. "I've missed you, Theodore." Alvin whispered, and Simon could see Alvin trying to hold back tears. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too." Theodore's own tears were streaming down his face. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Alvin pulled away a little, smiling through the tears. "Nah. You should know that a bad penny will always turn up again."

Theodore laughed softly. "I guess it will, huh."

Alvin knelt next to Theodore's chair. "I have to tell you, Theodore. I am so sorry. So, so, sorry."

"Oh, Alvin. It wasn't your fault." Theodore looked at Alvin sadly. "You were the only one punishing yourself."

"If I hadn't left you there, if I hadn't been so selfish-"

"It wasn't your fault." Theodore said, more firmly this time. "It was an accident. The only thing I've ever blamed you for was for leaving me after the accident. I really needed you then."

"I just thought…"Alvin's voice cracked. "I just thought that you'd never be able to forgive me. And I didn't want to hurt you ever again."

"Of course I forgive you, Alvin." Theodore reached down to where his brother knelt and took his hand. "I'm just so glad to have my brother back. Life hasn't been the same without you."

Simon frowned suddenly. "Not that we're not glad to have you home – believe me, we are – but Theodore brings up an interesting question. How did you get here so fast? We left first thing in the morning, and we had a chartered flight…how on earth did you beat us home?"

Alvin stood. "Ever hear of the Concord?"

Simon slapped his head. "Of course!"

"The Concord?" Theodore asked. "What's that?"

"Only the fastest commercial plane ever made." Simon told him.

"Yeah, it was so cool. You actually break the sound barrier, and since I was flying to the U.S., I actually got here before I left London." There was awe in Alvin's voice. "It was amazing. Kind of like…time travel."

"Well, you certainly got a lot done when you got here. It couldn't have been easy moving all this stuff by yourself." Simon said.

"Uh, well…"Alvin suddenly looked guilty. "I kind of had some help."

"Help?" That look on Alvin's face always made Simon wary. "Whose help?"

"She's just going to be staying a little while, and I'm sure Dave won't mind…we have an extra room upstairs now, and without her help, I'd never have gotten home…"

"Alvin!"

"Okay, okay." He called out to the kitchen. "You can come out now. I'd like you to meet my brothers."

A young Chipmunk girl about their age entered the living room. Simon blinked at the blue hair and very revealing mesh shirt, but tried his best to put on a welcoming smile. "Uh, hi."

"Simon, Theodore, this is Isabelle." Alvin went over to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her reluctantly over to his brothers. "She's a friend from England, and well, she kind of needs a place to stay for a while."

"Hello," The Chipmunk girl said shyly, the expression strange on her face. "I've been a big fan of yours for years."

"Thanks, I guess." Simon said, puzzled. He looked at Alvin. "No offense to Isabelle, but why did she need to come here again?"

Alvin looked uncomfortable, and instead of feeling irritation with his brother like he usually would, Simon felt almost comforted. This was the way things were meant to be. "Well, we kinda needed a ride to the airport after we missed you at the hotel, but we didn't have a car, so Belle sorta, well, hot-wired this convertible that was outside the Palace Hotel–"

"She what?"

"It was for a good cause, Simon! We were trying to catch you before your plane took off. Which didn't work anyways, 'cause we got there just as you were leaving. So here we were, stuck at the airport with a stolen car, no money, and no way to get home. Belle and I had enough to get tickets to France, but do you realize how expensive the Concord tickets are? Yikes!"

"So just how exactly did you get the money for the tickets?"

Isabelle and Alvin shared a guilty look. "Well, Belle kinda knew this guy who didn't live too far from the airport and who doesn't look too deeply into where the stuff he buys is from, so we thought hey, we'll sell the car and use the money to buy tickets-"

"Sell the car? Alvin, that's going from joy-riding to thievery!"

"I took down the license plate number, Simon." Alvin defended himself. "I was planning sending back enough money to cover the full cost of the car." He hesitated. "But…"

"Your 'buts' are never good, Alvin." Theodore said.

"I know." Alvin sighed. "Well, while we were waiting for the flight I used one of those Internet terminals to look up the car's owner, right? So that as soon as I could get the people at the bank to believe who I was, I could send them the money. Well, you are not going to believe who's car it was we'd stolen."

"You really won't." Isabelle agreed.

Simon sighed. "Whose car was it, Alvin?"

Alvin looked at him sheepishly. "Prince William Arthur Philip Louis's car – his eighteenth birthday present."

Simon looked at him in disbelief. "Are you telling me that you stole the Crown Prince of England's car?!"

Alvin laughed nervously. "Um, yeah."

"With my help." Isabelle offered, scooting a little behind Alvin. They both looked at Simon as if expecting some sort of retribution.

Simon looked at Alvin. He looked at Isabelle. He looked at Theodore. Theodore looked back at him, eyes inscrutable.

And then Simon and Theodore began to laugh. They laughed harder than they ever had in their whole lives.

"You…you stole…the prince's car?" Theodore gasped for air. "Oh, Alvin, how on earth are you going to get out of this one?"

"And you!" Simon pointed at Isabelle, holding his stomach. "I don't know you, but if there ever was a female version of Alvin running around, you have got to be it. I can't believe…this is just…"And he was off into gales of laughter again.

"Hey!" Alvin said in indignation. "This isn't funny! Belle and I still haven't figured out how we're going to fix this!"

"It'll work out." Simon said, finally catching his breath. "That's the magic you have, Alvin. Somehow, it always works out."

"I wonder what the Queen of England is going to say about that." Alvin grumbled. "She's the one who gave it to him."

That only set Theodore and Simon off again. Alvin looked at them in disgust. "You guys are so supportive."

"Oh, Alvin," Theodore said, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. "You know we'll always be here for you."

Alvin couldn't help smiling.

How true that was.

OoooOoooO

"Brittany?"

Brittany swiped her hand out at Jeannette from under her covers. "Go away, Jeannette. I'm still sleeping."

"Uh, Brittany, its after seven." Jeannette said. "That's seven p.m. You've been asleep for almost fifteen hours."

"Well, then, a few more won't really hurt, will it?" Brittany snuggled deeper into her pillow.

"But, Brittany, there's a delivery for you." Jeannette paused. "Actually, a couple of deliveries."

Delivery? Brittany's eyes popped open. "For me?"

"Yes." Eleanor said from the doorway. In her arms she held an enormous bouquet of long-stemmed red roses. "Flowers, for you."

"Oh!" Brittany leapt out of bed and grabbed the vase as Jeannette left the room. "They're beautiful!" There must have been two dozen of the lovely blooms inside the crystal vase. She placed them on her dresser carefully. "Do you think they're from Gavin?"

"I don't know. None of the others have cards, either." Jeannette called from the hallway.

Brittany frowned. "Others?"

Her older sister came in, carrying another bouquet, this one of white roses with deep red blushes in the heart of them. "Okay, guys, you can bring the rest of them up here!" She called down the stairs.

Brittany took the new bouquet and put it next to the first one. "The rest?"

She couldn't help but have her mouth drop open as four deliverymen came tromping into her room, each carrying baskets of flowers. There were roses of every color imaginable, multiple pale shades of delicate orchids, brightly cheerful daffodils, and even an arrangement of fragile white lilies that had been lightly dusted with shimmer. When the men left, she could do nothing but stand in the middle of the room, dumbfounded.

"Not one of these has a card?" Not one inch of the room was devoid of flowers. Brittany felt as if she had walked into a fairyland, the illusion heightened by the lovely scent of all the blooms around her.

"Not according to the delivery man." Eleanor told her. "They were all just addressed to Brittany Miller – oh, and I'm supposed to give you this." She handed her a heavy white envelope. Her name was embossed on it in gold lettering. "It was the only thing other than the flowers they were told to deliver."

Brittany ripped it open. It was written in the same style as her name on the front, gold calligraphy, so she couldn't tell anything from the handwriting. It read:

To the loveliest girl the world has ever known:

I hope you enjoy the flowers. They cannot compare to your beauty, but I hope that they can bring you some small joy. I would like to request your presence at dinner tonight. It will require formal attire, if you would be so kind as to allow me the honor of your presence. I will be there at 8:00 sharp to pick you up.

You hold my heart in your hands,

An admirer.

Eight o'clock? That gave her less than an hour to get ready! "Jeannette, Eleanor, I need your help. Whoever sent the flowers – and I'm still betting its Gavin – is going to be here in just an hour! I need to get ready!"

The three Chippettes flurried to get Brittany ready in time for her mystery date. The formal attire bit was a bit tricky, but Brittany had already bought her prom dress –hey, it might be a year away but you can never be too prepared - and figured hey, she could always buy another one. When they had finished, it was exactly 7:51, and Brittany looked at herself critically in the mirror.

"You look beautiful, Brittany." Eleanor said in awe.

Brittany did. The dress was made of a white satin, which clung to her breasts and waist and then flowed down elegantly to the floor. An iridescent sheer fabric that overlaid the satin made Brittany almost seem to glow, and she had done her hair up so that a cascade of perfect curls fell prettily over one shoulder. She had dusted her bare shoulders with a pale shimmering powder, and her makeup was perfect – soft blue eye shadow and rosy lips brought out her best features.

"Something's still missing." Brittany said, frustrated. "I don't know what, but there's just…"

"I know!" Jeannette ran to one of Brittany's flower vases and plucked one of the white lilies from it.

"Hey! Those are my flowers!" Brittany said.

"Oh, quiet, Brittany, just wait." Jeannette grabbed her sister's shoulders and made Brittany face her. "Okay, hold still."

Brittany held perfectly still as Jeannette wove the sparkling lily into her hair. "Now, that's perfect."

Brittany looked at herself in the mirror and smiled brilliantly. "Sometimes, Jeannette, you really surprise me."

Jeannette blushed. "Thanks."

Ding-dong!

"He's here!" Brittany tore down the stairs, nearly tripping in her white satin pumps. She slowed as she reached the door, her poise returning. She couldn't let Gavin know how excited she was.

Brittany opened the door slowly. "Hello, Gavin. I-" She stopped, speechless.

Alvin stood there, looking resplendent and entirely too handsome in his tuxedo. In his hand he held a single red rose. "Hello, Brittany."

"Alvin?" Brittany stared at him in shock. "You sent the flowers?"

"Did you like them?" Alvin asked. "I wasn't sure what you're favorite flower-of-the-moment was, so I had them send some of all of them. I hope you liked them."

"They were, uh, beautiful." Brittany didn't know what to say. The last person in the world she had expected to see at her door was Alvin.

He handed her the rose. "I didn't know your dress was white, or I would have gotten a white rose." He smiled at her, and against her will, she felt her heart melt. "But I see that at least one of my flowers made it into your ensemble."

"No, its perfect. Red and white complement each other beautifully."

"You look absolutely stunning, Brittany." Alvin looked at her admiringly.

"You look very nice yourself." Brittany wondered how long they would go on with the pleasantries. This was so awkward…but strangely wonderful. She felt like Cinderella going to her first ball.

She didn't have long to wait. "I know that a few flowers and a dinner date won't make up for what I put you through, Brittany." Alvin said, his eyes sad. "But I'm hoping it's enough to make you give me a second chance. I've been a real jerk, I know."

"You sure have." A little of Brittany's anger was returning.

"No argument here. But…I can't imagine life without you in it. I'm hoping I don't have to."

"And what about the English tart?" Brittany asked, cocking an eyebrow. "You're overseas girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend, Brittany." Alvin said, desperation in his voice. "She never was. Even when I was in London, I couldn't let go of you. I couldn't be with Belle even though I thought I'd never see you again."

Brittany couldn't help herself. "Really?"

Alvin smiled. "Really really."

"And you're not going to run away again…" Brittany hated the fear in her voice, but she couldn't help it. "You promise you won't leave me?"

"Never." Alvin took her hand and kissed it. "I promise."

Brittany relented. "All right, Alvin. One more chance. But that promise better be iron-clad, because if you ever do anything like that again…"

"I don't know about iron-clad." Alvin said, reaching inside his pocket. "But what about diamond-clad?"

"What?" Brittany backed away a little. "Alvin, what are you thinking?"

"I'm not proposing, Brittany." Alvin assured her even as he took out a small velvet box from his pocket. "But Belle was telling me about something called promise rings…a symbol of a kind of a commitment that goes beyond dating." He handed her the box. "I thought it would be appropriate, as a sign that I plan to stand behind my promise."

Brittany opened up the box and gasped. A slender gold ring lay within it, the band encrusted with two diamonds surrounding her birthstone – and his own birthstone. "Oh, Alvin, its beautiful."

"Here, let me help you put it on." Alvin slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. He looked into her eyes. "Anytime you look at this, you can remember my promise. I'll never hurt you again."

"Oh, Alvin." Brittany smiled at him, her eyes alight. "I don't know what to say."

"I do." Alvin said, stepping close enough to her so that she could see the joy in his eyes. "I'd just say…I love you."

Brittany laughed, the musical sound echoing in the night. "Oh, Alvin. I love you, too."

He kissed her then, tenderly at first, then more passionately as the moments past. They probably would have stayed that way for a while if they hadn't heard Jeannette's sniffles behind them.

Brittany and Alvin broke apart and looked back at the elder Chippette. "That's so…so sweet." She hiccupped. Eleanor next to her also looked about ready to burst into tears.

"They're watching." Alvin whispered to Brittany.

Brittany took Alvin's arm.

"Then we'd better go somewhere where they can't watch." She said, smiling radiantly.

End of Part 15

There will be an epilogue soon…and I have an outline for a sequel if anyone might be interested…let me know!