A night to remember
It was the middle of the night and Chip couldn't get to sleep. Tossing and turning he tried in vain to get some sleep. Thoughts of the case they had just finished ran through his mind. They had just solved one of their most difficult cases. This normally didn't affect him like this, but he and Gadget had spent a lot of alone time together on this case. He couldn't help but feel there was more to his friendship with her. He'd never admit it if asked but he knew it was there, like something clawing at the back of his mind. Images of the time he'd spent with her over the years came flooding into his mind's eye. The first time he met Gadget he was amazed at her beauty. They had gone to an old airfield to talk to her father, who was unfortunately deceased, to try to get a ride to Glacier Bay. As she took off her helmet, swished her hair free of the confined space it was in, smiled and blinked in Chips direction he felt a connection, but didn't think much of it at the time.
Over the next few years they had spent a lot of time together and made a lot of memories. But what had changed on this last case? He couldn't stop thinking about her. His thoughts slowly turned to the case they had just finished. The scene where he nearly lost her: She was trying to get some cages opened and was having a lot of difficulty, which was unusual for her because she could usually get just about any security system to unlock. Just as she finished getting the cage open and the occupants free some humans came in to see what all the commotion was about. Seeing gadget they tried in vain to capture her. She managed to get to a sink and dive down the pipe but not before one of the humans had noticed her avenue of escape and turned on the water to flush the pipes.
Shaking the feeling of dread from his mind he got up and put on a bathrobe then headed to the kitchen for a glass of milk and something to eat. He got to the kitchen and began rummaging through the fridge not noticing the soft footsteps approaching behind him. He finally turned around to see Gadget standing there in a pale lavender satin nightgown. Stunned at her beauty even with her hair slightly messed up he found himself frozen just staring at her. "Hi" she said timidly twirling some of her hair around one of her index fingers. "You couldn't sleep either, huh?" he said looking down at the floor somewhat embarrassed to see her in her nightgown. "No, I couldn't stop thinking about what happened earlier tonight." She said trying to hold back tears.
Suddenly she flung herself at chip clinging to him as a torrent of tears came flooding out. "Oh Chip, I thought I was going to die and all I could think about was how my friends still needed me." Chip surprised at the suddenness of her lurch forward caught her in his arms and held her for a moment stroking her hair trying to comfort the now emotional mouse. "Shhhhhhh its ok. Your safe now. No one is going to hurt you now." He said lifting her head gently with his finger so he could look into her eyes. He brought his right hand up next to her face to try to comfort her and wiped a few more tears away with his thumb.
Feeling chips hand against the side of her face she turned her head slightly to accept the gesture of comfort. Feeling the grief and fear slip away she opened her eyes and smiled at her comforter. Blushing slightly and realizing that she wasn't wearing much, she shied away form Chip as best she could without looking like she was too embarrassed.
Seeing how embarrassed she was he let her go without asking the obvious question of "What's wrong?" "Tell you what tomorrow we'll take a day off and I'd like to spend some time with you if you don't mind?" Chip said looking at Gadget trying not to be too intrusive.
Ordinarily she would have thought he was trying to take advantage of her emotional state, but seeing the genuine concern in his eyes and his voice she quickly dismissed that possibility. "Sure but I don't know how fun I'm going to be tomorrow."
"That's ok we need a break anyway. Even if we don't spend any time together I don't want you working on any inventions or even in the workshop tomorrow." He said not wanting to push her into an uncomfortable situation.
Gadget looked right at the chipmunk standing in front of her and said, "I do want to spend time with you I just don't know how cheerful I'm going to be."
Moving closer to Gadget (but not so close to make her uncomfortable) he smiled. "I can understand your feelings, and your not obligated to go with me or anyone else for that matter. I just think it would be better to spend some time with someone instead of burying yourself in your workshop all day." After saying that he started to move towards the front door and started to open it when he turned to see Gadget following him outside to the little balcony they had for a front porch.
Chip slowly sat down on a doll house bench that they had found and repaired as well as carved their names in the seat of the bench, his the closest to Gadgets. Looking out over the park they presided in just enjoying the silence that came with this hour. Gadget stood in the door way and just looked at Chip. "I know he likes me but I just can't let him close I can't risk getting hurt again especially with the business we are in." Gadget thought looking at the handsome chipmunk highlighted in the quarter moonlight. Sighing she walked back inside and closed the door. Realizing she had strong feelings about the young chipmunk she went back to her room and sat down on the edge of her bed.
Thinking back to before she met Chip she remembered the loneliness, the fear, and the feeling that she had been abandoned. But ever since Monterey Jack and the gang had come to her home in the airport junkyard she had not felt that way at all. In fact she had felt a sense of acceptance and belonging for the first time since her dad died in a plane crash. Feeling tears welling up in her eyes again she quickly wiped them away thinking about their adventures over the past years since she had become a Rescue Ranger. The good times, a vision of some of her setting up a sucker dart launcher appeared in her minds eye. She was just about finished when it suddenly went off and the sucker dart landed over the head of Monty. She giggled as the funny memory slowly faded back to reality. Feeling the tug of weights on her eyelids she laid down and let her eyes close and pulled the covers up to her chin and let sleep claim her.
Still sitting on the front porch of the tree he and the other rangers called home he let memories come to him from the adventures they had together. From the first time he had met gadget to the time dale was abducted by an alien, to the time Gadget had dressed up in a very flattering red dress. She was always beautiful but that time he had truly been speechless. Had it been one of Dales cartoons he probably would have turned into the wolf always trying to kidnap the beauty up on stage.
Grinning slightly he slowly stood up and made his way inside looking one more time at the moon and seeing a picture of Gadgets face on the moon. "I'd better get inside and go to sleep if I'm going to be any fun tomorrow." He said to himself. Turning back toward the tree he opened the door went to his room remembering to shut the door and turn out the lights that Gadget had left on for him. Going to the room he shared with Dale he covered his ears to try to muffle the grating sound of his roommates snoring. But soon he fell into a deep restful sleep thinking about Gadget dressed to kill in the red dress.