As the night pressed onward into total darkness and silence, everyone in the treehouse slept peacefully. All except for Dale. Dale tossed and turned with the occasional whimper as a nightmare took hold of his mind. He eventually jolted from his sleep in tears, he turned to see Chip still asleep and began to silently cry knowing the circumstances were only a dream.
Chip with his sensitive hearing was akin to Dale's crying. For this is not the first time Dale had a nightmare. He awoke and saw Dale sitting upright in his bed. He stumbled to his feet and walked over and sat down next to Dale."What's wrong Dale? Why are you crying?" He asked in confusion.
Without a blink of hesitation, Dale hugged Chip as hard as he could. Chip still was confused. He did not understand Dale's manic behavior. Could this have been a dream? Chip pondered. Or could it be something more? "It's alright, Dale. Everything is okay." Chip said in comfort as he wrapped his paws around Dale.
There was a brief moment of reassurance. Chip then put Dale back to bed and proceeded back to his own bed. As Chip lay down, he rolled over away from Dale's bed. However, within a moment, Chip sensed something next to him. He rolled back over to see Dale fast asleep on the left side of his mattress. Chip gave a disapproving glare but did not fight Dale over it. He returned back to his slumber and hoped that the day awaiting would shed some light on the night's unusual events.
As a glimmer of sunshine peaked through the gaps in the curtains, the room began to be covered by the glistening orange light that came from the sun. The aroma of Monterey Jack's cooking whiffed passed Chip's nose as he awoke from his slumber. He rose to his feet and glared at Dale who was still visibly asleep. Chip of course knew that Dale always needed a wake-up call or else he'd sleep right through to midday.
Chip waltzed over and tapped him on the shoulder. "Dale?" He said in question. As Dale did not respond, Chip's patience was tested. He shook his shoulder again. "Come on, Dale. It's time for breakfast." He said.
Dale groaned and rolled over in discontent with having to wake so early.
Chip did not proceed any further in forcing Dale out of bed. With a sigh, he declared defeat and headed for the kitchen. "Suit yourself, Dale. Will be in the kitchen." He replied.
As Chip made his way to the dining area of the kitchen, the others had already sat themselves and begun to dine on Monterey's usual cheese-themed breakfast. "Good morning, Chip." Gadget stated with her usual uplifting tone.
Monterey Jack looked around and saw that Dale was not with Chip. "Where's me, little pal?" He asked.
Chip sighed and sat down at the head of the table. He poured himself a mug of coffee from the thermos Gadget had built. "Um, Dale, is still sleeping. He had a nightmare last night that really scared him. It took me a while to calm him down. It was probably those stupid comics again". He stated as he seemed unattentive to his surroundings as he began to flip through clippings from the New York Times.
Monterey Jack sighed and felt sympathy for Dale as he reflected on a memory."Poor lad, those nightmares can really get to yeah. Kinda reminds me of one I had when I spent some time in the Amazon. Kept me up for hours except it turned out to be real in the end." He said, taking another sip of his coffee.
As the Rangers attempted to put Dale's bad dream behind them, Dale entered the room. He appeared tired, weak, and troubled. He sat down in his usual spot next to Chip. He tried to act as if everything were to be normal. It wasn't. He poured a bowl of cereal but as he began to eat it, Gadget spoke. "How was your sleep, Dale?" She asked,
Without a word, Dale glared downward at his bowl of cereal, a tear rolled down his face and dropped into the bowl of milk. He stood quietly and walked back toward the bedroom. "Golly, was it something I said?" She pondered.
Chip sighed and stood up. "I better go make sure he is okay." He said, making his way to the shared bedroom.
In the bedroom, Chip entered Dale who was sitting on Chip's bed holding a picture of Chip and Dale when they were young in his hands crying. Chip closed the door behind him and walked over and sat down next to Dale placing his hand on his shoulder and comforting him.
Chip gave a concerned look. "Is everything alright?" He asked.
Dale turned and looked at Chip with tears in his eyes, then looked back at the photo. With a sniffle, he replied, "Yeah. I guess I was just thinking of our past and that dream I had." He said, wiping away tears.
"What did happen in your dream Dale?" Chip asked in a concerned tone focusing his attention on Dale.
"It's a long story let me tell you," Dale replied as he prepared himself to explain his dream
