In Their Hearts

I'm SO sorry this took so long!

I had SO much to do, I just couldn't find any time to write!

But, here it is...

Enjoy! ^^

Chapter 2: Bad News on a Good Day

It was an average, sunny day. As the sun's powerful and bright rays rose above the grassy hills of the Los Angeles area, the beams seemed to be purposely directed through a houses' window and into the face of a soundly sleeping chipmunk.

The chipmunk let out several soft groans and grumbles, lifting his arms in an attempt to shade his face from the bright light. Seeing his attempts as futile, the chipmunk let out one last groan before pushing himself up with his arms and waiting patiently for his grogginess to subdue.

As the chipmunk began to climb out of the soft bed he had once been lying in, he suddenly remembered something that made this particular day very special. The chipmunk let out a small sigh before turning to his left and resting his eyes upon the small-framed perfection sleeping peacefully next to him. A smile crossed his lips before he slowly lay back down on the bed and began stroking the chipette's hair lightly.

While the chipmunk didn't want to disturb her sleep, he found that, despite his efforts, the chipette beneath him started to stir out of her sleep. He watched patiently and happily as the beautiful chipette's face twitched slightly before her eyelid's opened, revealing the ice-blue eyes that he had fallen in-love with. Before she could say or do anything, the chipmunk quickly kissed the chipette's forehead and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Well, good morning to you, too." The chipette giggled as she lifted her head slightly and returned the kiss on the chipmunk's cheek.

"I'm sure that I don't have to remind you why this day is special, do I?" The chipmunk smirked in response.

"Oh my, God… did Alvin Seville actually remember our anniversary for once?" The chipette asked in shock.

"Hey," Alvin began defensively. "I do remember most things, Britt…"

"Uh-huh…" Brittany mumbled as she rolled her eyes.

"Besides, I didn't just remember…" Alvin smiled. "In fact, I have the whole day planned out."

"Oh, no…" Brittany laughed. "I don't know if I should be scared or anxious…"

"Well, that's for you to decide… but, have I ever steered you wrong, babe?" Alvin asked, his grin widening with every passing second.

Brittany simply stared at the chipmunk before bursting into a bout of uncontrolled laughter. Alvin watched her for a few seconds, his grin still wide. After a few seconds, Alvin found himself laughing as well.

"Alvin," Brittany began as her laughter slowly died down. "As your wife… I have to say, you've steered me wrong… multiple times."

"Ha-ha-ha," Alvin sighed. "Anyway, I'm convinced that you're going to love it."

"I'm sure I will." Brittany smiled as she pressed her lips against Alvin's.

The two stayed together for a few moments. They're tongues exploring each other's mouths and even occasionally wrestling with each other for a moment. As the two broke apart, Brittany wrapped her arms around Alvin's back and laid her head on his chest.

"Alright," Brittany began. "Since you remembered our anniversary… do you remember what tomorrow is?"

Alvin didn't answer. Instead, he turned his attention towards the ceiling in a desperate attempt to probe his mind and remember any dates that he could be forgetting. After a brief moment of silence, Alvin let out a long sigh of defeat before turning his head back towards Brittany, meeting her eyes involuntarily in the process. To his surprise, the ice-blue spheres weren't burning with anger like he imagined and expected, rather, they looked as if they were full to the brink in a mix of sadness and pure disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Brittany…" Alvin managed to whisper out. "I don't remember…"

"Oh Alvin, how could you forget?" Brittany scolded. "Tomorrow is Dave's birthday…"

"Oh! I knew that!" Alvin exclaimed, obviously lying.

"Of course you did…" Brittany said sarcastically. "We need to go out later and buy him a present."

"Today?" Alvin asked, earning a nod from Brittany. "Why today? Why can't we get it tomorrow?"

"Alvin," Brittany began. "We are not putting this off. Dave has done so much for you – for us – we have to repay him, and the least we can do is help him celebrate his birthday."

"Yes, he has done a lot for us," Alvin agreed. "But does that mean that we can't celebrate our day?"

"Are you kidding, Alvin?" Brittany asked in shock. "Don't be selfish. We'll just go shopping this afternoon, pick Dave up something nice, and go by him tomorrow. It's not going to take the entire day."

"B-But…"

"Alvin, what's the real reason that you don't want to do this?" Brittany asked as she stroked Alvin's cheek softly.

"I don't really want to talk about it…" Alvin mumbled as he slightly pulled away from Brittany.

Alvin's sudden reaction came as a slight surprise to Brittany, but she decided to not give up.

"Please, Alvin… it'll make you feel better…" Brittany pleaded.

Seeing no change in the chipmunk's attitude, Brittany decided to try her last resort: guessing.

"Is this about Simon and Theodore?" Brittany asked softly, trying to bring up the topic as gently as possible.

"I said, 'I don't want to talk about it'!" Alvin snapped as he turned away from Brittany.

Over the past ten years, Alvin had never told Brittany what the fight between him and his brothers had been. Sure, Brittany tried to get answers out of Alvin numerous times, but every time, Alvin would become more-and-more defensive. Eventually, Brittany decided to talk to Jeanette and Eleanor to see if they had gotten anything out of Simon or Theodore, but she soon learned that they were the similarly kept in the dark.

"Why won't you talk to me, Alvin?" Brittany questioned.

There was no response.

"Do you not trust me, or something?"

Again, there was no response.

"Do you not care about me?"

This time, Alvin immediately turned around and looked Brittany directly in the eyes.

"Don't ever say that! I love you more than anything, you know that!" Alvin stated.

"Then why are you keeping me in the dark?" Brittany asked.

"I-I'm sorry…" Alvin sighed. "It's just… that… I'm not ready to talk about it…"

"Okay, I'll accept that. It's better than you leaving me in complete silence." Brittany stated.

"Thank you." Alvin smiled as he kissed Brittany softly.

"So, do we agree with each other?" Brittany asked.

"About what?" Alvin responded.

"We'll go shopping today for Dave, then I'll call both of my sisters to see if they're going to be by Dave tomorrow and what time. After that, we'll figure out what we're going to do depending on their answers." Brittany stated.

"How did you get so smart?" Alvin asked playfully.

"Well, I think one of us has to be smart, Alvin…" Brittany giggled.

"Really? Then I must be really smart!" Alvin teased.

"Oh, stop it…" Brittany laughed.

The two laid in silence for a moment, simply embracing each other before Alvin decided to break it.

"So," Alvin began. "Are you ready for the first part of your surprise?"

"I guess so…" Brittany giggled.

Brittany expected Alvin to get a present or something out of the closet in their room, but when Alvin got up off of the bed and moved towards the door, it confused her.

"Alvin?" Brittany called out. "Where are you going?"

"Don't worry," Alvin smiled reassuringly. "I'll be right back. Just stay where you are and get comfortable."

Before Brittany had any chance to protest, Alvin was out of the room and she could hear his footsteps going down the squeaky planks of the stairs.

In the distance, Brittany could hear the sound of pans being thrown around and clanked together in the kitchen. At this point, Brittany was thinking about going downstairs, but then she heard something large drop onto the downstairs floor. That was the last straw for the nervous chipette. Brittany immediately limbed out of the bed and headed towards the door.

"I'm okay!" Brittany heard Alvin call out. "Stay up there, I'll be up in a minute!"

Reluctantly, Brittany did as she was told and slowly made her way back to her bed and laid back down. Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, Brittany continued to hear the sound of multiple things dropping, cracking, and even what she considered small explosions coming from downstairs.

"What is he doing?" Brittany asked herself out loud.

Before Brittany could wonder anything else, she got her answer as she witnessed Alvin struggle to get through the door, holding a large tray of food in his arms.

"Wow! Breakfast in bed?" Brittany squealed in delight as Alvin gently placed the tray on the bed.

"Of course, you deserve the best." Alvin smirked as he watched Brittany gaze over the food, only for her to decide on having a piece of French toast first.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Alvin?" Brittany giggled as she took a bite out of the French toast she was holding. "This is really good!"

"Thank you," Alvin smiled. "I managed to get a few recipes off of the internet."

"Well, they paid off." Brittany laughed.

Brittany continued eating for a moment before she noticed that Alvin was lying back in bed.

"What's wrong with you?" Brittany asked in fake anger.

"What did I do?" Alvin shouted, immediately sitting up in the bed.

"Do you want me to eat all of this food by myself and get fat?" Brittany asked, letting out an involuntary giggle.

"I guess not…" Alvin answered, rolling his eyes and taking a piece of bacon into his hands.

The two eat in silence for a few moments, barely putting a dent into the pile of food that Alvin had prepared.

"You know what," Brittany sighed. "I'm done eating for now…"

"What?" Alvin asked. "Oh, I get it; you're not really hungry yet…"

"No," Brittany stated. "I'm hungry…"

Brittany couldn't help but laugh at the confused look on the chipmunk's face.

"I'm hungry… just not for food…" Brittany said seductively before grabbing Alvin's shirt gently and pulling him into a passionate kiss.

It took a moment for Alvin's mid to process what was happening, but once he achieved that goal, he quickly started to return the kiss, adding even more passion and climbing on top of Brittany.

(A/N: The next scene is 'Adult' rated, or in other words, 'M' rated. Please, if you are underage, offensive, or simply don't like that kind of content, please skip to the next Author's Note that depicts the end of this scene. Thank you.)

Brittany giggled through the kiss as she felt Alvin's hands move up her nightgown and to her thighs, but she did nothing to stop him. In fact, she encouraged him by moving her own hands down to his pajama bottoms, lowering them in the process.

Now it was Alvin's turn to laugh as he removed Brittany's nightgown completely. Still deep within the kiss, Alvin reached his hand up and cupped his palm around Brittany's left breast and gently massaged it, getting a few moans from Brittany as a response. After a few seconds, Alvin broke the kiss the two were sharing for what seemed like an eternity, and guided his mouth to her other breast.

"Oh, Alvin…" Brittany moaned as she felt Alvin take her delicate nipple into his mouth and begin sucking on it.

After a few minutes of Alvin continuing in the same fashion, Brittany felt herself getting close to her breaking point. Alvin must have sensed it too, because he stopped what he was doing at stared at the chipette underneath him.

"Why… did… you stop?" Brittany managed to ask between pants.

"Well, you don't want all of the fun to stop here, do you?" Alvin smirked.

The bright and visible blush on Brittany's face was enough of an answer for Alvin as he slowly spread his lover's legs apart.

Brittany knew what he was about to do, and even though she knew that she wanted him, she reluctantly stopped him.

"Hey…" Alvin whined as he watched Brittany sit up on the bed and wiggle out from underneath him.

Brittany didn't give a direct reasoning behind her actions, but she hoped that Alvin wouldn't stay disappointed as she reached over to the nightstand next to the bed, reached her hand inside the top drawer, and pulled out a small package.

"Good thinking…" Alvin smiled as he took the package from Brittany, opened it, and placed it on his erect member.

Again, Alvin spread Brittany's legs apart and, without any interruptions, slowly entered her. As Alvin thrust deeper in Brittany's fragile frame, she couldn't help but let out a moan of pleasure.

The two used a moment to get adjusted, but as soon as that moment was over, the two resumed their love.

Whilst going slowly at first, Alvin soon picked up his pace, placing Brittany into a state of absolute ecstasy. With each thrust, the moans from the two got louder and quicker as the two came closer to their breaking point.

After what seemed like a wonderful eternity for the two, Alvin trust one more time into Brittany before falling on top of her, both of them completely spent.

(A/N: Alright, here's where to 'M' rated content ends. Thank you.)

"I love so much…" Alvin whispered as he raised his head and kissed his lover's forehead lightly.

"And I love you…" Brittany giggled as she returned the kiss on Alvin's lips.

"I'm serious, Brittany," Alvin continued. "I love you. I can't imagine my life without you; I love everything about you… even if you can be a little annoying sometimes…"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Brittany laughed.

Brittany was about to continue and say something like Alvin had, but as she opened her lips, a yawn escaped her mouth.

"I don't know about you, but I'm a little tired…" Alvin sighed as he lay beside Brittany and closed his eyes.

"I completely agree with you on that…" Brittany yawned again as she placed her head on Alvin's chest and closed her eyes as well.

Along the long aisles of the superstore, stood two chipmunks as they browsed the numerous shelves that held gifts that were perfect for nearly any occasion. Along the walls, there had been little knick-knacks, event cards, and tools and accessories for around the home. For any less-caring person, they would've found the seemingly perfect gift easily and quickly made their way. But, no. This was not case with the two chipmunks. They had been looking for the truly perfect gift, and they were determined to find it.

"What do you think he'll want, Honey?" The bespectacled, blue-clad chipmunk asked.

"I'm not sure," The second, also bespectacled, purple and blue-clad chipette answered. "If I know Dave, he's not really going to find use out of this stuff anymore."

"And, why's that?" The chipmunk asked curiously.

"Because, Simon," The chipette laughed. "Dave's getting old; I doubt that he still does many of the things that he used to."

"Hmm," Simon hummed. "Perhaps you're right… but, what do you suggest?"

"Well, why not something like a cute sweater?" the chipette giggled.

"Uh, Jeanette…" Simon began awkwardly. "Dave's fifty-two-years-old… I don't think a cute sweater will appeal to him…"

"Fine," Jeanette pouted briefly. "Let's just see if we can find anything."

Before Simon had any time to argue, Jeanette grabbed his hand firmly in her own and led them both towards the clothes department of the superstore.

To get to the men's section of the clothes department, the couple had to first pass through the women's section and for a few moments, Simon felt as if he were in total agony. He watched miserably as Jeanette picked up several outfits and asked his direct opinion on each of them.

"How about this one?" Jeanette asked as she held out a light purple dress in front of her.

Simon did not answer.

"Simon?" Jeanette asked louder as she gazed across the immediate area in search of her counterpart. Eventually, she found him sitting on a bench that was located on the dividing area between the women's and men's sections of the store.

"Hey," Jeanette scoffed. "After six years of marriage, you should be used to this…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Simon sighed.

Jeanette crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes.

"But you know," Simon began as he stood up from the bench. "We are here for a reason."

"I guess you're right…" Jeanette agreed as she put the dress back before heading towards the men's section with Simon.

Once inside the right section, the two split apart into different aisles. Jeanette was looking for something she considered nice and handsome, but as Simon corrected, not cute.

Simon on the other hand, was barely browsing through the clothes as he walked down the aisle he was in. He knew that he should be looking for a nice gift for his adoptive father, but he honestly had no idea what he was looking for exactly. In his mind, he hoped that Jeanette would find something that he agreed with.

"Oh, Simon," Jeanette called out. "I think I found something that he would like."

Simon let out a sigh of relief before navigating his way around the clothing racks until he stood behind the overjoyed chipette.

"Well?" Simon asked.

Jeanette slowly turned around and held out the piece of clothing in front of her. Immediately, Simon realized it was a sweater like she had originally suggested, but he soon noticed the different patterns and colors that the sweater possessed.

Simon saw that the sweater had a unique design that remained dominant over the fabric. It was a design that used the 'square' shape in multiple forms that were outlined by a thin black strip. Even Simon, who had not been a big fan of designer clothing, admitted that it made the sweater look good. As Simon continued examining the fabric, he noticed that detail that had probably drawn Jeanette to it in the first place. The sweater's three main dominating colors were red, blue, and green.

Memories of his old family found their way into Simon's mind and took control over his thoughts. Anger of that incident returning, Simon did the smartest thing he could think of: he turned around and walked away.

Jeanette's happy face quickly faded in a mix of sadness and confusion as she watched the chipmunk continue to strut away. She put down the sweater that she was holding, and chased after her counterpart.

As Simon continued walking, he could hear Jeanette's voice in the distance and not wishing to make a big scene, he stopped, allowing Jeanette to catch up to him.

"Are you okay?" Jeanette asked. He voice was barely audible and shaky.

"I'm fine…" Simon sighed as he looked towards the floor.

"Weird," Jeanette commented. "You sure don't seem like it…"

"You wouldn't understand…" Simon responded.

"Is this about the colors on the sweater?" Jeanette asked.

Simon nodded in response.

"Simon, I picked that sweater out specifically for Dave because he loves you three…" Jeanette explained.

"You know it bothers me, though…" Simon grumbled.

"I know that it does bother you, Simon," Jeanette sighed. "But what I don't know is why it bothers you… why won't you tell me?"

"I've told you a million times, I. Don't. Want. To. Talk. About. It." Simon hissed.

Normally, Jeanette would've been surprised and slightly afraid of Simon's rash response, but not about this topic. She knew that whenever she brought up the subject of Alvin or Theodore around Simon, he would get defensive and she wouldn't be able to get through to him any longer. It was stressful, but she was used to it.

"Okay," Jeanette began. "I can't make you tell me… but we are getting that sweater for Dave."

"Fine…" Simon muttered as they walked back to the clothing department, got the sweater, and made their way towards the registers in the front of the store.

As the two purchased the sweater and walked to the exit of the store, Jeanette could hear her phone ring.

"Hello?" Jeanette asked into the phone.

"No," Jeanette answered. "This is his wife, Jeanette."

"Oh my, god… what happened?" Jeanette said quickly.

"Okay… I-I'll tell him…" Jeanette said quietly before hanging up the phone.

Jeanette stood there frozen for a few moments before raising her head to find a very confused Simon staring at her.

"S-Simon…" Jeanette gulped.

In the backyard of an average looking house, stood two chipmunks as they read over a long list together.

"Is there anyone else you can think of, Theodore?" The green-clad chipette asked.

"Not really…" Theodore answered. "Are we forgetting any of Dave's friends, Eleanor?"

"No, we've got all of them." Eleanor sighed.

The two were planning on throwing a big surprise party for Dave, and they were currently making the list of people to invite. They had fifteen people on the list so far, all comprised of Dave's closest friends, family, and even some co-workers.

"Oh, what about my sisters and your brothers?" Eleanor asked quickly.

"I think we both know the answer to that question…" Theodore mumbled as he looked away from the chipette.

"Theodore, they're your brothers… we have to invite them…" Eleanor said as she lifted Theodore's chin so that he was looking at her again.

"What's the point?" Theodore asked angrily. "They hate me, so they'll refuse to come, and I doubt that your sisters will come without them…"

"But… we should still at least try…" Eleanor reasoned.

"Okay, what happens if they do come?" Theodore began hypothetically. "Once they see each other, they'll probably just fight again… do you really want them to ruin Dave's whole party?"

"I guess you're right…" Eleanor sighed. "Oh, no!"

"What's wrong?" Theodore asked quickly.

"I just remembered that I already invited Alvin and Brittany!" Eleanor answered sadly.

"It's okay… if I know Alvin, he won't come…" Theodore mumbled. "Although, maybe I don't really know him anymore…"

"Theodore," Eleanor began. "Why won't you tell me what happened between you three?"

"Because…" Theodore stammered before letting out an aggravated groan. "Because I can't."

Eleanor was about to press the issue further, but she ultimately realized that it wasn't going to get her anywhere and it was only going to strain their relationship.

"Okay…" Eleanor sighed. "Let's just finish the list…"

"Thank you." Theodore said as he watched Eleanor pick up the list again.

As Eleanor began reading over the list once again, she felt her phone suddenly vibrate in her pocket. She quickly pulled it out and looked at the Caller ID; she saw that it was Jeanette who was calling.

"Hi, Jeanette." Eleanor said as she answered the call.

Eleanor's happy face immediately fell.

"Jeanette, what's wrong?" Eleanor asked hurriedly.

Eleanor immediately gasped and covered her mouth to keep from screaming.

"When?" Eleanor managed to ask as she felt tears fall from her eyes.

"Okay… I'll call them…" Eleanor said before hanging up the phone.

"Eleanor," Theodore began as he watched Eleanor stand there as more tears fell from her face. "What happened?"

"Theodore…" Eleanor began.

Back in Alvin and Brittany's house, the two stood in their kitchen, wrapping the present that they had picked out for Dave's birthday. They had both agreed to buy him the newest coffee maker they could find, and they both admitted, it was a good present.

"Oh, Alvin," Brittany began. "I forgot to tell you, Eleanor invited us to a birthday party that they're throwing for Dave, do you want to go?"

"No." Alvin answered.

"Are you sure?" Brittany questioned. "It could be fun…"

"I'm fine with dropping off Dave's present then going to see him alone some other day…" Alvin sighed.

"Fine…" Brittany muttered as she finished wrapping Dave's gift.

Brittany suddenly heard the landline phone ring from the living room.

"I'll get it." Brittany offered as she hurried to the phone and answered it.

"Hello?" Brittany asked.

"Oh, hi Eleanor." Brittany greeted happily.

"What?" Brittany exclaimed. "When?"

"Okay…" Brittany said before hanging up the phone.

Brittany stayed perfectly still for a few moments, trying to think of the best way to complete the dreaded task that was suddenly given to her.

Without warning, Brittany felt to hands grab onto her shoulders, making her jump. She quickly turned around to see Alvin with a wide grin on his face.

"That's not funny, Alvin…" Brittany muttered sadly.

"It is to me…" Alvin shrugged.

Alvin looked closer and saw that Brittany was secretly holding back the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Alvin asked, his mood instantly changing to being serious.

"A-Alvin…" Brittany began, gulping in the process. "That was Eleanor…"

There was a long pause.

"And?" Alvin asked, growing impatient.

"S-She told me that…" Brittany cried.

The moment Alvin saw tears fall from Brittany's ice-blue eyes; he immediately pulled her into his embrace. While he was still confused, he decided that Brittany needed him at the moment, and kept his mouth closed.

After a few minutes, Brittany seemed to have calmed down and Alvin could see that she was no longer crying.

"Brittany," Alvin whispered. "Please tell me what's wrong…"

"Alvin…" Brittany gulped. "Dave passed away…"

Dun dun dun...

A few of you guessed about what the 'bad' thing was...

And a few of you were right! XD

Well, how is this going to complicate things?

You're just going to have to keep reading!

Remeber, REVIEW! ^^