I personally like this chapter because it really shows Ellie's maternal side. I hope you enjoy it, too!

P.S. Thanks to the amount of people who have been reviewing! You're all amazing.

Eleanor was the only one still conscious, and she was struggling as hard as she could to get free. She yanked again and again against the knot. Alvin was slumped on the floor, Theodore was buried under the dishes, Brittany was unconscious and bleeding in the bushes, and Simon was out cold on the street.

Just then, Alvin let out a low moan.

"Alvin!" Eleanor cried. "Alvin, you have to get over here."

He focused on her with difficulty.

"Want…to…sleep," he gasped.

"You can sleep, just as soon as you chew through this rope on my hands," she said urgently. "Can you do that, Alvin? Please. Please, just chew through it, and then you can do whatever you want. Please, Alvin. Please."

He couldn't stand, or even crawl, but he began to drag himself over to where she was.

It took him five minutes to get over to her, and another ten to chew through the rope. It was slow going, and he had to rest several times, but finally, the rope began to fray. Eleanor threw herself forward as hard as she could and the rope snapped against the table leg. She stumbled forward and managed to regain her balance. She saw that Alvin had passed out again.

She was shaking and shivering. Think, she told herself. Think. What do you do when someone is hurt?

Dave. Call Dave.

But I have to take care of them first!

She focused on what she had learned in her medical training.

First, she moved Alvin to the couch with some difficulty. Then she raced back to the counter and jumped up on it. She moved the dishes in the sink until she saw a flash of green.

Theo's sweater!

She heard a low moan from under all the dishes, and she reached in and grabbed a fistful of fabric. She pulled as hard as she could, and she managed to get him out from all the dishes. She set him gently on the counter. He was passed out, too.

She couldn't just drop him off the counter, but she couldn't carry him down, either. What should she do?

She finally managed to make a pulley system with a pan and the remains of the rope. She lowered Theodore down to the ground and moved him onto the couch next to Alvin.

Then she jumped out through the hole in the window that Brittany had made, calling and searching for her sister. She finally found the pink clad chipette tangled up in the bush. After some difficulty, she managed to extract her sister from the bush and got her back into the house.

Then she ran out again, calling Simon's name over and over. She finally saw him on the sidewalk, under the streetlamp, with a good-sized lump on his head.

She grabbed him under the armpits and managed to drape him over her shoulder. It took her nearly five minutes to get him back to the house, but she managed.

She put him on the couch, too, and then went straight to the phone to call Dave.

He didn't answer his cell phone, so she left a message telling him to call back immediately and that Brittany, Alvin, Theodore, and Simon were hurt. Then she hurried to take care of them.

First, she moved them all to their beds. Then she thought hard. She had to clean them off…which meant she had to take their clothes off.

Take off the boys' clothes? Take off Theodore's clothes?

Chipmunks have gone without clothes before, she reminded herself sternly. That's actually how we're supposed to be. Get over it. Nurses have to look at naked people sometimes.

She managed to get them all into their room and each in their own individual bed. She pulled the first aid kit up, too.

She removed Alvin's sweater and threw it in the wash. Then she cleaned the scrapes and cuts covering his body and put Neosporin and Band-Aids on where he was bleeding. She washed his body as best as she could and then put him in a clean sweatshirt. She elevated his head and made sure that he was comfortable with a pillow and a blanket.

Next she moved to Simon, taking care of the minor cuts and bruises, washing him off, and putting on Band-Aids. She changed his clothes, too, and made sure that he had the pillow and the blanket on. She hurried to Theodore. He had several nasty bruises and a bad lump on his head, but he didn't have any cuts, so she just washed him off and put a new sweatshirt on him.

Brittany was the worst. She was covered in cuts and scrapes from the glass in the window, and her arm looked broken. It was already swelling.

Eleanor used the tweezers to remove the thorns and brambles that got stuck in Brittany. Brittany was covered in dirt and her wounds were too numerous to clean with a washcloth, so Eleanor had to help her to the bathroom. Eleanor didn't know whether or not it was safe to bathe Brittany in this condition, but she figured that it would help in the long run.

She drew a bath and put Brittany into it carefully. Brittany moaned and woke up slightly as Eleanor bathed her.

"Ellie?" she whispered as her sister scrubbed her fur clean.

"I'm here, Britt," Eleanor said softly.

"My arm hurts, Ellie," Brittany whimpered.

"I know," Eleanor said soothingly. "I'm taking care of that next. It's okay, Britt. Just relax." Eleanor picked the brambles and leaves out of her sister's hair before thoroughly shampooing it. This made Brittany smile slightly.

Eleanor tied her sister's hair back in a ponytail and then put Band-Aids and Neosporin on all the cuts. Brittany passed out again shortly after Eleanor had toweled her sister off. Eleanor helped her back to the bed. She felt around in Brittany's arm, but she didn't feel any bones that were out of place. That was good—Eleanor didn't rely on her medical skills all the way to setting a bone. She bandaged Brittany's arm tightly. Then she ran downstairs to get six ice packs. She also got some spare bandages.

She put an ice pack on Alvin's head and used a bandage to secure it there and make sure that it didn't fall off. She did the same to Simon's head, and put one gently on Theodore's head. He also had an extremely nasty bruise on his leg that she put an ice pack on as well. Then she put an ice pack on Brittany's head and on her arm.

All four were still unconscious, but they looked better than they had been before Eleanor had treated them. She stepped back. They were all in clean clothes and their fur was clean, with Band-Aids, ice packs, and medicine. They were comfortable in bed. Eleanor, satisfied that she had done all that she could, heard the phone ringing downstairs. She darted down and answered it.

"Eleanor?" Dave's voice sounded worried.

"Yeah, it's me, Dave," Eleanor said quickly.

"What happened?" Dave asked.

Eleanor paused. She didn't know how much to tell him. Finally, she decided to go with the truth, but not gory details.

"Some chipmunks came into the house and attacked us," Eleanor said quietly.

Dave gasped. "Is everyone all right?"

"I'm not sure," Eleanor said sadly. "Alvin got knocked into a wall and has a bump on his head, not to mention a lot of bruises. Simon is the same, but I don't know what happened to him. Brittany's arm is either sprained or broken, because one of the chipmunks twisted it behind her back the wrong way. And she's covered in cuts and bruises, because she got thrown through a window." She heard Dave suck in a breath, but plowed on before he could continue. "Theodore got pushed into a sink and all the dishes got knocked onto him, so he's got a lot of bruises and a lump on his head. All four are still unconscious."

"Are you okay?" Dave asked her.

"Well, I've got minor cuts and bruises, and some pretty bad rope burns on my wrists, but other than that, I'm okay," Eleanor told him. "My arms are kind of sore from being tied to that table, though."

"Tied to the table?" Dave sounded shocked. "How did you get off of it?"

"Alvin woke up for a little bit after the chipmunks left, and he chewed through the rope for me before he fell unconscious again," Eleanor explained. "That's why I'm not extremely worried about him, or Brittany, because she woke up for a little bit when I was cleaning her up. But Simon and Theodore haven't woken up yet, so I'm a bit concerned about them."

"Where is everyone now?"

"All four that got hurt are in bed. I cleaned them and patched them up and put some ice on them where they got hurt," Eleanor explained. "I'm not sure what else I can do for them. I'd like to give them some medicine or water, but they won't be able to swallow anything until they wake up."

"You'd better go take care of yourself, then," Dave told her. "I'll be home soon, and we can take everyone to the hospital." Then he paused. "Wait. Is Jeanette okay?"

Eleanor sighed. "Jeanette's gone, Dave," she said quietly. "They kidnapped Jeanette. That's why they came in the first place."

Dave was quiet for a long time. "I'll be home as fast as I can," he said eventually. "You've done a wonderful job, Eleanor, and you're very responsible. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Dave," Eleanor said. Despite the situation, she couldn't help but smile at her adopted father's praise.

"Now, clean yourself up, and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Will do." Eleanor said goodbye and hung up.

"I have to get cleaned up," she said to herself. "But I have to be there to take care of them if they wake up! What should I do?"

Then she got an idea. She raced up to the attic and rooted around in an old tub before she found what she was looking for.

"The baby monitor!" she exclaimed. "Dave used this on the boys a lot when he first got them, I remember him telling us all about it."

She turned them both on to make sure that they worked, and then she put one in the bedroom with the four sleeping chipmunks and took the other one to the bathroom with her. She took a hot bath and cleaned herself before putting on bandages. She put burn medicine on her wrists and bandaged both of them to be on the safe side before brushing out her hair and changing her clothes.

She looked at the pile of clothes that she had thrown into the hamper from each of the five chipmunks. They were all dirty and had rips and holes in them.

"We might have to get rid of those," Eleanor sighed. "It's a good thing we all have extras."

Just then, she heard a noise from the baby monitor. She rushed into the room. Brittany had woken up.

"Are you okay?" Eleanor asked quietly as she climbed up onto her sister's bed.

"What…happened?" Brittany murmured, trying to focus on her sister. The ice pack on her arm slipped slightly, and Eleanor adjusted it.

"Just stay still," she advised her sister. "It'll hurt more if you move around."

Brittany obediently laid back on the pillow.

"I'll explain later, when everyone's woken up," Eleanor told her in a quiet voice.

"Is everyone okay?" Brittany murmured dizzily.

"Yes, they're fine," Eleanor decided to lie. She didn't want her sister to get agitated in this state. "They're just asleep. How's your arm feeling?"

"It feels kind of better than before, in the bath," Brittany said slowly, "but it still hurts."

"Hang on," Eleanor said. "I'm going to get you some Motrin and some water. It should help. Now, don't move," she added firmly. "I'll be right back." She scampered out of the room and got two Motrin painkiller pills and a bottle of water. Brittany swallowed the pills and drank over half the water bottle before giving it back to her sister and rolling over to sleep again.

Just then, Eleanor heard the front door open. She raced down the stairs and saw Dave come in.

"We should get them to the hospital," he told her. "We have to make sure that nothing is seriously wrong with them."

He hurried up the stairs with Eleanor scampering just in front of him. She hurried around the room, packing her first-aid kit with bandages, Neosporin, water, Motrin, and Band-aids just in case any of them woke up on the car ride there or something. Dave gently moved each of them, including their pillows, to the car, making sure none of the ice packs or bandages were moved. Once he moved the last one—Theodore—Eleanor grabbed her kit and hurried out to the car after him.

She stretched the long seatbelt over all four pillows, making sure no one was jostled. Then she strapped herself in next to them, ready in case one of them woke up. None did, though, and they were at the hospital soon.

Dave carried all four in and got them into the emergency room as fast as he could.

"Whoever took care of these chipmunks did a very good job," the nurse commented to Dave as she checked over the medicine, ice packs, and bandages to make sure they were all applied properly. They were. "We'll have to check them over and make sure that nothing is seriously wrong with them. You'll have to come, too, young lady," the nurse added, looking down at Eleanor and smiling kindly at her.

"Me?" Eleanor was surprised. "There's nothing wrong with me."

"They'll just check your wrists and make sure that nothing is seriously wrong," Dave assured Eleanor. "You've worked very hard all evening, Eleanor, and you must be tired. You should get some rest."

Eleanor admitted that it did sound nice. After the long battle, and then taking care of her siblings, she was very tired. She followed the nurse, who put her in a hospital bed next to Brittany's. Yawning, she curled up on the pillow, tugged the blankets over her body, and fell asleep almost instantly.

Brittany moaned and stirred. She felt comfortable, but vaguely pained. Her head was throbbing horribly, and her arm was killing her.

She looked down and saw that her arm was in a cast. Her head was bandaged with an ice pack on it, and she was covered in Band-Aids and bruises.

She frowned. Something in her subconscious was telling her that something was wrong.

Where am I? she wondered. Where are the others? Is everyone else okay? What happened to me?

She looked down and saw that she was in a hospital bed. She frowned a little bit when she saw a miniscule IV stuck in her arm, but she kept looking around. She was in a hospital room. Was it the emergency room? She had no way of telling.

She turned her head to her left and saw her sister Eleanor sitting on a hospital bed next to her, not moving, eyes closed. She panicked, but then she realized, upon closer examination, that her sister seemed fine. She sighed and relaxed a little when she saw that Eleanor was just sleeping. There seemed to be a type of salve on her wrists, but other than that, she seemed completely unharmed.

Brittany settled back. She looked around, but she didn't see anyone else.

Where's Jeanette? Is my other sister here, too? What about Alvin and the boys?

Eleanor stirred and stretched. She rolled over, blinking her wide green eyes sleepily. Then she saw Brittany and her face split into a smile.

"You're awake!" she cried, sitting up. "Are you all right, Britt?"

"I think so," Brittany said cautiously. Her voice sounded very raspy.

Eleanor offered her a water bottle, and she took a grateful gulp.

When she put it down, she quickly began asking questions. "What happened to me? What happened to you? Where are the others? Is everyone okay? What—,"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Eleanor laughed. "One question at a time."

Brittany smiled sheepishly.

"We're at the veterinary hospital," Eleanor explained. "The boys are in the other room together. They should all be okay, but I don't know, I haven't heard yet. I'm sure they'll be fine, though," she assured her sister as Brittany cringed. "I looked over all of them, and besides getting hit really hard in the head, I don't think anything is wrong with any of them. I'm fairly sure at least Alvin will be okay, because he woke up for a few minutes after those guys left, to untie me."

"Wait, what guys?" Brittany frowned. "Why were you tied up?" Then something dawned on her. "Wait a minute, where's Jeanette?"

Eleanor fidgeted and looked down. "What do you remember, Brittany?" Eleanor asked her quietly.

Brittany frowned and searched her memory hard. "I…um…Ryan was bullying her earlier that day…and Alvin and I came…and Simon didn't like her sleeping downstairs, but she did…and…" She frowned. "Um, I think that Dave was gone."

"Yes," Eleanor said quietly. "Do you remember what happened after that?"

Brittany shook her head. "I think we went to bed, but all I remember is waking up in the hospital."

"Maybe you got hit on the head harder than we thought," Eleanor said quietly. "Don't you remember, Britt?" She sighed. "Adam came back. We heard Simon yelling, and then we came downstairs. That chipmunk—,"

Brittany gasped. Her memories came flooding back, and she slumped back on her pillow as the memory replayed itself.

"Jeanette? Jeanette!"

Brittany moaned groggily as she pulled the pillow over her head.

"JEANETTE!"

There were muffled screams and shouts from downstairs, mingled with Simon yelling as he sprang out of bed and raced for the door.

Jeanette! Jeanette's in trouble, Brittany thought, and she was out of bed in an instant. Eleanor, Alvin, and Theodore were out of bed, too, and they all ran down the stairs as fast as they could in time to see Adam knock Simon into the wall. Jeanette was screaming and being dragged toward the door by two chipmunks dressed entirely in black.

Jeanette!

Alvin sprang for her, but another chipmunk came out of nowhere, grabbed him, and threw him into the wall.

Brittany screamed and ran over to Alvin, but then she felt something grab her arm and twist it. She screamed again, in pain this time, and then got yanked backwards away from Alvin. She fought against him as hard as she could, but every movement jostled her injured arm and sent another wave of pain over her. She watched Eleanor get tied to the table and Theodore get buried in the sink by dirty dishes.

Then she saw Jeanette get yanked out the door. "JEANETTE!" Brittany screamed.

Then she heard Adam's voice at the door. "RETREAT, 'MUNKS!"

Without warning, the chipmunk holding Brittany threw her over his head. She hurtled straight toward the window and the last thing she remembered feeling was pain.

"Oh, no," Brittany whispered. "Jeanette…"

Eleanor nodded solemnly. "Simon went after them," she whispered, "but he was too late…they have Jeanette now."

Brittany sighed and her eyes filled with tears. "We just don't seem to be able to protect her very well, do we?"

"Hey, I think we put up a good fight," Eleanor said, shrugging. "Those were trained ninja chipmunks. We didn't stand a chance. And we'll go rescue her. Don't worry."

"How are we going to find her?" Brittany asked desperately.

"I don't know, but we'll do it somehow," Eleanor said firmly. "We found her once when she was taken away from us, and we can find her again." She shuddered slightly. "Besides, if we see The Return of Callie on television, then we'll know right where to look, won't we?"

"He wouldn't do that…would he?" Brittany whispered.

"Yes, he would," Eleanor nodded to herself. "That's the reason he took her. He just wants Callie back."

"But we want Jeanette back," Brittany said stubbornly.

"He isn't going to see it that way," Eleanor said sadly.

"Yeah, you're right," Brittany sighed. She rolled over and sighed again.

Just then, the nurse came in. "Hi, Brittany," she said cheerfully. "I'm glad that you finally woke up!" She bustled over and checked the little chipmunk all over. "Does your cast feel all right?" she asked the chipette, and Brittany nodded.

"All right, then," the nurse said, disconnecting the IV. "It looks like you two ladies are free to go."

"What about the boys?" Brittany asked, pushing herself into a sitting position with her good arm.

"I wasn't the nurse that was scheduled to check on them, so I don't know when they'll be released," she informed them. "I would guess that it will be soon, though."

She opened the door for the chipmunks, and they scurried out into the hall. Dave was waiting for them.

"Hi, guys," he said, smiling at them as they both let out little cries of delight and bounded forward to give him a hug. He looked up at the nurse.

"Just do what you had done before you took them here," the nurse told him. "Bandages, ice packs, medicine. They should be fine soon. Bring Brittany back in three weeks to get her cast removed."

"Three weeks?" Brittany wailed.

"Wow, that's good," Eleanor said, impressed. "Must have just been a hairline fracture, Britt. Most casts take almost six or seven weeks."

"SEVEN?" Brittany's mouth dropped open.

"Let's go get the boys," Dave said hurriedly.