Author's Note: Can't hurt to give it another try.
Waking Up
Dr. Chris made his way down the hallway, intent on telling the Brittany's family about her condition. His smirk dialled down to a more professional smile as he made his way into the reception area and made a left into the waiting room. He opened the door to the sound of anxious voices abruptly stopping in his presence. There were five chipmunks and two humans, the man looking livid. Undeterred by this, Chris walked on in towards the group.
"Are you here for Brittany Miller?" he asked politely. They all nodded, so he continued, "Well then, I'm Dr. Chris, the doctor who treated her."
The two Chipettes glanced at each other and the smaller green clad one stepped forward, "And how is Brittany? Is she alright?"
Chris gave Eleanor a warm smile, "Brittany will be just fine. She's broken a few ribs and has a rather large bump on her head, but with plenty of relaxation, she'll be back on her feet in two weeks at the most."
"Well thank God for that," Julie said softly. She didn't like to think of one of her best English students being injured, let alone attacked.
"Can we see her?" asked Theodore nervously. He had been just as shaken up about the attack as his girlfriend.
Chris thought about it for a moment. He wouldn't want to disappoint the group, but yet again, he thought of the young couple snuggled up in that cage. It would be a shame to disturb them. He sighed, "I wish I could, but it might be best to leave her be until after she regains consciousness. I let you see her first thing tomorrow."
The chipmunks all looked downhearted apart from the black furred chipmunk who asked, "What about Alvin?"
Chris chuckled, "He'll be staying overnight too. He fell asleep on her shoulder and seemed pretty exhausted."
Everybody else chuckled as well, but not as heartily as Chris was expecting. The whole group seemed to be conflicted. Was there something he missed? The man sitting in the corner hadn't said a thing and his face had a look of disbelief. Surely that had nothing to do with Brittany. For the sake of professionalism, Chris shook the thought off. After all, it was none of his business.
"Well," he said, addressing them once more, "I'll see you in the morning. Until then, try to enjoy the rest of the day. I call you to let you know if she wakes up."
With that, he walked down the hall to treat his next furry patient.
Back at the Seville house...
It had been a silent drive back home. Nobody knew what to say to each other.
Dave was a chipmunk? This was unbelievable. Some pretty weird stuff went on with his cousin's family, but this? Said chipmunk sat in the passenger seat while the kids were in the back. Julie had returned to West Eastman. She would sign the chipmunks out of school for the rest of the day.
Toby kept glancing at Dave every few seconds, his mind buzzing. This was really trippy. He had a chipmunk for a cousin! Toby hadn't believed it until Dave told him something only he could know about his sixteenth birthday. Toby definitely hadn't invited any black furred chipmunks back then. But, it explained why Dave had been missing for a while.
After half an hour, Toby finally pulled into the long driveway and parked. He jumped out and opened all the doors so the chipmunks could pile out. They walked to the front door then went inside to the living room. Dave was rather tired, that race alone had taken it out of him, but the stress of one of his girls being injured had him beat. He lay back on the couch with the others while Toby sat in something like a trance.
It was a while before Toby spoke up again, "So, if you've been 'Ross' this whole time, then you actually attacked those jocks a week ago?"
Dave nodded tiredly, his eyes half closed. Toby sat forward and a smirk made an appearance. How much would he have loved to be in Dave's position that day? "Dude that was some awesome stuff you did. You managed to do as a chipmunk thing I've always wanted to do to get pay back for ages! I mean, come on! You bit through that Ryan's ear!"
Dave gave a small chuckle,"That was Alvin, but I would have if given the chance. It did make a pretty good crunching sound!" Dave now laughed, sounding very much like the teenager he had been reduced to, "I have to admit, it brings back memories!"
Simon frowned, "What memories?"
This time Toby laughed, "Oh my God, remember your 21st birthday bash? You and Ian Hawke had been fighting over Claire Wilson, so you decided that whoever could knock out the other first would be the one to ask her out?"
Dave chortled, "Yeah, Ian couldn't throw a punch to hit the side of a barn door! He claimed not to remember anything about that the next morning!"
"Not surprising since you won!" Toby howled. The two cousins roared with laughter at the memory.
Eleanor leaned over to Theodore. "And he gives us lectures on no violence." She whispered as Theodore rolled his eyes.
Jeanette did the same to Simon, "I think we just discovered the root of Dave's and Ian's rivalry." Simon nodded.
After a little while, the laughing ceased, but the smiles remained. Dave sat up and gazed at Toby with that warm look he had for the people he loved," So, you aren't angry by all this? I mean, we did lie to you and everything."
Toby shook his head, "Well, I have to admit that I was a bit peeved, but of course not. I would've done the same thing in your position. Anyway since when have I been someone to hold a grudge?" The chipmunks shrugged their shoulders and Toby echoed them, "See?
The next morning...
Friday morning was dawned in misty light, as the late-winter sun rose to another day. People all over LA were getting ready for the last day of work before another well-earned weekend. In an inter-town apartment, Dr. Ruben was getting ready for school, preparing to interview the parents of the students responsible for the attack the day before. In the Seville house, Toby and the gang were fast asleep for the moment, seeing as they were taking the day off to visit Brittany.
It was 6.30 in the morning that Brittany finally became back into consciousness. She opened one bleary, glassy eye and allowed her senses to come into focus. Her nerves woke up first, pain was starting to become clearer with each second, and then her eyes come into focus. She could see a white room with what seemed like a steel floor, until she realised that it was a bench. Her eyes started to dart around...was she in a cage?
Her sense of touch awoke and she could feel the soft cushion she was resting on and another she was up against, but what was curled around her tail? Finally her sense of smell started working. Why could she smell honey amongst she putrid smell of medication? She tried to shift until a sharp jolt of pain shot up her spine; she winced and yelped, causing another noise.
A light yawn came from behind Brittany and she froze. Who was that? "Britt? Are you awake?" came a sleepy voice. She felt a small amount of pressure lift from her side. She was still half awake, but she knew that voice any time of day.
"Alvin? Is that you?" she asked weakly. Her throat was very sore seeing as it had been hanging open since she bonked out.
"Yeah, it's me. How are you?" Alvin replied gently. His lips were right next to her ear.
"Sore, really sore," she replied. She was still confused. She remembered Alvin hugging her closely when she broke down, but how come he was still here?
"I'm sorry to hear that," Alvin said as he sat up. He moved away before stretching out like a dog, yawning as he did so, "But I'm not surprised after what happened."
Brittany winced as Marni's face flashed in front of her eyes. She shook it off before asking, "Have you been here all night?"
"Every second of it," Came Alvin's reply. He seemed happy that Brittany was sounding a little stronger. He quietly crawled around her and lay on his stomach, his legs curled together to one side, "I was going to leave with the others, but I figured that you might want some company when you woke up. We've both been out of it since yesterday afternoon."
"That long?" Brittany said, surprised.
"Yep. I was exhausted after the track session and you were...well," Alvin's voice faded. Brittany couldn't help but blush when the worry returned to his golden eyes.
"Out cold?" Brittany finished for him. Alvin nodded. "What exactly did Marni do to me?"
Alvin growled at the mention of the cheerleader. It was still evident when he answered, "She managed to break a few ribs and you've got quite a bump on the head, but no permanent damage."
Brittany sighed in relief and gave a tired smile, "Well, thank God for that."
Alvin smiled too, "Definitely."
There were a few minutes of silence as they gazed at each other. Brittany was still perplexed at Marni's change in attitude, but was just too tired to stress over it. Besides, she had her best friend of best friend's right here with her. Alvin could do nothing but admire her courage as she continued to smile.
After a little while more, Dolores the nurse walked in with a plate of berries and an assortment of nuts along with a water tray. She toddled over to the cage and peeked in, smiling when she saw both chipmunks awake, "Good morning dears, I was hoping you'd come around by now. Brittany, how are you feeling this morning?"
"Sore," came the Chipettes reply.
"I'm not surprised," said Dolores matter-of-factly, "Just be sure to keep still, rest easy, drink plenty and don't starve yourself. You'll be on your feet on two weeks."
"TWO WEEKS?" Brittany cried. Alvin had to hold her down to stop her from jumping up, "But the Ball is on Friday! I can't perform!"
"Brittany, please take a chill pill and relax, before you hurt yourself more!"Alvin pleaded. Again, Brittany was surprised to hear the worry in his voice. For him, she took a breath and lay down. He stroked her cheek and whispered, "Who cares about the Ball? We've performed for the school before. All anyone cares about is you. Okay?"
Brittany nodded. Dolores beamed. She set the plate on the table in front of the cage, "That's better. Alvin why don't you help your mate with eating breakfast while I replace her IV."
Both chipmunks spluttered at once.
"Oh-n-no! I'm not his mate!" Brittany stammered, while Alvin nodded in agreement. Both were blushing so furiously, you could nearly see it from under their fur. Dolores chuckled.
"Sure you not!" she laughed as she walked back out to get the morphine.
A/N: A lot of people seem to have that opinion don't they?