by Julie Bihn
Chapter 2: A Case
Gadget woke up much later than usual the next morning--or, more accurately, the next afternoon. Worried, she felt her forehead, and found it was burning up! That meant she had a fever--didn't it? But then, if she had a fever, she wouldn't be able to tell she was hot, would she? Finally, Gadget just tried to get up, but her dizziness quickly forced her down again. Whether she had a fever or not, she was sick. She stared at the ceiling for a while, trying (and failing) to come up with a way to make herself better, until the noise of a shrill, spirited argument between two chipmunks broke into her thoughts. Though she really couldn't stand to hear them fight, Gadget could do little else but listen.
"It was *your* hot chocolate that--"
"What do you *mean* my hot chocolate? I didn't--"
"You must've given her salmonella or something--"
"Yeah, well, at least I'm not thinking about other girls!"
"Other girls?"
"Sal and Monella--"
"It's *food* poisoning, you dim bulb!"
"Me? You're the one usin' all the funny words--"
"Knock it off, you two," Monty stopped them. "We need to go investigate that string o' robberies--"
"Someone needs to watch Gadget if we're going anywhere," said Dale defensively.
"I will," said Chip. "Dale'll just make her sicker!"
"I will not! It's not *my* fault that--"
Thankfully, a knock at the door stopped the unseen argument short. Back in the main room of headquarters, Monty opened the front door, and an attractive female chipmunk carefully stepped in through the popsicle stick door. She was dressed in a tight but unrevealing green dress, and wore eye shadow to match. Her sandy hair wasn't tied back, and the graceful locks fell well past her shoulders. She seemed distressed, and cried out, in an attractive, high-pitched voice, "My family!"
Chip and Dale both rushed over to help her down the domino stairs. They sat her down on the couch and, after some quick nonverbal reassurance, gave her the usual line of questions.
"What's wrong?" the chipmunks asked in unison.
"My family...they were kidnapped!" she said, nearly crying.
"Who's your family?" Monty asked.
"My mother, my brother, my twin sister..." Despite their sympathy, Chip and Dale's eyebrows raised simultaneously. Twin sister? "Everyone!"
Craftily, Chip asked, "They didn't get your boyfriend, did they?"
"N--no," the chipmunk said, "neither Patricia nor I are dating anyone right now..." Chip and Dale couldn't help but smile inwardly, though they still felt sympathy for the poor chipmunk.
Dale said, "I'm Chip, and--I mean, I'm Dale, and that's Chip." Though he was flustered, he was still friendly. "What's your name?"
"Samantha." The chipmunk was near tears, and Chip scooted closer, putting his paw on her shoulder reassuringly.
"Do you know who might've done this?" he asked.
Samantha shook her head. "I don't know--this *mole*--he came by and said that if we didn't find some jewelry for him, we'd be sorry. We refused, and when I woke up this morning..." She started to cry, and Dale took her hand.
"It's okay," he said.
Even amid his infatuation, Chip's mind was working. "I'll bet Fat Cat's behind this. Don't worry, Samantha--we'll find your family." A gleam of hope entered the crying chipmunk's eyes.
"Really?" she asked.
"Ah'm sure of it," offered Monty confidently.
"Yeah," shouted Dale. "Now come on! Let's track down Fat Cat!" He was halfway out the door before Monty stopped him.
"Aren't we goin' ta tell Gadget?" he asked. Chip and Dale had completely forgotten about her; a pretty girl who was healthy was a lot more fun than one who was sick. And adventuring was more fun than fetching water for a feverish friend.
"Dale can stay," Chip volunteered.
"But I'll just make her sicker; you said that yourself," countered Dale.
"Yeah, but you guys need me to help solve the case!" Chip genuinely believed that the Rangers needed him to lead them, and couldn't function well without him.
"We can do it ourselves!" Dale wanted to do something exciting today, instead of just staying home.
"Oh, yeah?"
Zipper sensed a fight coming on, and buzzed his willingness to remain with Gadget, but Monty shook his head.
"I think it'll take the both of us to balance these two lads out," he motioned. Zipper sighed. "Look, you just go back and see if Gadget's all right. If she looks bad, we can always get Tammy or someone to watch 'er."
Zipper frowned--that didn't seem like a good idea to him. Sure, the squirrel seemed like she was over her crush on Chip, but she still seemed a little jealous of Gadget, and with good reason. Well, they'd figure out something. The fly obediently flew back to Gadget's room. He opened the door, and was pleasantly surprised to see that Gadget was awake. He started to squeak an explanation.
"No, I heard the whole thing," Gadget said, cutting him off. "Yeah, you all go ahead. I'll be fine here by myself." Zipper looked doubtful, so Gadget reassured him. "Really. I'm not that sick. That girl needs your help more than I do." Zipper still seemed uncertain, but he squeaked an 'okay' and a 'get better quick', and left Gadget, closing her bedroom door behind him.
He relayed that Gadget was awake and doing better, and the chipmunks (who had been concerned about their friend, despite their actions) smiled, relieved. The two hurried Samantha into the Ranger Plane, and soon the five of them were in the air. Chip was piloting, and the female chipmunk was in the front between Dale and him (half-sitting on Dale's seat, due to the inconveniently positioned controls in the center of the plane). Monty was in the back seat, and he and Zipper seemed to be the only ones watching where the plane was going.
"So, Chip, where 'ya headed?" Monty asked non-chalantly.
"Huh?" Chip asked, blinking out of his female-induced stupor. Somewhat flustered, he went on, "I don't know--I guess--"
"To the scene of the crime?" Zipper buzzed sarcastically.
"Yeah!" said Dale triumphantly. "The scene of the crime! Where do you live, Samantha?" Her house was quite a distance away, but Chip's flying greatly improved when he had a destination in mind, and at least Monty and Zipper no longer feared for their lives along the way.