Reservation Dogs (Rescue Rangers)

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Eight

The Banshee soared over the forested hills of the Allegany State Park with it’s three passengers. Dave was still tightly gripping his knife, trying to figure his next move. Chip was doing his best to deal with the cuts he had sustained during his scuffle with Dave. Dee flew her aircraft in no particular direction, growling to herself. I should have charged him, she thought angrily, he would’ve let go of Chip and used the knife to defend himself! I’d love to be able to eject that son of a bitch, but the handle is right next to him three seats back. An idea suddenly manifested itself, That might work, not like things can get any worse if it fails.

“Where am I supposed to be flying?” Dee called back to Dave.

“I don’t know!” he yelled.

“Great,” Chip responded, “we’re being held hostage by an amateur!”

“Shut up!” Dave searched his mind for an idea, “The mine! You’re going to take us to the mine!”

“What makes you think we know where it is?” Chip asked.

Dammit, Chip, shut up! Dee thought to herself, I know what I’m doing!

“Don’t give me that bull!” Dave yelled.

“We don’t have the fuel!” Dee responded.

“You’re lying!”

“Listen!” Dee countered, “We’re too heavy to get that far with the fuel we have! If you’d told me we were going there I could’ve dumped the cargo before we left!”

“Then dump the cargo NOW!”

“I can’t dump it while I’m flying you jack ass! That’s why I would’ve had to dump it before we took off! The only way to dump it in flight is for someone else to pull the release lever!”

“Fine! Where is it?”

“On the right hand side of the third seat!”

So that’s what she’s trying to do, Chip realized, I hope Dave is as stupid as she thinks he is.

Dave quickly looked around and found the lever on his right, and pulled it. It wasn’t until he saw the whole aircraft shrinking beneath him that he realized something was very, very wrong. His blood froze as the full realization of what was happening hit him. HOLY SHIT!! his panicked mind cried out, I’M NOT WEARING A PARACHUTE!! He instinctively clutched the foam padded seat with all his strength, not knowing that the seat itself was equipped with a life saving device.

Dee turned the Banshee and searched the surrounding sky for her former passenger. She soon caught sight of Dave, desperately clutching his seat, dangling by a set of strings from a handkerchief.

Back at the mill Bob, Monterey, and Gadget were busy trying to determine what should be done. They were getting nowhere fast by the time they heard the wail of the Banshee. The three stood at the side of the landing strip in excruciating anticipation. Though each had great faith in the abilities of their missing comrades they had each privately feared that they would meet nevermore (at least not in this life). Almost before the aircraft even came to rest in the hanger Dee leapt from the cockpit. She dashed over to one of the workbenches and retrieved a first-aid kit.

As Chip began to disembark the others ran over to him. “Chipper, what happened?!” Monterey shouted.

“We dumped some unwanted cargo,” Chip calmly answered.

Gadget gasped as she saw the dried blood all over Chips hands, stomach and thighs, “Golly! Chip, are you alright?!”

“Huh?” the immense relief of a safe return had temporarily taken his mind off his injuries, “Oh... it looks a lot worse than it is.”

Dee rushed over with the first-aid kit and promptly set to dealing with Chip’s injuries, “Who’d think hand wounds could bleed so much?”

“Where’s Dale?” Chip asked as Dee bandaged his hands.

“He’s telling the pups a bedtime story,” Bob answered.

When Dee was finished tending to Chip’s injuries she wandered over to a workbench, grabbed a pencil and began writing. “Next refit: Install pilot activated passenger ejection system,” she mumbled aloud as she wrote.

“What happened to Dave?” Monterey asked.

“Dee tricked him into activating his ejection seat,” Chip answered, “he’s probably dangling from a tree branch somewhere.”

“Unless we were lucky and he got plucked up by a predatory bird,” Dee smiled as she looked up from her writing.

From down below came the cries of frightened wolf pups. The sadistic pleasure Dee took in imagining Dave’s demise dissipated at the sound of the first pitiable whine. She bolted from the hanger, down the stairs, and sprinted across the map room towards the den. The others did their best to keep up with her. Dee nearly collided with Dale while entering the den.

“Dale, what happened?” Chip asked as he came to a stop at the entrance.

“I don’t know,” Dale responded, “I was telling them the same bedtime story my mom always told me... Little Red Riding Hood...”

“Oh, Dale...” Gadget groaned.

“What?”

“Dale, you dummy,” Chip answered, “you just told a litter of wolf puppies a bedtime story that ends with a wolf being HACKED TO DEATH by a woodsman!”

“Oh... hadn’t thought a’ that.”

“Well, on the bright side,” Gadget pointed out, “they’ll at least have a healthy fear of humans.”

Dee was inside the den doing her best to comfort the pups. “Don’t worry, the pack will be home soon,” she told them as soothingly as possible, “and they’ll be home even sooner if you go to sleep.”

“Will you sing us a lullaby, Aunt Dee?” one of the pups meekly asked as he sniffed back a tear.

“Ok, I’ll sing you a lullaby,” Dee responded softly, “but only one, so find yourselves a comfy place to sleep.” The sleek black coated puppies began to mill about searching for the best sleeping spot, and within a minute had conglomerated into one big pile on a blanket. While a few legs and tails still twitched within the mountain of puppy fluff, Dee began, “Ok li’l pups, here’s your lullaby...

“When the dark wood fell before me
and all the paths were overgrown,
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone.”

Out of sheer curiosity the five persons assembled in the map room stopped to listen.

“I did not believe because I could not see
though you came to me in the night.
When the dawn seemed forever lost
you showed me your love in the light of the stars.”

It sounded particularly familiar to Chip, who listened more intently as he tried to place it.

“Cast your eyes on the ocean,
Cast your soul to the sea,
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me.”

He finally remembered that Tammy had tried to serenade him with it last Valentine’s Day.

“Then the mountain rose before me
from the deep well of desire,
From the fountain of forgiveness
beyond the ice and the fire.”

It was a song by Loreena McKennitt: “Dante’s Prayer”.

“Cast your eyes on the ocean,
Cast your soul to the sea,
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me.”

Tammy’s version didn’t have quite so much emotion...

“Though we share this humble path, alone
how fragile is the heart.
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly,
to touch the face of the stars.”

...or quite so much tenderness.

“Breathe life into this feeble heart,
lift this mortal veil of fear.
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears,
we’ll rise above these earthly cares.”

Chip hadn’t noticed the others had already returned upstairs.

“Cast your eyes on the ocean,
Cast your soul to the sea,
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me.”

For a few moments Dee watched as the pups, piled one atop another, slept quietly. She turned and proceeded to leave the den, and was surprised to see Chip waiting in the map room. “Hae’,” she said smiling pleasantly.

At this point Chip finally realized he was alone with Dee. “Hi,” he responded nervously, “I... guess the others went back upstairs.”

“Either that or they became invisible,” Dee responded with a nervous laugh. She hadn’t thought that anyone would have stayed to listen to her sing. The fact that Chip had was incredibly flattering, and she began to blush noticeably. This eased Chip’s mind greatly, knowing that he was able to make her as nervous as she’d made him, even if it was unintentional.

“Do you pupsit often?” Chip asked as they began to leave the map room.

“Off and on, everyone in the pack takes their turn as the nanny,” Dee answered, “and besides, I am their ‘furry godmother’!” They were both laughing as they entered the hanger.

“How’re yer hands doin’ there, Chip?” Bob asked once Chip and Dee had seated themselves on the couch.

“Oh, they’re just a little sore,” Chip responded, not mentioning that some of the cuts still stung quite badly.

“If they start to bother you just let me know,” Dee offered, “I have plenty of painkillers, antibiotics, bandages... whatever you need, anything at all.”

Chip continued to downplay his discomfort. Both he and Dale would exaggerate their wounds in an effort to get just a little more attention from Gadget, but this wasn’t Gadget. Chip didn’t have to exaggerate to get attention from Dee, and he knew it, so he figured this would be an excellent time to demonstrate his mettle.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Eight continued...

It was well after sundown when the excited yelping of pups alerted everyone to the return of Romulus, his pack, and Zipper. Dee put the finishing touches on a new set of bandages for Chip’s hands and they joined the others already gathered in the map room.

“So, what did you find out?” Chip asked.

“Those beavers we saw had built a pretty sturdy one level complex beside the entrance to the mine,” Romulus started, “There were a number of remote controlled toy vehicles kept just inside the mine entrance under a makeshift tent.”

“Of course,” Chip reasoned aloud, “they’d need reliable transportation into town.”

“There were rats, a few mice, and some racoons going in and out of the place,” Romulus continued, “well, the racoons couldn’t actually get inside the place, they’re too big. From their behavior I would guess that the mice were the ones in charge for the most part, the rats figured in the middle with the racoons as hired help. They all kept their distance when they saw us come up the trail, we just sniffed around, looked in the few windows... y’know, typical canine investigative stuff, nothing that would give them the idea we were doing anything other than patrolling our hunting range. While they were watching us, Zipper here went in for a closer look and found that each room has an opening, skylight basically, and he located where they’re keeping the guy you’re after.”

“Good work there, Zipper!” Monterey cheered.

“Could you draw a layout of the place for us?” Dee asked.

Sure, no problem, Zipper motioned in response. Dee turned over one of the maps and Chip handed him a pencil. Zipper proceeded to draw an overhead view, pointing out whatever interior features he’d noticed during his reconnaissance. When he was finished drawing he gave a ‘grand tour’ of the hideout, detailing how many persons he’d observed in each room, what they appeared to be doing, and most importantly, where Rick Tanner was being held and how many appeared to be assigned to watch him.

They all studied the map for awhile. Dee was the first to speak, “Ya’ know, those skylights just beg for an airborne assault, just like the battle for Eben Emael.” Everyone just stared at her. “Sorry, guess you’re not all that into military history.”

“Why would they haff skylights?” Bob asked, “Wouldn’t they figure someone would try to get in through them?”

“They probably didn’t expect anyone would find them,” both Chip and Dee answered simultaneously. They looked at each other and began to blush, much to the amusement of the others.

When the chuckles subsided Chip added his voice to the planning, “Dee is right, coming in from above would be best.”

“Well that solves the problem of getting in,” Monterey began, “but how are we going to deal with the guards once we’re in?”

“We’ll need a distraction,” Dale answered, confident that no one could find fault with his reasoning.

Dee looked up at Romulus, “Maybe the wolves can cause some trouble?”

“Wait a minute,” Dale intruded, “Can’t the wolves just tear the place apart and grab Rick?”

“That’s a cute thought, ‘hors-d’oeuvre’,” Romulus responded patting Dale on the head roughly, “But it’s not particularly easy to break apart something a beaver’s built.”

“Besides,” Dee added, “there’s no way for them to be certain that doing so won’t seriously hurt or kill the people inside.”

“If we come in and start harassing some of their people outside it should distract them nicely,” Romulus suggested.

“That’s right!” Gadget realized, “some of them would have to be outside, the racoons are too large to take refuge inside.”

“And while they’re all watching what’s going on outside,” Monterey added, “we land on the roof, come in through the skylight, grab Rick and leave before they know anything’s happened.”

“Landing on the roof would be a little obvious,” Dee mentioned, “this thing’s only one story high, they might notice something like the Ranger Wing or Banshee coming in... What if we land on the mine entrance?” she indicated a spot on the diagram, “right here...”

“If we don’t land too close to the edge they shouldn’t see us,” Gadget agreed, “and our climbing down the side of the mine entrance wouldn’t be nearly as obvious as an incoming aircraft.”

Having developed a general idea of what should be done discussions soon settled on particulars. Chip and Dee dominated the talk, even finishing one another's sentences at times. If the issue involved the need for equipment Dee and Gadget would throw around ideas. Chip ran through the plan several times with the others to spot any possible flaws and to ensure everyone knew their place. When the meeting adjourned they all retired for a late dinner, except for Romulus who returned to the den to watch some television (Virginia permitting).

With dinner completed Dee and Gadget immediately went to work crafting the tools necessary for the coming mission. Monterey, Bob, Dale, and Zipper found something to entertain themselves on Dee’s television. Chip returned to his detective novel, but read unusually slow as his mind was still working through the strategy for the next day.

Just as Dee and Gadget were completing the last of the equipment a thunderstorm rolled in. As the lightning grew progressively closer a thought occurred to Gadget, “Uh, Dee? Where do you keep the fuel for the Banshee?”

Dee didn’t have to ask why her near double asked, “Don’t worry, the storage tank is grounded. And this place has been hit by lightning on more than one occasion without any problems... so there’s nothing to worry about.” When they were finished Gadget and Dee introduced the others to their creations and gave instructions on how they were to be operated.

Everyone returned to the living room. There wasn’t much talk, what little there was centered on the severe weather warning that had been flashed along the bottom of the television screen. Before long, Dee leaned over and rested her head on Chip’s shoulder, which he didn’t really seem to mind, he simply continued reading. He wondered how long Dee could stay snuggled up next to him... until she began to snore. Not very loud snoring, just enough to tell him she was out like a light.

One by one everyone began to retire to their beds for the night. Since Dee was still slumbering next to Chip, Bob took it upon himself to close up the hanger for the night. Before she, herself, checked out Gadget whispered to Chip, “You’re going to have to wake her sooner or later, you can’t sleep sitting up. Well, achally you can, but you really shouldn’t, it’s not very conducive to your health.”

“I know,” Chip responded, “I’ll wake her as soon as I finish this chapter.” Finishing the chapter was actually the second reason he hadn’t moved, he was finding it hard to wake her while she was sleeping so peacefully. This really isn’t a good position for her to sleep in, I should wake her up, he finally convinced himself. Chip’s first subtle efforts to wake Dee merely resulted in her leaning over in the opposite direction, resting her head on the arm of the couch. Great, Chip thought, that’s an even worse position for her. Another effort to rouse her simply prompted her to stretch out on the couch.

“Dee, wake up,” Chip whispered loudly, just as loud as he felt he could considering the other Rangers were sleeping nearby. He shook her. No response. She can’t really be sleeping this deeply... wait, how would I know how deeply she sleeps? “You’re not going to make this easy for me are you?” he asked hoping he could trick her into revealing if she was really awake after all. The only response was the same deep regular breathing and faint snoring he had become accustomed to. Well if she really does sleep this soundly than she won’t get mad if I go into her room to drop her off! He slipped his arms underneath Dee’s sleeping form and lifted her off the couch. Chip half expected Dee to wrap her arms around his neck.

Opening the door proved easier than Chip had anticipated. He carefully maneuvered through Dee’s bedroom, occasionally waiting for a flash of lightning to reveal any potential obstacles. Arriving at her bed Chip realized he’d have to turn her around, or else leave her feet resting on the pillow. While turning Dee as gently as possible into a proper sleeping position he wondered how she would react if she were to awaken while he was still leaning over her. The fact that just a look from her was enough to cause Bob to visibly cower didn’t do much to reassure him. Just as he laid Dee’s head on her pillow she began to move.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Eight continued...

Chip swiftly backed up and waited to see just how awake she had become. Dee rolled over on her side, facing him, but still seemed to be slumbering. Letting out a sigh of relief Chip began to leave the room.

“Don’t go,” Chip heard her whisper.

“What?” he whispered in response.

“What?” Dee asked, lifting her head slightly from the pillow.

“Didn’t you just say ‘don’t go’?”

“Musta’ been dreaming,” she mumbled laying her head back down on the pillow. Thinking that she had drifted back to sleep, Chip turned to leave, grateful that things had gone as smoothly as they had. “Wait,” he heard her whisper loudly.

“Yes?” Chip asked as he turned to face her.

Dee propped herself up on an elbow as she spoke, “I haf something a little... strange to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s sort of a fafer,” Dee mentioned, her Seneca accent becoming more noticeable. She propped herself up on her elbow, “I’fe been waiting a long time to meet somebody like you... and here you are... and today I nearly lost you... so... while you’re still here...,” she hesitated, trying to find the right words, “I... want to... haf you... to hold onto... as I go to sleep.”

Chip’s heart began to race, Is she asking what I think she’s asking?

“It’s nothing sexual,” Dee reassured him, “I just want... to hold you... instead of my pillow.” She added softly, “Please.”

A flash of lightning illuminated the room and Chip could clearly make out the expression on her face. Up to that point she always had an air of supreme confidence, but now that confidence was gone. In it’s place Chip found something, something that looked almost like fear. A peal of thunder shuddered through the room. Chip couldn’t bring himself to turn and walk from the room, or explain to her why he should (which was made even more difficult due to a lack of ideas as to why he should).

“Ok,” Chip said, “move over.” Dee slid to the side to give him room. As he reached the side of the bed he remembered about the open door, “Want me to close the door first?”

“As long as you promise to come back,” Dee joked.

Chip climbed into Dee’s bed after having closed the door. As soon as he’d settled in, Dee nestled in as tight as she could manage throwing an arm over and pulling him closer. Chip placed a comforting hand on her arm as he closed his eyes.

“What are you thinking about?” Dee asked as her face remained buried against his neck.

“Nothing,” he responded.

“You’re lying,” she countered, “you’re clenching your jaw, I can feel it. So either you’re concentrating on something or you haff trouble controlling your facial muscles.”

“I was thinking about tomorrow,” Chip confessed.

“Don’t,” Dee pleaded, “You need rest, and yer not going to get it by worrying.”

Chip couldn’t silence the strategist in him, working over the next day’s plan, looking for anything that might have been overlooked. He was also worrying, though he hated to admit such uncertainty to himself.

Dee realized he wasn’t letting go. She put her hand on his cheek and turned his head so she could face him. Dee was close enough that Chip could feel her breath as she spoke gently, “I learned years ago to appreciate these moments of peace before the storm. This moment can never be repeated. Once it has passed... there will never be another moment like it, no other chance to enjoy it. Don’t think about tomorrow... don’t think about yesterday... just think of now... let the rain sing to you, let the thunder massage your weary muscles... appreciate what is here now. This night you’re safe. Just close your eyes and rest.”

“Ok,” Chip quietly agreed laying his head back on the pillow. Dee nestled her face back into his neck and hugged him close. Chip laid there motionless feeling the heat of her breath coursing through the fur on his neck. It wasn’t long before this was joined by Dee’s soft snoring. Wait, what if everyone else is awake by the time I get up again? Chip thought, certain that Dee wouldn’t reprimand him for doing so, how am I supposed to explain this to the others? I can’t exactly get up and leave now, though... She’s right, what’s the point in giving myself a headache over this, I can’t avoid it and can’t do anything until then.

Closing his eyes, Chip let out a deep sigh and just listened to the rain playing a melody on the roof, felt the thunder roll through him, felt Dee’s warmth and the steady rhythm of her breathing. He was amazed at how comfortable he suddenly felt. Chip was unable to recall another time in his life where he felt this safe and secure. He soon slipped into a blissful, restful sleep.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Nine

A sea of fog filled the forested hollows of the State Park by the time the storm had passed. The morning sun was visible only to the birds nesting near the peaks of the hills. The cold front that had driven the storm before it had settled in and permeated through all but the best insulated dwellings.

Monterey Jack was the first to awaken in the hanger. As he stretched by his bed (cracking several joints in the process) he noticed that Chip’s bed was rather empty. Always was the one to get the jump on the day, he thought, ‘specially when there’s important work to be done. Monterey expected to meet Chip on his way to the kitchen, but he was nowhere to be seen. Taking his coffee with him Monterey surveyed the hanger, still no Chip. Walking back towards the living room he stopped at the empty bed. Cold as a polar bear’s behind, he noted as he felt the bedding. Sitting himself down in the living room he glanced through the kitchen at the door to Dee’s bedroom. Ya’ don’t suppose... nah. But where else could he be?

A few minutes later Dale rolled out of bed, literally. Falling to the floor with an undignified ‘flump’ he suddenly awoke. “Who-what-where?” Dale hurriedly babbled as he tried to ascertain what had just happened.

Dale’s sudden onslaught of noise woke Gadget and Zipper, both of whom sat up and stretched as they tried to work the tiredness from their muscles. Zipper groggily buzzed into the living room and sat up on the back of a chair with a long strung out yawn.

“Good morning, Monty,” Gadget said following Zipper into the living room.

“Mornin’ Gadget, luv.”

Gadget looked around, “Where’s Chip?”

Monterey wasn’t quite sure how to answer. He cleared his throat as he unconsciously looked towards the kitchen. Gadget noticed this and wandered into the kitchen, then into the pantry.

“Well, he’s not in there,” Gadget stated as she walked back into the living room. She stood for a moment, running things through her mind. Something finally dawned on her, “Waitaminute, you don’t mean...” She looked back over her shoulder towards Dee’s bedroom, then looked to Monterey who merely shrugged. She let out a little squeak before covering her mouth, then began to blush.

Dale, who had finally gotten his wits together and pulled himself off the floor, entered the living room, “Mornin’ Monty... Zipper... Gadget.” Dale stopped when he got a look at Gadget. She had a stunned look on her face, was blushing considerably, and kept making peculiar squeaking sounds from behind her hand, “Uh, Gadget? You feeling ok?” Gadget simply looked at him.

Bob came wandering through the hanger, still half asleep. Monterey decided to take a wild stab, “Hey, Bob, you ‘aven’t, by any chance, seen Chip?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, I seen ‘im a whole lot,” Bob mumbled as he entered the living room.

“I-I mean this mornin’,” Monterey clarified.

“Oh hell no, I just got up,” Bob answered. Then he saw Gadget. “Is she ok?” he asked turning back to Monterey with a concerned look. Gadget’s squeaks began to take on the semblance of a suppressed giggle. “Uh, why do you want to know if I’ve seen Chip?” Bob ventured out of sheer confusion.

Monterey finally had an idea for what to say, “Near as I can figure,” he began, “he’s either in the map room, sleeping with the wolves, or...” he trailed off looking in the direction of the closed door on the other side of the kitchen.

“You don’t mean...” Bob started incredulously.

Dale finally got the point, and his jaw dropped.

Bob walked over to his sister’s door, then suddenly stopped. “No-o-o, I don’t think I’ll go right in,” he drawled, “I made that mistake before.” He walked out onto the balcony, and disappeared. In a few moments he returned, “Yeah, they’re in there!” Gadget’s squeaking got a little louder. “They are fully dressed though,” he reassured everyone.

Neither Dee or Chip noticed Bob taking a look in through the sliding glass door. Dee gave her bomber jacket clad teddy bear a gentle squeeze. “Finally woke up?” Chip asked softly.

“Finally?” Dee asked, “I’ve been awake for the past half hour,” she looked up at him, “I didn’t want to wake you.”

“So have I,” he responded, “I didn’t want to wake you.” They both laughed at the irony.

“Well, may as well get up now,” Dee mentioned as they both began to get out of bed.

“Ladies first,” Chip stated with a smile as he opened the door for Dee.

“Ooh, how chivalrous,” Dee cooed as she walked past.

The sound of the door opening immediately drew the attention of everyone in the livingroom. Dee emerged first, clearly amused by something. She was followed by Chip, who closed the door behind him. Once they realized everyone was staring at them they slowed down and, upon entering the livingroom, stopped.

Dee’s unconscious instinctively told her to confront them with “What the hell are all of you looking at?” However, her rational mind took over and she opened with, “Just so you don’t give us this look for the rest of the day: We didn’t do anything...” then added, “well, not what all of you seem to think we did.”

Chip decided to divert attention away from the awkwardness of the moment, “We’d all better have a light breakfast, you don’t want to eat so much that it’ll slow you down.”

“I’m gonna head down to talk with Romulus, see how long it’ll take him and the others to get to the mine,” Dee announced, then left for the den.

Chip returned to the kitchen to prepare himself breakfast. When he returned, Dale cautiously posed the question that was gnawing at him, “Uh... What did you and Doohickey do last night, Chip?”

“Dale!” Gadget scolded as she and everyone else gave Dale stern glances.

“Well that’s really none of your business, Dale,” Chip responded with an offended tone. Chip thought about admitting that Dee simply wanted him to hold on to, but thought that doing so without her ‘ok’ would be a poor decision to say the least.

Dee soon returned from the den and passed on the information from Romulus, “He says they can make it in about twenty minutes.”

“That means we should leave here about twenty five minutes after they do,” Chip remarked, “That way we’ll be sure they’re there and causing a distraction when we arrive.”

Dee fixed herself a little something to eat and sat beside Chip on the couch (which the others had left open for them). Periodically the two of them would glance in the other’s direction, and occasionally, when their eyes met, they’d smile. Monterey, Zipper, and Bob found this to be rather entertaining. Dale was quickly growing tired of their behavior, If they get any more lovey-dovey I’m going to lose my breakfast, he thought to himself.

But something was bothering Gadget that she couldn’t quite place. I don’t think it’s what I’m eating, she thought, and I’m not nervous... Could it be that I’m jealous? No, that’s silly, I don’t have any reason to be jealous. I don’t even have a relationship with Chip... well, not that type of relationship anyway. I’ve thought about it, but I already decided it wouldn’t be a good idea: if I started up a relationship with him it might alienate Dale, and if the relationship went bad it’d affect the whole team... I can’t do that. Besides, he is a little too strict at times, he might turn out to be the type who wants to control the relationship, and that would cause it to fall apart and it would affect the whole team. And Dee has a lot more in common with him, and they are getting along really well. Then what’s bothering me? I know! Because of all the attention that Dee’s been giving Chip, he hasn’t had a chance to flirt with me like he usually does, therefore I must be suffering from withdrawal! Yeah, that makes perfect sense!

Once everyone had finished with their breakfast it was time to get down to business. Dee was the one to tell Romulus and his pack to head off for the mine.

“By the way, we’ll be leaving the pups with Honker,” Romulus called up the stairs to Dee.

“You think that’s a good idea?” Dee responded.

“Do you really want us to take him with us?”

“Um, no, not really.”

“We’ll see ya’ at the mine then.”

As Dee walked back into the hanger where the others were assembled Chip felt compelled to ask, “Why don’t we want ‘Honker’ helping out at the mine?”

“Well, when Honker was a pup he swallowed a horn,” Dee proceeded to explain, “It got stuck. Ever since then he’s been unable to bark or howl, he just sort of honks.”

“That’s terrible,” Gadget commented.

“The first time he went along on a hunt an entire herd of deer laughed themselves silly,” Dee continued, “It was a rather harsh blow to the pack’s pride... being laughed at by their prey. Anyhow, Honker’s forbidden to say anything on the hunt, but given the circumstances we’d rather not take the chance that he’ll forget and start honking out of excitement.”

“Ok, let’s make sure we all know what we’re doing,” Chip stated to the group, “Dale, myself, and Dee will go in the Banshee, we’ll be taking the rope ladders... Gadget, Monterey, Bob, and Zipper will follow in the Ranger Wing, you’ll be taking the winch. While we’re waiting for the Ranger Wing, Dee will get the Banshee ready for take off. When we’ve all arrived we’ll use the rope ladders to descend down the side of the mine entrance, then we set up the winch over the room where Mr. Tanner is being kept, Dee and myself will drop in to get him, then Monterey and Bob will use the winch to pull us out. After that, we ascend the ladders, get Mr. Tanner in the Banshee with Dee and Dale, who will take off immediately, the rest of us will follow in the Ranger Wing and we’ll all meet back here.”

[ksharbaugh]

[i]Chapter Nine continued...

Everyone confirmed that they all understood their roles and began gathering the equipment. When the time came they boarded the two aircraft and strapped themselves in. As Dee pulled the ignition lever Chip saw a chance to be dramatic and proclaimed, “Rescue Rangers AHHHHHHHHH!” Unfortunately he had misjudged how long it would take the rockets to fire. Once he’d caught his breath he cleared his throat and finished with a rather subdued, “away!” Dale and Dee couldn’t help but snicker quietly to themselves.

Dee soon located the clearing where she saw large grey animals harrying smaller brown animals. “Well, that’s them,” Dee proclaimed as she shut off the engine. She made a couple loops around the area to slow down for a landing.

Chip looked down at their landing site, “There’s not enough room for the Banshee to land!”

“Sure there is!” Dee responded sprightly, “I’ll just have to use the emergency brakes!”

Dale gulped, “You’re not going to say ‘They should work’ are you?”

“Oh hell no, I know they work,” she answered, “It’s just extremely uncomfortable is all.” Coming in for the final approach Dee called to her passengers, “Put your head between your knees and hold on to your hats!”

The instant Dee felt the landing skids hit the earthen embankment atop the mine entrance she pulled a lever under her seat. Spikes shot out from the skids, lodging themselves into the dirt and bringing the Banshee to a near immediate halt. Once everyone’s stomachs had settle they disembarked. Dee immediately set to work preparing her aircraft for takeoff, Chip began unloading the rope ladders, and Dale checked on the situation below.

“Doesn’t look like they saw us,” Dale relayed, “everyone’s too busy watching the wolves play ‘racoon ball’.”

“Racoon ball?” Dee asked as she retrieved fresh rockets from the nose of the Banshee.

“Yeah, they have one of them rolled up and they’re kicking him around like a soccer ball!”

“Is it just the racoons outside?” Chip asked.

“Nope,” Dale answered, “There are a few rats and a mouse down there too.”

“They probably got locked out when the others ran for cover,” Dee supposed, “Hey, I could use a little help here, we need to push the plane back to get the brakes to retract.” Chip and Dale took up positions on either side of Dee and pushed the jet backwards till they heard the metallic clack of the brakes being pulled into the skids. “Now we have to push forward a bit, just to make sure nothing’s stuck,” Dee stated as she ran to the rear. The Ranger Wing landed as Dee proclaimed the Banshee airworthy. Bob and Monterey disembarked with the winch.

“Where’s the other rope ladder?” Dee asked looking around.

“It’s still in the Banshee,” Chip answered as he went to retrieve it.

“I’ll get it,” Dale interrupted, “I’m closer!” Dale hopped aboard the plane and grabbed the rolled up ladder. As he tried to jump off he came to a sudden halt, and dropped the ladder on Chip.

“What’s wrong with you?” a very irritated Chip asked.

“I’m stuck!” Dale answered tugging on his shirt (which had caught on something).

Dee jumped up to help free Dale, “I can’t even tell what it’s stuck on,” she stated leaning in close.

Chip saw that the others were already prepared and were waiting on him and Dee. “We don’t have time for this,” he called to Dee and Dale, “Dale, you and Zipper keep an eye on things up here.” Zipper gave a salute while Dale continued tugging at his shirt.

The rope ladders, once affixed to the earth embankment, were rolled down the steep slope of the mine entrance. Chip, Dee, Monterey, Bob, and Gadget quickly descended to the roof of the hideout. Bob and Monterey deposited the winch by the side of the skylight as Gadget began making final adjustments.

“There’s a problem!” Dee called out in a harsh whisper, just loud enough to be heard over
ruckus caused by the wolves.

“Don’t say that!” Bob responded.

“What is it?” Chip asked.

“There are two guards in the room,” Dee answered, “we can’t go in with them in there.”

“We’ll have to go in anyway,” Chip resolutely responded.

“What if we create a distraction?” Gadget offered.

“We already have the wolves raisin’ Cane,” Monterey mentioned, “What more can we do?”

“I have an idea!” Dee stated as she ran to one of the rope ladders. In a few moments she returned carrying one of the rocket motors.

“Won’t we need that to lift off?” Chip asked as Dee ran over.

“I always keep enough for two more liftoffs when I leave the hanger,” she hurriedly explained. Looking into the next skylight she spotted two more guards, “Perfect!” Dee reached into the front of her jumpsuit and produced a match, then lit the fuse. “Enjoy!” she yelled throwing the lit rocket down into the room.

“What’s that?!” they heard one of the guards shout, this was followed by the sound of the rocket firing. The sounds of the rocket casing ricocheting from one wall to another was accompanied by a great deal of screaming.

“It worked!” Gadget announced as she watched to the two other guards race to the door. Throwing it open they were immediately engulfed by a billowing cloud of grey-brown smoke and became completely disoriented.

Chip and Dee each grabbed a handhold at the end of the two ropes that emerged from the winch and were quickly lowered down. Rick Tanner was standing at the opposite side of the room from the door, which by now had been completely hidden behind a wall of acrid smoke. His finely tailored jacket was rather worn after a couple weeks of continuous wear.

“C’mon, we’re gettin’ you outta here!” Chip said as he and his partner grabbed the extremely dazed and confused mouse. The three raced back to the ropes that dangled down from the skylight above. “Hold onto these,” Chip told him placing his hands at two loops attached to the rope. Mr. Tanner grabbed hold of the hand loops.

“Bring us up!” Dee yelled as she grabbed the hand loops on the neighboring rope. Rick and Dee were swiftly lifted off the floor as Bob and Monterey worked the levers of the winch. Chip grabbed the handhold at the end of one of the ropes as it ascended. Once all three were safely through the skylight the whole group took to the rope ladders.

Above, Dale was still wrestling with his stubbornly stuck shirt. Zipper, who was keeping watch, alerted him to movements in the bushes behind. They both ducked down out of sight into the Banshee as several large rats and a couple mice emerged.

“David, I’m impressed!” one of the new arrivals declared, “Your words hardly did justice to these exquisite aircraft.”

“Well, they do have to be seen to be believed.” Dale immediately recognized the second voice, Dang! They must have found Dave after Chip and Dee ditched him! he thought.

“Yes, quite right. This more than makes up for your getting caught,” the first voice replied, “Now to wait for them to come to us.”

“We’ve gotta warn the others!” Dale whispered to Zipper.

“Ah! You must be the Rescue Rangers!” the first voice proclaimed.

“Too late,” Dale mumbled.

“And Dee Hawkfeather and her brother Bob,” Dale and Zipper peaked out over the side of the Banshee and watched as the others were apprehended. The large knives carried by their captors were difficult to argue with as their hands were bound behind them. “And of course, Mr. Tanner, always a pleasure to speak to you... At least your last day on Earth was an exciting one!”

The commotion caused by the wolves below died down once they noticed what had happened atop the mine entrance. Romulus and his pack assembled and tried to figure out what they should be done.

“My name is William Danforth,” the gang’s impeccably dressed boss opened, “I’ve recently set up operations in town and am looking for employees to assist my fledgling business. I have openings for...” he motioned to the Banshee and Ranger Wing, “two pilots. Of course anybody with a strong back is welcome,” he added looking to Bob and Monterey, then to Chip, “and I’m sure we can find something for you to do. Mr. Tanner turned down my gracious offer to make him an administrator answerable only to me, which is actually quite unfortunate... But all of you have shown yourselves to be clever and capable people, so I’m sure you can see the obvious benefits of joining our little organization... otherwise it would mean throwing your lives away for a failed and pointless effort... trying to save a fool who clearly can’t appreciate a ‘once in a lifetime’ chance at wealth and power, even when it’s handed to him.”

“We’d never work for a lowlife like you!” Chip responded.

“Too right!” Monterey added, “Ya’ may as well be planting roses in the Great Sandy Desert, mate!”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Nine continued...

“Is this how you all feel?” Danforth asked in false astonishment. He could clearly discern their answer by the look they gave him. “That’s unfortunate, it truly is,” he replied, “Well Mr. Tanner, at least you won’t be alone in the shallow ditch I’m going to have your corpse thrown into.” The wolves below began snarling. This was all they could do at the moment, they knew the only way to the top was accessible to small animals alone. Looking down on them condescendingly Danforth continued his calm and emotionless diatribe, “Now I can’t kill you all, of course. If I did, those diseased mongrels down there would rip me and my men to shreds. So, I’ll have to keep one of you...” he walked up to Dee, “and since you Miss Hawkfeather are so close to them, you’ll have the honor of being my guest. I’m sure you’ll learn to appreciate what I can provide for you... with the right incentive.”

The wolves responded badly to such a suggestion. Romulus vented his frustration by destroying the gang’s remote controlled vehicles. The other wolves followed suit and soon the space before the mine entrance was filled with shredded tires, bent axles, smashed engine casings, and mangled chassis.

“Destroy my cars you stupid mutts!” the mobster called out, “I have planes, I can just fly over you!” He returned his attention to Dee, “So, my dear, what do you think of my offer?”

Dee’s expression turned from one of disgust to an amused smirk. Boy was that the wrong question to ask! she thought to herself. Bob noticed the look on his sister’s face, and remembered the last time he’d seen it... just before she put someone in the hospital. Danforth, deep down, was uneasy about her sudden change of attitude, but his arrogance overwhelmed his common sense, and he didn’t back away. He realized his mistake when he felt Dee’s teeth plunging into his snout.

Shrieking in agony, Danforth grabbed Dee’s head and tried to pull her off, but that only added to the pain. The wolves below barked and howled their approval. Zipper was about to make a dash over behind his comrades to untie them during the confusion but realized some of the guards were keeping their attention fixed on their captives. One of the rats grabbed a hold of Dee and held her still while a second pried her mouth off his boss’s face. Once pulled off, Dee was thrown back with the other prisoners, her mouth and chin covered with Danforth’s blood. “Hm, tastes like chicken,” Dee said after tumbling to stop.

“YOU CRAZY BITCH!!” Danforth shouted holding a handkerchief to his mauled snout, “I’LL HAVE YOU SKINNED ALIVE!!”

“Ooh, I merit special treatment!” Dee responded excitedly. Some of the wolves tried jumping but could barely graze the crossbeam of the entrance, nowhere near high enough to do any good.

Dale had finally had enough of waiting for an idea or opportunity to present itself. He grabbed the area of his shirt closest to where it was caught and pulled hard. It gave a little, but not much. Dale propped his feet up against a seat and made a sudden, hard pull. His shirt slipped loose without any resistance whatsoever. All the force Dale had put into the pull sent him spiraling through the air. When the world stopped spinning he found himself sitting upright in the pilot’s seat. Looking over the nose of the Banshee he saw the thugs spread out before him, their attention focused on his bound comrades off to his right.

Danforth began to recover his composure. With blood dripping down the front of his fine suit and tears streaming down his face he continued somewhat calmly, “I guess I’ll have to choose someone else.” He looked at the group for a moment and soon fixed his eyes on Gadget. “You should be grateful,” he said as he walked over to her, “your friend there just saved your life.” Gadget responded by spitting in his face. He instinctively drew back towards his lackeys, fearful that her sudden movement heralded a second assault on his snout.

Dale was ready to jump from the Banshee and tackle the nearest thug. As he stood in the pilot’s seat he rested his foot on a ledge for support. What he thought was a ledge was the rocket ignition lever, and the weight of his foot pushed it out of place. Dale promptly lost his balance and fell back into the seat. He was about to make a second try when he heard the fizzling of the rockets. Dale strapped himself in a split second before the Banshee went plowing through the assemblage of bad guys.

Danforth and the members of his gang hadn’t the slightest idea what hit them. Romulus and the other wolves were just as surprised, they heard the Banshee launch, immediately after which it began to rain rodents. Gadget best summed up the experience of her fellow captives who now found themselves alone atop the mine, “Golly! That certainly was unexpected!”

Zipper, who had flown out of the plane before it took off, promptly went to work untying his more than grateful friends.

“That was some pretty quick thinking on Dale’s part there,” Monterey stated as his bindings were loosened.

“Somehow I don’t think that was his original plan,” Chip responded.

“Does Dale know how to fly?” Dee asked Gadget as she pulled a work rag from a pocket and began to wipe Danforth’s blood from her mouth and chin.

“No,” Gadget responded in a worried tone.

The two mechanics jumped into the Ranger Wing and took off after Dale, “Y’all stay here till we get back!” Dee shouted.

“Where does she think we’re gonna go?” Bob asked rhetorically.

“Somehow I don’t think this is how Mr. William Danforth expected this day to turn out,” Monterey mentioned as he watched Romulus and the other wolves chase the terrified gangsters about.

“What about the children?” Mr. Tanner asked.

“What children?” Bob asked in response.

“The racoons’ children,” Mr. Tanner clarified, “the only reason they were working for Danforth was because he kidnaped their children.”

“Do you know where they are?” Chip asked.

“I think so.”

“Looks like we still have work to do,” Monterey stated.

==

“Do you think we can actually catch up with Dale?” Gadget asked, “I mean, the Banshee is a lot faster than the Ranger Wing.”

Dee continued scanning the horizon. “We will eventually,” she responded, “I doubt Dale engaged the ramjet, so it’s just a matter of time before it slows down enough for us to catch up with him.”

“Assuming he hasn’t already crashed,” Gadget mentioned woefully.

“I thought you were the ‘perpetual optimist’ type,” Dee countered, “anyhow, he hasn’t crashed yet.”

“How can you be sure?”

“That fuel I use is very combustible, any sudden impact that opens the fuel tank will set it off,” Dee explained, “If Dale crashed we’d see a column of smoke.”

In a matter of moments Gadget spotted an airborne object off to the side, “Could that be it?”

“We’ll hafta’ get in closer,” Dee responded. The distance between the Ranger Wing and the object was closing quickly, “That’s it!” Dee shouted.

“It’s coming this way,” Gadget stated, “I’ll try to come up along side of it.”

Dee desperately thought of what to do now that they found Dale. “Dale knows how to hang-glide, right?” she finally asked.

“Yeah, Foxglove taught him,” Gadget answered.

“That shouldn’t be too much different than flying a glider.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“A couple weeks ago I installed glider wings to make it easier to control at slow speeds,” Dee explained, “If I can get Dale to deploy them he should be able to control it well enough for me to talk him down form here.” Gadget piloted the Ranger Wing along side and a little above the Banshee.

“Boy am I glad to see you two!” Dale called out, “What do I do?”

Dee leaned over the side of the Ranger Wing and called down to Dale, “I’m going to have you deploy the glider wings... See that green lever by your right knee?”

“Yeah.”

“Pull it... NO, WAIT!” Dee’s warning was too late, Dale had already pulled the lever. Dee pulled her head out of the way as the pilot’s seat, with Dale strapped in, was launched from the aircraft.

“What happened?” Gadget asked.

“I gave him bad advice,” Dee explained, “keep an eye on where he lands, I’ll take the Banshee.” Dee jumped down onto the her pilotless aircraft and grabbed the controls before it could begin to tumble. “Now the red lever,” she said aloud to herself as she prepared to deploy the glider wings. On cue the wings swung out from the fuselage... and kept going. Dee watched as the wings spiraled down towards the tree tops, “Aw fudge puppies... knew I shoulda’ tried this out on the ground first!” Dee hit an emergency switch and a parachute deployed behind the plane. She climbed into the second seat and strapped herself in as the Banshee drifted down into the forest below.

Gadget had watched as Dale’s parachute disappeared amidst the foliage, and also witnessed Dee’s misfortune. Circling the vicinity she watched as the Banshee’s emergency chute got caught in the upper branches. “Ok, Dale went down a quarter mile from there,” Gadget said to herself trying to memorize the location. Once she was sure of it she turned back for the mine to get help.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Ten

Mr. Tanner led Chip, Monterey, Bob, and Zipper through Danforth’s hideout. Bob and Monterey were flanking him to deal with anyone who tried to get in his way, but the members of Danforth’s gang were quite submissive and readily cleared out of the way. Having seen their boss and his most trusted bodyguards being run ragged by a pack of wolves was more than enough to take the fight out of them, and many were openly discussing new employment.

“I think this is it,” Mr. Tanner said as he opened a door. Inside they found quite a few adult mice and rats.

After an awkward silence one of them spoke up hesitantly, “Uh, w-what’s going on outside?”

“Mr. Danforth is getting his ass kicked by a pack of wolves,” Bob blurted out.

“Oh... uh well... we were members of his gang but, well, we’ve... well... we’re not anymore,” one of the rats said, “We just thought you should know that.”

“That’s nice to hear,” Chip responded, “Are there any racoons in here?”

“Hm? Oh, uh, they’re over there,” the rat motioned towards the back of the room, “I didn’t have anything to do with their being kidnaped or anything.” The others quickly affirmed that they, also, had nothing to do with that particular crime.

Chip found a group of young racoons huddled in one of the corners, clearly terrified. He knelt down in front of them, “Hi there, we’re here to take all of you home.”

“Did mommy send you?” one of them asked meekly.

“Yep, c’mon, she’s been waiting for you,” Chip answered, “and the rest of your parents are waiting for you too,” he said to the rest of the children.

Monterey asked Bob quietly, “Romulus and the others wouldn’t have eaten any of the racoons, would they?”

“No,” Bob answered confidently, “they limit themselves to the local deer population, there’s more than enough to keep them fed.”

Chip led the group of children to the front of the building, “Bob, go outside and see if you can locate those racoons the wolves were chasing earlier.”

Bob walked out and saw the wolves still chasing Danforth and his minions around. “HEY, ROMULUS!” he yelled.

Romulus picked up Danforth in his teeth by the back of his suit and carried him over to Bob. “Yeah?” he said out of the side of his mouth.

“Where are the racoons you were chasing earlier?” Bob asked.

“Over there in a pile,” Romulus answered motioning to the side with his head, with Danforth swinging about helplessly.

“They’re not dead, are they?”

“Nah, they’re just exhausted, Virginia’s keeping an eye on them so they don’t escape.”

“Good! That thing...” Bob motioned to Danforth, “kidnaped their kids, that’s why they were working for him.”

Romulus grabbed the mobster with his paw and looked him in the face, “You’ve been a very, very bad boy... You realize I’m going to hafta’ hurt you now.” Danforth merely whimpered in response.

“Well we’fe got their kids, so could ya’ haff Firginia bring ‘em ofer?”

“Sure,” Romulus said. He popped Danforth in his mouth and trotted over to his mate.

The parents weren’t so exhausted that they couldn’t run to embrace their children as Chip led them from the hideout. Amid squeals of joy and crying Chip heard Gadget calling him. He turned and saw her jogging over to meet him, “Hey, Gadget... Where’s Dee? What happened to Dale?”

“We found Dale but he accidentally ejected himself, then Dee took control of the Banshee but the wings fell off so she had to use an emergency parachute and the Banshee went down somewhere in the woods,” Gadget answered all in one breath.

Chip looked at her for a moment while he tried to make sense of what she’d said, he finally asked, “So where are Dee and Dale right now?”

“Somewhere in the woods.”

“Do you know where in the woods?”

“About a mile to the northeast,” Gadget answered, “The Banshee’s parachute got caught in the upper branches which means I should be able to find it again from the air.”

Chip and the others agreed that something had to be done with Danforth and his gang before any attempt to rescue their missing comrades. It was decided that the members of the gang who had taken refuge in the hideout could leave, without interference by the wolves, as long as they agreed not to cause any more trouble. Danforth, and those the wolves had apprehended, would be left to the mercy of the racoons... after Mr. Tanner had formally fired Dave.

“Gadget, I want you and Zipper to go back up in the Ranger Wing,” Chip instructed as they got down to the business of rescuing the others, “When you find the spot where the Banshee went down, circle the area while Zipper flies back to tell us what direction to head in. The rest of us will set out with Romulus and his pack. Zipper, you’ll be with us at that point, we’ll send you back up to check where the Ranger Wing is circling so you can give us any necessary course corrections. When we get close to the right spot the wolves should start sniffing around for their scents.” Once everyone understood their jobs they headed out.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Ten continued...

==
Dale was wandering through the woods in the direction he thought would lead him back to the mine and the others. He had stopped to rest beside a tree and was listening to the birds, when he heard an unusual bird. That’s some crazy bird call, he thought, sounds like someone yelling... and it’s getting closer. Dale began to stand to look around for the bird that had such an unusual call... then Dee landed on him. The impact knocked them both for a loop, neither was aware that it was the other that had hit them. It was a while before either was up to saying or doing anything.

“Am I dead?” Dee eventually asked aloud.

“Funny, I was about to ask the same thing,” Dale responded.

Dee was unaware she’d landed on a living thing, so Dale’s reply was a little startling. She immediately rolled off to see who she’d landed on. The attire was unmistakable, Dale had actually broken her fall.

“Of course,” Dale continued, “if I was dead I probably wouldn’t hurt this much.”

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Dee apologized, “Didn’t mean to drop in on you like that.”

“Oh, that’s ok, I’ve felt worse,” Dale groaned as he sat up, “Are you ok?”

Dee tried to stand, but when she put pressure on her right leg she collapsed in a heap. “No... no, I’m not,” she groaned sitting up, “think I broke my leg.”

“Uh... that’s not my fault is it?”

“Why would it be your fault?” Dee asked, “You didn’t know I was going to land here... hell, I didn’t even know I was going to land here!”

“Why did you land here?” Dale wondered, “Weren’t you in the Ranger Wing?”

“Well, I was until I jumped over to the Banshee...”

“I’m sorry,” Dale interrupted.

“For what?”

“Pulling the wrong lever, I’m always doing dumb things like that.”

“No, that was my fault, ” Dee admitted, “I forgot about a minor discrepancy in the controls.”

“What kind of desk-uh... whatever it was?”

“When I installed the glider wings I’d installed the lever in the cockpit before getting it hooked up,” she proceeded to explain, “When I went to hitch up the connecting wire I found out I’d made the wire too short... so rather than waste an otherwise perfect piece of wire I switched it with the wire from the pilot ejection seat lever, that red one beneath the one you pulled, which was longer than it needed to be in the first place. I’d planned on switching the colors this weekend,” Dee looked up into the trees above, “And if I can ever get my plane down that’s going to be right up there at the top of my ‘to do’ list.”

==

Gadget flew high above the treetops to provide the best view possible, Zipper surveyed the thick carpeting of trees for anything white.

“I think this is the area,” Gadget mentioned, “Do you see anything?” Zipper continued to look around intently, then began squeaking excitedly. Gadget looked down in the direction he was indicating, “That’s it all right!”

As Gadget sent the Ranger Wing into a holding pattern Zipper hurriedly flew back to the mine. By the time he arrived Chip, Bob, Monterey, and Mr. Tanner had each taken a seat atop four of the wolves. Zipper conveyed the direction and distance to Chip who then called out, “All right, let’s go!” Then he nearly lost his mount as Romulus broke into a trot. The pack immediately followed, with the three other mice making sure to get a good grip before their rides took off.

After covering a quarter mile the pack stopped so Zipper could check their bearings. As they waited Monterey struck up conversation, “Hey, Romulus, think we could convince you and your pack to come back to the city with us? I’d like to see the look on ol’ Fat Cat’s face if we came rushing in to spoil his fun with a pack a’ wolves!”

Chip liked the mental picture and asked his ride with a laugh, “What do you think?”

“Hm, me and my pack in the big city...,” Romulus thought for a moment, then proceeded in his best ‘Joe Friday’ voice, “This is the city, it’s a city of crime, my name’s Friday, I wear a badge...” and continued even after they’d resumed tracking. Virginia just kept shaking her head in dismay.

Shortly after Romulus dropped his “Dragnet” routine (due to Virginia having lost her patience with it and threatening to have him fixed) he began sniffing intently at the air. He suddenly cried, “Hors-d’oeuvre! I smell Hors-d’oeuvre!” and bounded off with the rest of the pack close behind as Chip, Bob, Monterey, and Mr. Tanner held on for dear life.

Dee had just finished tying the splint to her leg as Romulus came bursting through a bush, “Found ‘em!” he shouted.

After recovering from the initial shock of having a large predatory animal come at her with no warning, Dee noticed Chip sitting atop Romulus’s head. Letting out an exaggerated squeal of joy (which caught Dale completely off guard) she cried out, “Oh! My knight in shining armor has come to rescue me astride his mighty steed!”

Romulus whinnied. He then turned to Dale and said, in his best ‘Mr. Ed’, “Hello, Hors-d’oeuvre.” Virginia flopped to the ground, covered her face with her paws and began to whimper.

“Zipper, you can go tell Gadget to head back to the mine, we’ll meet up with the two of you there,” Chip said as he began to climb down from Romulus’s head. “Dee, what happened?” he said when he noticed her leg.

“I found out the hard way why chipmunks and squirrels live in trees but mice don’t,” Dee began, “I did mange to get nearly all the way down before I fell, though.”

“Does it hurt?” Chip realized only after he said it how stupid a question it was. Dee simply looked at him crooked. “Sorry, stupid question.”

“There’s no chance in hell Dee would effer admit that something hurt,” Bob said jokingly as he climbed down from his lupine transport, “Well, there was one thing that she’ll admit that hurt...”

“Dammit, Bob, SHUT UP!!” Dee shouted angrily.

Everyone was a little startled by Dee’s sudden outburst. Bob finally muttered a weak, “Sorry.”

Dee regained her placid composure, then turned back to Chip with a smile, “So, squat, dark, and handsome, want to take me away from it all?”

“If the two of you are ready to go,” Chip answered.

It was mid afternoon by the time everyone returned to the mill. The return trip was blissfully uneventful. After everyone had met back at the mine Gadget made two trips, the first was with Bob, Monterey, Zipper, and Mr. Tanner, the second was with Chip, Dale, and Dee. Romulus and his pack returned as they had left, on foot.

“I can’t thank you all enough,” Mr. Tanner expressed once everyone was safely back at the mill, “I mean... there just aren’t words to describe how grateful I am!”

“All in a day’s work,” Chip responded modestly.

“For you all maybe,” Bob interjected, “A day’s work for me is sitting on my ass all day at the warehouse... or hiding from my sister-in-law if it’s my day off.”

“Oh, that reminds me, Bob,” Mr. Tanner said, “you’re getting a raise... you’re in charge of security now: day, night, weekends, everything.”

“I’m gonna hafta do more work?”

“Well, yes. But you get to boss people around... starting tomorrow, we’re giving your predecessor the heave-ho since he was in with Danforth.”

“Sure, I think I can handle that,” Bob responded as the two shook hands.

Mr. Tanner turned to the Rangers, “And I’m telling Walter that if you want any of the wine I send his way you can have it... free of charge.” With a final exchange of pleasantries Gadget flew Mr. Tanner back to his home in the city.

“We should do something about that leg now,” Chip said to Dee once the Ranger Wing had left the hanger. With directions from Dee, Chip found the supplies necessary to properly set her leg. Due to the sometimes hazardous nature of their occupation the Rangers had all acquired some measure of medical proficiency. Dee, as well, had a certain measure of medical knowledge and was used to tending to most of her own wounds. But properly dealing with her leg would have been a challenge. That, and she couldn’t help but enjoy having Chip touch her leg.

As he watched, Dale was a little surprised at how calm Dee was, almost as if Chip were doing something as trivial as painting her toenails. “Doesn’t that hurt?” he eventually asked.

Dee turned to him and playfully responded, “If it did I wouldn’t let you know.”

“Why not?” Dale asked. He was still laboring under the assumption that Dee was basically just like Gadget except that she had Chip’s love of boring pastimes. Dale knew Gadget wasn’t prone to dramatizing any discomfort, but wouldn’t suppress her reactions to the level that Dee apparently was doing.

“Because it creates the illusion that she’s a lot tougher than she really is,” Chip answered.

“Very good,” Dee purred to Chip. She turned back to Dale, “That, and I do have an unusually high pain threshold. It’s the same with Bob. Nobody we’ve ever gotten into a fight with ever made that mistake twice.”

“Ya’ take a lickin’ and keep on kickin’,” Monterey observed.

“Damn straight.”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Ten continued...

Chip had finished his work on Dee’s leg and she was snuggled up next to him on the couch by the time Gadget returned. In the rear seat of the Ranger Wing were two miniature bottles, the type that are sometimes served on passenger planes. Each was filled with wine.

“They’re a gift from Mr. Tanner,” Gadget explained, “One for Dee and Bob and one for us to take back with us.”

“Right neighborly of ‘im,” Monterey said as he helped unload the passive yet potent passengers.

“Dee?” Gadget asked as she walked into the living room, “I was thinking of trying to recover the Banshee while it’s still light out, but I wanted to make sure I have your permission, it’s your plane after all.”

“I’ve been running ideas through my head about that,” Dee responded, “But I haven’t been able to come up with anything that could be put into motion before sunset.”

“I was just thinking of using the Ranger Wing’s grappler to get a hold of the Banshee and carry it back.”

“There’s a grappler on that thing?” Dee asked in surprise.

“Gadget,” Chip interrupted, “Wouldn’t the Banshee be a little too heavy for the Ranger Wing to carry?”

“Not really,” Gadget answered, “I originally designed the Ranger Wing to be able to carry sixty percent of it’s own weight, the Banshee is roughly seventy percent as heavy as the Ranger Wing. With the work I did on the Ringer Wing yesterday it should be able to carry seventy-five percent, more than enough to carry the Banshee back here.”

Dee did some thinking, then spoke, “It’d be better if you could empty the Banshee’s fuel tank, it’s still about three quarters full. All you’d need is a length of hose to siphon it out.”

Gadget thought that over, “I can’t pilot the Ranger Wing and siphon at the same time, and I don’t want to carry the extra weight of a passenger.”

“What about Zipper?” Dale ventured, “He doesn’t even hafta’ sit in the Ranger Wing, just fly along next to it.”

“That’s a great idea, Dale!” Gadget proclaimed. Dale was clearly elated to receive such praise.

“Wait,” Dee said, “If Zipper’s going to do the siphoning he should probably bring a portable hand pump and mask, after all he did get loaded off that stuff just from the fumes.”

“Huh, yer right,” Gadget said to herself, “Do you have anything like that around here?”

“Well, if I don’t have the actual things I should have the parts to make them in the storeroom,” Dee started to get up before remembering about her condition, “Could someone give me a hand?” Chip immediately offered his assistance. “Ooh, you’re as gallant as you are handsome,” Dee remarked, causing Chip to blush noticeably (much to the amusement of the others).

“While we’re here I’ll make you some crutches,” Gadget said as they entered the storeroom. In a matter of moments Gadget returned with a pair of crutches for Dee.

“Nya:wëh,” Dee said as she took the simple devices.

“Hm?”

“‘Thank you’.”

“Oh, you’re welcome!”

“That would be nyö.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Within two minutes of getting to work Dee and Gadget had created the equipment necessary for Zipper to safely empty the Banshee’s tank.

As the Ranger Wing left the hanger something occurred to Dee, “Oh damn.”

“What’s the matter?” Chip asked.

“How are we supposed to get the Banshee back in the hanger if it’s dangling beneath the Ranger Wing?” Dee pondered that problem for few moments before being hit by inspiration, “Problem solved!” She retired to the storeroom to get the parts needed to bring her plan to fruition. When she’d finished her work, Dee explained to the others what she needed them to do.

Gadget hadn’t encountered any problems in retrieving Dee’s plane. In fact, she was surprised how simple it turned out to be. “That certainly went well,” Gadget said to Zipper as they returned to the mill. “Oops, spoke too soon,” she stated as they approached the entrance to the hanger, “I hadn’t thought about how to actually get the Banshee back in.”

As Gadget looked down at the Banshee dangling below she saw a pole emerge from the hanger. She watched with curiosity as it nudged the aircraft into a slow spin. Soon a plunger harpoon shot out form the open hanger and affixed itself to the nose of the Banshee, “Oh! That’ll work!”

“Great shot, Dee!” Dale shouted as Dee handed the rope attached to the harpoon to Monterey.

“Now remember,” Dee said to Monterey, “Pull slowly.”

“Whatever you say, luv,” Monterey responded as he proceeded to reel in the aircraft.

As the Banshee drew closer to the hanger Gadget lowered the Ranger Wing. Inside, Chip and Dale took hold on opposite sides to prevent the plane from drifting while Bob positioned a carriage beneath it. Once the Banshee’s center of gravity was safely supported within the hanger Gadget released the grappler’s hold. When Dee’s aircraft was finally all the way into the hanger Gadget brought the Ranger Wing in for a landing.

Almost as soon as the Banshee was safely within the hanger Dee began removing leaves and twigs. Chip watched as she hobbled from one part of the plane to another on her crutches.

“You know, you really shouldn’t be doing that kind of work in your condition,” Chip mentioned to Dee.

“I’d like to get it flight ready by tomorrow, I do have work to get back to in town,” Dee responded as she continued to work, “Bill must be confused as all hell, I haven’t been in for the past two days.”

“Don’t you need both feet to operate the pedals?” Gadget asked.

Dee stopped when that question sunk in. Damn, she thought to herself, I can’t fly with a cast on my leg! “Yer right,” Dee relented blandly.

Zipper squeaked out a comment that Dale wholly agreed with, “Zipper’s right, we’ll all help ya’ out till you’re back on your feet again!”

“It’s only fair,” Gadget added, “You helped us out...”

“And it’s time for us to return the favor,” Chip finished as he began to pull Dee away from the Banshee.

“Too right! And to start off I’ll fix ya’ a good hearty supper,” Monterey stated as he turned towards the kitchen, “Nothin’s better for recuperation than a full stomach!”

“Why do I feel like I’m under house arrest?” Dee asked quietly as Chip led her to the couch. “Could be worse, though,” she said as she sat down, then she looked up at Chip with a sly smile, “at least I like the warden.”

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Eleven

“Hey, while I’m at it I may as well make enough of this for everyone,” Monterey called out from the kitchen, “Sort of a ‘celebratory feast’.”

“I could go for that!” Dale responded, “After all, we missed lunch.”

“Well if it’s going to be a celebration,” Dee offered, “we should break out some of that wine!”

The sun had set by the time the meal was ready. All were seated in the living room with food and wine.

“I’d like to make a toast,” Chip stated, “To a job well done.”

“To a job well done!” the others saluted.

“I probably shouldn’t have too much of this,” Bob mentioned after having some of the wine, “Don’t wanna show up to work hung over. While I’m thinkin’ bout that, how am I gonna get to work tomorrow?”

“I can give you a lift into town,” Gadget offered, “I guess I’ll have to take you into town too,” she said to Dee.

“I don’t think she should be climbing in and out of the Ranger Wing until her leg’s better,” Chip mentioned.

“Then how am I supposed to get any work done?” Dee countered.

“I’m sure Gadget could fill in for you for awhile.”

“I still have to go into town to explain all this to Bill... and make sure Gadget knows what she’s doing there.” Chip couldn’t argue with that logic and grudgingly acquiesced.

The rest of the meal passed without event and with only the occasional comment about Monterey’s cooking.

As Monterey proceeded to clean up afterwards Dee felt it necessary to remind him of something, “Everything you used better find it’s way back to where it was before you started cooking, just because I have a cast on my leg doesn’t mean I can’t hurt you.”

“Point well taken, luv,” Monterey called from the kitchen.

Chip turned to Dee, “Ye’shöni’?”

Dee was a little surprised to be addressed by her Seneca name, and turned to see Chip giving her a slightly suggestive look, “Uh huh?” she responded as she returned the look.

“Would you like to do something a little more... stimulating than just sitting on the couch?”

“What do you have in mind, Jiho’gwais?”

“How about a game of chess?”

“Mmm... I thought you’d never ask!”

Dale rolled his eyes dramatically, which Gadget thought was rather fun to watch. When Chip and Dee had left the living room, Dale began searching for anything interesting on television. His search soon bore fruit as he proclaimed, “All right! They’re showing ‘The Marriage of Dracula’ again!” This time Gadget rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Well, since I have the home field advantage I’ll let you make the first move,” Dee offered as she and Chip took up their positions on opposite sides of the board.

“Ok,” Chip said simply as he considered his choices.

Dee gazed longingly across the checkered battlefield at her contemplative opponent. A broken leg really ain’t so bad, she thought, it gives me a chance to hold onto him for a couple of weeks. Dee’s quiet admiration was interrupted by a howl form the wolves’ den.

“They’re showing ‘The Marriage of Dracula’ again! Cool!” Romulus yelled.

“Apparently Romulus and Dale share the same taste for cheesy horror flicks,” Chip mentioned as he returned his attention back to the board.

“It’s sad really,” Dee commented.

After awhile there was the howling of wolves in the movie. This was promptly accompanied by the awkward howling of the wolf pups in the den. Then, on cue, Dale, Romulus, and Dracula (in the movie) voiced in unison, “Listen to them- the children of the night. What music they make.”

“Now that was just plain creepy,” Dee mentioned.

“Can’t argue with that,” Chip responded.

Dee and Chip, embroiled in their virtual combat, eventually became completely oblivious to the passage of time. They hadn’t noticed the others retiring to their beds one by one.

“Don’t mean to interrupt,” Monterey stated as he walked over to the two cerebral combatants, “but I thought I’d let you know the rest of us ‘ave decided to hit the sack... and it would be real helpful if we could douse the lights here in the hanger.”

Dee looked up at the watch she had hung on the wall, “Whoa, guess we should be headin’ off to bed too.” As she and Chip rose from their seats by the board Dee looked at the half completed game, then to her opponent, “We’re probably both mature enough not to sneak out here in the dark to rearrange the pieces.”

“Oh, of course,” Chip replied confidently.

Dee made her rounds closing up the hanger for the night, then headed off to her room. She thought she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, that Chip had followed her to the room. She turned and, sure enough, there he was. “Do you have a reason for following me in here or have you suddenly become a lost puppy,” she confronted him playfully.

“Well, I was wondering if you needed someone to keep you company tonight,” Chip replied cooly.

Dee chuckled to herself as she leaned her crutches against the wall and sat on the side of her bed. “That’s a hard offer to pass up,” she started, “but this is the first time I’ve had to sleep with a cast on my leg, so I’m not sure if having someone laying beside me would be a help or a hindrance. When it comes to my health I’ve learned the hard way to err on the side of caution.”

“Well, ok,” Chip responded, trying not to sound too dejected.

As he turned to leave, Dee called after him, “I didn’t say I was ready to hit the sack yet, did I?” When Chip turned to look back she patted the bed to her right, “Sajë:h.” Chip took a seat beside her. Dee only rarely made eye contact with him as she spoke, “You know how I’ve been giving you little lessons in Seneca? Well there’s one phrase I thought about teaching you last night... but I didn’t want to put more on your mind than you already had.”

Chip could plainly see she was nervous about something, which was a refreshing change. “What is it?” he asked, as much about the phrase she was referring to as her present state of being.

Dee finally made eye contact and, with the most beautiful smile he’d seen since meeting her, said, “Gönoöhgwa'.”

“And... what does that mean?” Chip asked quietly, though from the look in her eyes he was fairly certain what the answer was.

Dee took a deep breath, took his hand in hers, then said softly, “I love you.”

The time Lahwhinie, impersonating Gadget, had given him a long passionate kiss, or the moment he had shared with Dee in the light of the full moon two nights before had nowhere near the effect of those three words. Without any conscious effort Chip placed his free hand on Dee’s cheek and leaned towards her. Dee reciprocated in kind, and as they closed their eyes their lips met. Chip put his arms around the raven haired beauty and pulled her closer. The awkwardness that had intervened a few nights before had since been lost.

Time and space seemed to dissolve into nothing as they held one another. The fact that the door to the room was wide open allowing any who passed by to peer inside didn’t matter to either of them. Nothing mattered but that one moment. Neither Dee or Chip knew how long they had held that single kiss, or if they had even bothered to breath, since what they were doing seemed so natural and so right.

Dee withdrew just enough to break the connection. They gazed into one another's eyes for an undetermined length of time before Dee finally broke the silence. “We should both get some sleep,” she whispered softly, “so... maybe... we can pick up where we left off... tomorrow.”

All Chip could manage was, “Ok.” Chip rose from his place on her bed and began to leave, still gently holding one of her hands.

As her fingers slipped from his she whispered, “Ë:sgögë i:e, Jiho’gwais.”

“Gönoöhgwa', Ye’shöni’,” Chip responded softly. He had regained enough of his senses to break eye contact with her long enough to safely get through the door. Their eyes met one last time as Chip pulled the door closed.

Giggling quietly, Dee fell back onto her bed... and smacked her head against the wall (having completely forgotten where on the bed she was seated). “Aye-ya!” she muttered as she rubbed the back of her head, “Gee, love hurts,” she observed with a laugh. Arranging herself the correct way on the bed she curled up with the pillow clutched to her chest, not out of worry or loneliness as had always been the case, but out of sheer joy.

Chip didn’t hear Dee bonk her head after he shut the door, he was too busy thinking to himself. I just told Dee that I love her... it was in another language but that’s what it meant. Did I mean to say it? I didn’t even think about it, it just came out! Maybe that means I really do love her... Chip climbed into his bed in the hanger, grateful the others were already asleep, At least we won’t have a repeat of this morning tomorrow. He laid his head back onto the pillow, his mind still quite active. Why shouldn’t I fall in love with her? he asked himself. Simple, he answered, you’ll be heading home once her cast comes off. Why get involved like that if you’re just going to disappear from her life? The devil’s advocate in him responded, Who says I’ll be leaving her forever? We could always keep in touch. Again he answered himself, Keeping in touch over that kind of distance? Yeah, right. Somewhere in his mind a suggestion presented itself, Maybe she’ll be willing to come with us? Dee admitted that nothing ever happens around here.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Eleven continued...

During this metaphoric back-and-forth between his heart and mind he remembered what Dee had told him the night before, about enjoying the moment while it lasts. If I’m in love I may as well enjoy it: ‘It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’ He knew that it was more than likely that a relationship with Dee might not last. But I feel wonderful ‘right now’, he finally declared to himself, silencing the nagging voice of reason (at least for the night). He thought back on the moment he had just shared with her not more than a few minutes ago; how it felt to hold her in his arms... the warmth of her body... how beautiful she looked when she said those three little words... the smile that crossed her face when he repeated them, even if it was in a different language.

That night, despite being in separate beds in different rooms, Dee and Chip were together in each others’ dreams.

When the new day arrived the only way to know was the singing of birds and the blue sky. The fact that the abandoned mill Dee called home was on the West side of a prominent hill meant there was no glaring sunlight pouring in through any windows (one of the reasons she loved her home so much).

Monterey and Chip both started out of their beds at approximately the same time. While stretching his joints Monterey commented, “Early to bed, early to rise...”

“For Dale would be a big surprise,” Chip finished. Monterey’s hearty laugh startled both Gadget and Zipper awake... whereas Dale simply rolled over.

Dee found that the only difficult part of getting through a door with crutches was getting it open. Once through the door it was a simple matter of pulling it closed with her tail. As she took a seat on the couch Chip handed her a cup of coffee. “Nya:wëh,” Dee said, a little flattered by the courtesy.

“Nyö,” Chip responded with a smile, “That is the right word isn’t it?” Dee nodded.

Once everyone had woken up breakfast was arranged. Everyone noticed that Dee and Chip seemed to be sitting closer together on the couch than the previous few days, but nobody said anything. No one bothered to ask what the two had done after everyone else had taken to their beds either... Dale considered asking though, but wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out how Dee would react so he kept his mouth shut (in so far as eating was still possible).

After breakfast was finished, Gadget, Dee, and Bob proceeded to the Ranger Wing. On the way Dee asked Gadget if it was possible to bring her back after dropping Bob off at work.

“I don’t see why not,” Gadget answered.

“Good, there are some things here I want to get back to,” Dee mentioned.

“Don’t you mean someone?” Bob asked with a smirk. Dee quickly took one of her crutches and whacked her brother behind a knee sending him sprawling on his back. “Of course not, silly me,” Bob groaned as he lifted himself off the floor. When Dale witnessed this he was convinced he was wise to hold his peace during breakfast.

“Are you going to need a lift back to the mill after work, Bob?” Gadget asked once the Ranger Wing was airborne.

“Nah, maybe getting a raise and a promotion will encourage my sister-in-law to treat me better,” Bob said, “But efen if she doesn’t let me stay there I haff friends I can stay with in town.”

“She’s the one who threw a crock pot at you, right?”

“That’s her.”

“Why doesn’t she like you?”

“Don’t know.”

“Near as I can figure,” Dee joined in, “it has something to do with what happened at Bob’s bachelor party.” Gadget decided to let the subject go at that.

Once Bob had been dropped off it was a short flight to Dee’s workshop in the shadow of the abandoned coal bunkers. As Gadget helped Dee out of the Ranger Wing, her assistant arrived to meet them. Dee explained her absence over the past few days and that Gadget would be taking over her work until the cast came off. Dee provided Gadget a tour of the facilities and explained her responsibilities, and to stay away from the stockpile of explosives.

After outlining what Dee needed Gadget to do they made a return trip to the mill. As soon as they landed Monterey offered to help Dee out of the Ranger Wing.

“Thank you, Monty,” Dee said, “Oh, and while you’re being so helpful... I think I left something in the map room so I was wondering if you could help me down the stairs, just in case I have some trouble.”

“Sure thing, luv,” Monterey agreed.

Once in the map room Dee made a cursory look around, then headed towards the wolves’ den. “Hey, Rom!”

“Yep?” the pack leader responded.

“I gotta ask ya’ something.”

The massive carnivore meandered into the map room, “Better be important, there’s a monster movie marathon I’m missing.”

“Have you seen my lug wrench around here anywhere?”

Romulus was a little perplexed by the question since he knew his petite friend would never leave her tools where the pups might get them, “N-n-nope. Should I have?”

“Well, guess not,” Dee confessed, “Musta’ left it somewhere else.” She turned to leave the room, then stopped, “Oh, I just remembered something...,” she turned back towards the den, “Monty here knows Canina LaFur personally!”

Romulus was now all ears, the movie marathon would have to go on without him, “The Canina LaFur? Star of stage, screen and occasional dog food commercial?”

“The same.”

“Ooooooh!” the mighty hunter said as he stamped his front paws excitedly.

“Hey, Monty, how ‘bout tellin Romulus about the time y’all saved her life?”

“Yeah, how ‘bout it?” Romulus chimed in.

“Uh, you sure you can get back up the stairs on your own?” Monterey asked Dee.

“Sure, I was just a little worried that first time, it doesn’t seem so intimidating now,” Dee responded reassuringly.

“Well, ok.”

Romulus rushed over and picked up Monterey with his teeth by the back of his coat, and pranced around in a little circle before heading back to the den. Once inside he asked a question that had been on his mind since first seeing the world famous poodle on the television, “You think a guy like me has a chance with her?”

“Aren’t you married?” Monterey asked.

“What’s yer point?”

“Now all I gotta do is distract Dale,” Dee muttered to herself as she headed back towards the hanger. Much to her pleasure she found that Dale was already watching the monster movie marathon on her TV. “Hey, Dale, I was planning on watching something that would probably bore you to tears, so could you go watch that down in the den?”

“You mean with the wolves?” Dale asked.

“Sure, the pups are already watching it.”

“Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt,” Dale reassured himself as he left for the den.

Dee quickly looked around. Don’t see Zipper anywhere, she thought to herself, Perfect! Dee set herself down beside Chip who was engrossed in his detective novel. “Looks like it’s just the two of us,” she said.

Chip looked around. “That’s what it looks like,” he agreed with a smile.

Dee took Chip’s book, marked his place and set it on the table. Sitting back up she put a hand on his knee, “Now, where did we leave off last night?”

“Hmm, I think it was right about here,” Chip answered as he took her in his arms. He was beginning to see that giving in to his desires, at least once in awhile, wasn’t really such a bad thing. Zipper, who had been exploring around the outside of the mill, flew in through the open hanger door. He nearly flew right into the livingroom, but caught a glimpse of Dee and Chip embracing on the couch, at which point he decided to discreetly return to his outdoor explorations. Eventually Dee and Chip had to catch their breath.

“So,” Dee breathed, “is this all we’re going to do for the next three weeks or so?”

“You mean making out like a couple of directionless adolescents?” Chip responded.

“Mm-hm.”

“I’m sure there are worse things we could be doing.”

“Ooh! Ooh! Like what?!” Dee asked excitedly.

Chip couldn’t help but laugh at so silly a response, “Well, I can’t think of anything worse to do at the moment. Any ideas?”

“We could get back to that game of chess we started... or you could help me work on the Banshee,” Dee suggested, “after all, you didn’t like the idea of me working on it in my condition, so how ‘bout I say what has to done and you do the grunt work?”

“Grunt work?” Chip asked with a mischievous smile.

Dee was astonished that Chip could think like that, “That is not what I meant you pervert!” she laughed. As Dee and Chip made their way to the aircraft they met Monterey coming up from the den. He couldn’t help but notice how pleasantly disheveled the pair looked.

While carrying out what Dee referred to as ‘daily maintenance’ on the Banshee, Chip considered asking if she would be interested in returning to their game of chess. He really wasn’t the mechanical type. But before he could bring himself to mention it something dawned on him. Chip considered how territorial Dee was, that she didn’t even allow her own assistant to handle equipment at her workshop in town. He realized the kind of effort she had to have put into the Banshee, not counting ‘daily maintenance’. Chip came to see the amount of trust Dee was placing in him. That realization put a different light on what he as doing, it didn’t seem to be as much of a burden anymore.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Eleven continued...

A little later in the day Gadget returned, but only for a short while. She explained that there was a project she had started that required a part she’d seen in the storeroom. Gadget went in, got the part, and was gone almost before anyone noticed. She didn’t realize until after she was on the way back into town that Dee should have mentioned something to her for running into the storeroom and taking something out without asking permission. For her part, Dee barely noticed anything had happened, she was too wrapped up in watching Chip work. This all didn’t go unnoticed by Monterey, who chuckled to himself as he regarded how oblivious Dee and Chip were to the rest of the world, they seemed to be aware only of each other.

The days passed, each one not unlike the others. Dee and Chip always preoccupied with each other. Dale, disgusted with their gratuitous displays of affection, either watching TV with the wolves or taking advantage of Chip’s preoccupation by lending Gadget a hand whenever possible. Monterey and Zipper, hitching a ride with Gadget into town, would strike out in search of whatever adventure that might cross their path, and learning why Dee had lamented the fact that ‘nothing ever happens around here.’

==

“Me and Zipper had an unusual conversation with a couple of locals today,” Monterey mentioned as he, Zipper, Gadget, and Dale headed back towards the mill in the Ranger Wing. It had been a week and a half into Dee’s recovery, and it had become very much of a vacation for all involved.

“What did ya’ talk about?” Dale asked.

“Well, we were talkin’, bout nothin’ much mind you, when we got around to mentioning that we were staying with Doohickey Hawkfeather,” Monterey proceeded to explain, “That’s when one of ‘em said he’d heard that she and her daughter had gotten back together. When me an’ Zipper explained that we didn’t even know she had any children they both looked real surprised and clammed up... couldn’t get another word out of ‘em on the subject.”

“That’s odd,” Gadget mentioned, “When we met with that historian, George, he thought I was her daughter. I really didn’t give it much of a thought after that, he did forget that he had attended her mother’s funeral after all.”

“What if she is your mother?” Dale mentioned to Gadget. Zipper smacked himself in the forehead at such an absurd comment.

“Dale,” Gadget answered in a very ‘matter of fact’ tone, “First, my mother died two weeks after I was born. And second, I’m two months older than Dee... how could she be my mother?”

“Oh, right,” Dale meekly replied.

“In any case, isn’t she a little young to be a mother in the first place?” Monterey asked hypothetically.

“Well, not really,” Gadget responded, “If she was impregnated shortly after she became biologically capable of conceiving than she could be a mother, even as young as she is.”

“I know it’s conceivable,” Monterey started, “uh, sorry ‘bout the pun there, it just kinda slipped out... But wouldn’t she have mentioned something like that?”

“Maybe she didn’t think she had to,” Dale jumped in, “It’s not like we asked her if she had any kids or anything.”

Zipper spoke up, and Monterey concurred, “Right, maybe she might of mentioned it to Chip.”

“I suppose we could ask him when we get back,” Gadget thought aloud.

It was an unspoken agreement that they wouldn’t ask Dee about that particular subject before finding out if Chip knew anything, lest they insult their hostess. The opportunity to speak to him arrived that night during dinner as Dee excused herself and left for the bathroom. When asked, Chip confessed that he was as much in the dark on the subject as the rest, that Dee had never brought up the subject or alluded to anything of the kind. He confirmed that he would broach the subject to her some time later.

With dinner out of the way Dee and Chip returned to their game of chess, the same game they had started two weeks before. They had agreed to finish it before Chip and the others had to leave.

“It’s a good thing we’re not performing surgery,” Dee joked as they took their places beside the board.

Chip managed a slight laugh, it would have been more if he weren’t thinking of something other than chess. The revelation that others had thought with certainty that Dee had a daughter, especially since someone with extensive knowledge of the area and knew her personally had said the same thing presented a mystery. Well, George had forgotten being at a funeral, so it is possible he might mistake Dee for another young lady he knows who has a girl, he thought, but Dee’s reaction was a little harsh, one would think she’d be more insulted by his forgetting about her mother’s death. Then two others bring up the subject as if it was common knowledge she had a child.

I suppose it’s possible that her similarity to Gadget is just too much to explain otherwise... no, Dee’s lived here her entire life, Gadget just showing up wouldn’t be enough, they would have to be aware that Dee had actually had a child in the first place... so either all these people are dumber than Dale, or Dee is a mother. Would there be any signs that I could have noticed? Something about what she or Bob said about her past that might indicate something... would her high tolerance for pain have made labor less... painful? Bob mentioned that there was only one thing that she would admit that ever actually hurt... and when he did she almost bit his head off, almost like the way she reacted to George’s assertion.

She had told me that she had learned to appreciate the calm before a storm, a child coming into one’s life could definitely qualify as a ‘storm’. Then there’s her behavior around the wolf pups, she went out of her way to save one of them... well, that’s not so strange, we’ve gone out of our way to save a cat... actually it was just a kitten, and only because Gadget insisted... Dee went alone into a pack of agitated wolves and addressed the alpha male to offer her help, I’m not sure Gadget would have gone that far before we all got together... there was also her reaction when she heard the pups crying, and the emotion she put into that lullaby. Ummm... knight to queen’s five...

Dee didn’t notice if it took Chip any longer than usual to make his move, she appreciated playing against someone who would think things through thoroughly. When he did move she examined her position. Huh, didn’t expect that, wonder what he’s up to? she thought, His knight is in position to take my queen... I suppose I should move it, don’t want to lose my queen at this point... oh! I can just take his king! WHAT?! She looked the board over to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. Indeed, he had left his king exposed. He’s too careful a strategist to make a mistake like that. She looked across the board at her opponent and noticed he wasn’t even looking at the playing field.

“What’s on yer mind?” Dee asked.

“Hm?” Chip mumbled as he looked up at her.

“What’re you thinkin’ about?”

Chip wasn’t sure he wanted to bring up the real subject of his deliberations yet, “Just thinking about my next move.”

“No you’re not,” Dee bluntly replied.

“Why would you say that?”

“Take a look at the position your king is in.”

Chip took a good hard look at the board, then smacked his forehead in dismay.

“That’s ok,” Dee reassured him, “no one ever said great strategists had to be great liars... I think. Anyhow, what are you thinking about?”

Chip realized it wouldn’t help to avoid the subject at that point, “Well, I was thinking about what George had said back at the museum, about Gadget being your daughter... and, in town, Monterey had a talk with a couple of people who seemed quite certain that you had a daughter.”

Dee did not want this subject brought up, “You actually think I’m Gadget’s mother?” She hoped she could embarrass him off of the topic.

“No, of course not, Gadget’s older than you... the two people Monty talked to didn’t suggest that Gadget was...”

“George is getting senile, and those other two are idiots!” Dee responded brusquely.

“You don’t have any children then?”

“Of course not!”

Chip wasn’t sure he wanted to take this any further. He dreaded souring his relationship with Dee, but her answers weren’t convincing. There was only one more question he could think of that might lead anywhere and decided to take the chance, “Your brother mentioned there was only one thing that you would admit that hurt. What was it?”

The look Dee gave him sent a chill down his spine and if he’d been standing he would have backed up, but as it was he was sitting. But as soon as the looked crossed her face it was replaced by a look of utter defeat as she hung her head. Dee was tired of keeping this secret, and wasn’t going to threaten Chip the way she’d done to others who had poked too close into that aspect of her youth.

“C’mon,” Dee sighed as she grabbed her crutches. Chip followed her into the living room where the others had been watching TV. She made a conscious effort not to make eye contact as they watched her enter. Everyone had overhead the final portions of the discussion and were anticipating an answer to the question. But they were disappointed as she went through the living room into the kitchen, then through to her room. When Chip had slowly followed her in she closed the door.

-to be concluded...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Twelve

“You can sit if you want,” Dee muttered as if the matter were utterly irrelevant. She had no idea where to start, she had never intended to tell anyone about that part of her life and had gone to great lengths to avoid ever having to.

As Chip took a seat on the side of her bed Dee began to rummage through a small dresser drawer. On the very bottom of the drawer she found the old photograph face down, she recognized it from the handwriting on the back. Dee removed it, careful not to damage it or look at the face. She leaned her crutches up against the wall by her bed and took a seat beside Chip. Leaning forward with her elbows on her knees she looked vacantly at the floor in front of her, holding the photo so she couldn’t see the picture.

“I wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, a proper young lady growing up,” Dee began slowly, “I did anything I could to get a thrill: pulling stupid childish stunts, starting fights, vandalism... my only interest was having fun, I didn’t care how. And once I hit adolescence and discovered what sex was... I did that too. There was no shortage of guys to mess around with. At that age you never think of the consequences, and for the most part there were never any consequences to deal with. Of course, you know where this is leading... it was only a matter of time before I got pregnant. It scared the hell out of me... it was like my life was over. I was still a kid, and now that was over... my childhood was over, there wasn’t anything I could do to get around it.

“What did I have to show for everything I’d done up till then? Not a damn thing! I didn’t have the slightest clue what it meant to be a mother, or how to be a useful member of society, I didn’t know anything! I didn’t even know who the father was... I didn’t know half the names of the guys I was with... it had never meant anything to me! Of course I stopped doing anything when I found out what was going to happen to me, I didn’t know what else to do. Now that I wasn’t busy I had a chance to hear what others thought of me... I was a joke! I’d never meant anything to anybody! My life was a waste! I wasn’t going to accept that. I’d fucked up my childhood, there was no way I could change that... but I wasn’t going to piss away the rest of my life! I was going to be a different person, and I was going to start by accepting responsibility for my actions.

“If I was going to be a mother than I should take it seriously... Fortunately my mom was more than willing to help me through all of it, and for the first time in my life I was willing to listen to her. At first it all seemed so overwhelming. I would lay there in bed, thinking about how completely my life was going to change, I couldn’t get it out of my mind... it also meant I couldn’t sleep. I kept remembering my mother telling me I wasn’t ever going to get a good night’s sleep for a long time once I had kids. So I decided I wasn’t going to waste the few peaceful nights I had left... I just shut off my mind and enjoyed just laying still, just letting go, knowing that at that particular point in time I had nothing to think about or do, that there was no sense in worrying because it wouldn’t change anything. So every night before going into labor I would just shut off my mind and enjoy the quiet.”

Dee stopped for a moment, preparing herself for what was coming. Chip could sense that her story was going to get worse. The Rangers’ had met many young girls in the city who had gone through what Dee had just recounted, but they hadn’t been this hesitant to talk about it. During this break he tried to imagine the worst possible outcome to the story, hoping that what was to come wasn’t nearly as bad.

Taking a deep breath, Dee continued, “I had been told that because of my age there was the possibility there would be complications, I didn’t have any clue what they might be, but since everything had gone well right up to the delivery I thought I was in the clear,” Dee handed Chip the picture she had refused to look at the entire time she had held it. From the surroundings in the background he could tell it was taken in the type of makeshift hospital that was sometimes constructed by animals in the cities. In the picture was a young female mouse in a hospital bed holding two newborns. Though the hair was much shorter it was clear that the mother with the children was Dee. She looked disheveled, but happy nonetheless. Chip turned the picture over to examine the writing he had noticed on the reverse. In blue pen was written: Doohickey w Rebecca + Raven.

Dee paused again. She had tried hard over the years to forget what she was preparing to bring forward, and was disappointed to discover that, over time, the pain had not lessened. Dee tried not to think too far ahead into what was to be said, hoping that she could get the words out before she broke down.

“I was told there were no problems with the deliveries. I’d never been through any before so I had to take their word for it,” Dee managed with a small laugh, then continued, “Physically that was the worst thing I’d ever gone through... that’s the one thing I’ll admit that hurt, I’m nowhere near that good a liar. Of course the doctors wanted to keep them under observation, and everything was fine the first night... That picture was taken the next day... Since everything was going so well we all hoped that me and the girls would be going home soon,” Dee’s voice began to waver. Chip took one of Dee’s hands and gave it a gentle squeeze.

She paused to think how to explain what came next. At first Dee’s voice was quite clear, “In a million years no one could have prepared me for what I was told... the next morning...,” despite her best efforts her voice began to break, “when they told me... one of my babies... was... gone!” She had never been able to say the word ‘dead’ when it came to that matter. The word she chose was almost irrelevant at that point anyway as her voice had been overwhelmed by sobbing.

Chip involuntarily put an arm around Dee, who put her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. He could feel her tears begin to soak through his fur but didn’t mind. She could have just said that the subject was too painful to talk about, Chip thought, she must’ve known none of us would’ve pushed further than that. She had to let it out, to have a shoulder to cry on... no one should have to hide this kind of pain. “You can cry as long as you want,” Chip said softly as he stroked her hair gently.

Dee clutched him even tighter, unwilling to risk letting go. Throughout her life the males she had known were interested almost exclusively in her body. They would quickly lose interest once she had convinced them that she wasn’t as interested in physical ‘love’ as they were. Dee had never found anyone to whom she was willing to open her heart or to whom she could bare her wounds. Then along comes this one, someone who had everything she longed for and more, someone she knew could genuinely love her, someone she could trust with her pain.

In time Dee’s sobbing began to subside. She lifted her face slightly from her companion’s chest. Though her vision was still a little blurry with tears she noticed a little trail of snot connecting her nose to his fur. “Sorry ‘bout that,” Dee said as she started to wipe it off.

“Don’t worry,” Chip said as he began to wipe it off for her, “That’s nowhere near as bad as what happened to me the last time we let Dale cook.” He saw an opportunity to lighten her heart, “...I still wake up screaming.” Dee laughed involuntarily which did make her feel somewhat better. Her laughter, in turn, helped to lift his own spirits.

While still sniffing back some tears, and her voice still a little shaky, Dee continued, “Well, as you can tell, losing Rebecca hurt... a lot. We were all worried that Raven would join her... but she didn’t, she turned out to be perfectly healthy. But before the doctors were completely sure they kept both of us under observation longer than they’d originally planned. While I was there it finally hit me... that I did have a child I would have to raise. I began thinking seriously about what I would have to do. During all this thought I began to consider what her life would be like, to have somebody like me as her mother. I didn’t like that... she’d never know who her father was, and she would have to deal with the fact that I had the kind of reputation that I had... a reputation I still have trouble with on occasion.

“As it happens, that’s the reason I stopped wearing this black jumpsuit...,” Dee felt changing the subject for a bit would help further alleviate her sorrow, “Bill made an offhand remark about my being a ‘stern mistress’. He was referring to my obsessive organizational tendencies, but those who still knew what I used to be like had a field day with it. That’s when I decided to change to a more ‘wholesome’ color scheme... so I wouldn’t look so much like a dominatrix. After that, anyone who kept it up was reminded that I still enjoy getting into fights on occasion.” The grin she finished the sentence with reminded Chip of the smile she had just before she mauled Danforth.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Twelve continued...

“Getting back to the topic at hand,” Dee said with a small sigh, “I decided that I couldn’t give Raven the kind of life she deserved, not with the kind of problems I had to deal with. I didn’t want her to have to go through that too. My godparents had been trying for awhile to have a child of their own... I knew that they were good, honest and loving people... the kind of parents everyone wishes they’d had growing up.” Her voice, once more, began to waver, “I know that it’s one of the highest priorities of a mother to ensure that her child has the best chance in life she can give them... and I knew that Raven wasn’t going to have her best chance if I had tried to raise her. They agreed to take her in.

“I insisted, and they agreed, that they would treat her as their own flesh and blood... that she wouldn’t be told she was adopted... I knew some people who had been adopted, a couple of them couldn’t stand the idea that their parents had ‘abandoned’ them, or they felt that it was their own fault their parents didn’t want them... that there was something wrong with them. I didn’t want her to go through that. I also didn’t want her to go looking for her real parents and find... me... someone who didn’t even bother to remember the names of the guys I’d been sleeping around with, and didn’t even have the slightest clue who her father was.

“I wanted her to have the best possible life I could give her...” Dee’s voice began to falter more as she spoke, “she would have respectable, loving parents who would make her the center of their world, they could provide a higher standard of living... she would have a wonderful start in life... if I gave her up. So... I had to... let her go. I couldn’t be... part of h-her life. I couldn’t... take the chance... that m-my mistakes w-would hurt... her.”

Chip cradled Dee in his arms as she broke down. He had heard the self doubt, and even regret, in her voice as she explained her decision. Even before he could think of it he heard himself say, “I forgive you.”

==

“Dale!” Gadget nearly yelled as she rushed into the kitchen. Grabbing Dale by the ear she led him back into the livingroom, “You told us you were just getting a snack!”

“I was!” Dale responded defensively.

“You were eavesdropping!” Gadget shot back, “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“You gotta’ admit ya’ looked rather suspicious with your ear pressed against the door there, pally,” Monterey joined in.

“We shoulda’ brought Foxy with us,” Dale said as he returned to his seat, “She’d be able to hear what they’re saying.”

“If ya’ asked her to move in she’d be right there whenever we head out on a case,” Monterey wryly suggested. The thought of asking Foxglove to come live with them made Dale a little uneasy, it seemed a little too much like commitment to him.

“If Dee only felt comfortable about telling Chip about that part of her life then we should respect that,” Gadget said returning everyone back to the original vein of discussion.

“Besides,” Monterey added, “I doubt she’d be very forgiving of anyone she found eavesdropping on her.”

Before another word could be said the door to Dee’s room opened slowly. Everyone expectantly turned their gaze to the entrance. Chip emerged and gently closed the door behind him. The expression on his face revealed the tone of the meeting.

“What did she say?” Gadget asked gently.

Chip took a seat beside Dale on the couch, “She had two daughters,” he began quietly, “when she was much, much younger...”

“How much younger could she have been?” Dale interrupted.

“Just old enough...,” Chip answered, “One died a few days after being born, her godparents took responsibility for the other. Dee had requested that she not be told she was adopted. She and her family made every effort to ensure she wouldn’t find out, everyone else that knew about it also kept quiet. When they moved out a year later everyone just set the matter aside since there wasn’t any point in talking about it... of course the few people who did try to talk to Dee about it regretted it.”

“Didn’t the father have a say in any of this?” Monterey asked.

“Nobody knew who the father was,” Chip answered plainly, “Dee never bothered to keep track of the people she’d been with... until it was too late to any good anyway. She’s tried very hard to forget that part of her life.” Chip didn’t bother to mention that Raven and her adopted parents had moved to the same city the Rangers lived in, it wasn’t necessary that everyone else knew that.

“That explains why she was willing to save that wolf pup, knowing what it’s like to lose a child,” Gadget mentioned.

“Yeah, most people wouldn’t want to save something that was going to grow up to eat them,” Dale added.

Dee eventually emerged from her room. She did her best to maintain a pleasant demeanor the rest of the night. Before long she and Chip returned to their game of chess with Dee allowing Chip to take back his last move. And, as happened on previous nights, they lost complete track of time. Once all the others had bedded down for the night Chip escorted Dee back to her room.

“Think you’ll be able to sleep tonight?” Chip asked as they got to her door.

Dee thought for a moment, “Probably, but I could use the company... if you don’t mind.”

“Why would I mind?”

Though there was nowhere near the astonishment the next morning as the first time Chip spent the night with Dee, they both felt the need to explain that there had been no ‘hanky-panky’ involved. Afterwards it seemed that Dee and Chip were even closer. Within a few days Dee even admitted defeat in the chess game the two had been playing... she didn’t seem to mind losing.

The days passed, and the time drew closer when Dee’s cast would be removed and the Rangers would return home. As that day approached Monterey, Gadget, Dale, and Zipper grew increasingly anxious about how well Dee and Chip would deal with parting from one another. They were completely unaware, however, that the two had an unspoken agreement not to think about that day till it arrived, that they would simply enjoy the time they had left together.

Three weeks to the day after falling out of a tree and breaking her leg, Dee’s cast came off. Despite being a little weak from lack of use her leg was in perfect condition. That morning, on the Weather Channel, the forecast called for plenty of sun and little relief from the heat.

“Perfect swimming weather,” Dee mentioned.

“Too right,” Monterey concurred, “it’s just a shame we don’t have anyplace to swim.”

“Sure we do,” Dee responded, “there’s the millpond just off the south side of the mill.” Everyone seemed a little surprised. “None of you noticed that in the three weeks you’ve been living here?” she asked, equally surprised.

Zipper raised his hand and squeaked out, “I did.”

“Oh, that’s right, the rest of you have been busy eating me out of house and home,” Dee responded sarcastically, “Anyhow, thanks for helping restock the pantry.”

“Well, it was the least we could do after ‘eating you out of house and home’,” Chip mentioned.

“C’mon, I’ll show ya’ my ‘in ground pool’,” Dee offered as she left the living room. Down by the side of the mill was a small reservoir fed by a small creek coming down form the hill and held back by a small dam. “The original pond was a lot larger,” Dee explained, “but by the time I moved in here it had almost entirely drained and the dam was a mess. I managed to shore up enough of the dam to make a nice little retreat for days like this.”

“There’s only one problem though,” Chip intervened, “We don’t have anything to go swimming in.”

“Well, we could go skinny dipping!” Monterey heartily suggested as he began to remove his coat.

“No, no, I think we can do without the full Monty, thank you,” Dale responded.

“You don’t know what yer talkin’ about!” someone yelled.

“Yeah! Show us your stuff, big boy!” came another voice.

Everyone turned to see a group of she-wolves on a small ridge overlooking the millpond. They soon began chanting, “Take-it-off! Take-it-off! Take-it-off!...”

Virginia, looking more than a little irritated, came walking up behind them and loudly cleared her throat. The other she-wolves turned to look at her. “Don’t you ladies have something better to do with your time?” she asked authoritatively.

“No, not really,” one of them responded. Virginia snarled at her with hackles raised and teeth bared. “W-well, we um, could be, like, p-playing with the uh, pups... or something,” one of her subordinates stammered. With ears back and tails slightly tucked, her subordinates slunk back around the corner of the mill. Once they were out of sight, Virginia gave Monterey (appropriately enough) a wolf whistle, then trotted off.

“Wait a sec...” Gadget stated, “I have an idea!” Everyone looked at each other, a little confused, and awaited Gadget’s return. She reappeared before long carrying a bundle of clothes. “I thought I saw these when I was packing... We went swimming in the park fountain the day before we left. Dale apparently forgot to unpack our stuff after we got back.”

“Well it’s a good thing I did, too,” Dale declared in his own defense.

Much of the rest of the day was spent pool-side. Some of that was spent, by Chip, admiring Dee in her turquoise swimsuit... especially after she surreptitiously mentioned to him that she would occasionally swim nude. Nothing out of the ordinary happened until Romulus cried out “CANNONBALL!” and plunged into the millpond in one giant furry ball, the resultant wave washing the five rodents out onto the bank. Shortly thereafter the pond was overrun by the wolf pups. Dee and the Rangers retired to the upper floor of the mill to dry off and get something to eat.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Twelve continued...

“Guess we’ll be leaving tomorrow,” Monterey mentioned.

“Yeah, that city of yours doesn’t seem capable of getting by more than five days without having to be saved from the brink of destruction,” Dee joked, “and you’ve all been gone for three weeks!”

“We’ll definitely have out work cut out for us,” Chip responded.

“And I’m sure you’re more than up to the challenge,” Dee commented leaning up close to him.

The evening passed with all of them reminiscing about what had happened over the time they’d been together. Dee confessed that it was probably a good thing that she hadn’t been around when it was discovered that Danforth had kidnapped the racoons’ children, “Would’ve given him more than that free nose job!”

Later, when it was finally time to bed down for the night, Chip noticed Dee was missing. He didn’t find her in her room, and on a hunch wandered out onto the balcony. Around the corner and up the stairs Chip walked. Passing through the door he saw Dee sitting on the mossy floor, illuminated by the nearly full moon.

“I thought you only came up here when the moon was full?” he asked.

“You won’t be here when it’s full,” she answered. Chip noticed a little sadness in her tone, but he wasn’t surprised, the truth they’d avoided for the past few weeks was finally at hand.

Chip sat by her side, “Well, you look beautiful in the moonlight even when it isn’t full.”

“Nya:wëh.”

“Nyö.” There was an awkward silence. “You know,” Chip started, “you’re welcome to come with us, we could always use the extra help.”

“You have no idea how much I wanted to hear you say that,” Dee responded with a small laugh, “or how much I dreaded it.”

“Why?”

“As much as I want to I can’t go with you. I love you... and I do want to be with you... but I can’t leave... at least not yet. Romulus and his pack are like family to me, and I can’t just abandon them... and I have responsibilities in town... and I went through hell to make this place my home. A colony of bats decided they were more deserving of the place, and when I didn’t leave at first they threatened me, when I still refused to leave they tried to kill me... to make a long story short: the survivors found someplace else to live. So I can’t just leave... besides, I don’t think I could recreate my hanger in your tree.

“And of course it would only be a matter of time before Gadget and I would blow you... and everyone else... to pieces. Her inventions tend to fly apart at the seams, mine tend to explode... if we began working on the same projects, sooner of later someone’s gonna buy it. Frankly I’m surprised I’m ever able to get the smell of burnt fur out of my clothes,” Dee finished with a laugh.

“Well, we don’t leave until tomorrow,” Chip said with confidence, “so we still have tonight.”

Dee leaned over and placed her head on his shoulder, “Damn straight.”

“I seem to recall we were doing something the last time we were up here,” Chip mentioned suggestively.

“Really?” Dee returned, “What might that have been?”

Chip took her in his arms and they laid back onto the cool moss. The moon traced a wide arc across the starry sky before the two once more returned their gaze skywards. Dee leaned back against her companion, who cradled her in his arms as they looked up into the shimmering heavens. With the moon and stars above, and Chip’s arms around her, Dee couldn’t help but think of one particular song. Gently, she began singing to the music in her heart,

“Upon a darkened night
The flame of love was burning in my breast
And by a lantern bright
I fled my house while all in quiet rest

Shrouded by the night
And by the secret stair I quickly fled
The veil concealed my eyes
While all within lay quiet as the dead

Upon that misty night
In secrecy, beyond such mortal sight
Without a guide or light
Than that which burned so deep within my heart

That fire ‘twas led me on
And shone more bright than of the midday sun
To where he waited still
It was a place where no one else could come

Within my pounding heart
Which kept itself entirely for him
He fell into his sleep
Beneath the cedars all my love I gave

From o’er the fortress walls
The wind would brush his hair against his brow
And with it’s smoothest hand
Caressed my every sense it would allow

I lost myself to him
And laid my face upon my lover’s breast
And care and grief grew dim
As in the mornings mist became the light

There they dimmed amongst the lilies fair
There they dimmed amongst the lilies fair
There they dimmed amongst the lilies fair”

A few moments of silence passed before Dee spoke, “Y’know, Loreena McKennitt has to be my all time favorite singer.”

“And you’re my favorite singer,” Chip added softly. They lay there for a few moments more. “We should probably head inside before we begin to grow mold.”

That last sentence got quite a bit of laughter from Dee, who agreed.

==

Everyone was up early the next morning, even though leaving the mill by air wouldn’t be practical until the morning mists cleared. After breakfast everyone began making preparations for departure. While Dale, Gadget, Monterey, and Zipper were doing their part in the hanger, Dee and Chip stole away to the privacy of her room. They faced each other, holding hands.

“There’s no way I could begin to explain what you’ve done for me,” Dee began, “I don’t feel so alone anymore... even if there won’t be as many people around the mill. Besides, maybe I can start a branch of the Rescue Rangers here on the rez,” she shrugged, “It’d give me something to do... and it would remind me of what we’ve had here.”

“Well, if you’re going to be a Rescue Ranger you should try not to kill people... even if they try to kill you,” Chip kindly admonished.

“Sure! I’m always up for a challenge.”

“Now what can I do to remind myself of what we’ve had here?”

“You can take this,” Dee said as she let go of his hands. She walked over to her dresser and opened a drawer. “I’ve never really been one for wearing jewelry,” Dee said as she lifted out a thin gold necklace with a pendent in the shape of a feather, “My mother gave this to me for my first birthday after I lost my kids,” her voice trembled slightly, “I used to wear it all the time before I began working with machinery. I always thought of it as a symbol of the person I became.” Dee handed it to Chip, “You don’t have to wear it, of course,” she laughed.

“I think I will wear it,” Chip said as he slipped it around his neck, “for now anyway.”

Dee and Chip returned to the hanger, hand in hand, for final farewells. Dee gave all of the others a hug before they boarded the Ranger Wing. When she hugged Gadget Dee handed her a folded sheet of paper.

“What’s this?” Gadget asked.

“It’s the recipe for that homebrew I use for the Banshee, I thought you might like to play around with it...,” Dee answered, “Don’t tell Monty you have it, though, we don’t want to worry him.”

Dee and Chip embraced one last time. Dee tried, but couldn’t hold back her tears.

“Gönoöhgwa', Ye’shöni’,” Chip said.

“Gönoöhgwa', Jiho’gwais,” Dee responded, then whispered, “Until the day I can hold you in arms... I will hold you in my heart.”

“I’ll be holding you in my heart as well,” he whispered back.

“Ë:sgögë i:e ögwadeo'shö'!” Dee called out once everyone was aboard the Ranger Wing, then called out, “That means ‘I’ll see you again, my friends’!” Everyone aboard repeated it as best they could with Chip coming the closest. “Close enough!”

With final farewells given from the Rangers in a more familiar means the Ranger Wing lifted off. Dee watched as it ascended into the crisp morning air, and eventually disappear over the tree covered hills in the distance. She returned to her room, laid down in her bed, and clutched her pillow to her chest. Within a few moments she was asleep.

The first night the Rangers spent back in their own beds was blissfully familiar. On a post of Chip’s bed hung a gold necklace with a feather pendent. That night, despite being in separate beds in different cities, Dee and Chip were together in each others’ dreams.

The End