Author's Note: This is set basically five years after There's Nothing Like Family (If I were you, I'd read that story before this one if you haven't yet. Just remember to read the finished one by Timothy C.).

All the couples are still going strong, they're still as famous as ever and they do still keep in touch with their Australian friends. Although it isn't mentioned in this story, Claire Wilson is back with Dave and they're engaged to be married by the end of the year.

Home

Alvin Sr.'s POV

Rock this party,

Dance everybody.

Make it hot in this party.

Don't stop,

Move your body!

Everybody dance now!

The music blaring through the sound system in the van had no relevance what so ever with the beautiful and peaceful surroundings of the forest we were driving through. It was just the four of us this weekend: Dave, Brittany, AJ and I. The other four family members were visiting the Bagdasarian's for an overnight stay. The GPS on the dashboard showed that we had almost reached our destination.

Finally after six long hours, Dave stopped the van near a cliff and we all piled out, stretching our legs and backs. The cool breeze brought lovely fresh air to our lungs, and didn't we enjoy it. Surrounding us was a forest in its prime and absolutely full of life. Birds were soaring overhead, deer and rabbits could be seen frolicking through the meadow in the southern distance. The sky itself was a clear blue. But why were we here?

I beckoned for my son to follow me to the edge of the cliff, his brown eyes filled with curiosity. When we were close enough to the edge, I stopped and allowed distant and slightly painful memories to play in front of my eyes.

"Take a look down there, son." I requested softly. AJ obliged and cautiously peered over the edge before stepping back hastily. "It's pretty steep isn't it?"

"Definitely," he answered, glancing at me before taking another short look, "I'd hate to be anybody who fell down there."

"Is that so?" I asked him and smiled. He gave me a confused look. "You'd better start hating yourself then, because you did fall down here and survived."

"Excuse me?" he asked in surprise. I chuckled before answering.

"This is just about where I lost you during the eagle attack when you were a baby." I answered. Dave and Brittany looked down the cliff as well and stared at AJ in amazement.

"That's how far you fell?" asked Brittany in shock to Alvin, "Oh, my poor Alvey!" She threw her arms around him kissed him on the cheek, making him blush and grin in spite of himself.

Dave looked down at his adopted son and sighed, "You really are indestructible aren't you?"

"He certainly is," I replied. It had been eleven years since I was last here. eleven years since my life changed forever and I had to escape to Australia to get away from the pain and sorrow. This was the place I was born, like my father before me and my son next to me. This is the place I grew up, learnt life's values, found the love of my life and mated with her so we could become a family. Yes, sir. I was home.

Never thought I would be here again.

Never imagined I'd see this haven, again.

Too many memories I have left to bare.

And too many stories I have left to share.

Home, you're my home, my friend.

I never thought I would see you again.

We walked together across the forest floor, the leaves crunching beneath our feet as we neared my second secret destination. AJ kept one arm around the waist of his mate as I told many tales about when I was growing up here. The sunlight reached the ground in freckles through the leaves on the trees above. Fish could be seen darting in and out of view in the stream next to us. Dave's towering shadow blocked the light every now and then as he strode carefully behind us.

"How far until we reached the place we're going, Al?" asked Brittany when I finally took a break from talking. For some reason, Brittany had been looking so radiant lately. There was a glow around her that hadn't been there until couple of weeks ago. She had also been pretty secretive, even around AJ. I had seen Vinny with these traits at one point, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"Still a bit farther," I replied, "It should be up and around the bend here, if my old memory hasn't failed me."

Brittany laughed, "You're not old, Al. You're only 37. All that grey fur you had when I first met you has even gone brown again."

I rolled my eyes and grinned, "When you've lived a life like I have, young lady, you'd call yourself old too." I took a huge breath and sighed happily I gazed around once more.

It's been too long since I ran through your tree's,

Drank your water, bathed in your sunlight.

It's been way to long since I've met your companions,

Gave greetings and sang a song in delight.

Home, you're my home, my friend.

I never thought I would see you again.

"I remember the first night Vinny and I spent together in our tree," I rambled on to the others, "It was during summer and we had just gotten our blessing from our parents to be together. You would not have believed how humid and stinkin' hot it was when two fully grown chipmunks were snuggled together in a nest. Neither of us could get any sleep, we were constantly shifting positions and the heat alone was making us bicker at each other."

"So not a very easy night then?" said Dave, trying to summarise the story. I nodded, and hopped over a tree root that was in my path. Dave stepped over it after me.

"Not even with our summer coat of fur." I replied, "It didn't help when a storm started the next morning, and it had been to hot for us to go foraging the day before."

"You didn't have any food?" asked AJ.

"Nothing at all," I replied regretfully, "But it was worth it all, because once both the weather and our tempers had cooled down, we both made up and ended up telling each other, "I love you" for the first time."

"Aww! How sweet!" cooed Brittany, making me blush under my fur.

"Yeah, it certainly was."

You've given me the best and worst of weather,

Making me shiver, shake or sweat at night.

But, believe it or not, I forgive you, my pal.

And it's not just because I'm being polite.

Home, you're my home, my friend.

I never thought I would see you again.

"Hello! What's this?" I exclaimed. I stopped in my tracks, making AJ walk straight into me by accident. I couldn't believe my eyes. I never thought I'd see it again in my life.

"What is it, Dad?" asked AJ. I looked at my son, beaming happily as I stared back at the tree trunk and stared at what was engraved in it.

It was the nicknames of me and my friends when we were little: Alvalanche (me), Jeffanga (after Jeffery, the 'Smart-One') and Buzzinga (after Buzz the 'Handsome-One). Looking at this reminded me of the day we engraved this in the wood. It was the last day we would ever see each other.

After I told the others this, Brittany asked, "My dad called himself 'Buzzinga'?

I chuckled and remarked, "Yep, we were known in the forest as 'The Three Losers'."

We all laughed at that. As we moved on, I told the tale of the time Jeff and I convinced Buzz to pop acorns up the nose of a grizzly bear cub when it was sleeping. The cub didn't notice it, but it's mother definitely did! Buzz only just got away in time. Not only did we get grounded for that, but we weren't allowed to see each other for a month.

I remember all the friends of my youth,

We'd abuse the mischievous side you provided.

Not once did you let us fell or be eaten,

You never once let us go misguided.

We're all so thankful to you for our fun.

So don't any of our misdeeds go undone.

We were all lost in our own thoughts for a while. My thoughts went back to Vinny and the day I rescued her from the eagle. After I caught her, we ran to my tree and hid in my bachelor's nest until the heat was off. I can still remember our first conversation:

We both collapsed on the floor and wheezed heavily for breath. The sound of animals screaming and running for cover could still be heard outside. Panting, I glanced over at the caramel coloured Chipette next to me. She looked exhausted and her eyes were wide with fear. And what stunning eyes they were, they were almost the colour of gold. In fact, her whole face was stunning.

Suddenly, I noticed that one of her legs was bleeding. She had fallen over a few times as I dragged her through the scrub. The Chipette was trying not to put too much weight on that leg as she slowly got up. Without hesitation, I quickly aided her over to my nest so she could lie down. She looked at me properly for the first time, "Thank you, Mr-uh-"

"Goldstein," I replied, "But you can call me Alvin. What's your name?"

"Virginia Lockhart," she replied nervously, "But you can call me Vinny."

"Sure thing Vinny," I started checking over her leg as I talked, "Does this hurt?" I pulled her leg up and she yelped in pain. I took that as a certain yes before allowing her to clean herself off with her tongue, "Looks like a sprain to me."

"Probably. A sprain is way better than being eaten," Vinny remarked when her wound was clean, "I can't thank you enough for saving my butt back there, Alvin. I hope my parents are okay."

"You still live with your parents? You don't have a mate then, huh?" I asked. By now, I was wrapping her leg with leaves and vines like my mother had taught me to.

Vinny looked gloomy as she said, "I did have a mate, but one day he had this crazy idea that he could become a famous singer in one of the human colonies. He just got up and left in the middle of the night."

"Human's huh? That's a pretty dangerous move. I've heard horror stories about them." I said, putting the finishing touches on her leg before sitting down next to her.

Vinny giggled, "Haven't we all?" But then, her face fell again, "I hope he's alright."

"Me too," I said, full of concern. We both sat in silence for a while.

After a while I spoke up again, "You look exhausted. How about you sleep for a while and I'll go out and find your parents for you."

Vinny smiled at that suggestion, "You would do that for me?" Wow, her smile was just beautiful!

"Of course!" and with that I set off outside while she rested.

Fortunately, Vinny's parents were just fine and were absolutely relieved that she was okay. They felt in debt to me and like most parents did, they betrothed Vinny to be my mate. She didn't mind having to be courted by pressure and in no time at all, we were in love, living together and was facing the happy prospect of one day being parents. Little did we know then that a tragic event would change everything.

You broke one of your branches so she fell,

Down into my arms and so, you caused fate.

How was I to know you would take her away?

I apologise, but for that I feel too much hate.

Home, you're my home, my friend.

Please tell me if I should forgive you again.

Finally, we had arrived at the destination that I was leading us all to. In front of us was a tall oak tree, one of the highest in the forest. And in front of the oak tree was what I had been trying to keep away from when I ran off to Australia. AJ, slowly realising what they were, became sad and held Brittany tightly. Dave knelt down and gasped softly in recognition.

Three crosses stuck out of the ground, the middle one larger than the tiny other two, signalling the comparison in size of the bodies they represent. Stones lay at the base of each cross, on each etched a single letter. Together, each group of stones spelt a name. The two smaller ones spelt out 'Casey' and 'Felicity', the larger one spelt out 'Virginia'.

They were the graves of my mate and my two daughters. The graves, that I had to dig up and lay their bodies in. The graves that AJ and I laid at for days on end and wept until we couldn't no more.

I turned to see AJ looking at me with a question in his eyes. I simply told him, "I thought we deserved to try and get some closure. We couldn't stay away from here forever."

AJ gave me a look that said, "I doubt it."

"Trust me," I told him. Brittany rubbed his back comfortingly, "She would've wanted it. She's probably smiling at us right now."

Now I stand here looking into the past.

It's making me realise how time has gone fast.

My only heir beside me, the late two in the grave.

I can't let my love down, she'd want me to be brave.

Can I forgive you? Please send me a sign.

Can I be at peace like my family on Cloud Nine?

"You know," Brittany intercepted. We all looked at her with interest, "She probably is smiling down on us. Casey and Felicity as well. And because they are with us right now, I guess this is a good time to reveal something that I was going to tell you when we got home. That way, Vinny, Casey and Felicity can be in on a group secret."

"What's the secret?" asked Dave curiously. Brittany looked from Dave to me, to the graves, then wrapped her arms around AJ's neck.

"What's going on Britt?" questioned AJ, snaking his arms around her waist.

Brittany smiled and said softly, "I'm pregnant."

Dave and I gasped in surprise and grinned. So that's why she was glowing! Now I remember, that's the way Vinny looked during her pregnancy! I knew I'd seen it somewhere before!

"That's fantastic! Congratulations!" Dave cried. Normally a human would think that becoming parents at 11 years old is way too premature, but Dave knew that talking chipmunks become adults at age 9. The media would never understand and was gonna make a huge deal out of it once it finds out, but who gives a damn about what the media thinks?

"I'm so happy for you two!" I exclaimed in joy, "You're gonna enjoy being a father, son. I just hope you have a better time of it then I've had."

AJ ignored the slap on the back I gave him. He was shell shocked and just stared at Brittany with the same look that Vinny gave me when she was stunned.

"I'm gonna be a father," he muttered under his breath. Eventually, the shock settled in and he became excited, "YAHOO! I'M GONNA BE A DAD!"

Dave and I laughed at the look of pride on his face. When AJ stopped jumping for joy, He grabbed Brittany (carefully, now he knew of her condition) and kissed her deeply. He hugged her and started ranting about all the things that they and the kids could do as a family. It reminded me so much of the day Vinny told me the great news.

"Wait until Chelsea, Ricko and the Fetchers hear about this!" I said when AJ mentioned taking a trip to Australia. As he went on, I looked back at the graves and for the first time in eleven years, I felt that huge pressure lift off my shoulders. I would never know why AJ and I didn't die with the girls, but now I sure as hell knew the purpose for us to stay.

At last, we had the closure we needed.

As I take this deep breath, I'll let you know:

It hasn't been at all easy to let go.

So much has been taken, but what I've gotten back,

Is the chance to see the next generation grow.

Home, you're my home, my friend.

I'm finally at peace with you again.

A/N: Well, there you go. I hope you've enjoyed the little catch up. If you're interested in knowing what the babies are like, then read their descriptions in one of my other stories, the Blind Observation Follow Up. The story there is basically what I would write for this series, except with Alvin Sr involved.

P.S: If you're gonna read the Follow Up, then you might as well read Blind Observation too. Don't hesitate to review on any of my stories.

P.S.S: That's not a request, by the way. That's an order! ;)