Author's Note:

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!

My (late) gift to all you loyal readers is an one-shot sequel of this story. Unfortunately, that is requiring me to do a lot of editing, and actually explain the events that perspires at the time of their disappearance, or at least enough to explain the sequel.

Most of the changes in the first two chapters are small mistakes, and then we get to the fun chapters!

So if you see a bunch of updates, just read them. I did change a few things as well.

Also, heads up. A few of the ANs were changed.

A Parent's Fear

Chapter One: Three Days Gone By

Disclaimer: This is a non for profit work and does not claim ownership for any characters or locations in this story. All that is claimed to belong to the author is this story. Sonic the Hedgehog and all canon material is owned by Sega.

It had been three days.

Three days had slowly crawled by, and still no one had found them. Three spine chilling sunrises since she had hugged them close. Three sleepless eves since he had told them a bedtime story.

Three days... and their children were still missing.

Vector stole a glance at his wife, her honey eyes that were once full of life but now empty as their children's playroom looking straight ahead as she sat next to him on the upholstery. Dead as the spirit that used reside in her. Her fur, which she usually went to great ends to keep well groomed, was disheveled and grimy. Underneath her coat, her eyes were puffy and dry, irritated from the tears she shed. Her shoulders drooped and her long ears fell. It was hard to believe that was the same woman he married. The same beautiful young mother who was willing to do anything to keep her daughter safe, but that girl was gone. Vanilla was broken.

'You're one to talk,' he chided himself.

It was true. He was handling the situation as well as she was, if not worse. He had not even moved from couch since he got home the after the first day of searching. She at least got up a few times to pour herself some tea. She at least tried to put on a smile when Tails and Sonic came by to check up on the heart broken parents. She at least was keeping up with the search efforts. All he had done was sit and cry.

'You're the leader of the team that's out there looking for them and all you can do is cry,' he continued his internal whiplash, 'Pathetic.'

He let out a sigh of resignation. As much as he wanted, even needed, to help find his son and daughter, he knew the consequences of being too close to a case. Rationale flies out the door when the case is too personal. Being the father of the missing Mobians is definitely too close. Not that he didn't try, no, but, after seeing the tough as nails Chaotix leader burst his dams three times in the course of an hour, it became very clear to Espio that it would be best that his boss went home and let him handle the case by himself. To be frank, though, even Espio was struggling.

After all, his friend was missing too.

Were they hurt? Were they sick? Scared? Tired? Hungry?

These questions burned him from deep inside his core. Not knowing killed him. It broke him, just as it had with his wife.

He didn't even know if they were alive.

'Stop thinking about it,' he ordered himself, trying to derail his train of thought.

But he couldn't. He couldn't stop his thoughts from drifting back to the safety of his children, Charmy and Cream.

Charmy, his seven year old son and former teammate whom he had adopted just weeks before he tied the knot with Vanilla. As much as his annoying hyper-active childlike behavior had been nuisance in the workplace, it was perfect for life of the care-free child he had become. He really should have been that all along, but only Chaotix team members could live at the workplace and Vector cared about the kid too much to throw him out on the street. Now that he had a real home, though, Vector had no issue dismissing the child.

It had actually been her idea, adopting Charmy that is. She didn't like that a child just a few months older than her daughter was in the workforce, and she took no comfort in its justifications. They took him in, tried to keep him safe and let him have a relatively carefree childhood. His smile filled their hearts with joy and the weight of the world suddenly became more manageable.

Now, it felt like gigantic boulders chaining them to the floor.

Cream, his wife's seven year old daughter from her first marriage whom he legally adopted the same day as Charmy. She was every bit as graceful and beautiful as her mother. She had warmed up to him immediately, calling him "daddy" from the moment they told her they were together. She could find a bright side in any situation and got along with nearly everyone she met. She was the a light in her parent's heart.

With her gone, it felt like the sun would never shine again, even if they could feel its warmth against their face.

If only he could see Charmy's intoxicating grin again, he would never get complain about him waking them up at five in the morning.

If only he could hear Cream's honey-sweet voice again, he would drink pretend tea with her till the day he died.

If only he could hug them again, he would read them two stories every night, no matter how tired he was.

If only he could tell them he loved them one last time...

For the first time since he got home over two days ago, he picked himself up off the davenport before getting bringing his knees down to the floorboards.

'Dear God,' he begged, holding his hands together, 'I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, please, bring them back to us. I'll give anything, I'll be the best father ever, I'll show up to everything, I'll do everything a father is supposed to do, just please bring them home.'

He didn't hear the phone ringing. He didn't pay any mind to the dry greeting his wife gave to the caller. He didn't even notice the sound of the sound of it hitting the floor next to him.

The only thing he made out were his prayers being answered by the caller.

"We found them."