Sonic stared up at the hospital ceiling blankly. He'd been looking at it for a while now, and there wasn't much else for him to do. He'd counted about every dot and imperfection in the tile, and his mind was playing a game with him where he saw faces and objects in the crevices. He would move--he would have liked to move, that is, but for his injuries. His eyes kind of glazed over thinking about it; he still couldn't believe it himself.
He remembered fighting Metal Sonic, and how he was defeated. A humorless smile crossed his face for a moment as he considered his condition. When he'd awakened, he'd expected broken bones, and there was that. It was the shattered hip and spinal damage that he had not counted on. He remembered a tearful Amy clinging to him, crying, begging him not to move or attempt it. She wanted to shelter him from the blow he was still reeling from.
Of course, the quick blue hedgehog had gone into denial as a first resort. "Ha! Only a couple broken bones...nothin' to worry about!" he'd said aloud. He'd told himself that repeatedly and insisted it to doctors and nurses, his ears attempting to filter out any bad news. Amy was shaking badly, fearing the doctors' view of reality would overpower his willful imagination.
It was probably when Chris came to visit that reality began to sink in. He gave him a breakdown of the damage to Gate City and Station Square with an itinerary of who was where and how many cuts, bruises, and broken bones accompanied said parties. Sonic and his family had wound up the hardest hit, and the news that his youngest son was now deaf as a post didn't bode well with him. The fact he was still feeling pain in his lower extremities gave the doctors hope, but the surgeries (between his hip and his back) were beyond the care given by the Mobian Research Team. The young entrepreneur had offered to cover any medical expenses Sonic had, as well as the others who'd been injured in what was likely Eggman's last stand.
Sonic had heard the whole thing numbly, his hearing hazy as his mind attempted to assimilate all the information. It broke down at the word "trauma" in conjunction with his spine. It seized up at "'nine months healing" at the prospect of back surgery. It snapped when he heard the words "ongoing therapy." In short, he had a meltdown. He wouldn't cry; that wasn't his thing, but there was anger, a lot of it, and a real lamentation that he couldn't beat the crap out of Metal Sonic for this one last time.
The hedgehog had been a friend to Chris' wife Helen and treated her like anyone else while she was crippled up in a wheel chair, but she was born that way. It was different for him; just running around a cruise ship had driven him nuts. Despite offered healthcare, there were no guarantees. Anything could happen, and he might even wind up worse for it. He had no way of knowing how the spinal damage would affect him until the bones were healed, and his hip was so far gone it needed replacing outright; that was at least three months of his life gone right there. It was the idea of sitting still, of staying in place that haunted him. He was the one who showed others what flying with your own two legs was like; he couldn't think of it any other way, closing his eyes and thinking of the speed, his speed. When he opened his eyes again, he was in the same hospital room, in the same kind of pain, and feeling now like Metal's victory was greater than either of them knew.
'Maybe I should've just gone down with Metal...I would have gone out a hero,' he thought morbidly. He focused on his breathing a while, slow and rhythmic. He glanced about again, finally resting his eyes on the pink mass half sprawled across him in the hospital bed. Amy had been frantic about keeping him still, and fell asleep holding him. If it weren't for her, Sonic's fantasies of going down in flames would have persisted longer. As it stood, he did have her to think about, about the tears that clung to her eyelashes. 'I'm going to hate myself for this….' He heaved a sigh. When she woke up, it would take everything he had to pretend it didn't hurt, pretend that the time wouldn't be as long or trying as he thought it would be. Maybe if he kept up his denial of reality, he would believe it himself.
Like Sonic, Rift dealt poorly with his hearing loss. The terms bitter, resentful, reclusive, morbid, irritable, antisocial, reckless, and uncooperative all applied. It certainly wasn't doing anything for Amy's shreds of sanity, which were quickly leaving her. Hannah seemed to be avoiding him as time went by, and with his current attitude, it was hard to blame her. The boy had tried occupying his time by learning sign language, though Amy was upset that his favorite form of communication was simply to put up his middle finger.
This meant that Blitz was the main outlet for her pent up rage and frustration. The purple hedgehog strolled into the house and set his Gear board in the closet, quickly being set on by a raging pink female that somewhat resembled his mom. His ears had become selectively deaf to her rants and he nodded his head at appropriate locations, his eyes rolling into the back of his head mentally. He smiled amiably, though, and kicked a pointed shoe at the floor. "So...what did Rift or Sonic do/not do this time?" he asked in an almost bored tone.
Amy's moods quickly changed between rage and tears, and her frantic tone was just a hair away from the latter. "He won't do anything!! I know he understands me…and then there's your father and he...oh...!!" she whined.
"What about Pops?" He put a hand on his hip and struck a pose.
She sighed and attempted to regain her composure, but that was a losing battle. It was easy to tell when Amy was stressed: the lack of makeup, the out of place quills, the careless wardrobe of week-old shorts and a too big tank top or ripped t-shirt, the kind she usually saved for gardening. Then there was her scent, and Sonic hadn't been refreshing it lately. "He's quiet and he's not moving much…." She frowned a bit, lower lip quivering.
"Ah...but that's a good thing, right?" Blitz inquired. "I mean, he can't heal up right unless he takes it easy so…." He trailed off, seeing her distress. "I'll...go check on them. Why don't you go take a nice relaxing shower or something?" he offered with a smile to a half-relieved yet still quite weary nod from his mother.
Normally he would have checked on his brother first, but the downstairs den had been converted into a bedroom while Sonic was on the mend. He didn't knock, but did give a quick assessment of the room. It was neat; Amy kept it that way, though one of Sonic's current hobbies was paper airplanes, which meant it wouldn't stay that way long. "Hey...Dad?" the teen called and stepped in.
"Yo," Sonic replied in a lackluster tone. He was actually seated on the couch for a change. Much as Amy had feared, Sonic kept pushing his broken body at every turn. The biggest threat to his ability to walk now was himself; he just wasn't giving his body the time it needed to mend before he'd test a tentative string or muscle that had just begun to heal. Then it would be "another three weeks" of therapy or new pain medications. He was rather sick of the whole thing, and it had only been a few months...had it been, at least? Might as well have been forever. Probably the best thing about the den was that it had no windows; he couldn't see what he was missing.
"Can I get ya something?" he said and sat himself on the other end of the couch.
"New legs?" Sonic asked hopefully.
The boy laughed, "Sorry, I don't do miracles." He shrugged. "Whew...Mom's all cheesed off today, and she stinks."
"Heh..." Sonic gave a hollow laugh.
"Ya know it's all for you." Blitz shrugged. "So what kind of Gears should I get for ya?"
The blue not-so-much-a-blur arched a suspicious brow. "You do know who you're talkin' to, right? I'm really a duck and my name is Lame." He slapped a knee.
His son only continued to grin. "Yeah. I also know you wanna run again before you're able. I'm thinking a bike until you can walk well, then some Gear shoes so you can run without pushin' yourself."
Sonic looked at him like his head was going to explode. He opened his mouth, but no sound followed. He leaned back into the couch, wincing lightly at the pain, and his expression became thoughtful. "Ya think?"
"Yeah well...Mom won't like it because, well, you know how dangerous Gears can be." He smirked a bit. Numerous dialogues about his risky boarding habits came to mind, making him grin all the wider.
Sonic twitched an ear. "When do you think I could start?"
Blitz shrugged. "Soon as you heal enough. Oh...and let's keep this between us for now, eh?"
Sonic grinned a bit; maybe keeping a secret would help his mood. He did enjoy, to some extent, driving Amy nuts. "Hmm...yeah, I think I can do that."
"Good." He paused a bit. "You know, I went for a physical, and Dr. Malory said if I applied myself, I could be faster than you at your prime."
Earth's hero snorted at that. "Yeah, right!"
"Well," Blitz replied, his emerald eyes twinkling with mischief, "we'll see when you get well, huh?"
"You're on!" Sonic replied, feeling his blood begin to race for the first time since he'd gotten out of the hospital.
"Good. I got an emo brother to take care of now. Later!" He began to stroll out of the den but stopped at the door. "Oh hey...Pops?"
"Yeah, kiddo?" Sonic asked in a more upbeat tone.
"You might wanna give Mom's ears some attention…. Bad enough she's been going batty waiting on you, but she's really lettin' herself go."
He gave a sympathetic nod. "Yeah," his voice became weak, "I haven't been very good to her, have I?"
Blitz shrugged. "Do what ya can do." He smiled and headed out. He gave a glance at Amy, as flippant and dismissive as any Sonic had once upon given her. "He's all yours," he said airily and headed upstairs to Rift.
Amy had made a point of keeping Sonic as comfortable as possible but always had the feeling she was suffocating him. It was a stressful position to be in, and torn between him and a moping son didn't make it any easier. Her shaking and tears probably didn't do much better than repeated doctor's warnings for him not to push himself. She tried getting the boys to help, but Blitz was often gone for his competitions and Rift…well...just his hearing alone presented a plethora of problems.
It rather infuriated her that Rift was being uncooperative, but she had the same reaction to the smile now on her mate's face. Blitz had put it there with the promise of future competition, but the thought of Sonic pulling a muscle, or much much worse, just flooded her brain. Still, it was rare to see Sonic smile these days; she just wished she could get the corners of her mouth to do the same.
"Hi...Sonic..." she said in a very shallow voice.
It was the first time in weeks that Sonic had really looked at her. He instantly felt guilty about it at that. "Heh, new look for you?" He smiled. His eyes reflected otherwise, but she said nothing about it. He realized from the dark circles under her eyes that she wasn't sleeping. His mind quickly went over the number of pots of coffee she'd mentioned making too and wrinkled his nose in disgust. 'Damn. I should've been more attentive...'
"Kinda…." Amy trailed off and sat next to Sonic. She leaned against him, pushing him against the soft cushions of the couch.
She'd lost weight; he noticed that now too. "I'll be walkin' soon enough," he said after some silence. She might have been losing a lot of things, but the focus in her emerald eyes weren't one of them. He was surprised by how quick she'd jolted at his words and how firmly the emerald pools fixed on him. "You know…."
"I...I hope...I hope so…." She looked down and buried her face in his chest, her body shaking lightly.
"I will," he said firmly and wrapped his arms around her. She pressed her body against him more firmly, willing him to hold still, to stay. "Stay with me." She'd said that at the hospital a number of times. "Just stay with me." He understood what that meant now; she just wanted him to hold still enough and long enough to heal. If he pushed himself too hard... He pushed that out of his mind and gave a gentle lick to the back of her left ear.
That small act sparked something in the pink furball. Her ear twitched lightly, as if it didn't believe the touch, but soon felt the heat and pressure of another lap. The mounting stress began to melt away under the reminder of his love. "You..." She relaxed against him, letting housework and meals, deadlines, and doctor appointments fade from her mind.
"I still love you, ya know?" Sonic reminded her as though she were silly for not realizing that. He could make an effort, a real one this time, to be more accepting of his situation. While nobody seemed hopeful he'd regain full mobility, the doctors had at least indicated he'd make a good recovery; if he could just keep from being himself for a while.
"...But it's been a while since you marked me..." she said, referring to the scent he now imprinted behind her ears with his tongue.
"Yeah. Well. I'm a jerk." He smiled a bit. He actually could be himself really...just not the cocky daredevil high speed Sonic that the world knew. There was the quiet Sonic that enjoyed sunsets and ocean views, long naps and good pizza. If he could be that Sonic for a while, at least, there'd be peace in the house and time for his body to mend. Speed wouldn't do him any good if he lost the one he'd run for, now would it?
"Baka." Amy laughed a bit, wiping away a few tears. When she looked up into Sonic's eyes again, she saw something, a flame behind the jewel eyes she just...hadn't seen in a while. "I love you too."