It was a calm summer morning, the birds were chirping as the sun rose over the horizon and shown on the houses. The sprinkler systems sprayed the yards, covering the grass, flowers and plants with water and washing over the morning dew accumulated on them. Early risers were already outside working on their lawn, sitting on their porches with coffee or going on a morning jog before the temperature rose later in the day.
This Sunday was also a very special day for two very important people. Rouge quietly got out of bed as to not wake the hedgehog still sleeping with his mouth open next to her and went into the kitchen for some morning coffee and piece of fruit. As the coffee maker was making a pot of coffee Rouge turned on the TV in the kitchen and sat down in a chair at the table.
Upstairs a little grey bat lay sleeping in her bed hugging a stuffed pony. She was having a sweet dream about being a unicorn when it was interrupted by someone poking her face. She slowly opened her eyes to see a little black furred hedgehog with grey stripes and turquoise eyes in dinosaur pajamas who was sucking on a pacifier.
"Ash!" The bat sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Mommy told you not to poke people in the face."
Ash pulled the pacifier out of his mouth to speak. "Get up, Garnet, get up!"
Garnet looked at her little brother with annoyance and lay back down with the covers over her head. Ash frowned and pulled the covers off of her.
"Get up! It's Mommy and Daddy's birthday!" He shouted.
When his big sister didn't respond Ash stepped back and pouted. He was left with no choice. The hedgehog started crying as loud as he could as he knew that doing so always got people's attention. Garnet jumped and hugged her pillow to her ears.
Rouge, who was still in the kitchen eating her fruit, dropped it and rushed upstairs to her daughter's room.
"What's wrong?!" She asked while picking up Ash. She looked to Garnet for an answer.
"Ash was poking my face!" Garnet replied over her little brother's cries.
Rouge looked to Ash and back to Garnet. "Where's his pacifier?" She asked.
Garnet picked up the pacifier off of the ground and handed it to her mother. Rouge washed it off and gave it to the little hedgehog who calmed down after receiving it. Ash then took it out of his mouth.
"I wan'ed her to get up. It's your birthday." He explained.
Rouge sighed. "I know it's my birthday but what did we tell you about poking people in the face?" She asked.
"To not do it 'cuz it's annoying and mean…" The hedgehog replied sadly.
"Right." Rouge replied. She looked toward the stairs. "I hope that didn't wake your dad."
"Oh it did."
Shadow stood in the doorway of Garnet's room with tired eyes and yawned.
"I'm so sorry Shadow." Rouge apologized
"It isn't your fault. I was going to get up anyway." Shadow replied with a yawn. "I'll be downstairs."
Shadow turned away and headed down the stairs to the kitchen.
"Okay. Now it's time to get someone changed." The white bat carried Ash to his room and put him down on his feet.
"Ash, you're four years old. Don't you think it's time for you to be a big boy and use the potty like everyone else?" She said as she got out a new diaper for him.
The little hedgehog folded his arms and pouted.
"Please?" Rouge asked.
"NO!"
"You're gonna have to at some point."
"Don't care." Ash sat down and curled up into a ball.
Downstairs Garnet had got Shadow to make toast for her and was sitting at the kitchen table eating it.
"Happy Birthday Daddy." The bat said with a bite of toast in her mouth.
"Shadow nodded in thanks.
"Do you know what else today is?" He asked.
"Ummm…"
"It's also Father's Day." Shadow answered.
"Oh, Happy Father's Day too Daddy." Garnet said after she swallowed her bite of toast. "I made you a present." Garnet quickly hopped off the chair and ran to her room to get it. "Stay right there!"
Rouge entered the kitchen holding her son who was now wearing a Paw Patrol T-shirt with Marshall on it and a pair of shorts. She sat him down in his booster seat.
"Happy Birthday Daddy."
"Thank you Louis." Shadow replied.
"My name not Louis, it's Ash." Ash corrected.
Rouge sat down across from Shadow.
"Shadow, please talk your son into toilet training."
Shadow swallowed his bite of orange. "Rouge you know that I'm not going to help matters. I was just like him when I was a kid."
Rouge sat up. "You mean you?—Poor Gerald and Maria."
"Yes, poor them." Shadow chuckled.
Garnet put a large piece of paper on the kitchen table. Everyone looked over it. It was a picture of multiple stick figures and a round stick figure fighting what looked like a fire-breathing dragon.
"It's a picture of everyone fighting a giant monster, even Eggman." She explained.
Rouge smiled. "This' a really good drawing Garnet."
"How long did it take you to make this Marie?" Shadow asked.
"Just about 2 days. I worked really hard on it. Do you like it? Uncle Sonic told me about you guys' adventures."
Shadow cringed at hearing "Uncle Sonic" but didn't let it show.
"Hey daddy, who are Gerald and Maria?" Garnet asked. "I hear you talk about them sometimes."
Shadow gulped and sighed. He looked at his wife who looked back at him.
"Gerald is the name of my father, Maria is the name of my niece. They were the only family I had."
"So Gerald is my grandpa?" Garnet asked.
"Well, yes, he would be, but he's not here anymore." Shadow's ears drooped.
"What happened to him?" Garnet asked.
Shadow looked at Rouge who was covering Ash's ears.
"He and Maria went away a long time ago."
"Where did they go?"
"…They went to Heaven."
"Oh." Garnet's ears drooped also.
"But don't worry honey." Rouge said. "They're very happy there. Heaven is a wonderful place."
"Really?" Garnet asked.
Shadow nodded. "How about we go to the Dark Chao Garden today to relax?"
Garnet took the giant piece of paper off of the table and ran off to get her swimsuit.
"That sounds like a good idea." Rouge suggested.
Shadow got up and nodded. He headed to the room to get his swim trunks while Rouge cleaned up Ash's breakfast and face.
Later Shadow, Rouge, Ash and Garnet arrived at the Dark Chao Garden with Shadow Jr. flying beside them. As soon as they got through the hole in the rock Shadow Jr. dove for the lake and splashed his owners who hadn't even set out the chairs yet.
"Junior!" Shadow scolded the chao. "Don't do that every time we come out here!"
Shadow Jr. rose back up to the surface and gave Shadow an "I'm sorry" look.
Shadow set out the chairs as Garnet ran for the shallow end of the lake. She sat down and played with the sand. Ash toddled to the lake with his water wings and life ring and proceeded to splash as much as he could. Shadow however, walked to the other side of the lake and jumped in, touching the bottom of it before coming back up for air. Rouge sat with her children on the shallow end and looked up at the moon in the sky.
Shadow swam to the shallow end and stood up.
"Louis you wanna practice swimming?" He asked.
Ash quickly shook his head no and kept splashing his mother and sister. Shadow shrugged.
"Hey Marie, what about you?"
Garnet shook her head. "I don't want to swim right now."
"We came to the Dark Chao Garden that has a lake." Shadow sighed and went off and started to float on his back in the middle of the lake. Shadow closed his eyes and basked in the moonlight.
Shadow later opened his eyes to see Rouge hovering over him with Ash floating beside her.
"Hello." Rouge bent down and kissed Shadow.
"Ewww!" Ash said, disgusted at the kiss. He turned away until it was over.
"Mama, I wanna go back to the land!" He whined.
Shadow Jr. swam up to him and started lightly splashing the little hedgehog, wanting to play. Ash got the toy ball out of the water and threw it towards Garnet and the shoreline. The chao chased after the ball and almost knocked the little bat over trying to retrieve it.
"Junior, you almost knocked me over."
Shadow Jr. landed with a sad expression on his face.
"Marie are you okay?!" Shadow shouted as he swam back to shore with Rouge following him.
"I'm okay Daddy!" Garnet replied as she sat the ball beside her. Shadow Jr. started to play with the ball.
Shadow and Rouge both got out of the water with Ash and dried off.
"I think it's time to go." Rouge said as she folded up the chairs.
"But-"
"We're going home now, it's late." She replied. "Mommy and Daddy have birthday cake."
Both kids quickly forgot about the garden and were ready for birthday cake.
Back at the house Shadow brought out a big birthday cake with white, black and red frosting and a non-specific number of candles on it. Ash and Garnet sat at the table watching while Shadow lit the candles with a lighter. Their eyes lit up as each candle was lit aflame. Shadow set down the lighter.
"Okay we can choose whether or not to sing. I would prefer not to."
"Okay Daddy, it's your birthday." Garnet said while staring at the cake.
"Do we just want to get to the cake?" Shadow asked.
Everyone nodded and he and Rouge blew out the candles.
After everyone had eaten a piece of cake it was bedtime for all little bats and little hedgehogs. After both had been bathed, both were put to bed. Shadow sat on the couch after tucking Garnet in as Rouge had finally got Ash to sleep. She sat next to him and laid her head on his chest.
Rouge quietly slipped a box into Shadow's hand. Shadow opened it and found a bandana and a pair of sunglasses.
Shadow gave her a small box. When Rouge opened it she found a pair of emerald earrings.
She smiled and hugged him. "Thank you."
"Thank you too." Shadow replied.
The two sat on the couch, letting another birthday pass away.