Sonic the Hedgehog paced back and forth in the hallway. His friend Amy Rose was in the next room, resting. Impatient as ever, the hedgehog twitched with the urge to race from one end of the hall to the other and back. Unfortunately, he had been asked politely not to run in the corridors, which was only natural; it was a hospital, after all.
After ten minutes of slow pacing, which seemed to last an eternity to Sonic, the doctor came to him and told him he could go inside to see Amy. When he was alone in the hall again, the blue hedgehog placed a hand on the doorknob, then paused, yesterday's events rushing back to him. After his feelings regarding the previous day's incident had settled within him, Sonic took a deep breath, turned the knob, and stepped through the opening doorway into the room.
Amy was lying on the bed with her eyes closed. She was bandaged in several places on her body, including her head, and her right leg was in a cast. She stirred slightly at the sound of the door opening, and opened her eyes to find Sonic standing by the bed looking down at her, his arms folded in front of his chest.
The pink hedgehog smiled weakly at the sight of the blue one, and pushed a button by the bed to lift the head of the mattress. Sonic, however, did not smile back at her. Instead, he continued to stare down at her with his stern expression, and in seconds, Amy's happiness faded to make way for concern.
"That was really stupid of you, Amy", said Sonic angrily. "Why did you do it?"
Surprised but unfazed, Amy merely stared calmly back at him and replied, "You know why I did it."
This was true. It was no secret to anyone how Amy felt about Sonic, not even to Sonic himself.
"Still", the blue hedgehog continued in his angry tone, "you shouldn't have done what you did. You could have been killed, Amy! What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't thinking, OK?" the pink hedgehog answered, her own temper rising now. "Because when giant, heavy objects are about to fall on top of the one person you care about most in the entire world, you don't stop to think; you act."
"But you didn't have to push me out of the way. I could have taken it! Now look at you: you're in the hospital, bandaged from head to toe!"
"It was an impulse! I told you, I didn't have time to think. And anyway, I'm fine!"
"No, you're not fine, Amy!" Sonic yelled in his rage. "You almost died! Don't you get that? You're lucky to be alive!"
Sonic clenched his fist around the rail of the bed to try and keep his temper under control. Amy stared up at the object of her affection in silence, fighting back the tears welling up in her eyes. For a minute, neither of them spoke, until finally the pink hedgehog broke the silence.
"You're right, Sonic", she whispered. "I am lucky. But it's not because I'm alive; it's because you're alive."
Sonic looked his admirer directly in her green eyes, but didn't say a word. Raising her voice slightly, Amy continued:
"Do you really think I care what condition I'm in? Do you even understand what I was trying to do? I was trying to save you, as you've saved me about a hundred times before. You mean everything to me, Sonic, and I wasn't about to let Eggman or anyone else hurt you or take you away from me. As long as you're OK, I couldn't care less how injured I am!
"So if you wanna be mad at me for that, then go ahead; be mad at me! I can take anything you throw at me. Because I did what I set out to do; I reached my goal. You're OK, and that's all that matters to me."
And with that, Amy crossed her arms and turned her head away from the blue hedgehog still staring at her, tears now rolling down her cheeks. Sonic took this gesture as the cue for him to leave the room. He turned around and walked back to the door, which was still open. When he reached the doorway, however, he stopped. Turning his head slightly to the side, but still facing the empty corridor outside, he asked Amy:
"Will you be OK? You haven't sustained any severe or permanent injuries, have you?"
The pink hedgehog, who was now staring down at her hands in her lap, hesitated before answering:
"Yeah, I'll be fine. The doctor says the bandages can come off in a couple of days, and I'll have to wear a cast on my leg for a few months, but after that, I'll be back to normal."
"In that case..." Sonic whispered, then quickly whirled around and walked back to his friend's bed. Once he reached it, he sat down on the mattress by Amy's side, placed both his hands on either side of her face, leaned in... and kissed her.
It was only in that instant that Amy fully understood why Sonic had been so angry with her for risking her life to save his. He cared about her too much to accept her getting hurt, and the fact that she had almost died because of him had been too much for him to bear. Only when he was sure she would be fine did he take the time to express his gratitude to her, in the best way he could think of.
The kiss lasted only three seconds, but it felt like a lifetime of bliss to Amy. When it was over, Sonic pulled back with his hands still on his admirer's face, and gazed into her eyes.
"Thank you for saving my life", he said calmly, as Amy stared back into his green eyes, stunned.
Having expressed his gratitude in exactly the way his admirer had hoped he would, the blue hedgehog stood up and walked back to the doorway. When he reached it, he turned back to the pink hedgehog, who was still watching him from her bed.
Suddenly grinning broadly, Sonic winked at her once, then disappeared into the hallway, leaving Amy alone in the room with her newly recovered dreams in her head and a big smile brightening her face.