Chapter 1

Cream the Rabbit smiles as she leaves the mall with Amy. They've been friends for so long she can't help but enjoy herself around her. Even if…

Amy checks her watch, "Oh, we'd better get you home Cream, I promised your mom I'd have you home by three!"

Cream smiles, "Okay Amy, where did you park?"

Amy pulls a set of keys from her pocket, and with the push of a button a pink convertible beeps at them. Amy just turned 16 last week so she's very proud of her car.

Cream makes sure to buckle up as Amy drives them out of the city, and into the country roads to her home. It's a quaint little place, a cottage really, and the first thing Cream notices is the many cars parked nearby. She wants to ask the occasion, but she already knows.

"SURPRISE!"

Inside all of Cream's friends are assembled to wish her a happy 8th birthday. Vector, Charmy, Espio, Blaze, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Rouge, and even Shadow are armed with presents, and party favors. After she shakes the confetti from her hair she gives everyone a hug, and a "thank-you very much."

First comes lunch, her mother has made a wide variety of sandwiches, including one incredibly long sub for Vector. Sonic actually goes around back to the barbecue, and fires it up for hotdogs, figures…

Then comes the cake, a chocolate cake with vanilla icing, and sprinkles. Everyone sings the traditional "Happy-Birthday to you" song, and she blows out the candles. She makes a wish, the same one she does every year. After everyone has had a piece of cake she sits down for some presents.

Sonic gives her a pair of sneakers, in case she ever decided to take up running.

Tails gives her a watch he made himself.

Amy gives her a new Chao doll for her tea set.

Blaze gives her a bicycle, which Cream is actually happy about.

Rouge gives her a lacey, white nightgown. While some of her friends think it is inappropriate Cream actually appreciates it.

Vector gives her a miniature detective kit for playing pretend.

Charmy gives her a drum for Cheese.

Espio gives her a book of old folk tales, and a nice bookmark to go with it.

Shadow tries to give her a BB gun, but her mother quickly confiscates it. When Shadow gets a bunch of blank stares he just crosses his arms, and gives them a look that says, "What are you looking at?"

They play a few party games, and then sit down for a dinner of burgers, and hotdogs, courtesy of Sonic. Then finally, as the sun begins to set, it's time to bid them all goodbye. Cream, Chees, and her mother wave goodbye as they drive away. Shadow, and Sonic choose to race back to the city, and Blaze gets a ride home from Amy.

Cream leans into her mother as she watches them with a sad expression. She rubs the side of her daughter's head, "I know Sweety… Why don't you wash up for bed, I'll clean up tonight?"

Cream nods, and heads upstairs. She showers, brushes her teeth, and changes into Rouge's present in her private bathroom. Once in her room she pulls a laptop out from under her bed, and clicks the only bookmarked site.

"Turner syndrome or Ullrich–Turner syndrome (also known as "Gonadal dysgenesis"[1]:550), 45,X, encompasses several conditions in human females, of which monosomy X (absence of an entire sex chromosome, the Barr body) is most common. It is a chromosomal abnormality in which all or part of one of the sex chromosomes is absent or has other abnormalities (unaffected humans have 46 chromosomes, of which two are sex chromosomes). In some cases, the chromosome is missing in some cells but not others, a condition referred to as mosaicism[2] or "Turner mosaicism".

Occurring in 1 in 2000[3] – 1 in 5000 phenotypic females,[4] the syndrome manifests itself in a number of ways. There are characteristic physical abnormalities which affect many but not all people with Turner syndrome, such as short stature, swelling, broad chest, low hairline, low-set ears, and webbed necks.[5] Girls with Turner syndrome typically experience gonadal dysfunction (non-working ovaries), which results in amenorrhea (absence of menstrual cycle) and sterility. Concurrent health concerns may also be present, including congenital heart disease, hypothyroidism (reduced hormone secretion by the thyroid), diabetes, vision problems, hearing concerns, and many autoimmune diseases.[6] Finally, a specific pattern of cognitive deficits is often observed, with particular difficulties in visuospatial, mathematical, and memory areas.[7]

Turner syndrome is named after Henry Turner, the endocrinologist who first described it in 1938."

(A/N: That is a real sited excerpt from Wikipedia.)

Cream sighs, and shuts down the computer. Her one reminder of why she can't have a normal life, attacks from world-dominating evildoers aside. Every years she wishes the same thing, and it never comes true. As she curls under her covers she wonders what her friends would think if they knew she's older than most of them.

Today isn't her eighth birthday… it's her eighteenth.

"Happy frigging birthday to me," she mutters to herself.