The spread for supper was beyond anything that Sonic had ever seen in his life.
A roast, a full turkey, mounds of steaming potato and various cooked vegetables, stuffing, elegant silver boats of cranberry sauce, mustard pickles, beets . . . there was champagne bubbling in the delicate crystal glass next to his plate, but he only had eyes for one thing on the table.
Chili dogs.
Gourmet chili dogs on a silver platter.

"I heard they were your favourite." Autumn giggled as she watched the blue hedgehog eye the bounty. "I made them myself!"

"Mom, really, you didn't have to do all this! You and Tony must be exhausted . . ."

"Who's Tony?" Sonic asked absently, still staring at the dogs. So close . . .

"He's the head chef." Amy piped up, and it was the silence of one individual in particular that suddenly drew Sonic's attention away from the chili dogs - and that was a difficult feat in itself.

Sonic looked to the head of the table at Eli only to realize that the general had been staring at him the entire time. There was tension there, and everyone at the table could sense it.

"Here!" Autumn exclaimed, getting up abruptly and bringing the tray of chili dogs around so that Sonic could reach them. "Try one, you must be starving." She smiled, but Sonic still had his gaze locked with Eli's.

"You're pretty quiet, sir." Sonic observed, never one to dance around an issue. He met them head on. Quietly to himself, he desperately wanted this man to like him. Eli was a legend; he knew the tales of his participation in the rebellion growing up. His acts of heroism for Mobius had inspired Sonic as a spry young hedgehog to become someone worthwhile. Eli had made him believe that one individual could make all the difference. It had helped him shape who he was from an early age.

Now he was discovering that his childhood hero was his girlfriend's father; the one he had never bothered to meet. He had to make this right, and it would have to begin with talking to each other. Eli dotted at his mouth with a napkin, breaking his gaze for a moment to toss the cloth back onto his laps. He shot a wry glance at the blue hedgehog down the table from him.

"I was told that if I didn't have anything nice to say, then I shouldn't say anything at all." Sonic felt a cool sweat of discomfort climbing its way down his neck as the words made him shuffle uncomfortably. "All in all I think I'm doing a good job of it and I think I'd like to keep it that way, at least for tonight."

"I should've known it would be this way." Amy hissed, firing the napkin in her hand fiercely onto her plate. "This was a stupid idea. I don't even know why I come back here." She said darkly and then pushed away from the table in anger.

"Amy, please . . . " her mother begged, but the pink hedgehog was already storming out of the dining room, letting the large oak doors slam with a mighty crack behind her. Sonic leapt up at the same time as Autumn, who held out a hand toward him. "Please, let me go to her." The red hedgehog pleaded, and Sonic reluctantly slid back into his chair as she raced out the door after her daughter. Once the door shut behind her, Sonic felt the silence of the room drape over him heavily like a suffocating blanket. Eli raised his glass of bubbly to his lips, drawing out a long sip before placing it back down and declaring:

"Well, since the ladies have left the room I suppose I can be quite frank."

Sonic thought he was going to sink through the floor with dread. That golden eye set itself upon him like a boulder.

"If you're ready to be a man about this, I'm going to cut to the chase." The General leaned forward, folding his hands before him, hovering over his dinner plate. "I love my daughter – more than any of my accomplishments with the military. I know it's selfish, but it's true. And for years now I have been estranged from her because of you. No phone calls, no letters, no visits – because she and I cannot agree on one very important thing." Eli sat forward further, bringing his fingertips together. "You."

Sonic's eyes widened, and he brought his arms up in a shrugging gesture of frustration.

"General Rose, I don't understand this. She's never spoken to me about either of you once. Not once."

"And haven't you ever been even remotely curious as to why that is?"

Sonic flushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, honestly, I-"

"The truth is, no. You've never been curious, because you've never thought about it. In fact, it seems to me that you hardly think about my daughter at all. How many times has she come close to death at the hands of that madman due to her proximity to you? What has she gotten in return for all her years of devotion, protection and danger? From what I've heard, she has been lucky over the years to get so much as a thank you from you."

"Sir, I-"

"You will wait until I am finished. I have also come to understand that many of the risky situations she has been placed in have been due to your negligence. You have spent a great deal of your time knowing her and leaving her behind, leaving her vulnerable to attack or capture." Eli's voice was starting to rise angrily. "My only daughter! And what do you know of her? What do you care of her? Hardly anything it seems, as every one of her friends deemed us relevant enough to bother to meet over the past decade, and you are the only one to neglect to do so."

Sonic felt as though he were a weight in the chair, mortification pinning him where he sat. Was this really happening?

"You know Sonic, for a long time, I thought you were a fabrication; an excuse Amy used to remain independent of myself and my legacy. I am actually disappointed that you do exist, for I could never have imagined that an individual could be as selfish and thoughtless as you would have to be to remain absent this long while courting my daughter. I had hoped that the man my daughter would choose would care about her at least a fraction of the amount that I do."

Sonic slammed his fist down on the table, seemingly unable to endure any more of this barrage.

"Alright, that's enough. I respect your title and what you've contributed to the well-being of my planet, but I will not sit here and be scrutinized like this. You talk about caring for your daughter, but I haven't seen you. I've seen her practically every day for the past twelve years, and where have you been? Because as far as I can tell, I'm the one who's been there for her. I have made some stupid mistakes over the past few years, but I have risked everything – I have put my own life on the line to ensure Amy's safety day after day. I would die for her, and there were many situations where I thought I had. We had some close calls together. There are certain things that I don't know about your daughter, sir, but I do know her. Better than anyone. And I think you'll find in that department, you're at a disadvantage." Sonic's usual saucy self was starting to show, and he got up from his seat. "Thank you for the lovely meal . . . now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to do some damage control for you."

Eli glared after the blue figure furiously, but inwardly he couldn't deny that he was impressed. He had heard that Sonic had guts, but Eli was reluctant to believe all the stories he had heard, for he knew as well as anyone the tendency for romanticizing, the exaggerations that could take place when news traveled about a hero. He hadn't expected Sonic to have such an attitude, or to display such confidence in his relation to Amy. He was a headstrong little bastard, and Eli had to admit to himself, he'd felt a minute amount of pride rising in his chest at Sonic's defense of himself and his time with Amy. So the kid had the attitude . . . but Eli knew it took more than attitude to protect a whole planet, and Sonic would need a whole hell of a lot more than that to be worthy of protecting his little girl, never mind dating her.


Sonic was surprised that when he approached Amy's room, her mother was standing outside, pacing fretfully. He went to her immediately and she turned to him with a look of desperation on her face.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here. Maybe you can talk some sense into her." She took him by the shoulder affectionately and studied his face with concern. "Eli wasn't too rough on you, was he? He can be rather . . . blunt."

"I can handle him, Mrs. Rose. I can be rather blunt myself." Sonic grinned, and Autumn couldn't help the astounded look that came about her face.Bold! She had known many bold men over the years, but hardly any that would dare stand up to her husband. She almost regretted missing it. She tried to hide a grin, imagining the expression on her husband's face when the young hedgehog started throwing back exactly what Eli was dishing out. If anything, that conversation could only have helped Sonic's case. Eli admired a man who stood his ground, no matter the ground he stood on.

"Good luck." She smiled sadly, making her way past him and disappearing down the hall. Sonic rapped softly at the door, leaning against it.

"Amy." He said in a hushed tone, and he heard her get up and lightly move to the door on the other side. The clicks of the locks on her door echoed loudly against the walls. She yanked it open swiftly, taking Sonic off guard for a moment as he stumbled into the room. She shut the door briskly behind her and spiraled toward him with a stricken look on her face.

"What did he say to you?"

"Whoa, relax. Nothing I couldn't handle." Sonic chuckled, and Amy sat on the floor with a groan.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't handle being in a room with him anymore. I thought I could do this. I really wanted to . . ." She put her head in her hands. "We never should have come here. I should have known it would be like this . . ."

"Amy!" Sonic crouched down, putting an arm about her shoulders. "Quit talking like this. It isn't like you. Come on. We've definitely seen worse than this."

"I know . . . " She sighed in defeat, still rubbing her face in her hands tiredly. "It's just so embarrassing. Dad being who he is . . ."

"I can't believe who your father is!" Sonic sputtered, putting a hand to his chest for a moment. Amy eyed him curiously. Did he look nervous?

"Speaking of not being like myself, can we talk about you?" Amy giggled. "You were stressed when we were coming here, but you've been a basket case since we've got here!"

"Um, just finding out after years of never meeting your parents that your father is a decorated war veteran - as in the most decorated war veteran on our planet. He only ended the Mobian-Terran war, no big deal, you know he's just on stamps and I've seen your freaking house on TV, Amy-"

"But he's just. My. Dad."

"He isn't just anyone." Sonic shook his head. "He's General Rose, Amy."

"Ugh." Amy grunted, standing and dusting off her dress. "Tell me something I don't know."

"I just think about all the years we've known each other. How could I not have known that?"

"Um, you never asked? Once?"

"You were living in a tiny apartment in downtown Station Square, and your dad is General Rose? Oh my God . . ." Amy was astounded as Sonic went back against the wall, holding his head in one hand. She couldn't recall ever seeing him so shaken up. He looked like he was going to be sick. "And you've just been roughing it with us for all these years when you're practically royalty-"

"I am not, royalty-"

"I'm a bum." Sonic's brows raised, staring off at nothing, and Amy choked out a laugh, studying him with a grin of disbelief on her face.

"Um, Sonic?-"

"I'm a bum, rolling in here practically off the street, meeting your dad for the first time in twelve years. Can you imagine what an-" Sonic leaned in, eyes wide but voice low "what an asshole your dad must think I am? This broke, homeless hedgehog who's been dating his daughter, never so much as ask, never so much as talk to him, show up at his door . . ."

"You left out the part where you're the broke, homeless hero of Mobius." Amy snickered, her mood being lifted. She felt kind of guilty about it, but it was hard not to laugh. When had she ever seen Sonic like this? It was so unlike him!

"Hero of Mobius? I'm not the hero of Mobius, he is! He was my idol growing up! The rebellion during the human occupation? The Terran-Mobian Armistice? You dad made that happen. He stopped the war. I'm freakin' out here - Amy, how could you never tell me your father was General Eliakim Rose?!"

"Daddy Eli isn't always the big hero people expect him to be." Amy said bitterly, and Sonic looked at her in surprise. "Sometimes he can be a real headstrong jerk."

"Hey, have some respect! He's a veteran." Sonic gaped, appalled. "I can't believe that all this time has passed, and that man is your father, and I had the gall to disrespect him like that because I had no idea-"

"Yeah well maybe you would have had an idea had you cared enough to get to know my family." She said curtly. "Besides. I like to make it on my own, and I always have. It's not the biggest surprise in the world that you've never met my father, because quite frankly, I didn't want you to. He and I don't talk often - don't know if you got that vibe. The less I depend on him, the less I have to listen to his judgement."

"Amy, what is goin' on with you? I've never seen you like this-"

"I've never seen you like this either! Here gushing about my dad." She emphasized the word with dripping sarcasm. "You don't know anything about him." She said wistfully, going to the window to stare outside.

"I know that we owe it to him that humans and Mobians can peacefully co-exist together on this planet since the war, isn't that enough?"

"We don't owe him for that." She said with eyes fixated on the stars. "Don't you understand? We owe you for that."

"WHUT?" Sonic barked, aghast. "Amy! Gimme a break-" She spun around on her heels so fast, she startled him.

"You risk your neck every day because one human, one that prior to you, not even the humans had control of, refuses to abide by my father's treaty enacting the armistice. And if you weren't here to stop him, the Mobians would declare war on the humans again."

"So what? Your dad got two armies to stop killing each other and live on this planet peacefully for the past twenty five years! Eggman is one guy."

"One guy that could destroy us all. And if you weren't here to stop him, he would. Everything that my father did . . . everything that armistice means could be eliminated in a moment by Eggman. My father is too proud to accept that. I always wondered how a man who went to war could be so childish. But now you know why I never come back here – why they have to visit me if they ever want to see me. Why you haven't heard about them, why you haven't seen them. It never ends well when I leave."

"Well then I pity your mother . . . I mean, what did she do?"

"I know . . ." Amy turned away in shame, seeming to choke up a bit at the mention. "That's what kills me the most. But she can be so old fashioned. She goes along with dad because it's easier, I guess, or he's got her convinced. He's so headstrong when he's got his mind made up."

"He won't budge?"

"He'd stand his ground until he starved there." Amy growled.

"Now who do I know with a personality like that?" Amy leered over at Sonic to find him wearing a shit-eating grin.

"Don't even go there . . ." She said in a warning tone, but her smile betrayed her. "You've got nothing on me right now, Mister-nothing-I-can't-handle. Except meeting my dad . . ." She guffawed, and Sonic gave her a sharp jab with his elbow, flushing with a laugh. "You know, maybe I can set you up on a date with him instead."

"Shut up, Amy."