-Chapter 4-

I've been begging Rouge to take me back to where Sonic and Knuckles were fighting for the last twenty minutes, but she wouldn't budge, but by the way that she was twitching, I could tell she wanted to. Blitz was curled around my ankles keeping my bare feet warm. He had come along a few minutes after we got here, but I could tell by his calm nature that he didn't know what the trouble was. I hadn't realized just how crisp the air was this morning since I was snuggled in Sonic's warm arms, and concentrating on not vomiting.

Speaking of which. I retched wildly off to the side, making sure I didn't get any on Blitz. The nervousness was making it even more painful, and the fact that I haven't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon means that I'm basically dry heaving. Rouge was there, holding back my quills, patting my back. She offered me to take one of her elixirs to help calm my stomach, but I turned it down. I'd like one of those when childbirth came, but I could handle a little morning sickness.

She sat down beside me, distracting herself by fixing small parts of my dress she had made when I first met Sonic. Tightening the multiple leather straps that hung around my shoulders and then loosening them again, tugging down the front of my corset to cover more of my enlarged midriff, then pushed it back up after seeing that it showed way too much cleavage. Eventually she just gave up trying to keep her mind off of the boys, and wrapped her arms around me into a side hug. I did the same to her and we just sat there hugging one another, hoping that the guys would come back soon. Blitz moved from my feet and jumped to my lap, getting in between us to join the hug. We giggled and let him in on the group hug, his white fur tickling my nose.

I was silently praying that the boys would get back to us as soon as possible. Now that I was forced away from Sonic, I think that I understand how he felt whenever I wandered off on my own. It actually hurt being away from him, seriously, the Marks are stinging a little bit. I hope that doesn't mean something bad has happened to him.

Blitz licked my cheek lovingly, curling up in my lap as I leaned against Rouge. I was still really tired, my eyes slightly drooping, but I refused to sleep until I knew that Sonic was alive and well. I might be able to heal wounds, but I don't know if I can revive the dead. And if I could, would Sonic be the same as when he was living? Or would he be brain dead? Would I be able to look at him the same knowing that he had been dead and I could have lost him?

I didn't really have time to think that over because Blitz started to growl lowly, his fur standing on end on his back. He didn't get off of my lap like he usually did when he thought I was in danger, he just laid there, growling, his golden eyes glaring off into the tree line. Rouge scooted closer to us, making sure I was blocked from anyone's view.

They didn't need to protect me at all. I concentrated, covering the Rose Tattoo with my hand and closed my eyes, begging it to let me use some of the power I have to know of. I prayed to it to give us protection, to keep us from harm, and when I heard Rouge gasp, it was either good, or bad. I peeked an eye open and saw that a pink bubble had formed around us, the outside world morphing into different shades of pink. When Rouge reached out to touch it with her palm, it was solid, stopping her hand from trespassing past it. I opened both eyes to look around the dome that had appeared, me hoping that it was me that did it and not some wizard that Shadow had hired to capture us. But by the good vibe radiating off of it, my guess is that it was from me. We looked in the direction that Blitz was growling, waiting to see what it was that he was warning us from. Two figures emerged from trees, one a light purple hedgehog and the other a dark red echidna . . . Sonic and Knuckles! The bubble was just morphing their colors.

My guard instantly dropped, the bubble disappearing from around us and Rouge all but shoved me aside as she ran for Knuckles, who scooped her up in his arms and kissed her. I was trying to get up as quickly as I could to run to Sonic, but he got to me before I could blink, pulling me into his arm bridal style and nuzzled my face. I wrapped my arms around his neck, nuzzling back affectionately. The Marks stopped stinging the moment I knew that it was Sonic and Knuckles and I was now experiencing tingles of joy across my body.

"What took you so long?" I questioned, hiding my face in his neck as he kissed the top of my head. My grip tightened on him, not wanting to let go ever.

"Knucklehead was slowing me down, I couldn't just leave him running at regular speed by himself." Sonic smirked down at me, sitting down on the log where I had been seated and held me in his lap. Before he could do it himself, I yanked him towards me, attacking his lips with a passion I didn't even know I possessed. I really understand how he felt every time I wandered off. His arms tightened around me as he pulled me in closer, being well-aware of my stomach, and kissed me back hungrily.

I had to pull away to catch my breath, but his lips just trailed down my neck, leaving little marks along the way.

"How did you do that?" Sonic muttered into my neck, continuing his kisses which were dulling my brain slightly. Unable to answer without moaning, I held the wrist that had the Rose Tattoo up where Sonic would be able to see it.

"Come on, Sonic. She's already pregnant, what else are you gonna do?" I nearly jumped out of Sonic's arms at the sound of Knuckles' voice. I guess I hadn't really only been numb in the brain, since I hadn't felt Sonic slowly hiking my dress up, his hand gripping my thigh. I blushed and pushed my dress back down, moving Sonic's hand away from the skin and attempted to get up, only to be held down by Sonic.

"Nope." He whispered in my ear before standing up, still holding my bridal style. I looked over at Knuckles and noticed he was holding Rouge like Sonic was holding me, only she was putting up quite the struggle to get down. "I'll tell you what I had planned when you get Rouge pregnant." Sonic answered, making their faces redden.

"Uh-um, let's get going, huh? We should reach Crippen Forest before sunset if we start now." Knuckles said, turning on his heel with Rouge still in his arms and going towards the tree line, disappearing within the greenery. Sonic chuckled and kissed my cheek, following after them. Sonic let them walk ahead of us a few yards, out of hearing distance.

"What happened with the guards?" I finally asked, examining him to see if he was injured. He simply smiled.

"Nothing, it was easy to get pass them. They surrendered the attack a few minutes into the fight. They barely even touched us." He said, but I could hear a slight hitch in his voice.

"Where did they get you?" I asked in a quiet voice, staring him in the eye, making sure he understood that I knew he was injured somewhere. He sighed deeply before he ducked his head down, resting it on my belly. I blushed but then saw the large gash on the back of his shoulder. How had I not seen this?

After hearing me gasp, he picked his head up and smiled gently at me.

"I'm fine, really. It hurt more not knowing whether you were okay or not." He said, pressing his forehead against mine, my bangs pushed aside so he could see my eyes. He continued to walk in a straight line without looking up, keeping his intense emerald eyes on my jade ones.

Then his ear twitched, looking over his shoulder abruptly. I could feel his muscles tense as they tightened around me, preparing to go into an intense run if he needed to. His ear twitched yet again, in a different direction. He picked up his pace so now we were beside Knuckles and Rouge.

"We're being followed." Sonic stated without hesitation, keeping his voice low enough so only we could hear him. Knuckles nodded while Rouge and I shared a look. I could hear Blitz growling quietly on the ground, sticking close to Sonic since he was the one holding me.

"They're trying to run us into town." Knuckles said, looking over his shoulder and his eyes narrowing after seeing something hidden to me. "Rouge and I aren't wanted like the two of you. You run ahead, then make a sharp left at the oak-hood barn. You remember Reggie? Well, he owes us one, so he'll get you guys a hotel room that won't be found. Got all of that?" while I was completely and utterly confused, Sonic smirked, nodded a thanks at our two friends and dashed forward so fast that I had to hide my face in his chest to keep from getting a wind burn on my face. I felt a cold lick on my arm and peeked out to see that Sonic had scooped up Blitz. I smiled, knowing that he knew how much I loved that dog.

But that was the last thing I had on my mind. The question now is, where are we going?

Uh, yeah, sorry for the long wait. I've had this bad stomach virus that hurts whenever I move, I can barely hold anything down, but I managed to get this done within five hours of sitting up in excruciating pain. I think that this page is sorta rushed, but I was pretty much just spilling anything into this that I could think of. Next chappie will be up a lot quicker than this one, I promise. And if there's any spelling or grammar errors, just edit it with your mind like I do. I'm too lazy to read over this again.