Chapter Ten
"Recovery"
Julie-Su, Knuckles, and Lara-Le sat quietly as they tried to think of some way to help Mina and Elias recover from this pain. They couldn't think of a single thing, though. Every idea they had was countered by "They lost a child. It wouldn't work." So they did nothing but watch helplessly as Elias talked quietly to Mina in Lara-Le's living room, who was still in a deep depression and had said almost nothing since she'd been let out of the hospital a week ago.
After what seemed like an eternity, Knuckles came up with an idea that wasn't useless. "Why don't we call the Freedom Fighters? Or at least, we should call Sally and Sonic. They should know what's going on up here."
"Good idea Knux," Julie said. "I'll give them a call. May I use your phone Lady Lara-Le?"
"Certainly," Lara-Le said.
Julie-Su called Sally first, as she was directly related to Elias.
"Hello, this is Sally," she answered.
"Sally? It's Julie-Su."
"Julie-Su? Is something the matter?"
"Yes. It has to do with Elias and Mina."
Sally's attention was peaked. "What's wrong? Is one of them hurt?"
"Not physically. For you to understand this, I think I should start at the beginning." Julie-Su took a deep breath and explained about Mina's pregnancy, which it turned out Sally had known about because Tails had told the Freedom Fighters when he got back to Knothole. Julie-Su then explained about Mina's sickness and her trip to the hospital. She hesitated before telling her what they had found out at the hospital.
Sally had to sit down when she heard about the death of her unborn nephew. She was at a complete loss. She felt horrible about it, but she couldn't imagine what it was like for the would-be parents. After a while, she said, "I'm going to tell the others and then we're going to come up to the Floating Island."
Julie-Su had had a feeling that was coming. "What about your parents? I'm sure they must still want Elias to come home," she said.
"Without a doubt, but they've given up on the idea of forcing him home," Sally said. "They finally understand that Elias ran away because of himself, not because of Mina or anything else. They just want to know he's okay."
"Well, really, he's not."
"I know. We'll be there in a few hours." Sally hung up the phone. So did Julie. She looked over to the depressed couple, gathered her courage, and told them that Sally and the Freedom Fighters were coming to see them. It had a somewhat positive effect.
"They're coming to see us?" Elias said quietly.
"That's right," Julie-Su confirmed. "In a few hours."
Elias actually half-smiled. He turned to Mina and said, "Come on Mina, didn't you hear her? Our friends are coming up for a visit."
Mina just looked blankly at him, but for a moment he could have sworn that he saw her give him the tiniest smile.
* * *
As soon as Sally told the Freedom Fighters the news, they all agreed that they had to go see Elias and Mina, to try and cheer them up by some degree.
"We have to try at least," Sonic said. "Losing their child, that's the worst thing that could have happened to them, especially on top of everything else they've gone through lately."
Bunnie nodded. "Ah agree. They need some familiar faces."
"So what are we waiting for, Christmas?" Tails said. "Let's go already!"
They all loaded into the Freedom Fighter Special and took off for the Floating Island. On the way, Rotor asked, "What are we going to do to try and cheer them up?"
That one stumped them all. Not even Tails, who was supreme when it came to cheering up his friends, could come up with an answer, but then, they had never dealt with anything of this caliber.
After a while, Sonic said, "I guess we'll just have to be friends for them. I doubt we can do anything more than that."
* * *
Elias gave Sally an almighty hug when they got there, which she returned happily. They had missed each other a great deal, and now Elias needed his sister more than ever. Mina just gave everyone a small smile when they got there, but she didn't say a single word, even when they all hugged her. Seeing the state Mina was in, Lara-Le suggested they all go inside for some lunch.
They ate quietly. Realizing that no one was willing to start a conversation, Tails tried to start one himself. "What have you been doing since you arrived up here anyway Elias?"
"Nothing, really," Elias replied. "Since Mom and Dad started that search for me and Mina, we've been hiding out at Julie-Su's apartment mostly."
"Well, what about after they gave up?" Bunnie asked.
"That was about the time Mina got sick," Elias said quietly.
Everyone fell silent again. Tails tried again after a while. "What are you going to do now that they have given up?"
"Try and find a job, first of all," Elias said. "Get a place of our own, too. I don't want to burden Julie-Su for the rest of our lives."
Julie-Su gave a small snicker at her end of the table. "I've told a million times, I don't mind."
"But I do mind," Elias said. He smirked. "Besides, if I stay too long, Knux will start to get suspicious."
Knuckles looked up from his food. "Of what?" he asked.
Julie-Su, catching what Elias meant, gave an overly innocent smile on purpose. "Of our little affair, that's all," she said.
Mina rolled her eyes, but Knuckles, having a dry sense of humor, thought she was being serious. "WHAT AFFAIR?!?" he demanded.
Everyone except Mina started to laugh. "Relax, Mr. Too-Tense-Guardian," Elias said. "We were kidding."
Knuckles resumed eating, looking embarrassed. Mina gave Elias a look that said plainly "Don't do that to him." Elias snickered and resumed eating. "This is great cooking, by the way Lady Lara-Le," he said.
"Thank you Elias," she replied.
After lunch, Even though she still hadn't spoken, Mina was looking much better. Elias was full of life again. The pain of losing their unborn son was still there, but it was dulled to some extent.
They went out (except Lara-La) to have some fun around Echidnaopolis. (A/n: If that's wrong, please correct me.) They went to see a movie, to the arcade, and to the mall. They had a lot of fun and didn't realize how late it was until it turned dark.
"Good lord!" Sonic said. "The day's already gone. That's what I call way past fast!" Everyone except Mina laughed at the joke. "I guess we better get back to Knothole."
"Yeah," Sally agreed. "Dad said we could only come up here for one day." They walked back to the Freedom Fighter Special. Sally hugged Elias and Mina again. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call. I don't care what I'm doing; I'll drop it and come to help you. Family always comes first."
"That means a lot to me Sal'," Elias said. "Thanks."
"I mean it," Sally said. She turned and started to climb onto the Special.
"Sally, thank you," came a quiet voice from behind her. Sally turned. Mina was smiling at her. "Thank you."
Sally smiled at her again and got onto the Special. When it was gone out of sight, Elias asked, "Don't we have a wedding to plan?"
Mina smiled and kissed him. "I believe we do."
They headed back to Julie-Su's apartment. "Are you okay Mina?"
"I'm not completely okay," she said. "I'm not going to pretend that I am. I'm never going to be okay again, but there's no point in dwelling on it." She gave him a sad smile. "We just have to move on, and that's all there is to it. We can start the planning for the wedding in the morning."
They kissed again and continued home.
"Recovery"
Julie-Su, Knuckles, and Lara-Le sat quietly as they tried to think of some way to help Mina and Elias recover from this pain. They couldn't think of a single thing, though. Every idea they had was countered by "They lost a child. It wouldn't work." So they did nothing but watch helplessly as Elias talked quietly to Mina in Lara-Le's living room, who was still in a deep depression and had said almost nothing since she'd been let out of the hospital a week ago.
After what seemed like an eternity, Knuckles came up with an idea that wasn't useless. "Why don't we call the Freedom Fighters? Or at least, we should call Sally and Sonic. They should know what's going on up here."
"Good idea Knux," Julie said. "I'll give them a call. May I use your phone Lady Lara-Le?"
"Certainly," Lara-Le said.
Julie-Su called Sally first, as she was directly related to Elias.
"Hello, this is Sally," she answered.
"Sally? It's Julie-Su."
"Julie-Su? Is something the matter?"
"Yes. It has to do with Elias and Mina."
Sally's attention was peaked. "What's wrong? Is one of them hurt?"
"Not physically. For you to understand this, I think I should start at the beginning." Julie-Su took a deep breath and explained about Mina's pregnancy, which it turned out Sally had known about because Tails had told the Freedom Fighters when he got back to Knothole. Julie-Su then explained about Mina's sickness and her trip to the hospital. She hesitated before telling her what they had found out at the hospital.
Sally had to sit down when she heard about the death of her unborn nephew. She was at a complete loss. She felt horrible about it, but she couldn't imagine what it was like for the would-be parents. After a while, she said, "I'm going to tell the others and then we're going to come up to the Floating Island."
Julie-Su had had a feeling that was coming. "What about your parents? I'm sure they must still want Elias to come home," she said.
"Without a doubt, but they've given up on the idea of forcing him home," Sally said. "They finally understand that Elias ran away because of himself, not because of Mina or anything else. They just want to know he's okay."
"Well, really, he's not."
"I know. We'll be there in a few hours." Sally hung up the phone. So did Julie. She looked over to the depressed couple, gathered her courage, and told them that Sally and the Freedom Fighters were coming to see them. It had a somewhat positive effect.
"They're coming to see us?" Elias said quietly.
"That's right," Julie-Su confirmed. "In a few hours."
Elias actually half-smiled. He turned to Mina and said, "Come on Mina, didn't you hear her? Our friends are coming up for a visit."
Mina just looked blankly at him, but for a moment he could have sworn that he saw her give him the tiniest smile.
* * *
As soon as Sally told the Freedom Fighters the news, they all agreed that they had to go see Elias and Mina, to try and cheer them up by some degree.
"We have to try at least," Sonic said. "Losing their child, that's the worst thing that could have happened to them, especially on top of everything else they've gone through lately."
Bunnie nodded. "Ah agree. They need some familiar faces."
"So what are we waiting for, Christmas?" Tails said. "Let's go already!"
They all loaded into the Freedom Fighter Special and took off for the Floating Island. On the way, Rotor asked, "What are we going to do to try and cheer them up?"
That one stumped them all. Not even Tails, who was supreme when it came to cheering up his friends, could come up with an answer, but then, they had never dealt with anything of this caliber.
After a while, Sonic said, "I guess we'll just have to be friends for them. I doubt we can do anything more than that."
* * *
Elias gave Sally an almighty hug when they got there, which she returned happily. They had missed each other a great deal, and now Elias needed his sister more than ever. Mina just gave everyone a small smile when they got there, but she didn't say a single word, even when they all hugged her. Seeing the state Mina was in, Lara-Le suggested they all go inside for some lunch.
They ate quietly. Realizing that no one was willing to start a conversation, Tails tried to start one himself. "What have you been doing since you arrived up here anyway Elias?"
"Nothing, really," Elias replied. "Since Mom and Dad started that search for me and Mina, we've been hiding out at Julie-Su's apartment mostly."
"Well, what about after they gave up?" Bunnie asked.
"That was about the time Mina got sick," Elias said quietly.
Everyone fell silent again. Tails tried again after a while. "What are you going to do now that they have given up?"
"Try and find a job, first of all," Elias said. "Get a place of our own, too. I don't want to burden Julie-Su for the rest of our lives."
Julie-Su gave a small snicker at her end of the table. "I've told a million times, I don't mind."
"But I do mind," Elias said. He smirked. "Besides, if I stay too long, Knux will start to get suspicious."
Knuckles looked up from his food. "Of what?" he asked.
Julie-Su, catching what Elias meant, gave an overly innocent smile on purpose. "Of our little affair, that's all," she said.
Mina rolled her eyes, but Knuckles, having a dry sense of humor, thought she was being serious. "WHAT AFFAIR?!?" he demanded.
Everyone except Mina started to laugh. "Relax, Mr. Too-Tense-Guardian," Elias said. "We were kidding."
Knuckles resumed eating, looking embarrassed. Mina gave Elias a look that said plainly "Don't do that to him." Elias snickered and resumed eating. "This is great cooking, by the way Lady Lara-Le," he said.
"Thank you Elias," she replied.
After lunch, Even though she still hadn't spoken, Mina was looking much better. Elias was full of life again. The pain of losing their unborn son was still there, but it was dulled to some extent.
They went out (except Lara-La) to have some fun around Echidnaopolis. (A/n: If that's wrong, please correct me.) They went to see a movie, to the arcade, and to the mall. They had a lot of fun and didn't realize how late it was until it turned dark.
"Good lord!" Sonic said. "The day's already gone. That's what I call way past fast!" Everyone except Mina laughed at the joke. "I guess we better get back to Knothole."
"Yeah," Sally agreed. "Dad said we could only come up here for one day." They walked back to the Freedom Fighter Special. Sally hugged Elias and Mina again. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call. I don't care what I'm doing; I'll drop it and come to help you. Family always comes first."
"That means a lot to me Sal'," Elias said. "Thanks."
"I mean it," Sally said. She turned and started to climb onto the Special.
"Sally, thank you," came a quiet voice from behind her. Sally turned. Mina was smiling at her. "Thank you."
Sally smiled at her again and got onto the Special. When it was gone out of sight, Elias asked, "Don't we have a wedding to plan?"
Mina smiled and kissed him. "I believe we do."
They headed back to Julie-Su's apartment. "Are you okay Mina?"
"I'm not completely okay," she said. "I'm not going to pretend that I am. I'm never going to be okay again, but there's no point in dwelling on it." She gave him a sad smile. "We just have to move on, and that's all there is to it. We can start the planning for the wedding in the morning."
They kissed again and continued home.