Sara's cellphone rang for the hundredth time since she'd left the hotel. The caller ID clearly displayed Shadow's name. She didn't know what to say, if she could talk to him at all. She wiped some more tears from her eyes, walking half blind along the sidewalk. It was well after midnight, and street lamps illuminated their path.

She reached into her purse and picked up the cell phone. She took a deep breath and hit the Yes key. "Sara? Where the hell are you? You know how late it is? Maria's-" She canceled the call. Maybe that way it would look like a dropped call. She sighed and powered the phone off before the ring tone could come back to haunt her.

Shadow was up. Of course he was waiting for her; she was gone far longer than he'd expected and no doubt his fears were beginning to mount. Sara would have understood, she did understand...neither of them thought it would be well founded at all. He was just a friend, right?

As she approached their apartment, she wondered what she would do. So far, she'd been honest with Shadow...she didn't want secrets... If he was watching out the window, he would see her; if she opened the door, he would hear her. Worse yet, he would smell her. That was the part she was dreading most...all that affection...all the love he'd lavished on her...now marred by his scent.

Her only hope was that Maria would draw his attention first. He knew where she lived, he knew about Shadow…. She shivered at the thought. She approached their apartment from a different street than she usually traveled, thus avoiding his gaze. She stayed outside the door, listening for Maria's inevitable cries. Hopefully he would go into her room and stay there.

"Misses Shadow?" one of the human residents of the building addressed her, causing her to jump. "Sorry to startle you...did you forget your key or something?"

"No...no I'm fine, thanks...Miss Hartzog." She sighed softly and waited for the human to leave her field of sight. Maria began her nightly crying routine soon after, and Sara began her act. Shadow wouldn't have to know anything was wrong, if she could just get to the bathroom...

Her hand shook as she fumbled with the lock but managed to get the door open after a moment. It squeaked...a lot louder than she thought it did. She stepped in, a floor board squeaked. Why hadn't she noticed that squeakiness earlier that day? Her eyes darted over to the baby's room. It was open... She could see red and black inside. She dropped her purse; it thumped on the floor.

"Sara??" He turned to the door, just catching her headed into the bathroom.

"Yeah! Sorry about that, I need to take a shower, okay?!" She slammed the door behind her and started running the water as hot as she could get it.

Shadow had already picked up the scent. It disgusted him already, but he wouldn't jump...not until he knew the whole story. "Ready for bed yet, Maria? Daddy has to have a little talk with your mom..." he said in a very calm tone. Maria yawned in reply, and he set her back to bed. He walked over to the bathroom door; she'd locked it... She never locked the door. The foreign scent was stronger than he thought it would be, and at last he spoke up…. "Why the hell didn't you answer my calls?!"

"S-sorry! The phone died...!" She bit her lower lip. She grabbed the nearest bottle of lavender shampoo and applied it in more than generous amounts to her fur.

Shadow picked up her purse and checked out the phone. It was off but...after turning it on, it still had a quarter of a charge. "Bullshit! Sara? What the hell happened?" He knocked on the door in a demanding way.

Sara felt her vocal cords tightening. "Shadow please...! Lemme..."

The bathroom door splintered to pieces and Shadow ripped the shower curtain down, causing Sara to scream. "I said...what the hell happened?!" Maria started wailing at all the commotion, but for now her cries went unheeded.

Sara's ears fell backward and flattened against her head. She immediately cupped her hands over the tops of them and started sobbing profusely. "...Shadow…."

He stepped into the bath with her, his eyes falling harshly upon her. The way she shook and leaned against him, she couldn't have betrayed him... "Move your hands..." She shook her head. "...Sara...don't make me force you…."

Her arms wrapped around Shadow tightly and she buried her face in his chest fur, which was now quite damp from the water. "I didn't...we didn't...but he…. Oh please please don't fight!"

Shadow closed his eyes and scratched Sara behind her ears, which remained flat against her head. "It won't be much of a fight." He felt her grip him even more tightly. What had he done? He didn't care...the smell was there...even if it wasn't...he'd hurt his mate. Even without seeing him, he had the name and the scent to follow.

Shadow called off work the next day to start patrolling the city. He was out for blood, even though Sara insisted he hadn't gotten further than licking her. She'd managed to fend him off by kicking him in a particular soft spot and had proceeded to run for a while after that. At the moment, she just didn't feel very safe, and worried about Duo in spite of how things ended between them.

She picked her cell phone up by a My Little Pony strap she'd attached to it and dialed her father's new cell phone number. It rang a bit. "..Please pick up..." she said softly.

On the other end of the line, Chuck hedgehog and Chuck Thorndyke had just put the finishing touches on the Time Spear, which they hoped to send info back about the third echo. "Ahh, well done..." The wrinkly old human smiled toward his hedgehog counterpart. "Is that your phone?"

"I think it is," the hedgehog replied and went over to a bench he'd laid it on. "Hello?"

"Daddy?" Sara's voice came loud and clear through the phone.

"...Are you all right, Sara? You sound upset..."

"No... Can I…come over for a little while?"

"...Of course."

Sonic and Amy were at the Thorndykes' that day as well. They looked at each other and then Sara. Neither had seen her like this. Despite Shadow's best efforts the night before, Sara's ears seemed glued back in place.

"Yo, cuz..." Sonic began, but trailed off seeing her so gloomy.

"What happened to you? Did Shadow...?" Amy started.

"No no! It wasn't Shadow! ...Duo..." She rubbed her eyes; they were red from crying.

"He's alive??" Amy blinked.

"Yeah..." Chuck put in for Sara. "I didn't know he was in Station Square, but it seems like he's a bigger idiot than I thought."

Sonic frowned a bit. "What'd he...?"

"He didn't! But Shadow still wants to kill him...and he's part of the KTF! He's got a gun and everything...!" Sara managed to blurt out between sobs. "Sonic...could you stop them?"

Sonic blinked. "Huh? Sara...I have a hard enough time encountering Shadow without getting a fist or a foot in my face...and I dunno about Duo...you two were pretty serious before he, well, 'died.'"

Sara sniffled. "Please..." She handed Maria off to her father and went about wiping her eyes free of yet more tears.

Sonic sighed. He was a sucker for the ladies, wasn't he? "All right, but you need to tell me exactly what's going on. If I have to do any explaining..."

He found Sara's arms wrapped around his neck. "Thank you!"

On Shadow's end of things, there was a lot to clean up. He'd scared the crap out of Sara every bit as much as Duo had, and that made him unhappy, to put it mildly. After getting the soap out of Sara's fur, he spent the night reaffirming his scent on her and holding her while she explained things. She'd remained faithful to him, and he was glad she'd given him such a personal farewell.

Physical damage would be easier to repair, though; whether he killed the bastard or not, Duo needed to be sent a message. That was another cause of grief... Just mentioning it had sent Sara to tears again. In his mind, though, he'd as good as raped her, and he could in no way ignore or excuse that.

He told her to call if he tried to approach her, but he doubted she would. From what she had told him, he was the kind to take things into his own hands. He was impulsive, so he was somewhat like Sonic. It was really brazen trying to steal someone's mate, let alone his. One thing he'd quickly decided, though...he would be conducting his search from the rooftops... A sharp shooter...he would likely have a gun.

He thought about the fact he was the one who'd given Sara the bracelet she so coveted when he first met her. He was glad she didn't wear it. She thought he was dead. Ha... He was about to make that assumption reality. Now where are you...

Duo was prepared for a fight the moment he found out Sara had a mate. That mate being Shadow the hedgehog did make things a little bit more dangerous, but everything had its price tag. He didn't think he'd be able to take him in close combat, so his pistol was going to have to sit this one out. Out of his large duffle bag, he pulled his other partner out--an AK-47. His regular firearms were traded for a knife. If things did get close and personal, he wanted to have the better odds for survival.

He knew where the apartment was, but that hot spot might be too hot. He could hit Sara or the baby if they were around... He wanted a nice, clean shot. He didn't know if Sara had told him where the hotel was, but the fact he hadn't broken the door down was a good sign. He just had to wait. If he was too close to the apartment, Shadow would likely spot him first. If he was too far away, he might be out of the search perimeter he was sure to set up.

He knew he'd only have one, maybe two shots at most. He sighed slightly. He knew Sara still had feelings for him; she was starting to respond to him last night... He'd just have to work at it a bit after Shadow was gone. Just because he hadn't gone all the way with her didn't mean he wouldn't.

After a few hours of waiting, a black and red blur started heading toward his location.Gotcha...