What To Do

"Refeeding syndrome," Tails' serious medical doctor voice emanated throughout the room.

Shadow stole a glance at Sonic, talking to Cosmo in the kitchen. He was sitting on a chair, looking very small, his body swallowed up by an old zipper sweatsirt, his form belittled by the massive German Sheppard, Mai, who happened to be sitting beside him. Still, he talked and laughed with Cosmo…about what, Shadow couldn't hope to fathom.

"Shadow, are you listening to me?" Tails waved a gloved hand before Shadow's ruby eyes. "Hello? Anyone home in there? Yoo hoo!"

"Yeah, I heard you," Shadow grunted, pushing Tails' hand away impatiently. "Is that even a real disease?"

"It's a real ailment, yes. Chronic hunger patients suffer from it. Of course, the body cannot be so rapidly re-introduced to something as substantial as food."

"Why the devil not?" Shadow roared.

Tails was looking at Sonic also. "To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. The only thing I am sure about is that Sonic's bone structure is weak."

"And, besides the obvious, that means…?"

"It means Sonic could very easily break a bone by, stubbing his toe, say, or by banging his hand by accident. Common things we do all the time that smart for a bit but don't hurt us long-term."

"You're saying Sonic's even weaker than he was before?"

"Well…as far as his bones, yes. Sonic should be very careful. In fact, he should be confined to his bed and not be allowed to move much, except in an emergency."

"He'll never agree to that."

"He'll be forced to, I'm afraid. Sonic will be very weak. His form will soon be unable to support him, if this keeps up. Look, he's trembling."

"So? He's probably cold!" Shadow shivered a bit himself. Tails' house was like the arctic!

"No…that's his body devouring any calories it can get. And right now, that means bone marrow."

"So what can I do?" Shadow begged meekly. He hadn't felt this defenseless since he'd been forced to leave Maria behind on the Arc-! Which he'd already decided was not going to happen again…figuratively speaking.

"He'll need calcium supplements—you can pick them up at a local drug store. And milk. Make sure he drinks lots of milk."

"Will he be able to stomach that?"

Tails frowned thoughtfully. "Well…the milk will curdle in his stomach after about a week or so. The calcium will be put to good use by then—only the fat and cream will be left. So, when his body tries to digest that, obviously it's going to come right up." The young fox sighed heavily, stroking his tails grimly. "But, other than that, he should recover."

Shadow sighed. "There isn't a way to stop him from throwing up, I guess?"

"There's nothing we can do at this point." Tails admitted.

Shadow became cross, feeling tears come to his eyes. Stubbornly, he turned away to stare at the wall. "Tails? You had to shoot Cosmo…right?"

Tails shuddered. "Right. She saved us all from Dark Oak."

"How did it feel…shooting her, I mean?" Shadow bit his lip against the sobs. "Did it…did it feel helpless? Alone? Like…like you were destroying the only good thing in your life?"

"Yes." Tails replied mournfully.

Shadow turned to look at him. Tears sparkled at the base of his blood red eyes, waiting to fall onto his deep tan—almost orange—cheeks. "How…how did you do it, Tails?"

Tails placed his hands on his hips and glanced up into the ceiling. After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes. "I dunno." He admitted. "I guess I just told myself that it was for the best, and that I'd see her again some day."

"And that day came, when you found the seed pod."

"Yes. The day came sooner that I could've hoped for."

"Maybe…" Shadow stared at his boyfriend, laughing and hugging Mai's thick neck. "Maybe I'll see Sonic again some day. The way I want to see him—not this shadow he's become."

Tails smiled. "Sonic is still Sonic, Shadow. You're just distracted by his outer appearance."

But Shadow wasn't listening. He was thinking about hw Sonic had looked, how cute it'd been to see him chowing down on m&ms.

Yes. The day would come when he would see Sonic eat again.

And it would come soon.

O.o Shadow's getting a little testy! What will happen next? Tune in next time for more drama and pain from the lovely…Torn in Two! :3