A/N: Thank you for still reading and reviewing! Means the world to me. *Hugs*

'There is no point in using the word 'impossible' to describe something that has clearly happened.' - Douglas Adams

Denial

I waited at Amy's until she started showing signs of waking up before I left out the back door. I should've stayed, I know I should. But it was enough to see Amy laying on her couch, bruises forming on her in the hours between her being hit by the robot and waking, and I couldn't do it. I couldn't face her. Cowardly yes, but after my reaction to her . . . I'm sure my face was the last one she wanted to see.

I didn't go far when I ran off from our explosive argument. I knew it wouldn't be long before Tails would take her home and I wanted to check on her, despite my intense anger at her distraction during the fight. I couldn't stay away even if I wanted to. I would never have forgiven myself if I had and she'd really been hurt. So I followed them, from a distance of course. I was sure neither of them noticed, not even Tails. It surprised me a little that she didn't let him in, but I could see the lines of stress and fatigue weighing her down as she swayed at her doorstep, watching Tails leave.

I was through her back door within seconds, a strong instinct of what I was going to find when I got in the cottage.

Sure enough Amy was passed out cold on the floor by her front door. Her body simply slumped to the side, her hair covering her face. The parts of her body not covered were dirty and scratched, her clothes torn and dusty. I didn't hesitate to drop to her side, gently moving her hair from her face. Any lasting anger I had at her recklessness was gone in an instant as worry took over seeing her in such a vulnerable way. When was the last time she took such a dig from Eggman? A long time, so long I don't even remember the last time.

Frowning, I slipped my arms beneath her small, fragile body and slowly scooped her up off the floor. She snuggled into my chest instinctively, slight whimpers escaping her as I held her close and moved over to the couch. The less movement I did with her the better. I knew how she would be feeling, how many times have I been thrown into a tree, or a building. She was like a dead weight when I placed her down, making her as comfortable as I could. I sat on the table in front of her for a second, taking in her breathing, watching her expression for any signs of pain.

But she just looked deeply asleep. No more whimpers, no movement. Peaceful almost, her long lashes brushing her cheek, her cheeks paler than normal, but not enough to make me call Tails in a panic. Trying not to move her, I felt around the back of her head as best I could, making sure there was no blood or lump I needed to worry about. Then I went to her first aid stash and got some ointment out, a washcloth and a bowl of warm water.

Part of me was expecting to see her sitting up groggy when I got back, but she hadn't moved. So I sat beside her and softly rubbed away the dirt from the scratches I could see and get to, rubbing ointment into them after. Would she be freaked out that I'd looked after her while she was asleep? Would she notice, or think it was someone else? Who was I kidding, I thought with a chuckle. Amy will definitely know it was me. How many times have I come to be patched up by her, not feeling anything while I was passed out?

Rinsing out the washcloth, I went back and wiped the dust and dirt off her face, probably from where I'd seen her ducking and diving from the spider bots. Satisfied that she looked less banged up, I got a fresh cloth, soaked it in cool water and placed it on her forehead to help keep away the headache she was bound to have when she woke up. Then I sat back on the coffee table, steepling my fingers under my chin as I leaned on my knees, and just watched her sleep. Watched her chest rise and fall with her deep breathing.

Then I let the memory of the battle come back to me, washing over me with new horror.

It was supposed to be just a routine kick Eggman's butt and go home laughing about it. That's the way it normally goes, right? But I knew it was going to be different when I arrived to pick Amy up. There was something off about her that I couldn't put my finger on. She didn't want to tell me so we went straight to where Eggman was making a mess of the forest floor. She didn't join in with the banter, but I could feel her distance from us. It's what made me try to keep an eye on her while stopping that damn drill bot from tearing up anymore trees and making the ground quake. I thought she, Knuckles and Rouge had control of the spider bots.

I saw her avoiding their legs with split seconds to spare a few too many times, but I couldn't get over there to help her. And she'd probably have used her hammer on my head if I'd have tried. So I got back to the part I was playing.

And then it went wrong.

Feeling the same fiery anger running through my veins as I did when it happened, I ground my teeth together as I stared at an unknown spot on Amy, my heart racing in my chest. What had she been thinking? The drill bot had still been going deeper into the ground, the spider bots demolished - we thought - around us. Tails had gotten the shields down and I was just gearing up for a full on assault, when I heard Knuckle's shout to Amy - too late.

The leg that came up and smashed into the front of her was supposed to have been dead. I saw Knuckles demolish the last of it on his way to running after Amy. It was like watching a film in slow motion, seeing her body soar through the air and the bone crunching impact of hitting the tree made me feel sick, terrified, full of rage. I saw red through the haze of fog as I curled into a ball and obliterated Eggman's drill bot, his egg mobile carrying him away almost as quickly as the spider bot that sent Amy into a tree. Rouge and Knuckles were moving after her before she'd even fell to her knees.

I should have been there. I should have run to catch her, break her fall, anything.

But contrary to popular belief, sometimes I'm not quick enough. And when on the very, very few occasions my feet decided to stay glued to the ground, there's nothing I can do. Does she think I didn't want to protect her? That I didn't want to try and help? It all happened too fast, even for me. His call came too late, that arm was already in the air. She wasn't focusing, paying attention. She was almost everywhere but there, and she had been since we arrived.

She didn't deserve to go flying into a tree though. She probably didn't deserve me losing my mind at her either. But I couldn't help my own fear at seeing her get hurt. I'd take it, over and over again I'd take whatever punishment Eggman dishes out if it means my friends don't have to get hurt. Amy, one of the most selfless, compassionate and amazing people I know.

But the anger, it's still there, simmering beneath the surface. At Amy, at Eggman. At myself.

Blowing out a breath I sat up, my body aching from the tension of sitting still for so long. That's when she started to twitch. I got to my feet instantly, ready to bolt out of there and avoid another argument - or worse. Hesitating, I almost leaned down to kiss her on the head, something I do without thinking most days. But this time I held back. I don't know why, but it was enough to make me get out of there pretty quickly, confident she hadn't noticed me there.

I didn't want to run laps around the planet by this point. But I needed to go somewhere, so I went to one of my other homes, preparing to face a different friend this time.

Tails wasn't in his workshop when I walked in, I found him in the kitchen stirring something on the stove.

"Surprised you've not got your head buried in your doohickeys," I commented idly as I jumped to sit on the kitchen counter, picking up a fork to spin between my hands. He turned from where he was staring at his soup and gave me a quick once over, raising an eyebrow at me. "What?" I asked, aware of how pathetic I sounded to my own ears. It just made me flatten them, resisting the huge sigh I wanted to let out.

"Where did you go after you tore into Amy?" he asked bluntly, turning around to face me and giving me his full judgemental appraisal. It made me want to squirm where I was sitting, but I didn't, my pride wouldn't let me.

"I went to her house to take care of her," I answered honestly. What did I have to hide from Tails? He knows me well enough. "I left her sleeping on her couch." Not a total lie, she was asleep partially when I left after-all. To anyone else that probably sounded creepy. I'd just let myself into a woman's house, cleaned her up, tended her wounds, watched her sleep and then bolted when she started to stir. And that made me squirm where I was sitting. So I dropped the fork back to the counter drumming my finger together and faced Tails' all knowing stare.

"Want to explain what it was really about?" he asked, his look not judgemental at all. I almost wish it was, it would mean I was justified to feel as bad as I did. His understanding that seemed to be pouring off of him was making me nervous.

So I shrugged. "She wasn't paying attention and she got hurt, it made me angry," I started, a hard lump forming in my throat, making it difficult to speak. Tails inclined his head, encouraging me to go on and I raised my eyes to stare at the ceiling. "And it scared the crap out of me and I over-reacted." I finished lamely, now releasing my sigh as the truth of it came out. And boy was it the truth. All the anger, the frustration wasn't because she was distracted. It was because it terrified me, rocked me to my core seeing her get hurt like that.

We should be past that by now, shouldn't we? The whole getting hurt by Eggman thing.

I at least thought we were.

"You don't have to be a genius to figure that part out, Sonic," Tails said carefully, moving to turn off the stove and stepping a little closer. I watched him curiously, wondering at the sudden anxiety he was giving off in waves. What was up with him now too? "But, what about what that's masking?" he peered at me, watching me closely. I blinked back at him blankly, completely lost to what he was apparently getting at. Blowing out a frustrated breath and running a hand through his hair, Tails looked almost sad. "I was hoping you'd have come to this realisation on your own." he mumbled.

Then he stood up straight, put his hands out in a placating way and met me with a hard look.

"Sonic, I think you love, Amy," he stated, speaking clear and cautiously.

I blinked at him again, just as blank as I was before. And then I chuckled. "Of course I love Amy, she's one of my best friends." I replied, back to fiddling with the fork again, needing something to do with my hands. The tension in the kitchen was almost unbearable. It felt like it was full of elephants sucking the oxygen out of the air. My run response was kicking in and I twitched my feet back and forth.

Closing his eyes for a second, Tails went silent for a moment. When he raised his head again, he looked wiser than I've seen him in a long time.

"No Sonic. I think you're in love with Amy, and have been for a long time. And that is why you lost it today,"

I went still, my whole body frozen as a bead of sweat dripped down the back of my neck. What is Tails talking about? I'm not in love with Amy! She's my best friend, I would know. "I would know." I mumbled aloud. I sounded pretty unconvincing even to my own ears. But I would know. Of course I would! Amy would know too, wouldn't she? She's the hopeless romantic, if I was in love with her, like Tails thinks then she'd definitely pick up on it. She got hurt and it terrified me, of course it did! "It scares the crap outta me when any of you get hurt," I told Tails, shaking my head, but it wasn't clearing the fog seeping into my mind. "It wasn't just because it's Amy." I frowned, jumping down from the counter.

Tails had been watching me the whole time, his expression sincere and open. But I wasn't paying much attention to that. I couldn't get his statement out of my head. It was on a constant loop, repeating itself over and over. But he's wrong, I would know! We're close because we're best friends. "You're wrong," I told Tails, shaking my head with a definitive no.

"Think about it," Tails implored, his hands out in a placating way again. "Think about your reaction to her new boyfriend; how much time you spend with her; the little affectionate touches; the flirting - "

"She's my best friend," I growled, cutting him off because now I was getting irritated. "I spend time with her because I like hanging out with her. I'd know." I stated again, my fur bristling. I needed to get out, go for a run, see a different view and just escape for a while. I need to outrun my thoughts before they drown me. "Just drop this, OK? I'll see you later."

"Sonic, wait!" Tails called as I ran out of the kitchen, the house, the town and country as fast as my legs could take me. I felt the Sonic booms make my blood pump that little bit harder as I ran to get away from that one line that was a dull echo in the back of my mind.

But he's wrong, I told myself as I crossed time zones. Of course he's wrong.

I'd know . . . Right?