AN: Had to go back and reread the last few chapters because my mind is gone from lack of sleep, and just a little beer. Holy Hell, the amount of dumb little errors I had to fix... fuck you beer! Hopefully this chapter won't be a cluster fuck like chapter 2... gotta fix that someday.

Shadow slowly followed behind his wife as she made her way to the 1st class boarding line. Despite the fact they got a last-minute reservation in a secondary section they were still prominent members of the country club associated with the cruise liner, so they were still allowed to board before the other lower-level tables. The tall hedgehog let out a tired sight as he sat down at the table after being personally lead there by a high up crew member.

The older male ferret pulled out the chair to seat Ember, Shadow's wife. "I'll have your waiter bring out your usual drinks right away." The man then bowed before taking his leave.

"Such a lovely night." Ember gave Shadow a small smile as she picked up her menu and then glanced over it briefly before setting it back down again. Shadow just looked at her blankly for a moment before turning his attention away from her and out into the dark waters that lapped at the side of the ship.

"Shadow..." Ember started with an overly exaggerated amount of sadness in her voice.

Shadow clenched his jaw and tried to keep his breathing in check as he felt is temper flaring up. He then glanced over to see his wife look at him desperately while dabbing a few tears away with her cloth napkin. "Just please... I beg you..." She kept trailing off while looking at him pathetically.

Shadow's face softened as he found himself feeling a bit guilty for causing the woman who bore his child to cry publicly to get his attention, but also more guilt for just wanting her to stop causing a scene. "You look nice." Shadow voice was quiet, and in its usual low tone. He locked eyes with her as he spoke causing her take a few deep breaths of satisfaction while she shot him a smile as she started to twist a finger through her orange blonde hair. He felt a bit defeated, but mostly thankful that she was calming down. He hated it enough when she acted up at home, but could barely keep himself in check when she felt the need to have an outburst in public.

"Thank you." She smiled a bit more and looked away a moment coyly. "I wore this dress because I remember you saying you liked it."

Shadow nodded his approval as the man that led them to their table came back and put their drinks on the table. Honestly, Shadow didn't recall seeing her wear the dress before but she did look good in it... however despite how beautifully her appearance was he could no longer find himself desiring her any longer. Ember picked up her colorfully drink in a small vases shaped glass, and gave it a sip, as she watched her husband pick up his own drink and take a long swig of the dark liquid.

"Your waiter will be right with you. Enjoy your meal." The man bowed again and walked away to tend to other guests.

20 minutes had passed and their waiter had yet to come to their table. The boat had finally started to set sail and Shadow was now on his fourth drink as he was able to flag down random crew members. Ember, who had barely touched her drink as she couldn't handle alcohol well, was complaining to Shadow about their maids, and the other mothers she socialized with at the country club. The male head of household had held out hope, at first, that she'd at least try to partake in a decent conversation, but she quickly went back to her usually bitching and moaning that everyone was ignorant but her. Shadow pretended to listen enough to say a one-word response every once in a while, but kept finding his gaze focusing on the dark water they were now drifting on.

"I'm uh... So sorry fer keeping ya two folks waiting. There was a mix up with da tables." A male chimed in apologetically, yet quite hyper, with an extremely strong southern accent. Shadow eyes intensified on the water before he finally turned to look at their waiter. He spoke just like...

The brown, and tan furred squirrel looked from Shadow and then his wife with a nervous smile. He then bowed slightly before speaking again. "Da names Randy, and I'll be taking care of ya tonight."

"Not very well it seems." Ember muttered under her breath, but keeping it loud enough for the young male serving them to hear. She looked away from him to the other tables giving off the vibe he wasn't worthy of even serving them.

"Again, I'm really sorry about da wait. I'll make sure y'all are taken care of properly like from here on out."

"We'll take our usual." Shadow spoke wanting the squirrel before them to leave as he was reminding the hedgehog of the waiter's twin sister that he worked with. Sandy had brought up Randy on a few occasions. They two siblings had moved to Chicago together after she landed her job after talking with Proton himself on a few occasions. Shadow recalled Sandy bring up her brother had gotten a low-level laborer job with the company as well, and was trying to turn his troubled life around. He'd never thought he'd come across the young man in person, but wasn't too shocked he was seeking work on the side as entry level construction workers in the area barely made a living wage.

"No." Ember spoke up in response to her husband's order to their server. "I'm on a diet and will need my food made specially." She looked at her husband and smiled as he bit his lip to hide his irritation. The woman than droned on server demands to their waiter who seemed to be having a hard time keeping up with her as he wrote them down.

"I'll take another drink too. One now, and one with the meal." Shadow sighed almost feeling sorry for Randy as he desperately tried to write down all of his wife's ridiculous requests.

"Of course, sir. I'll be right back." The male squirrel lightly bowed again and almost tripped over himself as he backed away from the table to put in their order.

"I can't believe the trash they are hiring lately. Was he even speaking English?!" Ember sighed loudly showing her disapproval. "I'll have his job by the end of the night."

"Leave him alone, Ember." Shadow lowly spoke as a warning while sipping on his current drink and looking out on the water.

"Excuse me?!" Shadow glanced at his wife long enough to see her angry flare. "After that wait, and him not even addressing us properly. And don't even get me started on his dreadful southern braindead accent!" Ember crossed her arms and glared at her husband as he turned his attention back to the water surrounding them.

"At least he's trying to earn his keep." Shadow breathed tiredly causing his wife to start laughing minacity.

"And he will continue to earn his so called keep, but only on the level he belongs at." Shadow's wife hissed.

"I've always found it so amusing how women like you, who have never worked a day in their lives, have the gal to start judging those breaking their back to make a living." Shadow now looked back at his feline wife and grinned menacingly.

Ember covered her mouth as she gasped in shock. "I had no idea he was your type, Shadow." She hissed again hoping to hurt his pride with the lazy homosexual accusation.

"I'm sure he gives better head." Shadow smirked proudly until his wife's face fell into horror and sadness, as he had seemed to win the fight, at a high cost. "I'm sorry, Ember..." Shadow set his almost empty drink down and pushed it away from himself on the table. "I'm drunk." The powerful man now hung his head in shame realizing how much trouble he had just got himself into. "If you want to destroy that young man's life, go ahead."

"I'm just putting him back in his place." She whispered as her face took on a smile once again as Shadow nodded in agreement as he continued to look away from her and long for being in better company.