Sorry for the short chapter this time, but I'm already working on Chapter 10 and just editing some on the others! For those of you who have liked the story and are following along, thank you so much. I get really insecure about my stories and writing and knowing that there are people who are enjoying my stories, even just a little, gives me the motivation to keep writing and keep improving.

Thank you for being here.

Chapter 6

A week passes by after Claira's talk with Sonic. The crimson feline is rarely seen, hiding in Vanilla's bedroom and only coming out when the motherly rabbit manages to convince her to join them to eat. Tails and Sonic still remain with the Rabbit family, helping Vanilla around the garden and running errands when they aren't looking for information about Claira's origins and figuring out the best place to send her that's out of Eggman's reach.

So far no ideas.

"Sonic?"

The speedster looks up from Vanilla's couch where he's reading on the Miles Electric and over at Tails where he's sitting with Cream at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, bud?"

Twin tails twist together as the kit faces his brother. "Have you heard anything back from Team Dark yet? It's already been over a week."

"No," the blue hero sighs. "But then again when it comes to their missions it can take up to a month for them to complete a simple one." He places the handheld device in his lap and moves his hands as he continues speaking. "And knowing Shadow, if I try to contact him again it's going to be all 'Why are you bothering me, Faker' this and 'No, you can't help on a classified mission' that and then he'll just catch a bigger attitude when he does show up."

Cream giggles at the exaggerated movements from the teen as he complains. Tails rolls his eyes.

"Why do you ask?" the hedgehog questions.

"Just curious, I guess." The eight year old stands from his seat and strides over into the living room. "I want to help Claira, but with so little information on the Robotniks available to the public, and the fact that I can't exactly hack into GUN, it makes me feel kinda useless."

Sonic sits up and pulls the kit down on to the couch beside him, wrapping an arm around yellow shoulders. "Don't worry, little buddy, we'll figure it out." He lets his little brother go as he ruffles the fox's bangs. "We'll keep Claira safe from Robuttnik until we get a response from the dark side and then we'll solve this together like always."

"Mister Sonic is right, Tails!" The boys look over to Cream. The young girl stands beside her chair with her hands on her hips, bringing to mind the image of a familiar pink hedgehog with her determined look. "It'll work out in the end. It always does. And don't forget that you'll have us as well to help and all of our other friends too."

The genius smiles in return. "You're right." He looks to the hedgehog still lounging beside him. "You both are." He plucks his Miles Electric out of Sonic's lap and begins typing away on the screen. "I wonder, though, if there is something we can do to at least make Claira feel more at ease. We've barely seen her and she won't talk to any of us anymore."

"She's coming to terms with her grief."

The three young Mobians look up to find Vanilla entering the room from the hallway, tying her robe together over her night gown.

Cream makes her way over and latches on her to Mother's hands. "There must be some way to cheer her up. Do you know how to help her, Mama?"

The older rabbit offers her daughter a sad smile, bending down to rub away the frustrated lines from between those young eyes that are so much like her own. "I'm afraid it only gets better with time, my love."

Vanilla sees how much the children in her den want to help the woman in the other room, but she also saw how empty Claira's eyes looked earlier when she turned down dinner again. She's closely observed the feline's decline these last few days. How she's gone from picking at her food to outright refusing to eat anything. How even though her cough and hoarse speech smoothed out days ago, she now looks at though she could become sick at any moment. How, on most days, she doesn't speak even when spoken to. If there was any doubt that Claira had lost everything, it was gone now. Squashed under the concern for a woman so lost in this world she can no longer find it within her to take care of herself.

The mother makes her way to sit in a plush chair across from the couch and holds her daughter close. She's lost many things in her life, but to lose everything, to lose Cream, it was unthinkable.

Sonic leaps up from the couch with a sudden burst of speed that makes everyone else jump. "What if we find her a distraction?" he suggests.

"A distraction?" Tails questions, head tilted at the idea. "What kind of distraction?"

"It's a good idea," Vanilla kindly states. "But I'm curious as well. Do you have a plan?"

Just as quickly as the burst of energy came, the blue hero deflates, sinking back into the couch with a grumble. "Yeah, but I'm not gonna like it."

His younger brother elbows him in the ribs. "And why's that?"

"Because it means I gotta make a call."

Life isn't easy, but no matter how difficult it may be, you have the strength to get through it. You are not weak, no matter what the circumstances may show. There is always a way through a difficult situation, even if it's not immediately realized. Keep going. Don't give up.