Authors note: Thanks for all the reviews!

This is the chapter when Shadow finally comes back home, but we all know Raven has to do something drastic before Shadow leaves!

This chapter might be a bit longer than usual, so I hope you guys will like it!

Btw, to the guest that is wondering Rouge will find out about Knuckles' 'big problem', don't worry! That is coming very soon! Possibly the next if I plan everything out correctly!

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty One: Three Special Words

May 15

To say that Shadow was happy to be going home was an understatement. He was ecstatic. He woke up this morning feeling very relaxed. He already had all of his things packed, besides the outfit that he would be wearing today, which was laid out on the bed. After he was dressed and ready to head to his final meeting, he heard a faint cry down the hall of his friends home. He remembered last night that Jet said he would be heading to work early, and he also figured that Wave was still sleeping. He followed the noise of Sky's crying and ended up in her room.

Sky's room was a small but cute nursery. The walls were painted light purple and had designs of butterflies and clouds throughout the room. Her crib was by the window, which had a nice view of the busy city below. There was also a changing station on the right side of the room, followed by a rocking chair and a box of toys. When Shadow entered the room, he saw Sky standing in her crib, holding onto the side of it as she cried her eyes out. He quickly approached the baby bird and lifted her out of the crib.

Shadow rocked her back and forth slowly to calm her down. Sky's cries came down until she was only whimpering. The ebony hedgehog figured the baby was hungry, since she just woke up. He didn't want to wake up Wave since he knew she was exhausted by trying to get Sky to fall asleep last night. With the baby in his strong arms, he walked over to the kitchen to prepare a bottle for Sky. He placed her in her high chair and quickly got the bottle ready. After shaking it up and putting it in the microwave for a few seconds, he made sure the drink wasn't too hot. Shadow then gave to bottle to Sky, who quickly took it in her tiny arms and began to chug it down.

"Well I'm very impressed," said Wave as she walked into the kitchen. "I was just getting up to feed her, but I see you beat me to it." She smiled as she looked at her daughter, who was enjoying her milk. "You even made the bottle correctly."

Shadow chuckled as he got himself a mug of coffee. "Well I saw how you made it last night, so it wan't as hard as I thought."

'Or it could be those fatherly instincts kicking in', thought Wave.

She's been thinking a lot about Shadow and him possibly being a father. It's a lot to take in. She remembered months ago when Raven first announced she was pregnant, Shadow was really excited. She remembered him calling her multiple times a week and asking her about what baby products he should buy. From the type of crib, to a stroller, and even a play pin. She also remembered how Shadow had Jet help him decorate the nursery. And when he found out that he wasn't the father, and now he apparently is the father, she could only imagine how Shadow was feeling now.

"So this situation with Raven," Wave started as she leaned on the counter, "what do you think about it?"

Shadow sighed heavily. "I really don't know, to be honest with you."

"What did Amy say when you told her?"

"She was actually very understanding about it. She was scared at first because she thought that I would leave her. But I reassured her that everything would be fine between us."

As Shadow spoke about his girlfriend, Wave took notice of the small smile on his face. She smiled too, knowing that Shadow situation wouldn't be worse since Amy understood the delicate problem. "You should be lucky to have Amy. Most girls that find out their boyfriend could have a problem like yours would leave without looking back. It's clear that she sees a lot in you and that she cares about you a lot."

"Amy is very special to me," Shadow sighed with a smile. "There's no way I'm letting her go."

xXxXx

The final meeting that Shadow attended seemed to have flown by. He figured it was because he actually had something to look forward to. His boss called him afterwards and thanked him plenty times for taking his place. He also promised the ebony hedgehog the hefty rise that he would give to him. As Shadow was walking to his office, Jet came and joined him.

"Hey man," greeted the hawk, "looks like you're done here, huh?"

Shadow chuckled as he opened the door to his office. "It looks that way. This week felt like month."

Jet nodded his head and sighed. "Well at least it's over. But don't forgot about us. It felt great having you back, and Sky got really used to you being around."

"You guys should come down sometime," Shadow said as he took a seat at his desk. "You can meet everybody and Wave and Amy will get to know each other better."

"Wave and I been thinking of taking a vacation for a while now. We're just waiting for the right time and when we have enough money."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The door opened and the problematic black cat popped her head in. She smirked as she made eye contact with Shadow, who looked like he was about to pop a vein. "Hey Shadow, Jet," she greeted with a mischievous smile. "Shadow, do you mind if I speak to you?" She glanced at the hawk and tilted her head to the side. "Alone?"

Jet opened his beak to say something along the lines of 'get the hell out', but Shadow nodded his head. "I'll catch up with you before I leave, Jet." The hawk hesitated before he turned to leave. He looked at Raven with a look of disgust as he left the office.

Shadow leaned back in his car as he slid his hand down his face. "What do you want now?"

Raven giggled as she leaned against the door frame. "I just wanted to see you before you leave. It's a shame we couldn't fool around while you were here," she twirled her dark purple hair as she looked at Shadow with lust filled eyes.

The ebony hedgehog was already annoyed with her presence. He didn't want to hear anymore of her flirtatious banter. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Actually, there's something you should see before you run back home to your little girlfriend."

Shadow rolled his eyes as Raven stepped out of the room. He remembered the last time when his ex girlfriend wanted to 'show him something'. After they broke up, and Raven was still trying to get back with Shadow, she showed up to his office wearing a trench coat with very skimpy lingerie underneath. Shadow shrived at the memory of it. He didn't want anything to do with Raven once he knew she was fooling around behind his back.

Shadow looked up when he heard the sound of Raven's heels, but his eyes widen and he became stiff when he saw what she wanted to show him. In walked Raven with a smug grin on her face as she pushed in a stroller with a small ebony hedgehog inside of it. Raven reached in and lifted the baby in her arms.

"Shadow, meet Sage. Your son."

Shadow let go out the breathe he didn't even know he was holding in. Sage looked more like him in person. The only difference that Shadow could find was that the baby lacked the white fluffy fur on his chest and he had a cat tail instead of a hedgehog tail. Sage was dressed in a cute navy blue onesie and had a pacifier in his mouth. Shadow looked away from the baby and glared at Raven.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked as he stood from his chair.

"I'm just showing you what you've been missing for the last ten months," she said sweetly with a smirk. She ran her hand through her son's soft blue stripped quills and nuzzled his head. "Isn't he just the cutest little baby you've ever seen? Here." Raven lifted Sage and held him towards Shadow. "Hold your son."

Shadow looked at Sage for a few seconds before reluctantly taking the small baby in his arms. Sage squirmed around a bit until he got comfortable, laying his head on the older hedgehog's broad shoulder. Shadow was starting to feel very overwhelmed. He didn't know what to feel. Having Sage in his arms was slowly bringing back those feelings when he was excited about being a father. He couldn't deny that Sage looked like him, but he wasn't about to tell Raven that he could be the father, as harsh as it sounds.

"Isn't he adorable?" asked Raven as grinned. The look of surprise on Shadow's face was what she was hoping to see when she showed him Sage.

"He is," Shadow agreed as he looked down at the baby in his arms. "But this doesn't change anything. He may look like me, but it still doesn't prove that he's mine."

Raven rolled her eyes. She expected him to say something like that. She took Sage back in her arms and placed him back inside the stroller. "You keep telling yourself that. But you and I both know that I'm right." She pushed the stroller towards the door and looked back at her ex with a smirk. "Tell your girlfriend I said hi, and that she doesn't have much time left with you." And with that, her and Sage left the office.

xXxXx

After leaving work and checking out of the hotel, Shadow was on his way to the airport. But he wasn't alone. Jet and Wave insisted that they drop him and say their final goodbyes to their friend. While they were in the car, Shadow told the couple what happened before he left between him and Raven. Jet thought it was very childish of her to do, and Wave expected her to go and pull a stunt like that.

Soon enough, they arrived at the airport. They parked and stepped out of the car to help Shadow get his luggage from the trunk.

"Look at it this way, at least you won't be running into Raven when you get back home," Jet joked.

Shadow shook his head as he chuckled. "I wouldn't know what to do if that were to happen. Like I told you earlier, you guys should visit soon. I can properly introduce you ti everybody."

"And I can officially meet Amy," Wave said with a giggle as she held her daughter. Sky reached out for Shadow, who gladly took her in his arms. "Aww looks like someone got attached to you."

Shadow tossed Sky in the air a few times, earning him some giggles and squeals from the baby. Wave smiled as she the cute scene before her. She knew that Shadow was always good with kids, and she defiantly knew that one day he'll be a great father. After Shadow gave Sky a kiss on the cheek, he handed her back to Wave.

"I better get going," said the ebony hedgehog as he grabbed his things. "I don't want to miss the plane."

"Yeah, don't want to spend another day getting tormented by a psycho bitch," Jet said with a smirk. He and Shadow did their bro hug and then Shadow hugged Wave. Before he turned to leave, Sky waved her little hand at the ebony hedgehog. Shadow smiled and waved back.

He walked inside the airport, went through security, and quickly boarded the plane. He was lucky to be seated back in first class. He immediately made himself comfortable as he leaned back in his seat, loving all the leg space that he got. After the rest of the passengers got on the plane, the flight attendants made sure every was safely seated and asked if they wanted anything.

"Hello sir," greeted a flight attendant as she approached Shadow. "Would you like a mimosa?"

"Yes. Two please."

"Oh honey! Isn't this house just perfect?!"

"I guess it is. If you compare it to the other five houses we've seen today. Ms. Rose, what's the benefits of this house?"

Amy has been on her feet all morning long giving her clients a tour of the best houses she can find. Her clients we're a married couple with two kids. It's been quite a struggle for Amy, considering the couple were very picky on the house they wanted. The husband, a muscular and tall tiger, wanted a house that was close enough to the city and had a pool in the backyard. The wife, a short cheetah, wanted the house to be near the ocean and close by schools for their two children.

"Well Mr. Olsen, this house is in your budget. There's three bedrooms up stairs and two down here, so there's enough space for a large family." She signaled for the family to follow her to the back of the house where there was a large double glass door that leads them to the backyard. "This house also fulfills both of your needs. There's a large pool, enough yard space for the kids to play in, and the ocean is right behind your house. And Mrs. Olsen, there's about three schools near by for the little ones."

The couple were clearly impressed with the house as they looked around in awe. Their two children were fascinated by the pool and the boats that would pass by. As the husband and wife talked among themselves, Amy was checking her phone for the time. Shadow texted her earlier that he was on the plane and that he would be here soon. She realized that she's been with this family for a while now and she doubted that she would be done in time to pick Shadow up from the airport. She was lucky that she had enough time to take Luna back to Shadow's house before she met up with the married couple.

She already tried asking her friends to see of they could get Shadow. Unfortunately, Knuckles and Sonic we're still at school coaching and Silver was at the hospital dealing with many patients. Blaze was also busy trying to sell a house to a client. Her last hope was Rouge. She hoped her bat friend wasn't busy at the moment. She excused herself from her clients and stepped away to dial Rouge's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rouge! Are you busy at the moment?"

"Nope. I'm just leaving work and heading home."

Amy sighed with relief. "Listen, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure Pinky, what's up?"

"I'm in the middle of selling a house and Shadow's plane should be landing in less than an hour. Can you pick him up for me please?"

"Sure! After I freshen up I'll be at the airport."

"Thanks Rouge! I totally owe you one."

After hanging up the phone, Amy went back to the couple.

Rouge stood outside of the airport, leaning against her car as she waited for Shadow to come out. Amy texted her that his plane has landed and that he was in the middle of getting his luggage. She also told the bat that Shadow is aware that Rouge would be the one to pick him up. The ivory bat was curious as to how Shadow was feeling. She figured he was extremely stressed and had a bunch of unanswered questions.

Suddenly, dozens of people began to walk out of the doors of the airport. Rouge looked around to see Shadow among the huge crowd. When she flew up a bit to get a better view, she saw the ebony hedgehog looking for her.

"Hey handsome!" she hollered to him over the loud crowd of people.

Shadow's head snapped over to her and grinned. He grabbed his things and walked over to the bat. "Hey Rouge," he greeted as the bat gave him a warm hug.

"I know you've been looking forward to see Pinky, but unfortunately she was busy with work."

"It's okay. It's nice to see somebody from home after the week I had."

"I bet," Rouge replied. She popped open to trunk for Shadow to out his things away. They both got in the car and Rouge sped away. "So I heard about this Raven person. She sounds like a very fun time," Rouge said with her voice full of sarcasm.

Shadow scuffed and crossed his arms as he leaned back in the seat. "She's an extreme pain in my ass is what she is."

Rouge approached a red light came to a stop. She looked over at the ebony hedgehog, who's eyes were closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Amy told me what happened, and I think that Raven had this whole thing planned out the minute she heard you would be going to New York. I mean, why would she wait to tell you something like that after not seeing her for months?"

"Even if she did had it all planned out, it doesn't matter. It doesn't help the fact that the baby looks so much like me."

The bat pouted as she looked ahead as she drove. She could hear how tired and mentally exhausted Shadow was just by the tone of his voice.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, Amy isn't really phased by it. She told Blaze and I that even if you are the father, she still wants to be with you." She looked at the ebony hedgehog from the corner of her eye and smiled. "It's clear that she deeply cares for you."

Shadow smiled and chuckled a little. "That's good to hear. You know, I thought you would of been pissed at me. Considering how protective you are of Rose."

Rouge giggled as she smirked. "This whole baby problem is completely out of your control. Now, if you were to get your ex girlfriend pregnant while you were there, then it would be a complete different story. But obviously, we don't have to worry about that."

Shadow shook his head and chuckled. He remembered when he first met the bat he could tell that she was the type of friend that was very protective and would most likely hurt Shadow if he were to screw things up with Amy.

"You should take Pinky out tonight," Rouge said with a smile. "It would really cheer her up after not seeing you for a whole week."

Shadow smiled as he took his phone out. "You read my mind."

"Come on, Sal. We're gonna miss out on the food!"

"Mmm, five more minutes baby."

Outside of a two story home was Sonic and Sally. The engaged couple were inside Sonic's sport car having a real passionate make out session. Sally was straddling Sonic's lap as her hands roamed up and down his chest. Sonic's hands found their way gripping onto Sally's firm backside. The house that they were outside of was Sonic's mother's house. Instead of nearly being intimate in the car, they were suppose to be inside having dinner with Aleena, Manic, and Sonia.

Sally's hands quickly went to Sonic's belt buckle to undo the belt, but the blue hedgehog stopped her as he grabbed her wrists from continuing.

"I know your excited babe," Sonic chuckled, "but we can't be doing this here."

Sally pouted as she rubbed his shoulders. "Are you sure? We can be quick about it."

"I'm sure you wouldn't want anybody catching us, right?"

"I guess." She smirked as she leaned towards her fiance's ear. "We better finish what we started when we get home."

Sonic smirked back. "That's fine with me."

xXxXx

Sonic and Sally had finally made it inside the house and were now seated with everybody else to enjoy dinner. Usually, Sally wouldn't even think about being at Sonic's mothers house for dinner, but that was then. This is now. Sonic has noticed how much Sally's attitude has changed over these past few weeks. And he wasn't complaining about it.

Before, Sally would always complain about the smallest things. She would bitch and whine if things didn't go her way. And she would always have a nasty attitude for no reason. But now, she was all smiles. She started to attend family dinners. She stopped being passive aggressive towards Sonic and the others. She stopped spending so much time with Fiona with their daily shopping sprees and has spent more time with her fiance. Most importantly, things have heated up in the bedroom, much to Sonic's pleasure.

Aleena enjoyed having her children, plus Sally, over for dinner. It was a chance for her to catch up on their own busy lives.

"So Manic, how are things with you're band going? And how's that beautiful girlfriend of yours?" asked Aleena as she poured herself some wine.

"It's going well, mom. We just are last gig two days ago and now we're taking a month long break from touring. And Stacy is doing fine. She got a new job to be a kindergarten teacher at a new school. This week was her first week actually."

"Well that's good to hear. You should invite her over for the next dinner if she isn't busy." She turned her attention over to her daughter. "And what about you Sonia? How's work going?"

Sonia shrugged her shoulder as she took a sip of her wine. "Same old, same old. Tomorrow I'm taking pictures of new born babies, so that's something to look forward to."

"Aww how cute," cooed Aleena.

The thought of babies made her think of one day of finally becoming a grandparent. She was excited for one of her children to bless her with that opportunity. Manic and his girlfriend were still fresh in their relationship, so the thought of them having a baby was pointless. Sonia is currently single and is dating here and there looking for a guy that catches her attention. That left Sonic and Sally. They were getting married, so kids normally be the next step for them.

"So you two," said Aleena as she looked at the engaged couple, "the wedding is quickly approaching, isn't it? Are you excited?"

Sally squealed as she leaned on her fiance. "I can't wait! Everything is ready for the wedding. The cake, the decorations, all the guests will be there. Sonia will be taking our pictures, Manic is going to have his band perform. I even got the perfect dress that I wanted! Just a few shorts before I become Mrs. Hedgehog." Sonic chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Sally.

Aleena smiled from ear to ear as she clasped her hands together. "So exciting! And speaking of babies, have you two thought about having some of your own?"

Manic and Sonia gave each other a look before they looked at their brother. "Well Sonic and I have talked about it, but we never thought about how many. But if had to answer now, I would maybe we would have..." Sally hummed in thought before she looked back at Aleena. "Six kids?"

Sonic nearly choked on his beer when he heard what Sally said. Manic simply leaned back in his seat as he looked at his brother with a lazy stare as Sonia looked at Sally with wide eyes/

Aleena was also taken back but smiled anyway. "Wow, I didn't expect that much. But I'll be looking forward to it!"

After they were done having dinner, Aleena had Sonia and Sally join her in the kitchen to prepare desert. Manic and Sonic went over to the living room, taking a seat on the comfortable couches. Both brothers were leaned back into the couch. One looking completely relaxed, while the other looked as if he saw a ghost.

Manic turned to look at his brother and shook his head. "You poor damn fool."

"What?" asked Sonic with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't even whats happening. Sally is trying trap you bro. Six kids? Not even two? Sounds pretty sketchy to me."

Sonic rolled his eyes and waved his brother off. "I don't think she was serious. You know mom is waiting for us to have kids and what not. Sally probably just said that to please her."

Manic chuckled as he reclined in the sofa with his hands behind his head. "Just warning you, bro. Better kiss that Corvette of yours goodbye and say hello to the infamous mini van." The green hedgehog laughed some more as he nudged his brother. "Just picture it. You and Sally, riding around with six brats in the van. And instead of getting a beer with me and the bros, you'll be busy car pooling for your kids soccer team. And Sally won't be looking too hot and sexy after popping out six kids, unless ya'll got enough money to spend of plastic surgery."

"Not funny Manic," Sonic mumbled as he slouched in his seat. "We've talked about having kids at least three times. I don't mind having any, but six?! I don't even have experience with taking care of babies."

The green hedgehog whistled as he twiddled his thumbs. "There's always Google to teach you."

Sonic turned his head to look at his brother with a blank face. "You're making this worse."

"It's what I'm hear for."

Amy was happily skipping around her room as she was getting ready for her date with Shadow. The ebony hedgehog texted her earlier to formal for dinner tonight. She was super excited to see her boyfriend after this week. To her, this whole week felt like a month since he's been gone. Her mood would of been better if her monthly friend still wasn't on, but she was going to try her best to ignore it for tonight.

The pink hedgehog was dressed up in a scarlet red form fitting dress that ended just above the knees and the top of the dress showed an appropriate amount of cleavage. On her feet was black stilettos with red bottoms that matched perfectly with her dress. Her long hair was up in a high pony tail, and she wore diamond stud earrings. Her smokey eye makeup was done perfectly, including her red lipstick to complete her look. She wanted to look perfect for her date.

As she was spraying on some perfume, her door bell rang. She got butterflies at the thought of her handsome boyfriend standing right outside her door. She quickly grabbed her purse and walked down the stairs. She quickly checked her appearance in the mirror before she opened the door. She smiled as she laid her eyes on the ebony hedgehog before her.

Shadow was dressed in a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled. He also had a few of the buttons undone to expose some of his chest fur. His shirt was tucked into grey pants, and he wore black shoes.

"Shadow, I mis-" Amy was caught of by a pair of soft lips. Shadow embraced her soft body as he wrapped his strong arms around her small waist. Amy's hands slowly crept up Shadow's neck to his quills, slowly running her fingers through them. They both slowly broke away from the kiss and looked into each others eyes.

"I've been waiting to do that all week," Shadow said as he leaned his forehead on hers.

Amy giggled and pecked Shadow's lips once more. "So have I."

xXxXx

Shadow had taken Amy to a beautiful high end restaurant. Amy has seen this restaurant before, but never got the chance to actually eat here. The restaurant was a very popular place where the cities most rich and popular people came to wine and dine.

The couple were seated in a secluded area, a good distance away from other tables. Amy looked amazed as she looked at her surroundings. "Shadow, this place is amazing. How did you manage to get us a table here? I hear you have to make a reservation about a month in advance."

Shadow sheepishly smiled. "I really want to take credit for this, but you have to thank Rouge. I told her that I really wanted to take you here, so she managed to pull some strings and got me a reservation."

"Aww that's so nice of her," Amy said as she smiled. She reached over and grab her boyfriends hand. "And thank you for taking me here. I really appreciate it."

Shadow grinned as he pulled Amy's hand towards his lips and gave it a sweet kiss. "I'm glad."

The waiter came over to the table a few minutes later to take their order. When Amy looked at the menu, her eyes widen when she saw how much the food had cost. She told Shadow that she would be fine with just eating something small from the appetizers selections, but the ebony hedgehog insisted she'd get whatever she wanted. He wanted to treat her to a good dinner after being separated for an entire week. After they placed their orders, the waiter poured them each a glass of red wine.

"So Rose," said Shadow after he took a sip of his wine, "how was your week? Anything interesting happened?"

"Not much actually. The only thing that I find interesting was going wedding dress shopping with Sally and finding out the date of the wedding."

Shadow raised his eyebrows with interest and leaned in. "I was wondering when this was suppose to be happening. When is it?"

"Two weeks after we get back from our vacation."

"Why so soon?" questioned Shadow. "With all the ideas she was throwing at you, I figured this wedding wouldn't be happening for another year."

Amy giggled and nodded her head in agreement. "I know. But I guess things are going well for Sonic and Sally so they decided to move the wedding up."

Shadow reached for the wine bottle and refilled both the empty glasses. Amy looked at Shadow's face and noticed that he looked a little run down. She could see that he had slight bags under his eyes. She narrowed it down that he had trouble sleeping while he was away.

"I'm really glad you're back, Shadow. I could tell that you were really stressed when ever we talked on face-time. Did Raven do anything else extreme before you left?"

Shadow fought the urge to roll his eyes as he heavily sighed. "She did something extreme before I left the office this morning," he groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "She came to my office this morning with the baby."

Amy was about to take a sip of her wine, but quickly paced back on the table. "She did? Why?"

"She wanted to show me what I've been missing for ten months," Shadow replied. He dug in his pocket and pulled out his phone. "I wanted to show you this later on, but I just show you now since we're on the topic. While I was unpacking at home, Raven decided to send me an email." After scrolling through his phone for a few more seconds, Shadow handed his phone to his girlfriend.

There was a picture of Raven dressed in a revealing one piece swim suit, holding the ebony baby hedgehog in her arms. Below was a short message.

"I still can't believe that you're denying the fact that Sage isn't your son. You and I both know that he is yours. Just stop lying to yourself. Sage looks so much like you and everybody knows it. You running back to Florida and hiding away with your lame girlfriend doesn't mean you can just ignore me. If you're a real man, you would get your ass back on a plane to New York and help raise Sage with me. Sage doesn't deserve to grow up without a father. It wouldn't be fair to him. And if you ignore this, I'll just keep messaging you until you finally reply."

After Amy read through the message, she rolled her eyes as she exhaled. "She sounds lovely," she said sarcastically.

"Very," Shadow said as he took his phone back. "Rose, answer this honestly. Do you think I'm the father?"

The pink hedgehog hummed in thought as she thought about the question. She sighed deeply and looked into her boyfriends eyes.

"I want to say no, but he does look like you. Just from looking at that picture of him, I can see features from Raven and possible features from you. Even his quills are like yours, beside his blue strips." Amy noticed that Shadow was somewhat slouched in his seat with his eyes closed. She frowned as she reached for both of his hands and held them. "Listen to me Shadow. What ever happens with this whole situation, if your the father or not, I'll support you with whatever you decide to do. I know that this isn't easy for you. I'm just really worried about you and I hope you don't drive yourself crazy because of Raven."

Shadow couldn't help but smile as he gently squeezed her hands. "You were constantly on my mind since I've been gone. There was never a moment when I wasn't thinking about you." He pulled her hands towards his face and kissed them gently, making her blush. "When I told you about me possibly being a father, I thought for sure that you leave me. It was a first time in a while when I felt really anxious. But after I told you everything that happened, and you were so accepting of it, I knew for sure that you really about. Just like I really care about you."

Amy was smiling ear to ear as her blush darkened. Shadow took another breathe and looked into her eyes. "Being away from you for only a week made me realize how much I care about you. You were all that I thought about. I looked forward to hearing your voice and seeing your beautiful face. You're not like other women, Rose. You have a caring heart and an amazing personality. I counted done the days till I could have you in my arms again." Shadow leaned closer to the table as he kept Amy's hands in his. "What I'm trying to say is that...I love you, Rose."

Amy silently gasped as a few tears managed to roll down her cheeks. She's been dreaming of this moment and it was finally happening. She looked into Shadow's crimson red eyes and smiled. "I love you too, Shadow. So much."

The ebony hedgehog reached over and wiped away her tears. He gently pulled her face towards his and kissed her lips tenderly.

"There's nobody else like you."

After they ate their dinner and enjoyed some dessert, the hedgehog couple left the restaurant and where standing outside of Amy's house. The two of them stood there, gazing into each others eyes with smiles on their faces. They haven't spoken a word since they've gotten out of the car, but there was no need to. The silence between them was comfortable.

Without warning, Shadow dove in and kissed Amy deep;y on her soft lips. The pink hedgehog was shocked at first, but quickly melted into his arms and wrapped hers around his neck. She rubbed her fingers slowly through his quills as his hands massaged her hips. Shadow pulled back from her lips and went for her neck, kissing it sensually. He sucked and nibbled on her soft skin as she moaned at the warm wonderful feeling.

In a quick motion, Shadow lifted Amy in his arms. Her arms were still wrapped around his neck as she wrapped her legs around his hips. Shadow then opened the door to the house, walked in, and shut the door behind them. With the pink hedgehog still in his arms, he made his way upstairs to her bedroom. Once there, he gently placed her on the bed and crawled on top of her.

Amy continued to moan as Shadow sucked on her neck harder and gently sucking her breast. She almost lost it when Shadow started to grind his hips into hers at a slow but powerful pace. As Shadow continued his sweet torture, Amy suddenly opened her eyes as she remembered something. She desperately wanted to continue on with their passionate moment, but she couldn't.

"Shadow," she moaned his name as she gently patted on his back.

"Yes, my Rose," he answered with a seductive tone.

Amy bit her lip and sighed. "We can't do this. Not yet at least."

Shadow pulled his head away from Amy neck and looked into her eyes. "Is there something wrong? Am I moving to fast?"

"No. No, that's not it at all." She closed her eyes as her cheeks darkened a bit with a shade of red. "...I'm on my period."

The ebony hedgehog smiled as he nuzzled back into her neck. "It's okay, Rose. I'm not upset or anything." Amy sighed a breathe of relief and giggled as she rubbed his back. "It's not like you can control it anyway."

"Well, if you can, do you think you can stay here for the night?"

Shadow lifted his head and kissed her softly on the lips. "Of course I will."

The couple got comfortable on the queen sized bed. Shadow rested on his back as Amy laid herself on his muscular chest. She yawned and snuggled into his exposed chest fur.

"Good night, Shadow."

"Good night, Rose."

Amy smiled and closed her eyes. "I love you."

Shadow kissed the top of her head and sighed with content. "I love you, too."

Authors note: Yay! This chapter took me a while to write lol

I hope you guys liked this one!

What did you think about Raven bringing Sage to Shadow's office? Do you think he's the father? And how do you think things will be now between Raven and Shadow now that his back home? Aslo, what do you think about Sally suddenly being nice? And wow! Six kids? Manic's right. Sonic will be kissing that Corvette of his goodbye.

Make sure to leave your reviews!

Thanks for reading! :)