"Alright boys, we're here. Welcome to Glacier National Park." Maddie said, getting out of the truck. Sonic jumped out of the back and looked around.
"Look at this dump." He spoke out loud.
"Give it a chance, Sonic. Tom said. This happens to be one of the best national parks in Montana, known for its peaceful scenery.
"And like your donut lords wife mentioned earlier, we all could use a break. Knuckles said. Which means we can all use a bit of peace this weekend. So suck it up, blue, or else I'll gladly knock you back all the way to your attic." Sonic flinched when Knuckles raised a fist.
"And the bonding begins. Tails said, rolling his eyes. Come on guys, let's set up camp." They spent the rest of the morning pitching their tents, setting up their campfire for later and securing any food out of sight from hungry animals. Afterwards, Tom took the boys out to the lake. They rented a boat big enough for all of them and paddled out to the middle. Knuckles looked out at the calm water.
"Ah. He breathed in. I could get used to this."
"What? All the stillness and silence? Pass." Sonic said.
"Not everything has to be action based and super fast, Sonic." His little brother said.
"Hey I thought you liked action packed adventures!"
"I do. But this is actually the first time we've slowed down in a while. It's a nice change."
"Slowing down is for old people, no offense, Tom."
"Hey watch it, I'm not that old. Tom said. And I think what Tails means is that if you don't slow down every now and then, you'll miss all of life's wonderful moments."
"Okay, I swear, everytime you speak words of wisdom, I hear Oprah's voice."
"Say the word, and I'll smack him for you, Lord Thomas." Knuckles said.
"That won't be necessary, Knuckles, and Tom is just fine. Now come on, fellas, let's enjoy the outdoors while we can. We're just here for the weekend."
"Ugh, but it's so hot." Sonic moaned.
"I can always push you in the creek." Knuckles said.
"Do that and you'll have to jump in and save me again. Remember? I don't do water!"
"And yet you are out in the middle of a lake!"
"I got something!" Tails yelled. His line moved and the fish began to pull him.
"Oh hang on, Tails. Don't let it go!" Tom shouted. He helped the yellow boy pull the pole back. Tails reeled it in and was amazed to find a gigantic fish on the end of his line. "Whoa, what is that?"
"That's a rainbow trout, and a big one at that. Nice catch, Tails!" The boys continued to cast their lines and ended up three more rainbow trout's, three herrings, and a catfish. Later that afternoon, they took their horde of fish back to the campsite where they cleaned it, skinned it, and cooked it over a fire.
"Delicious!" Tails remarked.
"I found that quite delightful. Knuckles said. My compliments to the chef."
"Why thank you, Knuckles." Maddie said, smiling.
"Alright, who wants smores?" Tom asked, bringing over gram crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows.
"Oo, right here, donut lord! Pass those over this way!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Manners, Sonic." Maddie said.
"Sorry, pretzel lady." The hedgehog blushed.
"You know you don't have to keep calling us 'donut lord' or 'pretzel lady', right?" Tom said.
"Those are the names I gave you before we met. It's how I identify you. I mean, what else would I call you except Tom and Maddie?"
"How about 'mom and dad'?" Sonic looked up at Tom and dropped the marshmallow he was holding. Tails and Knuckles gasped.
"Wait, what?" Maddie took an envelope out of her bag and handed it to Sonic. The young hedgehog took it with shaking hands. Opening the flap, he took out a few sheets of paper. It was a set of adoption papers and an official birth certificate with Sonic's age and full name, Sonic Wachowski, 14, along with his new address. "Oh my...wait. How do you guess my age?"
"That took some guess work. Maddie said. We assume your young enough to be in your early teens, but not old enough to be an adult. So we made an educated guess. So what do you think, Sonic? Would you like to, officially, be part of our family?" Sonic looked up at her.
"You, you mean it? You really want me to be your, your son?"
"Sonic, you've been like a son to us since we moved your stuff into the attic."
"That's right. We love you, blue. Tom said. But this is your choice. You don't have to say...OH!" Tom gasped when he felt a sudden force smack against his chest. He looked down and saw Sonic hugging him. Tom looked at Maddie and laughed. "Ha, I guess that's a yes."
"That is a huge yes, donut lord! I, I mean dad. Oh my God, I have parents! You have absolutely no idea how much this means to me!" He hugged Tom tight again, but this time he hugged Maddie too. Tails and Knuckles looked at them, smiling. A human couple adopting a hedgehog. What a sight.