Maddie took a sip of her coffee, right before another yawn escaped. This morning's alarm had gone off entirely too soon for her liking. Normally a perky morning person, she sat quietly today, scrolling through some files on her work laptop. The coffee was taking its good sweet time kicking in.
At the other end of the kitchen island, her husband wasn't doing much better. Tom, who was decidedly not a morning person, sat with his elbow perched on the counter, chin in the heel of his hand. His eyes closed, and Maddie could have sworn she heard a snore.
"Tom," she called, and he jerked slightly. "Get some more coffee."
"Ugh," he groaned, dragging himself to the pot. "Whose bright idea was it to watch all the Lord of the Rings extended editions yesterday?"
"Yours."
"Then whose bright idea was it to start at noon?"
"Also yours." She took a sip and adopted a deeper tone to her voice. "'It won't be that bad, c'mon it'll be fun.' That's what you said."
"Right," he muttered, refilling his cup.
"Even though you knew we both had busy days scheduled today, and I said it was too late to start a marathon."
"I know." He ran a hand over his face. "You don't have to rub it in."
"'Fun', you said."
"I admit I may have under-estimated the amount of time they would take to watch," he said, sitting back at the counter. "But Sonic hadn't seen them before and it was raining all day yesterday anyway, so what else were we gonna do?"
She merely raised an eyebrow.
"Once the coffee kicks in we'll be fine," he said, sliding over to her side. "But if it will keep me out of the doghouse, I'll make supper tonight."
Maddie considered this, before giving him a sly smile. "Tonight and tomorrow. And you pick me up some of those cinnamon rolls I love from Guilty Pleasures Desserts."
"Oh, playing hardball," he said with a smile. "What the queen desires, so shall she have." He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the neck.
She giggled, giving him a little shove. "Don't try to butter me up." She paused, and glanced back toward the stairs. "Have you heard blue boy up yet?"
He shook his head. "We didn't go to bed until nearly midnight. Maybe he's still sleeping."
"Well if he's not up soon he's not gonna get a goodbye kiss," Maddie said, moving toward the stairs. "Soni—oh!" She startled when the blue hedgehog slumped off the stairs and into the hall. "There you are, sleepyhead!"
Sonic looked up at her, his eyes half-lidded. He yawned. "'Morning, Pretzel Lady."
"Good morning, sweetie," she said, giving him a gentle head stroke. "How did you sleep?"
The boy shrugged. "Okay, I guess." He pulled himself onto the stool by the kitchen island. "Still pretty tired."
"Gee, I wonder why." Maddie have her husband a pointed look, and he suddenly found his phone incredibly interesting. "Well, when we head out, you can go back to bed if you need. Get some rest."
"'Kay." The boy looked like he was already half-asleep.
"Did you want anything specific for breakfast?"
Sonic shook his head. "'M not really hungry."
"Again, I wonder why." Another pointed look and this time Tom ducked his head as he sipped his coffee. "Couldn't be because of the metric ton of snacks a certain someone insisted on yesterday, could it?"
Tom glanced at his watch. "Oop, look at that, I'd better get going," he said, putting his coffee cup in the sink and rushing around the island. "Bye bud, be good," he said, giving the boy a quick head pat. "Bye babe, love you a super bunch!" A quick kiss on the cheek. "Gotta go!"
When the front door closed, Maddie turned to Sonic, shaking her head. "I swear, sometimes it's like I've got two kids." She paused when she got a good look at the boy. "Are you feeling okay? You look a little . . . well, off."
The hedgehog didn't so much as nod, as simply lean his head forward until it rested on the counter. "'M really tired."
Maddie moved close to him, gently lifted his head, and rested a hand on his forehead. "You feel a bit warm."
"'T's all this fur."
"No, warmer than usual." She checked her watch and uttered an annoyed grunt. "I need to get going but I want to take your temperature."
Sonic waved a tired hand in her direction. "'M fine, Maddie. You go on. I'll probably just go back to bed."
She gave him an uncertain look. "You sure? I can be a few minutes late-"
"Go," he said, pushing himself to sit more upright. "I'm fine. You go be super vet. The pets of Green Hills need you." He gave her a weak smile. "Really. Go."
Maddie studied him for a moment, before closing her work laptop and sliding it into her messenger bag. "Okay, but if you need anything, you call my cell. If I don't pick up, call the clinic."
The boy nodded. "I will."
"I mean it, Sonic," she said, slipping the bag strap on her shoulder. "Don't worry about bothering me or being too much trouble. If you need me, for anything, you call."
He nodded again, pulling his finger across his chest in an 'X'. "Promise."
The woman glanced toward the front door before looking back at the boy. Something was nagging at the back of her mind. He didn't look great, but so far the only symptoms were fatigue and lack of appetite—two things that were easily explained by yesterday's ill-timed movie marathon and snack binge. He didn't feel like he had a fever, but a nagging thought poked her all the same.
"You're gonna be late," he said with a slight roll of his eyes. A small smile curled the corner of his lips. "Don't worry about me. I've taken care of myself for a long time, remember? I'll be fine."
She furrowed her brow as she leaned down to kiss the top of his head. "You don't have to take care of yourself anymore, remember? That's what you've got me for." She headed toward the door, turning back as she pulled it open. "I'm holding you to your promise!" she said as she stepped through. "Call me for anything!"
"You're gonna hit traffic!" he called back, giving her a little wave as she closed and locked the door behind her.
X~X~X
Sonic rested his crossed his arms on the counter and lowered his head onto them once the door latched behind Maddie. He glanced at the microwave clock—7:08.
The idea of getting down and climbing all those stairs up to the attic to go back to bed exhausted him.
It couldn't hurt to close his eyes for a minute before heading upstairs. For some reason he was just so tired this morning. Sure they'd gone to bed later than normal, but this fatigue seemed different than 'not enough sleep' tired.
His eyes drooped closed.
X~X~X
A few minutes later, the hedgehog opened his eyes. The microwave clock now read 8:43.
That can't be right. He hadn't been asleep for over an hour and a half. Had he?
The first thing Sonic became aware of was the chill. He shivered, as though he were standing in front of an open freezer. Goosebumps ran up and down his arms, and his fur stood almost on end.
The second thing he felt was a thumping in his head. A headache had moved in as he slept. His sinuses throbbed with each pound of his head, his nose suddenly stuffy.
He swallowed and grimaced. Add a scratchy throat to this growing list of body complaints.
Sonic sat up straight and grabbed his stomach, uttering a pained grunt. It churned, hot and painful. Saliva flooded his mouth. His throat tightened.
During the years on his own, he'd eaten the occasional bit of bad leftover food. He knew what was coming.
Slapping a hand over his mouth, Sonic slid off the stool and ran for the downstairs bathroom.
X~X~X
"Any calls from home, Lexi?"
The woman at the front desk checked the message pad. She shook her head. "No, none that I can see."
Maddie sighed, tapping a pen on the open file in front of her. That nagging thought was still there, becoming more noticeable. "Let me know right away if any come in, will you please?"
"Sure, Maddie. Are you expecting a call?"
The vet drew her brows down. "Not necessarily," she said, adding a note to the file and placing it in the filing bin. "Sonic just looked a little . . . I don't know, off this morning." She gave an embarrassed smile and shrugged. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."
"Paranoid about what?" Dr. Naya Singh, another vet at the clinic, walked up to the counter to hand Lexi a file.
"She's worried about Sonic," Lexi said, placing the new file with the one Maddie had handed over. "He was acting off this morning."
Naya turned to Maddie. "Think he may be coming down with something?"
Maddie shook her head. "I don't know. I'm not entirely sure how viruses affect him, honestly. He hasn't been sick since we took him in about three months ago. I don't know how well his immune system works against, well, Earth bugs."
"There is that new strain of flu going around," Lexi said, handing Naya a new file. "Took down a few of my kids' friends last week. Supposed to be a really nasty one."
Naya nodded. "If he spent a good portion of his life avoiding people, he may not have built up a tolerance to viruses like the rest of us."
"I thought about that," Maddie said, uttering a heavy sigh. "Now that he's living with me and Tom, every otherwise harmless bug we bring home could really put the whammy on him."
Lexi picked up the office phone and placed it in front of Maddie. "Call him. Put all our minds at ease."
Maddie smiled, picking up the receiver. "Well, if it'll make you guys feel better, okay."
She dialed her home number.
X~X~X
The phone rang.
And rang.
And rang.
Sonic heard it from his spot on the bathroom floor. He lay curled in the fetal position, shivering, clutching his rioting belly.
He had just made it into the bathroom when the contents of his stomach made a spectacularly dramatic, and noisy, re-entry into the world. There had been calm for a minute as he sat on his knees, panting and clutching the rim of the toilet bowl, and then his guts demanded an encore presentation. Another retch and his stomach quieted. For the moment.
Now he lay on the floor, eyes tightly closed, mouth tasting of bile. Every muscle ached, and his throat burned. His head pounded.
And he was so. Dang. Cold.
The phone stopped ringing. It had been Maddie. He was sure of it. She was checking in on him, her worry from this morning urging her on.
Despite his current condition, he felt a pang of guilt. He had broken his promise. If he had been in any position to answer the phone, he would have told her that he was sick, really, really sick, could she please come home. He knew she had a busy schedule, and any other day he would have suffered in silence to let her work.
But right now, he wanted to be selfish. He didn't want to be alone as his stomach tried to turn itself inside out.
And this had snuck up on him so quickly, there was no time to call her before. He hadn't felt this terrible when he came downstairs, or when she had left for work.
His stomach gave another roll and he groaned, sitting up to grab the toilet for another full-body heave.
The phone rang again.
X~X~X
"Still no answer?" Lexi asked as Maddie hung up the receiver.
Maddie shook her head.
"Maybe he's sleeping and doesn't hear it."
"Maybe."
Lexi handed the vet a few files. "I hate to say it, but your next patients are waiting. Do you want me to keep trying?"
Maddie thought for a second before shaking her head. "No, if he's sleeping I don't want the phone to disturb him. I'll try again in a little bit."
Lexi nodded as Maddie turned to tend to her next patient. That nagging thought was starting to get louder.
X~X~X
Tears rolled down Sonic's muzzle as his belly twisted and clenched.
He had vomited enough times that any solid matter in his stomach had been expelled. All that came up now was orange bile. His throat burned.
And still his stomach churned. It seemed to have chosen to rebel against him.
He was sore. From the top of his head, to the ends of his toes, to the tip of his tail, he ached. The muscles around his ribs most of all, from the sheer power of his vomiting. Every shiver that raced through his body worsened that ache.
He cried, drawing his knees up to his head.
Please, he begged, squeezing his eyes closed against the raging headache. Someone help me. I don't want to be alone.
X~X~X
Half an hour later and that nagging thought was more like a screaming warning.
Maddie had tried to call home another three times, twice from her cell and once more from the office phone. Still no answer.
Something was wrong. She knew it. She felt it.
She pulled her cell out and tapped her husband's contact.
"Hey babe," came the answer after the third ring. "What's up?"
"Hey hon," she said, trying not to sound as panicked as she felt. "Can you swing by the house and check on Sonic? He was a little off this morning and I'm a bit worried about him. He's not answering the phone."
"Maybe he's just sleeping," her husband said. "It was a pretty late night."
"Maybe," she said, rubbing a temple with two fingers. "But I'd feel better if I knew he was okay."
"Can it wait? Wade and I are just about to head out to check out some damage at Wilson's farm-"
"If you check on him you can forget about the cinnamon rolls," she said, her voice sharper than she intended. "Please, Tom."
Silence on the line for a few seconds. "You're really worried about him, aren't you?"
"Yes, I really am. Can you please just do this for me?"
A short muffled conversation on her husband's end of the line, then he was back. "Okay, I'm heading over right now. I'll call you when I get there."
Maddie let out a sigh. "Thank you, babe."
She hung up and tried to focus on her next patient. It wasn't easy.
X~X~X
"Sonic?" Tom called, kicking the front door closed behind him. "You okay, bud?"
Ozzy ran up and welcomed some head pats as the sheriff moved toward the stairs. "Hey boy, where's your big brother?" Tom reached the bottom of the stairs and called up. "Sonic?"
A soft sound floated to his ears, and he stopped, listening hard. There it was again. Coming from the downstairs bathroom.
"Sonic?"
The bathroom door was slightly ajar, and Tom could hear a combination of sounds now—soft moaning, a pained grunt, and sniffing.
"Bud?"
He pushed the door open and found the little blue hedgehog huddled under a towel, shivering violently and whimpering. The inside of the toilet bowl was tinted orange.
"Holy crap," he breathed, kneeling and gathering the boy into his arms. Even through the towel Tom felt the heat radiating off the hedgehog. "Sonic? What happened, bud? Can you hear me?"
Sonic gave a small grunt and peeked one eye open. "T-tom?"
"I'm here, buddy. What happened?"
"D-don't feel good," the boy muttered. His teeth clattered together loudly. "Threw up." He grimaced. "A lot."
"Hang on, kiddo," Tom said, fishing his phone out if his pocket. "I've got ya."
X~X~X
"Is he all right?" Maddie asked, clutching her phone tightly. Lexi and Naya looked on, wearing identical expressions of concern. "Please tell me I was being stupid."
"Your intuition was right on the money," her husband said, and it sounded like he was on speaker. "He's throwing off heat like a blast furnace, threw up a bunch of times, and is pretty miserable."
Maddie closed her eyes and cursed herself. She should have listened to her gut this morning. Should have spent just another five minutes checking him out. Instead she brushed it off and went to work, leaving the poor boy to be sick all alone.
"You've got to get his fever down," she said, pushing past her guilt and focusing on what can be addressed now. "All that thick fur of his is probably keeping that heat trapped close to his body. That's not good."
"Already on it," Tom said, and there was a hissing sound. "I'm giving him a cool shower. Is there any way you can get home? He's been asking for you."
Maddie's heart about stopped. Sonic was asking specifically for her? The shock must have traveled to her face, because Naya reached forward and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I'll cover the rest of the afternoon," she said, a kind smile on her lips. "You go on."
Maddie shook her head. "I couldn't leave you-"
The other woman shook her head. "You've covered for me plenty of times when my Olivia was sick. It's time I returned the favor."
"I'll do some schedule juggling," Lexi said, giving her hand a dismissive wave. "There are some appointments this afternoon that can wait. Family emergency. You go take care of your boy."
Maddie looked between the two and gave them a grateful smile. "Thank you both." She turned back to her phone. "I'll be home as quick as I can."
"Okay, good. Oh, can you give Wade a quick call and explain what's going on?"
She said she would and hung up. Hurrying to her office, Maddie had one thought running through her mind.
He asked for me. He's sick and wants me to be with him. God I love that boy.
X~X~X
Tom stood in the shower, stripped down to his boxers, cradling a sick little hedgehog to his chest.
The cool water ran off his shoulder, gently cascading over the boy in his arms. Sonic was soaked, his blue fur clumping together. But Tom thought he didn't feel quite as hot as he did when they had stepped in.
Sonic had thrown up once more in the shower, not long after the cool water hit him. He had pulled his shoulders in, followed by a lunge forward, reaching for the bottom of the tub. Tom had lowered him, hovering nearby as the boy perched on his hands and knees, his little body convulsing as he heaved. Bright orange bile splashed in the tub, and Sonic had uttered a soft sob afterward. Tom could sympathize. Throwing up SUCKED.
"It's okay," the man had soothed once the boy had finished. He picked Sonic up and returned him to lean against his chest. "I know it feels horrible right now, but it'll pass." He wiped the hedgehog's muzzle with a damp washcloth. "It will pass."
Sonic groaned, holding tightly to Tom's arms. His gloves and socks lay in a heap underneath Tom's uniform, they had been stained with his previous vomit episodes. Without them, he seemed especially naked and vulnerable.
Tom ran a hand down the boy's quills. Heat blossomed in his chest, and he blinked back tears that loomed.
This boy. This strange boy. This amazing boy.
His boy.
Tom had not given it a second thought when he found Sonic in the bathroom downstairs. He knew Wade was waiting for him. He knew he had responsibilities to tend to. His dedication to his town was, usually, absolute.
Or at least, it was up until about twenty minutes ago.
His boy was sick. His boy needed him.
Everything else could wait.
X~X~X
Maddie rushed into the house, depositing the bag of children's medicine and Pedialyte on the floor near the stairs. She hadn't wanted to make a stop, but they were woefully unprepared for a sick kid.
"Tom?" she called, taking the stairs two at a time.
"Yeah. We just got out of the shower."
Maddie hurried into the bathroom to find her husband in wet boxers, towel drying a barely conscious hedgehog.
"How's he doing?"
Tom shrugged, grabbing a fresh towel from the stack next to him. "I think I got his fever down a bit, but it's hard to tell when he's still wet." He turned, his voice soft. "He threw up again in the shower."
"Poor baby," Maddie said, moving closer to the boy. She cupped his cheek with her hand. "Sonic, honey?"
The hedgehog's ear twitched, and he seemed to force himself to open his eyes. "Maddie?" His voice was a scratchy whisper.
She nodded. "I'm here, baby. I'm sorry I left you this morning."
Sonic looked at her for a few seconds, his eyes shiny. Without a word, he lifted his arms and held them out for her. Maddie reached forward and pulled him to her, tucking an arm beneath his tail to lift him. The boy held fistfuls of her shirt, and buried his face into her neck.
"Sorry I didn't call," he whimpered in her ear, and she held back tears through sheer will.
"Oh sweetie," she soothed, rubbing his back with her free hand. "These bugs can hit fast sometimes. Don't you worry another second about it." She turned to Tom. "You go ahead and get cleaned up while I take him downstairs for some medicine."
Tom nodded, giving them both a kiss on the head before they left the bathroom.
This family thing was nice. Even with a sick kid.
X~X~X
Twenty minutes later, and Sonic's stomach finally decided to settle. It didn't feel as violently angry as it had before. His body still ached, and his ribs hurt like crazy, but that was easier to deal with than a gut full of angry hornets.
Maddie had carried him downstairs, and sat him on the counter to give him some medicine to help with the other symptoms. It tasted terrible, but the Pedialyte she had bought was better. She only let him drink a little, lest his stomach decide to revolt again.
She refused to put him down, even after he noticed his still damp fur had gotten her work scrubs all wet and covered with blue hair. She had just smiled and shrugged. "Nothing a run through the washer can't fix."
Ordinarily, Sonic didn't like to be carried. He was practically a teenager, and certainly too old to be picked up and carried like a little kid. He wasn't a baby.
But right now, still feeling like warm garbage and weak from his puke-fest this morning, it was okay. Maddie spoke to him, her voice soft and comforting, and the gentle sway as she walked was soothing. He laid his head on her shoulder.
"I have something special for you, little man," Maddie said, moving Sonic to her hip as she leaned into the hall closet.
"What?"
The woman moved some blankets around for a second before pulling out a folded quilt. She bumped the closet door closed with her butt. "My grandmother made this for me when I was about your age. She called it the 'Feel Better Blanket'."
"Really?"
She nodded, walking him to the couch. "Whenever I was feeling sick or sad, I pulled this blanket out and wrapped myself up in it." She lowered him to the couch, and opened the quilt. "It always helped me feel better."
Maddie gave the quilt a flick to smooth it, before bending down to tuck it around Sonic. He ran his furry, glove-less hands over the fabric, smiling at the soft, cool feel.
"I think you need its special magic now," she whispered, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "I'm gonna get you a little more Pedialyte. Hang tight."
She walked to the kitchen, and Sonic looked down at the covering. It was a patchwork of different patterns, colors, and fabric pieces, with reds, golds, blues, purples, and greens. A wild color combination that somehow worked together perfectly. There were places where it had been mended, different color thread held two pieces together with an almost haphazard looking stitch, but it still offered the same warmth and protection as any other piece.
"Hey, the Feel Better Blanket," Tom said as he stepped off the stairs. His hair was still damp, but he had a fresh uniform on. "That's a special honor. Maddie doesn't let just anyone use that."
Sonic looked down at the quilt. "She doesn't?"
Tom shook his head. "We dated for about two years before she even let me use it."
"It was not two years," Maddie said, rolling her eyes as she reappeared with a small straw cup. "It was one, tops. And that was because you were going through that lumberjack beard phase."
"Lumberjack beard?" the hedgehog said, a small smile on his lips. "I can't picture it."
"Don't, it was horrid," the woman said, handing him the cup. "Small sips. We don't want to tempt fate with your belly being so delicate."
Sonic nodded and sipped. So far so good. No complaint from his stomach. He gave Maddie a thumbs up.
"Good," she said, smiling. "I want you to get comfortable. You're gonna be there until I deem you well enough to return to normal life." She turned to her husband. "Heading back out?"
Tom nodded. "Yeah, I've got half a dozen voicemails and twice as many texts from Wade. I gotta check in and make sure things are okay." He looked down at Sonic. "You get some rest." The boy nodded. "You really had me worried for a while there."
Sonic furrowed his brow. "Sorry."
Tom waved a hand. "Hey, no one wants to get sick. I'm just glad Maddie's instincts sounded the alarm. I hate to think of you still lying on that bathroom floor." He turned to his wife, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll be back as quick as I can." He gave Sonic a quick fist bump and headed out.
"Okay, little man," Maddie said, arranging pillows around him. "Time to settle in for some sleep. The more rest you get, the better your body can fight this bug."
Sonic nodded, scooting over to lay down. He pulled the Feel Better Blanket up around his chin.
"I'll be right here if you need anything," she said, her voice soft. "I won't leave you again." She kissed his forehead, and he smiled.
"Thanks, Maddie."
He slept.
X~X~X
Things got bad again.
Later that night Sonic's fever spiked, alarmingly high, and they took him upstairs for another cool shower. He vomited once. His stuffy nose was joined by a cough, and the headache reappeared.
They took turns holding him, walking with him. He seemed to like that. He cried on and off, mostly due to the constant throbbing pain in his head and muscles. The medicine didn't seem to help for long—his sped-up metabolism burned through it faster than expected. They hoped his immune system would work just as quickly to overtake the invading virus.
Sonic fell into a deeper sleep just after midnight. Maddie was holding him at the time, and didn't dare put him down. She simply lay down on the couch with him on top of her. Tom covered them both with the Feel Better Blanket and sat in the chair nearby to sleep.
X~X~X
Sonic faded into consciousness, a soft, rhythmic heartbeat in his ear. For a few seconds he flashed back to his original island home, nestled safely in Longclaw's soft chest down, her large wings wrapped around him.
No. That was a long time ago. Longclaw was gone. Now he was . . .
Morning light streamed in through the windows, and Sonic squinted against it. His mouth felt dry and sticky, and his ribs still hurt. But the headache was gone, as was the bone-deep chill. His stomach was quiet and calm.
The hedgehog blinked, taking stock of his surroundings. He was in the living room, on the couch . . . he looked down. Correction, on Maddie, on the couch. The Feel Better Blanket draped over both of them. Tom was asleep in the chair, snoring softly.
Last night was a blur. Another shower, more puking, and lots of being carried. In the light of day it seemed a bit silly, and childish really, but at the time he remembered feeling . . . warm. Safe.
Loved.
He felt loved.
These new friends . . . they had dropped everything they were doing yesterday to come home and care for him while he was sick. Because they loved him.
Sonic blinked quickly, keeping the tears that threatened at bay.
Maddie stirred beneath him, and he sat up slightly. She opened her eyes, saw him, and smiled.
"Hey, Blue," she said, her voice soft. "You look a little brighter eyed this morning. Feeling better?"
He smiled, nodding. "A little." His voice was little more than a harsh croak.
"Good," she said, pushing herself to sit up. Sonic slid down to sit in her lap. "We'll get you some hydration, and maybe a bit of food, if you think you're up for it."
Not trusting his voice, Sonic nodded.
Maddie sat for a few seconds, looking him in the eyes and smiling. "I was so worried about you yesterday. I knew something was off but I didn't trust myself." She ran a gentle hand down his quills. "I'm sorry you were alone when this showed up. I should have been here."
Sonic shook his head, a little smile on his lips. "Hit me fast," he croaked.
She nodded, caressing his cheek. "Yes it did. Everything about you is fast, isn't it?" Sonic smiled, giving her a little nod. "But I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Hey," Tom said, yawning. "There's my bud." He stretched before moving next to the couch. "Looking much better, kiddo."
The hedgehog nodded, looking between the two adults. "Thank you for taking care of me." He blinked, his eyes shiny. "Really."
"Don't worry about it, bud," Tom said, smiling. He laid a gentle hand on the boy's head. "A family takes care of each other."
Sonic furrowed his brow. That word hit him in a way it hadn't before. It was easy to think about when you're healthy and feeling good ('oh yeah, we're a family, ha ha'), but now, on the downturn of a horrible illness, when he already felt weak and vulnerable, it felt heavier. More real.
The boy lowered his head, gathering fistfuls of Maddie's shirt in his hands. He wasn't going to cry. Nope. They may have rushed home to care for him, and carried him around like a baby last night, and he may have liked it—at the time, when he was really sick, but not now, nope—but he wasn't going to cry.
So he closed his eyes as the tears leaked out, and leaned forward to bury his face into Maddie's chest. His body shuddered with silent sobs. A soft hand caressed his quills, while another moved up and down his back.
They took care of him because they loved him. They loved him because he was a member of their family. They really did want him to be part of their family.
"Shh," Maddie soothed, and he could hear the smile in her voice. "It's okay. You're okay. We're right here. We'll always be right here."
"We'll always take care of you," Tom added, his voice soft. "And you'll always be family."
He cried for another minute, the sheer weight of such a realization squeezing his heart. They had used the word 'family' before, but right now, in this quiet moment, it finally hit home.
They were his family. And this was his home.
"Thank you," he sniffed, finally pulling away from Maddie. "Thank you so much for wanting me."
"You silly hog," Tom said, smiling. "How on earth could we not?"
"You have always been a Wachowski," Maddie said, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "You just took the long way coming home."
Sonic sniffed, a smile on his lips. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Sometimes I'm bad with directions."
"Yeah, well," Tom said, dropping a wink toward the boy. "So's Maddie."
His wife gave him a slap to the shoulder. "I am not."
"Trip to Yosemite," he said, standing. "2004."
Maddie pulled her lips into a tight line. "Okay, once."
"Mexico City, 2007."
"Twice."
"Niagara Falls, 20-"
"Okay," she said, pushing herself off the couch. She lifted Sonic and perched him on her hip again. "I think you'd better quit while you're ahead." She looked at the hedgehog on her hip. "How about we get you some more Pedialyte and maybe a bit of toast?"
Sonic should have protested being carried again. He felt better, and dangit, he wasn't a baby! He didn't need to be carried like this!
Instead, he curled his arms around her and nodded. "Sounds good."
She smiled, giving his nose a small boop with a finger. "You're so cute."
Sonic's cheeks flushed, and it had nothing to do with any fever.
X~X~X
Maddie called off for the day, and Tom took a vacation day. They wanted to be ready if Sonic's illness decided to make a sudden comeback.
For the most part, the hedgehog seemed to be on the mend. He slept on and off all day, and seemed to have a better appetite, but Maddie made sure to keep him hydrated and check his temperature often. As she said, bugs can hit fast, and are devious little things. They have a history of returning with a vengeance just when you think it's all over.
Tom spent much of the day sitting with Sonic, and the boy leaned against him as they watched movie after movie. Well, as much of the movie as the hedgehog saw between naps. But Tom stayed put, answering texts from Wade as his boy cuddled against him.
By early evening, it seemed as though the boy had beaten the virus. He still camped on the couch—Maddie wasn't quite ready to call him 'healthy' yet—and cuddled under the Feel Better Blanket. Maddie sat next to him, and he laid his head in her lap so she could comb her fingers through his quills. He did it, he said, because he knows she liked it.
Truth be told, they both found it soothing, and Sonic nodded off soon after she started her smooth strokes.
"Well," Tom said, watching his wife run her fingers through the boy's spikes. "Seems like we've successfully maneuvered our first sick kid experience."
Maddie nodded, smiling down at the hedgehog in her lap. "From now on I'm listening to my gut. It kills me knowing he was all by himself when it hit. He must have been so scared."
"He looked so little when I found him on the bathroom floor," Tom said, his brow furrowed. "All curled up. Just about killed me."
She nodded, her face turning serious. "It's sometimes easy to forget he's still a kid. When he's awake and well, he's . . ."
"All mouth," Tom said, and Maddie giggled.
"Don't make me laugh," she said, straining to control herself. "I'll wake him."
He smiled. "But I know what you mean. Normally he's so . . . I dunno, vibrant, I guess? Like he's so full of life and energy he practically glows." He paused. "The good kind, not the zappy-zappy kind."
Maddie nodded. "I know. Everything about him is so . . . bright. His smile, his personality . . ." She sighed. "I guess that's why he seems so small and vulnerable now. Nothing like a bug to take the fight out of a kid."
They watched him for a moment, sleeping peacefully in Maddie's lap. Her hands continued their rhythmic movements.
"I think the whole family thing finally hit him," Tom said, his voice quiet. "But you know the weird thing? It think it finally hit me too. I mean, all this time I've been saying we're a family and taking care of him like he was our kid, but yesterday . . . it really felt like he was our kid." He furrowed his brow. "Does that make sense?"
Maddie nodded. "Perfect sense. I kind of feel the same way, especially when you said he was asking for me. Before, I called him my boy and took care of him and all that, but yesterday . . ." She shrugged. "It really felt like he was my boy. And I wanted nothing more than to get home and take care of him."
Silence settled on the trio, and Tom moved to sit next to his wife. Gently, so as not to disturb the hedgehog in her lap.
"You know what I think?" he said, his voice quiet. "I think there's no turning back now. We couldn't let this kid go if we wanted to." He reached down to give Sonic's head a gentle stroke. "We're in too deep now."
His wife smiled. "I guess he's just going to have to deal with us loving him and caring about him and being here for him for the foreseeable future."
"I guess so."
Tom reached an arm around his wife, pulling her close and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
In her lap, Sonic smiled. He had woken when Maddie had laughed a few minutes ago, and listened secretly. Hearing their confessions made heat blossom in his chest, his heart full.
It felt good to be cared about. To be loved. To have a family.
And that was indeed something he could deal with.