Becoming Home

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, then I don't own it.

A/N: For Whumptober 2022 #19 Enough is enough- Head lolling

Maddie watched the clock worriedly as breakfast cooled around her. Sonic was an energizer bunny and by this point in the morning was usually up and down stairs. She had called up to him to let him know the food was ready but hadn't gotten an answer. Maybe he had been hit by teenage laziness or had just stayed up too late. Tom had left for an early shift already. She and Sonic usually shared breakfast before she was needed at the clinic. Sonic was more of a night owl, probably on account of being raised by one in his formative years, and rarely woke up early. The time the two spent eating the first meal of the day together was something Maddie had come to treasure. Sonic was enthusiastic and endlessly curious. He would talk happily between bites. Asking questions and telling stories of the things he'd seen. She bit her lip contemplating what to do next. She had to leave for work soon. With a small sigh, she started climbing the attic stairs. She would make sure he was okay and then let him know the food was in the fridge when he was ready to get up. She didn't want to crowd him after he had lived in isolation for so long. He was still getting used to living with others. He had only moved into their house a few short weeks ago, she didn't want to scare him away.

The room was messy, things were strewn about as if a tornado had come through. She smiled at the normalcy of it. Sonic must be settling in if he felt he could keep his space however he wanted to. Her smile fell from her lips as her eyes finally settled on her blue charge. Sonic was huddled under his blanket shivering and moaning. He tangled the fabric around his body as he moved in agitation on his bed trying to find a position to ease his discomfort.

"Hey buddy, you not feeling good?" She asked, coming to kneel beside his racecar bed.

The human placed her hand on the blue fur of his head as she had done in past with her niece when she was sick. The warm fur hid any signs of fever even if she knew what was an abnormal temperature for the child-sized hedgehog. She kicked herself mentally for not creating a baseline for wellness when she had had a chance. She didn't know what was healthy for the alien being under her care, let alone what was a danger. There was no one she could go to for help or advice if they were in trouble. If it came down to it she and her husband were the only people standing between him and death. Nobody else on the planet knew him as deeply or completely as the two humans that took him into their home, lives, and hearts.

She remembered when she first saw Sonic. Her husband had brought the unconscious hedgehog to her care, hoping she could help the young alien. Out of her depth, she had told Tom, "I'm a vet, Tom, I don't even know what I'm looking at here." She hadn't known then how much the little blue guy would change and enrich her life.

"Longclaw," He cried out reaching for her in a fevered frenzy.

"I'm sorry Baby," She stroked back the spikey blue fur on his head in a soothing motion, "It's me, Maddie."

"Pretzel lady," Sonic smiled, reaching up to grip the hand combing through his fur.

"Yeah," She gave a little laugh, "But I need you to tell me what's bothering you."

He rattled off a list of symptoms. Maddie took note of them; her mind working overtime between her advanced knowledge of animal ailments and biology. She pulled out her phone to cross reference what she knew of human illness. She hoped overlapping the two would help her best diagnose the anthropomorphic hedgehog. Praying she wouldn't make things worse for Sonic she decided on a diagnosis and regimen of medicines to help him recover.

"I need to go grab my bag," She explained, standing up.

Sonic's hand snaked out latching onto her and refusing to let her leave. "Don't leave me," He begged.

"Sonic I need to go get things to help you feel better," She tried to reason with him, "I just want to help you get well again. I'll be right back. "

"Everybody leaves me."

"I'm not leaving you, I promise."

"Promises can be broken."

"The power bump is an unbreakable promise, remember?" She held out her fist, waiting.

His large eyes studied her for a long moment. He had lost so much in his short lonely life. He needed to learn to trust again. It was one thing to accept help when the world was in danger but what about when he just didn't feel good? Could he trust himself to another's care when he was too weak and sick to care for himself? He didn't have the strength to run. Could he stay here with Maddie with no secondary exit strategy and really let her care for him? He slowly and tentatively brought his fist up to meet her own.

She gave him a blinding smile before she quickly left the room. He lay in bed just waiting for her to return. Doubts circled his mind as he tried to be patient, something he wasn't very good at. Finally, he felt she should have been back by then. What if she was in trouble? What if she was hurt and needed him? He needed to go to her, quickly.

"Gotta go fast," He mumbled, trying to get up. His weak body refused to cooperate.

"Sonic," Maddie rushed back into the room, carrying a large medical bag. She had taken longer than she had planned. Calling into work to let them know she wouldn't be coming in today had taken some time as she went over the schedule with her assistant. She had tried to hurry to gather her supplies not liking leaving Sonic alone so long.

"You're okay," Sonic sighed, his head lolling onto his shoulder as it became too heavy to hold up any longer, "You came back."

"Stay in bed, you need lots of rest," She pushed him back down, tucking his blanket securely around him.

"But tonight is movie night," His large eyes filled with moisture at the thought of missing out on the family activity.

"How about if we move you to the couch, later," She smiled, "You can rest there and we can still watch a movie together."

"I was afraid I'd be alone forever," He confessed quietly. His fever-bright green eyes met her concerned brown ones.

"Never, you have us now," She tapped his round black nose with a smile, "Let me go make you some soup. Then I'll read to you until you fall asleep."