@v@ It's here! The twelve part of my popular fiction…I wrote more than half of it today! I'm very sorry it took so long though. College is very busy and hectic… :3


Sonic: …It's about time! You have people salivating all over themselves you know…

Shadow: This is true…

. That means nothing…

Sonic: Sadist.

Shadow: Evil redhead.

Oh hush… Or I might just have to write a shounen ai fiction with you two for Sonic no Miko!

Both: o_____________o You…wouldn't….dare…..

::grins evilly::

To my semi-obsessed fans: Enjoy.

---

            The Tornado slowly descended down toward Tails' workshop, landing on the runway and slowly coming to a halt in front of the garage doors. The small fox turned off the engines and quickly turned around in the cockpit.

            " You two okay?" He asked, his eyes full of worry.

            Shadow was holding Sonic upright. The hero's head was slumped forward and his body seemed limp, almost completely devoid of life. Tails' face paled.

            " Don't worry. He just fainted…I'm surprised that he didn't do it earlier."

            Tails seemed to breathe a little sigh of relief. Shadow tried to give him a small reassuring smile. The small boy took a hold on Sonic, cupping his hands under his older friend's arms, and hovered up from the Tornado in order to get him out of it. He looked at Shadow for a moment. A hand waved him off.

            " I'll be fine. Get inside and help him. I'll be in soon."

            The fox nodded and flew toward the door with his friend. Shadow's crimson eyes watched him closely until the small boy had disappeared into the workshop with Sonic. As soon as he was gone, the hedgehog laid back, resting his head on the back of the seat. His quills bent back as he did so, pointing his nose toward the sky. His eyes closed for a moment, then slowly opened, looking up at the lightening atmosphere above him. The crest of dawn was showing its ever slowly succession against the dark blue-black heavens, full of little blips of white lights that seemed to fade away. Black dipped into blue, which in turn began to dip into lighter shades of purple and lavender. Red scanned the skies.

            I wonder…if she ever… A flash of blue. The haunting blue. His hand went to his temple. He tried not to think about it. I couldn't save her. I have to face that fact…she's dead and gone…He closed his eyes. I wish I could have…His eyes opened again. Lavender had taken over more of the sky by now. Daybreak is coming… A hand gripped at the edge of the Tornado as he pulled himself up a little. He blinked a little bit and hopped out of the biplane and headed for the workshop.

            Soon, Shadow was leaning against the doorframe of the main door, looking around. He wondered where Tails had brought Sonic and started heading toward the fellow hedgehog's room. The small mechanic quickly ran out, practically running into Shadow.

            " Oof!"

            The black hedgehog's hands grabbed at his shoulders gently to stabilize him. He noticed that the small fox was holding a first aid kit.

            " Sorry, Shadow." Tails said quietly.

            " What's wrong? Has Sonic taken a turn for the worse?"

            " No, but I don't really know what else I should do. Miss Rouge usually knows what to do when it comes to dealing with the drugs or chemicals that GUN puts into people…" He looked away.

            A frown formed on Shadow's face. " You mean with what happened to me before."

            Tails nodded slightly.

            " I see."

            " I bandaged up Sonic's wounds but I don't know what else I should do and---" His eyes widened a little. " You're also hurt and I haven't helped you at all!"

            Shadow jumped a little at the boy's outburst, then chuckled quietly.

            " Sonic's a lot worse off than I am, Tails. Don't worry."

            " But you need medical attention too…"

            " I'll get it…just not right now." A hand gently rubbed the fox's head.

            Tails blinked a little, a little surprised at the motion. He didn't say anything though.

            " Shadow." Rouge's voice came from the doorway.

            He turned his head to face her. The bat walked into the workshop, followed by the Guardian, close behind her.

            " You should be in bed resting after that whole ordeal."

            " Worry about Sonic first."

            Her green eyes blinked a little and she tapped a foot.

            " You need to be helped as well."

            " Sonic's in worse condition than I a---"

            Rouge stomped a foot and headed over toward him.

            " YOU. BEDROOM. NOW!"

            Shadow felt himself backpedal slightly, eyes wide as Rouge loomed at him. Tails' ears folded back a little as Shadow's hand removed itself from his head. The bat's ears flicked wildly as her eyes clearly showed that she was not in the mood to argue. A light growl came from her as well. Shadow knew better than to try and win this argument.

            " Okay, okay!" He raised his hands up a little.

            All she did was point to a room for him to go rest in. He didn't waste any time dawdling and soon disappeared into it. Tails looked up slowly at the white bat.
            " M-miss Rouge?"

            " Tails, be a dear and go bandage Shadow up, okay?" Her voice seemed to be sincere, but stern.

            He blinked a little and nodded, taking the small first aid kit that he had in his hands with him as he walked into the room that Shadow had fled to. Rouge's wings folded wings flexed slightly, almost as if she was going to open them as she let out a long exasperated sigh. Knuckles had been stifling his laughter well.

            " Remind me never to argue with you when it comes to injuries."

            She let out another sigh. " Please don't tease now…"

            He frowned. Rouge rubbed her temples a little.
            " You're going to have to help me with Sonic…"

            " I know." The echidna nodded.

            " You saw that hole in him…I'm shocked…that he's even alive, much less able to somewhat walk and talk…"

            " You'd be surprised what he can live through." Knuckles said, heading for Sonic's room.

***

            " Damn that woman…"

            " Miss Rouge can be rather scary at times…"

            Shadow smiled slightly.

            " Tell me about it…ow!"

            " Sorry." Tails said, adjusting the bandage so it was snug but not so tight. " That should be the last one…"

            " Thanks, kid." He stretched a little, groaning.

            " You should take it easy…"

            " Yeah, I know. Rouge's most likely going to be giving me shot or something later anyway…" He sighed.

            " That's what she did the first time, although that wasn't pretty to watch either."

            The tension in the room seemed high to Shadow. Tails was obviously worried about Sonic and he knew it. It had to be hard to just sit on the sidelines. He knew what that was like and he knew that it was extremely painful. The first aid kit shut gently with a quiet snap, causing Shadow to blink once.

            " All done…" He said quietly, looking down at the floor. 

            It took a lot not to frown noticeably. His eyes trailed down to his hands. The tattered gloves were blackened and stained with dried blood and sweat. The blood taunted Shadow to remember. His mind flashed to the blood spray. Splattering against the glass that he was being protected by. It was almost like the branding splotches wanted to stain what little white fur he had.

             Shadow flinched and tried to push the memories back into his subconscious. Not right now. I can't bear it right now. Tails saw him flinch and saw him rubbing at his hands slightly. Thinking that there was another wound underneath the gloves, the small boy pulled at them gently. Shadow snapped back to his senses, giving him a questioning look.

            " What are you…?"

            Tails had pried his gloves off and set them onto the dresser nearby. He was inspecting Shadow's hands carefully, looking up when Shadow addressed him.

            " Oh…well, I saw you wringing your hands a little, and I figured that you might have had another injury that I didn't know about…"

            A small smile formed on the hedgehog's lips.

            " Nah, my hands are fine. Don't worry about it."

            A click. Soft cloth was being applied in one spot, where there had been a larger gash on the back of his hand, despite the rest of the tiny little scrapes. Shadow barely felt it at all and hadn't even noticed it.

            " Well, I found one."

            " Funny…I didn't even feel it."

            " Sometimes that happens…"

            The bandage was secured and Tails set about putting everything away in the first aid kit again. Shadow rubbed his bandaged hand and looked down at the little fox. He seemed intent on making sure that everything was placed back in its proper spots in the kit. A stray glance at the clock. It was nearing dawn when I was sitting in the bi-plane…Poor little guy must be exhausted…A soft yawn caught his attention. The young fox had tried to hide it.

            " You should probably rest. Miss Rouge will come by when she's done help---"

            The boy trailed off as a hand rested itself on top of his head again. Blinking, he looked up at Shadow, puzzled. The hedgehog didn't say anything. His fingers gently rubbed the top of the fox's head. Tails' muted blue eyes showed the sleepiness that was trying to take over.

            " You should get some sleep, kid…" Shadow's voice was gentle and not condescending.

            " But…I can't sleep now..."

            The petting stopped for a moment. Tails rubbed one of his eyes a little with one hand. Shadow wondered for a moment about how many times that the fox stayed up past the crack of dawn. Soon, the rubbing started up again, almost as soon as it had stopped. The kitsune made a soft noise. His ears were folding slightly as sleep was taking over.

            " It'll be okay, kid…I promise. Get some rest."

            The hedgehog's voice was soft and kind. Something that simple was very reassuring to the young little fox. His resistance to sleep was failing now.

            " I don't…want…to…"

            The hedgehog's fingers barely rubbed at the boy's ear before he had to quickly catch him just as he practically fell to the floor. Shadow found him to be incredibly light, despite all the fur that covered Tails' body and tails. He swatted the first aid kit to the other side of the bed, then gently laid the boy down on the bed. The kitsune started curling up into a ball instinctively; his tails wrapping around himself like a blanket. Shadow pulled the blanket up and over the boy's shoulders, tucking him in gently.

            Tails was already in a deep sleep. That was apparent to Shadow as he watched over the small boy as he moved about in his slumber. I don't think you could wake him up if you tried…Almost as if cued, there was loud cursing from the other room, causing him to jump a little bit in surprise. It was obvious that it had to be Knuckles, since the voice was deep and overly angry sounding. The hedgehog looked toward the door for a moment, and then back to the sleeping kit, who hadn't moved. Well…at least he's still asleep… He remained silent as he listened intently. There was still cursing, only it had quieted. Then, a scream.

             Shadow jumped again, partially because of the shock, and partially because he knew it was Sonic's voice. It was long and horribly painful sounding, almost like a cry of an animal as it was being slaughtered. He had quickly placed his hands over the kitsune's ears as soon as he had heard it, so the boy wouldn't wake up to his hero's pain. Just as rapidly as it had started, the noise subdued itself, and eventually settled. He heard talking. It took every last ounce of his strength to keep him in that room. He had wanted to rush in there as soon as his fellow hedgehog's voice had sounded. His ears flicked a little as he was trying to pick up any bit of conversation between the two treasure hunters. They had been with Sonic for a long time now and Shadow's concern had been growing, especially now since that wail had been so…piercing. He wanted to know what Sonic's status was, but he was smart enough not to venture out of the room. Trying to help when he was supposed to be resting would only piss the white bat off, and Shadow really didn't want to be pelted in the head by a stray kick.

            Sitting down on the edge of the bed, the ebony hedgehog with ruby stripes began contemplating to himself. Did I do everything that I could to help Sonic when we were in the GUN Labs…? Could I have done something differently, which would have assisted him in some other way…? He held his head in his hands. Is he dead? Did he just scream his last breath…? No…try not to think about it that way…!
            " Shadow…?"

            He raised his head a little bit. Rouge was standing by the doorway, leaning against it slightly. Although tired herself, the bat maintained her composure, and noticed Tails asleep in the bed.

            " Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" She questioned; her brow raised.

            Shadow looked back down at the floor.

            " You can't expect a small child like him to wait up any longer."

            " I understand that, Shadow." She folded her arms as he turned his head to look at her again. " I expected him to get some sleep after attending to you."

            " Well, then you got what you expected."

            She frowned.

            " You need to rest too. I'll take Tails to his room so you can sleep."

            " I wouldn't move him." His gaze had gone back to the small sleeping kitsune, who had kicked off the blanket by now. The fox's ears flittered just barely as Shadow pulled the blanket up over him again. Rouge watched quietly as he did this, saying nothing, but noting everything in her mind. " He really needs his sleep."

            " The little guy is a pretty sound sleeper as it is. I've moved him around before. Sonic has done the same thing…" The bat trailed off for a second. " …So, I can move him without him waking up. Trust me."

            Shadow said nothing.

            " …Shadow?"

            " What happened in there, Rouge? I heard the cursing…"

            She blinked and looked back out the door.
            " Kind of hard not to when that boy starts up."

            Shadow bit his tongue in order not to make some sort of asinine comment about the two treasure hunters. He knew better to start it up, although Sonic would have said something if he had been standing there.

            " Please answer me, Rouge."

            Rouge looked at him with her green eyes. His eyes met hers. They could both tell. Shadow's concern for Sonic was apparent, but yet, he hid a lot of his emotions about it. She knew him a little bit better than anyone else in the workshop though, so she knew he was in pain. Not just the pain that he had suffered from the torture that GUN had put him though, but also the pain of not knowing. Wondering. Hoping that everything would be okay.

            She wasn't sure if she should tell him.

            " Rouge…"

            " Well, you see---"

            " Please, Rouge…" He interrupted, thinking that she was trying to skirt the issue.

            She bit her lip. Casting her eyes downward, Rouge frowned. It was so horrible…to see him like that…how could I explain it…? Her ears flicked as she heard Shadow get to his feet. She raised her head to look at his face once more.

            " Do you want me to beg?"

            Another blink.

            " W-what?"

            " Please, Rouge…please tell me…"

            She tried to give him a gentle smile.

            " We've done what we could, Shadow. Knuckles and I had a hard time trying to keep him still long enough to be able to help him. It was very similar to what happened when we got you here the first time…"

            Shadow listened attentively, not saying a word now. He just let her explain.

            " While Tails was tending to you, we had to try and sedate Sonic, which wasn't too difficult a task since he was already unconscious. Knuckles helped me by holding him down as I had to take his blood and give him one of the first injections."

            The sound of water running started up. Shadow looked upwards toward the second floor. Rouge blinked a little.
            " Knuckles must be taking a shower."
            " Oh?"

            She had tried not to giggle, considering that their present situation was rather serious. Shadow's brow furled just slightly.
            " What is it?"

            " Well…you know the cursing that you heard from Knuckles?"

            " Yeah, what about it…I thought something serious had happened to Sonic…"

            " Not at that moment."

            " Then…the cursing was because…?"

            " Sonic threw up on him." She stifled a laugh.

            The hedgehog blinked in disbelief, feeling a twinge in his jaws.

            " Are…you serious…?"

            " You have no idea how hard it was for me not to laugh at him right there…"

            Rouge was snickering now, although she felt horrible for doing it when it was at the expense of Knuckles' dignity. Shadow felt himself smirk, chuckling quietly. The quiet laughter only continued for about a minute, until they both stopped and looked at each other. Tails hadn't stirred during their brief minute of amusement. Soon the reality of the situation crashed down again, taunting them in their minds by playing with their guilt.

            " Um…back to the topic…"

            " Oh…of course…"

            " Why did Sonic scream…?"

            She bit her lip again.

            " They put something in him."

            " You mean like they did with me?"
            " …no."

            Ruby eyes blinked rapidly. He wasn't sure what to say, but he hoped that she would tell him. The bat seemed to fidget a little.

            " …what did they put in him…?"

            " Erm…well…we're not exactly sure what it is…"

            " Rouge…?"

            " You know that deep hole that was in his chest…?"

            " …yes…"

            " I found some sort of…sensor…embedded into it."

            His face paled. She paused, unsure if she should continue.

            " W-what does it do…?"

            " I don't know…we're going to have to test it…"

            " That's why he screamed…?"
            " I had to get it out of him…"

            " It wasn't trying to keep him alive or anything…?"

            " I don't think it had anything to do with that…or else I would have left it in there if he would have died if I took it out."

            Shadow slowly sunk to another sitting position on the floor. Her hands touched his shoulders, as she knelt down, looking him straight in the eyes. He blinked. He watched her mouth move, but did not hear what she was saying. His mind was too clouded with pity, sorrow…and rage. A fist tightened a little. Soon there was a hand on his forehead.

            He almost lashed out at her. He had restrained himself though. She was not the enemy. GUN was. That scientist who liked to chortle about the torturing was. The fucking sadist… He soon heard her voice again.

            " …You're burning up. I'm going to have to give you something for the drugs that they put in you."

            " They didn't do as much to me as they did to Sonikku…"

            " I know…I have to take your blood though. I'll give you a sedative so you can sleep tonight."

            " I…don't want to sleep…"

            " You have to, Shadow…" Rouge's voice was calm, which seemed to surprise him.

            " I'll dream…I don't want to dream…"

            " Just wait right here…I'll be right back."

            He heard her footsteps walking away from him. The floor was cold, but he didn't move from it. It seemed to feel nice against his flesh, since it seemed to get warmer and warmer. Raising a hand, he put the back of it against his forehead. I guess I do have a fever… Shadow let his arm drop with a flop, just listening quietly to the various sounds. Tails' light breathing was rather soothing, since it was calm and slow. The deepness of his sleep had made it be so quiet, as if his body was making sure that the boy wouldn't seem like he was in the way. Shadow's ears listened to the sound of running water from within the walls, remembering that Knuckles was washing up after the incident with Sonic in the other room. A small shake of his head caused him to focus on this tinkering sound that was coming from out in the hall. It had to be Rouge, since she had said that she was going to get some medicine or something like that for him. Another noise was heard. One of which sounded like a machine. Shadow paused; his ears flicking and trying to find the right sound wave that it was picking up.

            It had to be coming from Sonic's room. He felt his breathing slow for a moment as he contemplated what might be in that room. Sonic had been worse off than he was when they got out of GUN Labs, and was probably attached to some…machine that would help him get better. For some reason, that bothered Shadow. And he didn't know why. Whatever Rouge and Knuckles did to him is only to help him…but…The thought of the tube flashed in his head. Swirling blood. Helplessness. He gripped his head with both hands, making a soft sound. Stop it! Burning. Pain. He watched it torture his friend all over again in his mind. His fingers were gripping at his quills now, trying to restrain his tongue from making any noise. He was staring at Sonic's body again. Behind the glass. Pure vulnerability.

            He blinked and he was behind that glass again. NO!!!
***
            Rouge nearly dropped the glass of water that she had just filled as soon as she heard Shadow crying out. Oh no. She rushed back to the room, taking something with her. She looked to the floor instantly, since that was where he had been sitting when she left him. A ball of jet black quills with splashes of blood red color was beginning to curl up into a defensive position. He had rolled away from the bed and had pinned himself against the wall.

            " Shadow!"

            She could hear him crying. Whimpering. Begging for it to stop. She knew she had to help him. And that meant that she had to prevent him from rolling up into a ball as a defense, or else she wouldn't be able to get to him without help. Rouge walked up to him quickly, trying not to scare him any more than he was already. She quickly nudged a hand under his arm, just before he tried to roll again. The bat kept her voice shushed, trying to sound helpful as she spoke to him. He was shaking uncontrollably.
            " Shadow…it's okay…we're not going to let them hurt you again…"

            He only wailed at her. She saw the tears from his eyes. Unfortunately, his quills were being raised faster now. He thinks I'm trying to hurt him…

            " It's alright…shh…"

            Her hand pet at his arm, gently. His teeth sunk down into it. She yelped a little but did not pull away.

            " Shadow…it's Rouge…you're safe…"

            His bite seemed to let up on her hand. The curling had stopped. For now.

            " I just want to help you…"

            He wailed again, incoherent now, as if he was being choked by something. The treasure hunter only made something out about Sonic within the garbled mess of his words. He's still worried about Sonic…

            " Sonic's alright, hun…we're helping him right now…"

            The hedgehog seemed to calm slightly. A low whine came from his mouth.

            " …please let me out…"

            Green eyes blinked. The trauma of his capture is affecting him…

            " It's okay hun…you're not in the tube anymore…you got out… and you helped Sonikku, so he's safe now…just relax…"

            He uncurled just slightly, raising his head a bit. He moved his arms up a little, toward her. His hands quickly shoved at her as he moved away, trying to turn his back on her. She didn't move far, since it seemed like he didn't want to hurt her either. She moved up to him slowly.
            " Shadow…?"

            His shoulders heaved a little, making a pitiful noise. He had seemed to calm a little, and wasn't shaking as much anymore. His legs were being tucked up to his chest now. I think he's out of the delusion of being in that tube again… Her ears picked up on the gentle breathing of Tails, who hadn't woken up at all. The water wasn't running anymore. Knuckles probably heard the screams… She raised a hand to put it on Shadow's shoulder.
            " …don't…look at me…" His voice was pained, quiet and full of guilt.

            " Shadow…it's okay…I just want to help…" Her hand barely placed itself on his right shoulder.
            He swung around.

            " …Don't touch me!!"

            Rouge backpedaled slightly, thinking that Shadow was going to strike her. He swiped at her hand, keeping his head lowered so his eyes couldn't be seen, and almost raised his hand again. She quickly snatched his wrist. His other hand started to rise, but she snatched at that one again. The hedgehog stopped, trying to figure out what to do now. He could probably overpower her…and tried to pull his right hand away from her grip. She wouldn't let go.

            " You're not strong enough to be able to take me on, Shadow…" She said, remorsefully.
            " Let me go…" His tone was somewhere in between spite and mourning.

            " No, I will not do such a thing. I know it's hard Shadow…we're here for you though as best as we can be…"

            He pulled harder now.
            " Let me go, damn it!"

            Rouge tried to hang onto his wrist. This was getting no where and she knew it. She waited for him to pull sharply again, letting go as he did. Startled a little, Shadow stumbled backwards a little, but recovered just slightly. In a split second, his other hand went to hers on his other wrist, trying to pry her fingers off. He didn't care if she grabbed his hand again. He just wanted to get away. He didn't notice her pulling back herself.

            The slap hurt like hell. Stars briefly popped against the blackness of his eyelids when he winced, stumbling again. He shook his head, raising his free hand to his cheek to touch the burning flesh. Rouge was frowning. Her ears were folded over and she looked very sad to him. His cheeks were wet from his tears, which cooled the burning feeling that his cheek felt from the slap. A sniffle came from him as he rubbed his cheek, looking down.

            " I…I'm sorry…" Tears dropped from his face and onto the floor.

            She frowned a little. His shoulders were heaving now as he placed his palms against the floor, not looking at her now. Rouge moved a little closer to him, placing a hand on his head gently. He stopped for a moment, but did not lift his head. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him close. He blinked a little in shock. She gently held him, letting his head rest on her shoulder.

            " It's alright, Shadow…you're safe now…"

            He tried to pull away from her again. She wouldn't let him.

            " You can let it out…I won't tell anyone…"

            Shadow felt the tears flooding back into his eyes. No…must not show weakness… Rouge gently rubbed his back, trying to get him to relax a little.

            " I promise, Shadow…"

            He couldn't hold it back. It was too painful not to. He wept, burying his head against her shoulder. His shoulders heaved again as he shuddered. Rouge let him cry. She probably was the only one to see him do it since he was awakened back on ARK. I wonder when was the last time he ever really showed this side of him… She couldn't help but ponder it. Shadow had been a typically cold person. The suffering that he had to have felt within himself must have been hard to deal with. She knew this, especially from his melancholy that she witnessed on ARK. At the time, she hadn't been able to get him to talk about it. His silence was unbreakable back then. The trauma that he had gone through in GUN Labs had to have broken him in a way. She only hoped that he wouldn't become harder because of it.

            Rouge looked down at his whimpering figure, still sad herself that she could do nothing more for him. His tears kept flowing like little rivulets down his face. The sadness that had been pent up inside of him for so long refused to stay hidden any longer. He moaned quietly about feeling helpless, and yet having to be strong for himself to be able to continue living. Rouge's ears picked up on a name as well, in between the slew of babble that was coming from him. She hugged him gently, shushing him a little, like he was a small child. He was greatly fatigued as it was and now even more exhausted due to the emotional release that he just went through. He had calmed a little, but the tears refused to stop flowing.

            " You need to get some sleep…"

            Shadow only burbled an answer at her. All she could make of it was that it was defying what she had said.

            " Don't talk back now. You do need it. It will do you some good…"

            Another defying murmur.

            " I'm not going to take no for an answer, Shadow."

            He lifted his head to look at her.

            " I don't want to have the dreams again…"

            Dreams…? The bat wanted to question him about this, but she had no choice. It would have to wait.

            " I'm sorry, Shadow."

            " But…I…"

            One of her arms let go of him, to take something out of her pocket. Shadow was too disoriented to realize what she was going to do. He didn't want to sleep. To dream again. A pop noise was heard as she undid the safety on the small gun-like thing that she had. The safety cap from the nozzle of the gun bounced on the floor once. She pressed it gently to Shadow's neck, pushing the trigger and sending the pressured hypodermic needle into his veins. He cried out sharply as the serum of sedatives quickly entered his body.

            " What…did you do to me…?!"

            " I gave you a sedative. You'll be asleep shortly."

            " God…damn……you…Roug----guh…" The crimson eyes rolled back into his head.

            Shadow's head slumped against her as she held onto him so he wouldn't fall to the floor. She frowned a little, gently petting him.
            " Sorry…but you needed it."

***

            After a little rearranging, Rouge managed to get Shadow into bed. She had placed Tails gently on the floor, where he only curled up and made himself comfortable while she helped Shadow's limp body into the bed in his place. She popped his shoes off, placing them on the floor, and covered him up. His face was still wet from the tears that he shed. She dried his face off with a handkerchief, putting it back into her pocket once she was done. After making him as comfortable as she could, she felt his forehead. The fever was gone now, so she relaxed a little herself, and made sure to leave a bowl of water and a washcloth on the nightstand.

            Scooting Tails up, Rouge turned off the light in the room carefully, and proceeded to take the boy to his own room. He was sleeping peacefully, which was surprising to her since Shadow had been screaming a few feet away from where he had been. I guess the poor little guy really needs it… She put him to bed, tucked him in, and gave him one of his toys to hug in his sleep. Once that was done, she tiptoed out of his room, closing the door again. She heard Knuckles still tinkering around in the bathroom, but left him alone and went downstairs again. She made a quick check on Sonic to see how he was doing. His vitals were good and he was still asleep, so she left him to his rest. Tired and exhausted herself, Rouge flopped onto one of the chairs and let out a long sigh. She pondered about what she was going to do about sleeping quarters now. There were only four rooms in the workshop. Both Shadow and Sonic were in one, and Tails was in his. There was only one other room and there was no way in hell that she was going to share it with that echidna. She rubbed her head.

            When Shadow had come here the first time, he had a room to himself because he was ill. Tails had his room, and I had the other guest room. Sonic and Knuckles had just shared Sonic's room then…but now there's the problem of both hedgehogs having rooms to themselves. She let out another sigh. Oh well, I guess it's the couch for me. Her ears flickered as she heard footsteps. Rouge turned her head a little toward the stairs, blinking a little as Knuckles walked down them.

            The Guardian wasn't wearing his shoes, socks, or gloves. He had a towel around his neck, but the water that had collected in his dreads was still dripping down off of them, landing on his shoulders or the floor. He rubbed at his head with one end of the towel. Rouge was trying not to look at him directly. Knuckles had this innate ability to be adorable and not even mean to.

            " Clean now?" She smirked slightly.

            " Oh shut up…" He growled quietly. " I heard screaming. What happened? Sonic alright?"

            " Sonic's fine. I just checked up on him. Vitals are good and he's still asleep."

            Knuckles stepped off the last step and continued drying his dreads. " Then it was Shadow?" His violet eyes met her green ones.

            " Y-yes…" She seemed to get a sad look on her face again.

            " What is it?"

            " He was having one of those post-traumatic experiences."
            " What'd you do?" He walked up to the chair.

            " I tried to make him feel better, but in the end I had to sedate him."

            " Wouldn't go to sleep willingly, would he?"

            She rubbed her temples again. " You know, he and Sonic are very much alike sometimes…"

            Knuckles chuckled quietly, but stopped when Rouge hadn't even smirked at him.

            " What's on your mind?"

            " I'm debating on if I should just sleep from the rafters or the couch."

            An eyebrow rose. He blinked, thinking about it for a second.

            " Oh…right. There aren't enough rooms." The echidna relaxed his brow.

            " Yeah, that's right."

            A small grin.  " You could always sleep with me." And he quickly ducked the pillow that was thrown at him. He chuckled a little, standing up again.

            " That is NOT funny, echidna."

            He laughed. She fumed.

            " IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

            " I think it is." He said, chuckling to himself.

            Rouge folded her arms and huffed at him, turning her head away. Knuckles stopped laughing and frowned a little. He went back to drying his dreads.

            " Sorry."

            " Don't be." She huffed at him.

            " Hey, you can take Sonic's room. I can sleep down here. How about that?"

            " I don't want your sympathy."

            He growled a little bit. She stuck her tongue out at him.

            " Alright, well, that's your decision." The Guardian shrugged. " I'm too exhausted to deal with your shit this time."

            " Like you should talk."

            Another growl. Knuckles shook his head and eyed her with his famous upraised eyebrow. Rouge was looking up at the ceiling, pondering if she could fly up there.

            " What are you doing?"

            " Looking up, dipshit."

            His eyes narrowed slightly. She sighed.
            " I'm thinking of sleeping up on the rafters. I can do that."

            " What about your---"

            " It's fine. Don't worry about it." Rouge interrupted.

            " You probably shouldn't---"

            " I told you. It's fine." She interrupted again.

            " You fixed it?"

            She was silent.

            " …Rouge?" His voice lowered a little.

            " I said don't worry about it. Get some sleep. We all need it."

            The bat had turned her back on him now, still having her arms folded. Her ears flicked a little bit as she heard him muttering to himself. His soft footfalls started to walk away from her, until she couldn't hear him anymore. Now then…She opened her wings, expanding them slowly. She winced a little as her right one stopped opening. Ow…Her ears flicked a little as she heard a small clink noise. What was that? Turning her head, Rouge gasped as Knuckles was lunging at her.

            " GAH!!"

            Rouge didn't have time to get out of the way. A scream and a crash later, both of them were on the floor of the workshop. Knuckles was sitting on top of her, pinning her face first to the floor. She squirmed as best as she could underneath his weight.

            " What the hell are you doing?! Get off of me!!!"

            " Hold still!"

            " Knuckles! Get off of me!"

            " I told you to hold still!"

            She was swinging her arms around, trying to grab at him. He growled slightly, shoving her down and holding her arms to the floor. Her eyes widened as she cried out, struggling. She felt his knee push on the middle of her back, causing her to squeal a little. One of his strong hands clamped on her mouth, quieting her. Her face flushed a little as she felt his breath on her neck.

            " Just calm down…" He whispered. " I'm not going to hurt you."

            Her rapid breathing slowly calmed.

            " No screaming? I won't hurt you Rouge."

            She nodded a little. He let go of her mouth, backing off.

            " Oof…could you get off of me?"

            " Not until you let me patch you up."

            " But I'm fine!"

            " You weren't 'fine' when we left GUN Labs." He set down the first aid kit that he had walked off to get before.

            " Knuckles, I can handle it!"

            " You can't reach that far back to clean and bandage it if you tried."

            She squirmed a little in defiance. His left hand placed against her back, pushing.

            " Eep!"
            " You know I've got the upper hand on you this time, Rouge."

            " …Bastard."

            He grinned a little. " I know. Can you stretch your wing out?"

            " …I'll try…"

            Rouge stretched out her right wing as best as she could. She winced slightly. Knuckles' hand gently moved over her wing, looking it closely. There were some smaller cuts that were on her wing sporadically. He felt along the base of her wing, where it connected to her shoulders. She felt herself blushing a little.

            " Can you move it a little more?"

            " But it hurts when I do…"

            His hand gripped her wing, slowly moving it. She whined a little. He stopped.
            " That's good enough, just hold it there for a little bit."

            " Alright…"

            Violet eyes stared at the large gash near the base of her wing. He looked closely at it. Damn… Picking up the tweezers, he bent down over her.
            " This is going to hurt a little."

            " What is it?"

            " There's glass lodged in it."

            " Gah…"

            " No wonder it was so painful. Now…hold still."

            The female treasure hunter tried to stay calm and not tense up. Tensing up always resulting in more pain than was necessary. She gritted her teeth as Knuckles pulled the piece of glass out of her wing, putting it aside and pressed a cloth to her now bleeding wound.

            " There isn't any more glass in it, is there?" She asked, her ears folded.

            " No, I looked when I was pulling that one shard out."

            " Thank god."

            Knuckles removed the cloth to see if the bleeding stopped. He snatched up a bottle of disinfectant, and opened it.

            " This is going to sting a little."

            " I hate that line. It always stings a lot…"

            He chuckled a little.
            " Yeah, I know… brace yourself." He pushed the disinfectant onto the gash.

            " OW!!" Rouge squirmed a little.

            " Oh shush."

            She felt him putting the bandage over it. Tugging on it a little bit, Knuckles tested it to make sure it would stay there, and then got off of her. She pushed herself up off the floor and into a sitting position.

            " You probably won't be able to fly for awhile."

            The Guardian was putting everything away in the first aid kit. Her wings folded up against her back, carefully. Rouge rubbed her shoulder a little bit.

            " You didn't have to scare the hell out of me like that."

            " Oh, and what else was I supposed to do? I know you. You wouldn't have let me look at it if I had asked."

            " Oh? Well you could have asked. I might have let you."

            " Bullshit."

            She fumed a little.

            " Well, you still didn't have to tackle me!"

            " Had no other option." He grinned.

            " I swear you love freaking me out…"

            The echidna leaned forward to look her in the eyes.

            " What did you think I was going to do?"

            Rouge felt her lips not want to work.

            " I…um…"

            Knuckles laughed a little, picking up the towel and the kit. He walked away, heading back toward where the first aid kit had been in the first place. Rouge was still sitting on the floor, blushing a little. She heard him come back, but did not look up. Can't let him see that I'm blushing…

            " Hey, are you just going to sit on the floor?"

            " Are you going to go to bed and leave me alone?"

            He huffed a little.

            " You're impossible, Rouge."

            " Speak for yourself."

            A sigh.

            " Anyway, you go get some sleep. It's been a long day." She said quietly.

            " You first."

            " I have to find a blanket so I can sleep on the couch first, Knuckles."

            " Hmm…"

            Knuckles seemed to be pondering. She didn't worry about it, though, and started to get to her feet, dusting herself off.

            " There's a spare blanket in the hall closet, right?"

            " Right."

            She nodded and walked past him. The Guardian watched her walk by, thought for another moment, and then grabbed her.

            " AAAH!" Her eyes widened again. " What the hell are you doing?!"

            " Carrying you off?" He snickered as he flung her over his shoulder and headed up the stairs.

            Rouge beat her fists into his back, screaming at him to put her down. The echidna only ignored her attempts at getting him to drop her, and continued onward to Sonic's room. She was struggling as best as she could, now trying to pull his dreadlocks.

            " Ow!! Let go of those!"

            Yank.
            " OW!"

            " PUT ME DOWN!"

            " Let go of my dreads first, missy!"

            YANK.
            " OWW! Son of a bitch!"

            Kicking the door open with his foot, Knuckles walked into the room with her. She squealed and kicked her feet, yanking on his hair as hard as she could.

            " PUT. ME. DOWN!!!!"

            " Yeow! With pleasure!"

            And he dropped her onto the bed. Thump!

            " Ouch! You asshole!"

            " Blah blah blah…" Knuckles said, shoving her down onto the bed. " You, sleep here. I'll see you in the morning."

            She tried to spit in his face. He made a disgusted noise and wiped it off of his cheek.

            " Ungrateful little…"

            " Fucker!"
            " Bitch!"

            Rouge slapped him as hard as she could. A red mark was left on his face, but he only glared at her. His anger was rising now.

            " Why you little!"

            " Let go of me!"

            " Will you just shut up and go to sleep?!"

            " Get bent!"

            " You first!"

            A simultaneous " Fuck you!" was said between the two of them. With great emphasis, of course. Both were growling at each other, glaring and filled with rage. Rouge snapped her teeth at him in a threatening manner, trying to get him to let go of her. Knuckles wasn't fazed and only moved his head back when she snapped at his nose. He was resisting the urge to return the smack that she had given him, but only because he didn't really want to break her jaw. She wailed as she struggled, unable to gain any ground since he was stronger than her, and was even pinning her legs with his own. Another growl rose in her throat. He sneered at her, still angry. She was still cursing at him, only gaining more retaliation by his own fiery tongue. The echidna screamed at her to just shut up and appreciate the fact that he was giving up the bed for her. She told him to try and make her, and only continued yelling at him to let her up.

            Two seconds later he was kissing her. Her eyes widened for a moment, then closed a little as he let go of her arms. One hand gently caressed her cheek as the kiss deepened, whereas her arms wrapped around his neck. It only lasted for a brief moment before both pulled away, blushing horribly. Rapid blinking eyes stared at each other, almost in utter disbelief. Rouge was about to say something when he put a finger to her lips.
            " Go to sleep."

            The Guardian quickly flung the covers over her as he made a hasty exit, startling her in the same moment. She pulled the blanket down a little to see him closing the door, after quickly saying a goodnight to her. She saw the flushed look on his face just before he shut the door. Blinking a little to herself, the bat felt her own face flushed. She stared at the door for a moment, touching her lips once with her right hand, and then smirked a little before she laid down for the night.
***

And that's it for now!

Sonic: It's not over yet! We're still all…injured and stuff! AND YOU HURT ME!!!! ;.;!

Shadow: How long IS this fiction going to be?!?!?!

Well….the whole thing is about….75 pages already and I'm not done. .;

Both: ……………………….. And you're not done…?

Nope!

Sonic: EVIL!!! ::hissing at her:: PURE EVIL!!!!!

Shadow: Didn't we see you writing another fic though…?

Yup! I'm working on an actual short story (and yes, it will be SHORT, not something as lengthy as this one is… ^^;) Right now it's called Dependency. I hope to have it done soon too though, but I wanted to get this chapter up first!

To be continued! :3 I hope you enjoyed it!

Sonic, Shadow and Crew are all copyright of SEGA. :3 HAIL THEM.