It was safe to say that after his experience last night, Shadow had a wonderful sleep. He dreamt of the usual: the people, conversations, and hopes that he had held dear, and as usual a reoccurring scene in which he was in field. Everything was a mellow blue, except for the large, creamy moon that broke over the surrounding ice-topped mountain ranges, serving as a beacon to all who entered this mystical place. Shadow closed his eyes to embrace the warm, welcoming breezes, as did the grasses that swayed across the surface of the hills like that of the waves that rippled across the pond, and the various willows whose limp branches waved slowly in and out like a silk curtain. This is how Shadow envisioned Heaven. He thought that it was probably a different utopia for different individuals, and this was his and Maria's own paradise: a place that was merciful, tranquil, and providing. That's all he had ever wanted, and he always liked to visit the lost haven when he closed his eyes. Obviously in his world things like pain, war, greed, murder; the things that once made the Earth such an expendable thing to Shadow had no existence here. Therefore, Maria was a normal little girl. She was cured, free of the worries that plagued her when she was alive in her sickly state, and free to do the things she had only dreamed of. The two romped and played, raced each other, and laid down in the grass to talk about their night in their paradise and bask in the supple moonlight. This is how it always happened when Shadow was inside of himself and it simply got better and better with each viewing, and he longed for the day in which he could run about the fields, gaze at the shaded pond, catch the dancing fireflies, and lay in a bed of grass with her...

Shadow's night was indeed peaceful and idyllic, but the early start of his morning was anything but. As he awoke and tried to move about some, he discovered that his back and shoulders were sore all over, a consequence from lying against the thin pillow and solid armrest for nearly two and a half weeks. Being the way he was, he'd found out the hard way that he had no choice but to lay still. On a few occasions in which he was having a rough night and couldn't sleep, he would attempt to stand up, but every try ended up the same: he found it to be impossible. His entire body still ached greatly, and his leg... well, he thought it hadn't gotten any better over time. As much as he wanted to walk (more so run) he had to endure the boredom of healing for a while longer.

"Oh– man... ouch... well, maybe I should have stayed asleep a little bit longer, huh Maria?" he laughed to himself.

He slowly pushed himself up against the arm, his back very stiff, and let an arm hang freely off of the couch. At that moment, Amy came downstairs and around the corner to greet him, and to add to his relief, it was after he had gotten over his pain.

"Morning, Shadow."

"Good morning, Amy," he said with a bit of a smile on his face.

As she began preparing another scintillating breakfast for the both of them, she immediately stopped after she heard his odd reply. She turned the fire off, put the pan down on the counter, and turned to him with a look of pure confusion and surprise. She stood staring at Shadow for a good minute, and the silence seemed to become more and more invading throughout the house. When Shadow didn't hear the common, lively noise of her daily routine he turned to her, scared out of his wits that she was staring at him. To him, she looked as if he had said that he was going to take a knife to her in the dead of night. As he began to feel his heart speed up and a lump form in his throat, he spoke up, praying to God that she would answer back quickly or he would simply faint.

"W– what's wrong?"

"That–... that's the first time you've said 'Good morning' to me... Alright, what's up with you now?" she said, crossing her arms.

"What? Nothing!" he laughed, "I'm... I'm just... in a better mood about... things."

Amy said nothing, only raising her brow in a concerned manner for him.

"I had an interesting dream last night... And it... taught me some things..."

"Really?" she said, walking over to the couch and sitting down, "Well, what kind of things?"

"Mostly... that everything happens for a reason," he sighed, "And I've got to be more accepting of those reasons, even though they may not work out the way I want them to. Because things... things tend to turn around for the better if you are more patient... and willing about certain things in the world–" he paused again and looked down.

Amy was still quiet in all of this, not sure of what to make of this life-changing transaction he had seemingly undergone during the night. But the big question on her mind now was why had he undergone this little change now? But as she thought about his attitude and his words, the less any question she had about him mattered anymore. She was overjoyed that Shadow was now emerging into someone she felt could become a very close friend, and the fact that he had finally confessed a few of his feelings towards her openly made her grin from ear to ear. Shadow looked up back at her, a smirk on his face, turning away sheepishly.

"That's very good to hear, Shadow. I was wondering if you were ever going to become, ya know, somebody a lot more friendlier to be around."

"Well... My mind was simply on some things."

"After that experience, all of our minds were full of things. But things have changed now. It's another time of peace. Better make the most of it before Eggman starts terrorizing us again."

"Hm, yeah, I guess you're right. It's just that I–"

"It's just what?"

He was at a loss of words again. He had no idea why he couldn't help these mind lapses. It seemed that every time his mind was on something new, something fresh, or something completely different and mentally exhausting, his train of thought would always arrive back at the same starting point 50 years ago. He was told to stop worrying by Maria herself and he tried as best he could, but by no means was the hedgehog able to let go. And how could he? How was anyone able to expect him to move on that easily for the tragedy that had befallen him so fast and before his very eyes? In no way did anyone, no matter who they were or what sins they had committed, deserve to be brought down in that manner, especially anyone that had no means of protecting themselves. Shadow looked in the opposite direction, finally realizing where he was at the moment and how much time had gone by since Amy had asked him that question. So he answered: "Uh, I just forgot it..." hoping that that would convince her.

But of course, Amy was never convinced. She had a strange, yet accurate intuition about such things, and could easily see through a person's lies, especially Shadow's. But she didn't want to put him back in the same state that she had had to endure at the moment, so she agreed with him.

"It's funny how some things can slip your mind sometimes."

"Heh, went right out!" he laughed.

After that short, yet sweet conversation ended, Amy got up and went into the kitchen to resume breakfast.

"Anything you want in particular, Shadow?"

"Mmm... well... I really didn't have anything in mind..."

"Don't be afraid to say whatever's on your mind. I have plenty of experience in this field, ya know."

"Well..."

Shadow wasn't one to take advantage of the people that he liked, but this was an opportunity that the hedgehog simply couldn't pass up because he was hungry today. He hadn't eaten much yesterday, simply because it had been one of those hard days, and his mind had been too focused to make him realize that he needed some food in his stomach. But being the modest guy he was, he didn't ask for too much: just seven eggs- three scrambled and four boiled, two hot sausages, a stack of six pancakes drenched in syrup, a couple of pieces of toast overloaded with jelly, and to top it all off- two full glasses of orange juice. And Amy? Well, she was in total shock, to put it lightly. She had no idea he was that hungry, or could even eat that much in such a short amount of time. He was a regular bottomless pit– just like Sonic...

Shadow set his plate down, which was entirely clean as if it had just come out of the dishwasher. He was sleepy again, but he felt good.

"Ooh... man, that was so good," he said, sinking down under the covers.

"Well, I can easily see you enjoyed that meal!"

Shadow sighed and rubbed his stomach lazily.

"Man, you have no idea..."

Amy laughed at Shadow silently, who was well under the long-lasting spell of hot, filling food in one's belly, and she started to watch him again for a few minutes. He was an amusing guy, when he wanted to be, or in this case when he acted his normal self. Unknown to Shadow, Amy's new way to pass the time was by watching him, even if he was simply laying there, bored out of his mind and glaring at the TV screen with no interest in what was on it whatsoever. He simply had the uncanny ability to be so interesting, even when he wasn't doing anything interesting at all himself, and she knew what the captivating thing about him was: those eyes. Those beautiful, ruby red eyes... Smooth and gentle, yet stone cold and fiery at the same time... They were so piercing into whatever they had their focus on... and there were so many things to tell from them... His pain... his thoughts... his character... and his intentions... It was the one thing that separated him from Sonic... those unique eyes...

Both of the hedgehogs were awakened when the repetitive rings of the nearby telephone shot through their heads. They turned towards the source of the on-going noise simultaneously, and Amy quickly got off of the couch and snatched it off of the receiver.

"Hello?"

Amy? Hello.

"Oh, hi Sonic! How's it been going? You've been gone for awhile."

Eh, Tails has been using me for these experiments involving the drives... Heh heh, I swear that kid's gone over the top this time!

"Not surprising... So, do you want to talk to Shadow?"

Shadow threw a look of pure awe her way.

Heh, main reason I called. Can you put him on?

I figured that, Amy thought.

"Of course I can. Well, here he is," said Amy, handing the phone to Shadow.

As he put the phone to his ear, he mouthed the words "Who is this?" but he didn't need an answer as the caller's voice went out in the most surprising greeting he had ever gotten.

Hey-low, Shad-ow! What's up!

"What the–? Oh, the faker. Yeah, don't think I didn't remember what you called me when I came out of it that day."

Well, isn't someone a little cranky today? Can't even take a three-week old joke. Now that's what I call holding a grudge. So... how are you feeling?

"Better. A lot better. Still sore, though... and still can't walk."

Well, I pretty much figured that. Heh, I'm sure you won't forget that little treatment option for the rest of your days...

"Don't know how I got through it... And you better make sure your friend doesn't ever cross paths with me."

Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm it down. He was only helping you, after all.

"There's a word called anesthesia. For a "genius", I'm surprised the little prodigy didn't figure that out sooner."

Ha, ha ha! Oh man... well, the little 'prodigy' didn't have any on him at the moment!

"I kinda figured that when he put his hands on me."

Oh, I've been meaning to ask you this!... How's it been living in Amy's house so far?...

"What? Amy?... What about her?"

Huh, she's not annoying you?

"Well... at first... I don't know, uh... She's real nice! Um... ya know, uh..."

Ah-huh...

"What? She is nice."

That's not what I'm talking about...

Although Shadow couldn't see it, Sonic had the biggest, most devious smile on his smug face.

"Well, what?"

I think you know what I'm talking about.

"... No..."

Dude, it's so obvious! Never thought I'd say this but... you like her!

"What!"

He looked around the corner to see if Amy had heard, but she had gone back upstairs to fix herself for the day, making herself absent during the middle of the talk when she figured Shadow would want to be alone for a little while.

"No! No... uh, no... No, I don't! She's just a friend..."

Make that girlfriend! Ha, ha, ha!

"For real! She's just taking care of me... besides... I'm leaving the moment I get better."

Yeah, to buy her a "beautiful bouquet of flowers".

"Hey, I mean it. Once I'm better, I'm out of here for good."

...For good, huh? Does she know that?

"Uh– Well... not exactly... um..."

I wonder why...

"Hey, I'm serious! I don't like her like that."

Alright, alright, whatever. Just messing around with you. Knowing you, I'd figured you'd be bored to death. Just trying to liven things up.

"Nice way to liven things up."

I know, right? Well, I'd torture you longer, but I promised Tails I'd go and meet him at his place at 1. It's... 12:59 now. Plenty of time!

Shadow rolled his eyes and shook his head.

See ya!

The dial tone sounded and Shadow hung up.

"Hmph, the faker doesn't know what he's talking about. I don't like her like that! Not at all..."

Shadow sighed and looked around the corner to make sure she wasn't coming down.

"I don't like her..."

The hedgehog continued to deny Sonic's teasing as anything truthful, but in a sudden epiphany, he looked down with a hard gaze.

"I think I love her..."