The daily life of Shadow and Amy had easily proved to remain the same for the last few weeks of his recovery: wonderful. He was continuing to learn the ways of being settled and needless to say, it wasn't difficult for him to fully adjust. Each minute he spent bonding with Amy slowly, but surely lifted ounce after ounce of the prior angst the hedgehog was used to dealing with, and it healed his worn and torn heart. Within a matter of a week or so, Shadow had completely morphed into a different person from what people were used to seeing or hearing about: He was bit of Sonic and himself mixed. He had a lot of the rival's humor, and was an all around happy-go-lucky, devil-may-care individual, but he still had that handsome style and devilish, egotistical flair about himself; that edge that only Shadow had going for him, and it was in the form a constant, knowledgeable aura around his new personality to show that not all of the hedgehog had changed. Amy loved him and his playful, goofy antics, and so did Shadow, as he was also finding out that the even the most simple things in life, like making a joke or just letting yourself go when having fun with someone close, could be great, memorable fun. But the hedgehog's mentality wasn't the only thing that was healing.

Coupled with his growing desire to be with Amy, the blazing passion in their hearts, her encouragement, and the exercise he endured, Shadow's strength and tolerance to his pain nearly doubled everyday. Even with the apparent damage to his broken leg, Shadow found himself able to walk much faster than what he thought he was capable of, and could even bound a few steps and tackle the stairs considering he really wanted to. The soreness all over the rest of his body was also starting to decrease. However, he only really felt it when he exerted his body to the limit and then sat down for a short break. Luckily for him he didn't have to suffer with the pain, as Amy would always be there to give him the best massages of his life. Sometimes, he would become so relaxed to the point that he wished he could stay in that state forever. But before he completely lost his train of thought or went to sleep, a loving gesture or an offer of assistance would snap the hedgehog back to reality, and once again, he would be off around the house where he felt he was needed. The only times he would actually be at rest would be during the evenings, where they would usually get warm and cozy and spend their time talking or watching movies, just like they had been doing since that special night.

Even though Shadow was still healing, there was one thing that continued to remain strong in his mind: Running. The thought would really never leave his mind, although it would certainly bother him more on some days than others. He had already been outside several times a week, just sitting in the front yard, watching the cars and butterflies pass by, listening around to the birds, the crickets, the airplanes overhead, and just enjoying the overall peace of the suburban area. But as much as the hedgehog liked the serenity himself, he also enjoyed action, and he would sometimes throw envious glances at the passing vehicles on the street, not minding whether they threw suggestive looks back or not. He was longing so much to be able to keep up with those passengers, then outdistance them, and of course, feel the wind beating against his face and blowing back his fur. The whole thing made him even more impatient and anxious, and Amy hadn't been unaware of his predicament for all of this time.

While walking downstairs with a full load of laundry in a basket one day, she spotted Shadow over at a window, who was seemingly staring with interest at the rivulets of rainwater striking and pouring down the glass. The hedgehog received a startling wake up call when a warm hand was lightly placed on his shoulder, and he turned to see Amy by his side, and a clothesbasket by hers.

"Never knew rain could be that interesting to you, and that's saying a lot."

"Aw, naw," he said, lowering his head and chuckling, "I was just looking outside and thinking. No big deal, really."

"Thinking? 'Bout what?"

"Running. I just miss it sometimes, you know?" he said, turning back around solemnly to stare at the distorted vision of the damp backyard

"It won't be long before you're out there and setting fire to the asphalt. You know that."

"Yeah, but you know I'm impatient."

"Heh, heh yeah. Like a little kid being driven to a candy shop," she said playfully, ruffling his ears.

"Hey-hey, hey!"

"Heh, come on. The only way to make the wait go faster is to take your mind off of it."

" I know, I know, but... I've been thinking about it for so long that it doesn't seem possible right now..."

"Heh heh, whoever folds the most clothes gets to choose a movie tonight, and I've got a sweet romance story that's gonna be just so–"

"What were we talking about!" exclaimed Shadow, grabbing onto the basket and hauling it in the air, which caused Amy to bust out laughing.

He may have still had a few troubles on his mind, but at least he was a lot easier to figure out now.

Day after day, night after night, time continued to pass at the hedgehogs' household as normal, and Shadow continued waiting patiently. He continued waiting, until he found out one morning that he simply couldn't wait anymore. His lowered tolerance to the slow sense of time woke him up early one morning in a light sweat, and he could feel that he would not be able to get back to sleep anytime soon. So he did the only thing he would do at such an hour with Amy not present: Go outside and enjoy his surroundings. He slowly made his way off of the couch, turned the right corner, and went towards the door, but not before giving a wide-eyed glance up the stairs as if he was sending notice of his abrupt leaving to his love in person. After walking out of the door, he took a casual stroll through the yard, stopping at the edge of the grass and the sidewalk. As he lifted his head, he took note at how absolutely awe-inspiring the early morning really was. It appeared as if dusk was rolling in; the sky was a vast gradation of black, navy blue and royal blue, dotted endlessly with pearl white stars, with the moon going back into hiding in the lightening sky to his right somewhere in the southeast. He looked down at the prism-like, crystal clear beads of dew on the silhouetted carpet of grass, smiled, and took a deep breath of the thick, humid air, enjoying how cool it was on his throat.

"It's absolutely beautiful out here during this time of day," he remarked to himself, yawning afterwards, "Too bad–... too bad it happens so early in the morning... Hmm."

He took a look back at the house, which was as mute and still as the shadows around him, and started up the sidewalk. He really didn't (or rather couldn't) think about where he was headed off to, as his mind was still subconsciously fixed on getting back to sleep. Since he had been put in a daydreaming state, everything from there on out was just second nature. Very little pain was coming from his leg, yet he was walking fast; faster than normal, and the speed of things would only escalate to a faster walk, a power walk, a few bounds that turned into a sprint, and then it finally happened; the thing he was waiting for for so long was now finally happening. Shadow was running, and he finally came to the realization of his actions when he was forced to make a right turn at the upcoming corner. He then proceeded to look around: the ground beneath his feet and the land around him was simply a quickly passing blur, completely opposite to the sky, which was slowly adrift overhead. The hedgehog let out a yell of happiness in the air, unwrapping whatever bandaging was left on his body, then gradually sped up, heading around the surrounding neighborhoods. Although he was beginning to hurt from the levels of exercise that he still was not used to, he felt that this moment was more than worth it. No longer was he a confined prisoner, but like his blue counterpart, he was as free as the wind. And for the first time in his life, he was now able to run not for risk of being killed or captured for unspeakable horror, but now he could run for the sheer enjoyment of running.

The hedgehog ran for hours on end, undeterred by his need to keep going and the excitement of the entire moment. However he didn't go too far. He just continued making his way around the surrounding neighborhoods, sometimes slowing down just look at the quaint sights. The warm houses, the damp yards, the gated boundaries; everything was the way he had imagined it. He really liked to look at the families, however, who were now just waking up and getting started on yet another monotonous day, how busy they seemed to be, and how loving they were towards one another, especially their children who were to set off for the stationary buses down on the street corner (assuming the family had children.) It was the picture of him and Amy in the future.

And to think I was about to destroy all of this, he mused to himself, hopping a fence and continuing on his self-appointed tour.

Amy was still transfixed in deep sleep, and even with the afternoon hours close to arriving, she was undiscerning of that fact for two reasons. For one she was exhausted, and her tiredness had, to her unknowing, slowly accumulated up in her due to Shadow's restlessness for the past few days. Those factors led to another simple conclusion: If she was this tired, Shadow had to be good for nothing himself and thus, she was not worried in the least about sleeping in. After coming upon this fact in her mind she smiled, turned over, and obscured herself by pulling the thick, soft comforter back over her shoulder, wanting to enjoy the last few seconds of rest she really had left. As she settled down, she was aware of the significantly loud, high-pitched, whining creak of the door swaying open, although one ear did reflexively twitch to the sound. To her, everything was normal, seeing as the intruder's travel to the side of her bed was dead silent. Then she received the eerie feeling of having company when the side of the bed shifted downwards. This woke her up, as well as the light touch that ran throughout the parts in her hair in a slow, monotonous fashion, which would continue for a few seconds until another moan escaped her mouth and she opened her eyes. She was faced with bright sunlight from the window directly in front of her and she shielded her eyes.

"Shadow?" she whispered, while the hedgehog once again snapped himself out of a loving gaze.

"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to wake you up. I–"

"No, no, it's okay. It's–" she glanced at the alarm clock on her dresser, "11:35. That's kind of late, anyways."

"Alright then," he said, laying on his side and turning towards her.

Amy was quick to note that Shadow was missing his bandages, and noticed other subtle hints as to his prior whereabouts. Water was starting to condense on and mat his fur, and he was emitting the light smell of freshly watered grass.

"And where have you been, mister?"

"Ah, I went out for a quick walk. Woke up early. I think about... 5... or somewhere around there."

"Well, where'd you go?"

"Ah–... just around the neighborhoods."

"Neighborhoods? If I recall, the suburbs on the south side of the city are pretty large... collectively at least."

Shadow just smiled at her, closing his eyes and giving a triumphant, "I know."

As Amy took in what he said, her expression transformed from one of confusion to one of great happiness. Shadow was finally what he had aspired to be in his life: Happy and without worry or doubt, and his fulfillment in turn made her the happiest girl in the world. She didn't bother expressing that happiness through language, but rather jumped her love and gave him a bear hug around his waist. Shadow just laughed aloud and in his excited state, tried wrestling her off, but she proved to be a true fight. He twisted and pulled and squirmed to no avail, and got up on his knees only once before she immediately pinned him back down by laying atop him. After the fast impact on the stiff mattress and pillow, which brought back recent pains, he vowed he would never again even bother trying to get out of her grasp.

Both hedgehogs settled down, their soft laughter continuing until they had run out of the little breath they had. Shadow took a deep sigh and looked up into Amy's eyes; those jade, spellbinding, precious jewels that always froze the steadfast hedgehog right in his tracks. With the sunlight coming through in the window and shining off of one side of her body, her form was even more beautiful than he had ever imagined and seen before. It put him at ease, and he felt like his fixated stare was causing him to sink right through the mattress, and that he'd on the floor. It was only until he felt Amy beginning to play with an odd part in his white fur a few seconds later that he blinked tiredly and slowly woke up.

"...So... how do you wanna celebrate this moment, Hero?" asked Amy, still playing with his fur.

"Well, uh..." He hadn't really thought about celebrating this event. Well, he hadn't had anything to eat for the entire day... No, he felt that'd be too selfish of him. Besides, now that she brought up the subject of celebrating he was impatient, and he didn't want to have to wait on food or anything else. He wanted to do something with her and now, "Hm, do you like to go for walks?"

That took Amy off guard for a moment.

"Uh... Well, I really don't walk for fun or anything. I usually do that, heh just to get someplace if the traffic's backed up. That's what you get for living so close to the city."

"Well," Shadow chuckled, "Let me change all that. Let's spend the day together out and about. Just you and me."

Amy could not resist an offer like that for anything in the world, and within several minutes the hedgehog couple was off, strolling along casually, Shadow leading her along on the sun-dotted sidewalk, and both just enjoying the simplicity of the humble sights around them. Amy was reveling in the true beauty that had been surrounding her all along: The large and beautiful homes, clean streets, children and pets playing, and the swaying, yellow-green forests of the background, caused by the sunlight raining down through the leaves of the numerable trees that were growing overhead. As her eyes scanned the passive environment, Shadow would turn to her, always getting the feeling that his heart would explode of joy from the happiness he was bringing her. She seemed as awe-struck as him, as if she had never seen these things of true contentedness in her life, and to be able to personally give her the chance to see these things was indescribable. He had only meant for a short walk (a conclusion he came to after the heat was beginning to pick up) but like everything else, he wanted it to last as long as possible. After running through the neighborhoods, he had nearly remembered where each street led to, and decided to take her along the beaten path. But every glance to Amy's smiling face was chipping away at any incentive to not get lost, and soon he was going wherever instinct led him. This is what they did for about an hour, soon taking a short break afterwards on some family's lawn (They wouldn't mind much, seeing as how the family was still away at work and school, and they were indebted to Shadow for saving their lives). Also, a sprinkler was on nearby, so the hedgehogs got to enjoy the cooling mist and light sprays of water from a distance. Once cooled down and rested, they were off again, but Amy wanted to see more. The city wasn't too far away, somewhere around a half hour walk from where they were now, and neither of them had really gone there to ever let loose and have fun. Shadow, however, wasn't too sure about the city. His existence was still classified as over and done with among the citizens, and he wasn't sure the staring eyes and still crowds would be a good thing towards their outing. But he remembered one thing: It was always better to take a chance than to skip an otherwise good opportunity. Besides, since none of them really knew what Station Square concealed within, it would be even more fun. So he went along with everything without further hesitation.

They decided to travel a bit faster this time, even running along the path a couple of times due to Shadow's rambunctiousness, and made it inside the city, this time with Amy holding the leash. Since she visited the city before for shopping and going out to restaurants, she knew of things to watch out for and the common places of interest. Unlike most visitors, Shadow didn't show awe at the concrete towers that surrounded him at every turn, but rather took joy at observing the business of the people around him, a few of the places of recreation that would occasionally come along their way, as well as the ice cream stands. He couldn't get enough of the stuff, especially anything with a fruit flavor in it. Amy had to quickly pay the surprised and dumbfounded cart tender before Shadow ate up every pound of his money-maker.

With the afternoon hours now in effect, Shadow and Amy took things much more slower. Even with the constant breezes prevalent throughout the city, the sun overhead and the warm concrete created a somewhat uncomfortable heat, so they would occasionally retreat on a park bench or spend some time in one of the local parks, making full use of whatever shade the trees had to offer. And due to Shadow's newly acquired taste, he took care of their thirst and exhaustion very easily with, of course, ice cream. When they were on the move again, they'd take quick strolls on the sidewalk, mostly talking with each other than taking note of their hurried surroundings. That, and it was too hot for anything else. On one specific break, the two had become much more tired than usual, in a physical sense. They decided to return to one park in particular, one that was considered by Station Square to be a most do for couples or anyone needing a break. The entire area was a little more than a square mile, dotted with neatly trimmed bushes and shrubs, well placed, colorful flower beds, hilly areas, and even a creek that ran from the northwestern end of the park, the hedgehogs' right, to a pond centered right below them from their current perch on a steep hill. Also in the park were numerous pebble-lined paths to walk around on, but the two would rather have stayed on the top of the park and overlook everything, especially with the heat still present. They remained there in the shade to chat about their surroundings, occasionally heading downhill to another friendly cart tender, and amazingly time flew. In what seemed like no more than an hour, they found the sun already setting behind one of the black towers of the far off cityscape, the rigid silhouette of Station Square blending in perfectly with the red-orange and yellow sky.

"This place..." remarked Shadow quietly.

"Hm? What'd you say, Shadow?"

"This place," he repeated more loudly.

"What about it?"

"I don't know, but... this looks a bit like some other place that I've seen before... 'cept it's dusk instead of night."

"Really? Where?"

Shadow didn't answer, but squinted his eyes at the horizon, trying to remember where exactly he had seen this mysterious place before. As he went back in his mind, it suddenly hit him. The sun and the moon... the skyscrapers and the mountains... the pond below them with the willow stationed beside it... He knew the place very well.

"Um... I don't know, really. But I sure do recognize it... and it's someplace beautiful... Maybe it'll come to me later," he lied, smiling.

However, Amy questioned him no further and proceeded with looking at the sunset. The spell of silence overcame the environment and their minds, and the hedgehogs proceeded to watch their surroundings, the sun setting ever so slowly, and with the sun's slow actions, nervousness slowly came about in Shadow. He didn't like it when their talks ended with such an abruptness, as it caused him to wonder whether Amy had been onto his true motives or not. With a quick glance over at her, it didn't appear that she had really taken what he said to heart, but how was he to know that? If she was calm, he wanted to relieve his tension some way... so he smiled and slipped away.

Amy still had no idea of where he had gone, or better yet, she had no idea that he had even left in the first place. Her gaze was still onto the sunset, which was now in the seemingly eternal phase that occurred between dusk and nighttime. When a cooling breeze brushed across her fur and skin, she came to the conclusion that it was finally becoming cooler, and she turned to where Shadow was to voice that fact, but found him gone.

"Huh! What the-... Where'd he go?"

She was scared out of her mind at his disappearance and jumped up to her feet, glancing over her surroundings left and right as to his whereabouts.

"Shadow! Where are you!"

Although thoughts of the worst began running about in her mind, she was able to make herself calm down and think the problem out to a degree. He couldn't have gone downhill, since she would have seen him. There was nothing to her right, except for the black metallic gate surrounding the park. On the other side of the gate was the street, and she couldn't see any motive he could've had to simply leave her and go out into the city without telling. That could only mean one thing: he was playing with her mind. Over on her left were some bushes, the only plausible place he could hide decently. She crossed her arms and began walking towards the bushes in a militant fashion, causing Shadow to snicker. He retreated farther back inside, causing some rustle noises.

"Alright, Mister. For scaring me out of my mind–," she then heard him laugh and smiled herself, "You have until I count to three to come out. One. T–"

He jumped out of the bushes and over her head, landing several feet behind her, and she turned around and took off for him. Shadow recovered from his laughter well enough to dodge a swipe from her arm, and literally ran circles around her until he took off towards the hill. He had forgotten how steep it really was and that it led into the pond, coming to a complete halt and backing up several feet from the drop. When he recovered from the near shock of falling, he turned to Amy to say that he had given up, only to be pounced by the girl and fall backwards off of the decline. Being that they were both hedgehogs, a species that curled up in a ball, the fall wasn't as painful as it was enjoyable. Amy hugged Shadow around the waist tighter, and he did the same as they continued their tumble downwards. Shadow looked up and saw the pond coming up quite fast, as well as its rocky coast. He took the opportunity of their increasing speed and broke out of the ball before he was to go down on his back, landing clumsily on his legs. Before he tripped up, he jumped off of the hill and took Amy into the pond right with him.

"Ahh!" the couple gasped, sitting up immediately out of the water, eyes wide and mouths open and panting for air.

A few seconds of panic brought them to the realization that the pond was no more than three inches deep. They looked towards each other, then at the top of a hill where a grinning man and woman had watched the entire thing. The sight of the drenched animals staring up at them in the most pathetic way caused them start laughing, and although it was embarrassing, Shadow and Amy had to admit... it was funny. The four had a good laugh together, until the humans decided to leave them alone, giving a quick wave before walking on. Shadow sighed and turned back to Amy, brushing the wet hair from out of her face before helping her up to her feet.

"Sorry about that," said Amy, tugging at her now wet and sticky dress.

"Don't be! Heh heh, I would have gotten me back for just disappearing out of the blue. Besides," he paused, looking back up from where they had came, "That was fun."

"Yeah, it was... except for the cold wake up call at the end."

Shadow just laughed and shook his head at her, thinking in the back of his mind that that was the best part of the whole thing. Once their conversation ended and they found themselves alone again, Shadow smiled and put his arm around Amy's shoulder. She then leaned her head against him, closing her eyes as the two started for home.