Disclaimer: I do not own Knuckles, Rouge or any of the other official SEGA characters. Aki is property of me.

Thanks again for all of your reviews everyone! As for some of your comments:

Disney Villain- I did make Fang pretty heartless, huh? But don't worry; he'll get what's coming to him…

SonicsRose – Not to worry. Rouge'll make a full recovery. Though that's not to say there won't be a few "complications…" (hint, hint…)

With that, here's Chapter 3!

Protector-Chapter 3

"…I had no idea…"

Back at the hospital, Knuckles had just finished telling Aki what had happened over the last few hours. "Fang…that horrible weasel…" the mouse clenched her fists together. "I hope that fall broke every bone in his body!"

"One can only hope…" Knuckles muttered in response.

"So…you've been here ever since then?"

"Pretty much?"

"How long is that?"

"Umm…she got out of surgery about an hour ago…I guess 2, maybe 3 hours I've been here."

Aki's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow…I never though you'd leave the Master Emerald unguarded for so long…"

"Right now…" Knuckles said, looking over at Rouge's hospital room. "I think her life is a little more important than the Emerald."

Now Aki was really surprised. The Master Emerald was Knuckles' life. He lived to protect that emerald; it was his destiny, his purpose. Now here he was saying that something was more important than the Emerald, something more important than his own life. And it just happened to be the life of the so-called batgirl that he couldn't stand.

"Knuckles…you really do like Rouge, don't you?"

"Eh?" Knuckles' head shot up instantly, face as red as his dreadlocks.

"I knew it!" Aki exclaimed excitedly, jumping out of her seat. "You DO like her! You did such a good job of hiding it, but the truth is you're crazy about her, aren't you? That's so sweet!"

Before Aki could continue gushing over Knuckles' "crush," the echidna pinned her to the wall and shouted, "IF YOU TELL ANYONE, I'LL KILL YOU! GOT IT?"

"Kn…Knuckles…calm down!" Aki squeaked, trying to squirm out of Knuckles' grasp. "D…don't say something like that in a hospital!"

Knuckles let go after a few seconds and slumped back down in the chair, his face redder than before.

Aki adjusted her newsboy hat and said sheepishly, "I…guess I got carried away…but there's no denying you like her!"

Knuckles said nothing.

"That's why you're still here, isn't it? You're waiting for her to wake up so you can tell her how you feel!"

"Look you…" Knuckles growled. "What makes you think I'd do something stupid like that?"

"Well…besides the fact that you almost straggled me and threatened to kill me…" Aki muttered under her breath, sweatdropping a bit. Aki stepped up to Knuckles and put her hand on his shoulder, smiling softly. "The fact that you're here right now instead of on Angel Island is proof enough."

Knuckles looked up at the smiling mouse. Maybe she had a point. If he really didn't care, he would've left as soon as she was in the hospital. So, why did he stick around? Was it possible that he, Knuckles, the guardian of the Master Emerald, actually had feelings for that jewel thief? He had to admit, Aki was pretty amazing. Even if she looked like a 12-year-old.

"I'm gonna go get a soda!" she proclaimed, grinning. "You want me to get you one too?"

"…Yeah. Grape." He replied. Aki nodded and started to head over to the vending machines, until…

"Aki!"

Aki turned back to Knuckles, still slumped down in his chair. "Hey…Promise you won't tell Sonic about this. With all the times I teased him about Amy; if he finds out about this, he'll have a field day with it…"

Aki just stared at Knuckles for a moment, then smiled and replied, "Of course. Your secret's safe with me."

"…Thanks."

It was getting dark outside, and the front desk had slowed down. The nurse at the front, thankful for the break, was flipping through a magazine. Suddenly,

A gruff voice interrupted her. "I'm here to see a patient."

The nurse looked up to see a man wearing a hat and a long coat carrying a bouquet of flowers. She sighed and replied half-heartedly, "I'm sorry sir; visiting hours are over for the day. Come back tomorrow between 1 and 5 PM."

"Oh, I'm not here to visit." The man replied. He reached into the bouquet of flowers and pulled out a gun, aimed right at the nurse's head. The nurse started to scream, but the man quickly clamped his hand over her mouth. "I know that a white batgirl was brought to this clinic a few hours ago. You're gonna tell me where she is."

The nurse nodded fearfully and quickly turned to the computer, checking the records with the gun still pointed at her. "Y…yes sir…" the nurse's voice trembled. "A…white bat…female…w…was brought in…about 3 hours ago…with a bullet wound…Room 502…"

"Who brought her in?"

"I…I can't remember…"

"Is that right?" The man pressed the gun against the nurse's head. "Try really hard…"

"It…it was a red guy!" The nurse exclaimed, nearly in tears. "He had dreadlocks! And huge gloves with spikes!"

"Damn echidna…" The man growled. He put the gun in the holster under his coat and walked off, his long purple tail dragging behind him.

A/N: Oh dear, it's not over yet! Who could this mysterious man be (as if you didn't already know…) Next time, Knuckles must protect Rouge from this guy, but who's going to protect Knuckles? Until next time, R&R!