'Allo people! For those of you who haven't stopped reading yet, I thank you! Believe me, I've got some stuff planned for this story. (Well, of course I should. I am the author, am I not?) Watermelons are cold. Just thought I'd point that out.

Shadow could not sleep that night. He was still having trouble accepting the fact he was pregnant. It just wasn't right for a guy to be pregnant, so why him? Proffessor Gerald probably made it that way, so he'd still be able to have kids if he found a spouse that wouldn't be able to. Sometimes, Gerald had the strangest ideas. Shadow rolled over a bit. One of the bad things about being pregnant is that he couldn't sleep on his stomach like usual. So he had to either sleep on his side (which was uncomfortable) or on his back (which hurt, due to his quills). One of the many things not many people thought about.

Speaking of which, what did he know about pregnancy? Shadow thought for a bit. Let's see...pregnancy usually occured in women (excluding him) after sleeping with someone else. The child grew in the stomach, and later came out, causing the parent a whole lot of pain. That was pretty much all he knew, but it still didn't sound real appeasing. Shadow let out a sigh. Maybe Rouge would know what to do? Of course, it would probably be hard to explain it to her. Speaking of which, what about the others? Would he have to tell Sonic and the others? That really troubled Shadow. He'd either be made fun of, or treated like a freak. Neither sounded good. Shadow decided that he would try to act normal. At least until his pregnancy was noticeable, then he'd stay away.

Rouge peeked in through an open window. She was working on her government mission. This was a criminal hideout, full of crooks hiding from the government. It was Rouge's mission to clear them out. She pulled up her comm-link.

"Alright boys," she said to the groups of GUN military below, "Bar all exits. I'm going in." The GUN military ordered to help on this mission. It was a good thing Shadow wasn't along, he hated these guys. Rouge sighed. She hoped that Shadow was doing alright. He had seemed pretty upset that she had to leave so soon.

Rouge motioned over some of the GUN members. "When I say go, we barge in and drive them out. Kill only if necessary." The group nodded, following her as they climbed into the rafters.

"Go," she said, as GUN members began to jump to the floor. She glided down with them.

"Everybody OUT!" She screamed, scaring quite a few people. The criminals ran in all directions. Wherever they ran, GUN members either caught them or killed them. It was a bloody sight, and Rouge hated doing these kinds of missions. But it was the price she had to pay for government information on just about anything. She sighed, and resumed capturing criminals.

Soon, the deed was done. The soldiars were all busy either taking away dead bodies, or preparing the captured crooks to be taken back to headquarters. Rouge walked away as they did their work. Suddenly, she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey baby," a voice said as a jackrabbit came out of the shadows.

"Long time no see, Ebony," she said coldly. He was her ex-boyfriend. They had ditched each other soon after Rouge had returned from the Ark. Ebony was black, with bits of white that looked like stars. He wore a dark blue jacket and pants, contrasting against his bright orange eyes.

"Come on Rouge," he said, "I just wanted to say hi, since my favorite girl was in the neighborhood."

"Cut the act Ebony," she said, flashing her wedding ring, "I'm married."

"Oh really?" Ebony asked, pretending to be taken aback. "I never would have thought you had taste for anyone but me. So, what's the muskrat's name?"

"His name is Shadow," Rouge said coldly, "and he's a hedgehog, not a muskrat." Ebony looked her in the eyes.

"Shadow?" he asked, "The hedgehog the government was after during that alien invasion? Ah Rouge, you always did like those strong, dark guys. Like me."

"Shut up," Rouge snapped. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Oh, I heared that there was going to be some excitement tonight," Ebony said. "I just wanted to watch, especially when I heard you'd be there."

"Well, party's over," Rouge said, flying away. She let out a whistle, signaling the GUN members that it was almost time to go. She looked around. No Ebony. That was good. The mission was over, and now she could check on Shadow. Just as long as he didn't know about Ebony, she was fine.

It's probably obvious, but this isn't the last time you'll see Ebony. Next chapter, how will Rouge take Shadow's news? You'll have to find out! And thanks for reviewing :)