Chapter 18: Day 17: A Christmas Gift of Care.
It was nearing Christmas Time in Mobotropolis. Right now, everyone was taking care of some last minute Christmas shopping. Right now, Sonic and Aleena, who had just finished Christmas cookie shopping, were on their way back to the castle. Aleena was riding piggyback while Sonic ran at a mild speed. Suddenly, Sonic heard a sound.
He stopped, "What's wrong, Sonic?" Aleena asked.
"I think I just heard someone crying." Sonic said as he set her down and went near an alleyway. What he thought was right. He did hear someone crying. He walked down the alleyway and gasped at what he saw. A small tan hedgehog was sitting near a wall in a bundle, shivering and sobbing his little heart out. Sonic walked over to him, as did Aleena.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sonic asked. The hedgehog looked up at him, showing his nose was runny and his face was red.
"Sonic? Queen Aleena?" the boy asked before he sneezed.
"Did you get separated from your parents?" Sonic asked.
The hedgehog shook his head before he said, "They just left me here and drove off." and started crying after coughing.
Sonic and Aleena looked at each other in shock before Aleena said, "Well, we can't just leave you here. What's your name?"
The hedgehog looked at them again and said, "Sam."
Sonic smiled, "Well, Sam, you can come home with us. We promise, we'll take good care of you." he said before he lifted him onto his back and he and Aleena took him back to the castle. The others were having a Christmas party in the living room and kitchen.
When they noticed Sonic and Aleena come through the door, Sonia, noticing Sam, asked, "Who's that, Sonic?"
"This is Sam. We found him abandoned in an alleyway. He's very sick." Aleena answered, looking sadly at the hedgehog who had fallen asleep on Sonic's back. Sonic walked over to a guest room and placed Sam in a bed and covered him with the bedsheets. He walked out and closed the door.
"Hey, everyone, let's tone it down some so he can rest, alright?" Sonic asked. His friends agreed, turning down their music and keeping their conversations to a medium volume. Later that night, after everyone else had gone home, Sonic brought some cookies and milk to Sam, who was still asleep. He set the plate of sweets by the lamp on a bedside desk. After a few minutes, Sam awoke and looked around before he saw Sonic smiling at him.
"Sonic?" he asked before he sneezed. Sonic wiped his nose with a tissue.
"Where am I?" Sam asked.
"You're at my home, the castle." Sonic smiled before he handed him the cookies and milk, which he took with a wide smile.
"Thank you, Sonic." he said before he took a bite of one of the cookies. After finishing the tasty treats, Sam laid back down with a groan before he started coughing.
"You don't feel too good, do you, buddy?" Sonic asked, feeling sorry for the poor hedgehog. Sam shook his head before Aleena came in with some medicine. She gave Sam a cup filled with orange liquid.
"Here you go. This'll help you feel better." she said before Sam drunk it. He then laid back down and fell asleep. Sonic and Aleena walked out and closed the door. Later, in the living room, the four royal hedgehogs were talking about Sam.
"What are we going to do about the kid?" Manic asked.
"His parents just abandoned him. We can't just drop him off somewhere or we'll be just like them." Sonia said.
"If we only we could provide a permanent home for him…" Sonic said.
Suddenly, that gave Aleena an idea. "I've got it!" she said. Over the course of the next few days, Sam got better, with Sonic, Sonia, Aleena and Manic always being there for him and starting to play with him. By Christmas Day, Sam felt 100% better and joined Sonic and friends in their Christmas present opening. Sam was delighted to know he had been thought about because Sonic's friends gave him tons of cool toys as presents. When it was Aleena's turn, she walked over to him with a smile and something behind her back.
"Sam, this is from me and my children. Merry Christmas." she said as she showed him a piece of paper. Sam was speechless at seeing it was an adoption certificate. He looked at Aleena and the Sonic Underground who were smiling at him.
"Welcome to the family, keed!" Sonic said, using the same nickname he used to call Tails. Sam started tearing up before he hugged Aleena and started crying. The rest of the Hedgehog family came over and group hugged him, earning an "Aww" from everyone else.