Tom frowned, his forehead creasing, as he looked through his closet for the third time that morning. He's supposed to be going to pick up some groceries for little, old Mrs. Getler and was trying to get dressed; key word trying. The shirt he wanted to wear was no where to be found. He's checked the closet, the dirty hamper, the washer, the dryer, even the trash can but it was no where. With a sigh, Tom grabbed a random shirt and threw it on. It wasn't the same though; the other one had been one of his favorites. Walking out of his room, he nearly ran into Sonic, who seems to be nervous for some reason.

"Donut Lord!" The blue alien greeted. "Thank goodness you're finally up! Maddie made double chocolate pancakes! Not only is there chocolate chips in them, but the batter is chocolate too. Isn't that awesome?!" Tom smiled at the little guy's excitement over something anyone would consider not a big deal.

"It does sound pretty awesome." He said. "I guess we shouldn't keep her waiting." He quickly scooped up the hedgehog, causing him to laugh in delight, and hoisted him on his shoulder. Making sure he had a good grip on Sonic's legs, Tom made his way to the kitchen where he was greeted by the sight of his beautiful wife and the sweet smell of chocolatey pancakes. With a smile, Tom placed Sonic at the table and snuck up behind Maddie before looping his arms around her waist.

"Good morning!" He greeted, smiling as she leaned against his chest. Turning her head to face him, she gave him a tender kiss with a smile of her own.

"Good morning to you too." They were pulled apart by a sudden groan at the table.

"Can you not do any of that lovey-dovey mush over the pancakes please?" Sonic asked, completely disgusted. Smiling at each other playfully, they kissed again causing Sonic to groan in disgust even louder than before. "You guys are so gross!"

Laughing, the two humans separated. While Maddie finished up with the cooking, Tom and Sonic set the table. It was a few minutes into breakfast when Tom thought to ask Maddie if she knew where his shirt was.

"Hey Mads?" He asked. "Have you seen my shirt? You know the dark green, long-sleeved one?" The sound of Sonics fork against his plate suddenly stopped but Tom didn't notice as Maddie shook her head.

"No." She said. "Have you checked the laundry room?" Tom nodded his head.

"I've checked everywhere." Maddie shrugged.

"I don't know, babe." She said, spearing a piece of pancake with her fork. "If I think about it, I'll look for it. It could've just gotten mixed up with some other things." Tom nodded and went back to eating. Neither human wondered why Sonic had gotten so quiet.

2 weeks later

Tom couldn't believe it! Two other shirts were just gone; no where to be seen! Now, along with the first one, he's missing a dark blue flannel and that San Francisco shirt; although, he could look past that particular shirt. He just didn't understand. Sighing, he finished getting dressed in his sheriff uniform before going down stairs.

"I don't get it, Maddie!" He said as he walked into the kitchen. Sonic was already there eating his cereal and Maddie was making coffee.

"Another one of your shirts missing?" She asked with a slight smile. She noticed Sonic suddenly becoming stiff, but Tom didn't seem to. She wondered what that was about.

"Two of them are gone this time!" Tom stressed the two part. "I just don't know!" He looked over at Sonic, who seem to be trying to stare a hole into the table.

"You haven't seen them, have you Sonic?" The blue hedgehog suddenly looked up, his eyes wide as he shook his head.

"Come on, Donut Lord." Sonic said, waving his hands around. "Why would I know where your shirts are? I think all the sugar from those donuts have finally gone to your brain. You've probably just lost them. I've lost loads of things! One of my comic books, my old paddle ball, a baseball, the chili dog we had for lunch last Thursday. Oh my gosh would you look at the time? Gotta get to school. Bye guys! C'ya later!" Before either could blink, he was gone. Tom looked at his wife in confusion.

"Did he say he lost his chili dog?"

3 days later

Sonic absolutely adored going to school. He felt like a real kid! No more looking in from the other side of the window wanting to be apart of a real class. Now, he is apart of it and he couldn't be happier. He's even made a few friends, though it's not hard for an alien hedgehog who saved the town to make friends. Needless to say, Sonic loved the school experience. Well, he loved most of it. The "school experience" not only comes with good things, but bad things as well; mainly known as, bullies.

"Hey freak!" Sonic froze in the hallway, his fingers tightening around the straps of his backpack. Turning around slowly, he looked up into the eyes of one of his biggest tormentors, Crash Hargrove. He looked like your normal bully; tall, mean, and ugly. He was probably the biggest eighth grader in the school. He was as stupid as he was big, too. Everyone knew what Sonic could do, some saw it when he fought Robotnik, but Crash didn't seem to care. Not that Sonic would ever use his electricity on anyone in Green Hill, but sometimes he couldn't control it. Just look at the baseball field.

"What do you want, Crash?" Sonic asked, his hold still tight on his bag.

"For you to go back where you came from." The boy sneered. Sonic just rolled his eyes.

"You're really going to go for that argument again?" Sonic asked before shaking his head. "Your material's getting weak, dude." There were a few quiet giggles throughout the crowd around them and Crash just glared.

"You don't belong here, freak!" Crash told him. "At this school or in Green Hill." Sonic just shook his head sadly.

"Really man, you gotta come up with something different." Sonic told him. "Give it more pizzazz! Tell you what, why don't we go our separate ways for now and you just think on it? We can meet back here around 1 o'clock maybe? Sound good? Okay! See ya later then!" He turned around, going to leave, when his backpack was suddenly ripped from his back. Quickly, he whipped around, his eyes wide with panic.

"Hey!" He said, reaching for his backpack. "Give that back!" Crash smirked, holding the bag higher as he found a new way to torment Sonic.

"Oh?" Crash said. "Does the little freak want his backpack? Must have something pretty good in it if it's got you so worked up. Shall we take a peak?"

Now before Sonic was able to go to school, Tom and Maddie had sat him down and had him promise not to use his speed during school hours, they were only for emergencies. After seeing how confused Sonic was, they explained how to wouldn't be fair for Sonic to use his speed during school because how easy it made everything. They didn't want him to rush through everything; they wanted him to take his time and enjoy being a kid. He understood then and promised not to use his speed, but when he saw Crash about to open his book bag that held something he cherished above almost everything, he broke his promise. All in under a second, Sonic took back his bag and pushed Crash back, sending him skidding across the hall and slamming into the wall a few feet away. It was quiet in the hall, except for the occasional groan for Crash, until a teacher burst through the crowd. The man looked between the frozen hedgehog to the dazed bully before glaring sternly at Sonic.

"Mr. Wachowski!" He said and Sonic flinched. "Report to the principal's office at once! Everyone else get to class!" The crowd quickly dispersed while the teacher went to help Crash. Sonic, ears flat against his head and book bag clutched tightly to his chest, slowly made his way to the principal's office.

Tom was not the happiest person when he walked into the front office of Green Hill middle school. When he got the call saying Sonic had used his powers on another students, he had dropped everything and raced over to the school. He had never been so angry at Sonic until this moment. Talking shortly with the front desk lady, he was pointed towards the principal's office and informed that Principal Williams and Sonic were waiting for him. Nodding a quick thanks, he went to the office, knocking quickly before letting himself in. His eyes immediately landed on Sonic. The little hedgehog looked even smaller in the plastic chair. His ears were down and his arms clutched tightly to his backpack. Tom could even see small shocks over blue electricity running over his fur. The principal, who seemed to be trying to get Sonic to talk, looked up as the door closed.

"Ah, Sheriff Wachowski," Principal Williams greeted. "Thank you for coming. If you could have a seat please?" He gestured to the chair beside Sonic and Tom gladly took it. Sonic didn't even look up, but Tom knew he was listening with how his shoulders tensed up. Tom took his seat with a quick glance at Sonic.

"The call said Sonic used his powers on another student?" Tom cut right to the chase. "Is he alright?" Principal Williams nodded.

"Yes, besides a small bump to his head and sore ribs, Mr. Hargrove is just fine." The man folded his hands together. "Sonic, though, hasn't spoken since he's come into my office so I don't know everything that happened. I did speak to a few students who witnessed the incident and was told Mr. Hargrove had been calling him names, though Sonic seemed to simply brush that off. They did tell me that Sonic only used his powers when Mr. Hargrove stole his backpack and was going to go through it." The two adults looked at the young hedgehog, who's grip on his bag tightened. The principal sighed.

"I've already told Sonic that he'll only have to serve one afternoon detention," he told him. "And that's only because he used his powers on another student. Mr. Hargrove will be getting a months worth of detentions and, when I talked to his mother over the phone, it sounds like he'll be grounded longer than that." Tom nodded.

"Thank you, Principal Williams," he said. "And Sonic's detention is completely fair. He'll be getting his own grounding when we get home." Sonic wilted even more at that. Principal Williams gave a nod before standing, Tom following.

"Of course, Sheriff." He said, holding out a hand to shake, which Tom firmly took. "Well, the school day is almost over so you can take Sonic on home. I'm sure he needs it right now."

"Thank you again, Principal Williams." Tom said before looking over at Sonic. "Come on, Sonic." Still without meeting the eyes of his guardian, Sonic slid out of his chair and followed Tom out of the office and to the truck. They didn't talk as Tom drove home and Sonic was sure that was a bad sign. What if they decided this was the last straw and they didn't want him anymore? Feeling the familiar feeling of panic well up in his chest, Sonic quietly unzipped his bag and stuck his hand in. His fingers immediately found what he was looking for and at the soft touch the panic in his chest dissipated. He breathed a sigh of relief as Tom pulled into the driveway of the house. He parked the truck, but neither of them got out.

"What happened today, bud?" Tom asked after a couple minutes of silence. Sonic was sure he sensed disappointment in his humans voice and he dug his fingers deeper into the object in his bag. He didn't speak. "Sonic, come on, man. I know you! You wouldn't have done what you did without a reason. I just want to know that reason so I can help you."

Sonic bit his bottom lip as he thought about it. Tom wanted to help him, just like he always does. That doesn't sound like someone who wants to get rid of him, does it? Making a decision, Sonic finally looked up at Tom and slowly took out the object in his bag. Tom was very surprised.

"You took my shirts?" He asked. Sonic gave a slight nod, holding the missing dark blue flannel. "Why?" Sonic fidgeted in his seat, looking down at his lap.

"It-it smells like you," he said with a blush. "It smells like home. I like to – uh, touch it when I start getting…over emotional. Usually when I'm sad or stressed; it's touched a lot during tests at school. I kind of sleep with it at night because it keeps nightmares away and I wear the dark green long sleeves one to bed every night." He looked up and tried to back track when he saw Tom's shocked face.

"Did I say all that?" He chuckled nervously. "No, that's ridiculous! I don't do that! Why would I do that? You know it probably just fell into my bag somehow. Yep! That's what happened so let's forget this conversation and-" He was cut off suddenly by Tom pulling him into a hug. Sonic, still not completely used to any kind of contact besides high-fives, stiffed for a brief second before relaxing into Tom's arms. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Sonic pulled back slightly.

"Don't you think it's weird?" He asked, wringing his hands together. "Me liking your shirts so much?" Tom smiled, his eyes shining with a layer of tears.

"Are you kidding me?" He asked. "Hearing you say that this is your home; that I'm your home? That's like the best thing you could ever tell me! If a few of my shirts help you feel comfortable here then I have no problem giving them to you. It makes me so happy that you take comfort in something of mine." Sonic beamed at him and threw his arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"Thanks, dad." He whispered and Tom had never been so close to crying in utter happiness. Wrapping his arms around Sonic, they stayed like that for a good few minutes before Tom figured they should really head inside.

"Come on, kid." He said, pulling back from the hug. "We should probably go in and get dinner started before Maddie gets home. What should we have tonight?"

"Chili dogs!" Sonic bounced excitedly as Tom rolled his eyes.

"Why do I even ask?" He chuckled. With Sonic still in his arms, he got out of the truck and headed towards the house, after giving Sonic his bag with the shirt stuffed inside. "So where's the San Francisco shirt?"

"You mean the skin tight shirt you were wearing when you shot me?" Sonic asked, eyes narrowed. Tom just shook his head.

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?" He asked. "So where did you put it?" Sonic smirked.

"I didn't put it anywhere," he told him. "I burned it." Tom stared in disbelief.

"You burned my shirt." He said and Sonic nodded. "Why?"

"Well, it was because of that terrible shirt I had to go all the way to San Francisco to get my rings." He said. "Well, that and the fact that you shot me."

"One more word and you'll have no chili dogs for a week." Sonic gasped.

"You monster!"