Chapter 4: hospital

Shadow woke in a hospital bed hooked up to some monitors and liquids being transferred into his veins. He glanced over sonic wasn't there, then he felt piercing in his back. He tried to glance over his shoulder but it was hard since he was laying on his stomach.

"Sorry that I'm hurting you, I'm just doing my job." A golden retriever shrugged.

"Who are you?" Shadow grumbled.

"Oh my apologies I'm doctor Shea, Danita Shea I'm an intern." The golden retriever said brightly.

"Right...they better not have interns operating on sonic." Shadow grumbled.

"Just assisting."

"That's concerning, why aren't you assisting?"

"Because I don't suck up to my attending." Danita grumbled. "And the gallery is full it's not everyday that sonic the hedgehog is in the hospital."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Make sure that he's left alone, he's probably gonna have a rough time."

"You included?"

"Sonic needs someone here to keep him sane."

"You're hardly hurt enough to be here but I'll make an exception."

"Right...what's wrong with me?" Shadow asked.

"Nothing other than this gash, a broken rib and some bruising on your spine, I can offer you a brace but it's not really necessary." Dr. Shea offered.

"Nah I'll be fine. How long has he been in surgery?" Shadow asked.

"Around 3 hours they should be finishing up." She said finishing the last stitch. "Now all I have to do is wrap it up for extra comfort."

"Extra comfort? Are you doing more than you have to?" Shadow sighed.

"Maybe." Dr. Shea replied.

Shadow let her wrap him up, then he slowly sat up and rested his back against the pillows.

"I know it's not my place to ask but what happened?" She asked, disposing of her gloves.

"We we're getting a chaos emerald from Eggman's airship and long story short it blew up and sonic pushed me out so I wouldn't end up like him." Shadow grumbled.

The doctor nodded slowly. "Well he's certainly brave."

"Or stupid." Shadow grumbled. "He might've just screwed himself over." Then he remembered something. "Did someone contact Tails?"

"Yeah he's on his way, I have to go I got paged." The doctor said quickly heading to the door. "If anyone asks I'm the doctor on this case." She said over her shoulder.

Shadow sighed. "Whatever." And he was left alone again, not for long though Sonic was brought into the room, still unconscious. The doctors elevated his leg and had a cast on his arm.

Within 15 minutes sonic began to wake.

Shadow decided to stay quiet he didn't want to startle him, it didn't look like he knew where he was or what happened.

Sonic slowly turned his head, he stared at shadow for a few seconds before he recognized him. "Hey Shads!" He said with a giggle. "Stop moving around would ya?"

Shadow offered a small smile. "How do you feel?"

Sonic rested his head on the pillow and glanced at the ceiling. "Great!" He said with a laugh, shifting his gaze back at shadow.

The dark hedgehog noticed that Sonics eyes were glazed and unfocused.

Sonic waved his hand sloppily in front of his eyes, his balance was off and he flopped over in his side. " there's like three of you...heh you look funny."

Shadow wondered if this was what sonic was like when he was drunk. His voice was slurred, he was uncoordinated and his eyes didn't seem work well either. "Do you remember anything?"

"Huh?" Sonic tilted his head. "Remember what?"

Shadow sighed. "Does it hurt?"

"Uh...what hurts?" Sonic asked looking even more confused.

"Forget it." Shadow shook his head to himself, it would help if sonic was sane enough to answer his questions.

"What's wrong Shads?"Sonic asked, drowsiness coated his slurred words, but there was honest concern there.

"Nothing you're what's wrong..." Shadow muttered.

Sonic flattened his ears. "What'd I do...?" He mumbled his green eyes wide and sad.

Oops. Shadow blinked, he wouldn't have thought Sonic would get what he was saying, or take anything of it personally. Sonic never took things personally… But probably the current circumstances were just different. "Nothing," he said hurriedly.

Sonic nodded slowly, his soft ears tipping upright and he had a dopey smile on his face.

Good. Shadow let out a content sigh and stayed quiet for a few minutes. "Hey sonic?" He asked the blue hedgehog looked about to fall asleep.

"Yeah...?"

"You'll recover quickly."

"Wha? Nothings wrong wi' me." Sonic grumbled crossing his arm.

Shadow let out an annoyed sigh, and just like that his kind demeanour was gone. "Your leg is broken you idiot. Your arm too." He grumbled.

Sonic triangular ears flattened to his head, he adverted his gazed. "Wha are you talk in' bout? Nothin' gives you the right to walk in mah' room and speak nonsense."

Shadow just stared at him. That established he was totally out of it; he couldn't exactly expect sonic to remember anything. "Sonic we're in a hospital, you took some damage in a explosion earlier and you broke your arm and leg."

Sonic blinked slowly. "Oh...o-okay."

Silence filled the air, shadow knew he was a bit harsh but that was nothing new, sonic would just forget about this conversation anyway.

"Hey, Shads?"

"Yes?"

""Ah've been meanin' ta tell ya somethin'…" Sonic was visibly straining himself to look at him.

"Just go ahead." The hedgehog wasn't quite sure what great revelation he was in for, but he was more intent on getting him to sleep than hearing it. Anyway, it didn't actually hurt letting the hedgehog spout nonsense. It wasn't exactly his fault for once.

What sonic did spout was not the kind of nonsense he expected. "Ya knoww, you're not as bad as others think." Sonic said slowly. "you've got a nice side and you're good company...maybe one day you can accept that we're friendss..."

Shadow blinked. While it was clearly a statement he'd only made because he was totally drugged up, that also made it quite an honest statement. And no matter the weird way he had put it, something about those slurred, jumbled words made Shadow feel strangely warm. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

"Heh." Sonic giggled a little. "Yo,Shads?"

"What is it?"

The hedgehog pointed his free hand at the ceiling. "It's so beautiful here...Are we in heaven?"

Shadow tilted his head upwards, but all there was was a dim ceiling light. Yet, an indulgent smirk played around his lips and he replied softly. "Yeah, we sure are."

About half an hour later Sonic was jolted awake by the door closing, he glanced at the doctors coming in then rested his head back on the pillow barely acknowledging their existence.

Shadow wondered if the drugs had worn off and sonic was just being moody or the drugs were still in his system.

The doctors nodded to each other and wordlessly unraveled Sonic leg, they glanced at their work and gently prodded at the swollen flesh.

Strong painkiller indeed, shadow didn't know what sonic had been dosed with but it worked like a charm. Sonic didn't seem to notice they were touching him.

The doctors did some movements of his leg and when they jerked his foot Sonic lifted his head, dazed his drowsy green eyes questioning. Then he let himself relax back into his pillow.

The doctors wrapped his leg back up and left the room, shadow glanced at sonic whose eyes were shut and he looked comfortable. Shadow curled up and sighed as he waited for sonic to sleep off his intoxication.

5 hours later...

Tails showed up a few hours after sonic fell asleep and waited patiently for sonic to wake, he and shadow shared small talk for a while but eventually they fell in silence watching the steady rise and fall of Sonic's chest.

Sonic opened his eyes and immediately closed them it was so bright...he tried again, his eyes burning he blinked rapidly until the light wasn't as overbearing and the world shifted into focus. His gaze naturally met the ceiling then shifted down to his leg that was propped up, he tried to wiggle his toes but was stopped a sharp pain through his leg. "Oww!"

"I take it, it hurts now."

Sonic turned his head to the dry matter-of-fact voice, at the other side of the room Shadow was laying in a hospital bed, tails sitting in a chair next to him. "...Shads?"

"Good observation, I'm glad you actually know who I am though." He said with a smile.

"Huh?" Sonic carefully got up to a sitting position, again holding his head. His stomach turned over even before he was fully upright, a wave of nausea bordering on dangerous level shot through his body and he was damned if he knew what Shadow was talking about.

"You weren't exactly… sane, yesterday." The hedgehog shrugged a little. "Do you remember what happened?"

Sonic nodded his head and immediately regretted it. "Ugh… Oh, and while you're at it, tell me how My surgery went…" he flattened his ears and covered his mouth.

Tails walked to his side and gently rubbed his back, Sonic forced a smile, you could see in his eyes that he was feeling awful.

"From what I could tell it went well." Shadow said gently.

Sonic blinked he brought a hand to his head, the room was doing a slow carousel motion. "That's good...actually great...really great."

"Your sentences a slightly better than earlier." Shadow said amusedly.

Sonic felt himself needing to curl over but his body ached, especially his head. "Ugh...is it just my leg and arm that's broken? My body aches..." he moaned.

"They didn't say, you're probably bruised all over." Shadow said with a shrug.

Sonic tried to roll his right shoulder and groaned in pain. "Augh..."

Tails frowned. "Should I call a doctor?"

Shadow nodded. "He won't accept it on his own go get one."

Tails walked into the hall and got a doctor, the doctor walked in and notice Sonic was trying to curl over himself.

"Alright Sonic I just need to take a look at you." The doctor said gently.

Sonic slowly uncurled letting out a gasp of pain.

The doctor slowly prodded his stomach and moved up, a low groan escaped sonics lips as he move up. The doctor pulled away, a sympathetic smile on his face.

Sonic groaned and gently rubbed the hurting area. "Ugh...I'm gonna hurl..."

The doctor quickly scooped up a bucket and handed it to him.

Sonic nodded slightly in thanks then immediately heaved into the bucket. "Ugh...gross."

"There is definitely some bruising on your abdomen, it's nothing serious but painful nonetheless." The doctor explained.

"Ugh...You're telling me..."

"Just press the call button if you need anything nurses will check up every hour and I'll be back tomorrow for post op." The doctor said shutting the door as he left.

"How do you feel?" Tails asked, rubbing his fingers through his quills.

"Disgusting." Sonic moaned. "Everything hurts..."

Tails fingers got caught in sonics messy quills. "Your quills are a mess."

"Can you make them not a mess?" Sonic asked.

"Yes actually, I brought a hair brush I was expecting some things to happen so I brought stuff."

"No confidence in me eh?" Sonic tried a grin.

Tail unzipped his bag and got out a hair brush and attempted to brush out sonics matted quills.

Sonic groaned. "Ow..."

"I'm not pulling that hard..."

"I have a killer headache..." sonic mumbled.

"Sorry..." Tails murmured. "Try to calm down, deep breaths."

"It hurts when I breathe to deeply." Sonic grumbled.

Tails frowned and continue to smooth his quills, trying his best not to hurt him. He heard sonic moan in pain.

"Ahh...hurts..." he groaned.

"I know, I know..."

Sonic curled over the Bucket again and gagged.

Tails frowned and tried to ignore the pained noises Sonic was making.

Sonic vomited into the bucket again his ears pinned back, he let out a pitiful groan. "I'm going to be here for a while aren't I?"

"Probably." Tails sighed finishing with brushing his quills.

Sonic leaned back into the pillow. "I'll be fine...I'm just stressed out...nothings wrong..." he murmured trying to convince himself. His glazed emerald eyes shifted to Tails. "I want to go home."

Neither Tails or shadow had ever heard sonic sound so desperate.

"Sonic I can't take you home yet." Tails murmured.

"I know...Ugh...I feel really sick..." sonic groaned. "Like the worst in my life..."

Tails gently hugged sonic. "You're okay..."

There was a knock on the door and Dr. Shea was there. "I'm here to do a quick check in."

Sonic smiled. "Come on in." He said brightly.

Shadow wondered how sonic was able to switch his mood immediately. Dr. Shea smiled as she walked in and quickly checked his vitals and wrote down a few numbers. "Shadow told me what you did, you're so brave!" She said warmly.

"Or stupid." Tails muttered.

Shadow smirked at the Fox's comment. "Glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks that."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Whatever Shads, be grateful that I saved you all this pain."

"You seem alright to me." Shadow shrugged.

Sonic and Tails shot him an incredulous look.

"Are you serious?! Sonic almost died saving your ass, sure I think it was a stupid decision but you can blatantly lie about his condition." Tails growled, marching up towards the hedgehog.

Sonic turned to Dr. Shea, he smiled softly. "Sorry about them, I did what I had to."

Dr.Shea smiled. "They argue cause they care."

"Heh, yeah I'm not sure if Shadow really cares he's here to see me suffer." Sonic said jokingly.

"He cares, I've seen enough people here to know." She said with a wink. "Anyways things are all good, I'm not a nurse but I'll still stop by a few more times before tomorrow."

"Alright, thank you!" Sonic said brightly.

Dr. Shea smiled and left quietly.

Sonic sighed, Tails and Shadow were still arguing. He decided to close his eyes and ignore them, they would sort themselves out eventually.