A/N: I'm baack! Or rather, I'm back with more Big/Rouge for my buddy Polly The Hedgehog!

Hey, what are you wasting time reading this for? Get reading; I wanna know what you think!
Thanks to all of you who've reviewed!
Dark Huntress, Jake-X and of course my dear friend Polly The Hedgehog, you have my endless thanks.

"So, Big! What's there to do for a girl like me around here?"
"Froggy says you can't do anything yet. You have to stay in bed."
"You listen to the frog's advice?" Rouge looked at it with disdain.
"Yes... Froggy's my best friend and he's very clever."
The little green amphibian croaked in agreement.
"Yeah, well, I think Froggy's mistaken. A little wound in my wing can't stop me walking." She threw off the bedcovers, relieved to find that her clothes were still on. She turned and jumped out of bed, but yelled as a searing pain coursed through her right ankle, and she collapsed. She shut her eyes, preparing to hit the floor, but instead she fell onto something soft and furry.
Opening her eyes, Rouge was shocked to find that Big had caught her.
But how had he done it? He hadn't been standing that close! It was a well known fact that cats were fast creatures, but Big was so slow! How had he caught her?

"Get off me!" Rouge yelled.
The large cat sat her back down on the bed.
"Soorry..." He said quietly.

Ignoring him, Rouge winced as she removed her right boot. The ankle was red and swollen. Despite there being a lot of pain, she could still move it a little, so it wasn't broken, just twisted.
So she couldn't fly and she couldn't walk. Well, she couldn't search for the Chaos Emerald like this.

"Froggy says not to put pressure on your foot. It'll hurt."
"Gee, I'd never have guessed."
There was an awkward silence, during which Rouge felt very uncomfortable under Big's constant watch.

"WILL YOU PLEASE STOP STARING AT ME?!" She yelled.
Big looked down at his feet.
"Soorry..."

Rouge glared at him, and then remembered they were supposed to be 'friends'.
"Sorry, Big. But don't you have something better to do than just stand there? What do you usually do all day?"
Big looked up again.
"I go fishing!" He exclaimed happily.
"Fishing? That sounds... um... fun?"
'Fun? Fishing? No way. Fishing's gotta be one of the most boring things ever.'
"It is! But I don't want you to be all alone. You might get lonely all by yourself." The large cat said anxiously.

"Oh, no no. Don't worry about me! I'm used to being alone!" Rouge held up her hands.
Big looked at her with concern showing on his face.
"Alone? You don't have anyone that cares about you?"
"Of course people care about me! There's..." Rouge considered for a moment.
'There's always Knuckles, I guess... No, He's too busy worrying about that rock to care about me.
Doctor Eggman certainly doesn't care.
Shadow! We're friends! But then again, I don't think he's truly cared about anyone since that girl Maria died.
Do I really have anyone that cares about me?'

Rouge closed her mouth and gulped. "I guess not. But anyway, I don't mind being alone. I don't need anyone else. You go and fish if you want to."
"Okay then... Stay in bed, okaaay? Froggy says you have to..."
"Okay then. See you later, Big!"
"Goodbye..."
Rouge watched Big pick up a large fishing rod and leave the small wooden cabin.

She smiled as she thought about the about that he didn't want to leave her all alone, then realised it was probably more to do with the fact that he didn't trust her alone in his house. After all, why should he? She was a total stranger. Anyone mad enough to be standing at the top of the temple in midwinter couldn't really be trusted not to do something else stupid.
But he had seemed very genuine when he'd said that... Maybe he did care, after all...
What?! Why would he care for her? He had only known her for ten minutes.
And he had been staring at her like a hungry dog. Exactly the same way every other guy stared when they saw her. No doubt he'd copped a feel when he first found her.

Scratching her ear as she wondered when Big was going to get back, Rouge became aware of a small crunching sound coming from her wrist. Pulling down her glove, she realised her G.U.N. communicator was broken. When did that happen?

So, she had no way of contacting the world outside the jungle. Not that it really mattered; she needed to stay in order to get that Chaos Emerald anyway...
Still... a bit of communication other than with a delusional, boring cat and an annoying frog would have been nice...

About ten minutes later, Rouge slumped back on the wooden bed, then leapt off, leaning against the cabin wall.
That bed. It was the only one around. Big had given her his bed? Why had he done that? From the looks of her injuries, she would have to stay for some time. Had he planned on giving up his bed for that long? How nice...

Rouge quickly put a gloved hand to her cheek as she felt it growing warm. She quickly hobbled over to the small stream that was running in front of the house, and stared in shock at her reflection.
Blushing? She was blushing over that stupid lump?
The thought of the blush turned her cheeks a darker shade of pink, and she gasped. She was blushing over Big! The very idea!

A rustling in the bushes nearby made her jump, Big stepped through them, looking curiously at her.
"Hello. Why were you staring at the water?"
"I wasn't. I was looking at myself in the water."
"Oh. I guess if was as pretty as you, I'd want to look at my reflection, too..."
Rouge smiled, blushing a little more.
"Heh... thanks..."

Big's expression changed to one of concern.
"Froggy says you should stay in bed more. You're still hurt."
"Big, I can't use your bed! Where will you sleep?"
"Um..." The large cat cocked his head.
"Where did you sleep last night?" Rouge asked helpfully.
"I didn't sleep. I stayed awake in case you woke up and were scared."
Rouge smiled; she really had had no idea how sweet this guy was...
"You- you stayed awake for me?"

Big nodded, smiling dopily.
"I didn't want you to be afraid, buddy..."
"Oh no, Big, you can't do that! I insist you take your bed back. I'm supposed to be nocturnal anyway."
Big looked blankly at her.
"Nocturnal means that I sleep in the day, and stay awake at night. How about we make a deal; I sleep in the bed during the day, while you fish, and you sleep in the bed at night, while I..." Rouge frowned. What would she do?

"What about if we take turns fishing? You don't need to move your feet for fishing."
"I can't fish." Rouge said dryly. Did she look like the kind of person who sat by the side of a lake all day?
"You can't fish?" Big looked genuinely shocked. However, he soon smiled. "That's okay buddy! I'll teach you!"

Rouge's eye twitched. No way... No.
"No, Big. I don't want to fish. Anyway, it's midwinter! Sitting outside in by a lake all day would be freezing!"
"I don't get cold..."
"Yeah, but that's probably because you're so fa-" Rouge's hand flew to her mouth. "Um... Because you're so furry! All that fur keeps you insulated. But I'm not very furry at all. I'll get cold."
Rouge bit her lip as she looked at Big. She hoped he hadn't heard her 'fat' comment. If he had, this entire thing was over. He certainly wouldn't believe she was his friend anymore. Not to mention how hurt he'd be... Wait. Had she just considered Big's feelings?

"Oh I don't stay warm because I'm furry, it's because of this magic belt." Big said in matter-of-factly voice.
Rouge blinked. Magic belt?
"Magic belt?"
"Yup! Froggy found it in the lake one day, and I never get cold when I'm wearing it..."
Rouge bit her lip again, this time in order to stop herself laughing hysterically. A magic belt? Big truly believed that an old, worn out belt that a frog had found at the bottom of some murky lake had warming powers... Oh man, he got crazier by the second!

"Well, um... If you say so. Buuut I don't have a magic belt. I'll get cold."
"It's okay!" Big said happily. "You can have my spare one!"

"Oh, you have a spare magic belt?" Rouge was fighting to stop herself from sounding patronising, but really, two magic belts? Puurlease!
"That's great!" She said, her face plastered with a fake smile.

Big nodded, and went into the cabin.
It was odd, but Rouge couldn't help but think how cute Big looked when he was determined...
She felt her cheeks heating up again.

After rummaging around for a few moments, Big emerged holding a belt looking exactly the same as the one he was wearing. It was a tan colour, with about five holes and a large round buckle that seemed to be made of Bronze. He handed it to Rouge, who started to put it on. However, the belt was obviously meant for someone with a considerably larger waistline than her, and she eventually had to wrap it round her waist five times before she could fasten it. Amazingly enough, she didn't feel any warmer.
"I hate to say it Big, but it's not working. I guess I'll just have to skip those fishing sessions."

"It's not working because you're putting it on wrong."
Rouge mentally rolled her eyes. So now there was a method for putting magic belts on, was there?
"Well how do you put it on?"

Big held out a paw, and Rouge removed the belt. She handed it to him.
She watched curiously as Big straightened it out and then wrapped it up five times, just as Rouge had done before.
"Now it has to go on over your head." He said, approaching Rouge. He lifted the belt high into the air, and Rouge grudgingly turned her back to him, holding up her arms. She felt like she was a baby being dressed by her parents.

However, as Big's furry arms touched her face, she felt her cheeks grow red again, and as the belt approached her waist, she immediately felt a warm glow that she knew had nothing to do with any 'magic belt'. She slowly leaned her head back against Big's furry chest. Surprisingly, Big didn't smell like fish. In fact, he smelt quite good. Once the belt was on her waist, Big immediately removed his gloved paws and stepped back, causing Rouge to almost fall over.

"Feeling warmer?" The cat asked curiously.

And although she knew the warm glow within her was unrelated to the belt, Rouge smiled at her friend, and said:
"Much."

A/N: Squeee!
Man, that took me too long to write.
What do you think? I'm thinking maybe too rushed?
Yes? No? Maybe? (Johnny English is such a cool film =))

Good news! I think it'll probably be finished for Christmas as I originally intended! Yay!

Please review! I know Big/Rouge isn't everybody's cup of tea, but a little bit of feedback is always appreciated!