Me: Hey there! I'm back! I originally didn't plan to update this. Ever. But, a writer named Charmygirl5 convinced me otherwise! Now, my muse is back! Soooooo, enjoy!

…372…373...374...375… Shadow sighed loudly, frowning at the bumpy ceiling. …376...377...378-Wait…Shadow squinted at the tiny dots sprinkled across the wood above him. Was that 379? Looks like two…No, it's just one. He sighed again. What had become of him? The Ultimate Life Form, the most powerful being in all of creation, reduced to counting dots on a ceiling for entertainment.

But what was there to do? He couldn't exactly move. He'd been laying in this position on her couch for over four weeks now and he was sick of it! He'd spent most of his time here planning his revenge on Robotnic, exchanging verbal insults with his self-proclaimed 'nurse', and counting dots on the ceiling. Now, he'd pretty much planned his revenge down to the very last detail, and Jasper had left to restock the wood pile. So, here he was, counting dots on the ceiling.

In a word? Boring. Shadow groaned, refocusing his gaze on the ceiling above him. ….380...381...38-Forget this! Shadow gave up, growling in annoyance. He was starting to go insane! He couldn't take much more of this…He'd even prefer that aggravating wolf's company over this unending quite!

As though on cue, the little cabin was suddenly filled with the sound of the door being kicked open, bringing Shadow both relief and dread. He couldn't see Jasper enter the house as he was currently lying on the couch, facing the opposite direction of the door. She was soon in his sight, though, as she made her way passed the kitchen in front of him. In spite of the deer carcass on her back and the heavy load of wood in her arms, she didn't look the least bit tired.

"Hey, Stripes!" she greeted him cheerfully, grinning at his scowling form. "Howzit going?" Shadow's only reply was a smoldering glare. "That bad, huh?" She chuckled, getting down on one knee to stack her load on the woodpile next to the fireplace.

As she moved, the deer's head flopped lifelessly to the side, now focusing its unblinking gaze on the couch's sole occupant. Shadow directed his glare at it. Unintimidated, the dead deer continued to stare at him. Shadow scowled. The deer stared. Blinking, the ebony hedgehog turned away uncomfortably. The deer's lifeless gaze was just a little bit…creepy. Not caring, the deer stared on.

Meanwhile, Jasper continued to ramble, completely oblivious. "I caught dinner! It's a good thing I brought my gun. I really didn't expect to hunt anything, but you never really know when the next meal will come along." Placing the last log on the pile, she turned to Shadow. "How does deer soup sound?"

The paralyzed hedgehog simply glared at her, refusing to answer. The wolf had an annoying tendency to turn his own words against him. Jasper grinned. "Good! I'm glad you like it!" she chirped. "Be right back." With that, she turned to head toward the door, the deer once again flopping its gaze toward Shadow and proceeding to stare at him until out of sight. Shadow listened for her footsteps as she walked around the porch and off it. Then, having no choice, he refocused his glare on the ceiling.

…382...383...284…

About an hour later, Jasper had reentered the house and was currently in the kitchen, frying a portion of the meat. She glanced back at Shadow, who hadn't said a word all day long. Turning back, she frowned. She kind of felt sorry for him. He must be terribly bored. So why wasn't he saying anything?

She glanced back again to see him glaring at her, before returning her gaze to the meat. Always glaring. It was as though he was trying to scare her into submissiveness. The silver wolf set her jaw and squared her shoulders. Well, he was wasting his time. She refused to let his scowl intimidate her.

It was a little unnerving, though, what with him having fur blacker than the starless sky and blood-red eyes. She'd never met anyone with his eyes, nor such an intense gaze. He could feel his eyes boring holes in her back as she cooked. It was near impossible to ignore him. Even while helpless, his very presence filled the room.

Still, he was nothing more than a prideful, arrogant hedgehog who threw a tantrum when he didn't get his way. She would show him. The sooner he learned that he couldn't control her, the better. This was her house, not his. She'd been living here for several years now. He was a guest.

With that in mind, she smiled cheerfully and turned to face him. "Your dinner's ready," she announced, bringing the food over.

"It's about time," Shadow grumbled as she made her way toward the edge of the couch. However, in stead of placing the bowl on his small, fold-out table, she held it out.

"Here," she offered.

Shadow's glared intensified. He could barely lift his arms, much less sit up, and he had to do both in order to reach the bowl. Was she trying to make a fool out of him? The ebony hedgehog folded his arms, looking her strait in the eyes. Well, she would just have to try harder.

Jasper recognized his look of defiance immediately and smirked. "Aren't you hungry?" she teased. Shadow continued to glare in silence. "Fine." She pulled up a chair, and, using the couch's armrest as a table, started eating his food. This was a common occurrence around mealtimes. Usually, Shadow would go hungry, though a precious few instances, his hunger had forced him to submit.

"Put the food on the table," Shadow ordered, his deep voice calm, but with and underlining fury.

Jasper met his intimidating gaze without flinching. "Come and get it," she replied, once again holding out the bowl. For a few tense moments, the two locked eyes, sunset-orange clashing with crimson as the atmosphere crackling with hostility.

Finally, Shadow spoke, his words stiff and forced. "I can't," he hissed, flinching as the words left his mouth. Though she didn't show it, Jasper was impressed. It took a lot for anyone to admit their faults, much less him. She was making progress…

"Sure you can," Jasper contradicted immediately. "Don't be silly. You've been lying on that couch for nearly a month without moving. If you really are the incredible creature you keep proclaiming yourself to be, you should've been able to sit up weeks ago!"

Shadow didn't reply, dropping his gaze to scowl at the couch. He knew she was right. She knew that he knew. Good, she'd eased some sense into him. Now, to pass the unreasonable stubbornness. Jasper smiled encouragingly. "Come on, Stripes. You just need some practice."

He looked back up at her, studying her expression for a few minutes in silence. Jasper just stood there, leaning against the armrest with the bowl in her hands, patiently waiting for him to make up his mind.

In order to reach the bowl, he would have to suffer the humiliation of struggling to reach it. It would take him a good minute to sit all the way up, forcing him to look pathetic. This would completely ruin any chance he had at intimidating her. He could tell his glare effected her, though she was very good at hiding it. He was wearing her down. Still, she was a very stubborn wolf, almost as stubborn as he was. Almost.

Shadow set his jaw and turned to scowl at the fireplace. It wasn't worth it, he decided.

Jasper mentally sighed. She'd been so close. Oh well…maybe next time. Still, she could tell he'd actually made an effort to reason with her instead of just his usual blatant refusal. So, this time, she wouldn't eat in front of him. He was working in it. She would reward him.

Straitening, Jasper placed the bowl of soup on the armrest, turned and headed toward the kitchen. After serving herself, she picked up her bowl and headed toward the door. "Don't spill," she called over her shoulder before closing the front door.

As silence descended, Shadow returned his gaze toward the bowl in mild confusion. Usually, she'd eat his food. What was she up to? Shadow frowned at the food sitting a mere two feet from his nose. The aroma was starting to get to him, increasing the pain in his middle. If he could just…

Shadow reached his arm forward, coming about a foot short of the bowl. Cursing, Shadow reached further, his shoulders barely off of the couch before he flopped back, exhausted. He really was pathetic. Stupid doctor with his stupid machine. As soon as his strength returned, he was going to find that thing and maliciously tear it to pieces. Of course, his strength wasn't coming on its own. He needed food.

Taking a deep breath, Shadow once again reached for the food, going about an inch further before falling back to the couch. After catching his breath, he tried a different tactic. Pushing behind himself with his arms, he managed to prop himself up on his elbows. He paused to rest for a few seconds, then slowly pushed himself forward with his hands. Just…a little bit…further…There!

Finally, he managed to straiten his arms completely, locking his elbows as his claws dug into the sofa. However, he could feel his muscles shaking, having not been used for so long. They were about to collapse, but he was so close! Grunting, Shadow gave one last reach, jerking his body forward. Bang! Shadow muttered a curse as his forehead smacked against the fold-up table. That hurt.

Now what? Shadow had managed to reach over enough to sit strait up, then let gravity take him the rest of the way. He had promptly flopped forward like a rubber turkey, unable to keep himself upright. Now, his head was resting against the table's flat surface with his arms dangling loosely on either side. Somehow, he had to get the bowl on the table.

In order to do that, he had to sit up of his own accord long enough to reach over toward the bowl, get it onto the table with out spilling, and return to his original position. If he didn't, he would either spill the contents of the soup all over his legs, which Jasper would have to clean, or his strength would give out the moment his soup was on the table, causing him to face-plant into his soup and drown. That was definitely nothow he wanted to die, thank-you-very-much.

Shadow froze at the sound of the door opening. Oh, no. Not now! Jasper was humming as she strode casually toward the kitchen, placing her bowl in the sink. Shadow shut his eyes. Please don't let her turn around.

"You know," Jasper called as she turned on the facet water. "One of the benefits of living by yourself is you never have many dishes."

Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Don't turn around!

Jasper shut off the water and turned. "In large families, the dishes can sometimes take-" She froze in mid sentence, her eyes resting on a very humiliated Shadow. He was flopped forward with his head on the table and one of his arms hanging off the side of the couch. His quills scrunched up and awkward-looking from laying in the same position for so long and his ears were laid flat against his skull.

It took all of Jasper's will power not to burst out laughing. Of course, she couldn't hide her smile, not that it mattered since he couldn't exactly see her. He looked absolutely ridiculous. The fact that he was stuck only increased the humor of the situation. After openly staring for long, dragging seconds, Jasper whirled around and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in an attempt to pull herself together.

Shadow wanted to die. He wanted Jasper to die. He wanted to dissolve into the couch. He wanted to eat the dang soup! He hated his life.

He heard her walk across the carpet and tensed as he felt her lay a hand on his head. "Here," she murmured as she pushed him back into a sitting position. Then, supporting his back with her other arm, she gently lowered him back down to the couch.

Shadow refused to meet her eyes, his pride shot to the moon. Jasper then took the bowl and placed it on the table in front of him. He looked at the food in surprise. "You've earned it," was all she said before turning to head back to the kitchen. Shadow just glared at the food for a moment before sighing.

"This is all your fault," he informed it quietly. The bowl just sat there. After a moment, he picked up the spoon and started eating.

"You've earned it."

Indeed, he had.

Me: Soooooo, what do you think? Good? Funny? Oh, and who here could totally picture Shadow flopped forward like that? I did! I made myself laugh! Tell me what you think! See that little button down there? CLICK IT! Thankx! XD