About an hour later, the two of them were quietly eating dinner. Jasper sat at the couch, trying to ignore the fact that Shadow hadn't stopped staring at her since their little 'encounter'. Even while eating, he had his glare fixed solely upon her, his eyes boring holes into her head. Every now and then, she'd glance at him, then immediately turn away. From the look of it, it was almost like he was studying her, his expression a mixture between thoughtful and confused.

It was getting on her nerves. Jasper's gaze wandered around the room, trying to appear nonchalant while looking anywhere but him. Her eyes soon fell upon the book-cart and the cane, still on the floor where they'd left them. The silver wolf grinned. Finally, a distraction.

"So," she mused, "It appears you did need my cane after all."

Shadow blinked, finally turning away from her to glance at the cane, still lying on the floor. He scowled. "I don't need that stupid thing," he insisted.

"You were using it to reach my cart," Jasper pointed out, smirking, "Something you also insisted you didn't need." She chuckled as she watched him squirm, scowling at the couch.

"I was bored, okay!" he cried, hating the fact that she'd been right. "What else was there for me to do? I couldn't even sleep!" He huffed, taking another bite of his dinner.

"Of course you couldn't," Jasper replied.

Surprised, Shadow glanced up at her. "Why not?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you already knew. It's almost impossible for you to sleep at all, since you're body doesn't naturally depend on it."

The ebony hedgehog blinked. He'd figured as much. But if that was the case, then why did he always fall asleep at night? "I sleep every day," he pointed out.

Jasper shrugged. "Of course you do. I know your body needs sleep to heal, so I always dissolve sleeping pills in your supper."

Shadow suddenly chocked on his food and started coughing. "What!" he cried, shoving his food away from him like it was radioactive.

Jasper laughed. "Oh, would you calm down? It helps you heal!"

"I can heal on my own!" Shadow insisted, still glaring nervously at the mostly empty plate.

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "You look like you expect it to jump off and attack you." Shadow glared at her, and she was surprised at the look of betrayal on his face. She sighed. "Look, it was for your own good. Besides, I doubt you'd rather stay awake all night. You'd be more bored than ever!"

Shadow turned back to his food. "Did you put anything else in there?" he demanded.

Jasper cocked her head slightly. This wasn't just about the sleeping pill. There was something else; she could see it in his expression. It was almost like…fear. "No," she assured him, her voice quiet and firm. "Contrary to what you might think, I actually don't put harmful medications in my patient's food." He looked up to meet her eyes then, surprised. It was as though she'd read his mind. "There's something else, though. Isn't there?" she questioned, and his eyes fell to the couch. "What happened, Stripes."

He was quiet for a long time, so long that Jasper almost thought he'd decided not to answer her. Meanwhile, Shadow was wondering why he'd decided he would. He never really talked about his past at all, not to anyone, so why her? Why did he feel comfortable talking about such a sore subject with one of his greatest enemies at the time. Perhaps he'd been here for too long…

Shadow shook his head slightly, then opened his mouth with every intention of telling her it was none of her buisness. "I'm different," he said, his quiet voice piercing the empty silence. "I'm powerful, ageless, and unable to be affected by normal, mortal diseases. Because of this, a group of…scientists…They used to give me things to test me: medicines, pills, injections. It was worth it, though, because of their cause at the time, but…..I still hated it." Shadow blinked. Did he really just say all of that? What was wrong with him?

Jasper didn't reply for a moment, frowning as she studyed him. Then, she quietly rounded the counter and went to kneel beside him, drawing his attention to her. She looked him strait in the eye, her expression a mixture between indignent, hurt, and angry. "Newsflash, Stripes: I'm. Not. Them. I never have been and I never will be. Don't you dare compare me to them." Before he could respond, she spoke without thinking. "Because, whether you believe me or not, whether you like it or not, I actually care."

For a moment, they held each other's gaze, one studying, the other with such sincerity that Shadow couldn't help but believe her. He'd told her something personal, and she still accepted him. Then, without being aware of it, something inside him started to trust her. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

"Okay?" Jasper demanded, wanting to be absolutely sure. Slowly, Shadow nodded, his eyes not leaving hers. Jasper smiled. "Good." Then she frowned slightly. "I probably should've told you sooner, but I was afraid you'd refuse to eat…"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "You didn't exactly let me eat anyway," he pointed out and Jasper grinned.

"You deserved it," she insisted. Shadow rolled his eyes, smiling slightly. The wolf's own smile grew.

"You should smile more often," she blurted, watching as his smile disappeared.

Shadow frowned at her. "Why?" he demanded.

Jasper blinked at him. She'd said that out loud? The wolf shrugged, straitening up. "I dunno. I guess you just look nicer when you smile." Turning, she strode over to the log pile and started making the fire. Shadow rolled his eyes. She was so weird.

As the fire grew, he could feel the sleeping pill starting to take effect, and he found himself fighting drowsiness. He barely acknowledged when Jasper cleared his plate and washed the dishes. He just stared drowsily into the flickering flames. The next thing he knew, Jasper was shoving him to the side of the couch. "Scoot," she ordered him.

"Hey…," Shadow protested half-heartedly, too tired to struggle. He did put up quite a fight, though, when Jasper sat down beside him and hugged him to her, so that he ended up laying against her. "Let go!" he demanded, but was too exhausted to free himself. As it was, he was already struggling to keep his eyes open.

Jasper just shushed him. "Relax," she murmured. "Just rest." Shadow grumbled something, relaxing against his will as he felt her run her fingers through his quills.

"Do the words 'personal space' mean anything to you?" he muttered grumpily.

"Hmmm…," the wolf hummed, smiling. "No, not really." She laughed quietly as he uttered a swear word, but it was muffled by his drowsiness. "Hush now, Stripes. I made this fire and I intend to enjoy it. Just sleep."

Shadow was too tired to argue and just settled on watching the fire and listening to Jasper's slow, steady breathing. The flames danced up the chimney, their movements slow and smooth. Shadow was soon mesmerized by the fire, watching it drowsily as silence descended upon the little cabin. Keeping his eyes open proved to be a loosing battle, and Shadow finally gave in, shutting his eyes and relaxing against the wolf beside him, lulled to sleep by the beat of her heart.

Jasper smiled as she felt him drift off, taking her eyes of the flames for a second to glance at him. She suddenly wished she had her camera. His face was the picture of innocence, his expression relaxed and peaceful. If you didn't know any better, you could easily think he'd never frowned in his life. All traces of worry, distrust, anger, and hurt completely disappeared, replaced by a soft, contented smile. It was the most incredible sight she'd ever scene, and as she quietly lay him down, pulling a nearby blanket over his shoulders, she wondered what he could possibly be dreaming about.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Maria was thoroughly engrossed in a novel when Shadow entered her room. She glance up and smiled slightly as he dove onto the couch beside her, ruby eyes glowing with excitement.

"Hey Maria!" he greeted cheerfully. "You'll never believe what I-Oooooo whatcha reading?" He scooted closer, bright red eyes peering curiously at her novel. Maria smiled sneakily and turned the book away from him, obscuring his view. "Hey!" he barked. "Lemme see!" Again, he tried to look, and again she managed to keep it away. This went on for about two more minutes, until Shadow finally tired of the game, snatched it strait from her hands, and fled.

"Hey!" Maria laughed as she immediately gave chase. For the next hour or so, the friends jubilant laughter echoed through the complex, temporarily lighting up the dreary atmosphere. Their little game of tag ended rather abruptly when Maria tackled her friend and they both fell with a muffled thud. Maria snatched the book away from her grinning friend, breathless, yet jovial.

The next few minutes passed in silence, save their heavy breathing, as they leaned against the wall and gazed out the hall window at the serene planet below. It seemed to be glowing as it's atmosphere reflected the sun's light. Pristine white clouds swirled across it's surface, and if you looked closely, vibrant colors of blue and green seeped out from under them.

It was Maria who broke the silence. "It's snowing down there," she observed. "Look, you can see those types of clouds forming over India." She pointed at the shimmering orb.

"Hmmm…," Shadow murmured. "I've never seen snow before…What's it like?"

Maria shrugged. "I don't really know," she sighed. "I was too young to remember." Her eyes began to take on a sad, wistful look, one Shadow was quite familiar with. He didn't ask her if she missed her old home or her parents. He already knew.

"Good," he stated suddenly. "That way we can experience it together." Shadow smiled at his friend, and she smiled back.

Then her eyes lit up. "Yeah! And I can show you waterfalls! There's a really big one near my house! And I can show you grass! And the sky, Shadow! Just wait until you see the sky! I mean, it's one thing to see it in pictures, but to look up and just see and endless mass of blue, stretching out forever…You'd get a kink in your neck before you had a chance to see anything else!" She beamed at him, glowing with memories. Shadow smiled warmly at her.

Maria was never down for long.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Shadow awoke slowly, opening his eyes to see the now-empty fireplace. He felt more content then he had in quite sometime, as he quietly mulled over his dream. The memories had been bitter-sweet, but he supposed he was glad he had them.

Nowadays, it was hard to remember his friend with out seeing her blood or hearing her cries of pain; it was easy to forget that she had once been happy. He supposed that dreams were definitely an upside to sleeping, for you could re-live moments in your life, and so far, they'd been nothing but pleasant.

"Morning, Stripes!" Jasper called cheerfully from the kitchen. "Sleep well?"

Shadow nodded without really thinking, still stuck in his thoughts. Jasper blinked at him, surprised he even responded at all, then she shrugged. "Well, good, cause today's a pretty big day for you! Today, you're going to start relearning to walk!"

Shadow's good mood immediately dove out the nearest window, screaming like a little girl.

Me:What do you think? Should I continue, or should I focus my attention on the stories that take place before this one? And vote on my poll!