A/N: OMG! I'm back and updating! It's a miracle! Sorry it has been a while but it's harder now that school has started. Hopefully it won't take me as long to type this as it took me to write it. Anyways, I must tell you all that the next couple of chapters involve more romance and a bit more fighting, however, not with Eggman. You'll see! Now to get started with the next chapter. Disclaimer: Do I really need to keep reminding you all who I own and who I don't own?

Chapter 6: Recovery

Angel Island- 11:15 a.m.

"It looks like you guys could use some help." said a voice from behind them. Sonic and Knuckles looked over quickly at the owner of this voice. They were shoked at who it was and responded at the same time. "SHADOW!" Sure enough it was him. He stepped out from the shadows and stood in full view with the M.E. in his hands. They smiled and quickly launched off a ton of questions for him to answer. " Hey, you guys! Slow down! I'll explain everything...just...ask me one question at a time." Knuckles quickly layed Orange down and ran over to him to grab the M.E. "How did you get this!" Shadow explained. " I was on my way to see you guys after months of searching when all of a sudden I saw Eggman being blasted away from a huge explosion. That's when I saw a green emerald, the M.E., falling from the sky and I knew you guys must be close by. I thought you guys might be having some trouble so I quickly caught the M.E. before it fell and broke again and then I guess I just found you guys." "Well, thanks for bringing it back." Knuckles said, staring down at it. Sonic quickly cut in. " Wait just a minute! How the hell is it that you could have lived! We all saw you fall into space! Nobody could have survived that!" " Well, if you have to know, it appears that I also ' die hard.' I am the ultimate life form after all. I can fill you in later with more information but for now, don't you think we should get Tails and...umm...your friend to a doctor?" Knuckles looked at Sonic and nodded. " He's right, Sonic! We shouldn't waist anymore time!" They then left in a hurry to get to the nearest hospital in town.

It only took them about ten minutes to finally reach a hospital in Station Square. Orange and Tails were instantly taken in to recieve medical care and be given a room. Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow were asked to sit in the waiting room. Knuckles wanted to stay in the room with Orange because she had lost a lot of blood but they insisted that he should wait in the waiting room. They explained that they needed to undress her to care for and bandage the three major wounds. She had two gun shots, one to her left shoulder and another to her right side. There was also a large cut across her back where her wings had been. So they talked while waiting. " So you and Orange spent the entire night out at the shrine of the M.E.?" Sonic asked. " Yeah, I guess." Knuckles said. Sonic looked away for a second and then back at him. " Did you guys have se-" Knuckles cut in sharply, " Of course not, you sick pervert!"

Before long, a doctor came in to talk to them. " Your friends are in stable conditions now. The girl is sleeping and the boy woke up a few minutes ago. He only had a broken leg and a few fractures. If you'd like to, you can visit now." They looked up, thanked the doctor, and walked to the rooms to doctor gave them. They first stopped by Orange's room. Knuckles looked at Orange sadly and then asked in a hesitant voice, " Do you know when she'll wake up?" The doctor replied, " I'm sorry. But we can't be sure of exactly when she'll wake up. It could be any minute now or a few hours or even days." Knuckles sighed out loud and turned away from everybody in the room. " This is all my fault." he said, closing his eyes and fighting back all the emotions welling up in him. Sonic walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder while looking sadly at Orange. " Hey, pal. Don't beat yourself up over this. It wasn't your fault. It was Eggman's fault and we'll make him pay. I promise." Knuckles lifted his head and looked at Sonic, managing to smile a little bit. " Thanks, Sonic." "Hey, Knux. Do you want to come with us to see Tails?" " No thanks. I just want to stay a little longer. I'll catch up later." Sonic and Shadow walked toward the door. " Alright. Tell us if you need anything." "Okay. Tell Tails to get well soon." As they were beginning down the hall they yelled back, " Will do, Knuckles."

Sonic and Shadow walked into Tails' room. Tails looked up from what he was doing and sat in bed. " Sonic! SHADOW! I thought you were dead!" " It's a long story. I'll explain later." Tails looked around. " Hey! Where is Knuckles! I needed to tell him and you something important, Sonic!" " He's back in Orange's room. Do you want me to go get him?" Shadow asked. " Yes! Please! Hurry back!" Sonic looked at him a little worried. " Something wrong, little buddy?" Before Tails could answer, Sonic fell to his knees and clutched his head. " Owww...my head...what's happening!" " SONIC!" Tails yelled out as he pulled himself up to Sonic who collapsed to the floor. Shadow was already out the door and had not realized what had just happened. Knuckles sat at Orange's bed side, holding her hand. " Please be okay, Orange. I promise that we'll get back at Eggman for this. I'll be back soon. I need to see Tails quickly." Knuckles then got up and started walking down the hall when suddenly he was gripped by a sick feeling. " Ugh! I'm feeling dizzy all of a sudden! I think I'm going to lose my lunch!" he said falling over on the floor and grabbing his stomache. Shadow was half way down the hall when he saw Knuckles fall over. He quickly ran over to him yelling out. "KNUCKLES!" Hey! Are you okay!" Knuckles just looked up with one eye open and whispered, " No...I...I feel really sick right now." " Here...Let me help you back to Tails' room." he said helping him to his feet.

Back in Tails' room, Tails had layed Sonic on the floor and helped hold him up. Just then Shadow burst through the door holding Knuckles. " TAILS! SONIC! Something is wrong with Knuckles!" He stopped speaking when he saw Sonic on the floor. " I know! They were poisoned by some dart that Eggman attacked with. I managed to grab a container I found after Eggman's ship exploded. It had some pills in it that I think can serve as an antidote." So they gave a pill to both Sonic and Knuckles. " I hope this will work. They may still need a day of rest though."

Fortunately for Knuckles and Sonic, they did recover within a day, however, Orange wasn't that lucky. She was still unconcious. Knuckles stayed by her bed side for another two days with little sleep at all. It was 10:00 p.m. one night and Knuckles was beginning to drift into sleep when suddenly he heard a voice say very lowly, " Knuckles?" His eyes opened widely when he realized that there was nobody in the room with him but Orange. He looked over at her and saw a pair of weak green eyes staring at him. "ORANGE! You're okay!" She was a little confused at first and asked where she was. " You're in the hospital. You've been asleep for the last three days. I was starting to worry that you would never wake up." Orange shot up in bed but a sharp pain in her head made her fall back in bed, holding her head. " You might not want to try sitting up right away after being in bed so long." Orange looked at Knuckles and then at her bandages around her body. She quickly grabbed the covers and pulled them back over her body yelling out. " Where are my clothes!" " Don't worry! They're on the chair on the other side of the bed! I promise I didn't look!" Orange managed to smile at Knuckles and relaxed again. " The last thing I remember before passing out was Tails getting really hurt. Is he okay?" " Don't worry. He's fine thanks to you." " I'll bet you guys are just wondering why I sprouted wings." Knuckles smiled at her. " I was kind of wondering that." " Well, I owe you an explination. You see, I was born with wings and so were my brother and father. My wings and my brother's wings disappeared shortly after. My wings have only returned twice, including the other day. I suppose now, that my wings only appear when I'm in a life threatening situation. Because my brother's never returned, he's never been in a situation like that I guess. However, my father's were out all the time. He could control his. They especially came out when he was with my mother. I guess he was just trying to show off. He said that one day I would be like him and I always wondered why he called me his ' Little Angel.' I should stop there for now." Knuckles stared at her in awe. " Wow. That's pretty awesome." Orange smiled at him but stopped quickly when she saw him get up. She asked in a worried voice, " Knuckles! Where...Where are you going!" He smiled at her and said calmly, " I'm just going to go find a bathroom and tell the others that you are okay and awake." he said , turning to leave. Before he could get far though, Orange grabbed his arm. He turned back toward her, a little annoyed and said, " Orange, let g-" He stopped short when he saw Orange with her eyes shut tightly, trying to fight back some tears and shaking. " Please, don't go, Knuckles! I don't want to be left alone in this place! Not after the last time I was here! My parents had just died and my brother wasn't allowed to stay with me! He was immediately taken to an orphanage! I was all alone and for the next couple of weeks I had to hear dying victims scream all through the night! I just don't want to be left alone again! PLEASE!" Knuckles stood staring at her with pity in his eyes. He walked back to her and kneeled at the side of the bed. He took her hand and squeezed it tightly. She looked at him. He took one hand and began to wipe the tears out of her eyes. " Hey, I'll be right back. And if you get scared, I'll be here to hold your hand through it and I won't let go until it's over." She looked into his eyes and blushed. " You promise?" He smiled at her and blushed also. " I promise." he said leaning over her and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. " I promise."

A/N: Wow! That was way longer than I thought it would be! I can't believe I just took the time to begin and finish typing this chapter but at least now I can go on to the next chapter! Please review! I only got one for my last chapter! Next chapter: Chapter 7- True Love.