JUDAS

Chapter 10: Dancing

It was three AM all over Mobius (2 AM on Angel Island) when the phones at Knuckles' house started jumping off the recievers.

Rouge, her hearing even more hypersensitive than usual, heard the phone on its first ring and shook her husband. "Knuckles! Knuckles!"

"Hzzmuh, hmm?" Knuckles grunted.

"The phone!" Rouge growled.

"You get it. It's your turn." Knuckles complained, rolling over and going back to sleep.

Rouge sighed and picked up the phone. "Echidna residence."

"Rouge?" The voice was hauntingly familiar, though she hadn't heard it in quite a while.

"Sonic?!" Rouge struggled to keep her surprised voice from rising in volume. "Sonic the Hedgehog, it is two AM up here, so you better explain yourself right…"

"Snively's going to attack today." Sonic said.

"What?" Rouge asked, interrupted mid-rant.

"Snively. He's going to attack today." Sonic's voice wasn't one pinch tired. That meant he'd been up for several hours in advance. Even on early morning fights in the past, if Sonic had just woken up, it would take some time for the grogginess of sleep to fully leave him.

That was bad sign number 1 in Rouge's book. She may not've known Sonic for as long or as well as her red-furred husband, but through years of spying and hanging out with the team, she knew him well enough. "Can you be sure?" she asked with some urgency, clutching the bedsheets. She was half-naked, and freezing.

"Yes. I can feel it in my bones." Sonic's voice was filled with certainty.

"Well…okay. But, I still don't see the problem here." Rouge pointed out.

"Tired? Rouge, no one will be here to care for Amy if her water breaks. Tails would only be a phonecall away, but Amy may not be able to get to a phone at that point. That, and between him getting here and getting her into the plane…even I couldn't be sure I could carry her!" Sonic was rushing his words. He was panicking. Sonic hardly ever panicked, but he got harder and harder to understand the more urgent he became. "And…! And…!"

"All right, all right, hon," Rouge soothed, shaking her head with a smile on her face. Sonic hadn't changed much over the years. "Calm down! I see the dilemma. The only maternity ward planet-wide is on Angel Island, and you want to be sure she has someone to care for her if the babes start coming while you're away."

"Yeah." Sonic sighed, panting at bit as he tried to catch his breath. Rouge giggled.

"I think we can work something out. How low is she?"

"Excuse me?!"

"Nevermind. I guess it's a purely female term." Rouge had to laugh softly at his embarrassed tone.

"Oh."

"Look, we'll figure it out once it gets light. Knuckles gets up in about two hours. I'll set my alarm and send him down to get her, okay? You just go and rest and don't worry your pretty blue head about it, all right?"

Sonic yawned. "All right."

"Good. See you tomorrow, Sonic."

"Yeah, see ya. Thanks, Rouge."

Rouge felt warm, hearing Sonic say those words. "It's my pleasure. Anything for a friend, right?"

"Hey!" Sonic accused. "That's my line!"

Rouge had to hang up because she couldn't stop laughing.

When the real morning came and Sonic had made the arrangements, Amy was quite upset at having to leave.

"I'd much rather stay here," she admitted to him as he ate his breakfast without noise.

"It's not safe for you to be here alone." He told her, swallowing. "You could get hurt. Or the kids could be hurt."

"How?" She scoffed.

Sonic stood with a sigh and gripped her shoulders firmly in his hands. "Look." He told her sternly, his eyes reading seriousness for the first time in many long days. "I didn't want to tell you this because I didn't want you to worry, but Snively's going to attack today, and I don't want you here alone. What if you fall? What if you go into labor? I'm not saying you can't handle yourself, but," he released her and went to lean in the doorway, a pose that would be mellow, had he not been so tense, "I need you to go stay with Rouge and Knuckles. Please? Because I worry." She had to giggle at his seriousness, because it was funny, in a way. For him to admit that he worried, well…he would never admit to being nervous about himself, now would he? But he glared at her for giggling, and she shut up, flushing.

"Please." He pleaded. How rare! Sonic never pleaded, for anything or anyone! Amy had to do a double take, to make sure this was really happening. But, when she saw that it really was, she nodded and decided to behave like a good little girl. The little girl who always trusted Sonic's intuition. Because frankly, it was flawless.

"Okay." She said simply, picking up her bag off the floor. "I'll go and have a great time." She managed to smile at him, because she knew deep down that he was doing this for her. And, that was something she'd always (not exactly secretly, either) longed for. He smiled back, but it was weak compared to his normal ones. They kissed briefly, each tasting the passion that had made the twins she was carrying, and then Sonic walked her out on his arm.

Knuckles had the silvery hovercraft with him this time. It was really Rouge's—a wedding present from Tails to the pair—and it was rare Knuckles used it. Sonic guessed he'd been expecting a lot of bags, and snorted at this thought, to which both others present were confused. Knuckles elbowed his rival, who was still a bit underweight from his months of panic, by the way.

"Don't worry," he snickered, "I won't let Rio knock her over."

"Very funny." But the comment made Sonic's heart skip a beat. And he knew Knuckles could sense his unease. They had learned to read each other pretty well over the years.

Knuckles did indeed know Sonic was doing this for Amy expressly, but he also knew this was one more weight off Sonic's shoulders. "Do your best to relax while you fight Snively, okay? Cause you bleed more when you're scared."

Sonic snorted, guffawing with laughter. "That, and I can't plan accurately when I'm freaked."

Knuckles laughed, smacking him on the shoulder blade. "You'll do just fine. She'll be safe with us."

Amy leaned over the seat and honked the horn on the steering wheel twice loudly. Both men jumped, and then looked at each other's shocked faces and ruffled fur. Then, they laughed simultaneously and smoothed down their fur. "She's inherited your impatience." Knuckles teased.

"Thanks. I'm honored." Sonic waved to his wife before running to kiss her once more. Than, Knuckles started up the hovercraft and took off into the sky. Sonic stood, shielding his eyes from the sun, watching as they flew off to Angel Island. Then, he went back inside to finish his breakfast and prepare for the day ahead.