Chapter 26

I woke in a bed that wasn't mine, wrapped in arms that didn't belong to me either. A rush of confusion hit me, and then I realized that last night wasn't a dream. And I didn't know whether to be frustrated or relieved.

Scourge was still sleeping. His breath was warm and soft as it trickled against my forehead. I breathed him in before carefully pealing him off of me. I made it to the side of the bed when an invisible hand latched onto my arm.

"I have to go to work," I replied to the gesture. But it couldn't have been up to six. I didn't have to leave just yet, and I could tell he was aware of this. He yanked me down, and I was in his arms again.

"I thought I was your work." It was still sort of dark, but somehow I could see the stupid smirk on his face. I didn't know if it bothered me or if it bothered me.

Just like I didn't know why I was suddenly kissing him. I cupped his cheeks as I deepened it, falling further into his loving depths. His hands roamed along my hips, and I moaned slightly.

"Good morning to you too," he said in between kisses.

"Good morning," I replied, sighing. "I'm sorry for trying to run off earlier. I just don't want Clarissa to worry."

Scourge wrinkled his nose. "Is that your roommate?"

"Yeah." I began to rub his shoulders. "And I told her that I wouldn't let this happen."

"Well, it happened." He took my hand into his, and his tired eyes gazed into mine. "What are we going to do now?"

I wanted to shrug, but the act almost felt more unprofessional than what I had done. "We carry on. I'm still on your case," I decided. "Having sex with you isn't illegal."

"I meant about us—"

My tongue found his neck, silencing him. Then my lips. He groaned.

"We're fine." It was the truth as much as it was a lie. But I didn't want to talk. Not with my mouth, anyway. My eyes, probably glazed over with too much lust at this hour, found his. Hands, that were up to no good, started violating his hard body. "So why don't you just fuck me again?"

He looked slightly surprised, but his hand brushed through my quills, and he tilted my face toward his. We were an inch away from kissing. "What has gotten into you, Rosie?"

Before I could tease him with a response, we were at it again.

And again.

"You're late."

My head spun toward Ms. Ferret's direction. I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I shut the front door. "Only if being late is early." It was Saturday and work didn't start for another thirty minutes.

She raised a brow at me, her orange eyes unconvinced and probably irritated at my unnecessary sass. And it was unnecessary; I was in a pretty good mood. "You're usually here around nine." She took a sip of her coffee before disappearing into her office. "When did you get a life?"

"Why do you look so happy?" Phoebe asked next. "Weren't you crying a river yesterday?"

"Good morning to you too."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever you're doing, keep doing it." She took a file from the main cabinet. "Maybe you won't suck the joy out of working here for once."

"I can't make any promises," was my reply. Reality had set in, but it was so absurd that I couldn't believe it. I had sex for the first time in four years. With the same guy who took my virginity and also robed me of happiness in that time.

Was this the progress I had made? Why was I still so vulnerable?

But was I?

I turned to some cases and tried to distract myself. But the only thing I wanted to distract myself was with Scourge…No, I had to stop thinking about him.

I wasn't vulnerable—I just had a lapse in judgment and gave into to my sexual desires. That was it. And although Blaze would probably rip both of our heads off if she found out, part of me didn't care. I wasn't a victim. I wanted it just as much as he did. It meant as much as it did nothing.

I just had to keep telling myself that—

"You again." I looked up, saw the fox attorney from the alimony case a few months ago. My eyes narrowed.

"What's your name again?"

The man scoffed. "My client warned me that Mr. Hedgehog would pick an arrogant lawyer." His expression was passive, yet harsh. "Miss Rose the intern, I presume?"

"Try attorney at law."

He rolled his eyes. "I knew you two were up to no good."

"Whatever," I said, before my eyes widened. "Wait. You're Fiona's lawyer?"

The man responded by setting a piece of paper on my desk. "Just got notice from the judge. Our hearing is in two months. And in that time Miss Fox would prefer not to have contact with you, and that you stay away from her son."

I almost scoffed. What was I, a pedophile? And like I needed to talk to her to see her trail of dirt. "I can't control if Scourge brings his son to the office." I almost balled the paper up. "She has some nerve."

"And you don't?" He narrowed his eyes. "Defending your ex-boyfriend is hardly professional. Consider yourself lucky that I did not out you to your boss or the judge."

"Gee, thanks." I returned his glare. "And it's not like I asked to be his lawyer. I just want what's best for Sage. So why don't you get off your high horse and tell Fiona that?"

"Or you could drop your case." He folded his arms. "My client is willing to compromise."

"Then why did she start a custody battle?"

"Why don't you ask your client?" He was already out the door. "Goodbye."

More like good riddance.

I flexed my arms, studying the paper. So Fiona brought her lawyer to fight me? I took a deep breath, dismissing all of my negative feelings. At least she was finally being civil.

But this left me with two things on my mind. First, I had to find out who really started this custody battle. Second, why was Scourge hiding something from me?

My fingers found my phone, and I began to text Scourge. I typed three words before deciding against it. If he wanted to tell me, he would have. That meant I had to play detective.

In doing so, I saw about a million other messages on my phone. Damn. How had I not checked the thing? Then I remembered last night. This morning.

Fortunately Clarissa slept over Parker's so I didn't have to explain my case. Blaze reminded me of an upcoming appointment. My eyes widened when I saw a message from Rouge.

Meet me after work. It's urgent.

Evening couldn't come any slower.

By the time I made it to her front door, my mind was surging. Rouge was playing coy, and had chosen not to reply back to my texts. I took a deep breath before knocking on her door. But I was in for a slight surprise when Sonic opened it.

"Ames is here, Rouge!" He called behind his shoulder before smiling at me. "What's crackin'?"

"Your skull if you don't tell me what's going on." I stepped inside, wrinkled my nose when I realized there were a few cars other than mine parked in front of their driveway. With a laugh, Sonic disappeared from the foyer. So this was either a party or an intervention. And I had my money on the latter.

Before I could attempt to get the hell out of here, I spotted Rouge at the staircase.

"Amy!" she said, meeting me. "We need to talk."

I pouted my lips. "About what?"

She rolled her eyes at me, leading me into the hallway. "You're the one who texted me, remember?"

Just then, reality clicked. My eyes widened. Did she talk to Shadow? Mina? I shook my head. No. It didn't matter anymore. I had already dug myself in another hole. And I was still trying to see if I wanted to get out of it.

I took a deep breath. "It's okay, Rouge. I think I'm fine now."

She raised a brow. "If you thought I asked you to come hear to share secrets, you have me confused with Cream." Her eyes proceeded to narrow. "What I want to know is what you were doing last night. I told your fan girl that you were with me. So spill."

I sucked in a breath.

"And before you lie—" Her lips were almost touching my ear. "—Remember I'm a spy."

"Aren't you rhymy today." I turned to the hallway that led to the living room. I could hear Sally. Knuckles. Sonic. I wished I were them.

"I hooked up with one of the lawyers at a nearby firm." I tried to look embarrassed. There. I wasn't completely lying.

"You? Hook up?"

I sighed, lowering my voice to a whisper, "I told you its been years. But it won't happen again. It was just a moment of weakness." Now I was lying.

Rouge pursed her lips. "Fine. I didn't really care if you were lying."

I shrugged. "Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?"

"Yes. Watch the kids for us."

Us?

"It's getting late, Rouge." I heard Knuckles say as he approached the hallway, he nodded at my direction. "Thanks for babysitting."

"You're welcome, I guess," I mumbled. "Wait, where are you guys going?"

"I can't believe we got forced into a triple date with them." I then heard Sonic say to Sally, as the rest of the dinner cast assembled. "I mean, Shadow with Mina? How the hell did he get engaged before Amy—" his eyes widened when he found my glare.

"Hey, Ames…" The blue blur offered me his signature grin. "…You look healthy."

"Save it," I growled, turning to Rouge. "Why don't you kids get out of here before I change my mind?"

"Fair enough." Rouge handed me a bag of nursing supplies. "Ty actually sleeps through the night, so just check on him. You're biggest battle will be making sure our precious angels and Sonic and Sally's monsters don't cause a racket."

"Okay."

"Seriously, whatever you've been doing with the girls, you should keep it up," Sally said, prodding Rouge in the arm. "Make sure you keep a good eye on the boys; Blaze should be here any moment—" The doorbell rang before she could finish.

"Good evening," Blaze greeted, stepping inside. She looked a little fuller, then I remembered the padding. This charade we were playing. Goodbyes were exchanged, and then I was left with Blaze and the babies.

"So Shadow is getting married." She wrinkled her nose. "I guess it's just a matter of time before hell freezes over."

"Whatever. I don't care," I replied, moving to the living room where the kids were calmly watching a cartoon movie. Rouge probably put the fear of life in them. Worked for me. I turned to my friend. "He obviously doesn't want me in his life, otherwise he would have told me. I'm finally over it."

She nodded. "If you're sure."

Honestly, I wasn't sure about anything. All I knew was that I was pregnant, I had a good chance of winning Scourge's case, and that what we were doing was so wrong that it felt right.

"Anyway, I have more important things to think about." I was right around three months now. Pretty soon I'd be showing. Which meant more than I was willing to consider.

"I'm not going to ask you how you're feeling, because that can be annoying," Blaze decided. "But I think babysitting will be good for us. You know, in case you feel like helping me when the baby comes."

"Of course I will," I patted her shoulder. "The real question is how are you holding up. What about Silver?"

"He's as oblivious as ever," she said, rubbing her pseudo-stomach. "He's just happy that the pregnancy is going well." She turned to the kids. "Which reminds me, we can find out the gender next week."

I started rubbing my stomach. It was weird; I still couldn't grasp how there could be a person inside me. "Did you want to find out?"

She shrugged. "Yes and no. I guess we'll know in the moment."

"And what about Silver? Doesn't he have a right to be there or something?"

"Well, I could just keep to the plan of scheduling appointments when he's unavailable, or I could tell him, and he could press his head against your belly to hear when the baby kicks instead of mine."

The baby kicking just felt like weird, occasional abdominal bubbling. But she was right, I didn't think about the fact that telling Silver meant dealing with Silver. "Never mind."

"We watch the ultrasound videos at home," she said like this wasn't weird. "But he and Knuckles are busy with some investigation project with the UN of Mobius. And going to the clinic bums him out."

"So how does he think you feel?"

"He knows that I go with you," she pushed, moving to the kitchen. She brought out some grilled cheese sandwiches and juice. Began to set them on the little play-place/table in front of the television. The children cheered. "He's glad that our relationship is mending."

"Yeah." Yet here I was, fucking around with Scourge. While pregnant. With her kid. I should have been drowning in shame, but I just felt over everything. I'm not doing anything wrong, I assured myself. Not yet.

"Anyway, " Blaze began again, her sullen amber eyes suddenly more hopeful. "I'll pop up some popcorn and we can suffer with the children. Especially when the movie ends."

"But won't that be their bedtime?" she shot me a grave look.

"For whatever reason, it is always a fight every night to put a kid to bed." She plopped on the couch. "I don't know how the others do it everyday."

"So why do you want to have kids?" It was sudden—I probably should have refrained from asking, given the circumstances. But it was a question that had been dawning on me ever since this started. It seemed like those who didn't care (*cough* Fiona *cough*) could have them easily. Yet Blaze, who deserved motherhood far more, had to go to extreme lengths. I know the world wasn't fair—but how had reality not fazed her?

The cat shrugged her shoulders, turning to the screen. "I've always wanted a family to call my own. I found one with Silver, but lately it feels like something's missing. I know children are a hassle, but so is life." She shook her head. "I don't know. The urge is sort of like falling in love."

"How do you know when you're in love with someone?" I felt foolish, like a child asking where babies came from.

Blaze pressed her lips together. "Honestly, you can't describe it. It just feels like the universe is fighting for you." She patted my stomach, smiling. "Like now."

My heart swelled, and tears would of come had the movie not ended. Hell of child-like proportions broke through the room, but I was realizing my hell wouldn't end any time soon.

I'll try to have an update up sometime this week. I have an important presentation, so it could be anytime before the weekend. However, if I can't get one in by then, it probably won't be until Monday. Please let me know your thoughts. :)

KB