Author's Notes

Heheh, another year, another update. I'm really bad at this "updating soon" thing. n.n; But hey, I wasn't counting on this thing being 40 pages long. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

As a warning, this chap contains excessive sappiness and even some spirituality, but hopefully it's the good warm-fuzzy kind! Otherwise, feel free to puke. It won't hurt my feelings. Really. -sniff-

Chapter 4: Surprises and Storytelling

By evening, Sonic returned to Tails' apartment to find the young fox putting the oven back together. The hedgehog shook his head at the sight. "You're still working on that thing?"

"Oh, hi, Sonic," Tails greeted, looking up briefly from his work. "I'm almost finished."

Clearing away toaster parts from the counter, Sonic lifted himself up to sit on it. "You wouldn't believe what I saw today."

"Eggman as a snow-bunny?" Tails suggested.

The hedgehog shuddered. "Thank you for that disturbing image, Tails!"

The fox snickered as he continued his work. "Anytime, Sonic."

Shaking his head again as if to clear it of said image, Sonic continued. "I ran into Shadow today. Almost literally."

Tails stared at him. "And you lived to tell the tale?"

"Yeah, surprisingly enough. And guess what he tells me. He's out Christmas shopping!"

"Christmas shopping?" the fox exclaimed incredulously. "Is this the same guy who was quite ready to murder us at the toy store?"

"Yup. But it gets better," Sonic continued in a conspiratorial tone. "Guess who he was with."

"Umm, Rouge?"

"Ha, not even close," Sonic laughed. "Try small, cute, and floppy-eared."

Tails' jaw nearly hit the floor. "Cream the Rabbit? And Shadow?"

"Yeah, that was about my reaction. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself."

Tails shook his head in amazement and returned to his work. "Next thing you know, Eggman will be playing Santa at the mall."

Sonic laughed. "Yeah, giving little kids nightmares."

A few moments later, Tails set down his tools. "There! I think that should do it!" Sonic hopped down from the counter and looked over the remodeled oven. It looked more or less the same, except for a Chaos Emerald-shaped slot in the front door with various cables extending out from it and into the machine. Tails walked over to the freezer and pulled out a large steak. "Now to test it out!"

Sonic eyed the fox warily as he slapped the steak on a pan and slid it into the oven. "You sure this is a good idea, Tails?"

"Don't worry, Sonic. Just think—if this works, we can whip up something for the party tomorrow night in no time at all!" The hedgehog nodded mutely, but nevertheless took a cautious step backwards when Tails loaded the green Emerald into its slot and turned the temperature dial up. He crouched eagerly before the oven window as the Emerald glowed increasingly brighter.

Shadow entered the apartment to the sound of a small explosion. He halted briefly to watch smoke drift out of the kitchen doorway, but he was hardly worried. Such minor disasters, he learned, were quite commonplace in Tails' home. With a sigh he walked toward the kitchen, multiple bags in hand, to see what experiment had gone wrongthis time.

What he found was mildly amusing. Fox, hedgehog, and much of the kitchen were a burnt black. The green Chaos Emerald, however, sat complacently amid the destruction, its perfectly unsullied visage a mocking contrast to the surrounding mess. Tails had obviously taken the brunt of the disaster, being closest to what was left of the oven, though Sonic was not left untouched. Most amusing was what appeared to be a charred steak sitting atop the hedgehog's head.

Shadow's eyes drifted from blackened face to blackened face, a wicked grin slowly forming on his own. "Well done."

Sonic's stunned expression turned sour. "Ha, ha, ha," he called as Shadow made a smug retreat from the kitchen. His glare shifted to Tails.

The fox sweatdropped nervously. "Uh, well… looks like Shadow really did go shopping today, huh?" was his lame attempt to change the unspoken subject. The hedgehog responded by wordlessly removing the steak from his own head and flopping it down on Tails'.

Shadow spent most of Christmas Eve day wandering the shopping district, partly to avoid the cleanup going on in Tails' home, but mostly to brainstorm ideas for the one last gift he needed. Despite much pondering and window shopping, however, nothing he saw struck him as a suitable present. So it was that he returned to Tails' apartment empty handed and just in time to get ready for the Rabbit family's party. Gathering his wrapped gifts into a couple of bags, he reluctantly settled on offering some service in place of a tangible present. Though what service, he still didn't know. By 5:30, Shadow was out of his room and heading for the front door. Sonic and Tails, who had only just gotten the kitchen relatively clean, took notice of this as they made their own last minute preparations in the living room.

"So," Sonic began, eyeing Shadow's bags with interest. "Where are you off to?"

Shadow halted at the door, recalling that he hadn't told either of them about his plans. A smile crept across his face. Well, let's have a little fun with it. Carefully masking his amusement, he looked back over his shoulder. "I'm just going to a party."

The look on their faces was nearly enough to break even Shadow's restraint. Jaws nearly to the floor as they gaped at him in disbelief, the black hedgehog struggled with keeping a straight face. Turning away again, he allowed himself a small smile. "See you guys later." And with that, he opened the door and left, leaving behind a dumbstruck hedgehog and fox.

The closing of the door snapped Sonic out of his stupor. Bursting into action, he quickly threw the rest of their gifts into bags. "C'mon!" he ushered Tails, handing him a couple of bags and rushing for the door with his own.

"Sonic…?" Tails questioned, lagging behind the blue hedgehog.

"We're gonna follow him and see where he's going," Sonic explained as he peered out the door.

"But we'll be late for Cream's party!" the fox protested.

Sonic impatiently pulled Tails out the door and locked it behind them. "Don't worry, Tails. We have plenty of time." The fox wasn't entirely convinced, but the choice was taken out of his hands as Sonic grabbed him and ran down the winding stairs to the bottom floor. They reached the front of the apartment building just in time to see Shadow disappear around a corner to their left. Sonic dashed to the corner and cautiously peeked around it, while Tails huffily pulled out of his grip. He could see the black hedgehog walking down the street at a leisurely pace. "Hm… suspicious."

Tails stared at him. "What are you talking about? Why are we following Shadow?"

"Shh! He'll hear us!" he hissed back. "If we follow him, maybe we'll find out why he's been acting so weird. 'Sides," he added with a grin, "Shadow at a party is something I just have to see." The young fox shook his head as Sonic peered around the corner once more. "C'mon, let's go!" And they were off again.

They continued this little game of follow-the-leader, keeping just close enough to keep Shadow in sight and hiding behind buildings or other objects when it looked like they might be spotted. Tails found the whole thing ridiculous, but Sonic seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. Shadow was apparently in no particular hurry to get to his destination, winding in and out of streets and side-streets. Tails could have sworn that he had led them in circles a few times, but Sonic was oblivious, focused as he was on their "game".

Shadow maintained the same relaxed pace until they reached the edge of the city, at which point he abruptly broke into an all-out run. In the blink of an eye, Sonic grabbed Tails by the arm and raced after the dark hedgehog. They ran down a winding rural road, snow-covered hills passing by in a blur.

Tails squinted against the wind as they turned down a familiar side-road that led into a thick forest. He tried to say something, but all the hedgehog could make out was "Sonic… this…?" over the roar of the wind. Not that it would have mattered—he was having too much fun with this high-speed chase to really pay attention to anything else.

There was no sign of Shadow as they followed the road into the forest, and Sonic feared they may have lost him. But soon they emerged into a clearing, forcing Sonic to abruptly slam on the brakes. It was only his quick reflexes and the added help of Tails' "air brakes" that prevented them colliding with the black hedgehog now stood there.

Shadow turned to them with something remarkably similar to amusement on his face. "You know," he began in a sardonic tone, "if you wanted to go together, all you had to do was ask."

Sonic blinked uncomprehendingly, but Tails was a little quicker on the uptake. "Sonic, look!"

The hedgehog shifted his gaze to the familiar house Tails was pointing at. "Wha… Cream's house?" Another look around confirmed it—the surrounding woods was none other than Leaf Forest. His head snapped back to Shadow. "Vanilla's party? That's the party you were going to?"

Shadow folded his arms, bags still hanging from his hands. "You sound surprised."

Sonic and Tails exchanged incredulous looks. "Well… yeah," the blue hedgehog replied. He looked as though he would have said more, were it not for the sudden opening of the front door.

"Shadow-san!" Cream exclaimed and dashed out the door, closely followed by Cheese. The duo practically tackled the dark hedgehog, embracing him enthusiastically. "I'm so glad you came!"

Feeling that uncomfortable warmth creep into his face again, Shadow looked up at his would-be stalkers. The blush was quickly replaced by a wicked smirk at the sight of their slack-jawed faces. What I wouldn't give for a camera…

Cream finally released Shadow and turned to the others. "Sonic-san, Tails-san, I'm glad you're here, too!"

The blue hedgehog regained his cool composure with a visible effort. "Uh… yeah! Likewise," he replied with a smile.

"Now, Cream," her mother admonished from the doorway. "Let's not leave our guests out in the cold."

Cream flushed in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She smiled apologetically and took Shadow by the hand. "Follow me." Sonic shot the dark hedgehog an inquiring look, as she led them to the house. Shadow merely shrugged nonchalantly in response.

Vanilla welcomed them into her home and invited them to make themselves comfortable in the living room. Tails sheepishly handed the elder rabbit a loaf of store-bought French bread, very briefly explaining the undesirable outcome of his cooking attempt. She merely dismissed his apology and thanked him instead, then retreated with her daughter into the kitchen to continue with dinner preparations. The remaining trio proceeded into the living room to unload their gifts under the tree. Sonic and Tails stole glances at Shadow's packages every few seconds, exchanging surprised looks upon seeing the familiar names on each.

"Hey, guys," a feminine voice called from behind them. They turned to see Amy standing in the living room doorway. The somewhat soiled apron she wore suggested that she, too, had been helping out in the kitchen.

Sonic tensed visibly, instinctively scanning the area for mistletoe. "H—hi, Amy…"

She giggled girlishly at his apprehension then did a double-take at the sight of the dark figure in the corner. "Shadow! I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Yeah," Sonic agreed as he set out the last of his presents. He stood and eyed his dark doppelganger in mock suspicion. "We were just gonna ask him about that."

All eyes turned to the black hedgehog, awaiting an explanation. He 'humph'ed indignantly and met Sonic's stare. "I was invited, same as you," he retorted.

The blue hedgehog shook his head in disbelief, a smile slowly creeping across his face. "This wouldn't have anything to do with your little shopping spree yesterday, would it?"

"Shadow?" Amy laughed. "Shopping?"

"Believe it, Amy," Tails said, pointing under the Christmas tree. "And there's presents to prove it."

Her eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Really? Now this I've gotta hear."

"Yes, Shadow," Sonic added impishly. "Do tell."

Shadow wasn't quite ready to spill the beans, but he could think no way to stall them further. Fortunately, he wouldn't have to. With timing he could only describe as perfect, the doorbell rang. He pounced on the opportunity.

"I'll get that!"

Ignoring the protests of his audience, Shadow was out of the living room and at the front door in a heartbeat. Sighing briefly, he casually opened the door. A smirk tugged at his lips. Standing on the doorstep were Rouge and Knuckles, looking for all the world as though they had seen a ghost.

"Sh… Shadow…" Rouge stuttered. "What a… surprise."

Knuckles was not nearly as tact. "What the heck are you doing here?"

Rouge frowned and—balancing a casserole dish in one hand—drove her free fist into the top of his head, eliciting a pained yelp from the hapless echidna. "Show some manners!" She smiled up at Shadow with false innocence. "What he means is that we're happy to see you here."

"Speak for yourself!" Knuckles grumbled, rubbing his bruised head. The bat raised a threatening fist, and he reluctantly subsided.

Shadow stepped aside to allow them entry, graciously ignoring the pointed glare Knuckles aimed at him as he passed. The echidna continued on to the living room to deposit the presents and greet his friends, while Rouge went around the kitchen to deliver her dinner contribution. Shadow remained in the entryway, as much to avoid returning to the living room as to wait for his former partner to return. Judging by the boisterous exchanges he heard, Knuckles' arrival had provided a sufficient distraction from his own absence.

Rouge returned shortly, halting in the removal of her coat as she spotted Shadow waiting for her. To add to her astonishment, he politely relieved her of the coat and hung it on a nearby peg. She leveled him with a skeptical look. "Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Shadow?"

He feigned innocence. "What? Can't a guy do something nice for his dear friend?"

She snorted derisively. "Save the sap. It doesn't suit you." She folded her arms and eyed him questioningly. "And frankly, neither do these warm, fuzzy gatherings."

The dark hedgehog mirrored her own pose. "I could say the same thing about you."

"Touche," she replied with a smirk, though she was inwardly chilled at the memory of the last time he spoke those words to her. "Still," she continued coolly, "I get the feeling that there's a story behind this."

"Hm, yes," he grunted and gazed in the direction of the living room. "And I suppose now I'm going to have to tell it."

She grinned, fangs gleaming with mischief. "This is going to be good, isn't it?"

"That is a matter of opinion," he responded with a grimace.

As they entered the room, Rouge exchanged greetings with the group and sat down on a love seat next to Knuckles, roughly shoving him aside in the process. He scowled but dared not reciprocate. No sooner were they settled than Shadow once again found himself to be the center of attention.

"Okay, Shadow. We're all ears." Sonic plopped himself on the sofa, grinning cheekily. "So spill." Tails and Amy followed suit, the former mercifully placing himself between Sonic and the latter. Shadow sighed in resignation, taking a seat in the remaining recliner by the door.

And so he launched into his tale—beginning at the toy store and continuing to his encounter with Cream and the Chao-napper and their stop at the Calico Café. He was careful, however, to leave out some of the more "sensitive" details—namely those that would be most damaging to his own ego.

"…and things were going just fine until this annoying cat got involved," he was saying, only to be interrupted by a new arrival.

"Annoying? Shadow, you wound me!"

Snapping his head around, he saw said cat standing just behind him in the doorway, a hand over her heart and an expression of mock-hurt on her face. He leapt out of the seat and whirled, pointing an accusing finger. "You!"

"Aw, thanks Shadsy!" she said, plopping herself in the now-vacant seat. "Apology accepted."

Shadow gaped for a moment, looking not unlike a large fish, while the others merely watched the exchange in amusement. A stifled snicker from Sonic that sounded suspiciously like "Shadsy" seemed to snap him out of his momentary stupor. Lowering his arm, he slipped back into his trademark scowl and huffed. "Don't you know how to knock?"

The cat waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, we come here all the time. Babysitting and such. They don't mind."

His scowl faltered. "We?"

An older cat appeared in the doorway, carrying a large, covered pan. "It's nice to see you again, Shadow," she greeted with a grin.

They're tag-teaming, he thought bleakly. How underhanded can you get?

"Now, Shadow," Cali spoke in a reproving tone, "aren't you going to introduce us to your friends?"

The dark hedgehog snorted and turned to the others. "Everyone, meet the bane of my existence."

Sonic let out an impressed whistle. "Someone who can get under Shadow's skin more than me?" He jumped out of his seat and strode over to her, grinning all the way. "I've gotta shake your hand!"

The cat grinned back. "Receiving honors from Sonic the Hedgehog? That's an accomplishment, even for me!" She shook his hand. "I'm Cali, and this is my Grams, Tabitha," she said, gesturing to the older tabby cat.

"A pleasure," he said to both of them. Stepping back he turned to his dark doppelganger. "And since I doubt you'll get much out of him, these are my friends—Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Rouge," he added, gesturing to each of them in turn. Much to Shadow's chagrin, they all seemed highly receptive to the two newcomers. "Shadow here was just telling us about his 'exploits' yesterday," Sonic explained, reclaiming his seat.

Cali's eyes lit up. "Ooh, do continue!"

Her grandmother chuckled. "I think I'm too old for this teenage gossip. I'll just go take this to the kitchen and see if I can help Vanilla." And with that, she retreated from the group of youngsters.

Shadow huffed. "Not much more to tell. This…feline," he practically spat the word, "coerced me into taking Cream shopping."

Cali held up her hands defensively. "Hey, it's not my fault you can't resist sad bunny-rabbit eyes."

This earned her a round of guffaws from the rest of the room, as well as a red-eyed glare that would have made Metal Sonic jealous. Oh how I'd love to test that theory of cats having nine lives…

"Looks like the ultimate life-form has a weakness after all," Knuckles commented smugly.

Shadow grinned malevolently back at him. "Yes, well at least mine doesn't keep me on a leash," he retorted, casting a meaningful glance at Rouge.

The bat laughed haughtily as the echidna flushed a deeper shade of red. "He's got you there, Knucklehead," she teased. The echidna's only response was an incoherent grumble.

Sonic snickered at his friend's embarrassment before returning his attention to Shadow. "So you took Cream shopping… and just happened to pick up some presents yourself along the way?" he queried in amused skepticism. At this, Rouge and Knuckles' eyes shot to the base of the tree, then back to Shadow with expressions of genuine surprise.

The hedgehog shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. "Something like that," he responded after a pause. His brain whirred to come up with a suitable excuse to ward off their expectant stares. "She refused to call it quits until she had returned the favor to me." Which isn't untrue, he reasoned.

"That sure sounds like Cream," Amy said with a giggle.

"Yeah," Tails agreed. "She's not satisfied until she's done something nice for everyone."

"Wouldn't surprise me if she even sent Egghead a Christmas card," Sonic joked. Shadow pondered this suggestion… and concluded that it really wouldn't surprise himeither.

"And after all that she invited you to the party, I assume," Rouge concluded.

"Her mother, actually," Shadow corrected. He silently prayed that he could get away with leaving out further details. Luckily for him, Vanilla entered at just that moment to announce that dinner was ready.

The group filed out of the living room, following her through the front room, around the stairwell and into the spacious dining room. The center of the room was filled with a rectangular table that seemed unusually large for such a small family. But, Shadow mused, if they have gatherings like this often then I suppose it's necessary. The table was adorned with a deep red tablecloth and red candlesticks placed in wreaths of holly. Ten places were set around the table, each with fine china, silverware, and crystal glasses. Most notable, however, was the ample supply of food. Almost the entire length of the table was covered in various side dishes, topped off with a large turkey near the opposite end. The myriad scents were intoxicating.

Cream, who had just finished setting out the silverware, trotted over to Shadow and took him by the hand once again. "Let's sit over here!" She led him toward the far end of the table as he tried to ignore the many amused stares that followed them. The others quickly filed into their own seats—Vanilla and Knuckles at either end; to Vanilla's right sat Cream, followed by Shadow, Sonic, and Tails; to her left were Tabitha, Cali (who grinned cheekily across from Shadow), Amy, and Rouge.

Once all were seated, Shadow couldn't help feeling a bit self-conscious. Clearly everyone had contributed to this feast… except him. As Vanilla led them in a prayer of thanks for friends, family, and all the blessings that came with them, the sensation that he was intruding on something special seemed to increase.

Ending the prayer, Vanilla stood again. "Please help yourselves to the side dishes, and if you'll hand me your plates one at I time, I'll carve and serve you some turkey."

Seeing an opportunity, Shadow suddenly rose to his feet, warranting more than a few startled stares. Sweatdropping slightly at the scrutiny, he nevertheless leveled the rabbit with an even stare. "Please, let me do that."

She smiled back at him. "That's kind of you, Shadow. But really, there's no need…"

Even as she spoke, the hedgehog noted the fatigue in both her voice and her countenance, reaffirming his resolve. He stepped around Cream's chair to stand next to her mother. "Everyone one here has contributed to this meal, and clearly you've put a lot of effort into putting this all together," he said, gesturing at the table. His voice took on an almost pleading tone. "Let me do my part. Please."

A reverent silence fell across the room. After a moment, Vanilla acquiesced with a nod. "Very well," she replied, re-taking her seat. The action was met with smiles and approving nods from all present.

Shadow smiled back at her, then turned to the others at the table. "I hope no one will object if I serve our most gracious hostess first?" he queried, picking up the carving knife.

Sonic raised his hands and backed away in mock apprehension. "Hey, you're the one with the knife."

He smirked back at his blue doppelganger amid a round of laughter. "Don't tempt me." A relaxed, cheerful atmosphere restored, Shadow began carving while the others helped themselves to side dishes. Once he had served the two rabbits, Sonic jumped in to run plates between Shadow and the recipients. It quickly escalated into a game, Sonic zipping around the table with his trademark speed and exchanging playful insults with Shadow while waiting for the next plate to be loaded. Eventually all were served and eating happily (and thoroughly entertained, courtesy the hedgehog duo). The meal progressed pleasantly, eating interspersed with compliments to the cooks and random conversations.

"Boy, one more bite and I just might explode!" Sonic commented once everyone had eaten their fill.

Shadow snorted derisively. "Coming from you, that's saying a lot."

"Yeah, well fortunately for you black is a slimming color," the blue hedgehog returned.

"Children," Amy began in mock reprimand, "how about you both work off some of that fat by helping clear the table?"

The hedgehogs looked at each other. Sonic broke into a mischievous grin. "Bet I can get it done faster than you."

Shadow smirked back. "Only in your dreams, faker." And then they were off. The others wisely stood back as the two zipped from table to kitchen and back again. However, they both found themselves considerably slowed.

"What's wrong?" Shadow called mockingly, despite his own decreasing speed. "A bit sluggish, are we?"

"Just letting you have a bit more exercise—you need it more, after all!"

"Ha! Maybe that bulging belly of yours is slowing you down."

"We'll see about that!"

In under a minute, the table was completely cleared. But it was not without a price. Both hedgehogs returned to the dining room panting. Sonic was clutching his side and moaning miserably. Shadow likewise looked pained, though he was clearly trying to hide it.

"As effective as that was," Rouge commented wryly, "I would've thought you'd know better than to exercise after eating."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Knuckles responded with a grin. "Unfortunately, their egos are even bigger than their stomachs." The two hedgehogs responded with withering glares.

"Thank you both for your help," Vanilla said to them. "Now how about we move back to the living room to exchange gifts?"

Tails, Cream, and Cheese all gave a whoop of excitement and dashed toward the living room, every bit the 'kid-at-Christmas' stereotype. The rest followed, albeit without nearly as much energy and enthusiasm. Vanilla and her daughter took charge of distributing the gifts once everyone was again seated. Before long the room was filled with the sounds of tearing paper. Gifts were varied, from simple articles of clothing to decorative trinkets. Many gifts were received with exclamations of joy, among them the flower crown Cream proudly presented to her mother. On the other hand, some (such as the blindingly pink scarf Sonic received from Amy) were met with as little fanfare as courtesy permitted. Particularly popular was—as promised—an Eggman bobo-doll that Sonic and Tails had gotten for Knuckles. Unfortunately, it only survived one hit from the echidna's barbed fists.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," Knuckles said in between fits of laughter. Seeing the thing deflated pitifully on the floor somehow made it all the more amusing.

"We got another one, you know," Tails said with a grin.

"Yeah." Sonic grinned as well. "Sent it to someone I'm sure will appreciate it."

An array of sensors swept over the colorfully-wrapped package, scanning for any sign of a potential threat. Finding none, he proceeded to open it. Clawed hands tore at the wrapping and peeled back the cardboard within. As soon as it was opened, something large and hissing burst from the box.

The blue robot leapt backward, arming weapons and initiating all of his battle protocols. Red optics scanned the offender as it seemingly grew right in front of him. Once it had completed its transformation, the mech did a double-take. A quick search through a few databases revealed the purpose of this oddity bearing his Master's likeness.

His optics gleamed malevolently.

The evening progressed cheerfully, and when they ran out of presents they exchanged stories and jokes instead. Unfortunately for Shadow, many of them were at his expense, courtesy of his hedgehog and cat nemeses. One foe was neutralized easily enough, however, with the help of a potent weapon—a sprig of mistletoe dropped into the eager hands of a young pink hedgehog. Watching Sonic running around in sheer terror was highly satisfying.

Enjoying themselves as they were, eleven o'clock was upon them before they knew it. Upon discovering this, Tails started to become agitated.

"Sonic, we have to get home!" he cried, grabbing his friend's arm. "What if Santa skips us because we aren't there?"

The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes at the childish worry, but decided against pointing out the fallacies in his reasoning. "You're right," he acquiesced with a grin. "It's late, and wedefinitely don't wanna miss the Big Guy."

Like a catalyst, Sonic's words seemed to encourage similar responses in the other guests. Soon they were all gathering their things and exchanging thanks and goodbyes with one another. Shadow hesitated in his preparations to leave, however, realizing that he still hadn't come up with that final gift—one for Cream. With a shock he realized that he'd actually been enjoying himself so much that he completely forgot. His sudden guilt was only slightly tempered by the fact that she had not given him a gift either.Perhaps I should have known better, he mused. After all, I'm practically a stranger…

"Hey Shadow, you coming?"

Startled out of his reverie, the black hedgehog looked up to see that only Sonic and Tails were left. They stood at the door, apparently waiting for him. He was about to respond in the affirmative when Cream grabbed his hand.

"Please wait!" she said, smiling brightly up at him. "I have something for you!"

Eyes widened slightly and mouth suddenly dry, Shadow looked back at Sonic. "S'okay," the blue hedgehog assured him with a wink. "We'll meet you at home." And with a final farewell, the hedgehog-fox duo took their leave.

"Wait here!" she told him as soon as they were gone. Then she and her Chao dashed upstairs, leaving behind a somewhat stricken ultimate lifeform. If he'd felt bad before, he was positively ashamed now.

"She wanted to give it to you sooner," Vanilla said as soon as her daughter was out of earshot. She smiled down at him. "But I thought you would appreciate it if she waited until after the party."

Shadow stared up at the older rabbit, both amazed and bit embarrassed at her acute perception. Am I really that easy to read? But that thought was brushed aside as Cream returned, a book held in her arms.

"Here!" She held it out to him happily. Shadow took the proffered book and examined it curiously. It was clearly a children's book, large but thin, and slightly worn. The title on the cover read, 'The Christmas Spider.' "You said that Maria-san read you stories every Christmas," Cream explained softly. "This is my favorite Christmas story."

There were very few times in his life where Shadow felt truly overwhelmed, and he took pride in that fact. But at this moment, pride could find neither home nor hold within his heart. He gazed down at the book in his hands with new eyes. The slightly smudged cover, pages worn from use… this was no mere book, but a cherished treasure.

And she was giving it to him.

"Cream," he breathed, looking down into hazel eyes that radiated love. Love. He hadn't realized how much he had missed that feeling. He half-kneeled, half-fell to the floor and embraced her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Shadow-san," she replied softly.

After a few moments he released her, an idea occurring to him. "Tell me," he began, holding up the book. "Is this one of the stories your father would read to you?" The rabbit-girl nodded, a hint of sadness in her eyes despite her smile. It isn't much, he thought, but I owe it to her to at least try. "Could I read it to you tonight?"

Cream's eyes widened and began to fill with tears before she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Oh yes, Shadow-san," she sobbed happily. "I would like that very much."

Once her sobs had subsided, she pulled away, Cheese helping her to wipe away her tears. "Cream," her mother said quietly. "Why don't you go get ready for bed. We'll meet you in your room." The sniffling child nodded and dashed back up the stairs, Cheese in tow. "Thank you, Shadow," she said, bowing in his direction. As she straightened he noted that she looked on the verge of tears as well.

"No, thank you," he replied earnestly. "You've both done so much for me. More than you can know."

Ten minutes later they were gathered in Cream's room—Cream and Cheese tucked snugly in bed, Shadow at her bedside, and Vanilla hovering near the doorway. Once they were situated, Shadow opened the book. "Now, I'm not very experienced at this," he cautioned, "so you may have to help me out a little." Both rabbit and Chao nodded enthusiastically, clearly eager for him to begin. He cleared his throat and began to read. "'Once upon a time--'"

"No, silly," Cream interrupted with a giggle. "You have to read the title first!"

"Of course!" he replied, shaking his head melodramatically. "How could I forget? Let's try that again… 'The Christmas Spider.' Better?"

"Yes, but… we can't see the pictures."

"You're right! How silly of me!" he mock-chastised himself once again. He scooted his chair closer and oriented himself so that they could both see the pages. "Better?"

She nodded happily. "Much better!"

"Chao chao!" Cheese agreed.

"Good. Let's start again.

"'The Christmas Spider. Once upon a time there was a spider that lived in a cave near a little town called Bethlehem. One cold winter night a mother and father with their little baby boy came into the spider's cave to hide from the soldiers looking for them.

"'This is the Christ Child!' the spider said to himself when he saw the boy. 'I must give him something. But I am so small, what could I ever give to him?' Then the little spider noticed the baby shivering from the cold. 'I will spin a web to keep him warm.'

"'And so the spider began spinning a web over the entrance of the cave. He weaved and weaved, faster than he had ever weaved before, until he had covered the whole opening. The Christ Child was warm now, and the spider was happy.

"'The next morning the soldiers were checking the caves and saw the spider's web. 'This web would have taken weeks to make,' they said. 'No one could have hidden here.' And so the soldiers left, and the child was safe.

"'Once the soldiers were gone, the family came out of the cave. As they passed through the entrance the Christ Child touched the spider's web, and it turned into silver and gold. The little spider was amazed. His web had never looked so beautiful! He would always remember the simple gift he had given, and the wonderful gift he received in return.'

"The end," Shadow concluded, closing the book. However, Cream and Cheese were already sound asleep, smiles on their faces. He, too, smiled and stroked the rabbit's head affectionately.

"Merry Christmas, Cream."

Author's Notes

Yay! It's finished! Well… almost. There's just the epilogue left, and that'll be really short AND I WILL GET IT DONE THIS WEEK IF IT KILLS ME!

You can thank my new Transformers obsession for the Metal Sonic bit (yes, that was him if you hadn't guessed). I'd come up with the idea a long time ago, but reading lotsa TF fanfiction made writing a robot so much easier! XD

The Christmas Spider thing is actually a story that my seminary teacher would tell us each Christmas. I don't know where she got it from, so I kinda paraphrased it from memory. I just thought it was a cute story and wanted to incorporate it here for EPIC FLUFFINESS. Or something. Wow… and I just realized that I managed to parallel that story with MY story. I AM SO AWESOME!

…right, I think its time for bed now.