A/N: So... I'm in the middle of a massive writer's block.

Chapter 2: Prelude 12/21

"GET HIM OUT OF ME!" Swift's screams shattered my solemn slumber. Immediately on the move, I burst out of the living room where I had fallen asleep, yet again, on the couch.

"Swift?" I shouted as I dashed into her room, throwing the lights on only to stagger back in horror. "Oh my God…" My hand found its way over my mouth, eyes widened to take in a similar scene to last week's. All I could see was blood…

I think I'm going to be sick…

"Out of the way, hedgehog." Shadow muttered from behind me, giving me a mild shove when my legs simply refused to cooperate. Swift clawed to the edge of her bed, her chest heaving in effort of merely breathing, several cracked ribs visible beneath the flesh. She shrieked shrilly as those snapped back into place, blood pouring from her mouth as she was choked off. Shadow was instantly there, holding her head up so she wouldn't drown, patting her back forcefully to clear her airway.

"He can't BREAETTHE! Get him OUT!" How on earth she still had enough air to scream like that, I wasn't sure of.

"The umbilical cord…" Shadow trailed, his scarlet-brown eyes flickering up to me as Swift violently wretched, gagging on the crimson stuff. I looked to his wrists at that moment, noting that his bracelets were absent.

"Oh God." I coughed.

"Get the car started!" Shadow moved to sweep Swift into his arms as I sprinted off, hurtling down the staircase and out the door, keys in hand. I unlocked the door of the recently-repaired Tahoe and flopped into the driver's seat, slamming the door hard and trying to ignore the clammy feeling in my fingers. I was shaking as I turned the ignition.

Clearly, this was nothing like last week.

Within a few seconds, Shadow was there, buckling Swift into the backseat, chilly December air racing in.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? I'm driving, you'll get us all killed." I immediately clambered over the consol and into the passenger's seat, hands shaking as I pulled the seatbelt over and into the buckle. Two doors slammed and Shadow was suddenly behind the wheel. My ears pinned back in anxiety at Swift's whimpering. "Freaking make her feel better, idiot. We're not getting there any faster with you just sitting there in shock." He hissed, head turned to look over the seat as he backed out.

I was too terrified to respond with anger, only reached back and felt for Swift's hand. She took it, clinging tightly to me, her hand practically burning as her body temperature skyrocketed. I wanted to reassure her that everything would be just fine, though I was honestly uncertain. Collecting myself with several deep breaths, I reached down the side of my seat with my free hand, grasping a horizontal plastic bar. I turned it, pushing my chair back until I was practically laying flat. I looked to my left and smiled half-heartedly, gazing sympathetically into Swift's dark irises. She returned the simper even weaker, laying on her back across the seat, her head tilted back on a pillow to look at me. She calmed considerably, almost nose-to-nose with me.

"It'll be alright." I whispered soothingly, cool and collected now.

"How're you holding up, sis?" Shadow asked, an air of hesitation and nerves on his voice.

"F-fine." She managed, breath strained nearly to a breaking point. Briefly, she gripped my hand harder, holding down a scream. Silence strangled us for a long few seconds as the pain she felt traveled into Shadow's mind as well, though I remained blind aside for how hard she was squeezing my hand. Her expression completely twisted in agony during that timespace; it was difficult to watch.

"What just happened?" I asked hesitantly once the atmosphere slightly relaxed again.

"Contraction." Shadow replied breathlessly, like he was having a hard time coping with the agony. "It's really happening…" Swift whined softly in affirmation. Her hand had a heartbeat, thudding vehemently into my palm.

"So… maybe the placenta didn't tear?"

"I'd like to hope so… But we don't really know-."

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! OH MY GOD!" Swift screamed in spite of herself, kicking the car door hard as if that would help stop the pain.

"Swift… you're not helping yourself by damaging property." Shadow hedged, slightly irritated.

"Shut the hell UP, Shadow! I'll freaking destroy whatever the hell I want to because ITSTRYINGTOFREAKINGKILLME!" She cried out loudly, pulling her knees to her chest and inhaling rapidly.

"Swift, hey, look at me." I squeezed her hand tightly, waiting for her. It took her several moments to regain control of herself to look back at me. "We're going to get through this, okay? We're going to get through." She only nodded, gritting her teeth so she wouldn't yell again.

"S-sorry, Shadow…" She hissed softly, tears choking her voice.

"…It's alright." He replied quietly, removing one hand from the steering wheel and reaching back for her hand. I lifted hers to meet his, covering both of theirs in my two hands, smiling softly between the two of them. "Let go of me, faker, I'm trying to drive." Shadow snarled grumpily. However, Swift giggled, completely killing the menace he held. I looked up, watching his hardened glare on the blacktop soften. I don't think she ever realized just how much influence she had on him...

"How much further?" I quizzed hesitantly after a long period of semi-satisfied, yet horribly tense, silence.

"Not far." Shadow answered immediately, comfortingly. "I'll drop you at the front, park, then come in and find you."

"Alright." I bit down the urge to argue, to insist that he should take her in as opposed to me. Why I'd always had this instinct to fight with him, I didn't know. Always, though. Like every time he opened his mouth, I just wanted to slam it shut with a retort. Honestly, it used to be worse; this had probably all started back when he sided with Eggman and tried to destroy the planet. All those biting remarks simply became commonplace conversation between us.

Shadow released Swift's hand so that he could put two hands back on the wheel.

"I'll see you inside, okay sis?"

"Kay." She replied very quietly, weakly. She was already tired.

This wasn't good.

Maybe two minutes later, Shadow whipped the vehicle into the parking lot, pulling up directly in front of the Emergency Room entrance. I was instantly out of the car and around the back.

"Ready? Can you walk?" I asked, keeping my grip on her hand the whole time as she sat up.

"Yeah…" Somehow, Swift got to her feet and began walking to the glass double doors. About halfway there, she stopped, gazing blearily, her eyes glazing over.

"Swift?" I said her name gently. Her hand was slippery in mine, heart beating hard in the palm of my hand.

"N-no… I got it." She shook her head hard, then carried on. Afraid she'd never be able to get back up again if she sat down, I pulled her along beside me to the front desk.

"Listen, I think my girlfriend's in labor-." Before I'd even asked if they could help her, doctors were swarming around her, muttering encouraging words and telling her that she needs to keep walking, that it loosens up the muscles. Panic filled her eyes, her extreme dislike for anything related to this place becoming highly apparent. I remembered how she absolutely refused trips to the hospital after she took a couple hard hits during the Eggman years, fondness for that time smearing a stupid smile across my face, at least briefly. I followed her back, clutching her hand until they forced me to let her go into the room by herself. Her cheeks were a fiery red in embarrassment, perhaps, as they asked her if I should be allowed back into the room with her, but she wasn't given enough time to answer as another contraction ripped her apart from the inside. The doctors decided for her, saying that they'll keep me updated. With a frustrated hiss, I settled myself in a seat in the maternity ward's waiting room.

Then again, I doubt she'd want me back there anyway. I'd have a hard time not tearing the stupid thing out myself.

I contented myself with glaring at the white-washed wall opposite my seat, feeling the cold eyes of a few nurses on my back. I'd said "girlfriend", not "wife". An empty, sinking feeling attached to my soul and sucked it down to the depths of loathing. Finally, one of them, an African lady, approached me to run down the checklist of moronic questions typically asked by those in the medical profession. Just as we were about to begin, Shadow threw open the waiting room door and swept past them all to take a seat beside me. I just stared at him.

"What?" He snarled right back.

"Nothing…" I replied, turning to look at the nurse.

"So, she's your girlfriend?" The lady asked me, beady eyes critical.

"Yes."

"Then, the child is yours?"

"No…" I answered, shaking my head.

"Wh-?"

"Listen, lady, we've been in a bit of a family crisis for the past three months with this situation. Here's the condensed version, just so you people get the damn picture and stop giving him the hate looks. Sonic here, is Swift's boyfriend. However, about, oh, ninety-three days, one hour, and twelve minutes ago, she was raped by some asshole. We don't even know who the hell this dude is or where he is. Otherwise, I'd have insured that he was dead by now. Anyway, the father of that child is said asshole. Any questions?" Shadow folded his arms over his chest and racked off the information bitterly, taking the situation, grabbing it by the throat, and shoving it up against the wall, overtaking control.

"N-no, sir. I'll get p-paperwork right out to you…" The woman, successfully subdued, retreated back to the desks. Immediately, I felt the cold stares shamefully turn away.

"Thanks." I mumbled, gripping the arms of my chair hard and sighing in relief.

"Sure." Shadow replied quietly, gazing emptily up at the ceiling tiles. "So, she doesn't want us back there with her, huh?"

"It's not that. The doctors answered for her." I stated, watching emotionlessly as another woman was carried inside, screaming her head off, keeping it constant and shrill. My ears pinned back flat against my skull, loathing the noise.

Wow… Swift's tougher than that. And the kid inside of her has got to be at least two times the size of that chick's.

And somehow, the woman's stomach was more than twice the size of Swift's. I almost gagged in horror, casting a look over at Shadow. He just had this prideful smirk on his face, not expressing anything but haughty smugness in that his sister had more guts than this poor mortal woman. I almost hit him.

Shadow

We were going to be a while.

Woefully, I was forced to slacken my connection to Swift, as the pain simply escalated much further than I had imagined and my mental support no longer held the necessary integrity to be useful to her. Of course, I pushed to her every so often to allow her reassurance that Sonic and I were both still there and weren't going anywhere. I certainly wasn't, anyway. Sonic only left the room a couple times to make a few calls on his cell phone. During those times, I could feel the odd stares I received. People were intelligent enough to remain away from me, even if the only thing I did was glare at the wall in front of me. However, whenever Sonic returned, it was almost as if they were attracted to the two of us. Yet, I remained in my seat as a counter-magnet of sorts, repelling people with a mere critical gaze. Each time, Sonic gave a heavy sigh and glanced over at me briefly to convey his thanks. The dude was freaking out. Beyond anything I'd ever seen from him.

It was like Sonic was on crack.

That was serious.

Sighing, I readjusted my position in the seat, kicking one leg up so my ankle rested on the other knee, just as Knuckles, that bright cerise echidna, stomped into the room, Sonic just trailing him.

"What the hell is he doing here?" One eyebrow raised in slight surprise, I felt slightly disarmed by the echidna's arrival. I was already stressed out to the max; what the hell was Sonic thinking by dragging his sorry rear over here.

"I'm here against my will. Asshole over here," Knuckles jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the offending hedgehog. "decided to wake my ass up at o-dark-thirty this morning to come to this sorry place. God only knows why."

"I wanted to come. That's why." Tails. I could have killed myself then and there. This was getting out of hand.

"Sonic." I hissed threateningly under my breath. The hedgehog in question immediately detected my malice and winced slightly.

"Sorry… They made me promise to tell them, though." A promise over such a trivial thing. At least, that was how I viewed this event at that moment. However, that was all quick to change. At that exact instant, a nurse poked her head out of the door to Swift's room and, grinning widely, squealed jovially.

"It's a boy!"

So, Swift was right… I was slightly surprised at how quickly that all took place, rising to my feet anxiously. I immediately took back that statement, however, as soon as I haphazardly happened to glance at the clock. Have we really been here for five hours?

Sonic was already at the door, having shoved a few people out of the way to get there. I followed him inside, ignoring protests from the staff, pushing past him when even he froze up, but instantly locking down once I looked up from the pallid floor tiles. Maybe we were shocked at the new weight suddenly thrust upon us. Or maybe it was the simple fact that a new life had been born, brought into this world by some sick twist of fate, yet still retained an odd bit of magic I could not fully grasp aside from the understanding that this was something special. Something amazing.

Sonic

I wanted to kill it.

The monster clung to Swift blindly, disarming even Shadow with its deceivingly charming appearance. A fluffy ball of neon yellow offset against navy dramatically. It made me gag, to be quite honest, though I could not remove myself from Swift's presence to promptly puke my guts up. Instead, I remained, gripping the arms of the bedside chair hard, hearing wood crackle every once in a while when I adjusted my hands.

I had already allowed this thing's existence to continue for too long.

A/N: Just an FYI. "SOME" male animals have the instinct to kill offspring of the same species, but doesn't belong to them. That way, only the combination of the male and female is passed down as opposed to the combination of the imposing male and same female. Lolkay.