List: SpeedAngel9294, Sonic Speed Blue Blur 23, Zeldaskeeper, IHeartSonAmy, Koollolly, Silverdawn2010, Thymistacles, GodsSonicGirl, Sonic5521, SonamyRules159, GalexiatheChao, and Lupus Silvae!

No! Don't kill me! I'm sorry I haven't updated in like…well, a week and a half. *Lowers imaginary hedgehog ears*. Which, for this story, a week and a half of no updating can be like a year of no updating, am I right? Yes…I iz sorry.

But hey. I had a very hectic week. Anywho…thank you all so much for your reviews, votes, favorites, alerts, whatever! They all mean so much to me…! Let's get this show on the road, eh? The poll's winners were Amy and Cream! Now, I have to admit, they were a little hard to write about together, and I'm still not completely for this chapter, but…oh well. Onwards, march!

Chapter sixteen

The Perfect Day

She found herself wishing this exact moment would never end.

But, then again, she found herself thinking that a lot. Because, after all, she did have a lot of joy in her life, what a wonderful family and marvelous friends.

Everything was perfect. Her nose smelled apple pie that sat between her and her best friend, Cream. Her fingers delicately wiped away some dribble from Rose's small mouth. Her ears trained themselves on Rose and Nick's soft coos, at the laughter Sonic granted their kids not too far away, at Cream's content sigh, at the roar of the waterfall. Her mouth tasted of strawberries and Sonic. And her eyes were rewarded with her children's smiles, her husband's trademark thumbs-up to Dash as he managed to not drown in the ankle-deep water, the waterfall's majestic mist as it fell over two giggling sisters.

Leaning back on the checkered blanket, Amy let out her own sigh, and she smiled happily as she watched the scene unfold. Rose managed to pull herself away from her mother's grip and crawl over to Cream, who held Nick as he squirmed to be let down. Obliging, the rabbit put the six month old down, and she watched as the brother and sister fought over a juicy leftover strawberry not far off.

"Do you remember days like these?" Cream voiced softly, hoping she wasn't ruining the moment.

"Yes." Amy turned to face her friend, her eyes alit, her smile warm and pleasant. "I remember the days when we could have a picnic together once a week."

"Those were the days," Cream sighed, leaning back herself.

"Yes," Amy agreed, "but those days were so often that we didn't appreciate them as much as these."

"That's true," Cream replied, focusing on her young nephew Flash, who was holding Dash's hand as they avoided the waterfall's liquid. She smiled at the sight.

"Don't you just love them?" Amy's voice was soft, almost a whisper. "The boys, I mean. Dash and Flash? Flash can't go anywhere without the other. It's as if they're twins, and yet, Flash belongs with Rose and Nick." She shook her head, chuckling lightly.

"And then there's Kyler and Violet," Cream pointed out. "Sometimes I think they couldn't live without each other. Really, where would Kyler be today without her younger sister? You know?"

"Oh yeah," Amy replied. "I've often wondered what would happen if Kyler wasn't around either."

A comfortable silence fell in between the hedgehog and rabbit, and than Cream spoke up again.

"Do you remember the days when you'd call and tell me that Sonic had looked at you?" Amy giggled at the memory, suddenly embarrassed.

"I was so hopeless back then," she admitted bashfully. "And you put up with so much."

"But you won him in the end," Cream answered, holding a hand up triumphantly. "It all paid off." Amy laughed, and turned to Nick, who had managed to crawl too far away for his own good. She picked him up, settling the anxious child on her lap.

"Do you remember," Amy started, "that one time, when we had a sleepover? And you woke me up at three-thirty, telling me there was a monster outside our room?"

"Yes," Cream giggled, "and it ended up being a tree branch!" A giggling fit broke out between the two of them.

"There was this one time…" Cream started, "when Cheese managed to get lost. You remember that?" Amy groaned at the memory, smiling.

"You've never let him live that down," she replied. "The poor chao."

"Yes, I'm such a terrible owner," Cream teased. "Telling him he can't fly off alone. You yourself won't let Nick two feet from you."

"Well, he's only a baby," Amy explained. "Six months old…" Her voice trailed off. "It feels so much shorter than that. I remember when Sonic was buying crackers for me, and when we fought over names…Six months. I can't believe it." She glanced at young Rose, who wore a smirk similar to Sonic's as she ate the strawberry she had managed to win from Nick a while back.

"They grow up so fast," Cream replied wistfully, and then she laughed. "Oh, listen to us, carrying on as if we've lived our full lives! Why, I'm not even out of college!"

"Which is a very good thing, my friend," Amy answered back, patting her friend's knee. "Because even today when I see you, I see that adorable four year old rabbit, always with her chao, always calling Sonic, Mr. Sonic." Cream blushed, giggling.

"Oh stop that…When I see you, I still see the Amy who was always talking of Sonic, and who always had a hammer nearby. What ever happened to it, anyway?"

"It's still around," said Amy. "I just haven't summoned it for a while. Dash has been a good boy the past week."

"And last week?"

"If you had only been there…" The two laughed again, and then settled into another silence, watching as Violet splashed her father, who looked miserable underneath his teasing grin, his coat covered with precipitation he usually tried to avoid.

"He's such a good father," Cream stated. "Always putting the kids and you first." Amy nodded her agreement.

"Yes, and that's one of the main reasons I love him so."

The sound of laughter, a bird's chirp, and a baby's giggle found themselves into the rabbit and hedgehog's ears. And the two smiled simultaneously.

Don't forget to vote, and thanks for reading!

~Ksonic~