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.Gosh. You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for your support on this drabble series (and no, it's not ending yet, so you can breathe a sigh of relief)! Your reviews all made my day today when I finished this chapter. Sorry it took a while- but you know schedules. Anyway, onwards, march!

Chapter thirty-four

The Birthing Part Two

The hills were silent. The only remote sound came from shifting grass that waved around gently from the slight breeze coming from the south. Up in the sky, the sun shone down on the green hills, and the few clouds did not block the view of its rays as they struck the earth in 80 degree heat. An eagle soared in the sky, screeching its warning against any other eagle that dared enter his territory.

A blink later, and suddenly the calmness was interrupted by a blue streak racing through the hills, slower then normal, and this time the eagle screeched a welcome as it flew in synch with his constant companion. But, like usual, the streak suddenly increased its speed, and the eagle was left behind in its dust.

Another second passed, and the splash of cobalt with its wind suddenly halted on the top of one of the taller hills, gazing down at the hills below, allowing the wind to blow through his long quills. Amy had advised he trim them soon, but he wasn't in the mood, especially today.

He had needed to get away from the house today, even if that meant not telling anyway else first. He knew Amy would kill him for that later, but he had his cell phone on, and he made sure to be nearby enough so that the cell phone had a chance of being in range. He was hoping she wouldn't call though; right now, he needed alone time.

Sitting down on the hill for a quick break, he pulled up his legs, wrapping his arms around them and putting his head down on his knees, and he sighed. He hated these kind of days. When he and Amy didn't get along, it tore at him, and if he wasn't able to take a run to at least cool down, all heck would break loose. Of course, their fight had been yesterday night-resulting with him sleeping on the old lumpy couch- and it had been absolutely pointless anyway. But it was as if they were playing some kind of hatred game with each other, and they had hardly talked to each other all day. By eleven that morning, he hadn't been able to take it anymore. His feet were beckoning him; it was a nice day, and Amy would be able to handle the kids for an hour or so by herself…

He sighed again, shaking his head. Runs never seemed to help him anymore- not since he and Amy had hooked up more than ten years ago. All they did was make him think, and thinking wasn't his style. Sometimes the runs would help him realize that he'd been wrong in an argument, but this time, he wasn't willing to back down. He was right and she was wrong. It was as simple as that.

He got up then, his break over, knowing what he had to do. After every fight with Amy, he either ran back with some elaborate apology or with some simple flowers he'd come across during his run. Since he happened to be surrounded by flowers at the time, and since he wasn't sorry for what he'd said, the flowers seemed to be the safe way to go. Reaching out in front of him, he plucked free a few small bluebells, shifting them into his left hand as he picked some small white daises that dotted practically every inch of the hills. Next he grabbed a few red flowers, some of which looked pink or orange as well. A dozen lilacs blew in the wind nearby, and he took only two of them before reaching for one plain pink flower also in the bunch. Looking down at his handful, he smiled proudly at the bouquet, a twinkle in his eye. This would make Amy happy, he figured, and he turned to leave and head home.

Just as he was about to go, however, his cell phone rang, and he blinked in surprise before letting his eyes go wide. The cell phone ringing equaled an emergency. Or, maybe in this case, it meant a very upset Amy trying to get him home. Either way, he reached for the phone and snapped it open impatiently.

"What's up?" he asked, aiming for composure, and he willed himself to not panic. It probably was just Amy calling to give him a piece of her mind for not telling her that he'd left.

"Sonic…" Her voice was soft and weak, and Sonic's confidence peaked. Maybe she wasn't going to yell at him. But then, the way she'd said his name…as if she could hardly even force it out of her mouth…He bit his lip, confidence faltering again just as quickly as it had risen up.

"Everything okay, Ames?" he asked, shifting his feet back and forth nervously. He looked up into the sky, calculating the time from the sun's angle, and he mentally slapped himself. He had been running around for four hours. Why wasn't Amy lecturing?

"Sonic, I think it's time." Her words came out in a rush, but it sounded pained, and it took Sonic a few seconds to register what she was saying, and he blinked, taking a step back. Gosh, today was suddenly turning interesting.

"Like, time for me to come home or…?" he questioned, playing dumb, hoping that it really wasn't time. He wasn't ready, not now, not when he was hours away from her and the kids…And mentally not being ready didn't help either. Six kids was already a handful, even for him, and so when Amy had told him nine months earlier to start buying more crackers, he'd been excited, but…not. Sure, he'd gone along with the motions; he'd bought the crackers, comforted her in her morning sickness, and brightened her day from bouquets of wildflowers at least once a week. He'd made sure to look happy and excited, and at the same time he was, but then he didn't think that any of this was really happening. Amy and him, having another kid? Hadn't the triplets just graduated from diapers?

"That too," Amy answered, bringing Sonic back to the conversation at hand. "I'm at the grocery store with the kids…we were shopping, and the contractions began, and-"

"You were shopping?" Sonic asked incredulously. "Ames, we've discussed this. I don't want you shopping when you're so close to the end of the term-"

"I know," Amy replied back impatiently, still sounding pained. "My bad. But if you don't get here soon…"

"I'll be there A.S.A.P.," Sonic said, and before she could say anymore he hung up and raced off, not realizing that in his haste he had forgotten the wildflowers by his feet.

As he ran as fast as his speed would allow, he continually glanced up at the sky. He knew that it had taken him four hours to get here, but then he'd had a few breaks and he hadn't run as fast as he could…but even then, he fretted about not being there on time. Just being an hour away from Amy at this moment would've scared him, and he knew he was further away then that. Pushing himself to the limit, he ran, hardly feeling the usual rhythm of his feet hitting the ground, hardly being able to see anything in front of him at his speed. He knew that once he hit the forest he'd have to slow down; otherwise he wouldn't be able to dodge the trees in enough time to not crash into them. But he couldn't think about that now. For now, he had to keep running at this speed, or there was no way he'd be able to witness the birth.

Just the mere thought of not being there for Amy made him speed up, his blood pressure sky rocketing as he actually began to pant, out of nerves or tiredness he would never know. He had never regretted taking a run more than now. If he had stayed home, he would've been guaranteed to be able to be there with Amy. Now, Tails might be the only one close enough to help her load the kids in the car, drive her to the hospital, maybe even comfort her in her pain…

Jealously overpowered him then. There was no way that Tails would hold his newborn before him, no matter how much he loved his little brother. Looking through the funnel of wind surrounding him as best as he could, Sonic managed a glimpse of the first forest he'd run into, and he slowed down, just enough to be able to dodge the trees. But the decrease in power made him bite his lip, concern flooding him. Maybe he wouldn't make it…

Meanwhile, Amy had managed to call Tails, and the fox had agreed rather quickly to drive Amy and the kids to the hospital.

"Where's Sonic?" he had asked just before hanging up, and he heard Amy make some sort of disapproving sound of the other line.

"He went running off this afternoon," she'd replied bitterly, and sympathy urged Tails to finish the conversation up.

"I'll be there as fast as I can," Tails had said, and then he had hung up, before reaching for his socks and shoes. He hadn't been planning to leave the house that day; it was a Sunday, after all, and the repair shop was closed on Sundays. But a minute later he was in the car, wishing that the city would allow him to land the X-Tornado in the city, but they had banned him landing anywhere with his plane other than in the country. A stupid rule, Sonic had said, when Tails had told him years ago when the rule had been established, but neither of them had had a good enough reason at the time to argue. Of course now, in the present, when Tails had a reason to land his plane on the hospital's roof, he wasn't allowed to.

Only five minutes later he was at the grocery store entrance, and there stood Amy and the six kids, with no groceries, and Tails would've rolled his eyes if he hadn't been under such stress. What a waste of a trip, to not buy anything. Stopping up front, the kids piled into the back while Amy winced her way into the front seat, not allowing her pain to show for the kids' sake. She turned to Tails then, smiling wearily, and she placed a hand on his shoulder, thanking him wordlessly. Tails nodded at the gesture, before turning back to the wheel as he slammed down the accelerator.

"Hospital, here we come," he murmured, trying to drive efficiently and yet quickly for Amy's sake. He had never had to drive her to the hospital before; that had always been Sonic's job. And as he watched her grip the seat, cringing, pacing herself so that she wouldn't cry out, he had never felt so scared. Amy wasn't even his wife. Tia would be in a few months, but now he had a feeling they'd be waiting a bit for kids, now that he was seeing Amy's pain first hand. He didn't think he could put up with seeing too much more of it.

"Momma gonna b' 'kay?" he heard Rose ask urgently to Kyler, and he allowed himself to glance back at the children in the backseats. They looked just as white and ghostly as he was sure he did, for this was their first time too in heading to the hospital along with their mother. Usually, Tails would come to the house and watch them until the baby was born. He watched Kyler nod her head slowly, meeting her sister's eyes seriously.

"She's fine," Kyler replied gently, and, rather uncharacteristically, she wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders. Rose immediately snuggled into her sister's warmth, not noticing her sister turn to the car's window, looking lost and distant as she stared out into the busy streets.

'You have to be strong,' Kyler thought to herself, closing her eyes. 'You're the oldest…you have to be strong.' Just as the girl opened her eyes again, blinking back mysterious moisture, Tails turned a corner, and suddenly the hospital was looming over them, and Kyler let out a sigh of relief. Maybe everything would be okay, even though it was a hospital.

"We're here, Amy," Tails said softly as he turned to Amy. He noticed her grip on the seat loosen ever so slightly as she opened her eyes, blinking in the sunlight. She had closed her eyes the moment she'd entered the car, willing herself to keep breathing calmly and sufficiently. So far, it had worked. But she knew the baby was coming all the faster as each second continued to wear on, and she inhaled slowly as she heard Tails open his car door. The kids, confused, also opened their doors and stepped out, waiting impatiently for their mother as she forced herself out of the tiny car. If only Sonic had driven her; then he would've been able to come to her car door, pick her up, and carry her to the entrance. But he'd decided to take a run instead.

From then on, things became mostly a blur for Amy. She wasn't sure why, but she did know that the pain was getting unbearable. This baby wasn't going to wait for anything- not even its own father. Voices struggled to register into her brain, and she found it more peaceful to close her eyes and let Tails do all the talking for her. She hated to have to burden Tails with the responsibility, but then, she figured-even in her half-minded state- Tails was set to marry Tia in a few months. He would need to know how to deal with his own wife in labor soon enough. A tugging on her arm forced her to register back into the world, and her gaze met up with Rose's for a split second.

"Baby comin'?" the child asked, her voice sounding so small, and Amy closed her eyes again as gentle hands slowly made her sit down in a wheel chair Tails had managed to receive from the hospital. Amy tried responding to the toddler; she wanted to tell her not to worry. But her mouth seemed to be glued shut, and all she could do was nod her head firmly.

"Don't bother Mom," Amy heard one of the older kid's scold Rose, and then everything fused together again as someone pushed her to the birthing room. Upon reaching the room, a nurse helped her get into the bed, and the voices around her suddenly became unfamiliar as the nurse pushed Tails and the kids out of the room, telling them to wait in the waiting room until the baby arrived. Cries of protest from the younger ones, but Tails managed to calm them down enough to lead them away from Amy, if only for a few minutes.

And then, in the back of her mind, Amy registered the fact that there was a lot less noise around her, and that except for the frantic nurse and doctor-who were busying themselves with giving her an IV and making sure everything was going smoothly- she was alone. Sonic was not by her side like he'd always been when one of the children had been born. There was no one to comfort her in her infliction.

She wanted to tell the nurse to call her husband and to find out where he was. But her mouth still seemed broken, except for the fact that she was now screaming in pain, wishing the baby would just come out peacefully and painlessly. The nurse was trying to calm her, Amy knew this herself, but there was no way she could calm down, not in this pain at least; not without Sonic holding her hand. Tears rolled down her cheeks, adding to her misery, and so she tried to steady herself. Slowly, she forced herself to count in her head, similarly to how she had counted in the store when the kids had been driving her insane. But she didn't even make it to three, for suddenly a wave of pain made her howl out in anguish, and the urge to push forced her to try and end the pain.

"Good, keep going," she heard the nurse encourage her calmly, but Amy just shook her head. She couldn't try again. If anything, the pain had increased by trying the first time, and she didn't want it to get worse.

"Where's my husband?" she asked hoarsely, not even realizing she had managed to speak until the words were out of her mouth, but by that point she could care less.

"I'm sure he's on his way," the doctor comforted, not knowing himself. He checked her on her process, and shook his head. "Try again, Miss Amy."

Gulping, Amy tried again, crying out when nothing changed except the amount of pain, and she gripped the edge of the bed, her knuckles going white.

"Sonic!" she cried, the tears becoming overwhelming. "Sonic, hurry up!"

"Now, Miss Amy, we must continue," the nurse said gently, placing a hand on top of Amy's for comfort. "This baby has no intentions on waiting. You must allow it to come. Now, on the count of three…"

Groaning, the pink hedgehog closed her eyes, lips quivering, either out of anger from Sonic's absence or the pain. Which ever one, she didn't know. Maybe it was both.

"One…"

Had it only been this morning, Amy mused, that she and the kids had first gone shopping? Had Dash actually run away? It just didn't seem plausible…

"Two…"

And then, that meant that it had only been last night when she and Sonic had argued. It had been so pointless, that fight, Amy realized. So utterly pointless that neither of them should have gotten so worked up. At first, they'd only been teasing one another. But then the teasing had soon become hurtful, for whatever reason, and Sonic had ended up spending the night on the couch…

"Three. Push!"

She pushed. She pushed as hard as she could, allowing the pain to wash through her like fire on wood, but rather than hearing the joyous sound of the baby's first cries, she only heard her own, and that only made her cry harder. This was useless. The baby would never come, and Sonic wasn't here, and-

Another voice suddenly entered the scene, a familiar voice, but still Amy did not open her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered shamefully, "I'm so sorry I wasn't here…" A hand grabbed hers, and she recognized the soft course hand even while her eyes stayed clamped shut. "I'm here now, Ames." She inhaled, letting relief flood her.

"What took you?" she asked, squeezing Sonic's hand as another contraction hit her.

"Distance," Sonic replied as Amy opened her eyes. He wiped away her tears gently, noting how her eyes shimmered in her pain. "And stupidity," he admitted, chuckling sadly. "I shouldn't have left without tellin' ya."

"I shouldn't have gotten you upset in the first place," Amy sniffled, gazing up into Sonic's creased face. She could tell he was worried, and she smiled sadly, trying to reassure him. "I'm sorry, too."

He kissed her forehead lovingly, letting his cool lips linger for a few seconds before pulling back, smiling at her.

"I still think I'm right," he teased, nuzzling her face. "It's a boy, not a girl." Amy chuckled softly, taking in a sharp breath as the baby continued pressuring her to push.

"We'll see," she replied, and then she focused on the nearby nurse, who smiled at the couple happily.

"Let's get this over with," she said seriously, yet her eyes twinkled. "On the count of three, Miss Amy." The pink hedgehog nodded, her confidence risen by Sonic's mere presence. Yet even so, as the nurse began to count, she looked back up at Sonic, eyes filling with tears again from the throbbing in her belly.

"Don't leave, okay?" she murmured, and Sonic kissed her hand gently, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Never," he replied back, his own eyes looking a bit hazy.

"Three," the nurse finished, and Amy took a deep breath as she pushed, for the fourth time, willing herself to not scream out but to feel Sonic's hand in hers, to know that he was there now and that he would witness the birth of their child- whether it be boy or girl. She pushed again then, realizing that nothing had changed the fourth time, and all the while Sonic's hand lingered with hers, never parting for even a second. And through her pain and grief, she forced herself to cling to the thought of Sonic's love. How many times had he had the chance to run before? And yet, he had never left her, not even when the going had gotten tough with Kyler, or when Flash had decided to join Dash in his defiance. No, Sonic had stayed through it all, and there was no way their small argument would be the end of the world for them.

"Once more, Amy," the doctor urged on. "The baby's head is just coming out. One more good push oughta do it."

"You're doing great, Ames," Sonic comforted, kissing her forehead again. "One more time, 'kay?" Nodding, she took another deep breath.

And she pushed. She pushed so hard that a new wave of tears began, and she screamed in pain as she squeezed Sonic's hand harder than before.

And then, quite suddenly, a new sound filled the small hospital room.

The sound of a baby crying.

"It's a girl!" the doctor cried, picking up the wailing white baby, and the nurse handed him a soft blanket to place the baby in. Amy closed her eyes, sighing, and Sonic glanced anxiously between Amy and the baby, not knowing what to do. He was practically as white as the newborn, so nervous was he, and he blinked in a dazed manner. Everything had happened so fast…only ten minutes ago, he had arrived at the hospital.

"I want to hold my baby," he heard Amy mummer softly, weakly, for she was still panting, and he turned to her, watching as the nurse walked towards the mother, a clean white blanket in her arms. Gently, the nurse set the bundle down in Amy's arms, and slowly, ever so slowly, Amy unwrapped the blanket, gasping.

The baby was completely white, being a newborn, except for her tan arms and stomach, and she waved her fists in the air, not knowing if she preferred the drafty outside world to her mother's secure and warm belly. The child let out a little cry, and Amy cooed softly, nuzzling the baby lovingly.

"Oh, Sonic," she whispered, "she's so beautiful. Look, she's got my nose."

"And my quills," Sonic said, grinning from ear to ear as he stared down at the new child. "Well, actually a mix of ours…" Amy laughed softly then, glancing up at Sonic.

"Guess who won the argument," she sang jokingly, giggling. Sonic frowned for a second, than he too joined in with the laughter.

"Fine, fine, you did," he replied. "It's a girl; you were right."

"I'm always right," Amy answered smugly, all of her prior pain seemingly forgotten. "Oh, Sonic…isn't she adorable?" The blue hedgehog chuckled, leaning down to get a better look at his brand new daughter.

"She is," he agreed, and he turned to Amy then, kissing the tip of her nose lightly. "You did great, Ames. I'm proud of ya." Amy giggled, kissing his own nose, than turning back to the infant, who was beginning to fuss.

"Let's call her Sam," Sonic said suddenly. "Samantha Hedgehog."

"And her middle name can be Audrey," Amy added. "Samantha Audrey Hedgehog. I like it."

"It suits her," Sonic replied, and the two proud parents smiled at the infant as she opened her jade eyes, yawning cutely.

And so began the saga of Samantha Audrey Hedgehog.