Okay guys, this one is really late. I had to get a lot of information into this chapter and it kind of starts to get more serious. When I first started writing this story someone asked me if I had a general theme for it. The truth is, I do. It really starts to show itself from this point on so it took a while to put the idea into words.

I was really hoping hoping to get this up late last night but I ended up only finishing this morning. It starts off with your usual glimpse of humour but it's a pretty heavy chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Step 9: Choose Him

Choosing one pet over another is always hard. Should I get this puppy or this puppy? This breed or this one? This animal or this one? It will sound strange but, in my experience all you have to do is hold them and you'll know. If you feel at peace with them and they seem at peace with you after a while then that's the one you want and that's the one that wants you.

I HATE CHAO!

"Stop humping my foot, you little demon spawn!" I yelled down at the little blue thing.

It clung to my ankle and made love to my shoe. The gasps of the chao were rhythmical and desperate. It was incredibly disturbing.

"Get off," I growled, flailing my leg around.

All I succeeded in doing was losing my balance. I stumbled along the dirt road, trying to stay up. All the villagers stopped, staring at me with odd and sometimes amused expressions. I really couldn't care less. I just wanted this thing off of me.

"Need some help there?" A familiar voice asked behind me.

I looked over my shoulder, still kicking and tripping around like a chicken without it's head, to see Lionel there. Great! Just what I needed! I had woken up in such a good mood today. I rose to the smell of my mate, I picked flowers, I went for a run. Things really couldn't get better than that. So what did the Lord Almighty decide to do? Well, since it couldn't get better he had to make it worse! My shoe was being raped by a chao and Lionel was my only saviour.

"Yeah," I admitted bitterly, turning to him.

Lionel took a long, pointy object from his pocket. Attached to it was a tube containing a see-through liquid. Lionel knelt down and stuck the pointy thing in the chao. I yelped for the creature as it went limp.

"God Dammit! I wanted it off of me, not dead!"

Lionel hushed me as though I was a hysterical child. The show of superiority was grinding my gears. How many ways could he find to piss me off? The lion rose back to his feet. He cradled the little chao carefully. I could see the peaceful rise and fall of the little pests chest. It was asleep, not dead.

"Wasn't that a little harsh?" I asked.

Lionel shrugged. "It was for the best," he assured me. "There's a method to this, you see. First you get them, then you fix them, then you send them off to a chao garden. That way the threat's eliminated. It's best for everyone that way."

I raised an eyebrow. He was taking this chao thing really seriously. "There's no threat. He's just annoying."

"Yeah," Lionel agreed. "But imagine what this guy would be like if he were bigger. Let's say if he were...I don't know, about your size. He wouldn't just be humping legs and shoes. He could go for anything that moved as fair game. Wildlings, women...maybe even his owner. We couldn't have that now could we? Especially since he'd breed more little vermin. Imagine dozens, eventually hundreds of these things humping every leg they could find. Now that just wouldn't be right."

I paled. What he was saying...did he really know about Amy and me or was it just an honest example? Lionel waited with a kind expression for my reply. There was no hint of malice or threat. But still...

"Thank you," I finally decided to say. I walked past him towards home.

"It's no problem," he assured me with a genuine smile. "I'm just doing my job."

"Amy!" I yelled, bursting in through the front door.

There was no answer.

"Amy!" I called again.

"In the living room!" She finally answered.

I dashed in her direction, entering the room to see her sitting with Hound in the love seat. She was pouring him some tea as they both looked over at me.

"What is it?" Amy asked, concerned.

My eyes darted toward Hound. Not here. Not now. "It's nothing."

"You look pale," Amy noted, standing up and walking over to me.

She placed a gloved hand on my cheek. It was warm and welcome there. Heat rose to my face and her closeness started to get to me. Again, my mind went back to Hound. He couldn't see what I was feeling. He couldn't see intimate moments like this.

"I'm just cold," I lied. "I forgot my scarf."

Amy lost all sympathy and huffed at me. "Serves you right then. What's the point of having a scarf if you never use it, bonehead."

Hound chuckled in amusement. He bought it. Thank God!

Amy went back to sit in the love seat. I sat at her feet, leaning my back against her shins and reclining my head in her lap. She toyed with my quills and I fought off the urge to purr. It was normal for a owner to cuddle up to a pet. It wasn't normal for the pet to be that happy about it.

"I see what you're saying," Hound gestured to me. "Sonic does seem to be a very gentle giant. However, I cannot allow any transgressions to go unnoticed."

"He didn't hurt Lionel," Amy defended me. "He just yelled at him. He was doing his job. He thought he was hurting me so-"

"I'm afraid I have to side with caution on this one, Miss Rose," Hound interrupted her. "It's not like he has no freedoms. We just want to restrict his opportunities to hurt someone."

Amy looked at me as though she expected me to say something. I thought after living with me for two months she'd learn that I don't really do assertive conversation. I only talk to other people when I want something or they made me angry.

I shifted in my seat at her feet, preparing to get up when Amy spoke again.

"But are camera's really necessary?" Her words were not a question but a hint to me. Cameras?

"I'm afraid so."

"And does he really have to sleep in a cage?"

...no...Hell no...

"Hound," I cut into the conversation.

He looked at me curiously. "So he does talk. Lionel told me but I didn't think the rumours were true."

I shrugged. "No big deal. But none of this is necessary. I just didn't understand the concept of a kiss. Honestly, I thought he was trying to eat her! Weird, right?"

Hound laughed half-heartedly. "Yes but...you see, my Deputy's afraid that you're too possessive of Miss Rose. He thinks you have some sort of agenda."

"What's an agenda?"

Hound bellowed in humour. "Alright, you make a good point."

What point? I honestly want to know what an agenda is.

"So how about you prove you good will?" Hound said. "Let Lionel come over for dinner tonight. If you can get through a night with him then no cameras or cages will be required."

NO DEAL! NO DEAL! NO DEAL!

"Deal," Amy chirped.

"Reading?" Amy asked raising an eyebrow.

I kept my eyes glued to the page in front of me. The book sat in my lap as I skimmed over the pictures. They were graphic and horrific. They were perfect for my purpose.

Amy cleared her throat. "What are you reading?"

I raised the book so she could see the cover, still looking over the pictures.

"You're reading the sex ed book?" Amy held back a laugh by biting her bottom looks.

I huffed at her and kept flipping through the pages.

Amy's restrained laughter started to die. It was replaced now by an awkward silence. Amy rocked back-and-forth on her heels, knowing full well why I was not talking to her.

"We need him over. It's not like it's a date. He's just here to judge how well behaved you are," Amy insisted.

She came closer and sat near me on the bed. I closed the book and stared over at her.

"What?"

"Take a look at this," I said blandly, shoving the book in her lap and opening it to the desired page.

Amy looked down and gasped. "Ew, ew, ew." Her eyes shut tightly as she tried to shove the book away. "Why are you trying to show me STD's?"

I held the book up to her face.

"Isn't it gross?" I pressed her.

"Duh!"

I smiled at her disgusted face. Good. This is exactly what I wanted.

"Remember that when Lionel comes over," I told her.

"I don't think I'll be able to forget," Amy squinted and got off the bed, making her way to the other side of the room to straighten out her sweater in the mirror. "Why, though?"

"Because that's what happens when people stray."

Amy turned suddenly, looking at me with an 'o' shaped mouth. She seemed surprised. She knew I was worried about Lionel. She knew what he wanted from her. I didn't get what was so strange about my worry.

"I wouldn't cheat on you," Amy hissed.

"I'm not worried about you," I explained. "I'm worried about him."

Amy shrugged and turned away from me. "He's not a bad guy. He won't touch me."

But he will try to steal you.

My mind went back to the morning. What had he meant? Did he know Amy was mine or was he just suggesting he knew how I felt about her? I didn't mean to but a low growl was starting up in my chest. I thought back to being a cub. My mother was coveted by another male once. Dad ripped his thing-a-majjiger off...I just realized that was my father's solution to everything. Huh, weird.

Amy turned around, opening her mouth to scold me when she noticed that the growl wasn't directed at her. I had my head leaning against the backboard of the bed as my eyes closed. I couldn't get the mental picture out of my head. He would take my mate, my home, everything that had become dear to me in the past couple months. A part of me knew Amy would never go for that but the fear was still there. I heard the shuffling of Amy's bare feet against the carpeted floor and then the bed moved. I felt the shuffle of weight on the mattress before the clear pressure of Amy sitting in my lap, facing me, was there. I opened my eyes and slowly pulled my head out of it's leaning position to look at her. She smiled warmly at me and began to stroke her hands through my quills.

"Do you love me?" Amy whispered lightly.

I smiled warmly, melting under her warm, emerald gaze. "Of course I do."

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then trust me right now when I say nothing and no one will take me from you," Amy purred. Her forehead leaned against mine and my eyes closed again, taking in the serenity in my soul. "Alright?"

I nodded. "Alright."

"Now kiss me, bonehead."

I laughed and leaned in, pressing my lips to her's. As usual the warmth and sensuality of it all hit me at once. I felt the thud of my heart burn my chest. I needed her and the connection she gave me. I only felt half when I was apart from her. I needed to be whole again. I needed to merge into one flesh with my precious mate. Then the doorbell rang. Lionel is a cock block.

"Best behaviour," Amy reminded me, crawling out of my lap and scurrying towards the front door.

Best behaviour. Oh yeah, I'll be on my best dog behaviour. I'll let him pet me and then pee on him. Or I'll do that thing that cats do when you're going down the stairs where you think they're rubbing on your leg but they're actually trying to make you trip and die. Or maybe...

A wicked idea came to my brain. I grabbed the book I had shown Amy and followed her to the front door. Lionel stood there with a winning smile, ready to greet me. I knew what he was up to though. He was just trying to split us up. It wasn't gonna work though. I had a fool proof plan. There was no way Lionel would want to lay a finger on Amy after this.

"Hello, Sonic," Lionel said, stretching out his hand to greet me. "How are-"

"Look at these sexually transmitted diseases!"

Lionel went bugged eyed and his face turned bright red as I shoved the book in his line of sight.

"What the-"

Amy cut Lionel off and shooed me away. "I'm so sorry. I just gave Sonic a sex ed book so he'd be safe with the Wildling girls out in the forest. He's very...interested in the topic."

It wasn't a down right lie. She had given me this book and I was very interested in the topic...when it involved her.

"Oh," Lionel said, trying to regain his composure. "I see then. I suppose those are all good things for him to learn."

I smiled smugly at him. There was no way he would touch Amy for the rest of the night with that mental image stuck in his head. My work here was done. Now all that was left was to get through the rest of the dinner 'well-behaved.'

"I was so worried when Sonic lashed out before," Lionel explained his position as I sat quietly in the corner. "There have been some disturbing things going on with Wildlings in the neighbouring villages lately."

"Like what?" Amy asked, pouring her guest more tea.

"Well, Wildlings have spiked in popularity with single young women," Lionel said, looking over in my direction nervously. "And young women have spiked in popularity with Wildlings."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked, cocking her head.

"Hound told me," Lionel whispered, "that he's been getting reports from other Sheriffs about Wildlings raping their owners."

Amy's ears pinned down immediately. "Really?"

"Yes, really. It's gotten so bad that Eggman inc. has started up women's clinics specifically for the victims," Lionel explained. "They're even starting a deportation program for Wildlings that live too close to villages. They're worried packs might start breaking into houses and villages now."

Amy bit her lip, glancing over at me in the corner. Our eyes met for a second and my worries about Lionel were brought into perspective. He didn't know about us, he was just worried for Amy's safety, which was something I appreciated, oddly enough.

"I wouldn't do that," I said quietly from the shadows.

They both heard as their heads turned towards me. Lionel smiled nervously at me. It must have been an intimidating sight, me crouching in the dark corner with my glowing green eyes peircing through them intently.

"You have my word," I added. "I would never hurt Amy or do anything she didn't want. But I also won't let anyone else hurt her...that includes you."

Lionel's eyes widened as he got up. "I would never."

I stayed calm, not budging an inch from my spot.

"You and everyone else in this place treat her like a child who doesn't know what she's doing," I pointed out. "But she's not. She's survived on her own since she was twelve. She's conquered the odds all by herself. Amy is an experienced, strong woman. She doesn't need anyone else, not even you."

"Then she doesn't need you either," Lionel snapped, crossing his arms.

I shrugged. "You're right. The difference between the two of us though is that she wants me hear. She doesn't need me but she chose to let me stay. You on the other hand-"

"Sonic!" Amy yelled. "Zip it!"

I had said too much. But I was right. I was right about it all and you could see in the Deputy's expression that he knew it.

"I'm so sorry, Lionel," Amy said, getting up. "He's just a little cranky. He's just talking gibberish. Don't take it seriously."

Lionel shook his head, taking in a shaky breath. I watched as he started heading towards the door. "I think I should leave."

Amy reached out to him. "But-"

"I won't let them take him from you," Lionel said briskly.

Amy stopped. I saw a decision cross her face in that second. It no longer mattered what he thought or what he said to Hound. He wouldn't let us separate.

"Really?" Amy's voice cracked.

Lionel nodded frowning. "No fixing either."

Amy opened her mouth to speak but her voice caught in her throat. I could see months of stress well up in the form of teary eyes. I came out of the corner and approached, wrapping my arms around her. Lionel stood there, just watching.

"But the eviction's still coming close," Lionel warned. "You only have a week."

I felt Amy nod against my chest as she let out her frustrated cries.

"She knows," I assured him.

I looked over at Lionel. I could physically see his heart breaking in his chest. The sight made me feel bad for him. He cared for my Amy enough to set her free. That was a big thing. I almost wanted to thank him for it. I couldn't ring myself to do it though.

"Hound's still nervous about the situation," Lionel informed us, mostly me. "You might end up still having some rules, like you can only go out on a leash or something like that."

I gave a nod. I expected as much. There was no way they'd let me get off scott free.

Lionel stepped back, biting his lip as he went towards the door.

"Keep your promise," I whispered.

He smiled awkwardly at me. "I will."

"You better."

With that threat, he was off.

"A week," Amy moaned into me fur. "What are we going to do?"

I buried my face in her quills and tightened my grasp around her. "I don't know."

If there's a higher power up there, I prayed silently, please save us.

The higher power obviously heard my prayer because he decided to do the bitchy thing and make it all worse. The universe has a twisted sense of humour.

Did you guys get the message? It's alright if you didn't I'm just curious. I'm pretty sure you'll all get it eventually. Anyways, sorry this one was late. The next one will get back to a bit of funny stuff. A lot's going to happen in the next couple chapters though. Prepare yourselves!