Gotta admit, it feels freakin awesome to watch this little story transform from a simple scribble in a notebook to what it is now. My many thanks to you all who have read it! And now, ONWARD!

Part Ten: Surfaced Feelings

The next few hours passed all too quickly for the four inside room twenty. Knuckles and Rouge stuck around until well after the sun went down, the two pairs exchanging long talks and plans for the days, months, even years ahead. Shadow himself appeared to have loosened up quite a bit, his mouth twisting into a form it still wasn't quite used to, a smile. He had never truly appreciated how good that felt until now. Maybe that was why Maria did it so much…

But soon enough, all the excitement of the day had taken its toll on the newly recharged flower. As the clock ticked closer to midnight, her eyelids began to weigh down once again, this time into a much more natural slumber.

"I guess it is getting kinda late" the echidna said, stifling his own yawn. "We probably should head out too. Right babe?"

Rouge never heard the question, her own gaze shut and head resting on her lover's shoulder, purring softly. Knuckles chuckled, and scooped the bat up into his arms "See what you get to look forward to? Is the 'ultimate life-form' ready to be a pack mule?"

Shadow chuckled "If that is one of the duties I'm to be charged with, so be it."

The echidna nodded "Glad we got that straight. Catch ya later, Shads."

"I told you to stop calling me that!" he yelled back to the guardian as he turned the corner and left the two hedgehogs at peace.

"'Shads'? What a cute nickname" Amy commented, her patented smile taking root in its normal place on her lips.

Ah hell… she was bound to pick up on it too he chuckled. "I guess someone thought I needed to be more… approachable."

Rose laughed and squeezed his hand, the same grip that had never left her hand since he first entangled it "You don't need a nickname for that. I'd say that you're doing just fine."

"I think I've said more today than I have since we first met, remember?"

She chuckled, reminiscing of adventures past, "Of course I do. Way back when Prison Island was still around. I still can't believe I mistook you for…"

The conversation almost derailed right there, at the mention of his name. It wasn't intentional, to be sure. But still, a lot of bad blood was still stirring in the air.

"Yea, right. Well, now that you can keep us straight and separate, that wont happen again" Shadow tried to continue.

Amy had a different idea "Shadow?..."

"Yes?"

"Why did you save me?" she asked.

The ebony hedgehog was stunned by the question. Wasn't it already obvious why he had run blazing through the night to save this delicate flower? Maybe she really doesn't understand yet…well, here it goes "Because it wasn't right."

Her eyebrows furrowed, not quite understanding "What wasn't right?"

"It wasn't right for that dammed faker to hurt you the way he did that night. It wasn't right that you had to take such a drastic measure in order to really get our attention. And it certainly wasn't right for you to feel so much pain and isolation. Trust me, I know it's not easy, but there can be a light at the end of every tunnel."

This definitely was not the cold-hearted loner she remembered. It was like he had come about in a complete 180. Even as her own mind tried desperately to fathom what he was saying while not succumbing to slumber quite just yet, Amy just had to know "So… all those things you said earlier, about seeing me again, and how much I meant to you…?"

"I meant every word of it. I wish it hadn't taken you walking the tightrope toward death and me stewing on it for so long. Truth is, I care about you Rose, but it's been so long since I felt anything like that, I wasn't even sure it was possible to do so again."

That was just the moment she was waiting for. Right there, before her very senses, came the words she thought she would never hear. Her thoughts, as drowsy as they were, still leapt into the heavens with exalted happiness. Amy reached up to embrace her savior once more, not even realizing that her eyes had began to fill with water. Shadow returned the strong squeeze, paying no mind to the tears soaking into his shoulder, for he already deduced that these were not caused by pain.

"Shadow, will you stay here…with me… tonight? I just…don't want to be alone." Amy asked through her sobs of sweet bliss.

"Of course I will, Rose. Just say the word and I will never leave your side."

"Oh, Shadow" were the last words out of her lips before they were latched onto by his. All the drowsy euphoria instantly evaporated into an explosion of ecstasy as they connected in the way she had only dreamed of. A romantic kiss from her hero, only this time, he wore a heart splashed in midnight and crimson rather than cobalt and arrogance.

To Shadow, it was the ultimate of proof he could give. Even if he didn't understand all the mechanics of this emotion, he could still register that Amy was a soul in mending. She needed someone to guide her and support her through this phase. But it was quickly becoming more than that. What about his own emotions? Would he prove what he told Sonic to be the truth, or just another cocky challenge?

But perhaps the most impacting question; were either of them ready for this?

He pushed those thoughts back for now as the kiss was broken. She returned her head to its resting place in the crook of his shoulder as he stroked her short pink quills to soothe whatever demons she was still battling.

Soon enough, the flower was asleep once more in his arms, the smile on her lips never fading completely. Slowly, Shadow lowered her comfortably back into the bed, and tucking her in softly, his hand never leaving her intertwined grip. It was definitely a welcome sensation, to be entrusted with such a feeling once more. And as his own gaze began to fade into a peaceful sleep, Shadow vowed the same promise he made half a century before "No one will hurt you again, Rose. Of this, I promise you."

The morning sun shone brightly through the curtains trying to shield their window. Naturally, all it did was direct the uninvited glare right into Shadow's closed eyes. He unwillingly gave into the will of the day and stirred awake, to be greeted by something wonderful "Good morning, Shadow."

"Mornin, beautiful. Sleep well?"

She nodded, her lips still burning with the reminder of his "Better than I have in a long time."

"Agreed."

A silence fell over the room, yet it bore no ominous feeling inside it. Their gazes locked, hands intertwined and smiles matching. What more was there to ask of the moment?

Other than a few more minutes of it.

"Ah, and a bright good morning to my favorite patient and her protector," Dr Caimen smiled as he entered with nurse and clipboard in tow, "How are you both doing this morning?"

"We're fine" Amy said, "and yourself?"

"Quite well, thank you" he nodded as he checked and re-checked all the instruments and displays in the room.

'How is she, doctor?" Shadow inquired. Being around all these people in sanitized white and the smell of bleached surfaces did not bother him at first. But the longer he stayed, the more it reminded him of his unusual origin in the stars.

"According to all these charts, she's in good health. Granted, I'm still not sure if I can explain it per se, but medicine and miracles rarely go hand in hand."

"Great!" Amy reacted, "Now what does that all mean?"

Caimen shook his head, unable to dispose of his own grin "It means Miss Rose, that barring any life-changing secret you wish to bear, you are well enough to leave as soon as you sign on this dotted line."

With his flower's approval, Shadow was up and over to the clipboard faster than the wolf could blink. The ink swept over the little dotted line in expert penmanship, and the midnight blur was back on the other side of the bed just fast enough for both newcomers to gasp. Rose extended her well-tended arms, a signal to her knight to lift her into his waiting snare. Scooping her back into the air like a bride, Shadow tossed one final question back over his shoulder "Anything else, doctor?"

It took a second for the question to register in the canine's mind "Pardon? Oh, right…umm, no, we don't have anything else for her at the moment. If anything changes or goes wrong, just call me here at the hospital."

"Thanks, doc!" Amy's voice echoed as the flashes of cherry and ebony screamed out of the room and down the stairs toward freedom.

Once the wind died down from the blast, the nurse shook her bangs back into place "Why didn't you tell them about it? The radiation, I mean."

Dr. Caimen closed his gaze, letting the now empty room be a comforting sensation around him "We took oaths as physicians to do no harm. In that sense, it gets hard to tell where the needs of the one are more important than the needs of others. But I think we made the right choice this time, to conceal an unexplainable and possibly harmless phenomenon to conserve the emotional wellbeing of at least two people. Besides, even if we told them the truth, would anything really change if we can't provide them with an answer?"

The young aide had long since tuned out the weighted words the doctor was confronting her with, choosing to make various scribbles on her pad. Caimen rolled his eyes as he too departed the room.

I just hope they don't prove me wrong…

FREEDOM! WOO-HOO! And now these two can finally take the outside world by storm! Please send me your thoughts and stay tuned!