Chapter 2

Amy's grip tightened around the blue hedgehog carrying her. She did her best not to squeeze her eyes shut with the only sound of her doctor's coat and quills frantically fluttering in the wind. The world seemed to pass by her in a blur as Sonic continued to run at top speeds. It wasn't long till finally she felt the wind quiet down as the blue hedgehog began to slow down. She blinked open her eyes while being gently sat back on the ground. When she did this, she was greeted with the stunning sight of a grassy hill over looking the city.

The pink hedgehog was nearly left breathless as she gazed upon the beautiful scenery. She silently glanced over to Sonic to see him smiling while taking in deep breaths. Amy easily knew that her childhood friend was finding the scenery relaxing; a sight he was always looking forward to during his runs. She couldn't help but giggle at the fond memory, prompting the blue hedgehog to turn toward her.

"So what exactly are you finding so funny right now?" Sonic questioned with his arms rested behind his head.

"Oh it's nothing." Amy replied while slightly waving her hand, "I was just kind of reminded of you when you were younger. Always adventurous and free-spirited. It still brings a smile to my face to recall those days. I'm glad you've still retained that spirit despite now having to run a hospital. Being in charge is a huge responsibility, yet you're handling it in nice yet calm strides."

The speedy hedgehog's grin faltered slightly as his green eyes glanced downward. He didn't want to admit to his friend but he felt like he was stumbling due to being out of his element. Yet he couldn't find himself confessing this when he glanced at his friend's bright smile. He inhaled deeply through his nose while closing his eyes in content. The idea of running a hospital may seem hard and foreign, but he felt he could tackle the challenge. So long as he had his friends to back him and give him encourage, he believed he could meet his uncle's expectations.

Sonic opened his eyes once more and finally said "Thanks, Amy."

The pink hedgehog tilted her head in curiosity as she asked "For what?"

"Just for being there. I may have found it annoying when we were kids and you constantly chased me everywhere, but the one thing I can't say is that you were never there for me." he replied with a grin.

Amy blushed hard, both from hearing Sonic's words and upon recalling her childhood memory. It embarrassed her that she often ran after him when she was younger due to her lovestruck nature. While she had outgrown the days of constantly running after her crush to see what he was doing, she was still touched by the hedgehog's compliment. She didn't utter another word as she sat down and continued to enjoy the sight alongside Sonic.

The next day Amy made sure she was right on time for the beginning of her shift at the medical ward. She kept a positive aura as she pushed open the door, ready for another day of work. But once inside, she was surprised to see Manic sitting down next to a patient's bed. During her previous visit she noticed how he would strike up a bit of conversation with the patients, doing his best to make them a bit more calm during check ups. But those discussions never lasted more than a minute, choosing to focus more on fetching supplies or checking stats.

Seeing Manic actually sitting down and having a lengthy conversation both surprised and intrigued her. Amy glanced over to the patient that currently held Manic's interest, seeing he was an old pale blue hippo with a white mustache. She found her thoughts finally drawn away from her intrigue when Manic turned his head a few seconds after she glanced at the hippo.

"Oh hey, Amy." Wasn't expecting you to be here already. Figured you would arrive about one or two minutes after the start of your shift." the green hedgehog commented as he stood up from his chair.

"Well I want to make a good impression. so it would be natural that I would arrive on time for my shift." Amy replied, "So who's your friend over there?"

At first Manic was confused until it dawned on him that she was referring to the hippo. Upon this realization, he chuckled slightly before he got Amy by her arm and pulled her closer to the patient's bedside.

"Amy, this is Salty. I did a few jobs for him as a kid that often involved painting or repairing boats. In exchange if often let me play the drums. His boat shack was an awesome place to let my tunes flow, especially since it always drawn in a crowd compared to the garage back at home."

Salty huffed with his arms crossed as he stated "Ignoring the fact you almost made me deaf with those loud drums of yours, I will admit that you did help draw in costumers. If only you did in the way that spared my poor ears."

The male hedgehog laughed as he began to recall those fond memories. He could remember the cheers and praises he received from the customers with his drumsticks pounding away on his drums, creating a string of energetic and thrilling music. People loved his music so much, there were times he considered pitching a TV show that would feature his music by having the plot centered around three siblings that fought evil with magical instruments. But he always brushed the idea aside whenever he considered it, believing people might found it silly to watch an action show that mostly features the characters singing. He was drawn back to the present when he realize that he still hadn't given Amy a task to preform.

"Right, I guess I should give you some orders. Sonic wouldn't be thrilled to hear that I ended up wasting on of your days as my intern by not having you do any work." he admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "So I suppose you can do the same things you did yesterday. But along with that, can you also make sure that Salty's blood sugar doesn't drop too low. Test results revealed that his blood sugar keeps dropping to unhealthy levels. Think you can do all that?"

Amy nodded her head in confidence, determined to make a good impression. With that said, she watched her companion leave the room, intending on delivering a few tests to some doctors for them to look over. Seeing she was now alone in the room with only the patients to keep her company, she decided to get to work. Just like the previous day, she tended to the patients with a friendly smile. The only difference was the grouchy old hippo in the room. Knowing she needed to check his blood sugar, the intern walked over to Salty's bed.

"Salty, you doing alright over there. Do you need me to check your blood sugar?" she offered.

Salty rolled his eyes with a huff before he answered "I don't see why that youngster is in a huff about. I'm as healthy as an ox. I ain't got no problem with dropping blood sugar."

The intern frowned at the response she received; she knew the hippo was only being stubborn about his health. Wanting to both follow orders and keep patients healthy, she insisted that Salty allow her to check his blood sugar. But much to her frustration, the hippo once again refused treatment. Amy was practically grinding her teeth together, unsure how to deal with a stubborn patient. Finally she took in a deep breath in order to calm herself down, allowing her to think rationally.

"Alright, Salty, I will leave you alone for now." she stated, "But when I come back, you're going to feel pretty sick. Showing you that you should have let me check earlier."

Salty simply huffed at the hedgehog's statement, believing he will be completely fine upon her return.
Seeing the the old stubborn hippo was dead set on his decision, Amy moved on to tend to the other patients. She darted back and forth across the room, treating each patient with speed and efficiency. It wasn't long that she final decided to check up on Salty again, hoping he would listen to reason. Without a word, she inhaled through her nose before heading toward the old hippo's bed.

Upon approaching, she immediately noticed the hippo was unconscious. Believing him to only be sleeping, the pink hedgehog gave him a gentle shake in order to wake up. Unfortunately the hippo did not stir from her actions. Amy quickly began to grow worried as she shook him harder. Once again, the hippo did not open his eyes. Her heart pounded frantically as she did everything she could think of to get the hippo to respond, but no matter what she did, Salty did not awaken. The intern's green eyes quickly glanced over to the heart monitor, hoping that she didn't accidentally caused a patient to die on her watch.

Thankfully the heart monitor revealed the hippo's heart was still beating, but those heartbeats were fast and irregular. Amy knew immediately, thanks to her many studies in medical school, that it was a side effect of low blood sugar. Unsure what else to do, she quickly ran over to the desk and called Manic.

Later that day, the pink hedgehog paced back and forth as she waited for Manic to come back with news of the state of the patient. She knew Manic along with a few other doctors were inside Salty's room, desperately trying to get him to respond. Guilt waved heavily on her heart, especially because the hippo ended up in his current state due to her letting frustration get the best of her. It wasn't long till she finally saw Manic leave the room. A frown formed on her face when she saw the worry that glistened in the hedgehog's blue eyes.

Gathering up some of her nerves, she walked over to Manic and asked "Is Salty doing okay now?"

The green hedgehog jolted slightly upon hearing the intern speak up. He could easily see the anxiousness in his comrade's eyes, showing signs of partially dreading what the hippo's state would be. Wanting to ease her anxieties a bit, he smiled and gently patted the pink hedgehog's shoulder.

"Salty is doing alright." he answered, "We managed to give him some nutrients to get his blood sugar back to a healthy level, but he's still unresponsive. May take him a while before he finally wakes up again."

Amy sighed in relief when she received this news.

"That's good to hear. I feel extremely horrible that Salty ended up this way." she stated.

"Don't worry about it, Ames." Manic replied with a gentle pat, "You did what you could do. I mean it isn't like you purposely ignored him and nearly endangered a patient's life because of your neglectfulness."

The intern smiled nervously as she began rubbing her arm. She was unsure how she was able to confess about her deed; she worried that Manic would grow worried if she learned his sarcastic jab was precisely what she ended up doing. With nothing else to do, she thanked Manic for rushing to her aid before leaving the medical ward. Her breath hitched slightly as she made her way down the empty hallways, intending to head home for the day. Her steps quickened a bit when angry and depressed thoughts filled her mind, constantly reminded her of her selfish deed.

"How am I suppose to explain this to Manic?" she finally groaned to herself.

Suddenly, without warning, Amy jolted when she heard a voice behind her say "Explain what to Manic?"

Without any hesitation, the intern spun around to be greeted with an orange echidna wearing a white doctor's coat, a purple shirt and boots, and a black skirt.
The echidna blinked her blue eyes in confusion, slightly puzzled why the hedgehog before her looked so startled. It didn't take long for it to dawn on her that Amy got startled by her trying to start a discussion without a proper introduction.

This prompted her to smile whilst her cheeks blushed in embarrassment before replying "Oh my, that's quite rude of me to suddenly start up a chat without even telling you who I am. Getting introductions out of the way, I'm Tikal the Echidna. I usually run Pathology department, but renovations has temporarily closed down that department. So I'm running the Pharmacy department in the mean time."

"It's okay, totally understandable." Amy replied as she extended out her hand, "My name is Amy Rose. I've finished Medical School and now am working here as an intern."

"Oh an intern! That explains why you mentioned Manic; my guess is your currently serving as his intern. Though I'm still quite confused, what is it that you needed to explain to him?" Tikal replied, each of her words carrying the tone of tender kindness.

The pink hedgehog's eyes glanced to the floor in guilt. She wanted to tell the doctor about her mistake, relieving herself of the guilt that weighed heavily on her shoulders. But she feared that by confessing to any of the hospital staff, she would get in trouble and word would end up getting out to Manic. She bit down hard on her lip, considering the scenario where both Manic and the entire hospital being angry at her for her actions much worse than Manic finding out alone.

Knowing she needed to give the echidna a response, Amy said "Oh it's nothing you need to be concerned about. Don't worry about it." with the wave of her hand.

Tikal raised a brow as she planted her hands on her hips; she could easily tell the young hedgehog was lying to her. She tended to have a motherly personality to the hospital staff, learning how to read everyone's expressions and attitudes when they are lying or felt worried. But despite having this knowledge, she chose not to pry. she believed that when Amy truly wanted to talk about what was bothering her, she would approach someone on her own. So instead the echidna simply simply and nodded her head.

"Alright, I won't ask any more about it." she stated, "But should you need someone to talk to, give you advice, or even just hang out, my door is always open."

Amy nodded her head both in gratefulness and understanding. With the discussion come to an end, she bid farewell to the female echidna before continuing down the hall. She found herself surrounded by silence once again as she made her way to the hospital's entrance. But just as she put her hand on the door, she heard someone call out for her. She turned her head and her heart nearly stopped when she saw Sonic approaching her. Panic washed over the pink hedgehog as she felt her body grow cold.

She wasn't sure if Sonic was approaching her simply if he wanted to talk to her, or he ended up finding out about her ignoring Salty when she should have checked his blood sugar despite his stubbornness. She took in deep breathes in a desperate attempt to stay calm, worried that if she panicking got any worse she would end up darting out the door.

Immediately noticing how his friend was fidgeting out of panic, Sonic smirked "You seem in a rush to get home. You are aware that I'm the one has to need of gotta go fast."

An awkward yet suspicious laugh burst out of Amy's mouth as she exclaimed "Me in a rush?! Ha ha ha! Sonic you jokester! It isn't like I'm rushing home cause I got something to hide or anything! Ha ha ha! You and your jokes!"

Upon hearing this, the blue hedgehog's smile slowly disappeared from his face. He wasn't sure why, but he could tell that something was off with his childhood friend. at first he wondered if she was only suffering from stress much like he was, but he brushed it aside when he remembered that she was perfectly calm during the previous day. Seeing the intern act extremely fidgety with her eyes occasionally darting glances between him and the door only increased his suspicion. Wanting to get answers, he lowered his voice to a serious tone as he asked his companion if everything was alright.

Amy flinched from hearing the tone in Sonic's voice. Due to knowing him for so long, she knew he only used a serious voice if he was dead set on something. Imaginary scenarios rushed through her mind of the speedster scolding her for her carelessness. She didn't want to admit to her actions, yet she believed that the hedgehog would be pound determined to discover the reason for her panicking. She was caught in a mental deadlock, unsure which action to take. Her green eyes glanced up at her friend to see him tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for an explanation.

"Ugh, he's bound to find out. I can't keep all this guilt bottled up. I cannot be in a worst situation than this." the pink hedgehog thought to herself, unaware of the deadly scenario she would find herself in three months later.

Finally deciding to speak up, she sighed loudly before responding "Okay, you're right. Sonic..."

She took a nervous pause, hesitating about finishing her sentence. She still deeply feared how her friend would react to her secret. She could only plead to herself that he wouldn't be too angry with her.

Gathering up the last of her nerves and swallowing a large lump in her throat, Amy finished "There's something I need to tell you."