Hewwoooo everyone!

I'm back with a new chapter! I hope y'all like it :)

(And for the people who do have vacations- like me lol- I hope y'all have a nice vacation :3)

As Sonic, Tails, Donu- Tom and Maddie headed towards their house at the speed of sound (After some hard convincing that- no- he didn't need to be carried! In fact, he would bring all of them to their house in seconds with his speed! Even though he sneezed and coughed more than he talked, he still could run!) Sonic couldn't believe what had just happened.

Tom and Maddie (Donut Lord's and Pretzel Lady's actual names) were going to help him! And they didn't freak out, neither were they going to call the cops on them!

While Sonic should immediately go to that Mushroom planet (Ugh, mushrooms) after their help, he just couldn't do it. Not after having an opportunity for him and his son to have a family. And Tom and Maddie weren't going to do anything to him or Tails. Quite the contrary, in fact. Because of them, he's going to get better much sooner!

He really couldn't be more grateful for their help. He was so glad Tails had asked them for help. Sure, it could have put them at risk.

But that only happened because of him.

Because he didn't tell the truth to his kid.

He really needs to apologize to the kid. This whole deal went really well—is going really well, in fact—but it could've so easily backfired. And he needs to be fully honest from now on. Explain to Tails that he needs more food than he does. That Tails is still in the beginning stages of growing up. While Sonic is way closer to the finishing stages.

And, sure, he only knew this because he had read that in a book that talked about human children, not mobian children, but it was pretty much the same thing (hopefully).

And while he's really happy that all of this happened, he wasn't even that sick to begin with. Sure, he had a huge headache, couldn't think very well, and was coughing and sneezing all the time. But he had been through an even worse one when he was very young.

Nevertheless, what really mattered was that Tails was alright.

Once they reached Donut Lord's and Pretzel Lady's house (which took literally three seconds) and Tom's and Maddie's astonishment at his speed wore off, they entered their house.

He had always been kind of curious about what their place looked like inside, but he had never sneaked in. Long ago, he promised himself that he wouldn't go poking around in people's houses. After all, he wouldn't want anyone messing with his stuff in his cave, either. Plus, he was scared of getting caught by someone who forgot their keys or something.

He and Tails took a moment to look around the Wachowskis' place, and Sonic felt weird. But not in a bad way, it was actually kind of cool to see their house from this angle. Rather than by the bushes.

It was just that… he had imagined this happening for so long that he couldn't believe it actually happened.

Maddie and Tom took them to their attic, where, among other things, lay some kind of weird vet/doctor equipment that Sonic vaguely remembered seeing during one of his "hangouts" with Maddie (where she was working with other Green Hills' residents to help save some animals).

"What is that?" His son asked quite excitedly, being the first one to break the silence and clearly interested in how the machine operated. Sonic always tried his best to find whatever tech he could find to make his kid happy and entertained. Obviously, the trash could only go so far. So his kid was really excited to see a machine like this.

"This is an X-ray, Tails." Maddie started kindly, smiling, looking at Tails. "It can show me what's inside your dad's body. That way, I can figure out if he's more like an animal or a person. And then I can give him the right medicine to make him feel better."

Sonic smiled. Something he had learned after all the years he spent watching Pretzel Lady and Donut Lord was that Maddie and Tom were good with children. Yes, they didn't have children. But the way they interacted with the kids in Green Hills, how Tom always cared about everyone, and how Maddie always took care of animals in need (even after work hours), showed that. It was yet another reason for him to want to be part of their family.

Which was something that could actually happen now.

Even though he was a burden to them at the moment, it could still work. And that made Sonic excited and hopeful for what their future could bring. Especially to Tails.

"Yay! You'll finally get better, dad!" Tails exclaimed so excitedly that it made Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady laugh softly.

"Yeah, bud. I will!" Sonic smiled, looking at Tails' relief and happy expression once again.

"And that X-Ray machine is so cool!" Tails exclaimed once again, getting closer to the machine Maddie was turning on. His son really wanted to see the X-Ray machine—not that he was expecting anything else from him. Even when he was two years old, the kid loved technology. His backpack even had some stuff that he had made (that looked very rudimentary compared to what he builds now, but still).

"You like tech, kid?" Tom asked, clearly taking notice of the kit's excitement towards the X-Ray.

"I love it! This X-ray is so much more sophisticated than what my dad is able to bring to our cave! The only things that come close are the TV and the lamp I fixed…" Tails, then began rambling passionately. Like he always did with Sonic.

Tom and Maddie both looked shocked as Tails rambled more and more about technology with terms that he (and, probably, Tom and Maddie too) didn't understand. Sonic always found Tails' ramblings about technology pretty cute. Even though he didn't understand most of the things he said, he loved seeing his kid happy and passionate.

His kid was a genius, and he couldn't be prouder of him.

Once Tails finished his ramblings, leaving Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady even more stunned at how much of a prodigy Tails was and "leaving" a very proud father of his child, the machine finally turned on. Before he went to the machine, however, Pretzel Lady asked him a question.

"How old are you, Sonic? I need to know this to have an idea of what kind of medicine to give you. In case you're closer to a human, of course."

Sonic had been expecting more of: 'Do you have an alienship?', 'How long have you been on Earth?', 'What is the name of your home planet?', before… that question.

It does make sense, though. By human standards, he was too young to be a dad to anyone. And besides, it was probably necessary for the medication he could take.

In Mobian terms, though… he really had no idea. He had been far too young when Longclaw died he was forced to come to Earth to remember.

"I'm fifteen, Pretzel Lady." He replied with yet another cough.

Even in his very sick mind, he could see how shocked Maddie and Tom were. Not that he had expected anything else.

However, she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she asked him to lay down on the X-Ray. The machine started doing its stuff, and while Tails' excitement at the X-Ray machine slowly dissipated and the inevitable adrenaline crash happened, Tails' eyes grew tired, and, after the machine showed that Sonic had more of a human physiology than an animal one, Tails was almost falling asleep. So, Tom offers to bring Tails to the living room's couch so the kid can sleep. Sonic thanked both of them for their hospitality, and then Tails and Tom left, leaving Maddie to turn off the X-Ray machine while Sonic took one of the meds Maddie had by her side, still sitting on the equipment.

For a few seconds, there was only silence, until Maddie decided to break that silence with a question that Sonic had sort of been expecting. But also that he had been sort of dreading answering.

"So, Sonic... why do you call me 'Pretzel Lady' and Tom 'Donut Lord'?

Before Tails (which seemed so far away but was really only two years ago), he had been so lonely that he probably wouldn't even care what they would think when they realized or knew that, oh wait, a hedgehog alien had been spying on them for years, and Crazy Carl was right after all! (More like Super Observant Carl, but anyway.)

Obviously, Sonic, being a little bit older and having a kid, knew how touchy this subject could be. Nevertheless, he was going to be truthful. There was no way out of this situation, unfortunately.

He just really hopes it doesn't make them not want them anymore.

He really wants to be part of a family. For him and Tails to be part of their family.

"Well… I kind of... maybe... watched everyone for years?"

"Wait…" Maddie stopped as her mind's gears started spinning incessantly. "You're- You're the one Crazy Carl talks about?

"The one and only!" Sonic said, somewhat cocky. With a confident pose. However, while Maddie assimilated Sonic's confirmation, his sudden need to blow his nose made him change his 'super-cool' pose to a normal one. Making Sonic slightly red from embarrassment as he blew his nose.

"So... you and your son." Maddie began while turning off the equipment. Still a bit shaken that, yes, Carl was right after all. "You both were spying on us?"

"I mean, I wouldn't call it 'spying'…" Sonic coughed, "We were just hidden, and no one Invited us, and... no one knew we were there..." Sonic finished quite lamely, in his opinion. Even his explanation didn't convince him.

Maddie first processed what he said and then looked at him with some kind of emotion he didn't recognize. Sorrow? Pity? He really hoped it wasn't pity. He didn't need to be pitied. Even though he was all alone until two years ago, he knew how to take care of himself! And Tails hadn't been alone either. He had him!

"I'm pretty certain that's spying, Sonic." Tom said this before anyone could say anything. Scaring Maddie in the process.

"Tom! You scared me!" Maddie exclaimed, clearly annoyed with her husband.

Sonic tried his best to contain his laughter at their exchange. Thankfully, before his need to laugh won him over, his throat started to itch (once again), making him cough.

"Tails feel asleep already, Donut Lord?" Sonic asked, once his coughing stopped.

"Yeah. The kid was tired." Tom began. Sonic could tell that he wanted to talk about something else—probably the spying thing. "So, you've been spying on us for years... For how long have you lived here on Earth?"

"For..." Sonic started, counting on his fingers. "About twelve years, I think."

Tom and Maddie's faces became ones of pure shock.

"Wait… You were just three years old?! You had someone, right?" Tom replied, being the first one capable of doing so. Maddie was still processing what Sonic had said.

"Not really…" Sonic, he said, putting his hand on his neck. He did not want to talk about Longclaw. Especially now.

Tom and Maddie looked even more shocked, and while Sonic thought they wanted to talk about it further, they felt that, rightfully so, Sonic didn't want to. Neither did he feel ready to.

"Well…" Maddie said, being the first one to break the awkward silence that had followed. "You still didn't say why you gave us those names."

Right. He had forgotten about that. Thankfully, it seemed like they didn't mind (that much) the fact that he had been spying on them for almost twelve years. So that was nice.

There was actually a pretty nice chance of maybe all of them becoming a family.

"I called you 'Pretzel Lady." Sonic began coughing once again. He was starting to feel a tad bit better, but his throat was still itching a lot. "Cuz' you are strangely born without bones, and I called Tom 'Donut Lord' cuz' he talks to donuts. And eats them if they get out of line." Sonic finished and immediately blew his nose.

"Really, Tom?" Maddie asked as she started laughing at Tom's now-not-hidden "secret".

"Maybe…" Tom replied, looking more and more like a tomato. Sonic just laughed. He didn't think this "revelation" would have such a hilarious reaction among them.

"Sweetie, I wasn't born without bones." Maddie explained that once their laughter died down and Tom's embarrassment had left him, "My body is just very flexible because I do yoga."

"Really?! I wanna learn how to do that, too! You're so good at it!" Sonic said it excitedly, even though he was getting a bit sleepy.

"Thank you, Sonic." Maddie replied genuinely, laughing softly at Sonic's excitement.

Sonic was so glad Tails had decided to ask Tom and Maddie for help. And he was definitely so glad he wouldn't have to live on that Mushroom Planet with Tails.

Then, Maddie and Tom asked for him and Tails to live in their house, at least until he got better. While he really wanted him and Tails to be part of their family, he felt like they had already done a lot. And, besides, now that they knew about them, they could visit them daily.

Maddie and Tom disagreed, however, and eventually convinced Sonic to stay at their house.

Right after they invited him to sleep on the couch with Tails, Tom, and Maddie without waking Tails up and put tissues and water right beside the couch in the living room for Sonic, Maddie asked something that he had also been expecting at this point.

"Is it normal for… aliens to have children at your age? Or to be a father at that age?"

"Honestly," Sonic began. "I was so young when I came to Earth that I don't remember." Sonic picked up a tissue and blew his nose quietly. While Tom and Maddie nodded. Obviously, for your standards, it isn't, and when Tails suddenly came to Earth two years ago and eventually called me dad for the first time, I thought I was too young to be considered a dad, so I told him I was his older brother..." Sonic went quickly for a tissue and blew his nose once again. This was getting really annoying. "Even though older brothers don't really have paternal feelings towards their supposed 'younger brother,", Sonic said, moving his fingers to make in quotation marks in the last part, "or read parenting manuals, or do a lot of stuff only parents do." Sonic coughed quietly. "I was kind of in denial, y'know? Eventually, I realized that it doesn't matter what my age is. It's what we feel we are to each other."

"I see…" Tom was the first to reply. "I can tell he really loves you."

"Yeah…" Sonic smiled. "I never thought I would want children, but when Tails came into my life, I just felt a connection immediately—he did too—and I just really love him too. I can't really imagine my life without him anymore." Sonic finished with an even bigger smile on his face. Talking about his son made him genuinely very happy.

Maddie replied with a simple 'aww'. Earning Tom's smile and another smile from Sonic. They talked for a while longer, and eventually, all of them went to sleep.

Right before he fell asleep, through the irritating coughing and itching, he felt truly content with what the future would look like.

A future he couldn't wait to find out…