Hello.

All I have to say is, I'm really pleased with this chapter and you'll get a lot of emotion out of it.

Spelling and grammar errors are completely my fault and I appreciate it if you catch a mistake and correct me.

Disclaimer: Sonic and his friends belong to SEGA. Chelsea belongs to me.

Chapter 3: A Daily Routine with a Twist

Chelsea groaned when she heard a piercing cry. Ever since Shadow had come into her life it seemed waking up at six in the morning was part of her daily routine. She tried to block out the cry and go back to sleep by putting a pillow on top of her head. It was no use. She didn't have the heart to ignore the child. Hesitantly Chelsea pushed the heavy sheets off her body and dragged her feet to Shadow's room. She made sure she took her time.

When she got to the child's room she saw a big red bump in the crib. With her curiosity at an all time high she walked over to the wooden crib. There was no need to turn on the lights; the dim light made it possible to see. "Shady, sweetie is everything alright?" she asked. Chelsea removed the blanket to see a tear streaked Shadow trembling.

This wasn't part of the routine. He didn't usually tremble. He just cried.

With her heart racing a bit Chelsea put the young cub in her arms and cradled him. "Shadow what's wrong? Please tell me." Shadow curled up against the young woman and nuzzled her. He whimpered but didn't give a reply. This worried her tremendously and only pushed her to keep asking the same question. Still, Shadow wouldn't answer. Chelsea sighed and brought Shadow to her room. She laid down and pulled the covers over them. Chelsea felt the infant pull the collar of her night gown. Her heart cracked when she saw the fear clearly displayed in Shadow's big red eyes. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She held Shadow close and, with a cracked voice, asked "Please baby, tell me what's wrong?"

"I-I had bad dre-dream momma. I scared lab coat going to come get me."

Fresh hot tears strolled down Shadow's pink tinted cheeks. Chelsea's thumb wiped away the flowing tears and kissed his forehead. She was happy he was at least talking. She whispered loving coos into the cub's ears and also kissed them tenderly. Shadow's tears slowly stopped and all he did was sniffle. Happy that he stopped crying, Chelsea rubbed his back as Shadow tightly held on to her night gown.

"Go to sleep Shadow, I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Yes momma. I love you. G'night."

"I love you to baby."

A few minutes passed and Chelsea could hear the calm breaths come from Shadow. Her brow furrowed together as she rubbed circles on the young one's back. A thought puzzled her tremendously. She didn't understand what could trouble him so much, especially if it's something like lab coats? She pondered on the thought for a little while until she could no longer keep her eyelids open. Sleep won the battle she tried to fight. A deep sleep consumed both hedgehog and human.

"Momma! Momma, today can I have that?"

A furry little finger pointed to a round plump orange sitting in a basket filled with other varieties of fruit. Chelsea reached for a small cup. She stood on her tippy toes and congratulated herself when she got the item. Her small party was interrupted when she felt a tug on her jeans. "Huh?" Her face twisted into a confused look and then into a smile. "Was momma listening to me?" Shadow crossed his arms and gave her a glare that was adorable. She could definitely see him perfect the stance in a few years, just like in the cartoons. That was only if she still had him in a few years. A dull pain ran through her chest. Chelsea shrugged off the feeling and picked up the hedgie that still glared at her.

"I'm sorry. I should've been listening. Now, what was it you were saying?" she tickled him lightly. Letting out a few giggles, Shadow pointed at the orange and repeated, "Can I have that?"

Chelsea went to the kitchen counter and picked the small fruit up. She set Shadow on the counter and held the orange in front of him. "Momma, what is it?" The ebony cub took the orange from Chelsea and, because of its weight, fell down on his rump. "It's heavy." Chelsea chuckled and filled the small cup she had with water from the refrigerator. "Shady, if you don't know what it is then why do you want it?" "Be-because the man on the colorful pictures was eating it," Shadow cried. Chelsea took a pill from a cabinet and put it in her mouth. She used the water to wash it down. "Ah. Well it's an orange Shady and it's a kind of fruit," she replied leaning on a wall. "Okay. Does that mean I can have it?" "Yes, but after dinner." Shadow nodded and put the orange back in the basket. He wobbled a bit but was able to get it in. He sat next to it and had a huge smile on his face. He couldn't wait till dinner time.

Chelsea lay down on a black leathery couch. She had her favorite dark blue blanket on her and Shadow sitting on top of her butt. The remote he held was a bit larger than him but he managed to find a way to work it with little difficulty. They were watching SpongeBob SquarePants, well Shadow was and Chelsea just dozed off from time to time. The pill she just took made her a bit drowsy.

Shadow looked at Chelsea to see if she was watching the TV. He frowned a little when he saw she wasn't. She looked like she was about to sleep. He looked at the numbers on the cable box thingy and couldn't read it. He climbed on the edge of the couch and stretched for the nearest pair of curtains. He opened them and bright light slammed on his face. He closed the curtains and looked at Chelsea with a confused expression. Why was she sleeping? They already took a nap and it wasn't night time yet. Shadow scurried towards her head and put a hand on her forehead. This is what she did to him when he felt bad. Then she would ask if he felt warm. "Do momma feel warm?"

The young adult lazily opened her eyes and felt furry paws on her head. "What are you doing Shady?" she asked while trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. "Do momma feel warm?" Finally understanding what he was trying to do, Chelsea sat up and shook her head no. "No, I'm alright Shady. I'm just tired."

Worry sparked in the young one's ruby eyes. Shadow crawled on her lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Mommas not going to go to scary lab coats right?" Chelsea nodded and Shadow smiled at her. Suddenly a memory flashed in front of her eyes.

"Shady can I ask you a question?"

"Momma can ask me anything!"

"Who were the scary lab coats in your nightmare?"

Chelsea gasped when she saw Shadow lower his ears and go wide eyed. He looked horrified.

"I- they meanies. They hurt me every-everyday momma. I don't wanna go back." Tears rolled down Shadow's cheeks and his breathes turned into hiccups. Chelsea hugged the ebony hedgie and patted his back. "You're not going to go back Shady. Don't cry, okay. No one's going to hurt you anymore." Shadow continued to cry and just left Chelsea to ponder on her thoughts.

What could have those people done to him that could make him this terrified?

3 Months Later…

"Momma, wake up! Wake up now!"

Shadow roughly shook his mother. His eyes were wide with fear and he felt his heart race. He had grown quite a bit in just three months. He was now the length of Chelsea's arm and his speech improved incredibly, but that's beside the point.

Light chocolate eyelids opened. Chelsea groaned a bit before turning her back to Shadow. She growled when she was shaken a second time.

"What Shadow?"

The crimson streaked hedgehog winced at his mother's tone but gasped when he heard another sound coming from his room.

"Momma wake up please. I'm scared," he pleaded.

Reluctantly, Chelsea sat up and glared at the hedgie. "Okay I'm up. Now wh-"

Clank!

Chelsea snapped her head towards her door. Her breathing became heavy. She felt Shadow latch onto her waist and made no effort to remove him. Slowly, Chelsea crept to her closet and grabbed a baseball bat. She would have to thank her brother later.

Dlunk!

Shadow whimpered and climbed on his mother's back and locked his grip around her neck. His ruby eyes were closed shut. He whimpered and tightened his grip when he heard footsteps.

"Shadow?"

"Y-yes momma."

"I need you to stay here okay. I don't want you getting hurt."

His eyes widened. "But momma I don't-"

"I don't care what you want right now Shadow. Listen to me. Hide in the closet and don't come out until I say so. It's a big closet and the door opens towards the inside, so put stuff against the door. Do you understand?" Chelsea whispered harshly. She took Shadow off her back and looked to him squirming in her hold. He let loose fresh tears and her heart felt like it was about to shatter.

"Bu-but momma, I don't want you getting hurt either. Please let me go with you. I love you," Shadow cried.

Tears strolled down her cheeks. Chelsea put a hand over Shadow's mouth to muffle the noise. She removed her hand and kissed all over his face. He also kissed her cheeks in return. They both tightly held each other.

"I know baby, I love you too, but you can't go out there with me. If you get hurt I wouldn't ever forgive myself. Please go in the closet. Please do it for me Shadow."

Shadow crawled his way over to the closet and went in it. Before he shut the door he gave Chelsea a loving embrace and kissed her goodbye. They exchanged 'I love yous' and he shut the door. When it was shut Shadow hysterically cried, turning into a little ball.

Chelsea wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. She took steps away from her bedroom and held the baseball bat in position. She crept in the hallway. It was dark and she accidentally ran her toe into the wall. She stifled a scream.

Whoosh!

Everything went silent.

Chelsea jumped into the room where all the noise was coming from. The baseball bat was over her head and she was ready to strike at anything. When nothing moved she turned on the lights. Her baseball bat dropped on the floor and she gasped.

Aww, I thought this chapter was adorable.

Yeah and I know it's a cliff hanger but you guys probably already know what's going to happen next. Darn it, I'm so predictable.

Anyway, thank you for reading.

~God Bless You~