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

Chapter 4: Mommy

She froze on the spot. Chelsea stared at two small beings. One was blue and one was silver. Her heart felt like it was ready to jump out of her chest.

What was Sonic and Silver doing here?

The two said hedgehogs were sitting there with their arms wrapped around each other. They shivered with fear as their wide and alarmed eyes stared at Chelsea. Silver whimpered and lowered his ears as tears fell down his bright pink cheeks. Sonic looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown but he just held the other child tightly.

The young woman stood there for few moments before walking towards the two hedgies slowly. She stopped, a foot away, when Silver began to sob. Her chocolate irises softened and her bottom lip began to tremble a bit. Chelsea crouched down and sat on legs observing the bundle.

Sonic stared at her with new profound fear. His emerald eyes were glossy with unshed tears. He whimpered and covered Silver with his own body when Chelsea stretched a hand towards them. He shook even more when he felt a hand on his back. The hand smoothed over his fur and went in circular motions. His hunched shoulders visibly relaxed at the touch of the hand. It was gentle and warm. Nothing he was expecting. His ears twitched when a soft voice whispered;"I won't hurt you." The azure hedgehog turned his trembling head towards the owner of the dark skinned hand. For some unknown reason he felt truth in the word sentence. He reached out to grab the hand in front of him and gasped when it brought him close to the woman's body. Sonic squirmed in fear. He tried to reach for the silver hedgehog. He stopped when Silver was once again next to him, crying loudly.

Chelsea looked down at the hedgies in her arms. She scooted to a nearby wall and leaned against it. She brought her knees close to her chest, carefully so the beings wouldn't be squished. Chelsea cradled Sonic and Silver. She smiled a bit when Silver's cries decreased to only sniffles. Silver latched on to Chelsea's mid-section and nuzzled her. Chelsea looked at Sonic held him closer. Sonic's emerald eyes looked into her eyes and watered. He dug his finger into her night gown and is his lip quivered. He buried his face into her chest and cried as hard as a toddler could.

The sight of the scene made Chelsea shed tears herself. They looked terrified like they've just been through hell. She didn't remember Shadow's appearance being this heart breaking. The crying ceased and the two hedgehogs were asleep and gripping tightly on to her as if she was the very thing keeping them alive.

Chelsea lazily got up with the two hedgehogs on her sides and went straight to her room. She gently placed the sleeping forms on her bed and slipped in with them. She pulled the covers over them and felt her eyelids get heavy. Chelsea's face crinkled for second when she felt a pang in her chest. She ignored it and turned on her side to cuddle the three hedgies she now had. There was only one problem; she only felt two.

…

"SHADOW!" Chelsea's shrill cry startled the other two awake. They propped themselves up and looked around with dazed and confused looks.

The worry-stricken female scrambled to the closet door that held the ebony child. She tried to push open the door but couldn't. She pounded the door and repeatedly cried out her son's name. "Shadow, come out. Shadow, open the door. Everything is alright. Mommy's okay. The bad people are gone."

Chelsea heard sounds of shuffling and tiny breaths. Slowly, the door opened. Immediately she went in the closet and kneeled down and crawled around the closed space. Chelsea looked on the floor to see if Shadow was curled up there. With no light in the closet she had to rely on touch. She jumped and hit her head when she looked up. Two blood red eyes stared right at her.

A moment or two passed before Chelsea wrapped her arms around Shadow in a bone crushing embrace. She gasped when she fell back on her back. Her eyes when she realized Shadow pushed her away from him. His ruby eyes, that she adored, were filled with untamed anger that she never knew he could have at such a young age. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she propped herself up with on her hands.

Shadow walked towards her stood on her lap. He glared at his mother. She had left him. She left him in the closet while she went out there alone, with the lab coats, and that was unforgivable. He had cried in this small room for what seemed forever or until he had no tears left. During that time Shadow felt something in his chest that he wasn't accustomed to. It was bubbling up in his body and made him feel like a volcano was about to erupt in him. The heart his mother said was for loving others felt like it was torn without mercy and thrown in the garbage. She made him feel useless. She made him feel angry. That was the feeling she said she had when he broke her phone. The feeling she had when he disobeyed her commands. Shadow concluded that if this was the feeling she felt when she was angry, he didn't want to feel it again, but for some reason it didn't go away. Instead every time he pondered on his previous thoughts the anger rose.

"You made me feel useless momma" Shadow said with his glare still fixed upon her.

Chelsea gawked at Shadow with mixed emotions. Her mouth was ajar. A strained sound hung throughout the air. The air around them was so thick all of a sudden. She found it hard to breath. Chelsea sat there surprised at how this hedgehog, which was no older than five, could make her shiver. His eyes were cold, hard and cut right through her. All those fan fictions she read about his glare was nothing compared to the real thing. You couldn't describe the anger that glowed in his eyes. There was no humanly possible way.

Tears rolled down her cheeks for what seemed the hundredth time that night. Her heart couldn't crack anymore because it was completely shattered into microscopic pieces. She felt like she let Shadow down, like she completely destroyed the bond they had. She didn't know she caused him so much distress. She was too careless with his feelings and wishes. She yelled at him multiple times when he needed her comfort the most. When she could finally find her voice she said exasperated "I-I'm so sorry Shadow. I d-didn't know. God please forgive me for this. Oh Shadow, I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad at me baby. P-please forgive me. I didn't want you to get h-hurt. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Shadow." Chelsea hysterically cried and buried her head in her hands.

Shadow's eyes widened and then narrowed. The anger he felt increased to the limit and he started pounding his tiny fist on his mother's chest. She shouldn't be crying. He started screaming incoherent things. It was because of her he was feeling like this. It was because of her he glared at her with so much anger. It was because of her he was screaming. It was because of her he was hitting the very chest he nuzzled into everyday for comfort. It was because of her that they were in this cursed closet. It was because of her he felt tears on his muzzle. It was because of her he trembled. It was because of her he cried so much. It was because of her he hugged her so tightly he thought his arms were about to pop out of place. It was because of her he worried about her safety so much. It was because of her the mere thought of losing her made him feel like an ant by a skyscraper; so small and, unable to do anything about it. It was because of her he actually felt loved.

Ruby eyes stared at the moving carpeted floor. They eventually saw the familiar lavender sheets they had seen so many times. Shadow felt the arms that carried him before allow other things into them. He would've looked up but he was too tired to. He thought he heard something but sleep overcame him before he could figure it out.

1 Week Later…

"Speedy, Shady, Silvy, its bath time!"

Two hedgehogs came running through the bathroom door; a silver one and a black one. Chelsea cocked her head to the right and looked at the two hedgehogs. Two hedgies. Where was the other one?

"Shadow, Silver where's Sonic?"

Shadow and Silver looked at each other and then at their mother. They smiled sheepishly and said "We don't know." Chelsea sighed and went to go look for the azure hedgie with the others following her. This always happened when it was bath time. The blue one made himself scarce whenever something with water came up. Chelsea looked at all the places Sonic hid before but of course he wasn't there. It's been about 15 minutes and Chelsea still couldn't find the hedgehog. With an irritated huff she was about to give up when an idea struck her brain. She smiled evilly. Silver and Shadow shivered at the sight. They decided to stay away from their mother whenever she showed the expression. They learned that the hard way.

"Uhh, oh well. I guess all those chili dogs I made are going to go to waste. I better throw them-"Chelsea laughed when she felt someone jump on her back, gripping her shoulders.

"Chili dogs? Well mommy, I'll eat 'em. You don't hafta throw 'em away ya know."

Sonic was always going to be Sonic. It doesn't matter if he's two or 65. He will forever love chili dogs. Too bad it distracted him too much to see Chelsea grab him and drag him to the tub. Shadow and Silver sweat dropped when they heard Sonic's shouts for freedom. The two said hedgehogs walked into the bathroom to see the azure with his arms crossed, a pouty expression and bubbly white suds on his quills. When the faucet came on he glared at the water like it was a demon. Shadow snickered at him while Silver giggled. Sonic saw the two giggling at him and stuck his tongue at them.

"Sonic stop being so sour and put your tongue back in your mouth."

Said hedgehog lowered his ears and put his tongue back in his mouth and only became grimmer when he heard his brothers laugh even more. Sonic huffed and closed his eyes when water was poured on his head.

From then on he decided he would always hate bathes with all of his being.

That night the four decided to watch a movie. Chelsea dragged the mattress from the guest room to the middle of the living room. After minute of panting she went into the kitchen to make the popcorn.

Sonic soon came running down the stairs at top speed and cannon-balled on the soft mattress. Not far behind was Shadow who immediately grabbed the remote just when Sonic was about to touch it.

"Hey! Give it back Shadow. Mommy said I could pick the movie today."

"No. Momma said I could pick it today. You picked it last time."

Meanwhile Silver came quietly down after his brothers. He wasn't as fast as them so he had to struggle to keep up. When he saw they were fighting over the remote he lowered his ears. He stretched a hand towards the two playing tug-a-war, trying to calm them down. "S-Sonic, Shadow you don't need to fight," he exclaimed.

"Not now Silver. I need to get the remote back," Sonic seethed through clenched teeth.

"B-but-"

"Silver. Stay. Away. Sonic was just too slow this time," Shadow retorted.

"I was not. Grr, give it back faker!"

"Yes you were and I'm clearly not the faker here."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes. You. Are!"

"No. I'm. Not!"

Silver head went back and forth. He tried once more to calm them down. "Guys please calm-"

"SHUT UP SILVER!" Sonic and Shadow shouted.

He gasped. Silver's hand immediately found its way back to his body. His wide golden eyes were quickly glossy with unshed tears. His bottom lip trembled and it took all of his strength not to cry. All he wanted to do was to get them to stop fighting. He didn't mean to upset them.

Sonic and Shadow were now softly holding the remote. Their previous dilemma was quickly forgotten when they saw the look on Silver's face. They looked at each other and then back at the younger one with regret. Shadow reached a hand out for Silver but the silver hedgehog took a step back. Both of them were about to apologize when both of them suddenly winced.

"Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog, you get your butts in my room this instant."

The black and azure hedgehogs walked to their mother's room with compunctious. They kept their heads low and avoided eye contact with the fury held within the chocolate brown eyes that glared at them.

Chelsea shook her head in dismay. She turned her attention to the trembling silver hedgie that sat on the edge of the mattress. She walked to Silver and kneeled down to his level. "Are you alright Silvy," she asked softly. Silver nodded and tried to smile but failed miserably. He rubbed his eyes in attempt of keeping unshed tears from falling. A few escaped and he quickly rubbed them away so they would go unseen but the more he tried the faster the tears came. Chelsea smiled at his bravery. He was trying not to cry and she couldn't help but feel proud at his attempt.

The young woman took Silver's hands from his face and kissed his cheeks. She embraced him in a loving hug and said, "You know, it is okay to cry." Silver tried to steady his breathing before replying, "I know but, I know they didn't mean to yell at me. I shouldn't have upset them." Chelsea frowned at the response. She had only had Silver for a week but she noticed that whenever something went wrong he always found a way to pin it on himself. "You are not to blame Silvy. You didn't do anything. Sonic and Shadow shouldn't have yelled at you in the first place. They shouldn't have especially said shut up to you. They need to be punished."

Silver gasped and pulled away from the embrace. He shook his head and pleaded, "Mommy please let them watch the movie at least. They won't like me if you don't let them." Chelsea's frown only deepened but she only sighed. "Fine Silvy, I'll let them watch the movie. Why don't you pick the movie while I go talk to them, alright?" Silver gave her an ear splitting grin and hugged her. "Thank you mommy! Love you." Chelsea chuckled, "I love you too." She got up and headed up the stairs replacing her expression with a game face.

When Chelsea opened the door she saw Sonic and Shadow glaring at each other, nose to nose, ruby to emerald. She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg. She frowned at their ridiculous behavior. "Do either of you mind telling me what's going on and why you yelled at Silver?" The hedgies looked at the woman in front of them with anger at the other and pointed their fingers at the each other. "It was his fault," they said in unison. They glared at each other with malice and said "No it's not." Sonic and Shadow gasped and then turned to their mother with annoyed faces "Mommy!" they both said.

Chelsea almost pulled her hair out her head. "Enough you two! You have done nothing but fight and I'm tired of it. Where have you learned to say 'shut up' anyway. Didn't you know that is disrespectful?"

Sonic and Shadow lowered their ears and winced at Chelsea's harsh tone. Sonic rubbed the back of his neck and Shadow averted his eyes away from her and crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry mommy. I didn't know it was bad" Sonic said woefully.

"Me neither momma" Shadow said with honesty, "I'm sorry."

Chelsea sighed and turned her gaze to the wall on her left. It was hard to stay mad at them at times. "You shouldn't be apologizing to me. Your brother's the one who needs to hear it. But for your punishment you will go through a week without TV and Silver will be picking the movie. If I hear any complaint you will be in deeper trouble than you are now. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes" they both said

Shadow then asked, "If we can't watch TV doesn't that mean we can't watch the movie momma?"

"You can thank Silver for getting out of that. He said you guys wouldn't like him anymore if I kept you watching the movie. I don't know where he would get that idea unless; you two have something to do with it."

"No! We promise."

Chelsea walked towards the door and gestured for them to walk through. Sonic and Shadow scurried to the door each earning a light pat on their hind. They were instantly hugging Silver and blurting out apologies. Silver accepted them with open arms and had a smile on his face the entire night.

Horton Hears a Who was about to end. Chelsea laid on the mattress with Silver on her chest and Sonic in one of her arms. They both fell asleep before the first half was even over. She felt a light tap on her free shoulder and moved her head as much as she could to see who tapped her.

"Yes Shady?"

Shadow's eyes held uncertainty and that made her confused. Shadow twiddled with his fingers and looked down at his feet.

"Do you hate me momma?"

Chelsea's eyes widened at the statement. She moved carefully so she wouldn't disturb the sleeping hedgies. She wanted to fully look at Shadow.

Why would he think that? Did I come off to harsh today?

"Shadow, why would you think that? I would never hate you. If what happened today wa-"

"No momma. It's not about today. I'm talking about what happened in the closet."

Chelsea eyes clouded with memories of that night. That whole day was filled with tears and emotional distress. She remembered when she sent Shadow to the closet and when she came back he was furious with her. She winced.

"I didn't mean to hit you or yell at you. I was just mad. I won't hit you again. I promise. It's okay if you don't like me anymore." Shadow hung his head low and went to go sleep on the other side of the mattress. He gasped when he felt a hand around his wrist. He was soon flipped and was against his mother's warm chest. He breathed in the familiar scent and buried his head in her bosom.

"Don't you ever think like that again. Do you understand me?"

Shadow smiled and nodded his head. He crawled up to Chelsea's face and planted a kiss on her lips (Mother/Son kiss). "Yes momma."

"I love you so much Shadow."

"I love you too momma."

All four of them slept peacefully that night but something happened that night, something so extraordinary that their lives were changed forever. Unfortunately there are some things that happen because of bad intentions and then there are some things that happen because it will benefit for the good ones in the end. I cannot tell you who installed the tiny cameras throughout the house but I can tell you that here my, dear reader, is where the story truly begins.

Thank you for reading.

~God Bless You~