Trigger Warning: there's blood and part of a previous suicide attempt shown in this chapter.

A little over a week later, Silver dropped by for a random visit at the Chaotix agency. Silver meant to come by sooner, but, on top of mundane responsibilities in his new timeline delaying him, he wanted time to process some new things he learned about the Chaotix. Although Silver risked forgetting details he learned and forgetting that Espio might need to be checked on again, Silver was afraid of his ignorant façade cracking if the memories were too fresh. Just because the Chaotix were a goofy bunch of detectives at times didn't mean they couldn't figure things out.

Vector answered the door, surprised to see Silver.

"Oh hey," Vector greeted, stepping out of the way to let Silver in. "Good to see ya."

Silver, sliding his blue school backpack off his shoulders as he entered, asked, "I didn't come at a bad time, did I?" He set his backpack near the door.

"Well…" Vector rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Charmy and Espio are leaving here in a bit. But—"

"Shoot, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Should I come back another time?"

"Nah, I'm sure you can give Espio an quick hello. He's upstairs."

Silver nodded, levitating himself off the floor. "Thanks, Vector. I'll try to keep it quick."

Vector watched Silver fly up the stairs with his powers and disappear.

Vector was glad Silver started visiting regularly again. Vector figured Espio needed to socialize more. Back when Silver's visits got more erratic, even Vector started to wonder if Silver's visits were going to turn into rare occurrences.

Espio, just yesterday, told Charmy to not get his hopes up when the kid brought up Silver visiting again soon. To Vector, it sounded like Espio was more telling himself that.

Even though Espio liked having some time to himself, Vector knew it meant a lot when the Chaotix did stuff together. It was one of the few times Espio socialized. With the agency's increased business, it had been tricky to find time for the Chaotix to spend leisure time together. At least Charmy could visit Cream and the occasional classmate. Even Tails let him tag along with him a couple times before. Tails was mature for his age, but even he liked playing like a regular kid.

Espio concerned Vector more. He was even noticing Espio spending more time alone training. Espio complained about him "not wanting to get weak" when Vector asked about it. Vector couldn't help wondering if there was more to it.

As expected, Silver found Espio in his bedroom, packing his own black backpack.

"I hear you're going somewhere with Charmy," Silver said as he walked into Espio's room.

"Oh, Silver," Espio said, zipping his bag shut. "Sorry, I didn't know you were coming. Yeah, I…was supposed to…" Espio paused to look down at Silver's hands hanging on his sides. "You got new gloves."

Silver, forgetting that he changed out of his old gloves, lifted one hand and briefly stared at it. The fingerless gloves were a silver a couple shades darker than his fur. They also had light blue ring patterns that went with Silver's fur color. Silver stretched his hand out to Espio to give his friend a better look.

"Do you like them?" Silver asked. "I wanted to try something different. Too much?"

Espio shook his head before making eye contact with Silver. "They're nice. They look good on you."

Smiling proudly, Silver lowered his hand. "Thanks. So where are you and Charmy—"

"Mommy's here!" Charmy loudly announced, interrupting Silver.

Silver, who wasn't expecting Charmy, nearly fell backwards when Charmy yelled. Charmy flew into the room and in circles around the pair standing around.

Espio, on the other hand, simply gave Charmy an annoyed look each time the bee passed his line of sight.

"There's no need to yell, Charmy," Espio stated. "You could have just got me."

Charmy stopped in front of Silver. "But Silver hasn't met her yet."

"We can introduce them another time."

"But Silver was asking about—" Charmy, realizing too late what he said, covered his mouth with both hands. His widened gaze flicked to Espio.

Eyes narrowed, Espio glanced at Silver. "What is he talking about?"

"I told him a little about Mommy," Charmy cut in, smiling.

Espio's eyes widened briefly, not expecting Silver to know this information.

Noticing that Espio looked at him strangely, Silver smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"W-well, you see…" Silver paused to figure out how to steer the conversation from how exactly he learned all this. Luckily, an idea came to him. "Well, I've seen them leave together when I was visiting once. They already left in her car before I could say anything. Remember when you said Charmy was visiting family when I asked you about it later?"

Behind Espio, Charmy gave Silver a weird look, wondering why Silver didn't mention the picture he showed him. Back when Charmy hid the photo back when, he only did it because Silver looked nervous when he spotted Vector and Espio through the window. He figured maybe they weren't supposed to talk about it. It's why Charmy freaked out when he thought he said too much. Now Silver was playing it off. Unsure of the right thing to do, Charmy let Silver take the lead.

Silver nodded at Charmy with a smile and said, "I would love to meet her, if she wouldn't mind."

Charmy returned the smile and flew closer to Silver. "She'll love to meet you! She's the nicest lady ever."

Espio, looking unsure of himself, nodded as he hoisted his backpack on his shoulders. "I'm sure Millie has better things to do than—"

"Millie's her name," Charmy loudly interjected to Silver, who flinched at the sudden loud volume.

"Anyway," Espio said, sounding impatient. "We shouldn't overwhelm her. She can get nervous in new social situations if she's not prepared. Besides, I'm sure she's—"

In the air, Charmy grabbed Silver by the hand and started dragging him out of the room. "Come on, Silver! I'm sure she won't mind."

Espio followed Silver as he let himself be taken downstairs. "And I'm sure the twins are keeping your grandparents busy."

"Oh yeah, Charmy mentioned them too," Silver said as he left the last step.

Espio gave Silver a scrutinized glare as he met them at the end of the stairs. "What all did Charmy tell you? And when did you two—"

Just when Silver was about to stutter an explanation, Espio noticed Charmy flying away, distracting him from talking further.

Silver turned around, seeing Charmy fly into the arms of Millie, who was wearing a white long-sleeved blouse and black skirt that looked like something someone would wear at a office. Silver wondered how she was able to handle wearing those sleeves while being in Seaside City, which tended to be extra hot this time of the year. On one shoulder, she carried a bulky black purse. She was shorter than Vector, but she still towered over Silver.

"Good to see you, Sweetie," Millie said, hugging Charmy, in a soft voice that was almost a whisper. "How have you been doing? Have you been behaving for Espio and Uncle Vector?"

Espio went over to Millie and Charmy with Silver trailing behind him.

"Sometimes," Espio said, smirking as he got closer to Millie. "He tries, though."

Millie smiled at Espio. "It's good to see you too. What about you? How have you been doing?" Millie, as she gently set Charmy down, then noticed Silver standing nearby. She looked a little uneasy but not unfriendly as she smiled, awkwardly fiddling with her purse strap with one hand. "O-oh, hello. Who m-might you be?" Her voice trembled more as her confidence in interacting socially went down.

"Silver, ma'am," Silver said, giving her an embarrassed smile. "Uh, I'm Espio's friend."

Millie's brown eyes lit up. "Oh, Vector mentioned you!" Her voice became steady again. "That's wonderful. I'm glad Espio is making friends. It's nice to meet you, Silver."

In the corner of Silver's eye, he noticed Espio looking nervous.

"I'm sorry," Espio said. "Silver didn't know we were meeting up today. I wasn't meaning to—"

Millie pulled Espio in a hug that caught him off guard. "Don't worry about it. We never had the chance to meet before anyway. You're welcome to bring him along to visit if you want." Millie looked down at a flustered Espio at the last sentence.

"You sure, ma'am?" Silver asked. "I don't want to trouble you or anything."

"It's fine," Millie said. "If your parents or guardians don't mind, of course."

"They wouldn't care," Espio responded, his face still slightly red at Millie's comment. "His parents give him a lot of free range."

Millie released Espio from her tight hug and smiled at him. "Alright. We'll leave as soon as—"

Cries from a couple babies interrupted her. Vector came out of the kitchen, holding a baby in each hand. The baby twins sat in each of his arms, squealing.

"Oh goodness," Millie said. "They're getting a bit cranky. We'll need them put them down for a nap soon."

Vector nodded and headed towards them. As soon as he left the kitchen, Silver flew towards the babies, hovering in front of Vector and staring down at them.

The babies babbled, their tiny little feet kicking as they continued to babble. They were both wolf Mobians as Silver was told. On Silver's right, the baby wore a pink onesie that went well with her fuchsia fur color. She stared at Silver with curious icy blue eyes. The one on the left wore a green onesie instead of the traditional blue for boys, likely because he already had cerulean blue fur. He looked at Silver with nervous, confused golden eyes instead.

"Wow!" Silver said, looking at the babies. "They're so cute! What're their names?"

Vector first handed the blue wolf baby to Espio, who happily accepted the small infant and held him against his chest.

"He's Azure," Vector answered, motioned with his eyes to the baby Espio was holding. Vector held the violet baby girl up a bit higher, causing her to kick her feet in excitement. "And she's Sumire."

Azure made sounds like he was about to cry.

"It's okay," the serious, stoic Espio said in a surprising soft voice as he rocked Azure a bit.

Azure's whining grew quieter until Espio gently rocked him into contentment. While Silver always knew Espio was nicer than most people realized, Silver didn't expect Espio to handle a baby so well. Silver watched in amazement at how well Espio managed to soothe a baby before he even started crying.

"You should see him when it's just Mommy and me," Charmy said when he noticed Silver staring at Espio. "He likes to baby-talk them." Charmy put his tongue out in disgust.

A flustered Espio shot Charmy a dirty look. "I don't baby-talk them!"

Silver wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he could have sworn that he saw a faint, pink shade color Espio's cheeks. Vector snorted as he struggled to hold back a laugh. He was too busy trying to stay quiet to contribute to the conversation.

"Yeah, you do!" Charmy replied, rolling his eyes. "You just don't want Silver to know 'cause you don't want him to think you're uncool."

Silver shook his head, trying hard to keep from laughing.

Espio sighed and looked at Silver. "Look, Silver…"

"Don't worry," Silver reassured Espio. "I'm not going to make fun of you."

Espio relaxed and noticed Silver looking between both twins a lot. "Did you want to hold one of them?" Espio asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Silver asked, whispering back. "You sure it's fine?"

Espio nodded. "Have you held a baby before? Would you prefer sitting down somewhere to make it easier.

"Nah, believe it or not, I have memories of holding a couple relative's babies." The memories were freshly implanted, so Silver remembered how he was taught to hold them vividly. "And, not that I won't be careful, but I have telekinesis. It can act as another layer of security."

Espio had seen Silver catch plenty of things, including people, with his powers in dire situations when he helped Sonic and the others fight the latest threat. Even if Espio wasn't close with Silver, Espio could trust Silver to watch his back in battle or aid him with an emergency if his powers would be useful. And Espio was willing to stand in arm's-length just in case.

Espio nodded in agreement. "Good point. He glanced at Millie. "Is it alright if Silver holds one of them?"

Millie nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not as long as he's careful."

Espio glanced at Vector. "Can you hand him Sumire? She's less sleepy and handles new people better."

Vector walked over, handing Sumire to Silver. As Vector passed her to Silver, Sumire kicked her feet faster in excitement as Silver took her into his arms. She definitely was more alert and extroverted than her brother. Vector made sure to finish releasing her when he was sure Silver fully had her.

While Vector trusted Silver, he was a tiny bit sad to stop holding the last twin. After all, they were his potential niblings depending on how things went. Espio and Charmy tended to visit the twins and Millie on a near regular basis compared to him, so he had less opportunities to interact with them as much.

Vector started feeling better about handing Sumire over when he saw Silver smiling down brightly at her.

Silver's heart, meanwhile, raced in excitement as he stared down at the baby. As an only child, his experience with babies was limited. His time in a post-apocalyptic world, which continued to feel more like a past life as new and more positive memories replaced them, made babies even rarer. It felt so amazing to hold something so small, cute, and full of life and potential. He knew babies were a lot of work and stress, but he wished he got to see them more. He wondered what kind of people she and her brother would become when they grew up.

Silver avoided looking in the past when he was his timeline because it took some of the fun out of seeing his friends. Besides, he always worried if he found out something negative and accidentally blurted out something that ironically turned it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. It also wouldn't be the first time something in the past happened that changed Silver's own time period, making what he learned either pointless or even dangerous depending on who was affected reacted to the news.

"Hey there, Sumire," Silver said, his voice softened for the baby. "I'm Silver. I'm Espio's friend. It's nice to meet you."

The baby gurgled excitedly, wiggling her chubby fists in the air, almost seeming to understand what Silver said. Silver couldn't help but chuckle a bit. She seemed to enjoy being held for the moment.

"She must really like Silver," Charmy commented as he flew by Vector's side, watching Sumire gurgling and waving her chubby fingers at Silver. She was so loud that it was difficult to ignore her chirping noises as she reached out her chubby hands.

"Maybe she can tell he's a nice dude," Vector whispered back, watching Silver as he talked to Sumire.

As Espio got closer while holding Azure, Silver crouched down to meet Azure at eye level. "Hey, Azure. I'm Silver."

For several minutes, Espio and Silver held a twin, talking to each other, the twin they held, or the twin the other teen was holding.

"We have to get going after a while," Millie announced as she walked up to Silver. "If you don't mind being in a hotel, you could come with us if you want."

"She lives a bit far away," Espio explained, rocking Azure when he started making unhappy noises again. "So sometimes we meet her at a hotel nearby."

While Vector visited when he could, Vector he had plenty of his own responsibilities with running the agency, which made traveling far restrictive. He also figured it would be nice for Millie to spend more time with the kids.

"It's a bit crowded in the agency for screaming babies, so I booked a hotel," Millie added.

Millie used to visit the agency with the twin more often, but, lately, the increased business at the agency had been making the office more hectic.

Vector hoped to visit them more often once things stabilized at the agency soon. Maybe even drive to her with Espio and Charmy more so she didn't have to drive down here to pick up the kids or to stay over. It was only recently that Vector was finally able to afford some important repairs for his car.

"And her place is a bit far," Vector said, holding a grin. "There's also…my parents. So it's a bit crowded."

Silver glanced at Vector, seeing his grin strain for just a moment. Vector plastered on a more convincing smile when Silver stared at the crocodile for too long. Millie got closer to Silver to take the baby.

Silver held Sumire and glanced at Espio. "If you guys don't mind, I'm okay with—"

'I'm so happy Espio finally made a friend his age.'

Silver flinched and glanced at Millie, who had her hands positioned around but hadn't take her yet. "Uh…Millie, did you say something?"

"Huh?" Millie looked at Silver, confused. "No, just saying you could come with us."

Silver realized he brushed his bare fingertips, exposed from his new fingerless gloves, on Millie's bare hands. He forgot that he could sometimes read and speak telepathically when he touched someone skin to skin. It was a more recent ability he developed during a more recent negative timeline. It took Silver practice and time to get as good with his powers as he currently was, but he was still learning how to better use them and developing new abilities.

The new mind reading ability wasn't typically useful for combat because it required Silver to get very close to someone, putting him in a range that made it easier for him to get hit or grabbed. Silver never handled physical damage as well as some of his bulkier friends, so he preferred to attack from a safe distance. Even when he first discovered the ability, he mostly just got whispers of a person's thoughts, not what sounded like the person was speaking out loud.

'Wait…does he notice…those scars?' Millie's thoughts continued being read as Millie glimpsed at her arms.

Silver, shocked by what he heard and that he could still hear her well, flinched. He realized he was staring at down during his thoughts, seeming to stare at her arms that were faced palms-up to take Sumire.

Millie withdrew briefly to adjust her sleeves then returned to getting ready to grab Sumire.

Silver felt foreign feelings of sharp emotional pain stabbing his heart. Through the mental link, he could visualize the vertical cuts under her arms that managed to break through the crocodile's rough skin.

Silver started to feel woozy suddenly as he felt himself drawn further into Millie's thoughts. His fingers were still on her hand while he held the baby, so he hurried to hand the baby to her. Millie, taken off guard by Silver's sudden rushed movement, grabbed Sumire in time.

Silver struggled to keep himself balanced. He felt the world spin and fade around him as if he was in his own world. Worried voices could be heard, but they were too muffled for Silver to understand who was speaking.

Espio barely caught Silver with one hand, still holding Azure, as he fell over. As Espio guided Silver to the floor so he wouldn't hit his head, he noticed Silver's eyes seeming to roll in the back of his head. Vector and Charmy, who were absorbed in their own conversation at first, realized that something was wrong and rushed over. Vector helped Espio put Silver on the floor, trying to shake him awake.

Then, as Silver left his shell of a body, Silver felt like the floor gave out below him, sending him to the dark void below.

When Silver stopped falling, he felt off in a way he couldn't put into words. Like he wasn't himself.

He was in a someone's bedroom. His eyes wouldn't move as he wanted. All he could do was gaze where whoever had control was looking. It was hard to see what was going on because some of Silver's vision was blurry, as if tears clouded his vision.

Then Silver realized he was staring down at Millie's arms, her palms up. There was fresh blood seeping from the newly cut wounds from the nail file that was held in one hand.

Silver was seeing from Millie's perspective.

That was why he didn't feel like himself. That was why he was feeling a foreign beating in his chest as dread and regret hit at what was done.

Millie frantically grabbed her blanket to try to stop the bleeding. Her breathing grew shallow as panic further set in.

A knock came on the closed door.

"Millie, you alright in there?" Vector could be heard shouting outside. He knocked again. "It's me, Vector. C'mon, Espio and Charmy've real worried about you. Can I come in?"

Millie, feeling light-headed from blood loss, shambled to the door. She already felt black at the edges of her vision even as kept her blanket pressed to her wounds. With shaking hands, Millie opened the door.

As soon as he saw Millie opening the door, Vector gasped and rushed into the room, seeing the bloody blanket Millie dragged to the door with her to stop the bleeding.

Vector swiftly held onto Millie, pulling her close to his body and pressed her head against his shoulder.

"Mille, what've you done!?" Vector screamed as he dragged her to the bed.

"I-I'm s-sorry," Millie said between sobs. "I-I...I w-wasn't thinking." Vector helped her sit on the edge of the bed. "I-I'm so stup-pid!"

With a scared and sad gaze, Vector held the blanket against her arms to stop the bleeding with one hand. With his other hand, Vector reached over and grabbed Millie's phone off her nightstand next to the bed.

"You're not stupid," Vector sternly said as he dialed the emergency number.

"I-I was sc-scared," Millie said, struggling to speak as her sobs got worse. "I-I don't know wh-what to do without h-him. I…I wasn't th-thinking…I just…"

Millie tuned Vector out as he called an ambulance and she stared down at the bleeding, her vision fading further.

The only thing that got her attention as her mind clouded like cotton was stuffed in her skull was a new gasp at the door.

Millie, trembling in fear at what she would see, saw Espio, staring at her with widened eyes, his hand on his mouth as tears formed in his eyes.

'E-Espio?' Millie thought. 'He…when did he…he must have come to check…'

Millie never got to finish her thoughts as felt herself fall back on the bed, her world turning black right away.

"Silver!" Vector shouted as Silver felt himself being shook.

Silver's eyelids flew open. He saw everyone staring down at him, looking down in a mix of fear and concern. Due to not feeling as tired as he expected for someone who passed out, Silver quickly sat up and climbed to his feet easily.

"What happened?" Silver asked as he felt the gazes on him.

"You passed out!" Espio said, almost sounding angry from Silver not acting more concerned. "What else? What happened?"

Silver heard cooing and realized that Charmy was standing by the babies on the floor, likely watching them while the older group members handled a passed-out Silver.

"I'm sorry," Silver said. "I should have told you…" Silver paused, unsure of what excuse he could give for what happened.

"Oh dear," Millie gently grabbed Silver by hand, thankfully not touching his exposed fingers. "You should sit down."

Silver looked at Millie with sadness heavy in his heart as she took him over to the couch and got him to sit down. It was nice she was looking concerned instead of distressed now, but the bad memory was too fresh for Silver to put it aside.

"I'll get him some water," Millie said as she headed to the kitchen.

Silver stared down at his lap when Espio joined him on the couch, who repeatedly asked if he was alright. Silver nodded each time.

"My powers have been on the fritz lately," Silver finally said to Espio when he came up with a convincing lie. "Sometimes they do that when I learn new stuff. I guess I overdid it recently. Sorry again."

Millie returned with a glass of ice and water and handed it to Silver. "There you go. I hope you're doing better."

Several minutes later, after waiting to see if Silver passed out again, Vector spoke up as he stood near the couch.

"This likely means he needs to stay here," Vector said. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea if he goes with you guys, just in case. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Are you sure we shouldn't take him somewhere to get checked?" Millie asked. She was sitting on the other side of Silver, fussing over him since she took a seat. "Are we sure it's not too serious?"

"I got it," Vector said firmly, arms crossed. "Don't forget I'm trained in first aid. This is a chance for you, Charmy, Espio and the twins to spend time together.

"I don't know, Vector," Espio said, staring at Silver with narrowed eyes. "You sure there's not…something we're missing here?"

Espio's suspicious gaze gave Silver more anxiety.

"You guys have fun," Vector said. "Silver can always hang with you all another time. Besides, he and I don't get the chance to do much stuff together anyway."

It took a bunch of more convincing on Vector's part, but he got everyone to leave after a while. Espio kept asking if Silver was doing better and giving both Vector and Silver a concerned gaze as he was followed to the door, holding Sumire this time. Millie led Charmy out, holding Azure, telling Vector and Silver to let them know if something else happened or if they needed her to come back to help.

After they left, Vector refilled the glass of water for Silver and handed the cup to him.

"You're trained in first aid?" Silver asked, desperate to break the tense silence.

"You're surprised? I'm no doc or nothin', but I can at least work on keeping someone alive until an ambulance comes. Mom's a nurse. Kinda forced me to take a bunch of classes growing up."

'That explains how Vector was able to save Millie," Silver thought, remembering the awful memory he accidentally entered.

With no idea what else to say, Silver took a long sip from his glass of water.

"As you probably figured," Vector said, his tone serious for him, "I didn't keep you here just because you passed out. We have a lot of talk about. While we can do it alone in peace and with no interruption. Espio and Charmy are likely going to be gone all night."

Silver gulped down a lump he didn't realize he had in his throat. He figured all the water he drank would have cleared it already. He dreaded what Vector was going to discuss. He rarely sounded this serious.

"But first," Vector continued, folding his arms over his chest. "I'll give you ten more minutes to recover. I'll explain more then."

"What about?" Silver questioned, staring down at his glass to keep himself occupied.

"Wait a bit first." Vector sat next to Silver on the couch. "Then you'll know."

As Vector promised, the crocodile waited ten minutes to see if Silver passed out again, sitting on the couch with Silver in tense silence. As Vector got up, he waved Silver to follow him.

"I'll tell you more at the office," Vector said, looking oddly serious for how he normally acted.

With an uneasy nod, Silver followed Vector into the agency's office.

Feedback is greatly appreciated.

I'll try to get the next chapter out on schedule. It will cover some important things, so I don't want rush through it if it can be avoided. This chapter got longer than expected, which is partly why I had to change the planned chapters in the first place.