Disclaimer: The characters that belong to Sega in this story are the property of Sega, Sonic Team.

One December Night

Cold, thick fear clung to his throat; choking his already oxygen starved lungs. He was running with all his might, with everything he had being channeled to his legs. All the strength and speed he could muster was now in his feet, beating against the snow covered ground in a fury of powdered ice. He had to go faster, or he would be too late, if he wasn’t already. He had covered a long distance since his landing at the airport, but time was short, and he still had further to go.

He had never been more terrified in his life of 26 years then now, though perils of life and death were no stranger to him, and trials that tested everything it meant to be alive had been faced and conquered by his courage and will. Those things had been alarming and dangerous, but they were handled with anything but fear, however, this time he was afraid. This time it involved not only his life, but the lives of ones he held dear to his heart. One who meant more to him then he could ever verbalize and another, though not there yet, would soon become something very precious to behold for this anxious hedgehog.

“Come on, come on, come on. Almost there,” the cobalt blue creature panted as he tried to encourage his already exhausted legs to push a little harder; a little faster. He was previously nothing more than a blue blur due to his quick speed, but now, with an increase in velocity, he was a streak on the horizon gliding gracefully over the ice and snow. His speed was so intense that the very air he punched through erupted into shockwaves rippled out that to equal thunder as he exceeded the speed of sound; a sonic boom. He had to make it to his destination and he had to make it fast. The reason for his fretful rush was his wife, and soon to be mother of his first child, had already gone into labor thousands of miles away from where he had been. He now wished he had stayed home, next to her, but he also knew that he was needed where he had been as well. Plus, she encouraged him to go, knowing as well that he was greatly needed elsewhere.

Dr. Eggman, though older, was far from giving up on his quest for domination, and was a serious threat to be reckon with. Recently, the evil doctor had created and employed an elite force of combat robots, equipped with the fiercest of laser cannon technology, reinforced with the toughest steel and lead armor he could refine, and adaptable to land, sea, and air. This wasn’t the same cat and mouse game that the doctor use to play for so long with his furry rivals. No, Eggman knew he wasn’t getting any younger, and the hedgehog, along with his friends, was in the way of attaining his dream. The hedgehog was no longer a playful, fast-footed rival, but a serious menace and enemy.

However, even with more deadly odds and accuracy from the doctor, Sonic the hedgehog was up to the challenge, up for putting a stop to the plots and schemes of a warped genius. Along with their steadfast partners, fine tuned skills, and well lived experiences, Sonic and his allies could keep the doctor at bay, allowing life to continue as normal for those whom Dr. Eggman chose to attack.

That is where Sonic had been previously, helping the clean up effort at the site of another battle between him and the ‘Eggman Empire’. Years ago, he normally would have run off after the battle was through, but his wife, Amy Rose, who accompanied him on most of his missions, saw the need there was to help those who were left in the aftermath. A skirmish usually departed an area with serious damage and sometimes serious injuries to the innocent caught up in the crossfire and Amy wanted to help. To be honest, Sonic had never given it much thought before, but it was true, with the team’s strength, intelligence, speed, and kindness, families and individuals could be helped back onto their feet again.

He considered it and decided it was a great idea, and worth giving a shot. Two years after that decision, he, Amy, Tails, Cream, occasionally Knuckles, sometimes Rouge, and seldom Shadow could be found not only saving the day as heroes, but also as a disaster relief crew.

Sonic smiled a tad in remembering how the first time he helped a family rebuild their home felt ten times better then any ‘hero work’ he had formerly done. The smile slowly faded into a frown though as he remembered his current situation. He wanted to be with his family now. He wanted to be there with Amy, holding her hand and comforting her anyway he could. He wanted to know if she was okay, if everything was working out well. It had been five hours sense he got that message, and the thoughts, and feelings of that time came flooding back into his memory.

“Sonic!”

“Yeah Knuckles!” Sonic exclaimed, ducking slightly, thinking that another beam was falling down again. They were currently cleaning out the building as well as looking for victims. He was already a bit jumpy and anxious, not because of the threat of falling debris, but for the absence of his wife. He hadn’t counted on it being this hard not having her by his side. He had only been gone for a couple days and tomorrow he was heading back, but the nagging in his mind wouldn’t leave him alone. Is she okay? How’s the baby? Should he be out here? She was in her last trimester and close to the due date, yet the doctors had said that they didn’t expect anything for another two weeks and Sonic took comfort in this. That was going to change.

“Sonic, Vanilla called,” Knuckles began and he could already see the panic form in the hedgehog’s eyes.

“What is it? Are they okay?” Knuckles knew of the ‘they’ he was referring to and shook his head.

“Amy’s . . . I guess she’s going into labor.”

“Wha- but how. . . I have to . . . to get home,” Sonic sputtered, scrambling out of the rubble and trying to process the information that was now on the verge of making his knees buckle. He was miles away. His wife’s in labor and he’s on some island in the middle of nowhere!

“Don’t worry about it. Tails already has the plane ready to go. We’ll finish things up here,” Knuckles directed, grabbing Sonic by the arm and helping the hedgehog stabilize himself.

“Thanks,” Sonic said, genuinely grateful for the echidna’s help at this moment. Knuckles grinned back in response.

“Hey, someone’s gotta keep you in line, and a guy in your position needs all the help he can get anyway.”

Sonic had never been happier to see Tails and the upgraded, faster Tornado than now. He could have kissed the extra rocket booster and expert pilot fox as he climbed into the passenger seat.

“Ready?” Tails asked as he flipped on navigation. Sonic raised an eyebrow in reply. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Tails chuckled, before taking off for the mainland.

Now the blue hero was traveling alone down the long snow laden paths leading to the town his wife was in. He had decided to continue his travel on foot once he and Tails had hit a blizzard in the plane. The fox was forced to land, and apologized for the Tornado’s malfunctioning wing defrosters. Sonic wasn’t upset with Tails, but traveling by foot, even with his speed, would take longer and every minute spent running was one minute less spent with Amy during this time.

If he was worried and scared, then he could only imagine how she must feel. Being alone, during a treasured but terrifying time, uncertain of what to expect or if everything would work out alright. He loved her so much and was almost sick to his stomach thinking about not being by her side during this event in their lives together. He also knew that it must be painful for her from what he’d heard and in a strange way he was glad he was missing her going through the pain. He didn’t want to see . . . but then a ping of guilt hit him. He needed to be there, regardless of what he was feeling or wanting. How selfish could he be? No matter if she was crying, screaming, or howling in agony, he needed to be there for her and he was. They were in this together, through joy and sorrow, good and bad times.

Then his heart soared. He could see the lights of his town, then the buildings, homes and business came into view, and finally the hospital. Sonic stormed into the lobby of the medical building, tracking in snow and dirt, not even minding that he was leaving skid marks all over the tile floor.

“Ma’am, ma’am,” he shouted to the receptionist. She looked up quickly; a bit shocked that anyone could make it through that blizzard. However, upon seeing the familiar blue fur and long head quills, she knew this wasn’t just a normal anyone.

“Sonic?”

“Has Amy come in Claudia, where is she?”

“No Sonic, we couldn’t reach her,” Claudia informed sadly. Sonic’s face fell.

“Where is she then? I don’t understand?”

“The storm Mr. Hedgehog, we received the call from the residence of Vanilla Rabbit, but none of us could travel out because of the storm.” Sonic was hardly aware of the blizzard after his feet met the road, but now he could see the heavy snow and high winds. The sight sent chills up his spine as he wondered if everything was okay. His heart was doing leaps in his chest as his eyes darted around the room in temporary confusion. He hadn’t planned, they hadn’t planned on this. No medical help? His hands went up to the sides of his head, as if trying to hold back the dismay. Claudia could see the distress and immediately went into her calming the patient down mode.

“Sonic, it’s going to be all right. We have a medical professional on the line with Ms. Rabbit and as far as I know there hasn’t been any complications . . .” She smiled a little when the anxious father to be relaxed a bit.

“Really,” he sighed in relief.

“Yes, and now that you’re here, perhaps . . .” Claudia reasoned, “Hey George, you up for a late night delivery!” she shouted down the hall. A chestnut brown hedgehog poked his head out from behind the door of his office and grinned as his eyes locked on the blue speedster. Sonic did the same as his doctor, or more correctly, Amy’s doctor, George came running up.

“Knew it wouldn’t take you too long to get here, ha. Let me get my coat and bag, then we’ll be on our way,” George replied, leaving to grab up the items he had mentioned. To be honest, he was happy that Sonic had showed up here first, though he doubted the hero would have gone anywhere else. But he and Claudia, along with a few others, had been trapped in the hospital for quite some time, and a chance to get out and do their work was welcomed gladly. Sonic gave a polite smile, but confusion etched itself into his features. The hedgehog wasn’t too sure what the doctor wanted him to do.

“Dr. Collins?” George glanced up at Sonic from his pervious position of buttoning up his coat. He shook his head in good-nature at the young male’s confusion, and nerve-racked demeanor.

“You came through that blizzard with no problem didn’t ya? So can’t you deliver a doctor to the doorstep of Vanilla Rabbit lickety split.” Sonic’s face lit up finally with recognition. The poor hedgehog couldn’t help but smile sheepishly for being so slow in putting that together. At his usual best, he was quick minded and sharp, but now, so many things were running through his mind that his processes were getting clogged and dull.

“Right. Well hold on, here we go,” Sonic exclaimed as he lifted the good doctor off his feet, and took off into the winter storm. At first he had to think about his surroundings and where he was going, but soon Sonic was running in the right direction. As he made his way to the familiar destination, he noticed the Christmas decorations for the first time sense entering the city. He guessed that now since he had Dr. Collins with him and knew Amy was safe, he was calm enough to realize that every house on this particular street was beautifully lite. The festive scenery reminded him of his first Christmas spent with Amy as husband and wife.

He remembered coming to their quaint home one December evening and finding himself in pleasant shock. The entirety of the house was decorated in all the trimmings of the season. The outside of the house was dressed from roof to doormat in green holly, red and gold ribbons, twinkling lights of every color imaginable, and a big pine reef on the door. But Amy’s decorating skills didn’t end there; the moment he stepped across the holiday welcome mat he was met with the sights and sounds of Christmas. He could still remember the strong scent of apple and cinnamon waft through the house from one of the several burning candles, and hearing the sound of “Let it Snow” playing softly in the background. He had glanced over at their Christmas tree that they had put up together earlier, and noticed it was untouched by the decorating trend but that it had a Nativity scene on the table beside it, along with two mugs of hot chocolate. To say the very least he was cheerfully impressed.

He knew Amy loved to arrange and rearrange everything from flowers to furniture, but she really out did herself that year. She had asked him if he liked it . . . Seeing that they’re still married, the answer must have been satisfactory. To be honest, he had loved it, especially the randomly scattered goodies of gingerbread, candy canes, and cakes about the house, though he thought the presence of mistletoe on practically every doorway, including the bathroom, was a bit much.

“Sonic? Don’t you think we ought to slow down, almost there you know,” Dr. Collins voice broke through Sonic’s Christmas past, and brought him back to the cold snowy roads of his town. The brown hedgehog was correct, the residence of Cream’s mother was going to be run right on by if Sonic didn’t put on the brakes soon. Just as the blue one stopped in front of the warm looking house, a muffled cry of pain resounded in Sonic’s ears. He knew her voice, and this was definitely Amy crying out. The feelings that he had temporarily been relieved of, fear, guilt, nervousness, came flooding back double fold. He could hear the fear and anguish in her voice and it made him cringe inwardly. But another part of him didn’t want to shrink back. No, it wanted to run to her side, it wanted to spring into action and take that fear by storm washing it away with love. For Sonic, the latter part won out and he was at the doorstep in a flash, knocking and trying to get the door open.

“Woah, calm down there, son. She’ll be fine, trust me,” George reassured as he placed a hand on the other hedgehog’s shoulder. Sonic had the good grace to blush at his rash actions.

“Sorry,” he apologized softly just as Vanilla opened the old oak door. Flickering light splashed over the two new comers from the fireplace as the motherly rabbit quickly ushered her long anticipated visitors in, to which Sonic quickly obliged.

“Come in, come in. I kept her warm and elevated like you said Dr. Collins. Oh . . .” she sighed, obviously tired from the past four hours of work she had endured. It started when Amy had called her at around four in the afternoon complaining about some discomfort in her abdomen. At that time it was only snowing lightly so, as a good friend would, Vanilla went over and checked on the young pregnant hedgehog. Recently, Amy had been experiencing minor contractions, but they were several days apart so Vanilla hadn’t thought anything of it. Upon arriving everything seemed all right. Just some of the normal difficulties and discomforts that came along with bearing new life. However, Amy had insisted on joining her on her journey back home. Vanilla knew Amy was lonely and that she missed Sonic tremendously, so she suggested that she stay there with her, but Amy kept pushing that they head to her nice cottage, claiming she would just feel better there and wanting to take a stroll.

Well after a nice, brisk walk through the winter scenery they arrived at Vanilla’s home at about six. They ate a light dinner and sat down with a couple mugs of hot cocoa together and talked about all kinds of subjects, but especially the baby. In particular they spoke on the different outfits, cribs, and toys Amy could buy for Christmas. They had yet to know if it was a boy or girl, Sonic insisting on surprise, but Amy would love the child just the same either way, so to her it didn’t matter. However, by seven the weather had gotten quite ugly and Vanilla suggested Amy spend the night. No sooner had she uttered the welcome, Amy dropped her mug, spilling the contents on the table.

“I’m sorry Vanilla, I’m so clumsy. I'll clean it up,” Amy had voiced apologetically as she started to stand. Thinking nothing of it Vanilla had responded kindly.

“Don’t worry dear, I’ll get it,” she offered standing up to grab a dish rag from the sink. Amy had nodded, sitting back down until she yelped and nearly fell out of her chair. Clutching her perturbing belly, Amy whispered “I think its coming.” Vanilla, already an experienced mother herself, knew better then to question Amy’s intuition.

“Come, lay down,” the rabbit quickly got the mother to be up to her bedroom and laid her down, called the hospital, and listened to their apology of not being able to make it. Vanilla was Amy’s only lifeline now, and she turned out to be quite the nurse. The first few hours weren’t bad with the contractions being fifteen to twenty minutes apart. But Amy was getting scared and Vanilla could tell. Without her doctor or husband next to her, Amy felt alone. Then the contractions began closing in, coming every ten minutes.

Now, five hours later, help had arrived and more importantly, Sonic had arrived. She lost count of how many times Amy had cried his name in these past hours.

“Here let me take your coats,” Vanilla offered, helping George remove the piece of clothing before hanging it up on the coat rack next to the door.

“Ms. Rabbit please, a word with you,” Dr. Collins said, motioning her to step aside with him away from the fidgeting father to be. “I’m going to look her over, could you please keep him in the foyer for a few minutes,” he said before turning to Sonic, “I’ll be out in a few minutes Mr. Hedgehog. Please, stay out here.”

“But . . .” Sonic began, however George was already gone, moving upstairs to where he knew his patient would be found. He knew that the anxious hedgehog behind him wanted to follow, but he really needed a few minutes of uninterrupted time with Amy if he was going to check over her properly. Vanilla looked at the blue hero and smiled sadly. Poor dear, came all this way to have to wait. She could see the worry and anxiety in his young face, something that seemed foreign for this particular hedgehog. To be honest, she thought he looked worse than Amy with snow dripping off his matted quills and bloodshot eyes; he definitely looked like something the storm blew through. He turned to her with questioning eyes.

“Why can’t I see her? Is she okay?” he asked with such genuine concern and fear, that Vanilla almost cried.

“Yes Sonic. Don’t worry, she’s okay,” she quickly responded wanting to remove any doubts he was having. “Look, why don’t I take you into the kitchen and have you wash up.” Sonic was worried sick about his wife and baby, the last thing he was thinking about was washing up, but for some reason he knew it best to just do as he was asked this time. They walked quietly over to the kitchen and Vanilla ran some water into the sink.

“Here you go,” she offered, handing a washcloth to him. He absent-mindedly wiped his face and arms, taking off the bits of snow and frost that hadn’t either fell or melted off. His senses were heightened except for his sense of touch that was numbed by the cold, but the warm water was now alleviating that. His ears perked and swiveled in the direction of the bedroom however, when his name was cried out. It was Amy, and before Vanilla could stop him, or even before she had a chance to shout for him to wait, Sonic was gone and up stairs in the bedroom in the blink of an eye. The rabbit came rushing in behind him, a little dejected that she had not kept Sonic out, but George calmed her thoughts.

“Don’t worry. It’s fine for him to come in now,” Dr. Collins replied, waving for Sonic to come around, to which the blue hedgehog showed no hesitation. For the first time in hours Amy smiled at the sight of her Sonic from her current position on Vanilla’s bed, but soon her cheeks flushed with red. For some reason she felt embarrassed that she was the center of attention, with her frazzled, sweaty face and quills and not to mention her legs wide open, huffing and puffing, feeling strange and alone. In fact, she felt stupid for the tears forming in her eyes, but she couldn’t help it. This hurt. She knew it would, they had planned and coached, but nothing had prepared her enough for this moment. It was scary, and she had been already afraid, so afraid.

When Vanilla had told her Dr. Collins couldn’t come, it was almost more than her heart could bear. Then on top of all that the storm was wreaking havoc on this little home, and Amy felt for sure that the roof would cave in, killing her and her new baby. Remembering all these emotions made the tears well even more and her heart and mind were wheeling trying to deal with the stress of it all. The most reliable and easiest emotion to express for her at that moment was welling up to the surface. Anger. She looked up at Sonic, the first person to vent all her frustrations on with anger. Anger that stemmed out of her loneliness and pain. She was seeing everything through a pain-coated lens and before Sonic was close enough to touch her she exploded.

“Where were you Sonic?” she cried with pain. Sonic was shocked, but Amy couldn’t see that through her bleary eyes. “Why couldn’t you come faster!” She began hiccupping as if too tired to cry, not to mention suppressed by the compressions on her womb. Sonic could feel a bit of defensiveness rise up within him. He had done everything he could to just be standing there now. He ran as fast and as hard as his legs could take him, he couldn’t have done much more after the storm forced Tails to land. But, to Vanilla and Dr. Collins’ amazement, he bit back his temper, drowning it under the memories of his and Amy’s love. He knew she was scared, and it was the pain, not necessarily her, talking. So instead of striking back, he bent down and took her slightly shaking hand into his.

“I’m sorry Amy, I came as fast as I could,” he replied, without an once of animosity. Amy looked into his emerald eyes and could only see the concern he had for her. She regretted her words and felt like an idiot again. She knew he would come and that he would come as fast as he could, she just wished it would have been different. Having your first child in a blizzard, in a small home, on an old wooden framed bed was not what she had in mind and being alone only made it worse. Not that she didn’t appreciate Vanilla’s company, because Amy honestly would have been lost without her, but . . . now it did not matter anymore. Sonic, her husband, was there and she willingly leaned onto his chest and allowed the tears to flow freely. Sonic didn’t need an apology nor did he need an invitation. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed lovingly as well as reassuringly, before letting go of the embrace and smiling at her.

“Well, are you ready to have this baby or not,” he whispered jokingly, gazing deeply into her jade eyes.

“I don’t think I have a choice,” she whispered back in the same kind of humor, until another contraction forced her to wince.

“Alright you two, what are you waiting for?” George stated as he slipped on his apron, “Let’s get into the game plan.” After a while, Sonic was coaching Amy on her breathing, making him feel less helpless and more useful and giving her something other than the pain to concentrate on. George had Vanilla keep getting him clean towels and more warm to hot water. Hours passed with Vanilla and Dr. Collins taking a few breaks and Amy and Sonic exchanging quiet ‘I love yous’ and kisses on the forehead and cheek A few more logs were tossed into the furnace and fire place to keep the house pleasantly warm. Vanilla made some coffee and a few sandwiches for Sonic and Dr. Collins as well as for the purpose of calming her own nerves down.

Finally, in the third hour of the morning a short painful yelp could be heard from Sonic as Amy practically crushed his hand in her grip.

“Okay, I see it,” George called positioning himself for delivery, but no one could hear him over Amy’s wails. “Just like the practices Amy! Push!” George shouted quite use to the screaming involved in his line of work. Sonic, however, had never seen Amy in so much agony before and could feel panic and helplessness of before climb back into his heart.