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Nurse Anisa was watching the television during the quiet hours of the late night, intently focusing on the recording that recapped the evil Dr. Eggman’s attack on the city from that afternoon. As the newsreader told his avid listener, the Doctor’s plan had been to trample the entire city over with his army and use the land as a site for the creation of weapons. However, despite his masses of robots and weaponry, the madman had been defeated quickly by the Blue Blur and some of his friends. Most of them had gotten away nearly unscathed, only one had been injured badly enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. Since the hospital she worked at had been closest he had been brought over to them, with the positive prognosis of recovery in a few days. Anisa had been giddy with excitement, though she couldn’t show it due to needing to follow the code of professionalism. She had been in the presence of a real-life hero!
Engrossed in the recap of the new, Anisa nearly shot up from her chair as the door to the reception slammed open with a bang. Wide-eyed, she stared as a very angry pink hedgehog stormed in, armed with a hammer that was resting on her shoulder. The contradiction between her burning eyes and her ice-cold voice that inquired the whereabouts of a certain patient named Silver the Hedgehog could not have been greater.
Anisa gawked at the pink hedgehog, who she recognised as Amy Rose, one of Sonic’s friend that had been present in the fight that took place that day. She was at a complete loss for words for multiple moments, before she managed to stutter out: “M-my apologies ma’am, but visiting hours are over for today and…” She squeaked as the visitor’s eyes burned brighter still and the hammer underwent the tiniest shift upwards. “H-he’s in room 205 ! Two flights of stairs up, twice left, and down the hallway on the right side!”
“Thank you.” Amy Rose turned away from the reception and stormed towards the stairs, leaving behind Anisa, who could only clutch the desk in fear.
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Silver stared at the ceiling of the room he was in, bored out of his mind. He had lost track of what happened around him in the battle as wave after wave of robots fell to his powers, and got blasted with shrapnel and bullets as a result. The people from the hospital had declared him lucky that his injuries were mild, and said he was allowed to leave in a few days at most. The good news didn’t take away that he currently was stuck in a bed with absolutely nothing to do, though. It was already late at night, and his friends hadn’t been allowed to visit him until tomorrow at the earliest.
With a deep sigh, Silver offhandedly fiddled with the bandages wrapped around his torso. He would never admit it, but he felt loneliness brew in the pits of his stomach. Being left like this reminded him too much of the ruined futures he tried so desperately to undo, where he was left alone with no other survivors… No, he wasn’t going to think about that again. Deciding he might as well just try to go to sleep, he wriggled deeper into the covers and pillows provided and closed his eyes, banishing all negative thoughts from his mind. Tomorrow would be a better day.
He had almost dozed off completely until he heard the sounds of some commodity drift from the hallway. Blinking his eyes open again, Silver yawned and stretched as he listened intently to what was happening. He thought he could hear some people talk fervently, and perceived loud footsteps make their way to him. Surprised, he nearly jumped out of his skin when the door to his room flew open, slamming against the wall with a crash. Angrily getting ready to yell at whoever dared make such a ruckus at this hour, Silver’s gaze lit up instead when he saw who was standing in the doorway. “Amy!”
Silver’s delight was not returned, however, and he gazed dumbfoundedly as Amy stalked into the room without greeting him back. From her posture and facial expression he could see she was positively livid, though he couldn’t think of anything that could have caused it. Regardless, he tried again to speak to her. “What are you doing here, Amy? The lady downstairs told me that I wasn’t allowed-“
Amy had reached the bed, and the infuriated glare she gave him made the words catch in his throat. Silver lowered his ears as he stared back. It had become quite clear that she was angry at him. He cowered under her gaze as she hissed: “Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been about you?”
She stayed quiet for a few seconds, but as Silver could only gape back she grabbed the opportunity to start pacing around the room, ranting all the while. “What did I say?! Silver, please be careful, I said! Don’t do anything reckless, I said!” Stopping her stride to make full eye contact, she added: “And what do you do?”
Ah, so that was it. Lowering his gaze and clutching his arm nervously, Silver murmured: “…Ran ahead of everyone in the battle and got myself hurt.”
“Exactly!” Amy seemed to calm down the tiniest bit as Silver went along with her rant, though the pacing started once more. Silver could only watch helplessly as she continued. “You got hurt, could have died, with your idiotic reckless behaviour, you’re just like Sonic, I swear, you never think ahead, want to do everything on your own, what would I do without you-“ The anger on Amy’s face had been twisted with fear and grief.
“Amy.” Carefully picking her up with his psychokinesis, Silver manoeuvred her on the hospital bed so that she lay next to him. Amy looked as if she wanted to yell some more, but then a sob broke through her lips and she buried her head in Silver’s chest fur. Stroking her hair and kissing her forehead, he waited for her to calm down so he could speak with her. They settled in silence, Silver staring out of the window at the moon-lit sky and Amy occasionally whimpering. Eventually she calmed down and lifted her head, lips trembling and her eyes rimmed a bit more red than they had been before.
Silver hoisted himself up a little, ignoring the sting of pain around his midriff as he placed his hand on Amy’s cheek and looked her right in the eye. “I know you’re really worried about me, and I appreciate that,” he punctuated his statement with a nuzzle to her nose, which brough a weak smile to his sweetheart’s face, “but you must understand that these things just happen sometimes.” Amy started to look upset once again, so he rushed on with his explanation. Lifting his other hand, he let the teal colour shimmer off of it. “With my powers, I have a huge benefit on the battlefield. That’s why I always prefer to fight in the front. I’d much rather have it that I get injured than you, or anyone else.”
“Oh, no no no.” Amy sat up straighter as well, poking him in his chest. “Has it ever occurred to you, mister, that your powers don’t make you invincible? That perhaps I’d rather take the hit if it means you’re safe?”
“I’m not gonna let that happen, since I’ll be protecting you.” Silver responded matter-of-factly. As long as he had breath in his body, he’d do anything to keep Amy from harm.
“Ah,” Amy grinned suddenly, “but when you’re hurt you won’t be able to protect me, now will you?” Dumbfounded, Silver struggled to respond to that, wracking his brain to give an answer. Eventually he settled on a very tame “Yes I will…” though it clearly wasn’t enough to convince Amy. He mentally chastised himself for walking right into her trap.
Nestling up into his chest more comfortably, Amy continued. “So you don’t want me to get hurt, and I don’t want you to get hurt, yet you partake in dangerous behaviour that jeopardises both of our desires. That’s quite the impasse we have reached.” Amy’s dry statement, delivered by her ‘scolding teacher’-tone of voice, made him giggle, despite his best efforts. Wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her closer. “I just don’t want you to be injured, Amy. I’d give my life if it means you’re safe.”
“I just hope it never has to come to that,” Amy sighed, suddenly looking quite downcast as she clutched him tighter. Silver felt his own thoughts drift to a time wherein they both believed they had lost a dear friend, and where the world had suffered losses beyond compare as a result. Assuming Amy was probably thinking about the same, he kissed her forehead once again to pull both their minds away from those dark days. Sonic had returned and the world was safe, and Silver was safe too.
Mulling over what Amy told him, he thought about what to say next. “So you want me to stay unhurt, and I want to fight on the battlefield. How are we gonna solve that?” Watching Amy idly play with his white tuft of fur he waited for her to respond.
“I can’t tell you to give up fighting…” Amy murmured. In his heart Silver knew she was right. He liked the thrill of the battle, and seeing his opponents fall in droves before his might. But above all, if he wanted to keep the future safe it required his influence, no matter how upsetting it was to Amy. She had said she wanted to protect him…
“I know!” Amy looked up at his enthusiastic exclamation. “You know how to fight too, right Amy?” He had seen her in action with her Piko Piko hammer, marvelling at her gracious movements and the strength with which she battled her opponents. When she nodded tentatively, he continued. “I want to keep fighting, and you want to protect me. So if you fight right next to me, we can keep each other safe!” He knew he had a tendency to do things alone, forged by years of fighting for his life with no-one to aid him. Old habits die hard, Tails once told him, but if Amy was worried about him getting hurt the best way to protect him would be right by his side!
Amy kept quiet for a few seconds, looking contemplative. “I am needed to provide battle strategies and our plan of action, but maybe… if I do it as such… and then you…” Silver listened to her fragmented sentences, cooing inwardly at how adorably she scrunched up her nose when she was thinking. After some more muttering Amy snapped out of her pondering. “Alright. If we both stick together, we can look after each other, and I can give you better directions so fighting will go more efficient as well.”
Puffing up his chest in mock indignation, Silver responded: “So you think I’m not efficient right now?”, making sure to make his voice sound miffed. Amy laughed at his reaction, a full laugh that warmed his heart, and she poked him in his chest again. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“I know.” Silver laughed in return, letting his head rest on Amy’s. Continuing in a softer tone of voice, he murmured: “It would be an honour to fight alongside you, Amy. I love you.” It would certainly have some increased risks as well, but he couldn’t deny he felt loved and protected at the thought of Amy watching his back. If he never had to lay in a blasted hospital bed again it would be too soon, he decided.
“And I love you, too.” Amy responded, the love and affection she felt for him flowing out of her entire posture. Making sure they were both settled comfortable and feeling Amy start scratching behind his ears, Silver dozed off once again, embraced in feelings of warmth and safety.