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Chapter Text

The shouts that reverberated through the lab they'd broken into were what motivated them to keep running, Tails' frantic voice at the front while he navigated through the labyrinth of tunnels and hallways underground. Sonic was doing his best to keep up while they got shot at and apprehended, but every time he chucked a piece of debris or scattered equipment, he'd have to slow down to get the angle right. Hell, the only thing keeping him from completely splitting from the pack was Knuckles yanking the back of his fur as he ran across the metal ground. Hurt like a bitch, but beggars can't be choosers. 

"Tails!" He yelled as a bullet grazed his ankle, missing by a centimeter, "Are we coming up to a door yet!?" 

"In ten feet!" The fox shouted back at him as they turned a corner. A stack of boxes caught the hedgehog's eye and he quickly kicked it, sending the large containers flying across the floor and causing the soldiers chasing them to topple over one another. He let out a loud shout of triumph before turning to run on his own, back sore from where Knuckles had been clutching him. 

Before the first soldier could get up and fire their gun, a set of heavy, metal doors shut behind the group, all of them coming to a stop to catch their breaths. Tails quickly went to the control panel and shut it off to keep the door locked before collapsing onto the harsh ground, groaning deep within him. Even Knuckles sat down, flexing the fist that had been holding his hedgehog brother like it hurt. The only one that didn't rest was Sonic. 

He continued walking down the hallway with a low huff, ignoring his brothers' protests as he passed by rows of doors. "Come on, guys, we're almost there," he mumbled, looking at each door before shaking his head and moving on. 

Tails whined and sat up, watching his older brother with a pout. "What are we even looking for?" He mumbled as Sonic passed yet another door. 

Truth be told, Sonic really didn't know. Hell, he barely knew the reason that they were in this underground facility, just that it was important and he'd know what he needed when he saw it. He'd been having such odd dreams lately of this place, the walls, ceiling, and floors all the same, and this morning when he woke, it was just too much to bear and he had rounded his brothers up to go on a mission to Russia. Tails had been less than pleased when he explained his miniscule reasoning, but Knuckles had nodded sagely and remarked that premonitions were rare, but not impossible and, if the mission was so important, they'd go with him. And so, they'd used a ring to bring them to a secret base in Russia at the base of a mountain out in the wilderness, intending to be stealthy. Obviously, it did not work. 

"I'll know it when I see it," Sonic responded, running his gloved hand against another door before he came to a stop in front of it. It wasn't any different than the others in the long hallway, save for a few scratches near the floor, but he instantly knew that this was the door he needed. 

A smile spread across his face and he turned to his brothers. "This one," he said, looking at the control panel just beside the door, "I'm sure of it," 

Knuckles came up behind him with a nod. "Have any of your premonitions shown you what lies beyond?" He asked while Tails began to pick the lock. 

Sonic shook his head. "No, the dream always ends right here. Last thing that ever happens is I hear crying, but it's always all...warbled," he mumbled, biting his lip harshly, "I really hope it's not one of us crying and I didn't drive us into a death trap," 

"If you do, I call dibs on killing you," Tails called as the control panel beeped. 

Sonic scoffed to himself and tugged at the door, muttering that the only person allowed to kill him wasn't even here. As the cold metal slid to the side, the lights beyond blinding each of them for a split second, he really, truly expected to die for just a moment. He vaguely wondered if this really had been a trap set by his own mind and that this was how he'd perish forever. But the doubts about their mission were quickly dashed as soon as he saw what the room held. 

It was...it was a child's bedroom. The walls, while they were still metal and cold to the touch, were painted a soft shade of purple with little butterflies dotted across the space. A small bed was tucked away in the corner, the sheets a pale pink covered in blue butterflies, while a small toy chest full of blocks was exactly opposite to it. A rug, another butterfly, laid in the exact middle of the room, the myriad of colours contrasting with the pastel atmosphere whoever had decorated it was hoping for. Other than that, though, there was nothing inside and everything was in perfect condition, like it had never been touched, save for a slight rumple of the bedsheets. 

Sonic frowned and stepped over the threshold, looking around. "Hello?" He called, spinning on his heel to take in the whole room. 

Knuckles followed, scowling to himself. "Your premonitions lead us...here?" He asked, going over to the toy chest curiously, "Interesting," 

"It'd be more interesting if there was anything in here," Tails grumbled, his early teenage years shining through as he walked in but stayed by the door. 

Sonic waved him off, eyes flicking to the bed when a small noise caught his attention. A small shadow moved underneath it and he crouched down to see better, the sight that greeted him nearly making him fall over. 

There, underneath the tiny bed, was a hedgehog that looked just like him. It had dark blue fur, with little, purple highlights around the quills at the top that curled every which way at the ends, almost like curls. Red eyes stared back at him, a small ring of green surrounding the constricting pupils, and the pup was shaking, hands grasping the little tuft of white fur at the front of its chest. A small whimper filtered out of its throat and Sonic felt himself tear up at the sight. 

"Hey..." He whispered, hearing his brothers turn to him in surprise, "It's okay, we're not gonna hurt you, you're safe..." 

The pup hiccupped and backed away from him when he spoke, body shaking even harder. "Help-" it coughed out, the voice of a little girl greeting his ears, "No more-" 

Sonic frowned a little bit, sitting next to the bed with his hands extended. "We're here to help...do you wanna leave?" He asked softly, doing his best to be patient and not scare her. Distantly, he could hear the sounds of soldiers shouting behind the door down the hall, but he made himself not care. 

She sniffled, but seemed to relax, red green eyes flicking to his hand. "Leave...?" She whispered, wiping her face, "I leave..?" 

He nodded, smiling big. "Yeah! We can leave and be safe, but we've gotta go now," 

For a moment, the pup seemed to hesitate, before a shout echoed down the hall as the door was pried open and she came to a decision. With a loud pop , she teleported and crashed into Sonic's chest, hands grasping at his fur tightly as his arms came to hold her close. Okay, that was- 

"Come on!" Tails shouted suddenly, using some gadgets to deflect the bullets being blasted at them. 

He'll think about it later. Instead, he scooped the hoglet up and ran to the doorway, Knuckles following close by. "Is there a way out behind us!?" Sonic shouted over the gunfire, "Or do we have to go back the way we came!?" 

Tails dodged a particularly close bullet with a yelp as he checked. "There should be a door behind us and to the right, with an exit elevator!" He shouted, beginning to fly backwards away from the soldiers, "Go!" 

And Sonic did just that. Running with a pup in his arms wasn't the easiest thing, but with the way she was clinging to him and how little she moved, it wasn't the hardest either. They reached the aforementioned door in seconds and, with Knuckles' help, pried it open and closed it behind them. After a second, the footfalls of the soldiers could be heard passing by, most likely thinking they'd gone further down the hall. Good, gave them time to recoup. 

Sonic sighed, turning to the room, and immediately flinching when a pair of hands gripped his fur tighter. The pup in his arms stared at the room with wide eyes, form shaking even harder than it had been when he'd found her. He looked up, but all he could see was a laboratory, equipment scattered about and a few tables lining the walls. A small computer beeped to life when they entered, displaying the logo they'd seen on a few of the doors. Otherwise, the room wasn't that scary. 

"What's wrong...?" He whispered to the pup, tightening his hold on her. 

She simply buried her face into his chest and began to silently cry, a sign Sonic knew meant she was terrified. He motioned for Tails to check out the computer and began to walk around to find a door, Knuckles going the opposite direction. 

"Experiment 83..." Tails read aloud from the screen, "The...Ultimate Weapon," 

At the words, the pup tensed and buried her wails in Sonic's chest, hands grasping so hard that little claws had begun to poke out and scratch at his skin. It stung, but he ignored it in favor of searching for a door. 

"The experiment was a success, after so many failures, to create a perfect lifeform. This one, number 83, is able to withstand many hardships, with a regenerative healing factor and...oh my chaos-" 

Knuckles and Sonic looked up to see the horrified look on their youngest brother's face, his eyes wide and his face slightly green in the fluorescent lights. After a moment, he shoved a hard drive into the computer and continued reading. 

"A- and the ability to...come back from the dead," he whispered, voice breaking as his eyes scanned the screen, "Numerous tests have been done and found that 83 can withstand a great many things, including, but not limited to, freezing, suffocation, stabbing, gunshot wounds, poison-" 

Sonic's blood ran cold the more Tails read, various ways one could die flashing through his mind. It conjured up several images of the tiny girl in his arms being put through all those methods of torture, her cries bouncing around the lab they'd found themselves in, and dying for a moment before coming right back in full force. He nearly lost his breakfast at the thought. 

"Stop," he hissed, finally finding a hidden door and kicking it open with more force than necessary, "We can read the rest when we get the hell out of here,"

He didn't wait for his brothers to respond, simply flinging himself up the ladder with a quickness he hardly ever used, skimming the walls as he went upwards and upwards until he broke through a trapdoor at the top. It was freezing outside and he found himself holding the pup closer when she began to shiver, dashing down the mountain as sirens began to blare. It wasn't safe to use a ring so close to it, lest someone follow them, so he waited for his brothers in the forest at the base of the mountain. 

While he waited, he turned his attention to the pup in his arms. Her wide eyes stared back at him, hands not yet letting up on his chest fur, but he couldn't find it in himself to mind. With a moment to breathe, he finally spotted the little dark spots around her peach muzzle that looked almost like human freckles. He couldn't help but smile at that, running his free hand through her soft quills. 

"You're gonna be safe, okay?" He whispered, shifting to carry her on his hip the way he'd seen people in town do, "They can't get you while I'm around..." 

The pup sniffled softly, her nose twitching from the cold. "No...no more owies...?" She whispered, curling under his arm with a shiver, "I'm all done...?" 

"All done," he confirmed, pressing his muzzle to the top of her head. He wasn't sure why she was causing him to act like this, but he hoped it would comfort her a little bit. If the way she relaxed slightly to his touch was any indication, it was working.

His brothers made their appearance a few seconds later, breathless and shaky, but unscathed. The sounds of soldiers were far enough away that Sonic deemed it safe to use a ring. 

"Knuckles, you got em?" He asked, turning to his big brother with a small smile. 

Knuckles nodded and held up the small bag. "Indeed. Home?" He asked, pulling one of the golden teleporters out. 

Sonic nodded and watched as the device expanded to reveal the warm expanse of Montana right in front of them, bright green grass and evergreen trees a welcome change to the harsh cold they'd found themselves in. He quickly stepped through, helping Tails in as he did so, and picking up the ring once it collapsed in on itself. They were home. And with a new little addition. 

He turned his attention back to the pup, who was staring at the house with big, curious eyes, and smiled, hugging her closer. "Welcome to Green Hills,”

"Okay okay, lemme get this straight," Maddie said, arms crossed tiredly as she stared at the scene in front of her. Sonic on the floor, holding the pup in his lap while she stared at the human with those big eyes of hers, Tails and Knuckles collapsed on the couch while Tails pulled up the information he'd stolen, and Ozzie slowly army crawling his way to the newest addition. 

"You three went to a secret base in Russia and broke out this sweet little thing...because you had a dream about it," she said, nodding to Sonic, "And you're telling me she's...an experiment?"

Sonic nodded, gently hugging the pup closer. "Yeah. Apparently she can't die or something and they were doing all sorts of things to see how far they could push her! It's nuts!" He scowled as he spoke, his arms bringing the pup ever closer to him. 

Maddie sighed tiredly, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before she sat in front of her first child, watching the small girl shuffle back. "Poor baby...any idea where they even got her?" 

Tails raised his hand, face buried in his laptop. "They used genetic science to essentially grow her in a test tube," he summarized, "They were an unauthorized branch of GUN and used-"

He sat up suddenly, jostling Knuckles from his half nap with a small shout, tails flicking behind him erratically. Everyone in the room tensed in anticipation for the news he'd be sharing once he got over it himself, eyes flicking between one another worriedly. It took, according to the clock on the opposite wall, a full minute and a half for Tails to speak again. 

"Sonic," he said slowly, not looking up from his screen, "They used your DNA," 

The entire room froze with those words. Every single person, pup included, tensed up in fear and awe, while Sonic himself felt like the world had completely disappeared except for him and the pup- HIS DAUGHTER- in his lap.

He had a daughter. He had a daughter for YEARS without even knowing, apparently. He was a dad now, at freshly 18, and his pup had been experimented on for what looks like four years before he ever came to find her. He instinctively tightened his arms around her and ran a hand through her quills, eyes finding her tired, little face. Now that no one was yelling and she realized they were all safe, she'd begun to doze in his lap and was chewing on her fingers. It was cuter than it had any right to be and he couldn't even fully enjoy it. 

"It certainly explains the premonitions," Knuckles said suddenly, nodding towards the pup and his brother, "Your child was in danger and you knew," 

Sonic swallowed the lump in his throat with difficulty. "But...if they used mine, wouldn't she be a clone...?" He asked quietly, gently lifting her up to show his point with shaky hands, "She's not-" 

Tails almost smiled at that, biting his lip in an attempt to keep himself from laughing. "Yeah...you wanna know who else's they used?" He asked, a knowing glint in his eye. The same glint that showed up whenever he teased Sonic about his crush on a certain- 

His green eyes went wide as could be and he sat up, jostling the pup slightly. "You're kidding!" He yelled, covering her ears to keep her from freaking out again, "Tell me you're kidding," 

The youngest brother shook his head with a grin, starting to cackle into his hand as he flipped the screen to show two side by side images of Sonic and Shadow underneath the words "DNA sources". Knuckles did much of the same, unable to hold back his loud, booming laughter as he fell off the side of the couch, waking the pup up for a small moment before she went back to sleep. Even Maddie had the nerve to snicker behind her hand, piercing Sonic's heart with betrayal. 

He groaned quietly and hugged his daughter (holy shit, his daughter) closer to his chest like a plushie. "I hate all of you," he muttered, shifting to stand up, "Might as well call him now," 

He got a round of good lucks as he snatched the house phone from its charger and ran up to his attic bedroom. Once he was alone in there, he gently set his daughter in his racecar bed (would he have to get something more mature now that he was a dad?) and sat beside her, dialing the one number he had memorized besides the pizza place. The Mean Bean. 

You see, after the explosion and the funeral and then the revelation that Shadow was alive, Tom and Maddie, while very forgiving, said that they wouldn't be able to house Shadow long term. There were just too many people in their house and it would get cramped with all four of them sharing a room. Plus, Shadow had refused to be a brother to the rest of the mobians anyway. But that had still begged the question of where he'd live, if not with the Wacowski's. 

The answer, oddly enough, came in the form of a very tired Agent Stone reopening the Mean Bean in town. Once he'd heard that Shadow would need a place to stay, he offered up his two bedroom apartment for him, even saying Shadow could help him in the coffee shop when he said he didn't want to bother anyone. It worked out and Shadow, funnily enough, loved coffee, so he was happy to stay after a week or so and could still hang out with the brothers (read: just Sonic). A win win! 

Staring at the number felt like he was on a rollercoaster that ended in spikes of death. Sonic wasn't exactly scared of Shadow knowing, he knew he'd step up and help him because it was just the kind of person he was, but he was terrified about what Shadow would think. I mean, they had a daughter together, albeit against their will, but they were still bonded for life now, connected by this small child curled up silently on Sonic's fluffy pillow. Would he be mad? Upset? Mortified? Or the slightly scarier, would he be happy...? 

Dwelling on the thoughts had him staring at the phone for a good three minutes before he finally made a snap decision and hit call. It rang four times before anyone answered, each one making Sonic's heart rate spike. 

"Mean Bean coffee, what can I do for you?" 

"Stone, hey," Sonic said quickly, biting at his lip, "Can you pass me to Shadow? It's urgent," 

There was a slight pause on the other end, interrupted only by the soft chatter of the noon crowd at the shop in the background. "Urgent how? He's not working today-" 

"Like urgent enough that he'd probably pop over here in an instant," he said quickly, his leg beginning to bounce at top speeds.

A sigh and then- "Alright, but don't be upset when he's mad you interrupted his day," he said, then the phone went silent for a moment. 

After a couple of agonizing minutes, a smooth, deep, irritated voice picked up once more. "What do you want?" 

"Hey! Shadow! Um...uh okay, so I have some news," Sonic said quickly, running a hand through his daughter's quills as she slept, "Um...do you want the long or short explanation?" 

Shadow groaned on the other end. "Short, get on with it," he muttered, temper clearly rising. Sonic could almost SEE his foot tapping impatiently. 

"I feel like you're gonna want the long explanation in a second-" he mumbled before clearing his throat, "So my brothers and I went on a mission today and turns out we have a kid," 

No response. It was like the line went dead, but Sonic knew better, his teeth catching at his bottom lip in an attempt to calm himself down. There was very little chance Shadow was taking this well, after all. 

After nearly two full minutes of neither of them speaking, the voice that haunted Sonic's dreams came back to him. "What?" 

And the word vomit started. 

"Yeah- yeah apparently we have a daughter. I think she's about four and she's currently sleeping right now, but she's definitely ours uh- do you want the long explanation now-" 

He got cut off when the line did actually go dead, a click letting him know that Shadow had hung up the phone. For a moment, he was upset at the rejection of their daughter and a thousand different scenarios and explanations went through his head, but none of them had time to really process before the air in front of him was compressing and the black hedgehog was standing in front of him while Chaos Energy slowly seeped back into him. The two made about four seconds of silent eye contact before red eyes fell on the small form curled up on the little bed. 

Sonic turned to look at the pup as well, gently brushing her quills from her face. "Want the long explanation now..?" 

Shadow nodded quietly, sitting beside the bed to stare at their daughter with wide eyes. "Yes," 

And so he began to explain, starting with the dreams and working his way along. As he spoke, Shadow slowly began to sink tiredly into the floor, his head propped up by the chin on the side of the bed. He looked exhausted even from just hearing the explanation of what had gone on, his tiredness morphing into mortification when Sonic got to the part about her supposed invulnerability. 

"They did what !?" He hissed, clearly trying not to wake the child up, "I'm- she's- thats-" 

Sonic merely nodded, taking a deep breath as he felt the exhaustion seeping into his bones. "Yep...poor thing barely talked," he mumbled, petting through dark blue fur, "But, yeah...that's where we are now. We're dads- heh...Dadow," 

Shadow scowled at that, eyes moving to regard him with a Look. "You are insufferable," he muttered, shaking his head. 

"Mhm..." Sonic mumbled, hiding a yawn behind his hand, "And you're stuck with me now," 

The response was immediate, but still playful, the words holding no fire in them. "Who says I'd be helping?" 

Sonic just snorted to himself. "You. Are you really gonna tell me you won't help with your own kid? That you'd abandon her to be raised by me of all people?" He asked, poking the other hedgehog between the eyes, "You wouldn't," 

Shadow huffed, brushing the offending finger away with his own. "Correct, I wouldn't. I don't want her growing into a second imbecile," he muttered, but his words barely held any heat when his eyes turned to the sleeping pup. They both looked so peaceful that Sonic's heart went even faster than its usual mile a minute. 

"So..." Shadow said after a moment of soft, silent contemplation, "Does she have a name...?"

Sonic shook his head, brushing a hand through dark blue fur again. "Not that we could tell. The database just called her 83-" 

"No," Shadow said firmly, turning ruby red eyes to emerald green, "Have *you* given her a name?" 

At that, Sonic paused, thinking back to the few hours he'd had the pup in his possession. He'd been simply calling her 'the pup' in his head when thinking about her, but not a single name had ever even been suggested, much less cemented. And yet, as he turned his gaze to the little girl drooling on his bedsheets, he couldn't help but smile as he uttered one word. 

"Azure," he said quietly, a smile stretching out across his face. 

Shadow chuckled a little at that, a hand resting near her head like he wanted to pet her too. "Azure, huh..? That's a shade of light blue, ya know, not dark," 

Sonic scoffed, gently kicking him in the leg. "Would you rather I suggest navy?" He asked, smiling when the other hedgehog laughed softly and pushed him away, "Little Navy Wacowski?" 

A small gag and Shadow was hitting him in the arm. "Unfortunately, you're right. Azure sounds a lot better," he scoffed before turning slightly shy, head returning to its perch on the bed, "Can...I give her a middle name...?" 

And Sonic knew exactly what he'd suggest. Hell, if he hadn't brought it up, Sonic himself would've said it eventually, so he simply smiles and nods, taking the other hedgehog's hand and bringing it to their daughter's head. Shadow tensed a little upon the initial contact, but eventually relaxed into the monotony of petting the small girl. 

"Azure Maria Wacowski?" Sonic hummed, watching his co-parent nod out of the corner of his eye, "I like the sound of that. It's perfect," 

Chapter Text

Honestly, the hard and easy parts were not what Sonic thought they’d be. He figured that explaining the situation to Tom would’ve been more difficult than it was, but the end result was both relieving and amusing.

His dad simply stood there, his badge not even removed from his chest yet, and stared at the newest addition to the family with slightly wide eyes, little Azure staring back. Sonic shifted where he stood carrying her, biting his lip as he glanced at an equally nervous but stoic Shadow. This would be the third longer-than-a-minute silence in response to Azure and he was beginning to hate them. 

Thankfully, at the minute and ten second mark, Tom finally sighed and shook his head tiredly. “Well, at least the house didn’t get destroyed with this introduction,” he said quietly, kneeling down to get a good look at Azure, who curled up a little closer to Sonic’s chest, “Hi there,”

The small girl peeked up at her own dad for a moment before turning to the human with a small sniffle. “Hi…” She whispered, tucking her face back into Sonic’s chest. It made the older hedgehog laugh as he held her closer. 

“So…yeah,” he said, looking up at his dad with a nervous smile, “I dunno-”

“So what’s the plan for sleeping arrangements?” Tom asked suddenly, giving the two male hedgehogs pause, “Because I’m assuming Shadow’s staying over and it’s too late in the day to get a bed for the little one,”

Sonic opened his mouth to respond before closing it when he realized he really didn’t have a plan in that aspect. He glanced at Shadow for help, but found him just as clueless, his red eyes flicking about as he pondered the question as well. Uh oh.

And that’s how Sonic found the hard part of the situation, stretching to put sheets on the bed in the guest room while Shadow read a book about raising kids off to the side. Azure sat in his lap, peering at the book curiously, but made no noise apart from a small huff of laughter whenever Shadow brushed a hand through her quills. The intense focus on both of their faces was almost too adorable for Sonic to focus on his frustration. 

“Okay,” he muttered after nearly ten minutes of struggling with the sheets, “I think I’ve got them on,”

“That’s the third time you’ve said that,” Shadow mumbled, not even looking up from his book, “Do you think we’d have to get clothes for her?”

Sonic scoffed at the first set of words, but hummed softly at the second. “I mean- we’ll have to get her gloves eventually, but as for human clothes…I dunno, it’d probably be a good idea,”

Shadow nodded, pursing his lips at whatever was in the book before glancing down when Azure gasped softly. The two new dads looked over at her curiously, seeing her red green eyes wide with wonder as she stared at a page in the book. Sonic, wondering what could’ve possibly caught her attention, walked over and peered over the side of the book to see a picture of children in various states of play. It was a nice picture, but not that remarkable. 

“Whatcha lookin at, Azure?” He asked, bringing her attention to him. 

She blinked those big eyes up at him before taking a clawed finger and pointing at the picture, the appendage lightly tapping at a girl wearing a pair of overalls. They weren’t all that remarkable, just a pair of denim overalls with a few stains of dirt, but Azure seemed entranced by them. 

“You want those kinds of clothes?” Shadow asked, making her nod, “Okay, we’ll see what we can find tomorrow,”

Sonic nodded, ruffling a hand through dark blue quills. “Whatever my princess wants,” he joked, laughing when she tilted her head curiously, “You’re my little princess,”

“Princess?” She asked, voice quiet and unsure, “What’sat?”

His brows furrowed a bit. “A princess. It’s someone who’s a daughter of a king and queen. A lot of them are from stories,”

Her brow furrowed in much of the same way Shadow’s did when he first got out of stasis and Sonic made a pop culture reference. “Stories?” She whispered, tilting her head even more, “Dunno stories,”

Her dads mirrored her frown, the expressions morphing into horror when the dots connected in their head. If her experience had been anything like Shadow’s early days in the ARK, then there was a very good chance she’d never been told a story or seen a movie or even had a meal instead of nutrients injections. There hadn’t been anyone to be her Maria and show her what good Earth had to offer, her entire life had been tests and torture and the coldness of humans. Surely she’d know what stories were if she had. 

Sonic swallowed the lump in his throat as he knelt to her level, doing his best to smile through the painful realization. “Stories are like things people will make up to…um, I’m not sure why people tell stories, but they’re nice,” he admitted, rubbing one of her ears, “Sometimes they’re in books and sometimes they’re movies, which is like a moving picture. We can show you, if you’d like,”

Azure blinked through his explanation before nodding and looking back up at Shadow. “Story…?” She whispered, tapping at the book in his hand. 

He huffed out a tearful laugh before shaking his head. “No, this is telling me how to take care of you,” he said quietly, “But I can get a story to read to you, if you’d like,”

She nodded, a big grin spreading across her face at the prospect of her first ever story. A little giggle filled the room at her glee and she hugged him, tiny fingers tangling in his chest fur as a teeny tiny pur made its way out of her throat. Sonic couldn’t stop his tears at that, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth to keep from sobbing. It was so bittersweet, how clueless she was about the world she now had in the palms of her little hands. 

He sniffled and quickly turned to put thick blankets on the bed, adjusting them as his mind ran rampant. If she’d never been read or told a story, then what else had she been missing? She’d had some toy blocks, but they hardly looked touched in her solitary room. There was no way she’d ever colored or drawn a picture or even listened to music unless a scientist sang under their breath as they worked, no way she’d ever seen rain or snow, no way she’d ever-

A stuttered gasp tore itself from his throat as he settled three pillows on the bed, catching the attention of the other two hedgehogs in the room. 

“Sonic?” Shadow asked, his brows furrowing and mirroring Azure’s little face in his lap. 

“She’s never had a stuffed animal,” he whispered, mind running a mile a minute at his own realization, “She-”

Shadow frowned a little at that, hugging their confused daughter closer to his chest. “You’re gonna go get one for her, aren’t you?” 

Sonic nodded without hesitation, stretching his legs with a grunt. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, tearing through the doorway without waiting for a response. His parents looked surprised as he passed, a blue blur that made them jump, but he hardly paid them any mind in his mission. He knew that the small convenience store in Green Hills had a miniscule section for plushies, so he made his way there without preamble, barely remembering to stop so he didn’t smack into the automatic doors. 

The little aisle was full of candy in preparation for Easter, little themed stuffed animals staring at him from the shelves as he paced in search for the perfect toy. Most of them were rabbits holding unnecessary eggs in their paws, but there was one thing that caught his attention enough to get him to pause. A little, purple bear with a colorful belly smiled at him from the very back of the bottom shelf, dust collected on its lavender colored fur. It looked like something leftover from whatever spring collection the store had had a few weeks ago that got left behind, a sad glint in its button eyes. There was nothing stitched into its paws like all the rabbits, so he picked it up with a tiny smile. Perfect. 

He paid quickly at a self checkout before speeding off back down the road, weaving through cars and trees as he made his way back to his little girl. The bear’s head pushed against the wind haphazardly, so he quickly cradled it in his arms so it didn’t get ripped apart, the movement barely finished before he was back at the front steps of his home. His parents regarded him with strange looks as he entered, but they were quickly wiped away upon seeing what was in his arms. The realization seemed to go through them as he walked past, sad smiles gracing their features. Sonic mirrored the smiles as he made his way back up the stairs with his gift in hand. 

When he reentered the guest room, Azure was sitting on the middle of the bed, her paws spread across the blanket. She had been exploring while Shadow stood off to the side, book now abandoned on the nightstand, with a soft look in his eyes. He turned to Sonic when he walked in, glancing down at the bear before nodding and turning back to their little girl. 

“Azure,” Sonic whispered, catching her attention, “I’ve got you something,”

She tilted her head and looked down at the bear, brows furrowing again. A small, confused hum rumbled in her throat as she crawled across the bed to slide off and stand in front of him. When the bear was in her grasp, she stared at it with much of the same confusion before shaking it lightly. 

“Dead?” She asked, looking up at her dads with a small pout to her lips. 

Sonic jolted a bit at that, quickly shaking his head. “No no no- it’s not dead, Azure, it’s a toy. You play with it, or snuggle it in this one’s case,”

“Snuggle?” She asked, the dip between her brows deepening as she turned back to the bear. It nearly made Sonic burst into tears. 

Shadow spoke this time, gently scooping up the little girl in his arms. “Mhm…like how we hold you. Hug it to your chest,” 

She blinked a little bit at her dad’s words, but did as he asked, wrapping her arms around the bear’s neck to hold it to her chest with a squeeze. The effect was instant, a spark lighting in her eyes that made them shine with delight. She hugged the toy tighter to her chest, a loud purr erupting from her as she rubbed her nose into the purple plushie. A small smile spread across her face, eyes closing as she cuddled close to her new present. It was just so sweet…

Sonic laughed quietly, the sound full of unshed tears, and pressed a soft kiss to her head. “Do you like it, princess?” He asked. 

She nodded, her purring growing louder. “Mhm…soft…” She whispered, making both men chuckle, “Safe…”

“That’s right,” Shadow whispered, holding her closer, “You’re safe now…”

A yawn made her little jaw pop as she nuzzled closer, eyes drooping ever so slightly. Despite having just woken up from a nap not even three hours prior, she looked ready for another one, body sagging tiredly into Shadow. It was just as cute as it was concerning. 

“Wanna rest for a bit?” Sonic asked, gently pulling her from Shadow to tuck into the freshly made bed. 

She nodded, curling up in the warmth of the blankets with another bout of purring. It made both men smile as Sonic brought the blanket up to her chin, making sure she was snug in the little nest before stepping back. He flicked off the light and they carefully began to make their way out of the room before a small whimper caught their attention. 

Azure was sitting up now, staring at them with wide, watery eyes. Her body trembled as she reached out the hand not wrapped around her stuffy, fingers curling in the air as tears began to spill down her face. Their hearts broke without warning and they were both back at her side in an instant, hands carding through the fur on her head to try and get her to calm down. 

“Hey…hey, what’s wrong?” Sonic whispered, brushing tears away from her face, “Azure, princess, what’s wrong…?”

“Don go…” She whispered, hiccups making her entire tiny body jolt, “Don leave me…”

The two new dads gasped softly, making eye contact for a split second before they climbed into the bed with her, each settling on one of her sides. She sniffled a little bit more, but calmed down enough to stop crying and relax again, eyes closing within a minute of them settling in. Guess they wouldn't be going anywhere. 

Shadow sighed as he settled against the pillows on his side of the bed, shifting when he got a bit too close to the edge. “I should’ve expected that,” he mumbled, “Attachment issues are very normal in a situation like this,”

Sonic nodded, cuddling closer to their girl and reaching an arm around her little body. His hand brushed against Shadow’s chest in a way that had them both blushing furiously under their fur, but neither mentioned it in favor of watching the slow rise and fall of their daughter’s chest. 

“Man…this isn’t gonna be easy, is it?” Sonic whispered after a few minutes, careful to keep his words quiet so as not to wake the sleeping baby between them, “There’s gonna be more issues, isn’t there?”

Shadow hummed in affirmation, settling deeper into the bed. “It’s bound to be, with her situation. The attachment is merely the first issue to come to light. If there isn’t more, I will be worried,”

Sonic nodded, tucking his nose against the top of her head when she shifted in her sleep. “I just hope it doesn’t have to be both of us,” he mumbled, continuing at his co-parent’s confused look, “You don’t live here- unless you plan on moving in, we can’t both sleep with her every time she needs a nap. It’s gonna be really difficult,”

A purse of his lip and Shadow was nodding along, settling a tiny bit closer to the point where his chest fur brushed against Sonic’s hand again. “Maybe she could come stay with me half of the time?” He whispered, but his tone betrayed his knowledge that it wouldn’t be possible, that she’d need consistency and moving between homes wouldn’t give her that. Sonic said as such, much to both of their dismay. 

“Then what do we do?” Shadow whispered, a scowl forming on his face, “I…I want to be an integral part of raising her, I need to be close,”

“I know,” Sonic sighed, closing his eyes, “Maybe I can find a way to make money and we could find a place to stay?”

“Live together?” Shadow mumbled, making Sonic crack an eye open to see his flushed face. It was really cute and Sonic had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from reaching out and pulling the other hedgehog closer into the cuddle pile. 

He nodded, deciding instead to move his hand until it rested against where Shadow’s was resting against the sheets. “Yeah…that sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

Shadow scoffed to himself, but didn’t move his hand away, instead curling his pinky around Sonic’s almost shyly. It wasn’t often that Shadow allowed others to touch him, so it was going to have to be baby steps for now. Whatever their relationship was now, they’d have to get used to the other being around more, and that started with letting down a few walls. Sonic had no problem with it, but he knew how much Shadow struggled with letting people in, scared of having to grieve them the same way he’d had to grieve Maria all those years ago. It broke Sonic’s heart, but he couldn’t be more grateful that he was at least trying for him. For Azure. 

“It sounds exhausting, especially if she’s anything like you,” he muttered, words holding very little fire. He shifted, demeanor shifting to an even more shy one as he tucked his face into the pillow at his head. “Would we still share a room once she was able to be in her own?”

Sonic ignored the fire being lit underneath his skin at the thought, instead moving his hand to grasp the other’s with a soft, hopefully reassuring smile. “Only if you want to. I’m, honestly, okay with whatever,” he lied, knowing full well that he wanted that more than anything, “Whatever you’re comfortable with,”

Shadow sighed, curling closer to brush his nose in the purple highlights on Azure’s head. “I don’t know,” he said almost inaudibly, Sonic had to strain to hear it, “I’m…”

He stopped before he could make his confession, eyes squeezing shut so he could bury his face in their daughter’s quills. But he didn’t need to say it, Sonic already knew and he was feeling the exact same way. 

“I’m scared, too,” he admitted, making Shadow tense, “I’m freaking terrified, actually, but…” He slowly squeezed the hand in his grasp, watching as Shadow cracked an eye open to watch him. “If I’m being honest, there’s no one I’d rather do this with. I know you’ll do your best to balance me out when it comes to raising her and…”

He trailed off quietly, eyes slipping closed as his silent confession hung like a noose in their air. The air in the room had grown heavy with the words he couldn’t find the confidence to speak, a small, barely there gasp making him tense slightly. He didn’t dare open his eyes to see Shadow’s reaction, too scared to see the look in his eyes. 

The hand in his slipped free and he couldn’t help but flinch, waiting for the rejection he’d known would come, almost thankful that it would at least be over with now. So when the hand he’d been holding gently brushed through the fur on the side of his face, he was more than a little surprised. 

His eyes snapped open in shock, green reflecting in the red that was staring back at him in awe. Shadow looked anything but angry, a mix of elation and confusion coming together to create the cutest face Sonic had seen in a long while. It melted his quick beating heart to a slowed pace, his face bashfully leaning into the hand placed there. 

“I…” Shadow started, a conflicting look crossing his face, “I dunno what I feel about you, but…I’m- I’m glad it’s you as well. I’m glad it’s you I’m stuck with…”

That got a small laugh out of Sonic, who reached out to carefully tug the other hedgehog into the cuddle pile, another filling the room at Shadow’s surprised yelp. He simply tucked himself around the two in his arms, burying his face in Shadow’s red highlights as Azure shifted to curl up against his peach colored chest. Shadow was tense for a few seconds before he relaxed and returned the gesture, arm draping itself across Sonic’s middle and protecting Azure from the world around her. They formed a little bubble between them, a little bubble of their family that, while it hadn’t started out normal, would soon become something they would both treasure forever. 

They were so wrapped up in their bliss that they failed to notice the drone silently flying outside of the window, the logo on the side perfectly matching the one plastered around the lab where Azure had been found.

Chapter Text

As a week went by, having Azure became easier only after it was harder. 

The first night she was there, everyone at the table all realized that she had no idea how to eat food, poking at it curiously with her fingers before watching everyone else eat with a furrowed brow. Her first bite of mac and cheese was far too big for her and she didn’t chew enough times, the end result being Tom having to carefully dislodge the, thankfully, squishy noodles from her throat before she choked. After that, Shadow offered to teach her how to eat, instructing her on the chewing process and when to swallow. It confirmed Sonic’s suspicions of her being given nutrients shots before she was rescued. She learned fairly quickly, though, so that was good.

The second day they had with her, Sonic and Shadow had gone with Tom and Maddie to find a few things for the little girl, much to her confusion. She could hardly comprehend why she was allowed to have as many things as they offered to buy her, but gave her choices when asked and quietly walked alongside them. It was as easy as it was unsettling, she hardly spoke and, unless they specifically focused on her, many in their little family would forget she was even with them until she made a soft noise of curiosity at a new thing. It was alarming and Sonic made a mental note of it. 

The people of Green Hills also seemed to like the little girl, everyone who passed them cooing over how cute she was, much to her discomfort. It was clear that she didn’t enjoy the presence of humans, hardly even tolerating Tom or Maddie. Whenever someone outside of the family would get close to her, she’d shrink back and cling to the nearest dad, chewing quietly on her fingers. Unfortunately, most people found it adorable and had to be ushered away from the shaking girl, lest she begin to cry. 

Stone, oddly enough, absolutely loved her. When they brought her to meet him after the second night Shadow didn’t come home, he instantly began to try and coax her out of her shell. He introduced her to the wonders of hot chocolate and, despite her reservations on humans, she warmed up to him enough to step out from behind Shadow’s legs when he spoke to her. She didn’t talk back, opting to nervously chew on her hands again, but it was progress enough for her dads to be proud. 

She got along absolutely wonderfully with her uncles, though. Tails would spend hours flying around the backyard with her either cuddled in his arms or holding on tightly to his back, both letting out loud cheers of glee at the wind in their fur. Knuckles taught her how to wrestle, something both of her fathers protested at, but she initiated with glee, squealing whenever Knuckles would let her win a sparring match. She was definitely more comfortable around aliens like her than humans, but did her best to hang around her grandparents, even if it scared her. 

Baking with Maddie was something no one expected she would like, but it was welcome when Sonic found her squeaking with delight while covered in flour and showered by kisses to her muzzle by the older woman. Both looked so content and happy that he couldn’t help but snap a picture to send to his co-parent, earning himself a few heart emoticons in return. Shadow still had trouble figuring out emojis.

Tom was a bit more difficult for Azure to get used to, the man doing his best to help her relax, but eventually just having to give up and wait for her to come to him. It happened after a full week of her in the household, much to everyone’s surprise. 

He’d been in the living room, reading quietly to himself as a movie played in the background, when a soft pitter patter of feet caught his attention. Lifting his gaze ever so slightly, he caught sight of Azure at the doorway, watching him with curious eyes and her hands hidden behind her back. As much as he wanted to greet her, to smile and beckon her over, he knew that it would only freak her out, so he simply waited. Waited for nearly ten minutes before she finally stepped closer and made her way to his recliner. 

When she tugged on his pants, he finally looked up, lowering his book as slowly as he could so he didn’t startle her. “Hi, Azure,” he hummed, watching her ear twitch, “Do you need something?”

The little hedgehog bit her lip slightly, hands slowly coming out to reveal a small book of fairy tales. She shifted where she stood, voice quiet when she finally spoke to him, though she was clearly nervous in every aspect. 

“Can you read to me, please?” She whispered, keeping her eyes on the floor. 

Tom couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he set his own book on the end table next to him. “Of course,” he hummed, patting his lap very carefully, “Was there a particular story you wanted from the book?”

She took a moment to climb into his lap, but settled in nonetheless, despite how tense she was. “Princess frog…” She finally whispered, curling into a small ball and staring timidly at the book now clutched in her grandfather’s hands, “Please?”

He nodded and flipped through the book until he found the correct page, his voice soft as he spoke. With each word that he read, Azure relaxed more and more until, by the third story, she was curled up snoring against his sweater. It filled his heart with so much joy that, this time, he didn’t do anything to stop his tears.

Unfortunately, a few hours after this, their domestic atmosphere and all her progress was ripped apart in the worst ways. 

It was chili dog night and Azure was having the time of her life chewing on the small beans and bits of meat on top of the hot dog, her face messy with inexperience, but it was a welcome change from her timid demeanor that first night. Sonic would take having to wipe her face every two minutes over having to watch her choke any day. 

“Silly girl,” he hummed, picking a stray pepper from her cheek as he tossed the fourth napkin into the nearby trash can, “It’s good to know you have excellent taste, though,”

She squealed happily at that, shoving another bite into her mouth haphazardly and smearing more of the food across her freshly cleaned face. The groan that was tugged from Sonic’s chest made her laugh even more, the giggles matching the snickering of the rest of the family. 

Shadow reached over to gently brush a stray quill on his daughter’s head back into place. “Maybe we should get a tarp or something like that for her to wear while she eats messy food,” he said, chuckling when she shoved her hand back into the food to consume more, “It’s like she’s trying to make a mess,”

Maddie laughed from her place across the table from Azure, putting another helping of chili on her plate much to Sonic’s protest. “Well at least we know she likes it. I was worried she wouldn’t like a lot of foods,”

Sonic nodded, opening his mouth to express his agreement, but he never got the chance when something broke the window with a loud crash. Something heavy landed in the chili bowl at the center of the table, momentarily stunning everyone before it let out a loud shrieking and plumes of green smoke. 

The two older hedgehogs wasted no time to move everyone out of the house, twins blurs of blue and red streaking back and forth from the house and the yard until everyone was standing a few yards away from the front door. Azure clutched at Shadow’s chest with a whimper, eyes and ears flicking back and forth between the woods around them and the shrieking in the house. It was maybe two seconds before she began screaming in fear, curling away from the near silent woods. Everyone tensed, fighting stances engaged in preparation for whatever was about to jump out at them. 

And well, it was no surprise when government agents sporting the same GUN logos from the Russian base on their uniforms stepped from the trees. What was a surprise was the sheer number of them, enough agents shuffling from the trees to completely surround them and the still shrieking house. Sonic quickly counted at least fifty of them, his muscles tensing in preparation for a fight. 

Once all of the agents were out from hiding, a woman in a suit stepped into the circle from the driveway, chestnut hair tied curtly into a bun and her sour face curled into an unamused smirk. At the sight of her, Azure stopped crying, entire body going tense, but silent in fear. Shadow held her closer with a low growl in his throat. 

The silence in the circle was palpable, easily cut with a knife, where no party wanted to speak first. Truthfully, Sonic didn’t even want to speak at all, mentally preparing himself for a fight, but his dad had other ideas. 

“What the hell is this?” Tom asked, voice sharp and curt as he stepped between the woman and the rest of his family. 

The woman narrowed her eyes before glancing behind Tom, smirking a bit when she found what she was looking for. “You have something that doesn’t belong to you,” she said simply, voice smooth like honey but dripping with enough grease to make the entire world gag in displeasure. Sonic’s fur stood on end. 

Tom’s eyes flicked back to where she was looking, lips pursing when he made eye contact with his terrified granddaughter. The poor girl was almost too afraid to move, eyes wide and staring almost past the agent at the head of the pack. Shadow wasn’t much better, fear replaced by anger where he curled protectively around the small girl. The rage in his eyes was visible through little flashes of red in his otherwise brown eyes, a warning that was clear to everyone. 

Before Tom could speak, Maddie stepped forward beside her husband with a huff. “We don’t want to fight-” she tried, getting interrupted by her eldest son. 

“Do not speak for me, Lady of Pretzels!” Knuckles shouted, red sparks dancing in his eyes and down his arms to collect at his large fists, “I would gladly smash all of these imbeciles to pieces!”

Tails nodded, gripping  a small device in his hand as he began to fly above the commotion. His blue eyes flicked about the crowd, most likely doing his best to figure out how many he could take and what the easiest way to do so was. A few of the soldiers flinched back when he lifted into the air, catching his calculating gaze and lifting their guns. 

That set of a chain reaction of growls throughout the family, even the humans letting out soft huffs of rage at the sight. Azure squeaked, curling up further against her father and making the woman laugh to herself. 

“Just give us what you stole and we can be on our way,” she said, not taking her eyes off of the baby alien in the group, “But violence is not something we are unfamiliar with,”

Then a lot of things happened at once. Knuckles, ever the “hit now, ask questions later” kind of guy ran straight for the woman with his fists raised. Tails aimed his device at a mass of agents, blasting them ten feet backwards with scorch marks on their uniforms. Sonic powered up and began to roll throughout the crowd, knocking guns out of hands faster than most could fire them. And Azure freaked out. 

She shoved herself away from Shadow’s chest with a sob that echoed throughout the chaotic forest and made a break for it into the house, stumbling over the long grass. A bit of dirt was kicked up in her haste to escape the fray, the energy around her compressing as she made to teleport away from all of the noise, hopefully to somewhere the family could find her once they kicked everyone’s ass. 

But the gunshot that cut through the commotion could be felt by everyone, regardless of where they were. 

Heads snapped up to witness the energy in Azure snapping back out of her, her little body crumbling with a loud thud on the front porch of the house. Blood poured from the gunshot wound in her skull, the exit wound between her eyes having torn through all of the tissue to splay her skin across the dull red green eyes that had been alight with laughter mere minutes ago. They stared blankly at Sonic, who’d frozen when he heard the gun, blood and brain matter imprinting themselves onto his brain in a way that he knew he would never forget. Something arose in his throat and he couldn’t tell if it was a scream or bile until the noise joined the cacophony of chaos around them and the surprised silence of their family. He’d only had his little girl for a few days and there she lay, dead in front of the very place she was meant to feel safe. 

It wasn’t until her body started twitching that he even remembered what she was. 

The wound in her head, blasted open by the heavy bullet, began to slowly close. Skin and gore and brain still attached to her little face carefully pulled itself back together, anything that had detached and splattered across the front porch growing back with a quickness that made disgusting squelching noises. The blood pooled underneath her stationary head didn’t even have a chance to dry before the color snapped back to her previously dull eyes and she sat up, letting out a loud scream that tapered off into a sob. Dark red stained and matted the fur in her face every which way, but that was the only evidence that anything had even happened. She was completely fine now. 

Sonic barely had time to react before Azure was sparking, dark blue lighting up the space around her and making the lights in the house pulse in time with the heartbeat pounding in his ears. Another loud cry was all it took before dark blue exploded out in waves, knocking everyone down and making the device in Tails’ hand explode in a painful shower of sparks. Shocks of pain went up Sonic’s spine and he couldn’t help but collapse onto the wet grass, hands coming up to clutch his head as waves upon waves of fire began to burn behind his eyelids and underneath his skin. Someone else was screaming now, a lot of someone’s, and he suspected that one of them was him. 

It felt like an eternity before the pain and screaming finally stopped, but when Sonic looked up, vision hazy from the way his insides had been barbequed, the sight that beheld him made his blood run cold enough for him not to care. 

Azure, his tiny baby girl barely a foot tall, was being manhandled into a container by an agent covered in rubber armor, her sobs stopped by another gun pointed to her temple. She still struggled, kicking her legs out and sobbing as she did her best to get away from the humans holding her by the scruff of her neck. Her claws swiped at the agent as she begged to not go back, that she wouldn’t cry anymore, that she couldn’t do it anymore, that it hurt. Her tiny voice broke with the force of her sobs and pleas, but the agent paid no mind, like he was dealing with a wild animal and not a sentient child. 

The ice in Sonic’s veins nearly made him pass out as the woman stepped up from where the rest of his family was curled up in pain in the grass, heeled foot harshly turning Knuckles over as she stepped past. Shadow growled from his place on the ground, claws swiping to catch her foot, but she merely stepped past him to approach where Azure was being manhandled. 

“Do you see why we need her back now?” She said, her voice making the chili in Sonic’s stomach rise, “Do you see how dangerous she is?”

A manicured hand shot out to grip Azure by the bloody fur, ripping a terrified sob from the little girl. “83, the more you struggle, the more painful it will be for you later,”

Azure screamed at her, still kicking out at the container she was being shoved into. “No no NO NONONO-!” She sobbed, the next word out of her mouth echoing across the mountains that surrounded Green Hills. 

“DADDY!”

Sonic wasn’t sure which one of them moved first, all he knows is that one moment, he and Shadow were curled up at opposite ends of the yard in various states of pain and rage, and the next, they were both yanking the woman and agent off of their daughter. Shadow’s claws ripped through the woman’s torso as he flung her across the yard, scooping up their sobbing daughter as Sonic nearly tore the armored agent’s digits from his body to get him to let go of her. The two growled dangerously, much of the same electric energy crackling around them as they curled protectively around her in Shadow’s shaking arms. She muffled her terrified and grateful sobs in his chest, blood matting the soft, white fur, but neither of them could bring themselves to care. 

Adrenaline coursed through Sonic, eyes laser focused on the people surrounding them before his gaze flicked to the rest of his family slowly getting up from their positions spread out across the grass of their now messy yard. It took a second of them being surprised before they all joined the hedgehogs, Sonic’s brothers flanking his sides while his parents covered their backs with rage boiling behind their eyes. At the center of it was Azure, shaking like a leaf as the blood from her own death dried on her dark blue fur, making it look black. If it hadn’t been as terrifying as it was, maybe she would’ve seen just how loved she had become in such a short amount of time. 

The woman, sides now covered in blood, stared at them in shock, hair now tumbling out in a frazzled mess around her shoulders. Guns began to rise all around them, but they never got a chance to fire at the sparking aliens before sirens clipped through the air, making the woman and agents, both downed and otherwise, look up from their position in the yard. Heads turned to behold a heavily armored van that held the normal GUN logo as it pulled into the yard, more following after as people poured out, shouting at the other agents to drop their weapons. 

The van at the front finally stopped, Director Rockwell stepping out with a wildly worried look in her eyes and a pair of cuffs gripped tightly in her fist. She passed them off to another agent as she approached the sparking family, stopping just before she got to the steps of the porch, recognizing the anger and fear staring at her. 

“Rockwell,” Shadow hissed, his red eyes narrowing, “What the hell is going on?”

She pursed her lips slightly, glancing behind her when the woman from before began to shout obscenities as she and her agents were dragged back towards the vans. “I’m not fully sure,” she said, hands raised in a placating gesture, “But, from what my men have gathered about this rogue branch of GUN, I think we all need to talk,”

The tension, while still there and still palpable, dissipated ever so slightly at her words. Sonic shifted, the sparks that flew across his face slowly disappearing until they were nothing more than memories in the wind. Shadow’s did not dissipate, simply dimming as he glared up at the agent, but he didn’t say a word. The rest of the family did much of the same, fighting stances relaxing minutely to allow Rockwell a moment to speak. 

“Fine,” Sonic said after a minute, stepping closer to his co-parent and daughter, “Tell us why and how any of this happened and we might not go insane,”

Rockwell, to her credit, did not react negatively to the threat, merely pulled out a tablet that she began to type on with a tired sigh. This was clearly going to take a while.

Chapter Text

Azure didn't move once the entire talk with Director Rockwell. The entire time the human was in their living room and her team was cleaning up the mess in the kitchen and yard, she kept her face buried in Shadow's chest, fingers twisted in the white fur in a way that Sonic could tell was almost painful, but Shadow didn't seem to mind. In fact, he was much the same, saying almost nothing while he held their girl tight to his body. It gave Sonic the space to deal with the aftermath of everything. 

"So," Rockwell said, catching his attention, "To start, I would like to formally apologize for what's happened. The branch of GUN that attacked you is a rogue branch that should not have ever formed and somehow managed to fly under our radar,"

Sonic glanced at Tails, noting the device in his hands that he could vaguely see Azure's file on. The two made eye contact and Sonic nodded for him to show it, turning back to Rockwell with a small scowl. 

"They were doing genetic experiments," Tails muttered, flipping the screen of his laptop to show Rockwell, "How can that just fly under a radar?" 

Rockwell frowned and leaned forward to read the document, brows furrowing the more she took in. "I'm not sure, my men are still looking it over-"

"Well they need to look faster," Sonic muttered, leaning slightly into his co-parent to pet their daughter. She still didn't move, just shaking quietly. He couldn't even see her little eyes. 

A quiet settled over the room, discomfort evident in everyone's posture with what had just been said. Sonic ignored it, focusing on trying to get Azure to look up at him, his hands still buried carefully in her quills. Nothing worked, she stayed stubbornly attached to Shadow, who began to lean on Sonic tiredly. They'd either be sleeping too much or not at all tonight. 

Rockwell cleared her throat, sitting back from the laptop. "I...understand your frustrations-"

"You ever watched your own kid get shot in the head?" 

The air went cold as Sonic said that, most everyone tensing or shuddering. The image of his little girl, lying there with a hole the size of his fist in her forehead, flashed through his mind and he wiped his eyes, curling up to his friend with a sigh. 

"Sorry-" 

"Do not apologize for what's in your heart," Knuckles said firmly, glaring purple eyes at the agent, "What has happened will not be remedied with a simple apology," 

The woman shifted in her chair, sighing. "I know. And I couldn't understand," she corrected, eyes landing on the little girl, "It must've been scary," 

Azure gripped at Shadow tighter, causing the older hedgehog to growl at the woman. Red flashed in his eyes for a moment, only calmed down when Sonic gently brushed a hand down his arm. 

"Can you take her to our room?" He asked, squeezing his bicep just a bit to keep his attention, "See if you can calm her down enough for a bath?" 

The black hedgehog frowned, eyes flicking between the human and his co-parent before he nodded, standing with a bit of difficulty. "You'll call for me if anything happens," he said, less of a question and more of a demand. 

Sonic nodded. "If there's screaming, you have my full permission to come down here and kick someone's ass," 

That seemed to satisfy his friend, if the small smile on his face was anything to go by, and he made his way up the stairs, gently whispering assurances into Azure's quills. Once he was gone, Sonic allowed himself to relax, the fatigue and pain from earlier making his arms shake. 

Rockwell frowned. "You're shaking," she said, eyes sliding across the family in front of her. All of them were twitching or shaking ever so slightly, despite the fact that the heat in the house was on and comfortable. A few scars on their hands caught the attention of the agent and she leaned forward to inspect Maddie's fingers. "All of you are..." 

Tails nodded, shaking his own hands out. "It happened after Azure woke up from being shot," he mumbled, frowning, "I was reading her file earlier and it mentioned electric powers, but I didn't think it was on that scale," 

Sonic held back his groan, rubbing a hand up and down his shaking arm. "Just a bit of nerve damage then. It'll clear up," 

Tom did groan, allowing Rockwell to take note of the light scars lining his hands. "And I just finished my last treatment," 

"We'll be fine," Maddie insisted, though her face pinched in slight discomfort, "It should heal up soon enough, we were far enough away that we might just have little twitches for a while," 

Sonic nodded, rubbing at his eyes as he turned back to Rockwell. "Can you guarantee that no one will ever come to bother us again?" He asked, ear flicking when he heard a small whimper in the guest room, "I don't want her to go through this again, it's gonna take her ages until she's back to where she was," 

She nodded, lips pursing. "While, yes, I'd like to say that branch of GUN will never bother you, I would like to...have someone from ours check up on her every once in a while," 

Green eyes narrowed at the woman. "And why's that?" He asked, ignoring the way his hand twitched against his lap. 

"Well," she said slowly, most likely understanding how everyone would react, "She's rather powerful and I'm sure the higher ups would like to keep an eye on that- at least until she's matured enough to control her powers," 

Sonic scowled at that, opening his mouth to shout that they'd take care of it, that he was kinda tired of GUN at this point, but was interrupted by his parents sitting forward. Tom gave him a look that said to calm down, turning to Rockwell with a sigh. 

"We'll need a schedule for it written down," he said firmly, "It can't be something that's random," 

Maddie leaned to her son before he could protest, gently wrapping a hand around his own. "It's a good idea to have someone checking on her," she whispered, making him scowl, "And agreeing to it makes less problems, we've just got to make sure she's prepared for them when they happen,"

As much as he hated it, the logic was sound and Sonic couldn't find any reason to argue against it. It WOULD be nice to have someone checking up on Azure to help them navigate having a kid with powers like hers, but the fact that it was GUN left a sour taste in his mouth. 

He sighed and leaned back in his seat, motioning for his brothers to go ahead and go to bed once he saw how tired they looked. Both gave him a sympathetic look as they left, giving him one of their big hugs before making their way to the attic. It gave him a bit of strength to deal with the issue at hand, finally able to listen in and change the schedule they were talking about. 

By the time Rockwell and her men left, Sonic's brain was buzzing with too much information and he just wanted to sleep. He opened the door to the guest room carefully, peeking in to see if anyone was awake, and nearly cried at the sight that greeted him. 

Azure had finally let go of Shadow's chest, but had instead locked onto his arm with her bear shoved in as well, face half buried in his black fur while the other half was peeking out and staring at the book he had in his hands. Blood still stained her face, meaning she hadn't gotten a bath yet, and her eyes were laser focused on what was in front of her, despite the far away look. Shadow himself was reading as gently as he could, despite the fact that his voice was shaking. They both looked broken and Sonic was determined to help put the pieces back. 

He stepped in with a sigh, watching as both of his family members looked up at him. "Hey..." He mumbled, squeaking when he got an armful of baby hedgehog. Azure curled up to him, sniffling softly against his shoulder as the blue energy surrounding her disappeared. 

Shadow rolled his own arm, groaning. "Finally- she hasn't let go of me this entire time," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes, "I haven't been able to bathe her-" 

"Don't worry," Sonic said, quickly making his way to a basket in the corner of the room. He rummaged around until he found the small pack of baby wipes he'd stashed in there and sat down, gently coaxing Azure's face away from his chest to wipe at the dried blood. She sniffled the whole time, but didn't complain, fingers painfully clutching at his arm. 

Sonic hummed as he worked, glancing to his side when he felt another warm body lean into his back. "They're gonna be coming to check on her once a month," he said quietly, feeling his co-parent tense slightly, "We've negotiated it and it'll be the same person every time and they can't come at random. Figured it would be easier than fighting them on it,"

Shadow let out a low growl, but said nothing, instead opting to burrow himself closer to his friend. They stayed in relative silence while Sonic cleaned their daughter until he gently lifted her and set her in bed with the bear, Shadow moving to his side of the bed. Her eyes, still distant and laser focused, began to close the moment she was enveloped in the blanket. After just a few minutes, she was asleep, one hand still holding Sonic's where he was sitting on the edge of the bed, while the other held her bear tightly to her chest. It was not going to be a peaceful sleep, but at least she was sleeping. 

The moment he was sure she was out, Sonic let his walls down and hugged his knees, tears clouding his vision. He didn't dare close his eyes to try and get rid of them, knowing he'd see the sick image of his little girl with her brains blasted across the porch the moment he did. Every time he blinked, he'd see the outline of her tiny body slumped on the wood, rivers of blood seeping out of her and dripping between the boards to collect in the grass below. It made him nauseous and he just couldn't do that right now. 

A warm hand in his fur made him look up, seeing a mess of black fur watching him with concern. Shadow frowned, but didn't ask what was wrong, just nervously placed himself next to the other hedgehog, one arm open slightly to invite him in for a hug. As bad as he was at offering comfort, Sonic couldn't help but crack the tiniest of smiles. 

He turned to bury his face in a fluffy chest, giggling when the owner of it tensed. "Sorry..."

The open arm came around to gently curl around his shoulders, a thumb running across his bicep in comforting circles. "You watched her get shot...why are you apologizing...?" 

"Cause I'm gonna get snot in your fur and it's gonna be gross," Sonic mumbled, laughing shakily at Shadow's disgusted noise, "But- but thanks...for this. I...I wish I hadn't seen it, I don't think I'll ever be able to unsee it..."

Shadow shifted where he sat, manhandling Sonic until the blue hedgehog was curled in the other's lap, his hand still grasped by his daughter while his face remained in fluffy, white fur. His cheeks went slightly pink at the position, but he couldn't find it in himself to truly care, simply relaxing into the hold as a hand ran up and down his back. While he wished the circumstances for it were different, he was glad to be there, being held by someone he cared about so much. Even if the other was clearly confused about how to act. 

"Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?" Shadow mumbled, making Sonic glance up at him. His face was just as pink as his own, eyes flitting around the room while he hugged his partner closer. It brought a welcome smile to Sonic's face and he began to purr without meaning to. 

"Probably not," he admitted, despite the fact that sleep tugged persistently at his brain, "But I could fall asleep like this, it's nice. You're a good pillow," 

Shadow scoffed slightly at that, making the other hedgehog laugh to himself. "Of course you'd flirt after being traumatized," he mumbled, putting a hand to the dorky smirk his partner was sporting, "I should've expected nothing less," 

Sonic leaned into the hand now on his face in tired glee. "It's hard not to, you're cute when you're flustered," he mumbled, ears flicking at the almost inaudible gasp that came from the chest he was leaning against. He cleared his throat slightly and burrowed close to him again, silently wondering if he'd pushed too far. 

He knew Shadow didn't respond well to most closeness, usually opting to curl in on himself whenever he'd visit for movie nights or stay as far to the side as he can when interacting with him and his family. Even then, cuddling Sonic against his chest while he cried, he wasn't fully comfortable, his whole body tense and movements calculated to an absurd degree. It was definitely a little selfish of him to flirt when the other didn't have an easy out. 

As his mind began to spiral, the world around him fading into the background of the imaginary scenarios in his head, he felt the warm body around his own curl around him tighter and a light pressure on the top of his head. He blinked, unable to fully comprehend it until his eyes snapped up to look at the other hedgehog, being met with a flushed face and eyes glued to the window off to their side. He'd sucked his lips between his teeth and was biting down as best he could, ears flicking back and forth in his nervousness. Nervous. He was nervous because he'd just- 

"Did you...kiss me?" Sonic asked, trying his best not to jump for joy and disturb both of the other people in the room. He couldn't help the smile on his face, though, that'd be impossible. 

Shadow kept his eyes off to the side, chewing on his lips again. "You're imagining things," he said finally, but he didn't outright say no. 

Sonic truly couldn't help the squeal he had to muffle in the snotty chest fur before him, the smile that stretched across his face beginning to hurt his cheeks. The body beneath him tensed slightly and Azure shifted in her sleep, but he didn't care, opting to instead kick his feet a little before turning his face to put his chin into the very fur he'd been squealing into. Shadow stared down at him in shock, eyes blown wide and confused. It was adorable. 

"Sorry, just happy," Sonic whispered, trying not to wake Azure up further, "Been hopin' for this for a while now," 

A small scoff and Shadow was looking away again, one hand leaving Sonic's back to cover his own muzzle. "You have weird standards, faker," he muttered, shaking his head. 

"Oh absolutely, but they're mine," he said simply, leaning up to press a quick kiss to the back of Shadow's hand. The look of surprise he got in return fueled his smile to stretch even further, he most likely looked ridiculous. 

Shadow stared at him for a moment before chuckling to himself and tugging him closer to lay down, the two settling into a cuddle where Sonic's hand was wrapped around Shadow's middle so he didn't let go of Azure, who'd pressed herself to her dad's back with light snores. 

Sonic buried his face in white fur with a small yawn, mind going a bit hazy with fatigue. "Would it be weird to tell you I love you?" He mumbled, too tired to fully think through what he was saying. 

The other hedgehog tensed a bit, but didn't pull away, just curled up closer to the other as sleep began to pull him out of reality. Before he was fully pulled under, he barely heard the reply, the words so soft, he wouldn't have heard it if he wasn't pressed directly into his chest. 

"It wouldn't be weird..." 

Chapter Text

Sonic was right about them not getting any sleep that night. Barely an hour after he finally began to snore, he was awoken by sudden screaming surrounding the air in his room. He sat up quicker than he should've, looking around with wide eyes until he spotted Azure. She'd sat up in bed, her bear clutched so tightly to her chest that the seams on the sides were ripping ever so slightly. Her eyes were flicking about, sparks of blue electricity flying out of the sockets and drowning red and green in a dark ocean before disappearing into the air with a slight sizzle. 

He frowned, reaching around Shadow, who was looking around in much of the same confusion, and gently scooped their daughter up. The sparks in her eyes and body shocked him a little bit, but he ignored it in favor of gently brushing a hand through her quills. 

"Azure...Azure, princess, it's okay..." He whispered, hoping he'd be able to get her out of her static fear, "Daddy's here, it's okay..." 

She hiccupped softly, leaning into his hand with a tiny sob. "Daddy...hurts..." She whispered, smacking a small fist to her head. 

"I know, I know..." He mumbled to himself, pressing a kiss where her fist was pounding, "But it's okay...I won't let it happen again, you're okay," 

Shadow leaned tiredly onto his partner, his head resting heavily on the side of his leg while his hand came up to rub their daughter's back. "No one's gonna take you," he mumbled through a yawn, "Safe..." 

Azure whimpered softly, burying her face close to Sonic's cheek. "Don wanna go..."

Sonic leaned his face into hers. "You won't. You're here forever now, no more tests or pain. I promise," 

Ever so slowly, through more words of affirmation and comfort, she began to relax until she was simply shaking in her dads' arms and the electricity surrounding her disappeared. If it wasn't for her eyes being wide open, Sonic would've thought she was asleep. 

"Daddy..." She mumbled, pawing at his chest after a moment, "Icky..." 

"Wanna go have a bath?" He asked her, rubbing his eyes, "We can have a bath..." 

"Want me to come with..?" Shadow mumbled, sleep already cleared up from his face. Perks of being the Ultimate Lifeform: he didn't need as much sleep. 

Sonic yawned as he stood up, still holding their daughter. "You might wanna clean yourself up, you've got snot in your chest," 

"Mmm...and who's fault is that?" He said quietly, standing to stretch before gathering Azure's bathroom stuff, "I'll just get in the bath with her then, you can go back to bed," 

Sonic shook his head, making his way out of the room to the bathroom across the hall. "I won't be able to sleep until you're both back in bed," he said, turning the faucet on with another yawn. Truthfully, he'd probably end up falling asleep on the bathroom floor. 

Shadow merely hummed in response, putting some soap in the water before turning to pluck Azure from his partner's arms. He gently peeled her gloves and socks off before lowering her into the water, making sure it was a good enough elevation before turning it off. Once he deemed it good enough, he glanced back at Sonic, staring expectantly. 

Sonic blinked back at him from his spot at the door before understanding and turning away, resting his head against the wall. "Sorry, mind's not working right," he mumbled, listening to the sounds of soft fabric hitting the floor before he could hear Shadow climb into the bath with Azure. 

"It's alright," was the only response he got back. That and Azure giggling softly at the bubbles in front of her while he talked her through their routine. It always helped her to be told what was happening. 

After a minute of warmth and Shadow's gentle voice filling the air in the bathroom, Sonic found himself slipping into a peaceful slumber. It wasn't real sleep, his consciousness slipping in and out as he sat there, but it was enough for him to not realize time was passing until a slightly damp hand was pressing into his quills. 

He awoke with a start, turning to see his daughter staring at him with a fluffy towel wrapped all around her tiny body like a hedgehog burrito. Her absolute favorite part of bath time, where she got swaddled until only her lil face was poking out. Usually, she'd have a giant grin on her face, but it had been replaced with a slightly somber and tired smile instead. At least it wasn't a frown, he supposed. 

Green eyes followed the hand in his quills until he saw Shadow standing in front of him, gloves and socks back on and fur slightly puffy after being dried. He looked back at him with a bit of amusement and concern, a tiny smirk on his face. 

"You with us, hedgehog?" He asked, chuckling to himself. 

Sonic hummed, standing to scoop Azure into a hold before pressing his nose to the other man's cheek, hardly a kiss but enough to fluster him. "Yeah, sorry about that," 

Shadow sighed, leading them back to the bedroom. "I expected you to fall asleep," he said, pulling Azure from his arms to start drying her on the edge of the bed, "What'd you try to tell Daddy that he couldn't hear because he was sleeping?" 

Azure smiled to herself, turning tired eyes to Sonic. "Daddy give kiss?" She asked, rubbing her little face, "Peas...?" 

Sonic smiled to himself, pressing a kiss between her eyes and earning himself a tired giggle. "Of course, princess," he mumbled, running the towel against her quills when Shadow was done with her torso, "Ready to go back to sleep?" 

Red green eyes flashed with panic for a moment and then she was shaking her head, grabbing for the bear they'd left on the bed. "No- they come back-" she sobbed, breaking his heart into pieces. 

"They won't come back," Shadow said softly, pulling a blanket around her shoulders, "Not while we're here. We'll protect you," 

"Mhm..." Sonic whispered, helping her lay down, "You're safe here, we promised, didn't we?" 

She still didn't look too sure, curling up tightly into the blankets with one hand grasping the fabric and the other holding her bear close. "Can...can I have song..?" She asked, almost inaudible with her face buried into the fuzzy fur of her stuffy. 

Sonic smiled and almost instantly, he was reaching to grab his phone, turning on some songs Azure had begun to show interest in. They'd learned she absolutely loved slightly sadder and more quiet songs, opting to listen to Maddie's playlist of someone called Mitski. Sonic had no idea who she was and hardly paid attention to the lyrics, but Azure absolutely loved the music, listening with rapt attention before she ever fell asleep. 

The deep melody began and soft guitar began and Azure smiled, singing along to the music. "Baby...my baby..." She whispered, relaxing into the pillows that surrounded her, "You my baby...say it to me..." 

As she began to sleep, Sonic brushed a hand through her quills, relaxing into the pillows with his own yawn. A shift on the other side of the bed told him that Shadow had crawled in as well, a smile spreading across Sonic's face at the prospect. He barely had the energy to reach over with his other hand to hold his partner's, but he managed, falling asleep before he could hear the soft gasp it elicited. 

The rest of the night was spent doing much of the same, Azure waking up periodically crying and having to be shushed back to sleep by whichever father happened to be awake at that point. Usually, because of his lack of need for sleep, it was Shadow, and Sonic merely spent a few seconds awake before curling around their little girl and falling back into his own fitful slumber. Thankfully, due to Azure's nightmares, his own never had a chance to form and he remained blissfully dreamless. 

The next morning was spent with the rest of the family curled up on the couch and just staying in each other's terrified company. Sonic would look up every hour or so just to make sure everyone was right where he left them and, if anyone had to leave for any reason, they'd all watch them like hawks until they were back in their rightful place in the living room. No one had any energy to do much more than that, their brains too frazzled and freshly traumatized, Sonic included. 

When he wasn't focusing on his family or tuning in for whatever movies they'd put on, he was staring off into space and reliving the past night. The coldness of the air, the brush of the grass against his body, the sirens, the stench of metallic blood, the screaming, the pain- it replayed on the opposite wall over and over and over as he simply held his little girl, who was cuddling close to his chest. 

Her hand was in her mouth, fingers being repeatedly chewed between dull baby teeth in a soothing action. It was a lot more than her usual nibbles, but it seemed to be keeping her from panicking whenever someone moved suddenly, so he didn't talk about it. They'd have to find a way to break the habit soon, though, it could get dangerous. 

The next nearly four days were the same as well, save for when Tom and Maddie had to go back to work. Surprisingly, despite what had happened, Azure was just as nervous for them to leave as she was for the aliens of the house, clinging to Maddie's leg when she saw her heading for the door in her work scrubs. It was a small light in the miserable dark they'd found themselves in, a reassurance they all needed. 

But it wasn’t all bad. A few days after the incident, Sonic saw Azure laugh for the first time. 

They'd moved their cuddle piles outside in an attempt to get her some sun that day, Sonic getting antsy at not being able to run as often. Shadow wasn't present, having to return to his own home and work, so it was just him, his brothers, and his daughter in the backyard. 

Sonic yawned a bit from his place in the grass, keeping his hand buried in Azure's fur. "I'm just saying- the story moves way too slow for me," 

"You know nothing of true story and cinema," Knuckles snapped, reaching over to lightly smack him in the ear, "Romantic shows carry just as much validity as your action movies," 

He scoffed, waving him away. "I'll believe it when one catches my attention," 

"Were you not the one who cried during our watch of the robot movie?" 

"You shut up about Wall-E!" He yelped, sitting up to turn a harsh glare at his brother. Knuckles merely laughed at his display where he was starfished in a sunbeam, his grin cheeky and teasing. Oh he was in for it. 

He jumped on him without thinking, allowing the two of them to roll around before they could start the shoving. Tom and Maddie had said they couldn't throw real punches during these fights, so they had to settle for shoves and smacks, but it wasn't much more gentle than punches anyway. 

"Surrender!" Knuckles shouted, rolling them to shove Sonic's face into the damp grass. 

"Never!" He shouted, muffled by the ground. He threw a hand back to connect with one of Knuckles' ears, earning himself a yelp. And a rough smack to the back of the head that shoved his nose further into the dirt. 

They traded more blows and shouts until a small sound caught their attention. Laughter- and it wasn't Tails, no, he'd flown to the roof to fix their satellite dish and wasn't close enough to hear laughter. And it wasn't either of them. That left...

Sonic's head snapped up from the dirt to see Azure watching something in her palm, a giggle making her lips stretch out into a tiny smile. She wasn't paying any attention to anything else, just poking at whatever was in her hand and laughing quietly at whatever happened. 

He smiled, despite the pain in his face, and craned his neck to try and see her hand. "Whatcha got there, princess?" 

Azure looked up, beaming brightly as she presented the collection of rolly pollies in her hand. A few of them were curled up into balls while a few stayed unfurled or were in the process of coming undone. She grinned and poked one of the unfurled ones, shrieking in glee when it rolled up in the center of her palm. Laughing at rolly pollies...

Sonic couldn't help the laugh that left him, nor the tears, reaching out to gently poke one and elicit more giggles from his girl. "These are rolly pollies, princess..." He whispered, unable to talk louder for fear of his voice breaking, "Are they fun...?"

"Pollies!" She yelled in delight, setting them in the grass to watch them crawl around, "Pollies pollies pollies..."

A weight lifted off of his chest as they laid in the grass watching the insects, his brothers following soon after. Like, despite everything that had happened, this was proof that Azure could still be a little girl and have fun. That things would get better, even if they were hard now. 

She wasn't laughing when Shadow came around to see them, but she was smiling, just a little thing, while she ate her spaghetti noodles. Sauce stained her face and chest, but neither he nor Sonic could find it in themselves to care, simply bathing her after dinner and settling in for a movie with the family. A simple animated one about a magical family in a living house, but she loved it, falling asleep happily when the last song played. 

It wasn't easy, far from it, they still dealt with her nightmares every single day, but it was worth it to see her smile and laugh and have fun each day when she could. Traumatized or not, she was their girl, and, in the darkness of night after putting her to sleep, they promised they'd do everything in their power to keep her safe and happy and to help her heal. 

One day, there wouldn't be nightmares. One day, it would be easy. Until then, they'd settle for one more laugh a day until she was full of them. Their beautiful little girl.