Stendylover, rugtugba, brokenparmour, avalache, 01sonamy01, Jacklethekitsune, Samantha27, Crails123, Alyssacookie, IHeartSonAmy, SherryBlossom, Ghostkid33, Novus Umbra, Haos Blossom, Bullet Nick: Okay, so I went back and added a little more detail to the giving birth scene, to make it a little more realistic. Go back and reread if you want to. (Those of you who know me know I do re-editing all the time ^_^) Enjoy.
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Chapter 10: Love
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The way back home from the hospital was a slow, long walk. It didn't help that it was softly raining, either, but Amy insisted that they walk, as she was afraid that if Sonic carried the three of them at his speed, one of the twins might get dropped. Besides, Amy was tired of being carried and laying down all the time, as she'd spent practically all of the last day in a bed. It felt good to actually stretch her legs and not have to carry around the huge load.
Raindrops hit Sonic in a gentle plops, and he clutched Sierra closer to him to shield her young, soft body from the rain. He understood Amy's concern about him running, especially with the rain softening the ground and making it more slippery. So as much as he loved going fast, Sonic was content with the walk.
Neither hedgehog had much to say at that point, for they were both still in a little awe at what had happened, and that they were actually carrying their very own babies back home. Thrilling. When they finally found themselves back on Amy's doorstep, Sonic pulled Amy into a side hug.
"Amy...have I ever told you that you're amazing?"
The pink hedgehog smiled and wrapped her free arm around him. "Not lately."
"Well, let me tell you that now. You've just completely impressed me like you wouldn't believe."
She couldn't stop herself from blushing, but cursed her feelings. "Sonic...this isn't -"
"I know, the kids." He laughed a little. "The kids. They're cute, aren't they? I love them." He stroked little Sierra's quills again.
"I love them, too, Sonic."
The parents then entered their house, drying off the kids and themselves before plopping down on the couch, resting Sierra and Chase in between them.
Amy yawned again. For whatever reason, the doctor didn't let them leave until the next evening, so now it was around 8. Amy didn't know why, but she was feeling tired again.
"You tired, Amy?" Sonic asked almost rhetorically.
She nodded. "I'd like to say I'm now going to sleep better, but I know that's the exact opposite of what's going to happen. They're going to be crying and keeping us up all night now, Sonic."
Sonic frowned, then shook his head. "Nah. Just look at them, they're like little angels. I think we've lucked out and got the kind that don't cry."
Amy smiled and let Sierra play with her fingers. "It's still early, Sonic."
"And if they do cry, all I gotta do is hold 'em and then they won't anymore." He grinned cockily. "I guess I'm just good like that."
Amy rolled her eyes, once again, but when Sonic winked at her, she knew he was just teasing. As always.
"Alright, Mr. Hot Shot, if you're so good...why don't you give them their first diaper change?"
Sonic's mouth dropped, but he snapped it shut. "I...me?"
Amy smirked in satisfaction. "Yes, you. Since you're so good like that. And I know you payed complete attention to Vanilla while she was showing us how."
Sonic frowned a little, but knew he was trapped. It wasn't that he thought he'd get out of it completely, but he'd just hoped that Amy would do it first, and he could watch and learn from her before giving it a go himself.
"Well, I guess I'm winging it, then..." Sonic muttered and gathered Chase in his arms before heading to the changing table in the baby room.
Amy smiled, knowing that Sonic would do just fine, and too tired to get up and check on him. Dr. Angel said it would take a few days for her body to recover. She did feel much lighter, though. And happy to see her babies.
Little Sierra cooed a little, and Amy was reminded of her decision just then. It'd been something she'd wanted to do, even though it could have some undesirable side effects. But Vanilla had encouraged her to do it, and Amy thought it'd be a good way to bond with her baby. She hadn't mentioned it to Sonic, and of course it was something he never would have thought of let alone brought up, but she knew he wouldn't disapprove. Besides, she'd already done it a few times at the hospital, while Sonic had been off on some errand.
After unbuttoning her shirt and then peeling off one of her bra straps, Amy gathered Sierra with her right arm, lifting her up to her chest. She then took her breast with her left hand, and brought the nipple close to Sierra's mouth, hoping her little baby instincts would take over. Sierra glanced at it curiously and grabbed it, but then wrapped her toothless mouth around Amy's nipple and started gently sucking.
It tickled like crazy, and Amy had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. After a moment, though, she allowed herself to relax and let her daughter drink to her heart's content. She could feel life and energy being transferred to her little one, and it just felt so right. Once again, she was so mesmerized by her daughter that Amy didn't notice the gust of wind that signaled Sonic was back.
For one of the first times in Sonic's life, he didn't want to move. All he could do was just stare at Amy, transfixed by just how peaceful she looked while feeding her daughter. It was just such a serene image. His eyes welled up once again, and a smile appeared on his muzzle. He would have just continued staring if Chase hadn't let out an unexpected wail, making the other three jump out of their skin, and breaking the ideal image.
Amy blushed at being so exposed and caught in the act, and tried to hide the urge to cover herself as Sonic came closer.
"I think he's hungry, too," Sonic said, indicating he wanted to exchange babies. Amy nodded, and they did so.
"How'd it go?" Amy asked as she tried to adjust Chase to get him to drink as well, but the boy was squirming and crying.
Sonic forced his eyes up to meet Amy's, hating himself for blushing at the awkwardness. She's gotta feed the twins, Sonic. That's what they're for, anyway.
"Just fine. I actually did pay attention to Vanilla, you know. Though they haven't really eaten anything yet."
Amy nodded, having finally got Chase to stop squirming. Now if she could just get him to feed..."Not for awhile, either."
Sonic nodded and glanced down at Sierra before looking back at Amy, not failing to see the resemblance. "Heh," he muttered before taking Sierra to the change table.
"This is no big deal," Sonic told himself as he set Sierra down. She was squirming less than Chase was, probably because she'd just eaten.
Remembering the steps in his head, Sonic placed a new, clean diaper under Sierra before taking hold of her kicking feet, unbuttoning her old diaper, wiping her area down, discarding the mess, and securing the new diaper on.
In record time, Sonic thought confidently. You're a real natural, blue.
Amy was contently suckling Chase when she heard Sonic cooing, "Well, Miss Sierra, I do believe you are all clean now." She had couldn't resist a giggle, as Sonic sounded so cute with his "baby-voice." Chase looked up at her curiously, wondering why she was interrupting his snack, and Amy smiled down at him. "Your daddy is really silly, Chase."
"Miss Sierra, your mommy always talks about me behind my back. I hope you don't grow up like that." Sonic gave Amy a playful glare across the living room.
Amy looked up. "Sonic, you're making me laugh, and Chase needs to eat before he sleeps."
As if on cue, the boy hedgehog pulled away from her breast, his little pink tongue licking his lips. Aw.
"You wanna, uh, put them to bed?" Sonic asked awkwardly.
Amy yawned. "Okay." She brought her much lighter figure to her feet, cradling a sleepy Chase in her arms. Sonic followed her with an already dozing Sierra. Sonic and Amy set the twins inside their respective cribs, turning on the security system Tails had installed.
"Good night, my darlings," Amy said softly, trying to memorize every feature. There was simply no doubt she loved both of them to pieces.
"Good night, guys," Sonic said. "Sleep well, but call us if you need us."
After the two came out, they lingered awkwardly at the corner of the room, neither of them eager to sit down. Amy had planned on making an early night of it, since they weren't likely to get much sleep anyway. And Sonic? Well, he'd been sleeping on the couch whenever he'd decided to spend the night, mostly to give Amy her space. But now...no, don't be a pig!
Amy continued to stare at him, able to read his mind. She smiled kindly. "Not yet, Sonic. We have to wait until..." Yet another hint was dropped, and Amy was sure that Sonic got it when he turned away from bashfulness and not disappointment.
He nodded. "Yeah. I know. Patience and all that junk." Sonic took her hands, though, and gave Amy a nice, long good night kiss. "Good night, my rose."
Amy looked deeply into his eyes. "Good night, my...Sonic."
She gave him an innocent wink and then slinked off to her room, alone, wondering how long she'd be able to lay down before the twins cried to let her know something wasn't right. Amy was asleep before her head hit the pillow, pushing off into the fantasy world of dreams, but knowing that reality was much sweeter now than it had been 9 months ago, to the day.
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While settling down onto the very couch where all of this had started from, Sonic found he just couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the knowledge that his own flesh and blood was dozing off in the other room, and that he'd have to get up and check on them eventually. Maybe it was because the reality of the miracle that had just happened was still fresh, and still amazing. Maybe it was just the fact that he was a light sleeper.
But most of all, it was the decision that in his next free moment, although it wasn't likely to come soon now that he had twins to take care of, would be spent picking out diamonds, so that he and Amy could raise the twins how children were supposed to be raised: in a true family. Maybe they would be marrying young, but he would wait for a while, and there was already this unbreakable bond between them. Two adorable baby hedgehogs, the personification of proof that good can come from mistakes, through forgiveness.
And love.
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The End, of one of my favorite stories to write. Yes, you heard me. Some parts were hard, but it was worth it, to be able to write these touching scenes in the end. Having to go through all that...it makes these scenes sweeter. While I may not approve of the act that Sonic and Amy did, I do approve of how they handled it afterward. If anyone is in a similar situation, I encourage you to do what they did: keep the baby, take responsibility. :)
For those of you who are going to beg "Sequel!", I have just four words for you: "A Whole New World." You remember that story? Yeah, me neither. BUT I simply must finish that before I do anything else. The GOOD news is that I do have a tentative idea for a sort of continuation, like how Chase and Sierra grow up and stuff, and the pressures Sonic and Amy feel about being teen parents. So there may be a sequel, but not for awhile.
Anyway, I want to extend a HUGE thank you to all you reviewers for your ideas, support, and well, reviews. Thank you! And if you all liked this story, I think Samantha27 deserves some thanks and kind words, too. After all, it was her idea, I just filled in the gaps and put it into words.
So thank you, Samantha27, for your patience, understanding, idea, PMs, and just support. Because of you and this story, I've thought of some things I've never thought of before. So thanks! ^_^
And...I guess this is it. *wipes tear* I'll catch ya on the flip side, guys and gals. Hope you all enjoyed.