Rated: Fiction T (Teen) (PG-13) - English - Romance/Drama - Sonic & Amy

Chapter Four – A Strange Feeling

Sonic couldn't help but notice that all of his friends seemed a lot happier in this alternate universe and that things were a little different even with them. The annual Christmas parties that once took place every year at Tails' Workshop were now held at Sonic's home. Now he understood what Tails had meant when he mentioned coming over and why all of his friends happened to all be there when he arrived. He was currently trying to survive the aforementioned Christmas party. He took the party as an opportunity to try and learn more about his alternate lifestyle and even learn his way around the house. He didn't fail to notice the strange stares his friends had all given him at times where he seemed a little off. Luckily for him, he didn't have Amy hanging all over him. Most of her attention had been focused on cooking Christmas dinner and tending to the baby pink hedgehog quietly playing in her play pen. Sonic took a moment for the first time to really look at his supposed daughter. He leaned into the play pen to see her busily stacking blocks on top of each other. She actually looked an awful lot like him, sharing the same head of quills and emerald green eyes. But she had her mother's button nose, soft facial features, wide eyes, and rose pink fur. He inwardly laughed at how perfect her name was for her.

"Sonic! Would you go out back and tell Dash to come inside! It's time to eat!" He heard Amy call from the kitchen.

"Um, alright." He said a little awkwardly.

Sonic was still trying to digest all of this. Everything seemed so bizarre to him. As he made his way towards the sliding back door he couldn't help but feel a little nervous about meeting his son. He wasn't exactly sure why. Perhaps it was because unlike his daughter, Dash was older, could talk, and would probably want to interact with Sonic in some way in which he had no idea how. Sure, Sonic was great with kids, having spent the majority of his young life raising Tails as his adoptive little brother but that didn't seem to help his lack of confidence when it came to this situation. He slowly opened the door and stepped out into the cold backyard to see his son trying to build a snowman. Sonic was still in awe over how much the small hedgehog looked exactly like him. It was like looking into a mirror image of himself as a child.

"Hey, uh, Dash, it's time to come inside now!" Sonic called a little uncomfortably.

The little cobalt hedgehog turned his attention towards him and smiled excitedly. "Daddy!" He called as he immediately stopped what he was doing.

Before Sonic could even blink the little boy had quickly run up to him and tackled him to the ground in a strong hug. Sonic couldn't help but notice how similar this kid's bone crushing hugs were to his mother's. Dash sat up laughing happily as he looked down at his father lying seemingly helpless in the snow. "Let's build a snowman together!" He exclaimed, his little hand tugging on Sonic's. Sonic wordlessly allowed the child to lead him across the backyard to where he had been previously playing. The half made snowman Dash had been working on was leaning slightly over and was still lacking its head. Sonic couldn't help but smile as he watched the little boy grab pieces of snow and pack it into the snowman's body.

Feeling a little more relaxed and less uncomfortable, Sonic began to play along by rolling up snow to start making the snowman's head. They did this for a couple of minutes until Sonic had made a large enough snowball and was ready to place it on the snowman's body. Everything seemed so perfect at first until Sonic had attempted to place the head on its body. Then, within seconds, Sonic watched helplessly as everything fell apart. The extra weight added to the crooked snowman was too much for it to remain stabilized and it fell down sideways, crashing into the snow in pieces. Sonic let out a small gasp as he turned his attention back on Dash who was staring at the fallen snowman with a deep frown. His lower lip quivered and Sonic could see the tears beginning to brim his jade colored eyes.

"Please don't cry! We can build another one!" Sonic said quickly, trying to cheer up the despondent hedgehog.

But his words seemed to have no effect on the five year old boy who stared sadly at the fallen remains of their snowman. Dash was unable to hold back his unshed tears and began to cry. Sonic found himself freaking out unsure of what to do to make him feel better. What was he supposed to do?

"We can do something else! We can uh, race each other, or maybe have a snowball fight!" Sonic suggested, desperate to get the kid to stop crying.

At the sound of those suggestions Dash's cries were suddenly reduced to that of soft whimpers and he quickly wiped his eyes. He looked back up at his father and smiled. "Okay!" He said, turning back into his cheerful self. Sonic let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

Without another word, Dash ran away from his father in a burst of speed. Sonic smiled cockily as he ran after his son, happy to see he had inherited his speed. The little hedgehog quickly hid behind a tree, giggling excitedly. Sonic stopped running and pretended he didn't know where Dash had gone. "Wow, little guy! You sure are fast…Where did you go?" Sonic teased.

He felt a snowball suddenly hit the back of his head and he turned to see Dash laughing and running away from him. "You better run!" Sonic said playfully, a confident grin tugging at his lips. He quickly gathered up some snow and turned it into a snowball and began chasing after the little hedgehog. He gently threw it at Dash, successfully hitting him in the back and Dash turned around to toss another snowball at Sonic, successfully hitting him in the face. Sonic found himself falling backwards into the snow laughing and Dash ran back over to him and tackled him, beginning to tickle his sides.

The two cobalt hedgehogs were so involved in their tickle fight that they had failed to notice the back sliding door open. "Sonic, what's taking so-" Amy began to say but stopped when she noticed the sweet father son moment. She smiled tenderly as she watched the two of them. She loved watching Sonic play with the kids. He was such a good father. She was actually feeling relieved to see Sonic acting a little more like himself again. He had been acting rather odd all day today but kept assuring her that he was fine. She felt bad that she had to interrupt them but dinner was on the table.

"Dash, sweetheart, it's time to come inside!" She called.

Dash tore his attention away from his father and looked up at his mother. "Aw, but mama…we're having fun!" He whined.

"No buts! It's time to eat!" She told him, beckoning him to come inside. "You can play with your father after dinner." She reassured him.

After hearing that, the little hedgehog stood up out of the snow and ran to his mother's side. "Okay." He said, giving her a hug.

Sonic sat in the snow staring at Amy in wonder. He was actually a little impressed with how good she was with the kids and how well behaved Dash was. His polite and sweet nature reminded him a lot of how Cream used to be when she was little.

Amy scooped the little hedgehog up into her arms and rubbed her nose against his. "Let's get you all cleaned up first!" She said with a smile.

Her attention then fell on Sonic. "Come inside honey before you catch a cold!"

Sonic felt the heat rise in his cheeks. He was going to have a hard time getting used to this. Every instinct in his body told him to run and get out of there. He took one last glance at Dash before Amy carried him inside and smiled. He actually had fun for the first time in what felt like ages. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

Sonic stood in the middle of his bedroom apprehensively. He never imagined he could ever feel so uncomfortable about going to sleep before. He was relieved to have the Christmas party be over and for the fact that Amy was the one putting the kids to bed. She must have noticed how physically drained he looked. He let out a nervous sigh as he edged himself closer to the inviting bed. He was exhausted and the urge to sleep was growing steadily stronger within him but he was afraid to sit down on the bed so much as lay on it. He was terrified because he had to share the bed alone with Amy. Just thinking about it made his stomach churn in unease. After much hesitation he managed to calm himself down slightly and sit on the edge of the bed. He took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. As if on cue the bedroom door opened revealing the very pink hedgehog he was afraid to be alone with. She came into the bedroom with a smile on her face and looked over at Sonic. "The kids are asleep." She told him. He nodded in understanding, hoping she would allow him to fall asleep too.

She walked over to the dresser and pulled out a lavender colored night gown and neatly placed it on the bed. Sonic watched her every move nervously. He felt his leg's twitch with the desire to run as far away from there as possible and his hands tightly gripped the edge of the bed almost painfully. When he looked back up at Amy, he nearly fell off the bed. She had begun changing right there in front of him and was only in her bra and underwear. "A-Amy! W-What are you doing?" He stammered in a panic. His cheeks flushed a light red and he turned away from her bashfully.

Amy looked at him in confusion. "Hmm? What's wrong?" She asked.

She noticed him turn away from her shyly, refusing to look back up at her. "Y-You're taking off your clothes!" He said almost childishly.

She blinked. "So…? It's nothing you haven't already seen before." She told him playfully.

At that remark, Sonic's eyes widened slightly and his cheeks burned even more.

"You know…" Amy continued with a mischievous grin. She walked up to him and lightly pushed him down onto the bed. "Usually, I can't get your hands off me."

By now Sonic's cheeks were as red as Knuckles. He stared at her completely paralyzed feeling his heart hammering so hard into his chest he thought it would burst. This was the exact reason why he was afraid to be alone with Amy. "In fact…weren't you the one who said we should have another baby?" She teased, climbing on top of him.

Sonic gulped nervously. He had never felt so terrified in his entire life. He watched helplessly as her face came closer to his own and she giggled sweetly as she rubbed her nose against his. Their lips brushed up against one another's softly before Amy slowly deepened the kiss. Sonic's eyes grew as wide as saucers as he lay trapped beneath Amy's petite form. His heart pounded painfully in his chest and he felt an unfamiliar warmth beginning to fill his entire core. What was this feeling? She pulled away slowly to look into his emerald eyes and a small hint of disappointment filled Sonic's heart. He stared at her intensely, as though her kiss had awakened something hidden deep within him.

"You're so beautiful…" He breathed.

Now it was Amy's turn to blush. Since Sonic had awoken in this strange alternate world he never once took the time to really look at Amy. Now that he was, he couldn't help but notice the beautiful woman she had become. She was no longer that little girl who used to chase him around everywhere he went. He continued to study her face and eyes, getting lost in every detail.

"How are you doing that?" She asked in almost a whisper.

"Doing what?" He said in a soft voice, still in a daze.

"Look at me as though you haven't seen me in years."

She looked deep into his eyes, as if trying to find some hidden secret he kept from her. Sonic began to fall out of his stupor. He wasn't sure how to answer that question. To him, he truly was looking deeply at the girl he hadn't seen in years. Before he could respond she got up from the bed with an excited smile on her face.

"I'll be right back." She said giddily as she ran to the bathroom.

Sonic looked at her retreating figure questioningly. He slid himself up on the bed and made himself comfortable amongst the warm woolen blankets. Meanwhile, Amy was attempting to make herself look even more desirable. She actually felt faint by the intense way Sonic was looking at her. It sent a shiver down her spine and she wanted to make tonight extra special for him.

"Okay, I'm ready!" She announced excitedly as she reentered the bedroom. Her jade eyes fell on the dozing cobalt hedgehog snuggled in bed. She smiled at him sadly, feeling a little disappointed, and pulled the blankets up to keep him warm. She knew he was feeling tired. He seemed really stressed out and distracted all day. She sighed as she changed into her night gown and crawled into bed beside him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him from behind, snuggling into his head quills.

"Goodnight Sonic, I love you." She whispered.

Sonic opened his eyes slightly as he felt her relax beside him. Her grip on him loosened and her breathing softened indicating that she had fallen asleep. He lay still, lost in thought, feeling considerably troubled. Something strange had come over him the moment Amy had kissed him. He touched his lips gingerly as he remembered the way her soft lips felt against his own. He was disturbed to say the least, disturbed because deep down…he kind of liked it. So much that he had actually wanted more. That thought terrified him. What was wrong with him? Amy was his friend. He just missed her company that's all. He got caught up in the moment of being with her again after so long. He squeezed his eyes shut. This isn't what he wanted. He wanted his old life back. Back to where he was as free as the wind itself, back to not being chained down to a relationship. He knew this glimpse wasn't the life he wanted. This glimpse was what Amy had always wanted from him. Their whole relationship in this world felt very one sided to him. Did he even have the freedom to leave as he pleased, to go on adventures, or even a short run? He doubted it. He tried to fall asleep, hoping that this was all just some crazy dream and he'll wake up tomorrow morning in his nice warm bed back at Tails' Workshop.