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

Chapter Five – A Desire to Be Free

The sound of a baby crying aroused Sonic from his slumber. He let out a tired groan as he slowly sat up in bed and looked around the room. He yawned and stretched before climbing out of bed and noticed the crying still hadn't stopped. He cautiously stepped out of the bedroom and looked down the hall only to see no trace of Amy anywhere.

"Amy?" He called only to receive no answer.

He stepped back into the bedroom and noticed the bathroom door was opened on a crack and he could hear the sound of water running. He braced himself as he opened the door slightly and peaked inside. His face flushed and his eyes immediately fell to the floor when he caught a glimpse of Amy in the shower. She was happily singing and humming to herself, completely oblivious of Sonic's presence.

Sonic cleared his throat, still keeping his eyes on the floor. "The baby's crying." He tried to say but she couldn't hear him over the running water and her own singing.

"All I want for Christmas is you!" She sang while lathering up her quills with shampoo.

Sonic blushed and tried again. "Amy!" He said louder.

Upon hearing her husband's voice, Amy stopped her singing and turned around in confusion. She opened the shower door and looked at Sonic curiously. "Yes, Sonic?"

Sonic's face was as red as a tomato and he made sure his eyes remained glued to the tile floor. "Um, the baby is crying." He told her, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

"Oh, Sonic." Amy laughed. "Don't think you can try and get out of this one!"

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked, perplexed.

"It's your turn to take care of Rosy and you know it!" She told him playfully, shutting the door and resuming her shower.

Sonic merely stood there for a moment unsure of what to do. He had no idea how to take care of a baby. He quietly left the bathroom and slowly made his way down the hall to the nursery. As he entered the room, his emerald eyes fell on a baby pink hedgehog crying in her crib. He approached the crib apprehensively unsure of what he was supposed to do. He never even held a baby before.

"Uh…shh! Don't cry, Rosy! I'm here now! Everything's gonna be okay!" He tried to reassure the little girl. Rosy just simply ignored her father's words of encouragement and continued to cry. Sonic rubbed the back of his head nervously. He had no idea what he was doing. He unlatched the door part of the crib lowering it so he could pick Rosy up. If he could confidently save the world and fight bad guys with ease surely he should be able to hold his daughter and stop her from crying, right? He took a deep breath before gently placing his hands under her two tiny arms and carefully lifted the little girl up. She continued her crying fit as he held her up and he found himself beginning to panic.

"Why are you crying? What do you want me to do?" He asked her, feeling overwhelmed already.

Was she hungry? Maybe she needed to be changed? He quickly glanced around the nursery until his eyes fell on a changing table. It was worth a shot, besides he didn't have any better ideas at the moment. He held the little hedgehog awkwardly, holding her away from him as though she were an explosive device, and carried her over to the changing table. He gently placed her down on a soft mat and she already started to quiet her cries as if she knew what he was going to do.

"Now what do I do?" He thought to himself unsurely, looking at all of the supplies on the table. He saw baby powder, diapers, wipes, and towels. He assumed the first thing to do of course was remove her diaper. No big deal, he could handle this. He unhooked the latches on both sides of the diaper and slowly pulled the front part of the diaper down.

"Holy Chaos!" He exclaimed, quickly pulling her diaper back up. He pinched his nose with one hand and recoiled. How exactly was he supposed to do this? He felt his confidence beginning to dwindle. He closed his eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath. "I can do this!" He told himself, trying to regain his confidence.

"Morning daddy." He heard a little voice say, startling him from his thoughts. He turned to see Dash entering the room and staring up at him curiously. Now that Sonic had an audience, he felt even more uncomfortable.

"Uh, morning Dash." He replied, turning his attention back onto his daughter who was squirming around on the changing table.

Dash decided to watch his father and took a seat on a rocking horse in the middle of the room. Sonic decided the only way he would get through this was if he did it very quickly. He gently held his daughter's legs up, pulled the diaper down and slid it off away from her. He felt his stomach churn as he rolled the soiled diaper up into a ball and quickly disposed of it in the nearby waste basket. He looked at the baby supplies assorted about on the table and took a handful of wipes. After much hesitation, he wiped Rosie's bottom clean and threw the dirty wipes out.

"What is Amy feeding this kid?" He wondered to himself as he opened a new bag of diapers. Now this was going to be the hard part. He had no idea how to actually put the diaper on. Rosy was happily cooing at her father, feeling much better now that she was clean. Sonic was having trouble getting her diaper on because she kept kicking her little legs in every direction. She seemed very energetic and playful when she wasn't crying and her seemingly boundless energy made him wonder if she had also inherited his speed. Sonic started to cough when he accidentally added too much baby powder. He couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed knowing Dash was watching his every move. As Sonic secured the latches on the diaper he felt a sense of pride. He did it. He successfully changed her diaper and lived to tell about it.

"There, all done!" He exclaimed proudly as he gently lifted his daughter up. The diaper which had been put on backwards slid off her bottom and fell onto the changing table. Sonic's proud smile quickly fell and he turned to see Dash putting his hands over his mouth, trying to hold back his giggles.

Later that day, Sonic found himself being dragged to the local grocery store with Amy and the kids. To say he felt a tad bit miserable would be an understatement. This was exactly why he didn't want to pursue a romantic relationship with Amy. Because all he would be was tied down to do these mundane tasks such as shopping and tending to Amy's every need. He felt as though Amy had some invisible leash wrapped tightly around Sonic's neck, preventing him from his freedom. Sure, he really liked the kids and he had a lot of fun with them earlier that morning during breakfast, but this was where he drew the line.

They were currently walking through the produce isle. Rosy sat in the baby seat of the shopping cart kicking her little legs excitedly and looking around attentively with her wide emerald eyes while Dash stayed close to his mother's side holding on to the cart. Sonic was found trailing behind, arms crossed, and pouting childishly. He wanted to leave. He seemed pretty useless there anyway. Amy stopped in front of an assortment of vegetables and began looking through them. Sonic let out an exasperated sigh. He tapped his foot impatiently and the burning desire to run was making him extremely antsy. He watched as Dash ventured away from the shopping cart and began to rummage through a box of raw string beans.

"No Dash, put them back." Amy suddenly said, catching Dash trying to eat a couple.

"Aw…but mama I'm hungry!" The little hedgehog whined.

"I know, but we're almost done!" Amy tried to reassure him.

"I promise I'll get you a chocolate chip cookie from the bakery on our way out." She told him.

A big smile formed on Dash's face. "Yay!" The little hedgehog cheered. "My favorite!"

Amy began sifting through a box containing broccoli. "Sonic what do you think about…" She started to say, but as she turned to face her husband she saw him standing aloof, not paying much attention, and looking rather agitated.

"Sonic?" She asked, beginning to worry.

His ears perked up and he looked in her direction. "Huh?"

"Is everything alright?" She asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" He said, trying to hide his obvious discomfort.

"Well, you just seem a little…annoyed." She pointed out.

"Well, maybe I am." He blurted out loud without thinking.

Amy was taken aback by his tone of voice. Something was wrong. She temporarily turned her attention on to Dash. "Sweetheart, would you like to help mommy find some juicy red apples?" She asked.

He nodded. She pointed to a bin across from them filled with apples. "Stay where I can see you and don't talk to anyone, okay?" He nodded again. "Okay mommy!" He said with a smile before dashing off to gather some apples.

Amy turned her attention back onto her irritated husband. "Sonic, what's wrong?" She asked him.

Sonic was finding it incredibly difficult to keep his inner thoughts to himself. "Oh, you know, just the fact that this is what I do with my life now. I spend every day trapped with you and the kids and I never even get to so much as jog around the neighborhood let alone go out anywhere." He said bitterly.

Amy let out a gasp. She looked at Sonic feeling shocked and hurt. Where did this come from all of a sudden? "What's gotten into you?" She asked, her voice mixed with hurt and anger.

"Nothing, forget it! It's always about you and what you want anyway!" He yelled in exasperation while raising his hands into the air.

"Even when we were kids Amy, it was always about what you wanted from me! You never cared about how I felt on anything!" He continued angrily.

Amy stomped her foot and clenched her fists. "Sonic, that's not true! I always care about how you feel! What's your problem?" Amy yelled, unable to control her anger.

Sonic laughed humorlessly. "My problem is that you stole my freedom from me!"

Amy's sudden anger instantly dissolved into pure hurt. She looked at Sonic in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She felt the all too familiar pang in her chest and she fought hard to hold back the tears that were beginning to form in her jade colored eyes. She couldn't allow the children to see her cry and she didn't want to give Sonic the satisfaction either.

Sonic continued, unable to control his raging emotions, and failing to notice how much he had just hurt Amy's feelings. "Is this the only thing I do now since I married you? Stay home and take care of the kids, change diapers, and go grocery shopping? Don't I ever get to do anything else? Are my days of running and going on adventures completely over now?" He yelled incredulously.

Amy squeezed her eyes shut, unable to take any more of his selfish bickering. "Shut up, Sonic!" She suddenly yelled.

Sonic's eyes grew wide and the realization of what he had just said to her began to quickly sink in. He could see Amy shaking from her hurt and fury and he instantly regretted everything he just said. He just exploded. He didn't mean to hurt her feelings. He hadn't even realized what he was saying until it was too late. "Amy…I-" He tried to apologize but she cut him off.

"If that's the way you feel, then why did you even ask me to marry you?" She said, her voice cracking a little.

Sonic frowned, feeling guilt rise into his heart. He saw a stray tear rolling down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly. "Amy, wait, let me explain…I-" But she shook her head and cut him off again.

"There's nothing to explain Sonic. If our family means so little to you, then why don't you just leave?" She told him coldly.

Now it was Sonic's turn to have his feelings hurt. He looked at Amy with a sad and pleading expression on his face. By now, Rosy began to whimper and squirm in her seat, sensing her parent's animosity. Amy quickly composed herself, willing her tears away, and began cooing her baby back to a tranquil, happy state.

"Momma, I got the apples!" Dash announced as he came running back with his arms full of red apples. He had grabbed so many that some were falling onto the floor.

Amy forced a smile. "Thank you Dash, you picked some really nice ones." She said, pulling her son into a much needed hug. She kissed the top of his head before slowly pulling away.

"Come on. It's time to go home." She told him as she resumed pushing the shopping cart.

Amy didn't bother to check whether or not Sonic was following her. Her heart ached and she wondered why she even loved that hedgehog so much. Sonic stood behind for a moment feeling terrible about what he had said and done. Why was he so mad anyway? Because Amy needed to go grocery shopping? He shook his head feeling ashamed of himself. He let his own personal concerns about being strapped down into a relationship fester into some horrible monster and attacked her when she didn't even deserve it. He had already lost Amy as a friend in his world and now he was about to lose her again in this one.

Sonic slowly opened his bedroom door. "Amy…?" He called softly.

Neither of them had said a word to one another since their fight at the grocery store. Amy tried her hardest to act normal around the kids but Sonic could see the immense hurt in her expression and eyes. She was giving him the silent treatment, not even bothering to look at him and that hurt and affected Sonic more than having her yell at him or hit him with her Piko Piko Hammer. This was his entire fault and unlike back in his world seven years ago, he was determined to fix things between them. It was late at night, Amy had already put the kids to bed and now they were completely alone.

"Amy?" Sonic tried again after receiving no answer.

He quietly entered their bedroom and could see Amy lying in bed with her back towards him. Sonic frowned and slowly approached her. "Amy…can we talk? Please?" He asked her in a sad, pleading voice. He could hear her sniffling and knew she had been crying.

"Go away Sonic! I don't want to talk to you!" She whimpered.

Sonic felt a stabbing pain in his heart but tried to ignore it. He sat down on his side of the bed quietly, refusing to take his eyes off of her. Why was it that he always hurt her? Sometimes he wondered why she even loved him at all.

"Well…how about I talk and you listen then?" He suggested in a low voice.

When he received no response from her he let out a sigh. "Amy…I'm sorry about what I said today…I didn't mean to hurt you…I was just…" He paused and looked down.

"It's very hard to explain." He stated honestly.

"Like I said before…there's nothing to explain." Amy sobbed into her pillow.

"You obviously don't want to be with me and the kids anymore." She refused to turn around and look at him and hugged the blankets tightly, desperate for warmth and comfort.

Sonic frowned and closed his eyes. "I'm just going through a hard time right now…I didn't mean anything that I said today…" He told her honestly.

A long silence fell between them before Amy spoke again. "Really…?" She asked in a soft voice.

She finally turned around to look at him and he felt his heart sink. Her beautiful face was stained with her tears and she looked so vulnerable and despondent. "Is that why you were acting kind of strange yesterday?" She asked, sniffling and wiping the tears from her eyes. He nodded.

"Sonic, please tell me what's bothering you." She pleaded.

Sonic laid down beside her and gently took her hand in his. "I guess I've just been feeling a little…trapped lately."

"Is it because of me? Did I do something wrong?" She asked in worry, her eyes starting to brim with fresh tears.

"No, it's not like that." He reassured her.

"It's just…" He paused, unsure what to really say to her.

How can he possibly explain what he was feeling? He was beginning to feel very confused and conflicted. "Well…have you ever woken up one morning and wondered…how you got there?" He asked her, trying to get her to relate to his current circumstances.

Amy squeezed his hand supportively. "Of course I have, plenty of times." She admitted.

He looked at her in mild surprise. "Really?" He asked her. She nodded.

"We've been through so much together…I still have a hard time believing this is all real sometimes." A small smile tugged at her lips. "If you were to travel back in time and tell me that we would one day get married, I wouldn't have even believed it."

A small giggle escaped her and Sonic couldn't help but slightly chuckle too. She looked deep into his emerald eyes. "I still think back to that Christmas Eve…where you confessed your love to me."

A nervous laugh escaped her lips. "I was actually really afraid…I was so scared that when I asked you how you felt…you were going to tell me you didn't love me…" She looked away from him and Sonic didn't fail to notice the light blush forming on her cheeks.

"I was so surprised when you pulled me into a strong hug and told me how you felt. You have no idea how happy you made me." She told him with a new batch of fresh tears forming in her eyes. She pulled him into a warm embrace, relishing the feeling of his closeness. Sonic's cheeks flushed and he felt his heart beginning to race. He found himself slowly returning the embrace.

"After that, everything just seemed to fall into place." She stated, hugging him tighter.

"Two years later you proposed to me and we got married, moved into this house, had Dash and Rosy…and now here we are." She said softly, reminiscing the past seven years they spent together.

Sonic blushed. Everything happened so fast. They really didn't wait long did they? For the next couple of minutes neither of them spoke. They just closed their eyes and enjoyed each other's closeness. After a while, Amy opened her eyes and looked back up at her cobalt husband.

"Sonic?" She asked in almost a whisper.

He opened his eyes. "Yeah?" He said softly.

"You don't really feel like I'm taking away your freedom…do you?" She asked sadly.

Sonic frowned. "Amy…I-" He started but she cut him off before he could say anything.

"Because, I always thought you knew I supported everything you wanted to do. I always let you leave when you had to and would wait for you to return. I would wait an eternity for you if I had to." She told him passionately.

Sonic's eyes widened as she continued to ramble. "Remember when Dash was three? You were gone for months…and he really missed you. I know you're a hero, and I know you enjoy going on adventures. I thought we agreed that we were in this together…I never want to hold you back from what makes you happy Sonic, because I love you!" She exclaimed.

Sonic tried to speak again but still, she continued. "If it's because you hate going shopping with me, you don't have to come along anymore if you don't want to…But I thought you liked coming along. You used to always push the shopping carts and race them around with Dash sitting inside like it was some kind of race car." Sonic chuckled. That actually did sound like something he would do.

He quickly noticed whenever Amy was extremely nervous she had a really bad habit of rambling on like this. He recollected numerous times in the past where she had done the same exact thing and found himself smiling. He thought it was kind of cute in a way.

"Amy." He said, trying to get her to listen to him.

When she was about to continue he gently placed his finger on her lips. She froze instantly and met Sonic's intense gaze.

"Amy, everything I said earlier…I didn't mean any of it. I didn't know what I was talking about." He told her honestly.

He jumped to so many conclusions, even in the past in his own world. He always just assumed Amy would hold him down like some prisoner and not even care about his happiness at all but he was wrong. He was very wrong. He never gave her a chance and now he felt pretty terrible for judging her so quickly. His emerald eyes stared intensely into hers as overwhelming emotions began to stir within him.

"I'm sorry." He told her in a serious voice. "I'm sorry for all the times I've ever hurt you. For every time I've run away from you or let you down. I never wanted to hurt you, Amy."

Sonic had waited so many years to tell her he was sorry. Now that he finally was, he felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Amy stared at him with wide, stunned eyes. A smile formed on her pretty features and she slowly leaned in, capturing Sonic's lips in a sweet, tender kiss. Unlike last night, Sonic found himself closing his eyes and slowly kissing her back. His lips moved along with hers in perfect sync, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him, as their lips molded one another's passionately. A flame had ignited within Sonic's soul, sending a burning sensation throughout his entire body. He had never felt such an intense feeling before and he found himself wanting more. After a while they broke away from their heated kiss for some much needed air.

"I love you." Amy whispered breathlessly.

She kissed his cheek softly before lying down in his arms and snuggling into his chest. Sonic held her in his arms loosely, watching her as she closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep. His heart was still racing, beating faster than he could run. He had never felt such overwhelming emotions before. He continued to watch Amy sleeping peacefully in his arms and he gently held her closer. He was feeling so confused now. Did he still care about Amy as just a friend? He wasn't so sure anymore.