In Due Season

IN DUE SEASON

Chapter I

Hidden Nightmares Open Doors

      Bright lights seared his young vision while terrifying sounds pierced his small ears.  He couldn't remember when or how he got there, but he knew that he was horrified by this place; he hated it.  There were tall creatures, scary creatures, that he had never seen before, looming over him, poking and prodding him with all kinds of terrible things he couldn't put names to.  He wanted to be safe in his mother's arms again but instead tears streamed down his cheeks, staining the laboratory table he was pinned to.  All he knew was that this was painful and he needed his 'mama'.  He would have cried out for her if it wasn't for the tube coming out of his mouth, the tube they forced down his throat.

      All his wild flailing and desperate attempts for escape were met with harsh opposition as the strange beings held his tiny frame down.  He heard them speaking, their passing around of bottles and tools, their bustling to and fro.  The sounds caused anxiety to rise in the youngster's heart with every passing minute of this agony.  His tears came out more profusely as he choked on the hunk of plastic invading his mouth.  The worst was yet to come.  What he would later learn to call needles was soon to become the apex of his fear as one of the creatures held one.  All the trauma up to this point didn't measure up to the dreadful moment his eyes locked onto this individual's cold reflective goggles, this person was smiling.

      Just as he was about to stick in the needle, this man, the professor, was smiling . . .

      "No!" Sonic started out of his hellish nightmare, shooting straight up in his bed with another gasp.  He was gripping the sheets with his hands so tightly that his knuckles were white.  With wild eyes and fast, shallow breathing, he was in a state of nothing short of terror.  As his brow began gathering sweat he looked around cautiously.  It took a full minute for his anxiety to subside long enough for him to realize that it was the dream again.  At least he hadn't finished it this time.  He glanced down at Amy, still asleep beside him, snoring softly and unaware of his fright.  He quietly thanked heaven for her being such a sound sleeper.  He didn't really feel like talking about this particular issue, to which he knew she would ask.  He'd much rather keep the disturbing thing to himself.

      Sonic laid a hand on his pounding heart as he sighed in exhaustion and frustration.  This dream had been going off and on for weeks now, waking him up and bothering him for hours after.  He had been troubled by nightmares like this before.  When he was younger they were vivid, almost like memories, but throughout his life their intensity faded, nothing more than bad dreams.  However, now it was as if the horror from his youth had come back to haunt him once more. It was taking its toll on the hedgehog and nothing showed it more than his dull eyes and drooping ears.  Amy had asked him once why he looked so tired but he quickly ascribed it to another source, the baby.  Though he loved his child very much, sleeping in peacefully on cold mornings like this had quickly become a thing of the past.


      "Oh," the blue hedgehog breathed as he recognized the soft cries of his daughter coming from the bassinet next to their bed.  "I'm sorry sweetie, did I wake you up," he said lovingly as he crawled out from under his warm comforter and tip toed over the cold wood floor to the upset little hedgehog.  He figured his short scream from earlier must have startled her awake as he gently reached down and collected her in his arms.  "Daddy didn't mean to scare you Kimi," he whispered, rocking her softly.  He still wasn't use to holding such a small, fragile life in his hands that he was willing to give the world for.  This triggered the many anxieties of fatherhood in his mind.  
      
      Was this the right thing?  Did he really know what he was doing?  Was this a mis . . . no. He couldn't afford to think like that, they couldn't afford that.  At this moment, he just needed her to calm down and hush the cries that were stirring his own distress further.  Slowly, but surely, little Kimi's crying subsided into burbling and soft breathing as she felt safe in her father's embrace.  Sonic gazed down at her tiny face and melted in the awe of how much he loved his little girl.  She settled comfortably in his chest and arms and, though he didn't know it, she helped the anxiety of his nightmare and fatherly inadequacies wash away.

      "You got me wrapped around your little finger already, do you know that?" he smiled warmly.  Kimi opened her emerald eyes and looked up intently at her father's face as he smiled at her.  She in turn cooed loudly, showing a toothless grin and fidgeting a little by kicking her tiny legs and grasping with small fingers.  "See, I think you do know," her father declared, nuzzling her tummy playfully with his muzzle.  He decided that, sense he probably wasn't going to get much sleep tonight anyway, he might as well spend that time with his daughter.  
      
      He looked out the window of the inn they were staying in due to the loss of their home during a blizzard a few months ago.  It was small but nice considering the circumstances.  They had spent the last part of December with Cream and her mother, Vanilla, due to the incident with their home, but they had finally moved to the Philip's Accent Inn.  It did suit them better being the couple was very independent in nature.  Plus, Sonic knew that Vanilla, though very nice and patient, was happy to see the newborn baby leave her home.  Now it had been about three months since the family moved into the intimate space and they were still in the process of getting a new house.  

      Sonic looked to the bitter cold outside, noting that the snow had ceased for the most part. He reached back into the bassinet and pulled out Kimi's comforter that Cream knitted. Shivering a bit himself, Sonic wrapped the baby in her blanket and carried her back over to his bed, his cold feet anticipating the warmth.  Once in bed, he gently laid Kimi next to him and rolled over on his side, propping his head up with an arm so that he wasn't only facing Kimi but Amy as well.  As he looked at the two most important people in his life he couldn't help but smile.

      The blue blur wasn't prone to mushy stuff or the warm fuzzes often, but for the past months he couldn't shake them.  As he placed a hand on his daughter's tummy and leaned over to rest his chin on top of his wife's head he still had trouble believing it was real.  He never would have pictured this years ago.  In fact, it felt like only yesterday that he claimed he'd never date let alone start a family.  He even recalled a bet with Knuckles over the issue.  'I bet you fifty that you'll marry before any of us, Sonic.'  Thinking it was a sucker's bet; Sonic raised the echidna double and had a deal.  Five years later and a hundred rings poorer the hedgehog was indeed married before all of them and even had a kid.  

      Shortly after snuggling down further into the blankets, a wave of tiredness overwhelmed him causing him to yawn and his eyelids to droop.

      "Man, guess I'll be gettin' a few winks after all," he said, looking down at Kimi to see that she had already nodded off.  With a short chuckle and a well placed kiss on both female's heads, Sonic lapsed into dreamland.  What he didn't know was that the weight of his chin resting on Amy's head was enough to slowly wake her up.  Slightly agitated that her sleep was interrupted, she jerked up her own chin which caused Sonic's head to lurch to the side which in turn freaked him out.

      "What?! What?"

      "Sonic? Oh, I'm sorry," Amy apologized groggily as she slowly sat up and stretched.

      "No it's okay I was up anyway," he said without thinking.

      "You were? Why?"  Even in the darkness of the room, Sonic could see the concern in her face.  He didn't want to give away the real reason he was awake, but he also couldn't help but feel guilty if he lied to her.

      "Well um . . ." The squirming of Kimi saved him from doing either.

      "Oh, there's my baby.  I see, she woke up," Amy reasoned as she collected the tiny bundle into her arms.

      "Yeah, she did," Sonic assured.  He wasn't lying, but he wasn't telling the whole truth.  Either way, it still made him feel lousy.

      "Thanks Sonic, but sweetie I think you need more rest then I do.  Why don't you go back to sleep.  I'll watch her."

      "Thank you, don't mind if I do," Sonic yawned as Amy giggled a bit.

      "Aren't you suppose to say something like 'are you sure honey'."

      "Only if your response is 'of course dear, now sleep sweetheart'."

      "Oh you," Amy said as she watched the blue hedgehog roll over and again drift off to sleep.  Amy smiled as she turned her attention back to the violet hedgehog who was now fascinated with mommy's hand.  Amy glanced at the wall clock to see that it was four-forty.  Not to early being she normally got up at five-thirty, unlike her mate who would sleep till noon if she let him.  Come to think about it though, it was a new habit of his; sleeping in late.  Recently he had been looking tired and even started taking short naps here and there, something he didn't use to do often.  She knew the new baby was an added strain, but she believed there was something he wasn't telling her.


      "Do you know sweetie that your dad is high maintenance," Amy said jokingly.  Kimi just burred at the sound of her mother's voice.  "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I married him, but sometimes he's a handful."  The pink hedgehog decided that she might as well get an early start on the day as she stood up out of bed.  She shifted Kimi to her right arm as she flicked on a small lamp on her bed stand.

      The baby hedgehog was startled for just a moment by the warm glow the light provided, but was soon back to investigating her own hands.  Amy smiled kindly at her cute little girl as she wiggled her feet into some pink slippers.  She decided to feed her daughter since the little one was awake now anyway.  Amy thought she was in for a busy morning, but as soon as she was done nursing Kimi, the little hedgehog went out like a light.  Amy looked at the sleeping baby in her arms and then to the sleeping form of her husband.

      "Great, guess I'm alone on the early shift huh?"  She sighed, knowing full well that it wouldn't be that easy for her to go back to sleep.  She quietly made her way back over to the bassinet and tucked Kimi in snugly before turning to face her dilemma.  What was she going to do for the next hour?  She could lie back down and try to go back to sleep, but that didn't appeal to the pink hedgehog especially now thanks to her husband who was hogging all the covers.

      "I know.  I'll just take a nice bath," she declared with glee as she quickly made her way over to the bathroom.  It had been forever since her last hot bath, being that Vanilla's home only had one bathroom to share; not to mention her newborn baby.  She was glad to have a place of her own, even if it was just an inn.  As she began to gather bubbles and soaps from the cupboards her mind wandered on to her old house.  Her heart ached.  It was her and Sonic's dream home.  The one he carried her into after getting married and almost tripping on the threshold while doing so.  Amy chuckled.

      Three years of marriage, the good and tough times, Christmas', birthdays, memories . . . destroyed by snow and wind.  They were able to recover items from the house such as pictures, some furniture, utensils, tools and trinkets, but the house was damaged beyond repair.  She told herself it was a trivial thing and she was more than thankful that her family was safe, but the day they had to tear it down, she cried.  Amy sighed as she ran the hot water.  Why was she thinking about such depressing things?  Then again, it gave her an opportunity to think about her friends.  

      They had been there for the family, helping out as much as they could when they could.  Amy almost laughed as she remembered Tails' offer to stay with him.  He meant well and his heart was in the right place, but a workshop with only a small living space available wasn't going to suit the needs of a small family.  The Rabbit family had been so kind, letting them stay. Rouge had brought over things for the new baby and Knuckles helped with the clean-up of their old home. She poured in the soap and filled the room with the smell of strawberries, something that calmed her nerves and gave her a since of familiarity.  She decided that even without her 'dream house' she wasn't going to remain upset.  There was no need to.  What was really important survived the storm and that was a reason to celebrate, not mope.

      With that she took off her night gown and slipped into the tub allowing the water to fill up almost to the top before shutting it off.

      "This is the life," she breathed, leaning back and enjoying the warmth, practically purring. The peace and quiet she was enjoying lasted all about five minutes before it was shattered by the short, muffled yelps and shouts of her husband.  When it registered to Amy what it was, she was out of the tub, towel draped around her and standing next to the bed side dripping in a matter of seconds.


      Sonic was finishing his horrible nightmare, thrashing and rolling all over the bed.  Amy didn't know what to do or what was going on.  In all the years she had known him, both before and after marriage, he had never behaved in such a way.

      "Sonic, Sonic!" she screamed in near hysteria, honestly frightened at how frightened he appeared to be.

      "No! No! No!" he voiced as if she wasn't there and he was speaking to someone else.  Kimi began crying again, jolted by all the screaming.

      "Wake up Sonic," Amy insisted, grabbing him by the shoulders as best she could and shaking him roughly.  This seemed to do the trick as his eyes fluttered open and his shouts and thrashing stopped in shock.  For a few moments, they both remained frozen.  Sonic looking disheveled and exhausted, Amy soaking wet and shivering, both scared.  Sonic recovered first by bringing his hands up to encase the ones Amy had on his shoulders.

      "I . . . I'm sorry . . ."

      "No, what's wrong? That had to be one heck of a nightmare Sonic," Amy intervened, still shaken by the screams.

      "Well I . . . ah, you're wet!"  Sonic cried out as some water dripped from Amy's quills onto his chest and sank through his tan fur.  The pink hedgehog apologized and quickly rose away from him.

      "Let me dry off.  Will you take care of Kimi?"

      "Yeah sure, no problem," Sonic complied, hoping Amy would drop the incident.  No such luck.

      "Then you can tell me what that was all about," Amy stated, making her way back to the bathroom before he had a chance to question or protest.  Sonic's features automatically shifted into a hurt scowl.  He was upset with the nightmare itself now.  The way it made him feel out of control, frightened and now he was going to have to at least try and explain himself to his wife.  Why had he fallen back to sleep?  He should have stayed awake like he always did, but then again maybe this wouldn't be so bad.  He could finally talk about his problems, his fears and emotions . . . what was he thinking, of course this was bad.  There had to be a way out of this.

      "So stupid, what's wrong with me?" he exasperated.  His thoughts were distracted by Kimi's cries for solace and for a brief moment, just a sliver of time, Sonic wanted to wail right along with her.  But instead, he quickly bottled up the frustrations, fears and exhaustion and corked it tightly.  He stood up out of bed and shuffled over to the crib.

      As before, he scooped up the baby and rocked her, jostled her, made funny faces at her, anything to get her to stop crying.  None of this worked though as Kimi insisted on driving her father crazy until she received the right comfort.


      "Please Kimi, Please!" he pleaded.  He caught himself becoming too discouraged and decided to take a deep breath to calm his nerves and hum an old hymn he had heard a long time ago.  To his surprise, Kimi stopped bawling and allowed the deep murmur to lull her back into slumber.  Sonic stopped humming and looked at her lovingly.  This father business was down-right difficult sometimes, but worth it at the same time, confusing.

      "Got her back to sleep?" Amy whispered from behind him, smiling as she dried her head quills with a white towel the inn provided.

      "Yeah." Sonic didn't turn to face his wife; worrying Amy as she watched him place Kimi gently back into the crib.  Something was wrong and as she watched him make his way over to the window with his back still to her she knew it was serious.  Knowing her husband for such a long time and on such intimate terms gave Amy the ability to not only tell something was deeply troubling him, but that it had been for some time.  To someone else it was just a bad dream, end of story, but the pink hedgehog knew better.  For a nightmare to even bother Sonic it had to be a pretty horrific, but for a dream to deprive him of sleep and peace of mind had to be unspeakable and that's what she was afraid of; he wouldn't speak about it.

      She had long since noticed the tired look in his eyes, replacing their usual brilliant twinkle with a dull glow.  She had kept quiet about it hoping he'd tell her in his own sweet time. 'Yeah Amy, don't hold your breath' she thought.  She feared he wouldn't open up about it and suffer alone, preventing her help.

      "Please, Sonic."  She gently wrapped an arm around his waist, feeling him tense up a bit.  He turned to her with a sad smile.  She knew Sonic wasn't very good at sharing emotions, at least, not in the way most shared feelings and inner thoughts.  Luckily, over the past years she had become accustomed to his ways, not always happy with them, but understanding.  She was sure it went both ways.  With a wide grin and a twinkle in her eyes she pulled away.

      "Ya hungry?" she asked.  Sonic quirked an eyebrow, but his smile was much brighter.

      "You bet.  Maybe some food will make me feel better."  Amy nodded and walked over to their small kitchen.  He followed deciding to help.

      "Pancakes sound good?"

      "Yeah!" Sonic exclaimed as he rummaged around for two plates and silverware in the few boxes they had.  Recently, they had been eating out or surviving on junk food.  Sonic was real excited about eating some of Amy's pancakes, even though it would be instant batter's recipe.  The pink hedgehog couldn't help but smile at her husband's joy.  She was surprised though when he came up and hugged her from behind.

      "Stop it Sonic.  I'm trying to cook," she protested, jokingly of course.

      "Oh, I just want to watch," he pouted.  Amy laughed.

      "From over my shoulder?  Kind of difficult to do anything with you all over me?"


      "Well, not anything," Sonic said mischievously.  Amy huffed, but blushed all the same, before smacking him upside the head with her spatula.

      "Cut it out you," she scowled, not meaning anything by it.  Sonic chuckled.

      "Alright, alright."  He kissed her on the cheek, letting her go.  How he loved her so much. But that brought him back to his nightmare as he sat down in one of the dining chairs.  Maybe he should tell her, but then he didn't want to burden her either.  He watched Amy flip a few flap jacks as he thought about the disturbing dream and its reoccurrence.  Was it just something he ate before bed or a vision of the future, a memory from the past or just some dumb, scary reoccurring dream?  Getting lost in his reflections he didn't notice Amy had finished or that she had placed the pancakes in front of him.

      "Sonic? Hello, Sonic," Amy called as she waved a fork in front of his face.

      "Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly as he took the fork from her.  Amy felt a bit frustrated by his attitude; that he was still not talking.  She was starting to believe she would never get an answer until . . .

      "Ames?"  She glanced back at her husband's features.  He appeared sad and scared; not the typical 'opps I forgot our anniversary' look, but this was a distant, almost unapproachable, sorrow and dread in his eyes.  He was aching inside and she could feel it.  She let go of her irritation and sat down next to him.

      "I love you Sonic," she said wrapping an arm around him and planting a kiss on his cheek, "It will help if you talk about it."  He smiled slightly and returned the gesture of embrace.

      "I know. I know," he whispered.  They sat for a minute in comfortable silence, Amy knowing Sonic would eventually open up and he knowing that she was the safest person to open up to.

      However, their quiet moment of intimacy was shattered by a rapid knock on the door.  After getting over the initial shock of the interruption, Amy's temper flared.  Who had the nerve to come bother them at such a forsaken hour?  Grant it, they were already awake, but still.  She was just about to get to the bottom of what has been bothering her love and someone had the gull to interfere.  Sonic, sensing this turmoil, quickly reacted before things got out of hand.

      "Don't worry, I'll get it, I said I'll get it!" he exclaimed as Amy had gotten up and started marching towards the door.  Being Sonic the hedgehog, he got there first and pleaded with his scowling wife that it was alright.  She huffed, but allowed him to answer.

      As he opened the door, Amy crossed her arms and stood just behind him.  To their surprise, a cold looking two-tailed fox stood smiling sheepishly.

      "Tails?" Sonic blurted.

      "What are you doing here and so early?"   Amy asked as the good hostess in her began to win out over her temper.  She pushed past her husband and pulled the poor young fox inside.


      "I'm sorry to bother you guys, but I need your help with something at the workshop," Tails said as he shook his namesakes free of some snow.

      "Well whatcha need help with," Sonic asked, always willing to help out.  Amy sighed.  'This is just the excuse he needs to get out of talking,' she thought.  But then again, if Tails really needed help . . .

      "I can't get my heater to kick on and I'm not done with the furnace either."  Both Sonic and Amy stared at him.

      "You can't fix it?" Amy inquired skeptically, anger cropping back up.  Tails blushed and looked to Sonic.  It sounded silly, him being a mechanical wizard and all, but it was the only thing he could come up with at the moment.  He just needed Sonic was all.  He nodded to Amy's question.  She folded her arms, more than suspicious and upset.  Sonic shrugged.

      "Well, it's an odd invite, but sure I'll help ya," he finally said, grabbing his coat off the hook next to the door.  Tails beamed, but Amy frowned.  She had really wanted to know what was wrong earlier.

      "But Sonic, what about your breakfast," she inquired, hoping his stomach would convince him to stay.  It appeared to be working as the blue hedgehog looked back longingly at the table of hot pancakes, tummy grumbling in anticipation.

      "Well . . ." he began with hesitation, glancing back over at Tails' hopeful face then to Amy's irritated features.  He just couldn't win, or could he. . . "Why don't you stay for breakfast Tails, then we can head over to your place?"

      "Ah, well, I guess, if that's okay with you guys," he replied, looking more to Amy for an answer on that.  She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at this.  It would figure that her husband would come up with a way to make both sides 'happy' and still benefit himself.  Feeling somewhat defeated, for now, she sighed and waved the two males to follow her over to the table.

      There were a few moments of quiet chatter and eating before Tails and Sonic got up to leave.  It was still dark outside, but the route was familiar to them and Sonic reassured Amy that he was alright now.  She waved good-bye to the two companions as they made their way out into the snow.  The young woman watched on from the door way for a while, tightening the robe she had on a bit for warmth.

      With a light breath, she stepped back in and shut the door with a soft click.  For some reason, she felt lonely.  Her feet shuffled across the floor as she walked to Kimi.  Her love for her daughter was very strong, but with a pang of guilt she didn't want to lose the adventure in her life.  Before, she would have been able to accompany Sonic, but now someone had to stay home. They had both talked about it and came to agree on a 'case by case bases'.  If she were needed, he would stay, but if he were needed, she would stay at least until Kimi was older.  

      With a sad smile she glanced out the window to the restarting flurry of snow.


      "I think the world's gonna need you a whole lot more though, sweetheart."