Chapter Text
“Shadow! You’re awake!”
Tom turned away from the bacon, the one task he could complete one-handed with minimal assistance. Maddie looked up at the same time, their eyes met, and understanding passed between them.
“Could you-“ Tom started, but Maddie was already moving, abandoning the pancake mix she was preparing.
“I got it, go play ref.” She said, taking the tongs out of his hand. He smiled at her, taking off the apron (it wasn’t tied for ease of use, he was already crippled enough he didn’t need Maddie tying and untying his apron) and setting it aside.
One of them wanted to be there when Shadow woke up, not only to make sure the hedgehog knew he was safe but because they knew Sonic could be a bit overbearing and Shadow was not a bear they wanted him to poke, even if unintentionally. It wasn’t out of fear, it was concern. Mature space hedgehogs or not, they needed a mediator and that should be Tom’s responsibility as the adult, the parent, of the situation. Tom felt like he’d been letting Sonic and the others take on entirely too much responsibility with no supervision. Like saving the world. Again.
Tom wasn’t fast, he wasn’t a genius, he wasn’t one million percent muscle, but he was a parent. He couldn’t stop Sonic and the others from being their awesome selves, it attracted trouble sure but they usually handled it. But they were still kids, kids who shouldn’t have to deal with all of this on their own. Tom was supposed to be their support at the very least, and he felt like he had done a very poor job as of late. Letting them go off with GUN without asking questions? Dumb. Deciding to fill his time with useless hobbies to keep his mind away from what his kids were doing? Dumb. The only good thing he’d done was be supportive enough to have Sonic come ask them for help infiltrating GUN. Sonic at least trusted them enough to come for help when they needed it. That did make him feel better, but still, they only asked for help after the crazy Eggmen (yes plural) showed up and Shadow had captured them all and attempted to kill his kids with a miniature black hole.
If that had succeeded… who was going to tell Tom? Would GUN even say anything? Nobody would have known, or cared to share. His kids could have died and he might have never known when or how or why. That was unacceptable.
No, never again would he leave his kids to face anything by themselves, not of his own volition. He wasn’t weak either, he punched Eggman -twice!- and even Randall. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his kids.
Tom walked into the living room calmly, trying to be casual. He could see the problem already. Mobians, he could say with quite a bit of experience under his belt, expressed a lot with their eyes. To be fair it’s hard not to when eyes take up about 50% of their face. Shadow was no exception, and Tom’s honed skills served him well.
Shadow was on the couch, eyes open, staring at Sonic who stood over him.
Sonic was asking how he was feeling, but Tom could tell that was not what was on Shadow’s mind. Shadows wide eyes flicked from Sonic to Tails, the fox gave the hedgehog a knowing smile -if a bit sheepish. Tom made a mental note to ask about that later.
Shadow was clearly overwhelmed already, his whole body was tense and focused on the hedgehog standing over him. Ozzie, who had somehow swapped from laying on Sonic to laying on Shadow at some point during the night, wuffed softly and nosed at Shadow’s clenched fist. Tom recognized this, Ozzie had done a similar thing to Sonic just last night, helping the hedgehog calm down and focus on other things. Sonic, however, saw Ozzie in Shadows lap and came to a different conclusion.
Sonic leaned over, reaching for the dog. “Oh, sorry about Ozzie, I can get him off of you—“
Tom stepped in, putting a hand on Sonic’s shoulder to keep him from further encroaching on the darker hedgehog’s space.
“Hey buddy,” Tom announced himself, internally wincing as Shadow’s overwhelmed look snapped to him and somehow got even more tense . Tom focused on Sonic. “Let’s give him some space, he did just wake up.”
He pulled Sonic a few steps back by his shoulder so he was no longer looming over Shadow. Shadow didn’t relax exactly, but he eased. His good hand let go of the blanket, slowly shifting towards Ozzie before settling on his neck. Ozzie settled his head back down on Shadows chest and the hand on his neck constricted, grabbing the fur firmly before slowly relaxing. It was almost rhythmic, and matched the hedgehog’s rising and falling chest. Which looked to be a little too fast to be comfortable.
Ozzie was working his magic on Shadow then, good. He wondered when Ozzie learned to do this, specifically for hedgehogs, apparently. He supposed it didn’t matter, since Ozzie was helping and being very good at it too. It was also good for Shadow to be comfortable with the dog, and knew enough to be gentle with him. Tom was well aware of what those fists could do.
Sonic looked up at Tom, a thin veil of joy overtop his worry and concern. “Hey dad! Shadow’s awake!”
Tom gave him a smile, crouching down and comfortingly rubbing his son’s back. “Yeah, bud, let’s not crowd him too much.”
Sonic’s face scrunched, eyes darting between Tom and Shadow. “I just wanted him to know where he was, that it’s safe. That was the point of the sleepover.”
Tom nodded, “Yes, but Maddie also said he might be groggy, let him wake up a bit more before you talk his ears off.”
Sonic huffed and folded his arms. There’s his impatient little bugger. Tom resisted a laugh, but he raised his good hand and gave the blue hedgehog a hearty ruffle to his top quills. Sonic broke into a smile and waved him away, giving a meaningless token of complaint.
Tom was well aware of the red gaze locked on them, he hoped the casual interaction would put the other at ease. Or at the very least get the attention off of him so he could further calm down. It seems to be working, from what Tom could glean from the corner of his eye. Shadow was still at attention, ears perked and staring, but something in his face had softened. Then he caught a wince full of pain, the look was quickly smothered but Tom had caught the hints. Right, Shadow was still pretty banged up and in a lot of pain.
“Hey boys,” Tom called, looking back at Knuckles and Tails, who had only half approached the bedridden hedgehog. “You want to help Maddie in the kitchen? I kinda left her high and dry, me and my one hand did so much heavy lifting.”
Sonic rolled his eyes and leaned into Tom’s space with a sigh, “dad you’re not allowed to lift things!”
Before Tom could defend himself, Tails piped in flatly, “That was sarcasm, Sonic.”
Sonic put his hands on his hips, muzzle going slightly pink. “I knew that.”
“Ha!” Knuckles barked, pointing, “Father was speaking the lies used for humor!”
“Great job, Knuckles.” Tom praised, trying to rein in—
“His feeble human hand could never lift much, certainly nothing heavy as is required for most manual labor. He is also currently crippled.” The echidna continued bluntly, compounded by the satisfied grin he wore.
Tom pursed his lips, wondering when this turned into a ‘roast dad’ session. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shadow move. The black hedgehog’s ears twisted backwards and his shoulders curled in.
Tom didn’t want to read too far into it, regardless of his level of experience in reading Mobian body language, Shadow was still new to him and his kids all had their quirks. He could be feeling bad about what he did to Tom, guilt over Tom’s current condition that Knuckles so eloquently pointed out. Or he could just be in pain, with his ears down it might have been the volume that hurt his head.
Tom wasn’t the only one who noticed the movement.
Knuckles winced, putting his glove down. “I apologize,” he said to Shadow, nodding- wait no it was a bow, his fist came up to his chest as he dipped shallowly. “I shall ‘watch-my-volume’ as you recover, more impressive hedgehog.”
Tom blinked, and so did everyone else in the room.
Sonic grinned, moving as if to nudge the bedridden hedgehog but stayed where he was. “Hey! You got Knuckles to use a metaphor!”
Knuckles scowled, one of concentration as he was thinking about his words carefully. “It is a figure of speech. I cannot really ‘watch my volume’, it is sound, there is no visual component to it. But I will ‘watch’ it, as in ‘pay close attention to’, as it may be invisible- it still affects the people around me. I do not wish to cause more distress.”
“That’s very considerate of you, Knuckles. I’m sure he appreciates it.” Tom said after a few seconds of Shadow saying nothing.
The fact that Shadow has yet to say anything at all worried him; he’d have to tell Maddie. Though he wasn’t dismissing the idea that the kid was just… incredibly shy. From what little details Sonic had gathered and shared, Shadow wasn’t exactly sociable. Though his kids did say he had been pretty chatty about his pain that drove his thirst for revenge, Tom was taking it as a good sign that he wasn’t chatty right now.
Tom shifted his gaze, letting it settle fully, carefully, on Shadow. Shadow tensed again, but this time Shadow was the one who looked away. Tom was undeterred. “Hey Shadow, you hungry buddy? Maddie’s working on a whole spread, pancakes, bacon, eggs, anything there that you’d like. If you don’t want any of that, we can still get you some toast so you have something in your stomach.”
Shadows' ears went flat again, his brow furrowing. Now the furrowing brow can mean loads of things, it’s a competitive cocky grin, a look of deep concentration, a stone wall of meditation. Tom was surprised to find this one was made for confusion, disbelief, and a particular brand of ‘this person must be insane’. That look he knew very well in human faces, usually when he tells them his kids are extra terrestrial woodland creatures with super powers. And Rachel.
Shadow didn’t reply, but that was fine. Maddie should probably take a look at him first anyway. Sonic looked .2 milliseconds away from jumping in, distressed and disturbed by the other hedgehog’s continued silence. Tom took control again.
“Let’s go help Maddie with the food now, okay?” Tom said, much less a suggestion than his words said. He patted Sonic’s shoulder as he stood up.
“But—“ Sonic protested, looking between Tom and Shadow.
“It’s okay,” Tom said, beckoning the blue hedgehog over, “Ozzie’s got him, let him work his magic.”
Sonic’s eyes widened, finally catching on. His face morphed to understanding, though he grumbled as he walked over, still reluctant to leave the darker hedgehog. Tom herded his kids back into the kitchen, giving Shadow a weak smile that hopefully said ‘we’ll just be in here if you need anything’ before ducking in himself.
Maddie was working on the pancakes now, the plate of bacon all ready to be served up. She smiled at them as they approached, in secret parent communication, Tom assured her that nothing exploded, but Shadow was indeed awake.
Cooking breakfast with three wiggly kids around was usually a hassle, luckily by now they were pros. Maddie had Tails hop up on the counter to help sprinkle in toppings for the pancakes. Blueberry for the fox himself, chocolate for Sonic, the rest would be plain as Knuckles didn’t actually like other things on his pancakes. Knuckles was in charge of making the plates, getting the specific pancakes from Maddie and adding the person's desired extras. Tom was put in charge of scrambling the eggs, having Sonic crack them for him even though he could do that one-handed it was something for the hedgehog to do. Maddie also apparently didn’t want shells in their food, rude.
Sonic did his task with a frustrated scowl, standing at Tom’s elbow like a particularly grumpy limpet. He stared at the eggs Tom scrambled as if they personally offended him.
It came to a head quickly, as most things do with Sonic.
“Why won’t he say anything?” Sonic asked, aware enough not to ask too loudly for the hedgehog in the other room to hear. However, with most of them crowded around the stove, everyone else heard him perfectly. Tails paused for a second when Sonic spoke, his mouth turning into a thin line before he resumed his task. Knuckles only looked at the hedgehog and made no comment. Maddie glanced at Tom, and Tom took a breath.
There was a lot of complicated emotions about Shadow -for everyone really- but for Tom, he was just a hurt kid right now. They would treat him like a hurt kid.
Tom matched Sonic’s volume, though a bit more gentle than Sonic’s frustrated demand. “You get pretty quiet when you freak out.”
Sonic’s frown only deepened. “But he’s here, with us, what’s there to freak out about?”
Tom thought for a moment.
“…I think he’s scared,” Tom said honestly.
Sonic’s face dropped, “Scared?! Of us?!” He whisper-yelled.
Tom shrugged, trying to keep casual. “Why not? Think about it from his perspective.”
Sonic’s ears pinned down suddenly, his face going ashen. “I… I did nearly kill him.”
Oh. Well. That’s not something Tom meant to bring up at breakfast.
“We just have to show him everything’s okay,” Tom said. “Hey, Knuckles, I got these eggs ready.”
Knuckles lumbered over with Sonic’s plate, as Sonic ate more eggs than anyone else. Sonic needed a lot more protein and… well,, a lot more of everything, considering his metabolism. His plate was already pretty full, with at least five pancakes stacked and bacon on the side. Tom scooped the eggs and plopped them down where there was room.
Tom glanced at Sonic when he didn’t see any movement from the hedgehog. Sonic was frozen, staring into nothing as his hands clenched on the edge of the counter. Oh.
Tom put down the scooper, Knuckles moved away to put the finished plate on the table. Tom quickly turned off the stove, putting the hot pan on the only available burner that wasn’t active. He gently put his hand on Sonic’s head, stroking over the quills there and gently scratching at his ear. Sonic seemed to reboot, taking in a deep shuddering breath and his ear flicked. Sonic blinked back to reality, turning to look at Tom.
Tom smiled, tugging Sonic closer for a hug. His son leaned in, hiding his face in Tom’s legs. Tom rubbed his head in smooth, even strokes.
“I think that’s all the pancakes!” Tails announced, taking the attention away from all of them staring at Sonic.
“Great job, baby,” Maddie said, flipping the last two pancakes for good measure and putting them on the extra’s plate. Tails hopped off the counter, already going to his seat and looking excited for his food. Tom stayed still, trying to be Sonic’s Ozzie while the real Ozzie was busy. Maddie glanced at him while she took care of her burners, another knowing look passed between them.
“Knuckles, if you could help Tom get the last few things?” Maddie said, putting her dirty spatula in the sink as she moved through the kitchen. “I’m going to ask Shadow if he wants anything.”
“Of course, Pretzel Woman,” Knuckles said, already heading for the fridge as the last few things they needed to gather were the drinks and a few other toppings, like whipped cream.
Tails glanced through the kitchen door towards the living room, towards their current bedridden guest. “He might not talk…”
“That’s okay,” Maddie said as she walked past the fox. “I can still ask him yes-or-no questions.”
Tom nudged Sonic, shuffling both of them closer to the kitchen table. Knuckles and Tails made light conversation while they tried to ignore the two tense hedgehogs on either side. Knuckles was still ferrying goods from the fridge to the table and Tails was in his seat, twin tails swishing happily. Tom settled in his seat and scooped up Sonic to sit in his lap. It wasn’t quite comfortable; the teenager wasn’t small anymore, but he made it work. Sonic kept his head against Tom’s chest.
Despite the chatter between his other sons, Tom managed to catch what Maddie was saying in the living room.
“Hi Shadow, I’m Maddie, Tom’s wife. We got breakfast all made, are you hungry?”
There was a pause, and coincidentally, Knuckles and Tails stopped talking then too. They heard nothing from the other hedgehog.
“That’s okay, I’ll make you some toast and you can have as much or as little as you want.”
Maddie returned a few seconds later and immediately locked eyes with Tom. He is terrified , the look said, and her gaze lowered to Sonic on Tom’s lap. They both are.
Well, they can deal with this. Shadow has Ozzie, Tom has Sonic, just give them time to calm down and they can figure something out. Maddie didn’t immediately start making Shadow’s toast though, she stopped by Tom and Sonic.
Maddie pet Sonic’s head, gaining the hedgehog's attention from the new touch. Maddie smiled at their son, “Hey, baby, you up for eating breakfast?”
Sonic let out a deep sigh, ducking into Tom one last time before he slid off his lap. Tom kept his arm loosely around him, just in case he fell again like last night. Despite his quietness, Sonic seemed better and stable on his feet. That’s good.
“Sorry,” Sonic mumbled, marching slowly to his own seat. Maddie snagged him, crouching down and giving him a full hug. Sonic startled, but returned the hug once it registered.
“No need for apologies, Sonic, you’re feeling a lot,” Maddie said, rubbing her son's back. “We’ll get through it together. It might feel like a lot, and it is a lot, but we can focus on taking one step at a time, and right now that step is breakfast.”
Sonic nodded and stepped back. Maddie scratched at his ear, and Sonic swatted her away after a moment. Maddie laughed and Sonic sped walked to his seat to avoid any more gushy parenting. Tom watched with a smile, already seeing Sonic slowly return to his normal self. A lot faster of a bounce back this time, but that certainly wasn’t a bad thing. He’d keep an eye out in case Sonic was pretending to be fine, but for now he let it go. Breakfast was the focus now.
Knuckles ate heartily, as he did most things, Tails a close second, munching on his bacon with happy squeaky fox sounds. Sonic even teased him a little, giving the room much-needed lighter air. Sonic definitely wasn’t eating as fast as usual, but he was steady. Tom refused Maddie’s help with his pancakes, he could cut up his pancakes just fine on his own. Maddie helped Knuckles with the whipped cream, accidentally on purpose plopping a dollop on the echidna's nose. Tails laughed and Knuckles wiped it off, only to flick it at the fox, making Knuckles laugh and the fox yelp. Sonic laughed at them both. Knuckles demanded justice, and Maddie dolloped poor defenseless Tom as compensation, much to the delight of everyone else.
All in all, breakfast went well. Maddie was the first to get up, not only putting her plate in the sink but getting the bread out next to the toaster. Sonic and the others all put their plates away, Knuckles even taking Tom’s even though he was perfectly capable of doing that himself. Once his plate was put in the sink, Sonic stood aimlessly, staring into nothing again.
Tom walked over, crouching again. “Hey bud, you doing better?”
Sonic nodded, face twisted with hints of concern and fear that he smoothed into a smile. “Yeah, I’m doing okay, just… I don’t want him to be afraid of us.”
Tom put his hand on Sonic’s shoulder. “I know you’re scared, I know he’s scared too. He’s in a strange place with people he barely knows. But he does know you; if anyone or anything can convince him, it’s you.”
Sonic looked down at his shoes. “But… I hurt him too, I punched him to the moon. I’m probably the reason he’s so afraid and… I hate it. It’s… It’s somehow worse than the look on his face when he wanted me to kill him.”
Oh. That was new.
“He… wanted you to kill him?” Tom tentatively asked, quickly wondering if that was a horrible mistake, considering Sonic’s whole demeanor fell to something more tense and distressed.
“That's why I stopped, he wasn’t fighting me. He pointed to his chest… just- just like you did when you said I didn’t let my hurt change me- to— to hit him there, to kill him.” His eyes started to glitter and Tom moved his hand around his son’s shoulders, tugging him closer into a half-hug. “He had nothing to live for, he wanted it all to burn, including himself, and I couldn’t… I couldn’t do that. Now he’s in our home, safe and sound, and he’s afraid of living. He’s lost everything, but being here is scarier than dying.”
Well, that’s… profound, and incredibly sad. Tom is suddenly very glad Ozzie is with Shadow.
“I’m glad you told me.” Tom said, “We’re gonna get through this together, okay? Just like Maddie said. You’re not on your own with this, you have the whole family to back you up- and? Guess what? Shadow has all of us too.”
Sonic smiled weakly, his ears still flat and brows drawn in worry. “I just want him to be okay.”
“We’ll help him, Sonic.” Tom said, “We’ll start with making sure he knows he’s safe here and go from there. Like Maddie said, little steps.”
Sonic nodded, a look of determination overtaking his devastation. “Right. And I do know him better than anyone else here.” He looked up at Tom, and there was his kid, confident and relentlessly compassionate. “I know what to do.”
Tom couldn’t help but squeeze Sonic into another hug. His wonderful kid. Sonic didn’t complain about the hug, and Tom made it last until the hedgehog started squirming. Tom would never get tired of hugging his kids, he needed to do it more often.
Once Sonic got free, Maddie walked over, plate and cup in hand. “Sonic, do you want to help me take this to Shadow?”
Sonic nodded, raising his arms to take the food. “Yeah, I know what I can do to help him know he’s safe here. We didn’t exactly have a lot of conversations, but I think I know what I can say to help.”
Maddie smiled, ruffling Sonic’s top quills. “My perfect baby boy.”
Sonic’s face twisted in displeasure at the pet name but it was quickly wiped away, he looked to Tom. “You coming too?”
“Of course,” Tom said, rising from his crouch. “I told you we’d do it together.”
With that, Sonic finally settled into himself. His shoulders dropped and his smile came easily, his ears swiveled happily and he shuffled in place because he was Sonic, never able to sit still.
Tom spied Knuckles and Tails still putting away their dishes, he wasn’t sure if he should invite them as well or tell them to stay back. He didn’t want to crowd Shadow, but he didn’t want to leave them out. They were a family, and they would support each other and include each other. Knuckles met his gaze, and not unsimilar to him and Maddie, understanding passed between them. Tom felt that specific anxiety settle, because Knuckles understood. His look said, ‘worry not, father, I will keep the fox and myself out of the way, but not gone’. Knuckles, he had to remember, was a lot more observant and smarter than anyone gave him credit for. All his boys were so… good. Good kids.
Tom turned away and followed Maddie and Sonic as they went into the living room.
Shadow was exactly how Tom had seen him earlier, apprehensive, tense, and in pain. Ozzie was still on top of him, and the dog wagged his tail as the trio approached. But there was also something resigned about his posture, the way his eyes kept lowering even though he was staring intently.
‘He wanted me to kill him.’
Maddie took the lead, crouching next to Shadow’s head. “Hey baby, we got you some toast, do you think you can sit up for me?”
Shadows crimson gaze slid to her, after a second or two, he nodded. Ozzie’s head lifted, not quite releasing the hedgehog but it made it easier as Shadow used his good arm to heave himself up. Maddie reached forward as well, hand hovering behind his back in case he needed the help. Sonic was nervously gripping the cup in his hand, looking two seconds away from helping himself. Shadow was soon upright, leaned back against the couch with Ozzie still settled on his lap. He looked even more tired like this, the arm in the sling resting over his stomach and eyes lowered.
Maddie took a step back, giving Sonic a prompting look.
Sonic stepped up, offering up the plate and cup. The blue hedgehog wore a smile, though his eyes spoke of worry they were also bleeding with hope and compassion. At his approach, Shadow went on alert. Ears swiveled back but not pinned, eyes wide and attentive on the hedgehog in front of him.
“Hey, there’s no winners in revenge, right?” Sonic started with an easy shrug, still offering out the food. “I can’t speak for everyone about who forgives you or not, but nobody’s looking for revenge here- I promise.”
Sonic was clearly quoting something they spoke about previously, and it worked like a charm. Shadow’s brow twitched in confusion, consideration, his frown more contemplative than emotional. His eyes flicked from Sonic to Maddie to Tom and then behind them to where Knuckles and Tails hung out close by. Sonic kept giving Shadow his earnest smile, and Shadow relaxed.
His ears lifted, the tension slowly flowed out of his body, even his frown turned more flat. He took the plate from Sonic, setting it down on the couch next to him (opposite from Ozzie who was entirely too interested in the toast near him). He took the cup next, taking a sip.
“Thanks.” He said in a broken, groggy whisper. Shadow grimaced, either in pain or just grossed out by the sound of his own voice. Sonic mimicked his expression with a tinge of worry, feeling bad for the other hedgehog.
Maddie zeroed in, already going vet mode. “Is your throat hurting?”
Shadow’s frown deepened, and he shook his head. He used the cup to tap against his chest. He looked uncomfortable, eyes quickly looking away from the trio in front of him.
“Your chest hurts?” Maddie asked for clarification. Shadow nodded, hiding behind taking another small sip of water. “Okay, is it alright if I take a look at you? I’m a veterinarian, essentially these guys’ doctor. I took care of you last night, but now that you’re awake I’d like to check how you’re doing.”
Shadows' ears went back again, and he shrank into the couch. “I’m fine.” He whispered, lacking any of the heat or confidence the hedgehog was known for. It was downright pitiful. Tom frowned, Maddie frowned, Sonic frowned.
Shadow was not fine.
“Dude, we saw you go down when you got tased. Nobody bounces back from that that fast, not even me!” Sonic insisted. Tom fought off a wince at the brazen statement. He knew Sonic wasn’t trying to be antagonistic but the other hedgehog was… sensitive.
Just as Tom feared, Shadow’s nose scrunched, lips curling into a soundless snarl. “I can.” He argued.
“And we’ll believe you when we check,” Sonic said, strangely diplomatic. He must have gotten that from Maddie. Shadow remained resolute, and Sonic sighed, face wrinkling in worry. “Please, man? I- we were all really worried.”
Somehow, this works. Sort of.
The snarl drops off of Shadows face, something a bit more bewildered took its place, and alarmingly, fear as well. Shadow looks down, shoulders tensed once again. “…Fine.” He ground out, clearly reluctant. “Do what you must.”
Ozzie gave a whine, head in Shadow's lap, but now nosing at his hand, his bad hand. Shadow’s face contorted in pain, but it was only a flash before he schooled it back to a disinterested frown. He quickly set the cup down, leaning it against the couch’s armrest so he could intervene, keeping the dog from nudging his bad arm.
That told Tom a lot about how Shadows arm was feeling, Tom had been in a similar state for the first few weeks of healing. It also showed how much Shadow did need to be looked over, they couldn’t leave him in pain.
Maddie was hesitating even though she had been given the go-ahead. Shadow’s permission was a lot less like consent and more like surrender. They weren’t going to torture him, yet that’s what he looked to be preparing for. He was all tense, prompting Ozzie to crawl further onto his lap. Shadow had his face ducked off to the side, but his eyes were on Sonic. Something like fear was in that gaze, and leveled on Sonic of all people, well… maybe Sonic had a point in who Shadow was afraid of. It made Tom’s gut sink in despair, his wonderful son could be scary, but he wasn’t scary. Sonic was going to hate having his fears confirmed. But first, damage control.
Tom gently nudged Sonic’s shoulder, “Hey bud, how about we-“
Sonic folded his arms, not looking up and returning Shadow’s unblinking stare. “No, I’m not leaving.”
Usually Tom would encourage Sonic putting in the work to try to fix things, however this was a lot different from fighting a lunatic in an egg-themed robot trying to take over the universe. Bull in a china shop is what this was going to be if Tom didn’t do something about this. Shadows ears were turning back, pinning as his breathing hitched. Yeah, time to go.
“He just needs some privacy Sonic,” Tom tried, “you don’t like it very much when everyone watches you get patched up.”
Sonic’s stance and face didn’t change, actually they did; they became more determined. “I’m not leaving him again.”
Tom made quick eye contact with Maddie, because if she stepped in, the leading medical expert (and mother), Sonic might listen.
Maddie did turn, “That’s really nice of you to be supportive Sonic, but—“
“He can stay,” Shadow said, despite the whisper it was like he spoke over Maddie. His eyes were lowered to his lap, Ozzie licking at his glove in a way Tom knew couldn’t be pleasant for the dog (it was weird leather-cloth after all) but it seemed to be keeping Shadow’s attention from whatever was scaring him.
Sonic nodded, arms still folded like a particularly blue rendition of a stance Knuckles would take. It was… protective, and Shadow was responding to it. The darker hedgehog’s shoulders came down, and he finally seemed to take a calm, deep breath.
Oh, Tom had misread him. Shadow hadn’t been afraid of Sonic, he’d been afraid of being without Sonic. That… made sense in a way, and was much better than the alternative, so Tom was happy about this.
Maddie turned back to Shadow with an I'm-proud-of-my-son smile, “Okay, Sonic stays.”
“Come, fox,” Knuckles said behind them, briefly taking the attention of the room. The echidna picked up Tails who clearly wasn’t ready for it, the fox flailing for a moment before he relaxed into the hold. Knuckles placed the fox on his shoulder and started to leave. “You must show me this new machine you’re working on.”
Tails looked like he was about to protest, eyes darting between the couch and the echidna. Tails was smart though, and his namesakes twitched in agitation as he responded to Knuckles. “I mean… It’s not done yet- I wanted to show it off when it’s done.”
“I assure you, I will be impressed the second time.” Knuckles said, voice growing fainter until the front door opened and closed.
Well, that was one thing taken care of. Tom will have to talk to Tails later, he knew the fox hates being left out of things because of his age. But this… yeah, Shadow probably didn’t want an audience, especially an audience who might ask a ton of innocently curious questions later. Tails was mature for his age, they all were, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t still protect him from some things, Knuckles at least understood that. It was also two fewer eyes on the dark hedgehog, but Tom couldn’t tell if that was better or not.
Sonic was staying, Maddie was to do the medical exam itself. Like his other two kids that just left, Tom was the odd man out. Sonic noticed this too, and in a panic he clung to Tom’s pants, as if to physically keep Tom there.
“Is it okay if Tom stays? He’s my Ozzie right now.” Sonic asked Shadow.
Tom blinked, then watched Shadow blink. The other hedgehog still had his head bowed but his brow furrowed in bewilderment again. He nodded slowly, not hesitant exactly but carefully. Tom used his good hand to pet Sonic’s quills, soothing as well as reassuring. If anything else, he was glad Sonic could acknowledge and then even ask for Tom’s presence when he needed help. Nobody was panicking (yet) and Tom was glad they all had ways to keep it that way.
“Alright,” Maddie said, bringing the attention back to herself. “I know it hurts to talk, so I’ll try not to ask questions that need words, but I do need you to answer a few important questions if you’re up for it.”
Shadow nodded tersely, looking down at Ozzie who had since stopped licking his glove. He pet the golden retriever, and Tom absently wondered if he could even feel the texture through the glove. Despite having seen all three of his kids pet Ozzie and notice certain textures even with gloves on he never got around to asking. It might even be magical, his kids were already all superpowered, it wouldn’t surprise him.
“Okay, do you remember what year it is?”
Shadows' face scrunched, mild confusion taking over his near-permanent scowl. “Yes… 2024, though it was 1974 when they put me in stasis.”
Maddie and Tom winced, realizing that oh, right, Shadows' memories would be of 50 years ago. It wasn’t super reliable to use recent memories but they might not have a choice right now.
In the silence following his answer, Shadow shifted in his seat. “Why is that question necessary?”
“That electrocution did quite a number on you. A potential problem is that it messed with your head. Memory issues. You might not realize it yourself, which is why I need to ask and make sure you’re remembering correctly.” Maddie explained.
“Oh.”
“Since we can’t ask the usual questions, we’ll have to think of something else,” Maddie said carefully with a thoughtful look. Tom could see the tension in her shoulders though, and understood exactly why. The memories they’d have to ask for would be… not pleasant ones to remember. And with Shadow wounded and tired as he is, they didn’t want to dive into the… minefield that Shadow was. This would have to be dealt with… delicately.
Shadow frowned. “Usual questions? Why wouldn’t those work?”
“Dude, it’s like in the movies,” Sonic jumped in, gesticulating with one hand while the other stayed clung to Tom’s pants. “When a character gets hit in the head really hard and their friends have to ask them questions to make sure they’re okay, like, ‘what’s your name’ and ‘who’s the president of the United States’. But your answers might be different since you have 19-whatever brain instead of 2024 brain.”
Tom bit back a smile at the look of offense on the darker hedgehog's face, appalled by the insinuation he wouldn’t know his own name.
“What? I know my name.” He said defensively, glaring at the blue hedgehog.
Maddie took the chance. “Which is…?”
Shadow leveled her with a flat, extremely unimpressed look. Tom had to turn and cough so he wouldn’t laugh.
“Humor me,” Maddie said with a shrug, “Sonic is right, this is part of making sure someone is okay after head trauma.”
A few seconds of silence and Shadow sighed. “My name is Shadow.”
Maddie nodded. “Thank you, do you remember our names?”
Shadow still wasn’t impressed, but his eyes flicked around, jumping between the three in front of him. “Sonic,” he said easily, carefully blank in tone. “…Tom,” he said with slight hesitation. He glanced at Sonic with a complicated look on his face as he said Tom’s name. “Maddie,” He said with the hesitation of saying someone’s name for the first time, like he wanted to get it right despite it being a simple name. “Tails,” he said also fairly easily, but there was nobody to look to so he looked down at Ozzie, using his thumb to pet the silky ear of the golden retriever. “Knuckles.”
“Great job.” Maddie praised, satisfied.
Shadow seemed to sigh again. “You just want me to remember things?”
“Yeah,” Sonic said, nodding with the usual enthusiasm of a super speedy space hedgehog. “Like… do you remember our conversation on the moon?”
“Yes.” Shadow did not elaborate, his clipped word sharing all they needed to know about how willing he was to talk about recent events. Fair enough, Tom didn’t exactly hear everything that happened until after he could be conscience without being pumped full of pain meds.
“Alright,” Maddie said, giving Sonic a side eye that said ‘don’t push him’. “I’d also like to check your motor functions but can I see your wounds first?”
Shadow’s bewildered face returned, but something more cautious came along with it. He didn’t ask anything, but Maddie explained.
“Your ankle, your shoulder- and if you can tell me anything that hurts, like you mentioned your chest.”
Shadow regarded her with thinly veiled wariness, then eyed Sonic… nervously. Shadow was nervous about Maddie looking at his wounds?
He still didn’t say anything, but resignation took over his face. He nodded.
Maddie hesitated, like Tom she could tell something wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t permission exactly but he would allow it.
“Let’s take a look at your ankle first,” Maddie said, which somehow made Shadow relax a little.
Ozzie grumbled, being very stubborn about staying on Shadow’s lap, but with Maddie’s help they fished the limb out from under the blanket and the dog. Maddie held his leg carefully, the wrap she put on it the night before just as tight and secure. Shadow looked down at his bare bandaged foot in confusion and slight alarm.
“My shoes?” He asked, not quite directed at anyone, but a concerned observation.
“Don’t worry, they’re just by the front door with all the other shoes when we’re not wearing them,” Sonic said, pointing over his shoulder.
Maddie started unwrapping the ankle, gently but methodically. “We didn’t know how to take the ring off, but I’m sure your ankle would heal better without it, we don’t need to have it knocking into your ankle while it’s still healing.”
“No,” Shadow said firmly, the strongest his voice has been since waking up. “They should never come off, I need them.”
Maddie paused, confused, Tom and Sonic both mirroring her expression. Weird, but okay. Maddie nodded agreeably, they won’t fight Shadow on this one, clearly it was more than just a fashion statement.
“Okay, no worries, again we couldn’t figure out how to get them off anyway so we couldn’t even if we tried.” Maddie assuaged, and finally Shadow’s ankle was unwrapped. It didn’t look weird to Tom, but bruising on a Mobian was a bit different than on a human. It did look swollen though.
Maddie probed the area gently with her thumb. “Does it hurt?”
Shadow nodded, a grimace overtaking his face. Ozzie started licking his glove again and Shadow took a breath like he hadn’t been before. He swapped to petting Ozzie, the golden retriever wuffed unhappily as the hand moved.
“Do you remember how you got it?” Maddie asked the dark hedgehog.
Shadow nodded, then pointed at his ankle, shoulder, and head. “Impact.” He said simply.
Maddie nodded, as that was what they had assumed anyway. Tom was still reeling a little because it was one thing to speculate, but another to have it be confirmed. Shadow really did fall from the world-ending explosion back to earth and only had this to show for it. Any human would be dead, any mobian (well, maybe apart from Sonic) would have died too, probably before even hitting the stratosphere.
“Did GUN hurt you anywhere?” Maddie asked next, starting on re-wrapping the ankle.
Shadow lifted his one good shoulder in a small half-shrug. “Had to run.”
Running on his broken ankle.
Not even Sonic liked running when his legs were out of sorts. He pushed it sometimes, but he also knew his legs' limits and capabilities. Then again, Sonic wasn’t someone who gave up willingly. When backed against a wall, Sonic gave it all he had, and he usually won those outcomes. Still, trying to run on a broken ankle… he could see Sonic at least trying to run even if he knew he wouldn’t make it far. Shadow had made it as far as the town over.
“Alright, well let’s try not to walk on it anymore until it’s healed up,” Maddie said to that horrifying explanation. GUN had really run down an injured super kid that just saved the world and didn’t even attempt to use diplomacy first. Tom’s disdain for GUN was only growing (not that his opinion of them was very high in the first place, their reward for kicking Robonik off-planet was an Olive Garden gift card ). “Let's keep it elevated and iced, we also have some hedgehog-friendly ibuprofen so you’re not in pain.”
Shadow blinked, watching her wrap his ankle distantly, eyes glazed in a way that said he wasn’t all present. His hand that was petting Ozzie had paused, limp on the dog’s back. Ozzie all but leaped up to lick at the hedgehog’s face, jolting Shadow back to the present, where Maddie finished with his ankle.
“Sonic, could you snag me a small sandwich bag of crushed ice? And one of the clean kitchen towels please.” Maddie asked, leaning back slightly if only to give Shadow some semblance of privacy as he blinked back to reality.
Sonic only hesitated for a moment, nodding with a “Right!” and disappearing in a blue blur. Shadow was busy getting Ozzie away from his face, but his eyes kept glancing up at Tom before darting away again. Tom frowned, then it hit him like a bag of bricks. Tom was an idiot. He was the only one standing, practically looming over the hurt hedgehog. Maddie was kneeling in front of the couch, Sonic was eye-level, but Tom was a pretty towering figure. He needed to sit down, relax, show Shadow he wasn't tense so there wasn’t anything to be tense about. This tactic worked mainly on Sonic and Tails, who were more likely to mimic body language like that when they were calming down. Knuckles had a hard time with that, usually needing the opposite, someone else going on alert let him know he himself could take a break. Tom just hoped Shadow took after Sonic more than Knuckles.
Tom heard the ice from the fridge going as he shuffled to the side of Maddie and sat down. It was a little awkward with Sonic’s mattress, but it was nice at the same time, Tom wasn’t sitting completely on the floor. He sat criss-cross, making himself smaller but also it would be harder to get up this way, as opposed to Maddie who was kneeling in a more maneuverable way. Shadow was focused on Ozzie who was pressing into his chest. Maddie looked two seconds from hauling the dog away entirely, considering what Shadow had mentioned about his chest hurting, but Shadow didn’t make any faces, in fact he was breathing deeply in measures.
They really needed to get Ozzie a million treats or something, a better dog bed? New chew toys? A really nice steak? Ozzie deserved something for the incredible work he was doing with not just Shadow but Sonic too.
Speaking of, Sonic reappeared, handing the wrapped-up ice to Maddie before turning and plopping into Tom’s lap. Tom grunted with the sudden lapful of hedgehog, but he leaned forward, slightly curling around his son in a familiar movement. Hedgehogs like their caves, dens, the first den they ever know is their parents. Now that Tom was one of those and Sonic had started coming to him for things like this, Tom did it every chance Sonic gave him. There had been quite the increase since… well, Shadow.
Maddie wrapped the ice around Shadow’s ankle with a kitchen towel, asking if the positioning was okay or if it hurt more than the coldness. Shadow merely nodded that it was fine; at least he seemed calmer than before. Maddie placed his foot back under the blanket, carefully adjusting his legs so they were flat on the couch, positioning Shadow at an angle.
“Now, how’s your shoulder? I noticed you didn’t want to move it or nudge it earlier.” Maddie asked, “When I looked over it yesterday, it seemed like it had been dislocated but put back in.”
“It was shattered,” Shadow said bluntly, still smoothing down Ozzie’s fur from head to shoulder as the dog was still bodily on him.
Maddie’s eyes went wide, mouth agape.
“It healed,” Shadow said in response to her shock, eyeing her with confusion.
That, at least, was very Knuckles. Familiar territory, which only made Maddie more adamant.
“Clearly not all the way if you’re in that much pain.” Maddie commented as she put a hand to her forehead, “How long ago did you land?”
“Mm, a few days ago… three, maybe four,” Shadow muttered.
“Wait-” Sonic piped up, “but it’s been a month since the whole canon thing, were you still in space that whole time?!”
Shadow shrugged with his good shoulder. “Probably, I didn’t …anticipate waking up when the canon exploded.”
“Well, regardless, we’ll need some X-rays then,” Maddie said, sighing to herself.
Tom didn’t find anything wrong with this, it was reasonable and made sense, but then he remembered this was Shadow. This wasn’t Sonic who would complain loudly the whole time but ultimately let them take care of him. Or Knuckles who would hide his wounds and insist he didn’t need help but could be bribed with grapes and eventually admit to needing help. Or Tails who would also hide his wounds but would at least be interested in the machines and would allow them to help with a startled but grateful look.
This was Shadow, whose temperament could not be predicted, who already showed a disdain for medical help, and survived the world-ending explosion and the resulting crash to earth with his personality intact. There was no way they could force Shadow to do anything, even as wounded as he was Tom was fairly confident Shadow could just disappear if he wanted to. He didn’t need to fight them, he could just simply vanish.
Tom watched with mounting apprehension as Shadow scowled at Maddie, nose scrunching. “That won’t be necessary.”
“Shadow, you said you shattered your shoulder. Even if you do have incredibly fast healing, it could have healed wrong, which is probably why it hurts so much right now.” Maddie said, using reason like she would for Knuckles, “We need the X-rays so we can see what the damage is, probably get you in a cast. I’ll find a brace of some sort for now, but the X-rays are happening, non-negotiable.”
Shadow's scowl deepened, and Tom suddenly wondered if Shadow could actually fight like this, and how much damage could he do before Sonic could fight him off. It would be devastating, horribly traumatizing for everyone and–
“Dude,” Sonic said, quietly but it gained the other hedgehog’s glare. “She's a vet, remember? She wouldn’t say you needed this unless absolutely necessary.”
Shadow was not assuaged. His ears pinned, and an actual growl came from the dark hedgehog with his fangs on display. “I’m well aware of what doctors deem ‘absolutely necessary’, they hardly ask for anything when they can just take it. They don’t care about anything other than the results. I’m not going into another lab.” He sneered, hissing with venom that couldn’t be born from anything other than painful experience.
His sudden ferocity made everyone pause, especially Maddie. She stood up, taking a careful cautious step back from the hedgehog. She could feel it too then, how dangerous this suddenly became. Tom felt Sonic tense in his arms, breath catching. Tom was afraid, yes, the hedgehog who nearly took him out with one punch was angry, but he was also realizing what Sonic gasped about.
From what little Commander Walters had told Sonic (and then Sonic to Tom) about Shadow's past, Tom suddenly remembered it was scientists who had him. Scientists usually have doctoral degrees. Scientists who took his power and experimented on it, on him. They might not have details, but this, this was plenty to understand the gravity of Shadow’s reaction here.
This was a completely different beast than any of what his kids had gone through.
They had to help.
Maddie took a calming breath before she spoke. “Shadow… am I right to assume the doctors you knew were… doing experiments on you?”
Sonic’s breathing hitched again, grabbing Tom’s arm. Tom hugged Sonic tighter. Shadow had gone through exactly what Sonic had always been afraid of since day one. Tom was very glad Knuckles had taken Tails out, Tom could explain to them in a less triggering way later.
“Yes.” Shadow ground out through clenched teeth, scowl hardening.
Sonic ducked his head into Tom with a terrified squeak. Tom wrapped his good arm around his son, starting a gentle side-to-side rocking. Ozzie started whining.
Maddie took another steadying deep breath, eyes locked on the dark hedgehog. “I’m not like those doctors. This isn’t an experiment, I’m not looking for anything other than how to help you.”
“You want to see how my healing works.” Shadow accused, a heartbreaking amount of surety in his voice. And terrible, horrifying implications.
The dangerous air about the hedgehog was undercut by how could only see how terrified Shadow was. His ears were still pinned, his pupils were frightened slits, and a slight tremble took over his body. His anger was not just for show; Tom was not naive enough to think Shadow was pretending here, but he used it as a shield to hide his hurts, ready to bash away anyone who came close.
Maddie shook her head and spoke carefully, slowly. “No, Shadow, I’m a healer. I want to help you, make you feel better. That's the only reason we need those X-rays. I chose to become a vet because I wanted to help animals who can’t really help themselves. You’re not an animal but I still have the ability and skills to help you, so I will. I have no secret motive, I’m not looking for specific results. I just want you to feel better.”
Shadow didn’t respond right away, his jaw clenched and Ozzie leaned in to poke at his face with his wet nose. The hedgehog turned his face away from the dog, looking off to the side. He exhaled shakily. “...Why? Why would you want to help me?” He asked, barely audible. “I hurt… all of you.”
Oh. Tom continued to gently rock Sonic in his lap, petting the quills he could reach. His son needed this, but he couldn’t help but feel the need to gather up Shadow in the same way. Damn his hurt arm, this kid needed a good quality hug.
“It's…” Maddie started, sighing and glancing at Tom and Sonic. “It's complicated. You did do a lot of harm, but you did save the world too. Even if you hadn’t saved the world, if we came across you hurt this badly, I’d like to think I would still help, if you allowed me.” She said carefully, voice softening and genuine. “At the very least, I care because my son sees something in you. Despite what you did, he cares about you, and that's enough for me to want to help you too.”
Shadow’s voice grew wet, gaze still averted and ears still pinned. “I don’t… I don’t understand.”
“That's okay, we can figure it out later when you’re not so banged up.” Maddie said, waving it away because frankly it didn’t matter if Shadow understood, they were still going to help. “We took care of your ankle, we shouldn’t move your shoulder at all so I’ll leave that alone. You mentioned your chest hurting?”
Shadow answered easily, even if he was still a little choked up, possibly only because it was a question that wasn’t emotionally taxing. “Ribs, cracked, I think.”
Maddie nodded and hummed, probably having anticipated that answer. “Well, the only thing we can do for that right now is plenty of rest. Drink your water, have the toast when you’re feeling up for it. I’ll get you that Ibuprofen and hopefully at least take the edge off the pain.”
Shadow opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He blinked rapidly, ducking his head into Ozzie who had gotten all up in his face again.
All in all, Tom surmised, a success. Nothing blew up, nobody was hurt (further) and a plan was made. Tom would have to do some damage control for some hurt feelings (Tails), rewards (Knuckles and Ozzie), and some quality fun time to get his blue blur back to normal. Oh, and kiss his wife, who handled Shadow wonderfully. He knew she wasn’t the black hedgehog’s biggest fan, but frankly, it was easy to melt at the sight of the confused and hurt hedgehog. Terrifying villain turned hero, assumed dead, now back to life with barely a will to live. Confused by kindness, distrusting of doctors…
They sure had their work cut out for them.
But hey, they got this. Between the five of them, Tom had no doubt that Shadow would feel comfortable and heal in no time. With Sonic’s good-natured spirit, Tails’ helpful optimism, Knuckles’ watchful steadfastness, Maddie’s gentle kindness, and Tom’s… Tom will figure out what he can do, but for now, they totally have this. Shadow was going to be okay.
Eventually.