Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Babbysitter Affair ❯ Broken Miracle? ( Chapter 21 )

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The news hit Shadow hard. Its impact was enough to delay his breathing for a good few seconds. Rouge... was pregnant? Had he truly heard her correctly? While his mind teemed with a multitude of stifling thoughts, not a piece of them managed to shape his lips. Thoroughly thunderstruck, Shadow glared harshly into nothingness, "... … … …." Still a bit unnerved by the news herself, Rouge's discomfort towards his behavior made itself evident in her equivocal body language. Her hands were curled into fists and remained close to her abdomen as if having her arms at her sides now would inch her closer to Shadow than she preferred to be at the moment. Was he glowering at her? No. He had never, nor would he ever have, given her an expression with such cruel eyes. Of course, hearing that she was with child was a serious matter and she expected him to take it as such. But, the way he was acting immensely bothered her; and she did not like it. "Shadow...?" Rouge wondered, her voice shaken and weak, "Did...did you hear what I..."

"I heard you..." he snapped back, his words brusquely slicing through her concern. His curtness wasn't directed towards her, but instead the situation. He didn't understand. There wasn't any way he would have been able to get her pregnant in his mind. Absolutely none. He would not have allowed it otherwise if he were able to aid in conceiving. At least, he wouldn't have while she was still married to that foolish echidna of hers, anyway. Because Shadow was made an artificial being, he had never known what it was like to physically grow. He had been an empty shell until Gerald, technically his own father, made a deal with the alien Black Doom for literally Shadow's own blood. Shadow had believed that, due to the nature of his past, since he was crafted by human hands out of much of nothing, there could be no possible way he would ever have a family after his own image. He felt that he'd never be able to experience anything paternal in all his immortal life. Had he been able to, he would not have been so careless around Rouge and would have taken proper safety precautions with her. The woman was far too precious to him. In all honesty, he would be greatly honored to have her be the mother of his children. Still, the circumstance at hand required deeper thought and comprehending. There was no feasible chance that Rouge's embryo was his. But...if by some miracle it were... Silently, his eyes dragged themselves back to hers. His expression faltered as every form of concern, love and overwhelming sadness broke over his visage. He appeared as if he would fall apart into a teary heap any moment and, without thinking, Rouge reached out to brace him by the shoulders, "Shadow?" A shock of fear fizzled through her and her entire frame trembled. Seeing his resolve practically shatter right before her eyes chilled every nerve within her body. Before she realized it, she was sinking down to the carpeted floor of the waiting room as he was. His name was repeated a few more times, and it wasn't until Shadow shut his eyes did she understand that his problem was not with her. If he wasn't upset with her, why was he behaving this way? Had there been something he hadn't told her? Around them, nearby patients in their chairs had objectively moved away, while one considerate soul actually got up to inform the receptionist of the odd event. One of the nurses emerged from behind the desk and soon approached the ivory bat. The woman had overheard the news the doctor had given Rouge minutes earlier and she called out to her in a chipper voice, "Congratulations Mrs Bat! I heard you were expecting!" Even for one with such large and sensitive ears, Rouge had been so focused on Shadow that she entirely ignored the new sound. One ear, however, had flickered in the direction of the human tones, but nothing that was spoken had gotten through until the nurse mentioned the following: "And how wonderful! I see your husband is very alarmed by the news!" As if Rouge were listening the entire time, she turned her head swiftly to address the attendant, "Ah...no...you see, he isn't my..." She coughed. "Let's get out of here..." Shadow ordered in a whisper so hushed, Rouge almost mistook it for a hiss. As she returned her attention to him, she barely had time to acknowledge what he was doing before specks of light crackled around them both and a flash of white engulfed her sights.

– It's been a while...^^; I'll probably keep the same "feel" in the way this will be written, similar to how it was previously. Some areas may become more descriptively done than others, but I'll just have to see. Oh, and to those that sent me nasty messages about not updating this year (2013), I made changes to chapters 1-3 and mentioned it last year in 2012. Hateful messages do not encourage me to work on this faster. I lost a lot of interest in the sonic universe for years, apparently, but Shadouge is still one of my all-time favorite otps. Be thankful I'm continuing at all. Peace. -Mel