Disclaimer: The characters, except Kimi, belong to SEGA, and Sonic Team.

One December Night

Chapter III

With Amy exhausted and Sonic resting next to her, Dr. Collins and Vanilla were able to clean up and check over the new, healthy baby girl. Thankfully, the little one had calmed down and was now snoozing peacefully in the arms of her mother's doctor. Normally, he would let the father hold the baby first and pass it on to the mother, but upon seeing Amy stir and sit up, Dr. Collins smiled and walked over, carefully placing the baby hedgehog in her anticipating arms. Though Amy was extremely fatigued and sore, all that was forgotten once the little girl was snugly placed in her warm embrace. The baby fidgeted a bit at the transfer revealing her brilliant green eyes and toothless gums for a moment. Amy looked down into her precious infant's little face and smiled affectionately as the mother-child bond was solidified. This was her baby girl.

She cradled the infant carefully, afraid she might drop the fragile child and break her like a porcelain doll. And as she nestled the little one's soft, violet quills she couldn't help but be fearful and awe-struck by what they had brought into the world. The baby was so cute; so peaceful. Priceless was the only word running through her mind. Look at what they had. That's when she noticed Sonic was completely knocked out cold beside her. She had been faintly aware of him being placed next to her but was too tired to care at the time. Now, she was slightly worried about her husband lying unmoving beside her.

"Don't worry, he's fine," George said, seeing her anxious face, "In fact, why don't you try waking him up. If that doesn't work; I do carry something for fathers to be that just might do the trick," he said jokingly as he held up some smelling salts. Amy chuckled quietly.

"Hopefully, that won't be necessary."

She leaned over her husband and softly called his name in his ear. Sonic responded by twitching the offended ear, brushing her lips with the tip of it, making her giggle but not waking him up. She smirked and was tempted to yell in his ear, but didn't in fear of waking up the tiny bundle in her arms. Instead, she gingerly removed a hand from under the baby's legs, letting the weight rest in her lap and pinched the sleeping male's nose shut. Upon not being able to breathe, Sonic snorted and fluttered his eyes open as Amy had suspected he would, being she had used the method before on him. Quite used to the rude awakening, Sonic didn't jolt up or even say anything. He just focused on Amy's face and smiled weakly.

Luckily, he didn't have a headache or feel sick but he was tired and a bit confused by his surroundings. Though done several times, he was also baffled by his position next to Amy; lying down. However, once sleep amnesia wore off and his memory came crashing back, Amy could see the recognition in his concerned eyes and grinned softly.

"Sonic, it's a girl," Amy said, gesturing to the young sleeping hedgehog in her arms and washing away all traces of worry off her husband's features. At first, he looked down at his baby girl with awe, mouth slightly open and eyes dancing with curious wonder as his mind tried to take in all this meant. Amy smiled tenderly, enjoying the warmth of the little one close to her and Sonic's expression of admiration. Soon, she witnessed the biggest smile spread across his face as he looked up at her. The smile was contagious and she found herself smiling like a fool as well, laughing lightly. Sonic, couldn't put into words the feeling he had right now for his baby, his wife, this entire experience. He was so proud, excited, anxious with a joy that was about to explode within him and, most of all, in love with his family. He could have run a million miles and still not expend the amount of energy pumping through him from sheer happiness. He wanted to tell someone. He quickly turned to Doctor Collins and then to Vanilla Rabbit.

"It's a girl!" he exclaimed. Both older adults laughed at his comment as they watched him plant a kiss on Amy's cheek and thank her for being the best wife ever. Amy playfully shushed him, gesturing to the sleeping baby and Sonic immediately apologized in hushed tones of giddiness. It was like watching a kid at Christmas. The blue hedgehog was up and about tending to Amy and the new baby, all signs of tiredness leaving him as he nestled both. However, this still wasn't enough for the proud father. He wanted everyone to know and before anyone could blink he was out of the bedroom and on the telephone. He phoned the operator and had them put him straight through to the airport.

"Hello, Green Meadows Regional Airport," a lady spoke into the phone.

"Yes, yes! I need to speak with someone there," Sonic spoke enthusiastically.

"Sorry, sir. We can't put someone on the phone, but you can leave a message."

"Oh, alright. I had a baby, well, not me actually, my wife did. It's a girl, but I need to tell my friend, Tails, I mean, well, I guess he's under Miles there. Well, so can you let him know that, please. And tell him to contact the others, heh, he'll know what you mean . . ."

"Sir?"

"Huh?"

"The message can only be six words long, sir."

At the airport, Tails sat uncomfortably in a lobby chair trying to doze off as it was now four-thirty in the morning. He had been waiting for the storm in this area to lighten up since he had touched down nearly five hours ago. He had spent most of that time worrying about Sonic but was now enjoying a well-deserved rest. Suddenly, his early morning nap was interrupted again by the intercom system overhead.

"Important message . . ."

Tails sighed, opening his eyes and hoping it was a weather update that would allow him and other pilots to leave the small airport.

"For Miles Prower."

This grabbed the fox's attention as he sat up straight and listened carefully.

"Tails, it's a girl, tell everyone," the lady read over the loudspeaker. At first, he was a bit confused by the announcement, but Tails soon realized Sonic must have left the message. He smiled knowingly and got up to use the Tornado's radio to relay the good news to everyone overseas.

"Knuckles, do you copy. Over," the sound of a static voice buzzed through the makeshift dwelling area housing said echidna, Cream, Cheese and Rouge. The four inhabitants stirred slightly as the voice persisted. Finally, Knuckles reached over and grabbed the handheld device that was the source of the sound and pressed a button on the side to respond in a groggy voice.

"Yeah, what is it, Tails?"

"Knuckles, guess what?" the fox asked.

"I'm not really in the mood to play games, Tails. What is it?" Knuckles sighed, waking up a bit more as he flipped on a dully lit lantern to full brightness, causing the others to awake fully.

"Well, I guess Amy had the baby. It's a girl," Tails voiced excitingly.

"That's great, Tails. Thanks," Knuckles stated as he moved to turn off the lantern and set the radio down.

"No, you don't. Give me that thing," Rouge scowled him as she snatched the communication device. Knuckles shrugged and pretended not to care as he laid back down, secretly listening to the conversation.

"Is Amy doing all right?" Rouge asked.

"Well, uh, I suppose so."

"Then how about the baby?"

"Well, to be honest, the message was kind of short," Tails explained.

"What did it say?" she inquired wanting to know as much as possible and hoping a repeat of the original message would be helpful.

"It was extremely short: Tails, it's a girl, tell everyone."

Knuckles chuckled finding the short message amusing before Rouge hit him in the head with a nearby thermos.

"Well, when can we see it," Cream spoke up from her spot behind Rouge. The bat questioned for her.

"I can't pick you guys up now. There's a really bad snowstorm, but it'll probably let up soon. I'll come over and get you guys as soon as possible," Tails said before copping out. The fox smiled again at the thought of Sonic being a dad. He laughed and wondered if that made him an uncle since Sonic was like a brother to him anyway. His thoughts continued to wonder about the blue blur who was currently back next to his wife and new baby. Dr. Collins had previously asked the couple what they were going to name their new child who was now feeding peacefully from her mother's bosom with her eyes half-lidded. It was a little strange for Amy, but being there weren't any bottles in this house or formula, there was no other alternative. Besides, natural was better anyway, so they've been told. The new parents had run through several names in the past, searching for the perfect title, but none of them seemed to fit their precious baby girl now.

"Well, I'm not choosing a name like Sarah or Tiffany, that's for sure," Sonic huffed. Amy too was getting frustrated. They didn't have much in the way of family, so they couldn't pick a beloved member and bestow the honor of naming their child after them. Vanilla could see their indecision and suggested they look through a name book. The rabbit had kept just such a book and handed it to Sonic who immediately began flipping through it.

"Sonic, how are you going to pick a name if you're flipping through it so fast," Amy protested. Heeding her warning, he slowed down just as he turned over the page to the 'K' section.

"Stop here," Amy directed, as she scrolled down the list of girl names, her eyes filled with determination to pick the right name for her lovely baby. She personally liked names that started with 'k' and, so, decided to check here. Sonic did the same, though he would have rather picked a different letter such as 's', but he also wanted to make sure Amy was happy. Then his eyes locked onto one of the name descriptions: 'she who is without equal'. His eyes moved horizontally over the name's origin, Japanese, and then the name itself, Kimi.

"Kimi," they both breathed at the same time, "Kimi the Hedgehog."

"Good news, guys, the storm's let up," Dr. Collins said as he stepped into the room. Everyone smiled as Vanilla moved over to the window and drew back the curtains to reveal a winter wonderland outside. With it approaching daybreak, the sun was peeking through the trees causing the ice crystals on the glass to sparkle and shine casting rainbows on the floors and walls. However, Vanilla's gasp of shock sent everyone's eyes to her. She had placed a hand over her mouth as her eyes revealed horror. Sonic's instincts of heroism kicked in as he dashed over and looked out the window to see what had so disturbed her. Out in the distance, he could see a heavily snow-laden tree had finally given into the storm and fallen right into a small quaint home; his home.

"What's wrong," Amy asked as she saw Sonic's expression slightly pale. He didn't want to worry or upset her after all the stress she had already gone through, but he knew he would have to answer truthfully. It didn't mean he had to be upset or worried himself about it.

"Look at it this way, Ames, I'll be buying you that bigger house for Christmas after all," he stated with a small hint of humor. To be honest, he wasn't all that concerned about it. At least, they weren't in it and he was just thankful to God everyone was okay. The worst that would happen is he and his family would have to stay at an inn for a little while until he either found a new home or fixed this one.

"Your house, Amy dear, it's caved in," Vanilla said sadly. Amy was stunned. Mere hours ago she was in that house and if she hadn't listened to that feeling and insisted on going with Vanilla, who knew what would have happened to her or the baby. She began crying, not because of the loss of her house, but out of joy from the blessing she'd been given. Vanilla offered them to stay with her for a couple of days until they got settled on what they were going to do. This really was shaping up to be a fortunate day and with the miracle of new life, Kimi, in their mist, Sonic and Amy were in for one of the greatest adventures of their lives; parenthood.

Fin