Rouge The Bat: Happily Married

Rouge the Bat and Thomas Adriani have been married for five years
and three months as of this chapter.

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Amy handed Rouge the wrapped gift. Untying the bow very gently,
Rouge lifted the lid. "OOH! This is cute!" She pulled the small
pink baby clothes out. A small pocket for a tail and cut in the back
for wings to poke through.

"Mine next!" Karen shouted, shoving the package in Rouge's face with
an eager motion. Opening, the bat found an assortment of baby toys,
all in girl colors. "We... won't be needing those," she explained.
"But it's okay!" Karen rubbed her child's head, still asleep. "Slate
and Striker will get a sister someday. Just not now, you know?"

Shifting in her seat, Rouge placed the gifts aside while neatly
clearing the boxes out of her way. "So? When's it due?" Amy begged.

"Next month," Rouge answered. "Tom and I are moving into Vic's
apartment tomorrow."

"What for?" Karen asked, curious.

Rouge clarified, "Vic's apartment is only a block from Night Babylon
Memorial Hospital. Tom doesn't want us to stay out here because the
city's so far away, and I don't want to stay in my casino apartment.
Too crowded and noisy."

"Striker! Bad baby! You put that down!" Karen shouted, running
over to the two-year-old echidna boy. "Come on, give that to
mommy!" Taking the vase from her boy's hands, she gently placed it
back on the table. "Sorry about that, Rouge," she apologized.

"It's okay! He's just a little kid, he probably doesn't understand
yet!" Rouge smiled. It was a brief glimpse of what her own future
would be like. "So, Amy, you and Sonic thought about children?"

The hedgehog girl blushed. "Umm... we're not even married yet,
Rouge!"

Leaning in, Karen blurted out, "Amy's still a virgin!"

"KAREN!"

"It's true," Karen defended. "

Like that's something to be ashamed of," Rouge said, sticking up for
Amy. "What about you? How many guys did YOU get it on with before
meeting Knuckles?" she asked, a sly expression aimed at the echidna.

Embarrassed, Karen withdrew. "...none... so, where's Tom?"

Rouge answered, "working on Teal's room. He's painting it right now."

"He's painting it teal?" Amy inquired, suddenly curious.

"Uh... no, Amy." Pursing her lips, Rouge gave her a strange look.
"That's our child's name!"

"OOH! You named her? How CUTE!" Karen screamed.

Rouge said, "she's named after my natural eye color!"

"Really? Your eyes are more of an emerald to me," Amy responded.

"No, they're teal," Karen said, giving her a strong wink.

Quickly, Amy corrected, "but it could just be the light in here.
It's a nice name!"

"OOOH! Uh oh!"

Karen asked, "what is it?"

"Bathroom!" Rouge blurted out, sliding off the couch.

Taking a hand, Karen said, "come on, we'll help you! Amy!" The two
led her away from the living room. "Striker! Go watch your baby
brother!" The little echidna jumped up beside the sleeping child.

"I don't envy you!" Karen commented. "Sitting on an egg isn't like
this! At least when I had to get up, Knuckles could sit on it for
me!" Rouge kept silent, merely taking joy in the mental picture
of Knuckles sitting on an egg.

"Umm, do hedgehogs lay eggs?" Amy asked, looking worried.

"No, dear, I don't think so," Rouge answered, opening the bathroom
door. "I'll be fine. Go on, I need the privacy!"


Thomas painted the wall. Up and down with the brush, a layer of
light pink paint. Sonic and Knuckles pried the lid off a fresh can.
"Where's Shadow, anyway?" Sonic asked, picking up a brush.

"Shadow? He's been pouting lately. Don't know why!" Knuckles said.

"Yeah, well, if he wanted to date my wife he shoulda done it before
she met me! He blew his chance, he can damn well live with it!" Tom
went silent, the two looking at him nervously.

"I don't think Shadow's been..." Sonic stuttered, trying to think of
anything to say.

Knuckles said, "cheer up, Tom! You're stressed out, got a kid on the
way! I've been there twice! Everything'll be fine!"

Tom replied, "you and Karen are the same species..." Sonic and
Knuckles resumed painting the walls. Tom was worried and stressed,
particularly about the upcoming child.

"He'll get over it. Just stress," Knuckles said. "He needs- THEY
need support, though and Shadow can't even do that!"

"Shadow's just..." Sonic tried to make a defense, but failed to
think of something that made sense.

"Trust me, Sonic, it's not easy! He's worried about his kid. I've
done this before. I doubt you'd really understand-"

"And why not?" Sonic shouted, becoming angry.

Knuckles responded, "look, Mister Great Guy, you didn't even go on
a DATE until two years ago, and I had my first kid born then! Only
reason you wised up and hooked up with Amy is 'cuz Eggman went
straight and you lost your hero job!"

"Stuff comes up," Sonic defended, "not often but hey, I'm there when
it does!"

"Good for you." Knuckles shook his head. "Shame you still act like a
kid about it. Maybe when you actually have a family you'll wise up.
IF you ever have a family..."

Sonic began to anger. "You're one to talk! we all thought you were
the last of your kind!"

"Oh?" Knuckles was furious. "And I was starting to think you were
gay!"

"What did you say?" Sonic demanded.

The echidna continued, "the way you kept running from Amy like she
had some horrible disease! We were starting to think you weren't
into girls!"

"Really? Okay, Knucklehead, how about you? Always running from
Rouge? Didn't even look at girls until you met Karen!"

"That was different! Rouge and I were-"

The paintbrush flew, splatting against the wall between them, flecks
of pink paint flying onto their fur. The two silenced immediately,
turning their heads towards Thomas Adriani. "You and Rouge were WHAT?"

Knuckles felt six inches tall. "Huh... um..." he struggled to answer.
"We had a conflict of interest at the time, that's all... I'm gonna
shut up now. Either way I try to defend myself, I'm probably going
to get my ass beat."

Tom slumped to the floor. "My mind's doing jumping jacks inside my
head. That one percent chance something can go wrong is keeping me
up nights. I'm letting her down..."

Knuckles walked over to him. "We'll paint the room. You go rest."
Helping him up, Knuckles led Thomas out of the room. Rejoining
Sonic, he said, "... sorry."

"Me too," the hedgehog replied.

Knuckles said, "he's got a lot to worry about. Me, I was worried
when Karen had the first egg. What if it didn't hatch? What if
something happened? Anyway..." Grabbing a brush, he resumed painting.


Rouge closed the front door, their guests having just left. "It was
nice to see them," she commented, sitting down.

"Yeah... we got the room almost completely painted, too."

"You can finish it later, Tom. Come here and sit by me." She rested
on the couch, inviting her husband to sit beside her.

"They were asking why Shadow didn't show up."

"Shadow? I talked to him on the phone last week."

"You did?" Tom asked.

"Yes. He's been working on official business. He said he'll visit
when he's done," Rouge explained. "Why? Did they think he's been
avoiding me?"

He answered, "well, they think he's been miserable because of..."

She knew what he meant. "Tom, I knew a long time ago," she said,
"that Shadow... I knew he'd never fall in love with me. It's why
I never pushed it or flirted with him. I wish he could have opened up
and let his emotions out, but..." She closed her eyes. "Honestly?
Tom... Shadow will do what he wants. When I met you and things
worked, I knew I'd found the right man. So what if the other guys
weren't interested? And you... you've been worried about Teal."

"Like I have a right to be worried," he replied. "YOU have the baby
in you, not me."

Reaching out, Rouge took his hand, their wedding rings clicking
together. "I don't want to hear that! This child wouldn't exist
without you, Tom! Just because it's growing in me, doesn't mean it's
not a part of you!"

Leaning back, the bat continued, "if I could meet myself from five
years ago, I doubt she'd believe what kind of woman I'd grow into...
Tom, you're worried. But honestly, you have that right. I'm worried
too! But I'll be damned if I let anything bad happen to my
daughter. Now or when she's born. If you weren't worried, then I'd
be concerned."

"You feeling okay?" Tom asked, squeezing her hand.

She replied, "my back hurts, my feet hurt, and I'm hungry."

"Ice cream, then?" Tom asked.

"Yes, oh god, yes!" she answered. "With... can you cut up an apple?
And peel an orange! Just drop them into the ice cream. And
strawberries. Cherries, too!"

He laughed. Rouge didn't have the odd flavor cravings that human
women were prone to, but she could certainly down a hefty meal.
"You're going to be fat when the baby comes, lady!"

"I don't think so, mister!" she teased back. "When I'm sure Teal
is safe, I'm going to start exercising again."

"Won't raising her BE exercise?" Tom smugly shot back.

"You have no idea... she'll probably learn how to fly before she can
walk! Anyway... get my ice cream? And hurry back. I need you here. I
don't want to be without my cuddle boy too long!"

Bending down to kiss her, he said, "I'll hurry."

"I know you will... and Tom, don't worry, okay? We're going to be
just fine."