Rouge The Bat: Happily Married

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

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"TEAL!" Thomas huffed as he ran, chasing the baby girl. The child
fluttered on wings, laughing, as he father followed. "Teal, sweetie,
please come to daddy!" Tom watched as his daughter flew up and
sat on top of a tall bookcase. "NO! Teal... that's dangerous! Like
you can even understand me..." The little girl sat down, playing with
a book, giggling.

Grabbing one of the small chairs, he sat down, waiting. "Why did my
ancestors buy so many books anyway?" he asked the air itself, hoping
it might actually answer him.


Rouge entered the mansion. "Tom? I'm home!" Stepping into the study,
she found her husband, sitting patiently, looking upward. Cocking
her head up, Rouge saw the baby on top of the shelves. "Teal!"
Flying upward, Rouge picked up her daughter and gently descended to
the floor. "Teal, you are going to drive your father crazy one day!"

Standing, Tom commented, "she can't even walk yet and she already
flies like an airplane."

"How long were you sitting there?" she asked.

He replied, "about fifteen minutes. I didn't want to-" He glanced
at her. "She can fly but she's only ten months old. You think she'd
know what to do if she fell off there? I'm getting rid of these
book shelves."

"Yeah... until then, I'll put some things on the top shelves so she
can't perch up there anymore. Here, Teal, give your daddy a hug!"
Handing the child over, Tom felt the girl wrap onto his neck,
holding on.

The baby girl blinked. "I tired," she said gently.

Placing an arm under for support, Tom began walking. "Okay, baby,
we'll put you to bed." Rouge opened the door to her room as Tom
placed the baby girl into the crib. Teal grabbed her favorite plush
toy, a doll in the likeness of her mother, as Rouge placed the
blanket over her.

"Get some sleep, Teal," she said, rubbing the child's ear. They
watched as Teal fell asleep. Picking up the baby monitor, Rouge
made sure it was turned on. The couple quietly left the room, taking
care not to make a sound as the door shut.

Taking her husband's hand, Rouge led him into their bedroom. "We're
going to have to put a lid on her crib one of these days," Tom
joked. "And you see why I didn't want her wearing those little
knitted booties? You can think what would happen if she tried to walk
up there in those things!"

Jumping onto bed, Rouge removed her black jacket. "You worry too much,
Tom!"

"And you wouldn't have it any other way. I put latches on all
the top cabinets today, in case. Made sure all the outlets had those
plastic caps in them, even the ones in places that are hard to reach.
Made sure the lid on the pool is still secure..."

Pulling him towards her, she ran fingers through Tom's hair.
"I mean it, you worry too much sometimes. Teal's asleep and the
baby monitor is on." She tugged his shirt out of his pants. "We have
some time alone now..."

"Sounds good," he responded, slowly unbuttoning his wife's blouse.
Rouge turned the lamp off.

Morning was a time of renewal. Teal was awake, drinking from her
bottle as Rouge cradled the child. "You think shes ready for crayons?"
Tom asked.

Thinking, Rouge replied, "maybe. We have a few boxes somewhere from
the baby shower. I'll dig them up."

"Good," he said, "maybe if we can get her into a nice, creative
hobby she won't fly around so much."

"We do need to work on her education. I think she's old enough. She
IS speaking." Taking the empty bottle away, Rouge grabbed a fresh one
to keep the child fed. The child's metabolism was high and it often
took up to three bottles to satiate her when she was hungry.
"Robotnik wanted you to see him today. Something about an invention."

"Me?" Tom asked, eyebrows raised. "What for?"

She explained, "he said he needed your opinion."

"Probably wants funding. Forget it. He tried to blow us all up,
remember?"

"TOM!" Her shout actually hurt his ears. She soothed the child,
Teal almost crying from the loud noise. "I was up there with him then.
Please..." Tom rubbed Teal's ears gently, along the base and through
the tuft of fur around her neck. The child calmed quickly. "Wow...
that was fast," Rouge remarked, genuinely impressed.

He quipped, "it works on you."

"He's changed, Tom. Just like I did. And he helped me save your life.
Please, give him a chance? You know he's been depressed since
Herbert Westwood died last year."

Stooping down to kiss his wife, Tom said, "okay. I'll go see him
after I make my stop by the office. Anyway, it's your day to stay
home and watch Teal while I do errands. At least if she flies off on
you, you'll be able to deal with it."

"Sounds good. Be back soon?"

He replied, "count on it."


"Huh... yeah.... what is it?" Tom looked at the device. "Is it made
to carve a turkey or something?"

"What? Of course not. It's a device I created to change a baby's
diaper." The scientist walked on his cane. He'd lost weight over the
years, partially due to skipping meals while he worked on inventions.

"That-" Tom paused. "That's horrifying."

Robotnik lowered his head. "... I know."

Continuing, Tom clarified, "that would scare any child. It scares me!
I wouldn't let that thing near my kid!"

"I used to make death machines. Now, I try to make inventions to help
people and improve the world," Robotnik said, "but I just don't have
what it takes. I tried to get help but Knuckles and Karen aren't
speaking to me. Sonic doesn't have children. You're the only other
couple I know."

"Babies want to be reassured and feel safe," Tom offered, "and I
don't think a machine can do that. Rouge invited that Omega robot
over a month ago, guess she still feel some compassion for it. I made
it stay outside. Not something my kid needs to see."

"Yes, I built Omega," Eggman explained.

Tom said, "and the security robots we have at the casino. They're
made to intimidate. But..." Tom considered options. "You're looking
at the wrong field. I think what you need to work on is the field of
medicine. Maybe... surgery." Robotnik looked up. "Surgery?" "Yes,"
he said," think about it. Machines can work with a precision that
human doctors can't. They won't get tired or make mistakes because
their mind wandered. And you're already used to making destructive
robots, so things that cut people open shouldn't be too much of a
stretch."

"Medicine... a wonderful idea!"

"Good, doc," Tom said. "I need to go home. You work on that. And if
you need any funding... get in touch."


Tom walked into the living room. Teal was standing. The child took a
step, falling on her butt. "Shes standing up, Tom!"

"Here, that's not the way to teach her." Taking his daughter's hand,
he bent his knees to stay level with her. "Take her other hand."
Rouge did so, helping the child stand.

"This is cheating, Tom!" Rouge commented.

"Cheating?" He shook his head. "We get her used to walking first,
then she can learn to balance."

They walked along as the baby took steps. "Fair enough," she said.
"Guess I'm still not a perfect mother."

"Never say that, Rouge. Never say that." He looked her in the eyes.
"You're a great mother. And I told the office they can bring the
payroll checks here for me to sign. I won't be going by the office
anymore. My family comes before the business. And you don't need to
go by the casino anymore. Vic can run it just fine. She always has."

"I'll call her and let her know," Rouge replied. "Tom... look!"
In the middle of the conversation, they'd both let go of Teal's hands.
The child was stepping forward on her own. After a few steps, the
little girl fell down. She looked ready to cry.

"Baby Teal, it's okay. Try it again!" Tom said, helping his daughter
off the floor. They grabbed her hands, leading her along as she
walked steadily.

"How'd it go with Robotnik?" Rouge asked.

He responded, "went well. No big deal."

"That's good." Rouge let it go from there. Her only concern was
raising her child, and she was happy that Tom was there for her.