Maria was in the front passenger of the car while Scourge sat in the driver’s seat. It was past midnight and they were going down the highway. The hedgehog girl looked to the hedgehog boy and bit her bottom lip. She had been wanting to tell him something all day but had been hesitant as she wasn’t sure how he was going to handle it. But he needed to know. It was the right thing to do.

“Um, Scourge?”

“Yeah?”

“I…have something to tell you…”

“Go ahead and spit it, baby cakes.”

She drew a deep breath and looked down at the floor beneath her boots, “I’m pregnant…”

The car screeched and skidded to a stop when Scourge slammed on the brake. Maria jerked forward but the seatbelt held her in place so she didn’t crash into the dashboard. Looking to her, the wide-eyed green hedgehog asked in an incredulous tone, “What was that?!”

Too late to back out now. Maria started to tremble, “I-I’m pregnant… And it’s yours…”

“Don’t play games with me,” Scourge started to growl.

She snapped her head to the boy, “I’m not! It’s true! I wouldn’t make this up!”

“We used protection and everything!”

“That stuff isn’t foolproof. Even if I had my tubes tied, a pregnancy can still happen.”

“This is bullshit!” Scourge threw a punch at his dashboard, “It’s not my kid!”

“What?!” Maria’s mouth fell open.

“Get out…” Scourge said as he looked forward with both hands gripping the steering wheel tight.

“What are you-“

“I said GET OUT!”

Scourge leaned over and threw open the passenger side door then he started to unfasten Maria’s seatbelt. “Wait, stop!” Maria tried to plea but before she knew it, he was pushing her out of the car. She fell back on the dark pavement with a yelp and probably a scraped elbow. Looking up, she watched as Scourge pulled the door shut then drove off, leaving her on the side of the highway.

As her heart pounded hard and fast, Maria looked around at her surroundings and folded her ears down. It was eerily quiet out. No one else was driving by on the road in either direction. But Maria couldn’t be sure that there wasn’t anyone around. She has heard of the news reports of people being attacked while walking on the highway. And it was a long ways home. What should she do?

She got up to her feet and held her hands to her chest as she looked around again. Paying extra attention to sounds, she tried to look out for any potential help. Alas, there was no sign.

She pulled out her phone with shaky hands and felt tears welling up in her eyes. Maybe she could call someone to come get her. Who would be awake right now? And who even had the means to pick her up? Scrolling through her list of contacts, one name in particular came up.

To be honest, Maria felt shameful about contacting him. They had been friends since they were little kids. He held her in high regard. And yet here she was, thrown out on the side of the highway in the middle of the night because she made an incredibly stupid mistake.

The hedgehog girl drew a deep breath and felt the tears rolling down her cheeks as her thumb pressed on the screen to call Shadow.

It rang a few times before he answered. “Maria?” he sounded concerned already. Probably because of the time of the day she was calling. At least he sounded awake so that was good; she wasn’t pulling him from sleep.

“Shadow,” her voice was cracking and she was losing control of herself, “I’m so sorry to bother you…”

“What’s wrong?” the concern in his voice grew.

“I’m on Speed Highway…”

“What?? What are you doing there at this time of night?!”

Maria closed her eyes, “He…he kicked me out of his car and just left me…”

There was silence on the other end. But Maria knew he hadn’t hung up the phone. She continued, “Please, Shadow… I need your help… I don’t know what to do…”

“Where on Speed Highway are you?”

Maria lifted her head and looked around for any signs or landmarks to use for location. What she found was a mile marker. She walked closer to the sign and turned on the flashlight on her phone, holding it to the sign so she could read it, “Um… Mile marker 112.4…”

“All right, standby. I’ll be right there.”

The call ended and Maria turned off the flashlight of her phone, cradling the flat device with both hands. As she looked at the contact screen for Shadow, the tears flowed even more. Did she deserve a friend like him? What a fool she was for picking Scourge… Maria held the phone against her forehead and began to sob.

Within seconds, Shadow appeared, using his teleportation ability. He figured that was better than driving for the sake of Maria’s safety. Who knew who or what was lurking around in the dark near the highway to attack her or even kidnap her. It took no time at all for him to locate the yellow hedgehog he was looking for. Quickly he moved forward to close the gap between them and wrapped his arms around his dear friend.

Feeling his arms around her, and feeling much more secure in his presence, Maria turned towards Shadow, tucking her face into his shoulder while continuing her sobs. She felt his arms tighten their hug on her before he spoke, “What happened?”

It was safer to tell Shadow. He wouldn’t react like Scourge did.

“I found out that I’m pregnant…” she managed to get out in between her sobs, “He got angry… He accused me of lying about it at first… Then… He said it wasn’t his and threw me out… He took off…”

Maria raised her phone, “I recorded it, actually…”

She played the audio recording of the conversation she had with Scourge. It captured the whole thing from beginning to end. The recording ended a little after Maria was thrown out of the car.

“What the hell?!”

Maria felt her friend’s body tense up and she closed her eyes again. Then his chest rose and fell. She could tell he was fighting to keep his rage on a leash. Going after Scourge right now wasn’t what the girl needed. First thing was first: her current state and the unexpected pregnancy.

“What do you want to do?”

All day while she had been preparing to tell Scourge about the pregnancy, she had been thinking about that as well. She didn’t get a chance to tell Scourge. Telling Shadow her decision was easy, “I…want to keep it…”

Shadow leaned his head against Maria’s and his hand began to rub her lower back. Then he kissed the side of her head. Whatever she decided, he would’ve supported it and done what he could to help her through it.

Time to remove her from the highway and take her somewhere much safer.

About a year passed. Maria was in the grocery store in one of the aisles. She was wearing a baby strap which held her little baby on her front. With one hand on the baby’s back, the other hand plucked a box of noodles. She turned the box over, inspecting it. Hmmm, maybe this would be good to have for dinner tonight. The little baby cooed and wriggled a little. Smiling, Maria kissed the top of the baby’s head and rubbed its back.

“Maria?” a familiar voice said.

The smile dropped from Maria’s face and she turned her head, finding Scourge standing at the end of the aisle. They stared at one another for a while before Scourge’s feet finally moved and he drew closer to Maria. He looked at the baby then looked at Maria, “You decided to keep it…”

The girl hedgehog felt very uncomfortable about Scourge’s presence and even less so when he acknowledged her baby. Were they in danger? What if he tried to hurt the baby? Keeping her hand on the baby’s back for protection, Maria folded her ears down and replied to her ex, “Yes… I did…”

Scourge closed his eyes for a moment then opened them again. He reached out to take Maria’s hand but she pulled it away. “Look… I know I reacted poorly when you told me… I didn’t want to believe it. And… I wasn’t ready for a big step like that. I’m really sorry.”

Maria frowned and stepped back from him. She couldn’t trust his apology. After everything she had gone through? No, taking him back was out of the question. He abandoned them when he was needed and they had to go on without him because he refused to be a part of their lives. She opened her mouth to reply but she wouldn’t get the chance to say anything. The black hedgehog had suddenly appeared, standing between her and Scourge. And he wasn’t happy.

Both hands in fists, Shadow growled at the green hedgehog, “What are you doing here?”

Scourge’s body tensed up and he also balled his hands into fists, “Taking back what’s mine.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s my girl and baby, stripes. I suggest you back off and mind your own business.”

A crowd of other shoppers began to gather at the ends of the aisle, curious as to what was going on and anticipating a fight.

“That’s rich coming from you,” Shadow narrowed his eyes, “You abandoned them on the side of the highway in the middle of the night! You left her to deal with the pregnancy and birth all by herself! You think you can just show up and resume as if nothing happened?!”

The baby started crying, likely frightened by the growing aggression. Maria wrapped both of her arms around the tiny hedgehog child and began nuzzling it in attempt to comfort the little one. But it didn’t seem to be working. The baby continued to cry.

“Shut up! You’re making my baby cry-“ Scourge started to circle around Shadow to try and make his way to Maria and the baby.

Then suddenly his jacket was grabbed and Shadow’s forearm was raised and pressed against Scourge’s chest to block the green hedgehog from advancing any further. Baring his fangs, Shadow snarled, “Stay the hell away from them. And that baby isn’t yours. You renounced him long before he was born.”

Growling back at the black hedgehog, Scourge leaned his face closer. He was just as accustomed to fights as Shadow was and thus, wasn’t one who was easily intimidated. “He isn’t yours either, stripes-“

“I filled out the adoption forms,” Shadow interrupted, leaving a shocked Scourge whose mouth fell open. Then a smile drew on his face, “By the way, the baby is actually a girl. You don’t even know what sex the baby is but you feel entitled to her?”

Scourge looked past the black hedgehog to Maria, pointing to his rival while inquiring, “Is this true? Are you with this trash?”

Maria frowned at the insult. If anyone was trash, it was Scourge. Still trying to comfort her crying infant, Maria answered, “Yes, I’m with Shadow. And he’s the baby’s legal father. After you left us, he stepped in and helped us. He’s been nothing but amazing. You, on the other hand…”

“Unbelievable,” Scourge growled.

Then Scourge was suddenly knocked back by Shadow. He stumbled and managed to catch his footing to prevent himself from falling.

“I’m only going to say this once,” Shadow warned, “If you come near either one of them again, I’ll ensure it doesn’t happen a second time.”

He turned away, leaving a speechless Scourge behind as he rejoined Maria and the baby hedgehog. The yellow and black hedgehog each wrapped an arm around one another and the baby started to settle down. Curling a finger under the baby’s chin, Shadow murmured something to the child Scourge couldn’t hear. A smile drew on the baby’s face, looking up to the black hedgehog. Maria smiled, too, and she and Shadow kissed. They turned and walked away with Shadow’s arm around Maria’s waist and Maria leaning her head against his shoulder.

Ignoring the large audience the hedgehogs attracted, Scourge turned and punched the nearest shelf, breaking the unit and sending the food items spilling on the floor. Then he stormed away in the opposite direction, cursing Shadow.

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