Chapter 14 Don’t Let Me Go.
*This chapter and the next were inspired by ShinyMisty's "Forsaken." and SourSugarCube's "How to care for your Alien Hedgehog Son" both are good reads but warning the first fic has some depression and self-harming themes.
Before I forget, I have one more thing to say! One of my readers mentioned that they download their favorite stories onto flash drives, and I thought that idea was...(insert bad English accent) "Smashing! Topped with pudding! Marvelous! Chips and Fish! I'm going to try doing this myself. I'll let you know how it goes!
Anyway, we're over the first angst hump in this story, and now comes the best part, the hurt/comfort phase, with LOTS of fluff and babying; enjoy! 😄*

Eggman's nerves were all a tingle as he waited, trying to refrain from touching his finely combed mustache. He hoped he wasn't sweating through his only nice business suit. Sitting sandwiched between a few board members, he glanced over his notes one more time before it was his turn to speak. He had no doubts that his invention would be an astounding success. The doctor had worked hard over the last few years on his biggest project since the robotisizer, and now he would, at last, begin to see the fruits of his labor. All he needed was the board's approval, and they could begin testing his invention in the field. The thought excited him!
"Dr. Robotnick." a man at the head of the table spoke; Eggman raised his head, "You may have the floor now." nodding, the egg-shaped man picked up his briefcase and rose, stepping to the front where all in the room could see.
Eggman opened the case with a small click, pulling out his notes for reference, a laser pointer, and a mock-up of his latest achievement while the lights in the room dimmed and a white screen lowered behind him. Clearing his throat and adjusting his tie, the doctor looked over the men and women in the room. Not only were the board members of the hospital present, but so were their assistants, executives, doctors, financial representatives, and other high-ranking people who filled the large conference room. All waited patiently, eagerly, waiting for the brilliant Dr. Robotnick to begin.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Dr. Robotnick." he takes a breath, "It is my pleasure to reveal to you my latest invention. One that I am sure will revolutionize the medical industry and change the lives of billions..."

*An hour later*
"That concludes my presentation." the lights slowly lit up again, and polite applause filled the room as Eggman gathered his things and returned to his seat. The Coordinator took his place once again with a polite smile, "Thank you, Dr. Robotnick. Your invention has us all very intrigued, and I'm sure some of us have questions we'd like to ask. However, before we do that, we will take a 30-minute break to digest in our minds what has been presented. Refreshments are waiting next door with a tv broadcasting the latest weather reports. We'll resume the conference at exactly 12:30."
With that, soft chatter fills the room, and people scatter to relieve and refill themselves. Eggman pulls out a hankey from his hidden suit jacket pocket and dabs his damp brow, relieved his presentation had gone exceedingly well. A sudden firm hand claps his back, startling him, "Great presentation, doctor, really well done!" Eggman's eyes light up, hearing a friendly voice. He turns and laughs, grasping the hand now on his shoulder, "Ah! Dr. Kintober, good to see you! Thank you! It's been quite a while, old man!"
"Old man?! You're the one who lost your hair and grew that wild thing under your nose while we were still in University! I may have gotten older over the years, but you have me beat. Look more like your grandfather every day." the man who looked like Eggman's polar opposite teased; both men laughed, reminiscing on their younger years. "Well, you can tell what I've been up to. But what about you? How's the family?" Eggman asked as the duo exited the conference room and entered the one next door filled with tables and small groups of people eating and chatting away.
"Oh, not much. Sally, the old girl, bless her heart, still puts up with me after all these years. Beautiful as ever while I waste away here in gore-filled surgeries or stuck in boring meetings. Chuck's got a position managing a music store, and Bernie's wedding will be later next summer. Sigh, seems just like yesterday they were all little tikes running around asking me for a piggyback ride." Dr. Kintober says wistfully, taking a plate and picking out a few finger foods, Eggman beside him doing the same. "That's wonderful old bean! You've raised some great kids, and the wife keeps getting better with age. I'm happy for you!"
"Thanks, couldn't have done it without Sal. Enough about me and my boring domestic life. What about you? Inventor genius extraordinaire! Surely you haven't been spending all your time slaving away on this little gadget since the robotisizer, have you? That famous Robotnick brain comes up with more ideas than I know you're telling me!" he winks.
Having gathered enough food on their plates and grabbing a drink to accompany it, the two doctors sat down at an empty table by the tv broadcasting about the severe winter storm. "Actually, I do have another project I've recently started." Eggman began nervously tugging his collar; his friend eagerly leans closer in interest, "What is it? Spill!"
"Oh, stop! It's not what you think. Has nothing to do with machines." Dr. Kintober raised a brow at him curiously, "I may have...recently taken in a teenage hedgehog." now Eggman's companion's brows rose even higher at that. "You!? The great Dr. Robotnik, who has never gone on a date, and after 10 years in the med field, swore off having anything to do with anything that wasn't a machine. Took in a kid?!"
"I know it sounds ridiculous with my history, but...we've known each other for quite some time actually through mutual contacts, and well recently I found out about his situation and couldn't bare to see him be all alone, so yes. I decided to take him in."
"Wow." Dr. Kintober breathed, then chuckled with a warm smile. "I would never have imagined in a million years that you would go soft for a...how old is the boy?"
"15. Though with his issues, he acts more like a small child." Eggman sighed sadly, "The poor thing has gone through so much, and he's still reluctant in trusting me. Just yesterday, I figured out he's hasn't been sleeping very much, and when I confronted him about it, he took off on the verge of tears blocking himself in his room. I thought we were making such good progress, but after last night, I'm not so sure and am at a loss as to what to do?"
Dr. Kintober nods sympathetically, listening to his dear friend's troubles, "Ah yes, the teenage years. They say the 2's are terrible, but I think the adolescent years are the worst. The child is going through so many changes all at once in development, not to mention if they're going to school or dealing with trauma like your boy. It can leave the most experienced and loving parent scrambling. Do you have any plans on what to do to help him?" Eggman taps his chin. "Well, I do ha-"
A rapid succession of high-pitched beeping emanating from the doctor's wrist cuts him off; he looks at his wrist in bewilderment. "What on earth? Excuse me for one second." Dr. Kintober waves him off that it was no trouble as Eggman slid his jacket sleeve back to examine his wrist computer. An alert pops up on the tiny screen, "Danger subject's temperature is dropping below safe zone!"
"This doesn't look good." Eggman mutters, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Hold on just a moment; I need to make a quick call." quickly, the doctor leaves the room for the quieter hallway while his fingers fly across the screen, dialing a number. The sound of a ring on the other line begins just as he enters the silent hallway waiting anxiously as the phone continues to ring.
He absently twirled his mustache staring at the little phone emoji still ringing. He frowned in annoyance when the machine beeped for him to leave a message, "Metal. It's me, Eggman." he lowly whispered before raising his voice, "What's going on? I just got an alert from Sonic's collar that his temperature is dropping. Call me back!" hanging up, the doctor wondered why Metal didn't answer. He always answers when I call. Trying to shake off the dread bubbling in his gut, Eggman calmly returned to sit next to his friend.
"Everything alright?" Dr. Kintober asks; seeing Eggman's worried expression and his now touseled mustache, the large man sighs. "I don't know. I just got an alert that something is wrong at home, and no one answered the phone." He glances at his watch and the weather broadcast, the tv showing the massive storm getting worse. "I'm worried something's happened to the boy. If I don't hear anything before the meeting starts, I'll need to leave before the storm completely stops me from being able to go home." A firm hand grips his shoulder, shaking it gently in reassurance, "Don't worry, old bean. I'm sure everything is fine. If you do have to leave us, I'll make sure the board knows that an emergency came up." Eggman sighs, thankful for having such an understanding friend. It eased his anxiety minutely. "Thank you."
Over the next few minutes, the two friends made small talk as they watched the forecast and the ticking clock; Eggman tried one more time to contact Metal Sonic but was met with the answering machine again. It was down to the wire, with the two being the only ones left in the refreshment room before Eggman concluded that he had to go. "I'm sorry about this. Please give everyone my apologies, and I'll contact you as soon as I can."
"Don't worry about it, just get home safe!" Dr. Kintober pushed, handing the doctor his briefcase before the two quickly separated. Eggman nodded, sprinting to the elevator doors pressing the button for the basement garage; he prayed that he would make it home in time. More alerts popped up as he hurried through the hospital to his Eggmobile.
Eggman floated out of the city in record time, going as fast as the vehicle could go while still maintaining visual contact. Despite his hurry, it would still take the human 2 hours before he would reach the base, and with the storm growing in ferocity, it delayed him by another half hour, according to his GPS. Leaving Eggman almost 3 hours to continue his attempts to contact Metal (who kept ignoring his calls) and for him to worry and fret about what was going on. He speculated wildly on what could possibly be happening at the base, as the increasing amount of alerts pushed his anxiety further.
He didn't know what was going on with Sonic, but it was scaring him to death, "Danger temperature dropping!"
"Danger heartbeat rate decreasing!"
"Danger brainwave measurements are at erratic levels!"
"Danger! Danger! Danger!"
It was the longest and most stress-filled 2 and a half hours of Eggman's life.

Sonic's head jerked up again, slamming against the wall with a thud. The hit was hard enough to cause a migraine, but he barely felt the pain. He barely felt anything; the blue hero's coat was almost completely covered in white and frozen underneath. The snow reaching his mid-calf were he standing up, but sitting on the ground half curled up, the white powder almost covered him completely.
Over the last hour, Sonic had gone from violently shivering to hardly moving at all, a dangerous sign of hyperthermia. The hedgehog's nose was frozen solid from its constant dripping, and he was losing the battle to keep awake.
He almost felt warm and cozy sitting out here in the white blanket, and he was so tired. Sonic was so tempted just to close his eyes and sleep. Can't sleep...must stay...awake...must wait...for...help...somebody...please...help. The wind howled with flurries of flakes, hitting him like a thousand sharp needles; the sky was so dark it almost looked like the night sky without any moon or stars. The temptation grew to let a dreamless sleep take him. So...tired...maybe...if I...close my...eyes just...for a...second...to...rest...
One minute he was staring into the white blizzard, the next nothing but darkness. The high-pitched howling turned into white noise as his brain and body began to shut down, and his breathing slowed.
"sonic!"
"Sonic!"
"SONIC!"
A gravelly voice desperately yells hard boots crunch loudly into the snow. His ears attempt a twitch to the sound approaching, the faint disturbing noise pulling him back to earth. The voice calls his name again, and Sonic feels somebody lift his head, "Wake up! Wake up, Sonic! Don't you dare leave me now!"
That voice...sounds...I-I know it...who?
His brain struggled to place the voice with a face, but he was so fuzzy-headed that he couldn't make a match. Leaving him with the only option to open his eyes, it was a battle to try. Sonic's lids felt like 10-ton weights, and he wished he could have lifted his arms to rub the sleep away. But they weighed just as much, stiffly stuck wrapped around his legs.
Any strength Sonic had before had been stolen from him by the frigid air. Every time his lids lifted enough for him to catch a glimpse of the outside world, his eyelids would fall again; several times, the blue blur almost gave up. But Sonic was curious about who the soothing voice emanated from, and he wasn't a quitter; he was a fighter till the end! It was a monumental task but, he finally managed to peek them open enough to make out Eggman's silhouette, and his eyelids rose further in surprise.
"Oh, thank Chaos! You're awake! Sonic, what happened? What are you doing out here?!-Never mind, we need to get you inside right now!" Eggman hurries, digging his hands through the snow surrounding the blue devil. Ignoring the dangerous temperatures, he takes off his jacket, carefully wrapping it around Sonic before picking him up.
The blue blur gazed at Eggman in shock and confusion. Though he knew what the doctor was doing, he couldn't comprehend what the man was saying. His ears felt as if they were stuffed with cotton and his vision was blurry from staring into the blinding white for so long. Sonic couldn't believe it! Was this some hallucination of his dying mind? A trick to lift his spirits before he sunk into permanent sleep?
Eggman was here!
He's here! Please, oh please, Chaos, don't let this be some hallucination before I die. He begged. Suddenly pain radiated through his body, and a scream tore through his throat as his back curled inward, thrusting his chest out. It hurts! It hurts! He wanted to yell and scream. The pain was so intense like someone had lit his body on fire, but all that came out was a ragged cry. He heard Eggman saying something and knew he was being carried inside the base away from the storm when the dark sky turned grey with soft lights shining on him.
With a whimper, Sonic steadies his strained breathing as he squints his eyes, watching the doctor carry him yelling at someone just out of his line of sight, then Eggman switches to looking down at him, talking in a soothing tone.
The blue devil shakily smiles. He was so confused and in pain but didn't care. All that mattered was that Eggman had found him, and he was back in his caretaker's arms again! He was being carried and held again! Sonic could feel his heart squeezing in his chest, and the dying fire in it roar back to life, overriding the awful buzzing going through his limbs. Tears and a gasp escape as a cocktail of emotions swirls; joy, sadness, heartache, remorse. All his thoughts from before colliding together in his mind competing for attention. Urging Sonic to explain to the doctor what had happened, how happy he was to see him, how sorry he was for not explaining himself the other day, and how he wanted to make up for it all!
But to the doctor, Sonic's desperate and fast-paced confession came out as nothing but pain-filled cries and blubbering in between nasty-sounding coughs and wheezing. Eggman just nodded like he understood and continued to shush the little hedgehog gently as he tried to get him warm as safely as he could.
Orbot hurried up to him with a thick blanket. The doctor took it with shaking hands, removing his ruined suit jacket tossing it out. Holding the frozen hedgehog close, he guided Sonic's frozen limbs to wrap around a hot water bottle Cubot handed him. The blue devil, still blubbering, instinctually sensed the heat and curled around it, giving Eggman the ability to wrap him up tightly in the blanket so no lifesaving heat would escape allowing the blue blur to soak it all up.
The doctor holds the hedgehog burrito close as an added measure to help gauge when the hot water bottle needs replacing and to comfort the distressed hedgie. "Is there anything else we can do, Master?" Orbot nervously asks, gazing worriedly upon the shivering blue bundle in his creator's arms. Cubot hovers by looking almost as if he could cry (if robots could cry), "Go prepare the recovery room and have an IV line ready along with a steady supply of hot water bottles and blankets. Hopefully, that should do it but be on stand by and ready if he makes a turn for the worst." Eggman commands with a strained voice.
"Yes, sir. We'll be ready when you call." in quiet somber, the red and yellow robots leave the two until they're needed. Eggman releases a sigh dropping back into the couch, giving his heart the chance to slow down; his nerves fried at this point.
He had just arrived at the base to find a small pile of blue quills near the hangar, half-hidden in the snow on the verge of death. Eggman had practically leaped out of his vehicle while it was still running as soon as he spotted the bit of blue fur. Racing to the hedgehog, his heart dropped seeing those lovely green eyes closed. The doctor feared he was too late, but his wrist computer picked up a faint, slow heartbeat from the collar's sensors. Not wasting a second, Eggman pulled Sonic back to the land of the living just before he began his permanent slumber.
The doctor's heart was still racing, and his hands were shaking from shock, thoughts spinning over and over again with images of Sonic looking almost dead in the snow. Eggman had almost lost someone very precious to him.
His fingers tighten around the blanket. I swear on my life to have the most painful death that I will never let anything like this happen again! He swears.
Now at least the worst was past, though Sonic wasn't out of the woods yet. Knowing the hedgehog had to be exhausted, the doctor had to keep him awake until the danger of him slipping into hibernation had passed.
Eggman looks down at his charge. The shivering hedgie's blubbering now reduced to soft crying, tears falling around his pink muzzle, whimpering and nuzzling against his chest. The man could feel his heart aching in sympathy, "It's ok. It's ok. I'm here now, and everything will be alright." Eggman cooes rocking gently, "I'm-hic hic-I'm ss-so-sorry." Sonic weakly whimpers. "No need. You're going to be fine. Just stay awake for a little longer, and then you can go to sleep, ok?" He gets a sniff and a nod in acknowledgment. "Are you still in pain?"
"N-n-no. Ju-just pins n' needles."
"Good. Good," Eggman whispers and nods, squeezing Sonic tighter and patting the underside of the blanket, "You're doing great, Sonic."
"I'm sorry." he apologized again; the doctor frowned, not understanding what he was apologizing for. Perhaps he broke a rule, and that's how he ended up stuck outside? But that doesn't make sense? Or maybe he's sorry about last night? Ah! That's not important right now anyway.
"I don't understand what's wrong or how you ended up half-frozen outside. But we can discuss that later. I'm just glad I found you in time..." he briefly looked up to the clock and his wrist computer, then softly smiled in relief. Sonic's vitals were stable again. The danger had passed. "You just get warm and rest now. It's safe. I'll keep watch."
A little black nose sniffs, and Sonic looks up at the doctor with a small unsure frown, "R-r-r-really? You won't leave m-m-me?" Eggman nods and tenderly kisses his forehead, "Yes, just go to sleep, my little hedgie. I'll be right here." Eggman whispers. The hedgehog's cheeks, already pink, deepen in color, he gazes at the doctor with wide shiny red-rimmed eyes, and he shakily sighs.
Relieved he could finally get some sleep and secure in his caretaker's arms, Sonic closes his eyes, gratefully taking in the heat wrapped around him. The pain slowly fades away, and he finally begins to get some feeling back in his body; Sonic wiggles closer to the doctor's chest, listening to his slow heartbeat allowing it to lull his consciousness to sleep.