Chapter Text
Maddie sits in the uncomfortable hospital chair, her eyes fixed on her husband Tom's peaceful face as he sleeps, hooked up to machines and the oxygen mask that are currently keeping him alive. His chest rises and falls rhythmically, the only sign of life in the sterile room. She gently holds his hand, feeling its warmth seeping into her cold fingers. It's only been a few hours since the incident, but the events she never thought would happen run through her mind like a horrifying movie. Nearly getting impaled by steel bars while stuck to the floor was one thing, but running to find Sonic and then finding Tom out cold on the ground...
The hospital room is filled with a heavy silence, broken only by the steady beeping of the machines and moving green lines on the monitor. Nurses come check on him, not leaving much time in between their visits. Maddie watches as Tom's eyelids flutter, another sign that he's still alive...but barely hanging on.
She considers calling her sister or even Wade just to have someone to talk to, but that would mean telling them the news that Tom might be...
She can't finish that horrible thought.
She's brought back to that moment when she got into the ambulance with Tom, the looks on her boys' faces haunting her every thought.
I should have said something...
Anything—to make sure that they know that Tom isn't in this situation because of them.
Had it been because she was too shocked to speak in that moment as the ambulance doors closed?
Or was it because she's still trying to convince herself?
Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are everything. They've been like sons ever since each of them came so unexpectedly into their lives. She and Tom had welcomed them with open arms, much to Sonic's enthusiasm. He gained two brothers, and she and Tom gained two more sons even if Tails and Knuckles haven't considered the two of them as parents yet like Sonic had.
She and Tom always told them to make good choices, yet they had made the wrong one by getting involved with their break in plan.
She and Tom...
Could it really be just her soon?
"Please hang on," she whispers, refusing to let go of his hand when another nurse comes in to check on him once more.
As the night wears on, Maddie's mind drifts back to the day they exchanged vows, promising to love and cherish each other for better or for worse. Little did they know that 'worse' would come knocking at their door a lot sooner than they thought.
She remembers the first time she and Tom met, the instant connection she felt with this kind, loving man who always put her needs before his own. He stood by her through everything, constantly putting up with her sister's mean comments and accusations.
If only she and Tom had stayed home where they belonged, none of this would be happening. She'd even give Tom's creepy dummy another chance.
This isn't a game anymore and they both should have realized that sooner.
She'd give anything to see him standing on two feet again, unharmed.
She's a vet, she's been able to help some animals out of the darkest woods when their owners had thought it was the end. She should be able to help her own husband, but she's not a human nurse. She doesn't entertain the idea of trying to help him when she'd likely only make things worse.
She turns back to her still husband, gently squeezing his hand again and willing him to wake up, to open his eyes and smile at her like he always does.
"Please don't do this," she whispers, trying to hold back tears. "I need you. Our boys need you. Sonic needs you."
But there's no response.
She keeps her gaze locked on Tom's chest, still rising and falling. But his breathing sounds labored, signaling that he's probably in more pain than even the doctors can comprehend.
"What happened?!" she'd nearly shouted at Sonic, trying to keep her panic under control.
"I-I don't know, he was attacked by S-Shadow," Sonic had answered her with equal panic.
"Wait, wait, who's Shadow?" she'd asked, almost failing to keep herself calm. She has to for Sonic's sake...
"Another hedgehog who looks like me, but he's black and red. He s-said he did what he had to, a-and disappeared right before you got here!"
She almost couldn't understand him because of how fast he'd talked.
He'd been too panicked to give her any more details than that, but she got the gist of it pretty quick. Now she knows how Rachel felt when Tails showed up at her wedding.
Now there's four of them? An evil one? Knuckles had been misguided by Robotnik. He'd changed sides, but Maddie doesn't know anything about Shadow other than what Sonic had told her in that quick moment.
Tom was punched by yet another superpowered hedgehog, of course there would be major damage like internal injuries. She doesn't want to know about what other damage that hit might have done to him on the inside or outside. Does Shadow even regret doing what he did to their family? Was Sonic able to stop him?
The sound of footsteps in the hallway pulls Maddie out of her reverie. She looks up to see not a nurse but the head doctor doctor entering the room, his expression grave. Her heart sinks as she realizes that this might be the moment she has been dreading—the moment when Tom's battle comes to an end.
The doctor approaches Maddie, his eyes filled with sympathy. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Wachowski," he begins, and she knows what he's about to say even before the words leave his mouth. Tom's condition has deteriorated rapidly thanks to that hedgehog's strength, and there's little they can do to save him. "His internal injuries are worse than we thought. You may have to prepare yourself..."
Maddie's world comes crashing down around her as the doctor delivers the news. She feels a dull ache in her chest, a mix of grief and disbelief washing over her like a tidal wave.
This can't be happening, she thinks.
Not to Tom...not to their boys.
The doctor says something else, but she doesn't hear him. His words are muffled by the ringing in her ears. When she doesn't respond, the doctor leaves her alone again with Tom.
Not long after he leaves, something suddenly catches her attention out of the corner of her eye.
Standing up, she walks towards the window as the light burns brighter and brighter.
She should go back and stay sitting with Tom, but the light outside is too hypnotizing, even when it reaches its brightest and she has to cover her eyes for a moment until it slowly fades away.
From what she can tell, the threat from space is eliminated thanks to Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. She knew they could count on them.
Their wonderful, harmless boys. They wouldn't hurt a fly. They weren't Shadow. This is all that other hedgehog's fault. It's GUN's fault and no one else's, especially not the three young kids who had made their lives so much brighter.
So why can't she convince herself?
She's startled by sudden beeping from the machines surrounding Tom, running back to his side.
"Tom!" she screams, frozen to the spot.
Nurses come rushing inside, one of them pulling her away from the bed. She can only stand in shock as the crazy beeping continues. She does her best to focus on him, her own heart almost stopping.
His chest isn't moving.
He's not breathing.
She doesn't hear herself continuing to scream, praying that the medical staff will be able to revive him, but the monitor lines go flat, the continuous beep echoing sharply in her ears.
She didn't even get to say goodbye and she was right there in the room with him, too distracted by the impending doom outside.
She should be happy. Tom should be happy. They should be celebrating with their boys and making s'mores, roasting marshmallows by the campfire with Ozzy.
It's all because of them—
She should have never thought it, but she can't stop thinking it. Maybe if she and Tom hadn't let GUN haul Sonic and the others off to fight said hedgehog, none of this would be happening. All of them would be safe and sound at home together, where they all belong.
The nurses offer their condolences as well as the same doctor from before, but she still doesn't hear them. She can't even hear herself crying, the world completely drowned out around her.
The tears finally stream down Maddie's face as she leans in to press a kiss to Tom's forehead. She whispers words of love and farewell, her voice cracking with emotion. The realization that she'll never hear his voice again, never feel his touch, never share another laugh or movie night with him, hits her like a ton of bricks.
She's alone once more with Tom, but he's not here anymore. He doesn't need the oxygen mask anymore.
She's truly alone...
How could they have been so stupid? Why did Tom have to be the one to find Sonic? Why did they even bother taking in Tails and Knuckles as their own, not to mention Sonic? She and Tom should have listened to Walters that first time he came to their house, offering them nothing but an Olive Garden gift card after everything they went through. But that hadn't mattered, because they'd gained someone worth so much more...
And now Tom is gone because of him.
Because of them.
He's gone, his beautiful light dimmed.
Dead.
Lifeless.
So still...
And there isn't anything she can do to bring him back.
She sobs quietly, gripping Tom's still hand harder and willing it to squeeze back.
It doesn't.
What is she going to tell them?
Sonic's face when she'd gotten into the ambulance sticks in her mind, refusing to leave.
What is she going to tell him?