(Amy's POV)

It's been a year since my husband disappeared and the police couldn't find him anywhere; no evidence, no witnesses, no leads, and no trace of the body being found. And now I'm a single mother raising my daughter Iris alone. Iris would be grown up in the future asking me about her father but I can't bear to lie to her. When that time comes, she will be heartbroken to find out the truth and she would be angry at me for hiding the truth from her.

My friends and my neighbor friend Tails have been contacting me but I just wanted my solitude instead of being comforted because only my husband can make me so happy. It's so hard to move on and find a new father for Iris because every son or daughter needs a mother and a father to raise them to be good and that one day when they're old enough to live on their own and have a kid of their own, they do the same too.

I held my baby and let her drink her warm milk but carefully without getting a stomach ache.

"Easy now Iris, slow and steady." I said quietly as she drank.

She is my little angel still by my side; so innocent like me but strong like her daddy. If only he was here to watch her grow up so beautifully like an angel. After she was done drinking, I patted her gently on her back to make her burp.

"Good girl." I said.

Then I heard the doorbell ring, it's probably Tails again. Sighing in defeat that he can't respect my solitude because he's worried about me, just like Blaze, Cream, Tangle, and Whisper are worried about me.

I put Iris in her crib and went to the door to see if it's Tails or the girls at my door.

"Hello Amy. It's me Tails. I brought someone with me." Tails spoke through the door.

I opened the door to see who this 'someone' is with him; when I did, I saw a tall blue hedgehog wearing a black shirt and black hooded cloak. His black sneakers were very worn out like he's been wearing the same shoes forever in his life or something. He didn't say anything like he's hiding something in his mouth.

"Who's he?" I asked.

"Let's go inside and let us explain." Tails said before this stranger could say his name.

"Amy, do you know about the legendary Dark Wind that's been protecting the people for over 200 years?" Tails asked.

"Yes, he's hard to see who he really is in the dark." I said.

"Well, this is him" Tails gestures to the stranger; has Tails gone nuts or something?

"Really? And how exactly is he the Dark Wind?" I asked.

"Well, let's say he saved my life from bullies when I was a kid and I was shocked at what he is but I realized that he's not evil. He's born with the other half specie like a hybrid. So, you ready to see what his other half is?" Tails said.

"What other half? Is it his green eyes glowing a little or something else?" I asked curiously.

"When I see in the dark yes" I heard Dark Wind speak and I noticed his fangs as well. Oh my god!

"Y-Y-You're a vampire?!" I was getting scared at the sight of this.

"Close, I'm a dhampir and I don't suck blood from your kind. Only on vampires. Please don't think I'm a monster because if I was really a monster, I would've attacked you but I didn't." The stranger said with honesty.

He's got a point there, if he was really a monster, he would've attacked Tails but I don't see any evil in his eyes.

"What's your name?" I asked him again.

"Sonic, Sonic the Dhampir Hedgehog." The stranger said his name.

After a while when he told me the story of his life about his parent's death and his vampire guardians raising him, I felt sad for him. Like he's been alone for centuries with no friends and no love in his heart because he was afraid that my kind would judge him as a monster.

"Oh Sonic. I'm sorry to hear all that misery you've been through." I went up to him and hugged him.

(Sonic's POV)

I was very shocked because no one has ever given me a hug in my life or understand my misery. But something made me feel different from the hug; I felt sparks in my stomach not because I was hungry, it was a confusing feeling at what I'm feeling right now. Could this be that females are very compassionate towards males? Could it be that love is stronger than hatred? This is very new to me.

Without thinking I hugged her back, it really eases the pain I've felt. "Thanks Amy."

"Welcome Sonic. It's been a while since I really talked to anyone since my husband's disappearance. I've struggled to raise my little baby girl Iris by myself." Amy said.

I looked over and saw a crib. I walked over and looked down seeing a cute baby hedgehog girl sleeping with her thumb in her mouth.

"She's gorgeous like a cute little angel." I said.

"Shhhhh... she's asleep." Amy shushed.

"Right sorry. She looks a bit like you." I said.

"Her quills are from her dad." Amy said sadly.

I noticed the baby waking up a little and when she looked at me, she squealed in excitement that she thinks I'm her daddy, "Dada!"

"Oh boy. Amy, I think Iris thinks I'm her daddy. Is there a way to convince her that I'm not?" I asked nervously.

"She's a baby and she's too young to understand the truth." Amy picked up Iris in her arms. "Oh, you silly baby. No dada, that's Sonic."

Iris just giggled and reached out for me. "Okay calm down Iris" I chuckled.

I held her carefully and I'm surprised that she's not scared of me when she noticed my fangs. Perhaps she's too young to understand vampires.

"Dada." Iris said to me.

"Oh, Iris." I stroked her quills gently that I'm truly not her dad but I guess she wants to call me dad because I'm an adult male that she thinks is her dad. She cutely purred as I held her close.

"That reminds me, Iris needs a new father. She's been crying a few times that she believed her daddy would return. But he never came back." Amy said.

"But we aren't married and I just met you." I said with a blush.

"I know but she now thinks you're her daddy now. Every child needs a father and a mother, Sonic. By the time she's grown up and understands maturely, she'll be heartbroken that her real dad is gone. She needs a new father to raise her to be strong and brave while I raise her to be kind and compassionate." Amy explained.

"I know how that feels, Amy. I never had real parents in my life, only guardians." I said and handed Iris to her.

"My whole life I had no love in my heart because I was heartbroken when my guardians told me the truth about my parents' death and it made me feel angry that I wanted revenge and justice on my mother's vampire clan. But for years it brought no peace and nothing helped to avenge my parents." I sighed and looked away but I felt Amy's hand on my shoulder.

"Revenge is not always the answer Sonic. Maybe it's time to start a new leaf. You help me and I help you." Amy said.

"But aren't you scared of me? Most of the times I stayed away from the mortal world because I was afraid they will judge me as a monster just because I have these." I opened my mouth to reveal my fangs.

"Now that you just revealed twenty minutes ago, I'm not afraid." Amy smiled.

I chuckled that she's being honest and sincere, "Vampire movies don't scare you but me being half vampire that is real, you're not even that scared?"

"If you were really a monster you would've bit me in the neck but you didn't." Amy said.

"Tails said the same thing earlier." I smiled.

"Iris, is Dada a monster?" Amy said to her.

"Ga!" She gurgled as in saying 'no'.

"I take that as a no." I guessed.

"I'll leave you two to talk. Ciao." Tails said to us before leaving.

"How long have you been wearing worn out shoes? Does your feet hurt?" Amy asked, looking at my worn-out shoes.

"A bit." I showed her the undersides of the shoes, exposing my feet in the holes.

Amy puts Iris back in the crib and brings me to her bedroom to look at my poor feet, "My god. Your feet look injured." She removed my worn-out shoes and take some a look at my injured feet.

I was getting nervous at this because I never had a woman show concern for me. Silver and Shadow show little concern for me but they think I'm able to take care of myself at a physical age.

Amy went into her closet to get something and it was a shoe box. "I've been saving this for my husband for our anniversary but since he's not here, maybe you should have it." She opened it and there was a pair of red puma sneakers.

"It's been a while since someone has ever given me gifts." I took the shoes and put them on, they were just my size.

I feel my feet no longer uncomfortable anymore and I tested it to walk around to feel the difference and it really made my feet feel okay.

"Oh, thanks Amy." I thanked her.

"Does it feel better?" She asked.

"Much better Mrs. Rose." I hugged her.

I don't know what this feeling is but maybe women are very compassionate like she said before, perhaps women really are like Aphrodite while men are tough like Zeus. Or perhaps I never been adapted to know about women because all my life I've been raised by two male vampires.

"I hope you'll enjoy them." Amy said.

"I'm enjoying them already. It's like my feet is healed right now." I said, getting used to the new shoes.

"What's It's like to have both sides within you? You said you're a dhampir, so you probably know about being normal" Amy asked me.

"It's not very easy being both in one. My vampire side can be cool at times but I have to drink blood to satisfy my hunger, only vampire blood I go after instead of mortal blood. And if I don't drink blood, my hunger makes me go aggressive like an angry bloodlust looking to attack anyone. My normal side is mostly easy when I have to eat normal food for my half side to survive. Kinda like how your kind needs to eat food to live so you don't starve to death" I explained to her.

"I see. Do you ever feel more hedgehog or do you feel more vampire?" Amy asked.

"Eh, hard to tell but to me I feel like I'm leaning towards normal than a monster." I said.

"Alright, so that shouldn't be a problem." Amy said.

"Yeah, well, I should get going. You need some sleep and I need to hunt vampires at night. I am the legendary Dark Wind." I said.

"Will I ever see you again?" Amy asked.

"Yes, maybe a few nights when the sun goes down." I held her chin to look at me. "I read your poem book and you have great taste about love."

"Thanks Sonic." Amy smiled sweetly.

"Good night Mrs. Rose." I said my good bye to her as I jumped out the window and ran from building to building.

-

I made it back to the mansion in the woods, I'm guessing those guys are probably worried sick about me. Once I got in, Shadow and Silver were in the living room playing check games.

"Hey guys." I said.

They saw me but they looked shocked like something was different about me.

"What?" I asked.

"Where did you get new shoes?" Silver looking at my new shoes.

"Well it's a long story. I met this poem writer Amelia Rosette aka Amy Rose. She gave these to me as a gift after letting me comfort her for her loss of her husband. And don't worry she trusts me like Tails does now." I told them a bit about Amy Rose.

"What?! Please tell me she's not gonna tell anyone else!" Silver was concerned.

"No, I trust her. She's a single mother to a little girl named Iris." I assured him.

"She's probably very lonely like you are." Shadow guessed.

"Almost, she only got her daughter. Like I said, her husband disappeared for some time." I said.

"No one ever found the body or trace of him? Why?" Silver asked.

"She didn't say how he disappeared. She's been waiting for him to return for a year but he never came back. She thinks something happened to him and she assumes he's dead and now she has to take responsibilities to raise her daughter as a single mother" I explained.

"That sounds almost like your mother. When she lost your father, she had to save you by giving you to us so you would be safe. A mother's love lies within you, Sonic." Shadow said.

"Yeah, I miss her very much." I gave a sad sigh.