Shadow of a Doubt

Night's End and New Friends

(Maria)

After the bills where payed, the six of them walked back to the car. There was no moon, but the stars were exquisite. For some reason, Maria found the sky captivating.

"Good night, girls." Silver sighed, giving Blaze a hug and peck on the cheek.

Sonic placed a hand on Amy's hip and gave her small kiss. "Night." he muttered before turning to walk home with his brothers.

"I enjoyed hanging out, Maria. Even if it wasn't intentional." Shadow admitted, shaking her hand.

"Yeah, I had a good time." Maria smiled, releasing his hand.

The boys left as the girls climbed into the car. If Maria had thought she would get away without being questioned, she was severely wrong.

As she sat in the back seat, Amy and Blaze spun in their seats to look at her. They shot off a bunch of questions before Maria could even open her mouth.

"I'm not going to answer, so you might as well stop with the 20 Questions." she stated calmly, leaning back into the seat. Closing her eyes, she could hear Amy turn around and start the car.

When they got home, Maria quickly went to her room. As she undressed and got ready for bed all she could think about was a special hedgehog as deep and dark as space. Why am I so drawn to him? I feel like he's the key to my past, but something's holding me back.

Slipping into bed she tried to figure out why she might feel this way. The only thought she couldn't stop thinking about, that was a real concern, worried her. What if I get my memories back and I have a family and friends? Then I might have to leave.

Eyes heavy, she drifted off to sleep. Thinking about her possible family and how far away they might be, was the last thing she remembered.

~!~

The next morning, Blaze and Amy had to work so Maria vacuumed the house. When she finished, she chose a book from a bookshelf in the office upstairs. A delightful book about a girl who learns that she has this time traveling gene that everyone thought her cousin was going to have. She's then thrown into a world of mysterious societies, secrets, and men. She was a third the way in when the doorbell rang.

Maria glanced at the clock as she headed towards the door. 1:35 pm. She opened the door to find Tails on the other side with a small satchel over his shoulder.

"Hi, Maria!" he greeted warmly.

"How are you, Tails?" Maria asked, stepping aside to let him in.

"Good, thank you."

"W hat can I do for you?" she asked as they moved to sit in the living room.

"So, I was thinking that maybe if we analyzed a bit of your DNA, we could figure out who you are faster. Would that be something you'd be interested in doing?" Tails had set his bag on the coach beside him.

"Sure! As long as we don't use a blood sample." She thought for a moment. "I think I'm scared of needles. The thought is eliciting a very emotional response from my subconscious."

"Wow, really? That's so interesting! Due to past experiences, your brain must associate needles to some sort of pain or trama. I guess I could use a hair sample instead."

"That sounds like a great idea." Maria ran a hand through her hair, teasing a couple stray strands free.

Tails pulled a little flask from his satchel and together they put the hairs in. After putting the stopper in the top, Tails placed it back into the bag.

"It might take a couple days for the analysis to finish and then compare the results to different databases. But how are you doing?" He asked, pushing the bag aside.

"Good! Tonight the girls are taking me to meet Vanilla, Cream, and Rouge for dinner so I'll know all the girls in gang."

"Nice! Well, I better get back to my shop. My plane needs an oil change and I thought I would drop by before I got dirty." Tails got up.

"All good. You're quite the jack of all trades." Maria smiled, impressed.

"Yeah, I have a bit of a photographic memory and love science. I'm mostly interested in engineering and chemistry, but am considering going into medicine. You know, keep the mechanic stuff hobby. I find myself acting as the resident doctor enough with our group, might as well make it official." He said with a laugh as they headed for the door.

"Well, good luck with that." Maria held the door open for him.

"See ya. Have a good time with the girls tonight." Tails stepped out the door.

"Thanks, I will." As she closed the door she smiled to herself.

What a nice kid. He'll go far in life.

~!~

Maria was laying on the couch in the front room, reading, when Amy and Blaze got home. She learned earlier that the two girls worked at a co-op women's shelter, helping ladies learn skills, get jobs, and stay safe from abusers. Since the shelter was practically run by those living there, Blaze and Amy were not held to a strict schedule so could come and go as they pleased. This made it so that 'hero work' never interfered with their employment. It had sounded like a great set up for giving them something to spend their days on when not being badass crime fighters.

"Maria, we're home! How was your day?" Amy asked, walking into the front room.

"Good! I vacuumed in the morning, Tails came by, and I've been reading a book." Maria replied, sitting up.

"Are you ready to head over to Vanilla's?"

"Yep!"

"Some forewarning: Rouge is very... shall we say... risqué. She has no problem speaking her mind and bringing up more uncomfortable topics." Blaze warned and Amy couldn't help but chuckle.

"That's fine." Maria joined them at the door and the three women left the house.

It was just a short walk down the road to Vanilla's house. It was a small cottage surrounded by trees and a white picket fence. Something straight out of a fairytale.

"Amy! Blaze!" A young rabbit in her teens ran out the front door to greet the three.

"Hey, Cream!" Amy practically skipped the rest of the way to the front gate.

"How's my little punk?" Blaze gave the bunny a fist bump over the fence.

"Great! You must be Maria. I'm Cream the Rabbit." She held out her hand and Maria shook it once in the yard.

"Nice to meet you." Maria smiled.

"Mom and Rouge are in the kitchen. When I left they were arguing over whether I'm old enough to wear makeup."

"Oh god, what is Rouge up to? You don't need any make up." Amy put an arm around Cream's shoulders and they all headed into the house.