Amy got out of the taxi that took her home. She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Being around Sonic was always so exhausting. They had met there to go on a shopping trip, although that had completely flown out the window when Sonic gave her his surprise gift.

“That jerk.” She grumbled. “Can’t even think about his actions– Shadow!”

Amy was shocked to see Shadow standing right outside her door. He turned his head to glance at her, although his eyes looked distant and glassy. His body fell to the ground like a rock.

“Oh Chaos!” She yelled as she rushed over to him. Sure, they weren’t on the best terms, but Shadow was the Ultimate Lifeform. He wasn’t supposed to just go around fainting like that.

She wondered why he was at her house, although she shook this off to deal with the immediate situation. His head was swelling quickly, so she wanted to put ice on it, although when she felt his body it was ice cold. This is when she noticed how stupidly he was dressed. Shirtless with sweatpants! No wonder he was ice cold! Didn’t Shadow know how to take care of himself?

She dragged him inside and put him in front of the fireplace. She started a quick fire, then went to get a heating pack. Just tossing it in the fire for a minute would make it almost too warm to touch, so she would have to wrap it in a towel. She rushed to take Shadow’s temperature. She needed to know just how bad off he was.

Shadow was 60°F (15°C).

That was really bad. Much too low for even the Ultimate Lifeform. Her heart began to beat faster in panic, although she took a few short breaths to calm her nerves. Just place the heating pack on his chest, wrap him warmly in blankets, and keep him by the fire. He’ll be completely fine. He had survived way worse, after all.

He was out for a few hours. Part of her wondered if she should have simply called an ambulance, although the doctors didn’t know enough about his physiology to actually be of much help to him. Not that she knew much either. She frowned.

Shadow was a different breed entirely. After all, he was at a deathly cold temperature and still had a heartbeat.

At least she believed he was alive. He had to be alive. He had to be okay.

Amy decided to go off and cook something for Shadow. Sure, she didn’t know how long it would take him to wake up nor what condition he would be in after he did, although he needed something warm to heat. She decided to cook up a large portion of her famous Beef Stroganoff. She had to take some for herself, as she hadn’t eaten dinner yet, although there was plenty more left for Shadow.

Even after hours, Shadow didn’t move an inch. His breaths were a bit deeper, his chest was rising and falling now, although his eyes were still closed shut.