The Institute - 10

Sonic stared as several guards dragged Silver into the dormitories after dinner.

"What are you…oh my god!" Manic nearly passed out when he saw Silver. He and Sonic ran forward. Silver lay in a heap on the ground. "Silv!"

Silver muttered something unintelligible. Sonic and Manic knelt down and glanced at each other before they seized Silver's arms. Silver was awake though his amber eyes were glazed. The first thing they noticed was the smell. Silver smelled heavily of sex and slightly of his mate.

"Silv? Silver, are you all right?" Manic asked.

Silver turned his head so he was looking directly at his friend.

"Yeah. I'm all right," he answered in a dazed tone.

"Come on. I'm going to take you to the showers."

"No…I'm okay."

"Babe, you're barely standing up by yourself." Manic turned. "Sonic, could you go into Silver's trunk and get out some fresh clothes for me?" Sonic nodded. He slipped out from underneath Silver's arm and went to the bed. He felt bad for snooping through Silver's personal things, but he didn't have a choice. Silver's trunk was farily organized, making his clothes easy to find. He lifted up a pair of pants, a shirt, and a pair of boxers. He brought them to the bathroom and walked past the rows of toilets and sinks to the showers. One of them was running, the door slightly ajar.

"Manic?" Sonic called.

"Come in Sonic. The door is open," Manic called back.

Sonic pushed the door open with his foot. Feeling slightly nervous, he went in. The shower consisted of a small changing area with a bench and a shower with no curtain. Sonic put the clothes on the bench next to a towel and looked up. Instantly, a blush grew across his face; Silver was completely naked, being supported by a half-naked Manic. They were standing sideways, water dripping down their bodies and soaking their fur. Silver looked incredibly lost. Sonic could see bite marks on his neck and horrible bruises on his lower body and winced. Manic turned off the shower and hauled Silver out of the shower. He sat him on the bench and started drying him off. Silver didn't utter a word of protest. He flinched slightly when Manic touched the bite marks on his neck, but didn't say anything. He moved uncomfortably as Manic moved lower.

"Easy there Silv," Manic murmured. "I'm not gonna hurt you." He finished drying off Silver and helped him into his clean clothes. He turned. "Hey Sonic, can you give me a hand here?"

Sonic nodded and moved forward. He and Manic grabbed Silver by the arms and helped him back to the dormitories. They laid him in his bed.

"Got to sleep Silv. We'll be right here when you wake up," Manic said soothingly.

Silver nodded and closed his eyes. Manic found a chair and placed it next to Silver's bunk. He was about to sit down when he felt a warm hand on his back. He turned, surprised. It was Sonic.

"I'll stay up with him," he said softly.

Manic shook his head. "In your condition…"

"I'll be fine," Sonic interrupted. "I'm probably not going to be able to sleep anyway."

"Why?" Manic asked.

"A lot to think about," Sonic mumbled.

Manic stared at Sonic's middle. "Yeah." Although the azure didn't completely show it yet, Manic knew that Sonic's clothing were starting to get tighter. He didn't feel right about letting the pregnant boy go without sleep, but Sonic was stubborn. Manic knew he'd get his way whether he'd like it or not. Reluctantly, the lime green male went to bed.

...............................................

Silver woke up the next morning slightly confused and in a lot of pain. He bit back a low groan as he sat up. Suddenly, two hands grabbed him by the arms and forced him to lie back down.

"Easy Silv," a very familiar voice murmured.

Silver had no choice by to obey. He laid back down and closed his eyes for a few seconds in an attempt to remember what had happened. After a while, he opened them again and stared direcly into Manic's chocolate brown eyes.

"My mate and I…did it, didn't we?" he asked.

"Yeah, Silv, you did," Manic said soothingly. "You couldn't walk so the guards dragged you back. Sonic and I took care of you."

"Sonic?" Silver asked.

"Shh." Manic pointed down. Silver looked. Sonic was kneeling next to the bed, his head resting on his arms centimeters away from Silver's thigh. He was sleeping.

"I didn't have the heart to move him."

"How long has he been like that?"

Manic shrugged. "I dunno. Since last night I guess. He stayed up all night with you." "He shouldn't have. He should have gotten sleep. In his condition, he needs all the sleep he can get."

"Don't you think I know that?" Manic snapped. "But you know how stubborn he can be."

"Mmm," Sonic said softly. He lifted his head and slowly opened his emerald eyes. He looked at Manic first, followed by Silver. "Silver, you're awake."

"Yeah." Silver nodded. "Ho w are you feeling?"

"Better. Much better."

"Sore?" Manic asked.

"A little," Silver admitted, his face flushed.

"Well, if you eat breakfast, I can give you these." Manic opened his hand and revealed two small innocent-looking pills.

"Are those…?" Silver breathed.

"Yup. Painkillers," Manic said proudly.

"How did you get them?" Silver whispered, looking at his friend suspiciously.

"Oh, I have my ways," Manic answered mysteriously. He closed his hand around the pills. "But you've gotta eat breakfast first. You can't take these on an empty stomach."

"I know." Silver sighed softly.

Manic put a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Why don't you go and get changed for breakfast?" Sonic looked like he was about to protest. "Don't worry about Silver. I'll look after him. I've done this before."

"Okay," Sonic said reluctantly.

He turned and walked to his bunk. He pulled a clean outfit from his trunk and pulled his wrinkled clothes off. His hand absently strayed to his middle and ran over the taut skin beneath his peach fur. According to the doctor, he was four months pregnant. His belly was only beginning to show and it was minimal. He sighed softly and pulled his clothes on. By the time he returned to Silver's bunk, the silver-furred teen had gotten up and was getting dressed with help from Manic. Silver absently touched the bite mark on his neck and shivered. Manic wrapped his arm around him and led him to the door. They and the rest of the Carriers went to the cafeteria. Everyone stared at Silver, who was being supported by Manic.

"Mephiles must have took him pretty hard for him to be limping like that," Knuckles muttered.

"Yeah," Shadow replied distractedly, staring elsewhere.

Scourge followed his eyes and found that he was staring at his mate. The pregnant teen was sitting on one side of Silver eating. The three boys were silent. Manic ate with much enthusiasm, Sonic politely chewed his food, and Silver, who sat between them, only picked at his food. Manic leaned over and murmured something in Silver's ear. Silver scowled and started eating. When his plate was clean, Sonic stood up and took away all three plates. Shadow followed Sonic's every movement, although he mostly stared at Sonic's belly. Even from across the room they could see that he was starting to get a bump. Scourge silently watched as Manic slipped Silver something though he couldn't see exactly what it was. Scourge supposed that it was something for the pain Silver was obviously in. At the end of breakfast, they went to their lessons, as usual. Scourge sat with Silver, Manic, and Sonic.

He addressed Sonic first. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Sonic answered with a small smile. "The nausea is finally gone."

"That's good." Scourge's eyes strayed to Sonic's slightly bulging stomach.

"He's…kicking me. Would you like to feel?" Sonic said.

Scourge's eyes lit up. "You don't mind?"

Sonic smiled. "Not at all."

Scourge gently pressed his hand against Sonic's belly. At first, he didn't feel anything, but then he felt a faint fluttering, followed by a definitive kick.

"Heh, I feel him," he chuckled. Sonic smiled as he withdrew his hand. "So you're sure it's a boy?"

"Yeah." Sonic nodded. "The doctor did an ultrasound yesterday. Can you…can you tell Shadow that I'm carrying a son for him?"

Scourge nodded. "I will." He turned to Silver. His expression was gentle. "What about you Silver? Are you okay?"

Silver shrugged. "I'm surviving somehow."

"Mephiles was rough again, wasn't he?"

"Yes."

"All right. Let's have order in here," the teacher snapped, walking into the classroom. Everyone fell silent at once.

The morning classes went by without incident, as did lunch. Mr. Jacobs approached Sonic during the afternoon classes to have a private conversation with him, as had been their custom since everyone had learned that Sonic was pregnant.

"So you went to the doctor yesterday?" Mr. Jacobs asked.

"Yes." Sonic nodded. "He said that the baby is healthy and growing nicely."

"Good. Very good," the stallion smiled.

"And…" Sonic said softly, his hand straying to his slight bulge. Mr. Jacobs looked at him inquisitively. "He did an ultrasound. I…I'm carrying a son."

"Oh Sonic," Mr. Jacobs breathed. "That's…well that's wonderful. Of course, we won't be able to tell if he's a Carrier or not until after he's born."

"How will you know?" Sonic blurted out.

Mr. Jacobs smiled. "It's quite simple. If he's a Carrier, his reproductive system will be different. It won't be developed, of course, but the doctor will be able to see a definite womb."

"Oh." "You won't have to worry about that for another four months." Mr. Jacobs's deep brown eyes quickly scanned Sonic's body. "It looks like you've put on some weight."

Sonic blushed. "Yes. My clothes are starting to feel a little tight."

"We'll have to arrange for some maternity clothes to be brought for you. We haven't had a pregnancy here at The Institute for a very long time. You don't realize it right now, but you've given hope to the other Carriers. Maybe this streak of infertility will finally be at an end."

"I hope so," Sonic murmured.

......................................

He was six years old. His father was yelling at his mother for one reason or another. He didn't really know. He huddled in the shadows, praying his father didn't notice him.

"Boy!" his father bellowed.

His breath caught in his throat and he scrambled to his feet. He hurried forward to where his father was waiting. "Y…yes sir?" he stammered.

"Clean yourself up," his father snapped. "We're having guests."

"Yes sir,'' he nodded and rushed to the back of the small house where his mother was cleaning herself up.

"Oh Shadow," she said when he entered. "Hurry and clean yourself up. Your father is expecting some company soon. Wash your face."

"Yes ma'am," he murmured. He scrubbed his face until his mother was satisfied it was clean and then waited patiently as his mother untangled his unruly quills. Finally, she finished and the two of them went to the front of the house to wait for their guests to arrive.

He didn't understand when some of his father's male guests started raping his mother. He was much too young to understand what was going on. When he heard his mother screamihg, he became very angry. He rushed forward and swung his fists around. At six, he was not very frightening and the men were at least three times his size, but they seemed to find him amusing. They chuckled and stopped raping his mother.

"Look at this," one of the men chuckled.

"Leave my mother alone," he demanded.

The men only laughed.

"Your son is very angry," a second man noted.

"I apologize Jonathan," his father said. "He doesn't know his place."

"No, it's all right," Jonathan replied. "I find it amusing, actually." He cupped Shadow's cheek with one of his huge hands. Shadow turned his head in disgust. "Look at me."

Shadow responded by giving the man a good kick in the shin. The man grunted and sent Shadow flying across the room. "He's spirited, that's for sure. He's got a mean kick too. Have you tried breaking him?

Shadow's father gave a low groan. "Have I ever! The kid refuses to break, no matter how hard I hit him."

"Then let me suggest an alternative."

"I'm listening."

..................................................

Shadow woke up sweating and trembling. He shot out of bed and headed for the bathroom. He barely made it in time; last night's dinner quickly left his stomach. He gagged after he had finished throwing up. Quickly, he flushed the toilet and rinsed his mouth out in the sink before anyone else woke up. Thankfully, all the Semes were heavy sleepers. He changed his clothes and crawled back into bed.

"Stupid dreams," he muttered as he tried to go back to sleep.