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The space outside her window showed the stars and the curve of the Earth. Maria lips curl into a smile as she sits on her bed with her legs folded with a collection of pillows and old plush toys. Her bedroom had posters of handmade drawings of the wildlife of what she found from picture books of the planet, and some made up from what she figured as there as waterfalls as tall mountains and sands flowing over top of each other. She had toys scattered in what her grandfather called organized chaos.
“Ah-hee. Ah~!” She looks down at the little creature resting on her lap that made the noise as he looks up at her with wide red eyes and an adorable smile. She brushes his tiny quills on his face with her thumb. His own hands try to grab hold of it. She giggles as the baby continues to try to grab hold of her thumb.
The door of her bedroom suddenly opens, and she sees its her grandfather by the door side.
“Hi Grandpa,” She greets him warmly. The little one doing the same with a wide smile and little coos, a bit of droll dropping from his mouth. She takes a tissue from her bedside and starts to wipe his mouth before lifting him up and kissing his forehead.
“Ah, I thought I would find you two here.” He looks awkward there standing by the doorway. “You know, you can see him tomorrow, Maria, you didn’t have to take him out of the lab.”
“I couldn’t just leave him alone,” She explains. “Everyone else went to bed and it wouldn't be fair for him.”
“We had cameras inside along with an audio monitor system in place to look after him and the rest of the laboratory.”
She looked down at his cute face as she started to slowly rock him a little in her lap. “He still needs someone to be with him. He was just born yesterday.”
“Created,” He momentarily corrected.
She gives him a look with a tight frown. He sighs and rubs the back of his head. The little one starts chewing on her shirt’s sleeve.
“He can’t just sleep in a hard plastic tray. How did you expect a baby to sleep like that?”
“There was a cushion.”
“It’s too thin for him.”
Neither have raised their voice during the argument. He’s miffed all the same. However, his eyes wandered, and he spots something new in her bedroom. Well...new was a bit of a stretch.
“What is your old baby crib doing in here?” He slightly raises his voice in surprise, the little one picks up the sound pitch and starts to cry. She glares at her guardian before picking up the little one and holding him close as she speaks in a smooth tone.
“Shhhh~ It’s okay, it’s okay.” She comforts him softly and she relaxes as he starts to calm down. She turns her attention back to her grandpa. “Until he can have a bedroom of his own, I’ll keep him inside my room to look after him at night.”
“Maria Robotnik.” He says her full name in a firm tone.
Yet she will not back down. “He needs someone.”
He glares but keeps his voice level. “You have trouble sleeping at night as it is. You yourself need that machine over there,” He points out her own monitoring machine that’s as tall as the bed frame that’s just a large box taking up spare space. “To help keep track of your own vials.”
“I thought of that, but I don’t really need it expect when I’m really sick. Besides,” She points out the little portal version of her own machine that is clipped into crib. “He can use my old monitor that’s already on the crib.”
Her grandfather looks back at the crib, then at her, then at the child. “Well, Project 19-8-1-4-15-23 B needs to be-”
“And another thing,” He looks shocked that she interrupted him. “Why don’t you call him something simpler? Why not just Shadow?”
He looks at the baby hedgehog cradling in her arms, but she keeps her hold on him as her grandfather keeps staring at the two of them. He looks like he wants to keep fighting back, but instead takes a deep breath.
“Okay, but just for tonight.”
So, he says.
“Goodnight, Grandpa,” She smiles. “I love you.”
He opens his mouth then smiles a little as he wishes her the same before closing her door. She smirks as she turns her attention to the infant.
“Don’t worry Shadow,” she gets up and starts walking over to the crib. “I’ll make sure that you’ll get to sleep in a safe warm room.” She kisses his head and carefully as she can, sets him down into the crib.
She grabs some wired clips and sets him up for the night. The sound of his heartbeat showing off on the screen of the crib’s machine. Steady as it is, she notices that he still looks wide away as his arms are out to reach for her. Her smile grows softer as she brushes the top of his head.
Soon, she finds herself singing a soft lullaby. His eyes start to slowly blink, he yawns as she goes on, her hand still petting the top of his head.
Soon, he nods off to sleep.