Shadow was perfectly fine with his handling. In fact, he felt an odd sense of comfort wash over him as he was cradled softly to his chest, as if he had the safety of a hedgehog mother protecting him from harm.

He had to wonder... what if Maria could have held him like this? Would it have felt the same way?

He wasn't about to doubt that. If not, she would have handled him even better than this. She definitely had a tender touch.

He held onto him, bobbing up and down only slightly as X traveled. The movements only served to sober him up, leaving him feeling strangely relaxed. Yaaawwn.