Waking up was never a very enjoyable experience for Sans. He rather enjoyed sleep, and he was not usually willing to fight off the peaceful blankness. It was often due to his younger brother's insistent efforts that he made it up in the morning.

It was not Papyrus though that was rousing him from a much deeper rest than he'd had in a long time.

His bones ached, particularly from the base of his skull all the way down his spine. Someone was talking nearby and the sound was an annoying buzz in his heavy skull. He tried to tune it out by drifting back into the blackness, staying asleep sounded just fine right now.

But there was something wrong.

Sans instead drifted closer to wakefulness. Some persisting feeling pushed him to fight sleep and remember…. What happened? Fear began to grip at him. What happened? What happened?

He focused in on the muddled voices, trying to make some sense of them. Ages seemed to pass.

"…-tion any worse…"

"..Stay…-rus is…"

Sans didn't know the voices, and as he became more alert he realized he didn't know where he was either. The feel of the surface he laid on was wrong, though not uncomfortable. But he wasn't home. He shifted in unease, and instantly realized why. Pain rippled through several ribs on his left side, and shuddered up his spine to the back of his cranium making him start, his spine curling up off the bed. A strangled sound came from him as he froze all movement, an effort that did little to relieve the stabbing pain.

"Sans?"

Hisses escaped through his tightly clenched teeth in response. A furry hand settled on his shoulder. Sans forced his eye sockets open finally, groaning in pain and annoyance at the light that invaded his senses. He closed them again.

"Sans, relax your body, the pain will ease," said the monster, gently squeezing his shoulder. He remained tense, twitching his fingers as he tried to remember how to calm himself. Another voice spoke.

"Here, let me…"

A moment later warm tendrils of magic activated in his soul, and gently spread across his bones. The pain dulled to a steady ache, and he let out a small gasp of relief. His spine relaxed into the mattress under him, and he let his head roll to one side tiredly. Sleep threatened to steal him away once again, but he fought it off, sliding his eyes slowly open once more.

"Hey there sleepy bones," a green-scaled monster greeted. Her clawed hands were held over him still, the soft light of her magic starting to fade away. She smiled kindly. "My name is Dea, I'm a healer. You gave everyone quite a scare. But no worries, I got you patched up in no time, and soon you'll be able to leave here as good as new!"

Sans blinked up at her in pained confusion. "what happened?"

"You were hit by a magical attack," said another woman, visibly older than Dea. She slid into view, her dark furry face leaning in. "You were nearly turned to dust."

Eye sockets widened. An attack?

"It was an accident," the reptile soothed. "Just kids practicing magic and lost control."

"Don't sugar coat it Dea," the other woman sat back into a chair at Sans's bedside, crossing her arms.

Still smiling, Dea patted Sans's shoulder before stepping back to look at the older monster. "He only just woke up, let the kid rest."

"where's papyrus? was he hurt too?"

Both women looked at him.

"Don't worry about your brother kiddo, he's perfectly fine."

The furry monster made a sound under her breath. Sans watched her with narrowed eyes, reaching for some memory of this accident and finding nothing. He looked at the reptile again. "why isn't he here? he doesn't like being far away, especially when something bad happens."

The smile fell as Dea looked away, biting her lip in discomfort. Her response was slow, rehearsed. "For now it's been decided that your brother should stay at the home while you recover Sans."

He cocked his head at that, then grimaced when the ache turned sharp in his neck again. Why? There was no reason to keep him away.

As if she'd read his mind, Dea spoke again. "You have a condition Sans. Despite being able to heal your wounds, I have not been able to raise your HP over the 1 mark that you have."

"i've always had that." Indeed he had, at least for as long as he could remember. It was a reality he'd grown used to dealing with. He had to be extra careful with just about everything. He was weak, he knew it. So what?

"If you were aware then you might have been a bit more careful," grunted the still cross-armed woman.

"Vexa…"

The brown furred monster sighed, glancing over at Sans. Her expression softened a little and she looked down, adjusting her coat around her. "Mrs. Granton told me you were a smart boy, and resilient despite your condition," she looked him in the eye. "So I will speak to you straight. This accident has everyone very concerned for your safety. We don't think it's best for you to grow up in that group home with all the other children. So another home has been arranged for you….My home."

Sans's eyes widened again. A new home? That was…unexpected, and nerve-wracking. He didn't particularly like the children's home, but it was familiar to him and Papyrus. And now the decision was made for them that they would be leaving? He inhaled deeply into nonexistent lungs, forcing his thoughts to stay calm.

Vexa went on. "You won't have to worry about other children practicing magic and getting out of control. It's a safe and quiet place, I think you'll really like it."

"it won't be very quiet," Sans said. A small smile spread across his face. "paps is pretty energetic. he's got a yell that'll rattle your bones. heh."

"Papyrus won't be there."

"…what?"

"It'll just be you coming to live with me," Vexa's face held no more smile, she was entirely serious. Sans's soul raced with unease and anger that boosted his energy enough for him to sit up, propping himself up on his elbows.

"why?" he questioned, hiding a sound of pain with the word.

"It's just as you say, Papyrus is very energetic, he could very easily accidentally hurt you when he's just playing around," the woman shook her head with a stern look. "We all think it would be best if Papyrus were to keep his distance for now."

"but…but paps didn't do anything wrong. it's not his fault my HP is so low. he shouldn't be punished!"

"He is not being punished at all, but he should stay at the center with everyone else."

"then I will too."

"We cannot risk your safety. It's better this way."

"no its not!"

"Now Sans, please calm down," the healer interjected, reaching forward to guide him back down. Sans pushed against her, struggling to sit up fully.

"it's not better!" he growled. "he's my brother, we gotta stick together! papyrus is just a kid, he needs me."

Vexa sat forward in the chair, locking her eyes with his. "You are a child too Sans," she said calmly. "And Papyrus will be well taken care of just as he has been at the children's center."

"then i'm staying there too!"

"This has already been decided!" the woman paused, seeming to catch herself after her voice raised for the first time. She sighed heavily, calming down again. "We certainly don't want to separate the two of you. After some time, Papyrus may visit occasionally with careful supervision."

"that's stupid!" Sans spat, growing more furious. "he doesn't need supervision and i don't need a guard. paps would never hurt me!"

"He already has."

They fell silent, the words sinking in as Sans stared, breathing fast. He repeated them in his mind, unable to make sense of it. No, Papyrus had never hurt him before, he was sure of that. His little brother was the best thing in Sans's world. Still pondering furiously, he looked away from Vexa to the healer. Dea was standing back now, staring miserably at the floor. Her black eyes shifted up at him guiltily, and away again quickly.

"Papyrus was having difficulty controlling his magic," Vexa explained, her voice low. "His practice attacks went haywire, nearly hitting several children, you were hit straight on."

Crushing silence filled the room again as Sans registered the new information. He did remember Papyrus had been struggling with his magic control, but it wasn't that bad. Not enough that he'd hurt anyone. Paps couldn't hurt anyone, he simply didn't have the capacity to.

Yet here he was, still shuddering to stay upright. Had he really almost turned to dust? It was possible with his low HP. If it was true, then an even bigger concern popped in his head.

"i have to see him."

"That's not a good idea."

"you don't understand!" he said desperately. "paps would never hurt anyone, he loves everything! he…he has to see that I'm ok!"

Dea spoke up again timidly. "We've already told him you'll be fine Sans," she said. "I spoke with him myself about your condition."

"please," he begged. "that's not enough for hi-"

"Enough."

Sans tilted his body forward exhaustedly to be able to view Vexa better. Her face was even, unwilling to listen further.

"You'll be able to see your brother again when you are completely well again. And then you'll be moving in with me. I'm very skilled with stat training, and we'll be able to work to help you raise your HP. The better you are, the more you'll be able to interact with your brother on a normal level. He'll stay at the center and learn to control his own magic."

"can't you train him too?"

Vexa sighed again. "Don't you think that would be unfair to him? Consider the lifestyle you will have to lead. You already have to be extremely careful everywhere you go. It'll be safer in my home if it's just you, but think of how much more oppressive it would be for your energy filled brother. He won't be able to practice his magic anywhere near you, he can't play normally, or run around or be his normal self. At least this way he'll be able to grow up like a regular child with the rest."

"while i'm in a prison on my own?" Sans muttered bitterly.

"We'll do everything for you to make it as comfortable as we can Sans," she said truthfully, looking down for the first time. "But if you really feel that it is like a prison, then do you really want Papyrus stuck there with you?"

"that's…" Sans couldn't look at her any longer. He lowered himself back until he was lying down again, and huffed. He couldn't raise his voice above a whisper, fearing it would break. "that's not fair…"

"Unfortunately life has dealt you an unfair hand…" He heard his new guardian shift in her chair and stand. "I have no doubt it will be difficult at first, but you and Papyrus will get used to the new arrangement. He already feels so guilty about this incident. Imagine what it'll do to him if something were to happen to you again and you didn't make it? It'll be better for him to know you are in a safe place, and he'll be much happier growing up with the other kids at the center where he can be himself."

"away from me."

"….I'm very sorry."

There were footsteps, and then silence. Tired and despairing, Sans laid an arm over his face. He didn't look or listen to find out if Dea was still there, but still hid for all he could the desperate sobs that escaped him until pain and exhaustion overtook him and he slept.