Hey Everyone!

Interference in bold, puns and in italics, magic is underlined.

-text- indicates either texts, or mental "talking".

All Undertale stuff owned by Toby Fox, else me.

I know this isn't really sign language, but where she grew up, they wouldn't really teach that, would they? So this is a mix of ASL and simple gestures I've seen or used.

Asgore pointed out he hasn't gotten to say anything yet, and he bribed me with tea, so…

Also, another amazing series gets a nod here. Can you spot it?

AND I just realised I never told you what Toriel's present was. It was a fluffy blanket, the wrap is giving her problems. Apparently turquoise angora is hard to come by.

On the other side of the paper, you see a crudely drawn picture of a duck. Clearly it's still anyone's game. (okay, another one besides this.)

Toriel

I wave goodbye to Papyrus as he ducks out the door, going "NYEH HEH HEH" softly to himself. It is so good to see a happy face, after dealing with so many upset monsters this winter. After Undyne brought up the children, the news of that complex could not be kept a secret, and there are always those who are worried, or angry, or just plain curious, and are sure they won't take too much of your time - I am getting frustrated all over again.

The doctor knocks quietly on the doorframe, smiling when he sees me, "Ah, Queen Toriel, it is good to see you again. It has been too long since I've seen your beautiful face," he winks at me, and it feels nice, knowing I am appreciated. He is happily married, and his husband is such a dear man, always bringing me the most delicious recipes from all over the world.

"Yes, I am afraid my friends know me too well. I am almost certain they told me about her to get me to take some time for myself. Tell me, has much changed in the last few days? I know she has woken up a few times."

"Ah, yes, quite a few times. We still have her on a great deal of medication, but she is getting better rapidly. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw her checking out before next Tuesday."

"That is very good! You are a very good doctor."

He nods sagely, then winks at me again, "Papyrus indicated she might be heading home with you…?" His voice trails off in a question.

I blush, "Well...if I can manage the paperwork, I was hoping-"

His laugh booms out, "Ah, Toriel, snagging another one? Shame on you," his voice softened again, "I had heard her parents did some of this to her. People like that...forgive me, but they deserve to be locked underground!"

"There is nothing to forgive, although I do not think even that would be punishment enough," I make an effort to bring back my smile, "But then, I am more than a little biased. You had heard she is Frisk's sister…?"

"Yes, I'd heard something like that. It's true?" I nod, "I went through some of my old files, and her wounds are distressingly like the older scars Frisk had when you first brought them to me. That was a day to remember, wasn't it?"

I laugh, "You were halfway through slamming the door in my face when Frisk jumped to hang off your arm."

"You must admit, waking up to see a large, horned monster knocking at your door is...not on the list of 'expected'. Looking back, I may have overreacted."

"It is nothing. I should not have startled you like that."

"No, really...anyway, I just came to check on their arm. They tore the wound open again earlier. You should know that they will likely be suffering flashbacks and nightmares of what they went through for some time. I know you know how to deal with that sort of thing, but I would avoid getting between her and an exit, or standing between her and the light, for some time."

"I understand."

"There may be other problems, so I would recommend taking them to a psychologist...or maybe just letting Papyrus loose on them. He might be the better bet, since part of her trauma comes from being treated as a test subject. I've put a note in her file, but if you are certain you'll be taking her home, then I'll let you decide," he goes over to the child, kneeling down beside her.

Recognising the routine, I speak softly to her, "My child, can you hear me? If you are awake, would you please let us know?" Her eyelids twitch, then her fist knocks on the table.

"Alright. I need to check how your arm is doing. Can I touch your arm?" The fist knock again. Is she using sign language? "Okay. The pain medication we gave you earlier should be wearing off, so I'd like to you to let me know when you start feeling pain. Can you do that?"

After a looking at him a moment, she points to her mouth, then scrunches up her face in pain, "Ah. Does your mouth hurt?" A knock. He looks over at me, then holds up a finger. I nod, "Okay. Toriel here is going to give you her finger. When your arms starts to hurt - and I mean when it starts, not when the pain gets too much," She sticks out her tongue at him, then begins to cough.

I grab the cup of juice, holding it up. She leans forward and sips it, then sits back, "Are you ready?" She knocks, then grabs my finger, her hand barely able to all the way around it.

He starts the exam, and it's not long before she squeezes my finger, "Doctor," he stops immediately, then nods, muttering to himself, "I thought as much. We really should have immobilized the joint, but I didn't want to trigger anything, and now the tear has spread," to her, "Missy, would you be alright if I tied up your arm so you can't move it? You've hurt it very bad, and I'm worried you might make it worse," she looks up at him with an odd expression, and he adds, "It will get better, don't worry."

This didn't seem to be the problem. She tugged my finger, and I leaned closer. She whispered softly, softer than a human could hear, "Why is he worrying about me?"

I leaned back. How to answer a question like that? The doctor gave me a questioning look, but I shook my head. Then it occurred to me what to say, and I leaned over to whisper in her ear, "My child, he cares about you because he is a good person, and because you are important."

She gives me another odd look, then looks at him, then back to me. She seems to be thinking about something. Then she turns back to him, points from him to her arm, then a thumbs up. He smiles, "Alright. Let me go get my gear."

Once he has gone, she turns back to me and gestures, one hand flat going from mouth down in an arc to her stomach, "You are most welcome, my child."

Asgore

Asgore hesitantly knocked on the door. His son had texted him, letting him know where Toriel could be found, and telling him that they had learned the child was Frisk's sister. He hadn't intended to come here this early in the morning, but he was still on European time, and he didn't need much sleep, anyway, and...he realised he was rambling. How long had it been since he knocked? He checked his watch, realised he wasn't wearing a watch, went to check his phone, realised it was in his other pocket, awkwardly stuffed the flowers under the arm with the balloons so he could reach the other pocket, saw he'd dropped the stuffed fire lizard…

Toriel

When I open the door, it is to see my ex-husband frantically trying not to drop a basket of yellow jasmine flowers that had a stuffed blue fire lizard hanging out of it while he untangles his horns from an array of cheerful balloons. My mouth gapes open, then I quickly reach out to save the basket, laughing at the adorable mess he'd managed to get himself into. He stops, then slowly blushes, finally managing to release his horns.

He looks up at me, sheepfaced, "Toriel, I-"

"It is alright, Dreemur. Come inside," I drop the basket in the chair as I return to the child's bed, touching her arm and pointing at him, "That adorable mess of a monster is Asgore Dreemur, King of Monsters. He can be very silly, but he is not bad," I look down to see her nodding solemnly at him, eyes almost completely closed against the bright hall lights. He nods back, blushing slightly, the balloons bobbing along with him. She giggles, "I believe he has something important to give you."

He starts, then looks around anxiously before spotting the basket. He picks it up, losing his grip on the balloons as he does. They float up to the ceiling while he straightens the flowers. I sigh, and he finally stops his nervous fiddling to bring the child her gift, "Howdy, human. It is nice meeting you...ah, I heard you were ill, and I brought you some balloons!"

He awkwardly turns to gather them, tying a few to the guard rail, avoiding her face, "...I heard you didn't have any toys, and I saw this cute toy…it reminded me of you, and I thought you might like it…" Why a little blue fire lizard would remind him of a child he had never met, I could not begin to imagine.

He carefully sets the plushie beside her, still not looking at either of us, "...these flowers are from my garden. I don't get to spend as much time there as I used to, but golden flowers like these always make me happy...someday, would you like to come see the garden? We could share a cup of tea…"

Finally, he looks up into her eyes. He gulps, and squeaks, "Silver." Then, speaking quietly so she cannot hear him, asks me, "Her eyes are silver?"

I start tapping my paw impatiently, "Yes, Dreemur. Her eyes are silver."

He gulps again, then turns back to the child, "It is nice to meet you, magelet...tell me, ah...how are you feeling?" I could not place my finger on what was off, but I could not help but feel that he was nervous about her, that he was afraid. Why would he...magelet. He called her magelet. Had someone told him about her use of magic? He had been friends with several of the magicians before the war, but during it, he had spent a great deal of time fighting them, and then the barrier…

The child was so still, her face blank as it too often was. Surely he would not think she was - "...they keep giving me stuff to take away the pain."

"Do you not want to be in as little pain as possible?" Dreemur, you do not understand just how odd that question seems, do you?

"...Papyrus said pain wasn't a punishment," That is an odd statement. It is true, but why would Papyrus be saying it to her?

"What do you mean by that, magelet?" She reaches down to grab the fire lizard, carefully tucking its wings under her immobilized arm, avoiding our eyes.

"...I'm not a good person," we both breathed in, "...people died because of me...I killed someone...I almost hurt him...so, I should be punished...but he said pain wasn't a punishment," Oh, my poor child…

"Magelet..." I turn, and I see a tear fall from his face, "If you can hold such thoughts of yourself, then there is no penalty you can pay which will weigh as heavily upon your SOUL as your own conscience," another tear falls, and he kneels down beside her bed, taking her hand in his large paws, holding it up to his face. She turns, startled, to look into his eyes.

"You will never find a punishment to match it - nothing can. You cannot ease the burden within you, but to push others away hurts them as much as you. Even if you only wish to keep them from harm, removing yourself - keeping yourself apart, in the hopes that you will be forgotten? This will only deepen the scar you leave on the world."

He buries his face, and her hand, in the teal blanket Sans had delivered for me, "Dreemur, I do not think-"

"...King Asg-gore?" He looks up, "...how do you not hurt them?"

He thinks for a moment, her eyes never leaving his face, then speaks, softly, "I do not know. I do not think there is a perfect way to prevent it. There are more ways to hurt people than than to be kind. The best I, the best anyone, can do is to try. Every day, every moment, we try to make them smile, to laugh, to give them another moment without pain. I guess you could say the only way is to ease their burdens, to share everything, so that they do not have to stand alone. All good people have their burdens, and they way far more when we bear them alone."

I feel something wet hit my hand, and realise I am crying. I had forgotten how powerful his speeches could be, when he was not trying to hide behind the flowers. I hear a sound, and she has buried her face in his arm, hugging his paw to her chest as if she never intends to let go.

"...oh, I made a speech, didn't I?" He turns to me, eyes begging for help with this new mess he has gotten himself into. She hugs his arm tighter, and I smile.

"My child, I must go and speak with the nurse for a moment. Dreemur and the fire lizard will keep you company," I leave quickly, trying not to smile at the desperate look in Gorey's eyes.

The Girl

-Hey lady, if you don't stop crying, you're gonna make yourself sick!-

-Nyssa!-

-It's true!-

-Yeah, squirt, but the kiddo has a lot of crying to catch up on, and our King is such a big softie that he'll just let her cry on him for hours.-

*sniffle* -'s alright. I'm fine.-

Consolas gave me an odd look. -No you ain't, but you're getting there.-

I tilt my head, but he waves it away, shooing me back into real-time. My arm was beginning to cramp, so I loosened my grip. I sniffled a bit, and he looked up. He started frantically looking around the room, finally stopping at weird box on the table beside me. He reached over and pulled out a very thin papery thing, bringing it over to my face, "Would you like some help drying your face, magelet? This tissue is very soft."

So that's what it was called. I nodded, and he wiped up the tears, careful not to push too hard on my face. I sniffled again as he dropped the wet tissue into the trashcan. "...um, thank you...your Majesty…?"

He looked over, his face oddly excited and worried, "Of course...you don't have to call me that, magelet...you can call me Asgore, if you want."

"...okay."

He figeted in the silence, "Do you like the fire lizard?"

I noded excitedly, then winced as it made my head spiny, "...it's soft."

He chuckled, "That it is...what are you going to call it?"

Another name? I panicked, then blurted, "What do you think I should call him?"

-Please no.-

His eyes widened, "Ah, magelet, I am not good at names."

I looked down at the toy, uncertain. What were good names? "Me neither. I can't even pick one for myself."

He chuckled, then started thinking. After a few minutes, he spoke again, "Names are hard. A good name carries a lot of the same feelings as the thing it is naming. When something is being named, though, you usually don't know how it will turn out. I've had to name a lot of things, and they've usually ended up very simple, just descriptions. There is a town in the Underground where it is always snowing named Snowdin, and city above lava called Hotland," He chuckled softly to himself, "No, I am not good at names. I do not like to pin something down. I always feel that to name something is to fix in stone what it must be."

"...so you name things with what they are?"

"Yes! Although that doesn't sound as good as other ways," I saw Toriel quietly open the door behind him.

I hummed softly to myself, then nodded, "Then I hereby dub this plushie 'Gift', because you gave him to me, and I want to remember that."

He turns away, but I see a tear in the corner of his eye, "That is a good name," He spotted Toriel, "Ah, Tor-Toriel. How did your talk with the nurse go?"

She smiled at him, "It went very well, Dreemur. She told me that the child can go home with us tomorrow. We just have to finish some paperwork," His ears perked up a bit "I did my share, but as King of the Monsters, you there is some you must finish, too," They fell down again, but not as much.

"Ah, I see. I shall go then…?" She noded, and he went to stand. I gripped his arm tighter, "What is it, magelet?"

"...I think I know what name I want…" Both their ears perked up, "...can I be called 'Silver'?"

Toriel smiled widely at me, "Of course, my child. That is a very good name! I shall go and add that to the paperwork, shall I? I will bring yours too." She nodded to Asgore and left the room.

He knelt back down next to me, "Do you mind if I ask, why that name?"

I look at him seriously, "...well, a lot of reasons. It sounds nice...and it's the color of my eyes...and there was a nice story I heard once, from one of the other kids…"

He leaned closer, "Would you tell it to me?"

I noded, then slowly begin:

"I tell this story as I remember it, not as it was told. A long time ago, there were three children who lived in a dream. One had eyes and hair like gold, and he was strong and brave. One had eyes and hair the color of syrup, and she was curious and smart. The last had eyes and hair like starlight, and she was quiet and kind."

"One day, the three children were wandering in the dream, and they met a pair of big hounds. The gold eyed boy saw their big claws and sharp teeth and thought, 'they will hurt me, I must attack!' He grabbed a stick and chased after the dogs, but lost them before long, and when he looked around...he saw he was alone and far from his friends."

"The copper eyed child followed his tracks, but soon came to a river. She could not see where the tracks led, but she heard a cry from up the river and ran to see what was there, leaving the other behind. She found a big waterfall, and saw the two hounds slip behind it and thought, 'I will see what they are doing, then find my friends.' She ran inside, but slipped and hit her head...when she woke, she was alone and far from her friends."

"The silver eyed was scared, standing all alone and far from her friends. She called out, but nobody came. Dark was fell fast in the dreamland, and they were far from their homes, so she thought, 'My friends will need somewhere to sleep and something to eat, I will make a camp for when they come back.' She made the camp, and when night was falling and the fire was lit she heard rustling in the forest."

"Into the firelight came the two hounds, one black, one white. They looked at her and spoke, 'Why are you all alone in our woods, child? This place is not always safe at night.' She replied, 'My friends and I were wandering, we did not mean to intrude. They ran away, and left me here, but they will need somewhere to sleep and something to eat when they come back.'"

"The two looked at each other, then back at the child, 'Are these the children who followed us earlier, one of gold, one of copper?' She answered, 'Yes! Are they okay? Do you know where they are?' The two looked at each other again, then spoke, 'They are alone and far from here, but we can bring them to you. Is that what you would wish?' The child thought, then spoke, 'If my friends are alone, then they're probably scared, and they might try to hurt you. If I come along, they will see I'm not afraid, but the fire should not be unguarded.'"

"The two shared a glance, then smiled, and one moved to the fireside and the other to her, 'Then I will watch it,' 'And I go with you. Come, silver-eyed, who cares for others above herself, let us find your friends.' And with that the two set off."

"When they found the child of gold, he was standing alone, stick raised to strike out. Silver-eyes spoke, 'Friend, it's okay! Come with us, I made a camp.' He turned and shrieked, 'A monster!' But the silver child spoke, 'He's with me.' The boy blushed, then sighed. The hound spoke, 'Come, gold-eyed, who thinks of himself with pride, let us get you to a warm fire.' They returned to camp; then once more the two set off."

"When they found the copper child, she was dazed by the river, watching the currents change. Silver-eyes spoke, 'Friend, it's okay! Come with us, I made a camp.' She turned, and stood, reaching to touch the hound, 'Your fur is so soft, and your paws are so big...why are you here?' The silver child spoke, 'He's my friend.' The girl blushed, then sighed. The hound spoke, 'Come, copper-eyed, who questions the world and stands aside, we will answer your questions back at camp.' They returned to camp."

"After settling her friends with food and beds, the silver child pulled the hounds aside, 'Thank you, monsters. They would not be safe here without your help.' The hounds turned to one another, then spoke, 'You are welcome, and thank you. We had forgotten that people could be so different, and yet so nice. Keep your friends safe.' With that the hounds faded away, and the silver child returned to camp, where her friends waited for the new day."

Consolas spoke as Asgore sat in thoughtful silence. -Well, kiddo, you sure pulled that out of nowhere. Where'd that even come from?-

I blinked, then scrunched up my face. -No clue. It's just sorta...there. I've known it a long time...I used to tell it to the other kids, before you came, and the keepers caught me. I like it.-

He rumpled my hair. -It's a good story, kiddo. Fits you. Name's good, too. Silver.- He walked off, muttering the name over and over to himself. I smiled, and faded back to Asgore.

Another moment, and he spoke, "Those are good reasons, and a good story, magel- ah, Silver...you are not unlike the child in the story, after all," I tilted my head, "A good person, who thinks of others before they think of themselves," That was embarrassing. He chuckled, "Yes, a very good person."

"...Asgore?"

"Yes, Silver?"

"...do you need your arm back?"

He looked down at it, then replied, "Not right now."

"...it's soft."

"Yes, it is," He sighed, "It certainly is," I yawned, and he smiled, "Would you like help with anything, or do you want to go back to sleep?"

I yawned even wider, "...sleep," he chuckled, then helped me lay back, carefully moving my arm so Gift wasn't being choked. I gave him his arm back, and he pulled back my hair, then padded over to the chair by the door, settling in. I closed my eyes.

As I drifted off, I heard another voice. -It is a beautiful name, little one. I believe you can bear up under the weight of it.-