Dark Corners
Chapter 3.
Onto the evaluation.
Toriel took a deep breath and exhaled before opening the door, being met with a young woman with long auburn hair, held up in a ponytail, hazel eyes, and dressed in a black pantsuit with a red shirt underneath. From the professional-looking name tag on her lapel and the clipboard and folder in her hands, there was no mistaking that she was the social worker they were expecting.
"Hello," the woman voiced buoyantly, "this the Dreemurr residence, yes?"
"Yes it is," Toriel affirmed, "you must be the social worker."
"Yep," the young woman answered blithely, "I'm Alice Stein, from the Children's Bureau, I'll be doing your adoption evaluation today."
"Right," Asgore replied, "we are all ready for it."
"First things first," Alice said, "we always start with a quick look at the house to assess the suitability of the environment for the child in question."
"Okay," Toriel responded, "where should we start?"
"How about the general living area?" the social worker suggested.
The social worker began making her rounds, starting with Toriel showing off the living room.
"We all worked together to make this house big enough for all of us," Toriel explained, "there is plenty of sitting room in the living room for everyone and we always make sure to keep the floor clear of clutter."
Alice took a good look at the coat hanging area on the wall by the front door, as well as the wicker basket that held a variety of neatly arranged pairs of shoes and boots.
"It makes vacuuming easier." Toriel stated.
Alice wrote something down on the paper attached to her clipboard and smiled at Toriel.
"Since it's right there," she offered, "why don't we move on to the kitchen?"
Toriel led her to the kitchen, where Papyrus and Sans were.
"Oh my," Alice noted, looking the kitchen up and down, "it's bigger than it looks from the other room."
"Yeah," Sans said, "given how active we are in here, we made sure it was pretty spacious."
"Excellent," the social worker replied, "are you two occupants of the house as well?"
"We sure are," Sans affirmed, "I'm Sans and this is my brother Papyrus."
"Greetings, Miss Social Worker," Papyrus said, "welcome to our home, we spent all day getting it ready for you."
"I see," Alice voiced genially, "I'll be taking a look around now, okay?"
Papyrus and Sans sat at the table to get out of the social workers way as she looked around, she first ran the water in the sink and looked closely at it. She then smiled and wrote something down on her clipboard, blissfully mumbling, "Crystal clear."
Alice then went on to open each cupboard and look closely at what was inside, sporadically writing on her clipboard as she went, until she finally got to the fridge.
"Just so you know," Papyrus suddenly spoke, "we made a big, big breakfast this morning and used up a good amount of food, so, the fridge and cupboards aren't as stocked as they usually are."
"Pap," Sans admonished warily, "let her work."
The social worker closed the fridge and wrote on her paper again.
"How often do you cook?" Alice inquired, glancing between Toriel and the skeleton brothers.
"We cook every day," Toriel said, "at least, I try to encourage three square meals every day."
"I only ask because your stove and oven are so remarkably clean." the social worker replied.
"Oh," Toriel voiced proudly, "well, I am a stickler for cleanliness, we did spend a lot of time cleaning today, also, when I cook, I prefer to use my fire magic over the stove or the oven, when I can."
"And I see child-sized aprons," Alice inquired, "do the kids help in the kitchen?"
"They do," Toriel affirmed, "but, they are supervised the entire time, I still do not let them remove the hot food from the oven, and they are forbidden from using the stove by themselves."
Alice nodded approvingly as she wrote on her clipboard again.
"I think that should do it for in here." she said.
She looked toward the doorway of the kitchen.
"Now, from the windows I saw on the bottom part of the house," Alice quizzed, "I take you have a basement, yes?"
"We do," Toriel confirmed, "it doubles as Alphys and Undyne's, two other residents of the house, living space...though..."
It was then Sans cleared his throat, clearly to get their attention.
"Also," he told the social worker, "it's used as a lab, me, Alphys, and my dad do science experiments down there from time to time."
Alice looked on, stunned.
"You...have a lab?" she inquired quizzically.
"My turn," Sans said, getting up from his chair, "right this way."
Sans led the social worker down the stairs to basement, where Alphys and Dr. Gaster were, both of them standing by the lab table.
"Oh my," an astonished Alice surveyed, "you...really do have a lab."
"I-I assure you," Alphys voiced tensely, "all three of us h-have prior lab experience, we keep a t-tidy, stable, and secure lab."
"And believe me," Gaster added, "I have standards, this lab is so sterile you could eat off this lab table...though I would prefer it if people didn't."
"Not now, Dad." Sans stated flatly.
Alice looked around the room, unsure what to think.
"Um, so..." she wondered, "do the children come down here?"
"They're not allowed down here unsupervised," Sans affirmed, "and if they do come down here while the lab is active, we have safety gear for them that they have to wear the entire time and afterwards we make them bathe."
"Mine and Undyne's living space is over there." Alphys added, pointing to the far end of the basement, where there was a bed, a black loveseat with an ottoman, two mini fridges, a microwave, a portable stove, a television, some electronics, and a shelf of Manga, DVDs, and video games.
"I see," Alice queried, "now, if this is used as living space, what do you use for storage?"
"The attic," Gaster answer, "which is where I sleep, and the garage."
"I need to see the backyard anyway," Alice voiced, writing on her clipboard, "so, let's move on to the garage."
Sans led Alice outside to the garage, where Asgore was.
"Hey Asgore," Sans said, "Miss Stein wants to take a look inside the garage."
"Ah, right," Asgore replied, "just a moment, Miss."
He quickly unlocked and lifted up the big garage door, showing the inside of the garage, with boxes stacked carefully in the back coroners and some shelves on the wall with miscellaneous items on them. There was just enough room in the garage for one vehicle, Toriel's SUV.
It did not take long for Alice to get a thorough look of the garage, afterwards, she turned her attention to the backyard, where Undyne was.
"This is where the children play when the weather is nice enough." Asgore told the social worker.
"And they got plenty of stuff to do out here." Undyne called, standing on top of the jungle gym.
"I see that," Alice noted, "it's quite a set-up they got out here."
"Of course," Asgore voiced, "there is always someone out here with them, just in case."
The social worker smiled, and, after a quick inspection of the gate around the yard, wrote on her clipboard again.
Next Alice made her way up to the attic, which Dr. Gaster told her about.
"Like I said," Gaster told her, "I merely sleep up here, the rest of the space is for random storage, we will have holiday stiff stored up here eventually."
The social worker looked down at the floor, shifting her feet to test the floor boards.
"The kids aren't allowed up here without permission," the skeleton man voiced, "though, usually the only time they ever come up here is to wake me up in the morning."
After what felt like an eternity, the social worker's evaluation of the house was done, now it was on to the questions. For that, Asgore, Toriel, Asriel, and Frisk met Alice at the kitchen table.
"Is it okay if I stay for this?" Asriel asked.
"Is that okay, Miss Stein?" Asgore asked the social worker.
"You can stay," Alice told Asriel, "I just need to ask your mommy, daddy, and Frisk some questions."
She opened the folder she had been holding.
"To be honest," she expressed meekly, "I already know quite a bit about all of you, just about everyone does from the news, all of this is simply a formality."
"We understand." Toriel stated.
"First off," Alice affirmed, "I should say that the house evaluation was satisfactory, aside from a few surprises, it's clear that the house is in top-notch condition and you have the children's well-being firmly in check."
The social worker put her folder down on the table.
"Now," she asked, putting her hands together and pointing them at Asgore and Toriel, "while I already know the answer to this, I am required to ask, are either of you employed?"
"Yes," Toriel answered, "we both are."
"And, also obvious," Alice went on, "but, do you already have any children of your own or any prior experience with children in general?"
"We sure do." Asgore said.
Alice smiled in response.
"Now," she inquired, "how would you describe your community."
"Well," Toriel attested, "if it was not made clear already, just about everyone knows everyone around here, especially Frisk."
"So would you say this, by all accounts, a child-friendly neighborhood?" Alice added.
"Oh, absolutely," Asgore said, "the children have plenty to do around here."
"Okay," the social worker continued, "now, do you guys have the resources on hand in case of an emergency?"
"Of course," Toriel told her, "we have plenty of medical supplies on hand, just in case no one is around to provide healing magic, we have emergency supplies on hand in case there is a natural disaster, we have four fire extinguishers in the house, since monster food never goes bad, we never have to worry about our emergency rations spoiling, we are about as prepared as you can get."
"Good to hear." Alice responded happily.
She picked up her folder again.
"All right," the social worker mused, "so, the environment is satisfactory, necessities are clearly not an issue, safety is no issue, plenty of adult supervision..."
She hummed to herself as she pulled a piece of paper from her folder.
"All right," Alice said, "one last question, leading into the final step, if it's needed..."
Frisk smiled in anticipation.
"Finally," Alice wondered, "are the biological parents involved with this arrangement?"
The human boy's smile dropped instantly as a heavy silence fell over the room.
"Biological..." Toriel droned.
"Parents?" Asgore huffed awkwardly.
"Well," Alice explained, "if the birth parents are still alive, then, as far as the law is concerned, Frisk still has parents and if an adoption is going to happen, their consent is required."
Asgore and Toriel looked at each other, then everyone looked at Frisk, who was visibly uneasy.
"Frisk," the social worker asked directly, "are your parents still alive?"
Frisk tightened his lips as he looked on anxiously.
"Frisk," Toriel prompted gently, "answer her...be honest."
The human child closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out.
"Last I knew..." he admitted, "yes...they are..."
Toriel gasped quietly, while Asgore just looked shocked.
"As far as I know, I mean," Frisk went on, now trying to avoid eye contact with anyone, "I knew that both we alive...the day I climbed the mountain..."
"Miss Stein," Toriel suddenly requested, "can we...talk to Frisk alone for a moment?"
The social worker allowed it, sensing the mood shift of the room, and stepped outside.
"Okay, Frisk," Toriel voiced firmly, "it is time you told us the truth, about why you climbed the mountain."
"And who your birth parents are." Asgore added.
For the first time ever, the human boy looked defeated and for the first time since he had ever been with his new family, his eyes filled with tears.
"I'll...I'll tell you..." Frisk whimpered, "but...I..."
The goat family looked on with concern as tears flowed down his face.
"I don't want daddy to get in trouble!" Frisk cried.
"Your daddy?" Toriel replied warily, "why would your daddy get in trouble? What did he do to you, Frisk?"
"Nothing!" Frisk asserted, slamming his little fists down on the table top, "Daddy didn't do anything wrong, it's not about what he did to me, it's about what he's done for me, about what I've done for him!"
"What do you mean, Frisk?" Asgore pressed, "What did you do for your dad?"
Frisk sniffled, trying to fight through his sobs.
"I did...the same thing...I did...for you guys..." the human boy declared, breathing deeply to will his tears away, "I. Set. Him. FREE!"
Asgore, Toriel, and Asriel looked on confused and still very concerned.
"I ran away from home and climbed the mountain so Daddy...wouldn't have to be a daddy anymore!" Frisk explained firmly.
Wow, I was not originally going to make this chapter this long, but, it was hard to stop.
