*I don't own Undertale or any of its characters; they all belong toToby Fox, please support the original release*

Chapter 16: Unexpected gift

It was about 8 AM when Sans slowly started to wake up. He still didn't want to get up, so he refused to open his eye-sockets for the time being. Who would, actually? Being so comfortable and warm was not something you usually gave away that easily. He took a deep, quiet breath and smiled, thinking about how well he had slept. He yawned lazily as he thought about that… "wait, he had slept well?"

The skeleton tried to concentrate and realized he couldn't remember the last time he had such a refreshing sleep. After a bit more of thinking he also recalled that his rest hadn't been interrupted by a single nightmare, on the contrary, he recalled having dreamt about something pleasant, but he couldn't remember exactly what. It was then when he finally noticed something warm and soft holding his left hand. The events of the previous night flashed through his mind and he opened his eye-sockets to see Frisk peacefully sleeping by his side.

The living room was now bathed with a peaceful light due to the warm sun rays that slipped through the windows. It seemed that everybody except him were still fast asleep, which didn't surprise him at all. He knew that every time they held a slumber party his friends ended up pretty tired because they would refuse to go to sleep till they couldn't keep their eyes open and thus they woke up very late. Under the cozy light Frisk's soft and relaxed expression looked almost angelical- "you did stay by my side after all"- He thought as he looked fondly at her, letting his gaze wander around her features: her lovely and distinctive freckles, her long and curved eye-lashes, her slightly tanned skin, that little spot at her cheek, the silky locks that bathed her forehead and made their way to her face. He felt the impulse to pull back the lock that had slid over her cheek, the one the girl usually kept pulling back her ear, but restrained himself for fear to wake her up.

Despite their many invitations the skeleton had never joined his group of friends before in one of their slumber parties, they usually told him what they did though, but they never mentioned what to do when you were the first one to wake up. After casting a glance at the others and noticing that they were indeed fast asleep he decided that waking them up was not an option. He drew his gaze back to the tiny human before him. While he thought about what had happened at the kitchen the previous night he focused on her innocent expression again. Her reaction to the knife had been very…particular. Was it just a huge coincidence that someone looking exactly like her held a knife in his nightmares? Unaware of his thoughts the girl before him snuggled her face lightly against the pillow. At that adorable gesture Sans desperately wished that had to be the case, he simply couldn't bring himself to relate her with the person of his dreams.

The skeleton held back a sigh and unconsciously squeezed her hand gently. Frisk shifted lightly, making Sans freeze. She squeezed his hand a bit too and a small smile curled up her lips. She let out a long and relaxed sigh, but showed no sign of waking up. The skeleton relaxed, relived that she was still asleep. He felt and incredible feeling of peace and calmness, the whole atmosphere of the room enveloping him with its warmth and coziness. He found another reason to why his friends always got up so late and he couldn't help to smile. He'd definitely join them for the following slumber parties- he thought, before letting himself drift back to sleep.

When Frisk woke up and found Sans sleeping very close by her side her cheeks immediately flushed pink. She was extremely grateful that the skeleton was still asleep, because now that there was light in the room she had nowhere to hide her blushing cheeks. For a moment she had thought that maybe she had dreamt about it. With all the crazy stuff that had happened last night dreaming something like that wasn't that crazy, but now she had discarded that option completely. The teen tried to persuade her blushing to go away and scolded herself mentally: "I've always shared bed with one of my friends in the slumber parties to avoid needing that much space for the mattresses and I didn't go around blushing like that, so stop it already! I don't know why this time it would be different!

Oh, but she knew perfectly well why it was… she just was absolutely determined not to admit it, of course. Frisk silently puffed her cheeks and closed her eyes in a silent war with herself till her face finally regained its natural colour. She took a deep steadying breath before opening her eyes again. She casted Sans another glance and was surprised to notice that his expression looked incredibly relaxed. The girl thought that the skeleton usually looked relaxed, but now that she looked at him closely she realized that he actually wasn't as relaxed as he seemed. Frisk frowned a little. She knew that something had been troubling Sans since the first time they met. It was a more of a hunch than anything concrete, but her hunches never betrayed her…she knew that perfectly well. But even though she had asked him about it countless times he always denied it, which left her with no solid proof to sustain her beliefs. However, at seeing how relaxed his expression was now compared to what it usually looked like she felt like she had finally managed to gather what felt like a sort of proof.

It was surely going to take her time and a lot of patience, but she was going to find out the reason for her friend's worries. A determined sparkle shone in her eyes. Till then she would keep helping him in any little way possible, like she had done that night. She suddenly remembered what had happened the previous night at the kitchen and she felt a shiver going down her spine. Sans had used his magic against her. She had been so distracted that she hadn't noticed until she was on the floor, but thinking back to it, that had to be what happened. He must have lifted her up with his blue magic and tossed her across the room…but why?

Did he knew…? All her muscles tensed and her eyes grew wide as she looked at the sleeping skeleton before her. There's no way he could know…right? Frisk felt his heart fluttering in her chest and couldn't take her eyes out of his calm expression, trying to make out any sort of hint that could answer her question. She panicked. The mere idea of that being possible… it was…it was…

She could feel tears starting to prick her eyes. In that moment she felt a soft squeeze on her hand. She had been so troubled that even that little gesture nearly made her jump. The teen obliged herself to tear her eyes and mind away from Sans' expression and those disturbing thoughts and focused on the gentle warmth of the skeleton's hand against hers. Her breathing began to be steadier and the racing thumping of her heart slowed down. Frisk slowly looked up again to look at him directly, facing the same calm and comforting expression she had seen before. "There's no way he could know"- She assured mentally, letting his friend's peacefulness appease her. "Everything is fine, you're just overthinking"- The girl felt a wave of determination running through her body. She smiled fondly at him, her confidence returning.

"Everything is fine"- She whispered, before falling asleep.

Sans woke up again a couple of hours later, finding all his friends in the same position he remembered: Papyrus occupying the whole couch, sprawled in a heroic sleeping pose; Alphys curled up hugging a Mew Mew Kissy Cutie plushy on her now not cubic bed; Undyne close by hugging what definitely had to be a real, sharp spear; and Frisk peacefully sleeping by his side, her tiny hand still not letting go of his.

"that must be what determination is about"- He though, his smile spreading a little. A sudden buzz made him jump slightly. He blinked a few times, slightly confused, till he remembered he had taken out his cellphone from his usual hoodie and placed it in the pocket of his shorts the previous night. He was used to having his phone with him in any case there was an emergency. Luckily that rarely happened and he didn't use it very much, he just had some subscriptions to joke pages or scientific ones and he occasionally used it to chat with some of his friends. He always preferred meeting them face to face, even if it was for an everyday talk. The skeleton fished the cellphone from his pocket to find a message from a Froggit that lived near the woods. Before he could finish reading the message his gaze shifted to the sleeping girl before him. He reread it and started looking from the tiny human to the cellphone repeatedly.

"i know i shouldn't…but i can't stay with my arms crossed and do nothing either" He thought, shifting lightly "i'm sure i'll get us both in trouble, or at least get myself in trouble…but i'm also sure that it'd make her happy…." He slipped the phone into his pocket again and looked at the girl with unsure eyes. Unaware of the skeleton's gaze Frisk nuzzled the pillow lightly and smiled in an absolutely adorable way.

Sans sighed- "it'll be worth it"

The monster removed the sheets covering him carefully to avoid waking the teen up and got to a sitting position. The girl showed no signs of being bothered by his movements, neither of letting go of his hand. He relaxed his fingers, but as soon as the girl felt that his hand was being pulled away from her she squeezed a little harder. Sans froze thinking that he had woken her up, but as soon as he looked at her he realized, to his surprise, that Frisk was still fast asleep. He noticed a tiny frown on the girl's expression. He fixed his gaze again on their still intertwined hands. She couldn't be trying to prevent letting his hand go, could she? After all, she was sleeping.

The girl's promise to take care of him during his sleep resonated in his thoughts. Could it be…? Well he had to try, at least.

Sans got a little closer and whispered with a smile: "you've done a great job taking care of my sleep, i didn't have a single nightmare. you don't have to worry anymore"- Frisk's expression softened a little, but her hand was still firmly holding his- "i'm fine, really. i promise that nothing bad will happen to me"

His eye-sockets widened when a calm smile curled the girl's lips and her hand relaxed, letting his free. As he moved his hand away slowly he couldn't shake the surprise and admiration he felt towards the tiny human. There was no doubt that she was still sleeping, but she had somehow kept her promise even so. Sans finally stood up and tiptoed upstairs to change to his usual clothing. Once he was ready he went to the kitchen and scribbled a note for Frisk. He returned to the living room and carefully placed the piece of paper on the girl's still outstretched hand. She closed it gently over it and the skeleton smiled satisfied. He was thinking that if she moved while sleeping and the note got lost that may be a trouble, but it didn't seem as the note was going anywhere in Frisk's protective grasp.

After casting a last fond look at the sleeping human Sans reread the message on his phone one last time to make sure where to go and left the house, closing the door quietly behind him.

When Frisk woke up half an hour had passed since the skeleton's departure. She immediately noticed his absence and sat down, looking around with a worried expression. It was then when she realized that she had been holding something and opened her hand to find a crumpled piece of paper. The human flattened it a bit, recognized her friend's handwriting and scanned through it quickly.

good morning kiddo'! thank you for taking care of my sleep, i can't remember the last time i felt so rested! i thought of giving you something because of helping me so much! and even though you hadn't helped me i think yo'd still deserve it.. uh… just for being you. so! meet me at that point in the forest when you wake up!

try not to get tangled with the sheets again

sans

All the worry disappeared from her expression as she smiled brightly at the note. She had actually helped him rest better! A huge smile made its way to her lips while she folded the note carefully. A fast look around her was enough to see that the rest of his friends were still sleeping, of course. She would have gladly follow their lead, as she usually did, because this were the perfect opportunities in which you have an excuse to sleep as much as you'd like without feeling guilty, but she couldn't. Sans was waiting for her and who know for how long he had been. Not wanting to make his friend wait any longer she got up, got changed and grabbed her backpack very quickly, but quietly. After slipping the note into one of the pockets of her backpack and leaving another note with a goodbye to her friends she carefully opened the door and slipped out of the house.

A cold breeze caught her off guard. She had been so warm and cozy that the change in temperature made her shiver slightly. To warm up and also to arrive at her destination earlier she jogged her way out. The curiosity to know what Sans was planning to give her made her jog even faster. She felt her smile widening as she casted a glance to the backpack she was carrying. The girl had bought her friend a few presents and was planning to give them to him when she woke up in the morning. She hadn't expected Sans to have any kind of present for her, but she loved being able to give something in return when she was given a gift, so it made her very happy to know that she was prepared.

It didn't take long before she reached the clearing in the forest and, as the note had announced, Sans was already waiting for her there. She smiled brightly upon seeing him.

"Hello! I hope you haven't been waiting that long! I came as fast as I could!"

"it's fine, kiddo! i thought you'd take a lot more time to arrive"

"Really?"- Frisk approached him, catching her breath from the jogging.

"yeah, you always sleep a lot after slumber parties"

"That's the fun"- She giggled and smiled innocently. She noticed that Sans was keeping his hands behind his back, as if he was hiding something. Her curiosity getting the best of her, the girl couldn't help to tilt her head lightly to the side, trying to get a look, but the skeleton moved to keep the object hidden.

"hey! not cheating!"- His smile widened at the girl's now even more curious expression- "i… i know that you'll like it for sure, but it may also be a little troublesome, are you ok with that?"

"Troublesome?"

"yup, like maybe very troublesome"

She frowned a little bit, but then she smiled confidently at him: "If you are planning to give it to me either way then it has to be worth it, right?"

"i think we'll both agree about that"

"Great! Then I'm fine with it!"

Sans' gaze lowered a bit, as he sorted his thoughts and tried to put them into words: "i know that you're always saying that gifts are not necessary and that a mere hug or company is enough for you. but i don't think that's enough. actually, i don't think there's a way to thank you enough for everything you do, and keep doing…"- He chuckled lightly and finally looked up at the girl- "…and as i'm not very good with words either, i don't know what to do to let you know how grateful i am for all your support. i know you say it's not necessary, but i really think it is, because you deserve it. so…"- The skeleton slowly pulled a white box with a light-blue ribbon on it from behind his back- "…i got you something"

Frisk looked from the box to his friend, overwhelmed by the heartwarming gesture, her cheeks slightly pink as a deep fond smile spread over her features- "Thank you"- It was all she managed to word over the tangle of affectionate emotions that had taken over her chest at her friend's so sincere and touching words.

"but you still haven't opened it!"- Sans joked, perceiving by the girl's tone of voice the full meaning of her words.

"Yeah, you're right!"- She laughed, running a sleeve of her sweater over her eyes to take away those nearly imperceptible emotional tears. She stepped closer to the skeleton, on whose extended palms rested the mysterious box.

When she reached out to grab it something pretty unusual happened: It moved. Frisk let out a little yelp of surprise and the skeleton laughed at her reaction. She looked from the box to her friend and then returned her attention to the box again. If Sans was laughing then it was because the box moving was expected. She stared at the white package intently for a few moments and it shook again.

"i assure you that it's not something dangerous at all"- The monster teased, amused by Frisk's puzzled and curious expression.

"I know! You wouldn't be giving it to me if it was!"- She answered- "I'm just trying to make out why it's moving! Are you using your magic? No, it should be glowing if that was the case, right?"

"yep, that's the proof that i'm not using my magic"- The girl frowned, concentrated- "you know what's the best way of finding out?"

"What?"- She asked, not lifting her gaze from the box.

"opening it"- This time the girl did look up at him, with an expression of "That's not the fun!" on her face. Sans laughed again and the present shook a little more widely this time.

"Fine, I give up!"- Frisk stretched her arms one more and took the present.

"be careful not to drop it"

His warning wasn't really necessary, because the girl had already taken the box with extreme caution in case something inside would break. She carefully sad down on the grass and placed the present right before her. After a few moments of looking at it the box moved once more and the human couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer. She grabbed the lid and took it off, finally being able to see its contents.

"OOOOOOOOH MY! FOR METTATON'S MOST GLAMOROUS AND SPARKING LEGS, THIS IS REAL, RIGHT?"

"yap"- Sans smiled widely at the girl's expression got overcame with joy.

Frisk remained speechless for a few seconds, her eyes nearly sending sparkles and little twinkles of happiness into the air as she carefully lifted a tiny ball of fur from inside the box. That said ball wiggled cheerfully on her hands till it finally managed to look at her directly. Once it had finally targeted its objective it stretched a little and licked the tip of the girl's nose with its tiny, pink tongue.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaawwww!"-The girl hugged the little puppy with so much love and fondness that it stopped wriggling for a second, but as soon as she lifted it again it started shaking its paws in all directions, with all the energy only a puppy could muster.

"i guess that you liked it then?"- The skeleton knew the answer, but he had to make sure.

"Like it? LIKE IT?! I LOVE it! It's-it's the best gift EVER! Just look at this little adorable thing!"- The girl was looking at the dog like she was seeing the most precious thing that had ever existed- "It's the most fluffy, sweet and huggable creature in the world! She sprawled on the grass and carefully placed the tiny animal on her chest. It immediately launched forward and started licking her face. Her delighted and amused laughter was enough to melt an iceberg. Sans couldn't help to laugh too at the sight of Frisk's huge happiness.

She kept babbling about the little ball of fur at such speed that the monster couldn't make out what she was saying anymore, but the tears of joy and her bright expression were enough to let him know that she was indeed very, very happy. It took a long while till she finally managed to calm down a bit, but then her gaze wandered to where Sans was standing. Needless to say, her babbling reassumed as she launched herself at him and embraced him in a tight hug.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou...!"

"there's no need to thank me, kid"- He laughed, hugging her back. Frisk hadn't let go of the tiny puppy, so it was also included in the hug, wiggling, barking and licking them to show its affection.

It took a long time till they finally broke their embrace and the human stopped thanking him, but the two of them finally sat on the grass, the tiny puppy running and playing around them. Frisk still looked at the dog with huge adoring eyes, a comment or two escaping her mouth from time to time, like: "Awww's" or "So tiny's" or "So fuffy's"

When she regained her composure Frisk asked: "…how? Where did you get such a precious thing?"

"well, i don't think you'd like to know…"

The girl's expression got tainted by worry- "Tell me"

Sans sighed- "a froggit that lives close by texted me telling me that a little puppy had been abandoned near the woods"- The girl's expression got tainted by sadness and pity- "i told you you wouldn't like to know, i know this things make you sad"

It was Frisk's turn to sigh now- "It's just…I… I can't understand it! Just look at this adorable little baby!"- She petted the puppy's white fur affectingly and it sprawled by her side- "How can you turn your back to something like this?"

"not everyone out there is as nice as you try to think, frisk"- The girl frowned, puffing her cheeks a little and pushing the puppy a little closer to her- "that's why when i saw the message i knew i had to do something. i needed to find someone that would give this little guy all the love and caresses it deserved. and i knew the perfect person to do that job"- He smiled at her and a little smile tugged on her lips too- "also, it made me remember of you"

"Of me?"

"yeah"

"Because of the adorable?"- She tried, giving him a thumbs up.

"nope"

"Why?"

"because of the tiny"

Frisk puffed her cheeks at him and held the puppy close to her chest. She had to admit that she had never seen such a little puppy before in her life, but she wasn't going to say it out loud- "Good things come in small packages!"

"there's absolutely no doubt about that"-Sans laughed and winked at her playfully. She huffed and looked away, but he could see a hint of a smile forming in her lips.

"Sans?"

"mhh?"

"Why did you say that this present could be troublesome?"

"well…"

"Oh!"- Frisk straightened up- "Mum's gonna make a fuss of it! But there's no way I'm leaving this little sweet buddy on their own again! No-way!"- She gave the tiny animal a determined look- "Ha! I got it!" - She exclaimed cheerfully- "Mum is always saying that, no matter what you are gifted, presents cannot be returned because that's something ! Which meaaans…!"- She booped the puppy's nose with a finger- "That, as you are a present, cannot be retrieved either! I have the perfect excuse of all times! She'll have to let you stay!"- Her gleeful expression suddenly turned serious as she gasped and turned to look at Sans- "But that'll get you into troubles, wouldn't it?"

"nah, don't worry about it kiddo'"

"I don't really have to have mentioned that she didn't let me have a dog to you, right? So, if you didn't know about it then you can't be blamed!"

Sans knew that he wouldn't fool Toriel with that, but he decided to give it a try anyways- "sure! we'll keep with that version and maybe we'll get out of this without any problems"- The girl nodded energetically, giving him an encouraging look. The skeleton did his best to memorize her expression. He was going to need that support later.

Frisk sprawled on the grass again, holding the puppy with her arms outstretched. The little animal wriggled its paws and tail so much in the air that she couldn't help to laugh- "How did you manage to put this ball of concentrated energy into that box?"

"oh? well, it wasn't that difficult really"- He laid is back on the grass too- "that poor froggit had the worst part. when he saw the puppy he sent me the message and retained it at the limits of the forest, but-"- He pointed at the excited, lively dog and laughed "-as you may have noticed that wasn't an easy task. by the time i arrived the froggit was absolutely exhausted and the lil dog was fast asleep after all that energy spree. i took the puppy and told him to have some rest, i think i've never seen a monster so relived in my life"

The human gave the fuzzy white ball a critical look- "Who's an unstoppable monster tiring and good boy?"- The puppy tilted its head- "You aaaare!"-Frisk laughed as the little animal licked her face enthusiastically.

"he sure is!"- Sans laughed too- "you can't imagine how much i was praying that he wouldn't wake up while i got the box, made those little holes so he could breathe just fine and then settled him inside. it was a miracle that it woke up just by the time you came"

Frisk giggled- "So, do we have a little "he" over here?"

"yeah"

"Did he come with any nametag or anything?"

"no, froggit told me that he was left with some food and water but nothing else"

The girl gasped, sitting up abruptly with the dog in her arms –"Wait! So he doesn't have a name?"- The poor thing was looking in all directions, not understanding why the perspective of his surroundings had changed so drastically.

"nope, you'll have to pick one for him. i suppose you already have some ideas don't you?"

Frisk turned to look at him with huge, concerned eyes- "I never thought I'd get this far, so I haven't thought of any names yet!"

"hey, don't panic!"- Sans comfortingly patted her shoulder- "you've got plenty of time to think about a good name for him"

"But…but! It's such an important decision!"- She stared into the puppy's eyes- "What if I choose a name he doesn't like? As he doesn't speak I'll never know! Have you ever thought about that? Do pets like their names? And if they don't what do they do? They can't even ask to be called a nickname they'd like better! And…!"

"frisk!"- He grabbed her shoulders, making her look at him in the eye. The girl's muscled relaxed a bit- "you shouldn't worry about that. when you choose his name i'm sure you'll put all your efforts and affection in it, there's no way he couldn't like it"- She blinked at him- "you'll do it fine, i trust you"

With those words the girl finally smiled brightly, pushing her worries aside- "I'll do my best!"- She exclaimed with determination.

Sans ruffled her hair- "i know you will"

The human's smile widened a little more and when she casted a glance to the dog she found him fast asleep in her arms. She placed him carefully on his white box and tucked him in with a soft little blanket that was inside it. It looked like a tiny, fluffy angel.

"You definitely are the best, best gift ever"- She whispered fondly.

But it was when she mentioned the word gift that she remembered something. A weak- "Oooh…"- Escaped her mouth.

"uh? what is it, kid?"

"…Nothing"- She answered heavy-heartedly.

"oh, sure. and you expect me to believe you when you are looking like that?"- He pointed at her slightly pouty expression.

Frisk sighed- "The thing is that I, well I didn't know you were going to gift me anything. But I had already thought of giving you some presents beforehand. So I thought- Her expression lightened up- "Great! I'll be able to give Sans a present in exchange for the present he is going to give me! And I was so happy about the gift I had found because I thought you were going to like it very much! It seemed like was actually done exactly for you and all! but…"- Her smile dropped again and she curled on the grass, staring blankly at the sky- "No present in the world can compare to a puppy! If you put my present next to it… seems like an insult!"

"oh frisk, c'mon!"

"Exactly! I have to think about something! I'm not giving up on this!"- She held a tiny fist in the air with resolution- "I will find something! No matter how long it takes! Whatever the cost!"

"that's not what i-"

"Wait! I know! What about a spaceship?! I've got no idea of how those things work, but I'm sure that Alphys can help me with it! We'll just need to watch some space anime and it's all done! Right? Alphys told me that's how scientists work!"

"are you even list-?"

"Or what about one of those cool, flaming racing cars! Undyne told me that she once saw one that did not only had flames painted all over it, but also could produce flames itself, like a dragon! Can you imagine that?! And it also had that nitro thingy and loads of colorful buttons with multiple options like turning off and on the lights, serving you food, walking the dog and doing your homework!"

"frisk-"

"I know! I'm going to get a mixture of both! A spaceship that is also a racing car that has flames, produces flames and can give you food, walk your dog and do your home-"

"frisk!"

The girl blinked, finally noticing Sans head peeking over hers and staring into her eyes.

"i do admire that imagination"- He said laughing- "but i'd really like to have that gift you already have for me"

"Whaat?! But it's not a spaceship! And- and it can't serve you dinner either! And-!"

"…and as you chose it for me, then it's more than enough"

Frisk blushed, but puffed her cheeks reluctantly either way. She tried lifting her gaze to look at the expectant expression of her friend again, but as soon as she met his eyes her blushing got even worse and she hid her face in her hands.

Sans grinned at her in amusement- "i suppose i can have it then?"

Finding herself cornered the teen had no other option than to nod. A few seconds passed till she finally spoke between her hands- "It's in my backpack. It has a green wrapping with a pattern of pizzas"

"pizzas?"

"Yeah, I saw it there and I was hungry so…"

They stayed in silence for a moment before roaring laughing.

"when you do things like this you've got no idea how happy i feel about being your friend"-Sans commented truthfully, still laughing.

"I know"-Frisk managed to say between chuckles.

"do i just grab it?"- The monster pointed at the girl's backpack that was resting before the trunk of a tree. Even with her eyes still covered and not knowing where Sans was pointing the girl agreed- "mhh… is there some pocket i shouldn't open? one time you said something like that"

"Oh! Don't open the little pocket at the right!"- She answered quickly.

"oops"

"Sans!"

"nah, i was just joking"- He laughed at the girl's relieved sigh and wondered what could those famous pockets contain- "is it in the biggest one?"

"Yes, I think so"

The skeleton opened the backpack and a little piece of paper felled to the grass. He picked it up to discover that it was his note. A smile crossed his face as he silently placed it back to where it was. Then he peeked inside the bag and a green wrapping with drawings of pizzas welcomed him. He busted laughing again at the sight, Frisk's laughter quickly following his. Sans picked the present, closed the backpack and sat by the girl's side. Even though they tried they couldn't stop laughing because each time they looked at the present again their guffaw would resume.

"i haven't even opened it and i can already tell you that i love it!"- The skeleton chuckled. The teen removed her hands from her face, letting him see her bright smile- "ok, here i go!"

"Wait!"

"what is it?"

"Well…"- She tilted her head in defeat- "I guess I can tell you afterwards…go on"

The present was rectangular, heavy and more or less thick. It wasn't too difficult to figure out what it was. He tore the wrapping being careful not to hurt too many pizzas as he did so and finally got to see his actual present. It was a big book; its cover was full of silver letters, exclamation marks and bright, realistic drawings of spaceships, atoms and the kind.

"I have an explanation to make!"- Frisk said, sitting up.

Sans forced himself to shift his gaze from the striking cover to look at her- "is that what you wanted to tell me before?"

The human nodded, and simply by looking at her expression and posture he understood that he'll have to be listen carefully if he wanted to understand at least a bit of what she was planning to say. A long explanation was going to take place, but it was going to be one of those flash discourses only Frisk managed to put together and recite at such speed. The girl took a deep breath and started:

"The thing starts like this. Did you see those monsters and humans that beg in the streets?"

Other person would have been totally confused by such a random question but Sans simply nodded, knowing that he'd find the relation between that question and his present throughout her speech very soon.

"Well, the first time I saw one I gave them all the G I had with me. You should have seen them, they looked so happy!"- Frisk's expression lightened up at the memory- "The problem is… that as mum wasn't home that day I was supposed to buy my lunch with that G. I hadn't realized till I got to the shop and found my pockets empty. I didn't mind not having lunch one day if it was going to make someone so happy, but when mum returned and I told her what happened she told me not to spend all me G like that"- She pouted lightly- "So! The next time I found someone begging on the street I didn't give them all my money!"

"that's fine kid-"

"I gave them only half of it!"- Sans gave her a resigned look- "They looked very happy either way! So I understood that mum was right! So, that same day, every time I saw someone begging I would give them half of my G! In that way I made even more people happy! But by the end of the day I only had 1 G left, and I wasn't able to buy breakfast!"- The skeleton sighed. Yeah, he should have expected something like that- "Mum got upset again and told me that I couldn't do that either. She said that helping people who beg is something good, but I couldn't keep skipping meals for that cause. The times I skipped meals I tried to avoid her noticing, but she always caught me red-handed so I had no other choice but to stop doing so!"

"…but that didn't end there, did it?"

Frisk sighed and shook her head- "I started being more careful with my G, repeating mum's words in my head every time I saw someone begging. But one day I saw this cool monster in the park! He danced and sang and there was a hat lying before him where you could place some money if you enjoyed his show! And as I enjoyed it I left him some G, of course! Mum's advice applied to people begging, not people who were getting paid for their services! In this case, entertainment!"- Her friend silently face-palmed- "Like that, I found a girl that could do this great juggling show, and that monster that kept doing this incredible magic tricks and…!"

"by the time you got home you had no g left again, right?"

Frisk's shoulders dropped- "Yeah. Mum said that it couldn't be that I always managed to end up in the same situation and not being able to have my meals when she wasn't home. She gave me the speech of: "Having your three diary meals is the pillar for your growth, health and blah blah" you know how that goes. Also, if an emergency were to happen she said I had to have some money so I couldn't keep spending it like that. That's why she told me that if that situation repeated once more she would leave me without allowance for a year!"- She dipped her head with sorrow.

"woah! that's a rough one! toriel wouldn't have say something like unless she thought it was the only solution! how many times do you ended up skipping meals?"- The girl's glace drifted away, avoiding looking at his eyes- "bucko?"

"I…haven't actually counted them…"

"more or less?"

"…Th-that's isn't very important, is i-?"

"frisk"- The girl grumbled in defeat and mumbled something so quietly that Sans couldn't make out a single word- "c'mon it can't be that bad!"

The human finally lifted her gaze to look at him. By the look of her expression it seemed that it could. The skeleton waited patiently till Frisk finally spoke again: "Uhh… it would depend of what you consider bad, I think…would you…would you consider thirty times that bad?"

"thirty?!"

"Roughly speaking…yeah"- She scratched her cheek with a finger sheepishly.

"i now understand the extreme measure"

"But-but! It's not fair! From now on if I ever return home without money mum will suspend my allowance for a year! Don't you understand how terrible that would be?!"- She held her head in her hands.

"well, you wouldn't be able to buy any pastries in that time"

Frisk's head jerked up- "Oooh noo! You're right! I hadn't thought about it! It may not be as important as the other thing, but it makes the situation even woooorse!"

"wait, you love pastries so much that it is unbelievable, what can be more important than buying those things?"

"Isn't it obvious?!"- The tiny human gave him an impatient look, but her friend look at her blankly- "If I stop getting my allowance for a year that means I won't have any money! If I don't have any money they I can't give any G to those people in the streets! Not some G, half of them, or one of them! None! Those poor guys, I can't leave them without my allowance!"

Sans blinked a few times and felt the need to stretch and poke the girl on the arm. You know, just to know if someone with such a heartwarming and selfless attitude really existed in this world. Indeed, his finger made contact with the girl's soft sweater, proving him once more that she wasn't any kind of illusion or divine, benevolent entity.

"Stop checking if I'm corporal! I've already told you that I'm just a common human, nothing special at all! I like helping people, that's all!"- The skeleton would totally disagree about the "nothing special" part, but that would start and argument so he preferred to stay silent- "Anyways, the thing is that I can't let that happen! Going back to your present, I had been thinking about gifting you something for a long time, but I couldn't think about anything good enough. Even though we chat for hours you don't usually talk about your interests very much, so that made the task even more difficult. I know that you loved bad jokes, everybody knows that; also that you liked science fiction and science, because you have proved that many times and Papyrus mentioned it to me; and I also remembered that a monster in Grillby's mentioned that you read car magazines in your free time..and in your working time too, actually. That's why I wanted to find something that could fulfill all those categories! It was then when the idea came to me"- She threw her palms into the air- "The librarby!-I hate to admit it but I love that they kept that sign when they reopened on the surface-"

"I went to the librarby to find some books of each kind, but when I got there I ended up finding loads of books of each type! There was a huge shelf full of this science complicated books! I tried picking some up and I found out I didn't understand a thing! That's why I knew you'd like them, if you read quantum physics books you surely like challenges! I grabbed the most complicated books I could find and moved to the next section, about cars. There I found even more stuff, with all those bright colours and technological details and stuff! I piled the ones I liked the most with the others and went to the humor section. I'm sure the secretary looked at me with pity when she saw me sprawled over the floor laughing out loud because of all those silly jokes, but I didn't care! I chose some of that section too and by the time I checked I had too many books. It was an extremely hard decision but I managed to pick one of each genre and went to the secretary, saying that I was going to use the new function they had implemented in the librarby and instead of lending those books I was going to buy them. The look of pity of her face vanished as I mentioned the word "pay" and she smiled at me brightly. I took out my G and was ready to pay, but when she told me the price..."- She paled.

"were they that expensive?"

Frisk looked at him dramatically- "Let's say that they were so expensive that not only my allowance and myself trembled, but also mum trembled in the distance feeling the looming pressure of such an expense"

"wow"

"Yes. Exactly that. When she saw my expression the pity returned to the poor secretary's expression and she left me some time to recover. I could barely manage to buy one of them without getting caught up by the goat police, but I couldn't just gift you one! You liked the three things! I racked my brains thinking of a solution but I still didn't know how to multiply G and I didn't think finding out would be a very "legal" idea. I started searching all over the librarby again and after a lot of rummaging I found that one"- She pointed at the book Sans was holding- "As I couldn't get you the three of them and I couldn't decide which of the three options to pick I decided to get you this. It has a little bit of humor, science and cars, but I'm afraid it doesn't go much in depth about any of the three as the others did"- The girl lowered her gaze, her frustration noticeable in her voice.

Understanding that the tiny human had finally finished her explanation Sans looked at the book in his hands once more. The cover was absolutely awesome; there were no doubts about it. He opened it and flipped some of the pages to find that they were filled with images, puns and curious facts about different scientific facts and experiments. Basically it was a book that explained the functioning of cars and many different aspects of science by clever and amusing explanations. With a single, quick look he instantly knew he was going to love that book. Just by reading some random puns he roared laughing.

"oh my, these are so good!"- He couldn't stop laughing as his eye-sockets registered them: "Did you hear that oxygen went out on a date with potassium? It went OK", "Anyone knows a joke about sodium? Na", "I had to make these bad chemistry jokes because all the good ones Argon", "What do you call the leader of a biology gang? The nucleus", "We make science puns, but only periodically", "What do you call an acid with an attitude? A-mean-o acid"

That book managed to mix all his nerdiness, liking for cars and special love towards bad jokes in a perfect balance. It must have taken Frisk a lot of effort to find something so unique and specific. Without even thinking about it he embraced her in a tight hug.

"thank you! i don't know what you were worried about, this is awesome! i would have never imagined something so cool could even exist! thank you!"

Frisk's eye's widened in surprise at the sudden show of affection, but she quickly recovered and hugged him back with fondness- "I-I'm glad you liked it!"

Sans pulled away lightly and the girl smiled at him brightly. He suddenly realized what he had done and noticed the girl's blushing cheeks. He felt his own cheekbones heating up, but gave her an equal fond smile before taking a step back.

"i guess we both got what we wanted"- Sans grinned as he looked at the book once more.

"Yup!"- Frisk picked the still open box with the little, sleeping puppy inside and giggled- "This surely is a good day!"

The skeleton had to agree with her. It had been a long time since he last felt this rested and now he had a new exciting book to read. This was a great way to start the day.

"where are you going from here, kiddo?"

"Mhh…I guess I should go home already. But first I want to take this lil, fluffy buddy to the vet"- She looked at him with a mixture of guilt and pity-"I'm sure he's not going to love it…but I want to have him checked up and depending on how old he is maybe I can get him his vaccines too"

"he won't like it, but it's the best for him"- He gave her an encouraging smile and the girl's expression lightened a bit as she nodded- "how about i go with you? in that way you'll have some moral support if you have to leave him with the vet to get vaccinated and i can distract you in the meantime"

"Really?!"- Her expression got filled with glee- "Thank you!"

"no need to mention it, kiddo'"- He winked at her. Frisk offered to carry his book on her backpack so he wouldn't have to carry it under his arm all the way there. He refused, but after a lot of pouting he ended up handing it to her. They started making their way to the vet, which was more or less in the city centre.

Once they started to get closer Frisk started walking more and more slowly, reluctant to arrive at their destination. Understanding that they were getting nowhere Sans ended up holding her free hand and half-dragged, half-leaded her to the entrance of the vet. The girl took a deep breath and approached the counter, where a friendly looking monster awaited.

"G-good morning"

"Good morning sweetie! What do you need?"

"Um…well. We found this little buddy in the forest and I thought that he needed a health-check, just in case"- She placed the box on the counter and carefully took the tiny puppy out for the monster to see. It stirred lightly in her arms, but continued sleeping.

"Ohhh,what an adorable little creature, it's just a baby!"- The vet smiled brightly at the sight. She noticed Frisk's slightly guilty expression and assured: "There's no need to feel bad for bringing him for a health check, taking care of them from the very beginning is crucial for their development. You did great taking him here"

The tiny human's expression lightened up, the knot in her stomach finally disappearing. She carefully handed the puppy to the smiling woman, who delicately placed it on the top of the counter- "Well…what do we have here?"- The dog was finally waking up and he gave the vet a curious, confused look before barking and licking her face, his tail wagging excitedly. She laughed in delight as tried examining him while it moved frantically as he played with her fingers- "We surely have a lot of energy, don't we? That is a great signal! I don't see any kind of injuries, ticks, or signs of illness. Maybe he has some fleas, but we can take care of that with a spray. His teeth look good and so does his skin. She picked him up, but he didn't stop moving anyway. The monster giggled- "I hope you are patient and love to play, because it seems that this little guy will be a little difficult to tame and he'll ask for loads of attention and love"

"I'll give him all what he needs!"- Frisk assured, smiling with determination.

"Yes, that's what I thought!"- The vet laughed at the girl's enthusiasm- "You're very lucky, little puppy! It seems you found a very responsible and loving owner!"- The dog barked happily.

"he sure has"- Sans smiled. The tiny human blushed at the praises and lowered her gaze lightly.

"Ok, I will check him more exhaustively to make sure that everything is fine. Also I can give him his vaccines and make him a health book so you can keep a record of his health status. What do you think, sweetie?"

Frisk grimaced a little- "He… he can already get his vaccines?"

"Yes, he can"- The vet smiled at her encouragingly- "I promise that I will treat him with all the love and care he deserves, my dear. There's no need to worry. Why don't you go for a walk till I finish?"

The girl smiled gratefully at her and nodded- "Thank you!"

Still, she was having lots of difficulties in making her feet move and taking her eyes away from the white, fluffy ball in the vet's arms. Sans sighed and held her hand once more, leading her out. Frisk didn't look away from the puppy till they left the vet and the woman giggled and made the dog wave her goodbye with his little paw.

"he'll be fine kiddo', there's no need to suffer. also, you saw that woman, i'm sure she'll be very cautious and gentle with him"- The skeleton comforted her, patting her shoulder- "why don't we walk a little like she proposed?"

The tiny human took a deep, reassuring breath and nodded. They started walking calmly down the streets, monsters and even some humans waving at them occasionally. Sans tried keeping the girl distracted, so he chatted animatedly with her. At first Frisk wasn't being very responsive, but at the sight of her friend's efforts to cheer her up she quickly returned to her usual lighthearted self. Sans began telling bad jokes and she followed, exchanging one terrible pun or joke for another: "what do you call a fake noodle? an impasta!", "Did you know that he future, the present and the past walked into a bar? Things got a little tense", "doctor, there's a patient on line 1 that says he's invisible. well, tell him I can't see him right now", "I told my girlfriend she drew her eyebrows too high. She seemed surprised","what's the tallest building of our city? the librarby because it has the most stories!", "Did you hear the joke about the high wall? It's hilarious! I'm still trying to get over it!", "i'm reading a book about anti-gravity. it's impossible to put down", "Thieves had broken into my house and stolen everything except my soap, shower gel, towels and deodorant. Dirty Bastards", "what do prisoners use to call each other? cell phones."

They only reason why they stopped was because they were laughing too much to continue. They simply couldn't articulate a word as they cried with laughter. People would occasionally turn to look at them with confused or worried expressions, but our friends were way too distracted to notice. Their laughter continued for several blocks till it finally faded, but the silly grins on their faces remained.

"hey kiddo', would you like to buy some pastries?"- Sans pointed at a bakery at the corner of the block.

"Oooh, I'd love to!"- Frisk's eyes sparkled- "…but I don't know how much G will I need to pay to the vet, so I think I pass"- Her smiled dropped a little as she looked at the shop that was now before them.

"i can get some for both"

"Really?!"- She looked at him like he had said the most heroic speech ever- "Thank you! That's so-!"

But her words were abruptly cut short as a bright green car rounded the opposite corner at an unbelievable speed. Screams of surprise and alarm started ringing along the block at the sight of the vehicle that fishtailed dangerously from side to side on the road as it came towards them. What happened next was what everyone was dreading: When it was reaching the corner, noticing that they were going too fast to able it to round it, the driver slammed on the brakes, the horrible sound screeching in everyone's ears. But it wasn't going to slow down in time.

The following events happened so fast that it was hard to grasp what was going on. Realizing that the car was inevitably going to crash against the wall of the opposite side of the street Sans outstretched his hand, blue magic burning in his left eye as he did so. He enveloped the car with his magic as fast as he could, but he immediately realized that it wasn't going to slow it down enough. In that moment a blur of movement by his side caught his eye. Before he could do anything to stop her, Frisk launched herself forward. Throwing herself like a bullet right into the car's way.

"frisk!"- The skeleton shouted out desperately, seeing the vehicle dashing right to where she was.

The crashing sound was deafening, together with the sound of breaking glass and people screaming. A huge cloud of dust spread everywhere, making it impossible to see. Sans felt all the energy drifting away from his body. He stared straight ahead where the vehicle had impacted the wall and where his friend had been a few seconds ago with horrified eyes. For a whole moment, he wasn't able to move. Not even to think properly. His mind became blank and it appeared that all the sounds surrounding him had disappeared. He unconsciously stopped the flow of magic that he had been using to slow the car down and the disappearance of that blue glow brought him back to his senses. He dashed at full speed towards the car, fear clenching his chest like an iron grip.

"Frisk! Frisk!"- The front of the car was wrecked, but a quick glance into the driving seat was enough to know that the driver seemed miraculously unharmed- "Kid, for God's sake answer me!"- Sans was having difficulties in trying to make out his surroundings with so much dust, that's why he had to get very close to actually distinguish something. The wall in which the car had run into was severely damaged and debris were scattered everywhere. The skeleton was scanning the area desperately with his gaze, doing his best to avoid panicking- "Frisk, where are you?!"

A cough sounded weakly in the huge mess. Sans shoot off in the direction of the sound. He climbed over the hood of the car with a jump and peered at the other side. He felt his breathing stop when he recognized the colours of Frisk's sweater at a short distance. It took him a few moments to process the image trough the cloud of dust. The girl was curled up tightly with her back against the wall. A huge weight was lifted from his shoulders when he saw she had no serious injuries, but a sudden anger and helplessness took its place.

"What the hell was that?! What were you thinking?! Are you mad?! Don't you see that you could have gotten yourself kill…?!"

Sans couldn't finish the sentence when he saw Frisk slowly uncurling and revealing a little monster clutching her chest. She carefully removed her arms from around the child's frame, her bangs hiding her eyes from the skeleton as she looked down at the little monster. The reason why she had done something so dangerous and why she had been in that position struck Sans with an overwhelming feeling. She had done that to save the child, who had been about to be hit head on by the car and she had been protecting the child with her own body.

"Are you Ok?"- Frisk asked hoarsely, coughing again. The young monster was whimpering against her sweater holding her tightly- "It's fine, don't worry. It's fine. I'm here"- Her voice sounded more sweet and reassuring now- "Are you injured?"- The monster shook his head a little- "Does anything hurt?"- He shook his head again- "There's no need to be scared anymore, don't worry"

"It-it was going to hit me! And-and I couldn't move! I just could see it coming closer and closer and-and…"- The monster whimpered weakly, holding her a bit tighter as his voice shook because of the shock.

"But it didn't hit you, right? We are both safe and sound now, don't worry!"- Frisk took a deep breath gave him a critical look, scanning trough his little frame as carefully as she could. She saw some little bruises and scratches and his clothes were a bit dirty, but he was indeed fine. She let out a huge relieved sigh and threw her head back, resting it against the wall behind her.

The girl's eyes finally got fixed in Sans'. Her expression was mirroring his relief and she gave him a weary but bright and determined smile. "If you hadn't made it slow down I wouldn't have reached him in time. We did this together"- She looked at him with a grateful, fond smile.

The skeleton finally managed to calm down and smiled back- "i'm glad i helped, but the next time we are doing team work i beg to be informed of your intentions first. you nearly scared me to death"

"Sorry! I saw the kid there and I didn't even think about it!"

"yeah, i imagine. but that was hell of dangerous and you know it"- Sans got off the hood of the car and crouched next to them.

"I couldn't just stand there and do nothing!"- Her eyes blazed with determination and the skeleton knew that arguing wasn't going to get her reconsider her actions. Also if she hadn't done what she did, no matter how dangerous it had been, the child…he'd be certainly dead.

Now that the dirt was starting to settle down Sans could see her a little better. She had a deep cut over her right shoulder and her clothing had some scratches, but when you looked at the huge disaster surrounding her it immediately became clear that she had been very lucky.

"can you stand up?"- Frisk nodded and carefully rose to her feet. She made a grimace of pain but kept carrying the little kid, holding him with her right arm- "I'm fine!"- She hurried to assure, giving Sans an almost convincing smile.

Before the monster could reply, the little kid mumbled something into the girl's sweater.

"Oh, yes! Your mum! She must be over here, don't worry sweetheart!"- She walked away from the car, reaching the middle of the street. Due to the accident the transit had been cut off, but a lot of humans and monsters had gathered around the area. She tried to make out a monster looking similar to the child she was holding. It didn't take much till a monster that looked just like him appeared in the crowd.

"Benny! My Benny! Oh thank goodness he is all right! My son!"- She ran to where they were and at the sound of her voice the little monster turned to look at her with teary eyes.

"Mommy! I was so scared!"

The monster picked up her son and hugged him tightly.

"You should be careful when you are in the street with such a little child, they get distracted easily and they can get in loads of troubles, miss"- Frisk warned her with a stern look in her face.

"I will be extremely careful for now on! I can't believe I let his happen! He is so energetic! I sometimes can't hold him in place! I won't let this happen again! Never! I'm so sorry! Oh, my sweetie, I was so, so worried!"- Tears rolled down the young mother's face as she held him protectively against her chest.

The girl's severe expression melted into a sweet comforting smile at the sight of such a sincere apology and she patted the woman on her back- "The bad moment is over now. Try to calm down now, nobody was seriously injured during this incident…"- A look of worry tainted her features as she turned to look at Sans- "The driver..?"

"he's fine. i think he was unconscious but he wasn't badly injured either. the police is taking him now"

Frisk turned to look to where the car was to see a police car nearby and the officers carrying the driver into their patroller- "Why the police? Shouldn't he be carried by an ambulance?"

"when we were looking for the kid's mom i heard from the people around that he was bucket drank. they'll sure take him to the hospital first, but he'll be going to the police station later"

The girl's expression got filled with rage and she was going to make her way to the police car to tell that disgusting scum of the earth few little things when she was suddenly caught in a tight embrace.

"Thank you for saving my child! Thank you! Thank you!"- Benny's mother was hugging her tightly, grateful tears rolled down her cheeks like waterfalls.

Frisk stiffened lightly at the contact and watched helplessly as the police car drove away taking with it a man that had been saved of having the scolding of his life. She hugged the woman back with her right arm and shook that stupid man off her head- "There's no need to thank me, really!"- She answered sheepishly- "Also, I couldn't have done it on my own, Sans helped me too"

"me? i wouldn't say i-" But before he could finish the sentence he found himself being hugged and thanked over and over too. He also gave her a little hug in return, not really knowing what to do before such a strong display of emotion.

It took a while for the young mother to finally calm down. She kept the little Benny very close to her in her arms and smiled at them gratefully, asking them if there was something she could do in return. The friends agreed that it wasn't necessary and after assuring it a couple of times the monster finally desisted.

Suddenly and extremely bizarre and unmistakable siren started blearing in the distance- "Oh crap, that's Mettaton. If he sees us here he'll start with those never ending interviews, let's get out before he arrives"

"i totally agree"- Sans nodded.

"Thank you again!"- The woman waved at them as they left.

"Th-thank you, misses human and mister skeleton!"- Benny waved a little hand at them from her mother's arms.

The couple waved back at them, smiling broadly. The huge gratitude and admiration in the little monster's eyes moved Sans greatly, leaving him with an overwhelming feeling in his chest. They kept walking in silence for a couple of blocks. The skeleton expected the girl to say something, but as she remained silent he understood that she was not planning to mention it. But there's no way he'd let it slide.

"we should get your arm checked"

"W-what?"- She turned to look at him, caught off guard- "Wh-why would you…?"

"don't try to hide it from me, kid. you haven't used your left arm since the car accident. at first i found it strange that you picked up benny with only one arm but when you hugged that woman with only one arm too i understood something had to be wrong. you never give half-hugs, on the contrary, you always hug people with all your might"- Frisk's gaze darted away, avoiding to look at him- "if your arm is not hurt then why do you keep it so close to your body?- She stirred by his side- "how about waving at me? if you do i'll stop bothering"

The girl looked at him with hesitation. A little smile crossed her features as she waved at him. Sans sighed- "oh, how funny. now wave with your left arm"

She looked at the floor, her shoulders dropping as her smile disappeared. She knew she wasn't getting away with something like that but she had to try anyways- "It-it really isn't something important…but I…I would prefer not to"

"ok, then let's head to the hospital or get some food to heal you"

"Food's not going to work"- Frisk commented with a grimace- "It only works when I lose Hp because of somebody, not because of something. I already tried it"

"really? i didn't know that"

"Yeah, I found out a long time ago. I was in the Underground and I was checking Alphys' updates on my cellphone and not looking where I was walking. Long story short, I didn't see the rock, I ended sprawled on the floor, I got a huge scrape on my knee. It was then when I though: "Ha! Now I've got monster food! A silly scrape cannot stop me now! I will avoid all the long and tedious process of healing!"- Frisk's expression got tainted by frustration.

"it didn't work?"

"No. The silly scrape won again. I ate a whole cinnamon bun, it was delicious, but the scrape remained there"

"well…then we'll have to go to the hospital"

"B-but! What about the puppy? He's still at the vet and going to the hospital will take us a long time, I can't go and leave him there!"

"no problem"- Sans took out his cellphone and punched some numbers.

"What are you-?"- The skeleton raised a hand, asking her to remain silent.

"hello? yes, i'm the skeleton that went there today with a short human and a little puppy"- Frisk puffed her cheeks at her description. A slightly agitated voice came from the speaker- "yes, actually we were in the car accident that happened close by. we are fine though, don't worry. but i'd like to take frisk to the hospital because she hurt her arm and she is worried about leaving the puppy for so long"- Sans nodded- "i supposed you would say something like that, thank you very much. i had to ask to make her calm down, you may imagine that she wouldn't agree to go instead"- A comprehensive laugh echoed in the speakers- "your understanding is pretty much appreciated and thank you again! yes, we'll take care, bye!"

Frisk gave him a still offended but expectant stare- "she says that you don't have to worry at all. the vet closes very late today and she doesn't mind taking care of him till we get back from the hospital. also she said that if you refused to get your arm checked because of this she wouldn't give us the puppy back"- She grimaced- "yeah, exactly. she seemed to have understood your personality well and knew how stubborn you can be so she left you with no options. she says your health is extremely important, and she is absolutely right"

The tiny human grumbled in defeat- "Ok, let's go"

Sans gave her an encouraging smile. Even though she had no choice he knew that she was making a great effort not to complain about it- "i was thinking about something you said earlier..."

"Mh? About the food stuff and healing? It was also a curious discovery for me, but I guess there's nothing we can do"

"no, not about that"

Frisk tilted her head at him- "What then?"

"you said going to the hospital would take us a long time. how can you be so sure? if it's not something really important then why would it take us so long?"

"Uhh…b-because the hospital is far away, you know? And there's always a lot of people, and…and the doctors are busy and…"- Sans gave her a critical look- "…and you are not buying any of it, are you?"

"nope"

"Well...my arm is hurting pretty badly, actually. So…"

"so?"- The skeleton stopped walking, forcing her to stop too.

She looked at him for a moment before frowning a little, looking cornered- "If I tell you I know you are going to worry! I don't want you to panic!"

"if you say that to me you're only making me more worried! c'mon frisk, spit it out!"

"I…I might have a little suspicion…it's not for sure but…"- The monster glared at her- "Ok, I'm almost sure. I'm almost sure that my arm…it's…you know…a little bit…"- She fidgeted around, letting her gaze wander around.

"a little what?"- He urged her to finish her sentence. Frisk's expression twisted in anticipation.

"…B-broken?"

"Don't panic, please! I'm fine, really!"- She waved her uninjured arm desperately before him as she saw him getting even paler than usual and his pupils disappearing- "I don't know how skeletons function with these things, but human's bones can heal very well! I'll probably get a plaster cast to avoid moving it and that's all! I'll be fine!"

Sans looked at her in silence for a long moment, trying to process her words- "…you're going to be fine, right?"

"Of course I am!"- Frisk exclaimed energetically, flexing her right arm as to give a proof of it-"Humans breaking their bones is not something that strange. That's why doctors know how to act and you don't have to worry"- Her friend's pupils finally reappeared- "See? It's no big deal"

"…but it must hurt like shit, doesn't it?"- His voice still sounded a little weak.

"Well…yeah, actually"- Frisk gave him a tiny pained smile.

"then why didn't you tell me before?! if you aren't supposed to move it how much were you going to wait to go to the hospital?!"

The rise in her friend's tone of voice made her know he was getting out of the shock so she allowed herself to raise her tone too- "I was going to get the puppy, leave it at home and then go! I knew that if I told you you'd get very worried! I don't like making people worried!"

"you know that those kind of actions are not solutions!"-Sans couldn't help to give her a hard stare. This was not the first time the girl had swallowed her problems to avoid making her friends worry- "you are always helping people, why don't you let others help you too when you are in need?! if people get worried is because they care about you!"- Frisk blinked a few times and lowered her gaze

"Sorry…I-I find it difficult to prioritize my own good ahead other's…"-She muttered.

The skeleton's expression softened and he ruffled her hair softly- "yeah, i know that. but you have to find a mid-point, for your own good"- Frisk nodded, Sans' hand still resting on her head. He sighed- "ok, no more arguing, let's go"- They resumed their walk.

"Thank you"- The human smiled at him.

"i've already told you there's no need to thank me, frisk"- Sans smiled back and he couldn't help to drift his gaze towards the girl's arm. It was then when he noticed something. It was nearly imperceptible, but when you looked extremely carefully you could notice it. The girl was limping. Just a little, tiny limping, but limping anyways. The skeleton felt himself pale again.

"What?"-She asked worriedly- "If it's about my arm it'll be fine, really!"

"what happened with your leg?"

"Oh?"- Frisk looked surprised, caught red-handed again- "It's nothing serious!"-When saw that her friend became even paler she hurried to explain- "I think I twisted my ankle when I threw myself to pick Benny up, but this time it really isn't anything serious! It's not broken or anything like that, it just hurts a little!"- Sans' shoulders relaxed.

"are you sure about that?"

"Yes, if I had got a real injury I'm sure I wouldn't be able to walk"

"even if you can i don't think you should. it might not be something severe but it can get worse if you force it"

"But the hospital is still far away! Even if we take a shortcut through the grove over there I will still need to walk"

"not necessary"

"Huh?"- She turned to look at him.

"i can carry you. we'll go through the woods and get to the hospital without any troubles"

"Wha-?! No! There's no need to do that! It doesn't hurt that much now! See?"- She tried to walk a few determined steps but her leg flinched a little in the last one.

"yeah, that's not true"

Frisk puffed he cheeks- "I'm fine!"-She argued stubbornly and started walking again, getting ahead of him.

"fine, if that's what we've got. you don't leave me another choice"- Sans closed the distance between them with a few steps and picked her up effortlessly in a bridal style.

The tiny human blinked in surprise at finding herself lifted from the floor so easily and turned to look at Sans' eye-sockets, which she found out were now very close to hers.

"heya"

Her cheeks flushed red- "That's not fair! I wasn't expecting that! Put me down!"

"nope"- The monster started walking- "if i put you down you're injuries are going to get worse"

"Saaans!"-The girl had her cheeks puffed and patted his chest in protest with her right hand- "I'm fine! I can get there on my own!"

"we both know you cannot. but if you wish i can make our trip shorter and take one of my shortcuts. i'm sure i know one that leaves us right in front of the hospital"

"Noooo!"-The girl whined, taking a handful of his sweater at the mere idea- "Those silly things make me really dizzy!"

"well, if you keep struggling i think i'll have to do it"- The girl stopped moving and looked at him sideways, her eyes narrowed- "i know you don't like it. but i prefer to have you dizzy for a few minutes than hurt because of being so stubborn"- He smiled a little at the girl's contemplative expression- "so, what would it be?"- As she remained silent he gathered a little of his magic around them, making the air slightly bluish.

"Nonono! Carry me! Carry me! See?"- She slipped her righr arm around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder- "I'm not moving anymore and now I'm in one of those "being carried because you are injured" positions that appear in the movies! I promise to act "convalescent" and all! But no jumps through time and space! Pleaaase!"

Sans couldn't help to burst out laughing-"ok, ok. don't worry kiddo'. what is that about acting convalescent and all?"

"Yeah! You know, when people are being carried like this they are all like-"-She threw her head back and placed the back of her hand over her forehead dramatically- "Oh! I think I won't make it to Christmas! Please, tell Christopher I always loved him! And I always loved his vanilla cake! But not the chocolate one, he used unsweetened chocolate to make it and I don't like that one!"- She turned her head to her left, looking away from the skeleton solemnly- "Oh no! I think I forgot to turn off the oven! Now the cookies will get all ruined! Why?! Why does something so terrible have to happen?! Why is life so cruel?! I only wanted to ride my white unicorn under the twilight once more! Ooohhh!"- She stretched a her towards the sky and then let it drop again, letting her body go limp and making a face while sticking out her tongue with a loud- "PPPPTTTFFF"- to represent her passing away.

After that they were both laughing so hard that they couldn't speak again for a long, long time. When Sans thought he wouldn't get surprised anymore by the crazy things the teen could do she turned up with something like this. It was this kind of stuff what he really loved about her company.

Undyne and Alphys were chatting discussing animatedly as they peered at scene below them. They had managed to climb a more or less high slope and they were hidden behind some bushes there. The couple had heard about the car accident that happened some blocks away and also about the fact that a short monster had been saved from the crash by a little human and a skeleton. They assumed without mistake that this particular duo had to be Sans and Frisk, which was, of course, their number one ship.

After making sure that their friends were not seriously injured during the accident by asking all the witnesses they could, they started scheming and making use of their shipping senses to figure out where they could be at the moment.

"They said that our punk dived right where the car was going to crash with the wall to help the kid. That must have been so extreme!"- Undyne raised a fist in excitement- "Frisk can be so fucking cool sometimes!"

"Y-yeah!"- Alphys agreed.

"So, according to the information we gathered they are both fine, with no serious injuries. But there's no way that a human could have been totally unharmed after being so close to that Goodman car! She is cool, but not magical! That's must have got at least a few scratches and bruises! If we consider that, the idea of Sans taking her to the hospital seems to be the most plausible one, obvious course of action. He can be so overprotective sometimes! I remember that time I dislocated my shoulder and he wanted me to get it checked! HA!"- She threw her head back with a chuckle- "Everybody knows that if you get your shoulder dislocated by a hit the best way to reverse it is getting hit even harder!"

Alphys gulped. She knew that arguing with her would be pointless, but sometimes your ethics and your common sense would cry and whine so much with her speeches that you couldn't help trying to make a comment.

"Uh..I…a-are you s-sure about that? B-because I really d-don't think th-that's the way t-"

"I'm absolutely sure!"- The monster said puffing her out chest- "Now! Back to the topic!"-The poor dinosaur sighed. At least she tried- "If our very difficult and complex mathematical calculations are right (by ours I totally and absolutely mean yours because I have no idea what this mess of numbers means) the targeted couple should be crossing the grope any second now!"

Alphys nodded energetically and they both stared right before them at the silent woods. It seemed that the scientist's complex and questionable calculations had been right, because they didn't have to wait long for Sans' light-blue jacket to appear in the middle of the white landscape. It took the couple a few seconds to process the fact that the skeleton was carrying Frisk bridal style but as soon as they did they started screeching and hugging each other with glee. When they finally calmed down a bit they returned to their secret position behind the bushes.

"You brought the shipping binoculars, right?"

"Of c-course!"- Alphys quickly reached into her lab coat and extracted a pair of binoculars that were coated in little sparkly hearts- "I-I've been practicing my lip reading!"

"Yeah, me too! I hope we can find something interesting today!"-Undyne clenched her fists excitedly- "Hurry up and look! I can't wait anymore!"

The shorter monster brought the binoculars to her eyes with professional expertise. She adjusted the lensed carefully but at a very high speed. It was obvious when she managed to focus on them because she let out a: "Ooh! They look so kawaii!"

"Let me see!"-Undyne snatched the binoculars from her hands and focused on them at an equal speed- "Ooooh! You are right!"- She handed them back to the dinosaur- "Let's try to make out what they are saying in such a romantic and dramatic situation!"

"O-ok. Let me see… mhhh…"- Alphys looked concentrated- "I-I think Sans is the one speaking. Frisk seems to be paying attention. But I c-can't make out anything of what his saying! His smile is getting i-in the way!"

"Hey! That's cheating! It has to be cheating!"

"Aaww! It's so shippable! As she might be h-hurt he takes her to the hospital, carrying her with all that chivalry and elegance! Th-this is the typical moment in wh-which she finally falls for him! A-and she has one arm around his neck! ItmakesmerememberofthatepisodeofMewmewKissieCutieinwhichshe-WAIT!"-The fish woman jumped by her side.

"What?!"

"They laughed and now Frisk is speaking!"

"And what is she saying?! Tell me! Tell me!"

Alphys frowned behind the binoculars-"…my dog used to chase people on a bike a lot….it got so bad that…"- She got silent, snorting imperceptibly.

"That what?! Don't do that, I want to know the rest!"

"…that I had to take his bike away"

Undyne looked at her with a mix of surprise, disappointment and disgust- "You can't be serious! Gimme' that crap!"- She got the binoculars and focused on them again- "You can't tell me that in such a specific, unique and perfect situation those dorks are doing those pathetic exchanges of terrible jokes!"- She stared intently at the lively laughing couple. By the looks of it, Sans seemed to be talking again. Just like Aplhys had mentioned she couldn't make a single word- "Cheater"- She whispered under her breath while she saw them roaring laughing again- "There! I think Frisk is going to speak again!"

"R-read her lips out loud!"- The scientist said, bouncing a little on the tips of her toes.

"…knock, knock…"-Undyne's face became red with anger- "FOR GOD'S SAKE THEY DO ARE TELLING THOSE HORRIBLE PUNS!"-She kept looking through the binoculars- "Gah! That punch line was pitiful! Why the hell did I keep looking!?"

"M-maybe they won't keep telling jokes! We c-can't give up just yet! Let's wait a little more!"

The fish woman took a deep, steadying breath- "You're right. There's no way they can keep this for that long"

They started taking turns to read the girl's lips, as they were the only ones they could decipher. They had a great view from that point of the hill and they could see the whole extent of the grope, which meant they could follow their movements without any problem. But after dozens of puns went by Undyne's tolerance was reaching its limit.

It was Alphys' turn again- "…knock, knock-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"- Undyne stood up abruptly- "I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE! WE'LL RESUME THE SHIPPING MISSION IN ANOTHER OCASSION! IF I HEAR ONLY ONE MORE OF THOSE STUPID PUNS I THINK I'M GOING TO-" –The yellow monster laughed, still looking through the binoculars- "NO! THEY ARE DRAGGING YOU TO THE DARK SIDE!"

Without waiting any longer the warrior caught a very surprised Alphys under her arm and ran away- "WE'LL BE BACK! ...WITH WEAPONS!"

Unaware of these events, Frisk and Sans kept laughing heartily till they arrived to the hospital. The girl looked up at the huge towering building with big eyes.

"you've never been inside, have you?"

The girl shook her head- "I've only seen it from outside. It must be kind of a labyrinth, being so big and all. Have you been inside?"

"i got in only once, that time undyne got her shoulder dislocated. but i was so busy trying to make her calm down and not shoving spears to the doctors that i barely remember how it looks like. i hope you won't give us that much trouble"- He smiled at her.

Frisk giggled- "I think that bringing Undyne here must have meant enough struggling for a whole life. So don't worry, I'll be considered and behave"

The skeleton sighed in relief- "thanks kid. you don't seem to be the ones who has problems with doctors…or that enjoys giving doctors problems. but i had to make sure"

They got in the building. It was indeed a huge place, and Frisk's jaw dropped a little as she turned her head in all directions, trying to take it all at once. Sans felt his smile widen at the girl's curious attitude. Even though she must be dealing with a lot of pain she managed to cope with it unbelievably well. The couple reached the reception where the monster quickly told what had happened to the receptionist and they were derived to the area of traumatology. They walked away from the reception to realize they had no idea where that area was. A very kind nurse that was passing by must have noticed, because she approached them with a huge, warm smile:

"Hello! May I help you with something?"

"oh, yes please! could you tell us where the traumatology area is?"

"Of course! First you have to go through this hallway, turn left, then right, then take the other hallway to the little garden in the east, not the big one, remember. Then you get to a big hall with many doors, you go through the one on the left corner and there you are!"

The couple blinked blankly at her in unison.

The nurse giggled at such sincere expressions of confusion- "…or maybe you'd prefer that I guide you there?"

"I think that'll be of great help!"- Frisk laughed a little too and the woman smiled again.

"It's over here…"-She stopped for a moment, giving them a critical look- "I guess you are having some troubles with your legs, I'll get you a wheelchair so it'll be easier to move you around"

"It's nothing serious, actually!"-The girl hurried to tell her- "It only hurts a little bit! I can walk on my own, it's just that this mister here is so dramatic!"-She puffed her cheeks at Sans.

"well, excuuuuse me. i may be dramatic sometimes, but you are too carefree! you said the same about your arm at first and then you ended up saying it was probably broken!"

"That was because I didn't want to make you worry! Now it's different! I've already told you…!"

The woman watched them argue with an amused and tender expression. She silently left, picked a wheelchair and brought it to where they were. When she arrived, exactly as she had expected, she found them in the same situation.

"you can't be 100% sure that it's nothing serious so i am not taking that risk!"

"But-!"

"Here it is"-The nurse announced, making them finally notice her presence. They looked a little puzzled, not knowing how the wheelchair had appeared before them so suddenly- "I know that you may feel it's not necessary. But it's always nice to have someone that cares so much about us"-She gave Frisk a meaningful smile and the tiny human blushed a little.

"Y-yeah, that's right"-That seemed to be the end of the argument and the teen didn't struggle at all when Sans placed her carefully on the wheelchair.

"Follow me, please"- The nurse asked cheerfully as she started leading their way.

The skeleton stood behind Frisk, holding her wheelchair. The girl tilted her head back to peer at him and a huge grin spread across her face. Sans couldn't help to smile back. Just by looking at her eyes you could see she was happy as a clam at high tide. She had obviously thought about it better and changed her mind about the wheelchair. He started pushing her across the hallway. They followed the nurse silently till the teen finally tried putting what she was thinking into words.

"Hey Sans!"- She whispered, being careful so that the nurse before them couldn't listen- "Do you know what would be really fun?"

"i'm not going to start running and wander you around at full speed through the hallways"

Frisk's shoulders dropped- "Ooooohhh, whyyyy? This opportunity is unique! Can you imagine how cool it…wait-"-Her excited expression turned to a confused one as she looked up at him- "How did you know I was going to say that?"

Sans laughed- "with that expression it wasn't that difficult to figure it out"

She looked deep in thought for a moment- "…is there no way to convince you to-?"

"nope"

The human frowned. She had always wanted to drive a wheelchair at full speed, she had seen that in some movies and stuff and it seemed to be pretty fun. But without Sans' crucial collaboration the plan simply couldn't be carried out. She looked at her right arm. If it hadn't been injured she would probably have been able to push the wheels herself at full speed without any help, but that wasn't the case. Unless…

"don't you even think about it"

Frisk blinked- "What are you talking about?"- She asked innocently.

"you're not going to push the wheels with only your right arm. you can't"

"Wh-?! I- I wasn't-!"- Sans raised his non-existent eyebrows at her- "Ok, fine! I was thinking about it! But how can you be so sure that I can't?"

"it's not a very new model, it's heavy"

"I bet I can! Wanna' see me try?"- Frisk placed her arm over the wheel with a determination.

"no"- The skeleton reached her hand and placed his over it- "even if you can…"- He had the teen's determined stare very close to his face now- "…which i'm starting to consider isn't something that impossible by the look of your eyes, you won't be able to go as fast as you want. also, we might crash somebody in our way if i were to drive you"

The human retrieved her hand, looking a bit guilty- "I hadn't thought about that…"

"i know you hadn't, but there's no need to feel bad"- He ruffled her hair gently-"why don't you simply enjoy the ride? we haven't crashed anybody… at least not yet"

Frisk giggled and nodded, her cheerful expression quickly returning to her face. They finally reached the traumatology area and the nurse waved at them kindly. She had told them to stay in a waiting room till a doctor called the teen's name. Sans placed the girl's wheelchair next to a row of seats and he sat by her side. The skeleton couldn't help to look at her arm from time to time. He knew that humans were, in general terms, skeletons covered with flesh. Maybe for Frisk the breaking of a bone wasn't that terrible, but for him that was all bones… it simply didn't feel right.

"h-how did you realize your arm was broken?"

"Mhh?"-Frisk looked at him distractedly- "Basically because of the pain, but I also remember hearing a crack"- She realized a bit too late what she had just said- "Ooh sorry!"- She placed her right hand over Sans' arm, trying to make his pallor fade away- "Why don't we just ignore those little details? I don't really think they are that important!"

It took the monster a long moment to be able to speak again, his voice sounding a bit weak: "d-does it hurt very much?"

The teen looked at him and smiled- "Yeah, I'm not going to lie to you. It's something really horrible"

"then how can you be so calm?"- He turned to look at her- "have you ever broken a bone before?"

"Yeah! When-"-Her expression got gelid for a moment, realizing what she had been about to say- "Uh-umm… I've broke m-my leg only once at the orphanage! B-but I've gotten a lot of experience from living there, you know. Little kids can be really careless! I broke my leg when I was like 5 or 6 because someone tackled me very badly while playing football and when I fell three other kids fell over me too"

Sans looked at her, trying to understand what had been that sudden change in her expression. But when he was about to say something the doctor called Frisk's name. The teen seemed relieved, but he felt that it wasn't only because she was getting her arm and leg checked. He…wasn't been wrong, actually.

He pulled her to the doctor's office and after a quick revision he announced she was going to get not only some X rays but also a full health check. Besides the great pain in her arm and the softer one in her leg Frisk said she felt Ok, but considering that she had been in the middle of a car accident the doctor wanted to make sure that they weren't missing anything important.

"You can wait for her outside. Once we finish we'll take her to the waiting room again and then we can move her to a room for her own so she can wait for the results more comfortably"

Sans didn't like the idea of leaving her alone, but the doctor made it very clear that he had to wait outside. He waved at her and the girl waved back, giving him a reassuring smile. It seemed like she was the one comforting him and not the other way round. The monster walked off the doctor's office and slumped on a chair. He couldn't wait for Frisk to come out and have the results of the examinations. He stayed like that. His mind was so busy thinking about everything that in the end he realized he wasn't thinking at all. After what seemed like an eternity the doctor reopened the door and he pulled the human outside. Sans got to her side at the time the friendly nurse they had meet before was approaching them.

"They said I have to wait in the room 351"- They looked at the woman before them expectantly.

"Oh, you're lucky! Those are one of the most comfortable ones!"- She winked at her- "Here, I'll guide you"

Once again they followed the nurse through various labyrinth like hallways and rooms till they arrived to their destination. When they opened the door they realized the woman hadn't been lying at all. The room was spacious, had a huge comfy bed and a window through which the sunrays sipped and bathed their surroundings with their warm light.

"Woah!"-Frisk's eyes grew wide- "It's really beautiful!"

The nurse laughed- "I'm glad you like it, honey! You can wait here till the doctor comes with the results"- She gave them a last kind smile and closed the door behind her.

Sans helped the girl to get on the bed, where she covered herself with the blankets-"Ooooh! They are so waaaaaarm!"- Frisk nuzzled her face against a pillow- "And so sooooft!"

The skeleton chuckled and as he looked at her- "i know that you are enjoying it, but try not to move that much"

Too late. The girl grimaced when she had unconsciously tried to lift her arm.

"told ya'"-Frisk puffed her cheeks at him and he chuckled. Her attitude hadn't been affected by the incident at all- "just try to stay quiet ok?- The skeleton carefully sat on the edge of her bed.

"…Fine"-She got still, laying her back against the many pillows that made her stay in a more or less sitting position and her expression relaxed, a soft smile appearing on her features- "…thank you"

"you thank me for scolding you?"-Sans teased her.

"Yes, because it means that you care"-The teen let out a pristine, amused giggle at her friend's slight blushing.

Suddenly, their cellphones rang in unison. Each of them with their custom ringtone assigned to Undyne and they exchanged a curious look. Sans was the first one to reach for his phone. He opened the message and stared at the screen in confusion.

"That was the perfect setting, BAKA"-Frisk read out loud, her tone of voice showed she was equally clueless. She looked up at him and tilted her head.

"i got the same"-He shrugged- "dunno' what we did this time"

The human looked back at the message-"Who knows…"- She fidgeted with the cellphone a little more and then dropped in by her side on the bed. Alphys had lent her a spare phone that maintained her usual number and contacts till she fixed the cellphone Flowey had sliced in half… if it could be fixed. This wasn't the first time she had used this cellphone, her friend had had already lend it to her in many occasions previously, for various reasons (most of them included damages to her former phone, losing it, and even burning it. It was an accident and happened just once, mind you!). Considering her antecedents…this certainly wasn't going to be the last time she had to use it.

"uhh…kiddo', i don't mean to bother or anything, but shouldn't you tell tori about this?"

Frisk's eyes grew wide- "Ohh…"-She looked at the phone like it was about to explode or catch fire (again) in any moment.

"she'll be sick worried and very angry if you don't tell her"

The girl bit her lip- "But I can't do it!"

"why not?"

She stared at him in disbelief and mimicked calling someone: "Hello mum! How's it going on your teacher conference? I hope you are having fun! Me? Oh, I'm here, in the hospital, you know. There was a lil' car accident and I rushed before a vehicle that was out of control to save a little kid. I'm fine though, no worries! I just got hit by some debris and my arm may be broken, but no problemo', really! Oh, I have to hang up! I'll be fine, no worries! Love you, bye!"- The girl motioned as to be finishing the call and after a few seconds she threw her right arm in the air- "Have you got any idea of how that would turn out!?"

"woah! that sounded a lot worse than i was expecting! can't you try softening it a little?"

"How?! I was exaggerating just now, but how can you say "car accident", "hospital" and "possibility of a broken arm" in a sentence without making a mother panic?! No matter how many synonyms of "I'm fine" you use, it won't work!"

"yeah, i guess you are right about that…"- Sans scratched the back of his skull thoughtfully- "but then what? you won't tell her? wouldn't that make things worse?"

Frisk took a deep resolute breath- "I'm going to wait here calmly till the doctor arrives with the results. So far this is a situation we can handle ourselves, a broken arm is no big deal and you can't do much: in most of the cases you only get a plaster cast and that's it. There's no reason for worrying mum. I'll arrive home with a huge smile and even though she will panic when she sees my arm she will also see that I am in a whole piece, safe and sound. When I tell her that you stayed with me the whole time and recite exactly what the doctor told me she will calm down"- She snapped her fingers- "Crisis softened successfully"

"wait a second, you said in most of the cases you only get a plaster and that's it"

"Yap!"

"and what about the rest of the cases?"

Frisk smiled sheepishly and looked away, waving her hand dismissively- "Just don't think about it"

"f-frisk what-?!"- He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

The human stretched her hand to place it over Sans in a tacit warning of "Don't you dare to make a pun" and hurried to answer- "Yes?"

The door opened slowly and the doctor and the nurse that had helped them before came in- "Miss Frisk?"- The Dr. asked, his eyes fixed on his notes.

"Yes, it's me"

"The results will be ready in a couple of minutes, you'll have to wait a little more until…"- He looked up at her and his expression got slightly stern when looking at Sans.

"is there any problem doc?"- The skeleton asked, worry tainting his voice.

"Yes, in fact"-He raised an eyebrow- "Visiting hours is over. I'm afraid you cannot stay here. You will have to follow me"- The couple stared at him with a mix of surprise and disbelief.

"b-but we aren't causing any trouble!"

"Yes! And my injuries aren't that serious either!"

"If they are not so serious then there is no need to make him stay, right?"

"Well, that may be true but…but I still am shocked! People who have just had a traumatic experience such as a car accident need moral support, right?"

The doctor sighed- "I've yet to see someone as collected as you in a situation like this miss. Your behavior since your arrival has been admirable, most people look more scared and aren't so easy-going when it comes to medical examinations. Even when it's about the flu some people don't like visiting the doctor. You look a lot less afraid than most of the adults, either monsters or humans, that step through the doors of our hospital"

Frisk innerly cursed her carefree nature while desperately trying to find any other excuse. Sans was about to say something, but the man in the white gown cut him short- "Listen, the rules are very clear. The visiting hours is long over, which means that visits are NOT allowed and they have to wait outside. There are only a few exceptions and none of them can apply here. Maybe if you were immediate family members the situation might have changed a little bit, but there's no way you will make me believe that you are blood related"- He lowered his glasses a little to look at them directly and smiled triumphantly.

Yeah, he had left them without arguments. Sans and Frisk lowered their heads a little, accepting their defeat. But in that moment the nurse, who had been silent till now, chimed in:

"Please doctor, there's no need to so harsh on them! You should have seen them when they arrived: They looked like real main characters of a romantic movie! He brought her here carrying her on his arms in case her injuries could get worse and then they had this little adorable argument! I thought that romanticism and chivalry had been long extinguished, but they proved me wrong! Don't you think that separating such a precious and lovable pair of lovebirds is even worse than tweaking the rules a little?"

The nurse smiled sweetly at them and the doctor drew his gaze to where the hands of the couple laid. The teen was still holding the skeleton's hand. She had actually been doing so since she heard the knock on the door. Sans and Frisk blinked. It took them a few moments to finally understand what the nurse had said, but then they quickly caught on:

"Please doctor, where is your tender side?"

"yes! why are you being so grumpy? are you really going to make me leave this beautiful lady alone?"

The specialist snorted- "Don't insist, I'm not going to-"

"I don't want my Sansy-poo to go away!"-Frisk held his hand a little tighter and started pouting.

"don't worry my popsicle, i'm not leaving!"

"Please, don't make things harder than they need to be! I've already tol-"

"But I can't live without my marshmallow!"

"relax, my little snowflake"

"B-but-"-Frisk's eyes were wide open- "I don't want to be left alone without you, my choo-choo!"

"shh, calm down honeybee"- The doctor felt the urge to leave as he felt his glucose level rising and Sans took the opportunity to give another cheesy blow: "c'mon doc! haven't you ever met that special person? the icing on the cake? the one-and-only? the chocolate chips in the cookies?"- He had to suppress a laugh at the man's cloyed expression.

Frisk gave him the final blow, with an absolutely adorable begging tone: "Pleaaasee, have you never been in love?"

"Oh, fine! You can stay! But you'll have to be very quiet and in someone else comes and finds you here I have not seen you, understood?"

"Of course!"

"clear as water!"

The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. The nurse gently placed her hand on his shoulder with a huge smile- "This decision is something very sweet of yours"

A soft blush tainted the man's cheeks- "Y-yeah…if you say so. Now let's go"- He left the room and the woman followed him after looking at them with a tender expression.

Frisk and Sans remained silent till they heard their footsteps die out and then they roared with laughter.

"poor man, i think we caused him high sugar level!"

"L-lollipop?"-The girl managed to say between guffaws.

Sans placed a hand over his mouth, trying to muffle his peal of laughter- "c-choo-choo, really?"- They laughed ever harder, just by remembering the silly nicknames they had come up with.

"I can't believe they fell for it!"- Frisk was crying of laughter- "And you!"- She patter her friend's shoulder- "The last part was so great! I nearly burst out laughing with the chocolate chips in the cookies part!"

"yeah, cheesiness is not my thing, but i have always found over-corny nicknames hilarious"

"Me too! I'd always wanted to use them in public to see people's reactions"

"that makes two of us! the unlucky was our innocent victim"

"I hope he finds his icing of the cake too"

A moment of silence passed till they bust out laughing again till Frisk ended up having hiccups. Sans tried calming her down, but everything he said only made her laugh even more. Being the girl's laughter infectious he ended up laughing too. Basically, they were being so loud that it was impressive that no one had come to scold them yet. After a long time they finally got quiet again.

"Despite everything, I don't like tricking people like that"- Frisk sighed with a guilty look.

"i knew you'd say that. but he didn't leave us another choice. it was that or staying here alone and i bet tori wouldn't have liked that"

"Yup. And me neither"- The monster turned to look at her- "What? I really didn't want you to leave. I know I'll be fine, but having you around makes everything nicer"- She smiled at him and blushed lightly, squeezing his hand a little.

"c'mon kiddo, please. i thought the cheesy round had finished"-He blushed too and sheepishly scratched the back of his skull. Frisk giggled as he gently squeezed her hand back.

A knock on the door announced that the doctor had returned with the results. Frisk gave Sans another "no pun" look and the man in the white gown came in with a big envelop full of papers and annotations.

"Well misses Frisk, you know we treated your external injuries as soon as you arrived, there was nothing really serious. The worst we could see was the cut in your right shoulder, but we have already bandaged it and disinfected it. We also cleansed the minor injuries to make sure they heal properly, but that's all. Your ankle may hurt a little, but it's not wounded. You don't have any major injuries when it comes to that. Unfortunately, as you had expected, your left arm is indeed broken. If you take a look at the x-rays you'll see it by yourself"- He took the X-ray from the envelop and placed it before the window, as the sun rays seeped through it the image became visible.

"As you can see, here is the bone fracture"- He pointed at the radius- "Luckily, you don't need to be taken into surgery, we'll just give you a new plaster cast that includes a new mechanism that mixes human technology with monster's magic. Basically it has a healing spell that will make your recovery a lot faster"

"Woah! Cool!"- Frisk smiled cheerfully, the happiness she felt at knowing that humans and monsters were really starting to cooperate to create such wonderful things was overwhelming.

"Yes, I guess it is" The doctor chuckled at the girl's lighthearted expression-"Now, as the X-ray show"- He took a full-body radiograph and examined it before the window- "You don't have any other bone fractures or cracks"

Frisk felt a tight squeeze on her hand and turned to see Sans staring intently at the floor, his cheekbones a bright light-blue. She tilted her head in confusion and looked back to the X -ray. It must have been that what made her friend so flustered. She didn't know exactly why, but seeing him so self-conscious about it made her cheeks flush red too.

"The rest of the examinations are all OK, no internal injuries, nothing severe"-He placed the X-ray back into the envelop and took out a bunch of papers, the girl felt Sans relaxing by her side- "We made all the appropriate tests for this kind of situations and according to them you won't have any collateral effects or anything like that"- He looked up at Frisk- "Again, I have to remark that your composure and pain tolerance are really impressive. The pain of a broken bone is something very awful and unpleasant, but it seems that you could handle that pretty well"

"Well, if I have to endure the pain and I get all negative then I'll have two problems! Better stay positive and try to think about something else!"

The doctor couldn't help to smile at her optimism, despite all the fuss they had made it was obvious that they were good people- "We'll get you the plaster cast and you'll be able to leave"

"Really?! We'll be going to be able to pick the puppy up!"- Frisk turned to look at Sans with excitement and he chuckled.

"see? it's not as late as we had expected"

The doctor and nurse checked the bandage on her right shoulder once more and before they realized it they were already preparing Frisk's plaster. The girl didn't look scared or worried at all. Actually, she felt so curious about what the professionals were doing that she hadn't got time for that.

"Would you like any specific colour, sweetie?"-The nurse asked

"Do they come in different colours?"- Her eyes sparkled at the idea.

"Those are only for little children, we'll just stick with a regul-"-But our poor doctor couldn't finish the sentence.

"Of course they do! What colour would you like?

"Purple!"

"Oh I love that colour! It thinks that it'll suit you perfectly, too!"- The woman looked at the doctor with expectant, innocent eyes.

"Fine…purple it'll be"

"Yaaaay!"- The girls exclaimed in unison.

"Look at what I'm made to do…"-He muttered and let out a sigh.

Once the very bright purple mix was done they carefully enveloped Frisk's right arm in it. With each layer of bandages and purple moist a soft glow would emanate from the plaster, which indicated that the healing spell was being casted. Once the process was done they waited for it to dry. The girl looked at the plaster fascinatedly as it still glowed a little.

"You probably won't have to have it for very long. You're young so you'll heal fast. Also, the better the relation people have with monsters the faster and more effectively the spell acts, that's why I guess your recovery will indeed be considerably short. As we already told you, don't wash it, try not to move it so much and if you can tie a piece cloth around your neck and use it as a sling that would be the best. Of course, be more careful next time"

"Thank you!"- She smiled at the doctor brightly.

He smiled back- "You're welcome, come and see me in a few days so we can check how it's going"

Frisk nodded and both Sans and her waved goodbye to the professionals and exited to the waiting room. The girl dropped on a nearby chair and the skeleton sat by her side. He handed her all the results of the examinations the doctor had previously given her and she carefully opened her backpack and stored them inside. She was going to show them to her mum, together with a note explaining the entire situation and procedures taken, which the nurse had kindly provided them. Toriel wouldn't need to worry at all.

"Ok, I'm done now! Off we go!"-Frisk stood up cheerfully and walked a few steps. She noticed Sans stiffening and not moving and inch. He looked as he had seen her getting injured again, but all her injuries had been treated, it made no sense! She was about to ask him what happened when she spotted a little something in the chair she had been sitting- "Oh, crap! Not now! It was not supposed to be today! How was I going to now?! Does it look like I have the crystal ball or something?! Wasn't a broken bone enough for today?"- She tugged at the right sleeve of her sweater strongly enough to free her now plastered arm and then she removed it completely.

"frisk, are you ok?! shouldn't we call the doctor?"

"Wh-? Of course not! I'm fine!"- She tied her sweater tightly around her waist.

"how could that possibly be fine?! you are bleeding!"

The girl pressed her hand against his mouth- "Don't shout! It's already embarrassing enough without you announcing it!"- It was then that she finally understood what her friend had just said- "Wait…Sans don't tell me that you don't know..."

"know what?!"

Frisk took a deep breath and rested the back of her hand on her forehead. It seemed that a broken bone was indeed not enough for today- "That time of the month? The girl flu? Aunt Flo? Does it ring a bell?"- Seeing that her friend still looked as clueless as before she let out a sigh- "I'll explain you when we get out. First I'll go to the restroom"

"wait, no! this is no time for going to the restroom!"

"Of course it is! Listen, I do have a logical explanation for this. But you'll have to wait for it. Basically speaking, I'm not dying, nor ill, nor being attacked by any kind of invisible creature or something crazy like that. I know it may sound crazy at first, but I'm fine. So, I'm going, you are waiting. I'll be right back"

Before Sans could do anything to stop her, the girl had already rushed towards the nearest restroom. He had no other choice than waiting for her till she got out. Even after her words there was no way he could not worry. By no means bleeding was OK! That was a crazy thing! Even crazier than invisible creatures or the sort! After what seemed like an eternity, but were actually just a couple of minutes, Frisk came out of the restroom and guided him outside of the hospital. Once they had walked a fair distance and the tiny human still made no attempt to speak a single word the skeleton interrupted the silence.

"so, are you going to explain or not?"- Frisk grimaced a little; she had been trying to get away without the explanation.

"Uhhh…are you sure you want to know? It's not something that "wooow!" or anything…"

"i want to know"

She stirred a little. She knew that she wasn't getting out of this without the explanation. The girl tried sorting her thoughts, but she wasn't succeeding very much.

"c'mon, what's the big holdup? it's just and answer, it can't be that difficult!"

"It's not that it's difficult"- Frisk looked away.

"then what?"

"Ahh..how to call it? Umm…embarrassing?"

"why would it be embarrassing?"

Frisk took a steadying breath- "You do want to know"

"of course i do! you said this had a logic explanation and i want to know!"

"…have you ever been given… the talk?"

"the talk?"

"Yes the talk! I mean!"- She huffed- "Do you know where babies come from?"

"w-what?"- His cheeks flushed light-blue- "what does that has to do with this?!"

The human internally came back to life, for a moment she had thought she'd have to give her friend the talk herself, and that would have been way too much to bare.

"Listen, I have no idea how skeletons work with the baby thing, and I guess you don't have any idea about humans either, but I guess that only one talk is enough for a lifetime"

"i agree"

"Great, then I'm just going to skip most of the stuff and go to the point. Once a human mum or most mammals get pregnant a baby grows in their belly, right?"

"right"

"So, skipping all the technical terms and speaking very roughly, that belly has to prepare so it can hold that said baby when it arrives"

"prepare?"

"Yes, it's not like when the baby arrives it's all: "Oh look there's a person here, I guess I'll have to do something. Maybe grab this food here and feed them a little and if they feel sleepy they can just lay around, I dunno'"

Sans tilted his head- "i don't get it. in the case of skeletons when a woman gets pregnant the baby starts growing in her belly and the magic in the mother's body does the rest"

The girl's eyes grew wide- "Lucky peanuts"- She mumbled under her breath- "I envy you in a healthy way"- She shook her head- "Now I understand why didn't get it"- She let out a giggle.

"….i still don't?"

Frisk laughed- "Sorry, I was just thinking about what you just said. It sounds so easy!"- She sighed- "In human's cases it's not like that. What happens in our case is that the mother's womb has to prepare for the arrival of the baby. So, how does it do it? It starts "gathering" the things that the little gift of life will need: nutrients, tissue and the sort. If those preparations aren't ready then the woman can't get pregnant"

"woah, really?"

"Mh-hm"-The girl nodded- "Doesn't something similar happen with skeletons?"

"mhh…i don't think so"-He looked thoughtful for a moment- "i mean, the only reason why a skeleton wouldn't be able to get pregnant is because she just doesn't want to. i think the same thing happens with most of monsters"

"Wh-what?! How does that work?"- She looked at him, eyes wide.

"how to put it… let's suppose we have a lovey-dovey couple of monsters, right?"- Frisk nodded, attentively- "they are all happy and stuff, but they don't want to have a baby for x reason. so, considering that none of the parts want to have their family enlarged, their magic doesn't do the processes necessary for the baby to…pop up there?"

Frisk's eyes opened wider, she looked absolutely astonished- "Just like that?!"

"yeah, it's logical, isn't it?"

"No! Well, actually yes! But-but!"- She rested her head on her hand, trying to process that information-"I get the magic is very cool and stuff, but this is too much!"- She gestured as to be talking with an invisible person- "Oh, hello Mother Nature! How you've been doing? I'm great over here, I don't feel like having a baby for the time being, I'm just fine. But don't worry, if I change my mind I'll let you know! Don't call me, I'll call you! You go and have fun!"- She threw her uninjured arm in the air in frustration- "That has to be cheating!"

Sans tilted his head in confusion- "i guess humans don't work like that?"

"No"- She drew a deep breath- "There's not that much trouble when it comes to deciding not having a baby. There are many methods to prevent pregnancy if you don't want it to happen. BUT!"-She dropped her hand by her side and glanced at him, her voice dropping- "Your body gets prepared anyways"

"huh? why? if you are not going to have a baby at that moment then isn't it useless?"

"Of course it is! But do you think Mother Nature cares? She definitely doesn't! She thinks that you have to be prepared anyways! What happens if from one day to the other you go all: "Waoh! I tots' want to produce a frigging little human! Like, right now! I can't wait to next month! That is absolutely logical!"

"Just think about it: You still have to close the closet door at night to sleep peacefully knowing that nothing will come at night to eat you, you still blow bubbles in your chocolate milkshake with a funny loopy straw, you get all tangled up in your sheets and need assistance to get out, you don't reach the cereal that is in the upper shelf, still use your fingers for making math and are still struggling to know what to do with your own life, don't you see? You are READY and ABSOLUTELY qualified for raising a baby!"

"wow, that sounds absolutely crazy"

"It is crazy! Mother Nature decides that, since approximately your first teenage years she'll do whatever she wants with your body because she is, basically, a jackass!"

"but isn't there a way of letting your body or "mother nature" know that you don't want a baby?! there has to be a way!"

"There is not a way! We don't have any direct lines with Mother Nature! And if we did, she'd probably laugh at the other side of the phone and hang up before you could say anything! Do you know why?"

"…because she is a jackass that does whatever she wants?"

"Exactly! So, even though you know that, unless a holy miracle happens and you become the new holy Mary of your era there is no possible way that a baby would pop up in there, you have no other choice than acting as you wait for the baby you know is not going to come any time soon…just because Mother Nature wants it that way!"

"well, it cannot be that bad, can it? your body gets prepared, but you don't feel anything, right?"

"If things could be so simple"-She shook her head dramatically- "Let's start from the beginning of the issue: The body gets prepared, blah, blah. In that moment you don't feel anything. But then, what happens? When the baby is supposed to arrive…"

"…it doesn't"

"Right. And then you simply cannot save those preparations for later, who could be silly enough to think that? You have to throw all those preparations away and then start all over again! Don't you see how logical it is? Making all those preparations for someone you knew was not going to come from the very beginning and then trashing them?" -Sans shook his head in disbelief- "Now, you are a smart cookie, I hope you realize what connection all this has with what happened earlier. What goes up…"

The skeleton frowned, he had been so distracted by the bizarre explanation of humans functioning that he had forgotten the initial focus- "…must go down?"

The monster's eye sockets widened and he turned to look at her fully- "wait, are you trying to tell me that..."

"Yep"

"but that- that must be extremely uncomfortable!"

"Yep"

"b-but, h-how? what do you do when that happens?"

"You usually are prepared"-She shrugged- "You know when it's coming so you are ready for it to come. But sometimes Mother Nature decides to change the date"-She smiled ironically-"Without letting you know of the change, of course. And that's when this happens"- She pointed at the sweater knotted at around her waist- "It's something pretty embarrassing, that's why I told you not to shout"

"but isn't it something natural or something like that? i mean, it just happens, it's not your fault"

"Yeah, it is. But, you know, it more or less like farts. They are natural, everybody farts, but you are supposed to fart in secret because if you don't it's embarrassing and everybody goes "Ohhh noooes! As if they have never farted in their lives"

"i've never thought about it like that"

"See? We make zero sense!"

Sans looked at her with renewed curiosity, questions popping in his head one after another-"you said it didn't hurt, right?"

"Not really, but in the days you are "cleaning up" you get this horrible headaches or stomachaches"- She grimaced- "That is the worst part. I usually get stomachaches"

"but are they like regular stomachaches?"

"Ohh, of course not. Each woman is different, but in my case it feels like a t-rex is sitting on your stomach"

"wow"-Sans stopped walking and looked at her- "not joking?"

The girl laughed, but shook her head- "You can't imagine how accurate my description actually is"

"is there something you can do with that t-rex?"- He asked as they resumed walking.

"Yeah, there are some t-rex pain killers. I take those the first days, those are the worst"

"...the first?"- Sans looked at her with incredulity.

"Yeah, it depends on the woman but it lasts from 3 days to a week or so"

"that...that sounds absolutely insane" -Frisk busted out laughing at her friends astonished expression- "but it doesn't happen very often, does it?"- By Frisk's look he realized he was wrong again- "...how often?"-He asked hesitatingly, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Once a month"

"r-really? you mean that one week of each month all women have to endure that?"

"Yeah! Doesn't it sound fun?"

"no. but it is hell of hardcore, i have to admit that"- Frisk roared with laughing again.

"It's not thaaaat terrible, we end up getting used to it and that's all. It's a bit tedious though, some have better times with it than others"

"what is that about differences? you keep mentioning that it defers from woman to woman"

"Mh-hm. It does. Some have light pains, others very strong ones, some have to endure Mother Nature's whims for a couple of days, others for a week. Several women feel more hungry than usual; others less hungry, some feel extremely irritable or have mood swings, others don't feel anything and they are just like "meh""

"it's like a game of change, huh?"

"More or less. It depends on your genes and how lucky you are"

"and what about you? did you win the lottery?"

Frisk laughed- "More or less. Mine doesn't last that long, it hurts like shit but i can handle it, and in those days I'm more sensible than usual. Like, I cry twice as much, for the most insignificant things while i swallow spoon after spoon of ice cream.

He blinked in surprise- "you look really composed, though"

"Yeah! I've spent years taming the beast. I keep it at ease"- She flexed her arms with a confident smile- "The problem arises when you forget you are in company of aunt Flo and watch a sad movie: prepare for the sea of tears to come. I made the huge mistake of watching the Lion King in those days once"

"oh"

"Yeah, oh. There went about 5 packages of tissues"

They kept walking silently for a while. Frisk turned to look at Sans, who looked like he was trying to process all the information he had just been told. The girl laughed heartily and he blinked, coming back to his senses.

"Too much?"- She smiled sympathetically at him.

He chuckled- "yeah, it's like…wow. you humans are even more hardcore than i thought you were. i don't think i could stand…that"- He ended the sentence with a shudder.

Frisk giggled- "But you are a boy, so no need to worry, even if you were human.

Sans remained quiet for a while and then tilted his head a little- "i know that there would be no use to that happening to boys but… it still sounds hell of unfair"

The human burst out laughing again- "Every girl has thought that at least once and also wondered how they would endure "that", just thinking about it is funny"

"wait a sec"-He looked at her in confusion-"what do you do in the summer?"

"Summer?"

"yeah! with the water, swimming suits and pools, all that stuff"

"Oh, there are ways of going to the swimming pool anyways, but! We are skipping that chapter mister"-Sans frowned a little and Frisk giggled- "Trust me, better not to know. The basic concept you have now is fine. In my case, if you wonder, I'm too of a chicken to choose any of those ways; ergo I just don't go to the swimming pool"

"and what do you do?"

She smiled broadly at him- "Nothing, I'm screwed"

Sans looked at her for a moment and then they both roared with laughter.

"my respect towards humans has increased"- He said with a huge grin. Frisk bowed whimsically at him in response.

They teased each other some more and made up puns on the way to the vet. When the tiny human saw the entrance to the vet she started walking faster, almost bouncing in excitement. Sans, who was walking behind her placed his hands on her shoulders, his hold made her slow down.

"don't push yourself kiddo', the pup's not going anywhere"- He said chuckling.

"Bu- but I want to hug him and cuddle him and-"-She tried walking faster again-"I have no time to lose!"

Sans laughed and tried to keep her pace as steady as possible, if he let her go he knew she'd start running. When they entered the vet the little bells on the door tinkled and the veterinarian appeared behind the counter, puppy in her arms. The skeleton let go of her shoulders and Frisk's eyes sparkled with fondness as she ran towards the desk.

"firsk, be careful! you shouldn't…" –The monster sighed- "i don't know why i still try"- The vet laughed heartily at the couple before her.

"Are you Ok now, sweetie?"- She asked Frisk.

"Sure! I just got some scratches and they gave me this cool plaster and now I'm all good!"- She assured, smiling brightly at her.

The vet looked at Sans, who had just reached the girl's side.

"She's a hopeless case, hum?"- The skeleton sighed again and shook his head in defeat. The woman nodded silently and made a pause- "Ok, before I give him to you I need to tell you something"- She looked seriously at Frisk and the teen straightened up, expectant- "Your puppy is 100% healthy, I've gave him all the corresponding vaccines, he ate a full plate of food and drank plenty of water. I know you'll keep him like this. But you also have to take care of yourself. Now you are responsible for this cutie and he's going to be dependent on you and will love you as much as you love him. How do you think he'd feel if something happens to you?"- Frisk's eyes widened and she slowly lowered her gaze.

"You hadn't thought about that, right?"-She shook her head- "Try to keep that in mind, sweetie. I'm not telling you to stop being so lively and cheerful, just to be a little more careful, do you get what I'm saying?"

The girl finally looked at her- "I do"

"Great, then! No need to look like a wet puppy, this is just some life advice!"-She pinched her cheek and Frisk smiled at her, her expression relaxing- "Here, take your cutie patootie"

The vet handed her the little and fluffy ball of energy that had been wriggling the whole time in her arms. Frisk held him close to her chest and hugged him, his tale wagging madly from side to side as he licked her face. The teen laughed as she tried to calm him down.

"H-how much should I pay you?"- She managed to ask between chuckles.

"It's 235 G"

Frisk asked Sans to grab the G from her backpack and paid to her.

"Oh wait! The vet searched behind the counter and took a little, light blue collar with a matching bandana attached to it-"Here, it includes an ID tag in which you can engrave his name and a telephone number with the help of a little magic, just in case"

"It's so beautiful! How much is it?"

"Don't worry about that, darling! You don't find so kindhearted people every day, this is my present for you"

"R-really?"- Frisk's eyes got filled with gratitude.

"Sure! Just let me know what name you choose for him later and I'll fill a medical form here in our system to keep a recording of his health"

"Th-thank you! Thank you very much!"- The vet smiled at her in response and Sans took the collar from her hands.

It took him a while until he could finally buckle it around the puppy's neck, even with the teen doing her best to keep him steady.

"i'll have to ask him where does he get all this energy"- Sans chuckled.

They waved at the vet one last time and left. Frisk couldn't help to giggle at the puppy, who tried to look in all directions at the same time and occasionally licked her face.

"i'll go with you till we reach your house, kiddo'. it's starting to get dark"

"Thank you! You've really supported me today!"- She smiled fondly at him.

"no problemo, frisk. You know you can always count on me"

The human nodded heartily- "You too!"- Sans returned the smile.

The teen was so spellbound by the tiny dog that she almost didn't notice when they reached her house.

"do you think tori has arrived already?"

Frisk blinked, getting a little tense at the idea. She silently approached one of the windows and peered inside- "No"- She sighed- "I'll have more time to prepare for that moment, that's good"

"are you sure it won't get in trouble?"

She remained silent for a moment, still looking through the window- "It'll be fine"- She assured. Sans looked at her quizzically, not looking pretty convinced. Frisk turned to look at him- "I got this, don't worry"

That determined sparkle burnt in her honey eyes and the skeleton knew that she wouldn't give up so easily. He nodded- "good luck then"

"Thank you!"

They parted ways, the little human opened the front door and disappeared inside the house and Sans headed to his own home. In his way he saw Toriel's car driving past him. He knew how strict she was and how firmly she had refused having a dog. How would she react when she saw the puppy upon entering her house? He cringed a little and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He walked past Grillby's and thought about dropping by, but he could already hear Papyrus scolding him for arriving late and decided it was best not to.

By the time he arrived home it was night already. He rummaged in his pockets till he found the key and opened. He greeted his brother, who was worried about the car accident after having heard of it on the news. They talked about a human who had flown across the street-while they performed tricks in the air, of course-in order save a child and a skeleton who was their sidekick. The version also included fireworks and a splash of glitter when the human had appeared with the rescued kid in their arms. Yeah, Sans couldn't believe that Mettaton's news Tv program still held any degree of credibility, but as he had confirmed time after time, it did. It took a while to calm his brother down and explain to him that Frisk hadn't flown anywhere, her injuries had not been severe and had already been taken care of.

"EVEN IF SHE IS ALRIGHT NOW I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL PREPARE HER A VERY SPECIAL DISH SO SHE GETS BETTER IN A BLINK OF AN EYE!"

"that's a great idea! it'll help her for sure, bro"

"TO THE KITCHEN!"- He announced while pointing at the ceiling dramatically and rushed to his destination at full speed, his cheerful laughter echoing in his way.

Sans smiled at the sight. His brother's cooking may not be the best, but Frisk loved when Papyrus cooked for her: "If you cook it with love then it can't taste bad!"- She assured and always managed to finish her plate with an incredibly composed expression.

The short skeleton dropped on the couch and his cellphone rang. He fished for it and saw that the human had had sent him a photo. He chuckled at the picture of Frisk holding the puppy close to her face with a huge grin.

A stream of pictures followed that one, getting more adorable and funnier with each photo: The puppy with his legs sprawled in every direction, one with his tongue out, Frisk sticking her own tongue at him in response, the dog tugging firmly at the teen's hair with his mouth and her trying to break free as she laughed, then the puppy entering her room, a picture of Flowey's reaction (It was priceless), the dog strolling through her desk, then smelling Flowey and overflowing with excitement as the poor flower went on a rage fit, a pic in which the fluffy buddy left one of his rear legs next to the pot…two blurred pictures followed and then he received a final picture of Frisk laughing in the kitchen with the dog in arms and the words: "Catastrophe averted just in time" and an thumbs up emoji.

The cellphone stopped ringing for a while and he started dozing off on the couch. A sudden ring woke him up. He had received a picture of Frisk, the puppy and a shaken but smiling Toriel with the message "Mission accomplished"

He hadn't finished letting out a relieved sigh when his phone began ringing again. A call. From Toriel.

He straightened up, fully awake now. It took him a few rings to gather his bearings and finally pick up- "h-hello?"

"Hello Sans, how have you been?"

"fine…and you?"

"Fine, fine…you do know why I'm calling, right?"

Sans gulped- "i…i may have a little suspicion"

Toriel sighed- "You know I don't like to be taken lightly, let alone when it comes to the rules I set at home. And I can't believe you didn't know about my stance on the subject of having a dog here, am I right?"

"y-yeah, i knew it"

The woman let out another sigh- "You are aware that even though I appreciate you very much I wouldn't hesitate if I had to scold you about something, and in this case I would gladly give you your corresponding chiding … but this time I'll let it go"

"it's ok, i understand that you…wait, what?!"

Toriel's laugh echoed in the speakers-"It's been a while since I've seen Frisk this happy, and also… I'll never be able thank you enough for taking care of Frisk today. Just by thinking about what happened..."-She remained silent for a moment- "I'm so glad that you are both fine"

"you don't even need to mention it, tori"- He soothed her.

"But don't think this is going to happen again! If you ignore my rules again you know what to expect!"

"yes, ma'am!"- He assured like he was talking to his general.

Toriel sighed sternly and then couldn't help laughing- "You are a good boy, Sans"

The skeleton blinked at the sudden fondness spree- "even though i smuggled a dog into your house?"

The woman busted out laughing this time- "Yes, even so"

Sans laughed too- "you can't imagine how glad i am to hear that"

"I imagine, it seems like my chidings are well known"

"you can bet that"- Considering Frisk and Asgore's versions, even though Toriel was incredibly sweet and lovable, if you managed to do silly things that put yourself at risk or deliberately did something you knew she had told you not to do…she could get really pissed.

Toriel chuckled, amused- "Ok, I'm not delaying you anymore. I guess you must be pretty tired after such a troublesome day. Take care!"

"thank you tori, you too! say hi to frisk over there!"

"I will, bye-bye!"

They hang up and Sans let out a huge relieved sigh- "that was a close call"- He chuckled inwardly at his unintended pun. Another message arrived and he smiled widely and chuckled at the picture attached: Frisk was lying on her bed with the tiny puppy sleeping peacefully by her side. The words: "Say hi to Punny" entitled the image. He couldn't have thought of a better name. He started dozing off again, with that image still fresh in his mind. He woke up about an hour later, with the feeling that he had been dreaming something nice.

It took him a while to realize that his phone had been ringing. He picked it up and answered- "hello?"- He had to hold the mobile at arm's distance, the voice at the other side being too loud and taking him by surprise-"wh-what? wait a sec, calm down"-He said as he tried to push his sleepiness away.

"Oh, did I wake you up?"- Frisk asked, filled with guilt- "I'm so sooooorry!"

"it d-"- He yawned- "doesn't matter. don't worry about it"- He brought the cellphone a little closer, but not much, knowing the girl to well to know what was better. After that guilty span the girl's voice rang again happily at the other side- "the tv?"- Frisk kept urging him- "ok, ok, hold on"

It took him a while to find the remote and switch the television on- "there, now…."-Frisk repeated the channel again, impatiently- "got it, wait a sec"- He zapped through the channels till he finally found the one his friend had mentioned. The screen was filled with bright colours as a cheerful announcer promoted-

"A FUNFAIR! Can you believe it? It says that they are opening tomorrow!"

Sans finally understood why the girl had been so overwhelmingly excited.

"It's been ages since I last went to a funfair! And this one has so many attractions! Aren't you excited?"

"yeah, i guess"

"I guess?! Where's that youthful spirit?"

Sans shrugged- "you know that my youthful spirit is a bit defective. it may be taking a nap"

"Well, it's time to wake that spirit up!"

The skeleton sighed-"you want to go, right?"

"Yaaaaaaay!"

He laughed- "ok, when do you-?"

"Tomorrow!"

"are you sure? i never went to a funfair before, but if it's the opening day then-"

"WHAAAT?!" You never went to a funfair?!"

"nope"

"Like, never ever?"

"mm-mm"

There was a pause and then Frisk spoke again, voice serious- "We'll have to fix that right away. Tomorrow. 5 Pm. Funfair"- It was a statement, not much of an invitation anymore.

Sans chuckled- "fine,fine. but take it easy, try not to push yourself, ok? would you like to grab something on muffet's before we go?"

The girl thought about it for a second before replaying cheerfully- "Sure!"

The monster nodded- "it's settled, then"

"Great!"- He could almost see the girl bouncing in excitement at the other side of the line.

"i'll see you on muffet's tomorrow!"

"Yes! Oh, and Sans…"-She made another pause- "Prepare to have the best funfair time ever"

Sans laughed at the girl's dramatic tone- "i'll be looking forward to it, kiddo"

Frisk's sweet giggles filled the speakers- "See you!"

"bye!" – He hang up, still smiling broadly. Who knows what the teen was going to put him through the following day, but he had to admit that he was eagerly waiting for it.

Hello my sweeties! Good news! I survived my first college year, I like my career and get on very well with my classmates too so I'm very happy! Do you know that it is said that college is hard and you have to study like, a lot? Well…yeah. It's not like "Woaah" either, but as I tend to be pretty self-demanding I do study quite a bit. I'm trying to find a new balance for this year, like studying and writing and socializing and the basic needs and stuff :D, trust me. I'll stay determined no matter what. Also…I have to admit I have not only been studying. I got you know…a new game console and then came the Zelda game and the cooking and exploring and…actually not doing any of the main quests…got sort of carried away. I apologize to you darlings! I have not been overworking myself with studying either so no worries !

Thank you so much for your patience and support! I hope you have started the year beautifully and with lots of energy! And if that wasn't much of the case, stay determined my precious buddies!

PS: I know that Mother Nature is wise and the miracle of life is the most beautiful and amazing thing ever. Out of nowhere you have a living cutie baby there, it's like Wow! …But the direct line isn't a bad idea, don't you think? One can dream! Right?

Me: "…don't you think the anemia part is a bit…exaggerated?"

Mother Nature: :3

Me: *Sigh*

PS2: You may have noticed a little Fairly OddParents reference up there, a cartoon that I used to watch in my childhood and from which my mind has stored some random references. The series was created by Butch Hartman, thank you so much for so many funny moments! Also, The Lion King belongs to Walt Disney Pictures, of course. My, my, I cry every time, don't you?

PS3: Where I live the normal thing is waking up between 8 or 10 AM, having dinner at 12 PM, having a snack more or less at 5-6 PM and going to bed at 11 PM. Usually when you have a sleepover you stay up till 5 AM, wake up at 1 PM , skip breakfast and have lunch. I know that timetables vary a lot from one region to another, so I thought letting you know this could clarify those little details.

PS4: *Warning, feelings involving a dog ahead * This chapter is for a beautiful black and white doggie that I met at the social club (a huge terrain with a pool and a lot of green space where I usually go with my family and spend the afternoons there with friends). He always seemed to be smiling and came running at your call. When the summer ended I thought I would not see him again, but he somehow appeared at the city center, so every time I found him it brightened my day. But one of those times I met him something wasn't looking right, he looked so tired, he didn't get up upon seeing me. I took him to the vet, he was a street dog so he hadn't got anyone else to do that for him. That time I noticed white hairs in his black fur. I realized he was older than I had expected. My poor darling didn't make it to the other day. I cried a lot, but I was glad that the destiny led me to find him that day and say goodbye. That beautiful dog was called Sans.

At the moment I named him I had no idea I'd get so attached to him and I'd get to love him so much. I live in an apartment so I couldn't bring him with me, also I don't know if he'd been happy in such a closed space. He was free, lively, unstoppable…his character didn't match the real Sans at all, actually. I would like to give you all a little piece of advice, if you ever feel that connection with a street animal and if you can do it, bring it with you. Those feelings are the purest you'll find out there. Sorry for the sentimentalism, but I couldn't not acknowledge him here, this is the least that little buddy deserved after making me so happy all those afternoons.

Sorry for the long talk, too many things happened and I didn't want to skip anything Whoops!

Updating soon!