A/N Everything Undertale belongs to Toby Fox; Ginny, as well as anything unfamiliar, is of my creation.

Asgore knocked on the door before pushing it open. "Toriel? It's me and Alphys. We found her!" he called out.

There was a loud gasp, and Ginny was suddenly enveloped in warm, white fur, and the scent of cinnamon and butterscotch. She hesitantly hugged her back, feeling her heart clench. Even Toriel's hugs felt motherly, something she hadn't felt in so many years. And Asgore's pats and kind words reminded her of when her father would do similar things.

"Oh, my dear child!" Toriel whispered, kissing Ginny's temple before backing up. "We were all so worried about you!" She gently turned her head to the side to examine the back of it. "How are you feeling? Is your head all right? Do you remember everything?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Toriel. I sometimes have headaches, especially in the back of my head, but I'm okay. I've dealt with worse."

Toriel nearly asked what she meant, but decided to let it go for the time being. Before she could ask why Ginny had run away, a blur of brown and blue jumped at her, nearly knocking her off of her feet. Luckily, Asgore steadied her before she could fall.

Ginny quickly wrapped her arms around and under Frisk as they gripped onto her like a monkey to its mother. "Hey, squirt," she whispered. "I missed you too... I'm sorry."

With a paw on her back, Toriel lead Ginny into the living room, with Asgore and Alphys following them. Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne were sitting and standing, looking anxious. Ginny flinched upon seeing Papyrus wearing a neck brace, but didn't ask any questions. "I... I should explain myself."

"There's nothing you need to explain," Toriel replied.

"Yes there is!" Ginny insisted, sitting in a large, worn easy chair. Frisk finally loosened their grip to sit on her lap. Toriel sat in a nearby chair, and Asgore stood to the side; Alphys sat on the couch next to Undyne, squealing when she pulled her onto her lap.

"My dear, I understand why you were upset. You were afraid, and felt like I was trying to steal away Frisk."

"Well, yeah. But that's not the whole story. I wasn't just afraid of losing Frisk. I was also jealous that the orphanage was letting you take them. I always thought it was my sole responsibility to take care of Frisk."

"WHY DIDN'T THEY LET YOU ADOPT FRISK?" Papyrus asked. "YOU ARE THEIR SISTER!"

"It's not that simple. Once I was expelled from the orphanage, I had very little money, no job, and no home. They didn't prepare me for the outside world, and left me with practically nothing."

"What about your parents' house?" Undyne asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Undyne, that's i-inappropriate!" Alphys hissed.

"No, it's a valid question," Ginny shook her head. "Thing is, our parents died in a house fire. It was pretty much destroyed by the time help arrived. The money I was left with was the insurance that came from it; not enough to buy and upkeep a car and house. And I have no clue if we have any other family. No one came forward, anyway."

"Speaking of money, we heard about your job and living conditions while looking for you," Toriel spoke up. "Why did you feel the need to lie about it?"

"Because I was ashamed. With me being homeless, it was hard to get a job in the first place. And the only job I could get was taking out trash, something that didn't pay much. The only other way for me to get money was begging on the street. It was humiliating, but I had no other choice. I... I didn't want to sound like someone who couldn't even take care of themselves, let alone attempt to try and care for their sibling."

"those girls i saw with you on the bridge, the day you hit your head. did you ever run into them before?" Sans asked.

"Sometimes. They'd usually find me walking or begging on the streets. They never had anything nice to say to me. They would just laugh at me, or jeer for me to get a job and stop dirtying up the streets. They acted like they were better than me. Well, actually, the redhead... she wasn't usually so bad. I think she just goes along with whatever they do. She wasn't the one who pushed me, anyway. That day... I was in a really low point, and they picked up on it, let's just say."

"How could humans be so cruel to each other?" Toriel sighed. "To injure someone so severely, they could have died?"

"Because humans are cruel. Even... even me." Her voice cracked, and her eyes began to water again. "I... I'm sorry! I'm sorry for lying, and for what I said that day! I'm nothing but a horrible, jealous brat. You-you've all been through so much, and you still have so much on your plate. You didn't deserve anything I threw at you. I just... I just hope, even though I don't deserve it, you can forgive me someday."

"I already had," Toriel said, standing from her chair to kneel by the armchair. She moved Frisk down to the floor. "I don't hold anything against you. I understand you were scared; you've been through so much, it was understandable you would lash out. I didn't appreciate being yelled at, or what you implied, but I understand."

Ginny sniffled and asked, "You do?"

"I do," Toriel nodded. Tears began to bud in her eyes as well. "Sweetheart, it was never my intention to make you feel like an unfit guardian for Frisk, or to try and take them from you. The orphanage only mentioned you were their older sister, never that you were working to adopt them. Had I known, I would have worded what I said differently and more gently. I should have from the beginning; for that, I apologize."

"... Is it true what Asgore said? That you had been looking for me after leaving the underground? And that you wanted to take me in?"

"Yes, it's true. Frisk told us all about their awesome sister," she laughed, "but they didn't know the first place to find you. As soon as they mentioned having a sister, I knew I wanted to adopt that sister as well, if she would have us."

"Do you... do you still want me?" Her eyes were wide, as if it was surprising that she wanted to adopt her before even meeting her.

Toriel cupped Ginny's face in her paws, tears still falling down her cheeks. "Yes, I do. Not just me. The group in this room, we were all looking for you. We're like a close, tight-knit family."

"It's been a long time since I had a big family, more than just Frisk. I... I'd like to have that again."

"You can, and you will. That's what I had been trying to explain after telling you about seeing the orphanage about adopting Frisk. The reason we talked about you, with them only mentioning you as an older sister, was because I was asking if I needed to go through anything to adopt you. But they said since you were over eighteen years of age, and thus not the orphanage's responsibility, I was able to take you in any time."

Ginny stared at her in awe. "You... I... So, I was an even bigger jerk, yelling at you after you said you wanted me!"

"Shhh, no more of that. That's been talked about, and you're forgiven." She brushed a tear a thumb. The wetness smeared on her cheek, leaving a clean streak in the dirt on her face. She chuckled, "Since you'll have a proper home now, how's about we start the occasion with cleaning up properly? I'll bet it's been a long time since you've had a proper bath."

"That would be really nice."