Hey Everyone!
Interference in bold, puns and in italics, magic is underlined.
-text- indicates either texts, or mental "talking".
All Undertale stuff owned by Toby Fox, else me.
Someone let me know my line breaks had gotten lost and my POV shifts weren't clear enough, so I went back and fixed that. Sorry!
I like egg-drop soup just as much as chicken noodle, so yeah. Try it sometime!
You turn around, only to be greeted by...a dummy. You talk to the dummy...it doesn't seem much for conversation. Toriel seems happy with you.
Toriel
Finally, my child is well enough to come home! One of the nurses had a conversation with me on the phone this morning; I must wait before giving her the pie, it seems. However, her doctor's husband gave me a wonderful recipe for egg-drop soup, and I believe it to be something that will make her happy. I prepared the ingredients earlier, so I will be able to finish it as soon as we get home.
My son insisted on driving us, and Frisk is navigating with her usual determination. Poor Papyrus is finding Sans' and my jokes to be a trial, but he is smiling, and not just because he is a skeleton. There is more than enough room for us all and the child in my van, and I am certain seeing so many of her new friends have come to bring her home will make her happy.
Asriel
Frisk just managed to convince Pappy and Uncle Sans to wait by the car with her. Not that I think Uncle Sans was fooled, but if he left, Pappy would follow, and Frisk would get pouty, and he hates that. It's cute how easy it is for her to get him to help her. I love how cute she is…
"Is something wrong, Asriel?" Right, mom is here.
"No, just remembering something from one of Alphys' animes. It doesn't matter," awkward silence.
"Alright, my child...you know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
Must change topic, must change topic. Oh, look, "We're here, mom. Can you get the door?"
"Ah...yes," I carefully wheeled the wheelchair into the room. Even if mom and I were both qualified to care for my new sister, rules were rules, so we'd brought the wheelchair. Judging by the nurse's expression, the sight of two boss monsters carefully pushing a wheelchair sized for a person they could easily pick up in one hand was hilarious.
Silver was awake and snuggling with Gift when we came in. She carefully turned him to face us, smoothing down a wing. Mom steps past me, tilting her head at Silver before going over to the bedside table, where she began stacking all the presents people had given her in one of Dad's flower baskets. Silver watched for a while, then she looked up and saw the wheelchair. Her face was expressionless, looking a lot like Frisk's back in the Underground, "...what's that?"
"Golly, haven't cha ever seen a wheelchair before?" THAT was a Flowey move, Asriel. Fix it, quick, "They wheel by the door a lot, don't they?" Not fixed, "It's a chair, with wheels. They help you move if your legs aren't working right. Everyone who leaves the hospital gets a ride in one. It's fun!" Okay, mildly fixed.
"...okay," and the conversation stops. I don't know what to say, mom is busy stacking, and Silver appears to be done talking. Now what?
Eventually I say, "Are you ready to go?"
She looks at me warily, "...go where?"
"Um…" I pause, not really sure how to deal with the distrust in her voice - well, not really sure how Asriel should deal with it. Flowey's reaction is pretty easy to figure out, so at least I know what not to do. Oh! "You've been feeling better, haven't cha?" A cautious nod, "Well, the doctor said when you were feeling better, you could go home with Mom, didn't he?" A head tilt, then a look at Mom, then back at me, then she remembered Mom was my mom. A nod, "Well, you can come home today! Isn't that great?" I sound like a demented flower, don't I? Today isn't a good day.
"...okay," Golly, more silence, how nice. Wait, was that a Flowey thought, or...nope, just sarcastic college student. I'm good.
"My child, would you like me to carry Gift for you?"
"NO!...no, I'll hold him," she tucks him protectively into the binding on her shoulder, "...what do you want me to do?"
Mom looks at her, a frown on her face, "My child...do you still want to live with me?" Silver looks puzzled, then nods, "Ah. You just wanted to know why I asked that," another nod, "We will be moving you into the wheelchair, and I did not want Gift to be lost. However, it seems that he will be safe where you have put him, so that is fine," something about Silver relaxes. Golly, Gift sure means a lot to her, doesn't he?
"Can I pick you up now, Silver?" She turns to me, then nods, shaking a little. I frown, "Silver, something wrong?" She shakes her head violently, but her eyes are closed. Defensive.
"My child, would you prefer it if I picked you up?" She stops shaking her head, but she's still shivering. She turns and looks up at Mom. I can't see her eyes, but Mom gasps, "Child, what is wrong?"
"...scary," what was she- oh. OH!
"Silver, you don't wanna be picked up, do you?" She looks over, nodding, and I can see the tears, silvery black against her pale skin. Right, she had magic, so her tears would be colorful like a monster's...wait, would magic work? "Kid, would you like Uncle Sans to come carry you?" Mom gives me a weird look, but Silver looks excited.
"Yes! Is he here?" Ah, okay. Magic isn't scary to her, but physical stuff is. That...kinda makes sense. I bet getting carried around wasn't a good thing back there…at least, Sans' magic isn't scary.
"Yeah, he and Pappy and your sister are downstairs. Lemme text him, kay?" She nods, and Mom seems relieved. She starts helping Silver sit up, wrapping a fuzzy blue blanket around her.
-Uncle Sans?-
-what is it kiddo?-
-can you come up here? silver's scared of being picked up, but she says she's fine with your magic-
Plink. "hey, kiddo. how's it going?" Mom looks up, startled. Hasn't she seen Uncle Sans' shortcuts before?
Silver giggles, "...that tickles."
Sans raises an eyesocket, then looks at me. I shrug. How would I know what his shortcuts felt like to her? Magic was sounds to me. He shrugs, "sorry, kiddo, didn't mean to tickle your funny bone," She sticks out her tongue at him, "what? i thought it was humorous," that one flies right by her, "azzy says you needed some help lifting your spirits?" She starts to giggle, glares, gives up, nods, "kay."
Sans reaches out, lifting her, blankets and all, then looks around. She giggles some more. Mom points towards the wheelchair, slightly stiff. Sans carefully sets Silver down in it. Mom comes over and tucks the blankets up and around her. Sans steps, beginning to go through his shortcut, but stops as her small hand reaches for him, "...stay?" Golly, I hadn't even noticed the magic until she grabbed him. Interesting.
He looks back at her, then sighs."sure, kiddo. let's go see my brother, whaddya say?"
Asriel - Later
"It's fine, Uncle Pap. I'm sure he'll be back in a minute," I can hear Frisk trying to comfort Pappy even through the noise of the hospital's lobby. She wouldn't be that loud unless she was really worried, so I work hard to push a path through the crowd for Sans and the wheelchair. Mom stays at the desk, finishing more paperwork while we get Silver in the van.
"WHY IS HE ALWAYS PULLING THESE TIME-SPACE SHENANIGANS! IT IS TOO EMBARRASSING," I finally manage to get through to them, and Frisk's eyes light up when she sees me. I try not to blush, but she's so cute!
"sorry, pap, didn't mean to be mole of a problem than you could handle," thank you, Uncle Sans!
"BROTHER, THAT PUN WAS...BROTHER! YOU WENT AND FOUND THE TINY HUMAN WITHOUT ME!" Papyrus turns, almost knocking over one of the green suede benches.
"what tiny human?" Sans looks around theatrically. I can see Silver trying not to giggle.
"THE ONE IN THE WHEELCHAIR!" Pappy stamps his foot.
"i think that's a plushie," muffled giggles from Frisk make her sister smile and try harder not to laugh.
"OH," Pappy looks crestfallen.
"hey, what's that underneath the plushie?" Frisk rolls her eyes at Sans, mouthing 'really, Uncle Sans?'. He grins.
"OH! TINY HUMAN, IT IS YOU! I AM SO GLAD TO SEE YOU ARE WELL! WE CAME TO HELP QUEEN TORIEL BRING YOU HOME TO NEWER HOME! COME, FRISK, LET US GO BRING THE CAR!" The room got quiet when Pappy mentioned Mom, but that's pretty normal. Pappy picks Frisk up and runs out through the sliding glass doors. She told me she doesn't really mind anymore, since most of her friends can still do it, and everyone is really careful when they do.
I hear a whimper behind me, and I turn to see Silver has...well, kinda curled up in a ball, only her bad arm is sticking out, and the blanket made it kinda hard for her to bend, "what's up kiddo?" Sans steps beside her. He turns to her, then to the door, then back to her, "oh. yeah, sliding doors can be a bit scary. They always make the first move."
"Hey, kid," I kneel down next to her, "Do you wanna watch me go through it first?" She hesitates, then nods. I get up and walk out the doors. I notice it's gotten colder; it feels a lot like Snowdin out here, probably going to get an inch or two of powder tonight. When I see Frisk with the van I run over and grab the extra blankets before heading back inside. Sans and the kid are waiting, him smiling, her worried, but she looks relieved when she sees me, "Sorry, kid. A little cold out there today, so I got some more blankets from the car for ya."
Sans and I quickly start bundling her up even further, but she resists, "what is it kiddo? the heat getting to ya?" She shakes her head, "it's snow problem, not that far to the van."
"...what's a van? You said we were going home, so why are we going to a van?" Oh.
"It's a bit far from the hospital to Newer Home, so we need to drive...a van is a type of car. You know what a car is, right?"
"...how does a car make it less far?"
Um… "A car has four wheels, and it uses gas to go faster than we can walk, and it carries a lot of people."
She looks lost. I look over at Sans - my explanation skills have failed me. He scratches his head, then leans over and whispers in her ear. Her eyes go strange for a moment, flickering with yellow and black and purple before settling back to normal, "...okay. Is it red?"
Sans raises an eyebrow at me, "Um, no?"
Silver looks puzzled, then her eyes go wide, "...oh. Sorry, I was rude, I-"
"s'okay, kiddo. not your fault. ready to head out?" She nods, and he goes to wheel her out the door, but she squeaks when they begin to close again. I quickly go stand in the door, keeping it from closing. Sans wheels her out to the curb where Mom's gold minivan is waiting with a cheerful Pappy beside the door.
"HELLO, TINY HUMAN! IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HERE TO AID YOU IN YOUR JOURNEY TO NEWER HOME! AND THIS IS THE MAGNIFICENT FRISK, YOUR SISTER, WHO WILL BE HELPING, TOO! ARE YOU PREPARED TO BE BUNDLED IN A COMFORTING COCOON OF PILLOWS AND BLANKETS?"
Silver is staring at him. Eventually, Frisk walks over and explains, "He wants to help you get comfortable in the van."
Silver turns to her, then back to Pappy, "...okay," He squeals in delight, making her giggle. Her giggles seem more natural now, less squeaky. Pappy pulls on the handle for the backseat, then steps back and lets the door slide open. Silver flinches when the door starts to move, but as it slowly slides back she relaxes. Once it stops, she turns to Frisk, "...I need to go in there?"
Frisk frowns at the emphasis on 'need', then tries to find the right words to comfort her sister, "We're all going in there. Azzy and I will be in the front row, and Mom is going to be in the back row, but you can pick who you want to sit with."
Silver looks puzzled again, and Uncle Sans has that cold look that means someone is gonna have a bad time. Why is he...oh. She hasn't been comfortable with picking things for herself, has she? She keeps thinking if she chooses, it will be wrong, and someone will get mad at her. I wouldn't wanna be be the mom and dad-creatures when he finds them.
Silver is starting to shake again. Golly, this is kinda a tough choice for her, isn't it? Even if she doesn't really understand the idea of 'caring' yet, she won't want to upset someone, and there are a lot of someones here to upset. I look up at Frisk, trying to get across the message that she might not be okay with this kinda thing yet, when Papyrus speaks up.
"TINY HUMAN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT HUMANS LIKE YOU NEED A GREAT DEAL OF SLEEP WHEN THEY ARE NOT FEELING WELL. IF MY BROTHER IS ANY KIND OF A GUIDE, THEN LONG CAR RIDES ARE A GOOD PLACE FOR A NAP. DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT WANT TO NAP DURING THE TRIP?"
Silver looks up, puzzled at the new question, then, hesitatingly, nods.
"WELL THEN, TINY HUMAN, YOU SHOULD SIT BESIDE HER MAJESTY! SHE IS MUCH SOFTER, AND SO WOULD BE A VERY GOOD PILLOW FOR YOUR NAP."
"that's a great idea, papyrus. what do you think, kiddo?" She nods excitedly, "kay. want me to lift you in again?"
"...yes. Please…?" Her voice caught on the word, and Uncle Sans sucked in a breath...had she ever said 'please' before? I know she'd said 'thank you' once or twice, but 'please' seemed to be a big deal for her...but it wasn't a word she was used to, was it? 'Please' comes from 'plead' comes from begging. The place where she was, begging wouldn't do much good, would it? So it would be a big word, like 'thanks'. Something to be horded away, in case it is rejected.
"...sure, kiddo. Ready?" She nods, and I see a few of her dark tears fall off her face. Sans lifts her into the van, carefully moving her over the folded front seats into the back left corner. Pappy hops in behind her, grabbing pillows and more blankets out of the back and tucking them in around her until she can't move.
Frisk pokes him, then points to the seat belt. He looks chagrined, and then his happy smile is back. He rearranges the pillows so that the belt can be buckled in, Silver watching him the whole time.
"OKAY, TINY HUMAN! THE COMFORT COCOON IS NOW COMPLETE! NYEH HEH HEH."
Mom pats me on the shoulder, and gestures to the van, "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah, Mom. Silver's gonna share the back seat with you in case she falls asleep."
Mom nods, "I understand," she hurries over to the van, "Papyrus, I would like to join my child. Would you be so good as to help me into the van?" He gallantly helps her in, readjusting the pillows once more so that Silver can lean on Mom's shoulder. Silver nods off the minute Mom sits down, and soon we are all sitting in the car, driving down the highway towards Newer Home.
Thank you guys so much for reading this, it means a lot. Sometimes it feels like everyone around me has something they need, and never looks past that to see if I can give it. They've gotten so used to it coming, that I don't know what they'd do if it stopped. This...I kinda feel guilty, stealing time from them to write this. Sorry not sorry, this makes me feel too good to stop. So you guys get to read more! Yay!