((Warning for this chapter: mentions of self harm/self harm scars)))

This dream faded in slowly, like a drop of ink falling into clear water. Toriel's senses seem to take an equally long time to really come to her, becoming functional one at a time. First hearing, revealing itself with a murmur of familiar but still not quite distinguishable voices. Then touch, she was holding something, no, someone in her arms… they were stiff and trembling. Finally sight, and with it returned all her other senses, unveiling the scene she had entered in full. She took it in, mind somewhat in a daze, but quickly becoming more and more alert as realization set in.

She was sitting in one of the rooms of her old castle home in the Underground, a sitting area just off of the main entranceway. It was a room that she and Asgore had once used to host small gatherings of important monsters, or those who were particularly close to them. The regal decor had once been an everyday sight to her, now it felt almost alien after everything that had transpired. But that couldn't hold her focus for long, as an acutely familiar voice spoke up from her side. A voice she hadn't heard in over a century, a voice she knew so well, it could very well be considered part of her soul itself.

"Mom, where is he?" The voice asked, and her head turned of its own accord to see none other than her son Asriel looking up at her, with a slightly disgruntled pout on his face. The same sort of pout she'd seen from Flowey earlier.

In that moment, she realized who it was she was holding in her arms as well, recognizing the feeling of their incredibly powerful soul. So powerful it made hers fell small and dull in comparison.

Chara…

Asriel spoke up again before her mind could even catch up with everything that was happening.

"And why did I have to come again?" He asked, crossing his arms and sliding down on the fancy plush couch they were both sitting on.

It was such a normal gesture, something that only prompted a light chuckle from her physical self. But the Toriel inside could not be more distraught.

Oh stars above, seeing her son's face… hearing him speak again… it was almost too much for her. And on top of all that... the last time she had held Chara had been when she carried their cold, empty corpse to their final resting place, beneath the same hole in the mountain roof they had fallen from. But now she could feel their soul… vibrant, powerful and alive. Had she not been trapped in this dream she may have very well broken down due to it all. But the only thing it could do was ruthlessly tear at her soul as the dream's events continued on, oblivious to her grief and sorrow.

"Now Asriel dear, I told you, I wanted to ask Doctor Gaster to have a look at Chara's… wounds." She heard herself say, pausing noticeably before that last word, and letting it escape just above a whisper. "I figured you could use a quick check up too while we were at it."

Her son raised a brow at her in confusion, a sentiment reflected in his soft green eyes, just like her father's.

"Don't we have like, an actual royal doctor though? The panther lady?" He questioned her, swinging his feet a bit as they dangled off the couch.. "Why are you asking a scientist?"

Toriel was still so consumed by her reignited old anguish that she could hardly bare to focus on what was being said. But in that moment, she realized that this was indeed a memory that had been lost to her in its entirety, unlike the only partial change like with the one with her parents. She had no recollection of this, but did have some idea of what her dream self meant by "Chara's wounds" and it made her shudder. And there was that name again... Doctor Gaster.

"Well… He is one of the only monsters who has first-hand knowledge about humans and how their souls work. Mrs. Gheera is a wonderful doctor, but she only knows about helping monsters. I wanted to get Dr. Gaster's opinion before anything else." Her physical self said, a bit hesitantly. "It is relevant to his… current studies."

With those last two words, bitterness crept into her tone somewhat and she felt her arms tighten around Chara, who remained silent but continued to lightly tremble. Asriel frowned a bit more, but fell silent and listed against her side. Her son then began to talk softly to the human child in her arms, tone far gentler.

"Don't worry Chara, I'm sure it won't hurt or anything. Mom said it will be quick, and then we can go home and finish that big drawing we were doing, okay?

She, thankfully, glanced down at Chara in that moment, allowing Toriel to finally see them. Well most of them anyway. They still had their face hidden against the crook of her neck, but her soul practically shuddered at the sight of their familiar soft brown hair and their favorite green shirt with the pale yellow stripe. The child didn't answer at first, still trembling just enough to be noticed. Then finally, they croaked out a reply. It sent the same spike of terrible pain and joy through her, but she did her best to pay attention, if only to relish in her dear lost children's presences while she could.

"I don't like that guy…" Chara muttered darkly. "and I don't need help."

Both Toriel and Asriel frowned at that, and she could feel her soul stir with uneasiness. She gave the child a light squeeze and nuzzled the top of their head, slightly mussing their hair.

"I know you do not like people looking at them sweetheart." She soothed, voice heavy. " But I just want to be sure that I can tend to them properly, he might know what I have been doing wrong. My last few attempts have not worked as well I would have liked... The doctor is… He is a friend, Chara. It will… be okay."

The children likely didn't pick up on the hesitance in her voice, but the Toriel inside could feel her soul thrumming with unease as she spoke. Clearly she wasn't as sure about this as she was trying to make it seem. And the Toriel observing all this had to agree, what was she thinking? From what she knew of Doctor Gaster, she would never allow him anywhere near any child, especially not her own. But after a moment where she was consumed by confused anger at her own actions, she had to remember what was happening here.

This was before Sans and Papyrus were created, before the human souls had been collected, before any of the events that shaped her current dark image of the former royal scientist. This version of herself in this dream… memory… would be highly unlikely to know of the doctor's true colors. Still, she was still unsure about this for some reason, and the Toriel inside could only wait to see why. She had a very bad feeling about this.

Any potential response from Chara was interrupted as the door across the room opened and a now familiar figure stepped inside, the ever loathed doctor himself. But something was different now… The terrible sensation she usually endured when looking at him was… lessened. She could make out some of his features now, and looking at him only resulted in a minor feeling of dizziness. Still, it was like peering down at a reflection through swirling water, the image shifting in and out of focus.

From what she could manage to grasp, he appeared to be a rather aged skeleton with a similar skull shape to Papyrus, but with slightly larger eye sockets a bit more like Sans', complete with visible eyelights. The family resemblance was certainly there. He was donning a small pair of glasses and was dressed in a long black cloak with a what looked to be a white turtleneck underneath. He regarded them all with a rather flat expression for a few moments, the sight made all the more unsettling by her continually distorting image of him. Part of her honestly wished she could return to when she could hardly perceive him at all. Even with the pain and disorientation it brought, it was better than having to vaguely see his face.

Part of her felt that seeing him in some clarity should have triggered something in her, like a rush of returning memories or at least some form of recollection… but all was she felt was something akin to a headache. She felt herself stand then, holding Chara close. Asriel followed along beside her, lightly gripping at the side of her dress.

"Greetings Wingdings." Toriel said, wearing a smile she could tell was somewhat forced. "Thank you for agreeing to do this on such short notice."

It was hard to tell, but it seemed to her that Dr. Gaster met her words without any shift in emotion. He just stared flatly at her as they approached and then at Chara before producing the same hand shaped bullets over his head to sign with that he had in her other dream.

(Of course, my queen.) He signed simply, nodding towards a large table in the center of the room. (Please, set the human there.)

Chara stiffened in her arms a bit, and she ran a comforting paw down their back with a gentle murmured reassurance in their ear. They seemed to reluctantly relax again then, allowing her to set them on the dark wooden table once they had all reached it. Though they did continue to cling to her sleeve with one hand, something she was more than happy to allow. At that moment, she finally got to see her child's face. Two sets of scarlet eyes met and it tore open her old wounds all over again.

The human child looked up at her with a hard expression, but there was a tinge of fear in their eyes. Toriel couldn't help but take in the sight of them. That little frown that had almost always been on their face, if they weren't sporting their usual forced smile. Their ruddy cheeks, making them look as though they always had a bit of a blush on their face. Their messy brown hair, so very much like Frisk's, if a bit lighter in color. All of it so familiar yet so distant, like staring at a photo from a time unremembered.

Oh stars, she had missed them both so much…

Her soul ached from a million different emotions, and she wanted nothing more to just stare at her lost child forever, hold on to them with all her might and keep them from ever being taken from her ever again. But this vision was just that, a vision, a memory, a dream, and she could only be a helpless witness as it continued on.

"This will only take a few minutes, my child." She said sweeping her paw gently through their hair and pressing a little kiss to their forehead. "And if you behave for the doctor, you may have an extra slice of chocolate cake once we are done here."

That prompted a small sparkle in the child's eyes, a sight that made the dream Toriel giggle softly. Chocolate had always proved a worthwhile incentive for Chara. Even with the offer of the treat though, it was clear they still carried a good deal of tension in their body. They shot Dr. Gaster a wary, distrusting look as the skeleton moved closer. The Toriel observing could hardly blame them. If Sans was any indication of how this monster treated children, their fears were more than justified. And she wanted to bash her own head in for how foolish she herself was acting.

By the stars, if it turned out this damned scum had hurt her child...

(Show me the wounds you wish for me to have a look at.) He signed to Toriel, still eerily stone faced when she could make out his expression.

Out of the corner of her physical self's eye, she glimpsed Asriel frowning at the motion of the hand bullets as he hopped up into a chair to see better. It made her vaguely wonder if all of them had learned sign language back then and had lost that knowledge, along with these memories. But her thoughts were quickly drawn back to the situation at hand, as she reached out a paw to cradle one of Chara's arms in her own. Her other paw then carefully moved to grip the end of their sleeve. Chara stiffened, but did not fight her, choosing instead to look away with a dark look in their eyes. Toriel internally winced, knowing all too well the reason why.

After she and her child seemed to share some silent agreement, she gingerly pulled the child's sleeve back to the curve of their elbow, exposing their arm and the terrible sight that came with it. It was positively littered with scars, some small and shallow, some deep and large, some old... and some painfully recent. Such a thing would be horrific enough to see on a child on its own, but the knowledge of where those scars had come from was what really made Toriel's soul churn within her.

Dr. Gaster looked over the harrowing sight without so much as a blink, only narrowing his sockets ever so slightly. He moved forward and laid one of his own bony hands lightly on the child's arm, causing both Chara and the Toriel inside to flinch a bit. If she could control her body at the moment, she would have straight up snarled in response.

Seeing his phalanges trace the edges of the wounds and turn over Chara's arm as he worked made her feel ill. She knew now that he despised humans, and surely her dream self would know this too. What dark things were going through his mind as he tended to this human child? What boiling hatred simmered behind those blurry, distorting eyelights? To be fair, he was doing a good job of hiding such feelings that must have been there. But still, she hated just having to watch this, unable to pull her dear child away from this dark, depraved soul before her. How could she have ever let this happen?

(How did this happen?) The skeleton signed just then, almost as though mirroring her own silent question, but in reality indicating to Chara's wounds. (Some of these are… rather serious… and fairly new.)

A chill ran down Toriel's back and she swallowed hard, clearly hesitant to reveal the truth. She gently gripped Chara's free hand in her paws, running one of her thumb pads over it. The child remained silent and hung their head. Even Asriel looked away uncomfortably, slumping in his chair a bit. A terribly tense few moments passed before Toriel spoke again.

"W-well… some of them were there before they fell. They… did not come to us from a good life Wingdings… And the others…"

Again she trailed off, and both Toriels, inside and out, could feel the skeleton's cold calculating gaze on her. She shot another long look at Chara and began to open their mouth to speak, when the child spoke up themself, interrupting her.

"I did it." Chara said, voice dull.

All three pairs of eyes in the room locked back on the young human then, two wide with shock, the other with only faint curiosity. Chara straightened up, glaring at the royal scientist with burning red eyes. Their voice rose in volume as they went on.

"I did to myself. With the kitchen knife… and the fire poker… and my nails… I did it. So don't you dare accuse Mom and Dad of anything you old bonebag!" They practically spat, small hands curling into fists as they twisted away from him.

The outbursts led to yet another few moments of stunned silence, before Toriel could feel her maternal instincts take over and move her to act.

"Chara." Toriel said in somewhat of a warning tone, reaching then to take both their hands in her own. "We do not speak that way. You know that. I am sure the doctor did not intend any sort of accusation."

Chara pulled against her grip for a few moments, a brief fiery spark of rage flashing in their eyes. But then the fire there calmed and they seemed to deflate again, eventually gripping back at her paws instead. They dropped their gaze back to the table below them. Compared to some of the fits of anger the human child had succumbed to in the past, this one was hardly worth noting. Still, remembering and seeing first hand how very tormented her dear Chara had been back then caused Toriel's soul to ache all over again.

"Sorry…" They mumbled, suddenly sounding very tired.

Toriel loosened her grip on their hands, just cradling them gently then.

"It is alright my child, I know that this is hard for you." She said softly in response.

Toriel then shot a somewhat apologetic look at Dr. Gaster, who still appeared to be taking in the scene without even a flicker of emotion. He acknowledged her gesture with a vague nod, before signing with the hand bullets again.

(So they were self-inflicted.) He said, raising one of his true hands to tap idly against his chin. (I figured as much. So this human child is afflicted with some sort of… mental illness?)

Toriel nodded, and she could feel her grip on her child's hands tighten ever so slightly again as her eyes were drawn back to the dreadful array of scars on their arm. The sight brought both Toriels the urge to shudder, though only one could actually do so. She swallowed hard before responding to the skeleton's question.

"Yes… When they… When they become angry or upset, they get this compulsion to… harm themself…" She said, voice heavy. "They have been getting a lot better about it as of late, but things like this rarely improve without any setbacks. I have managed to heal their wounds whenever this occurs without me being able to intervene but, as you can see, the scars are still so… they are not healing as I would have hoped, like they do when I use the same technique on a monster..."

She paused for a moment then, facing the royal scientist again with a somewhat anxious expression.

"That is why I want your opinion, do you know if there is anything I can do to heal their wounds more properly? You know more about humans and their souls than I, Wingdings."

The skeleton did not reply immediately, still staring intently at Chara. Even with how her image of him distorted constantly, the Toriel inside thought she saw a hint of something dark in his eyelights, and it made dread flood through her. But then it was gone, and he faced her again, adjusting his glasses before signing once more.

(It is quite a simple solution really.) He said, straightening up with a professional air. (It is as you said, you have been using healing magic intended for monsters. It will certainly do in a pinch to stop their wounds from bleeding, but it will do little for the long term healing process.)

He reached over to lay a bony hand over Chara's scars again, and this time the child did not flinch, only glowered weakly up at the skeleton. As he continued to speak, a faint green glow began to encircle his hands, one that was far lighter in color than usual healing magic.

(Humans have far more physical matter making up their bodies than us monsters.) The scientist continued, sockets narrowing slightly. (So in order to better heal a human's wounds, one must focus their mana less on restoring magically sustained forms and more on repairing the damage to the flesh, the same way you might attempt to fix damage to something else physical, like a crack in a vase or a tear in fabric. Trying to call upon a human's natural magic to aid in the healing will not be nearly as effective as it is with monsters. Instead, the best course of action is to approach it with the mindset I just mentioned and then let their inherent processes take over the rest.)

With that, the glowing of his hands increased and Toriel leaned in close to see the scars under them shrinking inward and fading considerably. Chara blinked down at the sight with wide eyes, but showed no sign that they were in any pain. Toriel wasn't sure how to feel about that. By the end of it, the scars did not disappear completely but looked far better than they had previously. Even the more recent scars now appeared fairly benign, just faint discolored stripes through the child's pale skin. Toriel could feel relief washing through her physical soul, and even Chara looked mildly impressed as they turned their arm in front of them to get a better look.

(Of course, healing magic cannot remove these scars entirely.) The skeleton signed, drawing her eyes back to the hand bullets. (But it can certainly make them less… obvious, and ensure they heal properly. I can show you how to do it, with your skills it should not be much of a challenge.)

He said that last part with the faintest hint of a smile, and it made the Toriel inside feel nearly ill with anxiety. The exact reason why though, apart from all the anger she had towards him bubbling under the surface, was not clear to her. But the Toriel living out this memory only shot him an endlessly grateful smile, while Asriel moved closer to see for himself, equally enraptured as Chara it seemed.

"Oh thank you, thank you so much doctor, We are in your debt for this. Chara and I both." She said, and the tone of it made the revulsion burning within the Toriel observing all this grow even worse.

Dr. Gaster's small smile faded, after another heavy moment of distortion, leaving him with the same stern, somewhat cold look from before. His eyelights focused on Chara again for a few pointed seconds before facing Toriel with a small bow. His hand shaped bullets signed above him once again.

(It was my honor, my queen, as it always is to serve you.) He said. (Allow me to show you the technique on the child's other arm, then I will see to looking over the young prince.)

Being addressed in that old royal manner would have summoned a groan from her if she had control of her body. Instead she was helpless to get the pleased smile off her face as she inclined her head a bit in acknowledgement and went to his side to be instructed in performing his healing technique.

As the scientist had expected, it took little guidance for her to catch on to what she had been doing wrong in terms of tending to Chara's scars. It was strange though, because the Toriel inside recognized this technique as her dream self performed it. It was a technique she knew well. She had even used it in part when she'd mended the cracks in Sans' skull just days ago.

She had never considered where she'd learned the skill, the question just never occurred to her. If anything she probably would have assumed it was something her father had taught her way back when. Was this really where'd she learned it? From him of all monsters?

That idea did not sit well at all, and unease continued to roll through her as she watched herself slowly tend to each scar on her child's arm. As she did, she noticed her son draw closer, watching with sparkling eyes.

"See Chara, I told you it would be fine!" Asriel piped up, taking his sibling's hand with a smile.

Chara didn't reply right away, watching with a blank expression as Toriel worked. But then they met their brother's gaze with a weary sigh, red eyes heavy.

"Yeah, sure… whatever." They grumbled, though it came off as more grumpy than mean spirited. And it was met with a warm chuckle from Asriel.

The scene sent another terrible stab of pain through Toriel's soul, at least one trapped inside. It was such a normal interaction between the two, and again made her realize just how much she had missed them, missed this. Even with the rather serious situation that it was. Those emotions dulled her perception of the dream once more, painful and raw as if she'd lost them just a day ago instead of an entire century.

She remained lost in her sorrows after that, barely paying attention as Dr. Gaster begun his check up on Asriel. Her physical self had scooped up Chara and was chatting with her beloved son as he obediently complied with the few tests the scientist performed, mostly checking on his soul and its magic levels. But she was hardly present, focusing on what she could see of her children's faces and praying that she didn't have to wake up.

Time in the dream passed in a blur after that. It was only when she felt herself set Chara down beside their brother and turn to follow the Doctor into the next room that she snapped back to awareness. What was happening? Why was she leaving her children? Her dream self seem unworried, but she could hardly think through the stress.

"Go back to them! Go back to them… please…" She thought desperately.

But the dream cared not for her pleas, and continued on regardless. She had little choice but to focus again, or else slip back into her agonized grief. Gaster had guided her into the hallway he'd come from, eyeing her with some wariness. Confusion gripped her as the pain receded for the moment. A feeling amplified by the distortion that came with looking at him, far more intense in the small space.

"What is it Wingdings?" She heard herself ask in a hushed tone, briefly glancing back towards her children. "Is something... wrong?"

They had gone to sit on the couch. Asriel appeared to be attempting to comfort his sibling, and Chara remained slumped beside him, arms tightly crossed and face hidden beneath their thick locks of hair. The sight was stolen from her far too quickly, when Toriel turned to face the skeleton again. His hand bullets reappeared above him with a flash and he began to sign again.

(Both children are in ideal health, your highness… physically that is.)

The bullets paused then, twitching once in hesitation. Toriel felt her eyes narrow as both her inner and outer selves picked up on the implications of his words.

"That is… good to hear." She said, rather stiffly. "But… what do you mean by-"

She cut herself off as the bullets abruptly began signing again and the skeleton below them sent a more serious look her way. A heavy tension filled the room.

(The human is unstable, my queen... ) He signed, crossing his arms. (Are you not worried they could become a danger to others as well as themself? Do you not fear for your son? You and I both know what humans are capable of. Such violent behavior should not be excused so easily, even if it's only been directed at themself thus far.)

Toriel felt defensive rage immediately spike within her soul, and was vindicated somewhat to feel her dream self have the same reaction.

"I do not appreciate your choice of words, Dr. Gaster." She said in a calm but clearly angry tone. "We are talking about a child here."

There was a pause and the skeleton's eyelights wavered with something like anger. But like her, it was kept restrained.

(A human child, my queen.) He reiterated.

The anger inside Toriel flared hotter and she took a commanding step towards the skeleton, paws curled into fists.

"Chara was abused in their previous life." She said in a low, dark tone. "These outbursts are the result of that, as well as the reason for many of those scars you saw. But they are getting a little better every day, even with the occasional slip up. The fact they are human has no significance in this…"

She trailed off briefly, and while the Toriel inside maintained her rage, she felt her physical self relax again by degrees, drawing in a deeper breath before speaking again.

"I understand where your worries come from…" She murmured, voice tinged with a touch of sympathy. "But you are letting your prejudice blind you Wingdings. Chara is not a threat to anyone. They are a child who has suffered greatly and needs to be properly loved and cared for as they recover."

The skeleton's expression remained stony, unmoved. He hesitated only a moment more, before his sockets narrowed and he signed again, with hard, deliberate movements.

(That human has gained EXP, my queen… Just enough to elevate their level of violence... surely that has not escaped your notice.)

That gave both Toriels pause, a rush of memories coming back to them in that moment, almost in tandem. It was a fact that both were well aware of. Something that she'd noticed shortly after the child first fell. She swallowed hard, suddenly not as confident as before.

"Yes… I am aware." She conceded, bringing her paws together anxiously, mouth set in a firm line. "They have not told us much at all about where they came from or what happened to them, aside from some vague details…"

She paused momentarily again, and shot another glance at her child. When she returned her gaze to Dr. Gaster, the maternal fire had returned to her eyes.

"But it matters not, I trust my child Wingdings." She said firmly, in her more regal, commanding voice. "They do not have to tell us about what caused that if they do not wish to. I have seen their true character as they have become part of our family. They are a compassionate, smart, creative and just child. I do not fear them, and neither should you. I will not have you speak about them this way again, is that understood doctor?"

The authority in her voice was enough to drive any further fight from him it seemed, as he bowed his head a bit with a somewhat nervous expression before signing again.

(Yes… of course, your highness.) He replied, hand movements slow.

There was another pause of uncertainty, before he straightened up to face her and continued.

(For everyone's sake, I sincerely do hope you are right...)

The Toriel inside felt a faint chill at that, returning that sick feeling to her soul as his words registered as something of an omen. An omen that brought back flashes of her ex-husband collapsed on the kitchen floor from buttercup poisoning and Chara standing over him laughing uncontrollably, manically as Asriel sobbed and tried to wake his father. Another flash came of the child twisted up on the ground in the family garden, sick and tears leaking out of their face as they grinned wildly up at her, poisoned by those very same flowers.

Then of course came the moment of their death, and the moment where both her children's combined form collapsed before her into a shower of dust.

Oddest of all though, it brought back that image of Frisk from her earlier returned memory. Their eyes stretched wide open and burning a bright, blood red as they looked upon her crumpled, dying form…

But her physical self only shot the skeleton another glare before letting her anger go with a huff. And Toriel snapped back to attention, feeling a strange sensation tugging ever so faintly at the edges of her consciousness as she heard herself speak again.

"If there is nothing else, I will be taking the children home now." She said, still rather stern. "I thank you again for your help today, you are dismissed."

(Wait.) He quickly signed, before looking as though he slightly regretted it.

She raised a brow expectantly, crossing her arms in front of her. He composed himself again, expression returning to its usual stoicness. That odd sensation in Toriel's mind stirred up just a bit more, enough to warrant a small flicker of concern to form within her.

(What does... Asgore think about all of this?) He asked, hand motions strong again. (Is there a particular reason he didn't accompany you today? You usually take this part of the weekend off to spend time together, yes?)

It made the Toriel observing this want to groan once again, her dream self seemed uneasy about the question too, but not for the same reason. And after her initial reaction, Toriel quickly guessed what that reason was.

"He… does not… know how to handle Chara's outbursts all that well." She admitted, deflating a bit. "He just gets overwhelmed and does not know how to react to them. Especially when they… hurt themselves like that. It is the same in regards with their night terrors... Gorey would just rather not…"

She paused and the Toriel inside could her feel her physical soul churn with a rush of warring emotion. It was so surprising that she didn't even have time to cringe from hearing herself say that embarrassing old nickname. But the moment passed quickly and her dream self shook herself and forced back a stern expression.

"It is just better if I am the one attending to these things." She said quickly, in a dismissing manner. "Asgore is waiting at home preparing us all dinner at the moment, and I would very much like to return to him now with my children, Wingdings."

Her tone made it clear the conversation was over and the skeleton accepted that with a quick, somewhat nervous nod.

(Of course, my queen.) He signed quickly, offering a small, polite bow (I wish you a good evening. Feel free to call upon my services again if need be.)

In the moments after that, time seemed to momentarily stop within the dream. Before the question of what was happening could fully register, the sensation within her mind grew again in intensity, and Dr. Gaster's face seemed to briefly distort worse than normal. In that moment, his face looked... different. His eyelights were gone, leaving both sockets dark. One of the sockets looked as though it was nearly fused shut, while the other was stretched wide open. His mouth was pulled up in a wide, empty smile, and most striking of all were the two scars. One stretched from the left fused socket to the back of his skull, just like the one Sans had received, though far worse. The other flowed jaggedly from the right socket into his mouth, like some kind of morbid tear track.

It was all just as Frisk had described. Any doubts she had vanished in that instant and it brought forth a truly chilling realization. Dr. W.D Gaster, the monster who had created her dear skeleton and his brother to use as lab rats and as human killing weapons, who had experimented on human and monster children alike, who had committed an unknowable amount of taboos to extend his lifespan, and had attempted to fulfill his thirst for revenge alongside planning to free monsterkind. He was still alive. Her child had met him, and he was likely still wandering the Underground at that very moment.

But how? Sans had told her that his father had been "shattered across space and time" after falling into the unstable magic of the core. Did he know? Oh stars… How would he take such news? Even after everything else he'd endured due to the resets, mentions of his father and the things he'd suffered while living as his prototype still clearly upset him terribly. His outburst of anger that first day could attest to that. How could she bare to tell him this?

But all those desperate, panicked thoughts stalled when Dr. Gaster's face suddenly shifted back to normal and the dream began moving again. He left without another word and Toriel turned to walk back over to her children, heedless of the dizzying thoughts of her inner self. Seeing them again banished all the noise in her head for the most part though, too flooded with renewed grief and relieved emotions to bear to focus on anything else.

Their voices and faces consumed her every thought, as they both hopped up from the couch to greet her. Asriel with much enthusiasm and Chara with much more reluctance, but managing a bit of a smile regardless. By the stars… she loved them both so much…

But as she took both of their small hands in either of her paws and all three began to walk back to the main corridor of the castle, the image of the world around them began to fade and flicker and her senses dulled.

"No... No please… I do not want to wake up… Not yet…" She thought, practically screaming at herself to look down at them again, to let her see them at least one more time.

"Do not take them from me again… please… I do not want to leave this… I do not want to lose them again…"

But the dream continued to disappear around them, the colors and forms dulling into a cruelly empty darkness. The feeling of their hands in hers was going as well, as though they were both literally slipping right through her fingers.

"Please… Do not take them from me… Let me stay with them." She all but sobbed, nearly reduced to hysterics at this point.

But this was just a dream, a memory, and it could not listen to her pleas no matter how much she begged. Her children were long dead, that was her reality. And that was the reality she had to wake up to. Still, grief and despair overpowered any reasonable thoughts and she still struggled in vain to hold on to them, even though she knew it would yield nothing.

"Please… I never got to say goodbye…"

Her surroundings vanished entirely, leaving only the all consuming darkness. One of her paws grew cold and limp beside her.

"Asriel…"

Then the other did the same, while her body remained beyond her control, frozen and unmoving.

"Chara…"

For a moment, she was utterly alone in that terrible darkness, alone with the fiery agony of her grief. Then something shifted, and she felt a new presence, familiar hands lightly touching her face and shoulder, a soul that had become oh so dear to her. A voice came with it then, speaking over her internal fervor.

"tori… come on, wake up…"

Though it could do little to soothe her in that moment, it was enough to snap her back to the reality she had been fighting so hard not to face. She did not jolt awake like all the other times. Rather, wakeful awareness slowly faded in just as the dream had faded out. Then she was blinking open her eyes, and the blurry image of her dear skeleton in front of her filled her vision. His expression was one of intense worry.

"there ya go…" He said, voice concerned and rather nervous, but still blessed music to her ears. "t-take it easy… okay? are you um… awake now?"

She continued to just stare back at him, blinking against what she now realized were tears in her eyes. She didn't want to speak, to try to put the only somewhat numbed pain of all that she'd just experienced into words. So all she could manage was a small, shaky nod, which he met with a sigh of relief.

"good… you were… having another one of those "dreams" huh?" He asked, and she felt his phalanges brush gently against her cheeks, wiping the tears away. "musta been a... pretty rough one."

As he did so, she gained the presence of mind and the clarity of vision to take in the situation around her. They were still in the living room, nestled together on the couch. The smaller warm body pressed against her side told her the dog from before was still there, likely still asleep judging from the lack of movement. The weak golden light from the windows indicated it was nearing evening and that she had slept for some time. The house was fairly quiet, but when she listened closely, she could faintly hear Papyrus' bombastic voice coming from the hallway, followed by her child's giggling and an angry shout from Flowey. She couldn't be sure, but it sounded like they were playing a video game.

Everything was normal… perfectly, painfully, normal. The images of her lost children's faces… the sweet sounds of their voices… it all already felt like distant memories again.

That triggered another wave of tears to escape her and she instinctively shut her eyes again as she covered her face with her paws and curled in on herself a bit. A muffled little sob shook through her and she felt Sans draw closer, resting a hand against the side of her head. She could feel it shaking as he moved it in a soothing manner over her cheek.

"hey, hey… easy tori… i-t's okay…" He soothed, voice trembling just a bit. "it's over now..."

Hearing him attempt to comfort her was enough to keep her from slipping back into the same hysterics she'd been gripped with in her dream. It made her remember herself, and reminded her of the things that she still had to cherish in her current world, him being one of them. Still, her voice was as broken and weak as her soul felt at that moment as she managed to speak.

"S-sans… they w-were… m-my children were th-there…" She croaked out, body beginning to shiver as more tears leaked out against her paw pads.

"i know… you were... saying their names in your sleep." He murmured, voice heavy as his soul spiked with pain on her behalf. "i'm… i'm so sorry tori…"

A few more pitiful little sobs escaped her, undignified and pathetic but beyond her control. Sans stayed close all the while, seemingly fighting with indecision before speaking up again.

"tori… c-come here, okay? just let me… hold you. like you do for me." He said, voice soft and genuine.

He was clearly still a bit uncertain, but his desire to do for her as she had for him was clearer still and it truly touched her. Some of the terrible pain wracking her soul calmed then, as she heeded his request. She uncurled a bit and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face against his chest. He was quick to reciprocate the gesture, holding her close and tenderly stroking the fur on her head again.

It would probably be a silly sight if anyone else had witnessed it, such a small monster cradling the head of one so much bigger than him. Even sillier when the dog wormed its way closer to them both with a soft whine, leaving the three of them an awkward pile of bones and white fur.

Regardless, being held like this at all felt so wonderful, even with the less than ideal circumstances. It had been so, so very long since someone had held her like this, and his touch stirred that same long forgotten comfort within her that it had before. His soul's magic reached out to hers, wary but resolute in its attempts to console her own. It was enough that the fit of anguish that had gripped her did not take too long to pass.

Until then though, she choked out slow, shuddering sobs against his chest, finally purging the tempest of emotions she had been unable to express in the dream. He squeezed her tight and remained silent, just continually stroking her fur until she had cried herself out and went more or less quiet again. Only then did he speak once more, over her shaky breathing.

"you… you okay?" He asked quietly, voice tinged with guilt.

She nodded against his chest, horns and muzzle brushing against the hills and valleys of his ribcage. Truthfully no, of course she was not okay. But she knew what he intended with that question. She drew in a few more deep breaths, steadying her soul and clearing her head a little more with each one. Eventually, she gathered the will to speak, thanking the stars that it seemed that her display of weakness had gone unnoticed by the house's other occupants. Stars knows how she would have explained herself then.

"I… apologize." She murmured, voice thick. "I j-just… I have not s-seen their faces in so l-long… nor heard their v-voices. I…"

He shifted a bit, readjusting his grip to be more comfortable for them both before replying.

"tori, i… i'm so sorry, i know that must have been… overwhelming." He murmured, pausing momentarily as he clearly struggled to find the right words. "but don't apologize, you said it yourself, remember? this is… nothing to be ashamed of."

Hearing him use her own words against her and seemingly agree with them as well sparked a warmth in her chest. But it was a small flame in a very cold, weary soul, and it could not chase away her sorrows. Not yet anyway. She tightened her grip on him, nuzzling her face more firmly against his chest. The dog gave another soft whine, snuggling up closer in the same motion as well. The sound of the others' still cheerful voices, excluding Flowey of course, came again from the other room, blissfully unaware of what was transpiring. An empty smile slowly spread across her face as she worked up the will to reply.

"Foolish, i-is it not? It has been m-more than a century since i lost my ch-children… I h-have a new life now, a child of my own again… a family again, people who need me… and yet… i st-still cannot seem to…. th-they haunt me still…"

One of his hands swept meaningfully down her neck and rubbed a soothing circle into the small of her back. His soul seemed to strengthen a bit with resolve, sending warmth to her own with more confidence.

"tori... that's not something you just… move on from, y'know? i've never had kids but… i know what it's like to lose family, people you love. it's not something that is ever just… okay. no matter how much time passes, even when things do get better. we know that you love us tori, and we'd never expect you to forget everything you've lost."

His words were impactful and rolled over her soul like a balm for the fiery pain that raged there. That small flame of warmth inside her grew, and with it, she gained the strength to admit her weakness.

"Oh Sans, I just… I m-miss them so much…" She croaked, another rush of tears escaping her and soaking into the soft material of his hoodie.

He stopped his stroking motions then to curl his phalanges into her fur and give her a little squeeze. There was guilt flowing from his soul again, sharp and cold. Something he wanted desperately to tell her, but simply could not. He settled instead on something else, but they were still words that she needed to hear.

"i know… you… you really loved those kids tori. every single one of them…" He said softly, voice vibrating through where his skull rested against the top of her head. "i'm so sorry that you've lost so much… someone who cares as much as you do for everyone around you… you are the last person who deserved any of that. "

Images of her lost children, all of them now, force themselves to the forefront of her mind once more. All so young, so sweet, and all having had their lives snuffed out so long before their time. It hurt so terribly, but the growing warmth within her kept it all from overwhelming her again.

She just hugged him tighter, claws curling slightly into his jacket. He began to run his phalanges through her fur again, and his soul's efforts to reach out to her own became more obvious. The shared warmth between them grew then, to the point she again felt that sensation of love and peace that was such a rarity to her endlessly fretful mind.

"its… its gonna be okay…" He assured her as best he could, the words clearly difficult for him. "i'm here for you tori... i-its like you keep telling me, you and i… we are in this together now."

That gave her pause for a moment, again having her own words turned towards soothing her instead of him. There was a moment where she felt a twinge of guilt for that, not wanting him to have to worry over her when he already had so much weighing on his soul. But then she accepted the truth of his words… her words. That if they were going to get through this, they needed to both be there for each other. Gratitude added to the warmth in her soul, and she hoped he could feel it, expressing what she couldn't with words.

They laid there in that sort of embrace for some time after, neither saying a word as Sans continued to lightly stroke her. Part of her just wanted to slip back into sleep, so comforted she was, but she was nowhere near ready to face another returning memory. Eventually, Toriel knew she had to gather her strength and tell him what her dream had revealed to her. Beyond the pain it had caused her, there were things he deserved to know.

She gave him one last squeeze before adjusting her grip on him. Then she forced herself to sit up, scooping him into her arms with the same motion and settling him on her lap once she was upright. He accepted the action without a word, and settled back against her without any hesitation.

Without even knowing it, she had picked up the dog too, who had crawled into Sans' lap and was gazing up at her with a hopeful little wag of his tail. She managed to shoot him a small smile, before wiping her eyes of any lingering tears. She then rested her chin wearily on top of Sans' skull and wrapped her arms back around him before speaking again.

"I… I will be alright now. Thank you Sans…" She rasped, voice weak but no longer nearly as pained.

He patted her arm in response, and she somehow felt the warm grin on his face without seeing it.

"no problem tori, just glad you're okay."

That brought back her own weak little smile, pitiful as it was, at least it was a real smile. It faded a bit though when she really looked down at him again. His hoodie and undershirt were positively soaked in the front, no doubt her doing. By the stars, how embarrassing…

"Oh dear, I ruined your jacket did I not?" She said, tone apologetic. "Here, let me… um… dry you off."

He blinked up at her with a somewhat confused expression, but then she raised a paw and laid it against the damp spot on his chest before he could say anything. She summoned up a small controlled flow of fire magic from her palm, wreathing her paw briefly in a pale purple flame. With a quick burst of heat and a bright flash of light, the moisture clinging to the fabric turned to steam. It curled away into the air, leaving them both pleasantly warm and thankfully dry as well. Sans let out an impressed chuckle before smiling up at her again.

"can always rely on you to light up the room tori." He quipped with a wink.

Against all odds, the joke summoned out a few soft giggles from her. She felt Sans grip her arms a little tighter in response and a light, happy response came from his soul. The dog seemed to delight in hearing her laugh too, letting out a yip and wagging his tail harder. She and Sans both reached out to pet the canine then, hands brushing against each other as they did so.

This would have previously caused them both, or at least Sans, to flinch back with embarrassment. But this time neither seemed to even notice it all that much, only focusing on their amusement as the dog's head was smooshed a bit under both their palms, still happy as ever. It was a small thing that sent her soul all a flutter again, and she allowed herself to let her hand linger over his for a few seconds more before pulling it back. As much as she would have liked to just hang on to this moment of shared comfort, she knew she had to address her "dream" at last.

"Sans..." She spoke his name to get his attention.

He and the dog both looked up at her, and the skeleton settled against her with a blink of acknowledgement.

"I should tell you about this… memory I just experienced. There is something important I figured out during it that I feel you need to know, but i fear that it may… terribly upset you."

Nervousness reappeared in his expression, smile stiffening at the ends. He tightened his grip on her a bit, drawing in a deep breath, but then nodded, slowly.

"alright… i'll be okay. just... tell me the hard stuff first, better to get that over with y'know?"

She opened her mouth to do just that, but then she paused, wondering how to put the realization she had had regarding Gaster into careful words. She stroked the dog idly with one paw as she worked through her thoughts, eventually settling on starting with a question.

"Sans… when your father… when he fell into the core and was… "shattered"... did he... actually die?"

Sans took in the question without much of a reaction, aside from tilting his head a bit and averting his eyelights as he seemed to think it over. Then he faced her again with a humorless chuckle.

"heh… well… not exactly." He said, eyelights wavering a bit from some emotion she couldn't quite parse. "it's... pretty hard to explain. bits and pieces of him were scattered in different timelines and pockets of space when he fell, but his core consciousness and a good portion of the magic that made up his body… it stayed together. so he's… not dead per se, but he's not exactly alive either."

Toriel suppressed a shudder at that, finding the information more like that of some terrible ghoulish fable than that of reality. But it did bring her some relief as well, now more confident that the next bit of information wouldn't be as much of a shock as she had feared.

"So… you know then, that he is, or at least part of him is still… wandering the Underground?" She asked, keeping her tone cautious. "Frisk… told me they had met him at some point, though they did not know who he actually was, they only described him as a "strange monster". But the description they gave me was… too close to be a coincidence."

Sans blinked, eyelights shrinking a bit and a spike of muted fear came from his soul. But then he nodded, expression grim. As if by fate, the sound of the child's joyful giggling sounded from the other room again, sending an odd twinge of mixed emotions in her soul. Judging by his expression, he experienced something similar.

"yah... i uh, have bumped into him a few times myself… what's left of him anyway." Sans said, in a much more uneasy tone. "though from what i could tell… i was one of the only ones who could see him. can't say if the old bastard really recognized who i was or not, he just stared at me whenever we met, never saying a word. just… stared."

He shivered a bit, a few beads of sweat running down his skull. Toriel honestly wanted to mirror the action, the idea of what he was saying chilling her deeply. But she stayed still and silent as he went on.

"i was pretty sure to avoid the areas that he um… frequented after that, nothing i could do to him the way he is anyway. or any of them for that matter. it's the same for the others who got caught up in that massive magical reaction. all those scientists and that one little kid… parts of them are still… wandering around down there, lost on some other plane. i don't know if they even realize what's happened to them…"

His eyelights grew hazy for a moment, as if recalling something. Then he abruptly shook himself out of it, facing her again with a weak grin.

"wh-why do you ask?" He asked, kneading the fabric of her sleeve anxiously between his phalanges. "was your dream about ol g again?"

She winced slightly, as thinking about the dream in detail brought another stab of pain to her soul. She swallowed hard against any potential returning lumps in her throat before replying.

"Yes… in part." She murmured, voice somewhat dull again. "Though, the main thing I got from it was what you just described… so I suppose there is no need to go into too much detail."

He looked quite relieved at that, letting out a sigh that relaxed much of the tension in his body. But she felt much the opposite, feeling her focus getting dragged back into the sorrows the dream had caused her. She was able to resist it, but the details of it all swirled about in her head and burned on her tongue, longing to be acknowledged.

"heh… good. least it was something i already knew for once." He said with a softer grin that slowly withered upon looking up at her again. "but uh… do you… do you want to talk about the rest of it? i totally get if you don't… but i'm… uh… always happy to listen… y'know?"

He said that last part a touch nervously, lowering down into his hood a bit. Clearly he had noticed her small shift in emotions, the dear. Toriel looked back at him for a long time, eyes heavy once more as she weighed the options in her mind. Truly, she owed him a full explanation, after his willingness to be so open with her. But this was so difficult… She had not talked about her lost children to anyone in so very long. And as proved by what had just happened, it was still an endlessly sore subject for her. But in the end, she nodded, for she knew she needed to talk about it, to forbade it from further festering in her mind. Her words to Sans at the start of all this had not been a lie after all, she knew that this was something she needed to do. This was as good a place to start as any.

"Thank you dear." She said, with some of that genuine warmth in her voice. "Yes… I… I think it would be good for me to tell you."

With that, she held him and the now fondly regarded dog close to her and began to recount the events of the dream. It was as hard as she expected, and describing the parts involving her children in detail brought back that terrible old ache of grief in her soul. But as before, the warmth his magic shared with her own kept her grounded, steady enough to keep going even when relaying the moment her children had slipped away from her again. The parts with Gaster were easier, and she was sure to describe them in great detail for him, in case he realized something she was missing.

As she talked, she decided to do another treatment on Sans' scar, figuring it was a good time for it. As the heavy words escaped her, she slowly ran a paw over the mark on his skull. Green healing mana seeped from it in slow, calculated waves into the scar, a delicate process meant to ensure speedy healing. Very similar to the process Gaster had demonstrated in the very dream she was re-telling. Sans seemed to enjoy the personal attention, as she had noticed he so often did. They certainly had that in common. And all the while, he listened just as he said he would. His reactions were minimal aside from some small flashes of emotion in the lights of his eyes and the occasional quiet question. But for the most part, he just listened and did what he could to show his support.

Eventually she finished both her tale and her work on his scar, leaving the room in a heavy silence for a bit, apart from the snoring of the dog who had fallen asleep again in the skeleton's lap. Toriel felt somewhat numb in that moment, emotionally exhausted from the whole thing. She waited anxiously to hear his reaction.

"so chara… they uh, hurt themself a lot, huh?" Sans asked softly, finally breaking the silence.

She tried not to wince at that, but did not totally succeed. He had been rather quiet when she'd been talking about Chara's scars, and there had a been an oddly faraway look in his eyelights then. But whatever was holding him back then did not seem to be doing so anymore. She swallowed hard before replying, fighting back the memories of the times when she'd been unable to stop Chara from harming themself after one of their outbursts. The guilt would be too much for her on top of everything else at the moment.

"Yes…" She croaked in response, scarlet eyes dull and still a touch red rimmed from all her earlier crying. "I never learned the full reason as to why they did that. Only that it was something they had developed a habit of before they ever fell into the underground. It was always some… impulsive thing they struggled to resist whenever their emotions overwhelmed them..."

She trailed off momentarily, briefly unsure if she should say what she wished to say next. But she forced it out as she had everything else, feeling it needed to be said.

"They were a… very troubled child, Sans." She admitted, easing her eyes shut momentarily. "They struggled a lot from the scars their previous life left on them, both the physical… and the mental. The injuries they inflicted on themself was just one of many worrying behaviors they dealt with. They had a tendency to blow up at others, be emotionally distant, show a lack of empathy, pick on or berate others for displaying weakness, and their anger, Sans. There was so much anger and pain in their soul… for humanity, for their human parents, for the world at large. And that is all without mentioning the fact that they came to us with an elevated level of violence..."

She paused briefly, subconsciously tightening her grip on Sans as Chara's face was summoned up in her mind. Those ruby red eyes, far brighter and stronger than her own, seemed to bore into her soul as she continued.

"But even with all that, I saw the good in them too. I saw the frightened, hurt child beneath that constant lashing out. A child who just wanted to feel safe and loved, who deserved it after suffering so much. A child who loved to sew and draw things for their family, who loved to sit on my lap while I read them book after book, who was my son's first real friend, who loved chocolates. A child who would… give their life to some childishly foolish plan… just so their adoptive family and all other monsters could potentially taste freedom."

She slowly dragged a paw down her face, as though trying to physically push away the surge of emotions and memories that threatened to grip her then. Sans just looked up at her, expression stiff and hard to read. She thought she saw yet another suspicious glint in his eyelights, like he was again trying to keep himself from saying something. Focusing on that was difficult though, as looking at him had triggered another thought in that moment, overpowering the others and demanding to be spoken. She did so, with only a moment's hesitation this time.

"Perhaps, in some way, what happened to my child was part of what drove me to more actively try to get you to open up to me about your struggles, when I noticed you seemed to be suffering from your hidden burdens the same way they were. I always carry the guilt and fear that I did not do enough back then for my child, and had I known the specifics of what terrible secret pains weighed on their soul, I could have… helped them better. I could have... stopped them from..."

Her mouth seemed to shut against her will, simply unable to finish that statement. She felt Sans reach over to gently grip her paw.

"tori…" He spoke her name, tone heavy with understanding.

It was all that was needed. She took another deep breath and squeezed his hand back, forcing a smile back to her face like the hypocrite she was.

"I am sorry dear, forgive my rambling… I should not burden you with these things…" She said in a softer voice.

Sans shook his head a bit, and fought through his clear hesitation to respond quickly.

"n-no i… i get it tori. i'm… i'm glad you told me…" He said, eyelights wavering with a mix of emotions.

The false smile on her face warmed at that, perhaps becoming something of a real smile as warmth bloomed again in her soul. She could tell Sans wanted to say more, gritting his teeth against something he was fearful of putting into words. But before he had any chance for that though, they both heard the door down the hallway open, announcing that the others would soon be returning. Instinctively, they both slowly let go of each other's hands.

"guess we'll uh, put this convo on pause for now t." Sans said quietly, attempting his usual casual tone, but with something almost dejected in it as well. "kinda forgot pap and the kid had something planned for ya. we can um… talk more tonight if you want."

She blinked in response to that, perking up somewhat. She couldn't guess just what sort of "plan" they had for her from his tone. She found it hard to focus on that at the moment though, still so very focused on her dear skeleton's continually shifting emotions. He was already preparing to put up his front again, forcing up that fake smile and concealing all the lingering effects of what had just happened as best he could. It hurt her to see. She didn't have long to reply though, so she willed herself to speak while she still could.

"Oh? Is that so…" She asked, expression warming by degrees. "Very well then, sounds good to me."

There was a momentary pause, and during it, the dog jumped off the couch and rushed into the hallway to greet the others. Both of them could hear him immediately cause a ruckus, likely chomping on one of Papyrus' leg bones, much to the skeleton's quite obvious, and loud, displeasure. It was almost like the dog was intentionally stalling the rest of the family from coming in. But Toriel banished that thought immediately, finding it more than a little ridiculous. In the extra time it had nontheless earned them, Sans spoke again.

"you gonna be alright?" He asked, simply.

Her smile strengthened, and that blessed warmth within her soul inspired some more of that boldness in her. Perhaps it was selfish, yes, but it also came from a more legitimate place as well. She wanted to ensure he knew how much she truly appreciated everything he'd done for her. And crunched for time, she could only think of one thing to do.

"Yes, I will." She replied to him softly, before pushing back her uncertainties and leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his skull.

He stiffened up in response, but more in surprise than anything else, as the unconfident, but nearly equally warm reaction from his soul told her. She let it last just a little longer than the last one.

"Thank you again Sans, truly. Your care on my behalf means so very much to me." She said once she'd pulled back up to meet his gaze again.

His reaction was just as amusing and endearing as the last time, but he was perhaps just a little less stunned by her actions, as though expecting it in some way.

"y-you're welcome tori…" He stammered, face flushed a bright cyan, but managing to keep his smile in place, if a bit wobbly. "s-same… to you."

Then just like that, the little moment was over. Just like awaking from her dream, reality had to return. The rest of her family poured into the room then. Papyrus was still griping at the dog hanging from his arm, who was indeed chomping at it with a pleased expression. Frisk carried Flowey in with an amused smile on their face, and a shell necklace around their neck, no doubt their promised souvenir from Papyrus' trip. The flower monster just rolled his eyes at the whole affair. Inevitably though, all their eyes fell on her and she was somewhat surprised when Frisk and Papyrus' faces lit up.

"AH, TORIEL, YOU HAVE AWOKEN! EXCELLENT!" Papyrus noted with enthusiasm, finally shaking the dog off his arm. "THE CHILDREN AND I HAVE PREPARED TONIGHT'S DINNER IN LIGHT OF YOUR CLEAR NEED FOR REST, AND MY BROTHER'S CONTINUAL RECOVERY FROM ILLNESS. I DO HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY IT."

Ah, so that's what Sans had meant by a surprise. She offered them the strongest smile she could muster, finding it somewhat odd that neither seemed all that phased by the sight of her and Sans sitting together as they were. She had honestly expected to endure quite a number of teasing remarks, especially given that Sans had likely not managed to put up his usual casual front again after her impulsive little show of affection, but she certainly wasn't bothered to be wrong.

"Oh? Well how very thoughtful of you!" She said, laying a paw over her chest. "Thank you everyone. You have all been… so very kind to me today. Thank you."

Papyrus beamed in response, and Frisk set Flowey down on the coffee table to come over and hug her. Sans was inevitably drawn into it too. And he let out a chuckle that didn't seem all that forced, seeming content in the child's presence. Even if it were just for that moment, that was another small thing that brought joy to Toriel's soul. As she squeezed her child and her dear skeleton tight, Flowey spoke up from the table with a huff.

"I had no part in this, so don't involve me in this mushy garbage." He said, spitting out his tongue at her.

Frisk snickered softly in response and pulled back from the hug to sign to her.

(He's lying, he helped read off the recipe to me and Papyrus, and he helped me mash the potatoes with his "friendliness pellets.") Frisk signed with a grin, quirking an eyebrow playfully at Flowey.

"SHUT UP!" The flower monster shouted, when he realized what Frisk was saying.

The outburst was met with a short peal of laughter from everyone else, and the flower monster receded into his pot with a grumble of irritation as something of a blush spread on his face. Once they'd all composed themselves again, Sans slid off her lap to allow her to stand up. Before she could though, Papyrus stopped her with a dramatic pose, like that of a crossing guard directing traffic.

"STOP RIGHT THERE TORIEL!" He demanded, but in a lighthearted tone. "THIS MEAL IS MEANT TO BE A "BREAKFAST IN BED" SITUATION!"

He faltered a bit then, frowning and tapping a gloved hand against his chin.

"EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT A BREAKFAST… NOR ARE YOU IN A BED…"

"I think dinner in couch is what you're looking for there bro." Sans quipped with a wide grin, earning a groan from the other skeleton and quite the laugh from Toriel.

"THAT IS NOT A THING SANS!" Papyrus retorted over the sound of her giggles.

Sans only responded with a shrug, for some reason only making her laugh harder. Stars, it felt so nice to properly laugh like that after everything that had happened. Papyrus sighed dramatically and then spun on his heel towards the kitchen, having to make sure he didn't trip over the small white dog nibbling on his boot.

"WHATEVER THE PROPER NAME, I INSIST YOU STAY HERE ON THIS COUCH. I SHALL FETCH THE MEAL AT ONCE AND WE SHALL ALL EAT HERE IN THE LIVING ROOM. PLEASE DO RELAX." He said, partially through gritted teeth as he tried again to shake off the meddlesome canine.

Toriel couldn't manage to speak through her giggling then, so she just nodded in response. Beside her, she felt Sans shift on the couch and his hand brushed over her paw again as he got to his feet. If it was an intentional little gesture or accidental, she couldn't be sure, but it made her soul flutter again regardless. She managed to compose herself then and watched as Sans walked over to his brother.

"i'll uh, help you carry everything bro. wouldn't want anything to fall and make your dinner end up a din-astor, heh." He said once at his side, resulting in another loud groan from Papyrus.

But then the younger skeleton looked down at his brother with a bit of a concerned frown on his face.

"ARE YOU SURE, BROTHER? THAT MIGHT NOT BE A GOOD IDEA GIVEN YOUR CURRENT CONDITION."

Sans gave a small chuckle in response and gave his brother's side a pat.

"yah, it's fine bro. i'm…" He paused, and glanced back at Toriel with a fond smile, meeting her eyes before looking back up at his brother. "i'm actually feeling pretty good right now."

Both Toriel and Papyrus looked at him with somewhat wide eyes at that, knowing the true significance of hearing such a statement from him. Sans didn't seem to want to become any sort of center of attention though, and began to head for the kitchen. But he couldn't escape an excited hug from Papyrus, who scooped him up and squeezed him tight before carrying him the rest of the way into the kitchen. Toriel watched them go, soul stirring in all the best ways.

In the quiet that followed the brothers' departure, Toriel's attention was directed back to Frisk, who had been lingering at her side all the while. The child looked at her with a hint of concern, perhaps just now noticing the lingering evidence of her earlier tearfulness. They stepped closer and laid a hand on her arm, frowning a little.

(Are you okay mom?) Frisk asked, seeming to be looking deep into her weary, scarlet eyes.

The question did not bring the same fear it had before, perhaps unable to penetrate the sort of tranquility that had overtaken her soul. Before giving any verbal reply, Toriel wrapped Frisk back in her arms, nuzzling their cheek a bit in the same motion. They promptly returned the hug, pressing their face against her neck. Their powerful soul thrummed with magic against her chest, in time with the beat of their heart. All signs that her child was blessedly, undoubtedly alive.

"Yes dear, I am." She replied softly, squeezing them just a little tighter.

And in that moment, she really was.

They both let the hug linger for some time before letting go again. Frisk indicated to her that they were going to go help the skeleton brothers in the kitchen and she nodded her understanding. She watched as her child went over and scooped up Flowey, before giving him a little boop where his nose would be. He responded with the expected crabby grumbling, only looking more irritated when Frisk giggled in response. It was a picture of normalcy, and it all filled her with restoring, familial warmth.

But when she looked at the two children then, something odd happened. She got a flash of an image from her dream, of Chara and Asriel standing side by side, overlapping with Frisk and Flowey in her vision. For a moment, she saw more of her lost son in the flower monster beyond the same grumpy pout on their face, some strange faint feeling she couldn't quite grasp. And Frisk was looking down at him with wide, red eyes. Familiar red eyes.

But then the flash was gone, and all was normal once again.