The girl's parents had finally gotten a hold of the department. They came, wept, and agree'd to let you and Larson into her apartment to look for clues and to assist with packing. You didn't HAVE to help. You just thought it'd be easier on the parents.

And sadly the apartment was a complete wreck.

It didn't look like a break in but rather an organized mess.

A few good things came out of this.

You received her notes from school that were also dated after she had graduated. Obviously evidence, you kept telling yourself. A list of addresses for bitty hospitals, and shops in this city and other smaller city and towns in the area. This kid was a good bean.

The parents had to take breaks to cry. It was so often that Sans had stuck to their side and tossed puns left and right. It made them feel better.

"She loved bitties so much. But her ultimate favorite were skeletons."

You could have guessed that. Her entire apartment had skeleton themed decorations and items.

"First stop is surprisingly our very own Bitty Shop."

You and Larson had deducted that the list of address' where possible jobs for the girl, or interviews. So the possibility of her at least visiting one of the area's would've been extremely helpful. Sans immediately runs off to the play area.

"Oh yes! She had come in requesting an interview a few times. We called her number but she never answered."

"Do you remember the last day she came in and when you called for an interview?"

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Sans talking to a few of the regular bitty visitors.

"Hmmm. Well I'm sure it's on the phone file when I called. But I know she was here two days before I called."

She excuses herself to find the call logs.

"What is he doing?"

Larson finally turns to see what your asking about. "I think he's questioning them?"

Sans is standing as straight as he can to tower over the other bitties, though it wasn't needed in the first place. He has a piece of paper out with one hand while the other is resting casually in his pocket. "Not bad."

You look up at Larson a bit confused.

"Monsters can easily communicate and relay news to each other by just getting a 'feel' of each other's souls. It's like a private hotline between them. Like bat's with sonar, or coyotes at night. So just by asking if they've seen a particular human, he'll know anything he needs just by you walking down the street with him."

"That's really convenient."

He nods in agreement while the two of you watch Sans walk around. You can't help but notice the paper he's holding isn't a photo, but lined paper with a crude doodle and some scribbles on it. It's the thought that counts though.

"How has he been?"

"His behavior has settled. I'm hoping that he's feeling comfortable enough to be completely himself."

"What do you mean?"

You check Sans again before continuing. He has a little flame bitty gesturing every now and then, other than that you don't know if it's actually talking.

"We'll be joking around, shopping, watching tv, cooking, anything really and he'll say one pun and freeze up. After a moment or if I initiate another pun, he'll finally calm down and talk again. I have to completely avoid spaghetti. Before I couldn't understand why until I started learning more about pairings and stuff. I think he may have previously had a companion, but has no memory of it. He hasn't felt any need to pair up with another skeleton."

Larson's fingers tapping at the table distract you for a moment. "His case is getting more and more interesting."

Sans hadn't said anything about his conversations with the bitty's from any of the locations you visited. Maybe he didn't get any information that could be used as a clue. He seemed to be in a good mood too, the ride home you could hear his tail thwump against the seat.

"What do you want for dinner?"

From the corner of your eye he looks contemplative for a moment, "chili dogs." he presses his face back to your car door so he can try and peek through the window.

"That's all?"

"mhm."

"Okay then."

You finally arrive home and start dinner by dropping a pack of wieners in a pot of water. Turning, you open the cabinet to grab a can of chili only to toss it in the air in surprise when you see Sans is just sitting on the counter out of the blue. The can hits the floor loudly and you flinch from the sound.

"Jesus Sans, you scared the skin offa me."

You grab the can off the floor and hook it up to the can opener and start twisting the handle.

"that can happen?!"

His mortified expression causes you to chuckle. "No silly." He relaxes again and pulls another pot out of the cabinet and holds it out for you. "Thank you sweetie."

"so like. what happens when no one can solve a case?"

You spoon out all the chili into your slowly warming pot. "Well, if we can't find anymore clues or a more important issue pops up that needs us, a different team or department takes over. If our clues takes us to a different jurisdiction that isn't ours, then we have to give up copies of our stuff for who's next."

"like the first two bodies?"

"Yea."

"like me?"

You tense up and glance over at him. He's looking down and fiddling with the bones in his tail, contemplating on wringing it or his hands. "Sweetie no." You sit down your spoon and scoop him up in your arms. "Your case is mine. No one is ever gunna take your case from me. Why are you thinking such things?" his tiny little hands are clenching the sleeves of your shirt and he shoves his head up under your chin awkwardly. "if someone took my case, they'd have to take me?"

Sighing you pat and rub his back with one hand and turn the heat down on the stove and walk to the living room. "There's absolutely no chance anyone can take you from me. I adopted you. You're in my care now, forever."

"not even my original owner?"

"Not even him."

Gently, you rub the top of his skull with the tips of your short dull nails. "What brought all this on buddy?"

Sans snuffles your neck and chest then settles the side of his skull against your chest. "jus that all the major jobs you've been doin' get passed to someone else.." You lean down and start laying kisses all over the top of his skull. "You're my family, no one's taking you from me."

Just as Sans had predicted, a month later your case was given to someone else who didn't have enough work. Though anytime a possible clue had come up, they always dragged you and Larson in to consult on the new evidence.

Sans stays latched to your back through the meeting. You didn't miss the disapproving looks from the other detectives and higher ups from the other department.

At the end you stay behind to collect your own and Larson's files and paperwork.

"How could they allow a monster in the department?"

"Must be why we're getting all these cases, maybe they're covering up something."

"It kept glaring at me ugh."

You frown and hold your stack where Sans could easily grab it and walk up to the other investigators. "Is there a problem here?" They look at you and glance at each other then direct their full attention on you.

"Actually yes. We were concerned how the Chief allowed monsters in the meeting."

"Especially with how everything said today was confidential information."

You stand up straighter and pull out your flip badge that has Sans' badge attached.

"Well last I checked it wasn't any of your business on who gets accepted into the meetings especially - " you try to mock their tone, "since he helped retrieve evidence for the previous cases given to your department. In which one of those, I must add, was a very crucial detail and vital for the whole thing."

You've already pocketed your badge and look them up and down.

"If anything he's more professional and productive with this job than the two of you combined."

At this point Sans is nuzzling his face into the back of your neck and rattling a soft purr, its almost hard to keep a straight face with how much it tickles.

"Though if you want to file a complaint with my Chief, feel free. I'm sure she wants to hear your racist thoughts and take back this case."

They grimace and shoot you a weak glare before stomping out.

"Assholes."

Sans relaxes against your back the moment they're out and rubs a hand on your bun in a petting motion, you can feel your loose strands of hair get tangled between his joints.

"thank you."

His face boops the side of your cheek in a skeleton kiss. He even goes as far to saying a light "muah" to show it was a kiss.

"No problem sweetie."

It's bullshit how people can act like that.