"Whoah, hey, well that's new…" said a low and slightly hoarse voice.
Toriel stopped from the surprise. From worry. From astonishment. She had the feeling she knew that voice. The monster she had barely hit with the door was a short and big-boned skeleton, dressed in a comfortable blue hoodie, black jogging pants and slippers, in spite of the frozen ground. A large and still grin was painted on his face, despite his bewildered look. Or maybe was it simply the feeling it gave, due to the fact he didn't have any lips to cover his teeth.
Then Toriel realized. There was only one monster who knew about this door. Only one monster whose voice she had already heard. "So it's… you?" she said as she refused the immense joy growing in her chest the right to take too much place.
"Uh, no, it's Sans." he said with, despite the almost unreal situation, the same humor she had heard from behind the ruins wooden panel. "And you're the old lady, aren't you?"
She giggled almost nervously. "Call me Toriel. I'm so happy to finally meet you!" She didn't dare think at the moment. She had exchanged jokes with this monster for years now. She had imagined meeting him so many times, and yet she didn't know how to react now that he really was in front of her, in the flesh (well, more like in the bones). She had that weird feeling you get when you suspect you are dreaming, maybe because it had been way too long since she had last opened this door.
"Happy to meet you too-Toriel." he winked as she laughed at the very predictable pun. "To be honest, I didn't think you'd actually open the door one day! Why is that?"
Toriel stopped, remembering the weak creature she still held close to her under her left arm, well-hidden under the black cape. She felt a dizzying cold penetrating her veins. In other circumstances, she would have been glad to finally have the deserved company of another monster but the stakes were suddenly much higher then she would have liked them to be. "I…" she started as she thought about an excuse. "I've got something I have to go find. It's… important." she finished as she started walking quickly, making sure she didn't slip on the icy ground.
Sans made a disappointed face, and by that I mean his mouth stayed perfectly still while his eyes cringed for him. "Hey, why don't you tell me the reason you're in such a… furry?" As funny as the pun was, Toriel kept walking fast as Sans followed her. "Come on, I could help you. I'm still on break right now."
She gazed at him softly. He was well-meaning, but the risk was so high… Suddenly, a whine escaped her cape, stopping her heart here and then. Frisk was awake. And she was obviously still in pain. The whine was followed by others, and then by weak and tired cries. Toriel had to stop. Sans stopped behind here, intrigued and almost worried about the sound exhaled by the cape.
"Sans." she said seriously.
"Yes?"
"Can I trust you?"
He hesitated for some moments before nodding. "Yes."
Toriel immediately let Frisk out from under the cape, cradling her to calm her down. She slowly faced Sans who laid his empty eye sockets on the little girl. The little human. "This is Frisk." Toriel said. "I think she ate buttercup flowers and she needs to throw up at all cost. There aren't any medicine in the ruins, I have to go get some in Snowdin." Her queen-like self-assurance was slowly coming back to her. She was still dead worried over the crying child in her arms but, in front of someone, she was showing again the confidence she always had. "I know you're a sentry, but do not try to stop me. I want to save this child."
Sans looked at her with his frozen grin, an amused spark twinkling in his dark sockets. "Jeez, Toriel, you know I never wanted to stop anyone, unlike my brother. Too much efforts, you know? Besides, as I told you, I'm still on break right now. I don't even have to stop you, right now." He added with a friendly wink that made the former queen smile. Then, he casually walked forward, as if everything couldn't be more normal, and stared at Frisk attentively. The human's cries slowed down a little bit as her thin hazel eyes half opened to the image of the short skeleton. "Hey, kiddo." he said absentmindedly.
She looked at him curiously.
And started crying again.