Collateral Damage

Death's Doorstep

Dream stopped outside a rather grand looking home. A Victorian style mansion with a dark aesthetic.

He had to admit he was hesitant, waiting at death's door.

He was scared.

Afraid or the god of death by himself, that Sans in particular always seemed a bit off to him never quite happy but never quite sad.

But worse than that he was afraid of what he might see laying in the bed of a child.

Dream could feel the painful pull of SUFFERING bleeding from the house.

But that fear is exactly what pushed in into the house.

"Death? Geno?"

The inside of the house was far more welcoming than the outside. Covered in warm colors, and comforting browns and whites, no doubt Geno's decorating.

It was unspeakably large, and it felt large the further he walked in.

In the distance Dream could hear light coughing.

As he approached the sound the coughing became more aggressive with the addition of desperate groaning, and whining. Dream's heart swelled with sympathy at the sound.

The child sounded young, Dream had been expecting a eleven to twelve year old, but that couldn't be the case.

"Geno?"

Silent.

"Come in." Geno's voice was barely recognizable. A once demanding, and haughty skeleton now barely above a whisper.

Dream walked in, and instantly his eyes found the smaller form. The kid couldn't be much older than a toddler. Dream hoped that the son of death was just hilariously tiny, but based on the toys scattered around his bedroom it wasn't likely.

Even for a three to four year old he was still very tiny.

Unfortunately there were no further surprises. The osight was exactly what he'd expected.

Geno, in near tears loyally kept at a child's bedside. Goth was unmistakable ill, if his parents looked bad than he was at death's door.

That wasn't funny...

The boy was sweating profusely, his eyes couldn't focus, and rolled into his sockets as he rolled around miserably.

Dream couldn't ignore the splatters of deep red spotted around his pillow haphazardly, the same red that dripped down his chin looking all to similar to his mother.

The poor thing seized up with a particular painful surge, his whole back removing itself from his sheets with a sticky wet sound.

His whining pitched into a shriek.

Geno desperately tried to soothe the child's pain. He hushed his cries, tenderly rubbed his forehead, and whisper sweet words of encouragement.

But it was all in vain. Goth was completely delirious, and probably couldn't even feel his mother's presence let alone hear him.

In a last effort to reach his son Geno held his tiny hands.

It was unclear to Dream whether this attempt actually reached Goth, but the surge did stop. And the child passed out on the spot

Geno breathed a sighed of relief.

Dream could only stare a the sight. This was worse than he expected. There was no way this was a flu variant.

Surprising to Dream, Geno was the one to fill the silence, "he's been like this all day..." he said tiredness creeping into his every feature.

"It's gotten worse." Dream didn't think that he was supposed to hear that last part, Geno's voice wasn't anything more than a breath. Geno himself didn't seem like he wanted to acknowledge it.

Dream didn't know what to say. There wasn't much to say. He only walked over to the other end of Goth's bedside. He took a seat, he guessed that Reaper usually sat here as the chair was unusually cold.

Dream put a hand over the child's forehead, without touching him he could feels his fever warm up his palm.

Gently he focused his energy on Goth and gave the boy some peace of mind.

Instantly his small form relaxed, and his Dreams were sweet.

"Thank you." Geno had just a bit more hope in his tone.

"This isn't nearly enough," Dream stated unimpressed, "has his condition increased over time or was this spike sudden?"

"Sudden. He's been slowly worsening. But today was an entire different beast. Yesterday he could still speak, and eat. Now he can just barely breath."

Dream nodded. He wasn't familiar with medicine, he's always been able to heal so the concept was unnecessary for him. He didn't really know what to ask.

"You should rest." Was all he could think of.

"I can't. I have to be here for him- I can't- can't just-"

"I'm going to need you at peak conditions tomorrow, Goth's case is being put into action immediately. Tomorrow will be intense."

Geno stumbled on his words before he could think of what he was saying.

Finally he settled on "he needs me."

Those words cut through Dream. As a mother he could understand Geno sentiment. But he also knew that the taller skeleton was in desperate need of sleep if he was ever going to make through tomorrow with a mental breakdown.

"He'll always need you. You're his mother. But now he'll need you at your best."

Geno hesitated before nodding.

"I'll be here. If he has another surge I'll soothe him just like I did before, okay?"

Geno nodded wordlessly and arose from his chair was wobbling knees. He bent down and placed a light kiss on his baby's cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Gothy."

With that Geno left.

Dream sighed, he was way over his head.

Cry >:3