Welcome Home, Serial Killer

Chapter 10 - Adoption

The ticking of a clock continued in the background. Cold, damp. That's how the room felt. Not the clock, obviously. But he imagined it might feel that way. Anything to distract him from the pounding soul in his ribcage.

The Judge glanced over the files. Amazingly made fraud files by Smile Dog. Each detailing Sally's fake past, Sans' totally real therapist visits to show his "stable" mental health, and the inspection of the house that went splendidly.

And, when Sans got the adoption papers back, he looked down at them. Sally held her breath excitedly. Her feet started to kick the underside of the table as she tried not to giggle and jump into his arms.

He was legally a guardian to Sally now.

It all happened so fast. It felt so fast. Especially walking out of the court room, holding his new daughters (should he call her daughter? Sister? Hell if he knew) hand out into the parking lot.

The little girl seemed to look around in new excitement of a possible life before her. A free one, to openly go into public without ever having to worry about murder anymore. Gone were her old clothes, too. Instead, now she was wearing a cute puffy pink dress he let her pick out from an online clothing store, and clutching a newly washed Charlie in her arms. The stuffed animal didn't seem to age either, judging by how it should practically be dust by this point in time. And, underneath her brown bangs, were several layers of bandages wrapped around her head. Her bleeding wasn't quite fast, but consistent, so Sans had learned - through trial and error - that she can go half of a day before changing her bandages.

"So, kiddo, how does it feel to be adopted now?" Sans asked.

Sally paused in her spot, anxiously tilting back and forth in her pink sneakers. "Do I have to call you... Daddy? I don' wanna."

"No, you don't, just keep calling me Sans," Sans said, patting her head. "You can think of me as whatever you want. Frisk calls me -" Realizing he almost completely fucked up, he quickly changed over. "Just think of me as your older brother, then!"

"Okay!" She beamed happily. "I've never had a brother before! Or a sibling!"

"It's actually pretty cool to have one, I love my bro, I'm sure you will love to meet him too."

"You have a brother?" Her smile quickly fell. "You already have a sibling..." She then turned, looking lost in thought.

Sans didn't notice, quickly remembering one simple, important detail that turned him to ice faster than any ice attack could.

He forgot to tell Papyrus he was even adopting her.

Fucking. Shit.

What kind of brother was he? He forgot to tell Papyrus a very important fact in his life! That was horrible! And he just simply do it over the phone, either! That'd be horrible too!

Fucking hell, he's sucked as a brother ever since he watched... the incident. He had to fix that now.

'Hey Paps, we gotta talk asap 'bout something big, meet at ur house?'

He sent that text as he helped Sally buckle into her seat, the little girl happily swinging her feet as she hummed to the radio.

"Who are you texting?" Sally asked.

"Oh, my brother! I gotta kinda... tell him about you still," Sans said, awkwardly scratching the side of his cheekbone. "I was so busy doing the adoption with you and Smile Dog that I forgot to even text him."

"Oh." She looked away and grinned wide.

"I swear I'm not that terrible of a brother usually!" Sans said quickly, thinking she was assuming she'd be abandoned. "I just, well, obviously couldn't explain me housing serial killers to him. But I need'a tell him about you. And you can meet him one day with my other friends, too!"