Warmth spread through aching bone, filling his body with peace and allowing him a brilliant reprieve from the night's cool air. It was a beautiful morning when Sans awoke, the sun, having risen maybe an hour or so ago, shone down on the landscape, casting a golden sheen on the low hanging fog around the clearing. The birds had long since risen, their incessant chirping almost musical as he rubbed an eye softly while he sat up, casting away the last vestiges of sleep.

He stretched lightly, his spine popping pleasantly as he looked around bleary eyed at the ground around him. A smile nearly split his face in half as he noticed his peacefully sleeping brother lied beside him, an equally sleepy girl lying just behind Papyrus, one arm slung across his chest to snuggle him closer.

He laughed quietly at how peaceful they looked with flowers littering the earth around them, and stuck in Frisk's long locks. It was such a nice sight to wake up to, and he had half a mind to lie down and just fall back asleep. Duty overruled desire though, and he found himself stirring sluggishly, rising to his feet begrudgingly and glancing around the area to make sure they were safe. Animals of all kinds riddled the forest and he would be damned if he let his friends and family fall prey to another attack. Forget what those two weirdos said, the woods were a danger in and of itself.

With a soft nudge, he gently shook Frisk awake, smiling softly at the sleepy grunt she gave and her murmured 'five more minutes'.

"Come on, Frisk. We gotta get moving," he whispered softly, nudging her until she finally awoke with an annoyed huff and bleary eyes.

"I'm up, I'm up," she sighed, "What time is it?"

He laughed wholeheartedly at that, his smile apparently contagious as she grinned at him sleepily, "How the heck should I know? Maybe around 8 or so? We monsters aren't built with an internal clock."

"All right, smartypants," she conceded with a muffled groan as she stretched from her spot in the grass. Sapphire eyes shimmered with mirth before turning solemn as the reality of their situation came back to mind, "How are you feeling?"

"Well, for camping outside I'd have to say pretty well rested, although grass certainly ain't good for backs."

"No, you dork. Your arm. How does it feel?"

He frowned momentarily and stared down at the bandages distastefully. Another reminder of his failure to protect his loved ones. The break would mend, but the scars would remain, no matter how hard he would try to forget.

"It's fine. Hurts less than it did yesterday."

Frisk nodded, and stood unceremoniously, cradling a still sleeping Papyrus to her chest, "That's good. I'm happy to hear that. I know you might not want it, but here. Take these."

Sans frowned as she held out a pair of small capsules, "What is it?"

"Medicine," she smiled brightly, "It helps numb the pain."

Sans frowned, staring at the pills warily. He knew that the people from last night had likely given the medicine over, but he still had a hard time trusting those two strangers. Normal people would never bother to save a couple of monsters and their human companion. Those two were odd, indeed, although he supposed they proved their worth by giving them aid. All together, he hated accepting anything from the smug little humans, but the low throbbing pain in his arm made him reconsider.

Now that he thought about it..

"What about you? Are you alright?" He frowned, eyeing her head curiously. She had managed to take a pretty nasty spill yesterday. She had to have felt it all the while. Shame filled his soul as he recalled the last few days, how he had abandoned his friend in favor of leaving her to a normal life, how he had found her bruised and bloodied on the forest floor after being chased by wolves, her furious tears as she pleaded for him not to leave..

His eyes gazed on regretfully as he watched her run a gentle hand through her hair a nervous chuckle escaping her as she tried visibly not to wince, though he saw the slight pinch in her features and the small grimace on her face.

"I-I'm fine, really. Just a bit of a headache is all.."

Slowly, bony hand met tender flesh as he grasped her palm, bringing it down from the top of her head. He felt her stiffen and try to pull away, but he only clenched a little tighter, turning her palm face up to expose a thin trail of sickening crimson liquid. White met blue as their eyes met, and for the first time he fully took notice of the girl in front of him, the one who was now desperately looking away, her words hurried and laced with reassurance.

"It's okay. It's just a scratch, really! I'm fine so don't worry-"

"I'm sorry."

The words died in her throat as she finally met his gaze, although looking away shyly at his sudden declaration, "Ah, uhm.. wh-what are you..?"

"I'm sorry you got hurt because of me. None of this would have happened if I had never met you. You wouldn't have had to take in two monsters that will mess your whole life up. You wouldn't have had to lie or steal or put yourself in danger," he whispered, his own gaze falling as he stared disparingly at the grass below.

Two hands clasped either side of his skull and yanked up, forcing their gaze to meet once more. He inwardly shuddered and pulled away reflexively at the anger in her eyes.

"You big dummy! You're my friend. I couldn't care less what you are or how you got here. What matters now is how we get out of here and back home," she glared defiantly, "Now stop being such a baby and take the medicine so we can get a move on. We need to get home and soon. I've been gone all night.."

Sans eyed her palm for a moment before swiping one of the little pills into his hand and downing it quickly. He grimaced momentarily before pushing the other one away.

"You take it. You're hurt too."

He watched as she smiled softly, and took the other pill, her face contorting for just a moment before she composed herself and stood, carrying a grousing Papyrus in her arms.

"C'mon, we've got a long way to go. We might as well get a move on."

With that said, the trio set off downstream, following the river towards home if their saviors were to be believed. Papyrus had been groggy all morning and surprisingly cranky at being woken up. He had pouted and refused to get moving, stamping his foot and throwing a tantrum at being up so early. Sans had told him sternly that they needed to get a move on, only making Papyrus even more upset, but he effectively silenced his brother by swooping him up into his arms and setting off for home.

Papyrus still grumbled every now and then as they walked, his mood lightening as the time worse on and he slipped back into a light doze. Soon, gentle snores filled the air combined with the sound of rushing water and singing of different forest creatures.

The walk back had been mostly uneventful, the two kids choosing to play a bit of I-spy to pass the time as they trekked on. Frisk had to explain the game first, and it took a full minute of debate between the two as to the benefits of pointing out random things. Frisk had merely huffed and told him to lighten up and have some fun. He had pouted for a minute but eventually agreed, playing for a few turns as the scenery passed by. Which brought them to their current predicament..

"Oh come, on. Just tell me what it is already!" Sans whined, his voice softer than normal so as not to wake his brother.

Frisk's lips tilted into a goofy smile as she tapped a finger to her chin as she contemplated it for a moment.

"Hmm.. no."

"Frisk, it been like ten minutes," he frowned, "Just tell me already!"

She giggled softly before folding her hands begin her back and bouncing lightly as she walked, "Nope. You already have your clue."

"What else is blue out here? We've already guessed the sky, river, flowers and my hoodie, what else is there?"

He watched as her steps sped up a tad and a nervous giggle left her lips as she hurried past him. He just barely caught her whispered 'your eyes' before she was turning away, a small blush tinting her cheeks as she dashed on ahead.

He stopped momentarily, mouth agape before it snapped shut and a small smile graced his skull. He decided not to press the issue seeing as she was obviously embarrassed, so he carried on with the game, the two of them going back and forth for a while until there was nothing new to spy and a comfortable silence settled around them.

Eventually Papyrus awoke once the sun rose high in the sky, an almost overwhelming heat beating down on the three of them. He had groaned and complained about the heat and the group had collectively decided to rest after travelling for so long.

Frisk sighed in relief as she flopped back onto the grass underneath one of the many trees lining the side of the river. She sighed and lay flat, resting her legs and groaning as a flash of pain spread from the tips of her toes up the length of her calves. Her wounds had been cleaned shortly after Sans had fallen asleep, she had waited so that he wouldn't see her discomfort, but a few had split back open, small trickles of blood running down her left calf from one of the deeper gashes, and her foot had begun to ache and throb as she walked amongst the dirt and grass. Thankfully, the grass was fairly high and Sans seemed not to notice, having been distracted by their game.

Her eyes closed, blocking out the view of light filtering in from the leaves above, as she exhaled slowly. Her mind focused on her parents, surely they had noticed her absence by now. She wondered if they were worried, maybe they had ventured out into the woods themselves? She really hoped that wasn't the case. She'd already encountered the dangers lurking in the woods and prayed her parents hadn't been so unfortunate.

A shadow loomed overhead and she cracked an eye open, unsurprised to find Papyrus standing over her with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Everything okay, Paps?"

He nodded, twiddling his thumbs absently as he looked anywhere but at her, "Ye-Yes, human. Everything is fine. I am.. sorry for being rather rude this morning."

She flashed him a small smile and reached up to pat his skull tenderly, "S'okay, Paps. Don't worry about it."

He nodded, grinning happily before giving her an enthusiastic hug and running back to Sans to let him know all was forgiven.

Frisk watched the two briefly before her eyes drifted skyward, her thoughts running wild once more. She had barely had more than a few minutes to herself before a cool, wet feeling enclosed her foot. With a shriek, she scrambled backward, her feet scraping against the ground roughly as she backed away from the sensation.

Sans watched in a mixture of amusement and concern as he noted the caked on dirt and blood on the bottom of her soles. He moved forward once more, brushing a wet cloth over her foot once more. She grimaced and tried to move away, but his gentle grasp on her ankle stopped her retreat as baby blue met honey in a quiet plea.

"Hold still. You really banged your legs up."

She frowned but relaxed her leg slowly as his hands swiped away the blood and filth as gently as possible. Her face contorted in a grimace and a few hisses escaped from her despite her best efforts. He whispered softly spoken apologies as he cleaned her feet, making sure to wash them thoroughly to prevent infection.

After finishing his task, he set her feet down gently and took a moment to recline against the tree beside her, his eyes resting on the tiny skeleton scrambling to catch butterflies a few feet away.

"Keep away from the river, bro. I don't want you falling in!" He warned, watching as Papyrus nodded sheepishly and moved farther away from the waterside.

The three stayed that way for quite some time, each one enjoying the calm of the riverside and appreciating the small comfort the shade provided. Frisk had stayed quiet in her thoughts as she listened vaguely to Papyrus' giggles and splashing while Sans would occasionally warn him not to play too far in the sluggish water.

After a while of rest, Sans glanced back down to Frisk's torn up feet before bending down and ripping away his fuzzy slippers, shame filling him as he passed along the pink house shoes.

"Here," he sighed, setting them by her side, "take 'em. They might be a little big but it's better than nothing."

She gave him a lazy smile and murmured her thanks as she slipped them on, her feet still tender from the day's adventure. She perked up from her spot and stretched languidly before standing up to go collect a rather tuckered out Papyrus. Thankfully the shoes provided a bit of cushion and took away some of the ache on her abused heels.

Papyrus let out a squeal as she scooped him up quickly, a large grin on his face. She turned around and smiled softly at Sans.

"Well c'mon ya big lug. We best get a move on."

He nodded and murmured his agreement as they set out once again, the time seeming to fly by as the trio contented themselves to playing games or swinging Papyrus between them as he giggled and clutched their hands tightly.

All in all the day was rather pleasant despite the hardships they had endured only days before. The sun had begun to set, bathing the trees in a canopy of scarlet and fuschia as the three of them continued on despite the chill setting in. Frisk was delighted to see that the scenery was becoming more familiar, the winding hills that she had explored with her family coming into view.

Pointing towards the hill just below, she turned to a confused skeleton and gave him her most brilliant smile before scooping up Papyrus and rushing down the hillside.

"C'mon, Sans! We're almost there!" She yelled, laughter bubbling up in her chest as she spotted the familiar cabin.

The three stopped on the crest of the hill as Frisk's mother was calling her name, moving from one place to the other whilst her father was on the phone, glancing nervously all around the yard and in the tree line.

Frisk ducked down quickly, Sans following moments after. He glanced at her curiously before turning his attention back to the two humans milling about below them.

"What is it Frisk? Why are we hiding?"

She sighed softly before handing over a confused Papyrus. Carefully she slid off the shoes and gave them back as well, "We can't let them see you. If they do there's no telling what will happen.."

"I'm gonna cause a distraction. You guys slip in the house while they're busy. Please don't let them see you!" She whispered, her voice cracking as she thought of the worst should her parents find them.

Sans looked like he wanted to argue, but he merely studied her face intently before nodding his agreement. She gave them a soft smile and let out a shaky breath before rushing past the brush they hid under.

"Mama! Daddy!" She cried, rushing down the hill quickly before slipping on the wet grass and skidding down the hill, bumping her head again in the process. She heard her parents calling to her, but she looked up to see a rustle in the bushes and the figures of her two friends disappear. For a moment she worried about where they had gone, but as she was pulled into a warm, albeit very emotional embrace, she saw the two inside the house giving her a soft smile before they went to hide.

Her mother's tears on her shoulder snapped her back to the reality of the situation and she found herself sobbing into her mother's arms.

Another pair of arms wrapped around them and a relieved sigh met her ears. Soft drops hit the top of her head and a shaky hand pat her hair, the heavy yet comforting feeling bringing more tears to sting her eyes

"I-I'm s-so sorry, mama.. daddy.."

Her mother only sobbed harder and rocked them gently, her voice long since gone after hours of searching and calling for her daughter.

"Don't ever do that to us again, you hear me? You had us worried sick!" Her father scolded, but based on the trembling in his arms she knew he was more so shaken up than being stern.

She nodded softly and the group stayed huddled together for a long moment, every one grateful that they were reunited and safe at last. When they parted, her mother gasped in horror as she took in her daughter's many cuts and scrapes, particularly the nasty gash that ran along her leg and the worrisome trail of blood marring the side of her head, dried blood caking the hair and matting it into a horrendous knot.

"Frisk! Oh my god, baby girl, what happened?" Her mother cried as her father swooped her up into his sturdy arms and rushing to the car.

"I.. got lost. There were wolves. It was so dark and I was so scared.." She whispered, her head spinning as the overwhelming dizziness crashed into her, "I don't.. feel so good.."

Her father set her down in the backseat of their car, a standard SUV that they had brought for the trip, and buckled her in. His hands stroked her matted hair shakily before he climbed into the driver's seat, his wife sitting in the back by her baby.

"I know, sweetheart. Just stay awake with us. Don't nod off, okay?"

She nodded, her head feeling like a pile of mush as her vision blurred and her mind spun. She tried her best to stay awake, but soon enough her dizziness overcame her. The last thing she registered was her mother's worried voice and the lurching of the car.