Chapter 1 – Little Soul, Big Problem

Kind of got inspired to write this after finding a blog on Tumblr one day (darn those plot bunnies!). It may have a few spelling in grammar errors so if you find any, please let me know and thanks for reading!

Sans didn't know what to think as he stared at his reflection in the mirror of the bathroom. Out of all of the timelines he had witnessed, this was one he would never expect to see. It could all be over in a matter of moments with another reset so it wouldn't matter what he did. However, Frisk had vowed never to reset the timeline ever again to send everyone back to the Underground and so far they had kept their word.

Sure, monster reproduction was different than that of humans since either parent could bear the offspring but he thought Toriel would be the one to carry the "burden." Still, there it was, staring at him right in the face, so to speak; a small, faintly glowing soul floating inside a barrier where his abdomen would have been if he had a body.

It had been about a few weeks since the two tried to share some of their soul with each other. He remembered the event vividly.

It was a Saturday night and he, Toriel, Frisk and Papyrus were watching a movie together. He and Toriel had been seeing each other for almost a year and it had been several months since she and Frisk let him and his brother move in with them. Papyrus and the child had fallen asleep, which was surprising because his brother hated taking naps and Frisk had waited what seemed like forever to them to see this movie. Toriel was stroking her adoptive child's head as it lay in her lap when she gave out a sigh of discontent.

"Something wrong, Tori?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking," the boss monster responded.

"About what?"

Toriel looked a bit comfortable wanting to admit her feelings but knowing that she could trust the older skeleton made it bearable "Just… about me and Frisk. I kind of lament being unable to get back together with Asgore."

He stammered for a moment. "W-w-why? Aren't you happy with our relationship?"

"Oh no! It's not that at all! It's just… I hate the thought of Frisk staying an only child. If we worked it out, we could have given them a little brother or sister and I doubt boss monsters can have children with other monsters. However, after what happened with Asriel and how old I am now, having another child might not be a good idea."

"Aw, come on, you're not THAT old, Tori. Besides, things are a lot better here that they use to be years ago."

"That's true."

"So, let's give it a shot."

"Are you sure? I know you are not one for intimacy outside of the occasional kissing and cuddling."

"Hey, as long as it makes you happy, I'd be willing to try almost anything." He then gave her a reassuring smile.

"Well, why not?" Toriel began to move closer to him and nuzzled his skull.

"Wait, now? Tori, Frisk and Papyrus are right here!"

"I know but I wasn't thinking of doing it on the couch, just about how lucky I am to have someone like you."

He blushed a bit. "Thanks"

"That and the bedroom would be a better place. Just let me put Frisk to bed since the movie is just about over anyways."

"All right, I'll be waiting for you there." Sans got up from the couch as soon as his girlfriend left with the human in her arms. He grabbed a nearby blanket and covered Papyrus with it while he used his magic to rearrange him into a more comfortable position. "Night, bro," he said quietly before turning off the television and departing for the master bedroom, where he sat on his side of the bed to wait for her.

Toriel arrived a moment later and took her spot on the bed. "Now you're still sure you want to do this? You don't have to just for my sake."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

He took off his shirt and placed it on the floor by the bed and Toriel did likewise. The couple faced each other and placed their hands on their own chests, where a soft glow began to resonate as they concentrated their magic to offer a piece of their soul for the potential offspring. Slowly they moved their hands and revealed a piece of their soul to merge together and began to use their magic to combine the two pieces together but as soon as the fragments fused, it vanished. A look of disappointment appeared on Toriel's face.

"Well, drat. I'm sorry, Tori…" he said.

"It's not your fault, Sans. I was expecting something like that to happen anyways…" Toriel got off of the bed, picked up her shirt and went into the master bathroom, shutting the door behind her and locking it.

Poor Toriel… Sans thought as he overheard his girlfriend sniffling. She really wanted to have that child. I wish there was something I could do. He sighed and changed into an oversized shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I was hoping it would work too, just so she could be happy. To be honest, I kind of liked the idea of becoming a father, even if I have to carry the soul myself. Guess it wasn't meant to be… The skeleton got into bed and waited for his girlfriend to return but fell asleep a few minutes later.

While thinking back on the incident, Sans suddenly remembered something he had learned years ago. In very rare cases, a newly-formed soul would disappear upon fusion when both parties are hesitant and enter a limbo-like state for a short period of time until one of the offerors exhibits strong feelings of hope for a child and will attach itself undetected.

"So that's why you're here," he quietly told the tiny soul. "It's because I wished that the conception succeeded so that Toriel would be happy. Now I wish I knew how to feel about you choosing me to be your 'mom'." The skeleton continued getting ready for work while in the kitchen Toriel prepared breakfast for everyone. Since it was Saturday, both she and Frisk were home this morning. Papyrus had just come back from his jog and even if he couldn't achieve his dream of being a member of the royal guard anymore, a monster had to keep himself in shape for whatever comes his way.

"Mornin' all," Sans greeted, trying to act normal.

"Good morning, Sans," Toriel responded as she flipped an egg she was frying.

"MORNING BROTHER!" Papyrus added.

Frisk just waved at him as the child put a forkful of hash browns in their mouth.

"So how many eggs would you like for breakfast?" the boss monster asked the older skeleton.

"Two please. I'm going to need it," Sans answered. "I'm always busy on Saturdays." He got a fork and knife from a nearby drawer and took a seat at the kitchen counter. "So, what are your guys' plans for today?"

"Nothing much, just some chores I have to take care of."

"SAME HERE. THE CAR NEEDS TO BE WASHED and VACUUMED OUT AND FRISK SAID THAT THEY WERE GOING TO HELP ME," Papyrus responded.

"Yep," the child said as they nodded in agreement.

"Here you are, dear," Toriel placed the plate of fried eggs in front of her boyfriend and kissed the top of his skull.

"Thanks, Tori." As Sans picked up his silverware, he suddenly began to feel queasy and paused for a second, trying not to make a mess in front of the group. "Uh, excuse me for a moment. I just remembered I left something upstairs." He tried his best to casually leave the kitchen before darting to the guest bathroom as soon as he was out of everyone's line of sight. "Just great…" he groaned as he leaned against the toilet, recovering from vomiting. "I'm already getting morning sickness and it's only been a few weeks." He wiped his mouth with some toilet paper and got back onto his feet.

"Are you all right?" Toriel's voice echoed from the hallway, hearing the clunk sound he made when he scrambled for the toilet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just ran into something."

"Well, be careful. The last thing you need is a broken bone."

"No, the last thing I need right now is to be pregnant," Sans groaned to himself. Hopefully he could make it through work today without having to rush to the restroom every other moment. As soon as the nausea subsided, he returned to the kitchen counter, where his eggs have already gone cold.

"Got what you wanted?"

"Yeah."

"Good, now hurry up and eat or you'll be late for work."

Sans tried to eat his meal as fast as he could without feeling nauseous again and was able to succeed. "Thanks for breakfast, Tori. Gotta go." He tried to head out of the house as fast as he could before he got sick again and possibly revealing his condition before he was ready to do so.

"What about your lunch?"

"I'll just buy something today. See you later!" The skeleton ran out the door and slammed it behind him, almost knocking down a nearby frame from the wall.

"Uh, bye."

"God, that was close." He tried to catch his breath from the small amount of panic that ran through him. "Okay Sans, you got this. It's just a normal day. Once you get to work everything will be fine." He snapped his fingers and warped himself to work but not as far as he usually did to help conserve the magic he would need to give to the child.

Unfortunately, the rest of the day was no better. The morning sickness lasted until the afternoon (why it was called morning sickness when it doesn't happen just in the morning he'll never know) and half the time he was able to work, he couldn't concentrate, making a lot of customers very displeased. All the skeleton could think about is how everyone would react if they found out he was pregnant, especially humans. The stares, the comments behind his back, the insults; the thought of it all made him so self-conscious. Even worse was the thought of his family and friends suffering for something that was not their doing, or even losing the child Toriel yearned for. He couldn't bring that onto them.

All Sans could do for now was try to hide it until he could figure out the best way to handle this situation. Since he always wore such baggy clothes because they were comfortable and the soul didn't need a lot of magic to sustain itself at this point in time, it shouldn't be too hard, but God knows for how long, though. He just hoped he could make it through without something bad happening to him or anyone that he cared about, especially Toriel and the very young soul within him.