Here we go...the last chapter.

It was late at night, Undyne had already gone back to Waterfall, leaving the brothers alone once again. Throughout the night, Papyrus refused to leave Sans' side. Occasionally, Sans would struggle to move, but aside from that he would always settle down and sleep like usual. And while this wouldn't be entirely out-of-character for Sans, he still needed to wake up.

Papyrus felt his eyelids grow heavy, he felt himself dozing off. Despite this, he fought back against sleeping as best as he could. Another hour had gone past, and Papyrus was starting to lose his fight against sleep. But before he dozed off, he saw Sans had started to cough. He looked down at his brother with concern. "Are you all right?"

"...p-papyrus?"

Papyrus jumped as he heard his name being called. He watched as Sans started to rub his eye sockets, confused as to where he was. The taller skeleton was overjoyed, he wanted to grab Sans and spin him around the room. Nonetheless, he placed his hands on his hips, pretending to look annoyed. "It's about time you woke up, you lazy bones!"

"it's great to see you, too." Sans said in a raspy voice. He lifted his blanket, and noticed the wires and the IV attached to his soul. Afterwards, he gave Papyrus a confused look. "where are we, anyway?"

"We're in Snowdin," Papyrus replied, "You've been sleeping for nearly a week."

"hehe..." Sans let out a soft chuckle. "i didn't think it was possible for me to sleep that long!"

Papyrus began to frown. "Well, you WERE sick when I found you," he started rubbing his hands together, looking away from his brother. "I-in fact, you were so sick that I thought that I would lose you. I worried that I might not get to apologize for what I've done."

"...to be fair, i kinda deserved it," Sans admitted.

"You didn't deserve any of that," Papyrus argued. "Sans, you know I was worried sick about you! I was worried that because of me...you would've..."

Sans tilted his head. "c'mon, bro...tell me what you think i would've done?"

"...I was worried that because of me, you would've killed yourself. I would never get to see you, again!"

"believe me, even if i could, i wouldn't have been able to do so," Sans replied. "in fact, before i blacked out, i was trying to look for you."

"You were?"

Sans nodded. "i wanted to apologize for being such an ass. i still don't think we would've been any better back in new home, but i know i shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"And I shouldn't have slapped you, nor should I have said those nasty things to you," Papyrus replied. "Would you be able to forgive me?"

"only if you forgive me, first!" Sans replied. Papyrus grabbed his brother's hand and shook it. "It's a deal!"

Sans struggled to sit up, but he was unable to do so. Seeing this, Papyrus placed a hand on his brother's chest and pinned him down. "Easy, Sans...You don't want to overdo it!"

"i'm not," Sans argued. "but...um...how did i even GET here?"

"Well, you were just laying there in the rain when I found you," Papyrus replied. "I TRIED to go back to New Home, but Ricky attacked me before I had a chance to leave Waterfall."

"and then what happened?" Sans asked, curiously.

"I did what any sensible monster would do," Papyrus replied, "I fought Ricky while Undyne took you to the Hospital."

Sans raised a non-existent eyebrow. "wait, you've actually FOUGHT Ricky?"

"Of course I did," Papyrus replied. "And I know I could've killed him if I wanted to, but I just...couldn't." He let out a deep breath, remembering what had happened that day. "It was like I had a voice in my head, yelling at me not to finish him off. I gave him mercy, and he paid me back by breaking my ribs...Not to mention that he would've killed me if the Royal Guard didn't show up on time."

"hm..." Sans started to smile, it actually looked genuine. "well...do you wanna know what i think of all this?"

Papyrus tilted him head, crossing his arms over his chest. "What? Do you think I was weak for letting him go?"

"no way!" Sans replied. "you're a lot stronger then ricky gives you credit for!"

"What do you mean?" Papyrus asked.

"well, if you'd have killed him, you probably would've been as bad as he was." Sans shifted a bit in his bed, trying to sit in a more comfortable position. "you would've had to spend the rest of your life with dust on your hands. and i know it's hard to show mercy to someone who's tormented you for years, but believe me...only the strongest monsters know when to show mercy."

"Wow..." Papyrus looked down, "I've never thought of it that way."

"and who knows? maybe one day, ricky might learn to how to change," Sans said. "maybe not today, but someday he will."

"I think so too, Sans," Papyrus replied as he started to yawn, "I hope he'll change for the better."

Sans started to lay back down, resting his head in his hand as he started laying on his side. "if you want, we could try going back to new home."

Papyrus began to smile sheepishly. "That would sound nice, but honestly...I don't think I want to leave this place."

"are you sure?" Sans asked, "because i recall that you REALLY wanted to go back at one point."

"I know, but everyone's been so nice to me since I got here," Papyrus said, smiling. "Well...besides the lady behind that door, but that's besides the point! I've been given food AND I've been offered to stay with someone if I needed to. Plus, all of the buildings look so warm and cozy. I could go on about how beautiful Snowdin is."

"well in that case, i guess we'll stay," Sans replied, "which is great, 'cause i don't have to do anything!"

Upon hearing this, Papyrus' eye sockets started to water. After worrying for so long, he couldn't help himself. He got out of his chair and pulled his brother into a hug, giving him a gentle squeeze. "I-I'm just glad that you're still here with me!"

"papyrus, i'm fine!" Sans replied, having little time to react. "there's no need to cry about it, really!"

"I'm not crying," Papyrus insisted, "I just got something in my eyes, that's all!"

"sure you do," Sans teased, trying desperately to lighten the mood. He let out a deep breath as he returned the hug, burying his face into his brother's chest. "you don't have to worry about me, anymore...all right? once i'm better, then i promise...i won't go anywhere."

"...Nyeh heh heh," Papyrus let out a hoarse chuckle. "That's funny, I thought you hated promises."

"Yeah, well...as long as your happy, then I don't mind it as much."

Papyrus pulled away, he gently tapped Sans' forehead with his own. "I love you!"

"and I love you...a skele-TON!"

"Sans, please! You're making me cry again!" Papyrus replied, a smile was plastered onto his face.

"heh...sorry about that," Sans replied. "but i really do mean it!"

The brothers looked up at the clock, it was almost 3:00 at night. Seeing this, Sans looked up at Papyrus with an uncertain look. "so whaddaya gonna do, now? it's gotten pretty late, and i'm sure you're gonna want some sleep."

"But you just woke up," Papyrus complained. "Do you want me to read you something at the very least?"

"go for it!" Sans replied with a shrug.

"Very well, then." Papyrus pulled out a familiar green book. He climbed onto Sans' made, making sure that he wasn't laying down on any wires or tubes. While Sans was usually the one to read books, Papyrus didn't mind taking that role instead. He looked down at Sans as the shorter skeleton curled up besides him.

"Since it's a chapter book, I'll just read it until you fall asleep." Papyrus said quietly. "Does that sound good?"

"yeah it does," Sans replied. Papyrus cleared his non-existent throat as he started to read out loud. While his vision still wasn't very good, this was one of the few books he knew from memory.

"Once upon a time, there was a dog named Toby..."

...Nearly 15 minutes had gone past and Papyrus hadn't even started on the second chapter. He put the book down and used gravity magic to put it on a nearby nightstand. He would probably read it, later.

He looked down at Sans, he was clinging onto him like a child would to their parent. He had already been through so much, he deserved some rest.

Of course...once Sans was feeling better, they would need to find a place to stay until they can afford a house. Plus, they might need to find a job out here...But for now, Papyrus needed to rest as much as Sans did. He shifted himself until he was comfortable. Afterwards, he wrapped an arm around his brother. He could feel himself dozing off.

...As long as Sans was still here, as long as he still had a family to take care of, then everything was going to be all right.

*Lets out a deep breath* Sweet mother of god, I can't believe I managed to finish this!

Anyways, thank you guys who have been following along and reviewing this story. I don't think I would've been able to finish this without you guys. And out of all the stories I've done on this website, I'm very proud of how this one turned out (especially since I was more willing to take risks then I normally was).

I don't know what I'll be writing next...But as I've said, thank you guys so much and I'll see you later.

Bye-bye~!