Hey y'all. Haven't dropped off the face of the earth or nothin'. Just having a hard time finishing writing projects. I have ideas, but they're mostly snippets, not full out stories. Anyway, this one has been in the works for a long time and has admittedly a lot of inspiration from the fanfiction Bon Courage which you honest to crap need to check out because it made me feel all the feels. (better yet, go on youtube and find the reading by Goomba Guy Videos, seriously, if that doesn't make you feel, nothing will.)

Anyway, here's this, for as long as it stays since I'm really half expecting someone will report it as stealing (the other half is pointing out that would mean people would have to READ my stuff to begin with :P ) which is not my intention. Its just a little plot bunny that wouldn't really let go and those little effers ain't happy until I've posted it. Anyhow, hope you like it.

"Now stay here, sweetie. Be a good girl for mommy. I'll be right back."

"Stay here, Hun. I'll be right back."

"Stay here. I'll be right back."

"Don't move. I'll be right back."

"I'll be right back."

"I'll be right back."

"I'll be right back..."

But nobody came...

*Line*Break*

"Hey, where you off to so fast, kiddo?"

Sans's voice startles you and you turn to see him standing next to a tree. You think he looks suspicious of your actions, but that could just be your guilt.

You tell yourself that you have nothing to feel guilty for; you have somewhere that you are supposed to be and Toriel understood that. You can't stay with them, no matter how much you may want to.

"Toriel said you had somewhere to go. Do you need a lift?"

You shake your head. The place you're supposed to wait isn't far from here and you can get there easily enough. Besides, past experience told you that most people aren't entirely understanding about these things. It's alright though, this is normal for you.

"You sure? A kid like you shouldn't be wandering in their own in a place like this."

You give Sans a pointed look, and gently remind him that you had managed to navigate the underground mostly alone. He smiles and nods in understanding but says, "yeah, well that was a mistake on all our parts."

You don't completely understand. How is this really a problem? Sure it was a different place and most monsters tried to hurt her, but she understood that most of them had just been scared, like she had been.

Sans gives you a curious look but he then says, "all I mean to say is, kids like you shouldn't be wandering around on their own. You should be with the ones who care about you."

For some reason that you don't understand, his words make your chest hurt and your eyes want to water. You ignore these feelings however, and nod as you tell Sans that you are going to go home to your parents. He seems relatively pleased with this as he pats your back before turning to leave.

"Oh!" He turns as if remembering something, "you still have that cellphone Toriel gave you, right?" When you confirm this he nods, "good. Remember, you can call us at anytime." No sooner does he say this then he seems to disappear into thin air.

You look around, the strange pain in your chest getting worse. It's not like pain like you're used to, more like the feeling like your chest is being squeezed tightly and it makes your eyes water as you walk away and down to the Meeting Place.

It starts to rain by the time you make it and your sweater which kept you so warm in the chilly winter of Snowdin, quickly becomes soaked with icy water. You wrap your arms around yourself for warmth as you approach the Meeting Place. You don't bother looking around; you know there's no way your parents would show up in this weather, and so you crawl underneath the bench for some protection from the cold, wet weather.

The tightness in your chest grows when you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket and pull it out. It's a message from Toriel thanking you for what you've done and saying she hopes you made it home safe. You reply saying that you are safe. It is true, no one ever comes up this way except your parents when they come to get you, and you have your stick if any animals come along. You put your phone away and would like to imagine she is checking in on you because she misses you, but you quickly dismiss the idea as ridiculous. After all, you had tried calling dozens of times while you were down there and not once did she pick up.

That thought makes your eyes water and a soft sob escapes you, but only one. You quickly cover your mouth and bite the inside of your lower lip to keep yourself from crying anymore. You tell yourself there is no reason to cry. This is normal.

Your cellphone vibrates again and you check it. There's another message, this one from Alphys.

*Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for everything you did to help me and the others. It was really cool and nice of you. You didn't have to do it, but we're all really glad you did. If you ever need anything you can just call or text and I know someone will help you out. It's the least we could do.

You close the phone without answering as you curl up in your shirt as the rain starts coming down harder. You remember hearing some older kids talking about rain when someone is sad in books and movies, but can't remember what they called it. Pathetic something-or-other you think.

Pathetic. That's what you are. You're alone and cold, and that's all you're ever going to be because you don't deserve anything else. With that thought in mind and the rain coming down harder, you decide to try and take a nap.

*Line*Break*

You wake to your cellphone buzzing and moan quietly as you realize that you're in a lot of pain. Your body hurts from hiding under this bench for so long, and your head and throat hurt from whatever illness you seem to have caught from being out in the rain for so long. You cough, wincing at the pain it causes and you just want to go back to sleep, but your phone buzzes again.

*Hey, Frisk. Just wanted to see if you made it home alright."

*Hi Frisk, it's been a while since we heard from you. Hope you made it home safe.

*HUMAN! IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN IN TOUCH WITH ANYONE IN QUITE SOME TIME. PLEASE KNOW THAT IF YOU EVER NEED ANY ASSISTANCE, YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH!

*hey kiddo. you might wanna call Tori or Alphys. theyre getting pretty worried about you.

Those were just a few of the messages that had come in in the past few hours. You cough, hands shaking as your thumb hovers over the reply button for the last message when suddenly it buzzes again. You scramble not to drop it in the mud as you look at who it is. Sans.

*sometimes the hardest thing anyone can do is ask for help. feeling like were all alone and no one cares, weve all been there. just know that youre not alone, kiddo. we will come for you all you need to do is ask.

His words make you cry as you read them. Not soft, silent tears either, but loud, childish sobs that soon leave you gagging. Your head hurts, as does almost every other part of you, and you suddenly really want Toriel or Sans or Papyrus or /anyone/ really to come find you and take care of you. You were told to wait, but you've been waiting /so long/, even before you had left, and still they haven't come. You could tell by the way that nothing was disturbed that nobody came when you were gone. Nobody ever came. Nobody ever would.

Except...Maybe now...

Your hands shake furiously as you bite your lower lip. Between the tears making it nigh impossible to see the screen and your shaking hands, shaking from cold and illness or fear of rejection you really can't tell, it takes you a long time to select one of the names in your phone to call it. Every passing moment and failure makes you double over with sobs and by the time you hear the tinny ringing sound indicating a measure of success, you have no idea who you've called.

The phone rings once and you suddenly grow cold. You'd tried calling Toriel underground several times but she'd never picked up. What if that's who you called and she doesn't answer? How will you-?

"Greetings! This is the Great Papyrus! Who is this please?"

A strangled sob escapes you and you clutch the phone to your chest so Papyrus doesn't hear your pathetic wails. He'd answered! Someone actually answered!

"Hello? You sound as though you are in great distress. Is there something I, the Great Papyrus, might do to assist you in this time of need?" You hear coming from the speaker.

You sniff and shakily lift the phone back to your ear with both hands, "I-I..." Your throat closes up and your mind goes blank. You don't know what to say.

"Pardon me, Human, but it seems someone else would like to speak to you. Not to say I do not for I am always willing to talk to a friend but..." There was a pause, "The Queen seems most insistent."

"Frisk? My child, are you there? Are you alright?"

"M-Mom?" You croak, your voice barely above a whisper, hot tears streaming down your face.

"Yes, my child? What is it? Are you hurt?"

"M-Mom I...I-I..." You stagger to your feet and they slowly drag you back up the mountain path. You're cold, tired, and absolutely miserable. You're walking blindly and are probably sick, but all you know is that you want to go back up the mountain. Back to the last place you saw the others.

"My child, please, what is wrong?" Toriel sounds on the verge of tears and you can hear the others speaking urgently in the background, "where are you?"

"I-I'm sorry I left..." You stammer, "I-I want...I-I wanna come back..." Another sob escapes you and you nearly trip on the slippery ground, "I'm sorry, Mom. I-I know...I know I left but...I-I wanna come back. Please...Please Mom...Mom, please let me come home..." You don't even know how coherent your words are you're crying so hard, but you can't stop, and your feet just keep taking you back up the mountain in the pouring rain. You can't hear Toriels reply as you sob, tripping and falling in the mud as you hurry. A small voice tells you that you are probably wasting your time; she'll no doubt send you away after what you did, but a stronger part of you desperately needs to see her again.

Finally you break through the tree line and you see the cave. Inside you can see the white and purple of Toriels dress and suddenly your mind just goes blank. You had thought you couldn't go another step, but suddenly your hands are letting go of the phone and you're running before it even hits the ground.

"Mom!" You trip just a few feet from her but you don't land on the ground. She's there. She's /there/! Holding you tight, scooping you up in her warm embrace, even though you're wet and cold and dirty and you're getting her wet too she still holds you tight.

"Oh, my child. My dear, sweet child..." She whispers as she gently strokes your hair, "it's alright now...You're going to be alright..."

"I'm sorry!" You wail, "I thought...I-I don't..." You cling tighter and cry, digging your fingers into her soft fur as she rocks you gently. You can't bring yourself to say anything coherent, but it seems you don't need to. Toriel seems to understand just what it is you need and seems more than willing to give it to you.

You lose track of everything except the soft, warm fur. Time ceases to have any meaning for you. All you know is that when you finally stop crying it is late at night and the rain has stopped as well. Toriel has remained standing, holding you in her tight embrace humming a gentle song as she rocks slowly back and forth as though you were a very small toddler. You sniff softly and then sneeze twice as hot tears continue to slowly stream down your face and finally you speak.

"I'm sorry I left..." Your voice is hoarse and quiet, "I thought I had to go back...Th-they said they'd be back but...Th-they lied. I-I don't wanna go back...I don't wanna be alone anymore..."

"Hush now..." Toriel says soothingly, "you're not alone. Not anymore. Never again."

Your hands reflexively tighten, but if the grip you have on Toriels fur is bothering her she gives no indication.

"R-really?" Your voice quavers and there's a strangled note of hope in it, "you mean it?"

"Of course, my child. My home is your home."

More tears spill down your cheeks, "thank you..." You manage to say, "thank you, thank you, thank you..."

"You don't need to thank me, my child. Now, what do you say we call the others? They've been searching for you for hours."

You start to nod but then look back to the cave entrance, "b-before we do...C-can we...Go back for something?"

*Line*Break*

By the time the others came back the sun was beginning to rise. Everyone was exhausted, especially Frisk who not only had gotten no sleep, but had managed to catch a nasty cold, but they were all smiling as they gathered on the mountain top, Frisk in Toriels lap with a previously abandoned quiche.

No longer were they abandoned. It was a new day.

I cried doing this. Like, a lot. I have a bad (good?) habit of putting myself fully into the characters shoes which I hope means things come across as genuine, but may well just make for lousy writing. Who knows?

Anyway, feel free to drop a friendly line or recommend some angsty hurt and comfort fanfics for this lovely fandom because believe me, I need some more in my life.