For the third time that night, Sans heard a door slam wide open. It startled him awake, causing Sans to jolt underneath the blankets as he heard the footsteps. Deep, pounding, footsteps. In a frantic hurry. For a moment, he thought he had spotted the overgrown vines of that damned greenhouse creeping across the ceiling. And he had thought, briefly, being rescued and going back home were all a dream. Then his thoughts settled, and he felt Jane shifting next to him as she sat up, flicking on a nearby lamp.

Sans was starting to understand what the others had meant about footsteps. Apparently, that was something CreepyPasta identified fast. Became used to. They had to judge people off on footsteps. Hiding around corners, out of sight, depending on the noise the person made alone to base their entire personality. Sans was starting to understand that, starting to memorize his friend's and lover's footsteps like the back of his hand.

And those were Laughing Jacks.

Sure enough, without any moment for thought, Laughing Jack was practically kicking down Sans' bedroom door. His claws left a long dragged scratch across the wood as he slammed it into the wall. As the doorknob cracked into the wall, Sans could hear the noise complaints from his neighbors in the back of his mind.

Then Laughing Jack was looking at him. And to Bean's crib, where she was crawling about in small circles. Then back to Sans.

Jane, next to him, cracked an eye open towards the duo before she rolled over and scooted.

"Jack -" Sans said, moving to crawl out of bed.

Laughing Jack teleported next to Sans in a flash. The skeleton barely had time to cough on the sudden smoke as his boyfriend embraced him. Out of the corner of his eye, Sans could see Bean getting picked up by Laughing Jack's free hand as the other held him close.

"I'll leave you guys alone," Jane mumbled sleepily, patting Sans' shoulder before she rolled out of bed entirely. She was gone in a flash, giving them room Laughing Jack seemed to need.

"Hey babe, it's okay, I'm here," Sans said. He ran a hand down the grey fabric his boyfriend was wearing to try and comfort him.

A sharp fist tugged at the back of his shirt. It was only when Sans realized how hunched Laughing Jack's shoulders were, and the slight hiccup that echoed through his body did it hit Sans.

He was crying.

"Oh shit, babe," Sans mumbled.

He let himself get dragged further into the bed, Laughing Jack holding onto Sans and Bean with everything he had. And that was likely true. In a way, Sans and Bean were all he had. So Sans let him stifle his cries into his shirt, tucking himself close to his lover while running a hand through his hair.

Laughing Jack didn't cry loudly or freely. He hunched himself against Sans as if trying to disappear into the skeleton entirely. His voice was quiet, and if Sans didn't feel the tears melting into his shirt, or didn't notice the slight jump of his shoulders every time Laughing Jack hiccuped with a breath, he wouldn't have known at all. But Sans knew Jack. So he let himself detail every little movement of his body, trailing across the back of his head with too more love and care than he could ever express out loud.

Sans really did love this man. It was still sometimes weird to think about. To know that he fell in love with the tall, angsty clown that saved his life once. But those thoughts of doubt couldn't hold a flame to the raw emotion he felt at that particular moment, holding Laughing Jack. It was weird. Probably wrong. Definitely wrong.

But he didn't care.

Bean gurgled happy syllables, glad her other Father was now present as she nuzzled up into him. After noticing that, Laughing Jack gave a long and soft chuckle, though it was strained and desperate.

"Babe," Sans said.

Laughing Jack muttered something unintelligible. It sounded suspiciously like potato.

"I'm alive, it's okay, I didn't leave you on purpose. I wouldn't do that to you."

His boyfriend lifted his head slightly. "I know."

"Are you alright?"

No response.

Sans didn't think Laughing Jack was much of a crier. Some people just... didn't seem to express themselves that way. Sans just thought Laughing Jack was that type. A 'shove it down' type. Hide it away from others.

Maybe he was. Maybe he did hide his tears from the others. But Sans wasn't just another person. He was his lover. Sans got special privileges. Unique permission to watch him cry and shake, because Laughing Jack really needed Sans at that moment and Sans wasn't gonna go anywhere.

Or maybe he just never had a reason to cry until now. Or he just missed it. Sans wasn't some god who knew all, he was a mortal who needed sleep and food and had to take care of a crowded household. Laughing Jack didn't have to inform him every time he shed tears, it wasn't Sans' right to know that, either.

Despite Sans' odd and trailing thoughts, Laughing Jack still let himself cry into Sans' shirt. Sans used one free hand to tug a blanket over them, knowing full well he wasn't going to be leaving that bed until his boyfriend let everything out.

He's so tired.

Sleeping in that greenhouse was inconsistent and short. After three days of odd naps and Bean's insistence to wake him up every time she wanted to be fed, along with being woken up so suddenly that night, Sans was fucking exhausted. But he kept his eye sockets peeled, trying to will away the lulling sense of sleep as he petted his boyfriend's hair.

"Jackie, what do you want from me tonight? How can I help?" Sans asked quietly. "Do you want me to talk to you about what happened on my side? Listen to you? Or do you just wanna hold me? I wanna make sure I do whatever helps you."

Sans wasn't particularly sure what would help his boyfriend at that moment. Laughing Jack already lost so much before. It must have been horrifying, to think he lost it all again. And Sans had no idea what words or actions would help his boyfriend. So he asked, ever so gently. Whatever Laughing Jack needed, he'd do.

"Don't leave."

His voice sounded broken. Strained. As if Sans was going to dust right in his arms if he spoke too loudly.

"I won't," Sans said.

"Please don't."

Sans patted his head again.

"Bean fought back. Did you know that? She bit the guy who took us both. Fucking broke skin and made him bleed."

Laughing Jack gave a muffled, proud giggle.

"She was totally cool the entire time. She just played and ate a lot. Bean probably just thought it was all a field trip." His fingers played with a few strands of black hair as he laid back against the fluffy and luring pillows. "Gave her a bath, and played with some flowers. She tried to eat most of them. We need to work on that."

Sans held back his tired yawns, continuing to simply play with the ruffles of Laughing Jack's shoulder feathers, or twirl around his soft fluffy hair. That was the longest they had been without each other since they had met. After Laughing Jack saved Sans from that building last year, they had seen one another at least once a day. If Sans wasn't falling asleep with Jane, he was with Laughing Jack.

Oh, he could recall the first time he had fallen asleep in his boyfriend's arms. Back when he decided to give him a chance, awkwardly and desperately clinging to him just because he was a person willing to give love, Sans needed that at that particular moment. Sans had no idea how to cuddle with someone. It was unusual to shimmy underneath the sheets and try to hug his body. The first time when it wasn't after sex, which meant it wasn't necessary. But Laughing Jack did it anyways, just because he wanted to hold Sans and make him feel loved.

Lord was Sans an idiot back in the day. Every time he looked back, he hated so many decisions he had made. The unhealthy dependent relationship he had with Papyrus. Throwing himself towards Laughing Jack seriously thinking that sex would just fix everything. Keeping his mouth shut about doubts and odd thoughts for months into the relationship, until some new eyeless guy had to awkwardly point out how their discussions were jack shit and not exactly good for a relationship. Sans, stupidly thinking that just because the first few kids who broke into his kitchen didn't hurt him, the next person who entered his home uninvited wouldn't hurt him as well. Sans innocently believed that since he didn't get caught in any danger as a child with teleporting abilities, that Bean wouldn't as well.

"If I had a nickel every time I ended up in bed after a dangerous situation with an injured leg in your arms, I'd have two," Sans chuckled lightly. "Ain't that funny?"

Quietly, Laughing Jack trailed a clawed finger across the bandages.

"Just a cut. Jeff freaked out a little bit. As did Jane. Apparently, I look sweaty and a little sick."

Laughing Jack peeked up at Sans' face. His eyes were red and puffy, and Sans could see the exhaustion written all over his pupils.

"You do," Laughing Jack said. "Look sweaty and sick and very much tired."

"Thanks."

They didn't talk for a moment.

Sans didn't feel sick. But he did feel the warning signs of the sick clouds on the horizon. Sometimes he had a slight cough or random shiver. He felt a little bit more exhausted than usual.

"Might just be an adrenaline drop or something," Sans muttered. "Or I might've just caught something and am coming down with the flu. I wasn't poisoned or anything by some weird powers, don't worry about it."

"Go to sleep, little potato," Laughing Jack mumbled. He tugged the blanket up further, pressing Bean firmly against his chest as he crawled up slightly to have his head on one of the pillows instead of Sans' chest. His other free arm gently wrapped around Sans' shoulder, keeping his boyfriend close.

"Yer sure? No problem for me, but I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm okay. As of now. Go to sleep."

~~~~~~

Jane walked into the room smiling. A warm, heartfelt smile. Brushing a hand through her hair as she walked towards the bed. As if they all weren't coming down from the emotional low the entire house had sunk into when he was Sans disappeared so suddenly.

The room was crowded. Zero, with her hair tied back into twin pigtails and a thick face mask sitting on her face, was curled up onto the center of the bed while she read Twilight. Toby, Clockwork, and Eyeless Jack were all huddled in a corner of the room at the pure white vanity, with Toby situated in the cushiony chair. Eyeless Jack was to his right, stitching a deep gash on his arm that he had neglected to mention previously. Clockwork was to his left, with crossed arms and a frown directed towards him.

"How's Sans doing?" Toby asked, glancing over.

"Fine. Laughing Jack just got back. So I'll be sleeping here tonight," Jane hummed. Her voice sounded light and flighty as if high on emotions. Or crack. A giggle escaped her mouth. "Yeah, he's good. And I'm good. We're all... good."

Zero stared for a moment, lips pressing together. "Are you drunk?"

"No, I just got some... good news. Really fucking good news." Jane sat on the bed. "Sans will tell you guys all tomorrow. But it's good news. So I'm happy tonight."

"Any good news is fucking great," Clockwork said, turning back towards Toby. "And next time, don't use your whole 'can't feel pain' as an excuse. You can still bleed out and get infections."

"Infections are something to be avoided," Eyeless Jack explained, tugging at the string to close the bloody gap in Toby's arm. His fingers worked, experienced and quick. No hesitation or pausing was had when the patient could not feel pain. "If it cut deep enough it could have hit nerves, too. It didn't, so the main concern is an infection. You can still get sick from infections, and an open wound can make the healing process slower. So if this had cut deeper and you didn't get medical attention -"

"Alright, I get... get it. Treat my wounds," Toby muttered.

"Good," Clockwork said, curt and happy. She reached over and patted Toby's shoulder. "I'm going to go get some food from the kitchen. Anything you want, injured boy?"

"Pudding for me?" Zero asked, slightly perking from the bed. "Chocolate."

"You don't have several string cuts in your -" Clockwork had turned as she spoke to her girlfriend, but paused when she noticed the book in her hands. "Is that fucking Twilight?"

Zero shoved the book behind Jane, who watched the two with an amused smile. "No."

"You're a fucking whore for shirtless abusive guys with abs, babe," Clockwork said.

Zero made a show of dramatically being offended. Fanning herself before she rolled her pale eyes with a snort.

"It's not my fault I want a hot, sparkly man to come stalk me and destroy me," Zero murmured, slowly dragging her book back out. "I have Jane but she doesn't do it enough. Why don't you ever ravish me anymore?"

"Should we be here for this conversation?" Toby asked rather loudly.

Eyeless Jack, who innocently decided to completely tune out of the conversation far before it delved into the darkest corners of sexual discussion, silently finished knotting the end of the Vicryl string. He cut off the excess, gently tucking back into his emergency kit. Once that was done, he pulled out bandages and medication to treat Toby's less dire wounds.

"Things aren't gonna be horny, because someone is on their period," Zero muttered.

"That's you, babe," Jane said.

"I know. I hate it."

Toby turned back to the medical procedure taking place on his body. He hadn't commented on the wounds. To make sure Sans got away, he had thrown his arm to get the brunt of the strings, so his skin was littered with cuts and smaller gashes, minus the one big one that was now neatly stitched up. Toby would've likely gotten away with them longer if almost everyone wasn't woken up when Ben announced he found Laughing Jack. Now everyone was moving about.

As the conversation dried off, Zero returned to her book and Jane gently flopped her body against her girlfriend, happy to fall back asleep.

"I honestly thought Doctor Smiley was the only doctor CreepyPasta around," Toby said quietly to Eyeless Jack. "Did you learn after you... you became a cannibal?" A tick rolled through his body.

Eyeless Jack glanced up, pausing his treatment for a moment. "Ah, no. I was a medical student before... this happened."

"Oh."

Toby watched as Eyeless Jack patted occasionally against a cut with an alcohol wipe. His hands were careful, but he seemed quite experienced. Quick with his movements.

"I always wanted... wanted to be a teacher. Like, a cool one." Toby let himself hum, sitting back further into the chair. "Wanted to go to college and -feck - become a teacher. Thought it'd be super fun. I'd make stupid, silly little lessons and help kids learn. Any grade would've been fun. I'd be able to... to help kids like me, who didn't have a teacher to help me when I was struggling. But they'd have someone. It was always a nice thought. Didn't work out, because here I am. But it was always nice to... to think about when I was bullied."

Eyeless Jack peeked up for a moment. With a sigh, he pushed a bandaid against one of the smaller cuts. He didn't share any thoughts. Eyeless Jack was always quiet like that.

"What about you, Zero?" Toby asked, turning around to look towards her. A tic made his shoulder jerk out, causing Eyeless Jack to raise his hands from his half-fixed arm until it was still once more. "What did you want to be when you were younger?"

Zero glanced over, a grin dragging across her face. The face mask wrinkled with the movement as she stared at Eyeless Jack for a moment before answering. "Just alive. I was an imaginary friend with nobody of my own. Stuck in the mind of some girl who wouldn't acknowledge me after she grew up. My dream was always to have my own body, and to run out across a field with my own two legs. Then I did. Course, I did it covered in blood, but you know. Details."

"Details," Jane said, a chuckle soon following.

Her girlfriend leaned back and elbowed her. "Says the psychology girl."

Jane huffed, rolling over and laying more of her body onto Zeros. She didn't talk anymore, simply tossing a thin, nearby pillow over her like a blanket.

"I'm back," Clockwork announced, carrying a bag of potato chips for herself and a small pudding cup and spoon for Zero.

"Childhood career path," Toby said, sticking an arm out towards her.

"Uh..." Clockwork said. "What?"

Zero pushed a page between two of her fingers. "We randomly got into a discussion about what we wanted to be when we grew up. Jane wanted to be a therapist. I wanted to have my own body. Toby wanted to be a teacher. What about you?"

"You already know my dream path. I always wanted to be a mechanic of cars. Work on cool cars myself. And hey, I'm doing that now, so things are pretty cool." Clockwork moved forward, sitting down on the bed next to her girlfriends. "Woah, Jane's out cold."

"Well, yeah." Zero tucked a piece of fallen hair behind her ear, flipping another page. "She only slept around three hours in the past few nights."

The air in the room seemed to thicken at that statement. For a brief period, they had allowed everything to seem okay. Sans was safe in bed. Laughing Jack was back. They had let themselves feel that relief and normality for a moment. Sadly, though, it passed. Leaving everyone to sit in that understanding that things would never fully return to the same way. Sans being back didn't change the fact that he and Bean were kidnapped. That Jane, who was just upstairs, couldn't do anything to stop it fast enough. That it only took a minute of solitude for them to disappear.

"At least she's getting some sleep," Toby said.

Eyeless Jack hummed in agreement. No one else added anything to the decaying conversation. 

《》《》《》

(IMPORTANT)

Okay so

First off, I made an animatic for this book series. Please go watch it, it took over a month to make. 

https://youtu.be/TSeBo9uZIJs

And second off, life got super busy to the point where I have barely any chapters prewritten for this book series now. So I am going to have to go from uploading every week to every other week. However, since I decided to trash 101 pages of another creepypasta/undertale book I was writing in google docs, I will be uploading that for every other week since I refuse to just delete 101 PAGES of story. So yeah, next week that'll be going up. This will just give me sometime to catch up on this book and life stuff.