Chapter Text
The day started normal at the hotel, Esther was out with Abaddon doing god knows what in the woods. Ben was flirting with his ghost girlfriend on one of the chairs just far enough that they couldnt be heard, Nathan was walking around the lobby and Katherine stood at the desk scraping her sanity together as she heard a car drive up outside.
A boy and older lady walked in, the kid vaguely reminded Kathryn of Nathan during his punk phase, except this kid did it a little better, same hair though... and eyes? She decided to ignore it, she needed more costumers.
"Hello, welcome to the Undervale hotel, do you need a room for the night?" The woman stepped forward towards the desk, the kid was just looking around with his eyes.
"No, sorry. No room, are you Katherine Freeling?"
"Yes, Why are you asking?" Katherine said concerned, she hoped this wasn't about one of her kids but her mind wondered none the less, Esther might have been bullying this boy, and his grandmother was asking for an apology. Or the kid was bullying Ben and was being dragged over to apology.
"Ma'am, are you there?" The woman was waving her hand infront of Katherine's face now, she zoned out. "Yes, yes. Im fine, sorry. What is this about?"
The woman sighed, "i understand your brother, Nathan Freeling passed around two years ago, yes?"
Katherine had almost forgotten, Nathan had been haunting the hotel since around a week after he... after he was found, other than not being able to touch or hug, it hadn't been that different.
"Yes, that's correct." Nathan decided to walk over in that moment, "dang, second anniversary already? What we got planned for this year?"
The kid looked at Nathan like, well like he had seen a ghost. "Isn't he supposed to be Dead?"
The Woman made a similar face, "you know faking a death illegal, yes?"
"Oh, no. I am actually dead look-" Nathan said as he put his hand through the woman's chest. "See? Just a ghost?"
The woman seem to calm slightly, the kid did not.
"Ah, I see. Well then I suppose some of my questions can have answers then. I understand you took up residents in a couple communal homes and lands over your youth?"
"Cult, you can just say cults, I've gotten over it, there were cults."
The woman cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable. "Right, as you are also aware, some asked you to be with a couple women for rituals and such? One of those women had a child... your child, you had a son. the cult has disbanded, and his mother has given him to the state, unwilling to raise him. He needs a home, we planned on placing him here with his closest relative, your sister."
Katherine stepped in, "i can not afford another mouth to feed."
The woman interrupted her, "the government would be giving you 'child support' for as long as you kept him, it would sum up to 10,000 a month."
Katherine froze, processed the information, and spoke. "I see... so i get paid to take in my nephew?"
"You would have to keep him till 25, but yes, you would have that money."
"That's fine, it was just the money thing that was the issue..."
While Katherine and the woman spoke. Nathan tried speaking to the kid... his kid?
"So... do you like con air?" The kid looked at him oddly, "i have literally no clue what that is."
"Oh... no yeah that's fair, its a bit old... so how old are you?" "14."
"Ah, that would mean it would be the dooms day cult who thought they'd be the last ones on the earth, cool." The kid just awkwardly nodded, putting their hands in their hoodie pocket.
"So, kiddo, you got a name?" "Charles." The kid said plainly, they made a face that reminded Nathan of a bored abbadon.
"Neat. I like it." The boy, Charles nodded, "thanks, my mom picked it."
Nathan just smiled at the kid, his kid, for a while, enjoying that something he thought he'd never get to do, have children, was something he'd already done, can check it off the bucket list, or post bucket list, he already died, so bucket kicked it guess?
The kid chucked at something, and Nathan was pulled from his thoughts, "you know you were mumbling, right? Is that something you did in life? Mumbleing and Dad jokes?"