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The New Year’s Eve Party was in full swing. It had started around 8 with it being relatively tame with Frisk there. The music had been kept reasonable, the drinks nonalcoholic, the games tame and harmless. This had been fine for Sans, almost being at a full nine months along and ready to drop any day. When Herc had been taken to bed and Toriel taking Frisk home at 10, however, all bets were off.
The music was turned up as Napstablook took over as DJ and Mettaton claimed the microphone, the punch spiked, the games being stashed away for more adult games and dancing.
Sans had hung back after that. In years past he’d occasionally vie for the mic and do a bit of his standup routine until Papyrus chased him off the stage for one too many awful puns, which always got a laugh out of the majority, but not this year. With how far along he was, he’d just been too tired for it, not to mention self-conscious about how large he’d become as a result of the baby.
He’d been feeling off all day but had dismissed it as nothing more than the usual pregnancy aches he’d been getting on and off the past 48 hours or so. Grillby had been roped into mixing the stronger or fancier drinks for the Monsters and could only check up on Sans every so often, much to his annoyance though he hid it well. The fire monster had just had an urge to stick near his skeleton lover for some reason, though he couldn’t figure it out and the fact that he couldn’t had set him on edge.
It was only half an hour into the ‘adult’ portion of the Party when the real pain had started. The first one had caught him off guard and he doubled over from it with a gasp. The Monsters that had been talking to him, the other Grillby regulars, had all looked concerned (Drunk, but concerned) and had tried to ask him what was wrong. He’d waved off their concerns and excused himself to the bathroom.
Walking (waddling) his way upstairs he’d nearly slipped at another pain coming again so soon but managed to hold on to the hand rails tightly and grit his teeth together. Trembling a little and feeling really scared now that something was wrong, he made it into the bathroom and shut the door, fumbling for the lock but missing in his haste. Lifting up his ugly holiday sweater, he peered down at the just about full grown baby soul that had been growing within him these past few months. Everything looked fine as far as he could tell so then why…?
It was with a feeling of dread and fear that he realized what was going on as he felt a lurch in his Soul. It was time. The baby was trying to come out.
He was practically paralyzed with fear for a minute or two before another pain struck him hard, stronger than the last and actually making him cry out, and snapped him out of it. Sans glanced at the door, panting. There was no way he could muster up the energy and volume to call out loud enough for help, not with the party going on a floor below. He needed Grillby or Papyrus, though, there was absolutely no way he could do this one his own.
The baby didn’t seem to be in the mood to wait though and he could already feel a pulling sensation from his Soul and body as the baby began to ‘test the waters’ so to speak and separate itself from Sans. Lowering himself into the bathtub, he lowered himself down just in time before his legs gave out as another pain, contractions he realized now, came and he nearly screamed.
____
Papyrus had been going upstairs to check on his sleeping son, Herc. They’d managed to use magic to effectively sound proof the baby bones’ room so that he could sleep on through the festivities without being bothered by the noise. The taller of the two skeleton brothers was enjoying himself and was very happy the party was going so well but he wasn’t drinking like the others. Someone had to remain sober and responsible, after all, and who better than the Great Papyrus?
He’d just been walking past the shut bathroom door when he heard a very familiar cry of pain and stopped. Walking over, he cautiously knocked on the door, hoping he’d mistaken the noise for something else.
“SANS? BROTHER, ARE YOU OKAY IN THERE?”
Even Papyrus’s normal speaking volume was almost lost in the din of the party but Sans had just managed to hear him, calling out in desperation. “P-papyrus! Help!” The reaction from him was almost instantaneous, the elder being grateful he’d not managed to lock the door as the younger burst in, looking around wildly before spotting Sans laying prone in the bathtub, expression drawn tight and pain filled.
“BROTHER! WHAT IS WRONG? IS IT THE BABY??” Papyrus asked rapidly, shutting the door behind him so that the noise could be drowned out. Sans, who was gripping the sides of the tub tightly in an attempt to manage the pain, could only whimper in response, tears in his eyes. It seemed he’d managed to take his sweater off in his haste, leaving his stomach vulnerable and in full view.
Running forward and kneeling down, Papyrus’s right hand and eye lit up with an orange magical fire as he lightly touched Sans’s stomach, taking a ‘look’ at him on a magical level. He hissed through his teeth when he ‘saw’ the Soul of his niece or nephew trying to pull away from his brother’s and causing him growing amounts of pain at each attempt. “SANS, THIS IS ONE OF THE LATER STAGES! HOW DID YOU GET THIS FAR INTO IT WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING?” Papyrus scolded as he pulled away, magic extinguishing itself.
Panting, Sans tried to defend himself. “I’d f-felt odd all day but-ah! I d-didn’t think it w-w-was TIME yet!” He whimpered, grip tightening until his joints creaked as a pain hit him in the middle of the sentence. “Grillby…” Sans called softly, unable to do more than that as he slumped, the pain abating for a brief moment. The soft mention of the name made Papyrus jolt up. “GRILLBY! OF COURSE, HE NEEDS TO BE HERE! GIVE ME JUST A MOMENT, BROTHER, I WILL GO FETCH HIM FOR YOU.” When a whimper was his only response, Papyrus bolted out the door and downstairs, bumping into more than a few drunk monsters along the way. Dragging a confused Grillby away from a few angry party go-ers, he managed to explain what was going on which then led to Grillby dragging Papyrus up the stairs instead.
“Sans!” Grillby called out as he ran into the bathroom, said skeleton’s eyes snapping open at the sound of his lover’s voice, reaching out to him instantly. “Grillbz…it hurts…” He gasped out, a fear tears falling. Not caring if his attire got messed up from the floor or from the mess that was to ensue, the flame monster kneeled down to his level and took Sans’s hands tightly in his own. “I know, Sans, it’s ok, I’m here. You won’t be going through this alone.” The sentiment was enough to help calm him down a bit and make it a bit easier to ride through the next contraction with Grillby there to help guide and encourage him through it.
In the background, Papyrus was scrambling to grab every towel they owned in preparation of what was coming. Idly, he marveled at the baby’s timing and wondered if that meant the baby would take after Sans more. Glancing at the clock he was stunned that it had only been half an hour and that it was still another hour to go until those in the Underground rang in the New Year which made Papyrus wonder if the child would be born in this year or the next. Given how fast the labor was hitting his brother, it seemed like it was going to be a coin flip at this point.
As his brother ran around and did the prep work for them, Sans’s body was in a war with itself as it struggled to prepare for the delivery. His blue Soul was actively visible and with a bit of magical coaxing, so was Grillby’s own fiery orange Soul. The skeleton was eternally grateful that his partner had managed to take such good care of him magically over the months of his pregnancy, keeping him magically stocked up to near full even with the every present and growing drain from their baby as it used the magic he gave it willingly in order to grow strong and healthy. Having such an abundance of magic now would give him a bit of a cushion to fall upon both during delivery and the resulting fallout once the baby was actually here.
Once Papyrus set down a tub of hastily warmed water and the last of the towels, Sans figured that now would be as good a time as any to try and ‘Start the party’. Even in pain, Sans couldn’t help but laugh to himself at his silent joke, though it confused his brother and his partner. Gripping Grillby’s hand tightly, he spoke with a hoarse voice. “Let’s get the ball rolling, t-then.” Nodding, the flame monster let his magic build up and the moment the grip on his hand tightened from a contraction, he let it stream into Sans as he cried out harshly, and who was riding the pain and using it and his own magic to become active members in helping the Soul separate from Sans’s own.
It felt like an eternity but was really the better part of an hour as the two struggled together to bring their child into the world. Sans lost his voice from screaming and could now only give hoarse whimpered, starting to run alarmingly low on magic and energy. He could physically feel the process, feel the pressure on his Soul as with each attempt they grew closer and closer to separating. He was worried that even with his vast magical prowess it would be his physical body’s limitation, his scarily small amount of HP that would spell out death and heart ache for the budding family.
The thought of Grillby suffering the loss of potentially not only him but their child if he couldn’t deliver them fast enough… it filled Sans with determination. Drawing his remaining magic up together and firming his resolve, on the next contraction Sans gave it his all, Soul flaring brightly for a solid minute which stunned Papyrus and Grillby, the latter being spurred into action and taking a cue from his partner that this was it, it was all or nothing. In the brief lull of noise, an organized countdown could be heard below.
10!
9!
8!
Sans screamed as he felt something begin to give-
7!
6!
5!
It felt like his Soul was being torn in half, it was agony-
4!
3!
2!
He gave a hoarse scream as something did tear away from his Soul, at the same time there was a liquid rushing sound as the magical stomach that had been created to house the growing child’s body and Soul fell away-
1!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
For a terrifying moment, there was silence in the cramped room, a sharp contrast to the loud cheering going on in what might as well been a different planet at this point. Then, quiet whimpers started up in the mess now all over Sans’s spread legs and the floor of the bathtub that soon turned into tiny wails. Sans, who had slumped back and gone alarmingly quiet, stirred at the sound and opened his eyes.
There, covered in the messy aftermath of his pseudo stomach sloughing off, was their baby. Though still vague in defined physical form, he could already see skeletal features forming. Both of their hearts and Souls swelling with love, Grillby helped his exhausted lover pick up their newborn, not caring that the liquidy mess stung his arms and hands, not when it prevented him from getting close to their child. Papyrus was silently crying tears of joy as he watched his brother start laughing and crying at the same time as the cries of the newborn faded once they were in the comforting arms of their parents. It would take a bit of time for the full physical features of the child’s body to solidify, they had to gather the magical energy to pull it off, so it would be a day or two before they found of it the baby was a boy or a girl or neither but for now it was more than enough that they’d been born safely.
The new Uncle stepped forward and truly showed his experience as a parent as he helped clean up and swaddle the newborn so they wouldn’t be as cold any more. He contemplated using his magic to pick up his brother so he could be moved and changed into cleaner, comfier, clothing but with the noise outside the door it would only badly startle the newborn. Papyrus made a mental note to get his husband Mettaton to both spread the news and end the party early. The new family needed their rest and needed it in peace and quiet. For the moment, Sans didn’t seem to care as he whispered and cooed to the child he’d carried and protected so fiercely for the past nine months. Neither did Grillby who had yet to let go of Sans’s hand and was using his free one to gently stroke their child’s cheek.
Feeling confident that they would be alright for the moment, Papyrus stepped out of the bathroom and went to his husband on the makeshift stage to start spreading the news.
They could all debate later whether the child had been born on New Year’s Eve or New Years Day.