INFORMATION
Story by: Pinkpony4
Posted on: AO3 and FanFiction
Language: English
Genre: Family, Hurt and Comfort
Chapter Word Count: 3'575
Published on FanFiction: 28th of June, 2022
Published on AO3: 28th of June, 2022
Status: IN PROGRESS

Author's Note: The beginning of my first FNaF story. Like many, Security Breach dragged me back into my childhood obsession, and so here I am! You may be wondering why I decided to make a 'Michael adopts Gregory and becomes a father figure' rather than Freddy, and I have a good answer for that: Ryuki-Draws on Tumblr. I saw their art of Michael being a good dad and the idea has been in my head ever since.

Story Summary: Life wasn't fair and it never had been, especially for Michael. Nothing seemed to ever go right and that lesson was still being hammered down fifty years later. Even so, he'd make life fair for the little baby he had in his arms, even if it killed him.

Chapter 1: Icy Cages

If you saw him in any other environment other than a train you would have thought Michael to be up to something. Covered head to toe in clothing to a point where not a single piece of skin could be seen, he looked like someone that was about to rob a bank. But nobody was out there in the middle of the night during winter of all times, so he had nothing to worry about.

He was technically a criminal, but arson was hard to prove in buildings with poorly working equipment and cameras that no longer existed. While the fire at Fazbear's Fright was believed to be an accident, they hadn't ruled out foul play. But even if they didn't, they wouldn't be able to find him.

His employer hadn't bothered to see him in person, do a background check, or do anything at all. All the guy had read was his fake name and career background and he was hired.

It was for the best, though. A normal night guard wouldn't have been able to handle Him. But it didn't matternow because he had screwed everything up.

All of that time and effort – the gasoline he had doused that horror house in, the constant terror he went through during that week as he saw apparitions from his nightmares strike him and leave no mark – that monster he once called his father hunting him down for fun–

And it had all been for nothing.

He should have made sure the doors were blocked from the outside and that the vents were sealed. He should have thought of a better way to get rid of that monster. A stun gun seemed like a good idea, but he couldn't get one and he didn't think he could go toe-to-toe with Him.

He glared at the photo that had been taken of some merchandise that had been salvaged from the wreckage. It seemed that the photographer had completely ignored the thing trapped under the rubble that was staring right through the camera and into Michael's soul. He hoped that he was stuck, but knowing Michael's luck, some idiot would have noticed and gotten death as a reward for its freedom.

Michael tore through the newspaper and threw it back into the bin he had retrieved it from.

He had better get a move on then – he was only a town away from Fazbear's Fright and he wouldn't put it past that thing to try and hunt him down out of revenge. Hopefully, someone would spot it first and lodge a bullet through its skull before it got the chance.

Locking his car, he trudged down the street towards the public pool. He was in desperate need of a shower and the bathrooms there were never locked, even in the middle of the night. He hoped he wouldn't have to deal with anyone, but he had his crowbar hanging out of his backpack just in case. It wouldn't be the first time he had to knock someone out before they called the cops on him.

Fines or potential jail time was the last thing he needed right now.

If he didn't smell like death and smoke right now he would be curled up in his car to hide from the weather, but he refused to drive any further in that stench. Besides, his scent would definitely get him caught.

The snowfall was light, but the air was icy. Admittedly, he wasn't looking forward to the shower because it would feel like dipping into a frozen lake but hopefully the hot water would run long enough for him to get the ash, smoke, and grime off of him.

He hopped over the fence that lined the place and ducked into the men's bathroom, not too worried about cameras. They were never pointed at the bathrooms anyway, and as long as he hid his face, it would be impossible for anyone to identify him.

It was about as clean as you would expect a public bathroom to be but he was long past complaining. He dropped his bag just outside of one of the shower cubicles and turned the water on. It was freezing but the heater kicked in fast enough to banish the cold away. As much as he wanted to stay in there for hours, he had to be quick.

He dropped his clothes on the floor and let them soak up the water. He didn't have much but what little he had was precious. A small bar of soap, some toothpaste and a toothbrush, and the bottles of water and canned food back in the car. There was only so much you could get when you were constantly skipping town and going under different names. Not having a solid resume at his age didn't help, either.

Of course, while he may have lasted a week at most at the previous Freddy's locations, he had other skills. Robotic engineering was one; technician and electrician were two. The only problem with those was that you needed a degree for all three and he didn't even have one. Everything he knew had been forcefully handed down by his father and uncle.

He even knew an unfortunate amount about business and was good at pulling all-nighters, but one of those talents wasn't well sought after. Back then, that sort of thing would be enough to land you somewhere. Probably not anywhere important, but if you could walk in and throw everything you knew down, you got in. From what he had observed of today's world, that wasn't the case anymore.

Job hunting was a nightmare.

The most he could land were small jobs or favours; things like fixing someone's car, changing a light bulb, or, of course, nightshifts. At least Fazbear's Frights had him on for a good month, so he got paid more than he was used to. As long as he stuck to his budget, he'd be fine.

As soon as he turned the water off, he rushed to dry himself and grab the warm clothes from his backpack as the steam immediately disappeared. The ones he left on the floor were already starting to freeze over despite his efforts to squeeze the water out.

Grumbling about the time it would take to melt the iceblock of clothing in his hand, he started packing his things away. He dropped them inside a plastic bag and turned to leave when he heard it.

Crying.

And it wasn't just any kind of crying. No, this was one he was all too familiar with.

A baby was crying, and that was never a good sign.

Michael whirled around and tried to follow the sound, but the cries were difficult to locate. It was like it was stuck inside an echo chamber.

The most he could tell was that it wasn't inside the men's bathroom. He dropped next to the drains that lined a shallow pool nearby, but the sound didn't get any louder. In fact, with his ear pressed to the ground, it was definitely coming from his left.

He ran back into the bathrooms, and after a split-second of hesitation, he ducked into the woman's side. It was definitely in here. The sheer volume of its shrieks nearly had him on his knees. Covering his ears at the piercing sound, he scanned the unfamiliar area.

Every stall and shower was empty, and there was nothing sitting on or under the wooden platforms that lined the wall, which left the pool lockers as the only culprit.

All of them were unlocked but the cries got worse the closer he got. He started opening them but the first ten were empty. Calming his racing heart, he placed his hand against the cold doors and followed the vibrations to the last line of lockers. It was coming from the last one on the floor.

Bracing himself, he opened it and recoiled in shock.

A baby boy, perhaps no older than two months was writhing on the icy metal and he wasn't covered in anything. No blanket or towel just… nothing.

Michael tore his scarf and beanie from himself and immediately picked the baby up, carefully swaddling him in both and tucking him under his coat and close to his heart.

It had been so long since he had seen a baby, especially one this young. He was red all over and when Michael took his glove off, the baby was icy cold. He only hoped his body heat would be enough.

His cries were so achingly familiar.

He had been left to sit in the waiting room to listen to Mummy giving birth after Daddy had been called inside. Hours had passed so agonisingly slow and left Michael in a fit of worry.

They had rushed to the hospital at eight that morning and now it was dark outside and he wasn't sure if that was normal. Did giving birth always take this long? Was Mummy okay?

But now he could hear his new baby brother crying in the other room and Mummy had finally stopped crying. That had to mean everything was okay now, right?

"Are you Michael?" a nurse from inside the room asked, her head poking out from the door. He nodded. "You can come in now," she said, holding the door open for him.

Mummy was sitting up in that big bed with something in her arms. Daddy turned to him and without a word, lifted him up from under his arms and onto the side of the bed so he could see what the new addition to their family looked like.

He was quite an ugly thing to Michael. He was an odd shade of pink and his face was screwed up and he was still making that awful noise and it was hurting his ears. But he couldn't look away as his skin changed to look like theirs and he stopped crying, slowly opening his eyes and looking around. They were blue, just like his and Daddy's.

"Isn't he beautiful? Here," Mummy whispered, handing his new brother over to Daddy, who took him carefully as though he would break like glass if he didn't handle him properly.

"What's his name?" Michael asked.

As he watched, colour slowly returned to the baby's skin and his cries died down to whimpers. He finally opened his eyes and looked around, immediately locking onto Michael. They were brown.

"What's your name?" he asked, as though the baby could even answer. He continued to stare.

Michael slipped his gloves back on and pondered on what to do.

This baby had not been in here for very long. Even ten minutes out here with nothing to protect him would have meant death for something so small.

He should call the police. If the baby hadn't been in there for long that meant that the culprit wasn't too far and the police may be able to find them. But if he called the police, then he would have to explain not only how he found the baby, but also why he was trespassing in the first place. Maybe he should leave this to the cameras. But he couldn't leave the baby either…

"Ah!"

Michael jumped and looked back down at the baby who was staring expectantly. Did he want something? Was he hungry? Tired?

"Ah!" the baby said again. He wriggled a bit and managed to free his tiny arm and waved at him.

Oh, did he want attention?

Taking the baby's hand carefully between three fingers, he shook his hand. "Hello there; my name's Michael," he said, feeling a little stupid.

He reacted to him immediately. "Mmhh meh… Mi! Meh! Mi!" he tried with a big, toothless grin growing on his face. He was clearly proud of himself for that.

Something in his chest suddenly warmed up and Michael found himself holding the baby closer. "Good job!" he praised. "Now, if only I knew what your name was… Can you give me a clue?"

Now that he had gotten him talking, the baby seemed all too eager to chat. "Geh! Geeee, breee bah. Brrrghe!" he babbled, getting his other arm out and waving them both. In his attempts to talk, the baby had started to drool.

That wasn't very helpful, but he played along. "That's a long name. Can I just call you Geh Ge? That's a cute name," he said, wiping away the drool.

The baby smiled up at Michael again, sticking his hand into his mouth and cooing. His movements were a little stiff – a sign that whoever his parents were had not bothered trying to exercise him. For someone so small to have even lasted a minute in that locker was an achievement.

Not breaking eye contact, Michael sat himself down and placed 'Geh Ge' on his lap. Pulling off his jumper, he wrapped him up in the thick cotton and tucked him in until he was swaddled.

While it was freezing for Michael, Geh Ge seemed quite content with his new blanket and that was enough for Michael. He held Geh Ge a little closer to his heart and they watched each other, trying to figure out what the other was doing.

Or in Geh Ge's case, wondering who this new stranger was. "Meeeh."

Michael smiled and tickled Gregory's cheek. "You've got a while to go before you can say my name," he chuckled.

His laughter was cut short at the implication of his words… What was he thinking? He couldn't keep him! He wasn't equipped with the knowledge (or the funds) to raise a child and… now he was really getting ahead of himself.

Police. Right, he needed to call the police. Even if the kid was left in a locker, maybe the person that left him there wasn't necessarily his parents. What if he had been stolen by an angry family member or someone that simply wanted to inflict pain on that family? Calling the police was the sensible answer – he had seen what a missing child could do to a family.

Taking his phone out of his pocket he went to dial up the police department when he realised something.

He didn't know this city's number. That, and as far as Hurricane was concerned, everyone believed he was dead. He didn't know if he had officially been proclaimed dead yet (last time he checked, his father hadn't been, funnily enough) but if he walked up to a police station and stated his real name and birthplace, they would check. And if they checked, he was fucked. If he lied, then there would be even more questions about why he did.

Geh Ge was wiggling in his hold, starting to whimper. Alarmed, Michael placed his phone down and wrapped his arms back around the baby and cradled him.

"Shhh, shh, bub; it's okay," he whispered, trying to calm him down. He leaned down and checked Geh Ge over, but he couldn't see, smell, or tell that anything was wrong. Thinking that maybe he had swaddled him too tightly, he loosened the jumper and as soon as he was free, Geh Ge freed his arm and held it out. Hesitantly, Michael reached out and he latched onto his finger with both hands, exploring the seams of his glove.

Michael was completely enamoured by this little boy. How could anyone abandon something so cute?

Stupid question; he knew who would.

He didn't know how long he had sat there – all he knew was that he couldn't feel his butt anymore. Checking his watch, he was alarmed at the time.

1:32am

"Shhhi- damn," he muttered, pulling his finger away and standing up to get some feeling back into his legs. Regardless, he needed to get back to the car, baby or no baby.

Taking his finger away so suddenly wasn't going down well with Geh Ge, though, because as soon as Michael pulled away he was immediately rewarded with whimpers that were quickly building up to full-on crying.

Michael's pinkie was immediately back in Geh Ge's hold and the threat of tears went away as quickly as they had appeared. Michael sighed, staring down at the baby.

Oh, he was doomed –the bub had Michael wrapped around his tiny fingers.

No, it was out of the question! The baby was safest if he was as far away from him as possible. Death hung around his family and was always waiting to strike and take what it had long been denied. His father was still out there and Michael had made it his mission to hunt that monster down and wipe him from the Earth for good.

Elizabeth was still out there as well and he needed to free her, but finding his little sister was the trouble. He had had the chance to free Elizabeth but he had ruined it after running from the scooper. As for his little brother, well… he was the first one he had found and personally freed, but he knew his brother's companion in that suit had refused his help.

No one had seen that old Fredbear suit in decades. If it had been there where the Fazbear Fright's workers found his father, they would have brought it with them.

The only thing that told him the suit itself existed at all was the repeated hallucinations and desperate whispers from his brother that pleaded for Michael's help.

The baby had finished playing with his fingers and settled on tugging on a loose thread from his jumper. Michael gently brushed it away when he attempted to stick it in his mouth which only made Geh Ge glare at him and let out another irritated whine. Gently bouncing the bub seemed to settle him down, with his eyes starting to droop. No wonder he was so grumpy – he must be tired.

Michael gritted his teeth and glared up at the filthy ceiling as his mind flooded with every excuse it could conjure up. He just couldn't keep him.

"Meeh baa kai…"

Catching his attention, the bub waved his hands up lazily, whimpering. Thinking, Michael pulled the baby a little closer until his small hands managed to touch his face. He smiled and Geh Ge giggled, tracing the multitude of scars that blended in with his wrinkles and cut through his stubble.

"They're odd-looking, aren't they?" he whispered. Geh Ge babbled in response, reaching up and grabbing his nose.

…

It was useless. The longer he stood there and let the baby explore his face (he was now tugging at Michael's untrimmed fringe), the harder it was getting to convince himself that this was a bad idea.

He sighed, turning to lean himself against the lockers. There were so many things to think of. The bub was still so small… he'd need diapers, proper clothes, that baby formula stuff, a toy to keep him occupied, and a bottle, and – and–

He did have all of that. Well, not all of it, but he knew where the equipment needed to take care of a baby could easily be found.

It was all the way back near Hurricane, Utah, in their second home. If his father hadn't trashed the place after he ran away, then the baby stuff should still be in the attic.

From what he had read in the newspapers during his travels, their first home in the actual town had been bought and sold over and over again because anyone that dared to step foot inside could swear it was haunted. Being right next to the abandoned Fredbear's probably didn't help and Michael had seen enough to know that their fears were legitimate.

Their second house was stashed away from town and on top of a hill that was surrounded by trees. Barely anyone lived nearby, and the ones that did kept to themselves. Needless to say, it was the perfect place to hide their dysfunctional family and his father's mechanical monsters. He was sure that it would still be standing; in ruins, yes, but standing.

The drive back to Utah would take around a day and a half, at most. He'd been avoiding public places as much as he could but he still needed to eat. Gas stations were perfect in that not only did they carry a wide variety of items, but anyone that was working at one had definitely seen weirder than him.

Every part of him argued that this was a terrible idea, but he simply couldn't bring himself to listen to their reasonable arguments. Was this that 'parental instinct' that other adults talked about?

"Well, Geh Ge, how does a road trip sound to you?" he asked, looking back at the baby who had his fingers back in his mouth.

Geh Ge grinned around his tiny fist and started waving his free arm around excitedly. "GAH!"

Michael was going to take that as a 'yes'.

He gathered his things, double-checking that he had everything and that the baby was properly swaddled once more.

Holding Geh Ge close, he hunched over to hide him from the chilly wind and ducked his head. Making sure to avoid the cameras, he ran from the public pool, through the streets, and back to his car.

So it was on the fourteenth of December, at 1:18am, that he found the little baby he would soon name Gregory, and had his whole world flipped upside down once more.

TO BE CONTINUED…