Disclaimer: We own Willy Wonka. (Hears whispering from offstage) Oh, we don't? (More whispering) Damn it, they're right, we don't… (Mutters something about stupid lawyers and lawsuits)

AN: Here is another chapter! We're so happy that people love this story, your reviews really cheer us up (as well as our Oompa Loompa helpers)!

Chapter 6: Flashbacks and Second Chances:

The next morning, as he was sitting at his desk in his Inventing Room, Willy Wonka found himself unable to concentrate on his work. He couldn't understand why his creativity was so lacking this morning, but for some reason, his heart wasn't in it. It was unusual that the ideas for new candies didn't come the moment he sat down, but today he had other things to think about, things much different from sugar, chocolate and caramel.

The instant his thoughts strayed from his sugary confections, he found them drifting towards the red-haired young woman with the bright green eyes upstairs in the guest rooms. She looked almost the exact replica of someone he'd known so long ago, someone he'd wanted to see again, but hadn't since the day he'd closed his doors to workers and public alike.

'I wouldn't have had to close if it weren't for those vicious cads who stole my recipes,' he thought, his hand breaking the pencil he was holding.

The truth was, Willy Wonka was unhappy that the people he'd trusted the most, the people who were supposed to be his friends and supporters, had turned into such horrible beasts. Willy had always had faith that there was at least some good in everyone, and that his candy could make that small spark come out and shine. The fact that people like Slugworth and other candy makers had been vile enough to play him like an idiot had hurt, and had ruined his faith in ever finding a good person ever again. Everyone was now a traitor, turned against him and scared his heart against trust.

'Everyone except Marian,' Willy thought, his violet eyes glazing over.

He sighed. Marian, the lovely red-haired teenager that had worked with the lollypops and had been so cheerful…he'd never met anyone so sweet and chipper in his life. She was always happy to see him, and was always courteous whenever she addressed him and told him of any problems with the machines. He'd loved the girl, but never told her…he knew from factory gossip that she was smitten over another man, some stranger new to town.

Willy winced. Finding out that the girl of his dreams was in love with another had hurt, but he'd gotten over it…eventually. He never knew what happened to Marian, but he'd heard rumors of a wedding in town over 8 years ago, one where a redheaded bride married a handsome blond dentist. It was the dentist part that hurt the most.

'After all, my own f-f-f-f….' he couldn't finish the thought. Let's just say that someone from his past was a dentist, and he didn't have fond memories of that person.

But he had fond memories of Marian, and this young guest of his looked remarkably like her. The red hair, green eyes…could this girl be a relative of Marian's? The idea was like a slap in the face, causing Willy to jerk back in his seat. Did he unwittingly have someone related to his past love in his grasp? Could she tell him what he wanted to know about her and what had happened so far in the past 15 years?

He quickly pulled a cord and was greeted by several Oompa Loompas, all eager to help him. Willy didn't think he needed four of them to do this one task, but it never hurt to be prepared. He motioned to them to come forward.

"You all know of the young lady staying upstairs in the Vanilla Room, right?" All of them nodded. "Well, I need to find out the name of that young lady, and since she's not likely to talk to me right now, I need the four of you to do it as soon as possible. Okay?"

The four Oompa Loompas crossed their arms over their chests and bowed before scurrying off. Sighing, Willy sat in his chair, casting aside his broken pencil and picking up a new one. His eyes once again glazed over as he thought about red hair and green eyes, his pencil soon tapping out a rhythm on the desk before him.

Nika was again greeted with very large, well-prepared meals for breakfast and lunch. However, lunch was a surprise when Wendell held up a note to her after she'd eaten.

"Is this from Mr. Wonka?" she asked suspiciously.

The idea nearly choked her; she really wanted nothing to do with the factory owner right now. Wendell merely shook his head and gestured towards the piece of paper. Opening it, she found the handwriting to be far different from Mr. Wonka's flowing scroll. This person's writing was small, barely large enough to read, and Nika knew that the Oompa Loompas themselves must have written this.

Dearest Guest,

We humbly request your name and where you are from. We cannot call you "guest" for your entire stay with us as it would be impolite. We patiently await your reply.

Looking down, Nika saw at least ten of the little people waiting for a reply. It would be rude not to answer, and they at least deserved to know her name!

"My name is Danika Sinclaire," she said. "And I moved here from America about six months ago to live with my Aunt Marian, my Uncle Geoff, and their daughter Kylie."

The Oompa Loompas all nodded and one made a gesture that she couldn't understand. Her confusion was apparently obvious to the small people as one of them took the paper from her and scribbled a note. Looking it over, she saw that they wanted to know more about her family and her life before all this had happened.

So, after making sure everyone was comfortable, Nika told them all about her father, the stories he'd told, and her desire to meet Mr. Wonka himself. She then told them of how much her cousin Kylie loved Willy Wonka tales as well, had tried to break into the factory just to please Nika. The story progressed to how Kylie had been caught and Nika had come racing in to save her little cousin, which led to why she was here and her cousin wasn't.

"And that's the whole deal," she said, sighing as the story ended.

The Oompa Loompas had simply patted her hand or arm (wherever they could reach) in comfort and smiled at her. Smiling back, she watched as they left, leaving only Wendell behind. Turning her head towards him, she gave him a smile and asked a favor.

"Could you take me back to the library?"

Impatiently waiting for a reply from his workers, Willy Wonka paced his way through the Inventing Room for the tenth time. He knew there was a chance that the girl wouldn't answer to the Oompa Loompas. Then again, they'd been nice to her, and they were just so gosh-darn cute that Willy pretty much figured that she'd answer their questions with no trouble at all. The fact that she'd talk to the tiny people and not him slightly irked him, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Well, besides try and be nice, that is…

When the door to the Inventing Room opened, Willy nearly leapt out of his skin in surprise. He saw the four Oompa Loompas he'd sent earlier come in and began talking. The information presented surprised him beyond measure. Her name was Danika Sinclaire and she was the niece of his secret crush, who had indeed been the red-headed bride who had married a dentist. Marian had borne a child, a girl, who was named Kylie. So if Nika was Marian's niece, and she said she'd come in to save her cousin, then that meant…

"Holy Lollipops, I've manhandled Marian's daughter!" Willy yelled, shocking the Oompa Loompas out of their wits.

He was going to have one heck of a time forgiving himself for that one! It hurt, the thought of harming Marian's little girl, but it hurt even more that he was holding her niece hostage or captive or whatever you want to call it. Still, he couldn't let the young woman, Danika, go or she'd tell the whole world what she'd seen. She knew too much already, and Willy wasn't willing to risk some of his original ideas (or his beloved Oompa Loompas) because Miss Sinclaire babbled her experiences to the entire planet! Some of his candy rivals would only be too glad to snatch up those clever inventions, and he couldn't bear that happening again.

'Still, the least I could do is be nice to the poor girl,' Willy thought to himself. 'She is a guest in my factory, after all.'

On the other hand, human contact wasn't really his 'thing.' Willy Wonka really didn't like talking to people, but when presented with a captive guest, he really didn't have a choice about not interacting with them. Plus, Danika was much better-looking than the Oompa Loompas (no offence to his little friends and workers).

But she was also, well, female. Willy Wonka hadn't spoken to one non-Oompa Loompa female in the fifteen years since he'd closed his factory! What was he supposed to say to her? How was he supposed to act? He'd tried being polite last night, and look where it got him! Still, he supposed that politeness was going to be the key in winning his guest over, so he might as well start now.

"Better late then never," he muttered to himself.

Looking down, he saw that the four Oompa Loompas were still standing there, waiting for further instructions. Waving a hand at them to send them away, Willy decided to give courtesy one last shot. Straightening his hat and coat before snatching up his cane, Willy Wonka headed up towards the guest quarters of his factory, his mind focused on a pair of green eyes framed with red hair.

AN: There's chapter 6! We hope you enjoyed it, so don't forget to review!