Author's Note:

Sorry for the late chapter. Life's been busy. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 109

Coffee

"Hedy?"

Hedy looked up at Mangle over Goldy's shoulder.

Mangle hesitated. "Have...you called Jeremy?" Her expression said she already knew Hedy hadn't told her brother what was going on. He knew about Ruby of course. But the rest?

Hedy was clearly a little surprised it was Mangle who was bringing it up. She still didn't answer. The mechanic glanced away for a moment and hugged Goldy a little tighter.

"He has a right to know," Goldy pointed out quietly, not pulling free. "About what's happening here."

"I know..." Hedy murmured. "I just know he's going to freak out and do some crap like sabotage my car or something."

"Would you mind filling me in a bit?" Mike asked, trying not to sound demanding. "Who's Jeremy?

Some part of him told him not to ask more about who Ruby was just yet.

"Hedy's brother." Mangle was the one to answer. "He's a cop."

"How will he feel if he only finds out about this after everything?" Goldy asked softly.

"Not happy," Hedy admitted, quietly. "I know this shouldn't matter, but the timing is...awful. He's so busy with work right now...He was so upset about having to leave after Ruby..."

"..."

Hedy flinched. "I'll call him," she promised.

Goldy nodded after a moment, accepting the answer.

Hedy pulled away from Goldy. Her eyes shifted over everyone.

"You can't work like this..." she said, moving to go back to work on Spring before she had to wake him up like promised.

"We don't exactly have a choice," Foxy muttered.

The manager would never close the restaurant on Hedy's recommendation.

Hedy made a weird noise that didn't exactly sound like it belonged to a human.

Mangle cracked out a depressed laugh as she realized it was a weird cross between a curse and something that resembled an angry sound Mangle made when her voice box was broken. How did Hedy even make that noise?

It was probably an accident, and Hedy just was too tired to notice what her own throat was doing.

"He's kind of a jerk..." Mike agreed.

Understatement.

Mike swallowed, thinking about the, frankly awful, argument he had overheard that morning when he came to tell the Manager he was quitting (before he changed his mind for the tenth time). He would call it verbal abuse.

Hedy was there, trying to convince the man that the bots needed to be put out of order for at least a week.

"It's not...safe without Ruby here," she told the manager, Mike hiding just outside the door without either of them knowing.

"It's your responsibility to make sure the animatronics are in working order every day," the Manager said, "That includes mitigating any supposed...glitches...they may or may not have."

"You're not listening! I don't know how much you know about what goes on but…"

"Ms. Fitzgerald," the Manager snapped, his tone muffled through the door. "I don't want to hear any ridiculous excuses for why company property was damaged on your watch. All I want to hear from you is that the animatronics look fine. You can fix whatever extra issues there are at night. If you can't even do the bare minimum, I don't see any reason to keep you around."

"What?!"

"Do you want me to speak slower? Either do your job and keep the robots working or you're fired and you'll be sued for tampering and...whatever damages are incurred at the time of your termination."

Mike could picture the man leaning over his desk to intimidate Hedy.

"You wouldn't dare," Hedy hissed.

"Per your contract, your skill and education demand a wage suitable for a permanent position. Not to mention the... raises you've demanded. You are expensive, Ms. Fitzgerald. We operated fine without a permanent mechanic for years."

"Bullshit. All the Originals were in terrible states when they finally let me look at them. That's on you, you cheap-."

"Ruby isn't here to protect you," the Manager interrupted, lowering his voice to just above a harsh whisper.

It was quiet for a minute and Mike had to make a run for the nearest corner to hide around.

He heard the sound of the Manager's door opening.

"I suggest you have a look at the bots before you leave. I believe the Mangle was limping a bit. We can't have your shortcomings ruining the experience for customers."

"You know, Ruby and I have discussed what would be worse for you," Hedy told him with a bite in her tone. "Death, getting fired, or being forced to work here until you went insane. Everyone knows how much you hate it here. Everyone knows you only stay because of the money. Must be getting harder to bring home that suspiciously large bonus with Ruby and I here, not to mention the living wage for the other employees Ruby managed to squeeze out of you."

"Good day, Ms. Fitzgerald."

"Now hold on, you cowardly sack of shit. I'm not done. You're lucky I can't really do much right now, but I want to make sure you understand something."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No of course not," Hedy said. "In fact I wish you a long long career. Ruby's not going anywhere. Neither am I. You're going to be stuck with us for a very long time one way or another. Let that sink in. Death or losing this job is too kind for you."

It was a weird thing to say, but Mike still got some chills from her words. Hedy's parting words didn't help matters.

"I'd say go to Hell, sir. But you're already here. Clearly you don't respect me like I expected, so you better hope for your sake Ruby doesn't wake up."

The Manager angrily chuckled and closed the door in Hedy's face.

Mike was startled out of the memory by Hedy's voice saying his name.

Hedy looked at him as she used a wrench to pry something back into place inside Spring. "You said you were here before. Did the manager call you?"

He shuffled in place. "He called old night guards because he had no one else for the position. I'm one of the only people who didn't hang up immediately when he said Freddy's…"

Hedy nodded even as she let out a string of curses under her breath. She kept working on Spring, quietly.

Mike sensed someone staring at him.

"What's your name again?" Freddy asked.

"Mike. Mike Schmidt."

"I think I remember exactly when you were here. It was quite a while ago, wasn't it? Almost right after..." the bear trailed off.

Mike didn't know what to say exactly. "After who? The Phone Guy? I don't know if he was really right before me or if it's a recording they play for everyone."

Freddy shook his head. "Uh. No. They play it for everyone. But those tapes were...newer. You weren't too long after..."

"Right...uh...I'm guessing one of the kids..."

Freddy nodded, glancing at Hedy who was pointedly ignoring everyone but Spring.

She did not want a timeline of when Scott probably died.

Goldy hung her head and wouldn't look at Hedy with the rest of the Originals.

Mike was uncomfortable with the new information that was just dumped on him, but at the same time grateful they weren't trying too hard to keep him in the dark.

Freddy looked at Hedy a moment longer before looking back at Mike. "Is she okay?" he asked, "Did anything else serious happen tonight?"

Hedy turned to glare at Freddy in insult.

Mike blinked. "Why are you..."

"Hedy and Puppet wouldn't tell us if something really bad happened. You shouldn't have a reason to lie," Freddy explained.

"Now hold on a minute..." Hedy snapped.

Mike winced. "No offense, but I don't really see the point in upsetting you either."

"But you don't know what's serious or something we should know about even if they," Freddy gestured at Hedy, Puppet, the Toys. "Don't want us too."

"Mike," Hedy warned.

"The only thing I think I can think about is that..." he gestured at Chi. "I don't know your name, sorry. Her eyeball popped out when her head was slammed against a wall. That seems important to mention. Specific injures and stuff."

What had his life turned into that he was casually mentioning eyeballs popping out?

"Wouldn't it be worse to leave them in the dark Hedy?" he asked hesitantly as she made a noise. "They could be imagining that things are worse than they are."

Hedy had a face like she wasn't sure whether to be madder at Mike or Chi, who was nervously shifting.

"Who...?" Bonnie asked cautiously before Hedy could tell anyone off.

The Originals understood the concept that it might be better not to know how their bodies were used specifically and talk about the kids in a blanket statement. It would hurt less.

But that didn't mean it was the right way to go about it.

Each of the kids was very different. Maybe it was better if they finally considered what each might do. They had distinctive personalities. The Originals just never had the chance to consider it in the contexts of the possessions before. When it was just them, there was no way to tell who actually did what unless they watched the cameras, which would have been far too painful.

Mike was giving Hedy an apologetic look but he didn't take back what he said. He knew all about thinking that things were worse when you didn't have all the information.

Hedy glared at him and looked at Chi. She didn't have time to fix everyone. The cleaners were going to be showing up any minute.

"Chi."

"I didn't want you to worry," Chi mumbled, looking away. "I can still see..fine...ish."

She just didn't have depth perception at the moment...

"Which one of the ghosts...?" Bonnie tried again, a little more insistent.

Chi shook her head, still looking down.

All the Toys had stubborn expressions at the moment. They didn't seem likely to tell the Originals and they also seemed like they were trying to hide it from Hedy too.

Bonnie looked at Mike warningly.

Mike put his hands up placatingly. "Do you really need to know? She got hurt. Is that enough?"

"It's always a guessing game," Bonnie said. "We don't know if any of the kids are worse than the others."

"Except for Felix," Foxy growled.

He had always woken up with blood on his hands more than any of the others. That didn't mean the others didn't though.

"Well..." Chica mumbled. "You're just faster..."

Chi looked at Mike, quietly shaking her head.

Mike was torn. It was a difficult situation. Logically telling them who did it didn't help. But at the same time, not knowing could be worse for them.

He didn't know them well enough to make a decision like this. He looked pleadingly at Hedy.

"Cheryl," Puppet spoke up, saving them a quickly-turning-pointless argument. "She's angry about the Toys helping Hedy and...Mike...She had a tantrum and cornered Chi. She shoved Chi and Chi's head cracked off the wall before Mangle got her out. Happy?"

He looked pointedly at Chica. If they were going to be insistent, they might as well face how knowing feels.

Chica flinched and looked down. "Sorry," she murmured.

Chi looked panicked. And angry at Puppet.

That was new. She had been angry at Puppet before but with Mangle getting damaged it had been more betrayal and hurt.

"You shut up," she said to Puppet.

Puppet blinked in shock.

"It wasn't you," Chi insisted to Chica. "And...and it's stupid for you to say sorry. It's stupid. And you're not stupid and you saying stupid stuff makes you treat me like I'm stupid."

"Ah..." Teddy started, recognizing that Chi was getting into one of those moods where she just talked.

"You shut up," she snapped at him. She pointed at Mike. "That's why I didn't want you say anything because they say stupid stuff with they're sad."

"Or because they care?" Slipped out of Mike's mouth before he could stop it. "You guys kinda remind me of siblings... Like siblings fight but then they get upset if one of the others actually gets hurt."

It got very quiet. Neither of the sets would look at each other. They stared at Mike.

"Yeah right..." Toby said, but his voice cracked and he ducked as Bonnie glanced at him awkwardly.

Mike actually rolled his eyes. So much like siblings...right down to the denial of affection.

Hedy was quiet for a minute. "Go home, Mike," she murmured, reaching inside a space in Spring's neck to press on several somethings.

She gently smoothed down the fake fur where she could, ignoring the holes, and wiped the oil off her hands as the lights behind Spring's eyes blinked on, dimly.

"Can't I help with something?" he asked hopefully. He didn't feel right just...leaving.

Hedy sighed. "You can stick around if you want, but the cleaners are going to be here soon and there's not much else I can do repair-wise. Everyone is just going to have to be careful today while I try to convince the manager to listen to me."
She frowned at the reminder of the Manager, privately hoping none of the bots had overheard his treatment of her.
"And I can't stay..." She had to get to the hospital to check on Ruby and then somehow find some way to get a few hours of sleep.

Mike nodded and awkwardly sat down on a table. At the very least, he should stay until Hedy left.

Hedy made sure everyone could at least stand and weren't in unmanageable levels of pain. She scolded Chi about her eye because she didn't have time to work on it anymore.

Bonnie limped a little, but he was otherwise okay.

Foxy's hand and arm would be tentatively okay if he avoided picking up anything.

Chica and Freddy were a bit dented but they were okay for now as were most of the Toys.

Puppet was being Puppet, so she had no way to tell if there was anything wrong.

Goldy... Goldy gave her one more hug and disappeared, taking her poster with her, presumably to hang it in its usual place for the day.

Hedy waited for Spring to completely boot up before informing him what she could and couldn't fix for that day.

The Originals were more subdued about the maintenance than usual and she kind of missed Bonnie whining and Foxy trying everything he could to get out of it.

Hedy waited for everyone to get to their places and for Spring to walk himself back to Fazbear's Fright before she left, Mike following.

She waved at the Originals on the stage.

Bonnie weakly waved back before he shut off in an attempt to sleep a little before work.

The cleaners still hadn't arrived. They were a little late. Hopefully she could get out before running into them and their concerned questions she couldn't answer.

Outside, Mike followed her to her car.

"You look exhausted," he said.

Somehow, she hid it better inside, but the second she was outside, she looked weaker and a bit pale. Maybe it was sunlight?

He heard her stomach growl.

She muttered something under her breath. "I'm fine. Just a little...hungry."

"Should you be driving?" Mike asked.

Hedy sighed. "Mike, I'm fine." She was a bit irritated that this stranger was so concerned.

Mike shrugged. "No offense, but you suddenly look like you're about to pass out. Did you get any sleep yesterday?"

She didn't, but she didn't want to admit it.

"I'd feel better if you let me follow you home," Mike said, "Or let me drive you. I know that sounds weird."

"I'm used to late nights," Hedy said, rolling her eyes.

"I can go get us some coffee?" Mike suggested. "You can come with me. Or you can wait here and I'll be back with it. I just really don't think it's safe for you to drive."

"I'm not getting in your car. I barely know you," Hedy said. After a second she sighed in irritation. "But if you're so worried about it, I'll meet you at the coffee shop down the street. Unless you don't think I can drive two minutes."

He nodded in agreement to that plan. He really gave her 'overgrown puppy' vibes with the earnest and concerned gaze.

She watched him wait in his car before she was situated and they both pulled away, passing Harrison's car as he drove in for work.

Hedy ignored it.

At the coffee shop, Mike waited for her before they both went inside and picked a table.

He felt very awkward as they gave their orders.

"Um, are you okay?" he asked when the silence went on too long.

"Fine," Hedy lied, not keen on opening up to a man she didn't even know. "What about you? I bet your world turned upside down more than you expected as a previous night guard."

He gave a small shrug. "I learnt not to really have any expectations with this job," he admitted. "Makes it easier to deal with it."

"Heh," Hedy snorted.

"Here you go," a waitress said as she brought the coffee. "Oh hey, Hedy. Long night?"

Hedy cracked her a polite smile. "Good morning. Yes, I suppose so."

She sometimes came here with Ruby right after work if neither of them had school or sleep to get to.

Hedy waited until the waitress left to look back at Mike.

He was absently fiddling with his cup. After a moment he looked up again.

"I'm sorry, if it seemed like I was trying to make your job harder. It just...it wouldn't have been right if I left."

Hedy frowned at him slightly. "I still don't get why you want to help so much. Leaving us not feeling 'right' is...It's odd. I keep expecting you to want something out of this." She looked at him critically. "I have nothing to give you. There's no reward. And it's not like there's any praise either. No one else knows about any of this. And they can't."

She was so cynical...

He looked confused. "I don't want anything. Other than no one dying of course." he seemed genuine enough.

"Everyone wants something..." she muttered, glancing away. "I came because I wanted answers to my past. I stayed because I found a family who needed me. And who I needed back."

"Well, I don't want anyone else to get hurt. That's why I came back. Because I knew he'd just get another person to do the job and they might not know what was coming."

"But what about you?" Hedy asked. "What if you get hurt? I would think your life matters too."

"Yeah, believe me I don't want to die. But how could I live with myself if I just let someone walk into that situation unprepared?"

"So you're thinking your morals are more important than your life?" Hedy said, tilting her head a bit. She was having trouble with anyone just showing up without some selfish the feeling he had the moral high ground might be a reason.

Mike looked a little concerned. "No, I really just don't want someone to die when I could have done something." He shrugged a little. "Maybe doing the right thing makes me feel better, but someone else's life is so much more important than how I feel." He looked at her. "I'm sorry, but is it really that hard to believe I just want to do the right thing? You keep questioning me over and over."

Hedy glanced around. "Most people support laws and human definitions of right and wrong because the good of society will filter down to them eventually. Most people don't outwardly support stealing as a whole in society because if it was a free-for-all, that would be detrimental to themselves because they don't want to be stolen from either." She looked back at him. "No one has cared about Freddy's and us unless they have a reason. In the grand scheme of the world, everything that has happened to us is a small, self-contained blip that won't affect most people except superficially. We've never had strangers care what happens, especially while not knowing much about the truth."

She leaned forward a bit. "You're weird, Mike."

She didn't sound accusing, just tired.

Mike was quiet for a moment. In his eyes, Hedy's distrust seemed so very deep it was almost painful to see. After hearing who Springtrap/Michael was and those kids, he knew where she was coming from. Understood? Thank goodness no. But he could still empathize.

"Not the first time I've been called weird," he admitted with a weak smile. "Um can we agree that I'm doing this for the ability to sleep peacefully afterwards then? I always sleep worse when I'm feeling guilty about something." If she needed a reason he could give one. "I'd feel guilty if I let someone else do the job."

Hedy nodded though she still seemed unsure.

Mike figured that there was little else but time that would convince her he really just wanted to help.

He sipped at his coffee. "Um so, you're going to call your brother?" He asked, remembering the bots insisting on it.

Hedy nodded. She thought for a moment, looking at him. She glanced around.

There was no one sitting very close to them, in hearing range at least, and the sound didn't carry well with the design of the coffee shop.

Apparently decided, she took out her phone.

"I'll put it off if I'm alone," she explained calmly. "Might as well get it over with now."

He grimaced. "Good luck," he offered.

Siblings could be difficult. He knew that very well.

"...Thanks..." Hedy murmured before taking a breath.

The phone rang as she maintained eye contact with Mike, somewhat unsure where else she could look.

It seemed to make him feel more awkward since he felt like he shouldn't drop eye contact. He bumped his coffee into his chin instead of his mouth.

Hedy snorted out a half-laugh in surprise as Jeremy picked up.

"Ello-Hello?"

Hedy winced a little. It sounded like he was getting ready for work. He sounded tired, probably from worrying over Ruby's situation. He was likely getting ready to take the kids to daycare.

"Hedy?" Jeremy asked when Hedy didn't immediately respond.

"Something happened, Jeremy." The words sort of fell out of her mouth.

"What happened?" he asked, protective brother side coming out immediately. "What's wrong? Is Ruby..." He trailed off, unable to ask the question.

"Not, it's not, it's not Ruby. Don't...say anything until I'm done okay?" she asked. Begged really.

Jeremy heard the desperation in her voice, even if it was stuffed down.

"...Okay," he agreed.

Hedy told him everything she knew, from coming in late after visiting Ruby at the hospital to find the deals suspended and another guard there, to discovering that the kids were targeting her as well and that the manager refused to listen. (She left out how bad he was though. Else Jeremy might shoot him and she needed him not in jail right now.)

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked after a moment of calming his breathing.

"No..." she murmured quietly with an unintended voice crack. She shot a quick glance at Mike but tried to ignore him for a moment. "Everyone's hurt...I couldn't fix everything today..."

He was quiet for a moment. "You're still going to go to work no matter what I say, aren't you?" he asked tiredly.

"Yes. I need to be there for them. The ghosts will turn on the bots if I'm not," she said.

Mike looked at her, not entirely expecting her to have such a logical reason besides just not wanting to abandon her friends.

"If I'm not there, Michael will focus on torturing Spring. The kids would probably lash out too. I don't know what they'd do to the Toys, but they'd be in trouble. Michael at least would go after Puppet."

Jeremy sighed. "Alright. I'm driving down there. I should be there before the shift starts."

Hedy nodded slightly, knowing she had about as much chance of stopping him as he did stopping her.

"Okay..." she muttered.

He hesitated again. "How are they taking it? With Ruby in the hospital?"

"Not well," she answered simply. "They're all stressed and this added a mess of emotions on top of that. I think it's overwhelming them."

"The doctors can't find a cause still? At all?" he asked worriedly.

"No..." Hedy said, nearly forgetting Mike by now. "She apparently really did just...drop. She must have hit her head because she had a concussion and there was that weird bruise on her shoulder. But there weren't any other injuries. There was nothing on the MRI at all, besides that concussion. Her mind was lit up as if she was awake, but she just...isn't."

He made a frustrated noise, then sighed. "Alright, I'll see you tonight. Oh, you said the new night guard is sticking around?"

"Heh...yeah..." Hedy said, glancing at Mike. "I can't get rid of him. He's right here."

Mike pulled a complicated face, not sure if he should feel insulted or not.

"Think you can trust him?" Jeremy asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but he's nice enough so I'm willing to chance it," Hedy said. "The building likes him anyway. Snuck him back in behind our backs."

"Damn meddling building," Jeremy muttered. He couldn't believe that he had a strained relationship with a building...

Hedy cracked a small smile. "I need to get to school. Call me when you get off work and you're on your way."

"Will do," he sighed. "Stay safe, Hedy. Please?"

"I will," she said. She hesitated before speaking again. "Love you." She hung up.

Mike had finished his coffee and was now just fiddling with the empty cup awkwardly.

"I'll see you tonight, Mike," Hedy said simply before leaving.

"Yeah. See ya," he said.

He watched her head back to her truck with the lift contraption in the bed, hoping her coffee kicked in enough.

He slumped a little in his seat. What had he just gotten himself into?