Chapter 4
"Alright, Katie, let's see how you do with this," Moon said as he scooped up a bit of mashed peas, mashed carrots, applesauce, and some carefully mashed up meat-like baby food on a plate for the little one.
"Do you think her stomach can handle that?" Sun asked worriedly.
"We won't know until we have her try them," his brother said.
Katie looked curiously at the food and as Moon brought the spoonful of mashed peas closer to her, she opened her mouth and ate it. "Good girl," he said. "Do you like it?"
That baby's eyes lit up and she reached for the plate. Moon gave her a bite of carrots, which she loved. When he gave her a bite of the meat-like substance, she slowly ate it, an odd look coming to her face.
Sun burst out laughing, unable to keep it together at the hilarious face Katie made. He laughed so hard that he fell to the floor, still laughing. Moon glanced over at his brother in amusement before looking back at Katie to see she was swallowed the food and still looked curious. "I guess that's your first time trying something like meat, huh, Starlight?" He asked, amused.
He gave her another bite and she ate it eagerly. "Your appetite is growing. That's good," he said in approval.
He noticed Sun finally was able to settle down and the sun-themed animatronic stood up. "Oh, my goodness, her face," he said. "I hope you got that on camera, Moon, because that was priceless!"
A moment later, meat-like substance hit his faceplate and he saw Katie giving him a look that said 'don't laugh at me'. Moon had to work double time to not laugh at that because he didn't want to encourage the child to do that again. After a minute, he cleared his throat and put the plate of food down. "Katie, there is a rule in the daycare," he said, his voice gentle, but firm. "We do not throw food at anyone. That is a big no-no."
Katie, hearing his tone of voice, seemed to shrink in on herself, holding her fox tail tightly and her wolf ears were pinned to her head, fear and sadness on her small face. Seeing this, Moon took a deep breath. "You need to apologize to Sun for throwing food at him," he said. "And you will go into a time out."
The little one looked at Sun with tear-filled eyes and he bit his lip, not liking that Katie had to be put in a time out, but Moon was right. "I'm afraid Moon's right, Sunbeam," he said softly as he kneeled down beside the high chair. "I'm not upset, but as Moon said, we do not throw food at anyone."
Katie reached forward and gently patted his faceplate, which he took as an apology. "Alright, you have to stay in time out for five minutes," he said as he and Moon walked away, but were within sight of the child as Sun cleaned off his face.
The baby girl began to cry with tears falling down her face, but Moon shook his head. "I'm sorry, Starlight, but this is your punishment," he said. "We'll be over there in a few minutes."
She continued to cry for a couple minutes before her cries died down to sniffling as she hugged her fox tail. After a bit longer, she heard footsteps and looked up to see Sun had come over. "Alright, your time out is up," he said gently as he picked her up. "Remember, we don't throw food, alright?"
The baby reached up and pressed her face to the left side of his face where the mashed up food had hit him before settling down in his arms, sniffling. "Aww, I forgive you, Katie," he said. "I'm not mad."
"I'm not mad either, Katie," Moon said. "We wanted you to understand that what you did was very naughty."
He gently brushed a hand over the baby's head and looked up at him as he wiped away her tears. "Now, no more tears," he said as he then got a washcloth and gently washed her face. "Now, how about some more dinner? I can hear that little tummy growling."
Katie looked up at him and smiled before Sun put her back in the high chair and Moon fed her again. "Honestly, now that I look back at it, I did kind of deserve that for laughing at her," the daytime animatronic said.
"Maybe, but we still don't want to encourage that bad behavior," his counterpart said.
"True," Sun agreed.
The little one ate the rest of the meal without complaint and Moon was relieved to see that she took to it well. "Well, now we can start giving her more solid foods," he said and he noticed something. "Is it just me or has she gained a bit of weight?"
"I think she has," his brother said. "I noticed that too. She was so skinny when we found her and now she's getting back to a healthy weight."
The nighttime animatronic nodded. "Good," he said. "Because you're right, she's underweight for her age."
"Well, if she's gaining weight back, that means we're doing a good job so far," Sun said. "To be honest, I was a bit worried when we first took her in, but she's been doing much better under our care."
"I agree," Moon said.
Just then, the doors to the daycare opened. "Hope you don't mind a visit," came Roxy's voice.
Katie perked up and squealed happily, reaching for Roxy, who smiled at her. "Hey, pup, how you doing?" She asked.
"She's doing a lot better, though we did have to scold her a bit for throwing food earlier," Sun said.
"She learned she shouldn't do that again," Moon said.
Roxy nodded. "I know. I saw earlier what happened," she said. "Not gonna lie, Sun. I almost lost it at the face you made when that food hit you."
"I hope you didn't tell the others," Sun said.
"No, I didn't," she said, shaking her head. "Though I did want to talk to you guys about that."
"What about it?" Moon asked.
"Well, I get the whole wanting to keep Katie safe, but I don't think it's fair that I've gotten to meet Katie, yet the rest of the group hasn't," she said. "Sometimes I feel guilty sneaking off just to come visit. You know how much they love kids and making them smile."
Sun and Moon fell into thought. "Well," the former said before sighing, unable to come up with a counter argument to that.
"You do bring up a good point," Moon admitted. "What do you suggest?"
"Well, since the Pizzaplex is closed for a bit with the school break and all, maybe now would be a good time to introduce Katie to the others," Roxy said. "I know for sure Freddy would just love Katie and Chica would probably 'kidnap' her to show her how to bake sweets."
They all chuckled at that. "It's true Chica does love to make sweets and didn't she once have that child that got accidentally separated from her parents stay with her in the kitchen and they baked cookies until the girls' parents were found?" Sun asked.
"She did," Moon said. "And the parents were grateful as the girl's grandmother was looking to kidnap her and send her to an orphanage."
"I remember that," the wolf said. "Monty was really mad about that and I thought for sure that woman was going to faint upon meeting a very angry alligator." She shrugged. "Monty can be difficult to deal with sometimes because of his ego, but he's just as protective of the kids as the rest of us are."
"True," Sun said before looking at Moon. "Well, what do you think, Moon?"
The nighttime animatronic nodded. "I agree with Roxy. It would be good for Katie to meet the others. If they are aware that she is supposed to be here, they can help us keep her safe."
"My point exactly," Roxy said. "Plus, Katie can't stay in the daycare all the time. She needs to be able to explore. Exploring is really good for kids her age."
That settled it. "Alright, we'll bring her to meet the others tomorrow," Sun said. "Roxy, can you tell the others to expect us with a guest tomorrow?"
"Sure thing, Sun," she said with a nod and then headed out.
Moon fell into more thought. "We'll see how the others interact with her," he said. "If all goes well, then we know we can trust that Katie will be safe with them should anything happen."
"I'm not overly sure about this, but Roxy's right. And if Katie gets overwhelmed, we'll bring her back here and rethink about how to introduce Katie to the others," Sun said.
"Fair enough."
Katie looked at them curiously, her wolf ears perked up. Moon chuckled and gently stroked her wolf ears. "You look like you're ready to go meet the rest of the Glamrocks," he chuckled.
Sun smiled and gently brushed his hand over Katie's fox tail, smoothing it down and seeing her smile at him. "With that smile, I think she's going to win them over for sure," he said.
The next day, Katie woke up and was standing up in her crib, looking for Sun and Moon. A moment later, Sun came in and chuckled at seeing her awake. "Well, look who's bright eyed and bushy tailed today!" He said cheerfully, making the little girl giggle.
The daytime animatronic dressed the child in a half Sundrop and half Moondrop onesie and put a cute bow that matched in her hair. "There you go, Sunshine," he said. "You're all ready to meet the other Glamrocks."
She looked up at him with a smile and big eyes, to which he just melted. "Aww, you're just so cute!" He cooed, tickling her stomach and making her laugh.
"Sun," Moon said as he came in, but paused and smiled at seeing the little girl so happy. "Aww, look at our sweet little moonbeam," he said.
Katie reached for him and he 'rescued' her from Sun. "Was Sun being a meanie and tickling you?" He asked teasingly.
"Me? A meanie?" Sun asked in mock hurt. "I would never!"
Moon grinned and set Katie down on the floor. "Watch this, little one," he said before moving fast and tickling Sun's underarms.
"EEEEE!" Sun squealed and fell down, squirming as Moon kept up the playful attack. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA! MOOHOOHOOHOOHOON!"
Katie giggled at seeing that before seeing Moon grin and he scooped her up, setting her down on Sun's chest and pointing to where Sun's collarbone would be if he was human. The baby, as if understanding, tried to wiggle her fingers in the tickling motion she had seen both her brothers do.
When Sun felt those small fingers wiggle against where his collarbone would be, he shrieked with laughter, making Katie laugh at his reaction. "MOOHOOHOOHOOHOON! NOHOHOHOHO FAHAHAHAHAIR!" He laughed out.
"You started it, Sun," Moon said with a grin before letting his brother up and picking up the child, who giggled again and clapped her hands as Sun stood up and gave them both a playful glare.
"Oh, just you wait, Moon," he said with a grin.
"Oh, I'm shaking," his brother countered back playfully before noticing the time. "Alright, come on. Let's introduce Katie to the others before Monty decides to break down the doors."
They headed for where the Glamrocks were and Roxy smiled as she saw them. "Hey, guys," she said.
"Hello, Roxy," Sun said. "Are the others ready to meet Katie?"
"They are," she said. "I asked them not to be too loud, so they know they're meeting a kid. Plus, I was worried loud noises would hurt her ears. Human kids have sensitive ears and where Katie's got wolf ears, that means she more sensitive to sounds."
Moon nodded. "Thank you for keeping that in mind," he said.
Katie kicked her legs and the nighttime animatronic smiled. "You want down, kiddo?" He asked.
"Wouldn't be a bad idea to get some exercise since her legs have been getting stronger," Sun said. "If she gets too tired, we'll carry her."
Roxy looked surprised. "She's able to walk now?" She asked.
"Not for a long time, but yes, she can," Moon said. "We've been working on helping her with that, considering her leg muscles were very weak when we found her."
Katie, seeing a bear sitting down on the ground, thought it was a big teddy bear and went up to it, about to crawl into its lap.
Freddy, feeling the small hands on his arm, opened his eyes and looked to see a small child beside him. "Hello, little one," he said.
The little one, startled, quickly moved back to Sun and Moon. "Budda, budda," she said, reaching Sun first and clinging to his pant leg.
"Aww, what's wrong, Katie?" He asked, picking her up and noticing how she hid her face in his shoulder.
Moon noticed the child's face. "I think she's scared," he said.
Freddy came up to them and he looked guilty. "Is she alright?" He asked. "She came up to me while I was charging."
Chica came out and she looked worried before looking relieved the child was okay. "I think she must have thought you were a big teddy bear sitting on the floor, Freddy," she said. "When you moved, it scared her a little."
"Oh," the bear said, looking a bit sad before looking at the daycare attendants. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare her."
Roxy smiled gently before brushing a hand over Katie's head. "Hey, pup. Don't you want to meet my band mates?" She asked.
The child turned to her and Sun smiled. "It's okay, Katie. They won't hurt you," he said before turning her to meet the two in front of them. "These two are Freddy and Chica."
Chica smiled before squeaking. "Oh, my goodness! She's so cute!" She said.
"I agree with Chica," Freddy said before he looked concerned. "Did a parent drop her off? I thought the Pizzaplex was closed for a bit."
"It is," Moon said. "I found Katie in the dumpster outside some time ago. She's an orphan and was experimented on, thus resulting in her wolf ears and fox tail."
"Experimented on?!" Chica said in horror, looking ready to cry.
Monty came up to hear that just in time. "Who was experimented on?" He asked.
"This young child," Freddy said.
Monty was stunned to see a little girl with wolf ears and a fox tail and he barely held back a growl. "Do we know where the people who hurt her are?" He asked.
"No," Sun said. "Moon found Katie in a dumpster outside, but someone had gotten her out of wherever she was and gathered not only Katie's personal items, but also all her records."
"Sounds like someone wanted you guys to find her, or at least have someone find her and take the situation seriously," Chica said.
"But we're not sure it was someone human," Moon said. "It could have been, but from Katie's reaction around humans, it was humans who experimented on her."
"What humans has she interacted with?" Freddy asked.
"Miss Mikalea and Miss Scarlet," Sun said. "Katie was scared of them, though they did nothing to scare her."
Monty now growled. "Seems to be more bad humans than good," he said before taking a deep breath. "If whoever hurt her comes in here, mark my words, I won't hesitate to protect Katie."
"I will also protect her," Freddy promised.
"I will too," Chica said. "We won't let anyone harm her again."
Both Sun and Moon were relieved to hear this and noticed Katie look at Freddy with large eyes. "Ig bu," she babbled out.
Moon chuckled. "I think she's trying to say 'big bear'," he said, amused.
Chica gushed at the baby's cuteness while Freddy smiled and gently patted Katie's head. Monty let her hold one of his fingers in her hand. "Don't you worry, kiddo," he said. "Anyone who tries to hurt you will have to deal with this protective gator."
Roxy smiled and looked at the daycare attendants. "See? I told you it would be fine," she said. "Worrywarts."
"Oh? Like you weren't worried about Katie?" Moon asked without heat.
Sun chuckled. "I think all three of us were worried about how Katie would react meeting the rest of the Glamrocks," he said. "But it looks like Katie knows she can trust them too."
Chica grinned. "Sun. Moon, you two have to let me babysit Katie sometimes," she said.
"We can all babysit her," Roxy said.
Monty shrugged. "I don't know much about babysitting little tykes like her, but if you need someone to watch her sometime, just say the word," he said.
Freddy grinned and looked at Katie. "Welcome to the family, superstar," he said.
The little girl giggled, a big smile on her face.
Well, looks like Katie now has six animatronics that will protect her no matter what. :)
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GoldGuardian2418