Still in a sad bit here guys. Sorry about that! It'll get better soon!

Jeremy got up from his chair and stretched. His shift was pretty boring and uneventful. The exception was that part with Jack, and it took all he could to stay awake for the rest of the shift.

He then walked out of the office, heading towards the parking lot. Though he barely made it out of the main hall when he heard a loud clanging noise. After a few moments, he thought it was safe to go, but then heard the clanging again, and a muffled scream. From the echo reverberating through the restaurant, Jeremy determined it was coming from the bathroom. He started towards it, cautiously. The banging sound returned as he neared the men's room entrance, though this time it was accompanied by a distressed voice,

"HELP! JEREMY! SOMEBODY!"

Jack's voice.

Jeremy then dashed inside, and nearly gagged at what he saw. Jack was tied up and only in his boxers and socks. His shirt was partially ripped, and discarded in the sink. His pants and shoes were over in the corner near the wastebasket. And his glasses were perched atop a urinal.

"What the hell happened here?" Jeremy said, as he began to untie Jack.

As soon as he finished his sentence, he looked up and saw Jack's tear-streaked face begin to water again. He was about to ask why but then he saw a white substance nearby. And on Jack.

Whoever did this to Jack did a poor job of tying him up, and he was free in an instant. He immediately latched on to Jeremy after he was freed.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" he said over and over.

"You're welcome." Jeremy said. "Come on, let's clean you off a bit, and then get you dressed again."

Jack nodded. They went over to the sinks and got some paper towels wet to wipe him down. After that, they went through the restrooms and retrieved pieces of Jack's clothing and he put them back on. After a few short moments, Jack was fully clothed again.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Jeremy offered.
"Y-yeah. Thank you." Jack said.

The two then walked out of the restrooms into the main hall. Jeremy just hoped they would leave before Mike and Mangle showed up. Even though they would express their sympathies and try to find out who did it in a heartbeat, something told Jeremy it would be better to have Jack at home as soon as possible.

It wasn't long before the two reached the parking lot. Jack had gotten ahead of Jeremy and was about to get into the driver's seat when Jeremy jumped in front of him.

"Oh no you're not." Jeremy said. "Hand over the keys, and I'll drive. You've been through a lot in the past few hours, and you probably aren't in the best mindset to drive right now."
"Okay." Jack said, disengaged.

He handed over the keys and went around to the passenger side. The two took their seats and buckled up. Their drive was quite, mainly because Jack was just staring out the window.

"Man, I hope he's okay." Jeremy thought. "Because whoever did this to him is dead as soon as I find out."

Jeremy pushed his anger to the side for a minute. He needed to be comforting and understanding with Jack right now, not angry.

In a ride that seemed like hours, they finally reached Jack's complex. The two got out and started for the building.

"Why are you coming with me?" Jack said, confused.
"Because you need someone to be with you." Jeremy said. "Whether you want it or not, I'm going to be here, because I care."

His smile met one similar on Jack's, though his was weaker.

Entering the building, they went towards a bank of elevators and rode one up to Jack's floor. They then exited and Jack opened up the apartment. Jack then let out a yawn.

"Why don't you get some rest?" Jeremy suggested. "I could tuck you in if you want."
"Okay. You really don't have to." Jack said as he started towards his room, Jeremy following closely behind.

The two made it to Jack's room and he stripped his clothing except for his boxers, and threw a tank top over it. He then climbed into the bed that Jeremy had turned down for him.

As Jeremy was tucking Jack in he muttered something.

"What was that?" Jeremy asked.

Jack sighed, face turning red. "I said you get the stuffed animal out of the closet?"
"Sure thing."

Jeremy then walked into Jack's closet, and saw a purple bunny perched on one of the selves.

"This one?" Jeremy said, bringing it over to the bed.
"Yeah, him. Thank you." Jack said, taking it from Jeremy, cuddling it.
"What's his name?"
"Bonnie."
"Bonnie?"
"Don't laugh. I've had him since I was very young. Back then I didn't know that Bonnie was more of a girls name, okay?"
"I wasn't laughing. I actually find that a very fitting name for such a bunny."

Jack then let a smile onto his face. Not a small one, but a legitimate smile.

"Alright, so why don't you and Bonnie get some rest, and I'll check on you later, okay?" Jeremy said, kissing Jack and the stuffed rabbit on the head.

"Thank you." Jack said.

"No problem."

Jeremy then began to walk out. But then Jack suddenly called out.

"Jeremy!"

"What is it?" Jeremy asked, confused.

"C-could you come back up later? Like not just call, uh, like come back and see me?"
Jeremy smiled. "Of course! Do you have a spare key or something? Just in case you're still sleeping when I get back."
"Yeah, by the door. If you need to be buzzed in, tell the receptionist, Sabrina. She's really nice, and will let you in."
"Alright, I'll do that. Now get some sleep."

"Okay. See you later Jeremy."

"See you later."

With that, Jeremy closed the door to Jack's room. He then grabbed the keys for the apartment and headed out of the complex. When he got to the front, he remembered his car! Sighing, he started his walk to Freddy's. It wasn't too bad, Jeremy did the right thing, he just wasn't in the mood for walking. Granted it was close, roughly under two and a half miles, but still a bit of a walk.

The walk took about a half hour or so, Jeremy thought once he was at Freddy's. He saw a few familiar cars here by now, Hope's, Freddy's, Bonnie's, and the few other early birds. He knew he had to tell Mangle something.

He walked into Freddy's and went straight for Mangle's office. Knocking, he waited until she said to come in. She was behind her desk, and had just finished inputting something into the computer.

When she saw Jeremy, she was shocked. "Jeremy? Why are you here? Your shift ended at opening. I didn't see you when I got in."

"Oh, I left and just came back." Jeremy said. "I wanted to tell you in person that Jack won't be here today."
"How come? We need everyone we can, you know."
"I do, but he has a real bad case of the stomach flu. Vomit and everything. He asked me to take care of him today, and I agreed."

"Why the poor dear! How did you find out?"
"He told me that he wasn't feeling well before he left last night, and I said I would stop by after my shift. Things didn't get better it seemed."
"Oh my! Yes, that's perfectly fine. I'll get someone to cover his tables. You go on back there! Don't let me keep you."
"Thank you Mangle."
"Anytime Jeremy!"

With that, Jeremy left and got into his car. He first went to his apartment to grab a few things, and then went back to Jack's.

"Hey, guess who?" A familiar voice asked as hands covered Hope's eyes.

"Goldie!" She giggled. Ever since they confessed their love for each other they acted as if they were back in those years of innocence and sweetness. Everything was laugh, smiles, hugs, and on the very rare occasion a kiss.

"Yeah, it's me!" Goldie said, spinning her around to face him, "Do you want to come with me to the kitchen for a minute?"

"Let me find someone to take my tables. I don't wanna risk leaving without a back up so close to opening." Goldie nodded at that and headed back towards the kitchen.

"Oh oh! Is he gonna ask you out! I bet he's gonna be like 'Hopey wanna get married?'" Hope heard Carrie squeal. She blushed and tried to hide a laugh as she turned around to see Carrie and Toni.

"Hey! Nobody is getting married! Me and Goldie aren't even dating!" She said protectively. She wanted to be mad, but the way Carrie acted, she just couldn't be mad at her. So try as she might, Hope couldn't help but laugh.

"I betcha he's gonna ask you out." Toni said slinging her arm across Hope's shoulders. Hope blushed at that. No way would Goldie ask her out. She was just a lame waitress, who happened to also know how to make good pizza. Just because they said they loved each other and kissed a few times didn't guarantee anything. She had enough experience to know that.

"Oh just shush you two. He probably just wants help prepping for the day. Now if you can go ask Freddy about taking my tables for a minute I can go find out which of us is right!" Hope said. As much as she tried to convince herself she had no chance of getting with Goldie, she still held on to a little bit of Hope that she was wrong.

"On it." The two girls said quickly running to find Freddy. Of course you give them a task they think will advance their ship and their on it in a flash.

Hope wandered off into the kitchen. Goldie was standing at the kitchen counter working on his prep for the day.

"So what's up Goldie?" Hope asked, coming to stand next to him.

"Oh you're here!" Goldie said jumping and quickly slipping something small into his pocket.

"WelI I said I would be here didn't I?" Hope said, trying to determine what he put in his pocket.

"I wanted to ask you… Uh… Would it be okay if we maybe…?" He stuttered, trying to find his words.

"If you want to stop acting how we've been acting we can. I can understand if you don't like the kissing and stuff…" Hope said trying to bite back tears. She had a tendency to go straight to the negative, and the first thing she thought of was Goldie leaving her.

"What?" Goldie asked, practically yelling the word, "Of course not I love your kisses! I love being with you! I was going to ask if you wouldn't mind being official. Like an actual thing instead of this weird friends, slightly more than friends thing. I would never leave you or ask you to stop doing things with me! Hope, you can't always think something bad is gonna happen." Goldie hugged Hope close, and she laughed a little at her needless worry.

"Do you want to go on a date with me Hope?" Goldie asked, smiling down at her.

Hope smiled happily, "Of course I do!" She hugged him and sneaked a small kiss on the cheek before telling him goodbye and going off to work her shift.

Jack was running down the hallways of Freddy's again. He didn't know why, or from who, but he kept going. Turning a corner, he saw Bonnie, and ran up to him.

As soon as he did, the waiter's face contorted in disgust. "Why are you here, slut? Didn't I tell you that Freddy and I are back together? Get out of here you piece of shit!"

Taken aback, Jack ran before Bonnie could see the tears forming in his eyes. Jack then found himself in the kitchen, and Hope was standing in front of him.

"Oh look who it is." she said, facing him. "The little baby. Crying? Well boo hoo I don't feel bad for you. You deserved the heartache from Bonnie! Serves you right!"

Jack then ran away again. He felt the tears coming down his face in full force now. Why was this happening? He turned into the security office and found Jeremy sitting there. When he looked up, he seemed agitated.

"Well, well, well." Jeremy said. "If it isn't the pathetic excuse of a life? You know, I feel bad for the time I gave you after what he did to you. Though you know why I did? Because I felt sorry for you. I pitied you. But now I don't feel so bad for you. I found about your thing with Bonnie. You deserved every bit of what you got."

Feeling his knees buckle, Jack fell to the ground in a heap of sadness and tears.

"JACK!"

Jack's eyes flickered open to see Jeremy standing over him in his bedroom. He felt tears in his eyes, and he was hyperventilating. Jeremy then wrapped his arms around him and started stroking him. After a minute or two, Jack felt better.

"You were having a nightmare." Jeremy said. "Want to talk about it?"
"N-not r-really." Jack choked out. "Though it's better now that you're here."

"Okay. Here, why don't you join me in the kitchen? I made us lunch."
"W-will there be some for Bonnie?"
"Of course."

Jeremy then got up, and extended a hand to Jack. Jack then grabbed his stuffed rabbit in one hand, and took Jeremy's in the other. The lunch consisted of sandwiches, chips, and pop. There were some cut up veggies too.

They ate the lunch in a swift manner, Jack pretending to feed Bonnie some of the cut up carrots every so often. It made Jeremy laugh, and Jack did too. When they were finished, Jack tried to get up to clean up, but Jeremy insisted that he sit down and relax. While Jeremy cleaned, Jack played pretend with Bonnie, like he did when he was little.

Jack didn't even realize that Jeremy was watching him until he looked up. He felt embarrassed.

"You didn't have to stop!" Jeremy said. "Sorry, I was just watching."

Jack sighed. "I will. You probably think I look like a five year old or something."

Jeremy pulled him in for a hug. "No I don't. In fact, it doesn't bug me at all."
"Really?"
"Really."

"So, is it okay if I ask if we can play some board games?"
"Sure!"

Jack felt as happy as if he was a kid again on Christmas morning. He grabbed a couple games like Scrabble and Uno, along with a few others. The two played the afternoon away until dinnertime. They paused, and reheated some leftover spaghetti Jack had in his fridge. But afterwards, Jack yawned, and rubbed his eyes.

"Tired?" Jeremy asked.
"Yeah." Jack said. "Is it okay if I go back to bed?"
"Not at all. Come on, I'll tuck you in."

So Jack, Jeremy, and the stuffed Bonnie were all back in the bedroom. They repeated the same scene as before, but Jack asked Jeremy,

"Would you stay? Here? Until I fall asleep? And, like, after that?" Jack asked, nervously.

"Sure! Unless you don't want to, though I did bring some stuff over if you want me to spend the night. Is that what you want?"
"Y-yes please. Will you?"
"Sure. Let me change first."

Jeremy then walked out of the bedroom into the living area. He grabbed his bag and changed into his pajamas: a t-shirt over his boxers. Heading back into Jack's room after changing, and turning the lights of the apartment off, and locking up, he found Jack fast asleep, cuddling Bonnie.

Smiling, he kissed the two on the head, and climbed into the bed next to them.

"Hey Hope." Freddy said as he walked with Hope towards their respective tables. "I took your advice and talked to Bonnie. Things are good with the two of us now." He smiled happily.

"That's great!" Hope said, feeling a twinge of regret from knowing how things were with Jack and Bonnie.

"Yeah." Freddy said, a dreamy look in his eyes. "Oh by the way, Mangle wanted you in her office. I dunno what for. I can take your tables for now if you want."

"Thanks Freddy! I'll be back as soon as possible." Hope's old mentor nodded and walked off towards his table. Hope served the table she was currently on and then rushed off to Mangle's office.

"Hey Mangle! What did you need me for?" Hope said as she slipped into the office.

"Oh, yeah. You help out a lot in the kitchen right?" Mangle asked as if she didn't already know the answer.

"Uh, yeah. Me and Goldie worked out a system to make pizzas pretty fast…" Hope said confused.

"Well then," Mangle said with a mischievous smile, "I think we need another Chef. We always seem to have too many wait staff on the floor and not quite enough food coming out fast enough."

"Your switching me to the Chef position!" Hope said a little too excited.

Mangle smiled, "You can start today if you want. Goldie's and your shift seem to correspond quite often. I hope that's alright."

"Of course that's great! Thanks Mangle. I better get to work!" Hope said practically running to the kitchen.

"Goldie guess what!" She said running into the kitchen only to see Chica.

"What's got you so excited Hope? Sorry Goldie went to help sort out orders or something. By the way what's up with you two? I never get the chance to talk to both of you at the same time." Chica looked at Hope curiously.

"Oh. Hey Chica I got switched to the Chef position!" Hope said hoping the other question would be dropped.

"That's great! But what about my other question?" Chica asked.

"Uh…" Hope said nervously. "I uh… It's just coincidence." Hope shuffled nervously as Goldie walked in behind her.

"Hopey!" Goldie said wrapping his arms around her, apparently not noticing Chica.

"Uhm… Goldie…. Look," She whispered.

Goldie looked up to see Chica and jumped away from Hope. "I uh Chica uh hi?"

"What the hell is going on? Have you two been trying to hide that from me? Is that why you haven't both been here at the same time? Cause you didn't want me to know you were dating?" Chica asked offended.

"I…. I'm sorry Chica… I thought you wouldn't like it…." Goldie said looking down at his shoes.

"I can't believe this! One, why would you hide it, and two, how do you think you hid it? You idiot it's obvious you got a girlfriend I've never seen you so happy!" Chica said playfully slapping Goldie on the back of the head.

He looked up and smiled, "I don't know i figured you'd be too busy with Mr. Pirate to notice. I'm glad you did though. You're not mad?" He asked nervously.

"Of course not! Come here you two lovebirds!" Chica said happily pulling both Hope and Goldie into a hug.

Two days after his run in with Foxy, and just one after his day with Jeremy, Jack was back at work. He asked Freddy for a new uniform, which he gladly supplied. When questioned why it was torn, Jack lied and said a dog attacked him.

The day wasn't too bad, more or less of the same. Serving people, and fulfilling other miscellaneous requests from Mangle. He was finishing one of those requests up before heading off on his lunch break by taking something over to Mark in the Prize Corner.

When he couldn't find the proprietor, he assumed he and Frank were 'busy', so he left the box on the counter. He turned around to leave, but froze for a moment. Foxy was heading towards him. Common sense told him that he had nothing to worry about, because he wasn't coming completely towards him, but panic and paranoia told him to run.

So he bolted out of the room, headed towards Jeremy's office.

Meanwhile, Foxy continued walking until he reached Chica, who was just waiting outside of the Prize Corner area. He gave her a kiss, and a hug.

When it was over, Chica asked Foxy, "Hey, do you know what's up with Jack?"
"No lass, I don't." he said. "Why, what's going on?"

"Well he just ran past me and seemed like he was crying. And I could've sworn that he was saying 'No Foxy no' under his breath. Did you do something to him?"
"Why I haven't! Maybe you just heard him wrong."
"Probably. Now let's go eat."

While the pirate and the chef talked, Jack finished his run to Jeremy's office. Though, he didn't find Jeremy there. Running again, he raced through the restaurant and found him backstage with the band. He practically jumped into Jeremy's lap, hyperventilating, and biting back tears.

"I don't care." Jack thought. "I don't care that the band sees me like this. I just want Jeremy."

Jeremy asked Jack, "What happened?"

"I-I s-saw h-him walking towards m-me." Jack squeaked out.

"What? Who is 'he'?" Frank asked. "What is going on?"
"Yeah Jack!" Carrie chirped, "We're your friends here."

But as soon as Carrie finished her sentence, Jack began to bawl. Jeremy, not wanting to have him in front of the band much longer, stood up with Jack. Holding him bridal style, he began to walk out.

"You guys will be alright for a few minutes?" Jeremy asked, not expecting an answer. "I need to go to my office real quick. I'll be right back."

So the security guard took the sobbing waiter out of the backstage area, leaving a confused band behind. Immediately, Toni and Carrie swiveled in their chairs to face one another. There was just so much to talk about.

"So what do you think happened?" Carrie asked. "I'm concerned for Jack."
"Me too." Toni said. "Poor guy hardly has any friends here since he went straight to fucking Bonnie."
"I don't think they're together anymore…"
"WHAT?"
"Yeah. I saw Freddy and Bonnie leaving the Supply Closet the other day before we left."
"And you just waited until now to tell me?"
"I didn't think it was important!"
"Well it is now. Though it seems like one of my ships is being fulfilled."
"Which one?"
"Are you blind? Jack and Jeremy! Though there is a piece to this puzzle missing…"
"What is it?"
"Well Little C, it's that Jack is acting strange. I heard through one of the janitors that they found what looked like a gag and rope in the men's restroom trash."
"Do you think that Bonnie or Jeremy did something to Jack?"
"Absolutely not! Bonnie, though a little loose, would never do anything like that. Jeremy, he's a total sweetie. I mean, look at how he was treating Jack!"

The two started debating furiously while Frank sat and watched. He then cleared his throat, and the two angrily turned their heads to him.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" they said, enraged.
"Hey, calm down." Frank said. "I just wanted to offer an opinion."
"Fine." Toni sighed. "What is it Frank?"
"Well if you think someone did it to him, wouldn't Foxy be the first on your list? I mean he is quite the manwhore, and has a past."

At this revelation, both women's jaws dropped. How did they not think of that!

"We'll discuss this with the Alliance." Toni said, voice stone cold. "Oh, look at the time! Next set guys!"

The enthusiasm Toni had said in the last part of her sentence was forced. As happy as they were to perform, they were reluctant, and very concerned for their friend.