Doctorwho9000 here (the co-author for those who forgot/were unaware), and I'm here to say that we apologize for being late on updating. Real life gets in the way, but mainly it's the authors procrastination. Which is the main cause. Without further ado, here's the latest chapter of Flames!

Hope sat in the kitchen waiting for something to do. The restaurant opened in ten minutes, but no one was in the kitchen and all the prep work that could have been done was completed.

Just as Hope was starting to fall asleep the door to the kitchen slowly opened.

"Hey…" A voice Hope was all too familiar with said as he entered the kitchen.

"Chica was supposed to be working with me today. Not you." Hope said glaring at the person who had come in. "Why are you here Goldie?"

"I… Well, I came to apologize. Jack suggested I-" Goldie tried to explain before being cut off by Hope.

"Oh that's why. You only came to apologize because Jack told you to. I appreciate him trying to help, but I am not accepting some fake, half-assed apology. Don't apologize just because someone else told you to. I'm not going to listen to anything you say if it's just made up crap."

Goldie felt himself drop as Hope ranted. He didn't really know how to apologize in the first place, and now that she was already angry he didn't see a point in trying. The only reason he wanted to say anything at all was to make Jack happy.

"What now you're just going to sit there and blank out? I cant handle you Goldie!" Hope exclaimed angrily.

"Hope? Just listen for a minute. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I said those things. Obviously it seems like you don't need me. And maybe I don't need you either. Whether you accept it or not I'm sorry. I had no right to act the way I did. Now can we drop it and make some pizza? I can already see customers coming in." Goldie said, desperately hoping for her to accept his apology.

Without a word Hope turned and started working.

Jack casually strolled into Freddy's for work. For some reason he couldn't help but feel that today was going to be eventful. He shrugged it off, but it immediately returned when he saw his old beau heading his way. His normally calm demeanor was replaced with his newfound aggressive strut.

"Hey babe." Jeremy said as he approached. "What's going on?"

Anger bubbled up in Jack and snapped. "You know Jeremy Fitzgerald, we're through. Even if one of these babies is yours, I'm over you. We're done, and that little scene at the apartment only proved you only care about having all of the power in the relationship. But, we could still be friendly co-workers."

Jack threw in a smile for good measure. However, Jeremy's face went blank.

"Uh, Jeremy are you alright?" Jack asked with concern.

Suddenly Jeremy's face snapped into one of white hot rage, and in an instant, lunged at Jack. Somehow, Jack managed to dodge the blow, and Jeremy froze. He looked at Jack, at his hands, and back at Jack.

"I-I'm sorry." he said after a few moments, still shocked at his own actions. "I-I can't believe I just did that. I think I need to go somewhere to get some help. I'm sorry Jack. I gotta go find Mangle."

With the exchange over, Jeremy walked quickly to Mangle's office. Jack stood there dumbfounded for a few more moments, but managed to make sense of what happened and then get to work.

Hope grumpily wandered into the security office. She was still in a bad mood after Goldie's attempted apology.

"Hey lovebird. What's gotten into you?" Spring asked as she walked in.

"Stupid fucking people." Hope grumbled sitting on the desk.

"What happened now?" Spring asked, trying not to laugh at his ever angry girlfriend.

"Goldie 'apologized.'" Hope said, putting air quotes around apologized.

"Forget about him. He's just a whiney little brat who can't accept that you've found someone better." Spring said coming around the desk to stand in front of her.

"I hate him." Hope mumbled. Her anger still the only thing on her mind.

"Lovebird…. Forget about him. Why don't you pay attention to someone who cares about you?" Spring said leaning in for a kiss.

"I'm not in the mood." Hope grumbled, pushing him away.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked with a smirk. He placed a hand on either side of her, keeping her where she was.

"Fuck off Spring." Hope grumbled. Even though she was still angry at Goldie, Spring's idiotic attempts at kissing her were at the very least diverting her anger towards him.

Spring slowly moved away from her and closed the office door coming to sit beside her.

"Yeah. Usually that works? Um. I haven't really had much experience with girls like you." Spring mumbled.

"When I'm mad, don't bug me like that. I don't want that. I just want to scream. And no, that was NOT an innuendo." Hope said crossing her arms.

"Well. How about I use a different tactic to cheer you up?" Spring said, a smile playing on his lips.

"Wha-" Hope started before squealing with laughter as Spring suddenly lunged at her tickling every where he could reach.

"Try to stay mad at this!" Spring exclaimed, laughing as well. After a while he stopped and pulled Hope into his arms.

"I feel better now." She mumbled, leaning into him.

"I'm glad." Spring said, smiling down at her.

"Sometimes you aren't as much of an asshole as I think you are." She said, smiling playfully.

"Hey be serious for a minute. I really care about you. That being said I seriously wanna kiss you." Spring said, moving so that once again, he had Hope trapped.

"Whatever." Hope said rolling her eyes.

Spring leaned down and kissed her, his hands wandering down her sides as he did so. He moved her hands to do the same and soon both of them were trying to catch their breath while still staying together.

"Ya know I'm starting to see the appeal of the whole supply closet thing." Hope mumbled pulling Spring close to her and kissing him again.

During a lull in his shift, Jack made his way over to visit Goldie in the kitchen. He expected to see Goldie in his normal happy state, but he seemed all mopey.

"Hey, what's wrong honey?" Jack said, giving Goldie a side hug.

"Hope rejected my apology I think." he whispered.

Jack let out a small laugh.

"Honey, it's fine. Don't you know Hope?" Jack said. "She's just angry and probably didn't pay attention. I'll talk some sense into her. Or something."

"But she said-" he tried to explain.

"Sshh. It's okay."

Jack grabbed Goldie's face and brought it to his own.

"Hey, don't worry. I've got it covered." Jack whispered. "She's just a little bitch who's only emotion is anger."

Goldie giggled. "Yeah, I suppose so."

Jack smiled, and pulled back from Goldie. Both looked at each other longingly, knowing that they both wanted to kiss, but they were too shy and a little afraid to initiate it. Slowly, they inched closer to each other, so the gap was nonexistent. Jack leaned down slightly, with quivering lips, and met Goldie's. The kiss was tender and passionate, and Goldie returned the kiss.

Breaking away from the kiss, they smiled at one another again. Within a few moments, they went back on it, and began to make out. Time passed, and they stopped.

"Now that was fun." Jack said.

"Y-yeah." Goldie panted. "Totally."
"Heh, did that wear you out?"

"Well considering I never made out with anyone before, yeah."

"You didn't with Hope?"
"We never got that serious. It took me longer to ask her out and kiss her than it did with kissing you."

"Probably because of the lack of experience. Don't worry, I think we'll be together for a long time."

"I believe so."

Jack looked at the clock and realized he should probably leave. Gently giving Goldie and kiss, and a stroke on the cheek, he left the kitchen.

Hope walked out of the security office with a huge smile on her face. Being around Spring always made her feel happy. She was still smiling when she noticed Jack leaving the kitchen.

"Hey Jack!" She greeted him, still happy from her time with Spring.

"Hey.." He responded awkwardly.

"What were you doing in the kitchen? Trying to steal my job?" Hope asked with a laugh.

"Ha, no. I like being a waiter. I was just visiting Goldie Bear." Jack said running his hand through his hair.

"Goldie Bear?" Hope asked.

"Uh, yeah. That's what I call him since we, uh, are a thing now." Jack said, looking more and more uncomfortable with the situation.

"Oh.. What about Jeremy?" Hope asked, confused.

"He.. Well. He was getting violent and I think he is going to get help.. But regarding us together we're over." Jack said, sounding confident in his decision.

"Really? Is that why he wasn't in the security office? Spring said he got called in to work today by Mangle. He was supposed to have the night shift with Mike, but I guess Mike has it alone now." Hope said.

"Oh yeah. How's that going?" Jack asked politely.

"Well, It's alright." Hope said, trying not to smile at the thought of making out with Spring in the office.

"Hey, uh, you don't think it's awkward, do you?" Jack asked nervously.

"Huh? What's awkward?" Hope said shaking herself out of the memory of the office.

"Me and your ex..?" Jack asked, giving her a strange look.

"Oh. That. No… We didn't do much. As much as I hate how he acted I still want him happy. And if he's happy with you then that's alright with me." Hope said with a smile. Her anger at Goldie had mostly faded away with Spring's help, and she really meant what she said. She wanted Goldie to be happy.

"That means a lot to me. Hey, maybe we can take our break together? We haven't really gotten to hang out as much since we started working here." Jack said smiling.

"Sure. See you later." Hope said smiling back before heading into the kitchen to get back to work.

Coming back from his break, Jack felt refreshed and happy to have talked with Hope again. It had been too long, and he hoped that he would have more time for her. Well, between Goldie and the impending babies.

But just as he was walking in, so were Freddy and Bonnie, whom were holding each other's hands. Jack inwardly groaned. He wasn't in the mood to talk again. Maybe snuggle with Goldie, but that was about it.

"Hey Jack!" Bonnie chirped.

"Hello Jack. How are you this afternoon?" Freddy added on.
"Hey guys!" Jack said, getting closer. "I'm pretty good today. How are you two?"

"Fantastic." Bonnie replied.

"Very content." Freddy said.

A silence fell over them, but was quickly replaced with Bonnie's chatter.

"So how are the babies?" he inquired.

"Oh, they're doing fine!" Jack said, warming up to the conversation. "Both are healthy as can be right now. How about your little one?"

"He's doing just fine." Bonnie cooed, placing a hand on his belly.

"He?" Jack asked, confused.

Bonnie giggled. "Well, we're saying he for now. Better than calling the baby "it", you know?"

"True." Jack said. "I have to get back to work though. It was nice chatting with you two!"

"See you later!" they replied in unison.

As Jack scurried away back into Freddy's, he wasn't even aware of where he was walking, so when he bumped into someone and stopped to apologize, he felt two feet tall when he saw that it was Mark.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry Mark, I-I didn't know where I was w-walking…" Jack stuttered, remembering how tough he had been the one and only time he had met him.

He only laughed. Jack relaxed a bit. It wasn't an intimidating laugh, but more of a causal laugh. But he noticed something different about Mark. Was that a baby bump, or was he putting on some weight?

"Ah, relax Jack, it's an accident." he said. "Since me and Frank have found out we were expecting, I've softened up a bit."

"Oh you are?" Jack said with shock. He was surprised. Granted, he hadn't talked to Mark in a while. "Congrats! I'm expecting too. When are you do?"

"I think I'm due sometime in February." Mark replied. "Ooh, you're pregnant too? That's great!"

"It is."

Jack admittedly enjoyed being pregnant, just not the circumstances that will have brought these two into the world.

"When are you due?" he asked with enthusiasm.

"I don't think the doctor's have said just yet," Jack replied, "But I'll know soon."

"You must simply let me know when you get the word! I'd love to chat about it. I have to go now, but we need to talk again soon. Promise you'll stop by?"
"I promise."

"Excellent! I'll see you around."

With that, Mark walked away cheerfully. Jack stood there for a moment, processing that the restaurant badass was really a weak bottom who wants to be his friend. Chuckling, he went back to work.