"Charlie…Charlie please don't play in that sweets. It's icky." Alice calmly steered her baby away from a pile of cake on the floor, the little toddler trundling off in another direction as quickly as her fat little legs could carry her. It was just after closing, and admittedly everyone was exhausted. Employees smiled at the sight of the little girl, used to her presence by now as they cleaned up tables. It was always a wonder how they could clean to the ends of earth and by the next day everything was reset and spotless, like the parties had never happened.
Most were finishing up and already clocking out. "G'night Alice!" The single mother waved and locked the door behind them, sighing some. All righty Charlie, you stay here, mama is going to go change and get ready for tonight. Here..." She hefted the one and a half year old up and settled her into a playpen filled with toys and stuffed plush versions of Freddy and friends. Giving her a bottle, Alice patted her daughters head and quietly moved off to do her pre-work prep. Charlie watched after her a moment then stood, waddling over to the playpens edge. Standing on tiptoe allowed her to see just over the edge and she fixated on the band standing on the stage not too far away.
Her tiny mind only partially comprehended the things she saw, but everything was bright and colorful…and a potential toy. One thing she did recall though was that the big things on the stage moved and often spoke to her, particularly the bear. "Bur! Bur! U'mere! Bur!" She flexed her fingers in a 'come here' motion, and then frowned when Freddy didn't acknowledge the request. "'Unnie! Unnie, 'mere! Mere…" She flexed her fingers again, this time in Bonnies direction then grew flustered when he refused to answer as well.
Her agitation only grew when requests to come to her were continuously ignored. After a moment, she leaned against the pen, putting most of her weight into it, but let out a holler of annoyance when it didn't budge. Alice smiled, watching her child on the monitor for a moment. The little girl was a quick learner, and more than once had given her mother scare by finding her way into things. 'Just like her daddy' she thought with a sad smile to herself. Mike wasn't exactly daddy of the year….but she would never have bad mouthed the man. Working at Freddy's had caused a fair amount of mental strain that the young man had not handled nearly as well as Alice herself did. Sighing, she went back to her paperwork, content that Charlie was safe in her pen for a moment.
Charlie, on the other hand, had other ideas in mind, taking to tossing things out of the pen. "Bur! Unnie! Icka!" Her plushies exchanged rather strained looks, a few of them now sitting on the floor on the other side of the pen gate. Little Foxy shook himself out after a particularly accurate throw that landed him under the table. Getting to his feet, the tiny doll squeaked its way back over, waving an arm at Charlie cheerfully. The child squealed, and clapped her hands, then pointed at Freddy. "Bur! Hi Bur hi! Bur mere!"
It didn't take a genius to figure any of that out. The rest that had been tossed successfully over the pens top also got to their feet, moving back over. Clambering on top of each other, the ones still inside the pen pushed against the wall as the others tugged on it. Charlie put her own weight back into it…until finally, with squeaks of alarm and tumbling out of the way, the pen toppled over. Charlie rolled out with it and chuckled, picking up a Bonnie doll and giving it a squeeze, a one year olds version of appreciation before setting it down and getting to her feet. The dolls followed after her as she made her way to the other side of the room, wandering into a separate stage room where the Toy Brigade was kept. The kid friendly animatronics were asleep much like their bigger counterparts…but none of that mattered. Sitting in a corner of the room, partially hidden in the dark, sat another bear Charlie had never seen before, but was just as excited about. Its golden fur was faded and it was slumped over, as if sleeping. The plushies made noises of discontent, tugging on the child's shirt and hands insistently, clearly uneasy by the bears sudden appearance. But she ignored them, fixated on the golden figure.
Stopping a few feet away, she observed it for a moment, then squealed and held out her hand, flexing her fingers once more. "Hi Bur! Mere! U'mere…baby, me. Hi bur!" The golden bear remained still…but at the excited babble, shifted suddenly. Its head lifted and it fixed Charlie with an eyeless gaze, black pits where eyes should have been. Moving closer, Charlie patted its knee then sat in its lap, kissing her hands and pressing them to the bears face. "Hi bur." It took a moment for him to realize what was happening. Tilting his head some, those same dark pits peered down at the tiny human, curious.
Never before had someone noticed him long enough to care…let alone come straight into his lap. He had seen this little being pitter-pattering around the pizzeria before, observing silently from the shadows. Her mother, exhausted looking but no less interesting, left her to do what she needed. More often than not, Alice took her home long before midnight. This was the first time he had seen the child on her own. Freddy usually had her, watching like a hawk as he kept watch on every move.
Fred was…bemused. This little thing showed no fear, boldly clambering over him, patting his face and shouting at him, calling him a 'bur'. His gaze drifted to the stuffed toys that had accompanied her and they squeaked in alarm and fled. A sensation on his hand caught his attention and he glanced down once more. Charlie was trying to bite his finger, typical baby behavior as everything had to be tasted at least once. He pulled away and shook his head when she turned hers to stare up at him, clearly confused. "No…"
Patting her nose with the same finger, he cradled her as he stiffly got to his feet. He didn't often walk around…in fact it was usually impossible as he didn't normally contain a frame to support himself. But rarer things happened in this place he supposed. Sid would have liked this…the yellow rabbit was a sucker for babies. It made him pause, imagining his longtime friend, stuck in the basement as he was. Fred tried to visit sometimes…but it wasn't always enough. A soft sigh escaped him. He missed the old days.
Charlie had remained quiet so far, simply enjoying being held. She quickly discovered the remains of his bowtie and tugged on it, putting it over her eyes and quickly pulling it off, before staring at him and laughing. She did this a few more times and cracked up each time. Fred tilted his head again, confused by her actions…before he realized she was playing peek-a-boo with him. For the first time in what felt like ages, he smiled. It was a strain…but he managed. Moving out of the toy room, he made his way into the main one and sat at a table, placing his new companion on the top in front of him.
The moment he left, the toy animatronics shifted, Berry turning his head some to stare after the larger male. He glanced sideways, catching Birdies eye then Blueregards, the rabbit seeming utterly flabbergasted. "Did we just see…what I think we saw?" he asked quietly, afraid to talk to loudly incase their guest overheard. "D…did he have Charlie? And he was…PLAYING with her?" Berry bit his bottom lip. That made him nervous. Fred NEVER came out unless he was scaring someone….and he most definitely didn't seem like the sort to play seeks with a baby. "Just…keep an ear out…if she cries or anything. Freddy won't be pleased when he sees that." The other two nodded and slipped back into a partial stand by, listening intently.
Fred smiled, taking the rest of his bow tie off and putting it over her eyes. She stayed still then pulled it off, gave him a surprised look and laughed, before putting it back over her eyes. A soft chuckle left him. They did this a few more times before she got bored finally and pointed at his hat. "Mine." Raising a brow, he lifted a hand, touching the faded purple silk gently. "Not yours, mine…but you may borrow it." Taking it off, he gave it a little shake and set it on her head. She grabbed it before he could and immediately stuck the rim in her mouth. His brow furrowed some. She was obviously teething.
A soft sigh escaped him as he settled back, pulling her off the table to rest on his chest. He was bigger than Freddy so it was not a hard thing to accomplish; unaware that Alice was watching from her office, mildly interested in what was going on. She had never seen the tired looking bear before, but had seen old posters of him and faintly recalled seeing a show or two before it had closed for unknown reasons some years ago. But it had been so long, she had little memory of it. She did recall their being two of them though…the bear and a rabbit that resembled Bonnie…but yellow. She had no idea what had become of them after the closing. Still…
Fred patted Charlies back, rocking her without realizing it. It had been so long since a child had showed him affection and interest. The last one…a soft shudder ran through his large frame. God he hadn't meant to…never before would he had imagined his career ending due to such a tragedy. Children loved them…always had…and in a single flash filled with regret, guilt, and pain for everyone involved, just like that their careers had ended. Without Fred Bear, Sid had been removed, placed into storage and never seen again, deemed a danger. Fred himself had been dismantled, his exoskeleton removed in a soft attempt to clean it of all the…stuff. But everything had fallen into negligence, both of them forgotten and left to rot.
It angered him. Even more so when replacements had been brought in…not just once…but twice dammit! His black gaze drifted to Freddy on stage, still dozing in standby mode, unaware that the thing he held more precious to him than anything in life was quietly dozing off on the chest of what was essentially a ghost. His fists clenched for a moment, anger filling him. But after a moment, a tiny sound caught his attention and he peered down at Charlie, fat asleep now, his top hat clutched in her hand. The sight eased it all…the anger, the sadness, the hurt and confusion. No…taking it out on Freddy would do nothing for him. It would only ruin the happiness for other children and he couldn't imagine that. It might have been over for him and Sid, but it didn't have to end simply because he was bitter.
Closing his eyes he let his head fall back, enjoying the soft spot of heavy warmth that was the toddlers body resting on him. This was what he existed for.
A gentle hand resting on his should startled him and he jerked, quickly remembering to put a hand over Charlies bottom to keep her from falling. Alice came into view…right…the little human's mother. He had almost forgotten. She gestured at her child and he realized she intended to take her home…it was almost time. Reluctantly, he hand the little babe to her. Alice carefully hefted Charlie onto her shoulder. "You are welcome to watch her during these times….I'm sure she won't mind. I certainly don't." His gaze was dark as he stared, afraid to move or say anything, but at her offer to tend to her baby while she was here and her mother busy….slowly, he nodded. "I….would like that…thank you."
Alice smiled and nodded in return before moving over to the playpen, up righting it and patting Charlies butt gently. "Time to go home…say goodbye." The little girl blinked sleepily but managed to raise her hand just enough to wave. " 'Oobye Bur. Night night. See later mine." Alice chuckled and nuzzled the soft curled of her head before taking her outside, where a car waited patiently. Mike eyed his ex for a moment but his expression softened some upon seeing his only child. "Anything exciting? "he asked, clearly weary of being this close to the one place he despised more than anything. Alice shook her head. "Not really…Charlie made a new friend though…"
She paused, feeling something tugging on her pant leg. Glancing down, she was mildly surprised to see a stuffed bear, as gold as the sun, sitting at her feet. Bending down, she picked it up and tucked it into Charlies seat with her. "There we go…best friends forever." Charlie sighed in her sleep, hugging the little bear closer, unaware the larger version watched from a window…before fading back into the darkness, feeling a little less heavy hearted.