Despite William's feelings toward Henry, immediately after his restaurant merged with William's, Fredbear's Family Diner became more successful than it had ever been. The parking lot remained full and crowds of families would flood the entrance. It was everything that William wanted, everything that he desired.
William's children soon became attached to Henry, as if he were a part of their family. They even went so far as to refer to him as "Uncle Henry." William was conflicted about this. In part, he was glad that they loved him. It made his job a little easier. However, there was a part of him buried deep inside that hated the idea of this man becoming part of his family. No matter his jealousy, Charlotte, Henry's daughter, came to love him as if he had been a part of her family. Soon, she and Evan became best friends.
One weekend in 1981, William had taken his family to see the new and improved Fredbear's Family Diner. It was truly a wonderful place. Michael had brought his friend, Jeremy, and they twain were astounded. The old mediocre animatronics were set aside on a stage by themselves. They were liked, but not as well-loved as those on the main stage; animatronic versions of Fredbear and Bonnie the Bunny as well as Chica the Barnyard Chicken and a new animatronic, a bright red fox with torn shorts and an eye patch called "Foxy the Pirate Fox." Foxy was more popular with the older children, like those part of Michael's age group and Chica was more popular with the younger children, like those Evan's age. However, Fredbear and Bonnie were more popular than both Foxy and Chica combined.
"So? What do you guys think?" William asked his children in great anticipation.
"I-I...um..." Michael stuttered. He was at a loss for words. He had never seen such a place. He looked at his father with expectant brown eyes. William nodded and Michael and Jeremy both ran further into the diner.
Evan clutched his father's hand tightly and with his other hand, grasped his shirt. William could tell he was nervous, so he knelt to his height.
"Go on," he said in a calm, soft tone. "You might enjoy yourself."
Evan looked at the animatronics and began to breathe heavily. "A-are they good?"
William smiled and nodded. "Yes. They're good. I promise they won't hurt you. And, if they try, I will wrestle them to the ground!" With the last statement, William grabbed onto him and play-wrestled him until he lay on the floor. Evan's small giggles rang out. Clara laughed and Henry smiled as they looked upon this scene. "Now, do you think you can be brave enough to go see them?"
Evan stood up and glanced over to the stage. With his left hand, he grabbed hold of his right arm shyly. Then, Charlotte came out from behind her father and approached Evan.
"Don't be scared!" she exclaimed. "My daddy built them!"
"I designed them..." William muttered under his breath.
"And if our daddies built them," she continued. "they won't hurt us! I promise!"
Evan looked into her grayish-green eyes and blushed. He blushed more when Charlotte took his hand and led him further into the diner.
Henry laughed. "Well, Will, I think your son's got a bit of a crush Charlie. They may get married." Henry continued to laugh as William pretended to laugh.
"Yeah, sure," he said. Please say it isn't so... he thought within himself.
"Oh, and before I forget," Henry continued. "I've made some schematics of these new suits I'm working on that I need you to review. No time like the present."
"Okay," William responded before turning to Clara who was now sitting at a booth with Elizabeth in a highchair watching their children play. "Darling, a waiter will be with you shortly. Do you know what they'll like? There should be a menu somewhere on the table already."
Clara found the menu and opened it. "I'm not sure what Evan will eat, he's so picky. Michael, though, will eat just about anything." She spoke up to Henry. "He's our goat. We never have any leftovers in the house because of him."
Henry nodded and chuckled. "I can see that out of him."
"And you," William knelt beside Elizabeth. "Do you think you can behave yourself?" She giggled. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."
As they entered the storage room, William saw what appeared to be an unfinished replica of Bonnie on the workbench.
"Nevermind that," Henry said. "That has to do with this."
Immediately, he produced a few blueprints. One by one, he spread them out and unrolled them, using the stray animatronic parts to pin them open.
William looked at them briefly. "Are these suits? How would that even work?"
"That's the interesting bit," Henry said moving on to the next schematic. "What if there was something that we could use to hold the animatronic parts back? These locks I've started calling 'springlocks'. You have to crank them by hand, for now, to pull back the locks. When the performer is finished interacting with the guests, all he has to do is release the locks, and it becomes an animatronic again. What do you think?"
After a quick pause, William said, "I think you're a genius."
"No, not me. You were the one that had the idea for a place like this first."
William smirked. He felt flattered but somewhat insulted. Why could he not do what Henry could do? Regardless, he was open and ready to learn from him.
"I wonder if the food arrived yet," William said.
"Depends on who's working," Henry replied with a slight chuckle.
A/N: Thus ends another chapter. The story will slow down for a few chapters. I want to get to know the early characters more. We already know the Emilies and the Aftons, as well as Jeremy (not the missing child, Jeremy. The other one). But, what about the missing children? There are five, remember. I want us to get to know all of them. I already have an idea of what Cassidy's character can be like (thanks to Cassidy's fan art and fanfictions), but I need to think about the others. Usually, it just comes naturally to me as I'm writing. Haha! Well, anyway, thank you for reading, saving the story, and following! God loves you!