Gregory scribbled on the paper in front of him. He leaned over the coffee table, focusing intensely on his picture. It's a family photo with Mama 'Nessa, Papa Luis, and him. He was using a lot of blues and reds, because it reminded him of Freddy (who's the absolute coolest), and yellow and orange (because it reminds him of Sundrop).

Behind him, he heard Mama 'Nessa and Papa Luis giggling about something in hushed voices. He was glad Mama 'Nessa was feeling better now, Papa Luis warned him this morning before she came over that she might not be in the mood to play.

Gregory understood. Sometimes he didn't feel well either.

For a while he didn't feel well, at all. He didn't like to think about that, so he doesn't. It….it doesn't matter anymore.

But, to his surprise, Mama 'Nessa came straight for him, wrapping him in a tight hug. She held him tightly, and refused to let go, even when Papa Luis said it was time for breakfast. And he made pancakes, which were the bestest food ever! But Mama 'Nessa needed a hug. So, he hugged her back.

Eventually though, she let him go, but not before ruffling his hair.

He furrowed his brows, concentrating on writing his name. Yesterday, Mr. Sun had them do writing exercises to practice writing their names. He wasn't very good at it yet, but Mr. Sun said all things take practice.

He leaned back on his knees, looking over his work. Almost finished. He scribbled a messy three next to his name. Perfect!

"Mama 'Nessa!" He turned around, excitedly waving his paper in the air. "Papa Luis! Look!" They both looked at him.

"Oh, what's that, Gregory?" Papa Luis asked, gently taking the paper from his outstretched hands. He nodded. "Wow! I love all the colors you used."

He giggled, getting to his feet. "Uh, huh! That's me," he pointed to the stick figure with messy hair, "and that's you," he pointed to a stick figure that's taller than the rest (almost abnormally so), "and that's Mama 'Nessa," he pointed to the only stick figure with (strangely) long hair. "And I wrote my name!"

Mama 'Nessa leaned in, looking over his attempt at writing his name. "That's wonderful! Great job, Greg," she praised, ruffling his hair.

"Is this a three?" Papa Luis asked.

"Uh, huh, yes. 'Cause I'm three."

They exchanged a look. They seemed to do that a lot around him.

"Oh," Mama 'Nessa started, "I thought you were ...um… younger…"

"Nope, I am three. My birthday's April 9th."

" Oh, your birthday's coming up quickly then," Papa Luis said. "Four-years-old, wow! That's a long age!"

"Yep!" Gregory agreed, bouncing on his heels. "Can we have a cake? Oooh with…uh…chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. Like mommy and daddy used to make."

"Gregory?" Mama 'Nessa asked, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Yeah, Mama 'Nessa?"

She smiled. "N-nothing. Go get your shoes, it's almost time to take you to daycare."

"Yay!"

He couldn't wait to see all his friends and Mr. Sun, and even Mr. Moon. Though he was kind of scary, maybe Gregory just needed to get used to him.

-x-x-x-

Luis wasn't an idiot. Last night was a wake up call that, while Glitchtrap was no longer prowling around, Vanessa's ordeal was far from over.

He sneaked Gregory into a side door, keeping his head down while signing him into the daycare. Sundrop greeted him warmly, hugging him. Gregory disappeared into the daycare, chasing after his friends. After saying a farewell, Sundrop was greeting the next child (though he didn't hug the parent).

Vanessa was sitting in his car, flipping through the radio stations (most of which are pure static, or sermons delivered by some particularly zealous pastors). She groaned, switching the radio off. "You survived," she joked, tone flat.

"Ha, ha, very funny. Now, where to? We both have until four. I would say four-thirty, but four is peak pick-up time and it would be easier to smuggle him out of the building while other parents are there." Luis said.

"Your mind terrifies me sometimes." Vanessa replied, lightheartedly.

"And yet, it has never steered you wrong before."

"No, no it hasn't." Vanessa admitted

They sat there, in the parking lot of the Pizzaplex, looking at one another. He couldn't help but admire how beautiful she was in the soft morning light. A car alarm went off elsewhere in the parking lot, breaking the spell.

Luis cleared his throat, starting the car. "Where to?"

"The mall across the street. We can get a few things for Gregory's birthday." Vanessa answered.

"Remind me again why Faz-Entertainment decided to build a mall across from an extremely popular mall?" Luis questioned.

"Because their only hobby is losing money at an exponential rate."

Luis laughed, because with all the employees and patrons they'd had to pay out over the years (not to mention the scandals they paid off to avoid being in the media for negative reasons, again, or the various incidents that resulted in significant property damage) it was a miracle they're still in business.

-x-x-x-

He sat outside the local mall, watching families pass-by. Pushing down the pang of hurt, it was kind of nice seeing others having a good time. He took tentative bites of his pretzel, keeping an eye out for his own family.

(As unlikely as that is).

A couple walked past him-and he can tell they're a couple, because they both had that look in their eyes that indicated a certain level of adoration-and he smiled at them. They remind him of how he and his wife acted when they first got together.

They walked past, and he took one last bite of his pretzel before getting to his feet. Maybe he could convince the mall to post missing person's posters? It was a long shot, but the staff here were pretty easy going. At least they used to be, truth be told, he hadn't been here for a hot minute.

-x-x-x-

Vanessa walked through the mall, side-by-side with Luis. He idly chatted with her, but mostly pointed out the stores that he thought would have something Gregory might like.

"Oooh! 'Ness! 'Ness! Look!" Luis excitedly pointed at the toy store up ahead.

"Sounds-" Vanessa stopped her reply as she caught something white in her peripheral vision. Vanessa whirled around, following the movement.

In the center of the mall was a photo booth with a line of families eagerly awaiting their turns to take their photo with-

She swallowed, eyes locking on to the "Easter Bunny." The fur of the costume was white and its eyes were red. It shifted, turning into a bunny suit with red eyes and patched together with crude stitches.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Luis…Luis…" she reached out, but she couldn't feel him.

" Vanessa," A familiar voice said in a sing-song tone, mocking her. It was her. "Vanessa, don'tcha wanna play?"

Vanessa covered her ears as she sank to the floor. "No…no…leave me alone…please…"

"But Vanessa, that's not very nice. C'mon, play with us."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Vanessa screamed. She looked up, to see everyone staring at her. Luis was quickly in front of her, he offered her his hand.

"Nothing to see here. Stop staring!" He said, waving his hands dismissively at the patrons still watching her.

He ushered her through the mall. A gentle hand on her back.

All she could do was offer a pitiful apology. Vanessa trembled, body feeling weak after the outburst.

She collapsed into the passenger seat.

Luis said nothing, starting the car up. "Do you want me to take you home?"

She mustered up the energy to stare at him. "Are you asking me?"

"Well, do you want to go home?" Luis asked again.

Vanessa hesitated for a while before she quietly answered, "...yeah, I'd like that."