GASP! The continue-tion of the babysitter chapter! What will happen to William Shakespeare? Will Elsabeth and Ivan get into mischief? Will there be Clarinet and Henry Potter lore? And will Michaela get a girlfriend? Find out all that, and more!

Reviews!

MoonTheMagical: True. I don't usually like strawberry things, but strawberry cheesecake is amazing. And yeah, you should check it out. Helps with regular mask fog too.

SomeRandomRobo: Same here. I'm going to go eat a cinnamon bun. And yeah, I'd read it too. I hope they publish it soon!

Qxr: Yeah, we need Ruby to help them out!

EnterUsername270: It stands for Multi Editor Project. I didn't get into the one I tried out for this time, but oh well :')

if you want to see the animation clip I made, my YouTube username is ghostexe. Check it out if you want :))))

Enjoy!

Chapter 65

Springlocks and Shenanigans

The sun shone golden rays down to the earth. The thunder-like rumble of rubber tires on harsh asphalt echoed around them. A twenty-something singer crooned from the speakers about springtime, but Clara flicked the radio off. She knew that if something terrible happened that day, she'd hate the song forever.

They drove in silence, which was almost as rare as a shooting star. Usually, the car was filled with obnoxious bickering, off-key singing, or rage-filled yelling, but today it was completely silent. Nobody dared make a sound.

Evan and Michael, both having window seats, gazed out at the town around them. They watched cars race by and brightly coloured birds fly through puffy cotton candy clouds. Elizabeth sat in her purple booster seat in the center, deep in thought.

After Clara had burst in with the news, the kids had dashed out to her car while she fished out some money to Carly in a hurry. She'd hastily packed a couple picture books and some granola bars for the kids, but that was it. They'd been driving for the past ten minutes, and they were nearly at the hospital.

Breaking the silence, Elizabeth quietly spoke up.

"Is Daddy going to die?" She asked, looking at the floor timidly.

Clara sighed. She probably should have planned ahead for this question, what with how morbid her youngest was.

"No, honey. Your father won't die." Clara reassured her daughter, keeping her eyes on the road.

But in all honesty, Clara didn't really know. When Henry had called her last night, he sounded panicked, his voice heavy with terror. She didn't know the full story, but she knew he'd lost quite a bit of blood. Clara might not always see eye-to-eye with William, but she would never wish any sort of harm on him.

Ever.

Clara made a quick right turn to Hercules Hospital, driving down a long hill to a huge parking lot. Luckily, since it was early in the morning, there were a few parking spaces left. It was a nightmare to find parking in busy hospitals, like when she visited her father yesterday. Clara felt horrible about leaving her dad a day early, but he was in a stable condition and the doctors told her he'd be okay without her.

Clara backed the car into a space and parked there. She turned off the car and leaned back.

"Okay kids, grab your water bottles and anything else you want to take with you, we might have to wait a bit. I've got some books and snacks in case you get hungry."

Michael helped Elizabeth out of her car seat while Evan took everyone's water bottles. Clara grabbed her mini backpack and a thermos of tea, and with great caution, led her family through the dangerous parking lot.

They opened the doors to the emergency room, and Clara quickly ran over to the front desk. Hospitals always made her anxious, with all those people coughing and sneezing and spreading germs everywhere. She wanted to spend as little time as she could in the waiting room. Luckily, there was no line-up, so Clear went straight to the front desk.

"I need your full name," The bored-looking lady asked from behind a protective layer of glass.

"Clara Roselle Schmidt, and these are my kids." Clara told her, gesturing to the three curious children examining a poster of the human body.

"And why are you here?" The lady asked, typing away on her computer.

"My ex-husband, William David Afton? He was in an accident last night, so we came here to see him." Clara explained.

The lady nodded, peering through her golden horn-rimmed glasses at her computer screen. After a couple seconds that seemed like days, the woman nodded again.

"Alright, he's in room 180. Go ahead."

"Thank you," Clara said, and motioned for the kids to follow her. They made their way through the long white-and-beige halls. The sharp lemon scent of sanitizer was heavy in the air. Doctors walked beside them, dressed in powder-blue scrubs and carrying important-looking documents.

Elizabeth sniffed the air and recoiled. "The air smells yucky."

"That's the sanitizer, Beth. It keeps the germs away." Clara explained, making sure to keep her hold on Elizabeth's small hand. The little girl had a habit of getting separated. One time, when Liz was three, she got lost in a huge corn maze. They had to call a helicopter to get her out, and a news team even livestreamed it. Michael and Evan liked to tell that story at family gatherings.

They stopped once they had reached the door. A man dressed in blue scrubs waited there in front of the room. He smiled when they approached.

"Hello there! My name is Donny, I'm one of the nurses here. You must be his wife!"

"Ex-wife," Clara corrected. "But sure. And these are our kids, Michael, Evan, and-"

"Elizabeth!" Elizabeth interrupted.

Clara forced a smile. "And Elizabeth. The lady at the front desk said we could visit?"

Donny nodded. "Ah, yes. His friend Henry is there with him as well. Um, may I speak to you for a moment? Without the children listening, please."

"Sure thing. Mike, you watch your siblings, I'll just be a second." Clara instructed her oldest. Michael nodded absent-mindedly, typing away on his phone.

They rounded a corner till they were in a more secluded area.

"So, I don't want you or the kids to worry too much," Donny began. Clara mentally rolled her eyes, that was a good sign.

"But basically what happened to him, and this is what Mr Emily told me, is that they were testing out a new type of costume for their restaurant - my kids love the place, by the way, it's all they can talk about-"

"Yeah, okay, back to what happened?" Clara asked testily, an edge to her voice.

Donny blushed. "Sorry, sorry. So Mr Afton put on the torso of this suit, and apparently it can also be used on an animatronic?"

Clara nodded, she knew of this suit. They'd been using them at the diner to entertain the kids for years.

"Yeah, I'm not much of a tech guy, but what Henry said is that it contains springlocks, and when you trip them, all the robot wires and sharp metal shoots inside in order to power the robot. So when Mr Afton accidentally tripped the springlocks while he was wearing it…"

"Oh God…" Clara whispered in a hushed tone. She got the picture, alright. That was horrifying! Like something straight out of a Stephen King horror novel! "So is he okay?"

"Well, luckily Mr Emily rushed him here as fast as he could in an ambulance. He lost a lot of blood, but he thankfully didn't have the suit's torso on all the way. It just barely missed his vital arteries and organs. We gave him donated blood from the blood bank, as his brothers could not be reached in the UK. He's in a stable condition right now. But he's leaning towards the best-case scenario, which is that he'll have major scarring across his torso and neck." Donny explained.

"But when will he be out?" Clara asked. Her voice was strained and heavy. In all her years, she couldn't imagine something like this happening to someone, let alone someone she knew.

"I can assure you that he will be out in around a week, if things go the way they're going. Until then, you should take the kids to your place to stay with you. I presume you two are divorced?"

Yeah, no crap. "Mm-hm."

Donny smiled. "Right then. So yes, Mr Afton will be alright. Worst-case scenario, he has to stay here for longer. But we've stitched up his wounds and everything seems to be in order." He reassured her. "Now, does he have any illnesses or other ailments? Physical." He asked.

"Um." Clara wasn't sure if she was the best person to ask. "I know that he's allergic to apples...nothing else physical that I know of."

Donny nodded. "We can go back to your kids now, if you four would like to see him."

"Okay," Clara said, still in shock. Wow. She knew of the suits and their purpose, but she never could have guessed that something like this would happen!

When they got back, the kids were engaged in a conversation about Lianna Indiana, a show that had just come out a couple months ago that they loved. Clara smiled when she saw them, and reached for the doorknob to let herself and the kids in.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Donny stopped them. Clara sighed, taking her hand off the knob.

"We put him on some meds half an hour ago, and they made him kind of...loopy. So, if he's acting a little, ah…"

"Drunk?" Evan asked.

"High?" Michael added.

"Daddy's drunk and he's in the sky?" Elizabeth asked, scrunching up her nose in confusion.

"No, love." Clara shushed Elizabeth.

"Yeah actually, that's pretty much how he'll be acting. Although now he won't be acting drunk, more like a hangover. So, he'll be quite tired." Donny agreed. He took out a little bottle of hand sanitizer, squirted some into their hands, and after some complaining from Evan about how it stung his cuts, Donny opened the door.

Clara braced herself for a horrific, blood-soaked crime scene, but it actually...wasn't that bad. William had his raven hair tied back in a ponytail. The dark colour was a sharp contrast to the whiteness of his skin, much paler than usual. He wore a hugely oversized white shirt and pants, dotted with little green polka dots. Tubes attached to his arms led to a clear plastic bag. A monitor recorded his steady heartbeat, the electric green line bouncing up and down, up and down. At least that, if anything, was a calm reassurance that he was okay.

Henry sat on a black folding chair beside him, wringing his hands out, the hangnails on the side of his fingers picked bloody and raw. His light brown hair was messy and frizzy, there was a light dusting of stubble on his chin, and there were dark circles under his warm hazel eyes. Six empty cups of coffee sat on the nightstand beside him. Clara, having known Henry since college where she met him and William, knew that he would only drink coffee when he was incredibly stressed. Like on the night of a big robotics exam many years ago, where he and William were cramming all night.

She felt terrible for Henry. The two of them were best friends, peas on a pod, soulmates or whatever you wanted to call the pair. And they had been for over ten years. So it must really hurt to see him in a hospital bed like this.

When Henry spotted them, he stood up immediately, dashing over to them and enveloping Clara in a tight hug, the bittersweet smell of coffee engulfing her. Surprised, Clara didn't return it and Henry quickly backed up, mumbling a quick sorry before running a hand through his fluffy brown hair, trying to unsuccessfully tame it. He smiled wider, placing his hands on his sides.

"I'm so glad you guys are here, I've been here all night..." He was fidgeting a little, hands slightly shaking. "I've had like, eighty cups of coffee, sorry if I seem a little energetic! Hah."

Clara smiled. "That's alright, it must be stressful. You did the right thing, reacting to danger so quickly. I'm impressed. It was very brave."

"Ah, well, it was nothing. Really." Henry said in humility, his face flushed slightly with embarrassment. He wrapped his plaid green flannel tighter around his body, the fabric worn and patched from use."Oh, and Charlie's with my sister right now. Just so you know. So you're not worried."

From across the uncomfortably white room, Elizabeth squeezed in-between her brothers, running over to her beloved father's side, her emerald eyes sparkling.

"Daddy daddy daddy daddy! I missed you thiiiiiis much!" Elizabeth squealed, holding her hands as far apart as she could. "C'mon, hurry, get up! Mummy said that there's ice cream in the caffyteria!"

"What's this long noodle thingy?" Evan asked, pointing to one of the thin clear tubes attached to his father. Across the room, Michael was dangerously close to knocking over a hideous purple vase of flowers.

On the hospital bed, William blinked his eyes open, a confused look on his face. In the room around him, the three siblings were being chaotic as usual. Unfortunately, in a hospital setting, chaos was not a very good thing.

Clara sighed. "Kids, give your father some space."

The kids backed up, leaving William there. The man blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the light."What...oh. Hi Clara." His voice was groggy from disuse.

"Hi." Clara wasn't sure what to say. "How, um, how are you feeling?"

William shrugged. "Bad. I got stabbed though, so I guess that's expected."

"You got stabbed?!" Michael, Evan, and Elizabeth yelled incredulously. Clara face-palmed, she probably should've told them about what happened sooner.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Michael asked, hurt showing on his face. Clara sighed, turning to him.

"I'm sorry Mike, I should've told you. I just didn't want you kids being afraid."

"That's so cool! Were you like a ninja? Did you have a ninja fight?" Evan asked, his cerulean eyes sparkling with amazement. Elizabeth frowned. "It's not cool, it's sad. I don't want Daddy to get stabbed!"

"It is too cool. You're going to have a lit battle scar and everything!" Michael exclaimed, envy thick in his voice. It seemed like Michael wished he got stabbed.

Which wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"Your father will have some scars, but they won't be too bad. He'll have a glow-up!" Donny told them in a kind voice. Clara smiled, glad that he was reassuring the kids.

"Actress and model Karen Hills says that a boob job is the best way to get a glow-up. Is Daddy getting a boob job?" Elizabeth asked, dead serious.

Clara slapped her forehead. "For goodness sakes, Beth, your father is not doing that!" She let out a long breath, calming herself down. "Why don't you three go to the waiting room and, I don't know, read. Or something."

Michael frowned. "Reading's for nerds."

"Then go sit and stare at the ceiling," Clara snapped. "At least watch your siblings for a while, please."

The three kids grumbled and groaned, but filtered out of the room, leaving the adults to stand there and have normal adult conversations with each other.

~lll~

Michael's gray-blue eyes were narrowed into slits as he fished around in his jeans pocket for something. He pulled out a small paper-thin strip of watermelon gum and popped it into his mouth, chewing aggressively.

"This blows." He muttered, crossing his arms and slumping down in his chair. Beside him, Evan took a long sip of his water, then started coughing. From the front desk, the lady there gave him a dirty look and nudged the box of medical masks forward.

Michael blew a large pink bubble and popped it, pulling it back into his mouth and chewing it again. Elizabeth watched in fascination. How did he do it? Whenever she tried to blow bubbles, she just made gurgling noises and would accidentally spit out her gum. Then Mikey would laugh at her, and she didn't like being laughed at. It made her feel small and stupid.

Suddenly, a door was opened somewhere, and a delicious sweet aroma floated out and flooded the room. Elizabeth gasped, inhaling the lovely scent that reminded her of the cinnamon rolls Henry made when she went to their house. Mmm...now she wanted cinnamon buns.

Elizabeth glanced over and saw Evan's eyes sparkling for the same reason as her: delicious sugary desserts. But then she turned back to Michael and frowned. How were they supposed to sneak off without him noticing?

Suddenly, a tall lady in a white-and-red uniform wheeled a large trolley down the hallway, the wheels squeaking. It was covered by a large white blanket. The lady stopped at the front desk to chat with the snooty secretary.

"Oh, I'm just bringing this tray to Meg in the kitchen." The lady laughed. Elizabeth's ears pricked up. The kitchen? Suddenly, she had an idea.

"Oh my God, is that Shelby May Thomas in a tank top and a short skirt?" Elizabeth gasped, pointing at nowhere in particular. Michael's head whipped towards the direction of her finger.

"Where?!" He asked, looking around desperately for a glimpse of possibly the prettiest girl in the whole middle school, maybe even the whole world.

Seeing that Michael was distracted, Elizabeth grabbed Evan's wrist and sneakily dragged him onto the bottom of the cart, under the white linen sheet.

"Ellie! What are we doing?!" Evan hissed, crouching into a tiny ball in order to fit better. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, bringing her knees to her chin.

"I'm getting us cinnamon buns! Duh! Now shush your mouth before that lady notices!"

Evan opened his mouth to protest, but Elizabeth slapped a palm in front of it, hearing muffled voices from the tall lady above.

"Well, I should get this cart to Meg. Catch you some other time!" The lady chirped, grabbing onto the handles of the cart and beginning to wheel it down the hall. Elizabeth grinned. Her plan was coming into action.

Back in the waiting room, Michael had discovered, to his disappointment, that there was no Shelby May Thomas in a tank top and skirt down the hallway.

"Hey! Lizzy, I think you're delus-" He cut himself off when, instead of seeing his two younger siblings sitting patiently, it was just a couple of sick old people reading the dull lobby magazines. Michael sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

Where did they go…

-lll-

"Why?! Why won't you let me do this simple thing! Seriously, Clara, you're acting like my mother!" William yelled, anger flooding through his veins.

"Yeah, well, I bet your mother was a smart woman! William, there is no chance in hell that I am letting you use one of those suits again! And Henry, you really shouldn't either! Those things are death traps, and you know it!"

Henry looked at his feet, unwilling to meet her angry green gaze. Clara took a few deep breaths, collecting herself.

"Listen. You almost died in one of those things, Will. And...and you terrified me and the kids. I never, ever want to feel that scared again." Clara tried, then realized from the blank look in her ex's eyes, that guilt-tripping him probably wasn't the best idea.

"If you won't do it for us, at least do it for you." She murmured. William frowned, his fists unclenching.

"I-" He sighed. "I guess. I...I don't want to die, like, I really don't want to die, and if this is the best option, then, I'll do it. Even if it means sacrificing the day shift."

Henry beamed, looking quite pleased. "Good. I mean, I'll miss you and all, but I'm glad you're keeping safe."

"I won't miss your ugly mug," William teased, giving his friend an affectionate punch on the shoulder. Henry rolled his eyes, but seemed happy that William was back in a joking mood. Same with Clara, who was proud of herself for getting him out of that dangerous suit job. Now he'd be perfectly safe and free from any harm of being springlocked again.

-lll-

Elizabeth and Evan had been in the bottom of the cart for around seven minutes when they suddenly went through a door. The crashing sound of pots and pans and the sizzle of stoves jolted the pair back into reality. Elizabeth grinned wildly. This was it! Their VIP tickets to all the scrumptious desserts they could eat!

The cart bumped over the slots in the tiles until it finally rolled to a halt. After a few minutes, Elizabeth timidly poked her head out from behind the cotton curtain and observed her surroundings carefully.

The kitchen was large and bustling, with tightly packed countertops and bright florescent lights beaming down on them. Trays that ranged from green and orange slop to gourmet dishes were placed on the tops of certain counters. But just as Liz was giving up hope that she would spot any delicious treats, lo and behold, a plate of steaming hot cinnamon buns was placed on the counter beside her. Elizabeth licked her lips. Mmm.

Important-looking people dressed in white collected the trays to deliver. One of them passed nearby, and before Elizabeth ducked back under the sheet, she noticed the small black earpiece inside their ear.

"We're surrounded! What are we gonna do?" Evan whimpered, panic heavy in his voice. Elizabeth scrunched up her brow in concentration, racking her brain for a solution. She peeked back outside, scanning the area like a drone for something they could use to distract the workers for long enough to snatch a bun or five.

Ah-hah!

A small black microphone lay on top of the unused counter, flashing a neon red light. If Elizabeth was guessing correctly, she figured that the microphone was connected to everyone's earpieces.

"Psst. Evvy. Grab the microphone and tell 'em all to go away. Make sure your voice sounds professional!"

Evan nodded, his face very serious. "I'll try my best!" After doing a quick scan off the room, Evan quickly ducked out and snatched the small microphone, sneaking it inside and pressing a small yellow button. The light flicked to green and Evan began to speak, lowering his voice tremendously.

"H-hello there, f-fellow adult chefs-s. U-um, everyone go…g-go...go, uhm…" Evan trailed off, his hands shaking, cold and clammy.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I'll handle this." She grabbed the microphone back, narrowing her eyes.

"Listen here, you pack of pathetic mutts! I've been watching you all on these cameras here, and I've got to say this was some of the worst rubbish I've ever seen from this crew!"

Evan watched the chefs flinch.

"God, I mean, look at you worms! Weak and scrawny, just like your soups! Come on Gail, take it up a notch!" She spat.

A lady with graying hair gasped. "It wasn't my best performance today, I'm so sorry!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Oh please. Cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it! Now, get off your asses and go get me a soda from the vending machine, I'm thirsty from the tiring work of searching for better, more capable workers than you spineless cowards!"

The chefs hurried outside in an orderly fashion, mumbling things like "yes sir, sorry sir," into their earpieces.

Elizabeth grinned, her green eyes alight with an evil flame. She held up her palm, and although Evan was slightly concerned for Elizabeth's sanity, he slapped her palm.

Elizabeth practically leaped out of the bottom of the cart, stretching out her cramped limbs. Evan stepped out and promptly fell to the side and onto the corner of the counter. He rubbed his side, wincing.

"Pins and needles," He explained to a bewildered Elizabeth.

Standing on the tips of her toes, Elizabeth stretched as far as she could and grabbed a large, sticky cinnamon bun. She ripped off a chunk of the chewy bun and ate it, the frosting getting all over her face. Evan giggled, it looked like Ellie had a mustache!

"Can I have some?" Evan asked, giving his sister puppy-dog eyes.

"Here," Elizabeth sighed, reluctantly passing her brother a tiny chunk, which he took gratefully and gulped down, icing on his round nose.

And that's what they looked like. Hungry, cramped, and covered in icing, when a very angry, disappointed, and oddly calm Clara appeared. She glared down at them, her shamrock-green eyes flashing.

"We just heard a very interesting announcement come over the emergency PA system," Clara informed them, her tone deathly quiet. "Anything you two want to tell me?"

Elizabeth avoided her mother's gaze, scowling at the floor. Evan gulped, swallowing his last piece. Maybe even the last thing he ever ate.

"Hi, Mom."

A/N

And we never saw Evan again :)

Question/Challenge: what is a random fun fact you've learned? Did you know that there are spiders on every continent except Antarctica? Cool stuff, unless you're arachnophobic!

Have an amazing day/night!

~Ghost