Three days later:

Lily was doing much better. Her wounds were healing very nicely, and she was able to move her shoulder, but not too much since it was still healing. She wanted to go to the shed to see the animatronics, and Ethan allowed it, although he, Sarah, and Mike had to accompany her.

Before entering the shed, Ethan and Mike went in first to inform the animatronics that Lily was coming in. They were also glared at by Ethan to be careful not to touch her since her shoulder was still healing, and they all agreed with a nod.

Lily and Sarah stepped into the shed, as everyone looked their way.

"Lily!" The animatronics greeted, as Lily felt a little bashful.

"Hey everyone. How have all of you been?" Lily asked, as Sarah brought her over to a metal table to sit on while she stood standing next to her on her right.

"Oh we've been doing fine. We're all friendly with one another and getting along, and all that good stuff," Chica said, as she stood a few feet from Lily's left.

"We missed ye, lassy," Foxy said, standing a few feet from Lily's right.

"Yeah. It's nicer to have you around. I'll admit that," Bonnie said, as he stood next to Chica with his arms crossed.

"Hello Ms. Lily. It's so grand to finally meet'cha," Mousie said, as she stood a few feet in front of Lily.

"We're very happy to see that your alright, and more so to meet you, Bwark!" Perry said, as he stood next to Mousie.

"Well hello, Perry, Mousie. It's nice to meet you two too," Lily said, with a warm smile.

"You know our names! I feel special, Bwark!" Perry said, excited, as Mousie's eyes glittered a bit.

"I told her your names," Sarah said, amused by their reactions.

"But it sounded so cool how she said it. Not a falter in pronouncing them or anything," Mousie said, as Perry squawked again from happiness.

Lily chuckled, as did everyone else.

While they continued conversing, Freddy stood a few feet behind the others. Dog was introducing himself to Lily, as Freddy just watched. Although he wanted to speak with Lily, Freddy stood back because a pair of eyes were more intensely fixed on him than anyone else. He looked towards the owner of those eyes, as they looked at him with a slight scowl. After Dog introduced himself, Ethan made a side glance from Freddy to Lily, giving him permission to now speak to her, although the intensity in his eyes didn't leave.

Freddy walked towards Lily, as the others gave him space, and he stood before her. Ethan came closer to Lily's left, as he stood next to her on guard. Then Freddy spoke,

"Hello Lily. How have you been? Are you healing okay?"

"Hey Freddy. I'm doing good. My shoulder's feeling better everyday," Lily said, as she lightly rubbed her shoulder.

"That's good. I'm glad your doing better... there's something I want to ask you," Freddy said.

"Yes?" Lily asked, curious and attentive to what he wanted to ask.

"Will you be well enough to face Crow? I don't mean to bring this up too early, but I want to be sure that your not endangering yourself for our sakes. If you'll be well enough to go, then I have no objection, but if not, then it may be a better idea for you to stay here," Freddy said, as Lily looked downward to think about it.

The other animatronics looked towards one another, since they hadn't considered that Lily's wound may not heal on time. Mike looked towards Sarah, to see if she could confirm if Lily would be healed on time or not, and Sarah gave him a lopsided smile while flipping her hand over and under. Although Ethan somewhat appreciated Freddy's concern, the stillness of his expression didn't show it at all.

Then Lily looked up at Freddy with a small smile and said,

"I appreciate your concern Freddy. Thank you. But with the care I've been receiving from Sarah, and the help from Ethan and Mike, I think I'll be very well six days from now. Don't worry about me, I'm in good hands. Just focus on getting prepared for when we go for Crow."

Freddy's eyes widened from Lily's sincerity, and then they softened in admiration, as he nodded.

"We'll be ready for your sake Lily. We won't let Crow win," Mousie said, as she clenched her fists and smiled.

"That's right. We'll be ready for him," Bonnie said, as he nudged his fist into his other palm.

"Ye take yer time lass. We be waiting for ye," Foxy said.

"Thank you. Everyone," Lily said, as they nodded.

Three more days later, Day Seven:

Lily was able to move her shoulder much better, and even carry heavier loads. However, Sarah made sure that Lily would take an occasional break from working on Perry, Dog, and Mousie since she was giving them upgrades. At this time, she was resting outside of the shed on a lone stump, where a tree had to be cut down last summer because it was old, and they didn't want to risk it falling down unexpectantly. She was enjoying herself in the calm wilderness of the land, as she was slowly breathing in the fresh air, and expelling out the confined air of the shed.

She heard footsteps crunching on leaves towards her, as she turned to see Mike approaching her, quite nervously.

"Hello Mike," Lily said, as Mike swallowed a lump in his throat and said,

"Uh, hey Lily. M-Mind if I join you?"

Lily shrugged, as she moved a few inches to the left of the tree stump. Mike carefully walked over and took a seat on the stump, although he stood a few inches away from Lily. He was fiddling with his hands anxiously, as Lily didn't notice since she was enjoying the divine scenery of grass, trees, and a few birds flying around before her.

After taking a few breaths, Mike gained a little more confidence, as he called Lily's name and she turned towards him.

"Um, I... I wanted to... tell you something. I mean, I was going to wait until later, you know, after all of this... but, I think I should tell you now," Mike said, as he made a glance towards her shoulder while speaking.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

Mike, once again, swallowed the lump in his throat and replied,

"Lily, I've been thinking, and feeling, and... okay I'm just going to say it. I like you Lily. A lot. Like, it's a little more than just a friend."

Lily's eyebrows raised, as her eyes looked downward to take in this new information. Mike became increasingly nervous, and he said,

"Um, uh, I-I've been meaning to tell you a little sooner, but when I saw you g-get hurt, I got so worried and t-tried to keep my cool to help you... and... well... what do you think?"

Hidden behind a tree nearby Lily and Mike stood an animatronic bear, listening in on the conversation.

Lily bit her lip, and then she signed, as she turned towards Mike and said,

"Mike. I really appreciate you helping us, and I'm thankful that your my friend... but I'd prefer to keep it that way. I don't see you in that context, and also considering your age I will have to decline. You still have time to make a life for yourself, and I wouldn't want you to drag it down for my sake. Also..."

Although saddened by this, Mike listened intently to what Lily was going to say next.

"You can't bet on a horse that isn't racing," Lily said, as she turned back towards the scenery.

Mike took a moment to process this, and when he realized what she was saying, he gasped a little. Then he said,

"Ooohh, I get it. I understand. I'm sorry, I understand now."

"It's okay Mike. It's better that you told me now. I wouldn't have wanted to break your heart if you would have told me too late," Lily said, and Mike nodded and said,

"Yeah, it would have hurt way more if I would have been totally in love with you."

Mike stood up, as he asked Lily if she would be okay by herself since he had to use the restroom, and she said she would be fine. As he walked away from Lily's field of hearing, his hand clutched his chest as he smiled with a single tear rolling down his cheek.

'At least I told her... I just hope I can live with this,' Mike thought, as he headed to the house.

After a minute, Lily decided to also head into the house because she was hungry. When she left, the animatronic bear came out of hiding, as he signed in relief.

"Eh hem," a voice said, as Freddy turned to his left and saw Dog leaning on a tree not too far from himself with his arms crossed.

"The boy is younger and more naive than she is, and your an animatronic. I don't think she's entering the race anytime soon," Dog said, as he stood up from the tree and left, while Freddy looked on after him with irritation.

Then Freddy turned towards his right and said, "Don't you dare say a word."

After a moment of silence, he heard a chuckle from Golden Freddy, as he sensed that he vanished. Afterward, Freddy returned to the shed.