Chapter Text
The rhythmic beeping of the vital sign monitors finally penetrated a certain blonde woman’s ears, as she slowly regained consciousness on a hospital bed. Vanessa blinked rapidly, as the bright lights in the hospital ward blinded her when she attempted to open her eyes for the first time in seven days.
A chubby nurse hummed church songs to herself whilst she checked in on each of her comatose patients, making sure that each of their vitals were stable. The nurse walked into Vanessa’s ward expecting to find the young lady fast asleep. She did a double take and gasped when she opened the door and saw her formerly unconscious patient sat upright in bed, looking very confused.
Vanessa turned to face the visitor, and relaxed as she recognised the nurse scrubs that she was wearing. Hopefully, she could give her some answers.
After snapping out of her stupor, the nurse rushed over and greeted Vanessa with a soft smile. “Hello Vanessa, my name is Evelyn”, she said kindly, “You are at the Grace Wake Hospital. Do you know why you are here?”
Vanessa opened her mouth to respond, but quickly shut it after she found that she could not answer right away. She looked away from the nurse’s face and tried to recollect what happened in her last moments of consciousness. Fortunately, she did not have to think for very long at all. The memories all came crashing back to her at lightning speed.
The computer virus. The strange kid in the pizzeria. The Glamrock animatronics. The fire. And Vanny.
Vanessa’s eyes began to tear up. She also remembered that, after months of torment from that strange rabbit thing, she had been freed. Vanny was gone, at least for the most part.
“Vanessa, can you hear me?” asked the worried nurse, as she watched her charge cry silently after the question. “If it’s too much for you right now, we can discuss this later. We don’t have to talk about the events now.”
At that moment, Vanessa blushed, remembering that the nurse was still with her, and was expecting an answer. She gently wiped her eyes and smiled. “Thank you for your concern, but it’s alright. I remember what happened, and trust me, these aren’t sad tears. I am just so relieved to be here, alive and… free.”
The nurse exhaled in relief. Although she did not really understand what Vanessa meant by “free”, she was happy that her patient’s tears were ones of joy. “Would you like a hug to commemorate your freedom?” asked Evelyn playfully.
With no words spoken, Vanessa launched herself into the waiting nurse’s embrace and proceeded to stain her uniform shirt with some more tears for good measure.
After calling in the doctor to update Vanessa on her condition and run some additional tests, nurse Evelyn handed Vanessa a phone, which she used to call up her family and friends. It turns out her parents had come to town earlier in the week to see her, after hearing about the fire at the pizza plex.
They had been inconsolable when they heard news and wasted no time in going to see their now conscious daughter. Her parents had also tried to convince her to come back and live with them, pending her full recovery from the tragic incident at the pizza plex, but she refused, stating that she was not yet ready to leave the city.
Speaking of the pizza plex, Vanessa had been under the impression that the whole place had burned down, but it turns out it was only a small section near the Roxy Raceway that had been damaged by the fire. That place was now being cleared out and refurbished, but business was going on as usual.
Typical Fazbear Entertainment.
After spending an extra week in hospital, Vanessa was ready to return home to her quaint apartment on the city outskirts. Nurse Evelyn gave her a duffle with some of her belongings in it. She was not sure what the bag contained, but she still thanked Evelyn for her care and got the next bus home.
Getting home was bittersweet. It was a welcome change from the dry hospital environment, but there were traces of a certain crazy bunny in every corner of the house.
The first thing she did upon shutting her front door, was to throw away every single one of Vanny’s possessions. The knives, the leftover fabric for the stupid rabbit costume, and all the other things that she had purchased under the influence of that… thing. It all had to go.
After much cleaning with some pained crying here and there, Vanessa lay down in her bedroom to enjoy the feeling of freedom. Her peace was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. She groaned in frustration but remembered that it may just be someone who was trying to check on her.
She rolled onto her stomach and picked up the phone. It was a call from a number she knew very well - the HR manager from Fazbear Entertainment.
“Hey Susan”, mumbled Vanessa tiredly into the phone, her mind already imagining all the potential lawsuits or sanctions she was going to hear about. There was probably going to be a non-disclosure agreement involved.
Yet, on the other side of the call, Susan was ecstatic. She genuinely believed that Vanessa would not answer her call, yet here she was speaking with her. “Hey there, Ness”, she said warmly, “I heard that you were out of the hospital, so I thought I would call to make sure you were okay. I am so happy that you are alright despite the circumstances.”
“Thanks for checking on me,” stated Vanessa dryly, even though she was somewhat grateful for the attention.
“I can hear how tired you are so I will do my best not to waste your time”, added Susan as she paused to pull up a document on her laptop. “There are a couple of things that you need to know.”
“Here we go…” thought Vanessa, as she rolled her eyes. She hadn’t been out of the hospital for up to a day and Fazbear Entertainment were already trying to cover their asses.
“As you know”, began Susan, “you have always had great reviews from your supervisors and have proven to be one of our most stellar employees. The management of Fazbear Entertainment was devastated at the news of you getting hurt in the fire, so we have decided to compensate you for the tragedy. Check your bank account.”
Vanessa had assumed that she was being read a script up until Susan gave her that instruction. She logged into her banking app with one eyebrow raised in suspicion. She nearly dropped the phone after seeing her account balance.
“Are you still there Vanessa?” asked Susan with a small chuckle. She had done the bank transfer herself, so she had a good idea of what was going through Vanessa’s mind.
“Um yeah… sorry”, stammered Vanessa, “That’s a lot of money… I don’t think I can accept…”
“I understand your hesitance, but think of it this way. You just spent two weeks in hospital and you won’t be able to return to work immediately. This is to cover your medical bills, as well as all your living expenses until you feel strong enough to come back. Plus, there is more than enough for you to treat yourself with.”
Vanessa could not stop the smirk that appeared on her face. Since when did Fazbear Entertainment try to right their wrongs before being exposed? However, Vanessa knew that this particular incident was not actually the company’s fault.
“That’s really generous of them”, admitted Vanessa, sitting up straight. “And I am guessing that there will need to be some “silence” on my part as well?”
“You know the drill already, Ness”, replied Susan with a sigh. “And please don’t rush to get back to the pizzaplex. I am prepared to give you as much time as you need to recover, and then once you are ready, we can talk about taking up shifts again. How does that sound?”
“That sounds perfect, Susan. Thank you so much”, answered Vanessa sincerely. This was the break she needed and she was going to happily take it.
“Of course, Ness. Let me know if you need anything else. Bye!”
“Bye!”
******************************************************************************************************
That same evening, Gregory was fighting for his life, trying to defend himself from the onslaught of tickles that he was getting from Chica and Roxy. They had been taking turns playing the racing arcade game in Roxy’s room and Gregory had just lost for the third time.
“C-C-C-cut it out,” whimpered Gregory, in between fits of laughter, as he repeatedly failed to dodge the attacks of the two animatronic ladies.
“Hmm, do you think he’s had enough Roxy?” asked Chica as she paused momentarily.
“I guess he’s suffered enough,” stated Roxanne as she wrestled Gregory off the ground and into a hug.
“You two got lucky this time”, argued Gregory, breaking out of Roxy’s clutches. “Next time, I will be the champion racer and you two are gonna buy me a crate of fizzy faz!” Chica laughed, while Roxanne just rolled her eyes playfully.
Their playful banter was interrupted when Gregory heard a beep from his fazwatch. It was a message from Freddy, asking him to come down to the day-care to get ready for bed.
“Aww man”, complained the little boy.
“Is it bedtime already?” asked Chica, as she noticed the drop in Gregory’s expression.
“Yeah. Freddy is waiting for me in the day-care bathroom, so that I can wash up and brush my teeth before heading in for the night.”
“Alright you had better head up, then. Let’s not keep Freddy waiting now”, said Roxy as she gently patted Gregory’s head.
Gregory enveloped Roxy and Chica in a big hug before sprinting off to meet his father figure in the day-care. He had all the security clearance he needed to navigate the pizza plex easily, so making his way to the day-care after hours was just another day at the office for him.
One short journey later, Gregory enters the boys’ bathroom in the hallway leading to the day-care, where he was greeted by his animatronic dad.
“There you are, Superstar”, gushed Freddy, “I brought your face towel and toothbrush for you. Now let us get ready for bed.”
“Can’t I stay up a little later today? Pretty please?” pleaded Gregory with a cute pout. He was not like most kids that had school, so he could be flexible with his bedtime.
Freddy’s deep laugh sounded from his large chest. “That will not be the case, Gregory. We need to prepare for bed early today. Or did you forget about your sleepover with Monty?”
Gregory gasped in realisation. He was supposed to have a sleepover in Monty’s room that night. He snatched the towel and toothbrush from Freddy’s robotic paws and started his night routine. Once he was done, he changed into his Monty themed pyjamas and held Freddy’s hand all the way back to Rockstar Row.
During the walk back, Freddy admired how happy his new son was. He had been badly shaken up by the events with Vanny, the virus and the fire. In spite of all that, Gregory had bonded with him and was now learning to get along with the other three animatronics.
This sleepover with Monty was a part of getting Gregory acclimatised to the others. He was so proud of his little Superstar for facing his fears and letting the others into his life. Once they reached Rockstar row, Freddy knocked on Montgomery’s door to let him know they had arrived.
“Hey, little guy! Ready to have a good time?” quipped the energetic gator.
“You bet, Monty”, yelled Gregory as he hopped into Monty’s arms.
“Do not get into too much trouble, you two,” said Freddy, wagging his finger disapprovingly.
“We’ll do our best, dad” mocked Monty, “say good night to the bear, kid.”
“Good night, Freddy. I love you.”
“Good night, Gregory. I love you too.”
Simple days like these became commonplace in Gregory’s new life at the mega pizza plex. He had a brand-new dad in Freddy and a new family with the Glamrock gang. Vanny, the virus and that strange purple rabbit thing would soon become shadows of the past and Gregory would have it no other way.