Mike had been rushing around the house, on multiple occasions, nearly stepping on the cat. Food needed to be cooked, drinks needed to be chilled, cups, napkins, plasticware and paper plates needed to be set out. A knock came at the door. Mike slammed the lid to the cooler shut before turning toward the door. As he stepped forward, he heard a yowl from the cat that finally managed to get stepped on. He cursed and scooped up the cat in one arm, kissing to top of his head and gently messaging the part of his tail he had stepped on. He strode toward the door and opened it, "Nightre, hey, thanks for coming." He stepped aside to let her in.

"Sorry I wasn't here earlier… how are you feeling?" she asked, holding a tray of cheese and vegetables in one hand, scratching Star's head with the other.

"Sore." Mike answered. "Surprised I got discharged as early as I did, but- y'know… grateful."

"That's good… um… where can I put this?" she asked, showing him the tray.

"There's a table in the dining room with more food, you can just set it there." He pointed, glancing and noticing another car approaching the house. This had to be Paul. "I'll meet you back there." He called. He planted another kiss on the top of Star's head before setting him on the couch and stepping outside to greet Paul.

Paul parked in front of the house and hopped out of the car, "You excited?" he called out.

"You have no idea." Mike answered. "It feels like it's been a year."

Paul pulled out another tray of food- devilled eggs- and trotted up to the door, "So, anyone else here?"

"Just Nightre and Stella. Stella's showering, Nightre just got here. Everyone else is at Dad's hearing. Even Mangle."

Paul nodded, "Thought I saw someone go in." he said

"You can put the eggs on the table in the dining room."

"Thanks." Paul hopped inside, he stopped in his tracks, "Wait- Mangle? Who names their kid Mangle? That's twisted."

Mike shook his head, "She's an animatronic. We called her Mangle because the kids used to take her apart all the time, back when the pizzeria was open." He explained.

Paul nodded hesitantly, "Gotcha- and you're okay with living with an animatronic? Considering everything?"

"Dad trusts her." Mike answered, "And we've gotten her completely refurbished since."

Paul shrugged, "Okay, whatever works, I guess." He continued to the kitchen.

Mike's phone began ringing. He glanced down at the screen and saw Lori's name, "Lori! What's up?"

"Mike… I don't know how to tell you this…" she started.

Mike sat down on the couch, his heart dropping into his stomach as he heard her defeated tone. "Don't tell me…"

"Your friend probably went to the best law school in the country because your dad's coming home!"

Mike brought a hand to his forehead, then lowered it to cover his eyes, "Don't scare me like that…"

"And the franchise is blacklisted! No one who had ever run the place can open a business again, nor can anyone use the name for their own establishment! If Mangle wasn't such a vital witness to the trial, they'd have her scrapped! We won, kid, and no one's ever getting hurt by the franchise again!" she cheered.

Mike wiped his eyes.

"Mikey?"

"I'm here…" Mike's voice cracked.

"Okay, we're gonna be another hour before we can bring your dad home, so make sure things are ready." She instructed, "But who am I kidding, you got this. We'll see you soon."

"Thanks, Lori…" Mike smiled, listening to her hang up.

Paul returned to the room and paused, "Whoa- Mike are you okay?"

Stella reached the bottom of the stairs, her hair soaked. "Mike, what's wrong?" she went around and knelt in front of him.

Mike took a deep breath, "My dad's coming home, guys…" he wiped his eyes. He stood up, "They'll be on their way in an hour, let's get this finished up." He said, standing straighter and taller than ever.

..xxXxx..

Jeremy sat in the back seat of Olivia's cruiser, staring blankly at the rolled-up paperwork he had been given before leaving. His heart pounded in his chest, Mary's voice was speaking a million words a minute, excited and anxious to see Mike.

They both were. Jeremy was speechless. Darrel fought to make sure Jeremy could get at least less jail time, but getting out on only house arrest? He was going to see Mike a lot sooner than everyone had thought. Everyone except Lori, of course. He suspected that she knew he was getting out. She had a smug grin the entire trial, sitting in the stands behind him.

Mangle had come to a surprise to him, seeing how polished she was and hearing how clear her voice was, she came off more as a mood-lightening prop than she did as a witness to Gerald Schmidt's death. She almost came off as a joke until Jarvis plugged in the incredibly graphic video feed and the 9-1-1 audio. He had to make sure to thank Jarvis for restoring her, he had to thank everybody for their help. And from now on, Darrel was their go-to lawyer.

"You ready to see Mike?" Olivia asked.

Jeremy blinked, coming out of his thoughts and looking up, the house was just ahead, a car sat out front that he didn't recognize.

Olivia parked and stepped out of the car.

..xxXxx..

"They're here!" Ray shouted, having been sitting by the window keeping watch. He hopped up and rushed to the kitchen where he heard Mike start cursing in panic. "Here, get the door, I'll take over." He nudged Mike out of the way and took over stirring the chili beans.

Mike rinsed his hands and quickly dried them, Paul and Nightre were finishing up with decorations, Stella was setting out the last of the cupcakes and moving around chairs. She gave Mike a kiss on the cheek as he passed her, "Go get him."

Mike stood in the living room, freezing up, suddenly nervous that all this time and he might be in trouble for not telling him he was alive. He took a deep breath and watched the door handle jiggle. His heart raced. Olivia opened the door and stepped in, looking down and watching where she was stepping before stepping aside and letting Jeremy step in. Mike's heart was pounding into his throat, his hands starting to sweat. Did he forget to turn the air conditioning on?

Jeremy finally looked up and locked eyes with Mike, freezing. He exhaled sharply. His boy. His boy was standing in front of him, just a few feet in front of him. Mary had finally gone silent. He took a small step forward, his foot shuffling. "…Mike?"

Mike's eyes watered as he pressed his lips together, giving him the faintest of nods.

"Oh my god, Mike!" Jeremy breathed and rushed in, quickly closing the gap between the two and encasing him in a bone-crushing hug. In that moment, nothing around them seemed to exist as Jeremy sobbed into his son's shoulder. Mike gripped the back of Jeremy's shirt and buried his face into his shoulder. Jeremy backed out of the hug and gripped the sides of Mike's face, patting each arm, going back up to his face and hugging him again, "I thought I lost you…" he sobbed.

"I'm right here, Dad…" Mike swallowed down the lump in his throat, "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere." He assured him, ignoring everything else going on around them.

Olivia watched the two for a while, her eyes watering at the reunion. The rest of the guests had started to gather. Ray stepped out of the kitchen and met with Olivia. She put an arm over his shoulders and hugged him, "Don't ever scare me like Mike did to Jeremy, okay?"

"Okay." Ray returned the hug.

..xxXxx..

Mike went into tech support at the same company Jarvis was working at and took to the job very well, easily preferring it to staring at a monitor and watching for haunted robots, now he stares at a monitor and watches for viruses and bugs. After his house arrest was no longer in effect. Jeremy took a job at the mall as… you guessed it- a security guard. Except this time, there are no mascots out to kill and it doesn't require a shift past ten 'o clock at night. Both are very happy.

Jeremy and Olivia took their time planning a wedding and getting married. That said, Mike and Ray are now step-brothers. Not long after, Mike had popped the question to Stella and they got married.

From the moment Jeremy saw Mike was alive, Mary had been silent. He had growing concerns that something may be wrong, but when he asked Lori, she had told him that Mary had finally found peace and had been put to rest. Therefore, Jeremy was no longer possessed.

**Well, this was also short, but it's short and sweet. This story had been in progress for a very long time and it needed to be finished. I want to acknowledge WarHusy2000 for his help and contribution on this story, seeing as Olivia, Ray, Rhythmi and JArvis are all his OCs As well as GrezzWizard, whose OC was Paul, and Marionette AKA Puppet, whose OC was Nightre, If you guys are still reading after all this time, I want to thank you for your contribution and I'm sorry it's been so long since I've last updated from chapter 16, but we're finally here! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the story and stay awesome, folks!**