‘What the?’ The sleeping mother thought with a jolt when a small foot connected with her back sharply. ‘Ouch!’ Lydia silently contemplated as she sat up in the bed and gently rubbed the tender spot where her daughter had just hit. ‘That shit hurt!’ Damn. For being such a little thing, that tiny girl was all arms and legs and took up most of the bed. How was that even possible?

Her brown eyes slid to the clock and spied that she had only slept for about an hour. You would think it wouldn’t be enough time to recharge, but it did seem to take the edge off the fatigue that was weighing down on her. It does appear that a little bit does go a long way, especially for someone pregnant. Plus, the young mother was going to need all the sleep that she can get. Especially now with two little ones in the works, sleep will be the last thing on their minds.

Lydia pushed back the covers and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Her petite hand came up and rubbed the sleep crust, then pulled away to scan her old room. Quickly she realized that they were alone, and her ghostly husband was nowhere to be seen. ‘Hm...Wonder where he is?’ quietly mused the young mother who scratched at the back of her head then shrugged. Her poltergeist wouldn’t have gone far and would show up eventually like always.

A light knock sounded on the door, drew her attention away from the thoughts of her husband. Lydia watched as it slowly opened, and Barbara’s voice softly called out her name while her curly head moved into view. “Lydia?”

The deceased woman’s eyes widened when she spotted the sleepy newlywed and smiled nervously. “Sweetie, I didn’t wake you, did I?”

A few dark strands gently fell as she swung her head side to side. “No, you didn’t wake me. Please come on in,” insisted Lydia waving the hesitant ghost in and swiping the loose locks behind an ear.

Barbara carefully sized up the room before stepping in and quietly shutting the door. Her petite hands wrung together as she eyed the pregnant woman cautiously then bucked up the nerve and revealed why she was there. “I was wondering if I could speak with you?”

Well, that hadn’t taken Barbara long, and Lydia had an inkling of what or whom the dead woman wanted to talk about. She gestured for the specter to take a seat in the chair across from the bed. “What is it that you want to talk about?” asked the newlywed regarding her surrogate mother in question.

Moving to the chair and sitting down, the woman fretfully smoothed out her dress then got to the point. “It’s about you and HIM?” Barbara emphasized the word him and began to smooth out more imaginary wrinkles.

Lydia felt the rise of mild irritation at Barbara’s condescending tone but resisted the urge to snap. Her teeth ground together while she hissed out a response, “What about me and my husband?” Her shrewd gaze watched as the dead woman flinched when the word husband was said, and her annoyance seemed to flourish. Oh, for fuck’s sake, couldn’t her family just be glad she was happy? It could have been worse, so much worse. Christ, it could have been Luke instead of Betelgeuse; a shudder of disgust and a good dose of fear ran through her at the thought.

The exasperation must have been written all over her face because Barbara began to stumble with her words. “Well. You see…Are you…You know…Happy…With him?” The specter bit her bottom lip and cautiously caught her foster daughter’s eye. A bubble of laughter spilled from Lydia, which caught the anxious dead woman by surprise.

Her raven mane bobbed, while she smiled at her ghostly mother reassuringly. “I’m more than happy, Barbara. I know it’s hard to believe, but Betelgeuse really is a good guy. It just takes some time and patience to get to know the real him.” She sent Barbara another reassuring smile then continued. “He has been nothing but good to us, and I’ve never had a guy treat me the way he does. Betelgeuse is a wonderful husband and father.”

Lydia stood up and made her way over to the vanity where her purse sat. She dug through it, pulling out her keys and hurrying back to the waiting specter.

A smile played at the young mom’s lips as she handed the deceased a small picture frame with the very first photo of Betelgeuse and Lucy. “That was the morning after we had married. I came out to find him sprawled out in a big chair with a tiny Lucy laying across his chest. Both were snoring away, and I couldn’t resist catching the moment.”

To be honest, it had been the first in a long time that the urge to use her camera had struck. Apparently being with Luke had sucked out all motivation to capture anything. It was like her muse had abandoned her once she had gotten involved with that horrible man and wouldn’t come back no matter how hard she had tried.

The curly-haired ghost stared at the picture for a few moments then turned her shocked eyes to the woman in front of her. “Why would he do that?”

Lydia gave her shoulders a small shrug and answered quietly. “I think he wanted to give me a break by letting me get some sleep. As for Lucy, well, I think he wanted to get to know his new daughter. Lulu’s very special to him.” Her hand slid to her stomach, and that smile of hers grew wider. “And so is this little one. It may not be born yet, but it is already an important piece to our little family.”

Tears shimmered in her dark eyes as she took the tiny photograph and brought it to her chest. “Barbara, I never thought I’d find someone that would treat us right. I didn’t think such a man was out there, but he is, and I am so grateful that our paths crossed once again.”

Barbara began to chew on her lower lip and reluctantly asked another question. “Do you…love him?”

Did she love Betelgeuse? She wasn’t sure if she did or not? They had only been together for 3 months, and it still wasn’t enough time to declare what they were experiencing was love. All Lydia knew was that they like one another very deeply, and that seemed to be good enough for the here and now. “I’m unsure if what I feel for him is love since we haven’t been together that long. I really do care for him, and he cares for me as well.”

Barbara’s cool hands reached out for her own and clutched her hand tightly. “Lydia honey, how do you know that he’s not leading you on?”

A frustrated sigh escaped and the urge to yank away from the dead female’s hold and snap at her reared. Slowly, she took in some calming breaths and somehow held her tongue from lashing out. If Lydia was honest with herself, she couldn’t fault the ghost for thinking that. It would have been something that the bio-exorcist would have done if he had still been that selfish and self-centered man that they had first met. “I don’t think so. Betelgeuse already got what he wanted when we married and could have left at any time. So why would he lie and for what purpose?”

Barbara blew out a discouraged breath as the dead woman reached for a reason. “I don’t know for revenge maybe?”

This time Lydia tore her hand away from the other woman’s grasp and jerked it roughly through her hair. She stepped back lips twisting in displeasure and glared fiercely at the frustrated ghost. Was Barbara serious? The cross woman doubted she would have been high on her husband's hit list. Nope, it wasn't her not after what Adam and Barbara had done to him. They had interfered with the whole sham of a wedding and had gotten him eaten by a sandworm. Revenge against his almost bride would have been the last thing on his mind.

“Revenge? Really? Yeah, I broke my word to him, but it’s not like I sent a sandworm after him.” Shit, she knew that was a low blow nevertheless the dead woman was starting to piss her the fuck off. Hell, everything was pissing her off as of late. Blasted hormones!

Lydia’s heated glare bore into the ghost while her words cooled considerably. “To be honest, you and Adam are more likely to be on his list for revenge. Not that Betelgeuse would do anything now. He doesn’t want to cause trouble for our family. I wish you all would take my word that we are completely safe with him and that he would never hurt us. Betelgeuse is a changed man, damnit!”

Barbara shot up from her seat and hurried towards her adopted daughter. The specter reached out and drew the shaking woman into an embrace. “Oh, Lydia sweetheart, I’m not trying to upset you. I just wanted to make sure that this is what you truly wanted. I only want you to be happy and safe.” Her cool hand gently stroked the back of Lydia’s head, just like Barbara had done a billion times when she was a dramatic and woeful teenager. “Honey, this is just going to take some time for us all to digest.”

Lydia buried her face within the folds of her dress and took in the comforting scent that was distinctly Barbara. You'd think that either she wouldn’t smell or that it would be that of decay, but neither was true. The odor that clung to the ghost was sugary and sweet just like walking into a bakery. It was nothing like her husband, who smelled earthy; like taking a hike in a damp forest. Both were extremely comforting for the pregnant woman, though.

Her face pulled away from the soothing fabric so that she was staring up at her ghostly mother with remorseful eyes and began to apologize profusely. “Barbara, I’m so sorry for getting snippy. I know this is a huge adjustment for you all and it’s going to take some time.”

Pressing a cool hand to palm Lydia's cheek, Barbara's gaze reflected a large amount of sympathy as she gently responded. "Lydia, I know this can't be easy for you either and must have been difficult to come here and divulge the truth. I'm glad you did and so do your parents. Everything will work out in the end, sweetheart, it's just going to take some time."

“I sure hope so. I don’t think I can take any more stress because this pregnancy is kicking my butt. It is nothing like when I was pregnant with Lulu, that's for sure,” sighed Lydia deeply before gingerly stepping away from the woman's reassuring touch.

“Yes, you did have a huge amount of energy even in your first trimester.” Agreed Barbara with a shake of her curly head and a small smile.

A snort left the pregnant woman, and a hand came up to massage her forehead then tiredly peered over at the specter. “Well, this time around its low energy up the wazoo.”

Sudden concern marred the ghost’s features and had Barbara motioning towards the bed. “Sweetie, would you like to lie down some more?”

Lydia dismissively waved a hand at the woman and sniffed. “I couldn’t if I tried.” She then thumbed to where the small child was currently sprawled out on both sides of the bed. "As you can see, Miss Lulu hogs the bed."

At the sight of the tiny child stretched out in the middle of the large mattress, the ghostly female covered her mouth with a palm and chuckled into it. “Oh boy, she does, doesn’t she?”, stated Barbara when the hand fell away from her face.

“Big time.” Joyously laughed the young mother as she continued watching her child who was presently beginning to wiggle around.

The child in question let out a small whimper and slowly moved to sit up. Lulu rubbed her sleep-filled eyes with one hand while the other pulled at an ear. Her lip wobbled wildly, and fat droplets trailed down her chubby as she called out for Betelgeuse. “Daaadaaa…..Daaaadaaa.”

Rushing to the bed, Lydia scooped up the crying baby and gently pulled her into a tight embrace. "Ssh...Lulu love, it's okay." soothingly cooing, she began to rock Lucy in an attempt to calm her.

Barbara tentatively approached the pair and reached out to lightly stroke the back of little girl’s head, whispering to the other woman in concern. “Oh honey, is she okay?”

A flustered breath got away from her frowning lips as she carried on with trying to soothe the weeping child. “I don’t know. Lulu hasn’t been herself lately, and I think she may be coming down with something.” In spite of all of the bouncing and patting, Lucy’s fretful cries reverberated throughout the room and left both women deeply unsettled.

"Lydia, I'm not one to tell you how to parent, but maybe you should consider taking her into the walk-in.” Suggested the concerned specter, while still gently stroking the light curls of the weeping girl.

Lydia blew some loose strains of hair from her eyes and wondered if her surrogate mother was right. Lucy still hadn’t become any better since rising this morning and seemed to have gotten progressively worse the later the day dragged on. Shit. Maybe they should take Lulu in. It appeared that something was going on with the small infant.

Another sigh rushed forth, and worried eyes trailed down to the distraught child then back to the waiting ghost, nodding soberly. “Yeah, I’m thinking we should.” Now she just had to find her husband and the only problem was she had no clue where he was. Wasn’t he supposed to be taking a nap with them? Where the hell had he gone to?

Her forehead wrinkled at the thoughts, and Lydia decided to ask the deceased woman if she had spotted the missing poltergeist. Hopefully, Barbara had seen him. It would help greatly in search to find her absent husband. “You haven’t seen Betelgeuse, have you?”

Barbara’s bushy curls bounced as she bopped her head and walked with Lydia to the entrance. “I smelled smoke down one of the hallways, so I’m guessing he is trolling there somewhere.”

Lydia opened the door and motioned for Barbara to go out first before joining her in the hall. She bounced Lulu on her ample hip and promptly addressed the ghost. “Okay, I’ll check there first. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

The specter reached out and tenderly stroked the soft blonde curls of her upset grandbaby then bid them goodbye. “Yes. Let us know when you come back, okay?”

“I will.” Said the young mother waving goodbye as she made her way down the hallway to find the ghost with the most.

The farther the woman walked down the hall, the stronger the odor of cigarettes became. Geesh! Barbara had been right! The terrible smell of smoke was overpowering in this direction, and she was positive that her husband was most likely down at the end.

Lydia couldn’t help but wonder why Betelgeuse was in the hallway anyway. It wasn’t like anything was interesting up here. Hell, it didn’t even have a damn window to look out of! She thought that not having a window was asinine and couldn’t possibly be safe. What if there was a fire? How the hell would they get out? Bet the obese man had never thought about that when he was spewing nonsense in her stepmother's ear. It had been rather disgusting when Otho had said jump, and her stepmother had always responded with how high.  Well, that had ended rather quickly, especially after the night of the sham wedding. Otho was so spooked that he refused to take Delia’s phone calls and had ended their tedious friendship. Lydia was glad the chunky bastard was out of the picture. Kudos to her husband for scaring the living daylights out of him.

A satisfied smile graced her features for a second before being replaced with an anxious frown. The pregnant woman slightly bounced her offspring on her hip as she hurried down the hall. Cooing gently, Lydia lightly patted Lucy on the back in hopes that the tiny child would calm some. “Ssh, baby. It’s okay.”

No copious amount of patting and bouncing seemed at ease the little girl as her wails increased in volume, and she continued to call out for her father. “Daaadaaa…Daaadaaa!”

Damn it. Nothing appeared to help to soothe Lucy. Evident frustration rolled off of Lydia when Lulu’s pain-filled cries never ceased. She knew that the only way the upset baby would calm was to find Betelgeuse. That thought caused her to quicken her steps and call out to her husband. “Betelgeuse?”

Her shoulder's sagged with relief when she finally spotted the missing man and scrambled towards him. Halleluiah. There was a light at the end. Um. There was. Why was there a window? Not that she was complaining, now if there were ever to be a fire, they wouldn’t burn to death. Yay for escape routes!

Her brown eyes moved from the window to the silent caseworker who stood off to the side of her husband. Lydia wondered what she was still doing at the house. It hadn’t been that long since the confrontation, and the pregnant mother was none too happy with the old dead woman. The urge to plunge her foot up the old bitty’s ass had not gone away during her time napping. She bit her tongue, and her lips twisted together tightly as she directed her gaze from the deceased worker to the waiting poltergeist.

Furrowed brows quickly marred his rugged features while the dead man addressed his frazzled wife in concern. “Babe, what’s going on?” His green eyes slid to the infant, and he watched as the tiny girl sobbed hysterically, causing him to reach out. He motioned with his hands and called out to her. "Come here, Bug."

Immediately Lucy leaned forward and started to squirm in her mother's arms. Betelgeuse quickly plucked her up, drawing the little girl securely to his side. “Ssh. Baby girl, it’s okay,” whispered the dead man as his large hand rubbed soothing circles against the child's back. Eventually, the cries began simmering down though they did not cease altogether as she continued to pull on her lobe.

The old woman observed the tiny family in silence before clearing her throat and commanding the attention of the couple. Her smoky voice questioned the poltergeist. “Geuse, how long has she been pulling on her ear like that?”

“It’s just been about a day, I think,” stated Betelgeuse as he turned to Lydia for confirmation then back to Juno. “Yeah, it’s been about that. Why do you ask Junie?”

Juno ignored the nickname that her ex-assistant had bestowed upon her and continued with what she was getting at. “When my kid was little, he used to pull on his ear just like that when he was suffering from an ear infection.” Her light eyes burrowed into poltergeist before moving on. “You might want to take her in. You know what happens when you let an infection go, don’t you, Geuse?”

Betelgeuse stiffened and tightened his hold on his child while he turned from the elderly caseworker to his wife. “Come on Babe. We’re gonna take Bug to the hospital.” The anxious man didn’t wait for a response as he grabbed ahold of an arm and hauled her in the direction of the exit. The poltergeist glanced over his shoulder and shot the old ghost a heated glare before they disappeared out of sight.

Once in the car, Lydia turned to her husband with a look of concern. Betelgeuse hadn’t place Lucy in her car seat, and it didn’t seem like he was going to any time soon. “Don’t you think you should put her in her seat?”

“Naw, she’s fine right here, Sweets. No amount of force will drag her from my hold. Now let’s get a move on,” said the usually overconfident ghost tossing back his head and pointing to the ignition.

The young mother wanted to argue it wasn’t safe, but she knew her husband would never do something to harm their child. If he said Lulu was safe, hell she was. Still, Lydia couldn’t help being worried about the strange behavior of the poltergeist. “Okay…”

It took a mere 10 minutes to get to the small hospital that Winter River had. Lydia thought it was more like a clinic than a hospital though she wasn’t going to argue with the folks that live in the town. To each his own and all that jazz.

As soon as the vehicle was shifted into park, the small family scrambled out of the car and hurried to the entrance to see someone.

The couple scurried to the front desk, where a middle-aged woman sat typing something on the computer. Lydia made a sound in her throat to draw the woman’s attention and softly spoke. “Excuse me?”

The older lady’s head shot up from her work and smiled brightly at them. “Yes, my dear, how may I help you?”

Thumbing at her husband and child, the young mother rushed to inform the woman as to why they were there. “Our daughter hasn’t been feeling good, and we think she may have an ear infection.”

The receptionist’s smile dropped to a frown, her gaze moving to study the sniffling child cooing gently. “Oh no, poor darling.” She returned to a large calendar on her desk, surveying something before speaking to Lydia once more. “Dr. Rogers has a couple of patients ahead of you, but that should give you enough time to fill out the paperwork. What is your daughter’s name?”

“It’s Lucinda Geist.” disclosed Lydia quickly.

The kind smile reappeared, and the older woman beamed at the young mother. “That’s such a pretty name!” She then set about getting the papers and a clipboard together before handing Lydia the bundle. “Here’s the paperwork, my dear. You just bring it back to me when you are done.”

Grabbing the clipboard and a pen from the container, Lydia sent her a small smile and softly thanked the woman. “Okay, I will. Thank you.”

The older lady flashed another smile and pointed in the direction of what seemed to be the waiting room. “You’re most welcome. The waiting room is just over there.” They gave the receptionist a nod then made their way to the waiting area.

Once the couple found a place to sit and wait, Lydia began filling out the paperwork to the best of her ability. Several more minutes flew by when she finally put down the pen and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Man, they had so many freaking questions, and it didn't help that she had pregnancy brain. Everything was fuzzy and muddled, and damn right frustrating.

Standing up, Lydia hastily made her way back to the front desk to return the forms. She smiled at the woman and handed her the clipboard. “Here you go.”

That kind smile made a reappearance as the receptionist took the paperwork and place them in the basket. “Thank you, my dear.”

Not wanting to get caught up in a lengthy conversation with the woman Lydia simply nodded before hurrying back to the waiting room and family.

Stepping back in the room and plopping in the seat next to her husband, she observed the anxious man. The tick in his jaw was running a mile a minute, and Lydia knew this whole situation was freaking him out. Hell, it was freaking her out as well. Nobody liked their baby being sick. Plus, it sucked balls not to have any control where your child was concerned.

Her dark eyes observed the poltergeist stare up at the clock on the wall then glance at his watch multiple times before he let out an impatient huff. Her gut began to ache, and the feeling of something being off struck her. Her husband seemed stranger than usual. It was like there was more to it than just Lulu being sick. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but Betelgeuse wasn’t acting like himself at all. Shaking her head, Lydia pushed it to the side to worry about it after they took care of Lucy.

Precious minutes seemed to tick by slowly as they waited to be called. Her husband huffed some more than leaned in to whisper so no one in the room could hear him. “What the fuck is takin’ so long?”

The impatience laced heavily in his tone, caused the ache in her gut to increase. Lydia was now positive that she was overlooking something. When it came to them, Betelgeuse was normally pretty level headed, and that didn't seem to be the case at the moment. She couldn’t fathom what could have ruffled her husband's feathers so badly. Stopping herself from probing to find the answers, the worried newlywed responded to his question instead. “I know it’s been a while, but the lady did say there were a couple of people ahead of us. We will probably be called soon.”

A sneer ripped from him, and his hold on Lucy tightened. “Yeah, Yeah. These other fuckers are sick, but Bug is a little kid and in fuckin’ pain! That shit should take presence over a bunch of adults. They can suck it the fuck up.”

"B, it doesn't work like that. We have to wait our turn like the right," acknowledged Lydia though she knew that wasn't how the world works. These people had no clue that they were in the presence of the most powerful poltergeist ever; to them, this little family was another nameless face amongst many.

Opening his mouth to snark something in return, Betelgeuse was interrupted by Lucy's name being called from the other side of the room. “Lucinda Geist?”

Lydia nudged the poltergeist with an elbow softly speaking under her breath. “See, I told you.” She then clutched at his sleeve, pulling him with her and dragging them to the waiting nurse.

 “Hi. That’s us.” Greeted the young mother with a friendly grin.

The young nurse reciprocated then cheerfully addressed the couple. “Hello. I’m Dr. Roger’s nurse, Mindy.” They began moving down the hall and ended up in a small alcove. “Okay, I just need to get a height and weight for Lucinda.”

Mindy took Lucy’s weight and height, jotting the information down on her sheet before directing them to an empty room. “Okay. Now this way, and we will be in the room on the left.”

As soon as they were in the room, she motioned for them to sit in the vacant chairs while going to retrieve the thermometer. “Dad, please have a seat in the first chair so I can get her temperature.” Nurse Mindy took it quickly, then wrote the information on the paper. Finishing the rest of the questions, she turned to the small family standing as she spoke. “Okay folks, that’s all from me. The doctor will be right in to see you.”

Once the nurse left, Betelgeuse grumbled loudly to his spouse. “More fuckin’ waiting. Seriously, what the fuck is up with this shit?”

This time Lydia did roll her eyes and patted his shoulder. “It will only be for a few minutes, and you know the doctor will be right in. It shouldn’t be that long.” Just as she finished, a knock resounded on the door, and an elderly man stepped in.

The older man smiled at them and reached out to shake their hands. “Hello. I’m Dr. Rogers. Can you tell me what brought you in today?”

Lydia returned both the smile and the handshake as she began introducing them and their concerns. “Hi, Dr. Rogers. I’m Lydia, and this is my husband Benjamin; our daughter Lucy is the reason we are here. She hasn’t been herself for a while now. It has seemed to have gotten worse as of late. Recently, she started pulling on her ear, and an acquaintance of ours thought that she may have an ear infection. We thought we should bring her in just in case.”

The doctor reached out, grabbing a white pad and began to jot down some notes. Quietly he listened and waited for her to finish before he asked another question. “Has she had an ear infection before?”

Lydia shook her head in response as she glanced over at Lucy then back to the doctor. “No. She has never had one.”

Dr. Rogers continued to write some more while he carried on with his questions. “Which ear was she pulling at?

Betelgeuse’s gravelly voice rang out before Lydia could answer. “It’s the left ear that she’s been tuggin’ on.”

The doctor scribbled that down then motioned to the examination table. “Okay. Why don’t we have dad sit on the table with her so I can look in her ears.”

Betelgeuse stood up and made his way to the table to sit while Doctor Rogers cleansed his hands. Drying his hands, he threw the paper towel in the trash, then grabbed the otoscope with a child-sized speculum from the wall and approached.

Doctor Rogers looked in the right ear than the left as he talked to the couple. “Well…the eardrum does look red and seems to be bulging. She does have quite a high fever, so it looks like it is what you both thought. Little Lucinda here has an ear infection.” He pulled back to put the medical instrument on the wall and spoke to Betelgeuse. “Benjamin, you may go back to sit next to your wife.”

The Doc reached over and grabbed what looked like a prescription pad and began to fill it out. “I’m going to prescribe an oral antibiotic and recommend that you get a pain reliever for the discomfort and the fever. We have an inhouse Pharmacy, so I’ll have my nurse Mindy walk you over there.”

Relief washed over Lydia at the news, and it made complete sense why she had been so cranky. The poor baby. Lulu had been in so much pain. No wonder she had been crying her little butt off. Now that they knew what was wrong, they could get medication into her system and start to make her feel better. Lydia reached over and stroked Lucy's soft curls then turned her attention back to the elderly man. "Thank you, Dr. Rogers."

“You’re welcome. If she doesn’t get better in the next couple of days, then I suggest you see your regular physician.” The older gentleman smiled at the couple as he stood up to shake both of their hands again before leaving. “It was nice to meet you both, and I hope your little one feels better. Goodbye.”

“You’re welcome. If she doesn’t get better in the next couple of days, then I suggest you see your regular physician.” The older gentleman beamed at the pair as he stood up to shake both of their hands before leaving. “It was nice to meet you both, and I hope your little one feels better. Goodbye."

They eventually came upon a small onsite pharmacy where Mindy flashed a grin at the young man behind the counter and handed him a prescription slip. “Hey George, I have a prescription here for you.”

The man named George light up at the sight of the nurse and snagged the paper prescription. “Thanks, Mindy.”

“No problem,” said Mindy, face flushing lightly while she turned from the pharmacist to the couple standing next to her. “Well, it was nice to meet you, and I do hope that Lucinda feels better soon.”

Lydia reached out to shake the nurse’s hand and bid her goodnight. “Thank you, and have a nice night.”

Nurse Mindy shook her hand back and beamed. “You too. Bye.” She stepped away from the couple and waved to them before disappearing out of sight.

As soon as the nurse was out of sight, the couple turned their attention to the waiting pharmacist. George grinned at them as he spoke. “Hi folks, this will just take a couple of minutes so you can wait over there, and I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

“Okay, thank you,” replied Lydia with a bobbed of her dark head.

“No problem, ma’am.” remarked the man, flashing her another grin. He then hurried to fill the medication.

They moved to sit in the empty chairs lining the wall and wait for the prescription to be filled. Betelgeuse let out another huge huff and lowly sneered in his wife’s ear. “More fuckin’ waiting.”

Not this again. Seriously this man’s thin patience was getting ridiculous. What was going on? She wanted to question him but felt like this wasn’t the place to do it. Instead, she whispered back. “Betelgeuse, I want to get Lulu’s medication just as much as you do, but they need to do it right. It’s just going to be a couple more minutes, and then we can get the medication in her system.”

The dead man scoffed and glared at the empty counter grumbling. “Still fuckin’ taking forever.”

She didn’t comment only shook her black mane, rolling her brown eyes to the ceiling.

Sometime later, George called them to the pickup window. Lydia grabbed some infant pain reliever on the way and listened to what the pharmacist had to say about the oral medication before paying for both. She bid the man behind the counter a good day as her husband ushered them out of the exit and into their vehicle.

“How about we get some of that medication in her before we leave, Sweets?” He verbalized while cocking his chin in the direction of the bag.

Agreeing, Lydia opened the bag and drew out both medications. She unsealed the pain reliever first and measured out the correct amount then passed it to her husband. It would be better to try and knock out the pain as well as the fever first.

Lucy fussed in her husband’s arms and tried to turn away from the dropper, but Betelgeuse had somehow coaxed the young child to take the bitter medicine. Her tiny face scrunched up and blew out a raspberry to try to remove the unpleasant aftertaste.

The young mother handed the poltergeist the other dropper and watched as he tried again to convince their daughter to take it. He brought the other medication to the little girl’s mouth, but she shook her head some more than shoved the dropper away with her small hands. “No.”

Lydia heard her husband take in a few cleansing breaths, and his tone softened when he gently talked to the small child. “Sorry Bug, but you gotta take this.”

Her blonde head shook again as her little lip quivered and pushed his hand from her scrunched-up face. “No.”

“Come on, baby girl. Just one more time. Now open for daddy.” Pleaded the poltergeist pushing the medicine closer.

Lucy shook her head several more times, and her ghostly father continued to persuade her. Finally, she opened her mouth and allowed him to squirt in the medication. Her face twisted into a grimace and blew out another raspberry. Betelgeuse juiced a bottle and gave it to the child, who drank it quickly.

How did he do it? How was he able to persuade their daughter to do things that she didn’t even want to do? Lydia wondered as she watched the duo. Hell, the pregnant mother couldn’t even get the tiny child to cave on good days, then her husband waltzes in and bam, little Lulu listens. It must have to do with the psychology of the father/daughter bond, or it was simply the strong connection between Lulu and Betelgeuse period.

Her dark eyes moved from her family to the colored sky. By now the sun was dipping closer towards the horizon, which indicated they had been at the doctor’s office for quite some time. It would probably be best to get back to her parents to put Lulu to bed and figure out what they were going to do next. Taking her eyes off the skyline, Lydia cleared her throat and drew Betelgeuse’s attention. “Honey, it’s getting late. Maybe you should put Lulu in her car seat, so we can go back to my parent’s house.”

Betelgeuse’s green eyes went back to their daughter and released a deep sigh. “Sure, Sweets.” The poltergeist placed Lulu in her seat and adjusted the straps before righting himself on his own.

As soon as he was done, Lydia started the car and shifted it into gear, pulling out of the parking lot and speeding down the road.

When they finally pulled into her parent’s drive and parked, Lydia noticed that the poltergeist still looked agitated. Betelgeuse’s jaw had been twitching, and his long fingers kept drumming against the armrest. His gaze moved to the mirror that he had tweaked to keep an eye on a less cranky Lucy. It was like he was afraid something was going to happen to Lulu at any second. This worried his wife even more. The urge to call him on it was strong, but still, she bit her tongue as they got out of the vehicle and made their way into the house.

The dead man held the drowsy child to his side while he hurried up the stair to their room. ‘Christ, he was freaking fast!’ thought Lydia as she quickened her steps to try to keep up with her husband.

Once in the room, the expectant woman quickly shut the door behind them and eyed the anxious poltergeist. He gently placed their daughter onto the large bed and covered her up.

Carefully approaching the upset man, she tried to soothe some of his anxiety. “Honey, Lucy is going to be fine.”

Betelgeuse sat on the edge of the mattress and stared over at his wife while he ran a hand through his blonde hair. He scoffed lightly in response but stayed relatively silent.

His reaction caused her brows to furrow and the words she’d tried to hold to come flooding out.  “Betelgeuse, will you tell me why you’re so agitated?”

“Who says I’m agitated, Babe?” snarked the poltergeist from his position.

Hands traveling to her hips, the skeptical woman sent her husband a dubious expression, all the while trying to keep her voice low. She didn't want to disturb their dozing child, especially when Lucy hadn't been sleeping the past couple of days. “I’m saying you are. It’s like you’re afraid something’s going to happen to Lucy. Why are you acting like that? Will you tell me what’s wrong?”

Shoving his hand roughly through his shaggy main once more and growling loudly, he snapped at the persistent woman. “Lydia, just back the fuck off, okay?!” The sharpness of his tone caused his worried wife to jump back and her mouth to drop open in surprise.

Betelgeuse had never used that sharp tone or her name before. No, it had always been babe, babes, sweets, and sweetheart. Lydia watched as her husband rubbed his face and release a massive breath. He said nothing more to her, merely sitting there in silence on the bed. What the hell had just happened? Why did he snap at her? Was it because she had pushed? Shit, she hadn’t meant to upset him. It was just that his odd behavior was so disconcerting. Her chest and throat tightened as she tried to take in a gasp of air and blinked her eyes to try and fight the tears that wanted to spill. Goddamn hormones! Normally she wouldn’t have taken this so close to heart. Yes, she would have been hurt, but she wouldn’t have been fighting the waterworks that she was now battling with.

The room began to feel like it was closing around her, and the young mother knew she needed to get out of the stifling area. Not waiting to see if her husband was willing to speak or not, she made a beeline for the door and hurried out of the room. Her vision became blurry from the unshed tears as Lydia hastily made her way to the kitchen.

A hand went up to wipe her watery eyes while she quickly crossed the threshold and proceeded to the cupboard. All she wanted to do right now was to try and soothe her raging emotions with a huge cup of hot chocolate.

The warm and sweet goodness that was hot cocoa was a staple in the Deetz household during her childhood. Whenever there was an upheaval in their lives, Lydia and her father would sit in the kitchen and consume the hot beverage. Most of the time, they would sit in silence; words had been unneeded. It had been comforting enough to just have her father by her side. Lydia remembered drinking many cups of hot cocoa during the time that her father had started dating Delia. It had been a drastic shift in their family dynamic and one that Lydia had a hard time dealing with. The warm drink had been a great comfort during that stressful and confusing time.

Shaking off her thoughts, Lydia pulled open the cabinet that held the Coffee cups and condiments. She scanned the shelves and finally spotted her favorite mug. She then began searching for the container of cocoa that Delia had been raving about that one time when they had spoken. It was some fancy brand that Lydia had never heard of, but her stepmother swore it was the best and that she would enjoy it. Well, now she would put Delia’s words to the test.

Lydia carried her mug and the container to the microwave, setting them on the counter while she went to the fridge to get some almond milk. Once again, Delia was on another kick, and this time it was no dairy in the house. Apparently, her stepmother had a dairy sensitivity; yet she has eaten loads of Nutella which contains milk. Not that Lydia would point that out to her. If Delia wanted to believe she had a dairy sensitivity, then so be it. It wouldn’t last long, and she’d be on a new kick soon enough. When was her stepmother not on some type of fad? Betelgeuse would have made some comment about Delia being a faddist and following along with every fad because she can’t think for herself.

A frown marred her features when the thought of her husband crossed her mind. Thinking of the poltergeist made Lydia’s chest tighten and reminded her of the reason that she was making hot cocoa in the first place. More tears slid down her cheeks as her empty hand reached up to wipe them away while the other poured the powdered cocoa and the milk into the mug.

Christ, she was a blubbering mess. Her damn hormones were going a mile per minute, and to have her husband snap at her didn’t help. For the first time in their relationship, Betelgeuse had yelled at her. Not even when they were arguing about something had he ever raised his voice. Usually, her husband kept his cool while they bickered with one another. Shit, they weren’t even arguing at the time. That’s how she knew something was wrong.

Placing the mug in the microwave and closing the door, the crying woman pressed the buttons that would allow her beverage to warm. She waited for it to beep, then she took it out and mixed everything with a spoon. Before she could try it though, she heard the familiar footfalls of her husband’s chunky boots, as they slapped against the floor and made their way to her.

Her body stiffened when his arms wrapped around her waist and drew her back flush to his chest. She felt him bury his face in the mounts of black hair, and his chest expanded as he took in a whiff of her warm scent. For several minutes they just stood in the kitchen, both listening to the sound of each other’s shallow breaths.

Lydia felt Betelgeuse’s face pull away from the back of her head and clear his throat before speaking. “I’m sorry, Baby. Shit, this had nothing to do with you. Remember I told ya that I have hang-ups, well, this was one of them, okay?”

Burying his face into her hair for a second, he kissed the crown then rested his cheek against the back of her head, sighing deeply. “That old bat is the only one who knows how I died, and that’s the way I like it. As you know, I got my rep to protect.”

Betelgeuse let out a snort as his hand began to rub her abdomen and continued, “Fuck Babe. I survived the black motherfuckin’ plague, only to die from a simple cut on my goddamn foot. No antibiotics when I lived, Sweets. So once an infection set in, well, I was fuckin’ toast.”

His face went back in her hair, taking in her calming scent before drawing back with his tone rougher than usual. “When Junie told us to take Bug in cuz it sounded like she was dealing with an ear infection. Hell, all I heard was the word infection, and for the first time since I fuckin’ died, I felt an inkling of fear. All I could think about was getting Bug checked out and some medicine in her as fast as we could. Baby, I didn’t mean to snap at ya.”

The unmistakable sincerity in her husband’s tone caused a sigh of relief from her thin form. She carefully maneuvered around in his strong hold to stare up at him and apologize. “I didn’t mean to push you, Betelgeuse.” She sniffed, and a few tears fell from the corner of her eyes. “I was just worried, that’s all.”

Wiping away the visible trails of tears with his fingertips, he let out a relieved breath of his own. “I know ya were, Babes. I told ya before that I have hang-ups. I’ve been around a helluva long time, and ya keep the issues ya die with, but ya also add some along the fuckin’ way. Rest in motherfuckin' peace, my ass.” Snorted the poltergeist giving his wife a toothy grin and wiggling his prominent brows.

A giggle bubbled forth as she shook her dark head in amusement and place a hand on his broad chest. “Are you resting in peace now?” Lydia bit her lower lip and fluttered her wet lashes as her dark eyes peered up into his own.

Betelgeuse’s grin widened and dragged her tiny body even closer so that her hand was now trapped between them. His cold breath tickled her lobe, and it caused a shiver to go down her spine. “Sweetheart, this is the most peaceful I’ve ever been alive or dead.”

“Really?” asked Lydia meekly.

“Damn straight, Babe. Not that I do a lot of resting, though.” He wiggled his eyebrows some more, which caused the diminutive woman to softly laugh and gently shake her noggin at him.

The poltergeist’s green gaze danced with mischief and wiggled his brows again before he swooped in to kiss his wife soundly on the lips. She let out a small moan, and her free hand slid up to wrap around his neck as she kissed him back with the same fever.

When her lungs felt like they were going to burst, Lydia drew back and caught his hot gaze. The corner of her lips twitched upwards while another delighted laugh spilled forth and followed by her husband’s smoky one.

Once they settled down, Betelgeuse brushed her cheek softly and cocked his head in the direction of the entrance. “Baby, it’s been one helluva day. How about we go upstairs, and I’ll juice us something to eat that won’t get us sick?”

He snorted as Lydia glanced at the refrigerator and back her husband with a nod. “Yeah, that sounds good. Can we have pizza with pineapple and Canadian bacon?” Her mouth began to water at the thought, and her stomach seemed to rumble in agreement. Lydia quickly realized that she had not eaten since that morning and that she was super hungry. Her stomach rumbled loudly again, and her face flushed brightly from embarrassment.

Betelgeuse released his hold on her and chuckled. He smirked down at her and tucked a strand of hair behind an ear. “You are reading my mind, sweetheart. Maybe I’ll even juice us a tv and couch.  We can have dinner and a movie. How does that sound?”

Lydia took a step back, placing her hand on her stomach and beamed up at him. “It sounds perfect. That’s exactly what we need right now.” It sounded wonderful and relatively normal. Plus, she really was hungry. Incubating life wasn’t easy, and it took a helluva lot out of a person.

Betelgeuse stepped closer and wove his arm around her waist, drawing her to his side once again. “Good, and hopefully, we’ll be able to get something in Bug when she wakes up.” His chest heaved a sigh, and his free hand ran over his face before looking down at his wife.

Resting her head against his shoulder, she patted his upper body lightly with a hand and agreed. “Yeah, she really hasn’t had an appetite. I’m sure we will be able to get something in her tummy now that she has had some medicine in her.”

The poltergeist tenderly kissed her crown and slowly led her to the exit. “We’ll see, Sweets. Now let’s go feed you and lil bean.”

Freezing in step, the hungry newlywed stopped her husband from moving forward. “Betelgeuse, wait! I just made some hot cocoa. I can’t leave it!” she cried and swung her wide eyes to the counter where her mug sat then to the specter.

Winking, the dead man grinned before snapping his finger and producing the steaming cup. He held it out for her to take. “Here, Babes.”

Lydia smiled brightly as she seized the hot cocoa and thanked him. “Thank you, B.” He winked again, causing the woman to lightly toss back her head then carefully took a sip of the hot cocoa. Her brown eyes widened in surprise, and her lips smacked together. “Mmm…Delia was right. It is good.” She held it up and placed the mug to her husband’s lips. “Here try it.”

Taking a large swig from the cup, Betelgeuse agreed with his wife's assessment. “Hm…Not bad, babe. Kudos to Big Red. Who knew her faddist ways would actually turn out to be good?”

The pregnant woman couldn’t believe her husband had said the same thing that she had been thinking about moments ago. See, she was right about him thinking Delia was faddist. A giggle slipped passed her lips though she did try hiding it by putting the mug to her mouth. It didn’t work, but Betelgeuse didn’t comment. He just raised a pale brow then shook his shaggy head at her. “Now that you have your hot chocolate, Sweets. Let’s get something in that belly of yours to feed you and our bean.” He ran his hand over her stomach and began to lead her out of the room once again.