The Whole Being Alive Thing

A Walk in the Park

Barbara closed her eyes, relaxing and focusing her energy... her powers... onto teleporting herself, Lydia, and Delia into the living room. Both living females had since moved to stand beside her, each holding onto the ghosts' shoulders. But Delia's nervousness overtook the energy that Barbara needed to teleport the three of them downstairs. Barbara released her energy, opening her eyes and half expecting to find them downstairs in the living room. She was surprised when she found them still in Lydia's bedroom.

She turned her attention to Lydia, who shrugged and pointed at Delia.

Barbara turned, looking over at Delia with worry. "Del, you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just worried this isn't going to work," the living adult replied, trying to relieve herself of the nervousness she was feeling with the help of one of her crystals.

Barbara reached over and put a hand on Delia's shoulder, the coldness of the former's touch making the latter adult flinch. "Well, I guess that we'll have to try again with this when you're less nervous. Less stressed."

Delia nodded, relieving herself of a little more of the nervousness she was feeling. But not all of it. And it took five minutes before Delia was fully calmed down.

She moved over towards Lydia and Barbara again, the crystal the living woman had been using now tucked away in an unseen pocket, putting her hand on Barbara's shoulder where it had been before.

"You ready now? Or do you need a little more time?"

"Yeah, I think I'm ready," Delia replied with another nod.

"Okay then. Let's give it another shot."

Barbara closed her eyes again, a second attempt at teleporting herself and both of the living females downstairs. She focused her energy on teleportation as Lydia and Delia closed their eyes as well. And when they opened their eyes again, they found themselves inside of the living room. They turned their attention over towards the males of the household - noting that the three of them were looking over towards them.

"Wow!" Barbara exclaimed, looking from Lydia to Delia and then turning her attention back over towards Adam, Charles, and Betelgeuse. "It actually

"That's one thing that you definitely do not need my help with after all, Babs," Betelgeuse commented, plopping himself down on the couch and turning on the television to watch something.

His view of it, however, was blocked by Adam and Charles - both of whom were looking at him sternly and folding their arms.

"Are you watching the television, or do you want us to continue helping you with adjusting to your human state?" Adam asked, sounding serious. "Because, so far, all you've done in that manner wasn't doing as much as helping you out at all. We still have over a month to help you fully adjust after all."

"Fine! I'll just turn it off then!" Betelgeuse grumbled, grabbing the remote and turning the television off as he focused back on what he had been doing before then.

The Maitlands moved to sit down beside him, and the Deetzes stood across from them as they discussed something that both of the ghosts and the now alive Betelgeuse couldn't pick up on. After a while, they fell silent and turned their attention towards Betelgeuse and their ghostly housemates. Things had gotten confused between the six of them and, for a little while, not one of them spoke a single word.

At least until Charles cleared his throat rather loudly. "Why don't we start over on all of this by taking Betelgeuse outside with us to that very same park we came into contact with him a week and a half ago. Or, if you don't think that's a good idea, then we could just work on helping him here at the house instead and go from there. What do you guys think?"

The Maitlands noticed that Charles was looking pointedly over at them. Looking at one another, they had some sort of silent conversation before nodding and looking over towards the Deetzes again.

And, it was Barbara who gave him an answer. "Actually, why don't you three and Betelgeuse go to that park for now. The moment that Betelgeuse does something that the living don't usually do... you guys can come back home and we can work on that particular thing with Betelgeuse. Have him understand why the living don't usually do that sort of thing. Does that sound okay, Charles?"

He seemed to consider things for a while, then nodded as he turned his attention back over towards Barbara. "We'll be back here in an hour and a half then. Sooner rather than later if Betelgeuse misunderstands something and does something he shouldn't."

The Maitlands nodded in response as Betelgeuse stood up and followed the Deetzes out of the house. As the front door closed behind the living members of the household and left the ghostly ones left in the light, they began to worry that something was going to go wrong and the Deetzes and Betelgeuse would be back sooner than they thought. But they seemed to brush just that off as they headed back upstairs to the attic.

Outside, as he and the Deetzes continued towards the park, Betelgeuse kept straying away from them and sniffing flowers before eating them. It had certainly attracted the attention of several onlookers who stopped and were whispering in confusion as they stared at him. But he seemed unaware of just that. At least until Charles separated from Lydia and Delia and stormed over towards him.

Charles grabbed a hold Betelgeuse's hand just as the latter was about to do just that again and led him away and back towards where Lydia and Delia were standing and staring in confusion as well.

"Do you want us to turn around and head back home?!" Charles snapped, his face red with fury. "Because we can and we will!"

Delia, sensing something, moved over towards her future husband and put a hand on his back in an attempt to calm him down - much like the last time they were in the park and Betelgeuse had shown up looking differently than he usually did in a flash of light in the middle of the park right as the Deetzes were passing through it on their way back towards their home. This park was, after all, a short distance from there.

"Charles, calm down."

He sighed, relieving the tension he'd felt. And neither one of the two adults had noticed that Betelgeuse had strayed away from them again. At least until it was brought to their attention by a confused Lydia.

"Dad, Delia, Bj's eating flowers again..."

The two adults looked at one another then turned their attention towards where the teenager was pointing.

And that made Charles furious all over again.

"Beetle, get back here!"