In The Flesh

Chapter Four.

Sylvia arrived the next morning, Alison was up, dressed and feeding the ghosts when they heard a knock on the door. Pat started wiggling in his seat excitedly and Alison shot him a look. She brushed herself off and made her way to the door, but then saw someone else in the doorway. The captain.
"Oh, hi," she heard from outside. "Are you...Mike?" The captain was squinting enormously and turned his head.
"Alison! Somebody's her-oh." he said, spotting her. He looked weird in just a tank top and his trousers. Even his shoes had gone missing last night. His hair was messed up and his face was red, he shuffled past Alison and snatched the box of biscuits from Pat, who scolded him.
She turned and welcomed the woman in.
She looked a lot like Joan(I changed the girl's name to Joan) had, long blonde hair, blue eyes. But Sylvia had a smattering of freckles across her face that Joan hadn't.
Alison hesitated before hugging the woman tightly.
"I'm so sorry for your loss..." she said.
"You too..." Sylvia whispered, hugging her back.
The pair retreated to the living room, Alison telling her, "Don't mind the people staying here, they're a bit...strange."
"That's fine," Sylvia said, scanning the room. "This is a really nice place..." she said, her voice breaking. Alison hugged her again.
"Oh, Sylvia," She said, trying hard to comfort her. "It's gonna be alright. You can stay here as long as you like. I'll tell the others to leave you alone. And luckily we don't have many visitor-" she was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Of course, her mind grumbled. She apologized and got up.
"Hello?" she said as she opened the door. She held back a sigh as she saw it was Barclay and forced a smile.
"ANNABELL! Pleasure to see you this fine morning," He croaked. Alison forced a smile.
"Hello, Barclay. Need something?" She said, her head already hurting with the effort of staying nice. He smiled awkwardly and eyed something behind her.
"Just coming to introduce you to my daughter, Sophie," he said. For the first time, Alison realized a small woman huddling right behind Barclay. She poked her head out from behind him and gave a small wave.
"I told him this was unnecessary, but he loves showing off," Sophie explained, her face red. Alison smiled comfortingly.
"I understand," she said. Sophie suddenly widened her eyes at something behind Alison.
"You-" she heard someone huff under their breath. She turned around to see Humphry staring at her, hair mussed up, toothbrush in his hand.
"You live here?" she asked. Alison looked back and forth between them.
"Um, what?" she said. She realized Barclay was already heading back to his car. Weirdo, her mind hissed, and she scolded herself for acting like Julian.
Sophie shook her head.
"Nothing, sorry, just, uh, how's your head?" She asked, her eyes looked scared in a way. Humphry touched it gently.
"Still sore," he admitted. The girl was acting different today, less...bold. She seemed to cower in front of them, making herself small and ducking her head.
"Keep ice on it," she reminded him. "Anyway, Annabell, is it? Nice to-"
"Actually, only he calls me that. It's Alison. In fact, if you would want to correct him next time it comes up...?" Alison replied with a smile.
The girl nodded. "Oh, yes, of course, sorry. He's so embarrassing." she said, shifting her weight. The car suddenly sped out of the driveway and the girl watched with a sigh.
"Aaand he left me here. Right. Well, thanks, Alison, hope we don't have to disturb you again, I should start walking. See ya," the girl said, turning on her heel and trotting away.
Humphry watched her go until Alison shut the door.
"How did you guys meet-"
"Never mind that," Humphry interrupted. "What did she say her name was?"
"Um, Sophie, I think. Why?" Alison said, but Humphry was miles away. Sophie. It couldn't be. His wife's name. Why did things always happen like this?
"Nothing, just-gah-nothing..." he huffed, tossing his toothbrush aside and rushing out the door.
He looked around, but Sophie was gone. He sighed, wishing he could talk to her.
Terrified of what he might say if he had the chance.

...

Julian was surprisingly sober the next day, after Alison locked up all the liquor in the house so neither he nor the captain could get drunk.
"Mornin'," he said casually, setting silverware down on the table. Alison tilted her head at him.
"What're you doing?" She asked, skeptical of his helpfulness.
"Um, setting the table," he said, returning her confused look. "Why?" She waited for the dirty joke to come, but it never did. She shrugged and walked away.
Sylvia hadn't met anyone yet, seeing as she had stayed in her room for the entirety of her visit so far. Alison didn't mind, knowing how much she had to be hurting. She had told her to stay as long as she wanted, and refused the money Sylvia had tried to give her.
But of course, being the stubborn girl Alison just hardly knew, she insisted she pay at least a small rent. Alison had no choice but to accept.
She greeted Alison and said, "Can I meet everybody? I'm ready now." But Alison could see her eyes were rimmed red. She had been crying, she just hoped no one would say anything.
"I met Pat," she continued. "He brought me some tea and a biscuit. He's really sweet."
"Oh, um, yeah. He's great." Alison agreed. "Anyways, you can come eat breakfast if you want, then I can introduce you to...everyone..." She was nervous for some reason, she had never had OTHER people talking to the ghosts, and it was different than it was with Mike.
Sylvia threw her shoulders back and nodded.
"Sure. Let's go," she said, sauntering past her friend confidently. She took a seat at the end of the table, smiling at Julian.
"Well, hellO-" he started, then saw the look from Alison and stopped. "Ah, hello. Julian Fawcett," he revised, holding out a hand. She took it and shook firmly.
"Like the dead MP, huh?" She chuckled. Julian blushed for the first time Alison had ever seen. "Kidding. Sylvia Walsingham," she added with a smile. "Nice to meet you."
Julian nodded awkwardly and sat across from her and began scooping eggs onto his plate.
"Oh! UH...HI." Robin grunted as he walked into the kitchen. He was dressed semi-regularly, which Alison sighed in relief at. He stuck out his hand at Sylvia, who took it graciously.
"I'm Sylvia, what's your name?" She said nicely, as if talking to a child.
"Eh, Robin," he giggled, running his hand across his shirt. He sat down and began growling at Julian over the plate of toast. Sylvia winked at Alison with an understanding grin.
The kitchen then began filling up with the other ghosts, all of them greeting Sylvia nicely, surprising Alison with their immensely good behavior. Except the captain, who stumbled in, wearing yet again, only his tank top and pants. He sipped out of a flask and looked at Alison as she glared.
"What?" He said. Alison grabbed it out of his hands.
"Where did you get that?" She demanded as the others stared.
He shrugged. He took a double take as he realized Sylvia was in the room and stared at her.
"Cap, this is Sylvia, Sylvia, this is..." Alison was about to just say 'The captain' again, but he stuck out his hand and gently shook hers, saying, "Basil. Captain Basil Moore. Pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said with a slightly quivering voice. The entire table ceased all activity and turned to gape at the soldier.
"SiNcE wHeN, mAtE?" Pat gasped. He caught Sylvia's eye and grinned. "Hello again, how're you liking it here so far?" He added, veering way off topic. The captain didn't seem to mind though, seeing as he stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth, grabbed an apple and left again.
"Oh, it's great," Sylvia said. "You all seem so nice," she said, looking around the table with a smile. Mary smiled back, as Kitty grinned a grin brighter than the sun. Julian suddenly tugged Robin into a headlock and gave him a violent noogie. Robin roared as the MP dropped him to the floor.
"That's what you get when you take my bacon..." Julian hissed and straightened his tie, which he still wore everyday for some reason. He noticed Sylvia's wide eyes and shot her a grin.
She covered her mouth to hide her laugh and asked Alison as she sat down, "What's the deal with Basil then? Or do you call him Captain Moore?"
Alison choked on her scoop of eggs. "Honestly, he doesn't usually drink much, and also, I know it sounds crazy but...you're the first person he's actually told his name to..." Sylvia widened her eyes and smiled smally.
"Huh. Weird," she muttered. Pat was sipping his tea gleefully in the corner of the kitchen. Fanny was nowhere to be seen.
Alison offered a plate of food to Sylvia, who graciously accepted, and the group looked up as they saw Mike enter the room.
"Hey Ali, Syl," he said, fixing a cuppa tea. "ROBIN-Mate! Wassup?" He asked, more enthusiastically, fist-bumping the grinning caveman over the table.
He handed a cuppa to Robin as he sipped his own.
Humphry walked in then, and he nodded to Sylvia.
"Hi, wow, there's so many people here..." she mused, sticking out her hand again. Humphry took it, glancing about with a slightly confused expression on his face. He smiled at her the best he could, and said, "Hi, I'm Humphry,"
"Sylvia," she replied. Humphry kissed her hand, which Alison understood was probably customary in his time, but was most certainly not in THIS time. Sylvia slapped her other hand over her mouth in a giggle, but Humphry yanked his hand back, blushing and apologizing.
"He's a bit...traditional," Alison explained as Humphry hung his head.
"No problem," Sylvia smiled. "I think it's very interesting..." Humphry shrugged awkwardly as Julian threw him a sideways glance.
"Uh, anyway, Alison, do we have any ice packs? I lost mine..." he said to her, tucking his hands in his pockets. Alison sighed. Humphry was always so needy and awkward. It bugged her, but she bit her tongue and instead dug around in the freezer and pulled one out.
"Here," she said brusquely, handing it to him. He winced, noticing her biting tone. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he snapped back, "I'm sorry, alright? I know I'm not perfect, I know I'm too stupid to do anything right, and I know you all hate me taking up space in this house! So please excuse me for asking to ease the throbbing pain in the back of my empty skull!" He turned on his heel and rushed outside. Alison gaped at the space he had left empty. Kitty leapt up from her seat and followed after him as Julian snickered.
"What a drama queen," he muttered, quiet enough so Sylvia couldn't hear it. Robin did, however and giggled dumbly as Mary scolded him.
"Should we go talk to him?" Sylvia asked, getting up. Alison shook her head.
"He'll be fine," she said, hoping she was right. Sylvia shrugged and went to sit in the living room. She saw Captain Moore sitting in the loveseat, his arm covering his face.
"Julian, if that's you, please go away, you are being so annoy-" he lifted his arm slightly and his face burned red as he saw it was Sylvia. She waved slightly and he scrambled to sit upright.
"Um, sorry, I thought you were Julian," he said, cringing. Sylvia sat at the chess table.
"It's fine," she assured him. "Can I put something in to watch?"
"If it's a documentary, yes," he said, placing his arm over his face again.
"Mmm, nah. Scary movie it is," Sylvia said disobediently . The captain stared at her.
He didn't know what to say. No one ever said 'no' to him. He watched her put on a movie and sit back on the couch. He took a bite of his apple, the whisky still in his system, making him dizzy. He zoned out and stared at the ground, and was only broken out of his trance by a small sniffle.
He glanced up to see Sylvia pressing her face into a pillow and sobbing. Her shoulders shook and the telly continued to blare nonsense.
He stood up and turned the volume down.
"What's the matter?" he asked, staring at her.
Her head shot up and she barked an embarrassed laugh. "Oh, I thought you were asleep or something. Ignore me," she said, wiping her face. Her lip quivered as she stared at the TV, trying hard to ignore the soldier standing next to her with his arms crossed over his chest.
"In fact, go away," she said, looking up at him fiercely. He gaped at her.
"Excuse me?" He shot back. Thomas entered the room just then, eyes wide.
"Am I...interrupting something?" he asked stupidly.
Sylvia got up and marched out of the room, still holding the pillow.
"Ignorant- childish- how dare sh- I-I." The captain muttered. "Eh-I-Eh-she-I-Eh heh I-." Basil continued then cleared his throat and walked away. Thomas stood in the now empty living room, shocked.
"What?" He asked, looking around the room, he then flailed his arms in the air and sat down. Two seconds later, the captain trotted back in with the flask and threw himself on the loveseat.
"StoOoOOOP!" Alison snapped as she raced in after him. She tried to pry it from his hands and he held it away from her, keeping her back with a hand on her shoulder. She tried to climb over him, and Thomas watched in shock as they wrestled over the flask.
She ended up sprawled across the loveseat, over the captain. Mike walked in, saw her and started laughing.
"Um, okay?" he chuckled as Alison scrambled to her feet, glaring at the captain. "Got a crush I don't know about?" He asked playfully. The captain sneered and sipped from the flask again as Alison brushed herself off.
"Shut up," she snapped, trying to hide her laugh. "He's a stupid drunk. I don't even know how he found-" she stopped as she saw Mike's guilty expression.
"Riiiight..." he said, backing away. "So, yeah, I gave it to 'im, but HE ASKED ME FOR IT DON'T GET MAD AT ME-" he started squealing as Alison tickled him until he fell on the floor. He squealed on the ground and wriggled back and forth. Thomas and Basil exchanged a look of disgust and confusion. Alison stood up and brushed herself off while Mike was still on the ground struggling to catch his breath.
"Hm," was all the captain said, then tipped his head back to take another swig. Alison took the opportunity to snatch it from his hand.
"HA!" she barked in victory as the captain held his mouth.
"Owww, dang it Alison!" he snapped. "You hit my tooth!"
Alison shrugged. "That's what you get," she said, walking away and leaving Mike on the floor. Robin walked in then, and saw his friend on the floor.
"Uh, he good?" he asked. The captain grumbled and stuffed his face into a pillow. Thomas sighed.
"Yes, he's fine..." he said. Robin shrugged and dragged Mike upwards.
"Les go outside!" he said excitedly. Mike shrugged, still breathing heavily.
"Okay, why not?" he panted. Julian burst into the room with a glare.
"Robin! I thought we were gonna play chess!" He whined. Robin ignored him and raced outside with Mike. Julian huffed and went back to the kitchen.
"What're you doing?" Thomas asked, following him.
"Dishes...?" Julian scoffed, as if it was the most normal thing ever. He swished some soap into the steamy water and dunked the dirtied dishes in.
Thomas was shocked at how everyone was acting since being alive. He couldn't see how easily everyone got so comfortable in baggy clothes, so he stuck to a pair of jeans from Mike and rewashed his blouse and vest. He was even less inclined to spend time with the captain, or BASIL as he now knew him, due to the fact that he was always drunk, or very near it.
Julian, too, was clearly acting much too nice and...appropriate. It was unsettling if Thomas was honest. He glanced about the room and saw Mary and Pat helping clear the table.
"Where's Humphry?" he asked.
"Who cares?" was the collective response. Thomas shrugged. Not him.