Glass & Roses (BBC Ghosts)

|xxii|

A/N: No episode basis

(I don't think this is actually that tragic unlike my others)

It was another beautiful and chilly day upon the Button House grounds. With the onslaught of time towards Christmas, Alison had somehow found herself some time to get to know the ghosts better.... correction, one ghost better. Alison was well aware of the... tragic life that Lucille had lived, this becoming all the more clear with that unwelcome visitor in their home. (It had been quite a challenge relating that story to Mike later that night, she had burst into tears at several moments, which left Mike highly confused until she managed to stumble her way through it.)

Lucille was a fascinating ghost, and one of the few with powers. Alison was stunned at her ability to gel with the older ghosts, and even relate to them more than the more modern ones (ie Julian and Pat). Maybe it was because they seemed to have the more distressing deaths - like calls to like and all that - this was not to say that she knew anything about the Captain however, getting any information out of that man had always been akin to drawing blood from a stone.

Maybe it was because it had been a while since the Bet-Chetwynde had (dis)graced their halls, but Alison had a peculiar scratch to itch... a question that needed to be answered. She remembered what had happened when that family had first entered their home, and upon reflection had been disgusted with her own behaviour towards the ghosts. Whilst the others were easier to apologise to, Lucille simply refused to hear a word and as soon as the words 'Barclay Bet-Chetwynde' fell out of anyone's mouth, Lucille straight up disappeared.

Basically, Alison was fully aware that this was a bad idea, but she'd be damned (excuse the pun) if she didn't at least try. She hadn't really thought of a plan, but it was currently 14:47 on a Saturday afternoon, and she was damn sure Lucille wasn't at any of those clubs the ghosts held; she really ought to get a timetable of all their clubs - no! no, not the time, she had a mission to complete.

She eventually found Lucille in the girl's study. Alison choked slightly on the dust within the room, and hesitated at the doorway, as she looked around the place. Had she really never been in this room? She supposed it was possible, the door was craftily hidden between two massive portraits of previous Button House residents, but even so, it just seemed like the house kept throwing massive curveballs at her, even after all this time.

"Alison - Alison! Yo, hello? Alison-" Lucille's voice broke through Alison's zoned out mind, and she snapped out of her trance. "Welcome back to the land of the living. What can I do for you?" She suppressed a shiver at the stern look on Lucille's face - god, she could see the resemblance to Fanny.

"Oh! Sorry about that, I totally zoned out for a moment." Allison gave her a sheepish smile, relaxing slightly as the girl gave her a smile in response.

"Happens to the best of us. So... what was it that brought you to this corner of the house? You've literally never been in here before."

"Oh... umm.. well...." Lucille's curiosity only grew as Alison stammered, not too dissimilarly to how the woman spoke in front of cameras. "I need to apologise to you."

Of all things Lucille was expecting, (Robin pissing around with the lights during Mike's working hours, or Julian becoming increasingly inappropriate about something or other), it was not that she had expected to tumble out of Alison's mouth. This increased her confusion, and as she perched on the edge of her desk, she nearly slipped through it.

"I'm sorry... could you repeat that?"

"I need to apologise. To you. It's something that I should have done a long time ago, and you've probably forgotten all about it- so I... um... I'm sorry. I should go, I think I hear Pat calling for me." As Alison tried to scarper out of Lucille's room, Lucille stepped forward to grab her; momentarily forgetting her predicament. She resorted to the next best thing - sounding like Fanny.