Baby Maitlands (A Beetlejuice: the Musical Fanfiction)

Toddler Barbara and the Lamp

That was that. Toddler Barbara had somehow managed to get out of Betelgeuse's arms and was now romping about the kitchen. A terrified Betelgeuse followed her. He knew she was a ghost. He knew what Barbara could do with her ghost powers. She'd now turned to him, an unplugged lamp hovering in the air above her.

"Ack," Betelgeuse said, dodging the lamp as Barbara hurled it directly at him. "Barbara, don't throw things. That lamp could get broken."

Betelgeuse turned to look at the lamp, seeing it was already broken. The lampshade was a few hundred feet away from the base, which in turn was shattered. And to think, Delia had bought that particular lamp a few short days ago. And now it was on the ground, in pieces. He didn't want to know exactly what the Spiritual Life Coach was going to think when she came home to find her precious Crystal lamp missing. How exactly was he going to explain to her that it was all a toddler version of Barbara's fault?

He was afraid of her reaction.

"Oh, I guess it's already broken." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Note to self," he admitted. "Remind Lyds to clean up that lamp when she comes back downstairs with Adam."

He felt a tug on his Black and White pinstriped trouser leg and looked down, spotting toddler Barbara staring up at him. Her eyes were filled with fear. He bent down to pick her up, wiping a few excess tears from her eyes.

"I sorry," she said, a sad look in her eyes.

"I know." Betelgeuse smiled softly at her, setting her on the kitchen counter. "Try not to disappear upstairs like Adam has. Promise?"

"I promise." Barbara nodded.

Lydia came downstairs soon after, a calm Adam in her hands. As she set him down on the kitchen counter right next to Barbara, she turned her head towards the living room and noticed that something was missing.

"Hey, Uh, Betelgeuse?" She asked in a nervous, soft tone of voice. "Where's my Stepmother's Crystal lamp?"

"Over there." Betelgeuse pointed and Lydia looked in that direction. "On the floor. In pieces."

"What's it doing on the floor? Much less in pieces?"

"It was Barbara," Betelgeuse said. Lydia gasped softly in shock and Betelgeuse nodded in response, continuing to speak. "She aimed and threw it at me."

"That doesn't sound like something that Barbara would do." Lydia began to slowly pace around the room. "Even as a toddler. Did you do anything that could've made her do that?"

"No." Betelgeuse slowly shook his head and Lydia frowned, eyeing him. "She just up and threw the lamp at me."

"She just threw my stepmother's precious Crystal lamp at you?" Lydia folded her arms. "With no given explanation?"

"Yeah." Betelgeuse nodded.

Lydia sighed, turning to Barbara. "What am I going to do with you?"

Barbara just giggled, showing Lydia a toothy grin as she held her hands up towards the teenager, making a series of grabby motions. Lydia rolled her eyes in a playful way. Oh, alright. She picked the toddler version of her surrogate ghost mother up and gently bounced her in her arms.

Toddler Barbara seemed to enjoy it, laughing and babbling as Lydia bounced her. At least the teen was occupied with something for a while.