Out of Sight, Out of Mind//A Beetlejuice Fanfiction

||Chapter Fifteen|| Offering Comfort

"Lydia, I'm sorry to hear that," said Barbara just as soon as Caterina and Trista Luna headed on their way home for the night (they promised Lydia she could tell them the story once she got back and that they'd update her with things they learned over the school week, as well as send her any and all homework/forms to be completed). Both ghost and living girl were now sitting together on top of Lydia's bed, Barbara holding Lydia close with one hand and using the other to wipe away stray tears from the teen's eyes as they kept on forming.

"These things are never easy," said Adam, phasing through the door to Lydia's bedroom and sitting on the other side of the teen, wrapping his arms around both females. "Who knows how much pain your dad is going through right now, surely it can't be as bad as how you felt when your mom passed."

"I'm sure that he's gone back to being the exact same as he was when he, Delia, and I first moved here!" grumbled Lydia, burying her head into Barbara's chest area and tearing up some more. Barbara ran a hand through Lydia's hair and ruffled it, but that did nothing to comfort the teen. In fact, Adam and Barbara were starting to worry Lydia was going back to how she was before she met them. "Sooner or later, he's gonna act like I'm invisible all over again! And if that happens, we may all drift apart as a family and it will take months before we start feeling like a found family again."

"Lydia, look at me," instructed Barbara, she and Adam pulling away from Lydia. The teen did so, looking directly at Barbara's baby blue eyes and wiping a few excess tears from her hazel brown ones. "Even if that happens, we're not going to let it. You, your dad, and Delia are going to have to be strong about all this and Adam, Betelgeuse, and I will be there to offer comfort whenever you guys need it."

"Thanks for that, Barb. I needed it. And I'm sure my dad will too when he, Delia, and I get home from the hospital," said Lydia, curling up against Barbara as if she was some sort of house cat.

"We'll miss seeing you for the coming week but keep thinking about the two of us as much as you possibly can," said Adam, moving so he had one arm wrapped around Barbara's shoulder and the other around Lydia's. "And tell your dad and Delia to do the same. The last thing we want is any of you not being able to see us again."

At that, Lydia laughed. "Adam, Adam, Adam, you know I'm still strange and unusual enough to see you guys. Nothing's going to change when we return. I'll keep thinking about you two just in case though, just to make you feel better."

"Right," replied Adam, he and Barbara laughing as well.

"Now, I never thought about how I was going to meet up with my dad and Delia up in New York," said Lydia after a few minutes, sliding off of her bed and moving to stand over by her bedroom door. The Maitlands looked at one another then turned their attention onto her as she began to pace.

"Well, Betelgeuse is going to need to go up to New York with you because he said it was now his duty in the Netherworld to meet the recently deceased and send them on their way to the Netherworld. I think it's better if he teleports both himself and you up to New York as I think it would be faster," said Adam.

"Does he even know where in New York the hospital is though?" questioned Lydia out of concern.

"I'm not sure he-."

Betelgeuse popped back into the room as soon as Lydia finished her sentence, a tote bag slung over his shoulder. He noticed that Lydia looked nervous, probably and most likely about having to be away from the Maitlands for the next week. The Maitlands, he noted, had similar looks on their faces.

He set the tote bag down and teleported behind Adam and Barbara, laying on his side and looking up at them. Lydia had sat cross-legged on the skull shaped rug right beside her bed with her hands resting under her chin. She clearly looked sad about this all. The Maitlands looked down at Betelgeuse and the demon's hair went from green to blue, signifying that he sensed they were sad. Was this a ghost thing?

"What's wrong, guys?" he asked. The Maitlands looked at each other then at Lydia before turning their attention back towards Betelgeuse, who was now floating on his back in midair just above Lydia's head.

"Nothing.... well, we're just worried that Lydia, her dad, and Delia aren't going to be able to see us again when you guys return," said Barbara, sniffing a little. Adam put an arm around her shoulder to calm her down and Barbara sniffed some more before leaning her head against Adam's.

"Woah, woah, woah," Betelgeuse said suddenly, disappearing in a bright flash of light before reappearing on the floor right beside where Lydia was still sitting curled up, her head in her hands. "Nothing like that's gonna happen if you learn the right techniques to keep in touch with her and her family whilst they're away."

"So... you're not going with Lydia?" Adam sounded confused.

"No, I'm still gonna need to be there." Betelgeuse gestured to the tote bag still laying on the floor, right beside Lydia's feet. "Seeming as how I could sense Chuck's mom was about to die right as ol' Chuck and Debra came up to the stairs to tell you guys where they were going."

"You can sense when people are about to die?" Now both Maitlands were curious, looking over towards Betelgeuse with surprised looks. "Can we do that too?"

"No," replied the demon with a slight laugh. "That's only a 'guide to the dead' thing."

"Oh..."

Betelgeuse picked up the tote bag again, tapping Lydia with an invisible hand he must've just made. "Now, are you fine with having to be away from the Maitlands for a week?"

Lydia made a sad, grumpy noise and curled in on herself a little more.

All three dead people sighed. This was going to have to take a little more convincing.