Paranormal Table Part 3!

[vinniebatman]

Title:  Little Ghost, Little Ghost (Part 3/25 of my Paranormal Epic) 
Author: vinniebatman aka batmanvinnie
Fandom: BtVS/Supernatural.  I decided that instead of the vague references I've made to the Winchesters, I'd actually include them.
Pairings: Spander, of course.   Also a surprise couple makes an appearance, but it isn't the primary pairing for the story.  This one is PRESLASH, so no loving... yet.
Rating/Warnings:  This one is teen. 
Prompt:  Prompt #7 - "Haunting" from my table.
Summary:  Xander discovers a strange sort of haunting in the Council House.
Teaser: 
Disclaimer: I hired a pack of ninjas to kidnap Joss; he was threatened with hot poker torture and chainsaws so I could meet the real him. I now own all. Thank you.   Or not.
A/N:  This is the third piece in my series of stories for the community  paranormal25, for which I'm writing a series of stories about Xander being able to see Ghosts.  Originally I had planned on writitng another part before I wrote this one.  However, "Little Ghost" by the White Stripes played on my iPod the other day, so I've had it stuck in my head.  It's a cute song, so the stoy just came.Previous parts are archived here.

In the initial stages of planning for the slayer school, many locations were considered.  London had been a popular choice, but the city was too expensive, and the crowding made police interference a distinct possibility.  Cleveland had been another choice, but it seemed too dangerous for the younger girls to be placed on a hellmouth without training.  So Faith and Robin had set up camp there with some of the older slayers from Sunnydale.  Eventually, the answer came from of one of the dead watchers. 

Deinol Pritchards had been not only a watcher, but a wealthy man who owned stock in various iron, coal, and technology companies.  Upon his death during the First's attack on the Watcher's Council Headquarters, his eldest son had taken control of the family's estate.  Ioan had agreed to become a Watcher and gave them Glyndwr Manor.  After three months, it was officially opened as the Joyce Summer's International Home for Girls and was home to one hundred and three slayers-in-training.  So when the girls awoke each morning, the noise woke up everyone else.

Xander woke up to the sound of a stampede.  At first, a small part of him thought that he was in Africa, listening to the sounds of a stampede of wild animals.  However, that small part quickly realized that wildebeests, zebras and antelopes don't call each other "stupid bitches."  Groaning, he rolled over and looked at his alarm clock; it was only seven in the morning.  He and Anya had stayed up until two in the morning talking to each other.  Xander quickly learned that while being incorporeal means no touching, it also means overhearing the best gossip.  It was a Monday, so the house wouldn't be quiet enough to sleep until the younger girls were off at school and the older ones in their daily slaying classes.   Rolling over, he stared at the ceiling, waiting for the girls to leave.  Even though he cared about the mini-slayers a great deal, he couldn't deal with their questions; after all, he hadn't even had coffee yet.  

Once the halls had finally quieted, he rolled out of bed.  Slipping a bathrobe on over his boxers, he left his room and ambled down the stairs.  He smiled as he walked through the halls of the sprawling house; no matter how many months he'd lived here, he still got a kick out of walking through the prestigious halls in his Star Wars bathrobe and roaring dinosaur slippers.  As he walked past the conservatory entrance, he paused, blinked, rubbed his eye, blinked again, and then backed up.  Entering the light-filled room, he spoke.

"Who are you?"  The female figure, clad in some sort of body armor and caressing an aloe plant, turned to face him.

"Why do you interrupt, vermin?" the female being questioned in a deep voice.  Her eyes were an icy blue, matching the hue of her skin.  "Long has it been since I could hear the song of the green only to be interrupted by a worm," the being continued.

"Let me guess, you must be Iryllia," Xander sighed.  "An arrogant God King and no coffee make Xander a something something."

"It is Illyria; know whom you address before opening you maw," she growled.

"Oh Lord, here she goes again.  I can't tell you how tired I am of hearing her yap on about 'in my time' this and 'the world trembled before me' that.  I swear, sometimes I wish I had been entirely burned in the fire's of her resurrection."  Xander let out a shrill "eep" before turning around to see a thin brunette in the corner, dressed in a simple blue dress.  She was a twin to the hostile being, only without the blue skin.

"Who in the hell are you," he squeaked.  The girl's frown morphed into a broad smile.

"You can see me?"

"Um, yeah.  Wait, if she's Illyria, then you must be Fred, right?"  Xander smothered a yawn as the ghost nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Who do you speak with?" 

Xander turned back to the giant smurf, surprised at having forgotten her presence.

"I'm talking with Fred."

"The shell?  Impossible.  Her soul was destroyed in the fires of my resurrection," the former God sneered.

"You guys say that phrase a lot don't you?"

"It is still an impossibility," Illyria declared imperiously.

"Look, Smurfette, I've only been a medium for a couple days and I haven't even had my coffee yet.  But in the eight years since I learned about vampires, I have learned time and again that nothing is impossible.  Well, except for me to go on a date with a kind, normal human being."

Illyria raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side.  "You're kind is low enough to be overly concerned with each other's shells, yet you did not specify a gender.  Have you no preference?  Perhaps my half-breed has not misplaced his attentions."

Xander blushed.  "No, I do!  I like women, love 'em in fact.  Yep, I heart me the boobies and what do you mean by 'half-breed?'"

"Oh, that's what she calls Spike," Fred offered excitedly.

"Spike?  Spike is hers?  How is he hers?  How did she- wait, one brain-buster at a time.  What do you guys mean about your soul being eaten by flames?"

"Well that’s what everyone said happened to me.  Apparently the soul exists in one piece only.  Its parts can't be separated, and when Illyria took over my body, she shattered my soul because she needed parts of it to anchor her soul or spirit or whatever to my body.  There's no way to bring me back to my body or send me on to heaven because the parts of my soul that are floating around have to be near the parts of my soul that are attached to my body," Fred explained in an excited rush.  "Oh Lord, it's so nice to talk to someone else!  I haven't been able to talk to anyone for such a long time!"

"You can't talk to other ghosts or spirits?  You're just stuck haunting Illyria?"

"Yeah, pretty much.  Because I'm in pieces, I can't take a very strong form.  I'm to most ghosts the way ghosts are to most people.  I'm a ghost's ghost."

"They can't see you?"  The joy that had bubbled from her disappeared.

"Nope; I can see them, but they don't even notice me."

"Oh."  The conversation ground to a halt, and Xander felt the awkward need to be away.  "Well, I'm going to go get some breakfast, okay?"

Fred offered him a feeble smile. "Alright.  It was nice meeting you, Xander."

Five minutes later, Xander sat at the breakfast nook, staring at his cup of untouched coffee.

"Something the matter, Grandson?"

"I have a question, Grandma.”

*****
That night as dinner rolled around, the house bustled with activity. Some of the least financially stable Slayer-parents had ended up coming to Wales and worked as groundskeepers, instructors, and cooks.  By seven, the large buffet tables in the dining room had been covered by platters of various meats, side dishes, and vegetables.  The room filled with girls chattering in dozens of languages as Vi watched over the younger ones.  Xander nodded at her in greeting before heading toward the second dining room.  It was a great deal smaller than the main dining hall, but it was limited to Council members and instructors, giving the adults a quite space.  As he entered the room, Buffy, Giles, Dawn, Angel, Spike, and Willow looked up at him.  Dinner had already been served, so Xander assumed his customary place beside Willow.

"Hey Xander, how's it going?" Willow asked, looking up from her plate.  Xander grinned and gave her a one armed hug.

"Good enough.  Didn't get much sleep last night, but whatever.  Did Faith leave yet?" he asked, uncovering the plate at his place setting.

"Yeah, she had to get back to Robin and the Cleveland Hellmouth.  They've been having a problem with Fyarl demons lately," Giles answered briskly, his lip curled in annoyance.

"What's wrong Giles?  Have you been hearing too many Fyarl jokes lately?" Xander asked.  Dawn grinned widely.

"Of course; while you were at the hospital, I picked up the slack around here."

"Yeah, she's been an even bigger pain than usual," Buffy grumbled.  Dawn simply rolled her eyes.

"So why didn't you get much sleep last night?" Angel asked.   Xander shrugged and shoveled a forkful of potatoes into his mouth.  He was so focused on his food that he didn't notice the surreptitious glances Spike sent his way.  The vampire stealthily studied the human, taking in the smile in his eyes and the dark circles around them.

"Anya talked my ear off for two hours after I got home."

"Anya?" Willow asked, eyes burning with curiosity.  Spike suppressed the growl that was bubbling in his chest.  What the hell is wrong with me? 

"Yeah.  Apparently people who used magic in life end up being able to return to this plane once they're dead.  At least that's what she said.  

"Well I am attempting to recruit some hunters from the United States.  There are apparently two brothers who are rather adept at dealing with ghosts and such."

Xander frowned.  "But they tried to kill Spike."

Giles rolled his eyes, the grimaced as he realized what he'd done.  "Yes, but in all fairness. we've all tried to kill him."

"I haven't," Dawn piped up.  Xander shook his head.

"Whatever.  Anyways, Anya also said that Cordelia got promoted.  For the past thousand years, the Powers That Be have been an even number and they end up tied all the time."

"So that's why they're always such ass-hats and made such ass-hatty decisions?" Dawn asked, taking a drink from her soda.

"Yep.  But they promoted Cordelia, so there's an odd number now."

"Cordelia is one of the Powers?" Buffy asked, slack jawed.  While she rationally knew that Cordelia had matured, the idea of cheerleader Queen C as a power made her blood run cold.

"Yeah, it's scary to think of Queen C as a power, but she's doing a good job.  She's even doing me a favor," Xander explained.

"Please, it's not a favor for you.  It's more like justice for white hats who got shafted by the others."  Xander turned to see his former girlfriend standing by the table, decked out in a flowing white gown. 

"Wow, hey Cordy, didn't expect you to be here so soon.  That's a great dress."

"Cordelia?" Angel whispered.

"Of course it's a great dress.  Gianni Versace designed it.  He was just floating around, so I made him part of my entourage."  Xander laughed.

"Only you could die and end up leading the Powers and having your very own spiritual entourage."

"I know.  Look, I have to go, there's a meeting in about ten seconds.  He's down the hallway, okay?  And tell Angel 'hi.'  See you later, Xander."

"Later, Cordy."  Xander pushed away from the table and looked at his friends.

"Cordelia has an entourage?" Buffy asked.

"Of course she does.  Look, I have something to take care of.  Angel, she says 'hi.'"

Xander quickly walked out of the dining room and down the hall.  As he cast his gaze about, Wesley appeared before him.  Xander stopped and studied the former Watcher; his blue eyes were cloudy, a weeks' growth of beard on his face.  His clothes were rumpled and his entire presence gave off an air of defeat and pain.

"Wow.  Am I supposed to be depressed just from looking at you?" Xander joked feebly.  Wesley offered a weak smile.

"From what Cordelia told me, you're a medium, so you see spirits.  The sightings that most people see are merely the portions of energy that are pushed into the spectrum that humans can see.  However, you see the entire spirit, primarily in the image of that the soul projects.  This also means that you're susceptible to the energies of spirits.  Our emotions effect the energy you feel, thus enabling you to 'sense' our emotions."

"Wow.  You know, I distinctly remember finishing high school, and yet here I am, learning."

"My apologies for making you think."  The comment was intended as sarcasm, but the words dripped with bitterness and derision.

"Damn, is there any way to give you ghostie Prozac or something?"

"I'm afraid not."  Wesley sighed, defeated.  "What did you want to see me about?"

Xander nodded.  "Right, let's get to the point.  Follow me."  He started walking again and led Wesley through the building to the conservatory.  Illyria stood by the window, apparently communicating with the plants.

"Wes?"  Fred emerged from behind on of the potted palm trees, a tremulous smile curling her lips.  She slowly walked forward, standing before Wesley.

"Is there a reason for making me even more depressed?" Wesley asked, looking through Fred's apparition with unseeing eyes.

"Why are you here?" Illyria growled.

"It doesn't have anything to do with you, your Highness, so just go back to groping the foliage."  Turning back to the former Watcher, Xander continued.

"Okay, I want you to close your eyes and focus.  I want you to sort of reach out, try to feel the energy in the room.  Try to sense the other spirit in here."

"Other spirit?  There’s no other spirit in here.  What are you-?"

"Just focus, ya limey!  Now, this morning I learned something fascinating.  Apparently souls are not only quite resilient, but they're also one piece.  If a soul is somehow fractured and broken, the soul can't ascend to heaven because its pieces need to stay together.  But if the pieces remain in the same area, they can form a spirit.  It's just a lot harder to see."  

Wes sighed.  "I don't have time for this, Xander.” 

“Oh yeah, because you’re oh so busy wandering around the Hyperion!  That’s right; Cordy told me what you’re doing.”

“Fine; what do you want me to-?"  Opening his eyes, Wesley stopped.  His eyes widened.

"Fred?"  His voice broke as he gently raised one hand.  Her eyes slid shut as his fingertips pressed against her cheek.  As their projected images (and the energy creating them) touched, a white light flared.

The Texan smiled, tears brimming.  "I can feel you, Wesley."  
 
Tears slipped down Wesley's face as he raised his other hand to cup her face.  "I have missed you so much, my love."  He stared at her, as though trying to memorize her every feature.  Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers.  Another flare of light erupted.

"Okay, sorry to interrupt this touching moment, but what the hell was that?" Xander asked.  Illyria turned to frown at him, then closed her eyes and returned to her 'conversation.'

The two spirits separated.  

"I joined her.  My soul connected itself to hers; we're together," Wesley explained, never breaking eye contact with Fred.

Xander smiled as he quietly left the room.  Returning to the dining room, he was met with questioning glances.  As his eyes fell upon a smiling Spike, he smothered a groan.  Damn it, I was supposed to ask Fred what Illyria meant about Spike's attentions! Hmm, maybe I’ll get Ahn to spy for me.

"So what was that all about?" Dawn asked.  Xander grinned mysteriously.

"Oh nothing; I was just reuniting Fred and Wesley."  As he filled his mouth with roast beef, he smirked at the confused conjecture erupting around him.  This medium thing was turning out pretty good

* * * * * * * * * *
Author's Note:  Okay, so I know that this ending is reallly schmaltzy, but the way things ended up between Fred and Wes broke my heart.  The way that they never really got a chance hurts, so when the song "Little Ghost" came on my iPod, I came up with this.  Because after the crap Fred and Wes went through, they deserved some happiness.  

Chapter Four HERE

(Chorus)
Little ghost, little ghost
One I'm scared of the most
Can you scare me up a little bit of love?
I'm the only one that sees you,
And I can't do much to please you
And it's not yet time to meet the lord above

The first moment that I met her
I did not expect a specter
When I shook her hand I really shook a glove
She looked into me so sweetly
And we left the room discreetly
No one else could know the secret of our love

(Chorus)

Every morning I awoke
And I see my little ghost
Wondering if it's really her that's lying there
I lean to touch her and I whisper
But not brave enough to kiss her
When I held her I was really holding air

(Chorus)

Though I try my best to keep it
There really was no secret
Must have looked like I was dancing with the wall
No one else could see this apparition
But because of my condition
I fell in love with a little ghost and that was all

Little ghost, little ghost
One I'm scared of the most
Can you scare me up a little bit of love?
I'm the only one that sees you,
And I can't do much to please you
And it's not yet time to meet the lord above
No, it's not yet time to meet the lord above

Comments

[anxiety-junkie.livejournal.com]

No, don't apologize for the schmaltz, it was perfect! I agree with you completely about Fred and Wes, that was beautiful. And ooh, Spike is falling hard, isn't he?

Hopefully, you'll be able to update a bit sooner next time, I'm really enjoying this!

[vinniebatman.livejournal.com]

Hey, the update time between 2 and 3 was a couple weeks. Between 1 and 2 it was a couple months. I'm doing better! But part four is in mind, and I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the feedback.

[altyronsmaker.livejournal.com]

OMG You made me cry!!!

Poor dejected and depressed spirity Wes!! Then, yay! Reunited with Fred. *Loves!*

And Xander being gender non-specific? Yes, boy, you like men. Deal.

I'm so looking forward to the next part of this!

[vinniebatman.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that scene where he asks I to lie to him? Killed me. I just felt that Fred and Wes got shanked by the powers. But I"m glad you liked it and that you're looking forward to more. Thanks!

[alterian.livejournal.com]

I thought that I had commented on your fic earlier but apperently not =/ So here we go...
I love it! And I can't wait for more to come.
Keep up the good work.
~Alterian

[vinniebatman.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked it! I'm surprised and quite happy that everyone digs it. Thank you!

[sablerose2.livejournal.com]

Loved it need more please?! You hit the emotion button on this one and I thank you

[vinniebatman.livejournal.com]

I thank you! Nice comments make me feel better about my writing. Thanks so much, and I'm working on part four as we speak. Er, type.

[stretfordditto.livejournal.com]

Brilliant, love this fic, Fred/Wes together again ::sniffle::

[vinniebatman.livejournal.com]

I know, the way it ended for them killed it, so I'm glad you liked it. Thanks!

[uih.livejournal.com]

Awww, loved the schmaltz!! I really like this story and hope we get more soon!!! And Spander ahead, ;O)

[vinniebatman.livejournal.com]

Oh don't worry, the bois will get some quality time together next part.
Thanks!

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

The whole 'Fred's soul was destroyed' part pretty well destroyed me, so anything that fixes that disaster is a total thumbs up with me!

[vinniebatman.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I figured that if Fred couldn't be brought back, well, the soul is energy, so how could it be totally destroyed? I'm glad you liked it, and I love your stories, so it means a lot. Thanks!

[bumpkin-is.livejournal.com]

Wow, this was great! Loved the humor with C and A, loved the irreverent way Xan snarks at big blue(in his star-wars robe and grrring dino slippers - priceless mental pic there) Loved the schmaltz - Wes and Fred needed to get something for what they did for the Powers that Bugger all... looking forward to more, hopefully soonish :)

keep penning,
Marns
~pobody's Nerfect

[vinniebatman.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, part four is in the works. Thanks for the fb!