AN: So I took a darker turn for this one. I was reading a lot of ghost stories today, cuz my dad and I were driving to Cincinnati, and I got inspired.

So the basic layout - Reed's dead (he got shot on Parent's Night; for a reference see Chapter One of my story Gunfire) Shane sorta moved on. He's got two adorable adoptive children, and he married a guy who turned out to be an absolute asshole. Can Reed help them break away?


Disclaimer:

"Glee" belongs to Ryan Murphy

"Dalton" belongs to CP Coulter


"Because dancing doesn't make us enough goddamn money! What part of that don't you understand!"

The siblings winced as they heard another harsh sound from the kitchen. The huddled closer together in their bed. Sleeping together had beome a usual thing for them, seeing as their daddies had been arguing every night for the last month.

Sara turned so that she was on her side and brushed a long lock of strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes. Her brown eyes looked down at her brother. "When do you think they'll stop?"

Jason shrugged. He blew a raven curl out of his eye. "Beats me. I don't think we'll be sleeping well tonight."

Sara turned on her stomach and sniffled. "I thought Dad said he would stop drinking."

"No, Daddy said that Dad would stop drinking. Doesn't mean that Dad promised." Jason looked at his sister. "We'll be okay."

Sara shrugged weakly. She wished she could believe that.

Shane winced as the door slammed shut. He sat down on the couch and ran his hands through his hair, sighing in frustration. No doubt Keith would be going back to the bar again. He'd be back early the next morning, hopefully after the kids went to school.

Shane honestly didn't know what he was doing anymore. Since…since the accident at Parent's Night, he had stumbled around, the aching pain of Reed forever gone tearing him apart. He had barely made it, and he owed his life to Blaine, who wouldn't let his brother give up.

And then Keith had made his appearance. The two had met at a dinner with their parents. Keith was interning at Mr. Anderson's company, and he had spent most of the dinner staring at Shane. Shane was uncomfortable with the attention, but he had very, very slowly warmed up to Shane. The pain of Reed gone was dulling – it was still there, but, just less hurtful.

The two had married and adopted Sara and Jason years ago. Things had gone well. Both husbands had been making plenty of money. The children were bright and eager, and at first glance it seemed as though nothing could go wrong. Shane felt as though he was finally moving on with his life.

Then Keith had been introduced to alcohol. From there it had gone downhill. Keith had lost his job and Shane was left to support the family. Every night had been a nightmare, shattered bottles and wine spilled across the kitchen tiles. A few bruises were scattered along Shane's arms, and his uncontrolled mouth didn't exactly help. He was always there to comfort the children, to tell them that it would get better. They knew they were lies. But there was nothing Shane could do about it.

He sighed and heaved himself up, making his way down the hall to the kid's bedroom. He pushed open the door, wincing when he saw the two curled up in bed. "Hey, you two okay?" He sat down on the bed and ran his hands through Jason's hair.

Sara sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Daddy, when is it going to get better?"

"Yeah, you say that every night." Jason sat up too, glaring hurtfully at Shane.

Shane lowered his head, ashamed. "I know. And I'm…so sorry that it hasn't. But I promise that it will." Shane raised his head, adopting a look of fake promise. "I promise it will get better eventually."

Both children looked away and Shane knew that he had failed. He sighed. "I'll be out in the living room if you guys need me. Sleep tight." He gave each a kiss on the forehead, stood up, and walked out.


Reed had watched the whole ordeal. He had watched every bit, every moment of Shane's life from the moment that he had died.

He had watched as Shane tried to cope with Reed's death. He had watched as Keith had come into Shane's life. He had stalked Keith for a bit, and had decided that Keith would be an acceptable boyfriend. Truth be told, he would've preferred Micah, who he knew was a reliable person he could count on to take care of Shane. But if Shane put up with Keith, than Reed would have to to. He watched as Sara and Jason grew up, loving them as if they were his own children. He saw Shane's happiness, and he was happy too.

He watched helplessly as Keith turned to drink, leaving the family despondent. Shane was suffering, so Reed suffered too. He hated just watching and not being able to do anything.

He sighed and leaned against the counter of the small apartment. The family had owned a bigger one until Keith had lost his job. They had moved to a much smaller one, much less luxurious. Shane's family had refused to help them, still resenting Shane's homosexuality. Shane kept up a happy act for his brother, so Blaine didn't know.

Reed walked over to Shane, who had curled up on the couch, grabbing a blanket. He knelt down in front of him and smoothed his hair. A trace of salt and pepper was making its way through the roots of Shane's curls, reminding Reed of the fact that he still had a teenager's body. Shane sighed and smiled faintly at Reed's touch. Reed smiled and whispered. "It will get better Shane. I promise."

Shane smiled wider and closed his eyes. Reed leaned forward and kissed Shane softly on the cheek. "I love you Shane. Stay strong."

Shane nodded blearily and passed out on the pillow. Reed traced his face one last time before standing up and walking to the kid's room.

He stopped when he heard Sara crying. "Dad's g-gonna leave us…and then w-what's Daddy gonna do?"

Jason shrugged. Reed hadn't seen him cry since the day he had fallen off of his bike when he was five. Still now, he refused to cry. "Maybe we'll move in with Uncle Blaine and Uncle Kurt. I don't know."

Reed sighed and sat on the side of their bed. Sometimes he wondered if Shane had chosen Sara for adoption because she looked like Reed.

Sara sniffled again. Then she looked up, directly at Reed, and smiled weepily. "Hi angel."

Reed smiled warmly. He wasn't sure why the children could see him, but once he had grasped ahold of that fact, he had told the children to keep their angel friend a secret. Reed wasn't sure what he was, truly. He'd stayed awake after he'd died, trapped in his body. Just a lonely soul. Whether he was a ghost, or an angel, was unknown to him.

Reed reached out and ruffled her hair. "Hello sweetie." She giggled.

Jason cocked his head. "Angel, when are things going to get better?"

Reed sighed. "I wish I could tell you Jason. I hope they will."

"I wish Daddy could see you." Sara giggled. "I think you would make a better Dad then our Dad."

Reed laughed. "Sometimes, I wish he could see me too. But you two are the only ones who can…now, it's late, and you both have school tomorrow. Go to sleep."

"Tell us a story first!" Sara bounced up and down.

"Yeah!" Jason nodded.

Reed sighed resignedly. This had become a usual occurrence. "Okay…once upon a time…"

AN: I have too many projects in the making...*sigh*

But the cool thing about having an audience - it gives me a reason to finish.

Love Lala, xoxo