A/N: As much as I would love to own the rest of them and the universe they live in, sadly only Scarlett and any other OC's actually belong to me.

Lost and Found

By: NightWatcher666

You remember me right? Scarlett Howard, I know it's been a while since I told you about what happened when my great grandmother died. Well it's been seven years since that day, and I've had quite the roller coaster ride ever since. The ups have been great; I'm a practicing psychiatrist, I've had three galleries full of my photographs, and I've published my first book. Yeah the ups have been great, but the downs have nearly driven me out of my mind. I guess the biggest one started about three years ago. My grandmother's best friend Beetlejuice was there for me when she passed. He was there for me when my boyfriend at the time thought I would make a better punching bag than companion. He always looked out for me, but he had a tendency to be over protective. The night I found out why was when everything changed.

That night I was in a good mood. Jason, the guy I had been seeing took me out for a night on the town. We had dinner, went to a movie, and strolled around the park. Cliché I know, but it was an enjoyable night. He was dropping me off at my house, but instead if watching him leave I made the mistake of inviting him in. After a glass or two of wine we wound up in my bed, and everything was going wonderful until someone decided that it had gone far enough. I hate to say it, but Jason was an easy scare. Lights flickering, bed shaking, and a vase flying across the room was enough to send him running out of the house in just his pants. I of course followed, wrapped in nothing but a bed sheet.

"I can't take it anymore!" he yelled at me, "Every time we start to get intimate shit like this happens."

I stood there in the cold winter snow wearing practically nothing fighting back tears as he unlocked his car. "I'm sorry", I cried out, "Please don't go."

"Look", he said, "You're beautiful, smart, interesting, and funny. You're everything I want in a woman, but I can't deal with this haunted house crap anymore."

Those were the last words he ever spoke to me. My last memory of him was watching his car speed off down the road and into the night. I stood there for a moment pondering whether or not to just freeze to death with my tears frozen to my face, but I decided that I was going to have a talk with a certain ghost with the most and put a stop to this once and for all. I stomped back into the house and marched straight into my bedroom where I saw him sitting in the mirror looking very proud of himself.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I demanded, "I was enjoying myself and like always you had to come and ruin it."

"Nice to see you too Toots", he said cheerfully, "And what a great sight it is too."

I looked down and blushed. At some point between my snow covered front lawn and my bedroom I had lost the sheet, and was now standing in front of this ghost completely naked. I grunted in anger as I found my robe and slipped it on.

"I'm sick and tired of this crap", I said harshly to him, "If you put my grandmother through this, I surprised that I was ever born!"

"Whoa, calm down Toots, I was just looking out for ya", he answered with a defensive tone in his voice, "After that one douchebag I need to make sure that nobody hurts you again."

I have to admit that I was grateful to have someone who cared enough about me to do that, but I knew there was more to it, and I was hell bent on finding out what that was.

"Not every guy is a prick!" I shouted, "And I don't need you scaring them off every time that I decide I want to get laid."

"I'm just trying to protect ya babe", was his only response.

"Protect me?" I asked incredulously, "Did you do this to her to?"

He smiled for a moment, "She never needed it", he said fondly, "She never kept a guy around long enough to need saving."

"Then what make me so special?" I asked, "I'm just as strong as she was, unless…"

Honestly I think I have to say this was the first time I had ever seen that look on his face. It was a combination of embarrassment, horror, sadness, and a touch of anger thrown in for good measure.

"Oh I can't believe this", I spat, "You've fallen for me."

"Kinda hard not to Toots", he answered bashfully.

At this point I didn't know whether to be flattered or disgusted, "Beeg, we can't be together. I want a marriage someday, and even children. I'm sorry, but death has already done us part, and you can't give me those things."

"But I can give you the time of your life over and over again", he clamored out.

I hate to admit it, but I was already pretty irritated about the situation, and this sent me a little farther over the edge that it should have.

"No", I said firmly, "You're my best friend. There can be nothing between us, and until you come to grips with that, I think it's best if you just stayed away."

I still remember the look on his face. He honestly look like I had killed his pet mold (don't ask), but this was it. At this moment I was putting my foot down and I gave him the choice, either get with the program, or start looking for a new haunt. Looking back on it… It was a really stupid thing to say, because without another word he vanished from the mirror. I found tears streaming down my face for the second time that night as I stared into my reflection before collapsing onto my bed, and at that point proceeded to cry myself to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning he wasn't there, but in front of the mirror was a small purple box. Slowly I opened the box to find two things; a golden necklace with a bat pendant, and a crumpled piece of paper. The necklace was truly beautiful, the bat like the chain was gold, and it had rubies for eyes. It must have cost a fortune. I knew something was up when he told me he had gotten a proper job, but the paper was what truly had my attention. As I unfolded it and read the scrawled words I nearly collapsed, it only consisted of six words, "I'm sorry. I'll make it right", and again I found myself crying as I put the necklace on vowing to never take it off.

When I came home that afternoon, I expected him to be where he always was, but alas I once again found myself staring into the ghostless mirror. "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice", I said, but nothing happened. I could feel tears forming again as I cleared my throat, "BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE!" I screamed, but as before nothing happened. I have no idea how long I sat there staring at the mirror and crying, but I do know that it was late into the night. The next several nights were like that until a week had passed. Finally I had to accept that what I had hastily said in a fit of anger had driven away my one true friend. Depressed doesn't even begin to cover how I felt.

Days turned into weeks turned into months and before long two years had passed without seeing my friend. I hardly ever cried anymore, but every day I would check the mirror only to find it empty. Today however was a day that I cried, because it had been two years to the day since I found the necklace on my dresser. I stroked the golden bat that had hung around my neck for the last two years and cried in front of the mirror until I heard my phone ringing. I'll skip the conversation and just say that after a few minutes of crying into the phone my friend Sara had talked me into going out to a bar with her.

Honestly if felt pretty good to sit there and drown my sorrows while she rambled on about her boyfriend of the week. She was going on about him wanting to take her camping when my nose caught a familiar scent. It wasn't a pleasant scent by any means, but it was one I had learned to cherish, and welcome. Frantically I scanned the establishment with no success until I turned towards the bar, and there I saw it. I man with dirty, matted, and stringy blonde hair and wearing a black and white striped suit was arguing with the bartender about needing another drink. My blood boiled instantly. I hadn't been that angry in well… actually I don't ever remember being that angry. With all the courage I could muster I walked up behind him, spun him around, and slapped him across the face so hard that my hand hurt from the impact.

"OW!" he yelled in pain, "What the hell was that for lady?" That's when he saw me, "Tell you what", he said, "Let's go back to your place and I might even let you slap me a few more times to set the mood. Whaddaya say Toots?"

My back went rigid. Not only had he had the nerve to try and pick me up, but after his absence he even had the audacity to use my pet name. So I did what any self respecting, professional woman would do… I slapped him again, and again he screamed.

"Where the hell have you been for the last two years?" I asked / demanded from him, but all he did was stare at me blankly.

"First off lady", he said in a drunken slur, "I just got into town, and second… I don't even know you."

Immediately I went weak in the knees. We had spent four years together and he didn't know me.

"You… you're name is Beetlejuice right?" I asked shakily to which he simply nodded, "Then how can you not know me?

"I've never seen you before", he commented casually.

At this point it was too much, and I simply ran. I was about halfway down the block when I realized that I had forgotten my jacket, and during Connecticut winters that was a terrible thing to do, but I couldn't go back. Crossing my arms for warmth I sat down on a bench crying until I felt something draped over my shoulders, and when I looked up I saw his face, but it was different than I remembered. The features were the same, but his skin looked fleshier, more alive than before.

"Sorry bout the toots thing", he said.

"It's ok", I managed to croak out, "Why did you come after me?"

"You knew my name", he responded,"Nobody knows my name."

"That's because I knew you", I replied, "And I guess you can say we didn't part on very good terms."

"Well then let me apologize for anything I might have said or done to upset you", he said in a voice that was actually kind which of course started my emotional ass crying again.

"You don't remember me, or my grandmother?" I asked through the sobs.

He shook his head, "The only thing I remember is waking up on the outskirts of town a few days ago."

"That's it", I said, "You've lost your memory, but I didn't know that could happen to a ghost."

He looked at me kind of cross eyed, "I'm not a ghost", he said plainly.

Immediately I shot my hand to his neck and sure enough there was a pulse. My head was spinning in six different directions all at once and I had no idea what to say or do.

"Come home with me", I said, "We'll figure it out."

A few days passed and we were no closer to jogging his memory. My room, mirror, and even my necklace meant nothing. When I got home that night I decided to get him out for a little while. I had his suit cleaned (no small task mind you) and pressed, and once I managed to get his hair unmated and pulled back into a pony tail even I had to admit that he cleaned up pretty well. We went to a nice dinner and afterwards we took a stroll through the local cemetery. Of course we wound up in front of my grandmothers grave staring at the intricately carved headstone. One thing I did notice was a tear falling down his face as he looked down at the plot.

"I have no idea who she was", he said somberly, "But she must have been important to make me feel like this."

"She was your best friend for many years", I said as I took his hand, "And when she died, she asked you to stay with me."

"And did I?" he asked.

I nodded,"For four years", I said, "Until we had a fight."

"About what?", he asked.

This was not an easy question, and it was one I was hoping I would not have to answer.

"It was over the fact that you kept scaring all my boyfriends away", I said. I thought it best to not bring up the "Us" factor yet.

"I see", he said, "I'm sorry to have driven such a wedge between us."

Let's face it, I have the world's best ability to be a total sap, and his apology was a bit too much for me. I rested my head on his chest, "We'll deal with that when you memory comes back."

"What if it doesn't?" he asked in an unsure tone.

"Then we'll build new ones", I answered.

I have no idea what I was thinking, or if I was even thinking, but next thing I knew I was pressing my lips to his. I had never thought of Beetlejuice in that way, but at this moment he wasn't the ghost with the most, he was a vulnerable human being just like me. It was what happened next that changed everything.

As we kissed I felt the wind kick up and next thing I knew everything went black. Once my vision came back into focus I saw that we were no longer standing in the cemetery, but in what looked like a circus version of a courtroom.

"I believe that proves it Your Honor", I heard a distinct female voice say, "Now keep with the court's decision and restore his memory."

The room was dark, and I couldn't make anyone out, but I did hear an "Oh very well", come from what I perceived to be the front. There was a flash and when I saw BJ looking at me it was with a look of recognition and true heartfelt caring.

He grinned slightly, "Hey Toots…" he said awkwardly.

At that moment my heard nearly exploded, "Would somebody care to explain what the hell is going on? I've been through hell over the last two years, and now I find out that it's all some kind of sick joke!"
At this point I was fuming, "Lets screw with the woman who has a ghost for a friend! Come on it'll be a barrel of laughs! What is wrong with you people?"

As I stood there breathing heavily I felt a hand grasp my shoulder, "Not quite my dear", the voice said, and when I looked back I saw none other than my great grandmother staring at me. She look just how she did when I last saw her; tall, beautiful, and young, just like she did before going to the afterlife.

"Grandma?" I asked stupidly, "What are you doing here?"

She just smiled, "Helping out you and BJ", she said, "They were going to feed him to the sandworms for always interfering in the normal lives of mortals. I made a deal with the judge, and by making you actually care for him as a live person saved him from a fate worse than death."

I had to hand it to her. Even after everything she did for me when she was alive she was still looking out for me and Beetlejuice, and my emotions fell apart as I wrapped my arms around her.

"We still have the issue of his life to discuss", the skeleton judge said, "and what to do with it."

"Judge Mental", my grandmother said, "I think it should really be up to these two."

He eyeballed me before shooting Beetlejuice a disgusted look, "Fine, but decide quickly. Beetlejuice if you choose you may live in the mortal world as a flesh and blood human, but you will do so without your powers."

"But if you do choose to", I added, "Maybe we can be together."

I knew Beetlejuice loved his powers, but if he had gone through all this, well maybe I was special too. He didn't take long to decide either. He walked over to my grandmother who smiled at him before nodding, he then took me by the arm, and demanded to be sent back to the mortal world.

I'd love to go into details about the last year since then, but today is a very special day. It's my wedding day, and since I'm not about to disappoint my grandmother who crossed entire plains of existence to truly unite us (not to mention show up at the wedding) I had better be going. Just remember that good things can come from the terrible ones.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the story. Please read and review.