A request from Sparkling Lover. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! Ally belongs to Sparkling Lover and I only own Rachel, James, Mrs. Johnson, Amelia, and Emily. All other characters belong to their respective owners.

Appearance Is Not Always What It Seems

CRASH!

Rachel looked up at the sound and saw some kids in the baseball field looking up at the house across the way and she also looked and saw that the top attic window had a hole in it from a baseball.

"That's the Johnson widow's place!" said one of the boys.

"I'm not going over there!" said another one.

Rachel rolled her eyes from where she was sitting and got up. "Stop arguing and get over there and tell Mrs. Johnson what happened," she said sternly.

"No way!" said the first boy. "She's a crazy old coot! She'll skin us alive!"

The girl shook her head. "Mrs. Johnson is an elderly woman, not a monster," she said.

But no one moved and Rachel sighed. "Jerks," she said and walked across the street towards the widow's three-story home. It was big, but not as big as the Grant Mansion where Rachel lived. Reaching the door, she knocked and stepped back.

The door was opened by Mrs. Johnson. "What do you want?" she asked irritably.

"Mrs. Johnson, I'm sorry to bother you. My name is Rachel Jocklin and I was hoping you would allow me to retrieve the baseball that broke your attic window, which I would like to help replace," said Rachel.

Mrs. Johnson let out a huff. "The Crazy Jocklins' niece, hmm?" she asked a little snottily.

Rachel winced and reminded herself that Mrs. Johnson was elderly and no matter how much those words stung, she couldn't be rude to the elderly woman. "The same one, ma'am," she said, deciding to not comment anymore on it.

"Oh, very well," said the woman. "But you be quick about it."

"I'll do my best, ma'am," said the younger woman who went upstairs to get the baseball and measure the window with her tape measure she had with her. Making note of the dimensions and seeing that the glass couldn't be fixed without being replaced, she dialed the local window making in the next town North of Staybrook.

"James, it's Rachel," she said and told him the situation and gave him the measurements for the window. "Can you have one ready soon? I'm heading your way in a little bit."

"Sure," he said. "It'll be waiting for you."

"Thanks."

She hung up and went downstairs. "Mrs. Johnson, I have the ball, and I called the window-repair place north of here. He'll have one ready and I'll come back and replace it," she said.

The widow seemed surprised. "Really?" she asked. Rachel nodded.

"I'll be back in about fifteen minutes," she said and got in her car and drove. She had a feeling someone was behind her, but looked and didn't see anything. "Hmm," she said to herself and shook her head, driving away, not seeing three identical faces watching her.

Arriving at the window-repair shop, she was about to go in when the owner, James, came out and gave the wrapped window to her, but he looked like something had spooked him badly, because he was shaking.

"Take it," he said, his voice sounding frightened. "Take it and go!"

She was surprised at his change in demeanor. "James, are you alright?" she asked him.

"Just go!" he said, making her jump. "No charge! Just go!"

With that, he ran into the shop and slammed the door, leaving a puzzled young woman standing on the sidewalk. "What spooked him?" she asked herself and thought maybe it was Ghostfreak, Big Chill, or Ultimate Big Chill, but all three were at the mansion with the flu and on strict orders to rest. Rachel felt bad for her friends and helped out when she could, but that was a little hard when she saw how the three ran high fevers. She called Rook.

"Hey, Honey," she said in a sweet voice. "How are the guys doing?"

"Hey, Baby," he said and she heard him smile, but then he cleared his throat a little. "The guys are doing somewhat alright, but still not better yet."

A loud sound was heard and Rachel cocked an eyebrow. "What was that?" she asked. "Sounded like a thunderclap."

Rook chuckled a little. "That was actually Big Chill. I think he's got the worst case of it out of the three," said the Revonnahgander.

"Goodness," said Rachel. "Let me pick up some ginger root on my way back. That might help them recover faster or at the very least it'll help clear up some of their congestion."

"That's a good idea," Rook agreed. "Hurry home, Baby. I miss you."

She laughed a little, but felt the same way. "I miss you too, you hopeless romantic," she teased him. "I'll be home soon and then you can kiss me breathless."

"Now that, I'm planning on doing," he said with a purr, making her chuckle as they both hung up as Rook went to help take care of the three ghosts and Rachel put the wrapped glass in her car's backseat and drive back to Mrs. Johnson's home. She arrived and went up to the attic and found the broken glass had been picked up already. Knowing that the widow hadn't done that, she wondered who, but then shrugged and began to replace the window. It didn't take long and soon she stepped back to admire her work.

"Well, that's done," she said.

"That's good," said a voice that made her jump and turn around to see a group of something green, black, and white behind her. A scream left her and she ran downstairs.

"Mrs. Johnson, you have something strange upstairs in your attic!" she exclaimed, stopping as she was panting from running.

The elderly woman actually chuckled at her reaction. "Don't be alarmed, dear. It's just a friend," she said.

Rachel looked confused and then heard giggling and turned to see six of the same creatures she saw in the attic all become one, which surprised her. "What?" she asked, realizing after a moment she sounded really stupid, but the creature laughed.

"Surprised?" he asked. "I get that a lot."

"Ditto saved me when I fell once and almost broke my leg, but he duplicated himself and caught me in time. I let him stay as no one else will and he often keeps me company," said Mrs. Johnson, smiling.

"Ditto?" Rachel asked, looking at the small alien.

"That's me!" he said and looked up at her. "Sorry about startling you. You did a great job on that window."

"Thank you," said the young woman.

Mrs. Johnson looked at them. "I'm actually glad you came Rachel," she said. "I know the Jocklins are good people and I was hoping you could do me a favor."

"Sure," said Rachel.

Mrs. Johnson sighed. "My daughter Amelia and her daughter Emily are coming to Staybrook to stay," she said. "My daughter has just gone through a rather bitter legal ordeal and decided to move back here. So I was wondering, will you take care of Ditto for me?"

Rachel nodded. "Of course I will," she said immediately.

"Mrs. Johnson, are you sure?" asked Ditto.

She smiled. "I'm sure, Ditto," she said. "You'll be safe with Rachel. She helps aliens."

Rachel looked stunned. "How did you know?" she asked.

The elderly woman laughed a little. "Your friend, Water Hazard, has been helping me with the outside chores in the back," she said. "He's good at planting gardens."

The younger woman smiled. "Yes, being a water alien, he does have a knack for that," she agreed. "I guess he told you, huh?"

"He did," she said. "And I'm glad you're doing so."

A little while afterwards, both human and alien left for the Grant Mansion and Ditto looked a little sad. Rachel patted his arm. "You can always visit her," she said.

"You're right," he said. "So, what's it like at the Grant Mansion?"

Rachel pulled up to the gate that opened with an electronic command and went in with the gate closing behind them. "Take a look," she suggested and Ditto's eyes grew wide when he saw the size of the mansion. "There's more room inside than can be seen," she said.

Ditto looked ready to explore and Rachel smiled at her new friend.

Rachel smiled at Ally, who had been sitting up in bed as her older cousin told her the story. "And that's how I met Ditto. Every week he and Water Hazard go to visit Mrs. Johnson and help her out," she said.

"What about Amelia and Emily? Have they seen them?" asked the curious young girl.

Rachel smiled. "Emily saw them one day and they were surprised and Amelia just about lost her voice until Mrs. Johnson explained it. They both calmed down after a bit and Emily enjoys pouncing on Water Hazard when his back is turned," she said.

"Why does she do that?" Ally asked.

Rachel chuckled. "She's five years old," she explained. "I think she does it because she knows he'll give her a piggy back ride and he doesn't get mad at her. I think he enjoys making her happy, just like he does for you. I'm sure Ditto feels the same way."

"You can count on it," said the mentioned alien as he and the larger red alien came into the room, Water Hazard looked a bit tired.

"Emily is quite energetic," he admitted, sitting down beside Rachel while Ditto jumped up beside Ally and they hugged.

"You're a tough alien and you're already tired?" Rachel lightly teased her friend, who playfully squirted a splash of water at her face, making her laugh as she gave him a playful shove to which he tackled her and pinned her to the carpet and felt Ally jump on his back along with Ditto. Rachel then gently kicked the back of Water Hazard's legs to knock him off balance as Ally and Ditto landed on his arms and Rachel landed on his stomach. All four laughed and Rachel got up, picking up Ditto while Water Hazard picked up Ally and set her back in bed. Ditto snuggled up to her and both instantly fell asleep, making the other two chuckle as they quietly left the room.

"Appearance isn't always what it seems, hmm?" Rachel asked, smiling.

"No, it isn't," Water Hazard agreed as the two friends hugged each other with warm affection.

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GoldGuardian2418