Authors Note: Hello all, so I just couldn't wait any longer. I'm extremely excited about posting this story. Now, the only reason I'm posting it is because it's completely done and finished. There are seven chapters in all but it could be continued with other investigations. I haven't decided if I will or not, I guess it will depend on if I get any response to this story. It's all based off of the first episode in GHI Season Two: Wicklow's Goal. IMPORTANT: Also, I KNOW that Dustin is married and has children, but for the sake of this story, he IS single as is Barry. (Now, I'm not sure if he is married or not but I know Dustin is...) Mercedes is my main character, but Aisha also plays a big role in it as well :) I'm also sorry to any of my Twilight fanfic fans, I know you want me to update, but I'm having some really bad writers block with both Lachrymose and Girl With Golden Eyes. I know the direction I want the story to go, but I'm just not feeling the writing. They aren't on Hiatus, but I don't know when I'll next be updating. I'm hoping that this short story will help me get over my writers block. Anyways, I hope you enjoy "It's The Fear" and please review :)

Peace,

- RIP

Disclaimer: I, musicormisery, do not own any of the characters mentioned except for Aisha and Mercedes. Robb, Dustin, Barry and Joe obviously belong to themselves and the idea of GHI belongs to Sci-Fi and TAPS. This is purely for entertainment purposes only.

Summery: When Angela and Brandy both leave the GHI team, Robb has to find two new females for the job. When he recruits Mercedes and Aisha, things start to look up. But will they be able to handle the pressure of being on a TV show and investigating true haunted location in Wicklow, Ireland? What happens when boundary lines are crossed with two of their fellow investigators? Ghost Hunters International fic. Dustin/OC. Barry/OC.

PLAYLIST:

Crazy Dreams

- by -

Carrie Underwood

It's The Fear

Wicklow Gaol: Part 1 of 7

Robb POV

- Louth, Ireland. April 2009 -

"Robb?"

I was going over that case that we would be going on in just a few short weeks when I heard a knock at the door and a shaky voice speak to me. I recognized the voice immediately—it was one of my team members and the one who had set up the new case that I was currently looking over. The case itself was brilliant, but it was going to be tough. Without our sixth team member, Angela, here to help us I wasn't sure how we were going to do it. I knew that I needed to find another investigator to take her place. When I finally looked up I saw Brandy Greene, our case manager, standing outside my bedroom door hesitantly with a frown on her face.

"Oh hey Brandy, what's up? Do you need something?" I asked her with a smile. I wasn't sure why on earth she was acting so timid. Something had to be up.

She fidgeted slightly, "Uhm, I'm not sure exactly how I can tell you this Robb. But—" She cut herself off. I nodded my head, waiting for her to tell me what was going on. "I have to leave GHI. As you know, there are some problems going on back at home with my sister and well to be honest, everything is getting way to stressful for me. I love you guys, I love investigating but…it's becoming too much and with things being the way they are back home, I think it's time for me to back out."

I sighed heavily and ran a hand over my face. This was the most awful thing that could happen at the moment. Angela was gone and now Brandy was leaving as well which left us with four investigators. We were now going to be two short of a full team. I would either have to pull some strings and get some help or find two totally new investigators to join the show. How on earth was I going to be able to accomplish that in less than two weeks? It just wasn't going to be possible!

"Brandy, I'm not going to lie. This is the worst possible time that you could choose to back out." I said with a loud, vaguely annoyed sigh.

She frowned, "I know Robb! I feel like I'm letting the team down, but this is important. You have to understand that. I need to go home, soon, to deal with things but, I don't think I'll be coming back after they're dealt with."

"I know, I know. You wouldn't be doing something like this if it wasn't important. I appreciate you're honesty but if you don't come back then we're two investigators down. I don't have anyone to replace you or Angela for that matter. We'll need replacements, especially if we are going to investigate that prison in Ireland that you picked out at the end of last season." I told her.

Brandy nodded, "I'm so sorry Robb. I don't think I can apologize enough. I feel so horrible about all this." she said. "I will help you find two investigators though. I can interview them for you. There are already some good investigators lined up, I could interview them and send you the tapes to go over and you can choose from those." she offered. "I feel like it's the least I can do for putting you and the team through all of this."

"Sure thing, Brandy. That'd be a great help actually. I just need to talk to the other GHI guys and let them know what's happening." I told her.

Brandy nodded once more and left my office, leaving me a little bit more panicked and yet a little bit more relaxed than I had been before she had entered it. Brandy was a terrific investigator and now she was leaving as well. The new investigators would have to be female, we already had four male investigators and since we had lost our two females, it was obvious who would have to replace them.

I decided to talk to the other three GHI guys and find out their thoughts on the situation. We were currently camping out in Ireland, waiting for the shoot to begin. Barry had graciously let us hang out at his place until the shoot commenced, when the time came we would all head down to Wicklow, Ireland where we would be investigating the prison there.

Making my way to the closest guest room, I knocked on the door. One of my investigators, Joe Chin, answered the door. "Oh, hey Robb, do you need something?" he asked me.

I nodded, "Yeah, do you think you could go track down Dustin and Barry for me? I need all three of you to come to my room." I requested. "There is something important I need to discuss with all of you."

"Sure thing," Joe replied as he left his room to go find the two other guys I had requested.

I strode back to my room, trying to think of how I was going to be able to tell the guys that we were now two investigators short. The guys were pretty level headed and would probably take it well without any major incidents but this was going to be a major problem for us. What if Brandy couldn't find any good replacements? What would we do then?

A knock on the molding beside my open door brought me from my thoughts. I turned to see Joe standing at the door with Barry Fitzgerald, our tech manager and Dustin Pari, another one of our investigators. They all wore matching curious expressions on their face and if we wouldn't have been in a serious situation at the moment, I probably would have cracked a joke or teased them about it. I gestured for them all to come into the room and sit down. They all obliged without a word.

I started, "Well, as you guys know, Angela left our team which means we needed to get another member. We haven't found one yet so I thought that we could cope with the next few investigations before getting someone else. But I found out today that Brandy has to leave as well and she probably isn't coming back, which leaves us two investigators short…" I paused momentarily to hear their responses.

"Oh shit, are you serious man?" Dustin asked as he rubbed his face with his hand.

Barry spoke, "This could be quite the problem." he sighed. "Without Brandy we don't have a case manager as well."

I nodded, "I know, this is pretty much the worst thing that could happen right now and I have no idea how we are going to find and train two new ghost hunters in less than two weeks. Dustin can cover as case manager again like he did when Donna left but we can't go investigate with our only investigators. It'll be impossible."

"Well, do you know anyone who would be interested in helping us? Someone who already has the experience?" Dustin asked.

I shrugged.

Joe looked thoughtful, "What about those two investigators you met when we were investigating the Spalding Inn? You said that they sounded creditable and thought about asking one of them to join the team a while back but then decided against it because they already had their own Paranormal Society. Why don't you call them up and ask both of them to at least help us for this case. If they're good and seem to mesh well with us, we could always ask them to join the team." he said.

I put my hand to my chin, trying to think of what exactly he was talking about. Suddenly, it came to me. When we had been investigating the Spalding Inn at the request of Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, I had met two ghost hunters who were really interested in our side of things when it came to paranormal investigating. They did a lot of debunking and were pretty experienced when it came to using equipment that we used. They had honestly impressed me because at first I thought that they were just two fans asking for autographs but it turned out that they wanted to talk to me because they wanted some advice to use on their own investigations. The two were both female and seemed very solid. I guessed they were in their mid-twenties but I couldn't be for certain. But all in all, the two girls could be the answer to our problems.

"Joe!" I exclaimed, startling him slightly, "That's a fantastic idea. Why didn't I think of that?" I wondered.

Dustin rolled his eyes at me while Barry and Joe just hooted in response.

"So are you going to give them a call?" Dustin finally asked.

I nodded, "Might as well." I said.

"Well, we will leave you to that then." Barry said.

I nodded and picked up my cell phone and went through the contacts after all three guys had left the room and closed the door behind them. When I reached 'M&A Paranormal Group' I dialed the number and waited for someone to answer. Hopefully they would be up the challenge because without them, I wasn't sure what we could possibly do.

Mercedes POV

- Whitefield, New Hampshire. April 2009 -

"Hey Aish, did you get the popcorn?" I asked my best friend and fellow paranormal investigator.

Said best friend then walked into our apartment livingroom with a large blue bowel that had two bags worth of those delectable smelling kernels. I practically started drooling on the spot. I had a slight addiction to popcorn, especially when it was covered in butter and salt.

"Did you already put in the DVD?" Aisha asked.

I nodded, "Sure did."

I guess I should explain some things first. My name is Mercedes Culvert. I'm pretty average. I come from a regular American family that consists of my parents and a younger brother. I'm about average height and weight for an almost twenty-four year old woman. I also have layered dark auburn colored hair and bright blue eyes. I am twenty-three years old, turning twenty-four in about three weeks. I work as a professional photographer who on the side does paranormal investigating. I'm what you can call a scientific investigator. I learned everything that I could from the 'TAPS' organization. I try and debunk things before going out and saying that a place is outright haunted. I try and find natural, earthly causes for things before labeling them as paranormal.

I live in the small town of Whitefield, New Hampshire with my best friend, Aisha Aguilar. She is short and tiny but has a very fiery personality. For a newly turned twenty-seven year old, she acts sometimes like a teenager still. She told me that it's because she wants to preserve her youth. At the time, I made some kind of joke about her going to Neverland. She had quickly shut up after me telling her that because apparently she didn't want to go to Michael Jackson's fantasy land. Aisha has dark hair and eyes that work well with her tan skin. She was born and raised in Spain and moved over to the States when she was twelve with her parents. We met during about three years ago when I was still in college. I was doing some amateur photography work when we stumbled into each other. We talked for a while and ended up spending the entire day together going through some of my photographer books and discussing my dream to open my own photography shop. After I graduated from college, that dream became a reality with the help of Aisha. We decided to be co-partners and opened the shop together which has become a huge success. Our story wasn't much different than the story of Jason and Grant from Ghost Hunters only instead of being plumbers, we were photographers.

After working with and around each other for a couple of months, we amiably discovered that we both had a passion for paranormal investigating and decided to team up to help those around us. We liked to think of ourselves as an amateur Jason and Grant, who were practically role models to us. The highlight of our lives was when we got to meet and talk with Robb Demarest, the lead investigator of Ghost Hunters International, which happened to be one of mine and Aisha's favorite shows. He seemed impressed with our knowledge of the paranormal field. Much to our delight, we exchanged our contact information. Robb made us promise to call him if we ever needed any help with our investigations.

But now, Aisha and I were just relaxing on a boring Saturday night in our apartment, getting ready to watch our Ghost Hunters International DVD. We had already watched all the original Ghost Hunters DVD's and were now moving on to the GHI ones. Of course, we had watched them all before many times, but it was if they never got old. Each time we watched them we found something new to either entertain ourselves with, or to point out.

I had just started one of our favorite episodes, Dracula's Castle, and was about to dig into the big bowl of popcorn when our work cell phone started ringing. We had a separate phone that was used especially for people who wanted us to come and investigate their homes. When I checked the Caller ID, it was a restricted number, which did happen occasionally when someone thought it would be hilarious to prank us. It really was just immature and annoying. I really hoped that this wasn't one of those cases when a couple of teenagers wanted to have some fun on a Saturday night. I paused the TV and answered the phone, putting it on speaker so Aisha could hear the conversation as well.

"Hello? This is M&A Paranormal Investigating." I answered.

There was a sound of someone clearing their throat before a male voice started speaking. "Hey, is this Aisha and Mercedes?" the voice spoke.

"This sure is," Aisha answered. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, I'm sure you probably remember me, we met in you're hometown of Whitefield. This is Robb Demarest." The voice spoke.

Aisha and I looked at each other in shock, our jaws hanging open in complete and total shock. Someone had to be pranking us. "Oh, h-hi Robb. Yeah, we r-remember you. Actually, we were just sitting down getting ready to w-watch some GHI episodes." I said nervously.

Robb chuckled, "Well, what I needed to discuss with you is actually about GHI. See, we recently lost two investigators and I was wondering if you two would be interesting in joining the team." he said. "We would really appreciate you're help. I know it is short notice but we're kind of desperate here. I just found out that Brandy was leaving today and the show's shooting starts in less than two weeks. We needed to trained and responsible investigators to join the team and I can't think of two better people for the job." Robb commented.

Aisha spoke, "Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but why us?" she asked.

"You two impressed me beyond words when you came to ask for advice. You were professional and friendly. Plus, you're line of work is quite like our own. I have already spoke with Barry, Dustin and Joe and they'd be happy to have you aboard." Robb explained.

Aisha and I looked at each other, we both knew that this was a once in a life opportunity and there was no way we could turn this down. After nodding at each other I spoke on our behalf, "We'd love you help you out Robb, just let us know where and when so we can book our tickets."

"Oh there is no need for that," Robb said. "Tickets are on us, think of it as a massive thank you from me and the team." he chuckled.

"Thanks," we said simultaneously and laughed, "So when do you need us out there? Oh and where is 'there' exactly?" Aisha asked curiously.

"We'll probably fly you out in a few days, we're all staying at Barry's but we'll let you go straight to Wicklow, Ireland. I will meet you up there at the airport and let the other three guys get a bit more rest. I will want to introduce you all to the crew and just show you how things work. Then when the guys come down the day of the investigation, you can meet them." Robb arranged.

Aisha and I shared another silent conversation, "Okay, sounds good Robb. We're looking forward to meeting and working with you guys. Thank you so much for the opportunity." I said.

Robb laughed, "No, thank you for helping us. I have no idea what I would do if you guys would have turned us down. But, I better go now. I don't want to run up your international phone-bill. Plus, I have to find Brandy and let her know we found replacements." he said, the last part was more to himself than us.

"Alright, well we'll see you soon." Aisha said.

"Okay, bye girls." Robb replied.

"Bye." I said and hung up the phone. Aisha looked and me and stood up on the couch and started jumping around like a fifteen year old girl instead of a twenty-seven year old one. "Oh my god, we're going to be part of GHI!" she squealed.

I stood up with her, just to humor her. "I know!" I replied.

"Oh god, what am I going to bring?" Aisha said, looking panicked.

I laughed, "Come on, I want to get packed already! I'm so excited!"

Aisha looked at me and we smiled at each other before we made our way to our separate bedrooms in the apartment to start packing. I literally could not believe that we had an opportunity like this. Somehow, I got the feeling that this was seriously going to change my life forever. And I was really looking forward to that change.

- Wicklow, Ireland. April 2009 -

The next week was hectic beyond belief. True to his word, we got a fax the very day after Robb contacted us giving us our flight information and telling us a little bit about the case that we were about to go on. Robb had Brandy give us a copy of the report so that we would know what we were getting ourselves into. The next few days after our talk with Robb were filled with packing, phone calls to family and making sure we had enough staff to cover the photography shop while we were gone. Luckily, everything had run smoothly and before we knew it we had boarded the plane and were on our way to Ireland.

Robb had picked us up at the airport and drove us in the GHI van to the hotel where he had booked everyone rooms. On the drive to the hotel, we had asked all sorts of questions which Robb had been happy to answer for us. He told us about how they made the TV show and let us in on everything we would possibly need to be GHI Investigators. Aisha and I just couldn't believe our luck. For me personally, it felt like a surreal dream in which I could wake up from at any moment.

By the time we made it to the hotel and checked it, Robb left Aisha and I alone to crash. We had some serious jet lag and we needed our rest. Robb had explained that between shoots and investigations we needed to get as much sleep as possible before during shooting we wouldn't get the chance to sleep very much. He warned us that our sleeping schedules would be seriously messed us at first but we would get used to it after a few investigations.

The day after we came to Ireland, we had to meet with the directors and sign all sorts of contracts. It was a very boring day and nearly put Aisha and I to sleep. But, Robb promised that that would be the one and only time we had to do our contracts. They signed us on for a full season and a few publicity shoots but Robb promised us that another member of the GHI team would be with us during all publicity shoots and that we had nothing to be worried about.

The next day, we met the crew. Meeting the crew was fun. They were all nice and funny and really made Aisha and I feel welcome. But, that wasn't what we were most worried about. Robb had assured us that the rest of the GHI team was looking forward to meeting us, but we both secretly wondered if they would like us. Meeting the rest of the GHI team was much more intimidating than meeting the camera crews.

The next few days we spent with Robb teaching us more about the equipment that we were using, which was just a little different than the stuff we were used to using. The days passed by so quickly because we were busy at all hours of the day. It seemed like we were constantly meeting new people or learning about something new or chatting with someone. It was completely overwhelming, but in a good way. I could already tell that this was going to be an amazing learning experience for Aisha and I.

Before we knew it, it was the night before filming started and the investigation began. Barry, Dustin and Joe were driving up in the other GHI van very, very early the next day. Robb estimated that they would probably arrive sometime between one and four o'clock in the morning. Robb was going to wait up for them, to show them to their rooms and fill them in on things but insisted that Aisha and I go to sleep. He told us that we needed to be well rested for the investigation the next day. Not wanting to argue, Aisha and I retreated to our room after saying goodnight to Robb.

"I can't believe we're meeting Dustin, Joe and Barry tomorrow," I said as I pulled down the covers in the suite that Aisha and I were sharing.

Aisha looked up at me and grinned, "I know! I'm so excited, but I'm also really nervous. What if they don't like us like Robb does?" she said as she sat down Indian style on the bed in her pajamas.

I followed her motions and sat down on my bed, right across from hers, mirroring her posture. "I know, I'm the same way. Out of all of them I think that Joe will be the easiest one to win over. He seems like a really…well, a chill kind of guy. I'm not sure about Barry and Dustin though." I replied.

"Yeah, I agree with you, but…we can't over think thing or else we will start worrying too much." Aisha said. "Why don't we just go to sleep like Robb said." she suggested as she let out a loud yawn.

I nodded, "Sounds good to me, I'm beat." I giggled as I lay down in bed.

"Goodnight Mercy," Aisha said, using my nickname.

"Night Aish," I replied.

So, your thoughts :) I hope you enjoy. There aren't many Ghost Hunters fics out there whether its on here or LJ or someplace...I counted twelve on here I think and they were almost ALL slash... -shudders- (No offense, I have no problems with that sexuality preference or anything, but the thought of Dustin sticking his tongue down another guy's throat has scarred me for life...again, no offense to the writer.) So this is completely normal het pairings :) I also don't want this to just be a romance fic either. The investigation will play a huge role as well and there will be no extra evidence added except for what they find on the show. Personal experiences might be made up though but I'm going to try and stick to the actual investigation as much as possible. I hope that you like it and will take the time to review!