Authors Note: Warning! Depressing stuff ahead! ~AU that is set in the future~
Written before season 7 aired…
"Tears are a sign of weakness, Lemon."
That was the last thing Jack said to Liz. He died the next day. When she arrived at his funeral she saw only a few familiar faces. Little ten year old Liddy (she's as devastated as Liz), Avery (for Liddy's sake), and her new husband (whom nobody likes).
Avery and Liddy walked over to greet Liz, leaving Avery's husband behind for he was talking to someone.
"H-hello, M-Ms. Lemon..." Liddy mutters through tears.
"Oh, Liddy... I told you, you could call me Liz."
"But-"
"I told her she could not because you actually are considered an adult. She's a child she shouldn't be calling you by your first name."
Liddy mumbles something that obviously makes Avery very angry.
"We'll see you later." Avery says through clinched teeth. She then grabs Liddy's arm and drags her away.
Liz takes another look around the room. Still only three people she recognizes. Everybody else there looks like business collogues and such. Nothing but people in suits. It's like she's at one of those functions Jack took her to a few times.
About an hour later, the funeral was over. Afterwards Liz caught a cab and went home. The first thing she did when she got home was go to her bedroom, flop on her bed and cry in her pillow.
When she finally lifted her head, her clock read "6:25". She had been crying a really long time considering how she got home around three.
"Oh, God..." She says while dropping her head back on her pillow. She could really use one his pep talks. He'd be all like "Don't mourn so much over my death so much, Lemon. Go fulfill your dream and adopt some children."
She got up from her bed and went to the bathroom. When she looked in her mirror her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were stained with tears. She sighed and went back to her room.
She sits down on her bed and is about to start crying again till she hears something. She gets up from her bed and listens. Footsteps.
"Wh-Who's there?"
No response. Liz goes to her closet to get something to defend herself.
"Who's there." She calls out again. All she could find was an umbrella with a point on the end. The footsteps get closer.
"I don't have anything worth stealing! And I'm not attractive so don't rape me!"
The footsteps stop. Right in front of her closed bedroom door. All she can hear is her self stealthily breathing. Her left hand moves slowly towards the door while the umbrella is in her right. She flings the door open.
"Lemon." Jack says casually.
Liz lets out a high pitched scream and throws her umbrella, which goes straight through him.
"Why do you look and sound like my deceased boss?!"
"Because I am your deceased boss."
"What?!" After that she realized the umbrella went right through him.
"Jack...?"
"Yes, Lemon?"
"Are you a ghost?"
"That's what it seems like, so yes."
"Liz stepped back a little till she reached the edge of her bed. She then sat down on her and tried to process all this. Jack disappeared and reappeared by Liz.
"Are you okay?"
"Ahh! God, how'd you do that?!"
"I don't know. I just figured out how this teleporting thing works."
"What is this?"
"The teleporting? It's quite easy actually-"
"No! This!" She said while gesturing at her ghostly companion. "You! You're dead! Why are you here? Why can I see you?"
"I don't know."
"Wait. I've seen Ghost Whisperer. Is there anything you didn't get to do, or is there something you wanted?"
"…Yes."
"What is it?"
"I can't tell you."
"Come on Jack."
"Lemon, you're acting like you want me to go. Do you? I'll go."
"No!" Liz pleads. "I mean umm…"
He smirks. "Aww. Did you miss me, Lemon?"
"Yes." Liz says almost crying.
"Oh, no! Lemon it's okay." He said trying to calm her down.
"No it's not! What if you pass on and I have no idea and wonder where you went till I die?! Do you know how much of a devastating end of my life that will be?
"Lemon, trust me. I won't be passing on."
"What? How come?"
"It's impossible. Highly unlikely."
"Anything you want can't be that unlikely."
"Well it is."
She eyes him worriedly. "Sure."
They started talking, for a while, about various things. The night before his death. How much they missed each other. The four days that he wasn't able to visit her.
Eventually, Liz yawns. "Oh, I'm tired. What time is it?"
"10:13."
"Wow, it's late. I'm gonna just lay down for a little while."
In no time Liz is fast asleep. As she sleeps, Jack eventually disappears into the night.
Early the next morning, Liz mutters, "Tears are weakness…," in her sleep. Her eyes then shoot open. She looks around her room for Jack. She then sighs. "It was just a dream…"
"No it wasn't." Jack said while reappearing.
"Ahhg, damn it! Stop doing that!"
"Sorry."
"It's okay." Liz mumbles tiredly. She eventually gets up from her bed and walks out of her bed room, followed by Jack, and to the kitchen. She then looks around her kitchen for something to eat.
"I'm pretty sure there's nothing in there suitable for a meal."
"Huh? How do you- What were you doing here last night?"
"I had nothing else to do."
"You could've gone and haunted someone else."
Just as Liz says this there's a knock at the door. They look at the door then back at each other.
"Well? Go hide somewhere!"
"Lemon, I think you're only one of the few that can see me."
"One of the few?"
He shrugs and she leaves to go answer the door. She looks through the peephole and then opens the door.
"Hey, Avery. Hi, Liddy!"
Avery says "Hello." But something has seems to have caught Liddy's attention.
"She really wanted to see you. Do you mind?"
"Oh, no! I'd love to hang out with her for a while."
"Great. I'm busy today, so can you watch her for the rest of the week or so?" She says while pulling a suitcase from behind her.
"Week?"
"Thank you so much, Liz."
"I didn't agree to this but okay." Liz mummers while pulling Liddy's suitcase further into her apartment.
Liddy points behind Liz and says "Daddy?" Jack's eyes widen and he quickly vanishes. Liz looks at Liddy in shock.
"She was doing that last night. I think she took his death really hard."
"So he was doing more then ransacking my apartment last night then." Liz says quietly to herself. She then speaks a little louder to respond to Avery's statement. "Yeah, I guess she did."
"I have to go. Thanks again." Avery says before leaving.
Liz waves goodbye then shuts the door behind Avery.
While Liddy continues to search the room for Jack, Liz asks "You can see him?"
Liddy stops searching then looks at Liz. "Yeah, and it's pretty obvious why Avery can't."
"Huh? Do you always call your mother by her first name?"
"Not to her face…"
"Wow. And about Avery not being able to see him, what's your theory?"
"Only people who truly loved him can see him."
Liz chuckles. "If it were like that then I wouldn't be able to see him."
"Riiiiight…"
Liz looks at Liddy a little confused. "What?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Okay… When was the last time you saw him?"
"I saw him yesterday when Avery took me to his apartment to get my stuff."
"Yeah that's definitely the first place I'd go back to. Back to the place I had lived for the last 15 years." Liz mutters. Jack you can come out now. Avery's gone." Jack then reappears by Liz which of course makes her jump. "I'm never going to get use to that."
"Daddy!"
"Liddy." Jack says with a smile.
Liddy walks up to him and asks "Have you seen grandma?"
"Thank God, no. She would've reprimanded me for dying."
"You keep portraying her as awful. I wonder how she really was."
"How I portray her."
"She wasn't that bad." Liz said reassuring Liddy.
Liddy nods before she turns to Liz. "I'm hungry."
"Oh me too. Do you want Chinese?"
"For breakfast?" Liddy and Jack both say at the same time.
"Why not?"
The rest of the day goes smoothly. Except for the fact that no one can see Jack and they get strange looks when Liddy says "Daddy".
When they got home Liddy could barely stand up because she was so tired. Liz's hands were full with groceries and she had hard time opening the door.
"I'd help you if I could."
"I'm sure you would." She said while looking up. He's started floating and really a pain in the neck for her. "Could you stop floating?" She asked obviously annoyed.
"I'm sorry…" He's while coming back to ground level.
She sighs. "It's okay… I shouldn't complain. I'm just happy to see you."
He smiles but it fades as he hears his daughter's words. "Why didn't you marry Liz?" It was a bit out of the blue but, it's been on Liddy's mind for a few months. Jack has a new habit of disappearing when he's asked questions he can't handle. And in this situation he does just that. Liddy sighs. "I knew he'd do that…" She said sleepily.
Liz doesn't really know how to respond to it either, so she remains silent when they walk in. "I'm going to bed." Liddy says quietly while walking up the stairs of Liz's duplex. As soon as Liddy is up the stairs Jack reappears on Liz's sofa lying down therapist style.
"What was that all about?" Liz asked expecting feedback as to why he could never be with her.
"It was just a question, don't over think it." Liddy shouts from upstairs.
Liz looked at Jack in shock having never seen (well heard) this side of Liddy. "When she's sleepy her 'Avery' comes out." Jack explains.
She nodded. "Makes sense…"
They don't talk any further about what Liddy asked. It's really awkward the rest of the night as they watch a series of horribly written romantic sitcoms. Soon, like the night before, Liz drifts off. But, unlike last night, Jack does not leave. He stays a while. Later into the night he finally works up the nerve to admit something.
"I truly do love you, Lemon."
"Well why didn't you tell her that sooner?!" A child's voice softly yells.
"Liddy?"
She hadn't slept well so she was lingering around the stairs. "It's too late now! There's no point in admitting." Liddy's crying now. "Why didn't you tell her you loved her?"
Jack just stares at her for a minute then says, "Because I'm an idiot." Not long after he vanishes. Liddy continues to cry as she walks back up the stairs and falls asleep.
The next day Liz wakes up on her sofa. "Oh, I accidently slept in here." Not soon after Liz realizes it's Monday. "Damn it! What time is it?"
"It's six." Liddy said while coming down the stairs in her pajamas. "I don't need to be on the bus for another hour."
"Time has not been my friend the past few days… What do you want for breakfasts?"
"I don't care."
"Pancakes it is!" Liz went into the kitchen for ingredients. "Chocolate chips?"
"It's six am."
"Yeah, do you want 'em or not?"
"Sure."
Liz looked around the room as if she were expecting something to happen. "Where's Jack? He used to stop me before I give you sweets in the morning."
"Sulking. Somewhere."
"Sulking? Why?"
"I'm pretty sure when we were talking last night, I upset him."
"You guys talked? I didn't hear any of that."
"True. What did you guys talk about?"
"Daddy says he loves you."
Liz snorts. "Yeah."
"I'm serious! And so was he. I can tell when daddy's serious."
"Jack? Love me? I think he would've told me after 15 years." Liz thinks back a little. "Well… Knowing Jack 15 years… He might not have told me due to pride."
"Do you love him back?"
Liz turns a way red faced. "I don't think it matters anymore."
"You love him don't you?"
"It doesn't matter anymore! Oh is that the sun?"
"No."
"You should get going."
Liddy rolled her eyes. "Fine… Daddy and Liz sitting in a tree…" She sang as she walked up the stairs.
"Liddy."
"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" She continued as she made her way into the room upstairs.
"No chocolate chips for you!"
"No! I'm sorry!" She said sticking her head through the door.
Liz smiled. "Don't worry, you'll get them."
Liddy grinned and went back into the room. Then Jack appeared sitting on top of the kitchen counter. "Liddy's right ya' know."
Liz jumps a little. 'You're trying to kill me aren't you? Right about what?"
"'Daddy loves you.'"
"That's weird, Jack."
"Lemon, I love you."
Liz put her attention back on making the pancakes. "I'm not interested in you guy's sick joke."
"Lemon, I'm serious."
Liz looked at Jack and could immediately tell that he was serious. Tears began to form in her as she sat down all her ingredients on the counter. "God, I wish I could hug you."
"Me too." Jack's voice cracked.
"W- what's wrong?" Liz said with tears now streaming down her face. "Are you crying too?"
Jack tilts his head. "I am not."
"You are. We both are."
"I'll admit I'm tearing up."
Liz smirks. "I love you too." Right after she said that there was a flash of light from outside and Jack began to fade away. "W- what's happening?"
"That's it."
"What?"
"That's all I wanted. A genuine 'I love you' from you."
"J- Jack."
Liddy say the light and came rushing down stairs fully dressed. She could see that Jack was fading away. "Daddy?" She said once she made it to the bottom of the stairs.
"Goodbye." He said before fully fading away.
"Daddy!" Liddy cried while running up to Liz's side.
Liddy then hugged Liz around the waist and cried non stop. Liz came down to her level, hugged her back and cried too.