The Medium

Disclaimer: own nothing

A/N: This is a spin-off/sequel to "Karma's Ghost", Beck is a medium here, able to help the dead with unfinished business, and preparing to fight an unknown ancient evil prophesized to destroy the world. This chapter will have a slight recap of the prior story for those who haven't read. I still suggest you go back and read Karma's Ghost if you haven't, however.


Chapter 1 (New Beginnings)

Beck stood by the piano, gazing up the stairs as he waited for Jade to come down. In his hands were two coffee cups to start the day. Her family was out for the day, taking her younger brother to the hospital; so the two were going to be watching some movies.

Mostly she'd be watching them while he wrote an entry in his new journal. Beck wasn't too thrilled about the horror movies she got over Christmas break

In the weeks that passed since the Vega family moved out and Jade's family moved in, it still felt weird meeting her here. The piano was also left behind by the family as a gift, primarily because it was largely unused and David's new wife already had a piano at home.

He set the cups on the edge of the piano and took a deep breath as he heard Jade shut the bedroom door and walk towards the end of the hall, she gripped the stairwell firmly and cracked a smile. "Raven's asleep, so the rest of the evening is ours." Jade slid her hair behind her ear and started down the first step.

Beck watched closely, still worried about her muscles. After being comatose for a year, she was still recovering and doing well, but he worried constantly. "Careful coming down the steps, don't go too fast." Her eyes darted over and she shook her head.

"You don't have to baby me, Beck." She was getting used to more than just her muscles, but having been out of her body for so long was also something she had to deal with. "I saved an entire family, destroyed a demon and helped my dad find his own happiness. I think I can handle a few stairs."

"Yes, yes." He crossed his arms and smirked. "Except you did all that as a ghost, you've got to handle being alive again. Now about you and finding your dad's happiness, I thought he found that on his own?" He tilted his head and raised his right finger to his chin.

Jade chuckled softly and took another step, her foot trembling ever so slightly. "Well I helped because I came back to life, right? My reward for saving the Vegas from death and damnation, right?"

"Sure." Beck slid his tongue along his lower lip, watching anxiously as Jade took another step. It had been his fault, after all. His anger towards Samuel Ross for what happened in the past had just been so overwhelming. "Have I apologized for wrecking that car yet?"

Jade rolled her eyes and continued down the next three steps. "Only a million times. It's okay, you were provoked and angry."

"I should have had more control."

"I don't fault you for that. I'm alive, and so are you." Beck felt his heartbeat skip and he extended his hand, letting Jade place hers in his. She smiled sweetly and looked into his eyes. "Besides, if it hadn't of happened, Death would have had no reason to give me a second chance. It's that second chance that saved the Vegas, and well, you know how it affects me."

"Yeah." She stumbled on the bottom step and fell forward with a yelp. Thinking fast, Beck rushed forward and caught her in his arms. Jade chuckled nervously and gazed up through her dark bangs. "Thanks."

"Told you, you have to be more careful." He hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. Her fingers curled on top of his chest and she closed her eyes, swaying gently in his arms. He could never get enough of being able to hold her like this again, and prayed he'd never have to risk losing her a second time. "I love you."

"I love you too." She raised her head up and kissed his chin. "Now let's watch those movies." Jade squeezed his upper arms and slid her hands down them. "Just don't spend the entire time with your nose in the journal, I want to still be able to talk to you."

"Of course, but I can't promise I'm going to focus completely on those horror movies." Jade laughed and grabbed her coffee cup before rushing towards the couch. "Hey be careful, don't run!"

"Stop babying me, Beck. I'm okay."

"I can't help it, I'm sorry." He followed her to the couch and took a seat. She curled up against his right arm and curled her legs on the couch, smiling softly as the first movie began. With a sigh, Beck grabbed his journal an d pen off the end table.

"Beck look at the screen, it's a ghost!" Without missing a beat, he raised his eyes up and rather than seeing the ghost on the television, he saw a ghost with a bloodied face walking past the window behind the television. Jade draped her arm across his stomach and let out a content sigh.

"Great." He put his pen to the paper, knowing if he acknowledged seeing the ghost outside, it would come in. "This is our break time, no dealing with ghosts and their problems right now…you see why I can't enjoy horror movies, right?"

"Oh hush."

He smirked and focused on his first journal entry, scribbling swift and neatly. "My name is Beck Oliver and after a car accident last year, my girlfriend and I can see ghosts. It all began when I encountered a former friend of mine, Samuel Ross." His hand tensed around the pen and he grit his teeth together. "Years ago he dated Trina Vega. He beat her senseless, and I found her. Once I took her to the hospital, I ended my friendship with Ross, and out of my own guilt, I built a friendship with the Vega family…"

Jade let out a shriek that caused Beck to raise his eyes to the television. "He went into the closet and got speared, Beck! He got speared with a fire poker that came out of nowhere." Beck raised an eyebrow and smiled as her fingers tightened around a lump of his shirt.

"After everything we dealt with, that startled you?"

"Well you know…I uh…" Jade cleared her throat and smacked his journal. "Keep writing!"

"Of course."

He moved back to his journal, sighing heavily as he continued his entry. "Trina sent her sister to Hollywood Arts so she could hopefully have friends there because I was there with my friends. Jade didn't like her too much, but that's history…A year ago around Christmas, I was driving home when Ross approached in his car. I sped after him and rolled off the road. Both of us 'died' at the hospital, but I was resuscitated and because of this, I had a connection to the supernatural. Jade was approached by the Grim Reaper known as Death, and due to a deal made with the spirit, or angel, of her sister, she was given a chance to change the circumstances of her life in order to return to her body. Her assignment? Save the Vega family from a tragedy that would kill them all."

Jade's hand tightened once more and Beck looked back at the television screen. He frowned when he saw a red devil popping out onto the screen and laughing. "It's okay Jade."

"I know, it's just a stupid jump scare."

"Honestly, Friday the 13th is scarier."

"Try Nightmare on Elm Street."

"We're getting to both today?"

"Uh huh."

He chuckled softly and returned to his journal. "Turns out the Vega family was corrupted by a demonic ghost named Leroy. He'd haunted them, influencing their emotions and feelings that caused so much isolation and bullying within the family. Thankfully, with the help of Death and two angels, Jade destroyed the demon. Holly married the girls' biological father, Gary Malone. David was reunited with his childhood sweetheart, Amber. Trina married Jason Tyler and has a newborn baby girl. Tori, as well, is in a much better place. She has her friends and is still trying to decide where she wants to be in life."

" Jade's father married a woman with two children and moved into the Vega family home once Mr. Vega sold it, which led Jade to sacrifice herself by breaking the ultimate restriction of ghosts by obliterating Leroy and wiping him from existence. This sacrifice moved the Spirits and they happily saved her from banishment by returning her to her body."

He cracked his neck to the side and glanced down towards Jade, smiling as the glow of the television lit up her cheeks and forehead. The images glittered in her eyes, creating an attractive sparkling effect.

Beck leaned down, kissing the top of her head. She closed her eyes and hummed. "What was that for?"

"No reason. Just glad you're here."

She looked to him, studying him closely before leaning up to kiss his lips. "I'm glad you're here. I'm sure the Vegas are too." She stuck out her tongue and he smirked back at her. "Now that I understand your friendship with them, of course."

"You're just as important."

He glanced sideways at the window to see another ghost passing by. This time it had burn marks all over its body. For Beck, it was normal to see scars or signs indicating how the ghost passed. Like singer Miley Stewart, who was the first ghost he ever helped guide to the other side, she had bruises and gashes that she suffered in the plane crash. Those injuries only vanished once she dealt with her unfinished business, earning her brother's forgiveness, and when she was ready to move on.

Seeing ghosts and communicating with the dead seemed to happen to those that suffered near-death experiences. Surprisingly, even Detective Malone had the ability, having told Beck and Jade that he knew the entire time and had seen her; but he'd grown accustomed to ignoring the afterlife and pretending they were just human beings. Gary had seen Jade the entire time, and even thanked her for saving his family.

Returning to his journal, Beck tried to think of the plainest words he could use. He was nervous as well as anxious, knowing the task he had been given by Death. As now, it was his turn to play 'savior', and it sounded like his task was far greater than even Jade's-because where she saved two families, he had to do much more.

"I've been tasked not only with helping Death guide lost souls to the other side by helping them with unfinished business, but with stopping some unknown force that is supposedly on it's way. I don't know what it is, and it seems no one does. Death is vague as always, but I'm uncertain even he knows. I don't know if I'm ready for this, I was hardly ready to take on the responsibility of being a 'ghost whisperer'."

There was someone that could help him; it was a medium that had mentored him for a brief amount of time. He wasn't sure if he could get her help this time, but Melinda Gordon taught him a lot about how to aid ghosts into crossing. Now, there was apparently some ancient evil out there that he knew nothing about, and it was going to be his duty to stop it.

"One step at a time though, I need to continue to learn what I can and grow where I can."

In the corner of his eyes he saw a familiar ghost appear in the room. Taking a deep breath, he closed his journal and raised his head to look into the eyes of his mother. Jade turned her head, pursing her lips as she spotted the woman.

Now much closer, Beck was able to see marks around the woman's throat that made his heart sink. "You were murdered?"

His mother opened her mouth and spoke up for the first time since he'd been seeing her around his house. "It's time you learned the truth." Her voice was raspy and she sounded as though she were gasping for air. "Help me, Beck."

Jade let out a soft moan and started to sit up. "Does this mean our break is over?" She rubbed her eyes and Beck put an arm around her shoulders. The woman opened her mouth, making gagging noises that caused the lights to flicker and the television to shut off. Jade crossed her arms and huffed. "I guess that's a yes."


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