Chapter 2: Not Another Fleshie!

Kat had been excited for a while weeks in fact and she had been prancing and dancing around much to the annoyance of the Ghostly Trio. Stretch in particular was in a sour mood staring at the teenager with contempt openly. The Doctor had always tried to weasel out of him why he was so hostile towards the little Kitty Kat. Stretch would never tell the Doctor more than, "I don't hate the kid…I just don't like that she took so well to us so quickly."

For Stretch, she reminded him so much of the young girl from many years before. Kat was only 15 years old but, his sweet little fleshie whom he had given his precious treasure to would have been 21 years old by now. He hated being reminded of her because he always became inconsolable when he remembered her rich sea colored glass eyes, the cute pigtails she wore as a kid and her sweet squeal whenever she spent time with him. To the day she left he noticed red creeping into ever so softly through her straight lengthy locks. If she was still around she probably would have long forgotten him and believed him to be imaginary or a "ghost of her past" she probably has long since stopped thinking of him.

"Why are you so excited today, bone bag?" Stretch asked the now irritable teen as she glared at him her bouncing paused for the moment.

"Get a grave you son of a-" her tirade was cut off as her father covered her mouth before smiling at the ghosts of the house.

"It's a surprise but," Doctor Harvey put on a friendly grin, "I just know once you've caught up you're gonna love it!" He gave his daughter a firm look before saying, "No spoiling the surprise Kat!"

Kat looked a bit sheepish and sighed before she began to smile and left the kitchen content to keep the secret to herself for a bit longer. 'I can't wait MoonDance is coming!'

As she left Doctor Harvey looked at the guys, "Have I ever told you that we used to have relatives who lived in this house before? It was a little less than twenty years ago so it wasn't so long," He paused as Casper answered for the shocked spirits, "There was a setoff parents with a little girl, why?"

Doctor Harvey smiled, "Well my little niece Keira was the little girl. She's Kat's favorite cousin and she wrote to us a while ago. She teaches art and music to High School students."

Casper grinned, "Wow, what does she look like now Doctor Harvey?" James grinned and pulled out a picture for each of them, "Here I got these copies for you. You should have been a fly on the wall in my office when I told her we lived in her old childhood home."

In the picture the four ghosts stared at was a beautiful young woman wearing a very recognizable set of jewelry. It was a set all design with the look of an old fashioned key with amethyst gems as accents. The ghosts all looked to Stretch who held the picture so softly tracing her features. He quietly floated with the picture away from the table and to his own room where he pulled out the doll she had made for him still in perfect condition after all the years that had passed between them.

Fatso came in concerned but smiled when he saw the gentle expression his brother had and joked, "Well Stretch, you won the bet, she became a pretty red-head when she grew up…still has her pretty eyes that you loved so much too." He sat next to his brother adding warmly, "She even wears the jewelry we gave her." He sat next to his brother both smiling as they remembered all the times she would laugh and call out "Ghostie Stretch" in the midst of the games they used to play of 'how many times can we fail to scare the little fleshie' Her gorgeous eyes still glittered with laughter in the photo to their joy.

A vehicle pulled up quietly to the front of the old manor and her Uncle stood at the open front door waiting for the newest addition to the residents of the manor. None of the ghosts knew she was coming and he wanted to sneak her in and get her settled before they realized who was here.

A young re-head woman stepped out of her teal painted Dodge Durango SUV. She was dressed in a formal outfit of white blazer with white slacks, her purple blazer the perfect pop of color. She smiled as her oceanic eyes trained themselves on her old home that she had finally returned to.

She hugged her uncle quietly as she smiled at the sign, 'Home Sweet Haunt' beneath her feet. She grinned and met her Uncle James' eyes who just shrugged in good fun. She shook her head thinking, 'So typical but, that's why I love these guys…I wonder if they even remember me.' She stepped in and began quietly moving up the stairs where at the top she hugged her cousin and carefully led her down the hall to a secret panel.

She opened the secret panel just like she had done as a child making sure that Kat didn't see how. She and Kat quickly unpacked and sorted her things into the proper places where Kat finally spoke softly to not alert anyone else, "MoonDance! I am so glad you're finally here!" She jumped into her older cousins arms as Keira just chuckled and cuddled the younger girl.

"I've missed ya too Kitten, a bit eager ain't ya?" Keira said a bit of her Brooklyn accent slipping our making her sound like Stretch. Her laughter was like bells as it slipped out of her carefully. Both girls waited until they heard James shout, "Hey guys come see your surprise!"

They waited until they heard the ghosts asking James what he was talking about before stepping out into the corridor and waiting at the top of the steps. Kat waited until they were all visible before saying, "Hey guys up here!"

The ghosts suddenly turned and floated in shock as Keira stood there with her sparkling eyes and excited smile, "How dis stay a surprise Uncle, I was sure one of you would slip and tell My Ghosties that I was coming home to stay?" She never let her eyes stray from Stretch who just floated flabbergasted. She poked Kat in the side who yelped, "I was sure dat da little Kitty Kat woulda given me away!"

Keira moved down the steps and was bombarded with happy questions being posed by the ghosts except for Stretch who couldn't stop watching her. This was his little fleshie all grown up.

James and Kat shared a conspiratory set of smiles and nodded to each other. They were proud of being able to one up the ghosts in the house. Even if it was only this once, because the reactions from all the ghosts was so worth the wait and seeing Keira smile again after everything she went through before coming home. She deserved a reason to be happy and what better than welcoming her back to the home she loved so much as a child.

Keira smiled and happily answered all the questions being thrown her way, about her school, the places she'd seen, and even a few friends she had made along the way. She was tired from the driving though and soon excused herself back to the room she claimed. The silver and purple details remained as she had left it all those years before. Her little sanctuary that no one but she and Stretch had even shared. She grinned as she felt a brush of cold air, "So no one ever found this place huh?"

"No, de fleshies never found dis place. You were the only one smart enough to figure dis out." Stretch's voice spoke leaking through her mind like water in a stream. She sighed softly and smiled at him.

"It's nice to know…I know how you hate having lots of people in your old room, Stephen." She smirked slightly at Stretch's shocked face. "I researched the history of the house and filled in the blanks were you four were concerned."

She turned and placed her bag on top of the dresser while hanging her more professional clothing in the closet. She felt the coolness against her body and leaned into it her eyes closed with a small smile. "It's been a long time…since I felt like I was home." She pulled back and smiled at Stretch her hair layering over her shoulder. Kissing his cheek, she opened the door to the hallway and headed back down. She had to set up her office desk in the study so she could grade her papers once the school year started up again.

Kat stuck her head into the office and smiled at Keira excited, "Come on Keira, you don't need to worry about that yet! You just got here come and have some fun with me and Casper!" Shaking her head, Keira just placed her boxes on the second desk before exiting after them. She was right…Keira had plenty of time to do that later. For now she would spend some time with her family. What was left of it anyway.