Chap 3

Thank you to N Ockenfels for alerting me to the ballad "Camouflage" which is a classic ballad of a ghost helping his fellow soldier. Check it out on YouTube.

Another Joe finds out about BeachHead's return. The letter didn't work, and a few asked "What was in the letter?" So.. knowing BeachHead I theorized that the letter probably read "So I'm dead now. I really love you a lot. Bye. BeachHead, Sgt Major, Ranger."

Because it's Beach. Let's face it, touchy-feely ain't his strong point. And now, on to chapter 3! Please enjoy and thank you so much for the great reviews! (Yes, still working on Vacation).

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Lifeline looked at the psychologist a moment. "What? Are you on drugs? Did you seriously just try to tell me that BeachHead... whom we just buried a few weeks ago.. is a ghost haunting the Pit? Because, I might be a pacifist.. but I'll find some way to get even for you making that sort of joke. It's in remarkably poor taste." He went back to putting the antibiotics away on the shelf. It wasn't his job really, but he needed to stay busy.

Psyche-Out pointed at the door. "Come with me. Right now.. leave that.. you want me to make it an order?" Lifeline gave him a disgusted look and finally followed him to Hawk's office.

"I don't see that it's very funny.. and I don't care how much effort you've put into the prank, it's not respectful of the dead. I really miss the guy, and you're trying to make some sort of joke out of it." Lifeline walked into the room. "General Hawk.. could you please tell this idiot that making jokes about dead team members is in really poor taste?"

He stopped when he spotted the impossible figure seated at the table. The familiar southern drawl reached out and assaulted his ears. "Hey Lifeline.. what's the difference between a dead Ranger and a Ferrari?" Lifeline just stared. "We ain't got a Ferrari in the Pit!"

*THUD*

BeachHead stood up and looked over at the slumped form on the floor. "Geez.. my jokes ain't THAT bad!"

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Psyche-Out glared at him. "You know.. considering your own status right now, telling 'dead Ranger' jokes is in poor form. And here Lifeline was protesting me making fun of you being dead.."

"I can make fun of myself being dead all I wanna. It's like lawyers making lawyer jokes and stuff."

Lifeline groaned suddenly and Psyche-Out waved Beach aside. "Get outa sight!" Instead of stepping out of eyesight, the Ranger vanished. "God.. that's creepy."

"Ya said outa sight.."

Psyche-Out glared around at random. "Out of sight and quiet." Hawk sighed a little bit. "Sorry.. don't mean to sound rude to him.. okay?"

"Okay." The disembodied voice only sounded a little grumpy.

"Oooohhh my head..." Lifeline rolled onto his side. "Ow.. what happened?" Psyche-Out helped him sit up and Hawk took an arm to lift his slight form into a chair. "Thank you sir. Sorry.. "

Hawk gave him a paternal pat on his back. "It's okay.. it's a bit of a shock."

"What shock.. did I... did I see.. BeachHead?" Lifeline's face changed expressions quickly from confused and embarrassed to distressed to angry. "Beach!! I saw him! He was in here!!" He stood up and looked around. "Where is he?! I can't believe.. the sheer audacity!! BeachHead!!"

The Ranger appeared to one side. "Hey.. sorry. If I knew you'd hate the stupid joke that bad, I wouldn't have told it."

Lifeline whipped around to point at him. "What!? You.. what are you doing here!?" He lunged at him too quickly for him to dodge. When the medic passed through him, the Ranger yelped and disappeared. Lifeline stopped, looking stunned. "What.. what kind of joke is this!?"

BeachHead reappeared across the room and bellowed loudly. "STOP TOUCHING ME!!"

Lifeline turned and looked at him, going pale. He staggered badly, and Hawk took his arm again. "Sit down.. sit.. Doc's gonna kill me for this. We're going to explain it all.. just sit and breathe.."

Psyche-Out walked towards BeachHead who stood to the side with his arms crossed looking angry. "Are you okay?"

"No! You guys stop grabbing me!" BeachHead abruptly backed away from the psychologist. "Get away from me!"

Hawk pointed across the room at him. "Beach! Stay here. Don't leave the room!" He saw him fade to a shadow but he stayed put. Reassured that the ghost wasn't leaving, he turned his attention to Lifeline. "I'm sorry.. I didn't mean for it to be such a shock."

Lifeline was staring at the shadow in the corner of the room. "Beach is dead.. he's dead.. you saw him lying there dead.."

"Yes.. he's dead.. that's a ghost. Let me know when you've accepted it, because you kind of have to accept it before we can talk about why I just let you see him."

Lifeline shook his head. "Ghosts are not real. It's ridiculous." Everyone stared at the corner.

A disgruntled voice came from the shadow. "Stop lookin' at me!"

Lifeline suddenly jumped up and stumbled backwards until he hit the wall. "He's a ghost! Oh geez.. oh geez.. oh geez.."

BeachHead suddenly solidified and stalked closer to the medic. "Snap outa it! We need some help from you, so suck it up, buttercup. It's still ME!"

Lifeline's mouth clicked shut and he stared fearfully. "You won't.. uhh.. do anything bad to me?" He looked at Psyche-Out. "He won't, will he? No.. brain sucking out or whatever ghosts do?"

Hawk snapped his fingers twice. "Focus. BeachHead is dead, he's a ghost, he's not gonna eat your brain. It's still Beach.. just.. dead."

Psyche-Out hummed suddenly. "Actually.. if it was dead BeachHead.. he'd be a zombie, this is just his spirit or energy.. a ghost."

Hawk looked like he was getting a headache. "Okay.. whatever. At any rate.. we think that he's got unfinished business and that's why he's here, instead of wherever he's supposed to be." He looked at the medic. "We thought.. thought that maybe he needed to talk to CoverGirl.. we had him write her a letter. It didn't work obviously." Beach snorted. "So.. the only thing we have left is to let him talk to her, in person so to speak."

Lifeline thought about it, trying to put aside the impossible idea of a ghost in the room. "You can't do that to her.. you want to have her come in and see Beach.. listen to him talk to her and saying goodbye.. so he can vanish again. How could you ask that of her?"

Psyche-Out came to sit next to him. "Lifeline.. look. That's Beach.. right there. Remember how you've felt that you wanted that chance to say goodbye? You've heard CoverGirl saying that too. How she wished she just had a few minutes.. just a chance.. even a few seconds before he'd died. Besides the trauma of having to say goodbye again, don't you think it's worth it for her to have the ability to actually tell HIM goodbye? Instead of talking to a grave? Instead of wondering if he knew how she felt?"

Hawk nodded at them. "Not only that.. but if we can't find what is holding BeachHead here.. he's not going to pass over.. or.. whatever it is that he needs to do to be at peace. We owe it to him to help if we can. He deserves to be able to rest finally."

BeachHead snorted loudly. "Myself, I'd be fine with staying.. but they make it sound pretty danged noble that they want me to leave."

Psyche-Out suddenly turned to him. "Do you WANT to wander the Pit forever? If that's what you want, then I dunno that anything will work."

"Well naw.. I don't want to wander around as a ghost.. I'm still gettin' used to the idea that I'm dead, okay?" The Ranger shifted suddenly and looked at the wall. "SnakeEyes is right there.."

Hawk wheeled around and rushed through the doorway. "SnakeEyes!!" There was a mutter of one-sided conversation out in the hallway and the commando appeared, only to stop and stare. "Get in there."

BeachHead gave a wave at his friend. For the first time that anyone could remember, SnakeEyes fumbled at a chair to sit in. "Hey Snakes... yeah, I'm still dead. Thought I'd come say 'bye' apparently."

Hawk sighed. "I'm TRYING to keep this quiet, to tell the least amount of people possible and instead circumstances keep making more people find out."

Psyche-Out took a deep breath. "Snake-Eyes, are you okay?" Getting a nod from the stunned man who still sat watching the ghost in the corner, he turned to the rest. "Okay.. so I should go get CoverGirl. I'll tell her myself, and then I'll bring her here."

BeachHead shifted uneasily. "Lifeline.. you go with him.. I don't want her all upset.. I really don't."

Lifeline started to follow Psyche-Out and then stopped. "Beach.. I'm really glad to get the chance to say good bye.. I really am. You've been a great friend.. and.. and if you should just up and vanish, I hope you know how much I miss you."

Beach suddenly smiled. "Yeah.. thanks. Sorry I made ya faint."

The medic gave a quick grin back at him. "No you're not.. you were positively gleeful over it, I just know it." He left before there could be any smart reply.

BeachHead looked at the ninja. "Guess you're not the only spook for now, huh?"

*And people think I'm weird.*

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Nearly an hour passed while they waited. SnakeEyes was filled in, and hesitantly signed to Beach that he'd missed him also, and that he hoped being dead wasn't painful. He'd been dismissed by Hawk, after being ordered to not speak of the entire ordeal to anyone at all, including Scarlett or whoever else he might feel some need to confide in.

Once the ninja was gone, Hawk sat and watched the figure standing in the corner of the room. He was still trying to figure out what would make the Ranger stay, when he'd never had any other soldier stay behind as a ghost.. that he knew of.

"Sir?" The accent was tinged with distress. "Could ya stop staring at me? You're making me feel all weirded out."

Hawk looked at the table. "Sorry.. it's just that I don't understand why you've returned as a ghost. Where were you? I mean.. from the time of the battle until now."

BeachHead faded slightly more into a grayish shadow then darkened back to a dimly seen figure. "I dunno.. how long has it been?"

"Almost three weeks."

The sergeant major scuffed a boot on the carpet a little bit, thinking carefully. "Nope.. I don't remember anything. Seems like it just happened. Do you think I was somewhere else, and then got sent back here to be a ghost?"

"I don't have a clue. I have no experience with hauntings, or ghosts or spirits. You know.. that's an idea." Hawk mulled it over while BeachHead waited patiently. "If you talking to CoverGirl doesn't work.. we should ask Spirit.. he knows all sorts of metaphysical stuff and lore and whatnot."

"Good idea. If I don't just up and vanish once I say goodbye to Courtney, that is." His voice almost broke and he cleared his throat and looked aside.

"BeachHead... are you really okay?"

"Well.. aside from being dead, I guess. Never been dead before, but I ain't got any sniffles or nothin'."

"You know what I mean.. realizing that you died has to be a little.. uhh.. upsetting." Hawk sighed to himself. He'd had talks with some of his men over all sorts of typical issues that arose in life. He'd once had to explain the facts of life to one very sheltered young man who'd made it through Basic without getting enlightened. He'd never had to worry about the emotional state of a dead guy before however.

BeachHead gave him one of the most exasperated looks he'd ever seen on the Ranger's face. "Sir.. you're the one what TOLD me I was dead. Now you're worried I might be upset about it?" He snorted loudly. "Little late for that, ain't it?"

"Well, it's not like you wouldn't find out sooner or later, you'd walk through enough walls or people or whatever, and I think even you would clue in."

"Ahh.. true." He scuffed at the carpet again. "Sir? What if..." He stopped and stared at the toe of his boot. "What if I don't vanish? What if I just.. stay?"

Hawk waited until he looked up at him. "Beach.. I hope that doesn't happen. Believe me, no one deserves to go to the afterlife reward than you do, after you've given so much for so long. But.. if we can't figure out how to help you do that, then you're welcome to stay of course. The Pit is your home.. alive or dead. But.. we'll do whatever it takes to get you to be able to pass on."

"Okay. If I stay.. can I still serve though? I mean.. all I ever heard of ghosts doing is hauntin'.. but I really would rather run PT and such." He suddenly looked a bit enthused. "I'd be great as a scout into places like this. No one could see me, and I could gather intel, come back and tell you what's in a place. No security system or locks can stop me if I can just walk through a wall."

Hawk cleared his throat. "Let's leave that sort of worry until later on. Right now, we'll concentrate on you finding eternal rest or whatever it is you'll find. Okay?"

Looking a tad disappointed, BeachHead faded slightly, becoming transparent. "Yes sir."

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End Chapter

Next chapter, CoverGirl is reunited with BeachHead for him to say good-bye. I hope you're still liking this, it's very interesting to write it.