AN: Hello there! I usually don't put in these author's notes, but today I'm making an exception! First off, thanks to all you who are reading/reviewing/following/favouriting/etc. It's very much appreciated! Secondly, Nella sings a song in this chapter and I think you should all take a listen to it beforehand! It's called Ghosting (hence the chapter name) by a band called Mother Mother. Anyway, enjoy and keep on keeping on!
"I've been ghosting, I've been ghosting along. Ghost in your house, ghost in your arms," Nella had her earbuds in, singing and sliding along the hardwood with her socks on to the song in her ears. "When you're tossing, when you turn in your sleep it's because I'm ghosting your dreams." She shot a quick smile to the burned woman before she spun around the corner, making her way to the stairs. "And this is why I have decided to pull these old white sheets from my head. I'll leave them folded neat and tidy so that you'll know I'm out of hiding." She couldn't help the grin as she saw Moira folding sheets just as she passed the room the older woman was in.
It was well past midnight and Nella found for whatever reason she just couldn't sleep. Despite Moira's protests, she had found the older woman doing chores at odd hours of the day. She even cleaned up the cat carcass before Nella got home the night before. "I've been ghosting, I've been ghosting along. Ghost in the world, ghost with no home," she sang, making her way down the stairs. "I remember, I remember the days when I made you oh-so afraid." She grinned at the doctor as she passed by, pleased at how well timed the ghosts of the house were, intentional or not.
"And this is why I have decided to leave your house and home unhaunted. You don't need poltergeists for sidekicks. You don't need treats and you don't need tricks!" The ginger twins ran by her as she descended the last stair, running into a sitting room. She followed after them, pleased when she saw Chad and Patrick sitting there, watching her come in. "You don't need treats, you don't need tricks, you don't need no Halloween. You don't need treats, you don't need tricks, and you don't need me," she trailed off, spinning into the next room.
She swayed into the middle of the room, dancing with an imaginary partner for the bridge of the song. "Hey, would it be so bad if I stayed? I'm just a ghost out of his grave, and I can't make love in my grave. I won't put white into your hair. I won't make noises on our stairs. I will be kind and I'll be sweet if you stop staring straight through me." As the blonde spun around, her outstretched hands were captured by a real dance partner. Her smile widened when she realized it was Tate and continue to sing, not stopping her swaying almost leading Tate in the dance. "And this is why I have decided to pull these old white sheets from my head. I'll leave them folded neat and tidy so that you know I'm out of hiding. And this is why I have decided to leave your house and home unhaunted. You don't need poltergeists for sidekicks. You don't need treats and you don't need tricks!"
Nella spun away from her dance partner, bopping by herself as Tate watched with a grin of his own. "You don't need treats, you don't need tricks, you don't need no Halloween!" she proclaimed with a teasing wag of her finger. "You don't need treats, you don't need tricks, you don't need treats, you don't need no Hallows Eve. You don't need treats, you don't need tricks," She started walking out of the room and sang the last line over her shoulder at him, "and you don't need…me."
She spun around once more as the song ended and gasped at Tate who appeared right in front of her. "I need you," he said.
She laughed and shook her head, "no you don't," she dismissed. "But I'm glad you decided to show your face around here again. I mean, don't get me wrong, we have a pretty attractive cast of dead people but," she smiled shyly and looked up at him through her eyelashes, "they're not you."
If his heart was still beating, he would swear it would have skipped a beat. "You never got the gift Michael left you," he stated.
Nella felt her stomach churn a little. "You mean the dead cat?" she asked incredulously.
"No," he teased, motioning for her to turn around, "the ghost cat."
Nella was sure her run of emotions was clear on her face. First confusion, then disbelief, and finally a softness. Indeed, there was the very cat Michael had been ripping the guts out of, looking very much alive and healthy. It was a fluffy black thing with a white tuxedo and muzzle as well as three various sized white mittens. It sat daintily, watching the two with brilliant green eyes that had Nella's heart melting a little. Despite the questionable nature of how it got to her, the cat was probably one of the nicest gifts she had ever received. Not including, of course, the jewelry Nora had given her. She stroked the diamond ring on her index finger she chose for today.
"You Langdon's all seem to have a skewed moral compass," Nella joked, looking back at Tate. Tate's own smile dropped.
"So you've figured it out, huh?" he asked flatly.
"I've been figuring a lot of things out recently," she answered, stooping to try and coax the cat towards her. It gave her no trouble, getting up and sauntering over the way cats do, brushing its head on her outstretched fingers. She scooped the cat up in her arms and was pleased when it made no move to squirm away from her. "I'm going to call him Ghost," she announced, stroking his neck, eliciting a quiet purr.
"Ghost is a good name," he mumbled. "You must be disgusted with me."
"Maybe a little scared," she admitted, peeking over Ghost's furry head. "But I've also discovered for whatever reason I seem to be favoured by you Langdons. So I'll tell you what." Tate looked up from his feet, his full attention on her. "Treat me right and I'll do the same for you. But Tate, I'm warning you right now," she made sure his eyes were on hers, "if you ever hurt me, I will make your afterlife the worst hell you've ever experienced."
His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he broke out into a grin. "Only you would threaten a ghost," he chuckled.
She laughed too, placing Ghost carefully on the floor. The cat ran off, leaving Tate and Nella standing alone together. She cleared her throat. "Do ghosts sleep?" she asked.
"No," he answered with a small smile, "but you do. Let's get you to bed."
She didn't argue, but as they reached the stairs Nella asked off handedly, "Well, do ghosts cuddle?"
Tate grinned and looked down at her head as Nella stubbornly refused to meet his gaze. She had hoped that maybe her hair hid the burning blush she could feel on her cheeks. "Why do you ask?" he said innocently.
Nella could feel the blush creeping down her neck and hoped ghosts didn't have some sort of night vision. "Well, I like cuddles. I thought maybe if you liked cuddles too…we could cuddle. Or something," she finished lamely. She was sort of hoping the house would reveal a person-swallowing power that would hide her forever.
"Yeah, we could cuddle…or something," Tate added with a wink.
Nella smiled shyly and opened her bedroom door for them. She looked at his fully dressed figure and asked aloud, "Are you comfy like that? Do ghosts have pajamas?"
Tate let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "I'll take anything off you want me to," he teased again.
Nella laughed even though she was thoroughly embarrassed at how much that comment secretly pleased her. "I think your shoes, at least," she said.
She slid her robe off, revealing a pair of shorts and a tank top that Tate appreciated the sight off. Nella then crawled under the covers and looked to find Tate staring unashamedly at her. He didn't even take his eyes off her as he slipped his shoes off and walk towards the bed. If Nella had been a different woman, she would have gotten up to take the rest of his clothes off too.
Tate slid onto the other side of the bed, wasting no time and shimmying into the no-mans-land territory of the mattress. Nella squirmed a little closer and almost gasped as Tate slipped one arm under her neck and the other over her waist, trapping her when he pulled her close.
"I would never hurt you," he whispered into her hair.
Nella, tucked into Tate's chest, smiled against his neck and whispered back, "Thank you."