"James, we need to get some groceries. We're running low on some household supplies." Katie said walking into the living room. James was relaxing on the couch reading a fitness magazine.
"Sure, just make a list for Amy. She'll get anything you need." He said with a smile as he looked up at her.
"You sure she won't mind?" she asked.
"Not at all. You need to learn to take it easy." He said moving to a sitting position.
"Shadow come back! Play with me!" a voice said. Shadow came trotting down the hall to Katie. A small boy chasing after him.
"Kenny! What did I tell you about chasing Shadow? He is not a toy!" Katie scolded as she pet Shadow reassuringly. Shadow was not a fan of kids but would only bite as a last resort.
"Yes, mommy. I'm sorry." Kenny replied.
"You have all kinds of toys that daddy bought you to play with instead." she said
"But I don't want to play with any of them." he replied
"Then play with your sister, maybe the two of you can have a tea party. Maybe I can bring up a few cookies for you two to share. How does that sound?" Katie said bending to Kenny's level
"Yay!" came his reply and he ran upstairs yelling the good news.
"You make such a great mommy." James said, wrapping his arms around Katie from behind. Shadow became possessive and barked at him before giving him a warning snap. Shadow didn't like to share. James apologized to Shadow and Shadow wagged his tail triumphantly before walking to him for pets. Katie went out to the kitchen and grabbed a small plate of cookies and 2 small glasses of milk.
"James, can you help me bring up the food for the kids?"
"Sure." he said. Shadow watched him go then followed when he saw Katie with a plate. James grabbed the milk and Katie grabbed the cookies and some water for themselves.
"Mommy, can you and daddy play tea party too?" Jayme asked them as they walked in.
"Absolutely! I love playing tea party." James said enthusiastically. He sat the cups of milk down in front of them and Katie followed with the cookies. They both sat in the tiny chairs and enjoyed their time together. A yawn from Jayme signaled that it was time for a nap.
"Uh-oh I think its time for a nap." Katie said.
"I could go for one." James said as he yawned. He got up from the tiny chair but got stuck and got a cramp and fell off the chair. He quickly got up to his feet and picked up his daughter and put her in her bed across the room. He tucked her in and gave her a kiss on the forehead and she was out like a light. Katie was cleaning up the mess from the tea party but James took over. Katie brought Kenny to his room and tucked him in gently since he had already fallen asleep. She went back to Jayme's room and grabbed the dishes from James as he wiped the table and then followed her downstairs. She quickly washed the dishes and put them away before returning to the living room only to find it empty. The patio door was open and as she peeked around the bend of the wall she saw James standing by the railing looking out to the beach. She walked up next to him and looked out with him as the breeze blew through their hair. He pulled her into a hug and she fell into his chest. She could hear his heart beating, it was hypnotizing.
"I love you." he told her.
"I love you too." she replied.
"I'm really glad I had the guts to ask you to marry me and I'm even happier that you said yes. We have a beautiful family, a great life, a big house. What more could anyone ask for?" He said.
"I know. Its beautiful. Thanks for believing in me. I couldn't ask for more." She responded.
"Once the kids wake up from their nap, why don't we take a short trip to the beach? You, me, the kids and the dogs." he said
"I would love too." She said. She pulled away from him to look at him.
"What is it?" He asked
"Could you do something for me?" she asked
"Anything." he replied
"Wake up for me." she stated
"Huh?" he said confused
"Wake up." she repeated. "Wake up, James." Her voice began to fade and was replaced with another voice, a voice that was familiar but it wasn't Katie's. he looked around and his world began to fade to nothing. He looked back at Katie whose figure was getting blurry.
"Katie! Don't leave me!" He yelled, reaching out to her. The familiar voice kept calling out to him but he ignored it to chase after Katie who kept getting farther away. "No! KATIE!" He called again he made a last attempt to reach her but she faded away and he was left in the dark. He felt a tremor and mumbling but he was too lost, scared and confused to concentrate and sat down in fear as he cried.
"James!" Logan called out as he shook his shoulders. Kendall came back with a cup of water from the cooler, Logan wasted no time in swiping it from him and splashing it in James' face. James was moving and talking but he wasn't waking up. "Dammit James, stay with me! Wake up dammit!" he said this time he slapped him in the face. It took a few seconds but it did the trick. James' eyes shot open and he looked around in a panic. Several people were standing over him. He was on the floor of the funeral parlor. He raised a hand to his head and groaned.
'Dude, you alright?" Carlos asked concerned.
"Yeah…I think so….What happened?" he questioned.
"You fainted." Kendall said calmly.
"I did? Where are we?"
"We're at the funeral parlor. And yes you fainted, you came down the stairs and were right in front of your chair when you just went down with no warning." Katie's mom said.
"You've been out for a while. You weren't responding at first but then I guess you were dreaming. You kept mumbling and then you began yelling." Kendall said.
"What were you dreaming about?" Logan wondered.
"I- I don't know…I cant remember….'James said as he trailed off. After being persuaded by his friends he was taken to the hospital to get checked out. His tests came back normal and there was no sign of a concussion despite falling hard, but he was kept overnight for observation. The remainder of the funeral continued on without James but it was recorded for him. As soon as he was discharged the next morning, he was promised that he would be taken to her freshly buried grave. He lay back and sighed in defeat before a few tears squeezed out and he fell asleep.
He woke up a few hours later. It was dark and he couldn't quite tell where he was, things weren't all that clear in his head either. He felt tired and weak and as much as he tried to stay awake, his head rolled over to the pillow and he fell back asleep. As he slept he began to dream; dream of all kinds of things, being home with friends and family, working out, being on set, normal stuff. It was until he started dreaming of the car accident they were all in. But when the car crashed in his dream he closed his eyes and when he opened them he was in the dark. Once he gained his senses he realized where he was; he was in the dance hall.
He found it a little weird although it was one of his favorite places to be. He had a lot of fond memories here, this is where they all had fun when dancing aside from the rush from being on stage of course. The set was fun too but this was like the sanctuary for all of them; Katie joined them often and danced along. It was a great way to burn off some steam. The hall was a little different then he remembered though, something didn't seem right but he shrugged it off. He looked around and he was alone. He decided to get a little work out and began to stretch out. When he finished he looked around for the stereo to play the tracks but it was gone. He sighed and just began dancing on his own although it was very difficult without the rhythm, he kept messing up. He was concentrating on his moves that he didn't notice he was being watched until they spoke.
"Working hard I see." A familiar voice said. He turned to look. It was Katie. She was leaning in the door way, legs and arms crossed as she watched with a sly smile. James just looked at her dumbfounded. "What's the matter?"
"I don't know. Nothing I guess. Something just feels different but I cant figure out what." he replied.
"I see. Then I guess now wouldn't be the time to have a discussion then?" she stated
"Discussion? About what?" He asked.
"Well for starters, I'm pretty sure I could answer some of your questions." she replied. James raised an eyebrow to show his confusion. She sighed and pushed off from the door frame and walked over to him. "You're dreaming, James, that's why everything looks and feels different. It's also why you are here. You're subconscious is creating a scene for you based on your inner most thoughts and feelings. You'd be surprised at just how complex dreaming and the mind are. The only thing that is 'real' in a sense is me. You've been calling for me for the longest time and now I'm here."
"What? What are you talking about."
"Listen, when you dream, no matter what your subconscious is trying to tell you, everything is fake. I am real. James, I am Katie, I'm just in a spirit form now. Don't you remember that I died?"
"Yes, I remember. I just wish it wasn't true. But if what your saying is true then why? Why did you leave me? Why didn't you tell me or any of us that you needed help? Why!" James said loudly. "Don't try to deny it either, I read the police report; your car was in perfect working order and there was no evidence of another car."
Katie hung her head low. "I don't have a reason. I do want to say that I am sorry. It was a difficult decision but I had no choice. You don't know what I was going through…"
"I have a good idea. You didn't know this but you were pregnant."
"I know. I learned all the secrets and plans behind my life once I passed on. Which is why I am granted to be here now. My work is yet to be completed."
"What do you have to do?"
"For one I have to apologize to the person I hurt the most."
"Who is that."
"Its you, James. Do you remember that dream you had a while ago? The one when you fainted?"
"of course I do. Or at least I do now. I couldn't remember it when I woke up."
"Well, that's why you fainted, to have that dream. I was trying to contact you but it didn't work as I thought."
"You couldn't have waited until I was sleeping? Falling to the hard wood floor kinda hurt…" he said as he rubbed the back of his head and neck.
"Sorry about that. At least I have you now. I was sent to you based on your words at my funeral."
"You were watching?"
"Of course. A few people were actually like the spirits of my own family as well as some passer by who like to watch what goes on. As soon as I saw it I was given my mission to visit you as soon as I could. I had to protect you from going down the wrong path." she said. James just stood in silence he knew full well what she was talking about. As his feelings bubbled to the surface, so did his desire to be with her. "I love you too, James. But please, live your life here on earth first, don't rush through and miss everything your life has to offer. One day, you'll join me and we can live together for eternity, but that day isn't now."
"You don't understand, I don't love you based off guilt, I truly love you and I don't want you to leave me."
"I'll always be watching over you and the others. I'll watch you progress through life and reach your biggest dreams. I'll always be with you; in your heart, in your mind and in your eyes. I must go know, my time is up. Live on James and never forget me." She said as her voice faded.
"No, Katie please don't go! Its not enough for you to be in my thoughts, I want to hold you, I want everything to go back to the way it was." he pleaded. Katie no longer spoke and her figure began to fade away in the distance. "At least tell me that you will visit me again?" he asked. She couldn't speak anymore and she was nearly gone but she flashed him a smile before she disappeared completely. He ran to the door to chase her but the dance hall was disappearing as well. The floor gave way underneath him and he began to fall into a pit of black.
He awoke in a fit as his body jolted him awake from his dream fall. he shot up in bed and yelled out her name. He sat breathless for a second before he took short slow breaths and looked around. A nurse came in quickly after his outburst, concerned he was in pain. She saw him upright and the look of shock on his face and he didn't respond to her. She turned on the light, temporarily blinding him.
"James, are you ok?" she asked.
"…Yeah…it was just a bad dream…." he breathed.
"I see. It's alright, you should try to go back to sleep, it's late." she encouraged. He slid back down under the covers and the nurse pulled the covers over him as he got comfortable. He quickly fell back asleep and the nurse left.
The next morning, James was released with a clean bill of health. Kendall was waiting for him in the lobby and both of them headed to Katie's house where they would stay for a few days until James could travel back to LA. Once there, they would be in meetings for several days to discuss their contracts, their wants and ideas as well as where to go now.

*AN* I'm not too proud of some of this chapter. I like the beginning but as far as the 'spirit talk' and supernatural stuff I added, it doesnt really fit in this story to me. it belongs in another story. but at least I gave it a shot, always good to try new things and challenge yourself.