Dead Like Me is owned by Bryan Fuller, Showtime, and their affiliates.

Bones is owned by Hart Hanson, Fox and their affiliates.

No money what so ever is or will be made from this fanfiction.

Despite having a sleepless night Alana was able to get out of bed and get ready for the day. She was a bit more slow than usual but the body of a Reaper was an amazing thing. It could work on little to no sleep for days, even a week, without much damage; most likely due to amazing healing ability and metabolism. While a normal human would go mad after three days of no rest, a Reaper would only feel fairly fatigued. A lot of Alana's feet dragging were due to not wanting to confront the issue of Zach Addy than actually tiredness. But after a long hot shower and her other daily hygienic rituals, she could no longer put off going downstairs. She hadn't heard any commotion during the night nor any that morning. She wasn't sure what scene she would walk in on. Would Zach have given up on his quest to put on a shirt? Would he be a bored restless mess because he had nothing to do with his time?

Alana tentatively walked down the steps, each foot she pressed down softer than the other; hoping to make as little noise as possible. She knew it was absurd to be so cautious in her own house from a ghost that could do no harm but she wasn't one to give bad news. She hated it and she really hated how her gut told her this was going to end very badly.

Everything seemed normal as she got to the foot of the stairs. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The house seemed empty it was so quiet.

A jolt of panic hit her as she thought of the house being completely empty. She didn't think far enough ahead that Zach could possibly decide to wander off while she was staring into nothing all night. She quickened her pace and checked the library, where she last saw him.

All panic subsided as she saw the male exactly where she left him. Well, not exactly where she left him. He had grown tired of trying to put on the shirt and had occupied himself with the libraries expansive collection. She was puzzled that he was actually reading a book. From the look at the pile beside him he had read a bunch of books.

"Where those books out last night?"

Zach was engrossed in his novel just as he was engrossed with the shirt last night. Alana knew that she'd have to get his attention vocally as it seemed he was in his own little world that did not notice peripheral movements.

"Hey…Zach. Mornin'."

It was enough to get his attention as he looked up from his tome and greeted Alana in the same manner. He didn't seem upset or to have made any breakthrough with his death. As silly as it was, Alana had slightly hoped he'd come to the conclusion on his own and possibly go to her to ask what it meant. Alas, it was not meant to be and Zach was oblivious as ever.

"So what's goin' on here? Whatcha readin?"

"What Dreams May Come by Matheson. Interesting concept if not completely preposterous."

Alana could only stare blankly at him.

"How ironic."

It was an opening though and Alana had to take it.

"Why is it so hard to believe? Do you not believe in an afterlife?"

"There is a substantial lack of empirical evidence that points to an afterlife, or even that humans have a separate entity within their minds or bodies that could separated from their physical being and remain intact. In essence, there is no proof that once our bodies die that there is anything else to move on."

The way he said it was so cold and definite. And a little bit condescending, Alana noted slightly annoyed.

"Well lack of proof doesn't necessarily denote lack of existence."

Zach smiled indulgently at Alana; sometimes it was cute how normal people would try to engage in an intellectual conversation with him as if they could even begin to keep up. Alana could sense the arrogance in Zach's smile and was already sorry she even brought it up. He was not about to make this easy and she knew this was about to blow up in her face.

"What your argument is that it's impossible to prove a negative and you're right."

Alana was a bit surprised at this admission. Usually atheist tend to be complete douche bags who start in the whole "spaghetti monster" argument.

"There is anecdotal evidence, and I use the term 'evidence' loosely, that there is some kind of higher power. All factions of the faiths have made claims to their chosen deity or deities. I will even admit there are certain things in this world that I am unable to explain, particularly the mindset and action of others. This is not enough for me to believe in a higher power."

"What would get you to believe in a higher power or afterlife?"

It would be awesome if Zach drew a metaphorical road map for her.

"I consider myself a rational empiricist not necessarily an atheist. Science dictates that unless something is proven then it has to remain a thesis. God, emotion, souls, etc…cannot be quantified by any science known today, so therefore by scientific definition unable to be proven or disproven. But from all the data gathered, there simply is no evidence that there is anything beyond…this" he motioned his hands to his body. It was very ironic because he motioned to what he just stated there was no proof of.

"OK, so this isn't a total lost cause. I just have to give some sort of hard evidence…"

Alana took a moment to contemplate her options. Zach went back to reading his book as Alana seemed satisfied with the conversation. He wasn't exactly sure as the only proof had been her lack of rebuttal and was not angrily telling him was going to hell for not believing in God. He casually swiped his fingers across the page and it lightly turned as if a gentle breeze caught it.

She was impressed because most spirits, even those destined to be Reapers, never really took the time or did the effort to learn how to move objects while incorporeal. Even Alana had only managed to slightly move a swinging door and that was mostly because she accidentally walked through it.

She frowned in confusion as an earlier question poked its head into her mind.

"Zach, where these books out when you started to read?"

"No, I had to get them down from the shelf when I grew tired of trying to put on the shirt," he said never looking up from his book.

Zach Addy was full of surprises and her duty to tell him he was dead, forgotten. She was interested in how he was able to attain such a feat. Zach didn't think it anything of it as he went back to reading, not noticing Alana's look of mild bewilderment. She was slightly impressed. It seemed that Zach was destined to be amazing; living or dead.

"Can you show me?"

"Show you what?"

"Show me how you got the book from the shelf..." she paused at his questioning look. Like he didn't quite understand why she wanted to see him perform such a menial task. Then he remembered his intangibility. He leapt up to show off his accomplishment. He still didn't understand a lot about his current state; such as why he was unable to grab or feel most things but was able to sit down without going through the furniture. It seemed there were no laws or science to his state of being. But while he couldn't explain the how or why he was able to play with his new found powers. He walked, almost bounced with excitement, to the shelf and chose a random book. With deep concentration and focus he palmed the book, Faust; then with great mental effort he transferred the tome from the shelf to the coffee table. He looked as if he carried a load much heavier than a small novel but it was quite the feat for someone who wasn't physically there.

Alana was so flabbergasted at the act, her jaw dropped in surprise. He figured out how to manipulate physical objects in a meaningful way. He did more than the small movement of a page or swinging door. He managed to levitate objects in the span of a night.

"Impressive Zach, very impressive."

"Yes, it took several hours of trial and error to figure out how to move objects. I noticed when I was attempting to grasp the shirt that I could never quite cinch it but I was able to move it slightly, like so."

He showcased his prior attempt by flicking his hand over the shirt as if he was about to grab it but all he was able to do was disturb it. The corner of the fabric had shifted slightly but that was it.

"I'm still unable to actually wear the shirt as most of my physical abilities lie within my hands. While I can grab the shirt with my hands, I am unable to place it on my being. I believe with a few more hours of work I would be able to accomplish this task."

Alana believed it. She knew she had to tell him now because if he accomplished wearing the shirt then it'd be a very scary sight for people to see a floating shirt with nothing in it.

"Zach, I have to tell you something…"

She paused as he was occupied with attempting to put the shirt on. It would have been comical to see Zach attempt to dress himself but have the shirt fall through him over and over again if it also wasn't so sad.

Zach had stopped messing with the shirt and looked at her with those cute puppy brown yes.

"Oh God this is going to be rough."

"You're dead."

There she did it. She finally did it. She told Zach Addy what he knows deep down inside but tells himself it can't be true. She braced herself for a freak out.

"No I'm not" he stated in calm tone then went back to his t-shirt.

The nervous breath she was holding in was let out as she was exasperated. The composed way he denied his death was not what she was expecting. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, mostly a conniption fit. But it seemed that simply telling Zach he was dead was not what she should have been worried about.

"What do you mean no you're not? Yes, you are."

"No. It's just not rational. I'm dreaming. If I was dead then I would cease to exist. You acquiesced to the idea I am dreaming last night."

"You're right I did" she knew it was going to bite her in the ass "But that was my mistake. You are dead. You saw your own dead body."

Zach was becoming uncomfortable at the thought of what he saw last night. It was a traumatic event that he didn't want to think about.

"No, I dreamt that I saw my own dead body."

Alana could see this going in circles really quickly so she had to think about what she knew about dreams in order to make Zach realize he wasn't dreaming.

"Zach, it's been over 8 hours since I last saw you. Don't you think that's a really long time to be dreaming?"

"The mind processes things faster while you're asleep. Time goes by much faster in a dream. Hence why it seems I've been here for 8 hours in reality I've probably been sleeping for only a couple hours."

She had to think for a moment. She knew she couldn't use his intangibility as he thought it was a part of his dream. She closed her eyes in concentration, trying to remember what she knew about dreams from the random psych class she took in college.

'Ummm look how aware and cognitive you are though. You've read about dreams right?"

She didn't wait for him to answer as she knew he was the type to read everything thoroughly.

"You're having a conversation with me and reading. You shouldn't be able to do that in a dream."

Zach paused as he knew she was right. He was able to read and comprehend more than he ought to. He distinctly remembered reading about how to tell if one was in a dream. The ability to read was one of the ways to discern one was awake. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts as anxiety bubbled inside of him. The awareness that he was not dreaming was not sitting comfortably with him. If he wasn't dreaming, then what was going on?

"It must be because I'm of above average intelligence." He finally said, more to himself than Alana.

"What about me? Have you ever seen me before?"

"Not that I can recall."

"Then how can you dream of someone you've never seen or met?"

Technically they have met before but she was wearing a different face. That was a story for another time and place.

"I…must have seen you in passing and forgot."

Alana suddenly remembered something from his file and was quick with a rebuttal.

"Don't you have eidetic memory? Wouldn't you have remembered me, even if you saw me in passing?"

Zach was a little stumped at that. Alana had a point. Zach remembered everything he ever saw. He rarely ever looked anyone in the face or eyes, so for him to know what she looked like in such detail, enough to dream about her, he would have remembered seeing her beforehand. Not only seeing her but where and when he saw her. His earlier conclusion that he was not at full capacity mentally was wearing thin as he was able to speed read and do other things that required his full thought and attention.

"While I have a vast intellect and photographic memory, even I am able to forget things. You must have been particularly unmemorable for me to not remember you."

Alana didn't know to be sad that he was going to such lengths, as deprecating his abilities which by the tone of his voice he didn't even believe, or be insulted that he thought she could be so forgettable.

She was running out of possible scientific reasons he was not dreaming so she switched tactics.

"Zach, what do you know about the Grim Reaper?"

While she knew that there was no one Reaper, she was aware that myth and legend only mentioned one.

"The Grim Reaper is a psychopomp: A mythological entity that is responsible for guiding souls to the afterlife. It's debated whether or not The Grim Reaper is responsible for death or if the entity is the manifestation of Death itself. The being is also said to sever the ties between the soul and the body hence it usually being depicted with a scythe. The Grim Reaper is mostly a 15th century and onward personification of Death. Before that, many cultures had their own representation of Death; such as the Angel of Death for the Judeo-Christian sect and various animal spirits like the Raven or specific deities for polytheistic religions."

That was a very thorough and expressionless response. It was clear to Alana that Zach also did not believe in Death as a sentient being with a plan for everyone. Still, she felt didn't have a choice but to reveal what she was. She couldn't tell him he was to become a Reaper yet, not till he went through the motions of his death, funeral, and acceptance of all that had happened to him.

"That's a really good grasp of what Death is. I happen to be a Grim Reaper."

Alana thought it was really cute how Zach's head slightly tilted and the confused look that donned his face as he took in what she said. Like a puppy given a command and didn't know what the hell his master wanted. Alana guessed she just shattered his stereotypical belief about what most people thought of when they thought about The Grim Reaper. She didn't wear a cloak and did not carry around a scythe (although she thought it would be totally cool if she did).

"That is not possible. I know of a highly regarded psychoanalyst that could help you with your delusion."

And that was all he had to say on the matter and sat down to continue reading. Alana was starting to get really irritated at how he would brush her off. It was very rude. She finally pushed the book he was reading away from him and got down on one knee. She was trying to get to his eye level and comfort him while she told him bad news. She had to get through to him somehow.

She grabbed his hand and told him "Zach you need to listen to me. You died last night. You know you did. You saw those über creepy guys plunge a really big knife into your chest and then drag you away."

She was doing it again. She was touching him and able to hold onto him as if he wasn't intangible. His rationalization of his situation was starting to crumble and he did not like it one bit.

He flinched at the contact and quickly wretched his hand away. He did not like any evidence contrary to his theory he was dreaming.

"How are you able to touch me?" finally verbalizing his confusion. He had pondered the conundrum before but this was the first time he really questioned his current state. He could no longer firmly grasp onto the hypothesis that he was dreaming. She was right, he was too cognizant to be dreaming and the time lapse could not be ignored either. He was very aware of the time passing as he became bored easily. He only started to read to fill in the time. He was tempted to go out exploring but was afraid of what might happen. He didn't want another episode with Gormogon or Geier. He also did not know where he was and did not intend to find out while shirtless. Zach's logical mind was starting to overcome his self-preserving denial. If all possibilities have been eliminated then whatever remains, however improbably or even impossible, must be the truth. Even logic was starting to betray him and he didn't know what to think.

"Because I'm a Reaper. One of our abilities is to be able to physically touch souls."

Souls. A damning word if he ever heard one. Something he had never believed in, even with all those Sunday classes his mother forced him to go to. Even at the tender age of nine, he was skeptical of all the religious mythology they tried to instill in him. His questioning the validity of such claims was not well received by the teacher. It further alienated him from his peers who were so ready and willing to accept whatever the adults told them. They didn't understand the strange boy with all his questions about God, death, and morality. They knew what right was right and what was wrong was wrong. The concept of a middle ground or a grey area was beyond their grasp. They wouldn't understand the concept till much later in life, if at all.

So the word was a frightening concept to him. It defied all that he knew to be true. All that he believed was crumbling around him as the evidence piled up. He saw his death with his own eyes but he doubted his senses. What good are his senses if they fail him? He prided himself on being an empiricist but what good is physical evidence if he doesn't trust what his mind is telling him? What if he didn't want to trust his senses because they told him something he didn't want to know? As illogical as he knew his feelings to be, he wanted to ignore logic for the first time in his life. If he was truly dead and Alana was correct, he was a spirit. If souls and an afterlife exist, were his mother and all the others right? Was there some kind of moral code and standard of behavior given from on high? Did he fall into the category of those who were blessed or damned?

These thoughts came at him at a record pace that even he couldn't completely comprehend. There were so many questions that he had that he had no way of processing. He was taught one type of religion but he knew of many others. He had no idea which one was right. Could his mother given him the map to salvation or was it the wrong one and he was doomed from the start? Could his lack of belief and faith be his downfall? He put a stop to that line of thinking. It was all conjecture and he was still sure there was some logical explanation of what was going on. Alana had pointed out the fallacies in his dream theory so he had to think of some other supposition.

Alana was worried about the anxious look Zach was sporting. His silence was not a good sign either. Up until that moment, he had a retort to everything she'd thrown at him. She had to say something soon so he wouldn't think of another excuse as to what was happening.

"Zach, it's ok. I know this is scary and you're confused but trust me when I tell you things are going to be alright."

Her completely illogical statement just irritated and upset Zach further. He wished she wouldn't speak so he could process and figure out the most logical explanation next to dreaming. If he was indeed dead, how could anything be right again?

Alana did not like the frown that graced his face. It was one thing to be in total denial it was another to get pissed off. She did her best to keep patient as she knew dying wasn't easy. Accepting death wasn't either. She was an old pro at being dead so she had to bide her time and wait for him to process everything.

Zach got up from his seat and started to pace the library; anything to get away from Alana who was determined to shake him out of his denial. If his heart could pound it would because he was getting very agitated.

"How is any of this even possible?" he finally asked. He couldn't think of another possibility as death always managed to invade his mind. He did see himself die. He did see his murders drag off his body. He wasn't able to physically touch anything except for a few seconds and even that was limited. He was remembering all that he was taught about souls when he was younger. They were non-physical remnants of a person that no one could see. It would explain why Gormogon and Geier were unable to see him. Alana was only able to see and touch him because she was a supposed Grim Reaper. That explained her abilities but what wasn't explained was how it was all possible. How was it that with all the advancement of Man where they completely unable to detect such a phenomenon? If anything all the science pointed to there not being any sort supernatural occurrence.

Zach wished he could hyperventilate because it would give him something to do other than keep thinking about his predicament and coming to the same conclusion.

"There has to be a logical explanation for all of this."

Alana's shoulders slumped slightly because Zach was determined to not accept his death. She didn't know where to go from there. She tried to explain it all with logic but that was a bust due to science and an afterlife being irreconcilable. All science depended on theories and what people could tangibly comprehend. Death was inherently indefinable and beyond what most could understand. There was no rhyme or reason to who was chosen and why. Reapers didn't even know the full story. All Alana really knew was that there was a plan and she was a part of making it come to fruition. There was a big gaping hole between what she knew and what was; there was no getting around it either. It wasn't for her to know so in the end it all had to be taken with a bit of faith.

Zach was a scientist and there was no room for that kind of faith. Faith in the scientific method, sure. Faith that there would be a logical explanation somehow, someway. Absolutely. But faith in something that science could not explain but was also contrary? Unthinkable.

Alana was getting desperate. She only had so much time to get him to accept his death and escort him through the process. She had a bad feeling about what she was about to do but felt she didn't have many options. She grabbed his red folder and showed it to him.

"Zach, look at this. This is your death file. It told me when, where, and other deets on your death."

He stood next to her and she showed him his folder. It looked like any type of government file with his history on it. Where he worked, his education, his academic accomplishments, where he lived; all of it could be explained by a private investigator or the FBI doing one of their background checks. What was eye opening was the residence and time of his supposed death. It wasn't too far from Hodgin's mansion. He quickly did the calculations in his head and the timing was right. From when he was kidnapped to an estimation of when he was awoken and then stabbed. Still, what she was showing him was something anyone could have gleaned off his life with Google and he stated as much.

Zach was getting very upset and while his face retained its stoic demeanor the lights in the house were flickering on and off; a sure sign that a spirit was in turmoil.

Then Alana remembered something that only he would really know.

"Zach, remember yesterday when two women came into the lab and disrupted work? That was me and my partner Denise."

Zach knew what she was talking about but did not remember seeing her there. The two females in question looked nothing like Alana so he wasn't sure if she was a third female that he didn't see.

"I talked to you when you were holding a skull. You explained to me what the markings meant." Alana explained further.

While Zach knew what she was talking about she couldn't have possibly been the woman he talked to yesterday.

"You can't possibly be the female I talked to yesterday. You're much more aesthetically pleasing than her."

Alana was taken aback by the compliment. He didn't seem to notice he basically said she was pretty, he more or less stated it as if he was commenting on the weather outside. Alana was starting to sense a pattern with Dr. Addy. The male didn't seem to have any real attachment to anything he said. He said things that he felt were true and that no emotion was to be involved. So she brushed it off just as easily because she was getting used to his mannerisms.

"I know I look different than I did yesterday. Reapers look different to the dead than the living. My living body is designed to look unremarkable so people are more likely to forget me at any particular place in case I run into the same people at multiple Reap scenes."

He didn't need to know that much about Reapers just yet but Alana couldn't help but babble on about anything to try to get through to him.

"Reapers look different to the dead than the living." These words hit home for reasons he didn't understand. Perhaps with his anthropologist mind he knew she was telling the truth. What reason did she have to lie to him?

"Still there has to be a rational explanation for all of this. Like I said before, if I was dead then I wouldn't be standing here talking to you."

"But even you admitted that was because there was no evidence otherwise. Now there is. Intangibility, experience your own death, others not being able to see you. This is the evidence you were lacking before. You are the evidence of an afterlife."

Alana's words whirled in and out of his mind like a cyclone. Beating down his wall of denial as all the evidence piled up. He couldn't explain away his intangibility with dreaming. He couldn't explain why he was physical to Alana and why only Alana seemed to be able to see him. He couldn't take not knowing what was wrong with him but wasn't willing to accept her reasons. He went over his scenario over and over again and he couldn't explain anything rationally. He had to get out of there. He needed to prove that she was wrong and that he wasn't dead.

Without saying anything he rushed out of the house and Alana followed him in pursuit. This was turning into a disaster very quickly. Zach was fast than he looked because Alana couldn't keep up with him even in the short distance between the library and the front door. It also didn't help that he was able to phase through the door while Alana was slowed down by having to open it.

The quiet suburb was teaming with people on their way to work and children waiting to go to school. Zach rushed into the street, desperate for someone to notice him. All the cars that passed by ran right through him; his body disintegrating into the ether to be collected together again, making him whole. He shouted at the kids waiting for the bus up the street. They laughed and played as they did not see the shirtless man, flailing about. Nothing seemed to be working and he was getting more and more upset.

"Zach! Zach, come back!" Alana kept shouting over and over again. Zach did not want to speak to her because she made his death seem more and more real. He needed to get as far away from her as he could possible get. He needed a safe haven…and he knew exactly where to go. He hopped in the next passing car, giving up the idea of one stopping for him.

Alana knew better than to try to stop the car that Zach jumped in. She was sure she looked crazy shouting at thin air. The looks from the school children and her neighbors were evident of that. Ted's concerned and baffled look was enough to make Alana try to explain herself.

Quickly thinking she said "Ummmm…Zach is my dog. He ran away."

Alana hoped that the choked up sound coming from her voice was brushed off as sadness over the loss of a pet. Ted gave her a sympathetic thin lipped grimace and head nod. As if he knew exactly was she was going through.

"You need any help looking for him? What breed is he?'

"Ugh he's…a dachshund. A small low to the ground dachshund and that is why you did not see him run out…and neither did I till it was too late."

So under pressure Alana will pull a dachshund out of her ass. What a whiney yippy little bastard of a dog.

Alana hurried into her house as to not waste any more time talking with her neighbor about an imaginary pet. She had to do something quickly if she wanted to catch Zach.

The first thing she did when she got in was get her issued blackberry. She needed to send out a message to all other Reapers in her dept and others that there was a very upset spirit on the loose.

BOLO for Reap. wht/M/26 5' 11" brwn hair no shirt

She sent out the mass text to her Reaper email list and prepared herself for the shit storm she knew would await her at work.