Thanks you guys for all the reviews! I love them tons and I love you tons and tons for giving them to me. Gives me great ego boosts, but you already know that ;)

Okay so I have to share this, just cause I think it's so funny. I work at a Boys and Girls club, I'm the art coordinator and tonight was the staff party. They held it at Chuck E. Cheese. o.O Can you believe it? I work with kids ALL DAY LONG and they hold a party in a place designed FOR kids!!!! I'm 24 years old, the last time I went to a place like that I was like 10. Anyway, I grumbled, well everyone did, but I had a blast. It was a huge kick and too much fun playing games and getting tickets. Anyway just thought I'd mention that ;) Don't know why really, but oh well.

So, I just finished and it's almost midnight and I have to get up in six hours to go to work, oy. So I had some fun with this. Some of it's sad, some of it's funny, but it's all good :D

So Read, Enjoy and Reivew, just like always...I sound like a broken record...I need to go to bed...night!

Lace

"So how do I look?" Lydia asked turning to Layla who was sitting on Lydia's bed. She was dressed in a pair of her nicest pants and a blouse for her first day of work and she was so nervous it took everything not to let her knees start knocking together.

"Do you want the truth or do you want me to lie?" Layla asked.

"Oh God, it's that bad?" Lydia asked turning to look in the mirror. Layla giggled at her and hopped off the bed.

"Yeah, but it's an easy fix." She said and blinked. Lydia watched as her navy blue, tapered leg trousers turned into a pair of soft grey wide legged trousers and her cream blouse turned into a rich eggplant silk. Layla also put make up on her that hinted at the tones she was wearing and a pair of black heels. "Much better." She said nodding.

"Wow, that's the best trick I've seen yet." Lydia said turning to see every angle in the mirror.

"You don't want to look like the housewife going back into work for the first time in ten years do you?" She asked and Lydia just shook her head. "Good, well I bet that Sloane is downstairs waiting for you to head into the office."

"I guess this is it, not what I would have wanted, but it will have to work." Lydia said and sighed as she walked out the door.

"It's something and that's better than nothing." Layla said. "We'll make sure that the kids stay out of trouble."

"Just make sure that BJ stays out of trouble too." Lydia said over her shoulder as she walked down the stairs making Layla laugh. She couldn't help but hold her breath when she came up to Sloane, ready to head into the office.

"You look great, nobody will know that you haven't been working for a decade." He said looking her up and down. Lydia wasn't quite sure if that was meant to be a compliment or not, but she blushed anyway.

"Thanks, Layla did it for me."

"She does have a good eye, but don't tell her I said that." He said and winked at Lydia making her giggle, which relaxed her a little.

"She doesn't have to." Layla said leaning against the archway in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in her hand and a large smile on her face. He groaned and headed for the door, car keys in hand. "Sloane." She called out making him pause as Lydia walked out to get into his car.

"Yeah?" He asked raising an eyebrow. Layla walked up to him and poofed two cups of coffee in traveling mugs and handed them to him. "What's this for?" He asked looking at the cups like they were poisoned.

"For giving Lydia a job. She needs it right now and even though it's not the best, it's something." She said. He took the two mugs from her and gave her a small smile.

"Thanks, so you gonna start being nice to me?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I do one nice thing for you and you think I'm going to make it a habit?" She asked making him laugh.

"I'll try not to become accustomed to it."

"You better not because then I'll have to just put you back into your place." He nodded a smile still on his face and walked out the door.

Beetlejuice was curled up half asleep, but half awake when the door opened and all three of the kids bounced in and jumped on the bed.

"What the hell?" He asked as Chloe landed straight on his chest.

"Can we go up in the air some more today?" She asked looking at him. He groaned and threw the pillow over his eyes.

"Why are you all up so early?" He mumbled from behind the pillow.

"We always get up this early." Riley said and tugged on the blankets. "Please can we?"

"Hey, watch the covers bud, I'm kinda skimping on clothes here." He said and tugged the blankets back up to cover his bare shoulders.

"Come on BJ, it's so late, get up." Jordan said and took the pillow away from him.

"LAYLA!" He yelled and grabbed the pillow again. Layla walked up the stairs and looked through the open door and had to slap her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. "It's not funny Babes, get them outta here." He said as all three of the kids kept tugging on him.

"Okay, why don't you guys go downstairs and watch a little television while BJ wakes up." Layla said, a wide smile still on her face.

"Aw, we want to go in the air again." Riley said and stuck his lip out.

"Maybe later on, but right now you'll be thrown against the wall if BJ gets his way." She said. They just laughed at her and walked out of the room.

"Hurry up BJ, we want to have some fun." Chloe said before she walked out. He groaned and threw himself against the bed. Layla waited until all of them left and she closed the door before she burst into laughter, having to hold her stomach. Beetlejuice got up and threw a pillow at her, but she just dodged it and kept laughing.

"It's not funny Babes, I was sitting here in nothing but, well, nothing and they can in tugging on the covers and all sorts of shit." He said.

"I'm sorry Beej, but that's what kids do." She said and walked down to sit on the bed next to him.

"They ain't my kids." He said, a frown on his face.

"No, but that doesn't mean that they don't like you. They actually quite like you which is rather amusing." She said. He looked at her and pouted, crossing his arms in front of his bare chest.

"Why?" He whined. She rolled her eyes and got back up walking to the door.

"Quit being a baby, you like them too, I can tell." She said and closed the door behind her.

"I do not!" He called.

"Yes you do, get dressed." She called back and walked down the stairs.

Layla walked into the living room and looked at the three minions. They had not one whit of guilt for waking Beetlejuice up.

"Is he getting ready?" Riley asked turning to look at her.

"Yes, he's getting ready, but we've got to get a few things straight first."

"What?" They whined at her.

"First things first, we can't just go around playing all day long. Sooner or later you three are going to have to go back to school and when you do you can't tell anyone that Beej and I are ghosts?"

"Why not?" Jordan asked.

"If people find out we are ghosts then who knows what could happen so it's better that no one know except for us." She said and they nodded.

"The next thing is that we can't keep tossing you up in the air, your mother will have our heads." She said and they moaned. "I don't wanna hear it, so go in the kitchen and I'll get you some breakfast before the grump comes down." She said.

"Is he mad?" Chloe asked looking at Layla as they walked into the kitchen.

"No, a little shocked, but not mad." She said smiling at the little girl. "So, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Ice cream." Jordan said a big smile on his face.

"Yeah right." Layla said and rolled her eyes. She snapped her fingers and fresh fruit and cereal appeared.

"Uh, that's not ice cream." Riley said looking at his bowl.

"Uh, you're right, it's not. It's called breakfast so eat." She said and grabbed an apple for herself. Beetlejuice walked in and looked at the food that Layla had conjured up.

"What the hell is that?" He asked.

"Food." Layla said taking a huge bite out of her apple. "Grab some."

"Yeah right Babes, I don't think so." He said and snapped himself a donut, walking back out.

"How come he can have a donut?" Jordan whined.

"Can you snap your fingers and make food appear?" Layla asked.

"No."

"Then you'll eat what I give you. Beej can snap and make food appear so he can eat what he wants." Layla said. They looked down at their food and made faces, but gave in to her and ate. Layla walked into the living room and sat down next to Beetlejuice, crossing her legs.

"You just had to do that huh?" She asked turning to him.

"Wha?" He asked, his mouth full of fried dough.

"Make a donut right in front of the kids. Of course they'd want that after they see you eat it." She said, not really angry, but wanting to make a point.

"Ah come on Babes, it's not gonna kill em' to eat a donut once in a while." He said finishing his bite and chomping down on another.

"No, probably not, but I know that Lydia would kill me if I fed them that garbage." She said. He just rolled his eyes at her and finished eating and watched the television.

"You think too much Babes." He said, not looking at her. She rolled her eyes and finished her own apple and tossing the core at him. "Hey, watch that healthy stuff." He said and tossed the apple core back. She just smiled at him and shook her head.

"Can we go up in the air now?" Riley asked coming to a sudden halt right in front of Layla with Chloe and Jordan bringing up the rear.

"You all never stop do you?" She asked putting her hands on her hips. They smiled at her and shook her head.

"Please Aunt Layla?" Chloe asked.

"Where on earth did that come from?" She asked taken aback. The little girl just shrugged and smiled at her. "Oh, you don't play fair." She said and stomped her foot playfully. They knew they had won when she did that and smiled superior smiles. She sighed and looked over her shoulder at Beetlejuice, raising an eyebrow.

"Up to you Babes." He said.

"Thanks a lot Uncle Beej." She said.

"Hey yeah, I like that." Jordan said and smiled.

"Thanks a lot Babes." He said and rolled his eyes.

"You deserved it." She said.

"All right you minions, up in the air." He said and pointed his finger at them. They giggled as they rose up in the air.

"Now that you're up there what are you going to do?" Layla called.

"Why don't you two join us?" Jordan called. Layla looked at Beetlejuice and smiled.

"What?" He asked and she raised her eyebrow. "Oh no you don't Babes, don't even think about it." He said and a second later he was rising right along with her. "Dammit Babes, this shit ain't funny." He said kicking his feet, but she just laughed at him and reached out to grasp his hand.

"All right, so now we're all up here, so what do we do?" She asked, floating around them.

"Do you guys know ring around the rosie?" Chloe asked. Layla nodded and Beetlejuice was solemn giving just a hint of a nod. He kept hold of Layla's hand and she grasped Jordan's while Beetlejuice grabbed Chloe's as she began to sing.

"Ring around the rosie, pocket's full of posies." She sang as they started to spin around. "Ashes, ashes we all fall down." She sang and they all pretended to fall, doing flips at the last second. Layla came up giggling with the kids until she saw Beetlejuice's face that made her frown.

"Okay, lets do something else." She said.

"Like what?" Chloe asked, but Layla shrugged.

"Hey I know. Let's play hide and go seek." Riley said.

"Oh, can we?" Chloe asked turning to Beetlejuice.

"Sure Kiddo." He said and smiled softly at the little girl.

"Okay, Jordan's it." She called.

"Why?" He whined.

"You're wasting your counting." Riley said and floated away.

"Hey! Fine, one, two three..." He called putting his hands over his eyes.

"Come on." Layla said tugging Beetlejuice away. They floated up to the second floor and hid in the alcove.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothin' Babes." He said.

"Liar, you got all down in the mouth when we were singing that nursery rhyme." She said.

"Eh, it's nothin'." He said, but saw her face. She looked concerned and it moved him.

"All right Babes, I give. That rhyme always reminds me of when I was livin'. The plague and shit." He said and shrugged.

"What happened when you were alive?" She asked. He opened up his mouth, but Jordan popped in the alcove and smiled.

"Found ya." He said and smiled.

"You sure did kid." Beetlejuice said and smiled. Layla looked at him, but he gave her a look that told her that he'd tell her later. "Come on, let's do somethin' else." He said and they floated back down.

Lydia walked in to see her children laying on the floor with Layla and Beetlejuice along side them playing a game of cards. She smiled at the little scene, she had to admit that it was cute seeing Layla laying on her stomach, her feet up in the air, crossed at the ankles holding a hand of cards with Beetlejuice right beside her laying on his stomach wearing a pair of jeans again. She looked at his ass for a brief second before she even realized it, then was horrified that she'd done it and wanted to shoot herself. She shook her head and closed her eyes tight.

"How was your day?" Layla asked turning when she heard Lydia.

"Huh? Oh, fine." She mumbled. Sloane walked in a few seconds later, a smile on his face. "Everything go well?" Layla asked him.

"Perfect, Lydia's been the best secretary I've had in a long time and it was only her first day." He said.

"Well that's good. Way to go Lyds, you're a great secretary." Beetlejuice said.

"Yeah. So how was your day?" She asked her children.

"We had a great time with Aunt Layla and Uncle Beej." Riley said. Lydia looked at Layla, an eyebrow raised.

"They came up with it this morning." Layla said shrugging her shoulders.

"I see, well good, I'm glad you had a good day. I'm going upstairs to get into something more comfortable." Lydia said and walked up the stairs. Sloane sat down on the couch and stretched out his legs.

"What are you playing?" He asked Jordan.

"Poker, Uncle Beej is showing us how." He said smiling.

"Yeah? I'm pretty good, mind if I play?" He asked. Jordan just shrugged and Sloane got down to play with the kids.

"I'm going to see how Lydia's doing." Layla said and left them to play another hand.

"Want to make it interesting?" Beetlejuice asked shuffling the cards.

"Like how?" Sloane asked. Jordan, Chloe and Riley looked from Beetlejuice to Sloane and back again.

"What do ya got?"

"A pulse." Sloane shot and the kids giggled.

"Smart ass, how 'bout cash?"

"You use cash?"

"Duh, I take back my smart ass remark." Beetlejuice said and the kids giggled again.

"Fine, that works for me." He said and took off his blazer getting comfortable.

Layla knocked on the door of Lydia's room and waited.

"Come in." Lydia called from the other side of the door. Layla walked in to see Lydia already changed into a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt.

"So how was your day really?" She asked and flopped on the bed. Lydia sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"It wasn't bad, really, but I don't know how long I can do this." Lydia said.

"What happened?"

"It's just paper work and filing, all sorts of things like that. It's just not me. I'm an artist and artists can't live in places like that." She groaned.

"I see, well it's only temporary." Layla said.

"I know, I know it, but still I mean it's my first day and I already feel stifled." She said getting up off Lydia's bed.

"Geez Lyds, you've got to chill out. Why don't you relax up here and take a nap or something." Layla said. Lydia just nodded and let Layla steer her to her bed.

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea." She said and laid down. It wasn't a full minute before she had fallen asleep, curled up on her side.

Layla walked back down the stairs to see Beetlejuice fuming and the children laughing wildly.

"What going on here?" Layla asked. Sloane just smiled and got up off of the floor and counting loose bills.

"Oh, nothing, just played a few hands." He said and walked out whistling.

"That no good son of a..."

"Beej." Layla warned. Beetlejuice just looked at her and grumbled. Layla just laughed and took the children in to get them some dinner.

Layla closed her eyes and let the hot water warm her cool body, the frothy white bubbles covering her up to her neck.

"Sexy Babes. Did I tell ya that you make me boil?" Beetlejuice asked walked into the bathroom. She opened up one eye and smiled.

"Nope, I don't think so, but I wouldn't doubt it. So you gonna tell me why you got so upset this afternoon?" She asked. He looked at her and sighed.

"Really Babes? You wanna know?" He asked her. She just lifted one of her legs out of the water and he watched her leg, dripping with hot water and bubbles as she drapped it over the side. "Not fair Babes."

"Tell me." She said.

"Only if I can get in too."

"Not a chance, not until you tell me."

"Why?"

"Because you know that I'll get distracted and right now, I just want you distracted." She said and smiled at him.

"Have I told you that you're a tease?"

"I think you've mentioned it before." She said and looked at him through her lashes. He sighed and sat down on the toilet.

"Fine, all right. I said that it reminded me of the plague, that rhyme."

"Yes, so what happened?"

"I was a drifter, moved around from place to place, never stayin' long. That's probably why I never caught it. We never stayed long enough to have it go through our camp."

"So you were a gypsy?"

"In a matter of speaking yeah. Born on the road and lived on the road. My parents were entertainers. My father played music while my mother danced. I learned to play the lute and played along. I was the odd one out, because gypsies are normal dark hair dark skin, but I was pale and fair haired, just like my father. My mother was dark hair and olive toned and so were all of my brothers."

"So what happened?"

"The plague killed a lot of people and quick. I had gone with my father to set up a camp while the rest of the band went into a small town to get supplies. Town people hated people like us, scared of us because they thought we carried around the plague."

"Something bad happened didn't it?" Layla asked.

"Yeah, somethin' bad. The band didn't return, ever. We walked into the village and found out that they'd given them tainted food at the tavern and they'd contracted the plague. Including my mother and brothers. They didn't want to return to where we were so they walked out away from everyone else to die." It was hard to tell anyone this, but it felt better to get it off of his chest.

"That's horrible Beej." Layla said and reached out her soapy hand. He took it without thinking and rubbed her hand with his, feeling her skin heated from the water.

"Eh, it's all old shit Babes." He said and shrugged at her. She smiled at him and pulled him a little with her slippery hand.

"Still wanna come in? Plenty of room." She said. He laughed at her and plunged in, clothes and all and pulled her to him.

"Don't need to ask me twice." He said and kissed her. She laughed at him and helped him out of his sopping clothes.