A/N: It warms my heart to read all the awesome reviews! Thank you all so much, and thanks to all the readers out there even if you're not reviewing!

Trmack9 – CH25 : Haha it wasn't exactly Christmas, I should have planned the posting of Spencer's appearance better – and made it an April fool's joke! But oh well, too late now lol. Yip, with Spencer now kindof in the story, and the assassination of her girlfriend… lots of drama to follow, enjoy! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

daniellelambert76 – CH25 : Hope you're enjoying the progress! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

lbea04 – CH25 : Thank you so much! It is quite a long story so I hope you're prepared to be patient! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Mellyb14 – CH25 : Haha I'm glad it was worth the wait! But don't jump to any conclusions too soon – still a looooooot of story here! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

esty32 – CH24 : Right now I can't say anything about Spencer, you'll just have to read and find out! If chapter 25 was any indication… lots of drama and twists to follow! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Anjela78 – CH25 : I'm sorry, I didn't mean to confuse everyone, though it was my intention to be a little vague until I posted Kelly's chapter. I was just really curious to see everybody's thoughts about Spencer's first appearance. But I will elaborate in the next couple of chapters so most of your questions/thoughts will be answered. Kelly was shot by Ashley – this next chapter will reveal how she fit into the whole story. But everything Spencer/Ashley… I can't say anything! Spencer is kindof in the story now though, as the story progresses you'll learn more about her ;)

Hope this chapter is enlightening, things are about to get very interesting! Don't forget about your four-legged love – next time walk first, I promise the update will still be there when you get back ;)
The webpage you mentioned got removed because of the .net – can you perhaps just give me the name again then I will look for that story? I tried to Google just the name but couldn't find anything. Have a wonderful evening and week, hope this chapter is enjoyable! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Son-lyn – CH25 : I'm starting from the bottom up, because this whole age thing has aged me overnight… Let's just say I'm a mid-eighties baby, gosh I feel really old and weird now. Is it weird that I still enjoy SON? I only watched this show like years after it came out since it never aired in my country. Plus I was already out. Still really enjoyed the show and characters though. Anyway, now that that has been cleared… I'm guessing you're a 90's baby then? ;)

Back to the story: Thank you, progress is what I'm aiming for now – which means there will be a lot happening, and a lot of emotions coming to surface. There is a specific couple of chapters where it will be hectic, especially for Ashley – but of course I can't say more until we get there. Thanks for all the pointers and making me more aware of a natural progression – I really could not have gotten into the right mindset without your input!

All your questions about Spencer and Ashley's first meeting; I loved all of it, once again you're making me aware of points that I need to keep in consideration with the story going forward. What I can tell you is that the girl on the beach was Spencer. The next couple of chapters will answer a lot the other questions, the tattoo has a small significant role which unfortunately I'm leaving up to imaginations until it gets revealed ;) I really laughed about your Kelly-questions. This very next chapter will elaborate a bit about her, the same way all Ashley's other ghosts/hits were introduced. I have worked really hard on the overall plot so there is definitely reason for all these (random, less written-about) people to be in the story, by the time we reach the end everybody's roles would have been self-explanatory as the story goes on. Hopefully!

I agree about the filler chapters, but I still don't like them that much. But like I also said it was kindof necessary. But I'm trying to rather get the story to move forward naturally, but who knows, there might be one or two more of those. And don't worry about the accident/drugs/medical condition – I really appreciate that you ask all these questions! Because it reminds me to keep the story as real and believable as possible! (even though half the cast are ghosts and the other half are snipers and then we also have drunken girls who hang around in bars to only have sex with Ashley Davies)

Ashley/Aiden… oh, it's coming! The little rants so far have just been a buildup but it's coming! Coffee across continents – it's easy. I have days where I'm up 24hrs. And I happen to drink a lot of coffee. We could just try and do it the same time and chat how I am just as gay but even in a straight world Matt Cohen would not be a suitable guy… because he will always be Aiden! :P I actually don't even know which male actors I like. I used to like James van der Beek when Dawson's Creek started airing. But now I feel old again because that was like a million years ago.

And… full circle! Let me get to writing! Seems like there's plenty of questions I need to answer!

Oh, PS, did you see vaginawig updated Still Into You Too? I was half asleep (it was morning hours when I got the notification) and I could hardly see but I didn't put my phone down until I finished reading the update! Such a brilliant writer! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

TheDWall – CH25 : Thank you for the awesome review! Kelly's role will be revealed in this chapter – it follows the same style as all the other ghost introductions, hope you enjoy all the little twists - there will be plenty more! The thing between Ashley and Spencer – I cannot reveal anything on that, you were right the answers will come ;) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

GirlsOnly – CH25 : Wow! Thank you so much for your support, that really means a lot! I can't say much about the Ashley/Spencer thing, it's the moment everyone was waiting for – for Spencer to finally make her appearance, and obviously from here on her character will develop and we'll find out how she fits in. Do expect some intense chapters though! I really appreciate the review and words of encouragement! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

SoNFan – CH25 : I'm glad you liked the introduction of Spencer – there's a lot of mystery around this girl but fear not, she's about to become part of the story! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Ashley

No one knows who we are

Had I known the nightmares would forever haunt me, and the ghosts of those nightmares would become real, I would never, ever, have gone to sleep. In fact, I'd just never go to sleep again in my entire life. Even if it ended up killing me. The worst part was yet to come. I didn't know why it had to be so dramatic and painful on my body. If it was some kind of payback they really did succeed in kicking me down.

I barely had time to sit up and try to catch my breath when nausea took over. I colored my brand new bedspreads in shades and smells that just triggered more vomiting. In between that, breathing didn't come easy. It literally felt like all the air had been squeezed out of my lungs.

As if that wasn't enough, my jaw felt like it was locked, the stiffness just adding to the pounding of my head. More precisely, a sharp pain clinging to my forehead, incessant, like a woodpecker racing to chisel a hole into a tree. It was unbearable. Painfully unbearable. Had it not been for throwing up, and barely being able to take deep breaths, I was sure the pain could have knocked me out.

The realization of what all of this meant didn't hit me until after I managed to clean myself up and dragged the ungodly stench of bedspreads to the little laundry area adjacent to my kitchen.

It was then when I finally noticed her, propped up on a stool by the island counter, rearranging the only vase of flowers there was in my condo. I wasn't sure what she was trying to do, there were only so many ways you could drop the flowers back in the vase.

I reached up to my forehead, where the imaginary woodpecker was still chiseling away, only to find out that I did not have a giant star-shaped hole in my forehead. Instead, the scar of that hole was on hers.

It took her a moment to look up at me. Right after she finished with her composition. "Ashley. I'm glad to see you're healing quite well after your accident. I'm sorry to hear about what happened."

I shrugged, used to their opening lines by now. I still didn't understand why they were all so concerned about me – they were supposed to hate me. Plan revenge. At least feel resentful. But that was the thing with these ghosts, they were always just so damn fucking nice. With the exception of Aiden – who I just wanted to kill all over again.

"You must be Kelly," I mumbled, my voice hoarse after trying to squeeze my organs through my throat.

She offered a stiff smile, and for first time I wondered how much of their personalities came with them in the afterlife. But thinking about Aiden, I immediately had my answer. They were the exact same dead as they were alive.

I was already not very comfortable with this ghost. There was something about her, the way she stared at me with those piercing green eyes, matching her green halter top, as if she was challenging me. I wanted to be cocky and tell her she could stare all she want because let's face it, she already lost – I was the one who was still alive, but I choked back my words. Instead, I returned the stare, taking in her posture, her clothes, her fair skin, her perfectly tied jet black hair… she was basically perfect, like Aiden, Sean, Sasha, and Boz. Molded, like a Barbie-doll collection. The only thing missing were the accessories, the Barbie house, and the pink car. And of course, Barbie herself.

"I don't care how you do it, but I need you to undo what you did to me. After explaining why, of course. Do you know that I was about to get engaged?" Her tone was condescending, only drawing a raised brow from me. Who did she think she was?

I allowed myself to revisit the dream anyway, with undesired side-effects. The water I sipped after cleaning up earlier came rushing back up my throat as I recalled Kelly's last hours alive. She'd been fighting with her girlfriend. About work, which seemed to be a problem in their relationship. From what I could make out, the girlfriend seemed sweet, but stubborn in her own ways. I wished I could've seen what she looked like. Just to spite Kelly. But my mean thoughts were pushed to the back of my head as things got serious. Kelly really loved that woman. She had decided to close shop for that staged delivery to ensure she'd make it to the engagement dinner. I wondered how the Agency had managed that. All I could remember was instructions to take her out in the alley, they would make sure she was there at the allocated time. It didn't make sense to me why someone would want to get rid of a florist. Sure, she was successful, her black hair and green eyes were striking which made her somewhat pretty, her girlfriend sounded nice… but why kill a florist?

I allowed myself to take a few deep breaths between heaving before delving even deeper into that day. It was a job in San Francisco, just over a year ago. It was the same week I killed Sean. I remembered it being a draining week. It scared me now, because I had no idea how many people I killed when I was here for that week. I didn't even know how many people I've killed since I became a sniper. Were all of them going to come back and haunt me?

There was nothing left in my stomach to throw up anymore, but my stomach kept clenching and unclenching as I tried to remember these horrible things I did. Remember what it was like for these ghosts – people – in their unknowing last hours of life. The more painful memories were where loved ones were involved, like with Boz. I saw his family with my own eyes. Of all the ghosts, I regretted his assassination the most. Alongside Sasha's, who was still so young and didn't deserve dying for her father's wrongdoings. And of course, Sean, who was also a hero. I wasn't sure what I wanted to classify Aiden as, and neither Kelly. She seemed like a bitch.

Which made it all the more confusing why I took away the life of a florist, of all people. Perhaps she pulled her bitchy attitude on the wrong person on the wrong day and time – a person with contacts – a person who just had enough.

"Can you be any more disgusting?"

Fuck that. I would want to kill her too.

I wiped the grossness from my mouth with the back of my hand and straightened up, marching back to the laundry area to grab a mop to clean up the floor.

"Kelly?"

My anger at the raven-head disappeared, replaced by instant curiosity as Sean stood a few feet away from her, his gaze shifting between the two of us. While frowning in amazement at me, he threw daggers at the bitch with his eyes.

How bittersweet would this be if Sean ordered the hit on Kelly. But he wasn't that kind of person.

"Sean Miller. Why am I not fucking surprised?"

Sean sneered. "I could say the same, Kelly. Spencer warned you time and time again."

The bitch snapped. "Spencer did no such thing! She had a problem with my job and the fact that I was receiving grants and making more money than her. What does being a florist have anything to do with –"

Sean rolled his eyes and interrupted her. "Spencer is not that shallow. It was never about money for her. It was about integrity and loyalty to your state and country! And your safety… God, Kelly what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Their little fight was interesting and I was definitely intrigued about this Spencer-woman now. It was clear Sean also knew the girl. I wondered where she was now, and what she did for a living that had Kelly so riled up against her. I thought she had planned to be the better person in order to ask the woman to marry her.

But while they were bickering back and forth, my attention was diverted to the bedroom where my alarm clock was blaring, announcing the start of another long day. I wished this week would just end already – now I knew how Monica felt doing all those shifts for me on top of hers.

I slipped out of the kitchen while the screaming match continued, wondering how I would get through this day when all I wanted to do was stay at home and figure out how I was going to get rid of this Kelly-ghost. She was annoying, and a bitch.

And now I had two unwanted ghosts in my hair, while the better three were quiet and not as dominating as Aiden and Kelly.

Things at the Davies-condo just got very interesting!

I was grateful that it was a warm day outside since I forgot to take a jacket, and the one I usually left at the coffee shop now belonged to a girl I wasn't sure was even real.

My heart started fluttering every time a blonde-headed girl entered the coffee shop with the hope it was the blue-eyed girl from the night before. Though I wouldn't mind my hoodie back, I just really wanted to see her again. Make sure she was okay. She had disappeared so quickly when the cops arrived that I had come to the conclusion she was maybe an escaped convict. Or maybe just a local thief on the beach and surrounding area. Or for all I knew, she could have been a killer – the same way I was. And people would never even guess. We both looked too innocent, too normal. Except in my life, normal was something I was still trying to find the definition of.

I was so engrossed in my own thoughts behind the counter that I missed the familiar sound of the door chime, failing to look up as a shy blonde stood on the other side, waiting to place an order.

Had it not been for Dylan cussing loud from the storeroom, I'd still wonder about the blonde's whereabouts instead of noticing her right in front of me.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her eyes looking expectantly at me while she waited for me to react.

React.

Oh!

"Uh…hi!" I felt my own cheeks tinting as I wiped subconsciously at my apron. My hands were squeaky clean already, so I wasn't sure where this was coming from.

"I'm sorry I ran away like that," she apologized, her voice pulling strings inside my heart. She sounded like heaven. She looked like heaven.

I chuckled, speaking before I even thought it through. "Scared of the cops?"

Smooth.

She blushed but laughed, making me swoon a little. I didn't know what it was about this girl. She was undeniably beautiful.

"No, not at all. I uhm, I'm terrified of dogs."

Oh! I felt like an idiot.

She held out her left hand, her palm up, the countless deep scars on it failing to taint her beauty. "Had an incident when I was younger."

It all made so much sense now. And I felt like an even bigger idiot. "I'm sorry, that was – "

She smirked, a teasing smile on her face as she interrupted me. "You thought I was running from the cops?" A perfect brow raised into her forehead.

"Kindof."

She shrugged it off with another smile. "I brought your hoodie, had it washed. Thank you, for lending it to me."

And suddenly I didn't want it back anymore. I liked the way it looked on her. But I reached out and took it, deciding to keep it at the shop, in case she might need it again sometime.

"So uhm, can I order something?"

I smiled softly. "Anything – it's on me."

Her brow raised again, but she nodded in acceptance and gazed up at the overhead menu behind me. I took the time to shamelessly stare at her, trying to record into memory every curve, every feature of her face, her neck, all the way down to her naked, tanned shoulders. She wore a tank top again, at least this time she was dry and not aimlessly wandering around in the ocean.

She was exquisite.

And she was making me feel strange things.

Normally I'd ogle and flirt and by the end of the day I'd have the girl in a hotel bed for the night.

But gorgeous as she was, my hormones took the backseat today. I was thinking with my heart.

That thought alone petrified me.

"… Americano, to go?"

I was interrupted from my ranting and staring as she smiled, waiting patiently for me to react. Again.

"Sure, coming right up."

I wanted to take my time and keep her here for as long as possible, but the longer I took to make her coffee, the less time I had to stare at her while she was still in the shop. So I hastily got it done in a paper cup, sneaking in my name and cell number with a sharpie, then neatly adding the wrapper with our logo and contact details before handing it over.

I smiled as she saw what I'd done, and her face lit up. "I'll give you a call, Ashley. Thanks for the coffee."

I was so whipped that she was already at the door, standing aside as group of college students piled in, when I realized something.

"Wait! I don't know your name!"

But she was gone.

To my great embarrassment, the students found it funny and offered me their names instead.

It was difficult for me to concentrate on anything in my office while Aiden and Boz kept talking about the plans going forward, and while Sean and Kelly kept bickering about something else. Sasha was stuck in the lounge in front of the TV, watching reality shows, uninterested in any of us.

And me… I was on another planet. All I could see in front of me was the shy smile, the arched eyebrow, and echoes of her voice replaying the words "I'll give you a call, Ashley." I loved the way my name rolled off her lips. I loved the way it sounded in her voice tone.

After she left, I happened to hug my hoodie and all I could smell was her. And soap detergent. And while I appreciated that she washed it, I almost wished she hadn't. I was never going to wear it again, scared that the scent of her would disappear.

I really wished I'd gotten her name. And number. All I could do now was wait until she phoned or texted me. Or came to the shop for more coffee. Was it selfish of me to wish for all of those?

"… ridiculous. I don't have time for this shit – who's your superior, Ashley?"

I heard my name slipping from Kelly's tongue, immediately making me want to ignore her, but suddenly everyone was staring at me.

I regained focus and stared at Kelly with a blank face. "Sorry, what?"

She sighed impatiently. "Who's in charge of all of this? Of you, of us?"

I wanted to say The Marshmallow Man but bit my tongue. I didn't want to piss them off while there were tension between the ghosts. It made me feel edgy.

"I was Ashley's superior. And we don't have contact outside this world until Ashley sends you back," Aiden spoke up.

I felt some sense of power rise in me at the last part, getting a kick out of the fact that Kelly was dependent on me. But the first part threw me off. Aiden was nothing to me now – he was dead. So how dared he even say that?

Kelly scoffed. "Right. Okay, then make her send me back first. Do you know anything about the law, meathead? Last in first out? Make her send me back," she demanded.

While Sean gave a hearty dry laugh, I could only stare with an open mouth at this ridiculous woman. Who the hell did she think she was?

"You can't go back, Kelly. After this it's all over. And Ashley decides who goes first, we're not some company retrenching ghosts." Sean said spitefully.

"Well, Ashley, close your fucking mouth and do me a favor, let me go."

I was tempted to grab my rifle from its hiding place and put another hole in her forehead.

Boz finally spoke up, sadness evident in his voice. "Ashley, I'm sorry, I know this is up to you, but if you don't mind… please can you still continue with my case first?"

Of course I was going to continue with Boz first. No freaken way Kelly was going to tell me what to do!

She stomped her foot and jumped up from her chair. "And what am I supposed to do in the meantime, huh?"

"Go sit and rearrange that vase of flowers. I'll even buy you more, Miss Florist." I didn't mean for it to come out so insensitive, but once the words left my mouth, there was nothing I could do.

Kelly never missed a beat. "At least I excelled in something. What are you good at, Ashley, besides killing people and tearing apart families?"

That stung incredibly. The way she said it was almost as if she knew I've been struggling to find myself.

Once again my mouth hung open and I couldn't find words, not a single word, to throw back at her.

There was an awkward silence that seemed to last forever, but finally, one by one, the ghosts all got up and silently left the room, as if they knew I needed space to recover from Kelly's harsh words.

Everybody except Aiden.

For once I was glad that he stayed. "Can you remember anything from your life? Anything at all? Before you became a sniper?"

Aiden shook his head in regret. "I thought that after turning into a ghost, some of it would come back to me, but all I remember is my life at the Agency."

I felt despair rise up in my throat, clutching at my organs, tingling my limbs at his words. "So when I let you go… there's no one who'll be looking up for you?"

Aiden understood me better than I felt comfortable with. While Boz could go to heaven or wherever and look down at his family, keeping an eye on them, Sean could do the same, and so could Sasha. Of course, Kelly had that privilege too. She had her girlfriend to look out for. It was only myself and Aiden who had absolutely no-one. We didn't know anybody else except each other, and nobody knew us, except the Agency, who was probably still after me. We didn't even know ourselves.

I didn't share any sentiment with Aiden, but right at this moment, feeling so lost and alone, he was the only other person who knew what that felt like.

His voice broke as he looked up at me, and suddenly I felt terrible for hating him so much all the time. "No one knows who we are."

No one knows who we are - Kaskade