It was before dawn when Urbana Des Moines made it to the hospital that her father was being kept in. She told the front desk who she was and who she was there for and they had a nurse lead her to his room. When Urbana entered Bob's room, her Aunt was sitting beside him. He was in a neck brace and his face was completely covered with plaster and bandages with different tubes and wires sticking out of him to make sure his body was properly monitored and functioning. Then on the other side of Bob's hospital bed was the blue spirit of Bob, and there was a blue umbilical cord connected to his spirit's naval from his physical body's naval. Together they were watching the Three Stooges on the t.v. in their room but it was muted.

"Urbana! When did you get hurt?" Jane asked, referring to her plastered ankle and crutch.

"I should be asking you that about Dad," Urbana said to her.

The blue spirit of Bob continued to watch the muted t.v.

Jane told her about how her father got into a car accident, about two weeks ago, and had massive brain trauma from it. The doctors had to put him into a medically induced coma to help him keep his brain swelling down. The doctors will be bringing him out of his coma any day now since his swelling has gone down nicely.

Urbana hobbled around her father's unconscious body and went up to his blue spirit, "Are you doing okay, Dad?"

He was unresponsive so Urbana snapped her fingers in front of his face like he used to do to her when she was too engrossed in watching her cartoons to listen to him.

Startled he finally looked up at his daughter and was surprised by her heavy eye contact.

"You can see me?"

"Just answer my damn question, Dad," Urbana said, getting annoyed.

"Oh, God," Jane said, "Is your father dead?"

"No, he's just astral projecting," Urbana said to her aunt.

"I can't believe you can see me," Bob said, brushing past his daughter's annoyance.

"I cAn'T bElIeVe YoU cAn SeE mE," Urbana mocked, then she said, "Dad, are you okay emotionally or not?"

"We really can astral project" Jane asked.

"It usually happens when your body has been through great trauma. It's not particularly dangerous or anything, but it can still be scary," Urbana told her then she said, "It was scary for me when I did it."

At the same time Jane and Bob mentioned the time she fell down the stairs and was in a coma for three days.

Bob hugged his daughter and said, "That was a scary week for your Grandmother and I."

Urbana patted her father's back, but she really wanted him to stop hugging her because she was trying hard not to disassociate, while also looking over his blue shoulder at his unconscious body, since she was starting to get flashbacks from when her mother died.

"Urbana, I'm so—"

She then pushed her father away from her.

"NO!" Urbana said firmly.

"What's wrong," Jane asked.

"Don't you dare try and apologize to me," Urbana told him.

"How can I not, now that I know," Bob said.

"I don't want you to apologize to me just because you believe me," Urbana said, "I want you to apologize to me because that's what you should have done to begin with. You shouldn't even have treated me any different regardless if you believed in my abilities or not."

"But Urbana you know the whole ghost thing is crazy, right," Bob said.

"I don't care, I'm sick and tired of it," Urbana said, "Mom had to die to apologize to me. Grandma had to die to apologize to me. Aunt Jane had to see a powerful fucking ghost to apologize to me. Now you're trying to apologize to me just because I can see your astral form and I bet you expect me to accept your apology too."

"That's what you do when someone apologizes to you. It's impolite to not accept someone's apology," Bob said.

"Well fuck that," Urbana said.

"Don't you fucking talk to me like that," he said.

"I can talk however I want," Urbana said as she hobbled away from him, "I don't want to see you anymore since you seem perfectly fine. Good luck with your recovery."

"Don't you walk away from me," Bob said as he was starting to follow his daughter.

"No. You stay exactly where you are," Urbana demanded, "I don't want to see or hear from you unless you plan on apologizing to me when you're actually conscious. That is if you'll even remember any of this."

She then slammed the door behind her as she angrily hobbled away. She continued limping towards the hospital entrance, but the farther she walked the less angry she felt and the more she felt sad. Once she stepped outside the sliding doors of the hospital and felt the rising's sun's warmth on her face in the chill morning air, she couldn't help but cry.

Urbana was startled when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder and when she saw through her tears that it was just her Aunt, it somehow made her cry even harder and her Aunt pulled her into a half hug.

Jane pulled a tissue pack out of her purse and handed it to her niece, "Here."

Urbana took it and used several tissues to wipe her nose and eyes, "Did I do the right thing? Should I have just accepted his apology?"

"I don't know what the right thing is," Jane said, "I didn't hear the whole conversation, but what you said, I think it needed to be said."

Urbana looked down at her feet and asked, "What now?"

"I'll continue staying by your father's side while you live your life," Jane said, "Then when he wakes up, I can help him make the right decision with you."

"He should already know what the right decision is," Urbana said, frustrated.

"You would think that, but it's not as simple as we wish it to be," Jane said, "All we can do is try our hardest."

"Sometimes I feel like he doesn't even try with me and he tries too hard for everyone else," Urbana said.

"Maybe that has something to do with the way your Grandpa Des Moines raised us," Jane said sounding sadly nostalgic.

Urbana's stomach growled and Jane offered to buy breakfast for her, but she said no, saying that she had to head back home so she could get some sleep. As a compromise, Jane gave Urbana some cash to take for her drive back home.

When Urbana got home, the Addams family tried to ask her some basic questions, like asking how she is and what not, but Urbana just told them that she was going to bed. Despite how tired she was, she had a hard time going to sleep, but eventually she did, and for the first time since she turned eighteen, she dreamed about her Grandpa Harp.

Urbana opened her eyes and found herself laying in tall green grass, and she felt the sun on her back. Sitting up she saw she was in the middle of a clearing, in the middle of an ancient forest that she has seen a hundred times before.

"Look at you," an old man said. Urbana looked down beside her and saw her grandpa laying down beside her, "You've grown so much."

Grandpa Harp looked exactly like the photos that she's seen him in. His gray hair cut short into a small afro, hazel eyes that always seemed so full of life, framed by crows feet and smile lines. He was also really thin and frail looking but he had a confidence about him like his body doesn't hinder him anymore.

Urbana tackled him into a hug, "Where did you go!?"

"I'm sorry," Grandpa Harp said as he patted her head, "Work has been keeping me busy a lot lately."

Urbana tried not to cry, she felt like she's cried enough as is, but it was such a relief to finally see her grandfather, especially after her fight with her father, that she couldn't help it.

"I missed you," Urbana said, weeping.

Grandpa Harp sat up and held her like she was a newborn baby, because she turned into one, and he said, "Oh, no. Honey, what did I miss?"

Whimpering through her tears, Urbana told him how she moved out of her home and how Grandma Harp died and how that made her feel and she told him about how she's been getting hurt and how that has made her feel worst, and how school and work feels like it's compressing on her making her feel even worst, and with the added fact that she as a bounty on her head with random ghosts attacking her, she can't help but feel so lonely and like a failure.

As she continued to tell him how she felt, the dream world around them turned dark and cloudy and rain poured heavily around them, but not on them.

"My. That's a lot to hold, Honey," Grandpa Harp said, "I'm sorry you've went through so much. Has nothing good happen to you at all?"

Grandpa Harp sat her down to lay in his lap as she was toddler sized now and the rain around them was starting to slow down.

"I made some new friends," Urbana said, "And they're around my age too, and they're alive, and half of them are guys."

"Really," he asked, excited for her, "You're first living male friends. I'm so proud."

"Well, one of them is only half alive some of the times, but he's still my best friend," Urbana said.

"That's great," Grandpa Harp said, "And very interesting."

"I am also friends again with Beetlejuice. Do you remember me telling you about him when I was younger?" she asked him.

"I do," He said, smiling gently at her as he moved her hair out of her face, "You'd always get into trouble with him, but he also made your youth that much more fun."

"I also kind of befriended some demons, a fish guy, and a fire lady," Urbana said, "My relationship with them all seems complicated but they're all nice."

"As any person can be," Grandpa Harp said as he watched his granddaughter grow into a child, "It's quite a feat to meet so many interesting people. I certainly never met any demons in my different lives, only angles."

"And Morticia is pregnant. She'll be due in May. And Aunt Jane and Lurch are dating. They got together at Grandma Harp's funeral," Urbana said.

The rain around them was nothing more than a trickle but the dark clouds still broiled above.

"Oh, that's wonderful, Honey. New life. New love. That's a beautiful thing," Grandpa Harp said.

"Yah," Urbana said, as she turned into a pre-teen.

He sat her up then asked, "Now, with all of these wonderful people around you, why haven't you told them about how you felt?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'm scared. Maybe I don't want to burden them with my shit. Maybe it's just easier for me to hid it… I don't know," she said.

Grandpa Harp pulled her into a soft hug, then he said, "I've watched you grow and I've seen you be hurt by the people around you and being scared is a natural defense, but I can sense the kindness of the people around you, on you. What I sense are people who care, and worry, and want to be there for you. I know that you're a kind person at heart. You always have the strength to help others, despite how you're feeling, right?"

"Yah."

"It's the same for your friends that you've made all on your own. We all carry burdens in our lives and deaths, but for the ones we care about, we always have the extra strength to help someone else carry their burdens. That is what I think is the greatest thing about people."

Grandpa Harp held her at arm's length as she looked like a teenager.

"I still wish I could talk to someone like me," Urbana said, "Grandma and Mom have been trying to find you for my sake. Dreaming about you only helps so much," Urbana said.

"Yes. I'm sorry about that. Don't worry too much about it though. One day you'll be the one to find me, and no one else," Grandpa Harp said, "Just continue to discover yourself and live your best life. Okay?"

"I'll try," Urbana said, now as an adult.

The clouds above them cleared, but it was still raining and there was now a faint rainbow hanging above them.

"And that's all you can do," he said. He kissed her on the forehead then said, "Now, go tell them what you told me."

The dream world started to dissolve to gold dust around Urbana. Before Grandpa Harp disappeared with the gold dust, he said, "Urbana. Tell your Mother and Grandmother that I love them."

Urbana woke up to the sound of her alarm on her phone, waking her up for classes. She was well rested, but she was still bummed out, though, not as much as when she went to bed. She wished she could remember everything in her dream, but she remembered how it made her feel and that was what was most important to her.

A couple of days later, while she was getting her cast cut off and was getting a boot for her ankle, Urbana got a text from her Aunt saying that they have woken up her father from his medically induced coma.

# # #

Urbana just got back home from work about an hour ago and she was sitting in the kitchen doing homework while Gizmo and Thing were playing around her feet. The rest of the Addams family, according to the note that they left her, went out to watch the newest horror thriller movie that was out in theaters. Urbana remembered them talking about it, something about a robot destroying humanity and also raising it, or something like that. Urban didn't really pay that much attention to it.

Urbana eventually heard the sound of a car rolling up to the mansion, so she got up to go greet them and ask how they enjoyed their movie. When she stepped out into the twilight, instead of the pure black old buggy car, she saw a grey and white Dondai Supremo. She also felt like something heavy was laying in her heart, like someone else's feelings were pressing down on her.

The Dondai Supremo parked beside her car and out stepped a guy that looked about her age, but he was at least eight feet tall, and Urbana wondered how he could fit inside such a small car. His curly black hair was barely covered by his pink beanie hat, he was wearing a pink letterman jacket with no letters on it, he had on a blue shirt with one big yellow star on the front of it, and he was wearing jeans and sandals, which didn't seem practical for the March cold.

"Hello, can I help you," Urbana asked him. From what she could tell, he looked like he hasn't shaved or showered in a while.

"Yah, hi," he said as he walked up to her brandishing a piece of news clipping, "Is this the Addams Family Bed and Breakfast?"

Urbana gasped with excitement, then said, "Yes, it is, please come in where it's warmer."

Urbana ushered him in.

"This place is kind of spooky looking," he said as he took off his beanie, his curly hair jumping out of his hat.

"I know, but it's full of good people," Urbana told him, "I'm Urbana Des Moines."

"Steven Universe, nice to meet you," he said.

"Come," Urbana said as she led him to the kitchen, "Are you hungry? Thirsty? Or do you just want to pay for your room, and I'll show it to you?"

"I could eat something," Steven said as he followed her.

Urbana made a place for him at the kitchen table and she got out some leftovers from the fridge and got him some water and set the food in front of him. Gizmo and Thing were nowhere within sight, so Urbana figured they were playing in the living room now or something.

"I hope you don't mind tofu, Grandmama made a vegetarian meal last night," Urbana said as she let him take a moment to eat while she made herself a batch of mint tea.

"No, this is great," Steven said, "I'm actually a vegetarian."

"Oh, cool so am I," Urbana said.

She sat down at the kitchen table then she took a moment to breath in the minty air of her tea, took a sip then said to him, "Alright, Mr. Universe. I'm going to give it to you straight. This family has been starved for strangers for years, so don't let them scare you off when they see that you're their first guest… Also, you're allowed to say no if you don't want to live here, because I know they'll want to ask you to stay."

He gave her a thumbs up and a chubby cheeked smile.

Urbana worked on her homework while he ate and after he finished, she got out the card reader and touch pad so that he could pay for his room since he wanted to pay by card.

"So why is your family so starved for strangers," Steven asked while she was leading him to his room.

"They're always like, this house is too big and our family is too small, we don't want all these rooms filling with dust, and so on," Urbana explained as they passed the hanging skeleton, which she patted its head, "They also just love people, especially the weird, black sheep kind of people."

"Then I suppose they'll just love me then," Steven said.

Urbana felt that feeling of heaviness in her heart again, but she ignored it.

"That's great," she said as she took him to the first floor and showed him his room, "Now, do you have any luggage that you need me to carry to your room or anything like it?"

"No, I got it," he said, "Don't strain yourself on my part with that foot of yours."

"Alright then, don't be afraid to ask for anything. The rest of the family should be showing up soon and they'll want to say hi," Urbana said. Then before she left him alone, she said, "Have a good evening."

"Thanks. You too," Steven said.

About thirty minutes later the Addams Family got back from watching their movie and when they asked Urbana about the second car and she told them, they all wanted to meet him immediately. Urbana convinced them all to wait until breakfast.

The next morning, during breakfast, it was so lively with talking. When Urbana sat down, she saw that Steven looked like he just got back from a morning jog. Everyone was asking him so many questions and he happily answered them, and Urbana felt like he was only a little overwhelmed. The kids asked him where he lives and if he has any siblings and they asked how long he plans on staying. He said he lived in Beach City, which Urbana has never heard of but the Addams family says it's just an hour or so away from where they live, he said that he has multiple siblings too many to really count, and how long he plans on staying is unknown to him.

Then Morticia tried to ask him why he was out on the road or if he had just started going on the road when Thing hopped up onto the table and Steven freaked out at the sight. Urbana forgot that a disembodied hand isn't a normal thing to have around.

"What the fuck!"

"Steven, this is Thing," Fester said, "Thing, wave to Steven."

Thing waved and Steven looked a little pink around the gills. He took a couple of deep breaths then said, "Hello, Thing… Can I pick them up?"

Without hesitation Thing crawled over to Steven and he picked them up and examined them.

"How long has Thing been in your family," Steven asked as he continued examining Thing.

"I've known Thing all my life," Morticia said.

"Same with me," Grandmama said, "Thing has been with us since I was born, and my Father said that he's known Thing ever since he was a child."

"I didn't know Thing was so old," Urbana said.

"There's a reason for that," Steven said. Then before anyone really knew what was happening, Steven squeezed Thing hard and they just poofed into thin air, leaving behind only a peach colored, pinky sized sliver of rock in their place.

It was everyone else's turn to scream.

"What did you do," Pugsley said, so upset at the sight that he started to cry a bit.

"I know what I did is scary right now, but they'll be back in a couple of minutes to half an hour," Steven said as he picked up the sliver of rock and examined it closely, "Peach Moonstone."

The stone started to glow a bright white light, then the disembodied hand that everyone is used to seeing reappeared in Steven's hand. Thing gave Steven the middle finger then scampered away towards Pugsley who hugged the hand gently.

Steven looked like he was going to start explaining when Urbana interrupted him, "Okay, you. I've seen ghosts and zombies and vampires and fish monsters and swamp monsters and Demons. If you start explaining something about alien technology, because that's got to be alien, then I'm pretty sure I need to scream."

"…That's a shattered Homeworld Gem. She was probably a part of the Crystal Gem War because Moonstones were made for their tactical strategies," Steven said.

Urbana got out of her chair. Walked out the side door of the kitchen. Took a deep breath. Then screamed loudly and for as long as she could. Then she walked back inside and took a seat. Everyone else was less affected by the idea of aliens being real and were still more upset that he crushed Thing.

"Look. I'm sorry I upset you all, but I had to know what kind of gem she was so that I can ask you this. Do you have any jewelry or rock collections that are Peach Moonstone? If we put all the pieces together, I can help make her whole again with a little help from Yellow," Steven said.

Grandmama shook her head and said, "I'm sorry. We're a purely black onyx and obsidian type of jewelry family. As far as we know, Thing just appeared, and they've been in our care ever since."

Steven sighed then said, "Again. I'm sorry. Especially to you, Thing."

Thing only tapped their fingers on Pugsley's forearm in response. Everyone else, especially Morticia and Urbana believed his sorry-ness, and forgave him.

# # #

Urbana was walking to the mailbox early in the morning, with her fencing sword in hand, singing Holding Out for a Hero, that she memorized for the band. She was mailing out her medical bills. When she set up the little red flag on the box, Urbana could see Steven running up to her from down the road, so she decided to wait for him by the mailbox.

"Hello, Mr. Universe. Having a good run?"

"Yah. It's a good morning for it," He said as he used his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face. Urbana then saw a fist sized pink gem where his navel was supposed to be.

Well that explains that, she thought to herself, then she said, "Aren't you cold?"

"Nope, are you?"

"Only a little," she said.

Steven walked with Urbana back to the mansion up the winding, gravel driveway. They walked in silence for a bit, but Urbana could feel that something was bothering him, and it seemed to way so heavily on him that it felt like it was crushing her too.

"Okay, are you going to say what's bothering you or what," Urbana asked him.

"Only if you say what's bothering you," Steven replied.

Urbana felt a little called out, but she supposed that's how he was feeling too.

"Fine. We'll both say what's bothering us at the same time," she said.

"Deal," he said.

"1. 2. 3. I'm scared of losing my Dad."

"1. 2. 3. I feel like a fake."

They both stood still processing what they said to each other.

"Why do you feel like a fake?"

"Did something happen to your Dad?"

"Yah, but let's talk about you first," Urbana said.

"… I've been on the road since I was sixteen years old, exploring all of the United States, because I felt like I needed to discover myself and be out in the world," Steven said.

"How old are you now?"

"Twenty-one."

Urbana nodded her head.

"And I've talked about this with my therapist, but now that I'm almost done with my travels, I can't help but think that I've just wasted my time, because after seeing all of the states, the only place I want to live in, is in Beach City."

"Well. What did your therapist have to say about that?" she asked.

"She said that it's fine to go explore yourself and discover that you never really wanted a change," Steven said.

"And you don't believe her?"

"No. She's a good therapist. I believe her. It's just. I don't know. I went out to discover myself and change but wanting to go back home after all that traveling, feels like I wasted my time and my Dad's money."

"Hmm. I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit," Urbana said, "Five years is a long time. Like if you were a new born baby, you'd have gone from not being able to walk or talk, to saying full sentences and being ready for kindergarten. What was your favorite state that you visited?"

"Florida Island," he said.

"Why did you like it?"

"I went to this one café that also sold hand-made Cuban Cigars, and their food was really good," Steven said.

"So you found out that you like the smell of Cuban Cigars in the air while you eat Cuban style food, right?"

"Yah," Steven said.

"That's something that you discovered about yourself and maybe it wasn't much, but I still say it changed you. Wouldn't you say that going back there would be worth it?"

"I would like to visit it again," he said.

"Then it wasn't a waste of your time or a waste of your father's money," Urbana said, "Though, since it sounds like your father has paid for every road trip experience for you, I don't think, that he thinks, that you using his money is a waste."

He chuckled while he rubbed the back of his neck then he said, "You're right," Then he said seriously, "Now it's your turn."

Urbana sighed then they continued their walk back to the mansion.

"My father got into a car accident almost three weeks ago and I got into a fight with his astral projection," Urbana said.

"Is that how you hurt your foot?"

"It's unrelated," she said, then she continued, "I know that Dad loves me, but he doesn't like me nor does he want to spend time with me, but he use to want to do that."

"Hm-mh. Go on."

"I also know that he's still grieving over Mom's death, and stuff, but I feel like he wishes he had no children or had a different child than me. Especial when Mom's spirit didn't leave us after she died and I tried telling him about her, but he just kept getting angry at me about it," Urbana said.

"Your Dad sounds like a jerk," Steven said.

"I mean, yah, but I still want to try and repair our relationship," Urbana said, "I miss him."

"What exactly do you miss about your Dad," Steven asked.

"Well, before Mom died, Dad would do this joke where he'd lay his head on my stomach and pretend that he was talking to someone and he'd go, Mmm, yes, go on, and it'd always make me smile. I also miss sitting in his lap or in Mom's lap while we watch a movie together. I also miss doing face scrunches with him where I'd manipulate his face to look weird and/or funny and he'd do the same with me. I also miss coming up with stupid jokes with him like we did before Mom died," Urbana said.

"Some of those things you can do without your Dad," Steven said.

"I don't want to do some of them, I want to do all of them," she said, "I miss having human contact like that, that I can be so close with someone without it being awkward. Like I've talked about this with the Addams, but I still pay them to live at the mansion. I am still a tenant and there are boundaries whether or not they think there isn't. I'd feel so uncomfortable if Gomez did the belly talking thing to me, and I'd feel awkward sitting in anyone's lap, because there's always that expectation of are they "flirting", is there a "romantic" under tone, and I especially can't do any of that with any of my new friends that I made last summer," Urbana said, "I don't know anyone that I can really be intimate with, without it being construed as sexual or romantic."

The mansion was within view.

"There's really no one?" he asked sounding sad.

"I have other family members like my Aunt Jane and Brother/Uncle figure Beetlejuice, but Aunt Jane lives far away and she can only spare so much time and I don't like touching Beetlejuice for long because it reminds me of when my Mom took my energy when she stayed with us in her spirit form and I know he's giving energy back, but I still don't really like it."

"I don't know what I can say to help you out," Steven said, "The only thing I can offer is to heal your Dad for you?"

"How are you going to do that," Urbana asked him.

"With my spit."

She froze in her tracks and gave him a "what?" look.

"No. Look. Give me your bad foot," Steven said.

She did but she felt like she was being punked. Urbana watched him lick his hand, then he rubbed it against her leg right above her boot. It sparkled pink for a second and then the next second her ankle didn't feel bad any more and more importantly to her, her body aches were gone too.

"Oh my God," Urbana said as she took off her boot and stood on it, "Oh my God!" she repeated this time looking at Steven, "I feel like I'm ten again."

She then did a back-flip, but she landed on her ass instead of on her feet.

"Okay, I'm going to need to practice that, but I can practice it now," Urbana said to Steven as he helped her back on her feet, "Thank you. And you can really heal my Dad like this?"

"Yah."

"Thank you so much. I have a day off in a couple of days. I can take you to him then," Urbana said.

"It's a deal," Steven said, then he said, "I've been meaning to ask you, but why are you carrying a sword?"

"It's for protection," she said.

"From what?"

Urbana was going to answer him but then they heard something like a gunshot firing in the woods and something wrapped around her ankle and dragged her into the woods. Before she got dragged into the underbrush, she saw Steven running after her.

As she was being dragged on the ground, it felt like she was hitting every tree and root there was in the woods before she felt herself being lifted in the air and she was met face to upside down face with Skulker.

"Urbana," he said, sounding smug and full of himself.

"Beetlejuice, Beetle—" Urbana started to say but Skulker sealed her mouth shut using some kind of weird green goo.

"Ah, ah, ah," He said, "We don't want to ruin our moment together now do we?"

Urbana then head butted him on the nose then she cut herself free from his weird grappling hook gun that was tied around her ankle. She fell a few feet and landed on her back. The air was knocked out of her, but she stood up as quickly as she could.

"Now that wasn't very nice," Skulker said as he floated down, "What's the matter. Don't have the same spunk as you did the first time we battled."

Urbana got ready with her sword and lunged at Skulker. He dodged effortlessly, but that was fine by her because she kept moving forward, running away from him.

"Hey," he yelled at her.

Urbana heard him get his gun out and she knew that she had to serpentine.

Lasers spattered around her as she tried using the trees to shield her. She didn't know if she was getting hit or not, but she didn't really have the time to check. Over the laser fire, she could hear Skulker laughing gleefully. She tried pulling the green goo off of her mouth, but it didn't want to budge.

There was the sound of metal hitting metal and the gun firing stopped. Looking from behind a thoroughly shot at tree, Urbana saw Steven with a pink shield in hand, squaring up Skulker, who's gun was cut in half.

Urbana knew that, that wasn't going to be good. Skulker can do physical and non-physical based attacks. Steven's shield won't protect him from his ghost powers.

"I just bought this gun," Skulker yelled at him, while Urbana ran towards them.

"Then use it at a firing range not at a helpless woman," Steven said from behind his shield.

Skulker raised his hand at Steven and shot a ghost laser at him. Urbana just barely managed to knock the blast away from him.

"Urbana, what are you doing!" Steven said.

You're not going to block that, she tried to say, but it was muffled.

Skulker grabbed a fist full of Urbana's hair.

"This is a private matter, mortal," Skulker said, "We'll be leaving now."

Skulker tried to fly away but Urbana managed to kick him in the face and wrench her hair out of his grasp. Before she could hit the ground, Steven caught her.

"What is he," Steven ask her.

Ghost, she tried to say, but again the green goop was muffling her.

Skulker got out his laser revolver and used his other hand to shoot his ghost energy at them. Steven made his shield larger and he was able to block the revolver lasers but the ghost lasers that Skulker was firing from the palm of his hand effortlessly fazed through his shield and Urbana was knocking them aside.

"I'm going to do something that'll seem weird," Steven said as he placed his hand on her back, "But I need to know. Do you trust me?"

Urbana could only give him a thumbs up as she was keeping her eyes on Skulker.

Then everything turned white.

They don't know who they are, but they could see in every direction at once and they were much taller than Skulker. Even though they probably could take on Skulker by themselves, they didn't want to take the chance. They ripped the goo off of their mouth and summoned Beetlejuice.

Beetlejuice appeared and saw the tall humanoid person, who kind of reminded him of Urbana, standing before a cowing Skulker.

"You!" He said to Skulker, "We're in the Addams family woods. I'm not going to let you take Urbana."

Beetlejuice snapped his fingers and a cartoonishly large hammer appeared in his hands.

"I'm going to go now," Skulker said.

The giant figure growled at him as he flew away. Beetlejuice threw his hammer at him and managed to knock him out of the sky.

He dusted his hands off and said, "I hope that keeps him away longer." Then Beetlejuice turned to the giant person and asked, "So, uh, who are you?"

"Hello, Beetlejuice," they said as they got on their knees to sit, "I don't really know who I am," Then they said, "This is fusion. It's something a half human, half gem person and a regular gem person can do to make themselves stronger," then they said, "Oh, that's neat," then they said, "We can stop now if you want." Then they said, "No, this is fascinating."

"You know, I don't really get it, but this is what I love about being dead for as long as I have," Beetlejuice said to them, "You just get to see the wildest things."

"How wild do I look," they asked.

Beetlejuice snapped his fingers and a large mirror appeared before them. They had a normal set of arms and legs and their skin tone was lighter than Urbana's normal skin tone and darker than Steven's normal skin tone. They looked like they were a least twelve feet tall and their long curly hair was huge enough that it could hide a whale shark in it. They were also wearing a mismatch combination of Steven's jogging clothes and Urbana's casual clothes. The thing that made them look different from normal humans, besides their large stature, was their six eyes arranged to look like a star on their face and big orcish looking fangs sticking out of their mouth.

"Woah," they said, then asked, "Is multiple body parts normal" then they answered themselves, "Yah, it's normal."

"So you know my name, but I don't know yours," Beetlejuice said as he was laying on top of the mirror.

"I'm… What should I call myself," they asked themselves, "Well, when Connie fuses with Steven, they call themselves Stevonnie. So, I can mash up our fused parts names together too." They thought for a moment then said, "I'll go by Urben."

"Urban?" Beetlejuice asked.

"No. "e" "n" not "a" "n". Urben," they said.

"Can I show this to the Addams Family," they asked themselves, "I think this is pretty cool. Or do you want to stop?" Then they answered themselves, "No, it's fine. They've kept a disembodied hand in their family for years without questioning it, not knowing it's a gem. I don't think they'll mind this."

"Alright then," Beetlejuice said, "I'll just escort you to the grounds, just to keep you safe."

They stood up and said, "Thanks Beetlejuice. You care a lot about Urbana don't you."

"Of course I do. What kind of question is that?" Beetlejuice said as he floated at their shoulder height.

Beetlejuice went back to Lydia after he had successfully escorted them into the ghost barrier. Urben then called for the family's attention and all of the adults except for the kids, since Wednesday and Pugsley were in school, came out to see who was on their front lawn. Urben showed themselves off and answered Gomez, Fester, Morticia, and Grandmama's questions as best as they could. Then they saw that Reta and her gang were looking at them and hiding behind a corner of the mansion. Urben went to go say hi to them and ask how they were. Eventually, the shock of actually talking to ghosts set in, and Urben unfused.

Rubbing her head Urbana asked, "Are you okay?"

Steven rubbed his eyes and looked at where Urben was looking and talking to Reta and her gang, then he said, "I. I don't see them anymore."

Urbana just shrugged and said, "Makes sense. We're not Urben anymore." Urbana then helped him back on his feet then said, "Come on. I want to eat something before I go to work."

They went into the mansion together and Urbana resigned herself to the idea that what they did together, the fusion thing, was only going to be a one-time thing.

"Have you seen my sword," Urbana asked him.

# # #

Urbana, Steven, and Beetlejuice were walking towards Bob's hospital room.

"You have no idea how much I appreciate this," Urbana said, "I can't thank you enough."

"It's no problem," Steven said.

Urbana then stopped him in the middle of the hallway and said, "No. It is a problem."

"Urbana. Don't over think this," Beetlejuice said, sounding exasperated.

"I'm a writer, over thinking is kind of my job," she said.

"So, what's the problem," Steven asked, sounding concerned.

Urbana started pacing before the two men as she spoke fast.

"Gentlemen, the machinations of having a person capable of healing just about anyone can be both a blessing and a curse. The blessing, of course, being able to heal people but the curse is also being able to heal people."

"I'm so confused," Beetlejuice said.

"Of course, you are, cause you're not taking into account the emotional weight these kinds of powers have on a person. If someone has the power to heal then they might feel like they have to heal every sick person that they come into contact with, and there are way too many people in this world, so the job just never ends and then there's the idea of not being able to heal something that you thought you could heal and the character might well-up with doubt and self-disappointment and they might push themselves too hard because of that one time they couldn't heal someone and—" Urbana gasped for air.

"Okay. Okay," Beetlejuice said as he patted her back, "Just breath. I sometimes forget you need to."

"Thank you for putting so much thought into this, about me," Steven said, "But, really. It's fine."

"Then I want to make sure," Urbana said after catching her breath, "I want you to tell me. Are you healing my Dad because you feel obligated to do it? Or are you here to heal him because it's your choice and you'll heal whoever you want?"

He hesitated for a second, then he said, "I'm here because it's my choice."

"Then I'll say this," she said, "I won't think less of you if you decided not to heal my Dad. Okay? Up until the point you actually do heal him. You have every right to turn around and not do it."

"Jeez, Toots. Do you, or do you not want your Dad healed," Beetlejuice asked.

"Of course, I want my Dad to get better, but he'll heal on his own," Urbana said, "He's just the fastest route to that same end. I'm just trying to put his feelings into account."

"Thank you for that," Steven said, "You're a good friend."

Then Beetlejuice and Steven continued forward, walking past a stunned Urbana. She didn't realize that she had made Steven her friend.

They entered Bob's room and Urbana introduced Steven to her Aunt who was reading beside her father. Urbana didn't see her father's astral projection, so she assumed that he was back inside his body since he was taken out of his medical coma. Steven did his spit trick and her father was sitting up and talking like normal, though his head was still wrapped up and he couldn't see.

"We'll just leave you two alone," Jane said as she pushed the two men out the hospital room.

"Why does Aunt Jane want us alone together," Urbana asked as the door closed behind her.

"My mind was real fuzzy before your friend helped me, but I know that she's trying to get us to make up or at least talk with each other," Bob said.

"Is there something that you wanted to tell me then," Urbana asked.

"There is. I wanted to say that I remember almost all of my time in my astral projected form and I especially remember talking to you," Bob said.

"Oh, yah?"

"I'm disappointed in you. I didn't raise you to talk to your elders like that," Bob said, "Especially when I was trying to apologize."

"I see. Anything else you'd like to add to that," Urbana asked him.

"I want you to apologize for your behavior towards me," Bob said.

"Okay, Dad. That's fair," Urbana said as she turned to leave.

When Bob heard the door handle rattle he said, "Wait. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the Addams family mansion. My home. We're done here," Urbana said.

Bob was stuttering on his words as Urbana opened the door to find that Jane, Steven, and Beetlejuice were listening in.

"Aunt Jane, make sure Dad gets home okay. I'm done with him," Urbana said.

"Oh, Urbana," Jane said pleadingly.

"Come on guys. Let's go," Urbana told Beetlejuice and Steven.

"Woo! Yah! You washed your hands of him, girl," Beetlejuice said, and he raised his hand up for her to hi-five, but she just glared at him. Shielding his eyes, Beetlejuice said, "Okay. Maybe not."

Urbana went to her room and stayed there. No one could get her out and she let no one in. She only laid in her bed until she had to go to school and/or work.

# # #

Urbana was laying in her bed while doing her homework.

Someone knocked on her door and Urbana was surprised to hear her Aunt Jane's voice.

"Urbana, Honey? Can I come in?" she asked.

"No."

"We'll that's too bad then," Jane said before coming into her room anyways, "Why are you only in your underwear and bra-less?"

She closed the door behind her.

"I don't go to work until five. So sue me," Urbana said.

"Honey, I've been getting texts from Lurch all week telling me you won't eat, you won't talk to anyone, and he told me you've been wearing the same pair of pajamas to college for the entire time. We're worried about you," Jane said.

"I eat. I just haven't eaten where they can see me. I'm entitled to my alone time. And I can wear whatever I want to wear to school," Urbana said, "So could you please leave. I have eight different classes whose final projects I have to prepare for and pass with at least a "B" if I'm going to have this final semester paid off with my tuition."

"Don't you want to talk about what happened with your father," Jane asked.

"Oh my god. If you're not going to leave me alone, I might as well leave for work," Urbana said as she got up from her bed and her Aunt turned away from her, to give her some privacy.

"Urbana, I know you're upset, and I know you don't want to talk about any of this," she said.

"Oh? Well if you know so much, then why don't you know when to leave," Urbana said, as she angrily put her work shirt on.

Jane sighed then said, "Look. You can't keep hiding like this until the feelings you feel go away."

"You can't tell me what to do," Urbana said as she picked up her purse and phone and started to stomp out of her room.

"I love you," Jane said, tired and sad.

"And I love you too," Urbana said, "Enjoy your time with Lurch." Then Urbana slammed her bedroom door on her Aunt.

Urbana was going around the different tables, picking up dishes, giving people their food, and making sure their drinks were full. She hasn't seen Beetlejuice or any ghosts in a while, and she assumed that she was putting out so much fiery energy that they would burn to a crisp if they got too close. She was so focused on her work and her own thoughts, that she didn't realize that Steven was sitting at one of the tables.

"Steven? What are you doing here?"

"I've came to taste the local cuisine," he said as he was looking over the menu.

"It's an Olive Garden. They're not that interesting or cuisine-y," Urbana said.

"I mean, maybe, but I also know that no matter how hard a food corporation tries to be the same everywhere, they always fail, so I'm excited to know what make this place different," Steven said.

She sighed then she leaned in and said under her breath, "We're not supposed to, but this Olive Garden buys fruits from Grandmama's greenhouse for the smoothies."

He handed her his menu and said, "Then I'll take a banana-strawberry smoothie with my salad."

"Right away, Sir," she said as she took his menu and wrote down his order while walking away.

Urbana was filling up his glass of water as he was complementing the smoothie.

"Thank you for the recommendation," he said.

"Happy to help, Steven," Urbana said in her customer service voice.

"Hey, so do you want to hang out after work," Steven asked.

"I'm sorry. I have too much homework to worry about," Urbana said as she was picking up his dishes, "I don't really have much time for anything except for work and school."

"That's too bad," Steven said as he took his bill from her.

It was 12:30pm and Urbana was walking out of the Olive Garden and was heading for her car. Then in the streetlights, she saw Steven asleep on the hood of his car. Urbana walked over to him then hit him in the stomach with her purse.

"Hey!"

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Oh, hey. You should have seen the sunset. It was beautiful."

"What are you doing sleeping in the middle of the parking lot like this? Do you want to be eaten by goblins in your sleep?" Urbana warned him.

He chuckled and asked, "Goblins?"

"I know. I thought goblins only lived in California too, but now I've been seeing them pop up here in Jersey. They're nasty little critters," she said.

"I'll keep that in mind," Steven said as he slid off his car.

"Good. Stay safe on your drive back to the mansion," Urbana said as she was walking away.

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Um. Can we talk?" Steven asked.

"About?"

"What happened at the hospital with your Dad," he said.

"Ugh, Steven. Don't therapist me," she begged.

"I'm not," he said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm trying to be a friend. I've been in your emotional shoes before."

"And I believe you, but I honestly don't want to talk about this," she said.

"Do you know what happened when I didn't want to talk to my family and friends about how I was feeling," Steven asked.

"What?"

"When I was finally cornered, I had an emotional break down that turned me into a giant monster. Literally," Steven said.

"That's sounds like it sucked," Urbana said.

"It did," he said, "and it's all the more reason why I don't want you to get to that point. Maybe you won't literally turn into a monster like I did, but the emotional weight can still hurt."

She didn't say anything for a minute or two. A trash can tipped over in the distance startling them both.

"I'm just so tired, Steven," Urbana finally said, "I'm so tired of the fighting and I'm tired of crying over what my Dad has done and said to me. I know he loves me. I know he does. I can feel it. I'm just not who he wants to love. And what we had before will only ever be a bitter-sweet memory."

"Can I give you a hug?" he asked.

She nodded.

The two of them embraced and Urbana couldn't help but think that Steven was a really good hugger. There was a flash of white and Urben was in Steven and Urbana's stead.

"Ah! Steven, did I do that," Urben said in a feminine voice.

"No. We did it together," Urben said in a masculine voice.

"I don't want to infect you with my negative emotions," Feminine Urben said.

"We can un-fuse if you want, but your negative emotions won't hurt me," Masculine Urben said.

Urben took a couple of deep breaths. Then they said, "Okay… Will we ever get over our shit?" Then they said, "No. Not really. Never fully. But it's not hopeless. It's true that we lose people in our lives, but we gain people too. I also think you'll never lose your Aunt or that strange Beetlejuice guy."

They looked up at the stars and at the full moon.

"I feel like going for a walk," Urben said, then they said, "It is a beautiful night."