I shifted in the car seat. I could see him smiling at me. His teeth gleamed white in the darkness. It took awhile before I could find the courage to speak.

"What do you want? I have enough problems right now and I don't think I'm stable enough to handle another one."

He said nothing, but took my hand instead. Then, he led me outside, to the front steps. The porch light was on and its soft glow made his eyes look very green.

"Christine, I know all about your problems. I didn't come here to cause trouble. I came here to tell you that I'm sorry."

And he truly looked it too.

"Mama told me everything that's been going on in your life recently. How your Daddy sold the house to those nasty amusement park people without your permission. How he told her to make that pretty picture of you ugly to frighten people. And most of all, how that cowboy abandoned you in your hour of need."

He sounded so sympathetic that I started to cry. I put my arms around him and he embraced me and held me close. It had seemed like so long since I'd felt the love of a man that I welcomed it. Forgot everything. Michael was the past. I told myself I'd find a boy with a bad reputation to replace Michael, and after all, who had a worse reputation in my eyes then Scott?

I let him lead me inside, not noticing Lettie standing behind one of the bushes.

He led me to the library where for once the books were silent. Then he sat me down on a chair and looked into my eyes.

"Christine, would you like anything?"

I nodded, sniffling. "Mama put some peach pie in the kitchen. Would you bring me that?"

He nodded, then inspected me. "I'll bring you some wine too. It'll help calm your nerves."

He left then, to go get what I asked. My mouth watered when he brought the pie in.

"Now," he asked, holding up a knife, "how big a piece do you want? I'll cut it for you."

I shook my head. "No need for a knife or a plate, just give me the pie and the fork and I'll be fine, thank you."

His eyes bulged out of his head. "You don't really intend to eat all of it at once, do you?"

I nodded. "I'm a Southern girl. When I'm freaked out about something, I eat. Now, give me the fork!"

Shaking his head, he passed me the fork, then stared in amazement as I devoured the pie. Then, he proffered the wine bottle at me.

"How much of this do you want?"

"The whole bottle." I said matter-of-factly. Then, I took the bottle from him and emptied it. Afterwards, I felt sick. The room began to spin, and when Scott took my hand, I leaned on him for support

"Now Christine, tell me why you're so upset. This isn't such a bad afterlife."

"I don't want any of this." I managed to get out. "I hate being put on show. For once, I just want to be normal."

He led me upstairs to my room and sat me down on my bed. He embraced me again and said in a quiet voice, "what would you say Christine if I told you I could make all your problems go away?"

I felt sleepy. I lay my head on his shoulder and felt my eyes close.

"I'd say show me. Oh, and Scott? You don't need to call me Christine anymore. No one else does. Instead, call me…" I fell asleep before I could finish the sentence. Scott looked down at my unresponsive body and finished the sentence for me.

"I'll call you sweetheart. As in Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight." Then, he laughed.

Meanwhile, Lettie had moved from the bushes and had run to the ballroom to warn everyone else of what she suspected to be impending doom.

Looking in, she saw her father laughing with the man called Edward Gracey. Their voices were loud and she could make out every word.

"…I can't believe this! I really can't believe that you're my true uncle after all! What really happened?"

And Edward smiled. "Well, at the time of the incident, there were many people who wanted the family money, see, and the man who wanted it most was named Richard Corbett-Langley. He was under the impression that we owed it to him. He came into my room late one night and tied me up. The next day, he boarded a ship to Burma where a courier was waiting with all the money for the business that I had been conducting, along with a large portion of our family holdings. The courier was at the embassy and he had to go there to get the money. Apparently though, guerrillas broke in and blew up the place, sadly taking Richard with it."

"And what about the money?"

Edward smiled. "Oh, as for that, the money's still at home, George. At the Louisiana house. See, the police were on to Mr. Langley and sent him to Burma on a wild goose chase."

At that point, Lettie decided to butt in.

"Sorry to interrupt this little family reunion, but I think Christy's in trouble!"

A/n- Thanks for the inspiration everyone!

Only unknow plot and characters are mine!