Disclaimer: Beetlejuice and Co belong to Geffen. Alas that he did not choose to make further use of them.

Chapter 4: The Good Stuff

When his wheezing finally stopped, she grimly set down her coffee mug. "No more, Beetlejuice." He winced, hating his name now as much as he loved it an hour ago. Lydia was in a fine fury, and her normally ivory cheeks were flaming pink. "I am not going to give up mirrors, so you are going to have to give up looking through them!"

"If I did that, babe, I never woulda come for you tonight. It's how I keep tabs on you. Mirrors… go both ways, if you know what I mean."

"B, not only is it mortifying that you've been… spying, " she sputtered, "but it's creepy. Bloody Mary creepy. I'm never going to look into another mirror again without wondering who's peering out at me. Yech! It's a complete violation of privacy!" She huffed, pacing around the little room. Finally, he stood and caught her by the arms.

"Quit. You're driving me nuts."

"Too late," she said sweetly. He twisted his lip at her.

"Fer starters, Bloody Mary is a myth. She doesn't exist. An' if she did exist, she wouldn't come after you." He paused. "You haven't killed anyone, have you?"

"Not. Yet." Lydia pushed against his grip once, and then relaxed and slipped away. She put her hand over her eyes and turned slightly away from him.

"Second, all I ever see is you gettin' thinner and thinner. I figure you would be joinin' me soon. So what's not to love?" He crossed his arms.

"Shut up! That's quite enough, B. Just promise me that you won't… anymore?" She was feeling fretful now, and couldn't pinpoint the reason. Why did she care, anyway? He was Dead. So what if he thought she was too thin? Ghosts were nothing but hot air. Her hands reflexively grasped at her upper arms, where she could still feel in imprints of his hands. For his part, he just stood and watched her think. And slowly she realized that he hadn't answered her. She lifted her eyes to find him staring at her chin. "What?"

"You're really pretty… when you're not talking." Flavoring the final word with as much scorn as he could muster, he spun around and floated up to the ceiling, pressing his back against it and staring down at her. "When did you grow up and get all snarky?"

"The night you tried to force me to marry you." She folded herself onto the floor. "You missed all the good stuff." Weariness soaked her through to the bone.

"I'm here now." The last was very quiet. She squinted up at him.

"What should I do with you?"

"Tuck me in and sing me a song?" he suggested. He was suddenly on the floor, his head in her lap. She started backwards, and then grimaced at him.

"Doubt it." But she smiled, and he smiled back at her, and it wasn't a dangerous smile, or a feral one. And something just behind her heart might have shifted. Just a little. "I can't leave you out to do harm to whomever you please, B. I have to put you back."

His voice got very serious, more serious than she had ever heard him speak, except for their first conversation. She still remembered the terrible depths of sincere sorrow in his voice when she had told him she wanted to be dead. 'Why?' he had asked, and she had felt the full force of him behind it. As she did now. "I'm not a dog, Lyds. I'm not here to serve your every whim." She pursed her lips, and he paused thoughtfully. "You asked me where I was from. Still wanna know?"

She nodded. "Well, get ready for bed, whatever it is that you do, not that I know." He waggled his eyebrows at her and she smacked him lightly on his cheek. His skin was cool. What had she expected? "And then I'll tell you the story." Wearily, she acquiesced, and dragged herself to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She supposed the mirror in there was safe, since he was already out, so she took her nightgown with her. As she stared at her grim, red-rimmed eyes, she sighed heartily. He was just banking on her falling asleep mid-story. She knew that. If she said the words right now, he wouldn't be able to stop her. But instead, she brushed her teeth. If he was taking advantage of her, she could always get him back for it later.