A/N: Wow. That was fast. I got my three reviews way more quickly than I'd expected. Thanks so much, guys! Well, here's another update for you. I've been writing all day and I've finally finished. It's kind of short, only six chapters, but i never meant for it to be too long anyway.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Mentions: Again, I sent a personal reply to your review if you signed in, which mcobsessed has informed me she has not yet gotten b/c alerts are down. Hopefully you'll get it soon though.

Querida101: Thanks so much for reviewing again! And of course Jesse is innocent! lol. He's too much of a gentleman to do anythign like that. Thanks again for your comment!

Scrooged: Chapter 4: Discoveries

It was a quarter to two. I had fifteen minutes before Spirit Number Two was due to arrive.

I got on the computer.

After only ten minutes of research, I found what I was looking for.

"Lily Stewart. Died 31 October 2005 at the age of eight while trick-or-treating, dressed as the Tooth Fairy. Cause of death is unknown at this time."

Halloween. She'd died on Halloween Day. Of course she had. Why else would she have been dressed as the Tooth Fairy? It all made sense. But if she'd been hanging around for a few years, then why didn't she know yet that she was dead?

Somewhere nearby, a clock tolled two.

I held my breath, listening. For a minute, I sat there.

Nothing happened.

There was no spirit. How could I have been so-

"Sorry I'm late, Susie Q."

"Paul?" I asked, turning to face him.

Sure enough, it was Paul. But he was glowing. "Paul, are you-are you dead?"

He laughed. I failed to see the hilarity in the situation. He saw me glaring at him and added, "No, Suze. I'm just a figment of your imagination brought on by a caffeine rush." He burst out laughing again.

Huh?

"Suze. I'm not dead. I was volunteered to be a spirit."

"You were chosen to be a spirit?"

"Lets not get into details here, Suze. Now, I was sent here to show you what is happening on Christmas Day, today."

"Paul, I've seen A Christmas Carol. I know the drill."

He smiled. "Then take my hand and we will go."

I did as he said and we were transported to an apartment I didn't recognize.

"Where are we?"

"Shh," Paul silenced me.

Fine then. Don't tell me.

I looked around the apartment. In the far corner was a mountain of empty pizza boxes. In another was a shelf full of big, heavy-looking books.

Who lives here? I wondered.

I walked into the nearest room. It was a bedroom. There was a bed against the far wall, the covers thrown unceremoniously in a heap on top. Another full bookshelf lined the wall opposite. Near the bed was a nightstand, which held an alarm clock and a picture frame.

Curious, I picked up the frame.

Oh. My. God.

It was a picture of me.

Was the guy who lived here some kind of stalker? Oh my God, has he been watching me?

That's it. I'm going home and I'm changing the locks. Some curtains might not be a bad idea either. And if I just-

"Suze."

"What, Paul?" I asked, irritated at being interrupted, even if it was just in my thoughts.

"He's not a stalker."

Oh yeah. The mind reading thing. Gosh, that was getting really annoying.

Wait, if he's not a stalker, then why does he keep my picture next to his bed?

Paul sighed. "Because, Suze- You know what, why don't I just show you?"

He walked out of the bedroom, motioning for me to follow. We were back in the main room. I read the titles of some of the books. Most of them were books on mythology or science. There was not a single book I would ever consider reading.

Paul walked into what appeared to be the kitchen. The room contained a microwave, a sink piled with dirty dishes, a refrigerator, and a small table at which a man was sitting alone, eating Christmas dinner.

I looked at Paul, who nodded, encouraging me.

As I moved closer to the man, I saw curly dark hair and deep brown eyes.

Jesse.

A wave of sorrow washed over me as I looked longingly into his dark eyes.f

"I'm so sorry, Jesse," I told him.

"Suze, he can't hear you."

I looked at Paul. "Why did you bring me here?"

"You know why I brought you here, Susie Q."

And I did. Know I mean.

I touched his cheek; Jesse's, not Paul's; but my hand went right through. He didn't even feel it, just continued to push his food around the plate. He took a deep breath. I'd never seen Jesse look so sad. Had I done that?

"Yes, Suze. This is how it's been for Jesse lately. He always gets this way around Christmastime. You should hear the way he talks about you."

"Wait, are you spying on him or something?"

"No. You don't think I have better things to do with my time than stalk Rico here?"

"Then how do you know what he says about me?"

"Suze, I know it's hard to believe, but de Silva and I have gotten pretty close over the past couple of years without you around to distract us."

Wow. Paul and Jesse friends. I couldn't even imagine.

And Jesse still talked about me? I would have thought he'd never want to see me again.

Paul shook his head, as if he pitied me and my ignorance.

Jesse got up, leaving his plate of food on the table and walked out of the kitchen. I followed him, my heart thumping madly in my chest to the bedroom. He picked up a phone I hadn't noticed hanging on the wall.

After hesitating for a moment, he punched in seven digits.

"Three, two," Paul counted down. "One."

Jesse hung up the phone, slamming it down onto the receiver hard. He stared at it, as if it would come alive and strangle him with its cord at any second. I briefly wondered who he had almost called. I got my answer, though, when he sat down on the bed and grabbed the picture frame off the nightstand.

"Susannah," he whispered.

Tears welled up in my eyes at the mention of my name. I hated myself for doing this to him. He didn't deserve it. I was just jealous and I assumed that he-but he didn't. He would never do anything to hurt me. But I had hurt him. And I hated myself for that.

"Come on," Paul said, holding his hand out to me.

I took it and we shifted.

We ended up in a small house. It was warm, a fire burning merrily in the hearth. Christmas music blasted from a radio. The atmosphere was warm and inviting.

At a table in the kitchen nearby, I could see Cee Cee and Adam and their family and friends sitting down for Christmas dinner. There were a lot of people around the table. All were smiling.

One chair, however, was empty. I felt a pang of guilt as I realized who the empty chair belonged to.

Me.

Cee Cee gave a toast. "To family and friends gathered at the table, to love," she smiled at Adam, who had proposed to her only a few months earlier, "and to those who couldn't be here with us today." At this last statement, she turned to the empty chair I should have been occupying.

"She seems happy," I noted.

Paul looked at me. "She is. But something is missing. Or should I say someone?" He looked at me expectantly.

"I'm sorry, Cee Cee," I whispered, though I knew she couldn't hear me. "I'm so sorry I let you down. I'll change." I said this last part quietly, barely audible, then added, in a stronger, louder voice, "I'll change. I promise."

Paul took me back to my apartment, where he smiled; said, "I know you'll do the right thing, Suze;" and disappeared.

Then, a clock tolled three.

R&R plz!