A/N: I don't own Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Ghastly, Erskine, Fletcher, China or Caelan. "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" is a song by the Moody Blues, "Jailhouse Rock" was sung by Elvis and "Won't back Down" is by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.

Ghastly walked me to the back of the van first. "I made you something, I hope you like it." He said and opened the van doors. There was a large gift bag inside. I looked at him.

"Ghastly, you seriously didn't have to make me anything." I said and he smiled in reply.

"I wanted to, go on then. I want to see if you like it." He said and I when I realized it would upset him if I refused I did, wishing he didn't think I was the kind of girl he had to ply with presents. But then as I lifted out the coat I was rather glad he did.

It was made from the same material as the rest of the gifts and softer than anything I'd ever felt. It was a full length coat, almost a duster with enough plushness to it to make it look luxurious. It didn't look like anything I'd ever choose myself since it was clearly tailored to be beautiful, but I smiled as he helped me out of my jacket and put it on me.

The coat was wonderfully warm. "Magical material, of course." Ghastly commented as he tied the belt snugly around my waist and adjusted the collar for me. "It will keep you warm or cool, as needed, do you like it?"

"Like it? It's beautiful, Ghastly. I love it, thank you." I said, gathering him in a tight hug of thanks. "But you don't have to keep making me things, I like you for you. You know that, right?" I asked, tilting my head up slightly to look at him as he wrapped his arms around me.

"I do now. I suppose your uncle told you about me ringing him yesterday?" He asked, not letting go, his smile gentle.

"He did, and before you ask, last night was wonderful, and yes, it was a lovely date." Ghastly cradled me into him and I relaxed into him, enjoying his warmth.

"You're not just saying that?" He asked, and my heart melted.

"Ghastly, you're a wonderful man and last night was a wonderful date. I should have picked up on it sooner, but I didn't want to assume anything and loose my best friend." Ghastly grinned in reply and escorted me to my side of the van.

"And here I was afraid I might loose my best friend when she figured out it was a date. I honestly came by to apologize profusely if I had." He said and I was so astonished I got in without replying.

I got his door in a daze then looked at him as he got in. "Ghastly, you could never do anything to loose me as a friend, ever. Well, you running away with China might do it, but other than that-"

Ghastly snorted laughter. "Please, that woman isn't even attractive. I've never seen what all the fuss is about." I looked at him as he drove, he was serious and I wondered if his mother being jinxed could have made him immune to China's magic.

"Um, I never thought I'd ever hear a man say that, ever, to be honest. Skulduggery said her charms worked on everyone." I admitted and the radio burst into life.

"I know you're out there somewhere. Somewhere you can hear my voice. I know I'll find you somehow. Somehow, somehow. I know I'll find you somehow. And somehow I'll return again to you." I stared at it then just looked out the windescreen determined to ignore it.

"I'll uh, get that fixed." Ghastly said, but he didn't sound like he believed it was a glitch in the wiring any more that I did. He also sounded resigned as if he'd reached the same conclusion Uncle Gordon and I had about it being Skulduggery.

I looked over at him. He was hunched up, seeming to have drawn into himself. "Look, even if stupid does make it back for some reason, he's going to need another partner. I'm serious, Ghastly. You're my partner now and there's only one reason stupid would be coming back."

"Which would be?"

"If he was murdered and we missed it." I looked at the radio and it obliged me. "The mist is lifting slowly. I can see the way ahead. And I've left behind the empty streets that once inspired my life." It agreed.

Ghastly just stared at it then at me and I shrugged. "Welcome to my world." I stared hard at the radio. "You couldn't just be a nice partner, could you? You had to go and get bumped off. I don't suppose you'll make our job any easier and tell us who it was?" But the radio remained silent.

I thought Ghastly was going to make me a restraint jacket next but he looked at me as we pulled up to the same diner as the day before. "We're you two involved?" He asked abruptly. "He seemed obsessed with getting back to you, Val."

I looked at him in shock. "Lord, no! I know everyone thought that and we never bothered to correct anyone, because it would have just made things worse and we knew it. If he is obsessed, it is with finding the people who killed him. He really was killed then. So much for my rather romantic theory of him rejoining his wife."

We both looked at the radio but it remained silent. We got out and I looked at Ghastly. "You know, we could be jumping to conclusions here. Isn't setting up a radio to play a device that mystery writers ran into the ground in the 1940s and '50s?"

He nodded. "I thought that myself last night when it came on. Too many old detective movies, I guess." He smiled and got the door of the diner for me. We both ordered the chicken fried steak and Ghastly beamed at me.

"You know what this means, don't you? Our own case. Of course, there goes the rest of our day off." I laughed and nodded happily. Ghastly could always make me laugh. He still got excited at the prospect of working with me where Skulduggery had been a total grouch half the time.

The waitress brought my coffee and his tea and I smiled at him. "You know, I like having a partner who likes working with me. Skulduggery would be snarling and whining by now about how unfair life was. The man did love to complain." I grinned.

Ghastly smiled. "Oh, he was a total delight during the war, I mean the one before your time where we were all huddled up together cold and wet. All he did was complain, and he wasn't cold or hungry like the rest of us."

"Mmm, he was plenty cold. He'd never admit it, but he felt cold and heat. The case where we went to the mountains I realized it. He missed food too, poor guy." I said fondly.

Our food came and we turned to other topics. That might seem surprising considering we'd found our own case, or rather Skulduggery had given it to us, but we knew that if Erskine didn't believe us he wouldn't let us investigate, and as it was there was nothing to investigate. The abandoned house where we'd found his body had been conviently razed shortly after, and we only had a possible radio glitch to go on. Not enough to convince Erskine. Then the jukebox boomed into life, despite having a broken sign and being unplugged.

"The warden threw a party in the county jail. The prison band was there and they began to wail. The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing. You should've heard them knocked-out jailbirds sing." I laughed, watching people stare at it nervously and grinned at Ghastly. We had our proof now, and witnesses.

Erskine stared at us as we explained the strange events and our theory. "So you both believe Skulduggery is communicating with you from beyond the grave?" He asked slowly. "That he's using radios to send you messages so you find his murderer? Valkyrie, honey, do you both need some time off?"

Ghastly and I looked at each other. He didn't believe us. "You think we're both crazy?" He asked.

"No, I think you both miss him so much you're seeing a case where there isn't one." Erskine said gently. "Radios come on for no good reason all the time, it's a glitch in the wires or something." He said, and his own radio decided to demonstrate.

"Well, I won't back down, no, I won't back down. You can stand me up at the gates of Hell, but I won't back down." Ghastly and I both laughed and Erskine buried his head in his arms.

"That did not just happen." He groaned.

"Yeah, it did, Erskine. He needs us, that or the bad guys are luring us into a trap. Either way, we've got a case now, don't we?" I asked grinning and he nodded wearily.

"I just- If he was murdered-" Erskine looked at me helplessly. We had treated it as murder at first, but him being back where he had lived with his wife, well, we'd all given up, haven't we?

"I know. But if he is trying to come back, uh, he's going to need his body back, isn't he?" I asked and we all winced. That was all people needed to see. Us pulling his bones out of the Ravel family tomb. But Erskine nodded.

"To tell you the truth, Valkyrie, that's why I had him interred in my family tomb. I thought if anyone could come back again it would have to be Skulduggery. I have the key. But we wait until tonight, all right? You two do have plenty of exciting paperwork to be getting to."

He waved us out and we went to Ghastly's office. We had a case, and we had the Grand Mage's permission to take Skulduggery out of the tomb. I wondered, uneasily if we were walking into a trap, but there was no way we'd abandon our friend, and if Skulduggery needed us we were most happily going tomb raiding that night.

The men both insisted in going in the tomb in front of me. Erskine turned to me as he opened the door. "Valkyrie, if we just find his bones we give up on this, OK? We could all be giving into our grief." I nodded and he patted my shoulder gently.

We went in closing the door behind us and summoning flames into our hands to guide us. The tomb was huge, going underground and Skulduggery had been tucked away in the deepest recesses. We reached the heavy stone coffin where he'd been buried. Dust covered it and it had clearly not been disturbed. Erskine turned to me. "See? Nothing. I miss him every bit as much as you do, but he isn't coming back." Both men gazed at me sadly and I nodded, feeling a lump in my throat. Still, they pushed the heavy lid far enough to one side to prove to me that he was still in pieces.

Only he wasn't. Skulduggery's skeleton was complete and he sat up abruptly. I jumped back with a scream and he looked at me as he adjusted his hat to a suitably rakish angle. "Hello to you too, Valkyrie. Well, well. I've only been dead several months and you got a new partner and everything. Tsk, tsk." He grinned at all of us, then turned to Ghastly.

"I'm teasing, she's all yours. But as Valkyrie can see and hear the dead she had to be the one I contacted." He got out of the coffin then looked at us. "What? You acted as a conduit, Valkyrie. I could use the radio only when you were near. I figured it was obvious from the clues I left you."

We all just continued to stare at him. I didn't know what the men thought but I figured I'd finally cracked up. He couldn't be back. My best friend and partner, well old partner couldn't be in front of me. "Skulduggery?" I asked and he held his arms out for a hug. I obliged him, hugging him tightly, then stood back. "But your wife, and child-"

"Will be waiting for me." He said kindly. "I want the people who killed me brought to justice and coming back was the only way to do that. Besides, they'll always be with me. Did you catch my clever clues? They had me blindfolded, so I've no idea who they are, but they were talking about having broken out of the gaol recently."

I grinned, then realized both men were still in shock. I waved my hand in front of Ghastly's eyes, but he didn't seem aware I was there.

"Oh, dear. They did this the last time I came back." He muttered, manipulating the water in the air. "I'm not doing this to be mean, you understand?" He asked and I nodded, watching as the water massed above their heads. Skulduggery let it go, and both men blinked, shaking their heads.

"Sorry." Skulduggery apologized, but then they were laughing and hugging him so hard I thought we'd have to put him back in the coffin.

We all left the tomb, and I could feel my heart lighten. We had a case, Ghastly and I were still partners, and we had Skulduggery back, at least until the next time he managed to get himself killed.

Ghastly looked at me as we idled in front of the mansion. "Did I hear both of you right? I'm the one you want to be partners with?" He asked, clearly amused by the idea.

"Yes, you are, Ghastly. Skulduggery and I will always be the best of friends, but you and I are partners now. I told you you weren't a place holder or an also-ran and I meant it. But before you get all happy over the prospect that means we're both stuck with him until the case is over."

Ghastly smiled and we both looked at the radio reflexively then at each other and laughed. "You know, it wasn't the day I planned with you at all, but I enjoyed it all the same. If it weren't for you we wouldn't have Skulduggery back. It must have been hard with all of us doubting you, I'm sorry."

"Ghastly, if you had been the one it happened to I can't say I'd have instantly believed you either. Skulduggery was so adamant that people don't come back that he had me convinced I was going crazy. I honestly thought we all might be, to tell you the truth."

He nodded, then we got out and he walked me to the door, looking at me wistfully. "I owe you a nice dinner out when this is all over." He said, smiling fondly then touched his hat and bid me a goodnight.

I went in the mansion and found Uncle Gordon in his study. He listened to the day's events with avid interest then congratulated me but he looked thoughtful. "How is Ghastly holding up? You are still partners, correct?"

"We are. He saw me to the door. I think he likes me but I don't think he wants to date me again until this is all over."

"Mmm. You be extra nice to him. Skulduggery has a way of stealing the spotlight. Ghastly will retreat from any idea of seeing you and you won't even notice until it is too late. As a matter of fact, why don't you ring him in an hour? Trust me, he'll be up, and thinking of you and wondering if you still want to see him."

I nodded and did just that. Ghastly seemed startled to hear from me that late. "Valkyrie? Is everything OK?" He asked.

"Well, yes and no. I got to spend most of the day with my best friend but I think my date wandered off. You wouldn't happen to know where to find him, would you?"

"Well now that he knows you're looking for him, he'll put in an appearance. This will sound selfish, but he wished he'd gotten to spend the day off with you." Ghastly replied, sounding pleased.

"I feel the same way. I hope he heard the part where Skulduggery talked about his wife and child being with him, and seriously they are. About time the man got a live-in keeper." I said and Ghastly laughed.

"I'm glad you got to meet them, they seemed taken with you. Of course it had to be strange being the only one other than Skulduggery to see and hear them. That had to be hard on you."

"Not really, I know you believed me and that was enough. Besides, I think Uncle Gordon might have a relic that can amplify my ability so others can see it. A necklace of some sort. That is if this is all really happening and I didn't just get elected mayor of Crazy Town."

Ghastly laughed. "Not unless we're all sharing the same delusion. I'll come by early tomorrow and take you to breakfast. I want some alone time with you before work."

"That sounds wonderful. Ghastly? Thanks for everything and I mean that."

Ghastly demurred than we were ringing off, my heart thudding. When was I going to work up the courage to tell him I was in love with him?

Uncle Gordon was more than happy to give me the emerald pendant. "That should let anyone near you see the same things you do, and don't worry, you won't be tripping over dead people. You seem to be shielding yourself from mass exposure so far just fine. That just let's those near you see and hear the dead like you do."

I nodded. "Thanks for your advice last night. He wasn't going to ask me out again if I hadn't called. Why are men so strange?"

Uncle Gordon smiled. "Because we're terrified the woman we are in love with doesn't want us, and trust me, he's in love with you, even if he hasn't said as much."

I grinned. "I wanted to tell him how I felt last night, but, well-"

"It's scary, I know." Uncle Gordon said sympathetically. "Now your young man will be here and minute, ah, there's the door now. Officially a date, whether you know it or not."

"And I'm in my work clothes, lovely." I groaned. But Ghastly seemed delighted to see me all the same.

"Something wrong with the new coat I made you?" He asked as I grabbed the old one.

"No, but knowing Skulduggery we could be wading through muck or doing something else that would ruin it today. I swear he picks cases and places where he knows my clothes will get ruined." I grumbled. Ghastly smiled and drew me into his arms. He looked at me and I saw the hesitation in his face.

"Technically, this is our third date." I said encouragingly and he smiled. He hesitated a moment longer, looking at me in utter adoration, then he was kissing me, his scarred lips unbelievably soft. I melted into the kiss, and it seemed like fireworks were gong off inside me.

Then we were parting and Ghastly was smiling at me shyly. "You know I love you, right?" I asked gently and he smiled, escorting me to the van.

"I do now." He said, then he was kissing me again and I was only too happy to let him, cupping the back of head where I could reach underneath his fedora gently. His arms went around me and he sighed softly, then we were parting all too soon. "I love you too." He whispered, touching my face softly.

Breakfast seemed to pass all too quickly, then we had to get to work. Strangely Skulduggery wasn't underfoot when we arrived, though we had expected him to meet us to discuss any leads he might have uncovered. Erskine had no idea where he was, and without a mobile to his name we couldn't ring him. I shrugged and joined Ghastly in is office. "If something was wrong his wife would have come for us." I said and he nodded, then we settled down into paperwork.

The case kept distracting me, but we had all agreed to let Skulduggery take the lead. Still, it wasn't like him not to report in. What was I saying? It was exactly like him. I went back to my paperwork, idly wondering how lax Sanctuary rules had become.

An Elder's duties seemed to consist only of boring meetings and reading endless reports and doing paperwork. Ghastly could have had a secretary to do what I was doing, but I was sure Erskine appreciated having me doing it for free. At least it gave me an excuse to be there. But by lunchtime I wondered how Ghastly could concentrate. He seemed to notice my trouble. "The man is likely enjoying his family, Val. We'll hear from him when he remembers the case. Trust me, he'll get here sooner or later."

But he wasn't there by the time we left work at the end of the day either. I looked at Ghastly and he shrugged. "Maybe he's letting sleeping dogs lie. He might be so content with his family-" He broke off, seemingly afraid of hurting me.

"I hope he is, but trouble seems to follow that man. I wish we knew what was going on, Ghastly, he was evasive when we asked him how he got captured. We both know that means he was doing something he shouldn't have been doing. There are pieces to the puzzle he isn't giving us and I don't like it. Mainly because it usually ends up with him or I getting pounced on by the bad guys."

Ghastly sighed. "I know, he had a bad habit of getting the people who care about him in hot water. But until he reaches out, let's leave him in peace. Besides which, I said I owed you dinner." He grinned.

"But I'm in work clothes." I groaned.

"Which look simply lovely, besides we might not get another chance for weeks." He purred, wrapping his arms around me. Then he was kissing me and I didn't mind being in work clothes a bit.

We found a nice place for dinner and got a secluded booth where Ghastly wouldn't be constantly stared at. I knew he disliked his scars intensely but I also knew trying to reassure him constantly would backfire. People stared at him, they found him ugly and I had been no better when I first met him. He had been ugly to me then. His scars were so deep people would just stare, even sorcerers did it, not knowing any better. I supposed they knew it came from his mother being jinxed because there was always the silent question in their eyes. Why?

I hadn't just woke up one day to find him attractive. It had taken years of getting to know him, and by and large Ghastly seemed to hold people at a distance until he trusted them. But over time something had happened. I suppose I grew up and learned to appreciate the man he was and not be so fixated on appearances. He was certainly a change from a pretty boy like Fletcher or a darkly handsome vampire like Caelan. Yeah, he isn't egotistical or homicidal, either. I thought to myself, then realized Ghastly was looking at me. He gave me a small smile, seemingly unsure of himself.

"Sorry, Ghastly. I was just thinking." He nodded and we placed our orders, taking our tea and coffee. I could feel he was retreating, so I continued. "I was just thinking how lucky I am to have you, to be honest."

It was the truth after all, and mentioning either Fletcher or Caelan would have just hurt him. And since he was nice enough to never bring Tanith up I felt obliged to return the favour. Ghastly took my hand in his, looking at me. "I keep expecting to wake up and find I dreamt you being with me up, to tell you the truth. I love you, Valkyrie, and you can't imagine how much it means to me that you've chosen to love me in return."

"Ghastly-" But I had no words. I didn't seem to need them though, he understood I felt the same way. We didn't talk much through dinner, but it was only because we were content just to be together.

Ghastly saw me to the door of the mansion, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me goodnight. Then he was touching the brim of he hat and promising to return in the morning.

"That would be more romantic if we weren't going to work, wouldn't it? Tell me why I ever agreed to become an Elder." He groaned. I smiled in response.

"Because you always wanted to wear those robes and sit on a throne." I teased and he snorted.

He was leaning in to kiss me again when we hear the screech of a car braking hard and we turned to see the Bentley come to an abrupt halt. Skulduggery leapt out, running towards us. He hadn't even bothered with his façade.

"Skulduggery! What is it." Ghastly asked, concerned.

"My family, they've been taken."

Cliffhanger! Wheee! Let me know if you want an update, and yes, I remember very well why Ghastly became an Elder.