A/N: Hezzo! Are you ready to find out who this person is? Well too bad! Not this chapter! Mwa ha ha ha ha! (cough,cough,hack,choke)
BY THE WAY! Disclaimer: I always forget to do this. I do not own original characters from Casper. It's a sad fact, but true none the less.
Chapter 3: New Resident
Dr. Harvey and Kat cast wary glances around Whipstaff manor as they entered, on guard for any mischievous ghosts looming around. Casper had gone invisible, searching for his uncles and planning to distract them with any means necessary.
"The phone is right over there," Dr. Harvey pointed out. Jane said a quick thank you before dialing a number. She spoke for a moment, her face screwing up in distress before hanging up.
"The auto mechanic shops in Friendship are all sold out. They said something about orders for parts being mixed up and probably won't be able to give me new tires for a long time."
"How long is a long time?" Dr. Harvey asked nervously. Jane shrugged, already starting towards the door.
"A a few weeks, possibly longer."
"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Jane stopped, forcing smile.
"Well, I couldn't possibly impose," she said a bit too quickly, almost stepping out the door while pulling her hood back up. Dr. Harvey rushed to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Nonsense, you can't walk all the way back to your car." Jane held his gaze stubbornly, biting her lip once again.
"Please, just stay the night. Kat can loan you some clothes," he said, motioning for Kat to go up the stairs. "We'll dry these for you to wear in the morning." He emphasized his point by squeezing her shoulder.
Jane slowly nodded then sighed, reaching into her coat pocket to retrieve a wallet.
"I suppose I should repay your kindness. Is this enough?" she asked, pulling out a couple hundreds. Dr. Harvey's eyes widened at the amount but reluctantly pushed her away.
"There's no need for-"
"Take it," Jane insisted, shoving it into his hands. "Or I'll walk out that door."
He smiled slightly and pocketed the money, already planning ahead to treat them all to a nice dinner one day. Kat returned with a pair of pajamas and led Jane to her room.
Casper floated through the halls towards his uncles' bedroom. Quietly, he stuck his head through the door. He gasped when he saw Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie all laying in their beds. Apparently, his sharp intake was loud because all three of their heads snapped towards him.
"Well, if it isn't the little glowworm!" Fatso exclaimed happily, pinching Casper's cheeks and dragging him into the room.
"What are you doin here short-sheet?" Stretch questioned, yanking his tail.
"Did ya miss us?" Stinkie cackled throwing an arm around his shoulders and making sure his B.O. was extra ripe. Casper gagged, turning slightly green before struggling free. He laughed nervously, not really sure what to do.
"Oh, uh, I just wanted to know if you had fun on your trip." Stretch immediately sensed something was up.
"Say, is der somethin you ain't tell'n us bulb head?"
"Hmm?" Fatso and Stinkie questioned in unison as they moved in closer. Casper shook his head violently.
"No, no! Absolutely not! Nothing is up whatsoever! Nu-uh, now way!" he denied, tripping over his words. Stretch growled, grabbing Casper and twisting his tail.
"Who are you? Porky the pig?" He let go of Casper who was immediately propelled through a wall. Rolling up imaginary sleeves, Stretch exited the room.
"Come on boys, I smell somethin fishy."
Stinkie burped, covering his mouth and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, musta been dose fish tacos I had earlier."
The trio stealthily snaked their way through the halls, Stretch cueing them to go invisible once they were near the stairs leading to the front doors. Quietly, they scanned the perimeter. First thing they spotted were Kat and the Doc, both looking around wearily.
"Hey guys, look," Stinkie whispered, pointing to another person.
"It's a dame," Stretch said, the soaking coat sticking to a painfully obvious feminine form. Fatso suddenly grinned, elbowing his brothers.
"Hey, you think Dr. Harvey's got a girl- Whoa!" he exclaimed, dodging Kat as she ran up the stairs.
With growing curiosity, the trio watched the Doc talk to the stranger, dodging Kat again as she descended the stairs with a pair of clothes.
"Looks like this is gonna be an over night visit," Stinkie said, raising a non-existent eyebrow when the woman gave the Doc a wad of cash. They followed the two women as Kat led the stranger to an unused room, but before they could go in, they suddenly turned as a whirring noise filled the hall...
"And here is where you'll sleep," Kat said, gesturing to the bed and then to an attached bathroom. "You can take a shower too. I hope those clothes will fit."
Jane smiled appreciately. "Good night Jane, if you need anything I'm right down the hall." And with that, she was left alone. Throwing the spare clothes onto the bed, Jane stripped from her coat, grimacing at the wet clothes clinging to her body. The room was relatively comfortable, a single bed, closet, dresser and mirror provided enough for one person.
After she was sure no one was going to burst in through the door, she finally let fatigue take over. Groaning, she slumped to her knees on the floor. Her legs ached terribly from days of driving, and her butt wasn't fairing any better.
Mumbling curses, she drug herself to the mirror, hoisting herself up with some difficulty. She looked at her reflection and sneered, obviously not liking what she saw.
"God, I hate my life," she ground out through gritted teeth, forcing herself to stand and walk to the bathroom.
Jane stood underneath the scolding hot water, sighing blissfully as it seemed to wash away all her troubles. But in reality, they were still there. She was able to run away, but she couldn't hide forever. After all, the press had eyes everywhere. She only hoped she'd driven far enough away to avoid them long enough to figure out what to do next.
Sighing, she pushed her frustrations aside, turning off the water and drying. Only then did she realize her clothes were still on the bed. Wrapping herself in a towel, Jane opened the bathroom door.
"Let us out!"
"Yeah Doc! We ain't done nuth'n!"
"Yet…" Dr. Harvey mumbled, putting the vacuum cleaner aside. Rubbing his temples, James pondered the best way to approach the situation. This so called "Jane" had run into a spot of trouble, and if his deductive skills as a therapist rang true, she seemed to be running from trouble as well. And since her tires had all blown out without any hope of being repaired, it seemed she would be staying for quite sometime. Then again, he could always show her to the nearest hotel…
"Listen Doc, if ya let us out right now we promise not to throw your bed over da cliffs!"
James didn't need motivation, he knew they would do it.
Letting them free from the vacuum, he was met with three pairs of not-so-nice glowing eyes.
"All right Doc, you've got some explain'n ta do," Stretch said getting right up in the doctor's face.
Sensing the best approach would be the direct, he bluntly laid out the rules.
"Okay fellows, I know you all would really like to scare our visitor, but please, I'm begging you, just leave her alone. It's only for one night." His eyes were pleading, but when he saw that they weren't going to relent, he gave in. "Okay then, I'm calling in that favor."
The trio scowled hoping he had forgotten all about their little deal.
Shortly after the doctor's brush with death, they had begun to feel guilty. They had even almost apologized, but James had just made them promise to never again try to make him an official member of their group. Not necessarily satisfied with this arrangement, James had been promised one favor, and one only. But after their little guilt trip subsided, they had begun to regret that choice, worried that the Doc would one day ruin their fun.
And now that day had come.
With obvious reluctance Stretch asked, "Okay Doc, give us da details."
James sighed in relief. "I don't want you to come into any contact with our guest. Don't talk to her, don't show yourself to her, and don't play pranks on her."
They all nodded, sulking like little children.
"What's her name anyways?" Stinkie asked.
"Jane."
"Ooo! Jane Parkens?" Fatso asked excitedly before being whacked in the head with a sledgehammer.
"Jane Parkens? Who da hell is dat? Wait, I don't even want to know," Stretch said tiredly before floating off to their room.
Jane held her towel close as she made her way over to the mirror. "Oh god," she groaned, turning and examining her body. "I've lost even more weight!" Her shoulders had become more bony due to her lack of food over the trip and her collar bone stuck out sharply.
"Yuck," she sneered, turning away from the mirror and walking towards her clothes.
She studied them for a moment before putting them on. Surprisingly, they fit, though, the pajama pants were a bit snug and the shirt showed a bit of her belly.
Just glad to have something warm to wear, Jane crawled into bed. She stared at the ceiling for awhile, pondering what to do. She could leave. Sneak out in the middle of the night to get to her car. But then what? It wasn't like she would be able to go anywhere.
Pursing her lips, she let a long sigh. Tomorrow then, she'd find a nice, shady, back ally hotel room and live out the rest of her days feeding the stray cats that hung around behind dumpsters.
Anything beside what she was involved in now.