Elias has taken off with the disclaimer telling you that I don't own any Ghosts characters.

Okay so where was Nigel during the whole Weekend From Hell incident? The only thing that makes sense is that Weekend From Hell took place before the incidents of Trevor's Body. I'm going to treat it as such. This takes place after Weekend From Hell.

Ghosts And Sympathy

"I can't believe all that happened," Trevor let out a breath. He and Hetty were speaking alone in the storage closet in the basement the afternoon after Elias had departed down below. "Are you okay?"

"Well, it's not every day your husband comes back from Hell after you send him there," Hetty remarked. "And tries to steal one of your friend's souls while finagling his way out of Hell. And then him realizing he's happier in Hell which doesn't surprise me one bit. It was quite a visit."

"Why didn't you get me?" Trevor asked. "I would have loved to taken a shot at that…"

"What good would that have done?" Hetty interrupted him. "Besides knowing Elias, he would have sniffed out our affair like a bloodhound. He always had a knack for finding scandal as well as causing it. Half of his income and business came as a result from blackmail."

"So?" Trevor gave her a look. "I don't care! Let him see that he's been replaced by a younger, hotter model! Let's see how he likes being tossed aside!"

"Oh Trevor…" Hetty was touched.

"I don't like how he treated you," Trevor growled. "Not just the cheating. He made you feel like you weren't good enough. That's what I really hate him for!"

"The real torture was having to endure Elias' confessions," Hetty groaned.

FLASHBACK!

Elias was on the couch in the living room. "Hetty I'm sorry I slept with the maid. And the other maid. And the other-other maid. And Mrs. Aster's maid. And her other maid. Mrs. Bankton's maid. Mrs. Bankton's housekeeper…Mrs. Vanderbilt's housekeeper and her maid. And her cousin. And her other cousin. Mrs. Charleston's maid, housekeeper and her sister…"

"Elias," Hetty interrupted. "Let's just say I forgive you for your affairs of the flesh. Otherwise, we'd be here until next Tuesday."

"That is a time saver," Elias nodded. "Well, I'm sorry I tried to steal your fortune obviously. In hindsight creating a secret vault was a bad idea."

"Fine," Hetty sighed. "I forgive you for that. Mostly because you failed. What else?"

Elias winced. "I don't know how to tell you this. But sometimes when you were visiting relatives...I threw a few minor gatherings for some colleagues at the mansion."

"I know about the sex parties Elias," Hetty growled at him.

"How would you...?" Elias looked at Thorfinn and Isaac. "Oh, right."

"To be fair they were fun parties," Thorfinn added. "Very entertaining!"

"I knew about them even before I died!" Hetty told him. "And before Mrs. Farnsby blabbed about everything!"

Elias blinked. "How...?"

"Her husband told her and she told me!" Hetty snapped.

"God I hate those Farnsbys," Elias growled. "The only reason I invited that blabbermouth was to get money out of that idiot!"

"Apparently Mr. Farnsby got ideas at that party and his wife enjoyed them!" Hetty added. "Reprobates! But I knew even before then! I found a trapeze costume and a dead monkey wearing a little costume in my closet! It was not that hard to deduce what happened!"

"I wondered what happened to that thing," Elias blinked. "Probably should not have given it all that cocaine."

"YOU GAVE MY COCAINE TO A MONKEY?" Hetty shouted.

"NO! Never!" Elias protested. "I would never give your cocaine to a monkey! I admit I've done many despicable things but never that! I gave it cocaine that belonged to Farnsby. It was a lower grade cocaine anyway."

"Oh, that's not so bad," Hetty remarked. "Of course, I could have done without all that makeup on the ceiling! Do you know how long it took the servants to clean that out! And the stains from the drapes!"

"All right! All right! I'm sorry about that!" Elias groaned. "And I'm extremely sorry about inviting Farnsby! I knew it was a bad idea! I didn't get a dime out of that tightwad!"

"Well..." Hetty paused. "I forgive you. What else?"

"I'm sorry I was drunk at your mother's funeral," Elias added. "And your father's funeral. And I also stole his pocket watch from the coffin."

"Well, they were upsetting days," Hetty admitted. "And the pocket watch would have gone to waste anyway."

"Technically I wasn't drunk because I was upset," Elias added. "I was celebrating."

"Of course, you were," Hetty grumbled. "Oh well. They were not the best people anyway. Like your mother. I noticed you were high as a kite during that one too!"

"Yes," Elias winced. "I may have dipped into your cocaine stash for that one."

"AND YOU DIDN'T SHARE WITH ME?" Hetty shouted.

"All right! Yes! That was really bad!" Elias admitted. "I am very sorry for that! We could have been on the cocaine train together! My fault!"

"Fine," Hetty let out a breath. "I forgive you. What else?"

"I'm sorry I stole money from your father," Elias admitted. "As well as stealing his mistress."

"He got what was coming to him," Hetty remarked. "And so did you."

"I know," Elias groaned. "I had crabs and two cracked ribs for a month! And that was just from the mistress! Your father…Ugh!"

"I forgive you for that," Hetty sighed. "What else?"

"I may have had a hand in exiling your sister to live in Philadelphia for a time and ruining her prospects for marriage," Elias winced.

"What prospects?" Hetty blinked. "My sister was horrible. I don't care about that one."

"I also stole money from your Aunt Hortense and caused her to go into the poorhouse," Elias winced.

"Again, horrible so…" Hetty shrugged. "Water under the bridge."

"Remember when Thomas was young and hit his head and I said the governess did it?" Elias asked.

"It wasn't her, was it?" Hetty grumbled.

"I had a weird inclination to hold my son and I dropped him on his head," Elias winced. "Which honestly explains some of his behavior as an adult."

"I didn't like that governess anyway," Hetty remarked. "And Thomas always was slightly odd so…I forgive you."

"I hated her too," Elias admitted. "She also refused to sleep with me and tried to blackmail me…"

"There you go," Hetty sighed. "Again, I forgive you for that."

"I'm going to say this once and for all," Elias sighed. "This is really tough. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you about Cousin Chandler!"

"HA!" Hetty grinned. "That one hurt, didn't it?"

"I lost a fortune on that stupid greased pig race!" Elias snapped. "Of course, it hurt!"

"Well, I warned you he was an idiot that couldn't be trusted!" Hetty remarked. "Even my so-called inferior female brain could figure that out!"

"In hindsight that was a huge red flag," Elias groaned. "I am very, very, very sorry I didn't listen to you about Cousin Chandler!"

"I forgive you for that," Hetty waved. "Is he down there too?"

"No," Elias shook his head. "He's too stupid for Hell. Apparently, Hell has standards. He's a ghost over in Chandler's Falls. His family property that has been turned into something called an Applebee's."

"Oh, that's nice for him," Hetty nodded. "What else?"

Elias went on. "I ran over your cat with the carriage and blamed it on the Farnsbys."

"It was an old cat anyway," Hetty waved. "More of a nuisance really. You did me a favor with that one."

"I framed Cousin Herbert for embezzlement and got him sent to prison," Elias admitted.

"He was going to go there anyway," Hetty told him. "After murdering all those prostitutes!"

"At the time I did not know about that!" Elias admitted. "Until they found all the bodies. Oh, He's one of my roommates in Hell. He sends his regards. And Uncle Thaddeus. He's another one of my roommates. So is that Jeffery Epstein fellow. He's a bit of a whiner. Very annoying."

Some of the other ghosts were there listening. "You have roommates in Hell?" Alberta asked.

"I have thirty roommates," Elias explained. "Hell has a slight overpopulation problem."

"Is my father down there?" Hetty asked.

"Oh yes," Elias nodded. "He's sharing a space with Bernie Madoff, Edward K. Collins, Philip Farnsby and several other of our relatives. I live in what is known as the millionaire's row in Hell. But it's not half as nice as the one on Earth let me tell you that much!"

Hetty realized something. "We have a lot of relatives in Hell, don't we?"

"Too many," Elias grumbled. "My mother lives in the apartment above me! She's always cramping my style!"

"Not surprised she ended up in Hell," Hetty remarked. "I forgive you for that. What else?"

"Wow this is zipping along faster than I thought," Elias remarked. "Oh! I remember doing something terrible on your thirty first birthday. I gave you a stolen birthday present. And then I stole it back to sell for some gambling debts."

Hetty realized something. "The green broach with all the emeralds?"

Elias nodded. "I stole it from Fanny Farnsby. Then I stole it back to sell for the gambling debts. Little tip, Andrew Carnegie is a much better poker player than he lets on."

"Oh well you did take it from a Farnsby after all," Hetty paused. "And honestly it was a hideous thing. I was relieved when I couldn't find it. And it gave me an excuse to sack that other maid I didn't like. I forgive you."

"That's a relief," Elias let out a breath.

"Well, it was just an insignificant bauble in the grand scheme of things," Hetty waved.

"I also stole your favorite diamond necklace and gave it to one of my mistresses," Elias added.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Hetty screamed. She had to be physically restrained by Thorfinn. "IF YOU WEREN'T ALREADY DEAD, I'D KILL YOU!"

FLASHFORWARD!

"It took a lot for me to forgive Elias," Hetty groaned. "But I did it."

"I can't believe I missed all that," Trevor groaned. "Sass is really upset he missed out on all the drama."

"He would be," Hetty nodded. "But it all worked out. Peter is safe. Elias is gone. And Jay has the reputation of being an amazing chef."

"Ironically thanks to Elias," Trevor nodded. "Wait, what happened after he made that woman horny for lamb chops? I didn't see him after that."

"After Elias walked through the Menu Woman, Thorfinn and Samantha threw him in the vault for the night," Hetty explained. "Right after I told him how much he helped Jay. She gave him such a good review."

"I bet Elias didn't like that," Trevor grinned.

"He was horrified when he found out he did a good deed," Hetty smirked. "I have a feeling between that and not getting Peter's soul…Things will not go well for him down there."

"I'm still sorry you had to deal with him alone," Trevor told her.

"Oh, I wasn't alone," Hetty waved. "Samantha and the other ghosts were with me. Turns out we were able to handle Elias. It's sad though. Part of me did care for Elias a little bit. Once. We had some happy moments together. Not many admittedly. Still…I feel like I let that part of my life go. I actually feel better. I just hope Elias stays in Hell this time."

"Were you ever in love with someone?" Trevor asked. "Anyone?"

Hetty paused. "There was a young man I fancied. We were fond of each other. He was handsome and well bred. Such manners. I was hoping to marry him. Father approved of the match since he came from an excellent background and a wealthy family. He encouraged me to charm him. And I was willing to do so."

"What happened?" Trevor asked. "How did you end up with Elias? Did he do something to change your father's mind?"

Hetty grimaced. "For once it wasn't Elias' machinations that caused trouble. It was my so-called beloved that was the fickle one. He was the one who taught me that men stray and can't be trusted. Not Elias. Elias just happened to prove the rule many times over."

"What happened?" Trevor realized. "He cheated on you?"

Hetty told him. "It was one of those damned Vanderbilt girls that caught his eye. One look at that little hussy's ankles and the man I thought I loved fell head over heels. Practically proposed to her overnight. Just tossed me aside like I was nothing. Then her father started outmaneuvering my father in business…Long story short my marriage to Elias shored up the family business. I had no say."

"I'm sorry," Trevor said. "That's horrible."

Hetty sighed. "I suppose the one thing Elias and I had in common besides a love of money was a hatred of the Farnsbys. He wanted to marry the Vanderbilt girl. And I wanted to marry Phineas Farnsby."

"Hang on," Trevor did a double take. "You almost married a Farnsby? And he dumped you? No wonder you hate their guts!"

"Especially since his mother encouraged the match," Hetty hissed. "And the Farnsbys became rivals to our family. Phineas always kowtowed to his mother. A horrible woman. Elias hated his mother with a passion. I never liked her much either but I allowed her to stay a few weeks out of the year just to tick him off. And she criticized him much more than she criticized me! It was amusing to watch her go after him."

"How did you…?"

"I used my wifely obedience as an excuse," Hetty smirked. She faked a sweet voice. "Darling as your wife I must allow your mother to be welcome into our home. It is part of my wifely duties after all. If she wishes to visit, I must obey."

"You weren't completely cowed by Elias, weren't you?"

"I learned some tricks," Hetty nodded. "I admit Elias and I…Learned to get along over the years. I think in our entire marriage we must have had three or four good weeks total. After our last child was born, he spent more and more time out of the house on business if you get my drift. His business of course was chasing floozies and having a good time."

Trevor winced. "No wonder you hated me when we first met."

"That and the lack of pants," Hetty admitted. "But I was wrong. You are nothing like Elias. Elias wouldn't even bother to point in the direction of a tailor let alone give the clothing off his back to a friend in need. Underneath your bravado and rambunctious behavior…There is a very kind, sweet, loyal young man. One I'm glad to call my friend."

"I'm glad you're my friend too," Trevor smiled. "And I'm sorry. Sorry for being a jerk to you all these years."

"To be fair I was also a tad harsh to you unnecessarily."

"Yeah, but I can see why," Trevor told her. "I don't think I was a very good person in life."

"Neither was I," Hetty remarked. "That's one thing we have in common."

"I know it's no excuse but…" Trevor paused. "That life…My former life. It was all I ever really knew and understood. I believed that being rich and making money and being wild was the way to go. Don't get me wrong I still have some good memories but…I don't want to be that person anymore."

"I think we've both changed over the years," Hetty remarked. "That's what makes us different than Elias. We want to change for the better."

"You're not like Elias you know?" Trevor told her as he hugged her. "You're so much better than he could ever be."

"I think we've talked enough about that bastard, don't you?" Hetty grinned. "I am going to enjoy an afterlife-free existence from my husband and I'm not going to be ashamed of it!"

"So…You want to tell people about us?" Trevor asked.

"Absolutely not!" Hetty said. "This household has already had one shocking afternoon! I don't think they can handle knowing about our…arrangement."

"They'd lose their minds," Trevor smirked. "Plus, it's still pretty hot all this sneaking around."

"True," Hetty smirked. "And its nice to have something over Elias. He always thought he was so clever with all his affairs he thought he was hiding from me!"

"I thought we weren't going to talk about him anymore?" Trevor raised an eyebrow.

"Good point," Hetty purred. "And I can think of better things for your mouth to do than talk."

Trevor smiled. "Your wish is my command." Then he kissed her.