**Chapter forty seven**

We all have our ghosts

William Ellis the third -known as Will- grew up with Grayson Gilbert. They were best friends, and Will was Grayson's best man when he married Miranda Somers. Grayson repaid the favor when Will married Holly Cassidy, despite his best friend's objections. Holly and Will had a child three years later, Hailey Anne Ellis. She looked just like her father, and was his heart. Hailey in turn, was daddy's little girl.

On April seventh, 2008, Will was driving to go pick up his daughter from a party. Hailey was rebel, but at least she was smart enough not to drink and drive. But then Will swerved into a wall and died instantly.

Many people thought that Will killed himself. But despite the problems with his marriage, Will would never leave his daughter willingly. The truth, that only he knew, was that Will was killed by the ghost of Victoria Ellis, who was just finishing what she started.

Funny, how Victoria forgot to mention that when she was trying to kill his daughter.

*Hailey*

The image of my father haunted me the rest of the night. I was quiet and distant, but Damon thought that I was just shaken up over the whole Derek debacle. I was sure that I was crazy, that my powers had finally driven me crazy. I saw my dead father, my very dead father.

Finally, I was done with faking sleep, and got up around six A.M. I walked down the stairs, to the kitchen, and got myself a bowl of cereal. I was afraid that I would see something that wasn't there, so I kept my eyes firmly on my Captain Crunch.

"Hailey, what's wrong?" I heard Damon ask me, as he walked into the kitchen.

I looked up at him, and gasped with shock and pain. The feeling of death engulfed me. I saw innumerable people- spirits- swirl around Damon, like a twisted aura.

Then I blinked and it was gone.

"What?" Damon asked, instantly at my side.

"I'm going insane." I muttered, keeping my eyes tightly shut so that I couldn't see the ghosts of Damon's victims.

"Going?" he teased, but instantly sobered up when he saw how serious I was.

"I saw my dad last night." I admitted bluntly. "And I swear, I just saw all these ghosts surrounding you- the ghosts of all the people you've killed."

I finally opened my eyes, to see Damon staring at me, taking in my words. "I didn't know that seeing ghosts was a fairy superpower." He said finally.

"Superpowers are cool, that was awful." I said, taking a shaky breath.

Damon wrapped his arms around me comfortingly. "Are you sure that it's not your mind playing tricks on you?" he asked, as I rested my head on his chest.

I looked up at him, wanting him to be right. "You don't believe in ghosts?"

"Just because vampire, witches, doppelgangers, and fairies exist, doesn't mean that aliens do." Damon said.

I nodded, hugging him tighter. "You saw your first human die last night- it's different than watching vampires die. I think that you're just emotionally scarred for life, not turning into the ghost whisperer." He smirked slightly.

"Well, as long as I'm scarred for life…" I joked back, fooling myself into believing his words for the moment. But deep down, I knew that I wasn't imagining the ghosts.

I pulled away from Damon, and exhaled loudly. "I'm going to go see Elena," I informed him, needing a distraction in the form of my best friend.

After I changed clothes, I drove to Elena's house, despite it being seven in the morning. I unlocked the house using the spare key, and walked into it. I found Elena in the kitchen, in her pajamas eating toast.

"Are you okay, Hailey?" she asked anxiously when she saw me.

I nodded, and stole a piece of toast from her. "Just peachy." I lied.

"Where did you stay last night?" she asked as we sat down at the table.

"The boarding house- on the couch." I added when I saw the look she gave me.

"Are you sure that you're not still into Damon, Hailey?" Elena asked, and I sighed.

"Course not. I told you a million times that it was just a fling." I lied through my teeth.

I should've told Elena about Damon and I a long time ago, but now wasn't the time. I hated lying to her, but not enough to tell her the truth. I also didn't tell Elena about seeing ghosts. I figured that if I talked about the ghosts, I would jinx it and start seeing them again.

I stood up and walked to the coffee maker, and poured myself a cup. Just as I was taking a big gulp, I noticed two figures in the corner watching us.

Grayson and Miranda Gilbert.

I choked on the coffee, the hot liquid burning my mouth and throat. I put down my cup and started walking towards the door. I knew at that moment, that I wasn't imagining the ghosts. Elena stared at me in alarm as I bolted towards the door.

"Hailey-?" she asked, standing up.

"I need to go." I said, my heart pounding. She was unaware that I had just seen her dead parents.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"I can't Elena, okay? I can't tell you." I exclaimed, before running out of her house, my best friend gaping after me.

As soon as I got to my house, I called Damon on the landline. He answered on the second ring. "Hailey?" he said.

"I'm not crazy, Damon. I see ghosts. I just saw Elena's dead parents." I said, pacing in my room.

"Okay, maybe you're not insane." He admitted.

"You know what I have to do know, right?" I asked, sighing.

"Ignore this and hope it goes away?" Damon asked hopefully.

"I have to contact Bella." I said firmly. Damon burst out laughing.

"Please tell me you're not serious." Damon said after I didn't laugh too.

"Bella is the original fairy of my blood line, she'd know how to deal with this." I insisted.

"Hailey, the last time you contacted one of your fairy tribe members, we both almost died." Damon argued.

"Bella will be different. Besides, I won't let her get into my body. I need to figure this out. Who knows what ghosts want me dead? I can think of two right now." I argued.

Damon groaned. "Just be careful, Hailey." He said softly.

"I love you." I told him.

"I love you too."

I hung up on him, and then looked to Ellie, who was lounging on my bed. "Am I making a mistake, contacting Bella, Elle?" I asked her, hoping she would give me some guidance.

Ellie meowed once, and I sighed. "You suck at being my familiar." I told my cat.

I took a deep breath, and then sat down in the middle of the floor. I closed my eyes and concentrated my thoughts on Bella. I pictured me, but in really old timey clothes. Suddenly, I felt an entity in my room, and my eyes popped open.

I expected to see me, like with Victoria. but the young woman looking curiously around my room didn't look at me at all. she was willowy, with wavy brown hair and blue/gray eyes. she was pretty, but not what I expected.

"Uh, hi?" I said, as the woman who I doubted was Bella smiled slightly at me.

"Hello, Hailey." She said cheerfully.

"Um, who are you?" I asked bluntly, not thinking that I might be offending the ghost in front of me. but she just grinned at me.

"Gemma, the original fairy." she informed me.

Gemma, the water fairy. my eyebrows furrowed. "No offense, but I was trying to reach Bella." I told her.

Gemma wasn't bothered by my words. "Yes, I know you wanted my sister. It is amazing, the spell really did work…" Gemma stared at me.

"Yeah, well why isn't she here?" I asked, a little impatient.

"… it is complicated, Hailey. Let us just say for the sake of time, that Bella is tied up at the moment. I heard your message, and chose to come in replacement of her. Besides, I noticed that you have a ghost problem, and I have the most experience with them out of all my siblings." Gemma said, absentmindedly smoothing down her dress.

I couldn't help but notice the huge blood stain on the front of the dress. She smiled slightly when she caught me noticing. "Yes, the witch who killed me wasn't too gentle with that forsaken knife."

I decided that Gemma was good enough, and cleared my throat. "I need to know why I'm seeing ghosts and how I can stop it."

"Well, it is quite simple, Hailey." Gemma said, walking closer to me. "You see, when my siblings and I were born, we all had basic powers. But as Adora discovered, you could expand them." She said her sister's name bitterly.

"What did Adora do?" I asked curiously.

Gemma shook her head. "My family's history is long and painful. I wish not to go into it right now."

"Fine, as you were saying?" I pushed.

"Yes, Fairies can expand their powers. That is how a lot of them went, as your generation says, nuts. They dove too deep into the darkness that hides under our light. But there are different ways to expand your powers besides digging deeper into your magic. a lot of those ways occur accidently, like with you." Gemma informed me.

"You came out of the in-between by yourself, Hailey. That is not an easy task. And then you witnessed the death of a human. Those two experiences caused you to be able to see the dead." Gemma said, and I exhaled loudly.

Gemma looked at me sympathetically. "Is there any way to reverse it, so that I don't have to see ghosts?" I asked.

"I believe you have the ring, the one that stops young fairies from reaching the darker parts of our magic. if you never take that ring off, you will never see spirits again." Gemma informed me.

I nodded, knowing that the ring was in a bush outside of the boarding house. "Thanks, Gemma. I kind of expected you to try to kill me like Victoria." I admitted.

"Yes, I am aware that Victoria has made questionable decisions because of her questionable beliefs. What she has yet to realize is that all races- even humans- can be evil. It is our decisions that decide if we are good or bad, not what we are born." She said.

"Am I going to go crazy like Victoria?" I blurted out suddenly.

Gemma sighed. "Too much power can drive a person mad, Hailey. If you do not go digging into the darkness in search of more power, you will be safe. It may seem like an easy task, but for some fairies, the temptation is too great."

"Thanks, Gemma, for everything." I said, ready to stop all of this ghost-seeing shit.

"Wait, Hailey." Gemma said suddenly. "I hear that you have captured the heart of a vampire."

I froze, ready to hear her tell me what a soulless monster Damon was. and I was just starting to like the chick.

As if reading my thoughts, Gemma quickly said, "It is witches who are judging toward fellow supernaturals, not fairies. we have always been on good terms with vampires, despite them hunting us down for our blood.

"I just wish to warn you that being the keeper of a vampire's heart is not always wise, nor is having a vampire keep yours. Be careful Hailey. I speak more out of witnessing a romance between a fairy and a vampire go wrong, than out of it happening to me. but I do know that vampires are not very stable when it comes to their emotions. And fairies tend to be impulsive. If one wrong word is said, I fear that something terrible might just happen." Gemma finished.

I nodded, remembering that Stefan had said something similar to me yesterday. "Good luck, Hailey. Your troubles are far from over." Gemma said, before disappearing from my room.

I took a deep breath, and held out my hand. I pictured my ring in my mind, and a minute later, it appeared in my palm. I bit my lip, knowing what I should do. But I couldn't pass up the chance to see him one last time.

I put my ring down on my bed, and then closed my eyes. "We need to talk." I said clearly into my silent room. I opened my eyes a few minutes later, but I was alone.

"I missed you, Hailey." Somebody said suddenly from behind me, their voice cracking.

I turned around, and gaped at the man I never got to say goodbye to. He was still in the clothes he died in.

"I missed you too, daddy."

~LMF~

A/N: I am so freaking excited for the ball on TVD tonight!

Thank you to: Samantha meyers, HeadHuntress18, AubreySalvatore, vdemily, Carrie9586, kat, CassieSalvatore, SomebodyWhoCares, HawthorneTree, Kelsey, and aireagle92 for reviewing!

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~Abby!