Take My Breath Away
by
Owlcroft

While tidying her room just before bedtime, Lydia found a single tortilla chip on her desk left over from the night of movie-watching with Beetlejuice. She smiled and popped it into her mouth then promptly stubbed her toe against the leg of the desk. Inhaling sharply in surprise and pain, she swallowed the barely chewed chip and choked. She tried again to swallow, but, realizing she couldn't and – much more important – couldn't breathe, she fought to remain calm and remember her first aid course. She hurried into her bathroom to try to self-Heimlich against the counter-top, but it was the wrong height. Out of air, she began to panic; she was unsure if she could even get downstairs and find her parents in time and, worst of all, she was unable to call Beetlejuice.

In the Neitherworld, Beetlejuice suddenly looked up from his own late night snack and his eyes widened. "Lyds!" he said and juiced himself to her mirror. When she wasn't in her bedroom, he immediately tracked her to the smaller bathroom mirror and saw a desperate Lydia pushing herself against the sink counter, trying to dislodge the chip. When she saw him, she pointed to her throat with an anguished, terrified look.

Beetlejuice pounded viciously on the inside of the mirror. "Lyds!" Distraught and helpless, he clutched at his hair and took a deep breath. For the first time ever, he tried to calm down and think instead of merely screaming and swearing.

"Babes! Drink some water!" He pointed to the glass next to the sink and mimed drinking. "Try really hard to get it down!"

At once, the panicky Lydia ran water into the glass and poured it into her mouth. As the water hit the obstruction, she gagged then threw up the water and the chip and collapsed against the counter, gasping in welcome breaths. After only a few seconds, she managed to whisper, "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice," and he was there instantly.

"Oh," he said, taking her into his arms. "Oh, babes," then he held her as she gasped and panted, holding onto him with all her strength. "Shh. You're okay, I've got you. Everything's all right." He gently rubbed her back and cuddled her against him. "Shh. Shh. You're okay." When her breathing was less labored, he removed one hand from her to swipe at his eyes and took a few deep breaths himself.

Lydia also wiped at her eyes and shivered. "I could've died," she said faintly against his shirt. "I couldn't breathe."

"But you're okay now. Just take it easy, babes. You're all right." He swiped at his eyes once more and asked, "You need to sit down? Lie down? Here," he picked her up and floated her back into her room.

She clung to him though when he tried to place her on her bed. "Beej, just hold onto me for a little bit, okay?"

"No problem. You just take it easy. Okay?" He tucked a pillow behind her back and sat down next to her, holding her gently, patiently, trying to breathe normally himself.

After another minute, she loosened her grip just a little. "Thank you. For saving my life." She looked up at him and managed a tiny smile. "Again."

"I couldn't get to you!" Beetlejuice was still extremely upset. "I couldn't get here!" He sighed, partly from frustration but mostly from anxiety, and adjusted his hold on her to face her more directly. "But it'll never happen again."

"I will be more careful, honest. I don't ever want to go through that again, believe me."

He shook his head. "Not what I mean. I mean, of course you have to be careful, but . . ." He brushed a bit of her hair off her face before saying, "I'll always be here. Never go back to the Neitherworld so if something happens, I'll be here. Where I can help you."

"What?" She pushed away from him with a puzzled look. "What do you mean, never go back. You mean never go home?"

"I am never going to let something like that happen to you again. And me not here, not able to get to you? Nuh-uh. Never again."

Lydia stared at him, her hands still clutching his shirt. "You mean you would just stay here, in this world? Hang around just in case something happened to me? Beej, you don't mean that!"

He shrugged, gently so as not to dislodge her grip on him. "It'll be boring sometimes, but –" He broke off and closed his eyes, then said in a quiet voice, "but better than watching you suffocate and not being able to save you."

"But . . . but you can't do that!" She was appalled. "You can't give up your friends, your . . . your existence in the Neitherworld. It's your home!"

"Of course I can do that. You know I'd do more than that – anything – for you."

"I mean, I don't want you to." She was clearly dismayed by the idea.

"Oh," he paused for a moment and thought. "Would it make a difference? To you, I mean? We could still go there, you know." He studied the far wall. "You'd still be able to go there if that's what you're worried about."

"Oh, Beej, you're what's important to me, not the Neitherworld!" Lydia moved her hands to his lapels and shook him gently. "You can't abandon everything you grew up with like that. You know you'd miss it and you wouldn't be happy staying here."

"Yeah, but I can't do this again. Seeing you like that and being helpless; I can't!" Beetlejuice shook his head vehemently. "You can't ask me to go through that again. I'd do anything to avoid that, and staying here, just going home for visits – that's nothing compared to . . ." He shuddered at the thought and shook his head again.

"But . . . but look. I'll probably never choke like that again. Don't you think I'll be really, really careful now? And I've lived for almost seventeen years without it ever happening, so that's probably the only time, right?" She gave him a hopeful look.

"Lyds. Listen." He sat up straight and held her by the arms, facing him. "I. Won't. Do. That. Again. Got it? I can't and I won't."

She let go of his lapels and rested her hands on his chest, right over his heart. "Do you really think I don't understand? When I'd feel the same way if it'd been you in danger of . . . well, let's say a sandworm." She felt him shiver slightly, but kept on. "I would do anything to keep you safe, too, you know. But I trust you – to take care of yourself and stay out of trouble."

"You shouldn't," he muttered, not meeting her eyes.

"But I do. And if you do get into trouble, then you know I'll help get you out of it. Beej, this isn't going to happen again. And if it does, then you can say 'I told you so'." She grinned at him, but got no answering smile. "Okay, look. Instead of you staying here, why don't I just go live in the Neitherworld if you're so worried about me?" She looked at him limpidly.

"Because you have a life here! You have friends here and family and things you want to do, things that are important to you, and . . ." He paused then and lowered his eyelids halfway. "Are you being cunning and sly again?"

She gave him a somewhat smug smile. "Maybe." Then she held out a hand, still slightly shaky, and when he took hold of it said, "I know you were upset – scared, and so was I. But we can't let it affect us too much, we can't let it determine everything we do from now on. I'm fine now, and it's all thanks to you. In fact, did I ever thank you?"

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have," he muttered. "Drinking water, what a terrific idea when you can't even breathe."

"But it worked. I never even thought of trying to drink but it made me throw up and that was what I needed to do. I'm so thankful you were there, even just in the mirror. You're always there for me." She gripped his hand a little tighter. "But you would never ask me to give up this world, and I would never ask you to give up the Neitherworld."

"Hmm." He looked at her hand holding his and bowed his head in thought. "You think I'm overreacting? No, I'm not overreacting! Lyds –"

"Wait a minute," she held up her other hand hand with an arrested look. "You knew I was in trouble. You knew I needed help." She tilted her head and stared at him. "I couldn't Call you, but all of a sudden – there you were. You knew."

Beetlejuice quirked his mouth and blinked. "I just . . . felt it. Felt that I had to find you, right then." He shrugged. "That's all I can tell you, babes."

"Then don't you see? You know when I need you, you'll always know. And you'll always be there for me. So you don't have to worry about that."

"Hmm. But . . ." He unconsciously tightened his hand in her clasp. "I did know, but . . . babes, I still wasn't here."

Lydia settled herself and got a determined look on her face. "Beetlejuice. You were here enough to tell me exactly the right thing to do –" She held up her other hand as he tried to protest, and went on speaking. "And just seeing you there, knowing I wasn't alone, helped. Maybe you couldn't be here in person, so to speak, but you were here with me and that's what matters. Now you're telling me you want to give up the Neitherworld, except for when we visit, just in case something else happens to me – and I can just imagine how bored you'd be and how much trouble you'd get into. And then I'd be worried about you and I know you don't want that. And we both know how you overreact to things and then regret it later! So how is this time different? You don't have to prove anything to me, and you certainly don't need to babysit me constantly, so I won't even listen to any more of this. And another thing, if you stop and think about it, there's really no –"

"All right, all right! I give in, okay?" He frowned slightly, then sighed. "Sheesh. You big bully. Now just take a breath and relax. Now take another breath. Another one. Just keep breathing, okay?" He managed a small smile as she laughed, then muttered something that she couldn't quite make out.

"What?" she asked.

He waved it off. "Nothing. Hey, if you're feeling okay now, you probably ought to get some sleep, right?"

ooooo

It wasn't until later, just falling asleep, that she realized what he'd said was, "But you still take my breath away."