Beetlejuice oneshots 🪲

A New Life

(Synopsis: Delia, currently pregnant with Lydia's soon-to-be half-sibling, has gone into labour and the rest of them frantically rush her to the hospital, where Adam and Barbara re-examine their lives— and their deaths.)

Lydia paced back and forth over the waiting room floor. She couldn't identify what she was feeling— it was a mix of anxious, scared, and excited, dancing around inside her head, and she couldn't focus. In just a number of hours she would have a new younger sibling.

When Delia had gone into labour earlier that day, everybody was surprised— and panicked— especially since she wasn't due for another few weeks. Charles was the one who stayed calm among them, and he had managed to organize everything before they left. Now he and Delia were off somewhere in a hospital room, while Lydia waited with the Maitlands. It was dark out by now, and there was still no sign of the baby. So there she was, pacing and pacing.

Barbara watched her. "Lydia, you okay?" she asked. "You look nervous."

The teenage girl stopped walking and looked up. "I don't know," she admitted. "This is all so new— I thought we would have more time. At least a few more weeks!" She held her hands up in disbelief.

"Oh, believe me, I thought so too," Barbara responded, leaning back in her chair. "I can't even picture your father with a baby."

Lydia bit her lip in thought. "I can't either." She stopped suddenly and glanced at the chair next to Barbara, which was empty. "Hey, where's Adam?"

"Adam?" Turning around, Barbara caught a glimpse of her husband on the other side of the room, by the water cooler. He was holding a tiny paper cup to the spout, impatiently trying to get it to release. Barbara sighed. There was her answer.

Lydia started pacing again. She was thinking about what Barbara said before, about her dad with a baby. Not only that, Delia's baby. Delia and her dad's baby. Considering her dad's age, she wouldn't have guessed he would be open to having children after her. But here they were. 9:00 PM, in a hospital waiting room.

Barbara focused her attention back on Adam, who was still at the water cooler, getting frustrated with the spout. Finally, he got it to work, and the water poured into his cup (which he had overestimated the size of, as it was starting to overflow). Panicked, he tried to shut the water off, and Barbara finally decided to intervene.

"Hold on a second," she told him, ducking under his arm, which still held the cup to the spout. She shook the cooler, and it finally stopped. Smiling, she spun to face her husband. "They had one like that at the dentist I went to last week."

"You're a lifesaver." Adam leaned in to kiss her. "Sorry about that. I guess I was kind of distracted."

"Mm." Barbara glanced over his shoulder at Lydia, who was wringing her hands and staring at the floor. She looked pale, like she might faint. Barbara took Adam's hand from beside her and pulled it up over her head, dragging him over to where Lydia was. "Hey, honey? Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine," Lydia replied, holding onto Barbara's chair to steady herself. She lowered herself into the seat and took a few deep breaths. She was sure once she met her new sibling, and her dad and Delia were calm again, everything would be okay. She cast a look at Barbara, and Adam, who still had his full-to-the-brim paper cup. He noticed, too, and took a sip.

Barbara went around to sit beside her, in Adam's chair. "We still have a while to wait here, don't we?" she pointed out. "Might as well do something."

"Okay. Let's talk about you guys." If Lydia knew one thing, it was that she didn't want to talk about herself anymore. Today was already a lot.