A fair Trade - A Beetlejuice Fanfiction - Betelgeuse & Lydia

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own the Beetlejuice franchise, nor do I make any money from this story. I just like to borrow the characters for my own twisted amusement.

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'What the?' The sleeping mother thought with a jolt when a small foot connected with her back sharply. 'Ouch!' Lydia silently contemplated as she sat up in the bed and gently rubbed the tender spot where her daughter had just hit. 'That shit hurt!' Damn. For being such a little thing, that tiny girl was all arms and legs and took up most of the bed. How was that even possible?

Her brown eyes slid to the clock and spied that she had only slept for about an hour. You would think it wouldn't be enough time to recharge, but it did seem to take the edge off the fatigue that was weighing down on her. It does appear that a little bit does go a long way, especially for someone pregnant. Plus, the young mother was going to need all the sleep that she can get. Especially now with two little ones in the works, sleep will be the last thing on their minds.

Lydia pushed back the covers and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Her petite hand came up and rubbed the sleep crust, then pulled away to scan her old room. Quickly she realized that they were alone, and her ghostly husband was nowhere to be seen. 'Hm...Wonder where he is?' quietly mused the young mother who scratched at the back of her head then shrugged. Her poltergeist wouldn't have gone far and would show up eventually like always.

A light knock sounded on the door, drew her attention away from the thoughts of her husband. Lydia watched as it slowly opened, and Barbara's voice softly called out her name while her curly head moved into view. "Lydia?"

The deceased woman's eyes widened when she spotted the sleepy newlywed and smiled nervously. "Sweetie, I didn't wake you, did I?"

A few dark strands gently fell as she swung her head side to side. "No, you didn't wake me. Please come on in," insisted Lydia waving the hesitant ghost in and swiping the loose locks behind an ear.

Barbara carefully sized up the room before stepping in and quietly shutting the door. Her petite hands wrung together as she eyed the pregnant woman cautiously then bucked up the nerve and revealed why she was there. "I was wondering if I could speak with you?"

Well, that hadn't taken Barbara long, and Lydia had an inkling of what or whom the dead woman wanted to talk about. She gestured for the specter to take a seat in the chair across from the bed. "What is it that you want to talk about?" asked the newlywed regarding her surrogate mother in question.

Moving to the chair and sitting down, the woman fretfully smoothed out her dress then got to the point. "It's about you and HIM?" Barbara emphasized the word him and began to smooth out more imaginary wrinkles.

Lydia felt the rise of mild irritation at Barbara's condescending tone but resisted the urge to snap. Her teeth ground together while she hissed out a response, "What about me and my husband?" Her shrewd gaze watched as the dead woman flinched when the word husband was said, and her annoyance seemed to flourish. Oh, for fuck's sake, couldn't her family just be glad she was happy? It could have been worse, so much worse. Christ, it could have been Luke instead of Betelgeuse; a shudder of disgust and a good dose of fear ran through her at the thought.

The exasperation must have been written all over her face because Barbara began to stumble with her words. "Well. You see...Are you...You know...Happy...With him?" The specter bit her bottom lip and cautiously caught her foster daughter's eye. A bubble of laughter spilled from Lydia, which caught the anxious dead woman by surprise.