Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

This alternate ending was based on the episode "Séance" written by Preston Wood and aired on 2/24/1973. Emergency and its characters are the property of Universal Studios and Mark VII – just borrowing them!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Johnny headed up the stairs, shaking his head at Roy's easy acquiescence to the husband's suggestion that they take a look around the house. How does one look for a ghost, he mused, turning left at the head of the stairs and opening the first door. He poked his head in, flicked on the switch, and peered in. It was a guest room from the looks of it, with a twin bed, night stand, and a desk hogging up most of the floor space and not exactly creating a welcoming retreat. He shut the light off and backed out, fighting down the snicker that threatened to erupt. Probably the room where they stowed their respective in laws; maybe he should suggest the idea to Roy the next time his mother in law darkened the doorway of the DeSoto household. Stick the old bat into the root cellar with an army surplus cot, a candle, and a jumbo sized can of bug repellant and see just how long she stayed. Of course Roy would need a cellar to make that work, he was pretty darn sure that the house couldn't lay claim to that feature. Plus JoAnne might not take too kindly to the idea of her sainted mother sleeping amongst the jars of canned fruit.

He yawned, thinking that were was nothing like an odd call like this to interrupt an exhausted, dreamless sleep, and glanced into the next room down the hall. The bathroom, with its aqua blue tile and matching commode and sink, assaulted Gage's nose with the sickening odor of hair spray and perfume, forcing him to beat a hasty retreat. The remaining door on this end of the hall led to another bedroom, equally tiny and cluttered with craft and sewing supplies. He startled slightly at the shape in the corner before recognizing it as one of those dummies that the ladies used to put their sewing creations on. Not much room for a spirit to hide out in here, he reflected, and closed the door gently on the brightly covered fabrics and other bits and pieces that filled the room.

He stumbled slightly as he passed the stairs, heading towards the remaining unchecked room to the right of the white bannisters that lined the staircase and the square landing. He looked down, but didn't see anything in the dim light except the endless mile of harvest gold carpet. He shrugged, pushing back the weird thought that it had felt like a hand between his shoulders pushing, and closed the distance between himself and the closed door, which by process of elimination had to lead into the master bedroom. He had to put his shoulder to the door when it failed to yield with the turning of the knob and the push of his flattened palm against the wood. He lurched inside when the door swung open quicker than he had anticipated, landing on one turnout clad knee and swinging his arms wildly to remain upright.

"Good grief," he muttered out loud, as he regained his balance and planted both booted feet firmly on the floor. He took a wary step forward and shivered involuntarily as he felt a sudden draft of cold air enveloping him and smothering him with its icy cloak. "I really need to stop watching those spooky movies before bedtime!"

He plunged forward, resting a hand on the double bed for guidance as he circled it and blundered towards the louvered doors that probably hid the clothes and shoes within. He felt an unexpected adrenaline rush as he laid a hand on each of the small, circular knobs; he circled them with his fingers and yanked open the doors.

"Nuthing…huh…what did you expect anyways, Gage? Kelly is gonna have a field day with this, if he ever finds out…," Johnny muttered, closing the doors again and swinging around to glance around the room. Just a normal bedroom, with a maple spindled bed, a pair of matched nightstands with lamps on them, and a couple of dressers, nothing unusual and no white gowned spirit hovering above the matrimonial bed. "Mrs. Teal is getting to ya, that's all…a little sleep will fix it."

Nevertheless, he beat a hasty retreat from the couple's lair, ignoring the trickle of sweat that was sliding down his back. He took the stairs two at a time, his boots clunking as his heels rapidly hit the edges. This time he knew it was a hand that pushed him because he felt the cold imprint of it between his shoulder blades; he was unable to maintain his balance and slid down the rest of the stairs at an awkward angle, ending up almost upside down at the bottom. He groaned and rolled, finally able to struggle to his knees and then pull himself to his feet with the aid of the painted post.

He vaulted out into the entryway, drawing a deep breath and composing his facial features before he joined the Teals, who were waiting in front of the flickering fireplace in the formal living room. With a straight face, he answered "nothing" to Mr. Teal's question of whether there was anybody in the upstairs rooms and watched his partner amble into the space from the dining room. It was easy to blank out the rest of the run, telling the husband that it was no problem to respond to his call for help in the middle of the night, and easily agreeing that a good night's sleep would solve a lot of the problems. He was itching to get out of the room, the house, and honestly, the whole neighborhood…..

Once they were in the squad, it was easy to laugh at Roy's assertion that there were no such things as ghosts. He easily quipped back that he would hold Roy's hand if needed, but all the while he was thinking that there was something definitely malicious in that house…..

A/N – Séance is probably the only episode that comes close to a Halloween episode for Emergency! Just in time for Halloween, at least in my time zone!