Disclaimed
Author's Note: I was on IMDB looking at the Casper movie page, and a plot bunny struck. I was crying while I thought of it, lame as I am. Flames accepted, reviews desperately wanted.
.:x:.
Stagnant
.:x:.
Two days after the Halloween party, Casper was nowhere to be found.
Two days after the Halloween party, Kat found Casper in his room, staring at the mirror. She found the faraway coldness almost tangible now, as it had been that night she asked him what death was like.
"Casper?" she asked, frightened suddenly by the whisper of silver floating in the air, staring at a piece of glass. She didn't think she had felt this afraid when she had first met the ghost.
He turned slowly towards her, and the coldness was there in his large eyes.
"I've realized something…You've grown up."
The statement was a ridiculously good impression of something her father would say and Kat laughed out loud.
"Gee, thanks, Dad."
"Its not funny," Casper said, and he looked toward the mirror again. He paused, murmuring so softly, that Kat almost didn't hear, "I shouldn't have accepted…"
"Accept what?" Casper jumped, forgetting momentarily where he was.
"Ghosts forget a lot of things really fast, y'know? Your Dad did…A couple of hours and he would have been ectoplasm…Can't really remember Mom, much—she died five years before…My Dad was horrified. I never did forget his face—kinda hard to when he looks at you with this scared-to-death expression…I remember in the first hour, I didn't know who he was, and he just stared at me, like I stabbed him in the back…"
"Casper…" His name caused a lump to form in her throat and her head to hurt. Casper kept staring at the mirror.
"He was happy, even when I…wasn't normal. He still had his son, and when Dad perfected the formula, he died. He knew, one day, I'd become a human again, and they crossed over without regrets."
Casper turned to look at her and his eyes grow rounder as he looked at Kat's appalled face.
"I'm glad I did it for your father. There was always a part of me that never wanted to use the formula. I didn't have anything to come back to."
Kat knew that already. Casper was wonderful and would always be a help to her and her father. So what was bothering him?
"What's wrong?" she asked again, and Kat supposed that she already knew.
Please, don't let him…"You've grown up."
Her eyes opened in mid-prayer.
"You're going to finish school. You're going to go off to college and going to graduate with honors. You're going to meet a great guy and you're going to have the best years of your life with him."
He paused, smirking slightly, in an effort to lighten the mood, "Eventually, you'll die, too."
Kat let out a choked laughter, and at the sound, Casper's eyes turned steely as he looked back at the mirror.
"I'll come back," she promised, also trying her best to keep the mood light-hearted. Casper paid no attention to her words.
"Kat?"
"Yes, Casper?"
"…It's time for you go to sleep."
.:x:.
She was drowsing off now…the rain making a soft pit-pat rhythm.
"Kat?"
It's so warm…"Hmm?"
"Can I…kiss you?"
"Mm-hmm."
There was a soft warm feeling that spread through her body and out her toes. She smiled and snuggled deeper into her pillow, drifting, drifting…
"Kat?"
There was no answer.
Casper moved toward the window and looked at the lighthouse. Something wet had fallen onto the floor beneath him. The house was always leaking when it rained…
"I don't think I want to keep you anymore."
.:x:.
"Casper, about yesterday...I'm sorry."
"Sorry? About what?"
They were standing in the kitchen; Casper was making breakfast.
"Dad's not up yet, Casper…You don't remember?"
"That's fine…Remember what?" He turned to look at her, confused.
"Sorry Kat," he said, using his free hand to scratch the back of his head. He grinned sheepishly, "The truth is, ghosts forget a lot of things really fast."
"Oh."
A plate of scrambled eggs was pushed forward. "Here."
She looked up in surprise.
"Sunny-side up makes you yak, right?"
She smiled softly, though she had no intention of eating, "Yeah. Yeah, it does."
.:x:.
Casper was always right. Kat had grown up, graduated college, and met a wonderful guy whom she married just last year. During her last year of school, she had been informed that her Dad had sold the Manor.
And now, she was back.
She was dressed in a pristine, white suit—a psychologist, like her father.
She wondered if she was intruding on the current owner's privacy, but the door was already open.
"Casper?" she called, "Stretch? Stinky? Fatso?"
"They're not here."
A young man jogged down the staircase, before coming down to greet her.
She gasped, "Casper?"
He shook his head, "Christopher, miss. Honestly, if I didn't know who The Trio was, I'd say you were crazy."
She blushed, " Katherine. You said they weren't here? What happened to them?"
Christopher looked uncomfortable, "Harvey?"
She was surprised, but nodded.
"Would you like something to drink?"
"No, but thank you. I asked you—"
"I know. Please, sit down."
"I bought this house from your father. The Ghosts weren't as friendly with me as they were toward your father, but…Casper was always a bit distant, more so than his uncles…"
That didn't seem to fit the Casper she had remembered.
"…The Trio didn't cross over, because they still had their nephew to take care of—I'm guessing that it was a promise to Casper's father. But about a month after they moved in, Casper, uh, "broke the bond," you could say. He didn't want them to remain on Earth just because of that bond. I guess McFadden always thought Casper would become a human again. Well, for whatever reason, Casper remained a ghost, and I guess he didn't see the point of having guardians."
"So they crossed over."
"That's right. They objected at first; I'm sure you remember how… well-adapted they were."
She laughed, placing a had absently on her stomach, "Yes, I do."
Christopher noticed the gesture, and Kat blushed.
"Four months, " she said, shyly.
"Is it safe for you to drive?"
"Oh, don't worry, " she said, laughing, "its fine."
"Hmm…"
"About Casper…"
"What? Oh, right… There's really not much left, you know. About a year ago, your father came back to share the good news, but I guess Casper didn't find it so joyous…Oh, no, that is…Well, he wasn't surprised and he was very happy for you…but the next day, he…he just said goodbye."
There was that lump in her throat again, and she tried in vain to compose herself. "But I promised to come back," she whispered.
"Of course," he said, handing her a handkerchief, "but I don't think it had anything to do with you. He had been talking about crossing over way before your father bought this place, or at least, that's what The Trio had said."
The thought had brought some comfort.
"I see."
"You're welcome to look around, if you'd like."
"No, that's alright. I think it's best if I leave. I've have a doctor's appointment soon," she said, "I'm sorry I ruined your handkerchief."
"That's alright—keep it," he said, as he opened the door for her, "Congratulations—I hope the baby takes after you."
"Thank you very much, Christopher" she smiled, and for a second, his smile faltered.
"Something wrong?"
"No. It's just…I haven't heard anyone call me by my name in a while."
Seeing her confused face, he elaborated, smiling, "It was always 'Worm.'"
"How dreadful," she replied, giggling. Christopher shrugged.
In the car, she took a few moments to reflect on things, took a deep breath, smiled wistfully, and waved at Chris and Whipstaff. He waved back.
Kat drove away, never looking back, smiling all the while. Her free hand clutched the handkerchief, that bore the embroidered the initials, C. mF.
.:x:.
Back in the house, Christopher went upstairs to Casper's old room to stop and look in the mirror.
There was no reflection.
"Amelia?" he whispered.
"Yes, Chris?"
He turned around to face a woman dressed in red.
"They call me Casper!" he said, in a child-like voice. Indeed, his body into a charming ball of ectoplasm.
Amelia smiled, "Yes, Christopher Casper McFadden?"
The ghost smiled brightly, before his face grew somber. "I think I'm ready now."
"Casper…"
"She came back. That's all I wanted."
"Casper…"
"Is she happy?"
Amelia paused, unsure of what to say. "Very much so." The truth was always best.
He nodded. "Good."
"What's it like—up there?" he asked, and Amelia looked down at the helpless spirit.
"It's like," Amelia tried hard to think of a proper analogy, "its like falling in love."
Casper laughed strangely, "What would a twelve-year-old know about that?"
"Well then," Amelia said, also laughing through her tears, "I guess you'll just have to come along then."
"Yeah, I guess."
He took her hand, and he thought Amelia's hand would go right through his. But in that instant, ectoplasm became flesh, and he felt a raindrop fall on his face, even though it wasn't raining, and the leak had been fixed. He took a last, fleeting glance at the mirror, and saw a young man, with sandy-blond hair and steely, blue eyes…
"Kat…please be happy, Kat…".:x:.
She felt something in her heart break away, almost, and she instinctively put a hand over her chest.
The doctor paused and looked at her, concerned.
"Are you alright, Katherine?"
A hand clutched a tear-stained handkerchief.
"I'm fine."
.:x:.