Lady of the Manor: A Poltergeist Is No Guest

A/N: The usual disclaimer. I own nothing, if I did, Fred would have gotten his head out of the sand sooner. My thanks to my Beta, FonzFan82, for her her quick turnaround.

Chapter one: Strange Meeting

Part one

The hard work in restoring 'Green Manor' to its past glory days had been expensive but the end result united the old with the modern. From Earth toned walls complimenting thick carpeting to modern but well crafted furniture grouped around the room gave the feeling of warmth and relaxation. Black and Orange balloons floating along the ceiling with creepy crepe paper streamers heralded the Halloween season. Bowls of brightly wrapped candy stood ready to be dispensed by Fred on this first Halloween in their new home. Fred played his fingers through Daphne's red hair, watching as she studied the book of baby names propped on her expanded stomach. Her lower lip protruded as if pouting. She contemplated a name, rejected it, turned the page.

"D-day is only three weeks away, Freddie. We have to choose a girl's name." She closed the book, replacing it on the coffee table, a wedding gift from her parents, snuggling into his warm embrace.

"I have a plan." Their lips brushed, lingered. A kiss of life long friends acknowledging the love they had denied in the past.

"That's what I love about you. You always have a plan." She didn't mention that a majority of his plans didn't work, at least not as planned.

"We choose ten names at random, place them in a hat..."

"Not funny, Freddie!" She playfully slapped his shoulder and then leaned back into his embrace.

The couple were jolted from their loving repose when the antique table began to rock back and forth, slowly at first, then more violently. At times the table launched itself into the air, slamming back to earth. Unbelievably nothing fell from the twisting table.

"Freddie!" Daphne burrowed against Fred's chest, her eyes wide with fear. "Is this a 'quake?"

"I don't think so, Daphne." Fred held her close, trying to ignore the steel trap that squeezed his chest that made breathing almost impossible. Suddenly the table stopped its rocking motion, settling back on the padded carpet.

But their night of mysterious occurrences continued when a picture flew off the wall, floating as if carried by an unseen entity. It dropped on the table next to the book of names. The book opened, its pages turning faster than the eye could comprehend. Coming to the end, it started again from the front, ending on a page with a large 'C' at the top.

"Jeepers! Having my hair stand on end does nothing for my 'do." Fred agreed wholeheartedly with his wife. Four terror filled eyes turned to the door as it opened as Shaggy, Velma and Scooby entered.

"What's shaking?" Shaggy asked then stopped at the scene before him.

"Gang, I think we have a mystery on our hands." Fred shook his head in hopes of breaking the spell.

"What happened, Daphne?" Velma went to her pregnant friend. Daphne took a deep breath, trying to calm the inner trembling, releasing the breath slowly. Her voice shook as she repeated the events of the evening. Her face was ashen gray when Daphne finished her story. She picked up the picture that had been left on the table.

The door chimes rang, the first of the nights trick-or-treaters had arrived. Daphne started to rise when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Fred and Shag can handle the trick-or-treaters, Daph, you're getting some rest." Velma took the image from her, replacing it on the table. "I'll make tea."

Velma thought back to when She had first met Daphne as she waited for the water to heat. Their friendship had been slow to develop; such different personalities usually didn't get past 'hello' if they got that far. Add Fred, Shaggy and Scooby and you had a real mystery in how they had not only became friends but had stayed friends through the years.

The teapot announced the water was hot with a shrill whistle and Velma poured out. She returned to the living room in time to see Shaggy close the door on the latest trick-or-treaters. "How is it going, boys?"

"Busy." Shaggy offered, grabbing a foil wrapped chocolate from Scooby.

"Not too busy to stay out of of the candy yourself, I see." Velma indicated a spot at the corner of Shaggy's mouth. Daphne looked much better if still trembling slightly as she took the tea from Velma.

And so it went, good friends enjoying the evening, handing out treats and trying to keep Scooby away from the sweets. At eight o' clock they turned out the welcoming outside lights and collapsed, another Halloween survived until next year. Velma sat beside Daphne, holding the displaced picture.

"That was taken before we moved to Coolsville." Daphne had hardly ever talked about her life before she had shown up in Coolsville High. 'That' was a picture of a young Daphne and her parents standing at the edge of a lake. "It was the last time we went camping before Daddy invented 'Blake's Bubbles'."

"Daph," Velma spoke in a conspiratory whisper. "If all of you are in front of the camera...Who took the picture?"

The red head took the picture, staring at it a moment, "I can't remember, Velma. Why do you ask?"

"We've been friends a long time, mystery is our hobby if not business...I've got a gut feeling Fred was right, we do have a mystery and this (she pointed at the picture) is a clue."

"Velma, would you and Shaggy like to stay over for breakfast?"

"I thought you'd never ask...I'll have Shaggy get our overnight bag from the car."

They had spent the balance of the evening going through photo albums of past adventures and family outings; the disturbing events, if not forgotten were not mentioned. With hugs, the couples retired to respective bedrooms and slumber.

Part two

Snuggled spoon fashion against Fred's firm body should have seen Daphne sound asleep but her mind wouldn't stop running. Her thoughts ran in circles always returning to the picture of her parents and herself. It had been a fun camping trip, just the three of them. Her father fishing, mother reading the latest paperback and a young Daphne, in a new swimsuit bought just for this trip, swimming in the lake. Daphne had enjoyed being a normal girl with friends, a new found interest in boys, and a stay-at-home mom. They had returned home, her father discovering the secret ingredients for 'Blake's Bubbles' and with patents in hand, everything had changed.

As the money rolled in, Daphne was moved to a new girl's school; an expensive school where the blooming young lady had no friends. If that had not been enough for a girl dealing with puberty and the resulting new feelings, being pulled from comfortable surroundings and plunged head first into a strange and scary situation had left her felling ripped into two distinct persons.

"Freddie?" She turned in his arms. "There's someone or something in the house."

"Harumph, it's probably just Shaggy and Scooby in the kitchen."

"No, Freddie! It's not Shaggy or Scooby...let's go see."

"I wonder why the alarms didn't go off, Daph?" Putting on robes they met a sleepy Shaggy, Scooby and Velma in the hallway. Fred led the group toward the living room.

"He's so brave, my knight in shinning armor." Daphne whispered at Velma.

"My knight's armor may be food splattered, but he's my knight."

TBC