Chapter Text
No one understood how it all happened. No one knew why it happened. They just woke up alive – accept it as a given.
A completely different life began for the ghosts. With Trevor's help, everyone got the necessary documents, got vaccinated.
It was time to think about what to do next. Sam and Jay would have been happy to leave their idiotic children, but, as the first few days of bedlam showed, this burden was excessive. And yet it was a wonderful time. The former ghosts were very happy to help with everything, jokes and laughter practically did not stop. Jay finally met everyone in person, and Sam was able to rest and stop working as a simultaneous translator. Against the background of general euphoria, the fact that one of the former ghosts was uneasy and did not like the new life remained almost unnoticed. Almost.
The first time Trevor noticed that Hetty was not particularly happy was on the first day of their second life. The guy washed himself, asked Jay for underwear, pants and a T-shirt and happily walked around the mansion, humming to himself and running his hands along the walls. The rest of the ghosts were downstairs: some were helping Jay with the cooking, some were sitting in the shower, some were rummaging through Sam's wardrobe in search of at least something in her size and loudly expressing their displeasure (this was, of course, Alberta). Hetty was standing in her room in front of the mirror and pulling out numerous hairpins from her hair. When she put each hairpin on the table, she froze for a second: will it come back or not?
Realizing that this was not a dream or a joke, Hetty twisted her wedding ring off her finger and carefully placed it on the table. The ring did not return. Trevor's heart sank: he had only seen such an expression on Hetty's face once and was sure that he would never forget it for the rest of his days.
Trevor could not allow her to be alone at such a moment. Since the door was open, the guy knocked on the doorframe and asked. “Hetty, are you okay? Can I help you?”
The woman jumped in surprise, but immediately pulled on the mask of an unapproachable matriarch.
“Thanks, Trevor! I'm fine.”
But her eyes widened when she saw him. With his hair wet from the shower and wearing Jay's house clothes, Trevor looked so touchingly domestic. Swallowing, Hetty continued.
“And the... pants suit you.”
“Thanks. Are you sure you don't need help? Let me help you undress. After all,” the guy grinned, “I've done this many times.”
Hetty blushed. Trevor looked at her, as if fascinated. He knew that redheads blushed instantly, but he had never seen it: ghosts do not blush.
“I think it's indecent. We are not in a relationship now and you can't suggest such a thing. Moreover,” Hetty hesitated, as if she didn’t know whether to continue the sentence, “I’m not sure that the effect will last long. I’d prefer to leave everything as is and not get used to this idea. Perhaps to make a more comfortable hairstyle.” With these words Hetty turned to the mirror and began to pull the pins out of her hair almost with fury.
It was not only a matter of disbelief, Trevor realized. Hetty had not lived for so long that she had forgotten what it was like. She was not the oldest ghost, but she would have lived her human life long ago. Even her grandchildren were long dead. She had always been so tightly laced (both physically and metaphorically) that the possibilities that opened up to her did not inspire her, but frightened her.
Hetty finally managed to cope with the pins, and tight curls fell on her shoulders. Trevor thought that it suited her very well. “Hetty, listen to me,” the guy began softly. “Do you remember the day when you possessed Jay? You were so happy that you could touch things, eat Cheetos, you wanted to go to Paris so much. Now you have all this, you can do everything. I know you. If you want something, you can achieve anything. Of course, it will take time to adapt, but we will cope with this.”
Hetty's lips began to tremble. She tried to suppress her tears, but Trevor hugged her and said “Don't hold back, Het-cat. You have the right to cry and express your emotions.”
While she cried, he was there.