Who: Nick and Mia What: They wake up to ghosts When: Oct 30 Where: Mia’s place Rating: low
It seemed like there were some strange happenings around town, but it didn’t seem like it was happening to everyone. Mia was really hoping this new whatever it was would pass her by this time, but as she felt the first hints of waking up, she also heard a voice she hadn’t heard in forever.
“You’re drooling.”
Mia woke up in a start, the adrenaline in her body making her heart beat hard in her chest as she stared wide-eyed at Zoe. Zoe who should be dead. Zoe who didn’t exactly look entirely corporeal either.
Nick slept at Mia’s after a late night at work. He’d started to spend a bit more time at her house, now that Nam-Ra had settled in a bit. When Nick rolled from his back, back to Mia, he heard a voice he hadn’t expected to hear.
“You haven’t run away from this one, yet, I see.” Nick’s eyes flew open and landed on Logan. He’d missed Logan so much since his friend got sent home to his death. “Lo?” His friend didn’t look corporal and now Nick sat up and said, “Okay. What?”
Mia didn’t hear or see whoever Nick saw, but she could still see Zoe. It was both comforting and disconcerting that they both apparently saw someone while not seeing another. Mia was still staring at Zoe who was… smirking? Maybe not smirking, but she looked happy in a self-satisfactory way. It was confusing.
“Zoe… How?”
Zoe shook her head, then shrugged. “I don’t know, but I am…. He’s cute.”
Despite everything, Mia blushed.
“So, we’re both seeing ghosts, but not each other’s ghosts?” Nick felt the beginnings of a headache, rare for a werewolf, less rare in Madison Valley. He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s Logan.”
Logan, for his part, looked mildly surprised by Nick’s announcement, confused that it didn’t require more explanation. “She knows me?”
“Kinda, yeah.” Nick didn’t mention that Logan had been here for half a year, so Mia met him.
Mia couldn’t help it as her eyes fell to Zoe’s stomach briefly. It wasn’t quick enough and Zoe caught it, giving Mia an amused smile. “No hole. Guess they fix you up after you die. Which is nice since I’d rather not walk around like a kabob.”
Mia felt sick to her stomach. Instead of retching, though, she forced her attention to Nick. Maybe if she tried to focus on something else then she’d be able to handle the fact Zoe was here. They both had ghosts. Did that mean everyone? She thought of Nyssa and her father - they’d have a lot of them.
“.... Hi, Logan.” It felt weird to say to no one in particular, but she did, before looking back to Zoe. Mia was essentially staring. While she’d overcome a lot of things while in Madison, being the cause of Zoe’s death was not one of them. She pressed her lips together. She should apologize, but was a simple apology good enough?
Nick didn’t have guilt about what happened to Logan, but he still hated what happened. More so when one of the people responsible became Pack, a decade later, but still. Logan had his dreads in his ghost version.
Logan grinned and waved. “He says hi back.” Nick’s emotions felt overwhelming, but he tried to get them in check. “I take it your ghost is Zoe?”
Mia gave a slow nod. She was still working through this whole situation. Mia had come to terms with the idea that she’d never see Zoe again.
“Tell me he’s naked under those sheets.”
Zoe’s flippancy with the whole situation had Mia letting out a huff of disbelief. She’d have rolled her eyes if she hadn’t been so stunned. Zoe rolled her eyes instead and chided Mia. “Mia, relax. I know what happened and before you say anything, no it wasn’t your fault.”
Despite Zoe’s words, Mia’s next words were “It was my fault.”
Zoe shook her head. “I made the choice to go with you and I made the choice to go after JJ. I know you like to take on everyone’s problems, but you don’t need to carry this one Mia. Besides, I’m at peace.” A pause. “Or at least I think I am. I feel at peace right now.”
That was a lot to unpack, but Mia simply nodded and decided she needed to think about Zoe’s words before she really committed.
She looked back to Nick. “Why do we have ghosts?” It was a stupid question since Mia knew the answer had to be ‘the Dome’ and yet she asked anyways. Maybe she asked because she was just silently asking Nick to help make sense of it all somehow.
Nick felt pretty certain he shouldn’t be listening in to the conversation between Mia and Zoe, but it didn’t seem like the Dome wanted to give them any choice. He wrapped an arm around Mia, though, to offer some additional comfort.
“Why does anything strange happen in this town?” Sadly, Nick couldn’t make sense of this for them, but then added, “Maybe it’s a way for us to lay the ghosts to rest, so to say.” He realized what he said. “I’m sorry Lo.”
“Nah, Nick, I’m at peace. You should get the chance as well.”
Mia understood that idea, but she didn’t like it. It wasn’t like Mia ignored dwelling in the things that upset her or anything, but she had been okay ignoring the guilt she had over Zoe and was living her life here, thank you very much. Being forced was definitely in Madison’s wheelhouse. She sighed a little.
“I should probably check on my dad.” Oliver had a lot of skeletons in the closet which means a lot of potential ghosts too.
“And I guess we’re on our best behaviour for a while.” She meant sex.
Zoe let out a small laugh. “He’s not, but I definitely do not need to see that.”
Mia gave her a look, though spoke to Nick. “And now I’m wondering how many times we’ve had ghost spectators.”
Nick didn’t think ignoring feelings worked in the long run, but he wasn’t Mia. How she worked through guilt, or didn’t, was her decision. He would support her as much as he could.
“Yeah, I should get home and go check on Nam-Ra,” Nick replied, glad he’d actually slept in boxers the night before. Now that they were in a house with multiple people, he generally put them on to go to the fridge after sex, to grab one of the snacks in the fridge.
“Let’s not think about that, thanks.” Nick got up and looked for his clothes. “I guess we will.” Logan sighed in relief. He did not want to watch Nick have sex. After Nick leaned over to give Mia a kiss, he said, “I’ll see you later. I love you.”
She kissed him back, smiling. She’d probably hear something about how easy and light her smiles were, though Zoe would be happy for her. “I love you too.” Hopefully nothing else would happen today to add to the weird.