Firm Foundation

Sam I Am?

by Nelson




The doorbell chimed, sending its tinkling echo through the halls of the house, and Riley glanced at Colin nervously.

"I don't know if we're ready for this." He swallowed hard at the prospect that lay before them, uncertainty pervading his consciousness.

Colin stood from the sofa with an air of confidence, and held out a hand to Riley. "We've weathered far more scary things. We'll handle this like everything else: together. We can do this."

Riley smacked his palm into Colin's hand. "I hope you're right."

Riley stood in front of the heavy oak door, pausing to take a cleansing breath before he reached out and gripped the doorknob. The hinges gave a slight groan of protest when he pulled the door open, and Riley braced himself for what lay beyond it. The crisp fall air struck his face, and his gaze dropped about two feet below eye-level once the door was out of the way. He blew out the breath he held, and stared at the small object hovering just beyond the threshold. So small, yet so scary.

He swallowed hard, and plastered a smile on his face at the delicate package on his doorstep, wrapped in a pink. Her blonde hair was coiffed in a clip covered with a gingham pink bow to match the fabric of her cotton dress. The stuffed bunny she carried flopped lazily across her arm, his ears swinging down, while his lifeless button eyes focused on nothing in particular.

"Hi there, Kaylee," Riley greeted her.

"Hi, Riley," she replied demurely, hugging her bunny a bit tighter against her chest.

Riley tore his eyes away from their temporary houseguest to address her father. "Lance, how's it going?"

"It's been better," he replied solemnly. "I really appreciate this. You're about the only family we have this close that Kaylee would feel comfortable with."

Riley said, "What are cousins for?"

"We're happy to do it for you," Colin said. "How's Liz holding up?" He waved to the woman in the car, and she returned the gesture.

Lance looked back at his wife then turned back to Colin. "As well as can be expected. She was close to her grandmother. It was hard enough living here while her family was two states away." His voice trailed off, and he shook his head. "She feels sort of cheated."

"Tell her we're sorry," Riley said.

Lance passed Colin the small bright pink suitcase with Hello Kitty's image and name emblazoned on the side. Colin assured him, "We'll take good care of her."

"We haven't even gotten her a Halloween costume," Lance said distractedly.

Riley reached a hand out and pulled Kaylee inside. "We'll take care of that, too, won't we, Kaylee?"

She nodded mutely, and clutched her bunny closer. Lance stooped down and took her by the shoulders. "You be a good girl, sweetheart. We'll see you in a few days, ok?"

She nodded, her eyes downcast. "But I don't want you to go."

"I know, honey. But Mommy and I need to go visit with Nana and Papa for a few days."

"Because Grandma went to heaven," she stated.

"Yes, that's right. But Riley and Colin are going to take great care of you."

Riley knelt down, his heart heavy for the little girl, ignoring his own discomfort with the situation. "We sure will. Every other little five year old girl in the county is going to be so jealous of all the fun we're going to have."

"Really?" she asked with a hopeful glow touching her eyes.

"Sure will."

"What are we going to do?" she asked, peeking over the top of her bunny's head.

Riley tossed an uncertain look in Colin's direction. "Well, first you have to teach us what little girls like." Riley reached out and petted the top of the bunny's head. "I'm guessing this is something little girls like?"

A smile sneaked out, and she nodded. "This is Mr. B." She shoved the bunny out in front of her at arm's length for Riley to get a better look.

"He's cute. Is 'B' for 'bunny'?" Riley asked her, patting the bunny on the head.

"I guess so." Her bright blue eyes locked with Riley's.

"Would you and Mr. B. like to see your room?"

Her head bobbed up and down quickly. "Yeah. Bye, Daddy."

"Bye, Kaylee." He watched her disappear up the stairs with Riley, looking after them helplessly. "I hate to leave her," he admitted to Colin.

"We'll take good care of her, I promise. A funeral isn't really a place for a little one."

"I know. It's the right thing to do."

"Any special instructions?"

"Uh... no, I can't think of anything. All her things are in the suitcase." He handed Colin another bag. "There are some of her favorite DVDs in here. Mr. B. is always with her aside from that."

"Ok," Colin said, taking the bag of DVDs. "We have your number and you have ours if anything comes up."

"Right. Well, thanks again. I guess we'd better get going."

"Travel safe. We'll see you in a few days."

Colin closed the door then followed Riley and Kaylee up the stairs. Their voices floated out of the guest room, and Colin found the two of them sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"There you guys are," he said as he entered the room. "Are you getting settled in, Kaylee?"

"Yeah," she said. "Riley said I can use the chest of drawers in here for my clothes, and that this is my very own room whenever I want to come."

"I think that's a great idea."

"Mr. B. approves, she said," Riley told Colin with a wink.

"Then it's decided," Colin replied. "So, do you like spaghetti?"

"I love spaghetti."

"That's good because we have a huge pot of it for dinner."

Riley asked her, "Are you and Mr. B. ready to eat?"

"Yep!"

She scooted off the bed, heading for the door, her blonde waves bouncing with each step. Riley inclined his head toward Colin and whispered, "We got dinner right. I told you, all kids love spaghetti."

Colin laughed softly. "You did. Now, if Samuel will just stay out of sight like we asked him..."

"He will," Riley said more confidently than he felt. If he didn't stay out of sight, he'd scare the crap out of little Kaylee. He shuddered with the thought of the girl seeing the ghastly visage of their "roommate". Maybe James would help keep Samuel in line. Maybe. He hadn't proved to be very effective in the past.

~~~~~

Colin collapsed on the sofa next to Riley and automatically tossed an arm around his partner's shoulders. "I hope she sleeps ok."

"She seemed fine when we left her," Riley said. "I was afraid she'd be scared with her parents being gone, and being in a different place."

"Yeah, me, too. Good thinking on picking up a nightlight."

"Thanks. I have good ideas once in a while."

"More than that," Colin said with a kiss to Riley's temple. "So what are we going to do about getting her a Halloween costume?"

"Go to Walmart."

"With Halloween being in two nights, I hope they have something left." Colin paused, as he thought. "Hey, what do little girls wear for Halloween, anyway?"

Riley shrugged, and picked up the remote. "I have no idea. A ballerina?"

"What about a witch?"

"A witch?!" Riley exclaimed with a horrified look at Colin. "She's five, and frighteningly cute. She can't be a witch."

"I guess you're right. Wonder if they have costumes with that cat that was on her suitcase?"

"I don't know. She may not even want to be that." He flipped through the channels, searching for something that seemed more interesting than Nickelodeon. "I guess we'll get caught up on all the kiddie shows before Lance and Liz get home."

"They're actually more entertaining than I expected. I liked that Spongebob show."

"Yeah, that was pretty funny, wasn't it?" Riley turned to face Colin. "Does that make us juvenile?"

"No," Colin said definitively. "It makes the writers creative and funny."

"Thank God. Now I can sleep tonight."

"Speaking of sleep, do you think we should check to see if she got there ok?"

Riley tossed the remote into Colin's lap. "Probably. I'll go."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, be right back."

Riley yawned as he climbed the stairs, his feet trudging heavily on each riser. It wouldn't be much longer before he and Colin would be headed off to bed themselves. He reached the guest bedroom, and the soft glow from the nightlight spilled out dimly through the crack in the doorway. Riley paused; an uneasiness gripped his gut when an uncharacteristic coolness kissed his cheeks as soon as he touched the door. He released a breath, and it materialized on the air in front of his lips. His fingertips urged the door open farther, and Riley bit off a curse word as soon as he peered inside.

"Samuel!" he whispered in a hiss through clenched teeth. "Get the hell out of here."

The apparition turned to him slowly, raising the hairs on Riley's arms, as it shimmered and glowed in the darkened room. Samuel's hollow eyes found Riley, and he frowned disapprovingly, the spirit's expression mirroring the one Riley wore. He slowly raised a ghostly finger to his lips, and an ethereal "shhhhhhh" came from the ghost's general direction, pricking Riley's skin in goosebumps as the sound washed over him.

Riley's jaw dropped in surprise, exasperation overcoming any uneasiness the situation first gave him. Samuel was shushing *him*?! He had no business in the room at all! He and Colin had asked him *nicely* before Kaylee arrived! Many times! Riley opened his mouth to retort, but another voice filled the room before he could utter a sound.

"You can see Samuel?" Kaylee asked sleepily as she rolled onto her back, and propped herself up on her elbows.

Holy crap in a cow field. Riley's jaw dropped lower at Kaylee's revelation, and he turned to look at Samuel, but the place where he had been was empty. The being had disappeared without leaving so much as a shadow remaining in the room where he had been. Even the air was beginning to warm up.

Riley's lips worked to form words that weren't there as he struggled to know how to answer the girl's innocent question. "You-- you see Samuel?" he asked instead.

"Sure, but I didn't think anyone else could." The little girl rubbed her eyes, and her mouth stretched open in a yawn.

Riley blinked in the dimly lit room. She spoke of Samuel like it was nothing out of the ordinary, and the child wasn't the least bit frightened. Oh, the innocence of a little one. "What do you see exactly?" Riley inquired.

"You know. Samuel," she answered simply.

"Oh." Riley walked over, and sat on the edge of her bed, his mind reeling. "Does he scare you or anything?"

Her little brow wrinkled in confusion. "Samuel isn't scary."

Riley's mind flashed to the image that just gave him cold chills: the translucent skin, the bloody evidence of the head injury that took the man's life, his flat, lifeless stare... And Riley was fairly used to running into Samuel, yet it never failed to give him a start. Even though he knew Samuel wouldn't hurt him, running into the spirit of a dead man was unnerving no matter how you sliced it. Kaylee had a stronger stomach than Riley, that seemed sure enough.

Riley said, "Well, I just wanted to be sure."

"Samuel is my friend," she reported. "I like him. Do you like him?"

Damn. There wasn't any need to lie to her. She already knew about the ghost, and knew that Riley knew. Riley answered her question honestly. "I do like him, most of the time."

Just not when he causes trouble, he thought bitterly. If he wasn't already dead, Riley might have to kill him. Showing himself to little children! Colin was going to be thrilled.

"He said he'd look after me while I'm here. So I won't be afraid."

Not be afraid?! How can a ghost that looks like Samuel put anyone at ease?! "I uh, guess that's nice of him."

"He's my friend," she said again with a smile.

Riley frowned, not sure what to make of that or what to say. "Well, friends are nice to have. As your friend, I think I'd better let you get back to sleep. I was just checking on you."

She hunkered back beneath the covers, and Riley tucked the linens around her. She smiled up at him. "Samuel will look out for me. You don't have to worry."

God. It was unsettling to hear Kaylee talking about Samuel like he was just another guy. "Uh... good. You sleep well."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight," she said. She flopped back over with Mr. B. under her arm, not a care in the world or the netherworld.

Riley left the door open wider when he left, not really sure why; he just knew that it made him feel better. He went downstairs, trying to work out how to tell Colin in the short time it took to go from the second floor to the first. There really wasn't a good way to spring bad news on someone. Dropping that bombshell on Colin was not going to be a fun conversation.

He plopped down beside Colin in the place he had vacated minutes before. "What did you find on tv while I was gone?" he prevaricated.

"Is she ok?" Colin avoided the harmless question.

"Oh, yeah, she's fine," Riley replied without hesitation. "No problems with sleep."

"Thank God. I hope Samuel stays out of sight like we asked him to."

"Um...Don't give thanks so quickly," Riley said sardonically.

Colin straightened up immediately, turning to Riley with alarm on his face. "What?!"

"I'm sorry, Colin. I didn't want to tell you, but he was in there when I went in. I thought Kaylee was asleep, so I told him to get out of there." Riley stopped, not wanting to tell him the really good part.

"And?" Colin urged.

"Now, don't get mad, Colin."

"And?!" Colin pushed, his eyebrows drawing together.

Riley took a deep breath and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "And Kaylee wasn't asleep. She asked me if I could see Samuel, too."

Colin's mouth fell open in surprise. "She was looking at him?!"

"Not right then, she wasn't."

"But he obviously showed himself to her at some point. Damn it!"

"I said not to get mad."

Colin looked at him incredulously. "Like that wasn't going to happen. I cannot believe it. When did he get her to himself? We stuck to her like glue!"

"I don't know, but she said his name, so..."

"Damn it!" Colin cursed again. "She was only alone after we put her to bed."

"I guess Samuel 'introduced' himself when we left her in bed because he was there when I went in."

"Poor little thing must have been terrified," Colin growled angrily through clenched teeth. He looked around the room for someone he couldn't see. "James! Would you please do something about him?"

"Colin, calm down. She wasn't scared in the least."

Colin's brows rose in surprise. "So that makes it ok?"

"I didn't say that. It's a silver lining, that's all." Riley explained. "Why don't you take a deep breath, lower your blood pressure, and I'll get you a beer. Before you have a damn stroke."

Colin muttered as Riley walked away, "I didn't have high blood pressure until we moved in here."

"It was your idea, remember," Riley tossed over his shoulder as he walked away.

"Thanks for reminding me," Colin complained.

Riley sighed as he reached into the fridge for two beers. He took a quick count of what was left, and he scratched "beer" onto the magnetized notepad stuck to the fridge door. Giving Colin the bad news went better than he had expected, Riley reflected as he twisted the caps off the beers. Colin didn't even burst a blood vessel. Not yet anyway. Riley tossed the lids into the trash then turned to head back to the living room. He stopped short when he passed the refrigerator, the grocery list catching his attention. There were two more words scribbled below the "beer" he had just added to the list; words that weren't there before.

He huffed, and snatched the top page off the pad as he went to give Colin more good news to digest with his beer. At least it might go down better with alcohol. He slipped the note under Colin's nose when he got back to the living room.

Colin took the paper and his beer, looking at Riley questioningly before reading what was there. "What's this?"

"Read it."

There, beneath a neat list for their next trip to the market, were two words in a distinctively different scrawl than either his or Riley's handwriting: "not Samuel".

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Colin demanded to know.

"I have no clue. How could it not be Samuel?" Riley raised his voice. "Apparently ghosts lie. I saw you, remember?"

Colin took a long draw off his beer then rested his head on the back of the sofa. "It has to be Samuel," he mused aloud. 'We have one ghost living here with that name."

"Maybe James told her his name was Samuel," Riley reached for a plausible explanation as he settled back beside his lover.

Colin fixed Riley with a disbelieving stare. "Why do you always take his side?"

"I don't, and I'm not!"

"Oh, but you are. You were quick to make the leap from thinking he's lying, to believing this," Colin hesitated and glared at the note. "Story," he added with sarcastic stress. He flicked the little sheet of paper onto the living room table.

"Maybe it's the truth is all I'm saying."

"Look, you saw him yourself in her room."

Riley frowned in thought. "I know. I don't get it."

"What was he doing, anyway?"

"Nothing. He was standing by the bed, staring at her. That was it."

Colin shook his head incredulously. "We're going to have to keep her out of the house as much as possible."

"Why? She isn't afraid, and he isn't going to hurt her."

"The less she sees of him, the better," Colin said firmly. "And when we're here, we can't let her out of our sight."

"The kid's going to have to leave our sight some," Riley pointed out. "I'm not watching her in the bathroom. Besides the fact that it's creepy-"

"You want to argue creepy?" Colin pointed out.

"You know what I mean. It's different creepy."

"Well, we have to take her Halloween costume shopping. Maybe we can do that tomorrow. Take her to the movies or something, too."

"Yeah. Maybe there's a kid movie playing."

"There's always a kid movie playing," Colin said. "I guess we're ok for tonight, unless he wakes her up."

"Yeah." Riley called out, "Listen up, Not Samuel. No waking the kid."

~~~~~~

Riley held up a green frilly costume, complete with fairy wings. "How about this? It's Tinkerbell."

Kaylee wrinkled her nose. "Tinkerbell wasn't a princess."

Riley rolled his eyes over to Colin. "You had to suggest the only costume everyone's out of, didn't you?"

Colin grunted, and ignored his partner. "Kaylee, they don't have any princess costumes left. What else would you like to be?"

"A princess," the five year demanded, unwilling to budge.

"This one sort of looks like a princess," Riley suggested, turning the Tinkerbell costume around for her to see.

"But princesses don't have wings." She shook her head sadly. "It won't work."

She had a point, Riley realized. "Maybe we can take them off?"

"It's still Tinkerbell," she pointed out. "Tinkerbell is not a princess."

A store worker approached them about that time, and offered her assistance. "Could I help you with anything?"

Colin turned to her with relief. "We really hope so. We're looking for a princess costume. One about," he floundered then pointed to Kaylee, "that size."

The worker clicked her tongue. "Oh, I'm sorry. I can't help you there. We're out of princess costumes."

"Great," Riley said. "This is the third store we've been to and everything's picked over."

"I want to be a princess," Kaylee said with a small pout. "I can't be one."

"Well," the worker said with a smile as she knelt in front of the little girl, "would Cinderella fit the bill?"

Kaylee's face lit up. "Oh, yes!"

The worker glanced over her shoulder at Colin and Riley. "I'm guessing you haven't been to the mall, yet. Disney usually has their costumes on sale, and with all the princesses in their lineup, you shouldn't have a problem."

Riley popped the front of his forehead with his palm. "Dam- er, shoot. Why didn't we think of that?"

The worker laughed as she rose. "I don't know. My little girl always drags me to The Disney Store. That's how I know."

"You've been a big help," Colin said.

"No problem. I hope you have good luck there."

Just like the lady said, The Disney Store was teeming with costumes, and even better, they were all surrounded by sale signs. Kaylee spotted the girls' costumes, and took off toward them immediately. "Here's the one I want!" She picked up a light blue princess' gown, the skirt of which was covered in a shimmering veil, complete with an embroidered pictured of a castle fit for royalty to reside.

"Is that Cinderella's gown?" Riley asked.

"Yeah," Kaylee beamed. "I love this!"

Colin reached for the price tag, and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's on sale for $29.99, too," he told Riley. He held the dress up in front of Kaylee, judging the fit. "Is this her size?"

Riley lifted a shoulder. "How should I know?"

Colin stared at the dress, perplexed. "Maybe she can try it on."

"Good idea."

The trio went to the front desk to get some help. "She needs to try this on," Riley told the clerk.

"No problem," the lady told them. "The dressing room is right back there."

"Thanks."

Riley and Colin stopped short when they got to the back. "We can't take her in the boy's," Riley said. "Lance would string us up."

"I don't feel comfortable sending her in the women's alone," Colin said.

"I can go by myself," Kaylee announced.

"Wait a second," Colin said, stopping her before she could dart into the girl's side. "We'll try it on out here."

"What?" Riley asked in surprise. "You can't dress her out here."

"I'm putting it on over her clothes." Kaylee giggled at the suggestion, but let Colin slip the dress over her sweatshirt and jeweled jeans.

Riley shook his head at his partner's solution. "You aren't going to be able to tell with that sweatshirt under it."

"I can get an idea." Colin left the back unfastened, and turned Kaylee to face them. "Well?"

Riley grabbed his chin as he studied the ensemble. "I think it might work."

"I want it. Please?" Kaylee asked.

"Ok, done," Colin promised. They put the costume back on the hanger, and approached the register. "We'll take this," Colin said as he placed the costume on the counter.

She scanned the costume, then said, "Did you know we have the glass slippers on sale for $9.99? And a tea set for $9.99?"

Kaylee clapped her little hands together. "Can I have them? Can I?"

Colin looked at the hopeful glow in Kaylee's eyes, and fell prey to them immediately. "Sure, honey."

He glanced abashedly at Riley. "Pushover," he accused.

"Look at her," Colin said, nodding toward the best defense he had.

Riley couldn't help but smile at her exuberance. "I see what you mean."

"The shoes are right over there," the clerk pointed the way. "The tea set is there, too."

Riley went over and got both while Kaylee followed close on his heels. "These look like they'll fit," he said, picking up a pair of shoes. "Slip these on real quick before someone gets in line behind Colin."

Kaylee slipped her foot into the plastic shoes, adorned with heels that lit up when she walked. "They fit!" she squealed with glee.

"If you were really Cinderella, you'd be about to marry a prince. They're perfect," Riley said to her.

They tossed both the tea set and the shoes on the counter, and Colin shelled out $20 more dollars than they had planned. Well worth the cost, Colin thought after reflecting on their search all morning. He supposed they were lucky to have found anything decent the day before Halloween.

~~~~~~

Colin left the office, rubbing the back of his neck. It felt like he had been in front of the computer for hours, rather than for one. He entered the living room to find Riley flipping through a magazine, but Kaylee was nowhere in sight.

"Where is Kaylee?"

Riley looked up from his magazine. "She's upstairs playing with her tea set."

"What?!" Colin exclaimed. "Why did you leave her alone? I thought we agreed..."

"Colin, damn. Nothing happened yesterday."

"We were *gone* most of the day," Colin reminded him. "Remember? That was the strategy?"

"We can't watch her 24/7."

Colin turned on his heel in a huff. "I'm going to check on her."

"Colin. Colin!" Riley called after him before giving up his magazine to follow.

He caught up with Colin before he made it up the stairs, and they quietly approached Kaylee's room. They could hear her voice before they got there.

"Do you want some more tea, Mr. B.? Sure, I'll give you some more. How about you, Samuel?"

Colin's lips were reduced to a fine line, as he turned an accusing eye on Riley. Riley's mouth opened in shock. "What?!" he whispered in defense.

Colin rolled his eyes and shook his head then rapped his knuckles on the door. "Kaylee? Can we come in?"

"Sure." Her bright eyes caught them as they came in the door. "Would you like some tea with Mr. B. and Samuel?"

Colin almost choked. "Thank you, but I'm not thirsty."

Riley ground an elbow into Colin's ribs. "Sure we would, Kaylee."

They joined Kaylee, sitting cross legged on the floor with her and Mr. B., and apparently with Samuel. Riley turned toward a popping sound when Colin sat down.

Colin rubbed his knee. "I'm not young enough to sit like this."

"You aren't even 40 yet," Riley said.

"40 is really really old," Kaylee pointed out innocently from her 5 year old point of view. "Here's your tea."

She poured imaginary tea into a pretty princess cup, and handed it to Riley. "Thanks, Kaylee." He sipped from the mini-mug, and whistled. "Wow, that's hot."

"It's fresh," she told him, as she passed Colin his cup.

Riley balanced his cup on his knee. "So, where is Samuel sitting?" Colin cleared his throat loudly, and Riley pretended not to notice. "He's here, too, right?"

Kaylee's eyes opened wide. "I thought you could see him. Like that first night."

"I can't always see him," Riley admitted. Did that mean Kaylee could? Could Samuel control who could see him and who could not?

The hairs on Riley's arms stood at attention when Kaylee said, "He's sitting there beside you."

He looked to the empty space next to him. "Right beside me?"

"Yeah, right there. He can't pick up his tea cup, so he's just pretending." Riley looked to his right, grateful to find the spot empty, but uneasy given Kaylee's announcement that Samuel was sitting there. "I told him it's ok because we're all pretending."

"That's right," Riley said.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she announced. "Help yourself to more tea if you want it."

She bounced out of the room, and Colin turned on Riley. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You asked her about Samuel?"

"She sees him, Colin. No point in pretending she doesn't. I wanted to know what she was seeing... until she said he was beside me."

"Samuel!" Colin demanded. "Stop showing yourself to Kaylee. We've asked you politely, now cut it out."

"Little late now," Riley mumbled under his breath.

"I hate this. I almost feel like we should go to a hotel until time for them to come back and get her," Colin said.

"That's not a good idea, Colin. She might mention that to her parents, and what would they think?"

Colin sighed. "That we're freaks."

"At the very least."

"What are they going to think when she tells them about Samuel?" Colin wondered aloud.

"Maybe we can convince her that it's a secret?" Riley suggested.

"Especially considering what a wonder job we've done in keeping him a secret."

"I'm back," Kaylee said, as she reappeared. "Is there any tea left?"

"I think there's a little," Riley said.

"We can split the rest, since Samuel had to leave," she said.

Riley and Colin exchanged a look. Colin said, "He left?"

"Yeah, he had something he had to do." She began to hum a song as she poured them some more tea. "Do you want some cookies?" She passed them each an empty plate full of pretend cookies before they could accept or decline.

"We can't fill up on cookies," Colin told her. "We'll have a huge bag of candy later tonight."

"I know!" she said with excitement. "I can't wait!"

"We'll eat dinner a little early and then hit the neighborhood. How does that sound?"

"Great!"

"Actually," Riley said with a check of the time, "we need to get cracking on dinner if we're going to have it early."

"I'll go," Colin said. "You stay and play with Kaylee."

He raised his eyebrow at Riley, and Riley got the hint. "I won't go anywhere," Riley vowed. "We have more tea and cookies to consume, right Kaylee?"

"Right," she smiled.

Riley raised his teacup to Colin in a toast before taking another sip as Colin left the room.

~~~~~~~

Kaylee spun around in her new costume, her princess heels lighting up her shoes as she stepped lightly to model her outfit.

"You are beautiful, princess," Riley said, smiling at Kaylee's excitement.

"You really are," Colin agreed. "No one could look prettier as a princess."

"Can we go now?" she asked, almost jumping up and down.

"I think we're ready," Riley said. "Do you have your bag?"

"It's on the sofa," she said, as she ran over to get it. "Ready!"

"Wait," Colin said, dashing out of the room, leaving Kaylee and Riley looking after him, stunned. He came back in seconds with the digital camera. "We need pictures for your mom and dad."

"Good idea. Stand in front of the fireplace, Kaylee," Riley suggested.

She pranced over to the hearth and posed, smiling brightly. Colin clicked off a few pictures, then showed Kaylee and Riley the results on the little screen of the camera.

"Ok, now we can go," Colin said.

"Almost," Riley said. "We need to light the pumpkin and turn the lights on for the decorations."

"You grab that," Colin said. "We'll wait for you on the sidewalk."

He and Kaylee watched as Riley fired up the spotlight, illuminating the ghastly graveyard he and Colin had constructed for their front yard. Fresh dirt was piled in front of each of the three headstones they had made, red "R.I.P" painted on the fronts of them with no identification of its dead. Spiderwebs covered the tombstones, and a bloody hand reached up out of the dirt in front of one headstone. A skeleton tried to claw its way out of its grave, its bony hand reaching out to pull the other half of its body free. A skull found itself separated from its body, and lay on a mound of fresh dirt, its open empty eyes staring out into the dark.

The scene had a backdrop of a string of orange lights intertwining the porch railings, giving the front of the house an eery harvest glow. The final touch was a carved pumpkin setting at the top of the porch steps, candlelight flickering through its hollowed out eyes and mirthless grin.

"It looks great," Colin said. "Are you ready?"

"Are you sure one of us shouldn't stay and pass out candy?"

"I don't think so," Colin answered. "It won't take long to tour our block then we can pass out candy when we get back."

"Ok, but if we get toilet papered..."

"What's 'toilet papered'?" Kaylee asked.

"It's when mean kids throw toilet paper in your trees. Makes a horrible mess."

"He said with the authority of experience," Colin commented under his breath.

"Never mind," Riley cut him off. "Let's hit the road. We won't stop until you have more candy than you can carry."

They started down the sidewalk, melding into the crowd of goblins. A creature of the night called out to them. "Hey, Colin and Riley."

Colin had to study the vampire for a bit before he dared tried to place him. "Ian? Is that you?"

"Yeah."

Riley checked out the white-painted face with fake blood streaming out of the corner of the mouth. "Cool vampire costume. I didn't recognize you."

"Thanks. I like your decorations. The ghost in the window was really neat. How did you do it?"

"Uh," Riley stammered, looking over his shoulder to see if Samuel was still there. "What did you see?"

"You know. The ghost in the window. He was there, then he was gone."

"Oh, that," Colin said lightly. "We'd spoil the illusion if we told you how we did it."

"Yeah," Riley agreed before changing the subject. "Hey, come back by later. We'll be handing out candy."

"Sure, see you later!" the boy said before heading off with his friends.

Riley breathed a sigh of relief, then noticed something missing. "Hey, where's Mr. B.?"

"He couldn't come," Kaylee said.

"Why not?" Colin asked her.

"He didn't have a costume," she informed them.

"I could have carried him," Riley said. "I don't have a costume, so he'd fit right in."

"It's ok," she said. "He's staying at home, and Samuel came with me."

Colin's head whipped around to see Riley. "Samuel is with us?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, he's here. You can't see him again?"

"Uh, no. I didn't know he ever left the house." Ian said he was just in the window, Riley's voice roared inside his own head. Is that why he disappeared?! To follow them?

Kaylee laughed. "You're silly, Riley. He couldn't go anywhere with me, or go trick-or-treating, if he couldn't leave the house."

Colin asked, "I thought you said you had to dress up to go trick-or-treating."

"He dressed up."

Riley's eyebrows rose to his hairline as he glanced over at Colin. "He did? What is he dressed as?"

"A ghost," she said, then dashed up to the door of their first house, leaving Riley and Colin behind, slack-jawed.

~~~~~

"What time are they due back?"

"Two," Riley reminded him. "Colin, I'm really worried. Samuel seems to have attached himself to her somehow."

"I know. I don't know what we're going to do. If we could talk to him or something..."

"I don't think he wants to talk to us. I haven't seen him since the first night, but Kaylee sure has."

Colin sat down on the sofa and rubbed his fingers across his brow. "And he left the house at least once with her."

"That we know of," Riley finished the thought. "What if he leaves again?"

"Yeah," Colin said in a rush of breath. "It's not that I especially *like* having him here, but I'd miss the dried up thing."

"Not to mention, we wouldn't want him to leave with Kaylee," Riley said.

"Here's my DVD," Kaylee said as she ran into the room, waving a DVD case.

Riley took the box from her, and closed his eyes after seeing the cover. "Kaylee, The Wiggles? Again?"

"Yay!" she gushed, throwing herself into Colin's lap so quickly he almost failed to protect himself.

"I'll have that stupid Fruit Salad song stuck in my head again," Riley complained.

"It's not stupid," Kaylee countered. "I like that song."

Colin leaned close to her ear and whispered, "So does Riley. Don't let him fool you."

She giggled as the screen switched to a splash of primary colors, and four men donning similar long-sleeved t-shirts of the same rainbow fashion, and dancing their way onto the set. The music started, as Riley sat down next to the other two on the sofa. He hit the pause button, raising an instant protest from their miniature guest.

"I'm going to play it in a sec," he promised. "I wanted to talk to you real quick first."

"What about?"

He looked to Colin first, who seemed as curious as Kaylee. "Well, it's about Samuel."

"Oh, what about him?" she asked, gliding her hand down one of Mr. B.'s ears as she listened.

"I was wondering if we could keep him our secret. You know how best friends keep secrets?"

Colin nodded his approval. "Yeah," Colin jumped in. "We feel like we've gotten really close since you've been with us. Like best friends."

"Right," Riley said. "So can you keep Samuel our little secret?"

She thought about it a second then nodded her head. "Yeah. Our secret." She raised a finger to her lips, and Riley mimicked the movement.

"That's it. Shhhh."

She giggled again, and hugged her bunny. "Just us and Mr. B. can see Samuel."

"That's right. And only we can know about it," Colin reiterated.

"Ok," she said. "Play The Wiggles!"

Riley complied, restarting the DVD. "Are you going to leave me any of that candy you got last night? Best friends share candy, too," Riley teased her.

"Nope," she replied confidently. "Well, maybe the coconut ones."

"Ew! Coconut!" Riley exclaimed, tickling her ribs.

Colin turned to look out the window when he heard a car pull up. "Look who's here," he said when he recognized Lance's car.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed, forgetting The Wiggles and running toward the front door.

Riley caught up with her in time to see her fling herself into her father's arms before he could reach the front porch.

"I see you survived," Lance said with a smile as he made his way to the porch.

"She was great. A perfect angel," Colin said.

Kaylee had run to meet her mother who was heading toward the house only to be tackled by 30 pounds of pink.

"I'm glad to hear it. I was afraid she'd get scared, being in a different place and all."

"We were a little worried about that, too, but she was great," Riley told him.

"Hi, guys," Liz said with Kaylee clinging to her mother's hand.

"Hi, Liz," Riley said. "We're sorry about your grandmother."

"Thanks. It's been a hard few days."

"Nothing helps but time, does it?" Colin offered.

"Not a thing."

Kaylee tugged on her mother's arm. "Are we going home now?"

Liz smiled. "Yes, we are. I'm sure we're all ready to be there."

"We've got her bags packed by the door," Colin said. "I'll grab them."

"Don't forget the DVD," Riley reminded him. "It's still in the player." He turned his attention to Kaylee. "Tell them what you were for Halloween."

"I was Cinderella!" she exclaimed. "I had the glass slippers, and got a new tea set, too!"

"That's great, honey," Lance said.

Riley told them, "We took pictures. We'll email them to you. She was a very convincing princess."

"Here you go," Colin said, arriving with the Hello Kitty suitcase, a bag of candy, and a bag of DVDs. "I put your tea set in the bag with the DVDs," he told Kaylee.

"Thank you!"

"Are we ready to go?" Lance asked.

"I think so," Liz said. "Thanks again."

"No problem. We were happy to help," Riley told them.

"Come on, Samuel," Kaylee chirped happily. "Let's go home."

Riley's mouth fell open, and he froze with Kaylee's words. His eyes darted to Lance, who was wearing a distinct frown.

"Lance, I...," Riley started. "About that..."
"God," Lance said, putting his hands on his hips and looking skyward. "She was with you for several days. Stressful days for her."

"I know, uh, I mean," Colin stuttered. "The Samuel thing... it was just..."
Lance interrupted their stammering. "I know, I'm sorry."

Colin said, "You're... sorry?"

"Yeah, I should have remembered to tell you."

Colin and Riley frowned at each other in confusion. Riley said, "Tell us what?"

"About her imaginary friend," he revealed quietly while Liz distracted Kaylee. "The doctor says it's normal for her age. Stressors can make it worse, so I really should have thought about it."

An imaginary friend! Riley released a held breath. "We had no idea."

"I know, I apologize for not remembering to mention it."

"No," Colin interjected. "We just didn't know it wasn't something new."

"Oh, no, not at all," Lance said. "It's been going on about six months or so. Just normal kid stuff, but he's 'around', she talks about him a lot."

Colin nodded in relief. "She did. He went trick-or-treating with us."

Lance turned to Kaylee, "Give Colin and Riley a hug, little girl, so we can go home."

She gave Colin a tight hug, then threw her arms around Riley's neck. With her lips close to his ear, she whispered, "They don't know you see Samuel, too. Our little secret."

With that, she planted a kiss on his cheek, then ran back to her parents, carrying Mr. B. under one arm while she waved with the other.

Colin and Riley waved back, then headed inside. Colin fell against the door after he pushed it closed. "An imaginary friend," he said incredulously.

"Whoda thunk it?" Riley asked.

"Can you believe that? She never saw *our* Samuel after all."

Colin pushed himself from the door, and grabbed Riley's hand as they headed for the living room. He took his usual seat in the corner of the sofa, pulling Riley against him.

"Hmm," Riley uttered wordlessly.

"What?"

"I guess Samuel was telling the truth."

"When?"

"The note. The 'not Samuel' note," Riley reminded him.

"Ah. That note."

"You owe him an apology."

Colin shook his head and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Do I have to?"
"Ghosts are people, too. Just because they have no bodies, doesn't mean they have no feelings."

"Ok, you win." Colin raised his voice to carry through the house. "Samuel! I'm sorry, I didn't believe you. I won't doubt you again."

Riley smiled and rested his head against Colin's shoulder. "That was nice of you."

"Thanks."

"Now, go get us a beer."

Colin groaned. "I get no respect around here. None."

Colin trudged to the kitchen, his feet feeling lighter with the knowledge of Kaylee's imaginary friend. What were the odds that her imaginary friend would have the same name as their see-through roommate? He wasn't sure, but whatever the odds, he was grateful they had been in their favor. He reached in the refrigerator, and snagged two beers. As he closed the door, two lone words glared at him from the fresh note on their grocery list notepad: thank you.

He smiled, looking around the room slowly for any signs of Samuel, but he was not to be found.

"You're welcome," Colin said, then headed back to the living room to relax with Riley.

The End