Chapter 2: At home with the Grays

Robbie had caught up with Amanda and Zoe as they had exited the hospital, clinging to each other as they shuffled through the icy car park. He found he was able to move quite freely and easily kept pace, even when they had entered their car and pulled out onto the road. He followed the car along a number of busy thoroughfares until it pulled in to a quieter residential area and eventually into a wide driveway. The house that stood at the end of the driveway was very impressive and Robbie slipped in through the front door as Amanda and Zoe hugged each other tightly in the entrance. Mother and daughter at last moved into a large family room that boasted a natural wood burning fire. Zoe indicated that she wanted to simply retire for the night. It was obvious the girl was totally drained both emotionally and physically. Her mother hugged her once more and kissed her goodnight again whispering comforting thoughts in her ear. Zoe kissed her mother then turned and climbed the stairs presumably towards her bedroom. Robbie followed on the basis that the younger girl seemed the more upset of the two and would perhaps need looking after more than Amanda.

He trailed behind Zoe as she entered her bedroom, obviously a girl's bedroom from the colours, decorations, frills and stuffed toys of all descriptions. The room had an on-suite bathroom and after pulling some kind of sleepwear from under her pillows, Zoe entered this to wash, brush her teeth and prepare for bed. Robbie remained in the bedroom, careful to give the girl her privacy. The last thing he wanted was to be ogling a highly upset young girl as she changed. A few minutes later Zoe returned to the bedroom now dressed in a little tee-shirt and her panties. The tee came down to just above her belly button leaving a few inches of bare skin between it and the panties. The panties were a French cut, silk, and they hugged her little slit and butt delightfully. Robbie noticed a well defined little camel toe at the front and despite himself and the notion he had of behaving like a gentleman, he couldn't help but stare at the beautiful young teen. Zoe walked to the corner of her room and picked up a huge stuffed brown bear - it was almost life size, certainly at least a foot taller than the young girl - and hefted it onto her queen- sized bed.

Zoe lay down and hugged the large bear tightly, tears falling from her eyes once again. Robbie could hear her softly whispering into the bear's fur as she buried her face into the toy's neck. He moved closer to the bed to try to hear what she was whispering.

"Oh Bruno its time to stop now, let daddy walk in to kiss me good night, please? Oh Bruno its time to stop now." She whispered this over and over.

Robbie guessed the stuffed grizzly bear was in fact the Bruno that was being referred to. He was obviously a firm favourite of the girl and the repeated phrase was a clear attempt to have the world stop and for things to fall back in to their natural order for her. It was equally clear to Robbie that nothing was ever going to be the same for Zoe again.

Robbie leaned over the girl and gently touched her back with a natural inclination to try and soothe her. Zoe's thoughts came through loud and clear.

"... oh Bruno what are mommy and I going to do without daddy? I can't believe my handsome, big strong daddy is gone and I will never see him again. Oh Bruno..."

More tears followed, deep sobs until the girl's chest was heaving against the giant bear. Robbie moved to the other side of the bed and climbed up behind the bear. He lay down and shuffled over, again feeling that weird sensation as his ghostly body merged with the very fabric of the soft toy. He now lay face to face with Zoe with his arms around her and her breasts heaving against his chest. In this position he was of course touching Zoe and he could therefore continue to hear her thoughts.

"... daddy why have you left us? What are we to do now? Oh daddy..."

Robbie continued to try and hug the distraught girl, merged with Bruno, the brown bear.

"... oh Bruno thank goodness I still have you to hug me. Oh how I wish that you could talk and hug me back. That you could whisper to me like daddy did some nights at bedtime when I was frightened. That you could rub my back the way he did that always made me feel safe and loved. Oh I wish that you could do that for me too..."

Robbie felt the same surge of power shoot through him as he had back in the hospital room. His body tingled and he suddenly had the sensation that his bear 'hands' had some feeling in them. He flexed his fingers experimentally and was sure that they did in fact move. By this stage Zoe had completely tired herself out. Rob slowly traced circles on her back, gently easing the poor girl all the while whispering in her ear

"Shhh, Bruno says its time to stop now, go to sleep lovely Zoe. Bruno says its time to stop now, shhh."

The young girl eventually drifted off to sleep, faintly hearing the voice whispering too her and feeling the soothing stroke on her back. When Amanda looked in on her daughter before turning in herself she couldn't help but smile when she saw Zoe curled up with the huge bear.

"... she really loves that bear she thought. I'm glad she seems to have found something to comfort her. I only wish I had something that would work for me too..."

She quietly closed the door and made her way to her own bedroom. Robbie could hear sobs coming from down the hall for over an hour but he continued to hug the young girl tightly. Suddenly he felt a strong 'pull' and he found himself back in his own hospital room. A doctor was pulling down the sheets and using a stethoscope to check his lungs and breathing. Robbie could only assume that the physical contact with his unconscious body had triggered some kind of automatic recall mechanism that his ghostly self had to respond to. The doctor finished the examination and left the room. Robbie eased up and re-entered his unconscious self. It was weird. He seemed to be able to browse through his memories but was unable to wake up or summon any kind of movement. While wandering through his brain he came across a dark patch. It was impenetrable, inky black and it didn't' matter what he tried he could not force his way into or through it. He decided to rest for a while.