Dennis watched the last of Cordelia's things taken from the apartment. It was Wesley who had come to take care of this duty and he had explained everything that had happened. That Cordelia was gone and wouldn't be back.

He moped around the apartment for weeks. He had chased away the realtor at least four times.

Then she came to see the apartment. Dennis could imagine Cordelia's horror at the woman's attire and oddness. Naomi Sandburg fell in love with the apartment and wrote a check for the deposit on the spot, then pulled her cellphone from her purse and called someone named Blair asking Blair and Jim to spend their vacation helping her settle in.

Dennis glared. He did not want this odd woman here--he wanted Cordelia back, but that wasn't going to happen.

~*~

"Isn't this place just gorgeous?"

"Yeah, it is, Mom."

"I signed a year lease, there's just something about it."

Jim Ellison managed to contain his snort. Naomi signing a year lease was something akin to a miracle. The woman was a flake, and he still hadn't quite forgiven her for the whole scandal with Blair's thesis. Unfortunately, she was his guide's mother...and he had to put up with her. Thankfully only in small doses. It wasn't that he actively disliked her, it was just that she drove him absolutely nuts. Even better she was tied in Los Angeles for a year with her lease, and they were in Cascade.

"Oh no Jim, you can't put that there it ruins the whole--"

Jim cut her off. "Where do you want the box then Naomi," he and Blair had taken turns driving down from Cascade to LA, the roar of jet engines too much for the exhausted Sentinel to take. The past two months dealing with Cascade's latest loony intent on killing Sandburg had taken it's toll and he was spending his vacation time dealing with Naomi. He really didn't want to hear how an unpacked box affected the room's aura or some such nonsense. Naomi wasn't quite that bad, but Jim was that tired and not in the mood.

~*~

Dennis lingered more not there than usual watching the procedings as the bare apartment was now being quickly and efficiently filled and unpacked with this Naomi's things. The two men, Cordelia would have enjoyed the veiw he thought. The younger one was this Naomi's son. The older one seemed a bit impatient and had things more organized and moving far more quickly than Naomi and her son likely would have if left to their own devices settling her in.

Dennis moved a little more back to the apartment. He was still bound to it, he couldn't leave but he could sort of fade.

~*~

"Jim? JIM!" Blair said worriedly as the Sentinel stood still suddenly and zoned out. "Jim man, talk to me, you're zoning"

"Who are you?" Jim asked.

"Jim, it's me Blair."

"Not you Chief, him"

"Him who? It's just me, you and Mom."

"Him." Jim looked directly at the apparition.

"I'm Dennis, you can see me?"

"Sort of, more the temperature differnce in the air where you are...what are you?" Jim replied. The voice wasn't--well it wasn't human. He could make it out being a Sentinel but the pitch and frequency were completely off the human hearing scale though still sounded mostly human somehow.

"A ghost" Dennis answered.

"Naomi would move into a haunted apartment." Jim muttered.

"Jim?"

"Naomi's got a ghost."

"A ghost." Blair repeated.

Jim nodded. "A ghost."

"I knew this apartment felt --"

Jim rolled his eyes tuning out the rest of Naomi's babble about how thrilled she was to have proof of an after life and her prodding of questions to ask the 'lost spirit'

"Is she always like this?" Dennis asked.

"Yeah. Pretty much" Jim laughed.

"Well, at least she won't be boring. If I can't have Cordelia here, I think I can put up with her." Dennis said.