Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Are you sure you need to leave Patty?” Lila begged as she looked around the cold night. It was extremely late, and she didn't know what to do. She looked into the eyes of her new girlfriend Patty. “I know my son and his friend are still here. But I still want you here, I genuinely appreciate your company!”

Lila kissed Patty's cheek as she felt the breeze against them. Lila was always worrying that she was not being a good girlfriend and mother. She kept second-guessing herself sometimes, and this was one of those times.

Lila and Patty have known each other since high school, but now, in their adult lives, they are extremely close to each other to the point that Lila confessed to her a few years after Lila's husband passed away. Of course, Patty couldn’t say no to her. She knew that she adored Lila with all of her heart. So Patty always tried to tell Lila she didn't need to be so hard on herself.

“It's not your fault sweetheart,” Patty replied, patting Lila's shoulder as she held the other woman's hand, squeezing it tightly. “It’s just that I need to go to the morgue again. John called me again. He said he's found a dead body with a lot of foul play around it. Plus I promised my boss I'd work tonight. I'll be back within a few hours though, trust me.”

Lila sighed and gently wrapped her arms around Patty, hugging her tightly as she closed her eyes.

“Ok then…” She muttered, running one of her hands through Patty's hair. She relaxed a bit with her girlfriend’s touch, letting herself accept this. Patty had the right to do her job as much as Lila. They needed all the money they could get, especially since Lila's son, Skid, was a bit of a handful sometimes. “Just stay safe, ok? It's getting late and I don't want anything to happen to you when you're around town. Do you have the spare house key?”

“Yeah,” Patty replied, her head resting on Lila's chest for a bit before she began pulling away. “I got it. I'll keep it safe, don't worry Lila. I got everything settled. Just hold the fort for me when I'm gone, alright?”

Lila nodded and smiled a little bit.

“Of course Patty,” Lila said. She walked over and waved Patty goodbye as she went to the door. “Just be safe alright? Love you sweetheart!”

“Love you too, sweetheart!” was all Patty replied before she turned around and went to the car.

She drove off soon after that. Patty was happy now, she was finally enjoying something with a person she loved. She didn't remember the last time she felt this happy. Maybe that's an issue she had with her whole life, just annoying people and feeling that her actions didn't mean anything besides money. But hey, at least she's got an amazing woman on her side with a kid who was sweet despite his crazy escapades.

But tonight was going to get slightly inconvenient when she came back.

–

Patty came back a few hours later. She felt amazing so far. She got paid right before she left and it was double the amount of her usual paycheck. It was a bit odd, considering that the body she studied wasn't that bad. But hey, money's money. And she needs all she can get.

She parked her car and got out. The cold night air was nothing to Patty's skin; she couldn't really feel anything as she closed the door and walked towards it. She didn't even bother trying to knock. Lila and her son Skid were probably asleep by now. Pump was probably at his parents’ house as well. So she didn't expect her beloved girlfriend to answer the door.

That's why she had spare keys to the house. Patty was assuming this would be the same as any other night. Just get in, change into something comfortable, and sleep with Lila until the sun rises again. But she would be mistaken… 

Because this night is different.

She opened the door with no issue, and she went in, and immediately, something was wrong. She saw that the TV was on. That never happened when she came back usually. No noises were heard when she came to Lila’s house at night. The only exception was sometimes Skid being awake when he wasn't supposed to.

“What the-” her voice stopped dead as soon as she turned her head to see what was on the couch.

There on the couch seemed to be an odd sight. It was two regular plushies of Lila's son and his best friend. Skid and Pump’s soulless, stuffed eyes stared right at Patty's. She turned her head to see what was on the TV.

The screen showed nothing but a flashing image of a witch. Patty couldn't recognize the colors, it just looked… hypnotizing in a way. It almost got Patty. It was extremely clever. Had to be, whatever it was, it wasn't normal and sentient. Or maybe it was a tool.

Patty didn't know or exactly care. Because one thought suddenly broke this brief albeit strong trance and got her mind back into thinking.

Where the heck was Lila?

She immediately found the remote and shut it off soon after. She then began looking for Lila.

“Lila?” She said calmly, not daring to let her emotions get the best of her. Sure, Lila's the love of her life. But emotions can kill, especially in this situation. “Lila? Where are you? Don't tell me you're pranking me, Babe. I thought we both agreed we're not going to do it.”

She continued to walk around the room. Calmly checking anywhere she could be.

“Come on Patty,” The blonde pathologist whispered to herself, being extremely careful with everything around her. “Lila's taller than you and has purple hair. Who's going to lose such a pretty lady at said pretty lady's house! Makes no sense-”

And then she felt it.

She felt an object touch the tip of her foot. It was brief, but it felt soft… Soft and squishy, like a plush. Patty took a second to stop, her face now in a rather confused look. That only lasted for a little bit until she realized something.

“Wait…” Patty said to herself. “If the kids got turned into stuffed animals. That must mean Lila’s-”

She couldn't even finish that sentence. She knew well that an unexpected paranormal event had taken place here. And it affected her girlfriend and two kids while she was gone.

She shook her head, took a deep breath, and looked down. She didn't want to think it was possible. No way that this happened to her out of all people. But it probably did…

And yep, just as Patty feared was reality. Lila was now a damn mini plush, her dress, adorable hairstyle, and all. It was looking right at Patty, with a smile… Lila's smile.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me,” Patty said as she gently picked up the plush, probably containing Lila's soul, in her hands. She gently caressed its face a bit and groaned. Now she was mad, that dreaded thing on the TV was the worst. Whoever aired that mess deserved jail time and maybe some prison justice in Patty's mind. “What am I going to do now? I can't just let you be a plush! Same for your son and his friend,”

She walked over and picked up the other two plushies probably containing the souls of Skid and Pump. After that, she just held all three of them for a minute, sighing as she thought about what to do.

She thought about her two coworkers Jack and John. They were police officers who dealt with more weird stuff on the job than Patty. She thought about what they would do if they were in her situation. After a minute, her eyes widened at the only option that would have worked.

“Oh come on!” She said to herself, groaning and gently squeezing the three plushies against her body for a second. “I don't want to go there, but whatever. What other choice do I have?”

She then walked out of the house, plushies in hand. She then locked the door and went to her car. After putting all the plushies of Lila, Skid, and Pump. She started the car and drove off to a place she thought she would never go to in her life.

-

Patty drove the car all the way to the only church in the town, or at least by the knowledge she had. She didn't know why she had to go here, she never cared about religion. She even kind of disliked it because of her current relationship with Lila and the rhetoric that religious people spew. But she knew that religious people like priests would know how to solve some paranormal issues. This was one of them. Maybe some demon turned her love, along with her son and a pumpkin-costumed kid, into plushies. Who honestly knows?

She parked her car on the curb and got out of the car. She then grabbed all of the plushies gently, like they were the most fragile thing known to man. She then walked to the church, slowly but surely. She was extremely careful with them, knowing that these were not just toys, but objects that contained the souls of three people. Two of them were arguably the most important people in her life.

She went over and gently shoved all the plushies into one arm. As for the other, it was knocking on the doors. She did so excellently, a perfect mix of loud and respectful. She continued to do this until she heard footsteps approaching the door.

“Took him long enough,” she said to herself. “Ain't got all day,”

She waited for a bit, tapping her foot and sighing as she looked at the plushies in her arms. Mainly Lila's.

“We'll get you and your son back to normal babe,” Patty said softly, hoping the trapped souls could get her. “And we'll make your son’s friend back to normal too. I can't imagine being Pump’s family right now,”

After a while, someone walked over and opened the door. The person who answered was a tall old priest. His face was wrinkly, his hair bald, and his expression showed his duty to the faith. He looked down and gasped as he looked at Patty.

Patty knew this man a little too well. She didn't like him, but she couldn't help but respect him for his actions and dedication.

“Oh, hello Miss Azure,” Said the priest as he looked down at Patty with a surprised look. “I didn't expect you to be here. What assistance do you need from me?”

“Hello Father Gregor,” Patty said calmly, just as Gregor did to her. She then showed him the plushies. “Something weird happened when I was gone at work. I came back seeing that my girlfriend, her son, and her son's best friend got turned into stuffed animals. And all of this happened with some weird TV program!”

Gregor's eyes widened like saucers.

“Oh… I heard of those before,” he said as he looked at them. “A dreadful event caused by the Devil. He pulls this sort of act every year on a random person. It's infuriating but something I can undo. Please hand me them, I'll help them get back to normal,”

Patty nodded and handed the priest all three of the plushies as soon as she heard the priest's words. Father Gregor gently took all the plushies and then walked over to the church.

“I'm going to make this quick. It's easier than you think,” Gregor said professionally.

“Alright,” Patty replied as she rubbed her head with a sigh. “Thank you for helping me despite our various disagreements in the past,”

“I'm happy to help anyone. As long as they don't support the Devil. Stay here, just in case anything happens,” was all Gregor said before going inside.

Patty nodded and then decided to go and stay near the church for a bit. She then leaned on the church walls and sighed. She waited and waited, staring up at the sky for extended periods of time. She slowly blinked and yawned, rubbing her arms and thinking about the most important person right now: Lila.

“Oh how I miss you already,” Patty said to herself, thinking about Lila's pretty face. Which led to her thinking about Lila as a whole. She was an amazing person, always kind and considerate of the people she cared about. She was an amazing mother and a kind girlfriend. Always willing to do anything for you when you need it. Patty couldn't stop thinking about her. And sure, her son could be crazy sometimes, but Patty learned to care about him too; he was very sweet for his age after all. “I hope I see you back to normal…”

The things Gregor was doing took a solid hour. At that time, Patty was thinking about all the nice things she would do to and for Lila after this. She imagined hugging her more often, working hard to give Lila more money, and cooking dinner more often when she was there for Lila and her family. Hell, she even imagined moving in with Lila instead of just visiting her house sometimes.

She tapped on the ground, feeling extremely bored and anxious. She checked the clock and found out an hour had passed. She turned her head, thinking about when they were going to be saved by Father Gregor. But then she heard familiar voices.

“Let's go home!” Shouted Pump as he ran out, a big dumb smile on his face.

“Yeah! Let's go home!” Agreed, Skid, as he followed Pump soon after.

“Hang on kids!” Lila yelled out, following the two and managing to calm both of them down. And then she turned her head to see Patty.

Both of the women smiled at each other and then looked at the kids.

“Lila, I'm so glad to see you not be a marketable plushie!” Patty blurted out in joy.

“Glad to see you too sweetheart!” Lila replied as she ran towards Patty.

Lila walked over to Patty and then kissed her. Patty just wrapped her arm around Lila and then kissed her back. It was pure bliss, finally, this stupid night can be over with. They just made out while Skid and Pump got grossed out and Father Gregor came out with a little smile on his face.

After a bit, Lila let go and kissed Patty's forehead with a smile.

“The priest told us what happened,” Lila said with a grateful expression. “I'm so grateful you and he got us out of this,”

“No problem babe,” Patty replied, kissing Lila's cheek before looking at Father Gregor. Now with a grateful tone: “Thank you, Father Gregor, I owe you one.”

Gregor just chuckled and nodded.

“It's no problem, Miss Azure,” Gregor replied, waving goodbye while walking back to the church. “Notify me if there's anything strange happening,”

Patty just sighed and then looked back at Lila with the same smile.

“Wanna go home?” Patty asked gently, giving Patty a gentle squeeze. “It's one A.M. and we need to get Skid's friend home too!”

“Oh yeah, I forgot that!” Pump randomly blurted out while Skid was distracted by looking at his Mom holding Patty.

“Oh, yeah!” Lila said with a chuckle, her face becoming red when she saw Patty's tired expression. “Let's go home!”

They all went into Patty's car soon after and began to drive. They dropped Pump off, then went back home and tucked Skid in. The last bit of stuff that happened that night was Patty lying down with Lila and falling asleep together. 

What a night, Patty thought as she rested her head on top of Lila's before falling asleep. What a night indeed.