A/N: Happy Halloween, everyone! Here's a little bit of a treat that I wrote in honor of the holiday. It's not a sequel to "Father of Mine", but it is a continuation in the "Sleepless in Chicago" universe. I seem to be developing a holiday theme with these stories, so who knows, there might be another one come Christmas time. No promises, though! (More author notes and disclaimer follow at the end)

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"It's a haunted house," Nancy stated skeptically, looking at the dilapidated building that stood before her.

"Exactly!" Joe enthused, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "No Halloween is complete without a visit to the local haunted house."

Nancy looked up at her husband with amusement. "You actually partake in this holiday tradition?"

Frank held up his hands, laughing. "Don't look at me. You were the one who jumped on board when Joe called saying that he had something fun planned for us this evening. I was perfectly content to stay at home and enjoy a quiet dinner with my wife and an old friend who's visiting."

He grinned at Bess, who in turn punched him lightly on the arm. "C'mon Frank, stop sounding like half of an old married couple."

"I am half of an old married couple," Frank returned. This time it was Nancy who punched him on the other arm, not so lightly.

"Hey, watch who you're calling old. Twenty-six is still considered young in most cultures, particularly in ours. Which is why I agreed to go out when Joe called, because that's what young people do. We go out, have fun, whether we're married or not." She arched one eyebrow and surveyed the building before her again. "Although, I'm not quite sure this meets my definition of 'fun'."

"Sure it is, Nan," Joe argued. "What could be more fun than getting scared witless by a bunch of ghouls and goblins in a haunted house?"

"Joe, this is an old warehouse, not a haunted house. And your ghouls and goblins are a bunch of teenagers with lots of makeup on their faces looking to make some extra cash around Halloween."

"Now who's being a stick-in-the-mud?" Joe complained.

"I just don't find anything frightening about a building manufactured to be scary. Half of our cases have taken us to places that look scarier than this one."

"I don't know, Nan," Bess said tentatively. "This place sure does look creepy from the outside, manufactured or not." A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. Bess edged a little closer to Nancy. "And the atmosphere outside isn't helping."

Joe stepped up beside Bess, slung an arm over her shoulder. "Don't worry Bess, I'll protect you." He winked at his brother over Bess' head. "After all, half of the fun of a haunted house is having a scared girl to hang all over you. You don't really think I made this a Halloween tradition just for the heck of it, do you?"

Everyone laughed, while Bess elbowed Joe in the ribs. "You're such a flirt, Joe."

"Hello Pot, this is Kettle calling," he returned, grinning down at her. She grinned back and wrapped her arm around his waist snugly.

"Hi Kettle, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Frank and Nancy just shook their heads at them. "Hopeless, the both of them," Frank declared.

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"Ticket Number 3!" the vampire behind the ticket counter called. Everyone holding tickets with the specified number moved forward, including Nancy, Frank, Joe, and Bess. They lined up, and watched as group after group was allowed through the front entrance. Finally, it was their turn, and the bouncer, who was doubling as Freddie Kruger, lifted the rope so that they could go through. Nancy and Frank led the way, with Joe and Bess following. As they fully entered the first narrow hallway and everything went dark around them, a woman somewhere ahead of them let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Bess let out a little yelp of her own, grabbing frantically for Joe's hand. Nancy turned around to her friend, barely able to see her in the dim light. "It's okay, Bess. They have all these noises planted throughout the house to make you jump."

Bess shook her head nervously. "That sounded real to me."

Joe gave her hand a small squeeze. "I promise it's not, Bess. Or if it is, it's probably just some poor woman who was scared by one of the exhibits or people in costumes."

She blew out her breath. "Okay. But if you let go of my hand, Joseph Hardy, I will never speak to you again."

He laughed, and with the matter settled, the group began moving forward. As they passed the first display -- an autopsy in progress with a corpse spread open, the insides falling out over the table while an assortment of life-size statues resembling doctors surrounded it – Frank leaned down to Nancy, whispering in her ear.

"Sure you don't want to hold my hand too, Mrs. Hardy? You might get scared."

Nancy gave him a bland look. "Please. As if I'm going to be scared by a fake corpse and a bunch of fake doctors…AHHH!!!!"

She jumped, practically leapt into Frank's arms, as one of the supposedly fake doctors whirled, scalpel in hand with a menacing look on his face. He lunged towards Nancy, stopping short of touching her, and growled. Not one to pass up an opportunity when it presented itself, Frank wrapped his arms tightly around his wife, dropping a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"Not scared, huh?" he murmured softly.

Blue eyes glared up at him, but then a corner of her mouth lifted slightly. "Haha, you got me. Or rather, the doctor got me. Can we keep going now?"

"Absolutely," he said, dropping a quick kiss on her lips this time. They turned back to Joe and Bess, and Nancy redirected her glare to Joe. "Not a word," she threatened. Joe complied and didn't say anything, but he didn't have to – the wide grin on his face said it all. Bess, on the other hand, was deathly pale. The doctor hadn't only been a shock to Nancy. Joe tugged on Bess' hand gently. "C'mon, it's time to move." As they started walking, Nancy wrapped her right hand around Frank's forearm. "Just in case," she explained, winking up at him. He tightened his arm closer to his side, and used his other hand to hold hers securely in place.

"Just in case," he replied, smiling.

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Together, they walked past exhibit after exhibit. Mummified aliens, evil clowns, vampires with blood dripping off their fangs, and decaying men in prison garb all leapt out at various points, hoping to elicit a scream out of poor, unsuspecting people. They got more than a few out of Bess, and even a couple of surprised yelps from Nancy. And, even though she knew he would never admit it, that last clown had even managed to make Frank jump.

As they walked through a room made to look like an abandoned school bus (appropriately relabeled "The Ghoul Bus" on the outside), Nancy tugged on Frank's arm. "C'mon, admit it, Frank. You're just a little scared, aren't you?"

He laughed, his brown eyes twinkling merrily. "You just don't want to be the only one out of the two of us who's scared."

"That's not true," Nancy denied. "I saw your face when that last clown jumped out at us. There was definitely a moment of fear."

Frank shook his head. "No way. Like you said, this is all so obviously manufactured, with a bunch of teenagers playing dress-up. Nothing more to it."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

Nancy said nothing, just tilted her chin to the right, gesturing to Frank's other side. He looked at her, confused. "What are you…" Then he turned.

"AHHHH!!"

Next to him, walking right next to him, was a corpse bride, her wedding dress in tatters and her face a deathly gray to match her dress. She was looking up at him, an almost adoring expression on her face, her black eyes large and unblinking. Beside him, Frank could hear Nancy laughing, while Joe snickered somewhere behind him. Clearly, this woman had been walking next to him for some time, and everyone had been in on the joke but him. Still, after the initial shock had worn off, he couldn't help but feel his skin crawl. The bride continued to gaze up at him, stopped now that he had stopped. He had expected to her to keep walking once she had gotten the desired reaction from him, but instead, she just stood there, as if waiting for something. Frank edged closer to Nancy, not caring at that point how much teasing he got for it later. He just wanted this creepy bride to get away from him. He felt Nancy's arms come around him from behind, and she pressed her cheek against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry miss, but this man's already got a bride," Nancy stated, tongue firmly in cheek.

The corpse bride gave what could only be described as a pout, then slowly glided off.

As she moved away, Joe couldn't hold it in any longer. He bent over laughing, clutching his sides as if in pain.

"That…was…too…funny," he gasped out. Frank gave him a deadly glare, then turned back to look down at Nancy. To her credit, she had managed to wipe the smile from her face just before he turned. Nancy rubbed his back soothingly. "It's okay, honey. I'm sure she just mistook you for her long-lost groom."

That earned a snort from Bess, who promptly tried to smother it by covering her mouth with her hands. When Frank's glare turned on her, she just gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry, Frank."

He just shook his head. "Laugh it up, all of you," he muttered. Then he cracked a grin. "Looks like you should be the one protecting me now," he said, nudging Nancy playfully.

She grabbed his hand again. "We'll just call it even," she stated agreeably, as they continued through the haunted house.

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The next section of the house was a 3-D experience. The gruesome looking attended handed them their glasses silently, a menacing look on his face. Tucking the cheap cardboard frame with the flimsy blue and red lenses securely around their faces, the group moved forward. As they walked through narrow hallway after narrow hallway, things appeared to leap out at them. In one passageway, hands seemed to jut out of the wall, open-palmed as if desperately reaching for something. When one of the hands suddenly moved next to her, making a grabbing motion, Bess jumped. Joe squeezed her hand reassuringly. "It's okay," he whispered. "I've got you." She nodded, relaxing her tensed muscles enough to give him a small smile. "Despite the fact that you're a shameless flirt, Joe Hardy, I sure have missed you."

Joe returned the smile. "Same goes, Bess."

Ahead of them, they watched as Nancy and Frank climbed a small set of stairs and entered what appeared to be a tunnel of sorts. As she and Joe followed, Bess saw that it was, in fact, a suspended walkway, with the outsides rotating around it. Complete with the 3-D glasses, it was quite an effect. Her tensed muscles relaxed just a little bit more as she realized that there were no dark corners for someone to leap out at her from. She saw Frank and Nancy looking around, and both seemed impressed with the special effects around them.

The foursome descended the steps. Frank turned to Nancy as they walked, a huge grin on his face. "That was awesome!" he enthused.

She nodded in agreement. "I have to admit, those special effects were worth the price of the ticket." She pitched her voice over her shoulder. "What did you think, Bess?" As she turned in the direction of her friend, the entire room went pitch black.

And then Bess screamed.

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"Bess!" Nancy shouted. In the dark, her hand groped for Frank's, found it, and held tight. She reached forward, groping the area where Bess had been standing. But she was met with only empty air. Beside her, she could feel Frank reaching for Joe. "Joe? Where are you?" But he got no response either. Suddenly, the dim lights flickered back on, with an evil cackle emitting over the loudspeakers. Ahead of them, Nancy could hear other groups of people murmuring excitedly about how frightening the loss of light had been, and what a fun prank it was. But her heart had yet to stop pounding, because the lights now revealed what she had already suspected.

Bess and Joe were gone.

"Where could they be?" Nancy asked frantically, looking around her. "I don't know," Frank replied, letting go of her hand to look around. He walked a little ways forward, peering around the corner, thinking that maybe Joe and Bess had gotten disoriented in the dark and had gone ahead without meaning to. But there was no sign of them, just a maniacal hockey player who leapt at him, swinging his hockey stick in the air. Frank barely spared him a glance, turning back to look for Nancy. She had started retracing their steps, re-entering the tunnel that they had emerged from just before everything had gone black.

Suddenly, she called out. "Frank!" There was a thread of panic in her voice. He raced back to her, coming to a halt at her side. "What is it?"

Silently, she placed something in his hand. He looked down to see two pairs of the 3-D glasses, twisted and mangled. His heart clenched, but he shook his head. "These could be anybody's, Nan. They could have been laying here for hours, getting stomped on, trampled over."

"There's more," she said quietly. She handed him another object, a silver charm bracelet. "That's Bess'. She was wearing it tonight. I found it right by those glasses."

"C'mon," Frank said, breaking into a run. "If someone dragged them back through the tunnel, they couldn't have gotten far. I know Joe would try to slow them down."

He took the stairs from the tunnel two at a time, leaping off the last one, only to bump into a wall. At least it felt like a wall. After leaning back and getting a better look, Frank saw that it was, in fact, a person. A human wall. He felt Nancy bump into him from behind, then stop short. The burly bouncer glared at them.

"No going backwards in the haunted house."

"My brother and a friend of mine were kidnapped. They were taken this way. We have to follow them!"

"Look kid, I've been around this joint long enough to know a Halloween prank when I see one. Either you're trying to pull one over on me, or your brother and his girlfriend are pulling one over on you. Doesn't matter to me one way or the other, 'cuz you're not getting through. So you just turn on around and go back the way you're supposed to."

Frank felt his muscles tense, his hand clench into a fist. Before he could decide whether to argue further or just deck the guy, Nancy grabbed his arm.

"Come on, Frank," she murmured. "It's not worth it. Let's just hurry through this thing, get outside, and find a security guard. Then we'll come back and look for them."

Frank complied, but not before shooting one last dirty look at the bouncer. Together, he and Nancy ran back through the tunnel and through the rest of the dark hallways, pushing past groups of startled people. Frank heard muttered curses, the occasional "Jerk" or "you're not supposed to run" thrown at him, but he ignored them all. His heart was pounding, and not just from the exertion. He knew all too well how many enemies he and his brother had. Glancing over at Nancy and seeing the drawn expression on her face, he knew the same desperate thoughts were running through her mind.

Finally seeing the exit sign, Nancy shoved through the double doors, Frank right behind her. Taking only a moment to gasp for breath, she began looking around frantically for a security guard. As she turned, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye.

"Wait a minute, is that…"

But she didn't even have to finish her question, because right there was her brother-in-law striding up to her, a huge grin on his face and his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. Next to him, Bess was smiling widely.

"Trick or treat!" Joe declared happily.

"Joseph Hardy, you damn well better have a good explanation for this," Frank growled.

"Well, sure I do, Frank," Joe replied. "It's Halloween. The official motto of Halloween is 'Trick or Treat'. This was just the 'trick' part of the festivities."

"You mean to tell us this was just one big joke?" Nancy asked in frustration. When Joe grinned and nodded, Nancy put her hands on her hips and turned to her best friend. "Bess, I at least expected better from you. You know better than to scare me that way!"

Bess had the grace to look contrite. "I'm sorry, Nancy. But when Joe mentioned that he had been through this haunted house before, and that there was this one part where they cut out the lights for a minute, he said that it would be a great way to scare you guys, and that we could just slip out of one of the side exits and meet you guys at the end." The words rushed out of Bess, expelled on one giant breath.

Nancy stepped forward and gave her a quick hug. "It's okay, Bess. I'm just glad you're okay." Then she leaned back and gave her friend a stern look. "But don't you dare ever scare me like that again."

"Deal," Bess agreed, hugging Nancy back.

"Didn't you think the glasses and bracelet were a nice touch? It was my idea," Joe bragged.

"Sounds like all of this was your idea," Frank stated, a menacing tone in his voice. Joe took a cautious step back. "Hey, now, Frank, no need to get angry. Like I said, it was just a good ol' Halloween trick."

"Yeah?" Frank countered. He cracked his knuckles dramatically. "Well, then, get ready for your treat."

Joe took another step back, then turned and took off running through the parking lot, Frank chasing closely behind. Nancy placed an arm around Bess' shoulders and squeezed. As the sounds of the brothers' shouting, and their laughter, drifted back to the girls, Nancy let out a laugh of her own.

"Happy Halloween, Bess."

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A/N: A special thanks to TesubCalle for coming up with this witty title, which, as many of you may have noticed, is a play on the title of the show "Punk'd". I didn't want to mention that at the beginning, lest I give anything away.

I'd love to hear what you thought of this little holiday number!

Disclaimer: Nancy, Frank, Joe, and Bess don't belong to me. However, I reserve the right to dress up like any one of them for Halloween. Well, maybe not the boys, seeing as how that would be difficult considering I'm a girl. But you get the idea.