A/N: Hi! Yes, I'm alive lol. I've just been super busy and haven't been able to write anything new. So, I don't typically do holiday fics, but this year I wanted to switch it up a bit. Now I know this fic is gonna seem more like a bedtime story than anything else but nothing scary would come to mind. Believe me. I TRIED to write something scary, but it all came out sounding lame. So I opted to do something cute instead. Anyway, I hope y'all still enjoy and thanks for all the feedback!
A Halloween Story
". . . . and they all lived happily ever after. The end!"
"Bor-iiinnnng." Jack said, popping a mini Tootsie roll into his mouth. Mac giggled from his lap, a Tootsie pop in his little hand. Jack smiled at him.
Bozer glared at the older man. "Look, you wanted a story, so you got one. What do you want me to do?" He tossed away the wrapper from his previous piece of candy into the fire.
Jack swallowed down his candy before grabbing another handful out of the bag. He watched for a moment how the light of the fire glinted off the numerous candy wrappers littered around them.
"Dude, it's Halloween. You don't tell fairy tales on Halloween. It's gotta be scary." He explained it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
When, honestly, it kinda was.
"Well," Riley piped in, taking special care to unwrap a strawberry Starburst. "It could be a fairy tale. Just swap out the fairies and unicorns with spooky ghosts and scary goblins."
"Well, I would but I didn't want to scare Mac. It's past his bedtime as it is and I didn't want him waking up from nightmares." Bozer explained. He took an offered Tootsie from Jack's hand.
Mac removed his sucker with a defiant frown. "Hey! It's not past my bedtime! I don't even have a bedtime!" The small blonde toddler complained adorably.
Jack smiled down at him, ruffling the kid's silky blonde locks affectionately. "Don't take it personally, Tiger."
"I think Jack should go next." Riley said, taking a fun size Twix from her bowl of candy sitting on her lap.
Jack frowned, poking the fire. His bad of Tootsie rolls temporarily forgotten. "Oh, I don't know. Might give y'all nightmares."
"No way man." Bozer said, pointing at the Delta. "You complained about my story, so now you've gotta go."
"Yeah!" Mac spoke up excitedly, a bright smile on his face as he gazed up at the older agent pleadingly. "C'mon, Jack. Please?"
Jack acted like he had to think about just for the drama, even though he already knew his answer. One look into those baby blue puppy eyes and the hardest of hearts would melt. Jack was sure of it. He ate another piece of candy before continuing.
"Oh, alright. But don't come on cryin' to me when y'all wake up screamin' with nightmares." Jack relented.
He settled back into his chair, staring straight into the bright orange flames of the fire while he gathered his thoughts. Mac settled against his chest eagerly awaiting the story while Bozer and Riley got comfy in their seats across from them.
"It was a night much like this one." Jack started his tale. "A group of four friends were out Trick or Treating. One of the four friends saw a haunted house-"
"-I know where this is going-" Bozer stage whispered to Riley as he reached to grab a piece of candy from her bowl. She glared but allowed it.
Jack gave him a look for being interrupted. "-and suggested they do it. The oldest of the four friends, Jacob, said it was stupid and childish. However, William - that was the other friend's name - practically begged to go walk it."
"Is there a reason why the guy's name is 'William?' Because I'm kinda getting the feeling you're directing this towards-"
"Bozer! Shut up and just listen!" Riley scolded.
Jack nodded. "What she said. And if I wanna pick on you, I can. Now hush and listen."
Bozer grumbled something and folded his arms over his chest with a pout. "Fine. Continue."
"Thanks." Jack muttered flatly. "Now as I was sayin', William tried to persuade his friends to join him. Even going as far as to offer up his own candy he worked so so hard for if they would all just go in with him. After much annoying pleading, Jacob finally gave in and convinced the rest of the group to go."
"When is it gonna get scary?" A little voice asked from his chest. Jack smiled and wrapped an arm around the small toddler. He unwrapped another Tootsie roll with his free hand.
"Soon. Now the line was already wrapped around the house by the time the group got there. When it finally came around to their turn, the lady at the front told them only pairs of two were allowed at a time. So Michael and Rachel - the other two friends - went first while Jacob and William went next a minute later.
He took a moment to eat his candy. "Right as they entered, a loud scream echoed throughout the pitch black room. William screamed like a girl and clung to Jacob in fear-"
"What! Ok, now that's just rude! I would never do such a thing!" Bozer complained. The others laughed.
"Whatever you say, dude. Now stop interrupting. After brushing off William, the two continued on down the dark hallway. Eerie music began to play as they neared a closed door. They looked at each other, silently debating who would go first. Since William was a wimp and Jacob was a badass, he took the lead and grabbed the golden doorknob."
Jack leaned forward just enough to get the shadows to dance across his face. He started gesturing with his hands as he talked, being careful not to disturb Mac and their bags of candy.
"The door opened with a low groan. Jacob and William wearily stepped into the dark room. They thought about calling out for their other two friends when suddenly . . . " Jack paused. Riley, Bozer and Mac all watched him on baited breath. Bozer silently scooted closer to Riley, his hand coming up to grip her arm waiting for the inevitable scare as the silence stretched on.
"ACID RAIN POURED DOWN ON THEM!"
Screams erupted a second later when water sprayed down on them. Jack nearly choked on his laughter when they all bolted to the other side of the deck.
"That's not funny Jack!" Riley tried to make it sound firm, but a smile kept on breaking through. The older man's laughter was contagious and soon they were all joining in.
"How did you do that?" Bozer asked amazed, even though his heart was still pounding rather hard. Jack smiled with a shrug as he popped another piece of candy in his mouth.
"Mac showed me a few tricks earlier. So I decided to use'em." He grinned at the blonde toddler as Mac crawled back up on his lap, taking a couple packages of KitKat's with him.
"Remind me to never show you that trick prior to Halloween ever again." Mac told him. The other's chuckled and gathered back around the fire pit for a long night of candy and more storytelling.