Hey guys- so recently I watched the nightmare before Christmas (SO AMAZICAL) and I had this great idea! I know I only write like 5 chapters and start something new, but I'm still working on lost in the shadows and both sides, so no worries! updates for all three will come often! for now I give you… (P.S. italics are songs…I know how many are in the movie so I've invented a few XD) (PPS I don't own this movie, Disney, or any of these characters. except Alicia. that would be the part I added in)

FEAR OF FRIGHT

Chapter 1: Sally Skellington

I sit quietly at the window, unsure of where to begin. The reporter paces by the door, gazing calmly at me. He takes a seat in a chair and removes a snake from his hair, bashing it on the table so that venom will emerge for his ink. The mayor and Jack lean against the wall, frightened eyes giving away the worry under their outer serenity.

"Now, Sally, let us start from the beginning. The first day you ever saw the child."

I shut my eyes, and a picture of Alicia dances on the back of the lids. I feel my stitches loosen as the tears begin to fall.

"My daughter," I whisper. "I remember the first day I saw my little girl."

~MEMORY: 16 YEARS AGO~

"Jack," I whisper. "I've been thinking."

He crouches over his book, intently studying a page on screams. "Really? What were you thinking about?"

I take a deep breath. "I want a child. But we're immortal. We don't grow old and we don't die, so I can't get pregnant. Don't you want children?" He pauses and looks up from his book, quietly marking the page before walking over to me. Taking me in his arms, he murmurs, "Well then what do you propose we do? I want one too." I whisper into his shoulder.

S: "Idon'tknow.Idon'tknow.I'venoideawheretogo.ThedoctorcouldcreateonebutIhopeIneverseehimagain."

J:"Thevampirescouldbiteone,bringitbackandgiveittous.Orwecouldsummonachild'sghostfromthegrave,bringittoourhomefromthedust.AlittleboywhowouldplaycatchwithZero."

S: "Agirlwho'dbeascaringhero!Whowouldlearntomakethemscreamlikeabanshee!"

J: "Aboy!"

S: "Agirl!"

J: "ButWAIT!I'veabrilliantideafrommyskullrighttomytoes-there'splacesupabovewhereunwantedchildrengo.Thesesad,unlovedsmallchildrenwaitinvainforsomeonetoadoptthem,bringthemhome,givethemshelter,lovethemwell.WecouldgoUPtothesehousesfilledwithsadness!Wecouldchooseahumanchildofourown!TeachthemeverythingtheyneedtoknowtobepartofHalloween,andthey'llbegoodashell!"

S: Jack, I'm not sure-

J: "No!Whatcouldgowrong?It'salogicalchoice:youknowthistobetrue.Achildwillbehappierherethanuptherefeelingblue.Doesn'tmatterifthey'rehuman!Doesn'tmatterifthey'renotamonster!Doesn'tmatteriftheyneedalittlehelponHalloween!We'llhaveachildofourown!"

S: "Achildofourown!Onetofeedandraiseandloveandteachourdifferentways!Onewhowouldbeoursformanynightsanddays!"

Together: "Achildwewillhave!Achildofourown!Ahuman,demon,whocareswhich?Ifweraisethemright,they'llalmostbeawitch!Sosoonwegotothehumanworldforachildofourown!"

Jack and I smile at each other as we headeoff to pack a meal for our trip to elsewhere. Still, as I prepare some wine, I wonder if raising a human child in Halloweentown will someday worry us. But I have faith in Jack's ideas, and besides, a baby of our own!

~later~

I gasp as we approach the tall gray building. Stones crumble down from the rooftops, and moss grows in the window frames. No light comes from the building: only the eerie green glow from the streetlamp provides the ability to see.

Jack hops up to the second floor window, reaching his hand down to pull me up. We must steal the child, since we obviously aren't humans. I hold up the lantern and look around the room.

Children of all ages, thin and tired, lie on thin cots. The sheets are off-white, and I can see bugs crawling over their pillows: lice. It seems lovely to me, but for humans, the room reeks of death. I know our home is more comfortable than this, and all worries I had vanish. I stalk among the beds, searching for any face that calls out to me, any body that screams with the strongest need for love.

Jack walks up next to me. "Don't forget: we can't get one that's too old. We have to make sure our way of life is the only one it remembers." I nod and continue, bending to examine the faces of the smallest children.

Suddenly, I hear a soft cry from the other side of the room, and I motion to Jack. Lifting the lantern higher, I spot a dark brown crib in the corner, and I walk towards it.

Spiders and termites crawl over the wood of the crib, making the foundation weak, but my eyes go immediately to the baby inside. Dressed in only a diaper, it lies on a soft white blanket, and based on the cleanliness, I'm guessing it's been here only a short time. I remove the diaper and check the gender: a girl. "Oh!" I cry softly before wrapping the blanket around her and lifting her into my arms. She snuggles against me, as though sensing she has found her mother. I coo softly, and she opens her eyes.

I nearly gasp. The child's eyes are the green-yellow of the thistle leaves back home, reflecting brightly in the light of the lantern. Most children would cry out at the sight of a monster like me, and I hold her away from me a bit, bracing myself for the shriek I am sure will come.

But my heart fills with joy as the baby doesn't scream. Instead, she pokes her little hands out of the blanket, reaching for me, as though wishing I would return. I hold her to my chest again and she immediately falls back asleep. I smile softly and return to Jack. "I've found her," I murmur. "She's the one. We need to go now, before anyone downstairs hears us or the children wake up."

Jack's shock is written all over his face: I'm not sure he really expected to find a child on our first try. Still, his serenity returns quickly, and he hops out the window before returning with our empty picnic basket. I place her in the basket and loop it carefully around my arm, lowering the lid so she doesn't fly out. I leap to the ground and hand the basket to Jack while I sew my arm back on. I hate when my limbs do that, but it's nearly impossible to avoid.

We run to the graveyard, leaping through the tombstone and back to Halloweentown before any human authorities notice our presence.

Back at home, I take the child out of the basket and lay her in the crib I've prepared, smiling as she snuggles with her blanket. Jack meanders up and puts his bony arm around my shoulders. "Is it a girl or a boy?" he asks me. "A girl," I murmur. "But she's very clever, Jack. Don't give me that look." He remains calm. "I trust your judgement, Sally. You're the smartest person I know. But only one problem remains…what do we name her?"

I gaze intently at the crib. A child like this needs a name of strength and grace, and I stare for a long time before the perfect name occurs to me. "Alicia," I state firmly, before exiting the room, Jack stumbling along behind me.

Later that night, I creak open the door to Alicia's room, awoken by her cries. I hustle to the crib and lift her into my arms: no hunger and no diaper troubles. She's had a nightmare. I cradle her gently and walk to the rocking chair, lowering myself slowly so as not to shock her.

"Hush, little baby, hear this lullaby. Mother doesn't wish to see you cry.

Wherever you go, whatever you do,

Mother will always be here for you.

Someday you'll make a human faint

for your first scare I cannot wait

One day you will be the most brilliant of all!

You'll outshine even Jack,

Pumpkin King though he may be.

Your strength and wisdom will lead you far

as will your beauty!

From your pedestal you will not fall.

Hush, little spider, hear this lullaby. Mother knows you are blessed.

Sleep and await the day."

By the time I have finished, Alicia is fast asleep again in my arms, and I kiss her forehead before tucking her under her covers.