Grace was putting the finishing touches on Two's costume when there was a frantic knocking on the door, followed by the excited babbling of five other children. Two had been doing his absolute best not to fidget, but when he heard the voices of his siblings, he rushed over to the door, swinging it open so hard that it hit the wall.
"L-l-look!" He stammered, showing off his new vampire costume, "S-s-s-scary, right?!"
One, who was dressed as a werewolf nodded eagerly, spurred on by the others' vocal agreements. Three was dressed as a witch, Four as the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz (he had immediately fought against going as a zombie or a ghost), Five as a ninja and Six as a pirate (another one who wanted nothing to do with his powers).
As they all complimented each other, Grace managed to neaten out the stitches on Number Two's cape, before straightening up. "Are you all ready to go now?"
They all cheered, not caring about being too loud as their Father was away for the weekend.
"Wait!" Number Four called out, "We need our candy bags first!"
They all turned to her, and Grace couldn't help but feel thankful for her activation. She loved all these children like thy were her own.
She loved Number One's serious nature, how his lips twitched when he tried to hide a smile.
She loved Number Two's warm brown eyes.
She loved Number Three's smile.
She loved Number Four's cackle.
She loved Number Five's hair and how he'd roll his eyes whenever she tried to neaten it out.
She loved the way Number Six's eyes lit up when he got a new book to read.
And whilst she didn't spend much time with Number Seven, she loved it when the little girl did speak to her, her voice soft and calm.
"They're right here children." She handed the bags over, before following them out of the door and down the street, smiling as Number One let out a little howl.
"Mom! Have you s-s-s-seen my k—k-knives?!" Number Three yelled down the stairs, secure in the knowledge that Father had gone away on another business trip.
"In the kitchen!" Grace stood by the front door, waiting for the other children to come and join her. They'd not had a proper Halloween for nearly five years now and this was sorely needed. Number Two came charging downstairs in his new ninja turtle outfit.
Number One had decided to go as a werewolf again, with Number Three choosing to be a princess this year. Numbers Four, Five and Six had decided to join Number Two, and were also ninja turtles.
"How do we look?" Number Four spread his arms out wide and twirled around (almost hitting his brothers in the face)
Grace clapped her hands together, "You all look amazing!"
As all the children giggled, and ran out of the door, Grace found herself wishing they could be this age forever.
…
The Umbrella Academy had just had another successful mission, despite the obvious absence of Number Five. Grace walked into the kitchen to find the newly named Klaus, Ben and Diego searching through the fridge.
"Do you boys want some cookies?" she asked, causing them to spin around in alarm.
The boys all glanced at each other, before Klaus spoke up. "We wanted to have a party." As his brothers groaned and elbowed him in the side, he winced, "A small one! A small one!"
"Well…" She clapped her hands together, "… I can certainly whip up some nibbles for you children. I think we have some chocolate covered peanuts around here somewhere."
"No, not that kind of party!" Klaus blurted out, "A fun one!"
"Nibbles are fun sweetie."
"For kids maybe, but we're not kids anymore!" Klaus seemed to be getting more and more frustrated, "Daddy dearest's made sure of that, hasn't he?!"
The last mission had been hardest on Klaus.
Unhappy with how the boy refused to contact the ghosts of the most recent victims of a bank robber, Reginald had decided that more solo training was needed. And the more hours Klaus spent doing his 'solo training', the more distant he became… and the more he seemed to zone out completely.
Grace could smell the weed when she walked into his room sometimes, and she knew that Reginald knew about it if the disappointed looks and grumbles were any indication.
"Your Father works hard to provide for you children and- "
"- No, he works hard to make us his own personal little army!"
Not seeming to care that his brothers were wincing behind him, Klaus stormed out of the room, the idea of having a party clearly vanishing from his mind.
When he thought back on that night, he felt some regret on deciding to get high instead of spending time with his brothers.
They never spent another Halloween together after that.