Chapter One

Rey bit her lip in concentration as she tugged the zipper up her thigh-high black boots. Not for the first time, she regretted wearing a "sexier-than-normal" Halloween costume to go with Poe's Wild West Halloween party theme that year. She let out a sigh once she finished zipping the boot and began putting on her cowboy hat.

Her husband's voice caught her attention. "You should wear these boots more often..."

Rey turned around to face Ben, who also just finished putting on his own costume and was now standing right in front of her. Before she could answer, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a deep kiss. Rey's eyes widened slightly in surprise before closing them as she returned the kiss with equal vigor, running her hands over Ben's sturdy chest, which was slightly exposed by his red and blue plaid shirt.

As they separated from the kiss, Rey moved one hand up Ben's neck and gently stroked at his locks. "We should probably get moving if we don't want to be late for Poe's party."

He kissed her again, this time on the forehead and more playfully and lightly. "There's no such thing as being late for any party that's hosted by Poe Dameron..."

"Eh, you're right." Rey conceded before jumping on her husband, wrapping her legs around his hips, and vigorously planted her lips against his.

A few moments later, while Ben was carrying Rey to their bed, her phone trilled loudly and obnoxiously. Breaking away from the latest kiss, Rey peered over to her phone and saw Rose's name on the screen. That struck her as unusual, since Rose almost always opted to text Rey.

"Rose is calling. One second, sorry." She picked up the phone, trying to stifle her giggles at Ben kissing his way down her neck as an attempt to distract her. "Hello Rose, Happy Halloween! What's up?"

Rose's voice sounded frantic as she replied to Rey. "Rey! Thank goodness you picked up! I know you and Ben were probably going to Poe's party tonight, but do you have a couple of hours to spare? I just had to take Finn to the hospital just now, and he's got appendicitis. He's about to go into surgery. I have the girls with me and they're already all dressed to go trick or treating. I called my mom, but it'll take her about two hours for her to get here from Lafayette. Would you two mind taking the girls trick or treating tonight and watching them until my mom gets in?"

"Sure, we'd be happy to—," Rey began before getting distracted by Ben sneaking his hands up her inner thighs. She put her phone against her chest to mute it and hissed at Ben to stop, using her free hand to push him away. "Sorry about that. We'd be happy to help. Where should we meet y'all?"

"Thank you SO much! You two are the best!" Rose gushed before giving Rey details about the hospital. Rey got up from the bed as she listened to her friend, straightening up her disheveled dress. Although slightly disappointed about things being cut short, Ben got up as well, tucked in his shirt back in, and leaned against the bedroom door while he waited for her to finish the conversation.

"So, what exactly are we helping Rose with tonight?" Ben asked after Rey wrapped up the conversation on the phone.

"We're going to take Finn and Rose's kids trick-or-treating tonight. I'll explain in the car, we need to get moving," she replied as she threw her phone into her purse and began heading towards the door. Before she walked out of the room however, she pulled down Ben quickly to give him a playful kiss. "And I promise we'll pick up where we left off when we get back home tonight after all this."

...

Once the Solos arrived at the operation waiting room, they found Rose sitting on one of the chairs working on a coloring page with her two daughters. Rose's casual t-shirt contrasted with her dressy navy trousers, indicating she was in quite a rush in between getting her kids ready for trick-or-treating and taking Finn to the hospital. Rey greeted Rose and the girls as they entered the room, prompting her friend to look up and wave back with an exhausted but relieved look on her face.

The oldest girl, dressed as Tiana from the "Princess and the Frog" and wearing her hair pulled up into a fluffy bun framed by a plastic tiara, looked up from the page immediately and her dark brown eyes, which looked just like Rose's, brightened up as she saw the Solos in the room. She ran up to them and grabbed them in a hug. "Auntie Rey! Unca Ben!"

Ben patted Paige on the shoulder while Rey bent down to hug her back. "Happy Halloween, Paige!"

"I'm not Paige. I'm Tiana," the girl insisted, causing Rose to roll her eyes slightly.

"Just go with it. She's been doing this every time she puts on a costume," Rose whispered to her friends. The younger girl, who looked almost identical to Paige with the exception of her smaller size and her eyes being more like Finn's, remained at the table, observing the scene unfolding in front of her.

Rose gestured towards her younger daughter, "Come over here, Kelly." Kelly waddled over to the group, a little awkwardly in her puffy alligator costume, and waved at the adults shyly.

"What are you this Halloween, Kelly?" Ben asked, looking down.

"Louie the gator," she replied.

"Their costumes are so cute, Rose! I hope the surgery goes well for Finn," Rey commented.

Rose gave a gentle smile to her friends. "Thank you. Paige wanted Kelly to dress up as Tiana's friend in the movie, but Kelly hates pink. So this worked out! I'm just glad we caught it in time for Finn..."

"Definitely," Ben concurred with a nod.

"Well, we should go move the kids' car seats to your car and get their treat bags, too." Rose remarked.

As the five of them walked towards the elevator, Ben spoke up. "So, where do you and Finn normally take them for trick-or-treating? Anything we should know before we head out?"

Rose responded, "It's pretty straightforward. Our street and the ones right next to it are where most of the young families are, so there's more candy at those houses. The rest of the neighborhood tends to be quieter, but there will still be plenty of people handing out candy."

"What if we finish trick-or-treating before your mother arrives, though?" Rey asked as they reached the exit, holding open the door for everyone else.

"It's a pretty big neighborhood, so y'all will probably be fine. Of course, Poe lives in the same neighborhood," Rose answered, pausing to open up her car and remove the seats. "Kaydel said she baked extra cookies for the girls this Halloween, too. If the party doesn't seem wild yet, you could go in for a bit. I doubt his party's going to get crazy before ten."

"Sounds good," Ben said as he accepted a seat from Rose and began installing it into his own car.

Once the adults finished strapping the girls into their seats, Rose spoke up, "I just noticed your costumes, sorry. You two are really killing the theme this year. Only one thing though... Rey, do you have sneakers or flip-flops with you? Your feet might get tired in those boots."

Rey glanced down at her boots, suddenly realizing just how impractical they were for long neighborhood walks. Well, one night wouldn't hurt anything. She shrugged and replied nonchalantly, "They're pretty comfortable. I'll be all right."

Rose raised an eyebrow at her friend before responding, "Okay... Well, once again, thank you for helping out on such short notice. I'll keep y'all updated and everything tonight. Have fun!" Rose hugged her friends and kissed her daughters on their heads before heading back into the hospital.

...

During the drive to the Ticos' house, where Rose told them they could park as a starting point, Paige kept asking questions about her father and his surgery, while Kelly remained quiet and watched the passing buildings and trees out the window. Ben and Rey answered Paige's questions as best as they could, and both felt slightly relieved when they finally reached the neighborhood.

Sure enough, the girls immediately started bounding off towards the first house to the right, prompting Rey to jog slightly to keep up with them while Ben locked up the car.
The trick-or-treating process went smoothly for the first few houses, with Paige and Kelly both being cheerful and polite, along with the neighbors all being friendly so far.

Things began to take a serious turn, however, at the fourth house, just before they were about to turn the corner to the next street. As the door opened, the girls shouted, "Trick or Treat!"

The middle-aged woman who answered the door replied to them cheerfully. "Happy Halloween! What are you two this year?"

Paige replied with a smile, "I'm Princess Tiana and she's Louie gator!"

"You look just like them! Well, here are your treats..." The woman remarked, reaching into her candy bowl to dole out treats into the individual bags. When she finished putting candies into Paige's bag, she asked, "Where are your Mom and Dad tonight?"

"Daddy's getting cut open, and Mama's waiting for him," Kelly answered abruptly, causing the woman to stand open mouthed as she looked at the adults with worried eyes.

Surprised at the normally quiet toddler's blunt answer, Ben explained quickly, "Finn's in an emergency surgery, and Rose is with him at the hospital. We're helping out tonight until their grandmother gets here."

The woman fidgeted awkwardly, composed herself, and sighed, "Poor Finn. Well, Tiana and Louie, tell your Daddy I hope he gets better soon!"

Paige replied, her smile more subdued this time, "Thank you."

"Thank you," Kelly chimed in before they all walked away from the house. Thankfully, hardly any more neighbors inquired about Rose and Finn's absence that night, and when they did, they asked Rey and Ben directly rather than the kids.

The bags were filling up nicely by the time they finished the houses in the first half of the neighborhood, and Paige and Kelly both still had plenty of energy for further trick-or-treating. "I always forget how much fun this can be. Free candy and costumes, what's not to like?" Rey commented as they waited at the latest house after ringing a doorbell.

A man the same age as Rey answered the door and instead of giving the girls their treats after the greeting, he openly scanned Rey's body up and down. He winked at her, remarking, "That costume fits in all the right places."

Rey went slack-jawed in shock. "Excuse me?"

Ben took a step forward in front of Rey and the Tico children and stared down at the man with a hard glare. The man gulped in response. "The costume fits your body in all the right places too, sir."

"Do you have treats for the children or not?" Ben replied tersely, not breaking his stare from the man. The man quickly gave the girls large handfuls of candy and immediately closed the door afterwards.

Thankfully there were no more incidents or awkward moments for the remainder of that street. As the group made their way to the next street, the girls began slowing down their paces.

Kelly stopped suddenly and plopped down on the grassy side of the street. "I'm tired," she whined.

"Do you want to go home?" Ben asked.

The toddler shook her head before replying, "No. I want more candy."

Before Ben could answer, he heard Rey make a frantic exclamation. "Paige! Do not kiss that frog! Let it go!"

He turned his head and noticed Rey trying to coax Paige to give up the small tree frog currently in the girl's hands. "Where did Paige get that frog?"

"I found it on this mailbox!" Paige announced proudly.

Keeping her attention on the older sister, Rey sighed and asked more softly, "Please give me the frog..."

While Rey continued talking with Paige, Ben turned to Kelly. "Do you want me to carry you?" He asked, prompting a nod from the toddler. He obliged and hoisted her on his back.

"I'm bigger than you, Auntie Rey!" Kelly shouted with a broad smile, spreading out her arms to make like she was flying.

Paige took notice of her tiny younger sister on her giant uncle's shoulders, finally released the frog, and chimed in, "Can you carry me next, Unca Ben? Please?"

Ben agreed to do so, bringing a smile to both Rey and Paige's faces, and he took turns carrying the girls for the upcoming street.

Four houses later, an old woman with wide eyes and a collared shirt answered the door. Like the man from the previous street, she ignored the children and immediately stared down the couple. Unlike the man, the next words out of her mouth were of a different nature. "Your costumes are so inappropriate for this kind of neighborhood. Sexy Toy Story characters? Seriously? You two couldn't be bothered to cover up your chests some more?"

Rey rolled her eyes and didn't even bother to hide the irritation in her voice when she responded. "First of all, we are not Toy Story characters. Secondly, our costumes really aren't that revealing. Why does it matter what me and my husband are wearing? Now, I believe these two girls just asked trick-or-treat."

"Just saying, you really should be setting a better example for the children," the other woman sneered, still not bothering to address the girls directly.

Rey scoffed and took the childrens' free hands. "Let's go girls, she probably doesn't have anything but toothpaste for y'all."

"Blech," Paige commented as they walked away from the door, causing the old lady to look at them with further distaste.

Once they gained some distance from the curmudgeon's house, Rey leaned over to Ben and spoke softly to him. "My feet are killing me... You've been taking turns carrying the kids for a while now. Do you think we could go make a quick stop at Poe's?"

"After that latest house, I think that is probably a wise decision. We can call up Rose when we get to Poe's too, and get their status," Ben replied. With that decided, the four of them turned around and began making their way towards Poe's house, about two streets from their current location.

...

A/N: This is for the Reylo Writing Den gift exchange! Reylo Moon requested Halloween costumes or trick or treating... I combined both and hope that is okay!Thanks to Saturnine Feline for checking over this the other day. To all my FFN readers, it seems like the website stabilized, so I'll be continuing my updates on here! However, I'm trying to wrap up a dissertation, so all updates are on hold until mid/late January (and I should be able to update regularly once that's submitted)! Thank you for your patience! Feel free to leave feedback or questions! Happy Holidays!