Jackson's my original character, but that's all I own.
I love this time of year :), and thought it would be cool to see what might happen with Greg and Jackson on Halloween. So here's the story I came up with. Please enjoy and review!
Greg Sanders had always loved Halloween. When he was a kid, he loved dressing up and getting candy. As an adult, if he wasn't working, it was a chance for him to find a great party and get out with some friends. Now, he loved Halloween for a new reason...his three year old son, Jackson, was going trick-or-treating.
Greg and Jackson looked at the party supply store for just the right costume. Superheroes and favorite characters were all popular. And Jackson loved looking at all the different costumes and displays. This was the first year he really had an idea of trick-or-treating, and looked forward to getting candy.
Jackson and Greg turned to another aisle in the store and saw different hats, glasses, and other props for costumes. Jackson saw a cowboy hat and grabbed it, putting it on his head. "Look, daddy," Jackson said as he turned to Greg. "I a cowboy!"
Greg smiled as Jackson showed him the hat. "Howdy partner," he said with a smile. Jackson giggled. Then Greg got an idea. "Jacks, do you think you might want to be a cowboy?"
Jackson thought for a moment and smiled. "Okay, daddy."
Greg smiled. "You can be a cowboy, like your Uncle Nick."
"Yeah!" Jackson said. He loved Nick.
He and Greg looked around for other things his costume would need. "Okay, you need a sheriff badge." Greg picked a plastic toy sheriff badge from the shelf.
"An' my hat!" Jackson reminded him. Greg laughed and picked up some things for his own costume and the two checked out and headed home.
Greg was looking forward to his first Halloween as a dad, so he and Jackson went with Mrs. Russell, her daughter Maya, and granddaughter Kaitlyn to the Farmer's Market one Saturday to look for a pumpkin.
"Daddy, will we have a big Jack-O-Lantern?" Jackson asked as they looked over pumpkins of different shapes and sizes.
"Well, it'll be pretty big," Greg said. "And we've gotta let me carve it."
"Why?"
"Because the knife is sharp. But you can help."
"Yeah," Mrs. Russell agreed as she looked for her own pumpkin. "Someone needs to be the artistic supervisor."
Jackson giggled. He looked over some pumpkins and saw one that was about the size of a basketball. "Daddy, dere!" He pointed to the vegetable. "Dat's our pumpkin!"
Greg looked the pumpkin over. "Yeah, it looks pretty good."
"Dat's ours!" Jackson said smiling. "Dat's de bestest!"
Greg smiled at his excited son. "You sure it's not too big, or too..."
"Daddy!" Jackson said with his hands on his hips. "Dat is our pumpkin!"
"Okay," Greg said with a laugh. "This is our pumpkin."
"Yay!"
Greg laid out newspaper on his kitchen table and Sara came over to help him and Jackson carve the pumpkin. "You know," Sara said. "We're going to have to roast the seeds when we get them out of the pumpkin."
"We are?" Jackson asked.
Greg took a knife and a ladle from a kitchen drawer. "Yeah, they're really good. You're Nana used to make them for me when I was a kid."
Sara took the knife from Greg and gave him the stencil design they were going to use on the pumpkin. "Jacks, you help me with this, and let Aunt Sara take the top off the pumpkin," Greg instructed. Jackson climbed up on a chair and held the stencil of the pumpkin's smile. He giggled when he saw the smiling face that would adorn the pumpkin. Greg let Jackson hold the stencil while he traced the image of a smiling face. After Greg had traced the image, Jackson looked at the smiling face on the pumpkin.
"It not too scary," Jackson approved. Greg nodded and smiled at his son.
The top of the pumpkin was pulled off and Sara set it on the counter. Jackson climbed onto the chair and looked into the big vegetable. "Whoa," he said softly. Greg gave Jackson the ladle and let him scoop a spoonful of seeds out. Sara brought over a cookie sheet. "Put the seeds here, Jackson." The little boy plopped the seeds onto the baking sheet.
"They don't look very good," Jackson said as he studied another spoonful of seeds.
Greg laughed softly. "That's because they don't have any cinnamon and haven't been in the oven yet."
Jackson pouted and peered inside the pumpkin, studying the vegetable and seeds. "It has a lot of seeds, daddy."
Sara smiled as Jackson plopped another spoonful onto the baking sheet. Once all the seeds were scooped out, Greg began to carve the pumpkin while Sara and Jackson prepared the seeds for roasting.
"Daddy, did you carbe a pumpkin with your daddy?" Jackson asked as he helped Sara sprinkle cinnamon on the seeds.
"Yeah, Jacks." Greg cut out a triangle for one of the Jack-O-Lantern's eyes. "Yeah, we carved one with Papa Olaf every year." He cut out another triangle on the pumpkin. "You would have liked your Papa and Nana Olaf, Jacks. They made the best caramel apples every fall."
"Mmm, I love caramel apples," Sara said with a smile.
"Can we make some carmel apples daddy?" Jackson asked as he watched Greg cut the smile out for the pumpkin.
"We can get some," Greg said. "I haven't made caramel apples since I was a little bigger than you."
Jackson clambered up on the chair next to Greg and watched as he finished cutting the smile on the jack-o-lantern. "He looks cool, daddy!"
"You like it?" Greg asked as he put the knife in the dishwasher.
"Uh-huh. He looks cool. He says 'boo'!"
Greg laughed as his son stared down the jack-o-lantern. Sara had cut some apple slices and peanut butter and the three snacked as the pumpkin seeds roasted, filling the kitchen with the smell of cinnamon.
When Halloween arrived, Jackson was so excited. He couldn't wait to put on his cowboy costume and go trick-or-treating. Greg dressed Jackson in his cowboy costume, complete with the cowboy hat the little boy loved, while Greg dressed as 1920's-style gangster.
Greg adjusted Jackson's cowboy hat, and Jackson did the same for Greg's fedora. "Dere you go, daddy."
With a smile, Greg asked, "Do I look good?" Jackson smiled and nodded. Greg took the little boy's picture and gave him his bucket for candy. "You ready to go trick-or-treating?"
"Yeah!" Jackson said with a big smile. Greg laughed and the two headed out. After visiting some apartments in his building, Greg and Jackson headed for the lab.
Jackson held his bucket in one hand and Greg's hand in the other. The first person he saw was Judy, the receptionist.
"Trick-or-treat!" Jackson said as he walked up to the desk.
"My, what a handsome cowboy!" Judy said to the smiling toddler. He smiled and thanked her when she put some candy in his bucket.
"Howdy!" Nick said as he walked into the lobby.
Jackson rushed up and hugged his Uncle Nick. "Howdy, pardner!"
Nick laughed. "You here to rustle up some candy?" Jackson giggled and nodded. "Well, sir, I do believe Mr. Russell might have some M&Ms for a cowboy in his office." Greg smiled and followed Nick and Jackson to Russell's office.
Jackson smiled when he saw Super Dave and Finn talking in the break room. "Howdy!" he said as he walked by them.
"Oh, my goodness! What an adorable cowboy!" Finn said.
"Trick-or-treat!" Jackson said as he held up his bucket. Super Dave and Finn both smiled and gave Jackson some candy.
Sara came into the break room. "Wow! Look at you Jackson!"
Jackson rushed over and hugged Sara. "Aunt Sara, I a cowboy!"
"I see that," she said as she smiled at the little boy. "Did the pumpkin seeds turn out okay?"
"Yeah!" Jackson said. "They were good. An' our pumpkin is cool!"
"I saw that," Sara said, laughing softly.
Mandy, Henry, Xiomara, Archie and Doc Robbins all came by the break room and gave the little boy some candy. Jackson loved visiting with everyone and getting candy.
Morgan, Jim and Russell came into the break room. They smiled when they saw Jackson visiting with everyone.
"Well, if you ain't the handsomest cowboy I've ever seen," Morgan said in her best western accent.
"Morgan!" Jackson rushed over and gave her a hug. "Howdy!"
Mrs. Russell, Maya and Kaitlyn came in. Kaitlyn was wearing a princess costume her grandmother made for her. She smiled when she saw Jackson.
"Hi Katy!" Jackson said when he saw her. He loved spending time with her when he stayed at Mrs. Russell's while Greg was working. "I a cowboy! You look pretty!" Kaitlyn thanked him and smiled.
"Hey, Jackson?" Mrs. Russell asked. "Would you and your daddy want to go trick-or-treating with us?"
"Yeah!" Jackson said. Looking at his father, he said, "Can we, daddy?"
"Sure," Greg agreed. Jackson and Greg hugged Morgan and soon they were off to the Russell's neighborhood for trick-or-treating.
Greg loved watching his son laugh with Kaitlyn as they held hands and walked through the neighborhood. Jackson loved getting the candy and seeing all the other children dressed in their costumes.
When they'd been to all the houses in the neighborhood, Mrs. Russell asked if Greg and Jackson wanted to come back to their house. Jackson and Greg happily agreed.
When they arrived home, Maya took Kaitlyn's bag to check her candy while Greg and Jackson joined Kaitlyn and Mrs. Russell in the kitchen. "Now, Greg," Mrs. Russell said. "I heard you used to make caramel apples when you were a kid."
"Did you make carmel apples too, Mrs. Barbara?" Jackson asked.
"Uh-huh, and we always made them for the kids at Halloween. And we make them for Katy too." She walked to the oven and began heating the caramel on the stove top. "And..."
"Think you might want to make them?" Greg asked Jackson.
"Yeah!" Jackson eagerly answered. Greg showed Jackson how to put sticks in the apples and Mrs. Russell helped him dip his apple in caramel. When the caramel was cool and dry enough, Jackson enjoyed his caramel apple.
"What do you think, Jacks?" Greg asked as he enjoyed his own caramel apple.
"Mmm!" Jackson said as he ate. Greg smiled as the little boy ate his treat.
Mrs. Russell helped Greg go through Jackson's candy while he ate his caramel apple. Maya and Kaitlyn enjoyed theirs as well, and everyone enjoyed visiting with each other.
When Greg and Jackson arrived home, the last thing Jackson wanted to do was sleep. But he soon found himself yawning as he and Greg got out of their costumes.
"You got quite a haul there, Jacks," Greg said as the little boy looked at all his candy.
"An' we had carmel apples!" Jackson said as Greg took him to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
"Mm-hmm."
Daddy, did you hab a good time?" Jackson asked.
Greg smiled at the his beautiful son. He never thought he'd enjoy Halloween as much as he did with his son. "I had a great time."
Greg tucked Jackson into bed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The little boy almost fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. "Good night, Jacks. I love you."
"Love you too, daddy," Jackson said. "An' happy Halloween."
Greg smiled as his son drifted off to sleep. "Happy Halloween, Jacks," he whispered.
The End.