Author's Note: I don't own anything.

Summary: Belle learns traditions of the real world holidays. First up is Halloween!

"Belle, I would like to take you to the local pumpkin patch," Mr. Gold declared one chilly fall morning.

"Oh, does Cinderella need another carriage?" Belle asked softly.

"Have you heard of Halloween?" Mr. Gold smirked.

Belle paused trying to rack her memory of what Halloween was. "I can't say that I remember," she shrugged.

"Okay well let me explain, every year on the last day of October, children go door to door dressed up in all sorts of fantastical costumes. Witches, goblins, fairies, princesses, vampires, and more! And when they ring your doorbell they say "Trick or Treat" and you give them candy," explained Mr. Gold.

"Really now?" Belle asked.

"Yes, and the children love it."

"What does this have to do with pumpkins?"

"Well people decorate their houses with pumpkins and they carve them making jack o lanterns," Mr. Gold continued, "And you put a candle on the inside and it glows."

"Can we go back to the "Trick or Treat" thing? What happens if you don't give them candy?" Belle questioned.

"They will cause mischief."

"But doesn't the sugar from the candy cause them to act wild?"

Mr. Gold shrugged and led her out the door. "Come now Dearie, let's get a pumpkin."

Being the gentleman he was he offered Belle his arm and she gracefully took it. They both dressed warmly for the cold fall weather and they bundled close together. The pumpkin patch was not far and when they arrived Belle's eyes widened in excitement.

"How…amazing!" she gasped.

"Now you go pick one you like!"

Belle ran as fast as she could and she disappeared. Mr. Gold laughed at her enthusiasm. She sure was eager. A few moments later he heard her calling him. "I found one!" she announced.

Mr. Gold made his way over and of course Belle had to pick the largest one in the patch. This was her first Halloween and she was very excited. The pumpkin was placed in a cart and Belle wheeled it to the front. Mr. Gold paid for Belle's pumpkin and she carried it all the way home. She put it on the front doorstep. "So when do we carve it?" Belle asked.

"Tomorrow," Mr. Gold grinned.

Belle could hardly sleep that night out of pure excitement. Halloween was tomorrow and it was going to be an experience. She kept tossing and turning and it was keeping Mr. Gold up. He was happy at her excitement, but he wished she would sit still for at least five minutes. Finally Belle was so tired of moving around she fell asleep as did Mr. Gold.

The morning came and Mr. Gold set up a table where Belle could make her jack o lantern. He placed some newspaper down and grabbed a few knives for carving. Belle looked a bit nervous but she knew that it would be okay.

"First, go ahead and cut around the top of the pumpkin. We have to remove the inside."

Belle grabbed the knife and began to cut. "This looks harder than it really is," admitted Belle sheepishly.

"Do you need help with it?"

Belle nodded and Mr. Gold took over for her. "Now go ahead and remove the top portion."

Belle pulled it off and looked inside. "It's so gooey and lots of seeds," Belle gasped.

"You have to get your hands dirty for this," Mr. Gold instructed.

Belle rolled up her sleeves and stuck her hand in the inside of the pumpkin and pulled out the insides. She giggled when she pulled her hand out and it was sticky. She was looking for a towel to wipe her hand and Mr. Gold handed her one. "There you go," he encouraged.

Belle felt so proud. She was doing really well so far. "Now, give your jack o lantern some eyes and a nose and a mouth. You can draw it with a marker and then you will use the knife to cut out the shapes."

Belle looked focused as she took the pen and let her inner artist out. Mr. Gold was fascinated by Belle's movements. She was so graceful and elegant even though the task at hand was rather messy. She grabbed the knife and cut along the shapes watching them pop out. Belle was grinning at her handiwork. She was pleasantly surprise.

"Wow Belle, it looks amazing!" Mr. Gold smiled as he inspected the pumpkin.

"It turned out better than I thought it would," laughed Belle.

"Don't ever put yourself down. You are a talented woman and very creative."

Belle took her pumpkin and placed it on the porch and stood back to admire it. "Now when the sun sets we will put the candle inside. But as of right now, we need to buy candy for the children. Let's go to the store," Mr. Gold said.

They drove to the store and Belle felt a little timid going in. There was a scary Halloween prop in the window of a giant scary clown and it's eyes were glowing. She grabbed Mr. Gold's hand for protection. "Are you okay?" he whispered to her as she clutched his hand tighter.

Belle was scared to admit it but the Halloween decorations were terrifying her. "I'm okay," she lied.

Belle gasped when they passed a giant singing skeleton. What sort of dark magic was this Halloween she began to tell herself. When they got to the candy lane, Mr. Gold grabbed a few random bags and they proceeded to the checkout lane. They came back home and Belle could finally take a deep breath.

The sun began to set and Belle prepared herself for the trick or treaters. They put the candle in the jack o lantern and watched it glow.

Mr. Gold and Belle made a deal that they would open the door together because Mr. Gold knew that Belle would freak out at some of the costumes. For the first batch of children, Belle handled it really well. But once monsters showed up she would run and hide. "Forgive her," he would say to the children, "This is her first Halloween."

The children would nodded eagerly and continue about their day. Around eight or nine o clock the trick or treaters stopped coming. "What do we do with the extra candy?" Belle wondered.

"Well either you and I can have some, or I can take some to the pawn shop."

"How about half stays here and half goes to the shop!"

"Deal. Oh and before I forget lets get the candle from the pumpkin."

They stepped outside and to Mr. Gold's horror someone had smashed Belle's pumpkin. She looked crushed. "I worked so hard on it," she said aloud.

"That's the one thing I don't like about Halloween," Mr. Gold sighed, "We can get you another one."

"No, that's okay! I can wait again until next year."

Belle walked back into the house and opened a piece of candy for herself. Mr. Gold sat down next to her and he also had a piece of candy. "Happy Halloween," Belle smiled.

"Happy Halloween Belle."

She leaned up against him and said, "You smell like pumpkin."

Author's Note: I think I will do Thanksgiving next. Or maybe I won't go in order. We shall see.