"Jack!"

Sally's scream pierced the air. His beloved rag doll was taken away from him for the third time. And Halloween Town was overrun by Oogie Boogie himself. No, this couldn't be happening again. Not after all that had happened; he couldn't have failed Halloween Town again.

His fears were then calmed once he jolted straight up from his bed. With a loud gasp of air and then a sigh of relief, he realized it was only a dream. Not soon after, Zero had slowly floated up to his owners and bed and tilted his head in concern. Jack smiled to keep Zero from worrying.

"I'm alright, Zero. It was just a nightmare."

Jack chuckled to himself.

Him being the most terrifying skeleton through the world, was having a nightmare. Jack's smile soon faded as he slumped back onto his pillow. This was the third he had the same nightmare and it seemed to be eating away at him. The fear, the guilt, the failure, and regret seemed to be consuming him alive. Zero whined as he laid himself down on Jack's lap. Jack petted him and Zero eventually fell asleep but Jack could not.

He didn't know why he was becoming increasingly bothered by his nightmares. Maybe being the pumpkin king was just overwhelming him, he thought to himself. Or maybe, just maybe, he was afraid of losing Sally. Jack sighed with frustration and disappointment. He wished he could just let it all go yet he couldn't help but to feel guilty. He had failed Halloween Town and messed up Christmas for the second time.

He felt the need to redeem himself and make up for the mistakes he made. Yet he didn't know how. Jack shook his head and yawned. Maybe he just needed to get back to sleep.

Jack slouched back down under the covers and fell back into a deep sleep. The next morning he was awoken by the creaky old rooster that screeched just as the sun had risen. Jack groaned as he got out of bed. He had a busy day ahead of him.

As much as he wished he could cancel his plans with the mayor and stay home, it was his duty to serve Halloween Town. It was the least he could do. As Jack waited on his coffee to cool down, he ate his scream cheese bagel in deep thought. As much as Sally appreciated him just being with her, he still felt the need to make it up to her. Yet he didn't know how. He knew this was partly because of his dreadful fear of losing her. He wouldn't know what to do if he had lost her or Halloween Town.

Jack shivered at the thought. No, now was not the time to be delving into such frightening thoughts. As he sipped on his coffee and finished his bagel, he then quickly bursted up from his chair and grinned widely.

"Aha! I know just the plan!" He exclaimed loudly. Zero quickly short up from his bed and dropped the candy cane out of his mouth. He was clearly spooked by his owner's sudden outburst.

"Wait. What am I thinking?" Jack scratched is head and defeatedly sat down in his chair.

"Who knows what Sally would say...or, even worse, Dr. Finkelstein may not approve of such an idea."

Jack sighed once again yet the thought lingered. It continued to float inside of his skull and he had grown worried. At the same time the idea excited him.

"Well, despite my worries...maybe I could just try it out...I am the pumpkin king after all." He muttered quietly to himself. His smile returned.

"Yeah, maybe I do have a chance!" Jack said he began to clean to the table. He was then interrupted by a familiar voice bursting through the door.

"Oh, Jack! I'm here to discuss Halloween Town's new security protocol!" The mayor said as he knocked on the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Jack said as he rushed to the door. He then greeted the mayor with a usual handshake and a warm smile once he opened the door.

"Jack, good to see you on such a fine morning!" The mayor said as he took Jack's bony hand. The two then walked off to the main office to discuss security measures. It seemed to take all day until Jack had remembered that he had date. He quickly snapped out of his tired state and looked at the clock. It was already 8:23! As the mayor droned on about the blueprints, Jack stood up and gave an awkward cough.

"Mayor, I apologize but I have some other important business to do. Do you mind if we continue with our plans another day?" Jack asked as he looked at the mayor with pleading eyes.

"Oh, well of course Jack! I don't mean to keep you from your day. We can discuss plans tomorrow if your free. Just remember there's only 325 days left until next Halloween." The mayor replied. Jack nodded his head and rushed out of the office to the Witches Cove. That's when he had stopped himself midway before walking any further.

"Wait, now would be a perfect time to ask Sally!" He exclaimed happily. His eagerness then faded once again.

"Wait, I haven't asked Dr. Finkelstein yet!" Jack said as he turned around and headed to the laboratory. Despite knowing he would be late, he couldn't do such a thing without Finkelstein's permission. Once he reached the laboratory, he quickly wrote down a message to Sally saying that he would be late. He then gave the letter to Igor who hobbled away to give the letter to Sally. Dr. Finkelstein then inched closer to Jack, looking at him with a confused expression.

"I thought you would've been with Sally by now. What brings you here, my boy?" He asked. Jack smiled nervously.

"Well, doctor. This was sort of a last minute plan but...you know that I love Sally very much and I was thinking...I w-was thinking that maybe I could get your cursing to marry her?" Jack nervously scratched the back of his skull as he waited for the Doctor's response.

Finkelstein's eyes went wide as he lightly slammed his arms onto the sides of his wheelchair.

"Jack..I don't know what to say. As much as I would like to keep Sally here in my laboratory for running away...I think it's time I had let her be free...Besides, I know she will be you which makes me feel a little better. I mean, I couldn't think of anyone else to marry her. I would be honored to give the Pumpkin King my cursing." Dr. Finkelstein smiled as he looked up at Jack with a proud gleam shining through his goggles. Jack grinned widely.

"Thank you so much doctor! I couldn't be more thankful." Jack said as he eagerly left the building.

Jack quickly headed to the jewelry store to find the perfect ring to match the beauty of his beloved rag doll. Yet he had trouble finding the perfect one because a ring could not compare to her beauty. After a good 20 minuets of searching Jack had found the perfect ring. It was a silver band etched with a spiral design and to top it all off, it had a bat that held a bright ruby jewel in between the bats wings. After getting some more supplies for the date, Jack finally headed to graveyard and met up with Sally.

She sat upon the hill and looked haunting as ever with the moon illuminating every inch of her. She peacefully picked at a rose until she has noticed Jack gazing at her.

"Jack. I'm so glad to see you." She said as she met Jack upon the hill. She stood up and presented the layout before her. She had decked out sandwiches cut in the shape of pumpkins with blood red wine and her special home made soup for the side. To top it all off, she also brought red velvet cupcakes garnished with black sprinkles.

"Wow. Sally, you really did out do yourself. All this for me and I only brought chocolate covered Beatles." Jack said as he revealed a medium sized heart shape packed decorated with a spider web bow. Sally eyes fixated on the package but then they shifted up to Jack's empty black eye sockets. She smiled warmly and then set her hands atop of Jack's.

"Jack, you really didn't have to bring me anything. As long as your here, there's nothing else I could ask more for." Sally said. Jack's heart melted at the sweet comment she made. Things like that always made him thankful to have such a sweet girlfriend.

"Sally...I couldn't be more thankful to have you in my life."

With Jack's ever growing love, he leaned down and kissed her soft lips. This had caught Sally off guard first and she could feel the heat rising up to her cheeks. Yet she couldn't help but to melt in his arms. Once the two broke away from the comforting kiss, they got to enjoy a delicious meal prepared by Sally with the usual interesting conversation. They eventually finished their meal and grew silent after the long heartfelt conversation. They then gazed at the stars as the couple held each other in their arms. Now was the perfect time.