Author's Note: Thank you kindly for the reviews, lovely readers! For GodlyJewel (and any others confused by the "papers"): I apologize if it wasn't clear, it was just a silly excuse Jack threw out to explain to Finkie why he was basically kidnapping Sally! Ha, ha...I'm funny. I guess not. Well, I hope you all enjoy this, and Happy Holidays!

The snow had melted away nearly as quickly as it had appeared, and on the morning following Christmas day, only a few trees and rooftops still contained traces of its presence. Halloween-town had all but returned to normal, or at least...as normal as a town founded on terror can be. You'd be hard-pressed to find one to admit it, but each and every one of its citizens had taken to heart some small revelation from their exposure to Yuletide joy. A new, subtle level of complexity had enhanced their existence, and all were anxious to discover what it meant for their own precious holiday. Some lives were affected more deeply than others, and that is what brings us to a certain bright-eyed rag doll and her grumpy creator, speaking quite earnestly in a lab drab and dark.

"What do you think is wrong with me, doctor?"

He had her strapped to a metal table, as he had many a time before, and was occupying himself with tightening her stitches, each and every one. He would pause now and then to encourage her to take a sip of a potion he had concocted, the details of which she was not informed, and yet it made her insides feel so pleasant that she couldn't complain.

"Head up for a moment, dear, that's it..." He was making his way around her scrawny neck, adjusting each suture in turn with a tiny, curved instrument. He sighed deeply before answering. "I'm afraid you have a slight case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, my child. Not that that's a surprise to anyone, after all you've been through..." For a moment, a flash of something strange gleamed in his eyes, and she couldn't help delighting in the almost paternal demeanor he was using with her.

"That sounds quite complicated...Can you cure me of it? Is that what the potion is for? Am I going to die?"

Dr. Finklestein had to chuckle gruffly despite her apparent alarm. "You always did ask too many questions, Sally. Don't excite yourself, or you'll only make it worse! No, you're not going to die. I may not be able to "cure" you completely, but your symptoms will hardly be perceptible. A nightmare here and there, nothing unusual for a citizen of this town...in fact, it might even make you feel more at home! That's what you wanted, isn't it?" A touch of bitterness was evident in his tone.

"Y-yes, I suppose."

There was a strained silence for a moment before the doctor seemed to relax considerably. He was mending the stitches around one of her hands now, and stopped to gently clutch it in his own gloved one.

"Sally..." He wouldn't look her in the eyes, instead peering fixedly at the hand as if he were observing it under a microscope. "I must tell you...that I am proud of you. You're reckless, foolish...but you possess some admirable qualities...fortitude...I wasn't aware I had given you."

She smiled at him quietly, attempting to savor the moment. He had never expressed so much as an ounce of genuine emotion in front of her before, and she was hoping this wasn't a singular event. She had a sneaking suspicion that this change in attitude had something to do with his new creation, Jewel.

"Thank you. I appreciate you saying that."

At that moment, his aforementioned creation entered the room and set a tea tray onto a nearby table. She sauntered over to the doctor and kissed his cheek before stepping out again, but not before winking in Sally's direction - who forced her cringe into a gracious smile as quickly as she could.

Dr. Finklestein continued, while holding his cheek, "You've also somehow developed the cleverness to fall for the one man in town I cannot forbid you to see."

She searched his features, trying to decipher his true feelings on the subject. His voice was gravely serious, but she couldn't help sensing a hint of playfulness in his tone. "You're...you're not going to keep me from Jack?"

He exhaled deeply, proceeding to the stitches along her legs. "As I said, I wouldn't be able to even if I wanted to. I'm an old man, Sally. If you were interested in a vampire, or Behemoth..." He shuddered involuntarily. "Perhaps I could do something about it then. I have no energy to argue with the Pumpkin King, and I'd be a fool to attempt it."

Sally beamed, and would have jumped up and danced around the room if she hadn't been strapped down. No resistance from the doctor! Could she have hoped for better?

He held down her shivering leg in order to be more precise in his work. "Now, now, don't get too excited! I'm not letting it go that easily...You're a delicate being, Sally. Especially after what Oogie Boogie did to you. This condition is no light matter. Jack may take you out to dine here and there, but you are not permitted to go anywhere unless under the supervision of either himself or me. And Sally..." His voice sounded incredibly weary at this point.

"Yes, doctor?"

"No more...adventures."

Sally examined herself in the dusty full-length mirror hanging on her closet door, nervously fidgeting with the dress she had only finished constructing earlier that evening. She had little else to do with her time, with her chores completed and the doctor's dinner set on the table. The garment looked almost exactly like her usual one, except she had used higher quality materials for the patchwork...velvet, linen, silk...and the colors she used were deeper and brighter than before. She made a few final adjustments and ran a brush swiftly through her long hair, knowing it was rude to waste any more time. He was waiting for her.

She stepped gingerly into the hallway and glanced down into the rounded foyer. Jack was there, dapper as always, speaking in hushed tones with Dr. Finklestein. His arms were folded behind his back, and he was nodding soberly as the doctor appeared to be lecturing him as vigorously as he dared. Sally gasped in embarrassment and quickened her footsteps, eager to interrupt her creator before he scared him off. When Jack spotted her in his peripheral vision, his face split into a wide grin and he turned away from the doctor, his arms unfolding and extending towards her.

"Sally..." His fingers were enveloping her own, which he raised to kiss her hand. "You're stunning." She blushed madly as they stood there gazing at each other with all the affection in the world, forgetting their surroundings for several long moments. Sally had known from his public persona how apt his personality was to fluctuation - one moment he was as goofy as a school boy, the next he was a reserved and sober gentleman - but she had yet to acclimate herself to these transitions in regards to their own personal interaction. His serious side, in particular, made her incredibly flustered and dizzy, like she was now.

"Th-thank you Jack. You look handsome as well." They admired each other warmly for another moment before-

"Well then." Dr. Finklestein loudly adjusted his wheelchair, making them both jump. "I hope you two have a wonderful time...and remember what I told you, Jack." The door swung open and he gestured to it, half his mouth twisted upwards in a reluctant grin.

"I will, doctor. Thank you for your gracious compliance. I will have her home safely and at a reasonable hour, I guarantee it!" He smiled back, his expression with much more sincerity than the doctor's. And with that, he led Sally by the hand into the street and towards a much respected restaurant in town - The Brew.

"So, do you really remember our romance this time, or are you just playing along to be polite?"

Jack was grinning mischievously at her across the table as he buttered a moldy roll. When he had taken her to Spiral Hill to remind her of their intimacy on Christmas Eve, he had been delighted to find her catching on so readily. By the time they had reached the graveyard, her legs had regained their strength enough for her to walk - and his song had jolted her so effectively that by the time it was her turn to join him, the words came to her as if by magic. This thrilled them both so fully that they even finished their duet with a dance, and it was late evening before they managed to pull themselves away from the enchanting scene and head home.

Laughing, she replied, "I don't think you have to worry about that any longer, Jack. You've made it all quite clear. Besides, the doctor has been a great help in bringing me back...almost...to normal." She fiddled nervously with her fork.

His grin slowly melted into a look of somber concern. "Yes, he enlightened me on the subject earlier this evening...How are you feeling, Sally?"

"Oh, quite a lot better. I feel stable. And my nightmare last night was nearly...pleasant."

"Why, what an odd thing to say - Nightmares are always pleasant!" But he was smiling, obviously joking with her.

"Jack?"

"My dear?"

"I've been meaning to ask you...but all the attention has been on me, lately...How are you? Did you...did you learn anything...from your affair with Christmas?" And suddenly she was visibly apprehensive, making tiny tears in the napkin spread on her lap. Was that too forward? She couldn't allow herself to forget that, no matter what, she was still speaking with the King of Halloween-town.

Jack paused in his chewing and quickly swallowed. "I...Did I learn anything? I'd like to think so..." He froze in concentration to give the question honest consideration. "I learned to listen to you, for one thing..."

She gave him a small smile, but said nothing, wanting him to continue.

He tapped his fingers along his skull. "And I'll never bother Sandy again, that's for sure. Or try to supplant any other holiday, of course! And I learned that..." He beamed suddenly at her. "Home is where the heart is!" Alright. Now he was just trying to please her, and she wasn't buying it.

"Jack...it's just...I know you. I know that if you don't take a real lesson away from this, you'll only repeat your mistakes. How long has it been since you became the Pumpkin King?"

"Hmmmm...About seven centuries, I believe. Why?"

"Well...You will probably be the King for many centuries more, right? Mi-millenia, even?" She blanched then, oblivious to him, it suddenly occurring to her how very much time they had together.

"I imagine so, if all goes well...Is there something you're trying to tell me, Sally?"

"It's just a lot of time to...recede into old habits, and old feelings. I'm not very eager to see what you do to top this."

Jack was leaning over the table, his head resting on one hand, one bony eyebrow raised in amusement. "You have quite a fire burning in you, don't you, dearest?"

She blushed, but smirked. "Don't change the subject."

"Well then, what do you propose I do to prevent this kind of thing from happening again?"

Sally leaned back in her chair and chose a figure on the wallpaper to stare at while she spoke. "If you want to avoid idolizing other holidays, you have to fully appreciate your own."

"But Sally, I DO appreciate Chri-Halloween! I mean Halloween!" He smacked himself in the forehead, shaking his skull. Then he slowly raised his eyes, surveying her with fondness. "How do you do it, Sally? How do you read me so well? And will you help me? What can I do?"

She met his gaze with her own and smiled warmly, shifting forward to shyly grasp his hand on the table. "You have to acquaint yourself with the true spirit of Halloween...the one that has been around for thousands of years, and has little or nothing to do with lighting yourself on fire."

When the skeleton and rag doll had reached the door of the lab, hand in hand, the two stood in mute admiration for a long time. Their walking pace had exponentially slowed as they approached the tower, neither eager to say their farewells. Now that they had arrived, they weren't sure what to say at all.

"Jack..." She fought the temptation to lean in to him, for now.

"Sally?"

"I...I've been thinking about that kiss..."

He started in surprise, and then shook his head in remorse. "Please...say no more, Sally, you shouldn't have to ask in such a manner. You must forgive me...it's been centuries...literally...since I've had someone to...to..." He gently released her hand and placed his own behind her neck, beneath her hair. His other arm came around her waist, gracefully pulling her body flush against his. She rose up slightly on her toes to meet his lips, gripping his lapels, and it felt as if days had passed before they parted. Even when they did, their figures remained close, arms entangled, toe tips touching. Jack rested his skull on the pillow of hair atop her head, reveling in her scent, his skeletal fingers lightly combing through her red locks.

He turned his head slightly to whisper almost inaudibly, "Sally...I love you."

She smiled widely as she buried her tear-stained face into his shirt. "I love you, too."