About a week later, they were all sitting in the den on a Friday evening. The twins were playing a board game on the floor, Jake was reading and Cassandra was finally tending to the mending she'd let pile up for quite some time. She'd run out of cardigans only to realize the majority of them were waiting on buttons. Since she'd already had sewing to do, she'd asked around the house and had two pairs of Matt's pants and a jacket of Jake's as well.

She was making good time on the buttons, having done the boys' things first and was now halfway through her sweaters. The sewing reminded her of something and she leaned forward.

"Guys?"

"Yes, honey?" Jake hadn't even looked up from the journal he was reading and Cassandra rolled her eyes. She totally felt like a wife in this moment.

"What is it, Cassie?" Maggie asked from the floor. Cassandra knew she could count on her.

"Well, I was thinking, Halloween is coming up and I wasn't sure what we were doing."

"Aunt Eve and Uncle Flynn have a party," Matt said. "It's super fun."

Jake marked his place in the journal. "Actually I'm surprised we didn't meet there last year, did you go? I remember Jenkins being there. And now that I know who he is, I'm pretty sure Ezekiel went."

Cassandra sighed. "I was invited. I had a costume all made and everything. And then I got a horrible headache. And it took forever to go away. I'm making every effort to avoid that this year."

"Aww, that sucks Cassie." Matt said.

"What did I say about that word?" Jake sighed. Not that it did much good. It didn't help that he occasionally used it. It was just like his lazy grammar, he kept hoping the kids wouldn't pick it up, but they did.

"So anyway," Cassandra finished her button and put the cardigan aside. "I have stuff at the library on the Friday . . . ."

"The after school party!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Yes and before you guys, I have the little ones in the morning. I have a really cute Halloween dress I plan on wearing for that. But for Flynn and Eve's party, I was thinking we should all dress up. Maybe a theme?"

The twins, Cassandra noticed, looked excited about the idea. Jake, on the other hand, didn't really. She knew he'd eventually get talked into it, so she didn't worry too much.

The kids then started talking over each other. "You can't be a dinosaur, we can't all be dinosaurs! That's not what a theme is!"

"Well, I wanna be something cool!"

"I wanna be a princess or a fairy!"

"Well, you be that and I'll be a dinosaur."

It went on for a few minutes back and forth. Cassandra trying theme ideas on the kids. Superheroes and dinosaurs had been shot down.

"Frozen?" Cassandra ventured.

"Oooh," said Maggie.

"She was Elsa last year," Matt scoffed.

"And everyone's probably still doing it," Cassandra sighed. "Okay, any other ideas?"

"I told you, she can be a princess and I can be a dinosaur," Matt muttered, "don't know why the stupid theme."

"It's not stupid!" Maggie yelled.

That's when Jake stepped in. He noticed Cassandra's downcast face and realized that this meant a lot to an only child who finally had a family after years of longing for one.

"Matt and Maggie, stop it right now. This whole theme thing means a lot to Cassandra, so we're gonna think of something that we can all be. Okay?"

"Even you?" Cassandra's voice was hopeful and he couldn't help smiling at her.

"Even me."

May had been into the whole theme idea too. Their first Halloween, the twins had been just babies and she'd dressed them up as Dalmatians and the two of them had dressed as the couple from that movie. The next year, the kids were a year and a half and she'd picked cowgirls and cowboys. Jake made a mental note to discourage that theme. As fetching as Cassandra would look as a cowgirl, it was important that the memory of this first Halloween be unique to her. Maybe next year or the year after, they could use that theme.

"What about the Wizard of Oz?" Cassandra asked. "I could be Dorothy and Maggie could be Glinda and you boys could decide what you want to be."

Jake tilted his head. "It's not bad. Wait, let me get some paper and we'll write this stuff down." He went over to his desk and handed a pad of paper and a pen to his girlfriend.

"Okay, so Wizard of Oz but probably not Frozen since Maggie did that last year."

"Peter Pan!" Maggie exclaimed. "I wanna be Tinker Bell. Daddy could be Captain Hook and Cassie Wendy."

"Yeah, but I wanna be a pirate!" Matt said, "that would be so cool! Let's do that."

"I'm not bein' Peter Pan." Jake said. "Nope, no way. Sorry, darlin' but I ain't wearing tights."

Cassandra chuckled. "I doubt they make them in your size anyway. Maybe just green pants? You have a pair of greenish cargo pants."

He sighed. "Alright, add it to the list."

Alice in Wonderland was suggested, but no one was really too keen on it. A couple of others came up but they couldn't figure out four costumes that would work.

"What about Star Wars?" Jake asked. "There are tons of characters we could work with there. Something for everyone."

The twins looked excited and started talking about who they could be. But Jake noticed that Cassandra looked a little uncomfortable even though she smiled and joined into the conversation for a bit. Then she got up, saying she needed a drink. He left the kids still discussing what Matt should be and followed her into the kitchen.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"It's . . .you'll think it's silly."

"I know you only recently saw the movies and it's kinda more our thing but . . . ." And then Jake realized what had made Cassandra upset. "It's because Star Wars was May's thing."

She nodded. "I'm sorry, I'm being selfish and stupid. And I know how much you all love those movies and everything else. If you want to go with that theme, I'll go along."

"No, we won't." He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "This is your first Halloween with us. And remember, we talked about making our own memories? So this Halloween is about you and finding something that's unique to you and to us as a family. Okay? That's why I was prepared to shoot down suggestions of cowboys."

"Oh, that was a theme May picked?"

"Yeah, for the kids' second Halloween. The first one was 101 Dalmatians. Remind me to show you those photos, they were tiny and so adorable. "

"I'd love to see you in cowboy garb," Cassandra smirked, feeling much better now.

"And you'd look so fine as a cowgirl, but not this Halloween. Another one."

"Thank you, Jake." Cassandra reached up and kissed him. "I have an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Well, Maggie wants to be a princess and we already have this whole fairy tale thing going on with the two of us anyway, thanks, well to Maggie. Why don't Maggie and I go as Princesses and you and Matt can be our Knights?"

"That's way better than Peter Pan." Jake chuckled.

"Knights wore tights."

"Not all of them and we can totally work around that. Besides, I object to that never growin' up thing. There are certain things, Princess, that I enjoy about being an adult."

Cassandra grinned impishly, "oh and what would those things be, my Prince?"

The smile he gave her in return was sexy, "I think you know." Then his lips met hers in a slow, sensual kiss. Alas, things were just getting interesting when Maggie came into the kitchen.

"You're takin' forever," she said, "are you comin' back?"

"Yes," Jake said, parting from Cassandra with a sigh. "And we have a great idea."

They came back into the den and Cassandra said, "so I was thinking instead of trying to do a movie or a book, Maggie and I can be princesses and you boys can be knights or princes, it's up to you."

Maggie's eyes went wide, "can my dress be pink?"

"Of course."

"Can I have a sword?" asked Matt.

"A plastic or cardboard one, but yes," confirmed his father.

"So we're good, that's what we're gonna go with?" Cassandra asked. "We could go to the Halloween store tomorrow and go looking at ideas. We might have to make something but I'm pretty good with a needle and Lacey at work will let me borrow her sewing machine."

The twins nodded excitedly. They talked over a few ideas for a little while but then the twins wanted to finish their game. Jake wanted to finish his article and Cassandra had to finish her sewing. So they decided to wait until they got to the store to make final choices. And went back to what they were doing.


Sometime later, after the kids went to bed, Cassandra stretched and looked over at Jake. "I think I'm going up to bed, join me?"

He smirked, looking at the clock and knowing that sleeping wasn't exactly what Cassandra had in mind. "I'm gonna lock up and make sure the kids are asleep, then I'll be up."

"Not too long," she kissed him, keeping the kiss slow and sexy like in the kitchen earlier. He had to chuckle at the swing she put in her hips going up the stairs.

A little while later, he was locking the bedroom door behind him. Cassandra was sitting on the edge of the bed wearing the mint green lingerie she'd surprised him with not that long ago.

"Hmm, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well, Sir Knight," Cassandra said, throwing her arms around his neck. "I believe you told me that there were things you really liked about being an adult. So I thought that I'd show you a few of those things."

"Mmm," he picked her up. "I believe Lady Princess that I could show you a thing or two as well."

"Looking forward to it," she said as he carried her over to the bed.

He laid her down and hushed up her giggles with kisses. And then they each showed the other why being an adult was a very good thing indeed.