Disclaimer: If I did own Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, there would have been a sequel already.

Author's Note: Please read and review. Not only does it brighten my day, but it makes this story go faster. Thank you.

"Trust in yourself. Your perceptions are often more accurate than you are willing to believe." Anonymous

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Aurora woke up with a spring in her step. She couldn't help it, even if there was a little disturbance last night. She sang through her shower, and she was deciding what to wear. She picked out a black top, with a v-neck that was very low, a black and white belt that covered her midsection, below the bust and above the hips, and a dirty red, tattered skirt, that went just above her ankles. She danced through her breakfast, which was stewed ivy leaves with snake syrup. But when she got out of the house…There was a note nailed to the door. It said:

"My dear Aurora,

My how time flies. I was just wondering what to do on a bright and sunny day like this, when I realized; where the hell have you been? You are supposed to get rid of that Pumpkin Patch head… it should have been done yesterday. If you don't, well I won't go into details, since you know what can happen Aurora, don't you? I will give you two weeks to finish this. You have spent the last month planning this wedding of "bliss" for them and you better finish it soon. So get crackin'.

Mr. Boogie Man"

Okay. So maybe she wasn't going fast enough for him. Lucky for her, she was almost done. Now all she has to do is get permission from the Mayor and decorate. And today she visits Jack by herself! It shouldn't take that long, right? I hope the Mayor is there today, she thought.

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"Why of course Jack and Sally can have the Town Hall for Saturday. Which day?" The Mayor said on his happy side.

A wave of relief came over her. "Oh good. Is next Saturday available? They can't have it this Saturday because I have to decorate this place. So can I reserve the Town Hall for both Saturdays? I need a week to decorate and then the wedding will be on the other Saturday."

Mayor's happy face turned around and revealed his sad face. "Do you really need a week to decorate?"

"Yes. I promise it won't take long. Just this Saturday, the rest of that week and then the other Saturday. And if I do get it I must get you to sign an agreement; you can't, under any circumstances, go into the Hall. Is that okay?"

The Mayor's face was still on the sad side, but it was apparent that he was thinking very hard. Then his face turned to the happy side. "Okay, it is for Jack and Sally. I guess I could let you have it.".

Aurora showed her gratitude and hugged the Mayor and he turned a slight shade of red. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise it will be the best wedding ever!" She turned, got her briefcase and skipped out of the Town Hall.

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The sign read, "The Midnight Blood" and this was the only pub in the town of Halloween. Aurora always liked to go to pubs and she had a reason; that was the only safe place for her to go. Lock, Shock and Barrel could not go in since they were too young, Oogie could not come in, (which was pretty obvious) and none of his spies were in there. She walked in with a smile on her face and ordered a screamer margarita, which was tequila, deadly nightshade berries and a hint of pumpkin. She got her drink and sat down at a bar stool and took a sip. She looked up and there was Jack.

"Hello, Aurora. Sleep well?" Aurora nodded. "Wonderful, now I have a booth for us in the corner."

She looked around and did not recognize any familiar faces, which was good. All the people there were drunks and lonely men. I hope no one can see us. Rumors go around too fast in this town and what would people think? She thought. She followed Jack and sat down and faced Jack on the other side of the table. She was looking around when a shadow at a window, caught her eye. It looked like…

"Aurora! Do you have the plans?" Jack said. He looked a little tired in the dim lighting. His bat bowtie was a little crooked, his sockets were in deeper than usual and yarned a couple of times. His thoughts were of sleep and what to give Sally, after their fight in the morning.

"Yes Jack." She got the plans out of her briefcase and slid the three folders to him. "Jack," she said cautiously, " you look a little tired this morning. Did Sally fight with you?"

He looked up from the plans he was reading and gave her an astonished look. "How did you know that?"

"Doesn't she usually fix your tie? And you did not sleep at all because of your eyes; they are a dead giveaway." She looked at her drink and smiled. She really did not have to look at those things because she could read his mind.

Jack looked down and touched his tie. "Yes, I did fight with Sally." He looked at Aurora and saying with a little quiver. "Can I tell you what happened last Halloween?" Jack put down the plans and got closer to Aurora. She nodded and his story went like this:

"As King of Halloween, I have a responsibility to scare and make every Halloween, scarier than the last. Last Halloween, while I was getting ready, I thought to myself, 'I do the same thing every year. Why can't I do something different? I have not been myself lately and I wonder if my job is getting to me.'. I did my scene and I never felt as lonely as I did then. Then when I got out of the fountain, people came to me and praised me for something I thought was the same. Of course, the Mayor thanks me constantly and all the people thank me and I had to get away. I went to the cemetery, and later I found out that Sally was there as well. I sang to the soulless moon and sleepwalked to the Hinterlands. I found Christmas Town and my heart leapt with joy. I was so happy, that I felt like I did when I got my Halloween crown. I brought everything I could put in a sack, to Halloween Town. I thought I knew everything about Christmas; I was wrong. Something was not right, so I hired Lock, Shock and Barrel to kidnapped Sandy Claws. I didn't know they would torture him. So all the townspeople got the presents ready and I had my sleigh and reindeer. But Sally, bless her sewn heart, thought I was wrong. So she tried to stop me and put fog in the air. Luckily, Zero has a bright, shining nose and then we were off. Sally tried to stop Oogie by herself but she failed. I myself brought presents to the children of the real world, but somehow they were scared of all my wonderful presents and I got shot down by fireworks. I, ironically, landed in a cemetery and went back to Halloween to let Sandy Claws do his job. I found out that the Trio gave Sandy to Oogie Boogie. I fought Oogie and I won. Sandy went to fix everything that I had done and I was left with Sally. I fell in love with her, right then and there and the Mayor got us out of there. Then Sally went to the cemetery to see if I would follow her, which I did. Then I wanted her to be mine. That is the story of last Halloween." Jack said to Aurora. He looked down at the table and said to the air, "I love Sally but does she still love me?".

Aurora put on a look of sadness because she had heard of this story already and she did not respect Sally at all if Jack is getting depressed. She also knew that Oogie was still alive and that he intended to kill Jack. She looked at Jack and put her hand on his shoulder and said, "I am sure Sally still loves you.". Oh, how she hated to say that! Jack loves me, not Sally. But she plodded on, "Why would she still plan for this wedding?"

Jack took Aurora's hand and patted it. "Thank you." He looked down at his drink and looked at Aurora and said, "Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this but I think Sally is scared of me. She gets worried if I go away or if I have my own ideas. That's why she doesn't want me to see the wedding plans. You know, Sally used to be the most caring, wonderful rag doll I have ever met, but now she gets sad and angry at me if I want to go somewhere. (Sigh), To be honest, I don't want to get married just yet if she is going to be like this." Jack woke up and looked at Aurora and shook his head. "I didn't mean it! I love Sally, but…"

"Jack don't worry. I know how you feel. You probably don't have a friend in the world, yet you have millions of admirers and none understand what you are going through. Sally used to be your friend, but now she is going to be your wife. I too, don't have many friends." Aurora finished with a sigh and looked at Jack. "I know how you feel." She repeated. She finished her drink and desperate to change the subject, "Well, what do you see? Any complaints?".

"Hmm…" Jack went through all the folders and handed it back to Aurora. "Nothing." He grinned at her and said, "Are you going home, now? I will walk you there."

"I could go home but how about you show me your house? I have only been in the hallway and at that table. I think Sally is scared of me."

"Alright. Sally is away somewhere. I think she went to the flower shop." Jack handed his hand to Aurora and paid for both of their drinks. They were walking along and finally stood in front of Jack's house. Jack opened the gate and let Aurora in. "You want to see the back? It has the most wonderful view of the cemetery."

"Okay." They went to the back of the house and Aurora gasped. "It's beautiful!" And it was. You could see the cemetery and Halloween Hill and the Hinterlands. Jack's house was on a huge cliff and there was a big stream below. Aurora looked some more and found the Playhouse behind the Hill. She remembered why she was here and said to Jack, "My, to live in this house, with this view, I would live for something like this. Do you want to show me inside?"

Jack nodded and led her in through the back door. They were in the kitchen and on the left was a staircase leading up to the second floor and on the right was a small closet where, Aurora guessed, was Jack's last minute costumes. "You see there? That is where you were at. And you know the house from there. Do you want to see upstairs?"

"Of course I do. Please, lead the way." Jack went up the staircase and waited for Aurora at the top of the stairs. When Aurora just had a step to go, she "accidentally", tripped up the step. Jack just grabbed her in time before she hit the floor and they both looked into each other's eyes. Aurora smiled shyly and Jack helped her up and cleared his throat.

"Well this is the upstairs. Look out the window because you have a much better view up here. Aurora walked to the window, and she saw Sally coming.

"Jack, Sally is back. What do I do?" Aurora looked at Jack frantically.

Jack knew that he had to get Aurora out of the house because Sally already said she does not like vampires in the house. He was looking around when Sally shouted:

"Jack, I'm home! Where are you my Pumpkin King?"

"I'm upstairs Sally!" Jack said and said in a whisper to Aurora, "Go hide in the closet over there and I will lead her to the front of the house and then sneak out the back." Sally was coming up the stairs quick and Jack said finally to Aurora, "Hurry!".

Aurora went into the closet and got smushed into Jack's clothes. She loved the smell of his clothes. It smelled of cemetery and of candy canes. She barely heard what they were saying.

"Jack, who were you talking to?" Sally asked. She smelled alcohol in the air and smoke on Jacks' clothing.

"Oh, I was just talking to Zero. He went off to get you something." Jack lied. "Sally, could I show you something in the front of the house? There is something weird there."

Jack showed her off and Aurora peeked out of the closet. She quietly closed the door and went down the stairs. Life is not kind, especially if you fake a fall. When Aurora got to the bottom of the stairs, her skirt got caught on something on the staircase and she fell on the ground, making a loud booming sound. She got her skirt together and heard footsteps running towards her. She was looking for a place to hide. The table looked like a good place to hide. The running steps got closer and closer and…

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Author's Note: Cliffhangers. Don't you just hate them? A very long chapter that took me a week to finish and I am proud of it. You know the drill. Please read and review.