A/N – I know I said no updates till Saturday, but forget that. So, here we are, and it's Halloween. Come-on, you know you love it. And trick-or-treating? I'd still go, if it was considered ok for an 18 year-old to. Only two more chapters. But don't cry, there'll be a sequel!

Chapter 10

A few days later, Ginger was back at school. Her ribs hurt whenever she laughed or moved around too much. Her arm was in a cast, and it was heavy! She tried one day to not use the sling, but couldn't keep her arm up when she needed to.

She couldn't even ride her bike with her friends, not that she was allowed to, anyway. She had been grounded for two weeks.

Apparently Allison was grounded for a month for coming up with the idea in the first place and Mandy for one because she almost went through with it.

It was lunchtime, and the girls were talking about nothing in particular when Allison asked if the other two would be let off the hook for Halloween.

Allison already told them that her parents were considering letting her go trick-or-treating. Mandy said that her parents told her last night she could.

Sarah looked confused and asked them about trick-or-treating. Her friends looked shocked. Mandy told her that Halloween night was a kid's dream. Getting dressed up in a costume, and going door to door getting free candy.

Sarah looked embarrassed, and told them that back on Skid Row, the kids would make themselves costumes out of whatever they could find, and the girls' and boys' homes would throw a small party.

Mandy told Sarah to ask her parents about it as soon as they were home.

So, when Sarah got home that afternoon, she asked Audrey about it. Audrey looked thoughtful, and told Sarah that she'll have to talk to Seymour when he gets home.

Accepting that for now, Sarah ran off to her room to do her homework.

About an hour later, Seymour came home to find his wife starting dinner and his daughter (she called him dad!) reading a book on the couch.

"Hey kiddo," he said as he gently ruffled her hair in passing. He was pleased when she grinned up at him. "How're you feeling?"

Sarah looked back down at her book. "My sides still hurt if I move around too much," she complained.

"The doctor said it's going to take a while before you start to feel better," he reminded her before heading for the kitchen.

She sighed and said, "I know," before continuing to read.

Once he was in the kitchen, he did his now-famous hug from behind, where he wraps his arms around Audrey and rests his head on her shoulder.

"Hey cutie! How's the shop coming along?" Audrey asked him.

"It's great, Audrey. We should be ready to open on Friday."

She smiled as she turned her head to look at him. "That sounds wonderful. Seymour, Sarah asked me this question earlier."

"Yeah? What'd she ask?" he asked her curiously.

Audrey turned her head back to her cooking, as she told him how she wanted to know about going trick-or-treating with her friends.

Starting to get in the way, Seymour stepped back, frowning. "Gee, I don't know Audrey. I mean, she's grounded. Do you think we should?"

Biting her lip, she answered thoughtfully, "She said Mandy's parents said it was alright, but Allison's parents were still considering. Maybe after dinner we should call Allison's parents and discuss it with them."

Seymour nodded, thinking it was a good idea. Audrey turned, and playfully slapped his shoulder. "Now go wash up. It's almost dinner."

"Yes ma'am," came his playful reply.

After everyone had washed up, they sat down to dinner, which was pasta. Sarah's parents decided not to mention Halloween until after they spoke to the Jones' (Allison's parents).

They spent dinner in a nice, comfortable silence. When everyone had finished, Sarah helped clear the table before heading back to her room. She had overheard them talking, and knew who they were going to call.

A few minutes later, Audrey and Seymour were on the phone. After twenty-five minutes of discussion, the adults had reached a decision.

Sarah had been sketching possible costume designs while she waited when her parents knocked on the door. "Come in."

The door opened and they stepped into the room. Audrey sat down on Sarah's bed while Seymour remained standing.

"We spoke to Allison's mom and dad," Audrey told the girl, watching them with a hopeful look on her face.

"And we decided that you can go trick-or-treating with your friends," Seymour started before Sarah interrupted saying, "Yes!"

"But," he continued, "there will be three rules. One, an adult has to go with the three of you. Two, you will have one hour to hit as many houses as you can. Three, as soon as you are done, you are to come home and help hand out candy."

Sarah nodded as each rule was said. "Okay, I promise, Dad. Can," she hesitated here, "Can Mom help me make a costume? I've never been able to make a good one before."

Audrey smiled, and said, "Sure. I'd love to help. What do you want to be?"

Seymour watched as Sarah bit her lip and told her that she had sketched a few ideas. He watched as Audrey walked over to the desk to see, as they discussed each drawing quietly. A few minutes later, a decision had been made, and his daughter walked over to him to show him the design they chose.

He looked down at the drawing, and smiled. Her idea was to be a puppy. He was amazed at the quality of the sketch. "That's a great costume, Sarah. And you're an amazing artist."

He saw her blush at that. "I'm serious. Maybe one day you can write and illustrate your own books."

Sarah beamed at that comment, and said a shy thanks. When she went to bed that night, she couldn't wait for Saturday (how lucky for Halloween to be over the weekend)!

So over the next few days, Sarah continued to go to school, her friends and she decided that Mandy's dad would chaperone them. Seymour controlled the final tweaks of his new plant shop (Krelborn's, he liked the sound of his own name), and opened Friday. And Audrey added sewing the costume together to her list of daily things to do.

Finally it was Saturday. When Sarah got up, she discovered breakfast consisted of pancakes shaped like pumpkins and red-tinted oatmeal (food-coloring). She spent the morning helping her dad decorate the house while her mom put the final touches on her costume.

After a break for lunch, Sarah put on her costume and refused to take it off because she loved it so much. Her parents had to convince her not to do the face make-up until after dinner. So instead, she spent the afternoon drawing small sketches in the free spots of her journal, to complement what she had already written.

Finally, after hours of waiting, it was time for trick-or-treating. The doorbell rang the second Audrey started clearing the table. Sarah jumped up and ran to the door, Seymour not far behind her.

After a quick hello between the adults, and Audrey quickly doing her face, Sarah and her friends pulled Mr. Addams down the path to the street.

She quickly decided that trick-or-treating was fun. After examining each other's costumes (Mandy was a princess and Allison a witch), they took off to their first house, upset that they wasted precious time chatting.

Her friends showed her the best houses to go to, and which to stay away, because the family would give apples or pennies. Really, Sarah thought, what kid wants an apple instead of candy, and what can you get for a penny?

By the time their hour was up, Sarah was exhausted. She was extremely sore, too. She had decided not to use the sling, since it took away from her costume, and she had to run a few times to catch up to her friends.

But it was definitely worth it. However, on their way back, Mandy and Allison started running again, and struggling to keep up, Sarah did not notice her shoe was untied. So, she ended up tripping over her shoelace and falling, scraping her knees and palms (well, palm, although it did not help her arm at all).

It hurt her sides, too. She was so tired, and now it felt like her whole body hurt, and she couldn't help the few tears that slipped out.

But she got up. And her friends finally slowed down to walk with her. When she got home, she just wanted to fall asleep.

Seymour asked her how she liked trick-or-treating. She told him that she loved it. He had come into the room behind her, so he did not see her scraped knees or the dried tearstains on her cheeks.

When she finally turned around, Seymour looked her up and down and immediately pulled her into a hug, asking what happened. So she told him about how she tripped.

Deciding not to worry Audrey, who was in the kitchen making candy apples (a surprise for Sarah), Seymour cleaned her up and said she didn't have to hand out candy.

He led her to the couch, and helped her lay down. She immediately fell asleep. Audrey chose then to walk into the room. After one look at their daughter, she asked her husband if Sarah was okay.

He smiled, and said, "I think she'll be just fine."