Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks again for the reviews! I have thoroughly enjoyed my week off from work (I haven't so much enjoyed being sick, but being able to lie around doing nothing for once was nice) and I am pleased with the amount of writing I was able to get done during that time. Three new chapters in five days! But alas tomorrow it's back to work, and my next day off isn't until next Friday…/sulk/ But maybe we'll get lucky and I'll squeeze out another chapter before then. In the meantime, my friends, stay busy, get plenty of exercise, and don't drink too much! Then again, don't drink too little. ;]

"You can as easily love without trusting as you can hug without embracing."

- Robert Brault

"Do you have any sevens?"

"Go…away."

Lock shrugged and tossed his playing cards over his shoulder. He fell back onto the cot and let out a long, exasperated sigh.

Sally sat solemnly on the floor of her cell across from him, staring up at the wall. She felt dazed, numb, and lifeless. According to her calculations it was about ten o'clock p.m.; dinner was served at seven-thirty and it seemed like it had been a little over two hours since Boris last left them. Sally exhaled softly, closing her eyes. She had made it through her first full day in prison. Five more days to go until the second trial, she thought. And after that…well, I'll either be free, or I'll be firewood. The ragdoll shuddered.

Across the way, Lock sat upright on his cot and started to bounce up and down restlessly. "Ugh, I'm so bored!" he whined. "Are you sure you don't want to play another game?"

"No, I do not," replied Sally indifferently. "I'm not in the mood. Sorry."

"Are you still thinking about that bone man?" asked Lock, scooting back on his cot and crossing his legs.

"He betrayed me," Sally answered quietly.

"He did what he had to do," said Lock. "Look, I know you're hurt, but what would you have done had you been in his position? The entire town has entrusted itself to his leadership, and he was only being fair to his people. If there's anyone you should be upset with, it's that sea bitch Anastasia. It's her fault we're both in here."

Sally turned her head slightly to look at him. Then she raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Since when did you have all of these insightful thoughts and feelings, Mister Deville?" she asked somewhat humorously.

Cheeks reddening in embarrassment, Lock scowled at her. "Gee, thanks. Way to kill a mood, Stiches."

"What are you getting so upset for? It was a compliment!"

"Whatever."

"Come on," cooed Sally. She had become rather entertained with their banter. "Chicks dig a sensitive guy. Maybe next we'll try a hug."

"Stop it!" Lock shouted back defensively. "I am not cute, I am not sensitive! When I was younger I used to bite the heads off dolls!"

"Aw, you had dolls?"

"Shut up!"

For the first time in nearly two days, Sally was laughing. "I'm just busting your chops," she finally reassured the glowering devil child. "You know what? You are way too sensitive."

As soon as Lock opened his mouth to respond, the familiar jingle of janitorial keys sounded from behind the access portal. With several small clicks the door swung open and Boris stepped into the corridor holding a brightly-lit lantern.

"Sally?" he barked, lifting the lantern up to her cell.

Shielding her eyes, Sally replied, "What is it, Boris?"

"You have a visitor."

All of a sudden, a tall, slender shadow appeared on the wall behind Boris, and out into the corridor tentatively stepped Jack Skellington.

"Hi Sally," he greeted her softly, waving a boney hand.

Sally's stomach crashed to the floor and the breath caught in her throat. She felt the tips of her fingers go numb again, and her heart was beating so fast and furiously she thought her chest would split open. What was Jack doing here? Did he come to bail her out, or laugh in her face? No, he wouldn't do that…would he?

"M-my…" she suddenly stammered awkwardly.

Jack looked concerned. "Are you alright, dear?"

Sally laid a hand to her forehead. She squinted in the glow of Boris's lantern, wondering if she was even seeing things correctly. "M-my bright…bright..."

"Your bright, bright what?"

Sally gulped loudly, feeling suddenly dizzy. "My bright, bright…bright."

Jack cast Boris a puzzled glance, but the night guard merely shrugged.

"Mr. Skellington, I'm afraid I can only allow you fifteen minutes with our prisoners," grunted Boris upon turning around to face the exit. "I will return at 10:45 to escort you off of the premises."

"Understood, Boris, thank you," replied Jack, nodding his head respectfully. As soon as the snake demon left, Jack hesitantly began to approach Sally's cell.

Still feeling rather stunned, Sally scooted forward slightly, but she didn't bother to rise. The nerves seemed to have died in her legs anyhow.

"Darling, why are you sitting in the floor?" asked Jack, smiling nervously.

"Never mind that," croaked Sally, features suddenly hardening. "What are you doing here?"

Jack's smile faded. "I…I couldn't sleep."

"Oh?" replied Sally, raising an eyebrow. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"Because…" Jack cleared his throat. "…because I couldn't feel you there beside me…"

"Hey, watch it!" shouted Lock from across the hall. "There are children present!"

The two lovers ignored him. They stared at each other for several moments, each struggling to decipher the other's expression.

"And I also wanted to tell you something," Jack finally continued, clutching the iron bars of Sally's prison cell. "Look, Sally…I'm sorry. Honest to God, sending you here was the last thing I wanted to do. You have to believe me. I was just trying to be a fair ruler."

"What happened to, 'Sally, I love you and I will never let anything happen to you?'" choked Sally, blinking away the tears that welled up in her eyes.

"I do love you!" Jack shouted back desperately. "I love you more than anything in the world! Please tell me you know that!"

A small, silver tear managed to squeeze out the corner of Sally's eye. It splashed onto the concrete ground beneath her. "I don't know that I do," she whispered.

Jack's knees buckled and he took a moment to steady himself. He gazed into the cell at Sally with wide, pleading eye sockets. "Do you love me?"

Sally wiped her eyes and swallowed the cries that had knotted up in her throat. She stared up at the Pumpkin King sorrowfully, pulling her knees into her chest. Then, in a voice that was barely audible, she answered, "No."

She watched as Jack fell to his knees, she watched as the tears spilled in rivers out of his eye sockets, she watched as his fragile heart split in two.

From across the corridor Lock silently witnessed the spectacle, mouth agape in astonishment.

"Sally…" Jack choked as he reached through the bars towards the unmoving ragdoll. His arm was trembling violently.

"Goodbye, Jack," Sally replied tonelessly. She turned around and faced the rear of her cell so her back was to the sobbing skeleton.

Jack continued to weep piteously behind her for several more minutes, but she refused to cast him a second glance. Although she did still love him, her trust in him, trust that due to her abusive past took years to build, had shattered. He had betrayed her and locked her away. Just like Dr. Finklestein used to do.

At last Jack stood up, though he was still crying uncontrollably. Sally listened as his footsteps and his sobs faded together down the corridor, and it wasn't until she heard the big iron door slam shut that she let one last tear roll down her cheek and onto the cold, concrete floor of her prison cell.