Author's Note: I've been writing nmbc fics for about 7 years now, but this is the first one I've sent in to fanfic.net. All nmbc stuff belongs to its creators and copyright holders, I am just a fan.
Girltalk in Halloweentown
One o'clock in the morning. Shock stood at
the tall wrought iron gates to the Skellington home.
She held a small burlap sack in her right hand, swinging it slightly
to and fro. The little girl
scratched her head. She kicked at the stone wall with her toe
before heaving a sigh and pushing
through the gate. Her bag flung over her shoulder, she climbed
the narrow stairs to the front
door. One could logically wonder what brought Shock to Halloween's
most illustrious address
in the middle of the night...
It all began several days prior, as Sally Skellington
stood looking at a thermometer. She
held the thin glass stick in the light and clicked her tongue softly.
"He's hot too...", she said. "Poor lumplings."
She sighed and scooped up her baby son.
One half of a set of twins, he was the image of his famous father.
Years in the future, the
children would grow to be creatures who could haunt the dreams of humans
on Halloween night.
At their current age of only 4 months however they was considerably
less fearsome. That was
especially true on this day when both of the tiny bone babies had colds.
The infant in Sally's
arms snuffled pitifully. Sally cuddled him against her chest.
"Is he okay?", asked Jack Skellington.
The Pumpkin King walked into the nursery room
with the other twin cradled in his spidery hands. Sally shifted
her weight, moving the baby to
her hip.
"I think it's just a little cold. The
evening air was so chilly and damp after the meeting
the other night. We had them bundled up tight but still...they're
just so tiny. I will mix them
some medicine and we'll keep them inside for a week or so." Jack
listened to his wife and
nodded in agreement. Sally had an almost preternatural wisdom
of herbal remedies and potions.
It seemed a skill which was as much a part of her as her red hair or
pale, stitched flesh. She
herself did not know from where her talent emanated. Jack suddenly
raised his hand to his skull.
"Sally, what about this weekend? London?"
Sally had to search her brain for an instant. Sick babies occupied
almost every inch of her mind.
"Well...I can't go with you... They
can't travel. We were uncertain about taking them on
a trip so soon in any case, but now..."
Jack frowned, but nodded again. It was only a monster convocation...he
was invited to speak to
the assembly to promote responsible non-violent scare interactions
with humans. He had not
been looking forward to it especially, given that many of the creatures
would not be open to what
he was saying. The one bright side had been the prospect of a
trip with his family. Jack looked
at the baby in his hand which was also his namesake, Jack Junior.
The child snorted
uncomfortably, then sneezed, leaving a faintly viscous spray on his
father's suit jacket. King
Jack blinked.
"Well, eeew... Very impressive though.",
he said, then couldn't help but laugh. Sally
grinned and handed him a handkerchief. She put both children
down in a gothically decorated
crib.
"It's only the one night you would be
gone Jack, correct?", she asked. Jack wiped at his
jacket.
"Yes. If we were all going I was rather
hoping to stay a couple nights, but no point in
that if I'm alone. I'd be back the very next day, early afternoon
if possible. I wouldn't want to
spend any more time away than I have to." He smiled, his grin
stretching across his skull.
Funny how it seemed like only yesterday he would have done almost anything
to rid himself of
his routine, day to day existence. Now one botched holiday, one
warm ragdoll, and two sniffling
baby boys later found him not wanting to be away a moment longer than
necessary. "You are
certain you would be alright without your bone-man for one night?"
he asked. Sally hugged him.
She looked up through her thick lashes.
"Well...it won't be easy Jack. The babies
and I like having you around, you know?" She
giggled. In truth, it would be the first night with the exception
of Halloween that they would be
apart, since that fateful Christmas.
