A/N: Welcome to my annual Halloween story! This one is set in October 1977, two months after Jim and Jo are married. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Chapter 1

Jim Beckett sighed a little as he carried bags into the kitchen and sat them on the table; casting a glance at his wife as she sat on the floor, small black kitten purring beneath her hands as she murmured to it, coaxing it to have a drink of the water she had put in a small bowl. That kitten had trouble written all over it, he thought to himself as he continued to watch. It had only been an hour since Johanna had plucked it off the sidewalk but he could tell she was already in love with it.

"You know we can't keep her," he said gently for what he knew was the fourth time since she had scooped the kitten up outside.

"I don't see why not," Johanna replied. "I found a box and made her a little bed with some old towels and I cut up an old blanket too so she'll be warm and comfortable."

His eyes closed for a moment, he should've never let her bring it inside…but then again, she hadn't given him a chance to launch a firmer objection. "The landlord says no pets," he reminded her.

"He let Mrs. Blackston keep Fluffy."

"Yeah, because you threw it in his face about letting the guy upstairs keep the dog that he brought home from the war…not to mention the fact that you paid him off."

"Which proves that he makes exceptions sometimes," Johanna said as she rose from the floor with the kitten. "Besides, it's not like he comes around here often. I mail the rent check. We don't have to tell him about the kitten."

Another sigh slipped across his lips. "As a lawyer, you know that keeping the cat is breaking the lease."

"Only if he finds out," she said stubbornly. "Did you buy what she needs?"

"I bought a few things to get her through the night and the morning…because we can't keep her. What if he does randomly show up at the door?" Jim asked. "What then?"

"I'll hide her. There's enough space in the pantry to put her stuff back there and then she'd have her own little space anyway."

"Johanna, we can't keep her. It's against the lease."

"Who's going to tell him?" she shot back.

"Anyone could've seen you carry that kitten inside," Jim remarked. "There were neighbors coming and going when we got home."

"They didn't pay any attention to us."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you!" she exclaimed.

"You still haven't answered my question; what if he does find out?"

"I'll buy him off like I did before."

"What if he isn't willing to bend this time?" Jim asked. "He bent the last time because Mrs. Blackston is an old woman and he bent with the guy upstairs because he's a veteran of the war. We have nothing to use in our favor and I'm not going to have us getting thrown out over a cat, especially with winter not too far off."

"If it was something you wanted, you'd try to keep it!" Johanna shot back.

"Johanna," he said with an air of frustration. "We can't keep it. We're at work all day, it wouldn't be fair to her to be here by herself all day."

"Plenty of people that work have pets, Jim"

"I said we can't keep it."

She huffed in disgust. "Come on, Jim; I've always wanted a kitten and she chose me."

"She chose you because you spotted her cowering against the building and went slinking up to her saying 'come here, baby'."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "She didn't have to come to me; she could've chosen to run…but she didn't, she came to me. She's just a baby, Jim; I couldn't leave her out there, especially this close to Halloween. You know people do horrid things to black cats at Halloween."

"I know," he breathed. "But you also know that we can't have her."

"Yes, we can…we could at least try. Why are you so against her? She's the sweetest little thing," she said as she came closer. "Look at her."

Jim looked at them both…two pairs of green eyes begging him to give in but all he could see was trouble and heartbreak in the end for her. "I'm not against her."

"Then we can keep her…come on, I've wanted one since I was a little girl and Dad would never let us have one. Let's just try to keep her...if it doesn't work out after awhile then I'll find her a good home."

"No; the longer we wait, the more attached you'll be."

She glared at him. "See, you are against her or you wouldn't be so quick to throw her away."

"I'm not throwing her away! I'm not the one who abandoned her on a city sidewalk!"

"No, you just want to be the second person to abandon her!"

"I'm not suggesting that we throw her back onto the street," Jim replied. "She can spend the night and in the morning we'll take her to a shelter and they'll find a home for her."

"What if they don't?" she asked. "You know people have superstitions about black cats…that's probably why she was dumped on the sidewalk. What if no one wants her because they think she's something bad…or worse, someone takes her for some terrible Halloween themed reason and then abandons her again afterwards…if there's anything left of her. What if the shelter has her put to sleep because no one wants her? Can you live with that?"

"I don't think they'll call and tell us, considering it's not our animal," Jim retorted. "You can love her up all you want tonight but tomorrow she's going to the shelter. Now where's dinner? I thought you'd have dinner done when I got back?"

"I told you in the car that I didn't feel like cooking," Johanna stated. "I told you to pick something up when you went to get food for the kitten."

"I told you that I didn't want takeout tonight. I had a long day and I expected my wife to make a homecooked meal."

"Yeah, well, your wife had an equally long day and she doesn't feel like it," Johanna replied, her tone biting. "What's wrong with eating out tonight?"

"We go out to eat on Saturday. We don't need to eat out tonight too."

"We used to eat out more than once a week before we were married."

"Yeah, that was called dating…it was my excuse to be with you. Now we're married and I had this crazy notion that my wife would cook the majority of the meals now and we could cut back on the eating out."

"It's not like we can't afford to order a pizza, Jim."

"Maybe I don't want pizza."

"Then order what you want!"

"I want you to cook a meal like you're supposed to! So put the damn cat down, get it in your head that she's out of here tomorrow and fix something for dinner! You should've already had it on the table, it's after six!"

Angry tears filled her eyes as her chin jutted up a notch. "Since you're so hateful about her, take her now!" she yelled, shoving the kitten into his hands. "Just take her and dump her off now and while you do it, I'll fix your damn dinner since apparently I'm falling down on my duties as a wife…clearly you think you're the only one that had a long day. I mean I only worked just as many hours as you did, was in court with one case falling apart in front of my eyes, an irate client because I was ten minutes late for a meeting because court ran over and then I have Preston Myers on my ass about the case I have coming up in November, telling me if I blow it, he's knocking me back down a tier and I'll be out my raise I got a few months ago! But yes, let's make everything about your long day and your antiquated notion that I should be in the kitchen the second my feet hit the threshold of the door. I can't even have a little kitten but you can have everything your way! Well fine!"

"Preston can't take back the stature that Roche already gave you," Jim told her. "Everyone knows he only comes in once in awhile to blow smoke."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one he's hounding," she shot back. "Stanley was right there behind him, sneering and backing him up telling him I didn't deserve it in the first place and I just had to stand there and keep my mouth shut because I didn't feel like getting fired today."

"It's going to be fine; you take that bullshit to heart too much," he replied. "Do you ever take into consideration that he's just testing you to see if you'll crack under the pressure? Ignore it and do what you always do, it'll be fine. As for the cat, I said you could keep her for the night, but tomorrow she has to go, so here, take her and live out your childhood fantasy for the night and then grow up and accept that she's going to the shelter tomorrow. You're acting like a big baby over a damn cat."

She bit the inside of her cheek, feeling like everything she had said had just been devalued simply because he deemed it not good enough. "Just take her now and go, Jim. I don't care if you take her to a shelter or dump her on another sidewalk, just take her and get rid of her and be happy. I know it'll anger you further but I'm going to get my shower before I fix dinner, but I promise, I'll have it finished before you get back. Take the food you bought her too if you're taking her to a shelter; maybe it'll be enough of a donation that they'll keep her alive for a few days."

"Jo…" he breathed as she turned away from him.

"Just go, Jim."

He blew out a breath and followed her from the kitchen. "Well we've been married two months…that's a month longer than I thought we'd be before our first fight."

"Good to know you have so much faith in us," she retorted. "I mean I gave you the benefit of the doubt and thought you'd wait about five to six months before allowing your jackass gene to have control of your brain…but looks like you surprised me. I should've known, my sister told me men are quick to show their true colors early in the marriage!"

"Yeah, well, my brother told me that women always think they can have everything the way they want it as soon as you put the ring on their finger, guess he was right too!"

She shot him an angry glare over her shoulder. "Feel free to go sleep at your brother's house after you get rid of the kitten."

"Feel free to go sleep at your sister's!" he shot back.

"Maybe I will! At least she wouldn't make me cook dinner when I didn't feel like it!"

"I guess not since she has a housekeeper that does that now!"

"Just go! I'm not doing this tonight," she said as she stormed through the room and into the hallway.

"Don't you want to tell the cat goodbye?" he called after her.

"You're not funny!" she yelled back, her voice cracking a little as the bathroom door slammed shut.

Jim shook his head as he grabbed his keys and shoved them into his pocket before moving back to the kitchen to grab the bags he had just brought in a short while before. "Troublemaker," he said as he glanced down at the cat he was holding with one hand. "You're just a damn troublemaker. All the buildings in New York and you had to be outside of this one."

Once Jim was settled in the driver's seat, he carefully placed the kitten on the passenger seat and started the car. The kitten gave a soft meow, drawing his attention. He frowned a little, looking into its bright green eyes that seemed to be as sad as Johanna's had been. "Don't look at me like that," he told her. "It's not that I don't want to let her have you, it's that I can't. You'll be fine."

The kitten gave another soft meow, moving to edge of the seat before cautiously climbing onto his leg. "Really?" Jim asked. "I expect this sit on my lap thing from my wife when she wants to wheedle, not a cat."

The kitten looked up at him and he sighed, giving in to the urge to pet it for a moment. "Trouble…you're just trouble like I knew from the second she spotted you."

The kitten settled down on his leg and he sighed deeply as he put the car in drive. This day had already been long and miserable…and now it was worse…all because of a little black ball of fluff that had looked at his wife pitifully…and because he had suddenly turned into his father, demanding dinner be on the table at the time he thought it should be. He frowned; somehow he had lost control of this day and he was going to have to try and get it back…if that was even possible.

When Jim returned home awhile later, he found the living room void of his wife's presence. The kitchen light was still on and he moved toward it, figuring she was there but she was absent from there as well he noted as he placed the bags he had been carrying on the table. The oven was on, the smell of lasagna cooking filling the air and filling him with guilt as he left the room. He made his way to the bedroom, seeing the light on and hearing the soft sound on the TV from within. He found Johanna clad in her favorite thin pink pajama top and matching shorts, curled up on her side of the bed as she watched tv. She glanced up at him as he moved closer. "Dinner's in the oven; it'll be done in about ten minutes," she said quietly.

"Let's save it for tomorrow…I brought home dinner," Jim told her.

"Why? I told you I'd make dinner while you were gone."

"Because I'm sorry," he replied.

Johanna gave a soft shake of her head. "No, I am. I'm not single anymore…I don't just get to say I don't feel like cooking and not do it. I'm your wife, it's my job. I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "No…you do get to say that you don't feel like it sometimes. Just because we're married doesn't mean that you can't have days where you don't feel up to something. When I was in the car, I realized that I sounded like my father…and by that I mean the not so pleasant side he has sometimes. All of a sudden I could remember him and Mom arguing because dinner wasn't on the table and him yelling, 'You know I expect dinner on the table by six, Elizabeth; I work all day and expect a meal when I get home, no excuses.'…and maybe that's part of why she's the way she is now…he has his jackass side too, I guess that's who I get it from. It's one way I never wanted to be like him…I never wanted to be the guy who got mad at my wife because she didn't have dinner done at the exact second I thought it should be."

"It's just how things are," she murmured. "Dad expects his meals on the table at a certain time…it's just part of being married."

"No, it's part of our parents marriages…I don't want you going through ours thinking you have no right to say that you don't want to cook one night because you're tired and had a bad day…that it has to be done by a certain time and in a certain way. I knew we'd fight as a married couple; it's not something we can avoid…but I always figured our first one would be over something more worthy than dinner."

She shrugged. "Seems like we always pick something stupid to fight over."

He smiled a little. "I wish I could deny that but it's true in most cases. I'm also sorry that I brushed off the day you had."

"It's alright. I should learn to keep my mouth shut."

"I don't want you to do that. I always want you to tell me things…I'm sorry I didn't do a good job at listening."

"It's okay; I'm just not my best today. I'll be better tomorrow."

Jim gave her a sad smile as he reached into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out the small black kitten who had clearly been napping in her hiding place. "Maybe this will make you feel better tonight," he said as he held the kitten out to her.

Johanna's eyes widened as she sat up. "Why did you bring her back? You said we…"

"I know," he interrupted; "And I can't promise that we can keep her…because we might not be able to if the landlord finds out…but we can try."

"You're sure?" she asked, cautiously.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure, sweetheart. Go on and take her…we'll keep her as long as we can."

Johanna took the kitten from his hands with a soft smile. "I promise if it doesn't work out, I'll find her a good home."

"I know."

She smiled, nuzzling the kitten's soft black fur as she purred. Jim couldn't help but smile as he watched her; knowing it could still end in trouble and heartbreak but for awhile he could let her have her kitten…and maybe the landlord wouldn't find out or by the time he did, maybe they'd have had her for a year or so and they could make the argument that it was too late to change things.

"I love you," Johanna said, her gaze meeting his.

"I love you too," he replied, kissing her softly. "Come on, let's go eat our dinner."

"Spooky has to eat too," she remarked. "I'm sure she's probably hungry."

"Spooky?" he repeated. "You named her Spooky?"

"Yes," she said with a little laugh as she headed for the door.

"Why?"

"Because I thought it was cute; it's almost Halloween and she's a black cat…and that song was on the radio on the way home, you know, 'spooky little girl like you'."

He gave a soft huff of a laugh. "Yeah, I do remember that being on in the car right before we got home."

"I think Spooky is a cute name for her…and fitting for the time of year."

"But is it still going to be fitting when it's not Halloween?"

"Of course; she'll still be a black cat," Johanna replied. "Don't you like her name? Do you want me to change it?"

"No, sweetheart; Spooky seems oddly fitting for her…and for the time being, she's your kitten so you name her what you want."

Peace felt like it had been restored, Jim thought to himself as Johanna fussed with getting the kitten settled with her bowl of food before she finally came to the table.

"Tell me more about your day," Johanna said once they had their meal in front of them. "You told me a little in the car but you didn't finish it."

Jim gave a shake of his head. "It wasn't really anything big…just a bunch of small things that made everything seem worse."

"I know that feeling…anything I can do?"

"Only if you can make a few of my clients disappear," he said with a laugh.

She smiled as she swallowed a sip of her drink. "If I had that power, I'd have a whole list of people to make disappear."

"Who would be number one?" he asked.

"Honey, that's a hard question to answer…it changes weekly."

He laughed. "My list probably changes that frequently too."

"Are you sure there's nothing else I can do for you?" Johanna asked.

"Yes, I'm sure…but maybe we can get back to having lunch together next week. Maybe that's what's throwing things off in the universe."

"Maybe it is…I did missing having lunch with you this week."

"Me too…and listen, don't worry about Preston Myers, he just wants to test you."

"I feel like the testing should be over with…I've been there for four years now."

"Yeah, but you know how it is; just don't pay him any attention. You'll be fine."

She wasn't so sure of that but she didn't want to end up in another argument. "Let's just forget about work problems…the weekend is here and we can just forget it for awhile."

"Sounds good to me. Are you still going to that harvest festival with Maggie and Sharon tomorrow?"

"Yes; I haven't had a girls day for awhile…unless you want us to go do something…or you could go with me."

Jim shook his head as he scooped up a bite of his mashed potatoes. "No, you go with your friends. I'm going with Jeff and Phil to that new sports bar to watch the game and shoot pool. Zach will probably show up too and maybe Sam Dennison."

"Sounds like the boys club is assembling," she teased lightly. "Don't get in trouble."

"Never. Don't buy everything you see at the festival."

She gave him an amused smirk. "I would only do that if they were sale prices."

"Likely story," he laughed.

"I do want to get a pumpkin while I'm there…I thought maybe we could carve one for Halloween, what do you think?"

"I think it's a good idea; I haven't carved one since I was a kid."

"Me neither…but I figure since it's the first holiday we get to celebrate now that we're married that it would be something fun to do."

"I agree," Jim said with a smile. "Are we going to the firm's Halloween party?"

"Honestly I hadn't heard anything about it or given any thought to it. Are they having it this year?"

"They're having it at a nightclub this year," he answered. "Do you want to go?"

"We can if you want to."

"We may as well, everyone else will be there."

"Is it a costume party as usual?" she asked.

"Yes, but it's optional as always," Jim remarked.

Johanna smirked. "So you're not wearing one?"

"Nope…but I'm completely fine with it if you want to put your witch costume on…that could be more fun this time around since you didn't let me get anywhere the last time you wore it."

"But I like for you to live in torment of that memory," she quipped.

"That's cruel, sweetheart."

"Maybe so…but it guarantees you think of me every Halloween."

"You don't have to worry. I think about you every day."

Her hand reached for his. "I think about you too…how about we stay home Sunday and I make you a nice dinner to make up for my lack of kitchen enthusiasm this week."

His brow rose, hopefulness lighting up his blue eyes. "What are you going to make?"

"Well…I would've done fried chicken but we're having that tonight…."

"But it's not your fried chicken."

"No, but still…and I can't do lasagna because I made that tonight and we didn't eat it. I could make spaghetti."

Jim shook his head. "I'm not in a spaghetti mood. What about steak? You don't make steak dinners too often."

Johanna nodded. "Alright; I'll make steak and baked potatoes and whatever else comes to mind."

Her husband breathed deeply. "On the topic of dinner…"

"Why do I suddenly have the feeling of trepidation?" Johanna asked.

"My mother called…"

"That explains the feeling."

Jim smiled. "Listen…my aunt Theresa is in town."

"The one who thinks she's a witch?"

"Yes."

"You'd think this would be her busy season," Johanna commented. "What brings her to New York?"

"Not a broom if that's what you're asking."

She laughed. "No, that wasn't what I was asking…but you'd think she'd have one if she really was a witch."

"I'm not going to lie, I'm afraid to know if she's tried to fly one," Jim remarked. "Her cat died recently…and for some reason, every time she loses a pet, she goes visiting family so that she can collect condolences I guess. She wants to see everyone…so we've been scheduled for Tuesday."

"You mean you've been scheduled for Tuesday?"

"No, both of us."

She sighed a little. "Your mother isn't going to want me there. I haven't even been in that house since that night we had that fight while we were engaged."

"I know…but Theresa wants us both there."

"Why?"

"So she can give us our wedding gift since she wasn't able to make it to the wedding."

"Should we be concerned about the gift considering that she thinks she's a witch?" Johanna couldn't help but ask.

Jim met her eye. "I can't make any promises about that…I mean Michael got a normal wedding gift from her but my cousin got some kind of weird crystals…so I can't make you any promises about how normal the gift may be."

"Wonderful. Her cat died of natural causes right? Not some witchcraft related incident?"

He shook his head. "Definitely not. She loves her cats; in fact she likes them more than people so rest assured, it was natural."

"Good to know…but your mother isn't going to want me there."

"Theresa wants you there…we were both invited."

"Theresa didn't like me when she met me during our road trip. She didn't like that my knees were showing because I had on a summer dress."

"Don't worry about that; now that I've married you, she'll overlook that."

"How nice of her."

Jim gave a short laugh. "We have to go or she'll be insulted and we don't want that. You don't have to eat if you don't want to, I know how you feel about eating at my mother's for the time being but we have to go see her or we'll never hear the end of it."

"Alright," she sighed. "I'll go…I'll do my best to stay out of Elizabeth's way. Is your aunt married? I can't remember if we included a husband on her invitation to the wedding."

"She is; Uncle Caleb."

"Does he think he's a warlock or a vampire?" she couldn't help but ask.

"No," he laughed. "He's pretty normal…a bit quiet but normal."

"And yet he's married to a woman who thinks she's a witch?"

Jim nodded. "He says it's part of her charm. Theresa's definitely into her witchcraft…but she can be normal…at least as normal as she can be…and then there are other times when she's deep into being a witch."

"Does she have kids? You probably told me but I can't remember off hand."

"Yes, a son who lives in California and a daughter in Florida. Benny doesn't mind her eccentricities but Helena minds it a lot and doesn't come around much…which is maybe why she's so attached to her pets when she has one."

With that thought in mind, Johanna couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the woman. "Well, hopefully she won't hate me as much as your mother does when we go for dinner. I'll overlook any weird things."

"Please do…and thank you."

"For what?"

"For not refusing to go."

"It's alright, Jim; I'll stay out of Elizabeth's way and I'll forget about the last time I met Theresa and start over and maybe we can get along nicely even if the witchcraft thing does make me a little nervous. I won't eat though…I'm not ready for that yet."

"I don't blame you…and hey, if the gift turns out to be weird, we'll bury it the closet when we get home."

Johanna laughed. "Deal."

The kitten meowed at her feet and she reached down and scooped her up, placing her on her lap. "I'll tell Theresa about our little Spooky, maybe that will get me in good with her."

"That's not a bad idea," Jim replied. "We'll have to get Spooky some more food and things…I guess we can do that tomorrow morning before we head our separate ways."

She nodded. "Sounds good…are we okay though?"

"We're okay…I promise…I'll even prove it to you later," he said suggestively.

Amusement lit up her eyes. "Somehow I don't doubt that."

Later that night, Johanna felt more content as she laid against her husband's chest, his fingertips drawing circles against her bare shoulder. Rain was tapping against the windowpanes, flashes of lighting piercing through the gauzy curtains as thunder rumbled. She couldn't help but think it was fitting for late October, the storm giving the night a spooky vibe to it as she remained cuddled close to her husband.

"I won't let the storm get you," Jim murmured to her as he brushed a kiss against her hair.

"I'm not afraid," she said with a soft laugh. "It's just that this close to Halloween and with fall already somewhat gloomy…a nighttime thunderstorm gives the world that eerie vibe."

"You could pretend to be afraid so I can console you," he teased.

"You're consoling me just fine right now," Johanna told him as her fingertips brushed across his shoulder.

He gave her hip a soft squeeze, his eyes closing as he breathed deeply. Things felt better now, like they had gotten back on track. After dinner he had watched the tension ease from her body as she played with the kitten and fussed with settling her for the night. She had came to him willingly when he reached for her, ready to put their argument behind them. Yes, things were better now, he thought to himself. He still wasn't sure the kitten situation wouldn't end in heartbreak but for the time being everything was peaceful once more.

A stream of pitiful small meows sounded from the hallway and Johanna moved away from him, leaning over the edge of the bed to grab her pajamas from the floor. "Where are you going?" Jim asked.

"To get the kitten, don't you hear her?" she asked as she pulled on her clothes.

"She's fine."

"No, she's not. The storm is scaring her. She needs to come in here with us."

"She's not sleeping in bed with us, Johanna. I draw the line at that."

"I'll bring her box in here," she replied. "She just needs to feel secure. It's her first night here and that storm is scaring at her. Listen to her out there crying, she needs us."

Jim laughed. "She's not crying; she's meowing."

"She's distressed," his wife argued as she moved to the door. "I'm coming, Spooky. It's okay."

Jim shook his head as he settled back against his pillow, listening to her murmur to the kitten as she moved through the apartment. A few minutes later, Johanna returned to the room, makeshift cat bed in one hand and the kitten in the other still meowing as thunder cracked outside.

"It's alright, baby," she murmured to her. "You're safe."

"She's still going to hear the storm in here and see the lightning," Jim commented.

"I know she'll still hear it but she'll be with us and she'll feel safe. She's scared, Jim."

"I'm scared too…take your clothes back off and come console me."

Johanna smirked at him in the dim light of the room. "I let you take them off earlier."

"That doesn't mean that you can't let me take them off again," he replied, watching as she settled down on the floor, placing the kitten's box under the bench of her vanity. She then grabbed her robe from the floor and draped it over the side of the bench closest to the window, using it as a curtain to close off the view of the flashes of lighting.

"There, that will be better for you," Johanna soothed as she ran her hand over Spooky's soft fur.

"Can you come back to making things better for me?" Jim asked.

"In a minute," she told him. "I want to make sure she's settled."

"You act like it's a baby."

"She is a baby, that's why she's a kitten," Johanna remarked while cuddling Spooky.

"I meant you act like she's a human baby."

"So, what's wrong with that? She's a baby and she needs taken care of since her mama isn't around. She looks like she's just barely old enough to be away from her but still, she needs love and comfort."

"So do I."

She smirked at him as she placed the kitten in her box. "You can hang on for a few more minutes," she told him as Spooky settled down in her bed beneath Johanna's palm. "There, now you're not alone and you can sleep now," she murmured to her. "That storm isn't going to get you, you're safe."

"I wish I was getting consoled," Jim commented as he watched the kitten fall asleep as she rubbed its small head.

"I think I consoled you earlier," she said as she rose from the floor and made her way back to the bed.

He smiled. "That doesn't mean I can't have more consolation. You forgot to take your clothes back off."

"No, I didn't…I'm keeping them on."

"Why?"

"Because I'm cold…and tired."

"I could warm you up," he replied.

"Feel free to do so in ways that don't involve me taking my clothes off," she remarked as she pulled the covers up over her.

"But I thought we were making up from our fight."

"We did…it wasn't that bad of a fight," Johanna commented as she settled on her side.

He smiled as he moved closer to her, his hand falling against her hip. "We could pretend it was worse than it was."

"I don't think we want to do that," Johanna replied. "You're lucky you got what you did."

"I thought you said it wasn't that bad of a fight?"

"It wasn't," she laughed. "I didn't mean it that way. I meant it in the 'I'm tired' way."

"Alright, be that way," Jim said with a dramatic sigh, a smile tugging at his lips telling her that he was only teasing her.

She pressed a kiss against his lips, her fingertips brushing against his chest as she settled against him and closed her eyes.

"Did you turn the alarm off?" Jim asked, drawing her attention back to him.

"Yes," she answered quietly as she tried to focus on the sound of the rain against the window so that it could lull her to sleep.

"I know we have to go to the store tomorrow to get some more things for the kitten, but is there anything else we need to do before you go to your festival?" her husband asked.

She sighed softly, clearly he didn't want her to sleep yet. "No, not that I know of…do you have anything that needs done?"

"No, not that I can think of. We don't have anything to pick up? No dry cleaning or anything."

"No…is there something on your mind that you want to do tomorrow after we go to the store?" she asked as she shifted so that she could see his face better.

"No…I just like knowing what the plan is."

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me to the harvest festival tomorrow?" Johanna asked, thinking that maybe she had been hasty with her plans…maybe he wanted to spend the day with her instead of going to watch his game.

Jim scoffed. "Yeah, I think I'm sure that I don't want to follow you, Sharon and Maggie around as you look at things I couldn't possibly care less about. Harvest Festival doesn't exactly sound like my idea of a good time."

She gave him an amused glare. "You don't have to be mean. There will be games and entertainment, food, all sorts of things there, you might like it."

"No, thanks. I'd rather go watch the game and play pool."

"Try to win this time instead of bringing shame upon our name," she quipped.

Jim laughed. "Now who's being mean?"

"Turn about is fair play," she giggled as he tweaked her side.

"Well I can't have you thinking badly about my skill so rest assured, tomorrow I will win while you're looking at a bunch of overpriced craft pieces."

"We'll see," Johanna replied. "I told you, there is going to be more than just craft vendors. It's kind of like a fair, some rides, games, food…they're even going to have a fortune teller."

"I don't believe in that claptrap…do you?"

She shrugged. "No, not really…if one guessed a few things right without subtle digging for the information I probably would believe more. It's just supposed to be for fun."

"Just the same, I think you should stay away from the fortune teller."

"Why?"

"Because our luck she'll say something that will keep you up at night and you'll worry for weeks until I convince you that it's a bunch of nonsense."

"I would not!"

Jim gave her an indulgent smile. "Babe, I know you…one bad fortune and you'll be upset for a week."

"I will not! Fortune tellers aren't going to say anything that bad when they're only there for entertainment. Besides, I don't believe in it anyway."

"Good, but just the same, stay out of the fortune teller booth."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Just because you married me doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do."

Jim met her glare as the thunder rumbled once more as the lightning flashed. "Why not, you tell me what to do."

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do!"

"When did I tell you what to do?" Johanna asked.

"Tonight; you told me to go get food for the kitten…after I told you that we couldn't keep her."

"Funny how your example includes another example of you telling me what to do," she remarked.

"It still stands."

"For the record, asking you to go to the store isn't telling you what to do…it's asking you to run an errand."

"Sounds like a bunch of double talk to me."

"Is it?" she asked. "I also asked you to pick up dinner the first time you went out this evening and you didn't…you told me to cook."

"But I went and got dinner anyway."

"Yeah, after I already said I'd make dinner and had it under way."

"You still got your way," Jim remarked. "You got the cat and you got dinner brought home to you. You always get your way."

"And you got yours when I let you take my clothes off!" she exclaimed.

"That's different."

"How do you figure?"

"That was making up from our discord," he replied. "That doesn't count as getting my own way."

"Talk about double talk," Johanna scoffed.

"I think you're just in the mood to fight tonight," Jim remarked. "You've been spoiling for one all evening."

"I have not; you're the one that's been starting it."

"How do you figure?"

"By telling me what to do! You're not going to tell me what to do just because you married me."

"I'm not trying to control you! I said I was sorry about the dinner thing…but come on, Johanna; you tell me what to do too."

"I'm still waiting on examples of that besides asking you to go to the store and pick up some takeout."

"Just yesterday you were telling me not to throw my clothes on the chair," he retorted.

Johanna gave a short laugh. "Well take me out and have me beaten for saying that your dirty clothes go in the clothes hamper in the bathroom and not on the chair in our bedroom. How dare I?"

"Hey, I just figure if you're going to lecture, you should practice what you preach…after all, that's your pile of shoes by the door where you kick them off…they should be in the closet…but no, we have a little pile of high heels in the living room until you put them away over the weekend."

"At least I know how to clean out my pockets before throwing my clothes in the laundry basket," she shot back. "It's always your pockets I'm cleaning out."

"Speaking of that, I'm pretty sure I had five dollars in one of those pockets last week, what did you do with it?"

"I bought myself a sandwich with it for lunch the other day," she answered.

"Why!"

She shrugged. "I thought you left it there as my tip for laundry service…since I had previously asked you several times before to empty your pockets before laundry day."

"There's no tip for laundry service, you're my wife, that's your job!"

"See, it's comments like that that make it necessary for me to keep what I find in your pockets," Johanna remarked.

"Since we're on the topic of cleaning things out, why don't you clean out your purse once in awhile so you don't have to spend so much time complaining about never being able to find what's in it. Maybe if you got rid of half that junk, you'd know where your keys were and I wouldn't have Sally interrupting my meeting to get my keys for you."

"My keys weren't even in my purse that day!" she snapped. "I had left them home on the counter, but don't worry, next time I'll walk home."

"Yeah, and what are you going to do when you get here with no keys?"

"I'll go to the neighbor's and call my mother to bring me the key she has. I don't need you to let me in."

"Good, then don't interrupt my meeting again, call your mother and let her take care of your problems," Jim replied.

"Oh believe me, I'll never bother you again," Johanna retorted as she threw back the covers.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to stop bothering you and go sleep on the couch," she said as she bent down to pick up the box that the kitten was sleeping in.

"Why are you taking the cat?"

"Because Spooky goes with me! You don't even like her," she replied. "If I leave her in here with you, you'll probably take her and get rid of her in the middle of the night."

"If I didn't like her I wouldn't have brought her back to you!"

"If you really liked her you wouldn't have brought up that I got my way with her. I'm taking Spooky with me."

"Fine; you can have custody of the cat…I don't want anyone thinking I gave her that dumb name."

"And just what would you have named her?" Johanna asked. "Oh wait, you wouldn't have named her anything because if it was up to you, she'd be out there on the sidewalk in this storm."

"I would've named her Blacky," he remarked. "At least that would work year round."

"Blacky?' she asked. "You want to criticize my choice and yet all you can come up with is Blacky? What would you name her if she was orange? Orangey?"

"What would you name her? Pumpkin to suit the season?" he shot back.

"It would be better than your color based names; but don't worry she's going with me; we don't want to bother you," she said sarcastically.

"Good, you take the cat and maybe I can have more than a corner of the blanket tonight."

"Enjoy it…and tomorrow, I'll enjoy my day without you."

"That's mutual," Jim replied. "In fact I'm really looking forward to it!"

"So am I!" she yelled before sweeping out of the room.

Johanna retreated to the living room, setting Spooky's box down between the couch and the coffee table. She clicked on the TV and grabbed the soft blanket from the back of the couch before she settled down, an irrational surge of emotion tugging at her. She didn't know why they were bickering over petty things but she didn't like it. Oh she knew it wasn't the first time that they had petty arguments…but this was the first time since they had gotten married. Did this mean that the honeymoon was over? It had only been two months…weren't they supposed to stay in their newlywed bubble a little longer? She had hoped they'd stay in it for a good while…and yet they were yelling at each other and saying they'd be glad to get away from each other the next day. She frowned in the glow of the TV…that probably wasn't a good sign.

She breathed deeply and raked her hand through her hair; it had been a long week. Her caseload was a little heavier than usual…Sharon had been out sick at the beginning of the week, leaving all of the office for her to run on her own. She had managed but it hadn't been easy…court appearances had ranged from easy to handle to unnecessarily prolonged and difficult. Preston Myers was hounding her and she didn't really understand why…and her husband didn't seem to care when she mentioned it…although she didn't know what she expected him to do about it. It wasn't like she wanted him to tell him off or anything…but maybe she had been looking for a little bit of moral support…and hadn't exactly got it. He had his own work problems though, he couldn't care about all of hers; she did her best to care about his but she could admit that some the smaller ones probably slipped by her at times. They were both tired, aggravated…and she figured she had made things worse when she had rescued Spooky from the sidewalk…and when she hadn't wanted to make dinner.

Johanna sighed softly; she didn't regret scooping up Spooky and taking her in…but she should've just cooked dinner…should've just been quieter this evening…shouldn't have been so defensive about her independence; but after that debacle about dinner, she figured it was only natural that she be more sensitive to him telling her what to do. She'd have to try harder to get over that, she figured.

Johanna closed her eyes and forced herself to concentrate on the sound of the TV and the raindrops pelting the glass of the window. Soon sleepiness was pulling her under, the sound of the TV growing distant…but then the sensation of something settling onto the couch with her jerked her awake, making her flinch as her eyes opened and found Jim squeezing onto the couch with her. "What are you doing?" she asked sleepily.

"I missed you," he murmured, his arm going around her.

"I thought you'd be enjoying having the bed to yourself."

"It only lasted a few minutes," he admitted. "I missed you. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I don't know what's wrong with me today."

"Stress," he replied. "I think we both have it in spades this week and we start to take it out on each other."

"I was thinking maybe it was a sign that our honeymoon was over," she murmured.

"No," he said as he pressed a kiss against her hair. "We just had a rough week, it's going to be alright."

"I hate when we fight about stupid things."

"Me too…but maybe it's just how we blow off steam."

"I thought we used sex for that."

"Well, sweetheart, I tried but you wouldn't take your clothes back off," Jim said lightly.

She gave a soft short laugh. "Believe me, I'm sorry I didn't."

"Bring Spooky and come back to bed."

She was quiet for a moment. "I can try to find her a home if you don't want me to keep her."

"No, I said we'd try to keep her and I meant it. I don't have anything against her…I did let her climb onto my lap in the car."

She smiled. "Did you?"

"Yeah."

"What made you change your mind about her?"

"I don't know…she looked so pitiful and she's got those green eyes…they reminded me of you…and I thought it wouldn't hurt to try and keep her. I was afraid someone would break in the car and take her when I stopped to get food so I put her in my jacket pocket and took her in the restaurant with me…praying she'd stay in there and she did. It was loud in there so I think it scared her. She got back on my lap in the car."

Johanna smiled. "She's very loveable."

"She is…so we'll try to keep her. I can't promise it'll work out but we'll try."

"That's all I ask."

"Come back to bed," Jim said as he patted her hip.

Johanna nodded and they rose from the sofa, Jim picking up Spooky's box to take with them.

"I can change her name," Johanna said as they made their way back to the bedroom.

"No, Spooky seems to suit her. I didn't mean it when I said it was dumb…I was just being an ass."

"I'm sorry I was being overly sensitive."

"Don't worry about it," he told her as he put the kitten's box back where it had been under her vanity.

"Is she still sleeping?"

Jim nodded. "She's asleep."

Johanna settled into bed and waited for him to join her. When he was settled in next to her, she caressed the line of his jaw before capturing his lips in a long lingering kiss. He drew her closer, his hand moving along her side slowly as she initiated another kiss. "What's this all about?" he murmured lightly in between kisses.

She smiled. "We had another fight…I figure we better make up."

"I thought you were tired."

She shrugged a shoulder. "I'd rather make up before going to sleep…after all, I can always sleep in tomorrow…and I don't sleep well when we've been mad at each other…so…I figure I'd much rather make up now and sleep later."

Jim smiled. "I'm so glad I married you, I love how your mind works."

"Remember that the next time you're mad at me."

"I'm always glad to have married you," he remarked, his lips skimming against her neck.

"That's not the part of the statement I meant but we'll go with it anyway," Johanna quipped. "When you're in a bar with your buddies tomorrow, remember how glad you are to be married…I don't want any bar room bimbos looking appealing to you."

"You don't have to worry; I gave up bimbos a long time ago."

She laughed. "You better have."

"You have my word of honor…and despite what I said earlier, I will miss you tomorrow."

Johanna looked at him in amusement as his hand slipped beneath her pajama top. "You won't…but it's okay…they do say absence makes the heart grow fonder."

He smiled. "Make sure you get extra fond of me tomorrow during your girl's day."

"You have my word…now let's get back to making up and let tomorrow take care of itself."

"Sounds like a good plan," Jim replied. They'd make up, spend some time apart tomorrow, come back together and move on with less stress…at least he hoped; but surely after a day of unwinding with friends, everything would be fine. What could possibly go wrong?