Once the opening credits started across the screen he sat back, placed the bowl of candy in his lap, and this time he didn't bother the back of the couch, he placed his arm around Sara's shoulders instead.

By the end of her movie Sara had wished that she had let Nick put another one in first. With all the stop/starts they had to use to appease the mass of children that marched up to Nick's door it had taken them a full forty minutes extra to watch the movie. She hadn't been able to get into the plot; it was hard to do when you had to pause in the middle of all the scary parts… Nick sure did have a lot of neighbouring kids.

Now they were halfway through IT. They had decided to save Saw for last so that the trick-or-treaters wouldn't ruin the flow, and since Nick said it was the scarier of the two he thought it'd serve best at the later hour. They actually hadn't been interrupted in a while so she figured that it'd be safe to turn off the porch light and lock the door soon. Anyone out much later wasn't going to be within the age bracket the holiday was created for.

"I hate clowns," Sara said as Pennywise flooded the screen again. She shuttered involuntarily.

Nick looked over at her amused, "You're afraid of clowns?"

"Did I say afraid? No. I hate them. There's a difference," she warned, making it quite clear she was no coward. "They're… just so… creepy. I haven't been able to look at them the same since that case Catherine and I did a while back. Was the guy's name Doodles?"

Nick shrugged. "Wasn't his only crime sleeping with that woman?"

Sara attempted to remember all the details, "I guess, but he was still an all-around sketchy character. He opened up a whole knew perspective on the world of clowns. If nothing else, he scarred me for life."

"You could have vetoed this movie too…" Nick said.

"Nah, it Halloween, the reason we're watching these movies is to be scared or creeped out," Sara reasoned glancing back at the screen. As the red-haired, white-faced demon once more swooped into the shot Sara flinched.

"Don't worry Sar, I'll protect you from the scary clown," he smiled, pulling her closer to his body so there was no space left between them.

"My hero," she laughed. And after a pause she added, "But he's not scary. He's creepy." Nick was pleasantly surprised and very relieved when she didn't protest his move to pull her closer. In fact she seemed to welcome it and dropped her head to his shoulder. At this point Sara had lost her glasses and most of the items from her pockets were on the "storage loveseat." She kept her lab coat on, mostly just for the extra warmth it provided when she opened the door to the children and the chilly night. The only difference in Nick's appearance was that he had flipped his hat backwards because the bill had been annoying him. A small tuft of hair stuck out adorably from the gap in the hat above the adjustment strap. The simple switch would have made him look younger if it wasn't for his thick mustache.

She adjusted her head position a couple of times, turning her body this way and that to fix the awkward angle, but couldn't get it to sit right. She lifted her head and looked down at his shoulder, clearly annoyed with it. She found the source of her discomfort: the strap of his overalls was twisted. It's true that she could have just untwisted it, but she couldn't be bothered. Instead she reached down to his chest and unhooked the strap and tugged it off his shoulder. Nick watched her with an amused smile. "What's the compromise about this time?"

"Your mustache." Sara answered easily. "I want it gone now; you want it gone later; so off come the pants." She settled her head back against his shoulder, finally finding the perfect spot.

"Makes sense," he laughed. "I'd call your bluff, but that means I'd have to stand up and it's not worth it right now." Nick caught her eye and held her gaze for half a minute before she bit her lip, offered a nervous smile and looked away. Two pairs of eyes returned to the Stephen King thriller, but each mind was somewhere else.

They were nearing the end, right around the part when the adult versions of the character were in the sewers facing off against the giant spider, when the doorbell rang for the last time. With a groan, Nick paused the movie and waited for Sara to shift off of him so he could stand up. "You gonna come see this last batch?" he turned to her. She nodded and he extended his hands to help her up. He didn't release it, even when she was on her feet. The swinging strap of his unhooked overalls collided with his butt and the back of his legs as he moved but he didn't bother to fix it; he did, however, put his cap back on the proper way. The pair lazily strolled to the door, grabbing the candy bowl along the way, and smiled at the teenagers on the other side.

The teenagers were definitely outside the age bracket, probably seventeen or eighteen years old, but what they lacked in innocence they made up for with creativity. The pack consisted of two girls and four boys, and the only predictable costume was the girl who dressed up like Cat Woman – only a slight variation from a "kitty" by wearing a tight leather bustier instead of regular lingerie (probably for that extra bit of warmth) and carried a little whip. She had given a saucy "me-oww," when Nick had opened the door to them, which hadn't impressed Sara too much. In response to the lewd call Nick dropped Sara's hand and wrapped his arm firmly around her waist, bringing a bashful smile to Sara's face and a frown to Cat Woman's.

The other girl at the door was teamed up with one of the boys as a plug and socket set; the girl being the socket. Finally, out of the remaining guys, there was a fully decked out Jack Sparrow, the Swedish Chef from the Muppets, and Frank the bunny from Donnie Darko. Nick and Sara were so impressed that they gladly handed over a large scoop of candy to each kid. "Thanks very much," Jack said to Sara with a wink as the bunch turned to leave. This was followed by the Swedish Chef's trademark babble as they walked down the path to the driveway and out of sight.

Nick shut the door behind them with a deep chuckle. "That's what Halloween costumes should look like," he stated with a grin, to which Sara nodded her agreement. As he locked the door, Sara pulled out of his grip and moved over to the light-switch and turned off the outside light so people knew they were done handing out the candy. She then headed towards the kitchen, promising to bring Nick back a beer from the fridge along with one of her own. Nick carried the last bowl of treats, which was almost gone due to the amount they had rewarded the teenagers with, over to the couch and mixed it in with the one they had been snacking on. That gave them a little more than half a bowl, which neither one had much interest in anymore. Nick slunk back onto the couch. He took off his hat and tossed it Frisbee-style to the loveseat, leaving his hair in a twisted mess stuck to his head. He slumped down, propping his feet on the table in front of him and tilting his head back, waiting patiently for Sara's return to cue up the movie.

As she strolled in she switched her load so that she carried two beers in one hand and affectionately tussled Nick's hair so it was sticking up all over the place. He gave her a warm smile and accepted the beer she offered with a small "Thank you," not really having the energy or the heart to think up something wittier. Once Sara had settled herself back on the couch, leaning casually against Nick with her legs tucked beneath her and the candy bowl balancing between both their bodies, he resumed the film.

A/N: Thanks to everyone for the kind wishes of luck for my midterm; I'm not sure that they saved me, but they were very much appreciated. Hope you like this chapter. As always, let me know, even if you hate it.