A/N: To Gracie & PCGirl - you don't know it, but you gave me an idea for this chapter a long time ago. Livvie needed something to do in my story, so I gave her a career.Thanks girls!

And thanks to everyone for reading. Until 42...and only a few more chapter left :(

Chapter 41

Katrina, dressed from head to toe in her cowgirl costume, watched Gabe as he sat in his bouncy seat, drooling away.

"Mommy, how come Gabe can't come trick-or-treating with us?"

"Because he's just a baby."

"But he can still come with us and wear a costume!"

"True, but it would be kind of hard for him to eat all of that candy without any teeth."

Katrina laughed. "Oh yeah! Poor Gabe! He's got no teeth!"

"Sweetie, are you all set to go? Aunt Livvie and Charlotte will be here any minute."

"Yeah."

"Are you bringing your little horse?"

"Oh! I forgot! He's in my room!"

"You better go get him then!"

Katrina raced up the stairs.

A few moments later, the doorbell rang. Alison went over to answer it.

"Trick or treat!" Charlotte said happily.

Alison laughed. "Look at you, Charlotte! Aren't you the cutest little cheerleader?"

"I'm gonna be a cheerleader when I grow up!" she proudly told her.

"Well alright!" Alison laughed. "Hey, Livvie."

"Hey."

Charlotte tugged on Alison's shirt excitedly. "Look, Auntie Alison, I got pom-poms!" She shook her pom-poms proudly.

"Well those are really cool!"

"Jack has some buddies that photograph the local high school games for the newspaper, so he's been on this Friday night football kick for a while. Well he took Charlotte to a game two weeks ago and she's been obsessed with being a cheerleader ever since."

"That's cute. How did you get the costume? Looks just like the PC High uniforms."

"Serena's got this friend and her mother is the coach for the team. She had this little miniature outfit that some elementary kid wore. She gave it to me and we sized it down to fit her. I made her wear pants with it though. She and I fought about that for a good fifteen minutes, but it's too cold for a skirt I think."

"Hey, Charlotte, are you going to show me a cheer?"

Charlotte suddenly became shy, shaking her head no and hiding behind her mother.

"Oh come on, Charlotte! Do a little cheer and dance for Auntie Alison." Livvie took one of her pom-poms and gave it a shake. "Gooo PC High!"

"Go PC High," Charlotte said softly.

Livvie laughed. "I can't believe she's being shy now. She did this whole routine at home, I swear."

"Giddy up, horsy!" Katrina shouted, running down the stairs with her stick horse in hand.

Rafe followed behind. "Katrina, no running."

"Trick or treat!" Charlotte shouted.

"Ooo, you're a cheerleader! Look at me! I'm a cowgirl!"

"I love your costume, Katrina," Livvie said.

"Thanks. Can we go trick-or-treating now, Daddy?"

"I'll get my coat and we'll go."

Charlotte jumped up and down. "Yay! Time for candy!"

"Rafe, thanks for taking Charlotte with you. Jack would do it but he's still out a town for that photo shoot."

"I don't mind. I'm sure the girls will have fun together, and I'll keep an eye on her."

"Oh we got to get a picture first!" Alison scrambled to find where she had set down the camera. She found it on the table. "Okay, girls, stand beside each other so I can get a picture.

Katrina and Charlotte posed for the camera, always one for having their picture taken.

"Okay girls, say Happy Halloween!"

"Happy Halloween!"

"Alright girls, you're free to go."

Livvie kneeled down, buttoning Charlotte's sweater. "Charlotte, you be a good girl, okay? And keep this sweater on."

"Okay, Mama."

"Come on, Charlotte! Let's go!" Katrina grabbed Charlotte's hand, leading her out the door.

"Bye, have fun!" Alison said, waving at them.

"Bye, Mommy!" Katrina gave her mother a wave, then ran to catch up with her father.

xxxxxxxxxx

As they walked down the sidewalk, Rafe was soon realizing just how many kids lived in this neighborhood. Groups and groups of kids dressed as witches and goblins and ghastly monsters with bags of candy made their way from house to house.

"Ooo! I got a Reese's Cup!" Katrina showed Charlotte her chocolate.

"I got M & Ms!"

"ARRRR! I'M A PIRATE! GIVE ME ALL YER CANDY! ARRR!"

"AHH!" Charlotte shrieked, then ran behind Rafe to hide.

Katrina just rolled with laugher. "It's just Danny!"

"Daniel, don't scare Charlotte like that anymore," Ian scolded.

"But, Dad! It's Halloween! It's supposed to be scary!"

"Nice costume, Ian," Rafe laughed, commenting on the skeleton outfit Ian wore.

"Well at least I dressed up as something. What are you supposed to be? Man in a coat?"

"No, I thought it would be obvious." Rafe revealed a stake in his coat pocket. "I came as a vampire slayer."

Ian chuckled. "How original. And lazy."

"Daddy, let's go!" Katrina begged, wanting to get on with the trick or treating.

"Have you been there yet?" Danny asked, pointing to a house on the corner.

"No."

"You should! The girl there gives you extra candy if you ask for it!"

"Look how much candy I got!" Charlotte showed Danny her bucket.

"Oh that's nothing. Look how much I got!"

"I'm going to get more than both of you!" Katrina challenged.

"No way! Pirates get the most candy."

"Well my daddy says I have a sweet tooth like my mommy so I'm going to get TONS of sweets!"

Rafe and Ian exchanged glances. Yep, it was definitely Halloween, and the kids would no doubt be talking about candy for weeks afterward.

"Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!" Danny sang.

Katrina and Charlotte laughed.

"Sing that again, Danny!" Katrina laughed.

"Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!" they all sang.

"Let's sing that at the next house!" Danny suggested.

"Daniel. Zip it," Ian said firmly. "None of that or we can march straight back home with no candy."

"Trick or treat, smell my feet!" Charlotte sang, rolling with laugher.

"Charlotte, you can't sing it anymore or we won't get candy!" Katrina told her.

Charlotte continued to laugh, revealing a mouth full of chocolate.

"Charlotte's already eating her candy!"

"Nu-uh."

Rafe kneeled down to her level, taking a good look at the child. "Charlotte, are you trying to get me in trouble with your mother?"

Charlotte just laughed.

"I'm just going to hold your bucket for you. You can eat your candy later."

xxxxxx

"Sorry about that," Alison said as she walked down the stairs with the baby. "I had a feeling it was time for his diaper change."

"Well now he's all fresh and clean."

"You want to hold him?"

Livvie smiled. "Sure. Hi there, little guy," she said, taking the baby into her arms.

"So...have you and Jack decided to find out what you're having?"

"Yeah, I think we will. Dr. Meadows says we'll do an ultrasound next time."

"So what do you want?" Alison asked with a smile.

"Oh a girl, definitely! Jack's all the testosterone our house needs. I don't know if I can handle anymore."

Alison laughed.

"And personally, I just don't want to have to buy all new baby clothes. If it's a girl, then she can just get all of Charlotte's hand-me-downs, you know?"

"What about Jack? What does he want?"

"Jack wants a boy. He hasn't said it, but I know. I get the feeling he wants someone to toss around a football with."

"So you want a girl and Jack wants a boy. Maybe you'll end up with both of them. Maybe the ultrasound will reveal that you're having twins."

Livvie's eyes grew wide and her face turned pale. "Oh god! Don't scare me like that! I hadn't even thought of the possibility! And twins run in my family!"

Alison laughed. "Relax. I'm just teasing. I'm sure if you were having twins, Dr. Meadows would have detected two heartbeats by now."

"I'm worried about dealing with one. I don't think I could handle two."

"I think twins would be fun."

"Well if this turns out to be twins, then I'll make damn sure it doesn't happen again."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'll make Jack get a vasectomy, that's how."

"That's a bit extreme, Livvie! I'm not so sure he would go for that!"

"Oh he would. I'd make him. I might have to drag him in kicking and screaming but he'd do it. In fact, twins or no twins, maybe that's a good idea anyway."

"Livvie!"

Livvie just grinned at her, and Alison couldn't tell if she was only joking or if she was actually serious.

"So, when are you going back to work full time?" Livvie asked, changing the subject as she placed the baby in his bouncy seat.

"Not sure. I've really started to like just staying at home with him. I kind of like the stay at home mom thing."

"Oh, not me. I need "me" time. I feel like I'm watching Blue's Clues and Sesame Street all freaking day And Charlotte is finally getting tired of Barney but now that the new baby is on its way, I'm sure I'll have to endure another three years of it."

"You should get out of the house more. Get a sitter for the kids and go out and do something. Jack's got his photography thing, so why shouldn't you do something you enjoy?"

"Actually, I have been thinking of something."

"What's that?"

"Well, remember a few years ago I was taking pre-med classes at PCU?"

"Oh my god! Livvie! Are you thinking about going back to school to be a doctor?"

Livvie grinned. "Maybe."

"I think that's great! You should do it!"

"I was thinking about it last night. I don't know if I necessarily want to go back to pre-med, but I was thinking about checking out the nursing program. And some of the courses I've taken before will count as credit."

"I think you would make a great nurse, Livvie."

"Thanks. Maybe I could get a job as like a school nurse or something. That way I wouldn't have to work so many hours. And then I'd be home in time to feed Jack."

Alison laughed. "Jack would appreciate that. I don't think he would like it too much if you were working the late shift at the hospital and he had to feed himself."

"We're already on a first name basis with the pizza delivery guy. I don't need to know the Chinese delivery man as well."

Just then, the front door opened and two very excited little girls ran in, with Rafe trailing behind.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look at all of my candy!" Katrina opened her bag and showed her mother all of the treats inside.

"Ooo! You got a lot!"

"Me too! Me too!" Charlotte said, holding up her bucket in front of her mother. "See Mama?"

"It looks like you girls had a fun time! Let me see your chocolate, Charlotte." Livvie took the bucket and began rifling through the candy. Of course, she was checking it to make sure it was safe, but she really wanted a piece of chocolate too. "Can Mommy have a piece too?"

"Yeah. You can have a piece, Mama."

Livvie smiled and gave her girl a kiss. "Thanks, Charlotte."

"Mommy, can I eat this one?" Katrina begged.

Alison took the candy and inspected it. "Sure, this looks safe. Go ahead."

"Hey, angel." Rafe walked over to Alison and kissed her.

"Hey."

"Did you two have a relaxing evening?"

"Yes, we did. The baby was well-behaved and we only had a few trick-or-treaters."

"Thanks again for taking Charlotte along, Rafe," Livvie said. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"No, not at all. But I'd watch her with the candy."

"Yes, and she's already making a mess. Charlotte, you've got chocolate all over your sweater. How did you do that?"

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

"Well, we better go home. It's getting late. Say goodbye to Katrina, Charlotte."

"Bye, Katrina."

Alison walked Livvie to the door as she gathered her coat and her purse.

"See you later," she said.

"Bye, Livvie. Bye Charlotte."

"Bye-bye!" Charlotte waved happily.

Alison closed the door behind them, then turned to Katrina. She was already digging into her bucket for more candy. "You know what, sweetie? I think that's enough candy for tonight. Too much sugar and you'll never get to sleep. You better let me check this first anyway."

"It's safe, Mommy! Who would poison me?" Katrina asked.

"You better let me check it. Just in case. You can have some tomorrow."

Rafe looked at the time. "Well, and it's getting late anyway. I think it's about time for little girls to get to bed."

"Oh, no daddy!" Katrina begged. "I'm not sleepy! Can't I stay up late tonight, Daddy? It's Halloween!"

"You did get to stay up late. You were trick-or-treating. And now it's time for you to go to bed. Go upstairs and brush your teeth."

"But I don't have school tomorrow!" she persisted.

"Katrina. Upstairs," he warned with a firm tone.

Katrina knew there was no point in arguing. Daddy meant business when he spoke that way. "Come on, Tiger," she said, picking the sleeping cat out from under the table, causing him to meow in protest for being disturbed.

"I'll come upstairs in a little while to tuck you in, sweetie," Alison called out to her as she headed up the stairs.

Rafe took a seat on the couch beside her. Gabe, sitting quietly in his bouncy seat, looked over to his father. Rafe reached over and picked him up.

"Look at this," Alison said, holding up a piece of taffy. "This sticks in her teeth so bad. It's going in the trash. She already had one cavity. She doesn't need another."

"You know, I'll never understand Halloween. You tell your children from the time they can walk to never take candy from strangers, and then what do they do on Halloween? Take candy from strangers."

Alison laughed. "Katrina wanted Gabe to go trick-or-treating with you."

Rafe smiled, holding up the baby as he gave his father a toothless grin. "Not for a few more years, buddy," he said with a laugh.