I was thinking one day and realized that Sage and Megan hadn't yet met Jack, so I thought it would be a perfect time for it. :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. The Nightmare Before Christmas belongs to Disney. Sage belongs to Steelcode. Summer and Forrest belong to VinnieStokerLover. I only own Rachel, Sasha, Megan, Vampiro, and Courtney.

A New Uncle For Christmas

Rachel stoked the fire in the living room and smiled as the logs lit and the fire began to warm up the room. "Alright, fireplace going, decorations ready. What am I missing?" She asked.

"A nephew taking a nap in front of the fire," said a voice and she turned to smile as Sage came in, looking a bit tired.

"Long day at school today?" She asked.

He nodded. "But I got most of my finals back and passed them," he said. "A plus."

"Good job," she said, still smiling. "You'll no doubt make the dean's list again."

"Maybe. I'm a bit nervous about the final I took today," the boy admitted. "But I'm pretty sure I did good on it."

"I'm sure you did," Rachel soothed, hugging him. "You're a smart young man, Sage. I bet you got an A on it."

He nodded. "I'll know next week," he said before looking at bit tired.

His aunt smiled again. "Why don't you take a nap? I believe you've earned it."

Transforming to his wolf form, Sage settled down in front of the fire and fell asleep in about five seconds, making the older woman smile. She saw her sister come in and she looked worried about her son. "How's he doing?" She asked.

"I think he's mostly tired from finals week," Rachel said. "He's been studying hard since last week and just took the last final today."

Sasha nodded, kneeling down and gently stroking her son's ears and he sighed softly in his sleep. "Sweet dreams, sweetie," she said softly as she stood up and followed her sister out of the room.

Megan was playing in the play room before she decided to try and find her brother or one of her cousins to play a video game with her when she heard a scratching noise coming from the roof. Curious, she walked down the hallway and into one of the new rooms that Eatle, Jury Rigg, and Grey Matter had just completed a few days ago and the scratching noise came from the chimney. She moved closer. "Uncle Ghostfreak, is that you?" She asked, but got no response. "Uncle Big Chill? Uncle Rojo?"

She still didn't get a response. "Anyone?" She now asked, looking around.

"Hee-hee-hee!" She heard and gasped, whirling around to see a tall figure come out of the chimney and he was wearing a red suit with black boots and had a long white beard with a red and white hat. Her first thought was that it was Santa Claus, but it wasn't yet Christmas and she had never known Santa to be so thin. She looked up and saw his grinning face.

"Why, hello, little one!" He said with a cackle. "I believe I have a present with your name on it in my bag."

Megan backed up, not sure about this person. "Um...that's okay...um, Santa," she said softly. "I...I don't really want anything."

"But I insist!" He said, grinning wider.

The little girl decided now was a good time to run and she turned and ran, letting out the scream that had been stuck in her throat. "MOMMY! DADDY! BIG BROTHER! AUNTIE!" She screamed out.

Sage leapt to his feet in an instant, his sister's scream and cry instantly awakening him and he ran out of the living room and up the stairs where he heard the scream come from and found Megan running towards him. "SAGE!" She said in relief, running up to him and hugging him, beginning to cry. "There's a really weird Santa after me! He's really scary!"

"Why, thank you!" Came a voice and Megan screamed and clung to Sage as the strange being came into view.

The wolf growled, his hackles raised as he made himself bigger and put himself between his sister and this stranger. The being looked at him with curiosity before his eyesockets widened. "My good friend, are you a Skinwalker?" He asked in surprise. "I didn't know there was one in this family."

Sage was wondering how he knew that and so transformed, going into a defensive stance with his little sister behind him. "How do you know what I am?" He asked, his tone defensive.

"Guys? What's going on?" Came a voice and they all turned to see Courtney, their cousin, standing in the hallway. "I heard Megan scream."

The thin Santa smiled. "Ah, Courtney," he said. "I know for certain you've been good this year."

She blinked before her eyes widened. "Uncle Jack?" She asked in surprise.

Forrest and Summer, who were behind her, came out and gasped at seeing the skeleton there. "Uncle Jack!" Summer squealed happily, running towards him, Forrest echoing her cry as he also began running to the skeleton.

The skeleton chuckled and scooped up the two younger children in his arms. "You still recognize me even in my Sandy suit?" He asked.

Summer giggled. "Of course!" She said happily. "You're our uncle after all."

Courtney giggled and came forward, hugging the skeleton, who hugged her too.

Sage and Megan looked at their cousins curiously, seeing that they seemed to know the skeleton. "Kids? Is everything okay?" They heard and turned to find Rachel and Sasha coming up the stairs.

"Mommy!" Megan cried out, running to her mother and clinging to her, looking afraid still while Sage still felt a little defensive.

Seeing this, Rachel looked to see what was causing the tension and she gasped in surprise. "Jack!" She exclaimed with a smile, going up to him and hugging him. "What are you up to, old friend?"

"I just wanted to drop by and visit you all," he said with a smile.

"Well, I'm glad you did," the young woman said. "Sasha and I were discussing who to invite for Christmas and you and your family are on that list."

Jack smiled. "We'd be happy to come," he said.

"Yay!" Summer cheered.

Sasha smiled and saw her son and daughter were still unsure about the skeleton and she chuckled. "It's okay, kids," she said gently.

Jack turned to them and his smile fell a little at seeing the little girl was crying a bit. "Oh, little one," he said softly, setting down Summer and Forrest before going up to Sasha, who smiled and nodded.

"Go ahead," she said softly.

The skeleton reached forward and gently tickled Megan's sides, making her giggle and let go of her mother before he scooped her up, holding her in a hug. She gasped at that, but then saw his face soften. "I'm sorry, young one. I didn't mean to scare you to the point that you were in tears," he said gently.

She looked up at him before looking at her mother, who smiled gently. "His name is Jack Skellington and he's the Pumpkin King," she explained. "And he's a dear friend and part of our family."

"She's right," Rachel said. "Jack saved me from a fire when I was about Summer's age."

"And while he may look a bit scary, he's really gentle," Sasha said. "You kids don't have to be afraid of him."

Sage moved closer, feeling a bit braver. "How did you know I was a Skinwalker?" He asked again.

The skeleton smiled. "Being the Pumpkin King, I have to know all about any kind of monster or legend in both my realm and Earth," he said. "Though, you seem so young. Too young to be without your parents."

The boy flinched and Jack looked worried. "Is everything alright?" He asked.

Sasha gently hugged Sage. "He...He lost his birth mom a long time ago and his birth father...is one of our enemies," she said to the skeleton.

The Pumpkin King felt horrible for what he had said. "Do forgive me, young one," he said apologetically.

Sage nodded. "It's okay. And actually...I do have parents," he said softly before gesturing to Sasha. "This is my mom."

Jack perked up before looking at the child in his arms. "So you two are Megan and Sage," he said, smiling.

"How do you know our names?" Megan asked curiously.

"Why, from your grandfather, Vampiro," the skeleton said. "On his recent mission, he stopped by and told me that he couldn't wait to get back to see his sons, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. I grew intrigued and that was when he told me that he lived here at the Grant Mansion."

Courtney smiled when she heard that and looked at her cousins. "Watch out," she said with a grin. "He's a tickle monster."

Rachel and Sasha chuckled as Jack looked at her with a playful look and clicked his tongue in playful disapproval. "Spoiling the surprise, are you?" He asked. "That's very naughty."

She giggled, knowing by his tone that he was playing. "It's the truth," she said before grinning. "Bone daddy."

The two older women burst into laughter at hearing that while Jack grinned and set Megan down. "Oh, now you're going to get it," he said, leaping at her and catching her as she tried to run, his fingers wiggling into her stomach and she burst into laughter, trying to get away, squealing as Jack tickled her knees too.

Sage chuckled. "Well, if he's tickling Courtney and you and Aunt Rachel know him, Mom, then he can't be a bad guy," he said.

Sasha shook her head. "No, just a very playful uncle of yours," she said as Jack let Courtney up and hugged her. She hugged him back before Megan went up to the skeleton and hugged his leg, making him smile before he scooped her up and began tickling her, making her giggle.

Sage transformed to his wolf form again and went up to his uncle, sniffing his hand. Seeing what the boy was doing, Jack held still before feeling the boy-turned-wolf gently nudge his hand with his nose and the bony hand gave him a gentle ear scratch, two which Sage's tail began wagging.

"See?" Summer said. "Uncle Jack's really nice and so is Auntie Sally. Last time, when the Forever Knights kidnapped me and Forrest, we got sent to Halloween Town and Uncle Jack and Aunt Sally helped up get back home."

"I remember that," Rook said as he came in, Whampire and Vampiro behind him. His children raced forward to hug him and their uncles while Sage and Megan hugged their father and grandfather before hugging their uncle.

Vampiro smiled. "Welcome, Jack," he said warmly. "I see you met my wonderful grandchildren."

"Yes, and they are everything you told me, Vampiro," Jack said, smiling.

Whampire grinned. "Looks like you two got a new uncle for Christmas," he said to his children.

"A very cool one at that," Sage said.

"Just like our other aunts and uncles," Megan said happily.

Jack laughed warmly at that before the children hugged him again and begged him to join them for a game, which he agreed to do, happy to spend time with the humans he called family.

Merry Christmas, everyone! :)

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GoldGuardian2418