Chapter 5: Coraline's Decision

Coraline opened her eyes as the sun woke her up and she stretched, letting out a yawn before giggling as she felt Zero nuzzling her neck playfully. "Zero!" She giggled out. "I'm up, boy."

She sat up, petting the ghost dog happily. "Good morning, boy," she said, giving him an ear scratch, which made him bark happily. She then got out of bed and got dressed quickly into a purple shirt and black jeans, slipping on her new shoes too. Jewel and Sally had made the clothes for her with some help from Helga and Zelda and the shoes were a gift from Jack himself. The young girl smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror before taking a deep breath.

It had been three days since she and Jack had spoken about her finding a family that would love her and she would love them and he had insisted she make the decision for her happiness. "I really like Jack and Sally, Zero," she said to the ghost dog, who came up to her. "Do you think they'd be okay with me calling them Mom and Dad?"

Zero barked happily and did a loop in the air, making her giggle. "Would you be okay with me being in the family?" She asked.

The ghost dog licked her cheek happily, making her giggle again. "Okay, okay," she said, smiling before taking a deep breath. "I just...don't know how to tell them."

She looked outside. "Maybe a walk will help."

She headed downstairs to find Jack and Sally in the kitchen and they both smiled warmly at her. "Good morning, little one," the skeleton said warmly. "Did you sleep well?"

Coraline nodded. "I was hoping to ask if it was okay for me to go for a walk after breakfast?" She said.

"Of course," he said, smiling again. "You remember the rules?"

"Don't go beyond the pumpkin patch under Spiral Hill, don't go under Lock, Shock, and Barrel's treehouse, and if I'm in trouble, press my necklace to alert you," she said.

While she hadn't met the three yet as she had been staying either in the house or in the town center, Jack had told her about the tree and how under it was an enemy's old lair that was best left alone.

He smiled and ruffled her hair playfully, making her laugh and fend off his hand, only to giggle when he playfully poked her sides before she ran over to Sally, who chuckled as she hugged the young girl.

"I have to go see my folks about some more herbs and Jack has a couple meetings today," the ragdoll said. "Are you sure you'll be alright on your own for a few hours?"

"I'll be fine," Coraline said with a nod. "Do you think Hanging Tree will be in the Town Square today?"

"Either that or the graveyard," Jack said, smiling.

After breakfast, the three parted ways and the young girl went searching for Hanging Tree, pausing when she heard something and looked to see a young boy watching her. He was dressed as a skeleton and he looked around before coming up to her, a few ghosts hanging around nearby. "Did...Did you really escape her?" He asked in a soft voice.

Realization hit Coraline like a ton of bricks. "Are you Barrel?" She asked, recalling Dr. Finklestein mentioning about a boy named Barrel having escaped the Beldam too.

He nodded before swallowing hard. "Did you?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah," she said before biting her lip. "Dr. Finklestein said that you escaped her too."

Barrel nodded. "He helped me," he said, looking down. "H-How did you...escape her?"

Coraline saw he was very afraid. "A door in the tunnel opened up to this place," she said. "There were scarecrows that breathed pumpkin fire and apparently, she's scared of that."

The boy let out a sigh of relief. "Be careful being alone," he said, backing up. "That's how she got me long ago."

She nodded. "I'll be careful," she said. "And you be careful too, okay?"

He nodded and quickly headed away, the group of ghosts following him closely. Coraline felt sympathy for him. "Wow, he's really scared of her catching him again," she said to herself.

She heard footsteps and turned to find Hanging Tree coming up to her. "Wasn't that Barrel that you were speaking to?" He asked her curiously.

The girl nodded. "He was wondering if I was the one that had escaped the Beldam," she said before looking curious. "How did he know?"

"Word travels fast here," he said. "He no doubt caught wind of it not long after you came to town."

She nodded before looking up at him. "Hanging Tree, can I talk to you?" She asked.

He smiled. "Of course, Coraline," he said, picking her up and allowing her to climb up and sit on one of his branches before he walked away, heading towards the graveyard, stopping by the large tree. "What did you want to speak about?"

"Well, Jack and I were talking about how if I found a new family that would love me and I would love them, it would hopefully stop the Beldam from coming after me," the young girl said. "The wind has mentioned he thinks Sally, Jack, and I would make a good family and...the past few days with Jack and Sally have been...just like how I always wanted."

The tree looked curious. "How so?" He asked gently.

Coraline smiled. "Sally lets me help her and has even taught me how to do some things and Jack has been showing me some of his tricks," she said. "Not only that, they've spent time with me and at night, when they both tuck me in, I feel...loved."

One of the Hanging Men smiled. "Sounds like Jack and Sally think of you as their daughter," he said.

"Not surprising," said another. "Jack does have a soft spot for kids."

"Even Lock, Shock, and Barrel, despite the trouble they cause at times," said a third one.

The girl giggled before nodding. "I really like Jack and Sally," she admitted. "Do...Do you think...they'd be okay with me calling them Mom and Dad?"

Hanging Tree smiled. "You should ask them," he said encouragingly. "But in my honest opinion, I think they'll be thrilled."

"And if you became their daughter, then the Beldam would hopefully not even dare to come," said the first Hanging Man that had spoken. "Jack isn't called the Pumpkin King for nothing, you know."

Coraline giggled again. "True," she said, having heard stories from the others about how Jack had defeated Oogie Boogie not once, but twice. She took a deep breath. "I've made my decision. I want to be their daughter."

"Is it for your happiness, or just theirs?" Hanging Tree asked gently.

"Both," she replied honestly.

He smiled. "Then I'd say your decision is a good one," he said.

Thanking him, the child climbed down from his branches, the Hanging Men helping her before she hugged him and the Hanging Men, heading back into the Town Square and finding a fish creature in the fountain. The creature looked at her and smiled. "Ah, you must be Coraline," she said. "Jack speaks highly of you."

"Yes, I am," the child said. "Do you know where he is?"

"He just finished up a meeting in the Town Hall," the fish woman said, pointing to a building behind her. "I think he's speaking with the witches at the moment."

"Thank you," the child said, going into the Town Hall. Clown saw her and held the door open for her, to which she thanked him and headed in.

Jack had just finished speaking with the witches when he turned and saw Coraline walking up to them. "Ah, there she is," he said with a smile. "I was about to go find you."

She grinned. "And I was looking for you," she said. "The fish lady in the fountain told me you were here."

Smiling still, Jack scooped her up in his arms, bidding the witches farewell as he headed out of the Town Hall. Coraline snuggled into his hug and rested her head on his shoulder. "Jack, can you, me, and Sally talk when we get home?" She asked.

"Of course," he said to her.

They arrived at the gate leading to the house just as Sally arrived too. "The doctor and Jewel are thinking about taking a vacation when you-know-who is taken care of," she said.

"Ah, good," Jack said before looking at Coraline. "Coraline was hoping to speak to us, Sally."

"Of course," she replied.

They were soon in the living room and Coraline was sitting between the two. She took a deep breath. "I've been thinking about some things and...I really would like to stay here with you guys," she said to them, biting her lip before taking another deep breath. "Would you guys be okay with that?"

"Coraline, we'd love that," Sally said with a smile.

Jack smiled. "Is it for your happiness?" He asked gently.

"Both mine and your guys' too," the young girl said honestly before swallowing and closing her eyes for a moment. "You have both been like the parents I always wanted and the funny thing was, after my parents passed away, I didn't think I'd ever want parents again, but with you two, it reminds me of the love my birth parents gave me when I was younger, before they died."

Sally placed a comforting hand on the child's shoulder, which made the young girl feel better and helped boost her courage. "So...since you guys have been like parents to me and I see you guys as my parents, I was wondering...is it okay if I call you guys Mom and Dad?"

Both Jack and Sally were stunned before they smiled at each other and smiled at Coraline. "If you truly want to call us by those titles, Coraline, we would love that," the skeleton said, still smiling. "And...I'm afraid Sally and I have a confession to make."

The child looked up at him, worry on her face, but he patted her head gently. "It's nothing bad," he said reassuringly. "It's just that the night I found you, Sally asked me if we could adopt you and I decided that for your safety, it would be best if we did. So the next day, I spoke to the Mayor and he witnessed me sign the papers to officially make you our daughter and the new Pumpkin Princess."

Coraline was stunned at this revelation. "What?" She asked. "You mean...you adopted me and didn't tell me?"

"We didn't want to overwhelm you with the fact that you were now the new princess right away, especially after you had just escaped the Beldam back then," Sally explained.

"And we didn't want to pressure you into accepting us as your parents either," Jack explained. "We felt if we had told you, it would have been too soon and you would have been frightened."

She nodded as their explainations made sense before lifting her head as a thought came to her. "Is that why the townspeople have bowed to me when I meet them?" She asked. "Because I'm now a princess?"

"Yes," Jack said. "And also to show you that you needn't fear them."

Coraline bit her lip. "The promises they made about me finding shelter in their homes if she returns," she said. "Did they just say that because I'm the princess?"

"No," the skeleton soothed. "That was only part of the reason. The other reason is that you had escaped the Beldam, who is unwelcome here. They promised to protect you and would have done so even if you hadn't become the princess."

She could see he was telling the truth and she nodded. "Okay," she said before a smile came to her face and she hugged Jack. "Thank you," she whispered, tears running down her face in happiness.

He smiled and hugged her back. "You never have to worry about her again, my little sugar skull," he said soothingly.

"We'll keep you safe from her," Sally promised, joining in on the hug.

Coraline smiled before another thought occurred to her. "Wait, does this mean Dr. Finklestein and Miss Jewel are my grandparents?" She asked.

"Yes, but they agreed to be discreet about knowing you were their granddaughter until you were ready to know," Jack said. "And they are thrilled to have you as a granddaughter."

The child smiled. "Is that why Miss Jewel was so happy when I spent time with her?" She asked.

"That and she loves children," Sally said.

Coraline rested her head on her new father's shoulder and smiled. "Please tell me I'm not dreaming," she said. "That you guys really want me as your daughter just as I want you as my parents."

"It's not a dream, my daughter," Jack said soothingly.

"And we love you, my daughter," Sally said with a smile.

The child hugged them both. "Love you too...Mom and Dad," she said.

She had a true, loving family again and she hoped it would be enough to stop the Beldam.

But little did they know, the Beldam had succeeded in finding a way to Halloween Town and was getting ready to not only snatch Coraline back, but also Barrel. She smiled as she felt anticipation fill her.

"They'll soon be mine," she hissed to no one in particular as she got ready, knowing she had to wait for the right time to strike.

Uh-oh! Looks like trouble is brewing big time.

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