Chapter 5: Halloween

On a frosty late October morning, Sam woke up alone. To her surprise, a long white dress bag covered the foot of the bed. A similiar bag had been tossed over the side of a nearby chair.

"Jack," she called. Sam knew her attentive husband hadn't gone far. She correctly assumed he was in the kitchen starting breakfast, a much appreciated habit he'd developed the last few weeks.

"Morning," Jack said, poking his head around the door of the bedroom, apron on, omelet pan in his hand.

"Jack, what's with the bags?" Sam asked.

"What bags?"

"The big white ones that say 'Arlene's costumes' in large print," she answered with a straight face. She was not amused.

"Oh, those," he said. "Costumes, they're costumes."

Sam rolled her eyes. That information was certainly helpful, she thought.

"Costumes for ... ?"

Before answering, Jack put down the omelet pan and walked over to the bed. He took Sam's face in his hands, kissing her chastely on the tip of her nose. That otherwise sweet sentiment was often a prelude to an outrageous Jackism of some sort or other. Sam knew she was in for it. What has he done, she wondered.

"They're for our favorite holiday .. Halloween," Jack said. His matter-of-fact tone implied she should know such a basic fact.

"You mean your favorite holiday?" Sam retorted.

Jack pulled a face.

"Really? You dressed up last year," he said. "I thought you had a good time."

"I did," she relented. Sam couldn't believe she was actually feeling sorry for him. Jack enjoyed dressing up for Halloween; it was an excuse to let his inner child out to play. She didn't want to spoil it for him. "But I wasn't nearly 8 months pregnant last year," she added.

"There's that," Jack said. "But this is a great costume for your ... current condition ... trust me, it'll look great."

"Fine," she said. "Let's take a look."

With that Sam gingerly picked up the hanger from the bed and slid the bag off the garment

"What is it?" she asked

"It's a dress," he answered. For a smart woman ... he thought.

"For what century?" Sam asked, holding up the off the shoulders outfit. The Elizabethan gown sported an empire waist and hooped skirt. Jack was right, it would conceal some of her more flagrant physical changes.

"About the fifteenth," Jack said with a shrug. "I think, anyway. When was Shakespeare around?"

"It isn't ..."

"Yeah," Jack said, a twinkle in his eye, "why not?"

"Because I'm over forty and very pregnant?"

"So?"

"Oh for crying out loud," she said. Sam knew she was in over her head when she resorted to Jack's favorite phrases. Still, she refused to admit defeat and forged ahead. "Juliet was what... about fourteen?"

"Probably," Jack admitted. "Your point?"

Sam looked up at Jack from where she was sitting on the bed. Against her better judgment, she could feel the corners of her mouth starting to turn up in a smile.

"And your costume?"

"Do you have to ask?" Jack said, his voice dripping with feigned disappointment. "I'm going as a wise, battled tested, extremely sexy Romeo, the love of Juliet's life."

Sam wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. The hormones didn't help. Neither did the fact that Jack chose that moment to unwrap his own costume and hold it up in all its glory. In the end it was the thought of Jack wearing the brightly colored tights and pantaloons that tipped Sam over the edge. And she began to laugh. Big fat peels of laughter threatened to erupt before she dipped her head and covered her mouth, doing her best to exercise some restraint.

When she dared to look up, she saw a huge grin on Jack's face.

"What, not manly enough for you?" He asked innocently.

All bets were off. She started to giggle and once she started, she couldn't stop. Jack sat down next to her, and joined right in. Both costumes fell to the floor. Jack and Sam fell into each other's arms.

Coming up for air, Jack let Sam in on his master plan.

"In our reality, Romeo and Juliet lived," he said. "They grew up and grew old together. And they had a great kid ... or two."

"Of course they did," Sam said, her eyes twinkling, her lips claiming Jack's for a tender kiss. Without hesitation, "Romeo" returned the favor. Minutes later, "Juliet" surrendered.

"Fine," Sam said as they broke apart. "I'll wear it. Remember, you owe me one."

"Oh yeah, more than one ..."

TBC (at Thankgiving)

A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you liked it. Please review!!