Disclaimer: Nightmare Before Christmas is the property of Tim Burton, Disney, and Touchstone Entertainment. Nothing you recognize belongs to me.
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If Sally was completely honest with herself, she would probably admit to not liking Halloween as much as she should.
The absolute fact of the matter was, she simply wasn't scary enough to be much of a help. She had tried, a few years ago, to join the town in the Scaring. But after a frustrating evening, during which she earned more laughs than terrified screams, she decided (not without a little relief) that she wasn't up for the job. And truth be told, Sally didn't necessarily enjoy scaring children. Striking fear into the hearts of others was not within her nature. She loved seeing smiles and hearing giggles over anything else.
Jack had, of course, been disappointed – he had even tried to coach her on her "technique" – but Sally quickly convinced him that she would be a better welcoming party at the end of the night. And not even Jack could argue with her End – of – Halloween Celebration refreshments.
So on Halloween Nights, Sally sat alone with her thoughts, usually darning a pair of Jack's socks or putting the finishing touches on her pumpkin spice cookies. While she was grateful for the time to herself, sometimes it was a little… lonely.
Luckily for her, this year was vastly different.
"Jill, if you don't stop squirming, I won't finish your costume in time," Sally murmured around a mouth-full of pins. Jill sat on the kitchen table, twisting and turning her body every which way. The fussy baby grimaced and flung her stuffed snowman, which she had dubbed "No-No", out of her hands. It sailed gracefully to the floor, landing at Sally's feet. Jill squawked and pointed at it. "Ah! Ah!"
Sally sighed, but couldn't help but smile as she bent to pick up the runaway toy. "I'll get that, shall I? I seem to be your servant lately."
Jill grabbed the snowman from her mother's outstretched hand and immediately stuffed it straight into her mouth, murmuring to herself cheerfully. Sally shook her head and continued cautiously mending her baby's costume.
She had decided it would be fitting for the little Pumpkin Princess to come to the Halloween parade dressed as… well, a little pumpkin. It was an utterly adorable sight to behold; the babe wore an orange jumper that Sally had stuffed, making it look round and full. To top it off, on Jill's head sat an orange hat with a green "stem" made of felt.
While Jill was most definitely the sweetest pumpkin Sally had ever seen, the costume didn't sit well with the baby. It made her new skill, crawling (of which Jill was immensely proud), nigh to impossible; even moving was difficult. Sally was determined to keep her baby in it, even if it meant mending it every five minutes (the stitching proved to be no match against Jill's incessant wriggling).
But Sally wouldn't complain; everything had to be perfect for tonight. She knew how excited Jack was for his daughter's first Halloween. Sally very nearly had to sew Jill to the floor to prevent Jack from sneaking off with her; they disagreed on how old a child needed to be to attend a Scaring, Sally being of the mindset that nine months was simply too young. And Sally knew her daughter all too well; she saw how easily Jill startled when something caught her off guard, saw her chin wobble when the Mayor suddenly switched faces, heard her whimper when she saw her father practicing for Halloween. Sally had a sneaking suspicion that Jill had more of Sally's own temperament when it came to such things than Jack's. She didn't want to see Jack disappointed - almost as much as she wanted to protect her child's delicate psyche.
At Jacks further prodding, however, Sally had relented, agreeing that Jill should attend the Halloween Parade. Perhaps the familiar faces of the residents of the town would put Jill at ease. At least I hope so…
"All done, love." Sally picked up her daughter and placed her on the floor. Jill sat there for a moment, puzzled as to how to maneuver around her now much wider girth, and resigned herself to simply rolling around the floor. This, however, proved to be much too much work. Jill ended up flat on her back underneath a chair, unwilling to continue rolling. "Ma. Ma! Mamama!"
Sally rolled her eyes. "You've rolled yourself there, let's see if you can get yourself out."
"Maa!"
While her daughter was otherwise incapacitated, Sally dashed about the kitchen, scooping up this and that for the parade, and finally tended to her frustrated Jill. Sally scooped her up in one arm, and a large crate of cookies in the other. "You're right, Jill," she murmured, awkwardly shifting her daughter on to her hip as they headed towards the door, "This costume is rather annoying."
"Ba."
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"Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?"
"See, Jill? They're all singing the town anthem now. Daddy will be here soon." Sally anxiously bounced Jill on her hip, stroking her baby's dark red hair and pushing her fringe out of her eyes.
The poor thing wasn't faring very well. Halloween Town's usual gray, dull appearance had been transformed overnight into a cobweb filled, blood chilling nightmare. Jill had been bug eyed since they left the mansion, and had steadily grown edgy and nervous as she took in the decorations casting long, menacing shadows and heard the distant shrieks of children from far-away towns.
Jill continued to twitch her head in every direction, glancing around the town square, desperately trying to process and understand these new, unsettling sights. She was obviously not comfortable with seeing the people she knew look so different, so ominous and intimidating under the full October moon. It worried Sally. If the scenery bothers her so much, what will happen when she sees her father on fire? Her stomach jumped nervously at the thought.
Eager to distract her child, Sally leaned in close to Jill's ear and, mustering the most soothing voice she could, sang along with the parade crowd.
"Everybody scream, everybody scream
In our town of Halloween!"
Jill continued to struggle fretfully.
"What a doll!"
"Such a sweet little fright!"
The witches, spying the little Skellington in her pumpkin suit, crowded around Sally and Jill, clucking and poking and pinching. Though normally a calm, people-friendly baby, Jill squeaked softly and buried her head in Sally's neck, knocking her pumpkin hat askew.
"Ooh," the two wizened women cooed in unison.
"What a dear!" the tallest one said, reaching out her arms. Jill let out another, louder squeak, and pressed her face even harder under Sally's chin.
Sally smiled apologetically. "She's shy." The witch's brow furrowed.
Fortunately, Sally was saved from saying anything else, as the song had reached its peak.
"Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin!"
Sally swelled with pride as her husband rode into view, dressed as a pumpkin-headed scarecrow, sitting atop a giant wooden horse. It never failed to delight her, to see Jack up there, the center of attention in a screaming, wailing crowd.
Jack swooped down and lifted a torch into the air. The crowd, knowing what came next, let out a deafening cheer as he set himself on fire and flailed and danced through the air gracefully.
Sally looked down at Jill. Her little face was terror-stricken as she watched the flaming man dance and blow flames, sparks flying every which way. Jill's eyes never left Jack as she attempted to decipher who this frightening stranger may be, even as he jumped into a well to douse the flames.
But as the flaming scarecrow disappeared and reappeared as her father in the blink of an eye, her soundless terror gave way to absolute shock. She jumped to watch her father rise slowly out of the well, like a corpse from the grave. Sally rubbed her back, whispering softly to her to try and knock her out of her stupor. But Jill seemed to barely register her mother's actions, so fixated was she on her father.
Sally grimaced. Oh dear…
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Jack opened his arms wide and grinned. "Another successful Hallooween!" He howled, cackling maniacally, relishing in the screams and cheers of the crowd. Yes, it had been a fantastic night, a Halloween that would prevent many little ones from sleeping for a good long time. Jack felt more on top of his game than he had in years, and he had no doubt as to the cause for this newfound excitement in his job.
He searched the throng of monsters and corpses for his family, and finally spotted them beside the Hanging Tree. Jack's heart filled to bursting (it seemed to do a lot of that lately) as he gazed at his lovely Sally, with her red hair tucked behind her ears and her cheeks flushed. And on her hip sat his beautiful little girl, decked out in – Jack chuckled to himself – a bright orange pumpkin costume. How fitting! He watched his tiny girl dig her face into Sally's neck. Grinning even wider, he reached his hand proudly out to his wife and baby.
Sally caught his gaze, and he saw a momentary glimmer in her eyes, almost a warning of sorts. But he had only a moment for it to register before Sally smiled and walked up to join Jack in the center of the square.
Jack wrapped a long arm around Sally's shoulder as the crowd hollered. He leaned down eagerly in order to take Jill, to swing her high for the world to see, so proud was he of his new family.
Which is why he was more than a little surprised when she burst into tears.
The skeleton straightened up immediately, more than a little hurt. His daughter's face was contorted in an emotion he knew all too well – fear. She was shaking, clinging to her mother's patchwork frock. Jack's hurt immediately morphed into concern.
The crowd before him was murmuring, quite puzzled at the sight of the terrified baby and her befuddled father. Sally immediately turned to them, still bouncing the squalling Jill on her hip, and joked, "You all are truly frightening this year; the best I've ever seen you – to be able to scare a Skellington!"
The residents of the town laughed uproariously, and began to talk amongst themselves eagerly, reminiscing about the night's success.
Jack nodded briefly at Sally, relieved that she had distracted everyone, and then bent eye to eye with Jill. She had stopped crying but was still moving her legs as if trying to get away. She shot her dear old dad a look that was wavering somewhere between fear and betrayal.
Jack frowned. "What's the matter with her?"
Sally shook her head. "She's a child, Jack, she's bound to be a little afraid at the sight of her daddy on fire. The whole night has been unsettling for her. I think she's more like me than just in appearances," she said, sighing softly.
Jack's frowned deepened, and his heart sunk a little at this piece of news. "She shouldn't have come tonight, then, she's too young." At this, Sally's eyebrow raised.
The angular skeleton smiled slightly. "Yes, dear, you were right. As usual." He gave her a tender kiss. "It was wonderful, you two there in the crowd. I just wish Jill wasn't afraid of me now."
Sally gently pulled Jill away from her, and placed her in Jack's arms. "It will pass. Just talk to her. I have to go… mingle. Queenly duties, you know," she said with a wink.
He laughed as Sally drifted charmingly away and was immediately accosted by a throng of gossiping women. Jill however, was determinately twisting her face away from Jack's, sniffling softly. "Maaa!" she sobbed, reaching away and flexing her fingers.
"Jill…" Jack spoke delicately, in a low, soothing voice. "It's just me, it's just Daddy."
Jill stopped writhing, and turned her tear-rimmed blue eyes slowly towards Jack. She hiccoughed. "Da?"
"Yes, it's just Daddy, just silly Daddy." Jack smiled at her and touched her nose lightly. Jill cocked her head, still the picture of seriousness.
"Si-ee Da." The baby repeated solemnly, her brow furrowed. She tentatively poked her little finger into Jack's eye socket – her favorite game. Satisfied that this was indeed her father, and that he was no longer sheathed in flames, Jill wrapped her arms around his bony neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
Jack resisted the urge to heave a huge sigh of relief, careful not to disturb this delicate embrace, and patted her back. "Not the most wonderful first Halloween, is it, love?"
Jill lifted her head and pointed around at the many decorations. She prattled on in baby-gibberish, telling her father a story he couldn't understand; however, he bobbed his head like he knew exactly what she meant. Jack knew by now that some of the sweetest conversations did not have to be communicated through words.
The Pumpkin King hoisted his babbling daughter onto his shoulders and made his way back to his Queen, happiness and pride slowly flowing back to him. Tonight didn't play out exactly how he had imagined it, but nothing ever went according to plan anymore. Not that he entirely minded. He was willing to sacrifice his vision for the things that were important to him. Perhaps he would have to square with the fact that his daughter was not going to be the best scarer.
As if she were reading his mind, Jill shrieked happily and threw her hands in the air, a near perfect imitation of her father's favorite scaring pose. Jack smirked.
Then again… there's always next year…
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A/N: Holy long chapter, Batman! Hope you all got through that without drifting off. I tried to do Jill's first Halloween justice. Was it to your liking? Now that we've visited enough with the First Family (hee) I think it's time to see a little more of the other residents of Halloween Town. Who would you all like to see?
Oh! And I was just wondering how many of you had Livejournal – and if you do, would you enjoy it if I started mine up and posted story-related things there? I was thinking of even doing previews and such. Mm? Mm? Think about it. ;) Oh, and all of your reviews are fantastic, and I'll continue to reply to them when I can. Thanks to all!
To be continued…