A/N:

Hi everyone! Thank you all so much for being patient with me about the slight update hiatus, I appreciate it! November was a very difficult month for me unfortunately. But update frequency will be increasing as of January, and actually this story only has five more chapters left to it, so it'll be complete before we know it ^_^ Don't worry though—after that I have some one shots in mind to post. Anyway, here's the next chapter and please review if you can! Thanks!

Dearest Friends

Chapter 20:

Emotional Moments

"Sally! Sally, wait for me!" Jack called after Sally as he ran to catch up with her outside of the town hall.

Sally sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, but did slow down a little as she continued moving in the direction of the gorge outside of town. "I'm not going to be a bother, Jack, don't worry," she started simply. "To be honest, Oogie's lair is the last place I ever want to go again. My time there was like a nightmare. But I do want to give you some company if you're going. Besides…" she frowned and looked down, "I just don't want to be around anyone else, not after…" She frowned more.

Jack came alongside her. "Sally, I don't know why everyone acted like they did about our relationship, but I'm sure they didn't mean to hurt us. They must just be surprised or they must not have understood. And as for the Doctor…"

Sally waved him off. "Oh, Jack, I expected the Doctor to be furious. I was actually surprised when he agreed not to bother me about living with you. Even when he wasn't sure about not making me come back to him, he acted like he cared about my safety more than just keeping me to himself. But it doesn't matter. I knew the moment he found out we had romantic feelings for each other that he wouldn't be able to handle it. It's everyone else…" Sally shook her head and moved closer to Jack, her eyes wide and the corners of her crooked mouth turned so very far down. "I'm not sure if it's 'us' that they don't like, Jack. I think it might be me being the one you decided to be with that they don't like."

Jack shook his head. "No, Sally, that can't be it. There must be some logical explanation for their response. I know they seemed more concerned about the choice I was making than the choice you were making, but…" Jack tried to think of a reasonable explanation but then finally he just scowled, stopped walking, got in front of Sally, and put his hands on her shoulders. Her looked her right in the eye. "Listen to me, Sally—now, I take everyone's opinions into account about matters of the town and Halloween and all of our needs, but quite frankly I don't care what anybody has to say about my personal life. I want you, I need you, you are one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I want to live with you and to talk with you and to spend Halloween after Halloween side by side with you and to court you and to kiss you, only you. You brighten my life! And if anybody has a problem with that they can rouse this town into a full-blown opera about their concerns for all I care, but that won't stop me from being with you as long as you want to be with me too. Okay, Sally?" He was breathing a bit heavily now as he looked down at her, his gaze never leaving hers.

Sally just looked back up at him with wide eyes.

Then the rag doll smiled widely and suddenly dove at her skeleton man in a big hug!

"Whoa!" Jack swayed, and then both he and Sally toppled down into the snow along the side of the road. Jack ended up propped up on his arms while Sally knelt alongside him and hugged him all the more tightly.

As soon as Jack realized what had happened, he blinked and then smiled warmly and hugged her back. "I take it then that you're willing to brave the opinions of our friends as well and stay with me?"

Sally giggled, snuggling against his chest. "Oh Jack…so far I haven't let Christmas or Oogie Boogie or the Doctor or our fights or Valentine's Day or a Valentine Queen take you away from me." She looked up at him and grinned. "You can't think I'd let one bad town meeting get me down at this point. Or even 'a full-blown opera' if it came to that."

Jack chuckled. "Well then I guess it's settled." He sighed 'dramatically.' "We'll just fall into a scandalous romance together." He laughed more, looking up in thought at the starry sky overhead. "Doesn't that sound splendid? I never thought I'd be involved in one of those at all, you know."

"Funny, I always imagined you'd be right at the heart of one of those if it happened," Sally merely replied back with a smile, moving to sit beside him and lean her head on his shoulder. "I don't know if you really meant it or not earlier, Jack, when you told me you didn't understand why all the women in town want to pursue you, but I hope you do realize just how special you are as a person…and how desirable you are as a companion…as a man." She blushed purplish and smiled more, playing with her hair a little and looking down. "Will our relationship really be a scandalous romance?"

Jack's features were lily white by now. "I…" He smiled a little. "Yes, a scandalous romance, unless you'd prefer it called something different. A forbidden relationship or a star-crossed affection maybe…. Whatever we call it though, it'll cause quite a sensation." He lowered his voice and leaned a bit against her. "I feel very special actually when I'm with you, Sally. I-I don't know about desirable, but I'll tell you this much for now about my hesitation with our courtship—a part of it has been because you're so overwhelmingly attractive to me in every way that I can barley think straight around you most of the time, let alone imagine that I'm worthy enough to pursue you." Then before their conversation could continue, Jack suddenly stood up from the snow and scooped up Sally up in his arms along with him. "So it's settled then—come holiday fiascos or social upheaval, Jack and Sally are staying together forever." He winked down at her.

Sally just blinked in surprise and then clung to him more at suddenly finding herself cradled in his arms. "Jack…" She smiled, trying not to giggle. "What are you doing, silly skeleton?"

He grinned a little and shrugged. "Just helping you up from the snow, delightful dolly."

Sally grinned back up at him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Oh, I bet you say that to all of the ragdolls you pledge your heart to." She giggled and winked.

Jack's skull whitened again but he just smiled more and shrugged. "No, just to the ones who are particularly perfect for me." He gave her a little hug, spun them around once, and then carefully put her down so that she was standing on the road beside him once more. He took her hand and began to lead them onward again with a sigh and a smile. "Now, let's see to the end of this 'bug' business as quickly as possible. I'd like for us to be able to go home again soon finally."

"Yes." Sally nodded and moved very close alongside him, speaking in a soft, sweet voice. "I'd love to go home too, Jack. I'm sure after all of this mess we could use a nice night together."

Jack blanched a little but smiled more. "Yes, I think we could too." He looked sheepish for a moment. "And I promise, no more avoiding touching you or hiding my feelings or ending our dates early…or, um, you know, humiliating myself by sleepwalking into your room and spouting passionate things that I think I mostly meant on some level but that I'm very grateful I can't entirely remember just yet."

Sally smiled warmly. "It's okay, Jack. Just do whatever makes you happy, but please talk to me in the future if anything concerns you—you don't need to run off to new worlds for advice, Jack. I'm right here to talk to, and I promise I'm an excellent listener." She shrugged. "You get that way after a few years of listening to the Doctor drone on and on about his accomplishments and his successes and how no one can understand his genius."

Jack chuckled a little. "I promise you, Sally…" he squeezed her hand, "from now on I'll come to you first."

"Jack?" Sally raised an eyebrow. "Can I ask…why didn't you come to me first in the first place? I understand now that you went to Valentine Town to learn about courtship, but I still don't understand why you couldn't have just learned about courtship by courting me. I always figured that was the way most people did it."

Jack took a deep breath and sighed. "Sally, if you don't mind, could I wait to explain that and everything about acting so distant to you until we get back to the house later? It's complicated, and I'd like privacy for it."

Sally smiled and nodded. "Of course, Jack. We'll talk more about that later then."

"Thank you." Jack smiled and nodded too. "Um, for now though, for what it's worth…the location and the timing might not have been ideal, but I enjoyed our kiss very much…back at the town hall…in the dark…together." His eye sockets hazed.

A dreamy look came to Sally's features. She nodded and let her fingers entwine with his. "I thought it was perfect too."

Jack smiled more. "And long overdue…" He gave Sally's cheek a kiss as they walked onward toward the gorge and Oogie's lair, and Sally's whole face brightened. They happy couple finally felt wonderful again even despite the strange results of the town meeting. As long as they were together, nothing could overcome them.

And speaking of the town meeting…

Flora wasn't sure what was happening out front in the audience exactly. All she could hear from her place behind the stage curtains was some low talking, like a calm group discussion, but that fact gave her some hope. 'Good—between Marigold and the Mayor, things must be running smoothly.' Indeed, Flora had an excellent feeling that the citizens were on their way to understanding things about Jack and Sally a little better and coming around about their romance.

Besides, the Heart Queen had bigger problems to attend to at the moment.

The Doctor was turning out to be quite a stubborn man, especially in his current state.

Flora sighed and tried to ask the Doctor her question again. "Doctor, you need to tell me about how you created Jewel's mind. Please. It's important."

"Jewel is my creation, the specifications of her design are…" The Doctor sighed and held his head. "They are a secret," he finally went on with a scowl. "Why do you even care about how I made Jewel, and how is that supposed to help with my headaches lately?"

Flora let out a breath, keeping her tone calm and level. "I don't know much about the biology of this place, Doctor, but I do know emotions and reason are a product of chemical reactions in the brain…and I do see that you made Jewel look an awful lot like yourself. Did you try to copy your brain somehow as well to give to her?"

Jewel spoke up now, moving out from her place behind the Doctor's chair. "Actually he gave me half of his own brain." She couldn't help but smile.

"Jewel…" The Doctor grumbled out stubbornly.

"Doctor, she's trying to help you, it makes sense to tell her what she wants to know," Jewel simply replied, gently patting his head. She frowned. "Oh Doctor why didn't you tell me your headaches had been so bad over the last few days. I could have helped you somehow."

"Mmm nothing helps," moaned out the Doctor. "And I've felt so strange too. My head's been swimming. I just—" He paused.

Jewel had just leaned down and kissed him on the cranium.

The Doctor blinked once. "Why did you do that?" he asked quietly, not looking up.

Jewel straightened up and shrugged. "Sally told me that you kissed my half of our brain when you were putting me together, and hearing that made my mental state feel very satisfactory. I was hoping if I kissed your head, it might make your mental state feel satisfactory too."

Dr. Finkelstein lifted up a hand as though he was about to say something but then put it to his temple and moaned once more. "Mmm…"

"So that's it." Flora leaned down to the Doctor's level. "You gave her half of your own brain—the left side, I'm guessing—didn't you?"

Dr. Finkelstein brought his eyes to hers and finally nodded. "Yes. So what?"

Flora sighed softly and straightened up again. "The left side is all reason and logic, the right side is all emotion and intuition. You've left both yourself and her completely mentally unbalanced. Jewel will probably start to have headaches too soon. And haven't you noticed any changes in your behavior, Doctor?"

Dr. Finkelstein considered. "Well…perhaps I'm a little less focused on my work…and I can't figure out mathematical problems as quickly, and I've been getting very worked up about things lately and very attached to silly sentimental things…and I've never worried about Sally so much before."

Flora smiled. "I can adjust this for you, Doctor. The essential problem is an excessive access to love on your end, and a too small access to love on Jewel's end. I can restore the imbalance and let you both feel things completely and think things through entirely. What do you say?"

Dr. Finkelstein looked up at her suspiciously. "And this will restore me to my usual self?"

Flora nodded. "Yes, to the best of my ability. I have a good instinct for knowing the correct emotional balances that people need. I'll ease your emotional strain and give your logic a chance to reestablish itself." Then she looked past Doctor Finkelstein. "And of course Jewel will be affected too in her own way."

Dr. Finkelstein blinked. "What will happen to her exactly?"

Jewel swallowed and frowned, moving closer to the Doctor's chair.

Flora smiled serenely at the hesitant creation. "Jewel…ever since your creation have you felt confused at times or like you couldn't express some things inside of yourself properly or like there were other things people seemed to be experiencing that you didn't seem able to experience?"

Jewel raised an eyebrow then nodded. "Oh, yes, yes, many times, especially since I started meeting people. Are you saying you can help me understand this world better?"

Flora nodded. "Yes, you'll understand this world better. I promise you."

Jewel took a breath and considered, then looked to the Doctor. "I'd like to let her help us, Doctor. I want you to feel better, and after spending time with Sally it seems like there's so much of life I'm missing. I'd like more emotions."

Dr. Finkelstein sighed. "I…well…Oooo!" He rubbed his head again, wincing in pain. "Yes, all right, please just do it," he finally beseeched Flora.

"Of course." Flora nodded and reached into a fold of her red robe. "Now, this tends to work a bit more quickly when I have the full size arrows, but the miniature ones do the job even it might take a few more minutes for things to kick in. Ah, here we go…" Flora produced a small silver case and opened it to reveal several miniature arrows set inside with very thin glass shafts filled with a liquid so dark red that it was almost black. She removed one of the arrows. "Now, normally I say this will pinch a little, but you're both technically dead and the Doctor did rip half of his own brain out of his skull at least once in the past without a problem, so I'm not really sure if that warning's relevant here." She smiled and approached the pair. "Anyway, Doctor, you first."

Doctor Finkelstein sighed and nodded.

Flora came up beside him and put the fine point of the small arrow right at the base of his skull. She then gave a light push to the arrow's tail with her thumb. The red liquid inside instantly drained into Dr. Finkelstein.

"Oh!" Dr. Finkelstein shook his skull a little. "That feels…warm. How awful!"

"Hmm," Flora tried not to laugh as she removed the spent arrow shaft to store it back in her silver case and grab a fresh one. "Living people usually enjoy the warmth. Anyway, how do you feel?"

"I…Oh…the pain's leaving…" The Doctor suddenly let out a deep sigh and settled back in his chair. "Oh Jewel, when this is over please take me home. I'd like to have a good rest—it's been days."

Jewel nodded. "Of course, Doctor. That sounds reasonable." Then she looked at Flora. "My turn?" She swallowed, eyeing the little arrow with a frown again.

Flora nodded, her smile and tone soothing, her prism eyes softly flashing. "I promise you Jewel, there will be no pain. You'll feel discomfort at the most, and it'll fade in a few seconds, all right?"

Jewel nodded. "Okay." She came forward.

Flora performed the same process at the back of Jewel's neck with the other small arrow vial.

"Oh!" Jewel straightened up as Flora took away the second empty shaft and then stored her silver case back in her robe. "Warm… That is rather strange." She turned around to Flora with a smile. Then she blinked a few times. "I…oh…I think I understand what you mean, Flora, about feelings and emotions and experiencing them now. I'm all better, and the Doctor's all better, and I feel very…very…more than good…um…happy? And relieved?" She looked to Flora for confirmation.

Flora nodded, smiling more. "Yes, I'd expect so. And very good—you're recognizing different emotions already. You'll be able to feel things just like as completely as Sally does in no time."

Jewel beamed and clapped her hands together. "Thank you! Oh, and thank you so much for helping the Doctor!" She hesitated but then went forward and hugged Flora tightly.

Flora laughed a little, hugging her back in return. "Well, I'm glad to see things are managing to progress this quickly." She pulled back a little to look at her. "You've never had a chance to experience many emotions before, so just take it slowly and do your best. Love is a very powerful force, after all."

Jewel nodded. "Of course. I will. Thank you again." She got behind the Doctor's chair to push him once more. "I'm going to take the Doctor out front to see what's going on with the rest of the meeting and to say goodbye to everyone, and then we'll head home so he can have his nap. Will you come out front and see everybody with us?"

Flora nodded. "Oh yes, I think I should help Marigold and the Mayor anyway now that we're done here. And besides, except for the Mayor and Jack and Sally and now you two, I haven't really had a chance to properly meet all of the people you have here in Halloween Town, and I'd love to make their acquaintances before Marigold and I have to leave." She sighed. "And I also think I really owe Jack a full effort from me to sort out this situation about his relationship with Sally. I hope I can help everyone here understand their love better."

"Oh what's to understand!" Dr. Finkelstein interjected with a scowl, his tone gruff. "She goes and runs off—that's bad enough, but at least it's typical and at least she's safe and not bothering anyone. But then Sally gets involved with this scandalous love affair with the Pumpkin King of all people! It's…outrageous! It makes no sense!" His lip quivered in anger.

Flora's smile fell and the rainbows in her eyes became cool silver. "Their love is not scandalous, Doctor Finkelstein, or outrageous or wrong in any way. Their love is quite true, quite unbreakable, and quite meant to be. Believe me, I know these things."

Dr. Finkelstein raised an eyebrow but then replied back, "But Sally can't just…put herself so completely in the care of another person like that. She could get hurt! She's not ready for all of this excitement!"

Flora just sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, and what exactly is going to happen to her in this situation that is so awful? Sally clearly knows how she feels and how Jack feels. And Jack is your King—he must be the most irreproachable man in town. You can't possibly imagine he would do something to cause her pain or that he wouldn't be able to take care of her if she needed it." She crossed her arms over her chest. "What, will Sally 'die' from too much happiness and too much freedom and too many hugs and a few kisses?"

Dr. Finkelstein turned away, pouting a little. "Well…but…a-and I just don't understand why Jack would pick her…"

Flora came around to catch his gaze with her own. "Because, Doctor Finkelstein," she smiled, and her tone was soft again, "you created a truly brilliant and wonderful creation with Sally. She's not just some stuffed doll that can walk and talk and make tea. You created a being who has a spirit and a heart and a mind all her own. She's kind and faithful and brave and clever and affectionate. You can create totally developed life with your lab and your hands, Doctor—that's a gift, and I would treasure it and use it wisely and celebrate your success instead of trying to shelter it." She sighed and added, "But the next time you use your gift, don't forget to add the 'heart', okay?" She gestured with her head back to Jewel. "It just makes more work for me trying to fix a situation like the one you got yourself into with Jewel, and I've got a holiday of my own coming up in less than five weeks."

Dr. Finkelstein just looked at her with an eyebrow raised, speechless for a moment. Then he nodded. "I…yes, um…very well then…" He considered her words deeply. "I…I never thought about Sally that way…"

"Or Jewel?" Flora couldn't help but suggest, her smile rising on one side.

Dr. Finkelstein blinked a couple of times. "Well, of course Jewel is…different. I made her differently, I gave her part of my mind. She's…precious to me." He shrugged and looked down with another pout.

A very large smile instantly appeared on Jewel's face, and she looked down as well.

Flora nodded. "I see. Well, even if Jewel is the one who's precious to you, both of them are brilliant women. And you, Doctor, are a very brilliant creator of life. Their only big difference is that Sally chose to be someone else's 'precious' while you have Jewel as yours. There's nothing wrong with looking for her own place in the world while you and Jewel seem so content together, is there?"

The Doctor shrugged and cleared his throat. "Well, er…the situations are different but…related in a way, I suppose. So perhaps you do make a valid point. And I suppose there's not much I can do about the situation with Jack and Sally now anyway."

Flora just sighed and smiled. 'Well, it's a start.' "Well then," she cleared her throat and straightened up to address both the Doctor and Jewel, "let's get going to see everyone out front. Come along!" She went forward and pulled back the curtain to allow Jewel to push the Doctor through to the stage and then down into the crowd.

Jewel took up the Doctor's chair handles and nodded, still beaming as she came forward with him. "Thank you very much, Heart Queen. Um…you've been so nice and I…appreciate it and feel grateful for it?" She looked to her for approval of her emotional words again.

Flora nodded. "Very good. In no time at all you'll be in touch with every emotion you have." She winked.

Jewel giggled as they all went forward together out to the stage. "I can't wait!" 'I'll finally understand exactly how I feel about the Doctor, and then I'm sure I can come up with what to do about it!' she thought to herself with joy.

Flora followed after the pair and smiled to herself. 'Now then, to see about making sure Jack and Sally's love has a place in this world…' She came out to the front of the stage now and approached Marigold and the Mayor…and smiled more to see the two of them smiling and the other citizens talking with far less agitation than before: all good signs that Jack and Sally's love was finally settling into its place in this Halloween world.

Back with the Pumpkin King and his rag doll dearest friend, the pair were still walking along on the outskirts of town and now had another companion—Zero floating along with them. As one of their only allies regarding their relationship, having the little ghost dog for extra company had just seemed appropriate, and so Jack had given a whistle while he and Sally had been passing the graveyard, and sure enough Zero had popped out from his headstone and joined his master and new mistress. And now as he floated along with them he nuzzled Jack and then Sally and sometimes nuzzled right between them at once, further lightening the mood.

And meanwhile, Jack and Sally had a chance to talk calmly now about their visit to the gorge.

"Sally…" Jack scratched Zero with his free hand and squeezed Sally's hand with the one still holding hers, "back at the town hall, it's not that I didn't want you to come with me to check on the lair. In fact, to be honest, I always want you with me a little bit now." Jack swallowed, looking down a little. "I just wanted to go by myself. Do you understand?" He glanced at her.

Sally raised an eyebrow but then bit her lower lip and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Jack, not quite. Would you mind explaining it to me?"

Jack smiled a little and nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry, I guess I can be a little too private sometimes. I'm just so used to always being alone." He cleared his throat. "But, anyway, when I said I wanted you to stay in town instead of coming with me to Oogie's lair, it wasn't because I thought you'd be a burden or that you couldn't handle it or that I was trying to exclude you. I asked to go by myself because, along with checking on the bug situation, I just wanted to have a moment alone there to think about everything that happened with Christmas and Oogie Boogie and to give myself some closure about it, that's all."

Sally blinked. "Oh. I think I understand, Jack." She smiled. "Thank you for letting me know." But then she frowned a little. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you take me along. I guess I was feeling a little stubborn. Do you still want some time alone at the gorge? I could wait somewhere else, like in the graveyard or by Spiral Hill," she offered.

Jack just shook his skull though, still smiling. "No, no, it's all right. Besides, after that town meeting I think we need to be together for each other. Could I make one request though?"

Sally nodded. "Of course, Jack."

"Would you mind waiting on the bridge while I go down into the gorge to the lair alone?" he explained with a sigh. "Just in case something does happen it'll be helpful to have someone up there who can run back to town for help, and either way there's really no need for two people to check things out inside of the lair…and I really would like a moment alone in there if possible, like I said." Jack's eye sockets looked forward and down in thought.

Sally considered and nodded. "Yes, I'll stay at the bridge. But be careful." She squeezed his hand and moved closer to him, trying to smile a little to lighten the mood. "We just got back together—it would be a shame if anything happened to one of us now."

Jack nodded, trying to smile a little too. "I'll be very careful. Like I promised you, I'll do my best to take the very best care of myself from now on. And especially with you to come home to each day, I'll certainly have motivation." He nuzzled his skull against her hair.

Sally smiled more, nuzzling him back. "That'll be nice. Every day together…"

Jack chuckled a little. "Yes, I imagine it will. Every day we'll scandalously dash down from our house and sing songs through the town, you'll come with me to town hall and we'll hold hands while we Halloween plan, and then I'll hold all your threads and needles while you sew things. And at the end of the day, I'll kiss your hand and scoop you up in my arms right in front of everyone to carry you home. Oh, we'll have the town singing in surprise for years to come." He laughed.

Sally didn't laugh though. She just looked down with her eyes bright and her cheeks a reddish purple and a big beaming smile on her face.

Jack noticed her silence and gave her a curious grin. "Sally?" He laughed a little more. "Does the idea of our forbidden relationship appeal to you that much?"

Sally shook her head. "No." then she nodded. "I mean yes…" Then she giggled, "I mean…" she sighed softly and looked down entirely, "You called your house…our house."

"Arf!" Zero nodded with a smile and his nose glowed.

Sally went on. "You did it once before but we were fighting and I didn't want to say anything, but as long as we're not fighting now, I…well…do you really think of it as 'our' house now?"

Jack raised an eyebrow at first, but then he thought for a moment and realized she was right. He blanched and smiled quite a bit himself. "Yes, I have started calling it 'our house' now, haven't I? And Zero seems to approve of that change too." He swallowed, his voice quieting. "You know, I have a very strong attachment to you, Sally…a very strong affection. And I really can't imagine my life now without you to come home to each day." His voice grew softer still. "I'm sorry if that's all a bit sudden and a bit much, I just can't help myself. And I've decided to start being very open and very honest with you now…and that's the start of it."

She just smiled at him so curiously. Then Sally giggled and shook her head. "Silly, silly skeleton…you act like I don't feel exactly the same way about you." She let her voice lower too, talking near his ear. "I've longed to be close to you from the moment I met you, Jack Skellington. By now I couldn't bear to be apart from you either." She sighed. "On Christmas Eve when we thought you were dead, I…"

Jack kissed her cheek. Then he pulled back and whispered into her ear. "I know…I'm sorry, and I know. I felt it too, hearing your screams from the top of the gorge. I didn't know what I'd find down there, whether or not it would be too late to save you…what Oogie might have done to you besides killing you and Sandy." He sighed. "All I know is that I've never felt as angry as I felt that night when I saw Oogie." His looked down a little. "That's why I need a moment now—to deal with that anger and what I did with it. I never…hurt another being like what I did to Oogie on Christmas Eve, and I don't know what it says about me that I could do such a thing."

Sally's eyes went wide in surprise. "You…you feel guilty about Oogie Boogie?" The fact hit her, and she was surprised she hadn't considered it before. Then again so much had happened that night. But still, now that she thought about it, Sally could recall how much the sight of Oogie's bugs and burlap falling into the oil vat had frightened her, and how she had caught a glance of Jack's face during that creature's demise. But Jack hadn't looked frightened, had he? No, there had just been this dark scowl on his features the likes of which she had never seen.

Jack swallowed, still looking down and forward now too. "Oh, I feel guilty about a lot more than just Oogie Boogie. All on a whim, even if I was going through a bit of a personal crisis, I derailed this entire town for two months, nearly killed a holiday leader, nearly got myself killed, nearly got you…" He couldn't say it. "I've apologized to the town for it, I've apologized to Santa for it, I've learned my lesson from it. But I never harmed a citizen until Christmas Eve, Sally. I know it might have been the only way to stop Oogie Boogie." He shook his head. "He was always unhinged, always deranged…Evil. He wanted to lead this town, wanted us to do unspeakable things. I tried to lock him away, but he's a corrupting force. And if I had to make the decision again, I wouldn't change anything." He sighed. "I just think going back there, having a moment to myself might help me accept things and might let Oogie rest in peace. And maybe I want to mourn a little too. I didn't just not like Oogie—I also felt bad for him. He was every truly bad aspect of Halloween all rolled up into one person. No wonder it drove him mad. I think the least I can do is make sure that lair can't hurt anybody else and offer him some condolences."

Sally had just been watching him as they walked on, her eyes wide, tears threatening to fall. Even Zero frowned, his nose glow dimming. "Jack…" she spoke again now, "I know you feel bad about the responsibility you took on with this. But just remember you're such a good man, Jack—you love all of us so much, even the person who hated you most. I think you're very noble." She leaned up and kissed his cheek.

Jack sighed softly. "And I think I truly love having a dearest friend to talk with, Sally. It helps."

Jack and Sally managed to smile a little.

Then the pair finally came in sight of the old town bridge now.

As they came to the edge of the gorge, Jack separated from Sally.

Jack went to the side of the gorge opposite the one Jewel had slipped down and, as expected, he found the platform attached to a rope that the trick-or-treaters had used to lower themselves and the Mayor down to the window leading to Oogie's lair on Christmas Eve night. He knew that was the easiest way in. Before settling himself on the platform though, Jack glanced back to Sally. "Sally, just out of curiosity, do you have any feelings or intuition about what I might find down there?"

Sally blinked at the question. But then she looked down into the gorge and considered. "It does look scary, all of that darkness, but I don't sense anything bad—at least nothing like I used to sense whenever I'd come near here on my own in the past."

Jack smiled a little. "Oh, good, that's—" And then he paused and blinked. "Why would you ever come around here alone in the past? Sally, that's horribly dangerous."

Sally looked down, holding her hands in front of herself. "I…" She sighed and looked up at him. "Jack, I'd rather wait until later to explain something like that to you. Maybe when we're back at the house and settled in? It's all a very long story."

Jack raised an eyebrow but then nodded to her. "Of course, Sally, if that's what you want." He moved closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm here for you to talk about whatever you want whenever you want, my dearest friend."

Sally smiled up at him. "Thank you, dearest Jack."

Jack smiled in return. Then he took a breath and separated from her to turn to the gorge again. "If you don't have any bad feelings about this place, then this shouldn't take long. Just wait up here for about fifteen minutes. If I'm not back up by then…I'll leave the decision up to you, Sally: either go get help from the town with Zero or send him along and come down there to check on me yourself. But I think that even if I take a little extra time, I'll still be fine."

Sally nodded. "I think you'll be fine too, Jack. Good luck." She smiled.

Jack looked to her with a smile as well. Then he stepped onto the platform and began to lower himself down on the rope into the inky darkness below while Sally looked on from above with Zero at her side.

Several minutes later, in the lower depths of the gorge, Jack reached the window and dropped himself down into Oogie Boogie's lair.

The Pumpkin King stood up and dusted himself off then glanced around with a frown. "Oh dear…what a mess."

The place was in shambles, of course. After all, Jack had destroyed half of Oogie's booby traps during Christmas Eve. Spare parts and gears and saw blades and bullets randomly were scattered about, half the lights were flickering or dead, the central spinning blade device still hung suspended in the center of the room with Oogie's burlap wrapped around it, and in the middle of things the vat of burning oil had cooled and congealed into a thick, green, gelatinous mixture in which could still be seen the bodies of many dead bugs.

Jack sighed as he walked around, talking to himself a little. "An utter torture chamber. I should never have promised him that I would leave him alone if he left the town alone—he had all this time to build and plot." Jack tried to look over everything very evenly and yet his eyes couldn't help moving again and again to that large blade machine knotted up with burlap. He mumbled to himself. "We probably still could bring you back, you know…. Cut down that cloth, gather some new bugs, give you one more chance…" Jack shook his head at the thought though and finally broke his gaze away from the sight. "But maybe it's better to leave you put out of your misery. I should actually demolish this place properly before I have the gorge filled in, just in case."

Jack began to look around the walls now and especially near the pipe entrance leading up to Lock, Shock, and Barrel's tree house, searching for clues about the bugs. He failed to see anything suspicious though. After several minutes, he let out a sigh and turned to sit with his back against the wall where the pipe came out. "Maybe some bugs just escaped from here Christmas Eve night, and they all came up the pipe already. I suppose then there really is nothing more to do about the matter except to find a place for them to live where they won't be able to cause harm or be harmed. I don't know, I…"

Chirrup.

The littlest sound met Jack's ears. He blinked and glanced to his side.

From a crack in the wall, a large cricket-like bug with big eyes peeked out hesitantly.

Jack eyed it curiously and smiled. "Hello there. I've been looking for bugs. Are there more of you?"

Chirrup. Chirrup.

A couple more heads peaked out, these appearing to belong to smaller versions of the same bug. All three creatures were just looking at the Pumpkin King curiously.

Jack turned himself more toward them. 'These couldn't be Oogie's bugs—those things were always engrained with his personality. They would have attacked me by now.' "Ah, I see you have a family." He smiled a little. "Now, where did you all come from?" They were peeping out from behind a loose stone. As Jack put his hands on the stone to move it, the three bugs cowered a little and started to shake.

Jack stopped and spoke to them again. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. No one is going to hurt you anymore." Jack recalled Oogie's habit of eating bugs live—a cruel pastime, in his opinion. He slowly removed the stone only to see a few dozen bugs of all colors, large and small in size and with big expressive eyes, huddling together in a little hollow place.

Jack looked down at them. 'The bugs Lock Shock and Barrel had looked just like these and they didn't attack either. None of these bugs haven't been tainted by Oogie Boogie.' A thought occurred to him, and he addressed the creatures again. "Are you the survivors of the bugs Lock, Shock, and Barrel would cage and shove down here? Or…are you a snack Oogie set aside for later?" Jack frowned as their continuing looks of misery answered his question easily. He sighed and shook his head, gathering up a piece of scrap metal bent like a basin. "All of you, please come in here. I'll take you back up to the surface. I promise you, you're safe now and everything will be okay." Jack had to gently guide the bugs into the basin with his hand. Once they were all safely inside, he smiled down at them. "I'll bring you to your friends, and we'll let you go in the pumpkin patch. This far after Halloween it'll be a smorgasbord of soft pumpkins to eat. Besides, we need to get rid of the last batch of pumpkins to make room for the new batch." The 'chirrups' of the bugs became gentler. Jack gave them a nod.

Then, his prize in hand, the Pumpkin King decided to take one more lingering walk around the lair.

Jack sighed to himself. "Well, I suppose that's it then. Sally was right, nothing suspicious, nothing bad here, just a little problem and one I am grateful to fix before filling in the gorge." He sighed softly as he looked at the broken remains of this place. He shook his head.

Jack came back to the large gelled-over oil vat now and his eyes finally returned to that twisted slicing machine high up in the air with Oogie's burlap wrapped all around it. He swallowed and then spoke softly. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you to be happier, Oogie. I'm sorry you could only see the evil side to Halloween and none of the fun or the joy. And I'm sorry I destroyed you. I have to keep everyone safe, Oogie, that's my job. You went too far, so I had to go a little too far, but now it's over." He took a deep breath. "While I'm still in a very calm and forgiving mood, I want to promise you that I'll put up a small headstone for you in the graveyard. It's the least I could do. And I also promise you that I'll try to think on you as little as possible. I don't have any fond memories of you." He scowled a little. "And I have a feeling I'll only want to have the blackest thoughts regarding you once I find out from Sally whatever it was she had to do to get down here when she tried to save Santa…. So I think it's just best if I don't think on you much at all, for both of our sakes. I've found love, and I want my heart to be filled only with love from now on." Jack took another deep breath to calm himself and then walked casually away toward the wall with the window exit. "This lair will be demolished shortly, the pipeline will be gone and your gorge will be a swamp. Oh, and Sally will be receiving your part of the song in our Halloween parade—I think I may have just the role for her actually." He was at the wall now and prepared to negotiate how he would get up to the window with his bugs safely in hand. "Goodbye, Oogie Boogie. Rest in Peace," he said quietly to himself, pausing one more moment in the darkness.

Suddenly a rope with a loop at the bottom dropped down right in front of him.

Jack blinked and looked up to see that the rope was coming from the little window, and that Sally had dropped it down to him.

Sally leaned in and waved down to Jack. "If you're ready you can come up now, Jack. The fifteen minutes passed, and I decided to send Zero for help while I came down here to check on you. He went to go get the trick-or-treaters since they're nearby in their tree house." She frowned, concern coming to her eyes. "Is everything all right down there?"

Jack nodded and stepped into the loop while holding the rope with is free hand. "Yes, everything's okay. And thank you for coming for me, Sally. Are you sure you can pull me up?"

Sally nodded. "Yes. I made a pulley system with the hook holding up the platform, so it shouldn't be too hard." She grabbed the rope end and pulled, and slowly Jack rose.

A few moments later Jack was at the level of the window and he hopped onto the platform with Sally, his metal basin of bugs still in hand. He smiled at Sally and showed her what he had. "I think these were either bugs that escaped from Oogie before he could eat them. They're innocent, just scared. I've decided to let them go in the pumpkin patch along with the rest of the bugs Lock, Shock, and Barrel caught where there's plenty of food. Then we'll fill in the gorge as planned."

Sally frowned at the sight of all of the scared bugs. She recalled how frightened she had felt when Shock had nearly thrown her hand down into that lair and imagined how scared the bugs must have been being down there too. She nodded. "I think that's an excellent plan, Jack. We'll go up right now and let Lock, Shock, and Barrel know."

Jack nodded, then set the basin of bugs on the platform and held out his hand for the rope. "Allow me, Sally. You pulled me up, the least I can do is pull both of us up together."

Sally nodded and smiled as she handed him the end of the rope. "Okay, Jack. I'll hold the bugs for you if you want." She took the basin, and smiled down at the creatures. "It's all right, Jack and I will make sure you're safe and that no one will eat any of you." The bugs actually gave sweet little coos now.

Jack smiled warmly at the sight. Then he began to pull them all up to the surface.

Sally was quiet for a moment. She bit her lip and then finally asked softly, "Did you have the moment you needed, Jack?"

Jack glanced away. He sighed and nodded. "Yes, and I feel better for it. I really do."

Sally smiled a little. "Jack…? I…I didn't mean to overhear, I swear, it's just the fifteen minutes passed and so I decided to come down, and then I was waiting for you, and I only heard the very end, and—"

"It's okay, Sally," Jack assured her softly, looking to her again. "I thought you might have overheard something anyway."

Sally sighed. "I just wanted you to know that I thought what you said was beautiful, and I admire your forgiveness, Jack, I do." She frowned. "I'm not even sure I have that much forgiveness in me…for Oogie or anybody else."

Jack frowned a little as well. "It's not easy to have that much forgiveness, Sally. All I can say is that it helps to remember that everyone makes mistakes and that a lot of times when people do something bad it's either because they don't know any better or because they've been unfortunate enough to have little love and caring in their lives. But if you can forgive them and let it go, they'll probably end up much more at peace and so will you." Jack swallowed, and his voice lowered. "I don't know what the Doctor and then Oogie Boogie did to you exactly, Sally, but if it'll take you time to forgive them, that's perfectly fine. And in the meantime, if you want to talk to me about any of it, I'm here for you, and I promise not to make things worse by getting myself all worked up. I'll just listen and comfort you, my Sally."

She just swallowed and nodded. "Yes, yes, I'd like that, my dearest friend, Jack…" she smiled softly to herself. Then she laughed a little and looked up at him, her eyes hazed. "You know, I think you're the most wonderful man in the world, Jack, and if I wasn't worried about you dropping the rope, I'd have another passionate kiss with you right now."

Jack blinked a couple of times and then a little smile came to his lips as he continued to pull up the platform. "Well, yes, maybe just right now isn't the best time—hands seem to be involved in kissing somehow. You know, I never knew that until we kissed. The whole thing's very physical, it would make for interesting experiments." He looked down. "I-I mean, not 'experiments,' just observations, I guess. Heh, you should have seen what I saw some people doing in Valentine's Town and…" The Pumpkin King was blanching completely by this point in his rambling, and now he finally just swallowed and took a deep breath. "Sorry, Sally. I get flustered sometimes talking about intimate things."

Sally just giggled warmly. "It's all right, Jack. Yes, kissing is very intimate. And touching does seem to be part of it." She played with some strands of her hair. "But touching like that is very nice, though, don't you think?" She gazed at him again.

"Oh yes…" Jack sighed deeply. "I get nervous sometimes but yes, touching is lovely." He finally looked up at her again, his eye sockets hazed as well.

Sally was just sitting there with her legs adorably pulled partly underneath herself and a warm smile on her face and a little light blush on her cheeks. 'So lovely…' He had a brief image of lying in the grass with her in some private knoll of Lovers Lane and holding her while she giggled and they kissed lightly and said sweet things to each other in whispers.

"Jack, can I ask something?" Sally's soft voice interrupted his thoughts for the moment. She played with her hair more. "Sometimes when you're around me, your skull turns a little pale. Is that how you 'blush'?" She raised an eyebrow.

Jack blinked and sure enough he blanched a little more. He shrugged. "Yes. Of course, I never had much reason to blush until lately, but yes. I don't have blood, so instead the marrow in my bones warms up a little and rushes to my skull and makes me look paler for a moment."

She smiled more. "It's very cute. I like it."

Jack grinned distinctly. "Oh. Thanks."

They both looked at each other for a moment and then just burst into warm laughter.

The pair finally reached the top of the bridge now.

"Ugh, tell me you two spent the entire time down there flirting instead of getting any work done! What did you two do—make Oogie Boogie gag at your cuteness until he was in submission?" an impatient Shock questioned, tapping her foot as she waited with the other boys and their bathtub of bugs near the bridge with Zero.

Jack just smiled and shook his head as he tied off the rope against the bridge, alighted onto the ground and then helped Sally with the bugs off of the platform. "No, no, though that was my backup plan." He laughed a little, then sighed and gestured to what he had discovered down in the lair. "No Oogie Boogie, no mass of evil bugs trying to reassemble itself into him. It's just the last of these poor creatures that were down there." He scowled a little the trick-or-treaters. "I'm sure you must remember them—I'm guessing the three of you sent each one of them down that pipeline in your tree house to their doom."

Lock glanced away innocently. "Uh, well, maybe one or two…"

"But just sometimes! And we'd put them in cages for…uh…their safety, yeah, that was it!" Barrel grinned.

Shock rolled her eyes. "Hey, Oogie Boogie was a big guy with a big appetite—we had to feed him something!"

Jack just shook his head, his scowl softening. "Well, the point is there will be no more torturing these poor creatures. I know we all like the occasional spider stew or worms au gratin or moth tea, but these kind of large Halloween Town bugs are much more like pets. And we haven't had a good population of them around here in a very long time, once again, I'm assuming, because of three trick-or-treating harvesters." He eyed the children.

The three kids just shrugged 'innocently'. Then Lock stepped forward, "So, anyway, Jack, what are we supposed to do with the bugs now?"

"Yeah, we're getting tired of all this back and forth between here and the town—we've got mischief to make!" Shock pointed out.

"Yeah, what she said!" Barrel nodded with a lick of his lollipop.

Jack smiled. "Of course, of course, but I just need your help in one more way. Please follow Sally and I with your bathtub to the pumpkin patch. We're going to release the bugs in there where they should be safe and happy, and then you three can feel free to go on your way. Maybe you can even catch the end of the town meeting if it's still going on. Come on, Sally." Jack hooked arms with her. "Let's all go."

"Arf!" Zero did a circle in the air and then flew out in front to guide everybody.

The group began to march on.

Shock hopped onto the edge of the tub for a ride. "Oh fine, Jack, we'll help get the stupid bugs to the pumpkin patch. Ugh, but we're not going back to that dumb town meeting after this."

"Yeah," Lock agreed. "Those people have no sense of humor. I mean, you go up on that stage two months ago singing about shiny bows and jolly decorations, and everyone goes for it. Then you go up there tonight and tell them you've got a girlfriend, and they act like you just suddenly found out you were alive or something."

"Mmm hmm," Barrel nodded with another his lollipop. "Didn't even laugh at you, just acted all disappointed. What's this town coming to? Heh, Shock told them off good though."

Jack and Sally blinked and looked to Shock, who cut them off at the pass. "Hey, hey, don't think I did it because I felt bad for the two of you or anything." She crossed her arms over her chest, her nose up in the air. "I just can't stand to see a good joke fall flat all because everyone has to be so dramatic. Besides, Jack, you and Sally being together means you finally have someone to drag you out of the house every once and a while the other three hundred and sixty four days a year besides Halloween and someone to pawn off all your sappiness on so you don't have to bother the rest of us with it anymore. Now if she can only convince you to start acting scary more of the time, I say Jack and Sally forever!"

"Jack and Sally forever!" the two boys cheered with grins, holding up their pitchfork and lollipop respectively. "Ow!"

Shock bopped them with her broom. "Aw, quit kissing up, you idiots!"

The three children grumbled a little but then went back to walking along peacefully.

Jack and Sally just watched them and tried not to laugh too much.

"I think this is a nice sign, Jack," Sally whispered into Jack's ear with a hopeful smile. "Maybe if the three of them can accept us this much, the rest of the town can come around too."

Jack nodded. "Maybe you're right. Even if it takes everyone else a while, if the trick-or-treaters can like us being together then anyone can." He smiled. "And they even stood up for us in their own way. Hmm, maybe I'm better with children than thought."

Sally smiled more and leaned a little against him. "Speaking of children, we should go see the ones in Valentine's Town one day. I'd like that, Jack. And to go see all of these couples you started telling me about before." She giggled a little.

Jack's grin picked up on one side. "Oh, yes, we could do that if you wanted. Besides, there's a place there I'd like you to see. It's called Lovers Lane. People kiss in all sorts of ways there."

"It's a date then, Jack." Sally kissed his cheek.

Naturally, the three trick-or-treaters walking behind them made various gagging sounds at the gesture, but Jack and Sally only smiled more.

And so the whole group headed onward, first to the pumpkin patch and then home for the evening.

Sometime just after the town meeting had broken up, Jewel was just pushing Doctor Finkelstein home and marveling at her new sense of clarity and at how much better she felt as a living being now. 'When I have to make sure the doctor eats his dinner on time even when he's being fussy about wanting to work on his experiments, I feel…awkward for bothering him but determined to make sure he takes care of himself and happy when he eats and then thanks me for the meal. When Igor tries to get out of taking a bath after I already gave him cake for agreeing to do it, I feel frustrated but I also feel like I still care for him, and then whenever he does keep his promise to take a bath I feel proud that he listened to me. When I found Sally, I felt joyful that I had another creation to share with and to get to know. When I saw the Pumpkin King for the first time, I felt relieved that he would save me and I felt reverence for his title. And when the other townspeople acted so upset about Jack and Sally being together, I felt sad and disappointed right along with Jack and Sally.' She considered some more. 'But now I feel happy that everything might turn out all right in the end, and I'm very thrilled to go home with the Doctor and go back to our normal lives. And I'm excited about the idea of Jack and Sally visiting soon.'

Jewel came out of her thoughts as the Doctor spoke up from his chair. He had been resting as she had taken him through town, and now they were in sight of the manor. "Jewel, please put me in my room and bring me soup and tea. I want to go to bed right away tonight. I'm very tired."

Jewel nodded. "Of course, Doctor. I'm so happy you're feeling better now. I'll care for you as much as you need."

"Thank you, my precious Jewel." The Doctor let out a sigh of relief. "How are you handling your new emotions, by the way? Not planning to run off with any holiday kings or anything?" He almost laughed a little.

Jewel blinked and then felt warm in her face. She shook her head. "No, of course not, Doctor. I could never leave you. We're so close and so similar. And I feel so strongly for you."

"Hmm…" The Doctor sighed. "Good. I've always wanted a faithful companion. Precious Jewel? Promise me if you ever become restless like Sally did that you'll talk with me about it first and not just run away. I just…don't want to be left alone…for, um, practical reasons." He cleared his throat.

Jewel nodded. "Of course, Doctor. I'll talk to you about my feelings." She smiled. "I'd like that very much. And I won't leave you alone. Never." She reached up and gently touched his cranium, rubbing it slightly.

"Oh…" The Doctor sighed deeply, closing his eyes. "Thank you, my precious Jewel."

Jewel sighed softly too. "Oh Doctor, you're welcome. I…I…" The feeling she always had about the Doctor, it was becoming clear to her, and she wanted to recognize it. She was certain she'd know the logical way to proceed if she recognized it. "I…Oh." There it was. "I love you, Doctor."

"…What did you just say?"

Jewel had never heard the Doctor take that tone before. It was very cold, and it made her feel worry a little. But she still smiled—it was such a happy thing to love another! "I love you, Doctor. Or, the right way to say it might be that I'm in love with you. I just didn't realize that's what it was until right now, otherwise I would have told you sooner." Jewel considered. "Hmm, people in love usually do something to show that love, don't they? Jack and Sally decided to live together. But we already live together…. Oh, would you like to get married, Doctor?" She smiled brightly.

Jewel wheeled the Doctor toward the gate, but he didn't say anything. "Doctor?" she tried.

Jewel wheeled the Doctor up the drive to the manor, but he still didn't say anything.

Jewel wheeled the Doctor into the house. Still nothing.

When they got to the ramp leading upstairs, he held up his hand though, signaling her to stop.

Jewel did stop. 'I feel confused,' she realized.

The Doctor finally spoke now. "I'll take myself to my room. I won't be needing you for the rest of the night. And I won't be needing you for breakfast in the morning. See to Igor." He began to wheel himself away.

Jewel just watched him go. "Goodnight, Doctor," she called up to him softly. 'Goodnight, my Precious Jewel,' was always what he said to her no matter what kind of day they'd had together.

The Doctor paused in wheeling his chair. "Hmm…" He made a slight grunt under his breath, didn't turn around, and then wheeled himself upstairs the rest of the way.

Jewel lowered her hand as she watched him go. She continued watching, even when he was out of sight.

A few moments passed in the dim lower room of the manor. Then Jewel noticed a change. Her face felt cold and wet in some places. She touched her face and pulled back her fingers to examine what was happening. "Water?" She thought to herself. "Oh…tears. I'm crying. I…I must be very, very sad." She frowned more as she felt the tears growing stronger.

Before the sadness overtook her, Jewel dashed to room, shut herself in and curled up on her bed. She spent the better part of the night crying softly and trying to understand her own feelings and what the Doctor's feelings might be.

Jewel only felt at all better when at one point Igor found her and came in and patted her on the shoulder. Igor remembered doing that for Sally sometimes when she would get sad, and to him it seemed to have always made Sally happy again, and now it seemed to work on Jewel too.

Yet, just like Sally, after a little while Jewel went back to being sad and crying in the dark.

Igor sighed to himself and shook his head. He hoped Sally would come back soon, or that the Doctor would stop being so good at making nice ladies and then making them sad. For now, Igor just stayed on the floor in Jewel's room and fell asleep hoping once more that everything would be better soon.

A/N:

That's all for now! Sorry for ending on the sad note with Jewel and the Doctor, but I promise things'll get better soon for them. In the meantime, next chapter Flora and Marigold make their exit (until the epilogue), and Jack and Sally finally get a chance to sit down and talk about their relationship a little bit. I hope you all enjoy it, and thanks for reading! And have lovely holidays!

~Azure129 aka Jenna