A/N: Many thanks to Phish Tacko for her help beta'ing this!
Ch. 8
Halloween
"Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!" Sherlock and Marie sang in unison. A frustrated-looking, middle-aged woman frowned at them.
"Take your candy," She said, shoving a large bowl of bite sized Snickers into Sherlock's hands.
"Oooh, Snickers!" Irene grinned, swiping a piece of candy for herself. The woman at the door shook her head in irritation.
Irene and Sherlock were taking Marie trick or treating.
Every year, Sherlock took Marie, and every year, someone else ended up joining them. This year it was Irene. She was in town and had agreed to come out. She'd even dressed up for the occasion. Fake blood dripped down her face from fake gashes and cuts drawn in with makeup. Her clothes were torn and she made an effort to limp as she moved, effectively mimicking a walker from The Walking Dead.
Sherlock and Marie, on the other hand, had slightly nerdier costumes.
Sherlock had borrowed one of the lab coats from St. Bart's and carried a clipboard. A nametag reading "Dr. V. Frankenstein" was attached to the breast of the coat. Marie had dressed as Frankenstein's monster. Irene had helped to paint her face green and had used spirit gum to attach fake bolts to her neck. The costume was completed by using some wash-out hair dye to add a white streak to Marie's hair.
It was a particularly warm Halloween and several children walked the streets of London. As Sherlock, Marie and Irene made their way door to door, they tried to guess what each costume was.
"Hmmm. Space Elsa?" Irene asked, looking over a teenager that had what looked like an Elsa dress on and antennas coming out of her forehead.
"Probably," Sherlock replied. "Can't imagine what else she would be."
"Space Elsa sounds awesome." Marie added. "And look, there's an old lady!"
The adults looked over at a small child – probably not more than four - who had a white wig and fake glasses on and was pushing a small, homemade walker.
"That's actually pretty well-done," Sherlock noted. He smiled at the kid's parent, who smiled back.
Soon enough they had arrived at the next house. This time, a kindly-looking senior answered.
"Trick or treat, smell my feet-" Sherlock and Marie began again.
The man laughed when they finished and handed them both two pieces of candy. Then he caught sight of Irene.
"A walker! My God!" He said in mock horror. "Don't kill me!"
Marie giggled and the man smiled again.
00
After hitting up every house on the block, Sherlock decided that it was high time to take a trip to Mycroft's neighborhood.
"They give out full-sized candy bars there!" He exclaimed.
A phone call was made to Sierra in the hopes that she could take Selah and James over, and that they could all meet and trick or treat together. Once the plans were settled, Sherlock hailed a cab.
00
Sierra wasn't dressed up, but her kids were.
Selah had on a black shirt and leggings that had a neon pink skeleton painted on them, along with a rainbow tutu. Rainbow colored streaks ran through her hair. She looked like a punk rock skeleton. James had on a red Power Rangers costume.
"Cool costume," Marie said to Selah.
"Thanks, Mum helped me with the hair streaks."
"Irene helped with mine."
Meanwhile, Sherlock greeted Sierra and introduced her to Irene.
"Mycroft's house is over there," He said, pointing to a house across the street. "We should start with him."
"Do you think he's dressed up?" Marie asked.
"We'll see," Sherlock answered.
The group walked over and noticed that Mycroft's entire front lawn was covered with Halloween decorations. A large wooden coffin with a fake skeleton inside of it stood next to his porch, while plastic gravestones with fake hands clawing out littered the grass. Cobwebs were strung all over, and a giant spider was hung above the door. Purple and red lights flashed on an off, giving the yard an eerie glow.
"Whoa," Marie, Selah and Irene all spoke at the same time.
"Ehehehehehehehehe," Came a wicked sounding cackle. Everyone turned to see that the skeleton had been rigged to move and laugh.
"That's creepy," Sierra whispered, taking a step back.
James quickly took his mother's hand.
"I'll protect you!"
Sierra smiled.
The group approached the front door. Sherlock moved to knock, but the door flew open on its own. Out stepped Mycroft, dressed in a very elaborate – and probably very expensive – vampire costume. His hair, or what was left of it, was slicked back and his face painted white. He had a set of fangs and drops of blood painted on his chin.
"Hello, and velcome to my castle!" He greeted in an awful Transylvanian accent.
"He sounds like the Count from Sesame Street," Selah whispered to Marie, who started to laugh.
"And vhat do you find so funny?" Mycroft asked. "You should be terrified!"
"You sound like Count von Count," Selah answered, this time laughing as well.
Mycroft glared at the children.
"Fine, be like that." He snapped, using his regular voice again.
"Aw come on, they're just being funny. And that accent was terrible," Sherlock said.
Mycroft rolled his eyes.
"I suppose you've come for the full-sized candy bars?"
"As always."
"Right." He picked up a large bowl and smirked. "Take your pick."
Everyone chose their favorite candy and placed it in their respective bags.
"I had no idea that you were so into Halloween," Irene said.
"Well, having a niece does that to you. Makes the holidays a bit more fun."
"You should see him at Christmas! Those holiday sweaters – by God, they're hideous!"
"They light up and it makes the children happy!" Mycroft retorted.
"I like Uncle Mycroft's ugly sweaters," Marie chimed in.
The group of adults, including Mycroft, started laughing.
"Alright, then," Sherlock said, as they turned around. "Happy Halloween!"
"Same to you!" Mycroft called back.