After MK got that email, she became more resolved to find her lover and knew that it wouldn't take long before the trail would run colder than it already was. Over the next week, she spent more and more time at the library trying to narrow down places where Jamie's father would have moved. Knowing exactly the places he would pick out, the narrowing down of places was easy, narrowing down people was the hard part, especially since the cities he would choose weren't exactly the smallest. Though she did breathe with gratitude, at least they weren't as big as Las Vegas or New York. She still spent time with Jamie, Jack, Sarah May, and Richard, soon adding Esther to the group. MK noticed with surprise that Esther was different, but in a good way, she wasn't being abusive to Richard anymore, the two, in fact, acting like long-time friends. Sarah May seemed like she could never be sure if Richard was interested in her, or his wife, and started mentally distancing herself from the couple. The distancing only made MK more acutely aware of something approaching, that they were in the calm before the storm.

Sarah May invited MK to stay with her in her apartment until she left, an invitation to which MK was more than willing to accept. She helped Sarah May decorate the hospital, though she noticed the silent sorrow with which Sarah May entered Richard's old room.

"I'm sorry about Richard."

Sarah May sighed, "Me too, you were right about it all, I should have listened to you."

"No, Sarah May, I was wrong. Richard's a great guy, and I think he does like you."

"But he's married, MK, and she seems to have taken a turn for the better. The way they act, they are so meant for each other."

"No! They act like friends, Sarah May, just friends. He has a longing in his eyes when he looks at you, not at her. I was wrong, I see that now, you were so right, you two are meant for each other. You should give it a second chance."

"But he's still married to her, and, and living with her!"

"What happens if it's just for now, until he can get on his feet?"

"He could live with me."

"But you're not married," began MK.

"See?"

"But what if he's getting his things together to move out? He's only just returned to the place he called home before, before his coma." Sarah May glanced sharply at MK, noticing the pause.

"Are you . . . are you starting to believe in Jamie's theory?"

"No, I need definite evidence. But . . . it is a possibility, I'm more open to the idea now than when I first arrived. It's still crazy, no matter how much solid proof you have."

Sarah May laughed bitterly, "Wouldn't it be nice if it was real?"

MK pursed her lips, "Maybe, it would . . . it would be nice if that's the reason why I haven't been able to find my parents."

Sarah May paused and glanced at her friend, "Right, it would, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, and if Jamie is right, then here I am giving my own mother advice on how to get my dad back." The two burst out laughing as they left the room, it was certainly the most interesting set-up. They continued setting up the hospital, talking of more cheerier things than lost loves and broken hopes. The two even discussed costumes, Sarah May hadn't decided yet on what she wanted to dress up as, but helped MK with her Fairer-than-a-Fairy costume. The days leading up to Halloween rolled lazily by, everyone eager for the holiday to approach, but for different reasons, it would seem.

With the extra aid of Esther and Heather, Jack, Richard, and the two Sandy's kept working on ways for at least Jack to leave Cedar Grove for a while, to get MK to believe, and to find the dragons. For getting MK to believe, they always wound up with dead ends. They knew that she needed one clue, just one, that would topple her over the fence. But the only thing that might work would require magic, and that was practically nonexistent, the Sandy's and Mavis the only ones sort of using it. They continued to brainstorm for ideas, but they turned their a way to get someone out of Cedar Grove and attention to working on finding the dragons.

"So, where would a good entrance to the underground be?" asked Richard, glancing over a map of the town.

"Something with a basement," muttered Jack.

Richard sighed, "I know that, but which basement?"

"Well, we can eliminate the houses, those are used a lot. So, which basements are not used often?"

Jack rubbed his chin and pointed at a few places on the map, "The library, the pet shop, that abandoned studio next door, and Glittering Gewels."

"What you wanna bet it's right under Gobber's feet?" asked Esther.

Richard chuckled, "I wouldn't be surprised."

"Well, I did find a box with your fake information in the back room, you're supposed to be working at the pet shop, it could be under your feet." Esther, Richard, and Jack glanced at each other in surprise at Heather's comment. Mavis had been keeping tabs on all of them? Had MK found that? That could be another clue that would help her believe, though they figured that it wouldn't be enough to get MK over the fence. But they had at least narrowed down their search to two locations, Glittering Gewels and Littlest Pet Shop.

With both Esther and Heather near Richard, Mavis had no reason to suspect the real goings-on of their little get-togethers. In fact, she was starting to feel good, Sarah May was pretty much broken-hearted while Richard was spending time with his wife, as he should, so good that she decided to let Jamie go to trick-or-treating on Halloween. She was still unsure of MK, but there didn't seem to be any way in which she could break the spell, so for the first time since MK arrived, Mavis let herself breathe. Jamie got his costume together with the help of Jack and even Heather at times, eager for his first Halloween. But there was one other person, one other heart fluttering with excitement as Halloween approached. The Man in the Moon watched the preparations for Halloween get underway and the hearts of the main characters as the holiday approached. The pieces were falling into place, one by one, as the most exciting, life-changing Halloween of all time drew nigh. He glanced to other parts of the country, they would certainly be affected, though only one would notice the changes, and only because of his connection to the holiday. It wouldn't be long before he would have to step back into the story and help defeat the evils that would soon threaten the town, and his family.