Jack and Sally came to a stop in front of the biggest department store in Halloween town.

Sally gasped and took it in. she turned to Jack with an expression of awe on her face.

"Wow... we're going in here?" she said amazed.

Jack nodded and crossed his arms in confusion.

"Why the amazement? Haven't you ever been in there before?"

Sally shook her head, no, before turning back to the extravagant store with a sad look.

"I've... never really had the money to shop in a place like this. I usually do a lot of patchwork."

She looked down at her Frankenstein sweater and pulled at it despondently. Jack could see the sadness and shame in her eyes and knew he had to do something.

"You know, Sally... I think your skills in sewing are quite remarkable. You'll have to make me something when Christmas rolls around." he said.

Sally blushed at his appraisal and fisted her sweater in shock.

"R-really? I-I'd love to, Mister Skellington..."

Jack turned away to hide his tiny smile and walked towards the automatic doors.

"Alright then, let's get that paperwork."

"Yes, sir!" Sally called as she stuck her hands in her pockets and jogged to catch up.

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The both stepped into the main floor and Sally had to double take.

There were more clothes than she had seen in her entire life. The entire place was polished to a perfect shine. There was an actual fountain spitting water into a pool filled with silver dollars. Silver dollars.

Sally's eyes widened about as a far as they could.

Jack looked with amusement at Sally's expressions. It was almost cute to see her so excited over something like a department store. He found himself giggling slightly as her eyes constantly found something new to gawk at.

Eventually Sally realized that she had been gaping at everything for quite a while and closed her mouth. She hesitantly glanced at Jack's smiling face with embarrassment.

"S-sorry. It's just..."

Jack stopped her with putting a hand on her shoulder and smiling humorously.

"Tell you what." he said. "While I try and find the manager, would you like to look around some more?"

Sally began bouncing excitedly.

"Oh, can I, Mister Skellington?"

"Go ahead."

Sally smiled at him and then ran off with her arms spread, going "wheeeee..." as she disappeared from sight.

Jack shook his head and chuckled, before walking off.

Now if I was a manager, where would I be? He thought to himself.

Spying an employee several feet away, he raised his arm to get her attention and walked towards her. She seemed to see him, but abruptly turned around and began walking in the other direction. That was certainly odd.

"Wait, miss, please..." he called out.

But it was already too late. She turned a corner and vanished.

Jack curiously scratched his head and looked around to see where she had gone.

How strange...

Jack dismissed it and began walking towards the men's section of the store. While looking around for another employee he spotted one lounging against a mirror. As soon as he started walking towards him, however, the same thing happened. He just got up and left.

Jack frowned. Something was going on here and he didn't like it.

This time when he was looking he stayed hidden behind some racks of clothes and observed carefully. He quickly located an employee standing a few sections away. However, he didn't try to approach him. He just watched silently.

An old woman, maybe sixty years old, approached the employee looking like she wanted to ask him something. Just like Jack had seen before, the employee saw her and then made himself scarce.

The woman looked confused for a second and then wandered off.

So it's not just me... I need to do some more research. He thought determinedly as he ran off.

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` Sally drooled with longing over a fuzzy pair of socks.

They look so warm and cozy, but they're so expensive... she thought depressingly.

Slowly putting them back, she continued browsing through the store, finding things that made her jump for joy and then sink with sadness when she saw much they cost.

Ohhh, why does everything have to cost money? she thought angrily.

Sighing to herself, she kept going through the aisles of nice, non patchwork clothes.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a mannequin that was sporting a woman's suit.

She walked over to it and stared intently. It was a three piece suit, a jacket, a blouse, and a skirt. The blouse was pure white, and the jacket and skirt were white with black pinstripes. The jacket itself resembled jack's in shape. It had tails just like his did. There was also a little ribbon worn around the neck with a black stone set in the middle.

Wow... I would look so cool in that. She thought.

A blush surfaced when another thought came to mind.

And Jack might like it too...

There was no longer any doubt in her mind that she was attracted to Jack. He was a strong, commanding, intelligent person. Nice, in his own way, and compassionate, when he needed to be.

And not that she'd ever say it out loud, but he could kick some major ass.

In the first few hours that she had gotten to know him, not much had been said... and it didn't need to be. As far as Sally knew, Jack spoke more with his actions than his words. And from what she had seen, he was a true gentleman.

She didn't need to know more about him, or his past, or any secrets he might have, his ambitions, his fears, his hopes, his desires... she was slowly but surely falling in love with a man she barely knew. The biggest wonder she had about him was if he felt the same way.

She shook her head to get rid of the idea. No man, much less Jack, could ever see her in that way. She was always a hopeless romantic and had never been in a relationship. Jack was so mature and had probably much more experience than she did. Who was she to think that he would fall in love with her as fast as she did? She was just too plain. She was too chilidish. It was foolish to believe that someone as incredible as Jack could ever view her as something more than an assistant... besides, the suit was too expensive anyway.

Still, if someone had seen me in that suit walking with Jack, they probably would have thought we were a couple...

Sally stood there and giggled as her little fantasies played out in her mind, red in the face. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice the person slowly coming up behind her. Even when they were inches away Sally did not notice.

"Can I help you with anything, ma'am?" the employee said.

Sally gave a little yelp and spun around in surprise to face the employee. She was still blushing and panting a bit as the employee just kept a plastered smile and stared forward creepily.

Sally relaxed a bit and carefully swallowed.

"Um... no thank you, I'm just looking." she said.

The employee, still smiling, tilted his head at an odd angle and gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright then, take care! And enjoy your shopping day here at the happy-go-lucky department store, where the customer is always right, even if they're wrong!"

He stared forward blankly for a few more seconds then turned around mechanically and walked off briskly.

That was... creepy. She thought.

Turning back to stare at the mannequin, she tried to relocate her fantasies and soon enough was giggling as she daydreamed of Jack.

She once again had to tear herself away from fantasyland when another voice spoke behind her.

"Can I help you find anything today, ma'am?" a girl said.

Sally turned with a hint of annoyance to an employee with a similar smile and posture as the first one.

"No. I'm just looking, thanks."

"Alright then, take care! And enjoy your shopping day here at the happy-go-lucky department store, where the customer is always right, even if they're wrong!"

She left quickly and Sally watched her go in confusion. Not five seconds later yet another employee popped up next to her.

"Can I help you find something, ma'am?" he said with the familiar smile.

What is going on?

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Jack dove behind a t-shirt display and peered over it, trying to find an employee.

Over by a jeans section, Jack noticed a man sifting though the pants. To his surprise, an employee walked up to the man and began talking. The man sent the employee away and Jack tapped his chin thoughtfully.

So... the employees of the store only approached those who don't need their assistance. That was both interesting and irritating at the same time.

So the question was; how was he going to talk to one of them? Where would he be able to find one?

He suddenly gasped as someone came to mind.

Sally.

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Jack ran through the store trying to find his assistant, but she was nowhere in sight. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he began calling out to her.

"Sally? Sally, where are you?"

Across the store, he heard a faint voice.

"Mister Skellington! Help!"

Jack felt his heart pick up and he ran towards the voice. He wove through various aisles and finally found Sally, or, at least her arm.

It was sticking out of a huge crowd of employees surrounding her. She was waving feebly as the surge of people crowded around and kept talking over each other.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"Need some help there?"

"Finding everything you need?"

Jack stared in awe for a second before calling out to her again.

"Sally! What happened?"

"I don't know!" she shouted. "It started with just a few but then the number just got bigger and bigger! What do I do?"

"Don't worry! I know what to do!" he said.

Walking up to the ginormous crowd, he cleared his thought and spoke over every muttering voice.

"Excuse me, but I have an item that I would like to return!"

Every employee froze and all talking stopped. Then, just as fast, they all scurried in different directions like a pack of lizards.

"T-thanks Mister Skellington!" Sally said shakily.

"No time for that!" Jack said, grabbing her hand. "c'mon, we've got to catch one of them!"

Sally didn't ask questions and ran alongside Jack, as they followed the retreating employees. One by one the employees disappeared into the cracks. Eventually Jack and Sally were left pursuing one last guy.

"It's no use." Jack huffed as they sprinted after him. "We can't catch up, and we're losing speed."

Sally tried to think of a solution and came to one quickly.

"Mister Skellington, quick, throw me!"

Jack looked at her, flabbergasted.

"What? Are you crazy?" he said.

"Just do it!" she said quickly.

Jack contemplated for a second and bit his lip.

"Are you sure?"

"No. But we're losing him fast."

She was right. The distance between them and the employee was growing every second. Jack swallowed and sighed.

"Alright. Hold up you arms, please." he said.

Sally obeyed and he picked her up as he ran, carefully locking his arms into position.

He blushed at the feeling of Sally's soft form and cleared his throat.

"A-are you ready?"

Luckily Jack couldn't see Sally's face, which was about a thousand times more red than his was.

"Y-yes. Do it!"

Jack leaned back and then snapped forward with all his strength, letting Sally go and sending her through the air.

As she neared the fleeing employee, she instinctively let out a primal screech that announced her presence and made the employee slow down and turn for a second.

Sally caught him around the neck and sent them both careening into a display of belts. The entire display collapsed around them, burying the two under a mountain of leather and alligator skin.

Jack rushed over and called into the pile.

"Sally? Sally are you alright?" he said, fearing she had gotten hurt.

There was a moment of silence, then a shifting under the mass of belts. Jack was about to start digging when Sally carefully squirmed out of the pile, dragging the employee with her.

She plopped him, arms and legs bound by belts, in front of Jack with a smile and a salute.

"I got him, sir!"

Jack stared at the man struggling to escape his bindings and then grinned at Sally. He laughed and high-fived her.

"Good job, Sally. You're really something else." he said warmly.

Sally blushed and sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, but couldn't keep a bashful smile off her face.

"Aw, shucks Mister Skellington. It was nothing."

Jack chuckled and then turned his attention to the employee trying to inchworm his way out of the aisle. Jack grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him off the ground and spoke in a threatening voice.

"Now then. I'd like to speak to your manager."

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"Again, I'm very sorry for all the trouble you've been caused."

They were in the manager's office, talking to the manager, a small little man who had been apologizing for the past five minutes.

"Think nothing of it. I'm just glad we were able to get the paperwork we needed." Jack reassured him.

"It's that corporate training that makes those employees into machines. I'm actually amazed you managed to catch one and find me." the manager said.

"I couldn't have done it without my trusted assistant." he said, turning to a blushing Sally.

The manager chuckled and winked at sally.

"And as a courtesy of the store, we'll just forget about the display case that got destroyed."

Sally laughed nervously and rubbed her neck.

"Anyway, we've got to get going. There are still places we need to go." Jack said, standing up.

Sally stood up with him and the manager waved goodbye as they exited his office. Walking to the front doors, they swished open and Jack and Sally walked into the parking lot. They both stood silently until Sally turned to her boss and spoke quietly.

"...Mister Skellington?"

"...Yes?"

"Do you think we should tell the manager that the employee we caught is still tied up?"

"I'm sure they'll find him... eventually."

Sally nodded in agreement and they ran off to their next destination.