A knock on the door surprised Oogie as he checked the frog's-breath soup. He frowned and set aside the ladle. He never got visitors. And if it was Jack, he would have knocked twice then strode right in. Suspicious, he trundled over to the door, bypassing the children, who were sitting in the middle of the floor playing a game of jacks. They had come back laden with sweets, and Oogie had taken them away and promised they could have some after supper. They were sulky at first, but they knew better than to argue.

Oogie pulled open the door and stopped short. Sally stood there, her face pinched. A suitcase sat beside her feet and she looked overwhelmed and tired.

"Rag doll!" Oogie exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"Can I stay with you for a while?" Sally asked quietly, her voice as faint as the chilly breeze.

Without another word, Oogie picked up her suitcase and set it by the stairs, gesturing her in. The children stopped their game and stared in astonishment at Sally, who had never looked so sad before. They glanced at each other, guilt flashing across their faces for a brief moment. Oogie caught the look, and he noticed that it lingered on Barrel's face the longest. The youngest boy had come home with very little, and he shoved change into Oogie's points when he took the sweets. He'd thought it odd, but now he knew they had made mischief and Barrel was regretting it.

Without acknowledging them, Oogie guided her to a chair. She sat down and pulled her long, red hair over her shoulder and began to idly plait it.

"Can I get you a drink, rag doll?"

"Witch's brew would be nice. It's been a rough day."

Oogie nodded and went to the kitchen. When he came back ten minutes later, he was surprised to see Shock braiding Sally's hair. The young girl looked excited as her fingers moved through the long, silky locks. Oogie knew it was hard on her for there to be no young girls to play with. All the other children in town were boys, and it was nice to see her interacting with another female.

"Here you go, rag doll," Oogie said, handing her the mug of hot purple liquid.

"Thanks."

She took it but stayed still until Shock stood back proudly. "All done!" she said.

Sally smiled. "Thank you. If you'll wash and brush your hair tonight, tomorrow I can braid yours."

Shock grinned, her brown eyes shining with glee, but Lock laughed loudly. "Shock never likes baths! She's the wild witch of the woods!"

A flash of pain crossed Shock's face and she looked down at her bare feet. Oogie cleared his throat and gave Lock a dangerous look. Lock flinched and muttered an apology.

"I think all three of you need a bath," he said sternly. "And you can take it before dinner."

They all made faces, but they obediently headed up the stairs to the bathroom. Oogie watched them go, noticing Barrel look worriedly over at Sally before disappearing. Sally sighed and stirred her witch's brew. Oogie checked the soup then got himself a mug and sat down.

"What happened, Sally?" he asked seriously.

"Father found out about my engagement to Jack. He said if I didn't break it off, I was to leave the house. So I did." She took in a mouthful of her sweet brew then sighed. "I know I don't really know you too well, but I know you better than anybody else in town. And Jack trusts you. I need a place to stay. I know it's a lot to ask, but I really, really don't want to sleep in the cemetery tonight. It's supposed to rain, and I hate being waterlogged."

Oogie smiled. "Of course you can stay, rag doll. I got plenty of room."

"You're sure?" she pressed.

"Of course. It's no trouble." He paused. "It can be a bit chaotic and messy, I'll admit, but other than that, you'll be just fine."

Sally sagged in relief. "I didn't know where else to go. I could have gone to Jack, but he's so traditional."

"He ain't got a spare room, either," Oogie said. "You made a good choice. We'll go and talk with him tomorrow about this. You look tired."

"Thanks, Oogie. Where am I sleeping?"

They finished their witch's brew and then Oogie picked up her suitcase and trundled up the stairs. Sally walked carefully. She wasn't used to stairs. In her home, it was always ramps because of the doctor. He showed her to a small, quaint room with a nice bed, and he set the case down on the mattress.

"I'll get you some sheets and blankets. And a few pillows," he said. "Hope this is okay."

"It's perfect," she assured him.

"You get unpacked then. I'll go check on the three troublemakers."

Oogie headed for their room, and he heard them squabbling.

"No! It's not good enough!" Shock exclaimed.

"You've never cared before!" Lock argued. "Besides, you'll look civilized!"

"Maybe I want to be civilized!" Shock howled.

"If you did, we wouldn't have died!" Lock snapped.

Oogie shoved the door open. "That's enough, Lock!"

The three children froze. Lock flushed green, running his hands through his disheveled hair.

"You know better than to say something like that," Oogie scolded. "And I'm getting sick of you sniping at her. Say anything at all about her life again, and so help me, I'll make you not want to sit for a week!"

"Sorry," Lock said.

Oogie clicked his tongue. The snake slithered out and hissed in displeasure at the abrupt movement then rested back inside. "You three have been worse than usual for over a week. What has gotten into you?"

They didn't answer. Oogie sighed.

"Sally is staying with us for a while. So that means you are to behave. Understand? Behave not misbehave. And I expect you to honor that."

"Does Jack know?" Barrel asked uneasily.

Lock grinned. "Is he mad?"

Shock said nothing, gritting her teeth. The comment about why they died still bothered her. Oogie rubbed her dirty green hair, and Shock leaned into his soft, pliable side. He looked down at Lock and Barrel and, as he felt the wetness of Shock's tears soaking into his burlap, the only water he could handle, he spoke to all three of them sternly.

"Jack doesn't know yet, and you three are going to stay home all day and night and stay out of it."

They knew at once that he knew what they'd done, and they were pretty sure he knew why they had done it. Shock grumbled against his side as Lock stomped his foot.

"What's with all this sappy affection, Boss?" he demanded. "Why are you and Jack all buddy-buddy all of a sudden?"

"Sudden?" Oogie chuckled. "Not so sudden. We've known each other for centuries. Millennia, actually."

Barrel leaned forward, interested and curious. "How did you meet him?"

Oogie settled down into the floor, shaking Shock gently until she peeked up at him. He stuck his tongue out and the snake chomped on her nose. Shock squealed and laughed, hurrying back over to the boys. Oogie pondered the question for a moment.

"There was once a skeleton man, newly dead and all alone, that awoke in a pile of autumn leaves. He looked out and saw a world, full of possibility, but barren of life besides himself. As the day stretched on, he searched for a companion, for anybody to share his thoughts and questions with. But when night fell, he had found not a soul. A shiver passed up his spine and he knew that it was time to scare people.

"Dancing under the moonlight, he tore through villages and towns, scaring everybody. But when he found one house with a squash carved into a hideous face, he laughed and skipped past the house. And those who noticed decided to try it for his return. It was inevitable that he would, for that night, magic was in the air. Their worlds had melded together, the veil so thin that the skeleton man could pass through, and there was something irrevocably changed.

"When morning grew near, he instinctively returned to the barren realm. All that lay around it was a forest, swirling in black and white, mesmerizing and full of magic, stretching as far as the eye could see. He went back to the spot he had awoken, and he saw a grave, marked by a strange symbol, a stick shoved down with a crossbeam in the middle, what would eventually be known as a cross. He was looking at his own grave. At the time, he did not have any memories of his past, of his life, and he was curiously lonely. He knew as the moon sank low, that he needed a companion.

"As he sat, insects began to crawl over him, tickling him with their feet as their little mouths nibbled on his bones. It seemed affectionate, and the skeleton man laughed. The insects seemed to be the only creatures around besides himself, and he wondered how to gather them all up so that he could keep his friends together.

"As he continued to look around, he noticed burlap sacks lying stacked up, full of all sorts of fruits and vegetables. An idea sparked, and he laughed again and danced over to the sacks and shook out the contents of two of them. Popping the seams and lying them one on top of the other, he wondered what to do. A knife had fallen off the pile into the dirt, and the skeleton man tried to carve out a sack like shape. As he cut, he decided to make it like a person to amuse himself. He even stitched the sacks together using the coarse string and the knife until only the top was open. The bugs swarmed inside, filling the sack to overflowing, and he had his friends all together.

"It was a complete surprise to the skeleton man when the sack actually sat up and looked around. He asked where he was and what was going on and who the skeleton man was. The skeleton man knew the words, but he had just realized that speech existed. He thought for a moment then said, 'I am afraid I do not know where we are, nor what is going on. As for who I am, I believe I am Jack.'

"'And who am I?' the sack man asked.

"'You are an insect man,' Jack replied. 'I shall call you Crawly, for you are full of the things that crawl.'

"And the two became fast friends and began to learn about their day out of the strange, magic world, which became known as Samhain." Oogie paused and sighed. "And they've been around for ages since then."

The three children stared up in surprise.

"You mean that Jack made you?" Shock asked, her eyes wide.

"Of course," Oogie said. "And we've been friends for years."

"When did you stop being friends?" Lock asked.

"It's been on hold for a while," Oogie said quietly. "But it was never stopped. That implies an ending."

A soft noise behind him alerted him to Sally's presence, and he heaved himself to his feet. Looking sternly at the children, he spoke.

"Remember to behave around our guest. Now go take your baths."

Shock hesitated as the boys scrambled for clean clothes. She looked up at Sally and hesitantly ran her fingers through her knotted, filthy hair. Sally smiled kindly.

"A good washing to start out with. Then we'll brush it, no matter how long it takes."

Shock nodded and grabbed her clothes, heading off for the bath first as the two boys argued and fought playfully. Oogie watched her go then gestured for Sally to head downstairs. She did, taking the steps cautiously while Oogie waited patiently behind her. When they got downstairs, Oogie headed for the kitchen to stir the soup. Sally followed and sat down at the kitchen table. She thought about the story, of Jack waking up alone with no memories. But the way Oogie told it, he had eventually remembered.

"Has Jack shared his night terrors with you, Oogie?" Sally asked.

"Yes," Oogie replied evenly.

"So he remembers his life now?"

Oogie nodded. "Yeah. He does. Why?"

"I was just wondering what he was like when he was alive. What his story is."

"Curiosity killed the cat, rag doll. But that's his story to tell, not mine." Oogie turned to smile at her, leaning against the counter.

"I know. I don't expect you to tell me. But I'm curious. He doesn't really talk about it."

"There's a reason for that," Oogie replied.

"I figured. He does have night terrors after all." Sally sighed and began to play with her hair. "I'm sorry his life was so difficult."

"You don't know the half of it," Oogie said softly.

Sally nodded but didn't respond. Oogie appreciated that she wasn't prying even though she was curious. Riker taught her well. He turned the conversation to the plans for Halloween, and Sally took it in stride and began to talk about some of the new ideas offered by the Holiday leaders.

The evening was pleasant for the most part, but everybody was aware that Jack needed to be told about what had happened. Sally and Oogie were both tense, and they avoided the obvious topic of conversation as they spoke to each other.

The children were subdued, especially Shock, who sat still as Sally patiently combed out the knots and tangles in her wild hair. The boys watched curiously as they played a game on the floor. Shock had never acted like that before. She had always been the wild witch of the woods to them, and to see her acting civilly was new to them. It was a new side to their old friend, and they mused to themselves about how their lives would have turned out had she ever shown an inclination of this civility when they'd been alive. By the time bedtime rolled around, Shock's dark green hair shone, soft and smooth for the first time ever. Sally promised to braid her hair the next day.

Oogie sat quietly in the dark after Sally and the children went to bed. Jack would not be happy with Riker over this. And what was Riker thinking? He could be rash and dangerous when provoked. Oogie hoped he was wrong, but he knew Riker far better than most people. If he thought of a way to get back at him and Jack, he would follow it with the precision of a surgeon. It would hurt. And it might be deadly. Oogie shook himself the headed down to bed. He would face it in the morning when Jack found out.