While everybody was relaxing before lunch, Patrick saw the book sitting on a table and walked over, curious. He hadn't seen a book like it before. It was old and worn, made of leather, and the pages were very thick. He skimmed his fingers over the cover then opened it gingerly, unsure of what he would see. Symbols were the first thing he noticed, but then he saw the words. They were an old form of Scottish Gaelic, which surprised him. Aileen came over and wrapped her arms around him.

"What're you staring at, Patty?" she asked.

"It's Gaelic. Written Scottish Gaelic," he marveled, flipping the pages. "I can almost read it."

He leaned forward on a page with a few lines of text. Squinting, he looked over the words then began to mutter under his breath, sounding out the words and syllables. Aileen studied the page, listening as her husband read the words.

"Any luck?" she asked gently.

"I think it has to do with sleep," Patrick sighed. "And it's set up like a poem. But I can't make out the words. It's just too old."

"What are you doing there, ginger?"

Patrick started and turned to see Oogie staring at him. Without thinking, he pushed Aileen behind him. Oogie didn't react, though Patrick was sure he noticed. Hardly anything escaped the Boogeyman's notice.

"Just looking at the book," Patrick said softly.

Oogie grunted then reached over and shut it. "Not gonna get much out of that unless you're older than you claim."

"I know it's Scottish Gaelic," Patrick said, offended that his intelligence was being questioned. "I'm not stupid."

Oogie tilted his head. "Didn't say you were, ginger," he said casually. "But the point still stands. You won't be able to get much out of it unless you're older than you say. It's ancient."

Patrick wilted. "That's true. I can make out a few words, but I don't even know if they have the same meaning as I learned them."

"Probably not," Oogie agreed. "But that ain't a bad thing. Language grows. Jackie and I know that real well." He paused. "Maybe Jack and I can teach you some of it."

Patrick brightened. "You'd do that?"

"Sure. Why not? You already have a bit of a base. Should be easy," Oogie said. "Your wife can join us if she wants."

Patrick stiffened. "I, ah…"

"Or not," Oogie said. "Her choice."

Patrick suddenly realized something. "Good grief! You haven't even met our wives!"

Everybody turned to look at them, and Oogie shrugged. "I ain't gonna force you. I've forced you to do enough."

"Well," Patrick said. Then he hesitated before stepping aside and wrapping an arm around Aileen's waist. "This is my wife, Aileen."

"Charmed to mee such an ainnir," Oogie said, grinning.

Aileen flushed and laughed boisterously. "You're a smooth talker, you are!"

"Don't mean it ain't true," Oogie said.

"This is Carol," Sandy said, catching her as she bustled to the table.

"What are you on about?" Carol asked. "I have to get the rest of the food."

"That's Oogie," Sandy said, gesturing at the burlap man. "Jack's friend."

"Oh." Carol walked over to study him. "You're very strange."

"I came from a strange man in stranger circumstances," Oogie replied. "But I ain't never tasted food as good as you make it."

Carol flushed with pleasure. "Oh, you're a flatterer."

"If you say so."

The other leaders found themselves rather charmed by Oogie's way of speaking with the two women, and Squanto stood and led Pocahontas over.

"My wife, Pocahontas," Squanto said, his bright eyes boring into Oogie.

"Your hair is as raven's feathers and your eyes contain the stars," Oogie said in response, bowing to her.

Pocahontas brushed her long hair out of her face and gazed at Oogie curiously. "You are well-spoken."

Jack snorted. "He can be when he wants to. Most of the time, he's a bit more… we'll go with blunt."

The air in the room was far more relaxed as Eros approached with Psyche. "My darling wife," he said. "This is Oogie. And Oogie, this is Psyche."

"Such a fair woman, full of heart that overflows to all around her," Oogie said.

Jack chuckled as Eros laughed and Psyche grinned. He could tell Oogie was enjoying himself. It wasn't too often that he got positive attention like this. Most of Halloween Town thought him to be dull and mean. They just didn't know him.

"This here is Betsy," Sam said, squeezing his wife.

"Well, I can tell she's a firecracker," Oogie said. "Just look at them green eyes."

Sam hooted, and Betsy scoffed. "Watch it, Bogeyman."

"Yeah, Crawly," Jack said playfully. "Fire and gunpowder don't mix."

There was a round of laughter before Bunny came over with a beautiful rabbit. Her eyes were blue and her fur was white and black.

"This is Stormy. I was alone for many years before I was blessed and given her."

Her pink nose twitched. "So you're Oogie."

"Yes, ma'am," Oogie said. "And you're quick in your mind as well as on your feet. Maybe more so than your husband."

Bunny made an indignant noise, but Stormy smiled. "We think in different ways, that's all. But I can tell that what they said about you was not the full picture."

"Talking about me, eh?" Oogie said, glancing around at the men, who suddenly looked uneasy. He shrugged. "I don't blame them. I did a lot of things without thinking. And I told 'em I was sorry. But I'll go ahead and apologize to you ladies as well. I'm sorry for any stress and anguish my dumb actions caused. The first time with Sandy, I was curious. The second time with all of them, I panicked. Jackie was gone and I was mad at him for not putting me back together. So I made some dumb mistakes. You don't have to forgive me, but I would like a chance to maybe get to know you. If your husbands let you."

The last sentence was said with a sly grin, and the womenfolk were riled.

"Let us? What's all this about letting us?" Psyche demanded.

"Well, I am dangerous," Oogie said. "And they've been adamant that you not meet me."

"Crawly," Jack warned.

"Aw, I gotta have some fun with them, Jack," Oogie said.

"Not by making their wives angry at them," Jack said sternly. "They have legitimate concerns, and I know you understand that. They have every right to protect them from what they perceive as a threat."

"You're no fun," Oogie sighed. "You're too civilized now, Jackie."

Jack looked down. "Not according to the doctor. Hence why we're in this mess."

All the pleasantness faded as Jack wilted in his seat, and things became somber.

"So what do we do, Jack?" Sandy finally asked. "What's the plan?"

Everybody gazed at Jack intently, and the Pumpkin King hesitated then walked over to the book. He picked it up and began to thumb through the pages. For several minutes, the only sound was the heavy parchment crinkling. Then Jack paused.

"How would my brother be able to get in?"

Oogie tapped his chin then shook his head. "What do you think?"

Jack turned the book around and held it up so they could see. Oogie leaned forward then nodded.

"Talisman," Jack explained to the others. "He couldn't have gotten it himself, but Riker…" He cut himself off then tried again. "He was given the talisman and could pass the barrier."

"So is there a way to break the talisman?" Squanto asked.

Jack scanned the ingredients for the talisman then smiled. "Because I'm blood-related, yes. Only good thing about being his brother is being able to kick him out of my realm."

"He had to use your blood to make it," Oogie surmised. He shook his head, knowing that only himself and Riker could have betrayed Jack in this way. But he didn't want to hurt Jack any more than he already was, so he said nothing else.

"Yes," Jack said. "If he were not related to me, it would be more complicated. But since he is, we can do the simpler ritual."

"Simpler is good, right?" Sam asked.

"Simpler don't mean much, considering how hard the other ritual is," Oogie said. He took the book and flipped the pages. "The one we need has seven steps. That's good…" He squinted at the page then shook his head. "We need stuff. Hard to get stuff."

"I can gift it to you, whatever it is," Sandy said at once.

"That won't work," Jack replied. "It would only work if they came from the Halloween Realm. Even if you were able to magically reproduce them, it wouldn't work."

There was a pause as they considered things. Then Sally spoke. "Then we'll just have to go to the Halloween Realm to get them."

"Sally, I don't want you anywhere near my brother."

Sally brushed her hair out of her face then spoke solemnly. "You aren't going alone. Or with just Oogie. You need help, and you have friends, powerful friends, that can help you."

Distress appeared on Jack's face. "I can't ask that of anyone."

"You don't have to," Eros said firmly. "We just need to know what to do, what we need to get."

Jack opened his mouth to protest, but Oogie cut in. "Rag doll is right. You and me can't do it alone. We need help, Jack. And they're ready and willing."

After a moment, Jack sighed. "I need to draw up maps. It'll be best if we split into pairs to get each item. There are seven ingredients we need to cast the spell."

"Okay then. How long will that take?"

"Three or four days," Jack said.

"Then get started."

"After lunch!" Carol said. "I spent an hour cooking for you!"

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said, a smile lifting his mouth.

They enjoyed a hearty lunch, and now that there was hope and the beginnings of a plan, Jack seemed a bit happier. He actually ate a healthy portion of food, and he joked around with Oogie and Barrel.

Barrel was quite comfortable with Jack, and he was showered with praise for his quick thinking in hiding the book so that Bodach couldn't get at it. Lock and Shock sat and ate, but they were suspicious of Jack's intentions. He never praised them, never gave them affection. In fact, usually he was quite wary of them. They weren't sure they liked this new Jack. Something was different, and they didn't know what. Maybe they would ask Barrel about it later.

After lunch, Jack set to work on drawing the maps. At first, when he penned quick strokes, Sandy and the others thought he'd exaggerated when he said that it would take a few days. But when he started filling in minute details, they realized that he had been correct. They could do nothing for several days. So they sat and talked, eventually settling on Halloween and different ideas to improve the Holiday.

Jack worked through the afternoon until dinner, and then everybody ate and chatted for a while. But right after he ate, Jack went back to drawing. He was using a strange kind of ink that seemed to glisten even after it was dry. When Squanto asked about it, Oogie said it was moon ink. They'd have to go at night to reduce the chance of being spotted, and the ink would glow in the dark, especially if the moon was out.

Eventually, as the hours ticked by, Sandy walked over and interrupted. Jack looked up, blinking to clear away the lines in his vision.

"Yes?"

"You need to stop for the night," Sandy said. "You've been working for hours."

Jack dropped the pen and flexed his hand. "Even without muscles and tendons, I can still hurt," he sighed. "I don't understand myself sometimes."

"I'd say that's true of everybody," Squanto said. "Now, let us retire. I'm actually sleepy."

The others nodded, and Jack glanced at the clock to see that it was late. "You're right."

"Alright, troublemakers," Oogie said. "To bed with you."

Lock, Shock, and Barrel didn't fight. They were yawning and rubbing at their eyes. They walked out into the snow and headed for the small, cozy house that Sandy had prepared for them. Oogie followed, waving at the others. Sally soon went to her own small house, and one by one the other couples left until it was just Jack, Sandy, and Carol. Sandy looked at the maps that Jack had managed to draw and was impressed.

"You're good at this, Jack."

Jack smiled and stood, stretching until his bones quivered. "Given enough time, you can grow a talent for just about anything."

Sandy nodded, and Jack walked over to grab the old book. "Well, I'm going to bed, Sandy. Goodnight."

"May visions of sugarplums dance in your head," Sandy called as Jack walked out into the snow.

Jack wished desperately that he would dream of sugarplums. But he'd had night terrors the night before. And he knew that most likely, he would have them again tonight. Still, he had to sleep, so he prayed silently that night terrors would not overtake him again. Even if there was no answer, or if the answer was no, he was comforted by the fact that he'd been heard. As he fell into bed and closed his eyeholes, he relaxed and almost immediately began to fall asleep. Something was soothing him, something familiar, but before he could dwell on it, he was fast asleep.