A/N Thanks for stopping by to check out my new story. There's a little Halloween, a little humor, a little fluff and a lot of Donnie romance. I hope you enjoy!

Daryl and Connie au.

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Daryl

He was struggling to get Benny in the stupid Power Ranger costume. It wasn't like the damn thing was complicated, it was just that Benny was so excited he wouldn't hold still. Finally Daryl had to get tough with the six year old, "Listen kid, if ya don't hold still I ain't gonna be able ta take ya. Now c'mon, calm down."

Merle was laying on the couch sick as a dog, his voice weak and pitiful when he tried to threaten, "Don't be mean ta my boy. I'll kick your ass."

Daryl just laughed, "Right brother. You n Carol are so damn sick the two of ya together couldn't kick a gnat's ass."

He finally got the costume and the mask on the boy and the little fella grabbed the small plastic pumpkin for his treats. He was ready but his Uncle Daryl scoffed at the pumpkin, "You're kiddin' me, right? That ain't gonna hold enough candy. C'mon, we'll get your pillacase."

Carol was laying sideways in her chair, her voice even weaker than Merle's when she tried to protest, "I don't want him eating a bunch of candy tonight Daryl."

"Don't worry, I'ma be sharin' it with him."

He wasn't a man with a lot of warm and fuzzy holiday memories. Halloween was the exception. When he was a kid it was his favorite day. It was the one time of year he got all the goodies he wanted, and when folks saw his ragged clothes they just assumed it was a hobo costume.

Things were different when he grew up, Halloween just seemed loud and chaotic. That first year he lived in town he had a place in one of those big apartment complexes, and Halloween night turned out to be a nightmare he thought might never end. The doorbell just kept ringing and he just kept answering. He ran out of candy and had to start giving away his washing machine quarters.

He hated that fucking apartment complex anyway. Halloween just made it worse. He was out of there before another another Halloween had a chance to roll around.

For the past ten years he'd been living in a little place he bought just a half a mile outside the city limits, and well off the beaten path. That's how he liked it. There had never been a trick or treater out that way. Shit, no one ventured out that way.

That suited him just right. He preferred to spend his Halloween evenings inside with the shades pulled, a six pack of Bud on one side of him, chips and salsa on the other, and the Outdoor Channel on the TV. Even the bars were a mess on Halloween. Grown people were out and about more dressed up than the kids. He wondered when the hell that became a thing.

His plan was in place, until Carol called him that Halloween morning. She and Merle had both come down with a nasty stomach bug. She started to tell Daryl all the gross details of their illness but he stopped her, "Yeah, yeah I don't need ta know all that. Whaddya need me ta do? Bring ya soup? Ginger ale? Saltines?"

"I need you to take Benny out trick or treating tonight."

"Nah, c'mon you're kiddin' me, right?"

"Daryl please, he's been looking forward to this for weeks. If he doesn't get to go it will be the end of his world. Merle and I are both too sick to take him."

Once the guilt card had been played Daryl didn't stand a chance.

"Shit. Okay, what time?"

"About five, you'll have to help him get ready first. We're so sick we can barely make it from the bed to the toilet. I'll try to have Benny in his pajamas when you get here. You just put the costume on over them."

Well fuck him. There went his plans for a quiet evening. But the truth was he'd do damn near anything to make Benny happy. He just wished the kid wanted to go fishing or something. Why the hell did it have to be Halloween?

In spite of his dread about the whole situation he was at his brother's house promptly at five. He roughed Benny's hair and asked, "Hey man, ya ready ta have some fun with your Uncle Daryl?"

The kid was already jumping up and down and they hadn't even gotten started eating sugar yet. That would all change soon.

Daryl shut off all Merle and Carol's lights before he and Benny left, hoping that would keep the little Halloween beggars from disturbing the sickly pair. His parting words were, "Y'all rest now, you're gonna need your energy. I'll be bringin' ya home a sugar coated Power Ranger."

Despite his cranky attitude going in, Daryl soon found he was kind of enjoying the whole experience. He got a kick out of all the little kids dressed up as ghosts, vampires, witches and the latest cartoon and video characters. He nearly smiled as he watched them moving as fast as they could from house to house, nothing but candy on their minds. The whole Halloween / trick or treating thing wasn't nearly as horrible as he thought it was going to be.

He'd stand back a little while Benny rang doorbells, said trick or treat and folks dropped candy in his pillowcase. At one house the guy who answered even offered Daryl a can of beer. He nodded his appreciation but politely declined. This night was about Benny.

Halloween was pretty tasty too. At every corner he and Benny would stand under the street light and check out the boy's haul. They'd made a deal. Benny got all the Kit Kats and MMs, Daryl got all the Butterfingers and Hershey's chocolates. They had a good laugh when they decided they'd let Benny's Mama and Daddy have the Smartees, Laffy Taffy and anything healthy, like apples.

They'd been out quite a long time. The pillowcase was more than a third full even though they'd both been heartily munching on candy. Daryl told the little Power Ranger, "Man, I think we did a darn fine job of trick or treatin'. We should probably head home when we finish up on this block, k?"

Daryl could see the kid was pooped and it was even more obvious when Benny got whiny, "That's not fair Uncle Daryl. I'm just startin' ta have fun."

"Yeah I know, me too. But it's gettin' late kid and your little buns are draggin. Besides tomorrow's a school day."

They were halfway down the block when they came to the small white house. It had a wreath of dried flowers and pumpkins on the door, carved pumpkins glowing on the porch steps, and black cat clings in the front windows.

Daryl stood back a couple of feet while Benny rang the bell, and when the woman opened the door Uncle Daryl practically stood at attention.

It wasn't that she was all made up and glamorous. She didn't need all that shit, this woman was a natural beauty. Her skin was a rich russet color with warm undertones, and it looked so soft and silky. He was sure it would be smooth and warm to the touch, and he wished like hell he was the guy who got to touch it.

Her eyes were a deep, rich brown, the darkest eyes he'd ever seen. They were also bright and friendly, and something told him those eyes didn't miss a thing. Her hair was in a little ponytail thing at the back of her head, and the way the corkscrew curls stuck up in all directions it managed to look cute and sexy at the same time. He wanted to run his fingers through those soft curls almost as much as he wanted to touch her skin.

She was small and so thin. Her smallness was deceiving though. She was wearing a tank top and he didn't miss the fact those slim arms were ripped. She wasn't the fragile type.

Her smile was beautiful and friendly and she looked right at the boy when Benny said, "Trick or treat."

She didn't speak back to him. She just kept smiling as she held up a finger as if to say "just a minute." She reached for a bowl on a little table by the door and had just begun to scoop him out a handful of the candy.

Suddenly Benny yelled, "Uncle Daryl!" Ripping the mask off his face as he did, and then the boy threw up all over the beautiful woman's front porch.

Daryl was concerned for the boy and mortified the kid had made a mess of the woman's porch. The woman appeared to be having the very same feelings. Daryl was quick to apologize, "I'm sorry, lemme get your hose. I'll have this cleaned up real quick."

She reached out and tapped his shoulder. He looked at her and she tapped a finger against her ear and shook her head "no." He got the message, she couldn't hear. With her index and middle fingers she pointed first to his lips and then to her eyes. He got that too. She read lips.

He nodded, looked right at her and said it again. She pointed to a spot at the far end of the porch and he saw the hose coiled there. He hurried to it, anxious to wash the mess out to the gutter. She was already on her knees, trying to sooth the crying child as she took the mask from him and set it down, along with the pillowcase of candy.

She reached under Benny's arms and picked him up, setting him down and away from the mess. Daryl saw what she'd done and he was surprised she could lift the boy, Benny seemed just about as big as her. He almost smiled when he reminded himself, yeah she's small but she's got those guns.

While he was busy trying to hose away the mess she removed the child's soiled costume. Daryl was impressed. What she was doing was a big deal. She could have just gone back inside, shut the door and let him deal with it. The fact that they were making it a team effort, and that she was so sweet with Benny and so concerned, those things made her even more beautiful to him.

The mess was taken care of and she motioned him to get the child, then waved her hand for him to follow her inside. She went to the table, grabbed a small note pad and pen and wrote, "Follow me."

He did what she told him to do, and that was weird. He didn't even know her and he seldom did anything anyone said without arguing at least a little.

She led him to the bathroom and he kind of smiled, yeah it was a woman's bathroom alright. It smelled nice and there was a pretty shower curtain, a fancy soap dispenser, candles, a box of Kleenex and pretty jars filled with cotton balls, Q-tips and the like. Even the towels were pretty, so was the fluffy throw rug. Until Benny threw up on it.

All he could think about was getting Benny the hell out of there before he ruined anything else of hers. She was calm though. She folded the rug into itself to contain the mess and then wrote on her pad, "Please can you hose it off? Thanks."

Again, he did what he was told.

He hung the wet rug over the porch rail and let himself back in her house, heading right to the bathroom. By then poor little Benny was stripped down to his undershorts. He'd gotten sick again and his now soiled pajamas were laying on the floor next to the toilet.

The woman had a wet cloth and she was wiping Benny's face, chest and hands. Daryl touched her shoulder and said, "I best just get him home."

She wrote, "I'll drive you."

He told her, "No, thanks. I don't wanna take a chance he'll make a mess in your car. We ain't goin' far, I'll just carry him."

She held up a finger and he knew she meant for him to wait. She scurried out of the room and a minute later she was back with a small blanket. They wrapped the child in it and Daryl told her, "Sorry for the mess. Thanks for everythin', really. Ya been like a angel to us."

He didn't waste any time, he split and hurried to get Benny home.

By the time he was halfway there he realized all sorts of things. He'd left a bunch of stuff behind. The costume, Benny's pillowcase full of candy and the boy's pajamas were all still at the woman's house. That wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was he was such a dumb ass he hadn't even thought to ask her name, or if he could stop by some time.

He thought he'd just stay at Merle and Carol's so someone would be there to take care of Benny. Carol told him not to worry, she was doing much better and could care for Benny, he should go on home and get some rest. He apologized for the twentieth time for leaving Benny's things behind and his sister in law smiled, "You had a barfing kid on your hands, and in a stranger's house. I think you had enough to deal with. It's all replaceable. Thanks Daryl."

For some reason he thought to pick up the blanket and take it with him. By the time he'd gotten home he'd decided. He was going to return it to her after work the next day. It would be a great excuse to stop by, and who knew? Maybe something a little more would come of it.

It was a great plan that didn't work out at all. He woke up at four in the morning and made a mad dash to the bathroom, falling to his knees in front of the john.

He was camped out in the bathroom for most of that day and evening. Thank God it was Friday, he hated to miss work but at least it was just the one day. Saturday morning he was done with the puking part, he was in recovery mode and by early evening he'd rallied.

He made himself scrambled eggs and toast because it sounded like something his belly could handle, and then got busy repairing the damage. He threw his sheets in the wash, then the towels. Cleaned the bathroom and the rest of the place, and the last thing he did was wash the blanket the woman had helped him wrap Benny in.

Sunday morning he was up early. He cut the grass, set the sprinkler in the back, then he put a first class shine on his bike. He had places to go and a desire to impress. He realized there was always a chance she'd be busy, or even a chance she already had a man. Fuck it, if there was any chance at all with her it was a chance worth taking.

He showered up, trimmed up and put on his best pair of Levi's and a black button up shirt. He rolled up the blanket, strapped it on the back of the seat and he was on his way. He just had one stop to make.

One day when he'd stopped by to B.S. with Merle, he overheard Carol and her friend gushing about the place. He wasn't exactly well-versed on the kind of gift a man would bring to a woman, one he didn't really know. Hell, for that matter he didn't know what kind of gift to buy any woman for any occasion. He just hoped when he saw the right thing for her he'd know it. He did. The lady at the counter even put it in a nice white box and tied a purple ribbon around it for him.

He made one more stop at a completely different kind of store. A bookstore. He got back on the bike, hit the throttle and he was on his way to her place, hoping she'd be glad to see him.

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A/N I hope you enjoyed the beginning of the story and that you'll leave a comment / review. There's a chapter photo of the pair on my tumblr blogs gneebee and fortheloveofdonnie, please check it out. I'll be back next Sunday with Chapter Two of Sweet Treats, they'll meet again and we'll get Connie's side of the story. I hope to see you then! Thanks and remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee