Jr. stirred. There was someone holding his hand. He slowly opened his eye sockets. His mother lay across him, fast asleep, her small fingers intertwined with his. Her long hair lay tangled and stuck to her cheeks where tears had dried.
"Awake?", said a smooth voice. The Pumpkin King sat in a watered-satin wing chair. Jr.'s pajamed twin slept in his father's lap, bones curled impossibly into a compact ball. Jr. smiled. Nicholas was such a baby. The reality of what had happened and why he was laid up here in his parents' bed had not yet seeped in his consciousness. All was cloudy.
"How do you feel?", Jack asked. His son attempted to sit up. A wave of pain reminded the boy of all that had gone before. Jack raised his brow.
"How do you feel?", he repeated.
"Everything hurts.", murmured Jack jr. sheepishly. His father gently placed Nicholas aside and rose from the wingchair.
"I am quite sure it does. I do hope that you appreciate how very lucky you are."
Sally's eyelashes fluttered. She lifted her head.
"Jacky? Jacky, you're awake?", she said with a relieved smile. She crept closer to her son's skull and kissed him. Her voice was breathless. "You haven't tried to move have you? Don't move. Your bones are broken Jacky, you're hurt very badly. The doctor fixed you, but it will be awhile before you are healed. Oh, my poor lumpling." The queen laid her head against her son's ribs again. Jack walked to the bedside and stroked her hair.
"Our baby is going to be fine dearest. Sally, why don't you go tuck Nicholas into his bed? He can't be comfortable in that chair." Sally looked up, following her husband's gaze to the younger prince who remained contorted in the wingchair. She smiled and clicked her tongue. Moving from the bed, she helped a groggy Nicholas to his bony little feet and lead him across the hallway. Jack watched them before returning attention to his injured namesake. His skull held an expression which Jack jr. found disturbingly hard to interperet. The king spoke:
"I am so terribly angry with you jr.. Terribly angry. I've searched my brain for an appropriate punishment, but in the end I suppose being almost completely immobilized in your parents' bed for an indeterminate amount of time is sufficient. As for Nicholas, well, I am still working that out." Jack jr. sniffled. He wiped at an eye socket with his good arm.
"Dad…it wasn't Nicky's fault you know. I made him go. Well, I told him not to go with me, but he went because he wanted to make sure I was okay. He didn't sneak out for fun like I did."
The Pumpkin King found a smile sneaking onto his skull at his son's words. In spite of everything, he was touched. The twins fought and bickered with one another non-stop. Jack and Sally frequently scolded the princes and reminded them how fortunate they were to have one another. The royal couple worried that their admonitions fell on deaf ears. Now the young prince's words proved otherwise. Jack chuckled gently and touched his son's skull.

"Mama? Is Jacky…going to pass on?", Nicholas asked in a solemn tone. He swallowed hard, choking back a sob as he climbed into his bed. Sally pulled a quilt over him.
"Your brother needs time to heal Nicky. He was hurt very badly. He will get better though. You are both so very lucky."
Nicky sighed, his heart flooding with relief. He tried to put images of his brother's broken body and the doctor's instruments out of his brain.
"In case you are wondering, you will be punished.", Sally said in a matter of fact tone. Nicholas frowned.
"I only went along to make sure Jacky would be safe! I couldn't let him go alone."
Sally closed thick curtains against the impending sunrise.
"You should have told your father and I Nicholas. If you couldn't stop him from leaving you should have at least told us so that we could take care of it."
Nicholas twisted his little face. He wondered why he hadn't done that.
"Your visions are no good to you if you don't learn to mind them.", Sally said softly.
"But what if you tell people and they don't want to listen? Then what?", asked Nicholas. Sally smiled wistfully, visions of fog juice swirling in her head.
"Then you just have to do what you can."


The sun rose over jagged buildings and barren hillsides. Inside the Skellington home, the first family of Halloweentown prepared to get some sleep after a seemingly interminable night.
"I want to roll over", Jack jr. said. He flailed his working arm and leg. Sally stilled him with a hand on his chest.
"Stop. You need to remain still Jacky. Your bones have to set."
The boy groaned.
"Can you help me roll over?", he asked his father. Jack just grinned and chuckled.
"I'll roll you over tomorrow darling when it's time to change your bandages.", Sally said with a gentle kiss.
The child remained silent for several moments.
"I want to tell Nicky I'm sorry. I mean for getting him into trouble and stuff."
The king and queen exchanged knowing glances. Jack turned to their son.
"We all need to sleep right now Jacky. When we wake up, you and your can brother talk."
The room grew silent, curtains drawn and light banished. Sally fell asleep, her tiny hand again grasping her son's as if he might dare to vanish again. The child lay awake for a time, soaking in his pain.
"Dad", he whispered. "I told Nicky he wasn't scary." It hurt him to repeat the words. It was one of the worst things one could say of another in this world. Jack sighed heavily, his rib cage expanding, then settling down.
"Your brother is scary Jacky, in his own way. Even if he were not, everyone has their strengths. I trust you understand that now, although I do wish you didn't have to have everything proven to you so dramatically." Jack laughed lightly once more. He removed his nightcap and placed it playfully on his son's skull. The Pumpkin King then closed his eye sockets to sleep.

END