A/N: When I first wrote 'Sunny Starts' I had no intentions of ever writing anymore. But then lots of people asked for more, and soon I ended up with this idea. I've been writing it since June, but I'm just glad to have it finished this year. It doesn't really have any kind of relation to the first chapter, but you could look at it as a continuation if you want, it doesn't make a difference. Enjoy!

A cool autumn wind blew through Princeton, New Jersey as the children of the town began to prepare for Halloween.

In one house, 12 year old Lisa Cuddy was starting to plan out her evening. Now in middle school, sixth grade, Lisa felt she had outgrown trick-or-treating. But the night wouldn't be a waste, because several parents of younger children she babysat for had offered to pay her double her normal rate to take their children out for them. At first she had been hesitant, there were a million other things she would rather be doing on Halloween than walking a bunch of little kids around town, but she felt bad. If she said no, little Remy Hadley wouldn't be able to go trick or treating, Lawrence Kutner would only be allowed to go to his neighbors house, and Ally Cameron and Robbie Chase wouldn't be able to go trick or treating together even though he was playing Prince Charming to her Sleeping Beauty. So she had canceled her plans to sleep over a friend's house and agreed to take the children out. Now, after school on Halloween she found herself going over a checklist of things she would need for the night.

"Okay, first aid kit." she read off, looking up from her seat at the kitchen table at her mother. Her mother nodded, holding up the kit before putting it in Lisa's bag for the night.

"Flashlight, cellphone," Lisa continued to read off items and her mother confirmed each time, putting the aforementioned item in the bag.

"And Remy's dad is going to bring her inhaler when he drops her off." she finished finally, then frowned, "Am I forgetting anything?"

Lisa's mother laughed, "the kitchen sink maybe?"

"Mom, I'm being serious. I want to make sure I have everything...let me see the bag."

Lisa took the bag from her mother, going through the contents again as her mother wandered over to the window.

" Oh, the new neighbors are here." she said, pushing aside the curtains for a better look. Lisa dropped her bag and hurried over to the window with her mother,

"Is it just the guy again?" she asked. For the past few weeks they had seen many movers going in and out of the house next door, and one man who they assumed must be their new neighbor, but there had also been a child's bed moved in, and several boxes labeled "toys", so it was obvious that the man was not alone.

"No, look." Lisa's mother stepped aside and Lisa peered out the window at the neighbor's house, where a tall blonde woman stood on the porch. Lisa turned to her mother,

"Huh, they must actually be moving in this time."

Lisa's mother nodded, then turned and lifted a plate off of the counter, handing it to Lisa,

"Here," she said, "I made these cookies the other day, because I figured they would be moving in soon. Why don't you run them over now and introduce yourself?"

"Okay."

Lisa took the cookies from her mother and raced out the door, eager to meet the new neighbors and find out how old their kid was. The only kids nearby who were her age were boys, and she was dying for a girl her age in the neighborhood.

Smiling politely, Lisa hurried up the neighbor's walkway, approaching the tall blonde woman,

"Hi, I'm Lisa. I live next door, my mom made these for you." she said, holding out the plate of cookies. The blonde woman smiled, accepting the plate,

"Hi Lisa, I'm Mrs. Volakis, it's nice to-"

"MOM!"

Lisa jumped slightly at the sudden voice, and Mrs. Volakis stiffened, turning towards the house. A moment later the front door was thrown open, and a girl who looked about 9 years old stepped out, proudly holding up an angel costume,

"Mom look, I found my costume." she announced, eyeing Lisa suspiciously.

"That's nice Amber sweetie, but I don't know if there's going to be time to go trick or treating tonight." Mrs. Volakis said gently.

"But you promised!" the girl, now identified as Amber, cried. Mrs. Volakis sighed,

"I know, but we're running late, and we need to unpack."

"But you PROMISED!" Amber wailed, tears forming in her eyes. Lisa bit her bottom lip, silently watching the argument.

"Amber." Mrs. Volakis said in a warning tone, and Amber turned quickly, running back into the house. Mrs. Volakis looked back at Lisa and smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Amber has been having some trouble adjusting to moving, she's usually very sweet."

Lisa nodded, " I understand." she hesitated for a moment, then added, "I'm taking a group of younger children out trick-or-treating tonight, Amber can come along if she'd like."

"How old are you Lisa?"

"I'm twelve," Lisa said, "but I'm a certified babysitter and I can get you my list of references if you want."

Mrs. Volakis laughed, "How about I just talk to your mom?"

Lisa smiled "That can be arranged."

Meanwhile, several houses down, 7 year old Remy Hadley was also getting ready for the night. She was getting into her costume early, because her father was just going to drop her off at Lisa's house on his way to the hospital to see her mother. Her mother had been sick for a long time, and although her father said she could come visit, Remy always refused. So while her father went off to see her mother, Remy was left at Lisa's house, sometimes overnight. Tonight was no exception. Several hours before Lisa planned to take the children out trick or treating, Remy was already getting in her costume. It was simple, an elvish green dress, fairy wings, and stockings. The stockings however, were giving her trouble.

"Remy, we have to leave!" her father called from outside the door to Remy's room, which was closed.

"Okay, one second!" Remy yelled back, tugging on her stockings. She had never been good at putting on stockings or tights, her mother had always been forced to help her, but now that she was gone...

Remy frowned, trying to smooth out a bump in her stockings around her ankle. A few months ago, she would have just asked her father to help, but not now. With her mother gone, Remy had changed. Aside from becoming shyer, she was extremely conscious of her body and definitely wasn't going to let her father help her get her stockings on.

Finally, when she had done the best she could to fix her stockings, Remy grabbed the small overnight bag she had packed, and opened the door to her room. Her father, who had been standing there, grinned,

"You look great Rem. Do you want me to help fix your stockings?"

Remy shook her head profusely, taking a step away from her father who sighed. For the past few months, he had watched his daughter becoming distant and withdrawn. Things had gotten better when Lisa had started babysitting her, but only slightly. The hardest part for Remy's father was feeling like there was nothing he could do.

"Okay," he said after a moment, extending his hand to Remy "Let's go."

Remy hesitated, then took his hand and allowed herself to be led out of her house. Like always.

"MOM!!!!!"

8 year old Lawrence Kutner tore through his house in search of his adoptive mother. He finally found her in the dining room, and stopped just short of running into her.

"Mom, I can't," he tried to catch his breath, "I can't find my lightsaber."

"Did you look in the kitchen?"

Lawrence hesitated, thinking, then ran back out of the room to look for the lightsaber in the kitchen.

This was going to be his first Halloween with the new family. His parents had taken him out every year when they were alive, but after they died he spent two years in foster homes and Halloween hadn't worked out well. The first set of parents were firm believers in the idea that candy made children obese monsters, even if only eaten one night a year. The second set of parents had multiple foster children in the house, and only took out the ones aged 6 and under. But this year was different, he had been adopted and his new parents didn't have anything against trick-or-treating...they just wouldn't take him out themselves. Luckily, Lisa from down the street had offered to include Lawrence in her group of trick-or-treaters, and he was eager to go. If only he could find his lightsaber...

"It's not in the kitchen!" he announced, running back into the dining room. His mother smiled, producing the light saber from behind her back. Lawrence grinned,

"Where'dja find it?"

"Under the table." She raised her eyebrows, asking for an explanation, but Lawrence just shrugged, thanking her quickly and hurrying out of the room to finish getting ready.

"Allison, stay still so I can take the picture!"

9 year old Allison Cameron whined as her mother glared at her from behind the camera.

"Mom, Robbie's going to be here soon!"

"Just one more picture, smile!"

Allison sighed, but smiled widely, posing in her poofy pink dress. Once the camera had flashed, she bolted towards the front door, standing on her toes to see out the window. But there was no one there,

"Mom, Robbie's not here yet!!!" She cried, running back to the living room. Her mother chuckled. Allison had been obsessing over this day ever since Robbie had asked her to go trick or treating with him. It was cute, both children were obviously infatuated with each other, and both oblivious to the other's feelings. However, it was not cute that it was making Allison so stressed out.

"Sweetie," her mother said gently, glancing at her watch, "It's still a half hour before he's supposed to come."

"Oh." Allison frowned, tugging on her dress in annoyance, "Well, maybe one more picture then."

"Mum! MUM!" Robbie Chase shook his slumbering mother, taking care not to knock over the glass bottle next to the couch she was lying on. She mumbled and swatted at him, missing terribly. The 9 year old sighed, stepping away for a moment. He thought that when they came to stay in America with his aunt, things would be better, but the only thing that had changed was the accents. His mother was still knocking back drinks like a man at his bachelor party 24/7, and was just as unreliable as ever. Usually it didn't bother Robbie, but he wished tonight she was sober enough to see him off at least.

"Mum, I'm leaving!" He called from a few feet away, eyeing the door. Just as he was about to make a break for it though, his mother's eyes opened and she looked over at him,

"Where'r you goin?"

"It's Halloween, I'm going trick or treating."

His mother frowned, "Yeah? Well who are you supposed to be, your father? His tie was always crooked too."

Robbie blushed, straightening his tie, "'m Prince Charming, Allison is Sleeping Beauty."

"Huh"

His mother turned over, and after a moment, Robbie heard her snore. He tugged on his tie,

"Well, bye then." he said quietly, turning and hurrying from the house.

"You hurt your foot again!!!"

12 year old Gregory House smirked, jumping off his skateboard and letting it continue forwards, hitting his best friend, 11 year old Jimmy Wilson in the shins. Jimmy rolled his eyes, kicking the board away.

"What'd you do this time?"

"Tried a flip."

"On your skateboard?????"

"Yup." Greg stuck out his foot, displaying a walking cast proudly. Jimmy shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't believe it. Someday, you're going to..."

Jimmy's lecture went on, but Greg had stopped paying attention. He was staring past Jimmy's head at Lisa's house, down the block. Lisa was standing in her doorway smiling and talking to Mr. Hadley, who stood on her doorstep. Remy stood next to him, looking down at her feet. Greg hardly noticed her though, his eyes fixed on Lisa. Her smile was entrancing, hypnotic even...not that he would ever admit it.

"Are you even listening to me?" Jimmy asked, exasperated.

"Nope," Greg replied, "Do you have plans for tonight?"

"You told me not to make any plans..."

"Right," glancing at his watch Greg reached into his pocket and pulled out two white pills, dry swallowing them, "Well, now you have plans. Do you by any chance have a wolf man costume?"

Jimmy frowned, "Do I even want to know what you're thinking?"

Greg chanced another look over at Lisa's house, but only caught a glimpse of her back as she led Remy inside. He turned back to Jimmy and smiled, "Probably not."

"Bye mom! We'll be back later!"

Lisa grabbed Remy's hand as the two stepped outside into the cool October air. It was just beginning to get dark, and the girls were off to get the rest of their trick or treating group.

"Okay Remy, we're going to go get Ally and Robbie, then come back and get Amber, and then go get Lawrence." Lisa explained to the younger girl as they crossed the street to get to Ally Cameron's house. Remy nodded, clutching her plastic candy bucket tightly. The lollipop she had gotten from Lisa's mom rattled around in the bottom.

The girls continued in silence until they reached Ally's house, where Lisa rang the doorbell. Moments later, Ally's mother appeared in the doorway,

"Hi there girls! Ally and Robbie will be right out, do you want some candy?"

From a table beside the door, Mrs. Cameron produced a bowl of candy holding it out to the girls. Remy timidly took a piece and, with a quiet thank you, dropped it into her bucket.

"Lisa?" Mrs. Cameron offered, holding out the bowl to the older girl, but Lisa shook her head,

"No thanks, I'm just chaperoning, I'm not collecting."

Just then Ally and Robbie appeared behind Mrs. Cameron, and she stepped out of the way, letting them get onto the porch,

"Hi Lisa, Hi Remy!" They chorused happily, taking in the cool October air. Ally's mom coughed pointedly, gaining her daughter's attention.

"Ally, I want you to behave for Lisa, okay? No running off by yourself, and if she tells you to do something, you do it. Understand?"

"Yeah mom." Ally replied, looking up at Lisa pleadingly.

"So, 9 o'clock?" Lisa asked, taking the hint. Ally's mother smiled, nodding, and bid farewell to the children as they headed down the steps.

"Where are we going now?" Ally asked, twirling around just to feel the skirt of her dress swish about her ankles.

"We're going to go pick up a new girl named Amber across the street, and then we're going to get Lawrence." Lisa explained, looking both ways and motioning for the children to follow her across the street. Remy clutched her hand tighter, glancing warily at Ally and Robbie.

A moment later the four children found themselves standing in front of Amber's house, looking up at the long winding steps.

"Can we wait here?" Ally asked, glancing over at Robbie, who nodded.

"Umm, just stay at the bottom of the steps where I can see you, okay?" Lisa asked, and the two children nodded. She turned to Remy, "Do you want to stay here with Ally and Robbie or come with me?"

"Go with you." Remy said quietly, staring at her feet. Lisa nodded,

"Okay. Ally, Robbie, stay here, we'll be right back." She said, leading Remy up the steps. Ally watched her go, then sighed taking a couple of steps so that she was illuminated in the light of an overhead streetlamp. It shone on her like a spotlight, making the glitter on her dress sparkle as she twirled around. Robbie grinned, and she stopped,

"What're you smiling at?"

Robbie blushed, "Nothing, that dress is just really pretty on you."

"Oh," Now Ally smiled, "Well you look very handsome in that suit."

"Thanks," Robbie lost the blush from his cheeks and stood up boldly, stepping under the light with Ally and holding out his hand, "Wanna dance?"

Ally giggled, "You've got this all backwards!"

"Huh?"

The girl rolled her eyes and giggled, "Everyone knows that Sleeping Beauty doesn't dance with the Prince until after he kisses her."

"So...If I kiss you, you'll dance with me?"

Suddenly Ally's face flushed a deep red color and she looked down, tugging on her dress.

"Well, ummm..." She chewed her lip, "It's just... we haven't got any music, so we wouldn't be able to dance after you kissed me. And Sleeping Beauty and The Prince have to dance after he kisses her, so..." Ally trailed off and Robbie's blush returned as he understood what she was trying to say,

"Right. Of course."

Luckily, at that moment, Lisa and Remy returned. Following close behind was a blonde girl Ally and Robbie didn't recognize, who wore an angel costume.

"Ally, Robbie, this is Amber. Amber, this is Ally and Robbie. They're in fourth grade too."

The children greeted each other, and continued to Lawrence's house. The little boy was already waiting on the steps to his house when they arrived.

"Hi Lawrence, is your mom around?" Lisa asked the young boy. He nodded, pointing up the walk to where his mother sat on the porch.

"Okay, everyone wait here, I'll be right back. Do you want to come with me Remy?"

Remy looked over at Lawrence, who was watching her curiously. She slipped her hand out of Lisa's grasp and shook her head,

"No, that's okay."

Lisa shrugged, heading up the walk to speak to Lawrence's mother. Remy watched her go, then shyly walked over to Lawrence.

"Hi." She said softly, looking up at him. Lawrence smiled,

"Hi."

"I like your lightsaber."

"Thanks, I like your wings."

"Thanks." Remy said, smiling. Lawrence grinned, glad to see that she was happy, and launched into the story of how he had lost his lightsaber. Remy listened silently, glad to have her friend around. He was interrupted mid-story though, by the sudden appearance of Amber,

"Why are you so quiet?" She asked Remy, ignoring Lawrence entirely. The little girl blinked up at her, scared and unsure of what to say. She looked up the steps for Lisa, but she was still talking to Lawrence's mom.

"Well?"

"I..." Remy trailed off, tears forming in her eyes as Amber scowled down at her.

"She's shy." Lawrence jumped in, defending his friend. Amber rolled her eyes,

"I didn't ask you."'

Remy looked at the steps again, and was relieved to see Lisa heading down them. Amber, sensing her relief, looked where she was looking, and quickly bounded off to greet Lisa at the bottom of the stairs. Remy and Lawrence watched her, unable to hear what she was saying, but able to see the innocent smile on her face, and the matching smile that Lisa soon wore. Remy sniffled, wiping her eyes with her hands and turning back to Lawrence,

"S-so where did you find it?"

"Huh?"

"Your lightsaber, where'd you find it?"

"Oh," Lawrence glanced down at the lightsaber in his hand, trying to erase the look of pain on Remy's face from his mind, "Uhhh, I don't remember."

"Oh." Remy sniffled again and forced a smile at Lawrence, "C'mon, they're leaving." She grabbed his hand and ran, catching up with the others.

Many houses later the sky had turned a deep pitch black, and the streets were illuminated solely by the street lights. Lisa checked her watch which confirmed that they were almost out of time.

"Okay guys, just a few more houses, then we have to go home." She announced to the group of children following her. They showed little protest as their buckets were nearly filled and they were starting to get tired. Remy and Lawrence especially were lagging behind and Lisa made sure to keep a close eye on them, though it was hard as Amber was a constant distraction, talking and asking questions about the town she was now going to be living in. Ally and Robbie seemed to be off in their own little world, laughing and joking around with each other.

Lisa stopped at the next house and looked up the long winding steps. She hadn't realized it until that moment, but her feet were killing her.

"You guys can go up, I'll wait for you here." she said, watching as Amber, Ally, Robbie, and Lawrence raced up the stairs. Remy stayed behind, looking up at the house in fright. Decorations were strung everywhere, spiderwebs and skeletons, bones and gravestones. Lisa turned to her in surprise,

"Aren't you going to go get candy Remy?"

The little girl blushed and shook her head, tugging nervously on her dress. Lisa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, then she looked at the house and it clicked.

"Are you afraid of the decorations?"

Remy blushed harder, but didn't answer, only tugged harder on her dress.

Lisa smiled reassuringly, holding her hand out to the little girl,

"Come on, I'll go with you."

She watched as Remy looked at her outstretched hand seemed to be contemplating it. Then, slowly, Remy reached out and grabbed it, wrapping her tiny fingers tightly around Lisa's. The two girls started up the walkway just as the rest of the group was heading back.

"We'll be right back, just wait at the bottom of the steps and stay together!" She called as they crossed paths. The children nodded, making their way to the bottom of the stairs and stopping. Ally sat down on the bottom step and yawned, setting her candy basket beside her.

"Tired?" Robbie asked with a smile. Ally nodded and he opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a new addition to the group.

"Hello Ducklings."

The four children looked up as Greg stopped his skateboard on the sidewalk in front of them, a scream mask pushed up on his head. None of them said anything, so he continued,

"Where's Lisa?"

"Up there with Remy." Robbie said, pointing up to the house. Greg looked up the walkway and frowned, checking his watch. He seemed to be thinking for a moment, then shrugged.

"So Robbie, did you hear what happened?" He asked casually, ignoring Amber who was watching him with curiosity.

"What?" Robbie asked boredly, knowing that Greg was up to something.

"Mindy Lake from down the street got attacked in the woods earlier by some kind of monster."

"What kind of monster?" Amber piped up.

"No one knows," he replied still looking at Robbie, "I was going to go check it out, you in?"

"No." Robbie answered simply, turning back to Ally.

"What, scared?"

"I'm not scared, you're just lying. Anyways, Lisa wants us to stay here."

"Fine, scaredy cat." Greg said, stepping back on his skateboard to leave. Before he could though, Amber grabbed his arm,

"I'll go with you."

Greg rolled his eyes, pulling his arm away,

"Forget it cream puff, don't waste your time."

He rolled off, but Amber chased after him,

"I want to go! I'm not scared!"

Ally jumped to her feet as Robbie called after Amber, running after her for a few yards before losing her and Greg down a side street. Ally and Lawrence stood in shock as Robbie ran back towards them.

"Lawrence, go get Lisa!"

The younger boy did as he was told, running up the walkway to where Lisa stood with Remy. She had been surprised to find that the house belonged to one of her school friends, Chris Taub, and stopped to talk with him. Suddenly, Lawrence grabbed her arm and she whirled around in confusion.

"Amber ran away!" he cried, panting for breath. Remy gasped quietly as Lisa's eyes grew big,

"She WHAT?"

"Greg came, and he said...and he wanted Robbie to...but then Amber ran after him!" Lawrence choked out.

"Come on!" Lisa cried in distress, grabbing Remy's hand and practically dragging the little girl down the walk while Lawrence bounded ahead. Ally and Robbie flittered nervously by the bottom of the stairs, looking up and down the street for any sign of Amber.

"Which way did she go?" Lisa asked when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Robbie pointed down the street and she dropped Remy's hand, taking off running and waving for the kids to follow her. Candy baskets sloshing, they ran in a pack down the road.

"Slow down!"

Greg rolled his eyes as he looked over his shoulder at Amber running behind him. He had to admit, she was persistent. She had been running after him for at least ten minutes, hardly falling behind at all. Now, as the woods loomed ahead, Greg rolled to a stop and Amber skidded up next to him, trying to catch her breath. When she had, she turned and glared,

"You could have waited up."

"I told you not to follow me."

Amber frowned, "I wanted to see the monster. I'm not scared!"

Greg sighed. He had promised Jimmy that the only one they'd be scaring was Lisa, but the stupid cream puff had followed him all that way, so why not let her see the monster?

"Alright, come on."

Amber grinned with excitement as Greg picked up his skateboard and led the way into the forest, limping slightly due to his walking cast. She followed him step by step into the deep dark woods until they came to a slight clearing and he stopped.

"This is where it happened," Greg said quietly, "Right in this very sp-"

Suddenly, there was a loud roar and a small hairy creature sprung from out of a bush. Amber shrieked, turning to run and tripping on a tree root. She toppled to the ground, skinning her knee and bursting into tears.

Lisa heard the shriek from three blocks away, knowing at once who it was. She began to run faster, Robbie and Ally close behind. The three entered the forest at full speed and followed the beaten path to the clearing where Amber lay on the ground crying. Lisa immediately came to her side, ignoring Greg and Jimmy arguing a few feet away.

"What hurts?" Lisa asked, pulling out her flashlight and first aid kit. Amber whimpered, pointing to her left knee. Sure enough there was a large scrape, though it didn't seem to be bleeding much. One oversized band aid from the first aid kit covered it and managed to subdue Amber's crying while Lisa stormed over to Greg and Jimmy,

"What the hell were you thinking!?" She demanded quietly so that the kids couldn't hear her.

"I had nothing to do with it! He promised it would only be you, and I knew you wouldn't be scared, and I thought it was you I was jumping out at!" Jimmy cried. Lisa rolled her eyes,

"Okay, fine," she turned her attention to Greg, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Before Greg could answer, Ally jumped in front of him looking terrified,

"Remy and Lawrence are gone!"

"What!?"

Ally's bottom lip quivered, "I don't know where they are, they aren't with us!"

Everyone suddenly fell silent, looking towards Lisa to see what she would do next. Surprising everyone, she burst into tears.

"Great! This is just great. I've officially lost three kids tonight." She sobbed, burying her face in her hands. No one moved for a moment, scared of what was going to happen next. Finally, Greg spoke up.

"Jimmy, take these ducklings back to Lisa's house. Lisa, come with me to find the missing duckies."

He grabbed his skateboard and ran with it out of the woods with Lisa running alongside him. As soon as they hit pavement he dropped the board and jumped on and the two preteens took off yelling for the missing children.

Chris Taub watched from his porch as the lights around the neighborhood began to turn off one by one. He looked into his nearly empty candy bowl and sighed, knowing it was probably time to head inside. But just as he stood to enter the house he saw two small figures coming up his walkway. As they got closer, he was surprised to see that it was the two kids that had been with Lisa earlier. The little girl was slightly hunched over now, looking pale and sickly.

"Excuse me," the boy said, approaching Chris, "You know Lisa, right?"

"Yeah, did you get separated from her?"

The boy nodded, introducing himself as Lawrence and the little girl as Remy.

"We were running, and then Remy couldn't run anymore so we stopped, but they kept going. We don't know where she is." He explained. Chris nodded, taking a closer look at Remy. The poor little girl was still gasping for breath, her face bright red. Suddenly, Chris felt his heart drop,

"Does she have asthma?"

Lawrence shrugged, confused, but Remy managed a nod.

"Do you have your inhaler?" Chris asked her.

"L-Lisa h-has it." She choked out, her eyes full with tears. Chris swore under his breath, reaching into his pocket or his cellphone. He flipped through the phonebook, but couldn't find her number in it. He looked down at the children standing by his feet, trying to decide if he needed to call 9-1-1. His fingers hovered over the buttons on his phone, trying to make the decision, when suddenly he heard a voice yelling from the street,

"LAWRENCE! REMY!"

"Wait here." Chris told the children, running down the steps. Greg was approaching on his skateboard, looking frantic.

"Hey!" Chris called, grabbing his attention, "I have the kids."

Greg jumped off the skateboard, grimacing as he landed on his hurt foot hard. He ignored it though, calling over his shoulder to an approaching figure,

"Found them!"

A moment later Lisa appeared, her eyes puffy from crying.

"Where are they?" she asked, looking around.

"They're up here," Chris said, leading the way up the walk, "You're going to need Remy's inhaler, she's not looking too good."

Lisa nodded absentmindedly as they made it to where the children stood on the porch. She kneeled down in front of Remy and rummaged in her bag for the inhaler. Greg approached Lawrence,

"Hey, how did you get lost?"

"Remy couldn't run anymore, her breathing was funny, so we had to stop, only Lisa and Ally and Robbie kept going."

Greg nodded, unable to bring himself to scold him when it hadn't been his fault.

"No!"

Greg looked at Lisa, surprised by her outburst, only to find her violently rummaging through her bag.

"What?"

"Her inhaler! I can't find it, I think I left it at my house."

Greg looked at Remy, who seemed to be struggling for air now. He knew that they didn't have much time before the ambulance would have to be called. He set his skateboard down, trying to stay calm so not to scare the little girl anymore.

"Put down your candy basket." He ordered, and Remy obeyed. Carefully, he bent over and lifted the girl into his arms.

"Lisa, get my skateboard." he said, starting down the walkway. Lisa scooped up the board and discarded candy basket, following him with Lawrence on her heels.

Remy squirmed slightly in Greg's arms and he felt her heart pounding in her chest.

"Stay with me midget, we're getting your inhaler now." He said, stepping onto the sidewalk.

"You aren't going to get on that board with her?" Lisa asked in disbelief, standing next to him.

"We don't have time for you to go get her inhaler and bring it back. You need to run ahead and get it while I bring her on the board."

"Greg I don-"

"We need to go now" Greg cut in, nodding towards the girl in his arms. Lisa hesitated, then dropped the board at his feet and took off running. Greg stepped on the board and noticed Lawrence for the first time.

"Can you keep up?" He asked, and Lawrence nodded, "Good."

Holding Remy close, Greg pushed off and began to coast quickly down the street with Lawrence running alongside him. He felt Remy grab his shirt in her tiny fists and latch on tightly, but that only made him go faster. The more scared she got, the worse her breathing got.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Greg stopped the skateboard in front of Lisa's house. Just as he stepped off the board Lisa threw open the door to her house and ran towards him holding the inhaler. Greg shifted the little girl so that he was cradling her in his arms and Lisa pushed the inhaler into her mouth.

"Remy, you're going to need to take a deep breath so you can take your medicine." Lisa cooed, holding the inhaler in place with one hand and stroking Remy's hair with the other. The little girl nodded and as Lisa pushed on the top of the inhaler she inhaled deeply, holding in the medicine. After a moment she exhaled and looked up at Lisa with wide eyes,

"Again."

"Okay." Lisa helped Remy take another puff, and then the girl visibly relaxed. Greg set her carefully on the ground and she sniffled, looking up at Lisa,

"Can I be done trick or treating now?" she asked quietly. Lisa laughed,

"Sure, everyone is inside, lets go in."

Lisa took Remy's hand and motioned for Lawrence and Greg to follow them inside. She led them to the kitchen where Ally, Robbie, Amber, and Jimmy were sitting around the table munching on homemade Halloween cookies. Remy and Lawrence quickly grabbed chairs and cookies, but Greg hung back in the doorway while Lisa walked over and began speaking quietly to her mother. He watched the children with some amusement.

Ally had practically fallen asleep on Robbie's shoulder and he was taking great care to not move that arm at all and wake her up. Jimmy was deep in conversation with Amber, who seemed to be moving closer to him with every word, twirling her long blonde hair around her finger. Remy and Lawrence sat sideways in their seats facing each other. Lawrence was talking animatedly while Remy sleepily listened, a small smile on her face. Greg rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Hey."

He looked up and found that Lisa had come back over, standing in front of him.

"Will you come with me to walk all the kids home?"

Greg studied her face, trying to figure out what she wanted, but her expression was blank.

"Fine."

Lisa turned to the table of children,

"Come on guys, time to go home!"

The kids all hopped down from their seats, picking up their candy baskets and thanking Lisa's mother for the cookies. When they had collected their things they all headed for the door.

"Remy, you can stay here if you want, I'll be right back" Lisa offered as the little girl sleepily shuffled towards the door. Remy looked over her shoulder at Lawrence, then turned back to Lisa,

"No thank you." she said quietly, hurrying to catch up to her friend. Lawrence smiled at Remy as she started walking next to him again, and Remy boldly reached out and grabbed his hand in her own. Lawrence looked up at her in surprise, and she blushed, but he grinned in response, and soon she was doing the same.

A cold breeze blew the air as the children went outside.

"I'm tired!" Ally whined, stepping out onto the porch and pouting.

"Want a piggyback ride?" Robbie offered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure."

He stepped down onto the first step and Ally jumped onto his back, resting her head on his shoulder and shutting her eyes with a contented sigh. Robbie chuckled, carrying her down the stairs and running a little to keep up with the rest of the group.

They went to Amber's house first and the girl was practically glowing when Jimmy said that he'd "see her soon". Next was Ally's house.

"Robbie, Ally's mom is going to give you a ride home, right?" Lisa asked as she and Robbie climbed the stairs. Greg waited at the bottom of the steps with Remy and Lawrence and Ally had fallen asleep on Robbie's back.

"Yeah" he replied, adjusting Ally so that he didn't drop her. She had seemed light at first, but carrying her had taken its toll on his back and he couldn't wait to put her down. Luckily, Lisa was quick in speaking to Ally's mother and soon he was standing in the living room while Ally's mother went to get her keys.

"Ally" Robbie said quietly, jousling her slightly, but the girl stayed asleep. Even as he got louder she stayed asleep. Then it hit him.

Robbie took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then turned his head and planted a kiss on Ally's lips. In a moment he felt her eyelashes fluttering open and pulled away. Ally stared back at him, her big green eyes wide.

"Uhhh...." Robbie could feel his cheeks beginning to glow beet red as Ally jumped down from his back. The litte girl stod in front of him and cocked her head to the side.

"You were asleep and I couldn't wake you up, and I just thought that you were like Sleeping Beauty and since I'm Prince Charming I thought that maybe if I kissed you..." Robbie trailed off, running a hand through his hair anxiously. Suddenly Ally grinned, surprising him by leaning up and planting another kiss on his lips. When she pulled away Robbie stared at her incredulously,

"What..."

"You taste like strawberries, I like it."

"Okay Lawrence, here we are!"

Lisa stopped in front of Lawrence's house and waited for the two younger children to catch up. They were both exhausted, so Lisa wasn't surprised when Remy opted to wait with Greg at the bottom of the stairs. The two little children hugged, and Lisa couldn't help but smile as she grabbed Lawrence's hand and led him up the walk. She conversed quickly with his mother and collected her money before heading back to the sidewalk. What she saw nearly melted her heart.

Greg had picked Remy up again, and she was lying against his chest fast asleep. He held her sort of awkwardly, but Lisa noticed that when the wind blew cold and Remy shivered, Greg held her closer to him protectively. Soon, he noticed Lisa staring.

"She was tired." He said quietly, following Lisa's lead and beginning to walk back towards her house. Lisa smiled,

"I know."

"It doesn't mean anything."

"What would it mean?"

Greg frowned, adjusting the little girl in his arms, "Just don't go around telling everyone that I'm some softie or whatever. I didn't want the midget to pass out and cause even more trouble tonight."

Lisa smirked, "Okay."

"I'm serious."

"Whatever you say."

They walked in silence the rest of the way back to Lisa's house and stopped outside the door.

"Do you want me to carry her inside?" Greg asked, gesturing down to Remy. Lisa thought for a moment, then nodded,

"Sure, thanks."

She led the way into the house and upstairs into her bedroom, where a small bed was set up on the ground. Greg carefully lay Remy down and he and Lisa held their breath for a moment, afraid she would wake up, but the little girl stayed fast asleep.

"Okay," Greg said at last, "Well goodnight."

Lisa nodded awkwardly, "Yeah, goodnight."

With one last parting glance, Greg slipped out the door and Lisa sighed, sitting down on her bed. She shut her eyes and replayed the events of the night in her mind. Soon, she found herself smiling. It hadn't been a bad night.