Nightmare Before Christmas Fan Fiction ❯ Black and Red ❯ Head Troubles ( Chapter 6 )

Jack was getting frustrated. He couldn't fit the jagged piece of bone into the hole in his skull. Sally was in with Mrs. Claws preparing food. Sandy was off in his workshop; Thanksgiving might be the next Holiday, but the red clad man had many toys to make. The other Holiday leaders weren't there yet; they were supposed to be bringing their wives. Jack grunted and nearly crushed the bone fragment in his hand. Why did this have to happen now?!

Sally came in and blinked at him. "Jack?"

"Quickly Sally, help me get this back in."

Jack handed her the piece and she began to try to fit it in. "I can't tell which part goes where," she said after five minutes.

"Damn!" Jack growled.

He reached up and popped his head off so he could reach the hole better. Of course that's the moment Mrs. Claws came in with a couple of female elves. Everybody froze. They silently set the cookies and hot chocolate down and left. Jack groaned.

"Great. Just great. Give me that bone."

Without having to reach behind his head, he quickly maneuvered the piece back in and place. He placed his head back on. He sat down and stayed silent as the others arrived. The women all went to the kitchen, while the men stayed and talked to Sandy. Pocahontas, Squanto's wife, came leading the other females in.

"Do it," she said, standing in front of Jack.

The men blinked. "Do what?" Sandy asked.

"Sally said he can take off his head. Mrs. Claus agreed. I want to see it."

"Pocahontas!" Squanto gasped. "That's rude."

"I want to see it, too," Psyche said.

"My blessing above all, whatever for?" Eros asked his wife.

"You all have told us how scary he is. He seems nice enough, if not odd," she replied.

Stormy, Bunny's mate, nodded. "Please?" she asked politely.

Jack listened to the conversation with confusion. "It doesn't disturb you?" he asked Mrs. Claws.

"No, dear," she said.

"Stuff like that disturbs them," Jack said, gesturing at their husbands.

"They're scaredy-cats," Aileen, Patrick's wife, said. "They refuse ta let us go ta Halloween Town 'cause they think we'll have nightmares or somethin'."

Jack sighed. "Behemoth?"

"That's one reason," Patrick admitted.

"We're getting off topic," Sam's wife, Betty, said. "We want to see your head come off."

Jack glanced at Sandy, who shrugged. Jack shrugged himself before reaching up and popping his head off for the second time that night. The girls stared then began laughing.

"That's just so fascinating!" Pocahontas said.

"Can you talk with your head off?" Stormy asked.

"Of course," Jack said, turning his head so he could see them. "I can fall to pieces and still move. I have to if I want to put myself back together again. That's a skill I learned long ago after an accident. I used to be able to put myself back together in ten minutes."

"So you can take any part of your body off and it doesn't hurt?" Psyche asked.

"Um, yes, I suppose I can."

There was another burst of laughter then Mrs. Claws spoke.

"Why did you take your head off in the first place?"

"I slipped on the pond out front and cracked a piece off my skull," Jack replied as he placed his head back on his neck. I couldn't get it back on while my head was on, and Sally couldn't match it up, so I removed my head to reach it better."

"How did you get it on? I mean, you can't see it," Psyche said.

"Touch."

They took that answer for what it was worth and spent a pleasant evening together. Jack thanked them profusely before they went back to Halloween Town. He walked Sally home and kissed her goodnight before heading home himself. He slipped into his nightgown and lay down. He couldn't be happier. He was accepted by the other Holiday leaders and their wives. His Holiday had successfully been pulled of. And to top it all off, he was engaged to the most beautiful girl in the world. He smiled and drifted off into a restful sleep.