Maria was sitting down at her vanity unit and was brushing her hair when her son came marching into the room dressed only in his Spiderman vest and underpants.

“Mommy, why do I have to dress up again? Jimmy says dressing up’s for girls.”

Turning around on her stool so she could face him she smiled and said, “Mattie, sweetie, we talked about this at breakfast this morning. Today is Halloween and boys and girls and even grown ups get all dressed up in costumes and they go out and have fun. And you wanna know a secret, I know for a fact that Jimmy will be dressed up too.”

“Really? Auntie Tess will make him dress up too?”

Maria nodded yes and smiled at the thought of her boisterous seven year old nephew who hated dressing up for anything.

“Okay Mommy. What do I hafta wear?”

Getting up from her seat Maria took her son’s chubby little hand in hers and led him back to his bedroom. Once inside the room she picked him up and placed him gently on his bed before she walked over to his wardrobe and opened the door. “Now, let’s see what I can find inside here that you can wear tonight,” she teased. Reaching inside for one of the hangers at the back of the wardrobe she brought the plastic covered garment out and turning to Mattie said, “Oooh I know, what about this?”

Mattie’s eyes lit up when he saw the outfit his favourite cartoon character wore and he clapped his hands before jumping off the bed to run to his mother. “Is that for me, Mommy? Am I going to be Spiderman?”

Crouching down to his level Maria laughed. “Yes baby, you’re going to be Spiderman tonight. Do you want me to help you put that on now or do you want to wait a bit longer?” She asked knowing exactly how her son was going to reply.

“Now! I wanna be Spidey now!”

“Okay, but you have to be careful not to get dirty before we leave.”

“I promise. I’ll just sit on the couch and watch TV until we have to go,” he told her, his voice full of excitement.

“Oh you will, will you?” She teased ruffling his dark hair before standing up and taking the plastic cover off of the costume. A few minutes later she had her little boy all dressed except for the hood that would cover his face. “We’ll put the hood on before we go, okay?”

Mattie nodded before running out of his room and back into his parents’ bedroom so he could look at himself in their full length mirror. Maria followed him and smiled at the way he was turning round in circles trying to see every bit of his costume.

“Sweetie, why don’t you go and watch TV while I go and help your sister get ready?”

Turning to look at her, Mattie smiled and nodded before he ran over to her and hugged her legs. “Thank you Mommy for letting me be Spidey.”

Bending down she scooped the little boy up into her arms and cuddled him close. Sprinkling kisses all over his face she said, “You’re welcome, honey. Thank daddy too when he gets home because the costume was actually his idea.”

“I will Mommy.”

“As soon as daddy’s back and got changed into his outfit we can all go.” Giving her son one last kiss she placed him back on the floor and he quickly scampered out of the room, no doubt heading for the living room to watch his favourite Spiderman cartoon on video tape.

Chuckling to herself, Maria quickly got dressed into her outfit. She had decided to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer and so was wearing a pair of tight red leather pants which she had teamed with a black sleeveless, scooped neck blouse. She had opted for high heeled boots which she figured was fine seeing as she had no intention of slaying any vamps herself tonight. Having already applied her make up and brushed out her hair so it hung straight down her back, she walked across the hall and into her daughter’s bedroom.

Entering the room she saw that Millie was sitting on her bed wearing a pair of black leggings and a black turtleneck sweater and was tying up the laces on her black shoes. Smiling at the scene, she couldn’t help feeling proud that her five year old twins knew how to tie up their own shoelaces. Suddenly Maria frowned. “Millie, why are you all dressed in black and not in your fairy princess costume?”

“Because I’m not a fairy princess anymore. I gave my costume to Bethany,” the little girl replied looking up at her mother.

Frowning at her daughter’s answer she asked, “Why did you do that, honey? You told me and daddy that you wanted to be a fairy princess so we got you the costume you asked for. Why did you change your mind?”

“A fairy princess isn’t very Halloween-y Mommy. I wanna be a cat. A lucky black cat like the one witches have.”

Maria sighed. “Sweetie, you shouldn’t have given your costume to Bethany. We bought it for you and paid a lot of money for it.”

“I’m sorry Momma but Bethany was crying yesterday. She asked her mommy for a fairy princess dress but her mommy told her they’d all gone. I told her she could have mine so I took it to school and gave it to her today.”

Sitting down on her daughter’s bed Maria pulled her onto her lap and hugged her. “Sweetie, that was a very nice thing you did but you should have told me or daddy before giving your dress to her. How are we going to make you into a cat before we go out, huh?” She asked stroking the little girl’s long wavy hair, the colour of which was a light golden caramel.

Millie thought for a moment before saying, “Daddy could paint my face like a cat and you could cut some card into cat ears and stick them on my headband or something.”

Laughing at her daughter’s quick reply, Maria said, “You wanna know something baby girl, you definitely take after your dad. He always has an answer for everything too. Come on then, let’s go into the living room and get started on making you look like a kitty. As soon as daddy gets back he can get the face paints out.”

After giving her mother a big hug and a kiss on the cheek Millie was up and running, collecting the bits and pieces she thought they would need to turn her into a lucky black cat.




Half an hour later Michael arrived home and he couldn’t help smiling at the scene his family made as they sat together in their living room.

“Daddy!” Mattie exclaimed as soon as he saw him and jumping off the couch he ran towards him.

Michael quickly dropped his briefcase on the floor before he scooped his son up in his arms and held him so they were face to face. “Hey there Spidey, how ya doing?”

“Thank you for my costume, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome, kiddo. As soon as your mom told me we were going to get you and Millie costumes I knew you could only be Spiderman,” he told him as he walked towards the couch. Bending down he planted a kiss on the top of his daughter’s head. “Hey sweetheart.” He then took a seat next to Maria on the couch.

Millie ignored her dad as she concentrated on cutting a small triangle shape out of some black card with a pair of children’s scissors.

“Hey baby,” Maria said turning towards him and kissing his lips. She smirked at the groan he released when she pulled away before he could deepen the kiss. “How was your day?”

“Long, very long. I didn’t think I was going to get out of there tonight. So what time are Amy and Jim coming over?”

Maria frowned at his question. “Huh?”

“What time are they coming to take the kids out trick or treating?”

“Michael, they’re not taking them out, we are. We talked about this last night remember?”

“Uh no we didn’t. I would have remembered if we had.”

Ignoring him for a moment Maria looked at her son and said, “Mattie, why don’t you sit on the floor and see if your sister needs any help?”

Mattie nodded his head and Michael helped lower him to the floor where instead of going over to help Millie he scooted closer to the TV and sat on the floor cross-legged and continued to watch his favourite super-hero in action.

“Michael, we agreed that we would take the kids trick or treating seeing as this is their first time doing it. Why do you think I’m dressed up like this if I was staying indoors?”

Taking in his wife’s outfit he let out a low whistle and said, “I thought that was for me......you know my treat while the kids were out with their grandparents.”

Leaning closer towards him Maria kissed him again before gently tugging on his bottom lip with her teeth. “Honey, if you go and get changed into the costume I got for you, then I’ll definitely treat you later,” she whispered huskily.

“Wait a second! I have to wear a costume too? I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

“Well you did so get in that bedroom and put it on. You’d better be quick too because our darling daughter here has decided to be a black cat and not a fairy princess and wants you to paint her face for her before we leave.”

Looking down at his daughter he realised that she wasn’t wearing the outfit Maria had shown him a few days ago. “Millie, baby, why are you a cat now and not a princess?”

Maria jumped in before their daughter could answer him. “It’s a long story and I’ll tell it to you later so don’t think you can stall for time while you think of a way of getting out of wearing the costume. It’s hanging up on the door of the wardrobe so go in there and get dressed.” She paused for a moment before giving him a look he knew only too well and saying, “I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I love you too but don’t think I won’t get you back for this, Maria.” He teased before heading upstairs.

Smiling, she counted to ten before she heard him bellow.

“MARIA!!!”

“Momma, why’s Daddy shouting?” Mattie asked with a worried expression on his face.

“It’s okay, honey. Daddy’s just found the costume I want him to wear that’s all. Unfortunately, he’s just like little Jimmy in that he hates dressing up too.” Looking at the twins she said, “I’m just going upstairs for a few minutes so I want you two to play nicely together, okay?”

The two children nodded innocently at their mother. ‘Innocent my ass,’ Maria thought to herself smiling as she headed up the stairs to check on her husband.

On entering the room she couldn’t stop herself from laughing at the way Michael was standing in front of the wardrobe looking up at his costume hanging on one of the door handles.

“This isn’t funny. There’s no way in hell I’m wearing that,” he told her vehemently.

“What’s wrong with it? You should have seen some of the costumes I could have got for you but I got this one because I figured I wouldn’t have too much trouble getting you to wear it as it’s just a pair of black pants, a silk shirt and a black leather coat. There’s no masks or wigs involved either so if anything I think you should be thanking me.”

“But I.....I.........I’m gonna look like a dork,” he finally managed to get out before adding, “Plus dressing up’s for girls.”

“You and little Jimmy Valenti have a lot to answer for. Come on Michael, do this for the kids. Please. They’re so excited about getting dressed up and going trick or treating tonight.”

Releasing a sigh he looked into his wife’s face and saw the way she was pouting and he groaned. He could never resist that face. Walking over to her he wrapped his arms around her waist and smirked before asking, “If I do this for you what’s in it for me?”

Leaning into him Maria kissed his smiling lips and whispered seductively, “If you do this, then I’ll give you your very own special treat.”

Michael gulped. “Oh......okay, you win. I’ll just have a quick shower before I get dressed.” He gave her a quick kiss and walked towards their en suite bathroom. “Hey Ria, can you get the face paints out of the cupboard and I’ll get started on Millie’s face when I’m ready?”

“Sure. Oh and thanks for giving in so graciously honey. You definitely won’t be sorry,” she teased before quickly leaving the room. She didn’t want to be around for when Michael discovered those pants were leather.





Some time later the Guerin family were walking down the familiar streets of Roswell. They had been to several houses already and the twins had each collected a nice stash of candy. Maria had her son and daughter on either side of her and was holding their hands while Michael was trailing behind, complaining all the way.

“I can’t believe you’ve made me wear these. They are so damn tight and I’m boiling hot.” As he was walking he was trying to pull the leather pants away from his skin but without much success seeing as they were pretty tight.

Ignoring him, Maria led the twins to a familiar house and as soon as she had released their hands they were racing for the front door. Turning to face her husband she smiled sweetly, a little too sweetly if you asked him. “Sweetie, you know what I promised you earlier tonight?”

“Uh huh,” he replied reluctantly.

“Well if you keep complaining I won’t be fulfilling that promise so quit it.”

“But Maria,” he whined.

“Fine, have it your way. I guess I could do with an early night.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

Michael watched as she sashayed down the path leading towards the front door to ring the doorbell and he groaned. “I am so whipped,” he mumbled to himself as he followed her down the path.

The front door of the house opened and Mattie and Millie called out, “Trick or treat,” in unison and held out their bags ready for more candy to be added.

“Awwww, don’t you two look adorable.” Tess told them as she dropped candy treats into the bags and watched the twins faces light up.

“Thank you, Auntie Tess,” Millie said and then nudged her brother when he didn’t say it too.

“Hey!” he shouted giving his sister a mean look. A second later he turned towards his aunt and said with an angelic look on his face, “Thanks for the candy Auntie Tess.”

She chuckled at the pair and opening the door a little wider told them, “Come on in and get settled. Jimmy’s in the living room.”

The twins looked back at their parents and when Maria nodded they ran inside and went to find their cousin.

“Hey Tess, how are you feeling?” Maria asked her friend. “Are you sure you’re okay to be looking after the terrible twosome tonight?”

The blonde nodded and placed a hand on her protruding stomach. She only had another two months to go before her little bundle of joy arrived. “Yeah I’m fine. She’s been pretty quiet today although having just said that I’ve probably jinxed myself. Anyway, Kyle’s agreed to take care of the kids tonight while I put my feet up. Why don’t you two come in for a drink and say hi to Kyle?”

Turning to Michael Maria teased, “Is that okay with you, honey, or are your pants too tight for you to sit down in?”

“Very funny. Hey Tess,” he said entering the house and then kissing her on the cheek. “Nice outfit,” he gave her a smirk.

Tess was wearing a long black dress with the words “Witch in Waiting” written across her stomach in sparkly silver lettering, a black cloak decorated with silver swirls and a large black pointy hat.

“Thanks Michael. I like yours too and what’s this about your pants being too tight. I think they look pretty good from where I’m standing.”

The smirk left his face and he blushed at her words before he rushed inside to find Kyle and the kids.

Maria and Tess broke out into loud peals of laughter. “You are so bad,” she told her friend. “I can’t believe how much of a baby he’s being about his costume. I figured I’d be able to get him to wear it without too much of a problem but in the end I had to blackmail him with sex....again.”

“Yeah, I wish I could have done that with Kyle this year but I’m too damn big. It doesn’t work if you have to set a time frame for it.”

Closing the front door, the two women went into the kitchen to make some tea and pour some drinks for the kids.

“Where should I put the bag with the kids overnight stuff?”

“Just put it on the chair by the stairs. I’ll get Kyle to take it upstairs later.”

“Okay,” she replied quickly heading out into the hall to put the bag down. Going back into the kitchen she said, “You go and sit down and I’ll finish making the tea.”

“Thanks Maria,” Tess gave her a smile before she walked out of the kitchen and headed for the living room.

A couple of minutes later little Jimmy Valenti wandered into the kitchen in a similar outfit to his mother’s, well all except for the dress.

“Hey Auntie Maria, can I have a glass of juice? Mom said to come and ask you.”

She gave him a smile. “Sure sweetie. What flavour?”

“Apple please.”

“Okay. How come you’re not out with your friends trick or treating tonight?” She asked as she got the juice out of the fridge and poured him a glass.

“Because I didn’t want them to see me in this lame outfit. Mom wanted us to all dress the same this year so we’re like a family of witches and wizards or something. We look like dorks.”

“Aww sweetie, you don’t. You and your mom look great. Don’t worry, another few years and I’m sure she’ll let you pick your own costume.”

“Great, can’t wait.” He replied sarcastically as he took the offered juice from Maria. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Come on, lets go in and see the others.” She said picking up the tray of drinks and following Jimmy into the living room. The sight that greeted her almost made her drop the tray. “Ohmigod! What’s going on? Why the hell is my son climbing the walls? Michael?”

Mattie was scampering all over the walls just like his favourite super-hero and was giggling like mad. “Look at me Mommy, I’m just like Spidey.”

Quickly placing the tray on the table she watched as her little boy raced up and down and sideways and her heart was racing in her chest. “Please Michael, stop it and bring him down here.”

Looking over at his wife, Michael saw the tears welling up in her eyes and he quickly caught his son and cancelled out the powers he’d used on him. He then carried him over to Maria and she took him into her arms and cuddled him close.

“I’m sorry Mommy, I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“I know. I just got scared when I saw you climbing up the walls. You know I don’t like daddy using his powers on you and your sister.”

“Daddy said it would be okay ‘cos you wouldn’t find out.”

“Oh he did, did he? Well I think daddy won’t be getting his candy tonight,” she said looking at her husband pointedly.

“That’s okay, he can have some of mine.” Millie piped up.

The adults couldn’t help chuckling at her innocent comment and the atmosphere was again lightened. Giving her son a final kiss on the cheek she put him down on the ground and he scampered off to play.

Kneeling down on the floor in front of the coffee table Maria started to hand out the drinks to everyone and Michael walked over to her and crouched down beside her. “I’m sorry, honey. He was so excited about being Spiderman that I thought it would be okay. I guess I didn’t think it would upset you that much.”

Looking him in the eyes she saw he was being genuine in his apology and she gave him a soft smile and kissed his lips. “I know and it’s fine. Just don’t do it again okay?”

He nodded at her and gave her a grin. “So do I get my candy after all?” he whispered into her ear.

“Hmm you’ll just have to wait and see.”

Standing up Michael picked up the mug of coffee Maria indicated was his and he went and sat in one of the armchairs. “So Kyle, that’s a cool outfit you’ve got there?” He said giving him a sarcastic thumbs up.

“Shut it Guerin. At least mine’s comfortable and isn’t cutting off my blood supply.” Kyle retorted pointing at the tight black leather.

He was about to say something back but seeing the look on Maria’s face decided against it. “They’re actually not that bad. They take a bit of getting used to but they’re okay,” he lied. He was sweating like a pig in them and was dying to take the pants off.

“Whatever you say.”

“I hear you’re in charge tonight so good luck with the hyped up candy kids.”

“Will you two give it a rest,” Tess interrupted.

“Sorry,” Kyle replied.

“Yeah, sorry Tess.”

“Uncle Michael?”

Michael looked down at his nephew. “Yeah Jimmy?”

“Why do you keep pulling at your pants?” The seven year old asked curiously.

He could feel everyone’s eyes on him and he knew he had to choose his answer carefully. “Uh......well it’s because......they’re....uh....a little on the tight side.”

“Why don’t you use your powers to stretch them a bit and make them bigger?” He suggested.

“Hey why didn’t I think of that. Thanks Jimmy.” Before Michael could do it himself his nephew had placed a hand on his leg and was using his own powers. Unfortunately, he was doing the opposite of what he’d suggested to his uncle and was shrinking the garment further.

“Oh crap! Stop it Jimmy! Christ that hurts!”

The adults erupted in laughter as Michael jumped up from his chair and tried to throw off his nephew’s hand as well as trying to peel off the pants. Mattie meanwhile was running around shouting out, “Daddy said a bad word! Daddy said a bad word!”

“Kyle get your kid off me! Now! Jimmy, I’ll give you ten bucks if you take your hand off my leg.”

“Make it twenty and you’ve got a deal,” the kid bargained.

“Fine, twenty. Now get your hand off me!”

Jimmy complied and then held out his hand for the agreed sum of money. “I’ll have to give it to you tomorrow ‘cos I’ve got no cash on me.” The child raised his hand again and moved closer and Michael swore under his breath as he managed to get his hand into his pants pocket and retrieve his wallet and hand over a twenty.

“Thanks Uncle Michael.” Turning to look at Kyle he said, “See Dad, I told you I could get twenty bucks out of him.”

Kyle smiled at his boy and moving closer to him high-fived him. “Yeah you did. I’m proud of ya son.” The smile soon left his eyes when he saw Michael glare at him.

“Tess, I think I’d better get him home before more trouble starts. Michael honey, try and loosen those pants. We don’t want to give the people of Roswell a nasty surprise,” she told him before doubling up with laughter again.

“You’ll pay for that, Mrs Guerin.” He told her as he unshrunk the leather with his powers.

“You promise,” she whispered.

“Looks like I won’t be the only one getting a treat tonight then, huh?”

Kyle looked over at his two friends and couldn’t help feeling the sudden increase in heat in the room. “Come on you two, get a room. There are young people and a pregnant woman present.”

“Okay kids, your mom and I are leaving now. Be good for Auntie Tess,” he told them before crouching down and adding quietly, “And be little monsters for your Uncle Kyle.”

The twins giggled and kissed their dad on the cheek. Running over to Maria they climbed onto the sofa and hugged her and kissed her. “Bye Mommy.” Mattie climbed down off the couch and ran over to eat more of his candy.

“Bye babies. You be good for your aunt and uncle, don’t listen to your dad. We’ll see you tomorrow okay?”

“Okay,” Millie answered before jumping off the couch to join her cousin and brother on the floor to make sure they weren’t stealing any of her stash.

Michael offered a hand to Maria who took it and he pulled her up off the couch and Kyle helped Tess up too. The two couples headed for the door and once there Maria turned to them and said, “I think I’ve remembered to pack everything but if you need us just call okay. We don’t mind, right Michael?”

“Yeah, but I’m sure they’ll be fine here. It’s not like this is the first time they’ve stayed here, honey.”

“I know but you know what I’m like about leaving them overnight.” He smiled at her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the top of her head.

“Yeah I know. Come on, lets go home.”

They said goodnight to Tess and Kyle and began the short walk home hand in hand. After a few minutes Michael said, “So I’m Angel to your Buffy huh? Or maybe I can be Angelus and be the bad guy for once. How about I chase you home?”

Maria stopped walking and turned to face him, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow. “Hmm you’re on.” She told him before running down the street. Michael smirked and counted to ten giving her a headstart before he gave chase. He was definitely getting some candy tonight.

The End