Author's Note: Okay, this story is set within the Apologize/Redemption universe as usual; yes, it does have a spoiler for Tuesdays with Johanna…I debated about posting this because of that but honestly, I started this story last year for Halloween and then shifted gears and I really wanted to finish it for this Halloween. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Chapter 1

In the shadowy darkness of her mother's old bedroom, three and a half year old McKenzie Grace Castle, whimpered softly and clutched her teddy bear. There were monsters lurking somewhere, she was sure of it. She had seen them in her dreams and she was sure she heard their scratching and pawing from somewhere in the room. Were they under the bed…or were they in the closet? She wasn't sure where they were…but she was sure they were coming to get her. The window rattled softly, the sound of a scrape outside making a tear leak from the corner of her eye.

McKenzie kept her bear clutched close to her chest and eyed the door that her grandmother always left half open so she could see the light in the hallway; she just needed to run as fast as she could and she could get away; the monsters wouldn't get her if she was with her Grandma and Grandpa. Another thump sounded from somewhere in the night and she threw back the covers and scrambled out of bed as fast she could, her small feet pounding against the carpet as she escaped the room and made it to the safety of the dimly lit hallway. She kept running, moving across the hallway to her grandparents door that had been left ajar for her if she should need them; she slipped inside, hurrying to the far side of the bed.

"Grandma," she sniffled as she reached out and patted her grandmother's cheek. "Grandma."

Johanna Beckett's eyes flicked open at the sound of the soft tearful voice. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked softly as she sat up and reached for her granddaughter.

"The monsters were coming to get me, Grandma," she cried as she clung to her.

Johanna clicked on the lamp on the nightstand and then ran a soothing hand over the little girl's back. "Nothing's going to get you, honey. It was just a bad dream."

"No, I heard them; they were coming," McKenzie stated. "I heard noises."

"What kind of noises?" Johanna asked patiently.

"Monster noises…scary noises."

A hard gust of wind rattled the window and McKenzie's arms tightened around her grandmother's neck. "It's just the wind, sweetheart; the wind makes scary sounds sometimes; you were probably hearing the wind and the leaves; you might have even heard that squeaky gate of the neighbor's down the street."

"I heard monsters, they were moving around," she sniffled.

"There aren't any monsters here, I promise. Do you know what I bet it was? It was probably Scarlett. Scarlett plays in the hallway and in the guest room at night, you probably heard her pouncing on her toys; you know how much she likes that."

"Maybe the monster got Scarlett," McKenzie cried. "Maybe they ate her."

"No," Johanna said softly; "Nothing ate our Scarlett; she's too quick for that; but there aren't any monsters here. You were just dreaming and hearing those noises, that's all."

"I saw'd them."

"You mean 'seen', sweetheart; you seen them…where did you see a monster?"

"In my dream; big scary monsters…and a vampire too; he was going to suck my blood."

"A vampire?" Johanna asked, wondering how a vampire had entered the equation.

"Uh huh," her granddaughter hiccupped. "They're scary; they're coming to get me."

"There aren't any monsters," she assured. "Nothing's going to hurt you; it was just a bad dream."

"They were here," her granddaughter insisted; "But I runned away from them."

"Sweetheart, they were just pictures in your mind. Sometimes when we sleep our dreams do scary things."

"What's wrong?" Jim asked as he turned over and squinted against the light.

"McKenzie had a bad dream," his wife answered.

"The monsters are coming to get me, Grandpa."

Jim rubbed his eyes and sat up next to them. "There aren't any monsters here, sweet pea. I don't let monsters come here."

"You don't?" she asked.

"No; no monsters allowed here. Grandma's scared of monsters so I keep them away."

"I think some got in," McKenzie told him; her tearful green eyes trained on him. "I think they ate Scarlett."

"Ate Scarlett?" Jim repeated.

"Uh huh, monsters eat kitties," she cried. "I love Scarlett, I don't want the monster to eat her…but I think he did."

"Scarlett's fine," Johanna soothed.

"Yeah," Jim agreed; "Scarlett roams around at night and plays with her toys; she's probably in the guest room."

"What if the monster is in there?"

"Maybe Grandpa should go look around," Johanna suggested; a smile touching her lips as she glanced at her husband.

"You go look, Grandpa," McKenzie echoed; keeping an arm wrapped around her grandmother's neck.

"Okay; I'll go do a search," he said as he kissed her cheek. "I used to do this for your mommy when she was a little girl like you."

"Cause you're her daddy?" McKenzie asked.

"That's right," Jim replied. "I never let a monster get your mommy or Grandma and I won't let one get you either."

"What about Scarlett?" she sniffled.

He shook his head. "I won't let a monster eat Scarlett either. You stay here with Grandma, she'll keep you safe."

Johanna shifted her granddaughter to the space next to her and pulled the covers up over them. "Where's my bear?" McKenzie asked, panicked as she realized she no longer had a hold of it.

Johanna glanced down at the floor and found the well loved bear that Jim had given McKenzie when she was a baby. "Here it is," she said, leaning over to grab it and then placing it in her granddaughter's arms.

McKenzie hugged her bear tightly and snuggled close to her grandmother. "I don't want the monster to eat him."

"There's no monster; nothing's going to be eaten, I promise."

"Gracie will be okay in my room?"

She smiled, apparently her granddaughter had only had time to grab one companion to flee the room with; her baby doll had been left behind. "Gracie will be fine; do you want me to go get her?"

"No; don't leave me!"

"I won't leave you," she soothed. "Do you want me to tell Grandpa to get her?"

McKenzie considered it for a moment but didn't want her grandmother leaving her side. "No…she'll be okay?"

"She'll be fine. What has you thinking about monsters and vampires tonight?" she asked her as she gently wiped away the moisture on her cheeks. "Is it because Halloween's coming?"

"Halloween's scary," McKenzie declared.

"Some things about it are scary but not everything. You liked carving the pumpkin with Grandpa tonight, didn't you?"

"Uh huh, we made a funny pumpkin."

"You sure did and it was fun. We watched the Great Pumpkin; did it scare you?" Johanna asked.

"No; I liked that. I like when Snoopy comes up out of the pumpkins and Linus falls down," her granddaughter said with a soft giggle.

She smiled. "That was funny, wasn't it?"

"Uh huh; I want to watch it again sometime."

"I'm sure that can be arranged. What is it about Halloween that's scaring you? I thought you wanted to get a costume and go trick or treating?"

"I want my candy but I don't want it to be scary."

"Honey, I know some of the things about Halloween are scary looking but it's all pretend, it won't hurt you."

"I don't like it," her granddaughter whimpered. "I like fun, I don't like scary."

"Oh," Johanna said in understanding. "You want a fun Halloween, not a scary one."

"Yeah."

"Okay; we'll tell mommy tomorrow when I take you home."

McKenzie looked up at her grandmother. "Mommy won't let it be scary, will she?"

"No; mommy will take care of everything. Does any of the decorations you helped me put out scare you? Because if they do, I'll put them away and we won't use them until you're older and they look less scary."

"No, I like them…the ones at home are scary."

"Oh," Johanna replied; thinking about her son-in-law's love of decorating for the holidays. She had a feeling Rick wouldn't be happy to hear that his daughter wasn't a fan of the décor. "How come the decorations here don't scare you?"

"They have nice faces," McKenzie answered, one of her small hands curling around Johanna's fingers.

"Nice faces?"

"Uh huh, they don't got mean faces. You have nice witchys and ghosties and funny pumpkins. They're not mean, they got nice happy faces."

"I see," she replied; her décor for the holidays was of the cute variety…it was her personal preference and also what she had deemed as age appropriate for her granddaughter when she had purchased the items the year before. Rick, however, preferred the spooky…which was fine if that was what you liked, but it might be a bit too much for a little girl.

"We don't have a Halloween tree at home," her granddaughter went on. "I like our tree here."

"I can get you one for home," Johanna told her; knowing that she did enjoy the small black twig like tree that was strung with purple lights. They had hung cute little witches, ghosts, black cats and pumpkins on it and she had to have it lit up as soon as she came in the door. "How about before I take you home tomorrow, we'll go get you a Halloween tree and you and Mommy can decorate it…and you can pick out some other decorations that you like for your house. Okay?"

"Okay…but I don't like that scary face Daddy put on the door, it makes me fraid."

"We'll tell Daddy that it makes you afraid and I'm sure he'll put it away," Johanna soothed; "Will you feel better then?"

Before McKenzie could answer, they heard a noise from the vicinity of the guest room. "What was that?" the little girl whispered, pressing close to her grandmother.

"That was Grandpa looking for monsters."

"He'll make them go away?"

"Yes; he's very good at it. Grandpa will protect us."

McKenzie grew quiet, her bear still hugged tightly to her. Johanna kissed her forehead and cuddled her. "It's all right, honey; I'm here and I've got you. You just think happy thoughts and that bad dream will go away."

"Happy thoughts?"

"Mhmm; you think about what makes you happy; like being with Mommy and Daddy; and when Alexis plays with you and Grammy takes you out for ice cream…"

"And when I bake cookies with you, Grandma?"

"Yes; that's a happy time; and when you went to a baseball game with Grandpa and when you play with Scarlett. You have lots of happy times to think of."

McKenzie nodded and they heard Jim's voice in the hallway. "Come on, Scarlett," he beckoned as he stepped inside the bedroom. The cat ran into the room and leaped on bed to join her favorite playmate.

"Grandpa; you saved Scarlett!" McKenzie exclaimed, hugging the cat as it rubbed its head against her small chest and purred.

"Of course I did," he replied as he climbed back into bed. "And there are no monsters here; I checked everywhere. You're safe."

"Can I sleep with you and Grandma?"

"Of course you can," Johanna stated before her husband could answer.

"Scarlett can stay too?"

"She'll stay in here with us," Jim replied as the cat moved to the bottom of the bed and curled up near Johanna's feet. "Are you ready to turn out the light?"

"Don't turn out the light!"

"Why not?" he asked; "You've never been afraid to turn the light out before."

"It's scary," she murmured.

Johanna slipped out of bed. "What if we turn on this lamp?" she asked as she moved to the dresser and turned on the old hurricane lamp she had bought long ago. The bulb was dim but would provide McKenzie with some light while allowing her and Jim to sleep without the brighter lamp on the nightstand.

"Okay," McKenzie replied.

She clicked off the lamp on her nightstand and returned to bed, retaking her place; her granddaughter snuggling back into her side. "Grandpa, are you sure they're gone?" McKenzie asked.

"There's no monsters, honey," he soothed. "I even checked downstairs, nothing is in this house with us; the doors are locked, the windows are locked, there's no way for any monsters to get it, you're safe just like you always are when you stay here."

"Okay," she said.

Johanna pressed another kiss against her hair. "Do you want me to turn the TV on?"

"No! The monsters came out of the TV," McKenzie stated.

A piece of the puzzle, Jim and Johanna thought as their gazes met in the dim light of the room. "Did something on TV scare you, McKenzie?" Jim asked.

She nodded. "All of those monsters…Grandma; is Mommy okay? No monsters are getting her are they?"

"Your mommy is fine," Johanna assured. "I'm sure she's home from Daddy's book party and she's sleeping. Daddy's with her, he'll protect her."

McKenzie shook her head. "No, Daddy likes monsters. He thinks they're fun…they're not; they're big and mean and scary."

Another piece of the puzzle, Johanna thought. "Did Daddy let you watch something scary on TV?" she asked.

"Uh huh; it was real scary…Lexis was there but I still got scared."

"Where was mommy?"

"Working."

"You'd think Alexis would've mentioned that it might be too scary for her sister since Rick didn't seem to think so," Jim commented.

"It must've been a bad moment for both of them," his wife replied. "When did this happen, sweetie?"

"The other day."

"Did you have scary dreams after you saw it?"

"Uh huh; I stayed with Mommy last night…Mommy gots a gun; she can shoot monsters."

Jim stifled a laugh and Johanna did her best to curb hers. "You're a smart girl," she told her. "Monsters will be afraid of mommy, so see, you don't have to worry about her, she can take care of herself."

"Does mommy know you saw a scary movie?" Jim asked.

"No."

"We'll tell her tomorrow," Johanna said; "And once mommy knows, I promise you won't have to see scary things on TV anymore until you're a big girl."

"Like Lexis?"

"Yes; you can wait until you're a big girl like Alexis. Close your eyes now and try to sleep; Grandpa and I are here with you and we'll never let anything hurt you, okay?"

"Okay," she murmured as she rubbed her eye.

Jim shifted toward them, stretching his arm out to wrap around both of them, just as he used to do when Kate was small and crawled in between them. "You're safe, sweet pea," he assured the little girl.

"We love you," Johanna told her softly.

"Love you," McKenzie repeated, her eyes tired but the last vestiges of fear keeping her from closing them. "Tell me a story, Grandma."

"What kind of story?"

"A princess story. I like princess stories best…princesses are better than scary monsters."

"Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a Princess," Johanna began; "And she was looking for a Prince."

"How come?" her sleepy granddaughter asked.

"Because she wanted to get married…she needed a Prince to live in the castle with her so she wouldn't be lonely."

"And so he could kill bugs," Jim added.

"That too," Johanna stated; "Anyway; every day, the Princess left the enchanted forest and went out into the big city looking for her Prince…and one day, she saw him."

"Did he have a white horse?" McKenzie asked.

"No…he had a blue Camaro," she answered.

Jim held in his laughter but the effort made him shake. "Why's Grandpa laughing?"

"Because he's heard this story before and he always laughs when he's awake at three in the morning."

"Oh. What happened next?"

"Well, the Princess saw the prince and she liked him a whole lot. Every day she went to the city and saw him and they became friends…but the Princess had a lot of friends, what she didn't have was a husband and she wanted the Prince to marry her."

"Did he marry her?"

"Not right away," Johanna said; "You see, sometimes princes can be stubborn…and sometimes, they turn into frogs for awhile."

"I've heard about that," McKenzie said sleepily. "Princess has to kiss him to make him change back."

"That's right," she said as Jim laughed quietly. "The Princess loved the prince so much that even though he turned into a frog, she still wanted to marry him. The Prince…well…he sat there and croaked a lot, thinking it would make the princess go away or decide to be happy with how things were but she was stubborn too. She picked him and she wasn't leaving without him. So she kissed him…and it took a lot of kisses to make him turn back into a Prince; but you know what?"

"What?"

"While the Prince was sitting on his lily pad croaking like a frog, he realized that he loved the Princess and wanted to live in the castle with her…because he knew no other Princess could love him as much as that one. So when he turned back into a Prince, he told her he loved her and they got married."

"Then what happened?"

"When they got married, they moved into the castle and became King and Queen and then they had a little baby girl and she was their princess…she was smart and beautiful and when she was all grown up, she got married and had a baby Princess of her own; and the King and Queen were so happy because they got to be the little princess's Grandma and Grandpa and they all lived happily ever after."

McKenzie smiled, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheek as her eyes closed. "Good story, Grandma."

"Thank you, Baby; you sleep now," she murmured, smoothing her fingertips across McKenzie's forehead, lulling her further.

"So," Jim said quietly once McKenzie was asleep. "I was just croaking on a lily pad, was I?"

"In that version of the story," she said with a grin; "It's the middle of the night, I have to go with material I know when only half of my brain cells are awake."

Jim yawned. "Understandable. Katie's not going to like knowing about this scary movie business."

"Yeah; I'm sure it's going to make her day…Rick better take cover."

Her husband smiled as he met her eye. "Did you ever think we'd end up like this again?"

"Like what?"

"Having a kid between us in bed," he said with a quiet laugh.

"No, not really…but it's kind of nice for the moment," she whispered with a smile; "And just think, you've proven you're still the monster slayer and have now added cat rescuer to your resume."

Jim grinned. "I'm a man of many talents."

"I know," she whispered; a sassy gleam in her eye.

He smiled as he carefully leaned across their granddaughter and kissed his wife. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, honey."

"Do you think she'll be okay for the rest of the night?"

Johanna nodded. "I think she'll be fine here with us. I hope her father is sleeping…he's probably going to need the rest."

"Yeah; he might have some nightmares of his own once Katie gets a hold of him."

"Better him than McKenzie," Johanna commented, thinking about the horror he was sure to have when they were informed that his daughter wanted an un-scary Halloween opposed to his usual 'the more scares the better' idea of the holiday.

Author's Note: Kate and Castle appear in the next chapter.