"Jack, I'm sorry, I have to cancel."

Kelsey felt terrible saying the words, and wondered how many times she'd said them over the last two months. Unfortunately, filming took priority over everything, and they were behind schedule, everyone knew that. The swimming scenes took longer than they thought to film, and everything just piled up, so Robin jumped at the chance to shoot some of the pool deck scenes when the venue offered them the pool for the night.

Unfortunately, the night in question was the night of Zach's Halloween party.

Jack looked at her, his disappointment obvious, nodding his acceptance. "I understand, Kelseylove, don't feel bad." He leaned in and kissed her. "It's not your fault, you don't have to apologize for this, okay?" He smiled and squeezed her hand, cuddling her closer on the sofa, where they were sitting. "Besides, we'll still be together on actual Halloween, right? We can get dressed up then, to pass out candy."

Kelsey gave him a look. "You mean here, at home? Like put on costumes and--and answer the door?"

Jack nodded, unable to hide his enthusiasm. "It's not as much fun as going trick or treating, but it's close, you know? I love seeing the kids, how happy they are, god. Some of them just scream out the words when you open the door because they're so excited!" He squeezed Kelsey's hand again. "And some of the little ones are so nervous that they forget what to say and they just stand there, holding on to their bags for dear life, oh man--"

Jack loved Halloween, of course.

Kelsey smiled at him, shaking her head. "I've never stayed home to pass out candy," she told him. "When I lived in Iowa, I always trick or treated, and then I was in Europe or New York for the next few years, and since I moved here I've always been out, I guess."

Jack looked affronted. "Well, that's going to change this year, then," he announced. "It's the best holiday of the year, even better than Christmas, maybe, because you get to run around outside. You'll see," he said confidently.

"I'm so sorry about Zach's party, though," Kelsey repeated. They had costumes picked out already. Kelsey was going to be Princess Jasmine, and Jack was going to be Aladdin. She saw again the disappointment on his face.

"Yeah, you rock that outfit, Kels," he told her. "Man, what a knockout." He let his gaze travel down her body and back again. "But I'll see you in it on Halloween, like I said, so it's no big deal," he concluded, shrugging.

"You'll have lots of fun without me," she assured him. She patted his thigh.

"What?" He looked at her, brows furrowed. "I'm not going without you!" He shook his head.

"Jack, of course you are," Kelsey responded. "You've been looking forward to it, and Zach's special Halloween punch, for months!"

"But I've been looking forward to being there with you," Jack clarified. "I mean, it's not like I drink the punch, you know?" He kissed her hand. "I wanted you to try it."

He sat back. "I don't want to be Aladdin without Princess Jasmine," he said. "I'll just go watch you shoot."

Kelsey shook her head vehemently. "No Jack, no. It's going to be podium shots or something, you'll be bored out of your mind!" She thought for a moment. "I know! Let's ask Marian if she'll go to the party with you." She looked at Jack, eyebrows raised. "She could even wear the costume! We're nearly the same size, I'm sure it'll fit her, and everyone there will know who she is because they'll be mainly from the swim team, right? She'll be a celebrity, it's perfect!"

Jack didn't tell Kelsey that everyone on the team already had met Marian; he hadn't told Kelsey about Marian working out with the team in the mornings. It had never come up, and given some of the strange vibes he'd gotten from Kelsey about the different women in his life, he didn't see the need to give her more reason to feel insecure.

"Kels, I'd honestly rather skip it and be with you that night," Jack tried again, but Kelsey wasn't listening. She had her phone out and was typing out a text to Marian.

"She said yes," Kelsey said moments later, turning to Jack with a grin. "All sorted out."

"Great," Jack said, smiling, stroking the back of Kelsey's head. "Thanks, sweetheart."

******************

Zach could be heard long before he could be seen. Jack looked at Marian and smiled as they listened to his booming laughter, and they followed the sound to the kitchen where he was holding forth, dressed as Poseidon this year. His entire house had been turned into some kind of haunted, spooky, underground water cave, with bats and spiders hanging next to fish and coral.

Zach was wearing a loin cloth, toga-style, and a crown with a trident on the front. His magnificent red beard and mustache spoke for themselves, and he carried a trident made of foil, in case anyone was in doubt who he was supposed to be.

"Jack! Marian! Welcome, welcome to the grotto!" he cried, arms open to envelop both of them in a huge hug.

"Hey, buddy," Jack replied, hugging his friend.

"Marian, you are a vision," Zach said, ignoring Jack as he held Marian to look at her. And Jack had to admit, Marian looked marvelous. The Princess Jasmine costume, intended for Kelsey, was the classic blue one that she she wore for most of the animated movie, with the harem style pantaloons and top that left her midriff bare. Her hair had been tied in a manner similar to the Disney princess as well, with the jeweled headband in her dark hair. It was a bit small in the bust, which didn't hurt anything, either.

"Thank you, Zach," Marian laughed. "Where's Viv?"

"My better half is masquerading as Betty Grable this year, and looking outstanding doing it," Zach announced. "I think she's on the patio."

"Great," Marian, answered. "I'm going to go look for her, okay?" She waved to Jack and Zach and left the kitchen.

"So, Jack, my man," Zach continued, watching Marian go, "Kelsey's okay with you bringing her, looking like that, to the party, huh?"

"I guess," Jack replied, shrugging. "It was her idea, dude. I didn't want to come, she suggested it."

Zach raised his eyebrows. "Really? Wow. Just when I think I have the ladies figured out."

"Tell me about it," Jack said. "It feels weird, too, you know? I mean, Marian looks so much like her, especially in that outfit, it kind of freaks me out."

A group of women came laughing into the kitchen to check the refrigerator.

"Hey Jack, looking good," one of them called.

Jack looked over in surprise, trying to figure out which of them had spoken. He didn't know any of them, they weren't from the team. They were looking at him, taking him in from his purple vest, which was all he wore over his bare torso, to his patched white pantaloons. He wore a tiny red Fez on his curly hair.

"God, all these swimmers have the best bods," one of them said, giggling. They were all slightly drunk, and in very good spirits. "Thanks for bringing us, Heather," she continued.

She looked at Jack, smiling. She was a sandy blonde dressed as some sort of seriously fucked up ballerina or something. Her tutu was ripped in strategic places, barely covering her body, and she had fake blood dripping from her neck.

"You want to show me where the drinks are?" she chirped, putting a hand on her hip and arching her back slightly.

"Jesus, don't bother, Kennedy, he's dating Kelsey Carlisle, don't you know anything?" the girl next to her said loudly.

"Really? Wow, is she here?" the fucked up ballerina, presumably named Kennedy, asked, eyes wide.

"No, she's not, but the other one is, the one she's playing in the movie?" the girl next to her said. "The one from the Olympics, Marian Something, you know."

The giggling girls left quickly, possibly to go look for "the one from the Olympics."

"I feel like I should warn Marian," Jack said to Zach.

"Nah, she can take care of herself," Zach said.

The two young men left the kitchen to mingle. Jack spent the next hour or so laughing and joking with friends from the team, and meeting new people. Much later, Jack finally found Marian in the middle of a group of admirers who were listening to her talk about her gold medal swim. He stood next to her, and joined in the applause when she finished.

Marian took his hand and quickly walked away, saying she needed a drink, obviously embarrassed by the clapping.

"Me too," Jack, agreed, realizing he hadn't had anything to drink since he'd arrived.

"I never know what to do when that happens," she admitted when they were well away from the group. "But I feel like I'm letting people down if they ask about it and I say I don't want to talk about it anymore, you know?"

Jack nodded. "I guess it could get old," he sympathized.

"I don't want you to think I'm sick of it, or I'm not grateful or whatever," Marian said, getting herself a drink. "But I don't want people to think I'm bragging, either."

"Come on, though, an Olympic gold medal is worth a little bragging, I think," Jack said with a smile.

He, too, got a drink and tossed it down, only thinking to ask afterward what it was.

"Jack, you just had a cup of Zach's Halloween punch," Marian exclaimed. "I thought you didn't drink?"

"I don't," he laughed. "That was pretty good, though, tastes like Hawaiian Punch. I can't taste the alcohol at all."

"Look at you, drinking like a grown up," Marian laughed, getting him another cup.

"I'll go slower with this one," Jack promised.

A little later they heard music, and Marian grabbed his hand. "Oh, I love this song! Let's dance," she suggested.

No reply seemed to be required of Jack, and Marian simply put her arms around his neck, moving close to him and swaying to the song, a slow one that Jack knew well. He put his hands on her hips, again feeling odd because she was so much like Kelsey, but wasn't, in fact, Kelsey.

After a few moments, Marian leaned up to talk in Jack's ear. "You're a good dancer, Jack, I didn't know," she said.

"Oh, thanks," Jack answered, not sure what else to say. He could smell her hair, and it smelled different from Kelsey's, which felt strange, too. She felt different in his arms as well, and all of these things, coupled with the small amount of punch he'd had, was giving the entire experience a feeling of unreality, like he was dreaming.

He looked up and thought he saw Kelsey, standing in the doorway, looking at him, watching him. He blinked, but she was still there, strangely, looking a lot like Princess Jasmine.

He lifted his head so he could really look.

It was Kelsey, in a different costume.

He let go of Marian, murmured, "Excuse me," and walked quickly to where Kelsey was standing. By the time he got to her he was practically running.

"Kelsey! What are you doing here? And you look stunning!" Jack scooped her to him in a tight hug, loving her scent, her laugh, the rightness of how she felt in his arms.

"The lights at the pool were on a timer, and the whole place went dark at eight," she explained from his arms, continuing to laugh. "No one could figure out how to get them on again, so we had to cancel shooting."

Jack finally let her go so he could look at her. "I got my PA to grab this costume for me, and hustled over," she finished. "I wanted to kind of try to match you, but I didn't want to copy what Marian was wearing, so I went with Princess Jasmine's white outfit." She smiled. "Looks nice, don't you think?"

"Absolutely outstanding," Jack whispered. Like the other one, it left her gorgeous midriff bare, and it was covered with thousands of silver brilliants. It gave the air of a wedding dress, though of course it had the loose flowing pants like the other outfit. "I'm so glad you're here," he said, kissing her.

"Really? You were dancing awfully close with Marian," Kelsey said, and Jack could tell she was only half joking.

Jack gave her a little shake, and they turned, arm in arm, to enjoy the rest of the party.

"Kelsey, you made it, how wonderful!" Marian cried, hugging Kelsey. "And look, Jack has a harem now," she laughed, gesturing at their costumes.

Jack and Kelsey made the rounds, and though people were starstruck to see her, the mood was relaxed enough that no one really bothered her. Jack was glad, and relaxed a little.

"Jack, are you watching out for me?" Kelsey asked, amused.

"What if I am?" he responded, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her close. "Am I not allowed to worry about you a little?"

"No, I think it's really nice," she replied, taking another sip of Zach's punch. "And before you ask, yes, I'm having a nice time, and no, I don't want to go home, okay, coach?"

Jack sighed and nodded, giving her a smile.

The party was getting loud and raucous, and Jack was about to once again suggest they head home when a girl, or the dress she was wearing, rather, caught his eye. It was pink and covered with sequins, and looked really familiar. For some reason, the dress made Jack really uncomfortable, and feel kind of sick.

The girl wearing it was eerily familiar, too. Jack could only see her from the back, but she had long legs, long dark hair, and wore a diamond bracelet.

WTF?

Next to him, Kelsey had frozen in place, staring at the girl as well. Jack could feel her whole body stiffen.

The girl turned around, and Jack wondered how much he'd had to drink, because the girl looked like Kelsey. Or perhaps she looked like Marian? Who looked like Kelsey. Her hairline, make-up, everything about her screamed Kelsey Carlisle.

But something was dreadfully wrong.

It was so wrong that it took Jack a few seconds to realize what it was. Then it hit him. That's what Kelsey was wearing on the horrible, disastrous night she'd gone to the club opening with Don Simonsen, right down to the diamond bracelet. The girl was obviously wearing a Kelsey Carlisle costume, she was supposed to be Kelsey Carlisle for Halloween. But she was covered with bruises and bite marks and what looked like suck marks. And her dress was torn. And her hair was messed up. And her lipstick was smeared, and her eye make-up was tracked to look like she'd been crying.

Raped Kelsey Carlisle.

Oh my god.

And the guy with her had smooth, short brown hair, and was wearing a track suit, like race car drivers wore.

"Dear Jesus," Jack whispered.

The silence around them was suddenly deafening as people realized what was unfolding. The couple in question, aware that they were being stared at, looked around, noticing for the first time that Kelsey was actually there, and was frozen, unable even to blink.

Zach, noticing the silence in the room, stepped in from the patio and took in the tableau, his smile being replaced by a look of horror and concern.

"I'm--so sorry," the girl began, her voice loud in the screaming silence. "We didn't know you'd actually be here, fuck--" She turned to her date, the man dressed as Don Simonsen. "Chuck, we'd better go, babe," she said.

"Yeah," he agreed, nodding.

They left, quickly, while everyone else in the room just stood, watching.

Next to him, Kelsey had begun to tremble. Jack was afraid that he wouldn't be able to hold her if she fell. He felt another arm, and looked to see Marian bracing her firmly from the other side. He flashed her a look of gratitude.

With the couple gone, the party slowly began to come back to life. Jack saw Zach from across the room, mouthing, "I'm so sorry," to him.

"Jack? Please take me home," Kelsey whispered, her words barely audible, even in the near silence.

"Of course, sweetheart," Jack agreed. He kept a strong arm around her waist, and felt her cold hand on top of his.

He looked over at Marian, concerned. She shook her head at him, indicating that she'd find a way home and not to worry.

Jack quickly led poor Kelsey from the room, hoping she wouldn't start crying until she was at least in his car.

She made it. Barely.