DISCLAIMER: The characters of Nick and Co. are not mine. All rights to the characters belong to Sony/TriStar. No copyright infringement was intended. Laurene is my creation, however, and therefore belongs to me.

Laurene dragged Nick down the aisles of the costume shop. She stopped at a rack to paw through the assortment hanging there.

"I don't want to be Esmerelda or Pocahontas," she complained. "I don't want to be a princess, an angel, or a bride either." She huffed herself over to the next rack. "Isn't there ANYTHING good here?"

"Well, what is it you want be this year?" Nick was looking through the costumes as well, wondering what his precious darling was going to pick for this year's Halloween party.

"Oh, I don't KNOW!" she sighed in exasperation. "I just don't want to look like everyone else. Yuck!" she held up a tacky witch's costume. "Can't they come up with something better than this?"

Nick smiled and shook his head. Every year it was such a challenge to come up with a costume that Laurene could live with. And every year, it was Nick's duty to help her pick it out. "How about we just have Mommy wrap you up in yards of gauze and you can go as 'The Mummy'?" Nick suggested.

"You've got to be kidding, Daddy!" Laurene snorted from her position by another rack. "I wouldn't be able to go pee!" She scowled and shook her head. It was all Nick could do to keep from laughing out loud. Chuckling under his breath, he headed for the next rack.

As Nick was pondering the possibilities of ghosts, devils ... vampires ... and the like, as costumes for Laurene, he heard her excited cry coming from several aisles away. Looking up, he spotted her over in the adult costumes section. He walked over to see what had elicited such excitement from his rather jaded daughter. As she held up her prize, Nick cringed and took a step backward.

"It's perfect for you, Daddy!" Laurene exclaimed. She held high a black, high-collared cape with a red satin lining. "You could go as 'Dracula'! Wouldn't that be PERFECT Daddy????" She was so excited that she was literally bouncing around the floor. Nick took the cape and hung it back on the rack.

"I thought we were here to find YOU a costume, punkin'," he said, smiling at her.

"But the parents are supposed to dress up too, Daddy! I could go as the 'Bride of Dracula'!"

"I thought you didn't want to be a bride?" Nick smiled at her in complete befuddlement. Would he ever understand the mind of a five-year-old?

"Oh, but this is different," she explained. "Daddy, you just HAVE to go as a vampire!"

Nick smiled and shook his head. "We'll have to discuss that one out in the car, sweetie." But Laurene was not about to be put off. She was strong-willed and stubborn and had her daddy wrapped around her little finger. The next thing Nick knew, they were walking out of the costume shop with the cape and Laurene's bride outfit.

The October night was cool, but dry, so they drove home with the top down on the Caddy. As the wind whipped through her blonde curls, Laurene turned to Nick. "Why don't you want to be a vampire at the party, Daddy?" She had inherited her mother's wide blue eyes and she turned them on Nick now with devastating effectiveness.

Nick turned to look at her and gave his head a little shake. If he weren't a vampire and she weren't mortal, he would have sworn that Laurene had tried to "whammy" him just then. He smiled a secret smile at the thought ... he knew full well that Laurene didn't need any supernatural powers to have him completely under her spell.

"We've talked about the Code before, Laurene. You know that I can't let anybody know that I'm a vampire. It's our secret, okay?"

"But Mommy knows ... and Tracy knows and...."

"They're special, Laurene. Exceptions. And it's still dangerous for them."

"But, Daddy, nobody really believes in vampires. This is a costume party, nobody's gonna believe it's real!" She turned on her persuasion full tilt. Slipping the bridge with the two plastic fangs into her mouth she lisped, "I'll bet I'll be the only kid there with a real vampire for a daddy."

Nick couldn't help but laugh. "I don't doubt that," he chuckled.

When they reached home, Laurene ran up to the front porch where Natalie was waiting while Nick unloaded their booty from the trunk of the Caddy.

"Hi, sweetheart," Natalie greeted her. She scooped her daughter up in her arms as Laurene ran up the steps. "So, what did you finally decide on for a costume?"

"I'm going as the Bride of Dracula," she said, her words coming out all in a rush. "Can you help me make it good and gory? Maybe we could spill some blood on the dress. Daddy is going to be Dracula. Won't he make a great Dracula, Mommy?"

Natalie looked up and smiled over the top of Laurene's head at Nick. He cocked his head a bit to one side and gave her his best little boy grin as if to tell her, 'How could I say no?' Shaking her head and smiling, Natalie turned and carried Laurene into the house. Nick followed closely behind.

Halloween night was properly frightful. A few wisps of clouds crossed the nearly full moon on an otherwise crisp clear night as Nick drove Laurene to the high school where the trick-or-treating and party were to be held. Nick felt a little ridiculous, if not conspicuous, in the black and red cape. Laurene had convinced him to wear his tux under it because, "Everyone knows that vampires wear tuxedos," according to her. He had fed well before leaving the house because Laurene had insisted that he be vamped out most of the evening. She refused to let him don plastic fangs like the ones she had to wear.

They found a parking spot in the large lot of the high school and walked up the wide front steps and proceeded through the front doors. The high school students had volunteered to dress up and man the various classrooms on the first floor of the school to hand out candy to the children who trick-or-treated there. It was all part of the "Safe Halloween" project by the parents' club of the school. The kids formed a line and went door to door up and down the long hallway, begging candy from the ghoulies and goblins that manned the stations.

Laurene was having a great time, and her bag was getting quite full of treats, when she happened upon Room 15.

"Jenny!" Laurene launched herself at her favorite babysitter and gave her a monster-sized hug. Jenny Schanke beamed with pleasure despite having her witch's hat knocked askew by the enthusiastic child.

"Hey, Munchkin," she addressed Laurene. "Are you making a good haul on the candy?"

"Oh yeah," Laurene replied. "I've got enough here to last 'til Christmas." In a little aside behind her hand she whispered to Jenny, "Mommy and Daddy don't let me have very much at one time. They think it'll rot my teeth or something." Jenny giggled along with Laurene, glancing up at Nick who gave her a grin, flashing his fangs at her.

"Hey, great costume, Uncle Nick!" Jenny grinned back at her dad's ex-partner. Long ago, when Nick had first become Don Schanke's partner, Jenny had adopted the charmingly eccentric man as her long-lost uncle. "If I didn't know better, I'd really believe you WERE a vampire!"

"Oh, but I am," Nick replied, letting his voice drop to the guttural level that was natural for him once his fangs had dropped.

"Yeah, sure," Jenny replied with a full measure of teenage sarcasm, but grinned up at Nick to let him know that she was just playing along. "Will I see you guys later at the party?"

"Oh yeah, wouldn't miss it. Who can resist all those terrific carnival games?" Nick assured her.

"And the haunted house!" Laurene chimed in.

Quite a group of children and parents had accumulated behind Laurene and Nick as they stayed to talk with Jenny. Finally noticing that they were holding things up, Nick made Laurene move along.

"See ya later!" called Jenny.

Nick stood in line to purchase the tickets that Laurene would need to play the carnival games in the large gymnasium. While he waited, Laurene ran off to say hi to her best friend, Maggie, who was dressed up as Belle from Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast'.

Schanke, who was on duty as a chaperone that evening, sauntered over to Nick and slapped him on the back. "Hi, partner!" Nick turned and smiled his toothy grin at Schank. "Neat costume, Nick, but who ever heard of a blond, blue-eyed vampire?" Schanke chuckled under his breath.

"Yeah, just a bit unbelievable, isn't it? But Laurene insisted." Nick shrugged and gave Schanke his innocent 'how could I resist her' look.

"What we won't do for our little girls, eh, Nick?" Schanke was sporting a clown outfit, complete with orange curly wig and bright red ball nose. He was in no position to rib Nick too much about his choice of costume.

At that moment, Laurene came running over to grab her tickets and her daddy. "Come on, Daddy, we haven't got all night!" And taking Nick by the hand, she proceeded to drag him across the room.

Her first stop was the sponge toss where she got to lob wet sponges at the high school principal whose face was stuck through a board with a target painted on it. Laurene hurled the sponges with relish, laughing with glee as she struck her target in two out of three tries. She happily collected her prize and moved on to the next booth.

They moved around the room trying both games of skill and games of chance. The small toy prizes were collecting in a heap on top of the candy in Laurene's bag.

Finally, having tried everything at least once, Laurene decided that it was time to try the haunted house.

"Are you sure you really want to do this?" Nick asked. "Last year you were too scared to go through the whole thing."

"Ah gee, Daddy, I'm a whole year older now!" Laurene exclaimed. She looked so cute standing there with her fists on her hips giving him that disdainful look that only a five-year-old girl could manage. Nick chuckled.

"Okay then, let's go." He held her hand as they walked out of the gym and next door to where the haunted house was located.

Entering the darkened building, they brushed at the fake spider webs that hung in their faces and made their way through the nearly black house. Nick wasn't the least bit hindered by the dark and noticed the young man dressed as a mummy several seconds before he jumped out and growled at Laurene, eliciting a shriek from the startled youngster. She backed closer to Nick's side, holding tightly to his hand. "Are you sure you want to keep going?" he asked.

In answer, Laurene let go of his hand and confidently strode ahead in search of more frightful adventures. As they were nearing the end of their trip through the house, they approached a coffin surrounded by dry ice smoke. As they walked cautiously past, the coffin lid opened and a man dressed in a cheap Dracula costume, complete with glowing plastic fangs sat up and moved to jump out at Laurene. She started giggling. That set the would-be Dracula back a bit. He'd never had quite that reaction from a child before.

Nick leaned over and whispered in Laurene's ear, "Watch this...." Lifting his arms and spreading the cape wide, he lunged at the pseudo Dracula with a loud deep-throated growl, fangs fully extended, golden eyes glowing. The man shrieked in fear and bolted out the exit.

Laurene was laughing so hard that her sides hurt. She was doubled over in a giggling mass, unable to get to her feet again. Nick wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her up, tucking her under his arm as though she were a football, and carried her out of the haunted house. Once they were out he placed her on the ground where she finally recovered herself enough to look up and ask, "Can we go through again?"

It had been a very eventful night and Laurene had enjoyed every minute of it. Her stash of goodies was bulging, as was she after a dinner of hot dogs, nachos and popcorn, with orange pop to wash it all down and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. No doubt about it, she loved a night out with her daddy.

She fell asleep on the long drive back home, resting her head in Nick's lap as he drove. He smiled down at her softly snoring form as he stroked her golden curls. Turning his attention back to the road he recalled the night's activities and smiled. He had to admit that Halloween had taken on a whole new dimension since Laurene had come into his life.

When they reached home, Nick gathered Laurene in his arms and carried her into the house and upstairs to her bedroom. He gently laid her on the bed and, sitting carefully down next to her, began removing her shoes and socks.

Natalie walked in on them. "Have a busy night?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, we had a good time," Nick smiled back. With Natalie's help, Nick managed to remove the costume and get Laurene into her nightie and snuggled down in bed. He kissed her gently on the forehead and tiptoed out of the room.

As he and Natalie walked down the hall toward their own bedroom, Nick heard a soft childish voice call after him, "Night, Daddy! You're the bestest vampire there is!" He smiled and hugged Natalie closer to him as they walked.

THE END