The Mystery of Halloween Past

Prompt: Blue bloods fanfiction Erin brings up the Halloween that she dressed up as Nancy drew and Jamie and Danny dressed up as the Hardy boys

The crisp autumn air had settled in, and the Reagans gathered around the dinner table, their usual banter filling the space with warmth and laughter. Erin looked at her brothers, Jamie and Danny, who were animatedly discussing the latest brawl they had encountered during a routine patrol. As the stories floated around the table, Erin’s mind drifted back to a Halloween years ago when costumes and sibling rivalry turned into an unforgettable memory. "Hey, remember that Halloween when I dressed up as Nancy Drew?" Erin interjected, a nostalgic smile spreading across her face. Jamie’s eyebrows shot up, a playful smirk appearing. "How could we forget? You could barely solve the mystery of who stole your candy!" Danny chuckled, taking a sip from his glass. "Yeah, and Jamie and I were the Hardy Boys. We were the real detectives that night." "You guys were terrible!" Erin retorted, crossing her arms and feigning indignation. "I solved the case—your detective work was just you two running around in circles trying to catch the kid with the biggest bag of candy!" “Hey, we had a plan,” Jamie argued playfully, leaning into the memory. “We would split up and cover more ground.” “More like split up and get lost,” Danny added, shaking his head with laughter. “I remember you guys ditching me for a whole hour while I pumped gas in ‘the mystery van’!” The room erupted in laughter as Erin took them back to that Halloween night, a chill laced with the excitement of trick-or-treating and adventure. It was a cool October evening, and the leaves crunched beneath their feet as the trio set out for a neighborhood that promised the best sweets. Erin had donned her Nancy Drew costume, complete with a fedora, a magnifying glass, and an earnest expression that fit the character perfectly. Jamie and Danny, on the other hand, had opted for a more casual interpretation of the Hardy Boys, donning plaid shirts and denim jackets. “Alright, team,” Erin declared as they mapped out their path. “We need to be strategic about this. I heard Mrs. Wilkins up the street has the full-size candy bars.” Danny nudged Jamie teasingly. “Guess we’ll need a ‘detective’ to figure that one out.” “Yeah, right. Because you boys haven’t been running around like headless chickens since we started,” Erin replied with a roll of her eyes. As they made their way to the first house, the laughter of children echoed around them. Shadows danced across the street from the twinkling lights of Halloween decorations. Erin’s heart raced at the thought of collecting the most candy, but then the night took an unexpected turn. After a few houses, they stumbled upon a peculiar sight—a little boy standing alone, looking forlorn in his vampire cape. He had lost sight of his friends, and his big brown eyes brimmed with tears. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Erin knelt down, her detective instincts kicking in. Maybe she wouldn’t just be collecting candy tonight but helping someone instead. “I can’t find my friends,” the boy sniffled. Danny exchanged glances with Jamie, who sighed and said, “Well, we can't leave a fellow trick-or-treater alone. Let’s put our sleuthing skills to the test.” “Great idea!” Erin beamed, grabbing the boy’s hand. “Let’s find them together. Do you remember where you last saw them?” As the unlikely detectives embarked on their mission, laughter and camaraderie filled the night air. The trio of Reagans, accompanied by the little boy, scanned the streets for his friends. They checked playgrounds, peeked behind bushes, and even interrogated a couple of teenagers loitering on the corner. “Perhaps they’ve gone to a haunted house?” Jamie suggested, his tone serious, though the twinkle in his eye betrayed his amusement. “Or they could be at the pumpkin patch,” Erin added, momentarily distracted by her own Halloween memories. Danny, however, was noticing something else—each house decorated with a unique twist, and every porch light signifying another batch of candy waiting to be collected. “Let’s not forget, there’s a treasure trove of candy waiting for us too,” he said with a wink. Before long, their search led them to the park where they spotted a group of children giggling and dancing around a Halloween scarecrow. As they approached, the little boy's face lit up with recognition. “Bradley!” he yelled, rushing towards the group, and in a whirlwind of capes and masks, the reunion unfolded. With their mission accomplished, the three Reagans turned back, feeling the weight of success shine in their hearts. The little boy joined them for the walk home, eager to tell his parents about his adventure with the Halloween detectives. As they reached home, feeling victorious and a bit more grown-up, the Reagans lingered in the doorway. “Maybe I should write a mystery book about tonight,” Erin suggested, her spirit still buoyed by the evening’s escapades. “Oh really? And what would you call it?” Danny teased. “The Case of the Lost Vampire,” she replied with a laugh. “I like it!” Jamie chimed in, bringing them back into the warmth of their home. As Erin looked back at that Halloween, she realized that it wasn’t just about the candy or the costumes; it was about the memories made between siblings, solving little mysteries and taking care of each other. Years later, at their annual Halloween dinner, she would recount the tale with the same lightness and laughter, weaving new memories with familiar threads. In the grand design of their lives, the echoed laughter over the dining table would remind them all that they will always be each other's best detectives, solving life's mysteries one Halloween at a time.