After the battle against Pitch had come to its end, the Guardians retired to North's place for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. North had sent word ahead to the elves to prepare some refreshments. When they arrived, Jack was shocked to see there were blue and white streamers everywhere and a banner over the fireplace which read "CONGRATULATIONS JACK FROST!"
When Jack looked to North in confusion, the man replied, "Can't miss out on proper celebration for becoming a Guardian, no? You will like."
And like he did. The area near the fireplace was a bit too warm for his liking, but Jack quickly solved that problem by conjuring a chair for himself made of ice to cool off on. Other than the heat, Jack had a blast. Having people see and respond to him was still a concept he was getting used to, but Jack loved every minute of it.
However, he was still a rather solitary person by nature and had 300 years of just himself for company, so Jack couldn't help but feel relieved when the festivities started winding down. He finished his chilled "hot" chocolate and glanced around the room at his fellow Guardians. North and Bunny were sitting on a nearby couch with their arms around each other, completely drunk. The words were badly slurred, but it seemed like they were singing some sort of mangled half-Easter, half-Christmas song. Jack snorted and once again wished he had a camera. Maybe there was one lying around the workshop somewhere. . .
His attention shifted to Tooth and his expression turned fond. She was lying fast asleep on the opposite couch with some of her fairies curled up beside her, their wings twitching slightly in sleep. Jack walked over and carefully picked up the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch. He then gently covered Tooth and her fairies with it. His smile grew wider when they all exhaled happily at the extra warmth.
Finally, Jack looked around the room to see where Sandy had disappeared to. The older Guardian was sitting at the windowsill Jack himself had sat on not too long ago, and Jack winced briefly at the memory of it. Sandy was silently staring up at the moon and Jack hesitated. He didn't want to disturb their conversation (if they were even talking—it was hard to tell with those two) but when Sandy started to nod off and woke himself up with a jolt Jack made his way over.
"Hey, little man," he said by way of greeting. Jack sat down across from Sandy and smiled as the other Guardian returned the gesture with a small wave. "North sure knows how to throw a party, huh?" Jack pointed toward the others with his staff and resisted the very tempting urge to freeze any remaining liquid in North and Bunny's mugs. It would be hilarious to see how they'd respond. Sandy gave a small nod of agreement and returned his gaze toward the night sky. The two of them sat there in companionable silence, transfixed by the soft snowfall outside.
After a few minutes had passed, Sandy started dozing off again. Jack smirked at the sight but was startled when Sandy resorted to hitting his own forehead in an effort to stay awake.
Jack threw a hand out. "Whoa hey—pretty sure even you gets a chance to sleep sometime, right? Not to mention you deserve it, after what happened with . . ." He trailed off and looked away with a wince. Way to kill the mood, he thought as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Sandy shook his head roughly, not meeting Jack's eyes.
"Look um . . . I uh . . . never got the chance to say it, but I'm glad you're all right and back with us," Jack said, drawing out his words in an effort to figure out the right ones. Sandy looked up at that, then reached over to pat Jack's hand and grip it briefly. Jack felt a small rush of relief flow through him. He found it frustrating how difficult interacting with others proved to be at times. It wasn't that he couldn't; it was just bizarre having people actually respond. Jack couldn't help but feel slightly self-conscious about it.
His relief morphed into concern and confusion when it became apparent how determined Sandy was to stay awake. "The kids are safe now," Jack said, gesturing to North's massive globe. "I'm sure Pitch won't dare to show his face for a long time, and even if something did happen the Yetis would let us know." He paused, noting how Sandy barely acknowledged what he said. Jack tried again, deciding to be more direct.
"Why are you afraid to sleep?"
Sandy took a deep breath at that and rotated his body to face Jack head-on. Sandy pointed above his head and a miniature version of himself appeared. The dream sand version appeared to be sleeping before it suddenly blew up. The sand then reformed into a small world and there were tiny explosions going off at random intervals.
Jack frowned. "You're . . ." His eyes widened and he gripped his staff with both hands. "Is something wrong with your sand? Pitch still isn't affecting you, is he?" Jack immediately rose up in the air and hung over Sandy, looking at the man's back upside down. He reached out a hand and his fingers hovered for a moment over the spot where Pitch's arrow struck Sandy's back. Jack let out a sigh of relief when he saw there was no discoloration; only golden sand. He sat back down on the windowsill as he let out a deep sigh.
Sandy frowned and glanced down in thought. After a moment he looked up at Jack, pointed to himself, then made a fearful face and hid behind his hands.
"You're . . . scared? Pitch can't hurt you anymore," Jack said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "He's too weak and we wouldn't let him anyway." Sandy shook his head and gestured above. A young girl and a horse appeared above his head and they both looked happy. Suddenly the horse morphed into a likeness of the nightmare and chased the child away. When the sand disappeared Sandy pointed to himself with a forlorn and guilty expression.
Jack raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You mean you're worried that you'll start causing nightmares?" Sandy nodded. "But why? You're better than Pitch—you beat him!" Sandy didn't look convinced and pointed at his back.
A few seconds passed, then Jack's mouth opened in a mixture of shock and horror as he realized what it was Sandy was trying to say. "That's right you . . . the arrow went all the way through." The arrow of powerfully concentrated fear didn't just strike Sandy—he absorbed it. Sandy turned into the nightmare sand.
"It was really horrible, huh?" Jack said softly. Sandy nodded again and was unable to suppress a small shudder.
Jack absently pulled his knees in close and hugged them. "Do . . . do you remember anything?" he whispered. "I-I mean . . . not that you—you probably don't want to talk about it, so—" He was stopped by Sandy's shrug and the "so-so" motion he made with a hand. Jack stared at him in alarm. "You do?" Sandy bowed his head and covered his eyes.
"Uh, it was dark?" Sandy nodded and shivered. "And cold?" Another nod. Sandy hesitated for a moment, then covered his ears with his eyes clenched shut. Jack's eyes widened.
"What did you hear?" Jack was barely able to get the words past the lump in his throat that had appeared out of concern for his friend.
Sandy conjured another nightmare above his head and then cupped his hands around his mouth to simulate shouting. The lump in Jack's throat grew heavier as he realized things had been worse than he initially imagined. Everyone experienced nightmares, but Sandy had been physically trapped in one. Jack wasn't really sure what Sandy was or who he was before he became a Guardian, so he didn't understand how Pitch was able to defeat him the way he did. The only thing he did know was that he didn't blame Sandy for being so shaken from the event.
It was then that Jack found himself all the more grateful for Jamie and his friends for the part they played in rescuing Sandy from Pitch. Silence fell between them once more, and Sandy wrapped his arms around himself and returned his gaze outside.
Jack swallowed tightly. What could he do to help his friend? His mind raced as he tried to come up with something to say. "Well . . . if you want, you can sleep and I'll watch over you to make sure nothing happens. If it looks like anything is going wrong I'll wake you up!"
Sandy gave the boy a grateful look as he reached out to pat Jack's hand, but shook his head no. Jack's enthusiasm faltered. All right, think! he told himself. What would I tell Jamie? It seemed like his normal anecdote was fun, seeing as how he was the Guardian of Fun, so—
"I almost forgot!" Jack exclaimed. "Look at this!" He turned to the window, frosted a square section, and drew a dolphin with his finger. He could feel Sandy looking at him in confusion. "Watch this." Jack closed his eyes and concentrated. When he felt it work, Jack let out a small cheer and lifted the translucent dolphin into the air. Sandy's face lit up at the sight and he clapped his hands, legs kicking the air in excitement. Jack laughed and caused the dolphin to swim around Sandy. The small man reached out and stroked the dolphin's fin, marveling at Jack's creation. After a while the dolphin burst into snow in a manner similar to what happened earlier in Jamie's room.
Sandy let out a silent giggle and lifted his hands as the snow softly fell around him. Once it disappeared, Sandy turned to Jack with a silent question of how?
"This is the way I helped Jamie believe in Bunny again." Jack chuckled. "Turns out it also helped him believe in me." Sandy looked at him with a warm and proud smile.
"I got the idea from you, obviously," Jack said. He leaned back and rested his head against the small section of wall that jutted out. "Your dream sand was something I looked forward to almost every night.
"The images . . . they responded to me and I could play with them for a little bit. The dolphins were my favorite," he added with a laugh, recalling the memories fondly. Sandy appeared surprised and Jack shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't one to express such gratitude openly, but he had been meaning to thank Sandman for a long time now, so why not? "It helped pass the time at night and . . . reminded me I wasn't alone," he continued quickly. "So thanks for that."
He smiled and Sandy looked up at him gratefully. Jack was pleased to see the worry on Sandy's face was gone. His pleasure turned to shock when the man leapt into the air and hugged him tightly around the neck. Jack froze for a moment in a manner similar to how he reacted to Jamie's hug from earlier.
Physical touch was still something he was getting used to. He quickly recovered though, and returned the hug just as tightly. Jack wrapped his arms around Sandy's and buried his face into the man's hair, which tickled his nose.
The two of them held on for a while, both in need of the tactile comfort, but suddenly Sandy's grip went slack. Jack pulled back in fear (making sure to still keep hold of Sandy) only to discover the man had merely fallen asleep and thankfully with a peaceful expression. For a few moments Jack just sat there as still as he could, hardly breathing, to make sure he didn't disturb Sandy. To his relief it appeared the sleep was a deep one, so Jack stood.
As Jack adjusted Sandy in his arms so he wouldn't drop him, he found himself partially bathed in moonlight. Jack squinted at the moon and felt a nearly imperceptible sense of gratitude. He grinned good-naturedly and nodded.
Jack walked back to where he was before. Now where to put Sandy? The little man was heavier than he looked, and Jack didn't want to be known as the guy who dropped the sleeping Sandman. Even if all the other Guardians were asleep, he was sure the Yetis would rat him out and Bunny would never let him hear the end of it.
While Jack stood there unsure of what to do, Phil the Yeti came toward him with two red beanbags; one significantly larger than the other. Phil laid the smaller one down and then the larger one behind it. He pointed first to Sandy, then the small beanbag, then to Jack, and the large beanbag. Jack's mouth opened in bewilderment, before he gave the Yeti a smug look, raising his eyebrow in a teasing way.
Phil rolled his eyes and huffed. He pointed at Jack once again and went back and forth between Jack and his eyes. Jack smirked and mouthed, "Whatever."
Once the Yeti left to return to his duties, Jack carefully made his way over to the tiny beanbag and placed Sandy in it as gently as he could. To Jack's relief he stayed asleep the whole time. Jack was grateful Sandy was easier to put to bed than Sophie was—at least Sandy didn't keep a death grip around his neck.
Jack tapped his bottom lip in contemplation and glanced around the room once more to see if there were any extra blankets. To his surprise, North and Bunny were now fast asleep and more comfortably situated on the couch with a blanket of their own. Phil must have taken care of them first. Thankfully, there was another blanket next to the couch, and Jack used it to cover the Sandman.
Satisfied with his work, Jack turned to his own beanbag. A touch of his staff decorated it with his signature frost designs and made it cold enough for Jack's taste. He leapt into the beanbag and snuggled against the cold material.
Jack gazed at the moon one final time, the circular light just barely within his view of where he lay. "Thank you," he whispered, his throat tight. Jack had finally gotten what he had been wishing for, and while it may have taken 300 years, he was grateful all the same.
As the exhaustion finally caught up with him, Jack closed his eyes with a content smile, his heart feeling lighter than it had been for a long, long time.