"A Strange Bond"

Note: I thought this up while I was writing Chapter 11 of 'The Hollow', and since I already knew how I wanted that story to end, I decided to put that aside for a day or two and work on this. It just makes sense to me that Tooth Fairy wouldn't be able to bounce back from what happened. It also makes sense that Alpha would go without food when the supply is running extremely low so that the kids in her town can eat. Neither of them wants to ask for help. But will they accept it when it's offered? Will bonding over similar losses lead to something more? Hmm. You would think that no two people could possibly be more different, but these two sort of tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Hey, we have an idea. Plus, you owe us for putting us through all that B.S. in your previous story!" So, here it is. Also, will Jack Frost's little bet with Cupid come back to bite them in the butt?

Alpha calls Tooth Fairy 'Roy', since he seems to prefer anything other than Tooth Fairy! I'm trying to avoid insta-romance, but then again, Scott and Carol got together within a month, and I'm just writing this as it comes to me. No solid storyline, but I thought Tooth Fairy and Alpha deserve to have a happy ending, don't you? I don't own any of the characters from 'The Santa Clause' and its sequels, but I do own Alpha, The Hollow, and various OCs.

The song 'Sneaky Snitch' by Kevin Macleod fits Jack and Cupid's little game quite well, I think!

"Chapter 1: Intervention"

January

Alpha laid back her ears as she stared at the clipboard in her hand. With The Founders' rule over, she had stepped up to the plate to help keep things together. She had just been granted Legendary status, and Halloween was to be her designated holiday. It was going to be a big job, and she still wasn't quite sure what was expected of her.

For now, though, Alpha's thoughts were mainly on their food inventory. "Are you certain these numbers are correct?"

A living Skeleton in overalls and gumboots nodded, his bones rattling as if he feared punishment. Alpha wasn't known to be very aggressive, but in her Wereform she was huge! "I'm afraid so, Alpha. The decrease in our population is both a blessing and an impairment. There are less mouths to feed, but less hands to tend the crops on the lower level. The Goblins...at least the ones who stayed...are training new workers, but something's going wrong with the plants and they can't figure out what. They ruled out blight and fungus, and then they thought, maybe, some kind of insect pest hitched a ride on someone-"

"Mm, that's not very likely..." Alpha frowned, saying to herself, "but maybe not impossible..."

"They're just not sure what's wrong, and now...I'm afraid our latest harvest has taken a serious hit."

Alpha sighed, rubbing her temple with two forefingers and handing back the clipboard. "Thank you, James. I know you're all doing the best you can. Please inform me of any changes, good or bad, as they come up. In the meantime, those of us who can will go up and hunt."

"Yes, Alpha," James took back his clipboard and left.

Her mind on the subject of food, her stomach offered up a demanding complaint. She had chosen not to collect her share of food this week, seeing how low supplies were getting. She had done this before when times were tough, but it was a long time since things had gotten this bad. Normally she would help herself to a portion of her kill before or after bringing it back, but now? If they ran out of food, even the children would go without, and she couldn't have that happen.

She poured herself a large glass of water and drank it down, hoping it would silence her growling stomach. Just as she set the glass down, her mind began to buzz. Momentarily alarmed, she put her hand to her head and leaned against her sink, but then her expression cleared as Mother Nature's voice spoke to her mind.

"I hereby call an emergency Council meeting at the North Pole. Your attendance is required in thirty minutes, Alpha."

Unused to telepathy, Alpha briefly dug at her ear canal with a knuckle. Father Time's voice echoed in her head.

"Twenty-nine minutes and fifty seconds."

"That's not a lot of time, Time..." Alpha muttered as she opened her wardrobe and dug around for an appropriate outfit. She came up with a pair of jeans, some black snow boots, and a blue T-shirt with a message in yellow letters, 'Sleep all day, read all night'. She tossed these onto her bed took on human form. The transformation hadn't been painful since Brinna's wings had been given a proper burial, and while Alpha was aware that this might have been cause and effect coming into play, she didn't question it. She was just glad it happened!

Especially since she had decided to appear as a human out of courtesy when she visited the North Pole; the reindeer would have been in a blind panic at the sight of her Wereform, and the Easter Bunny viewed her with suspicion as it was, so she appreciated her newly easy transformations.

Her clothes shrank in size as she changed into them, thanks to a spell from Pearl, molding themselves perfectly to her human form. She was just opening her door to leave when she remembered something important. Without her fur to shield her from the elements, she would shiver her way through the meeting! She grabbed a denim jacket and shrugged it on, locking her door behind her.

A vibrant ring of red mushrooms popped into existence on the snowy ground near Santa's Workshop, and Alpha with stepped out of it, shading her eyes against the brightness she found herself in. As lovely as this place was, she wished there was a way to dim the lights! The Fairy Ring disappeared as soon as she left it, and she hissed in through her teeth when she tried and failed to keep her eyes open.

"Ah, there you are!" A male voice greeted her, and she turned blindly in his direction.

"That you, Jack?"

"In the flesh, my lupine friend. Here, put these on, they should help," he tapped her hand with something.

Alpha took what he offered, then sighed gratefully when she realized they were sunglasses. "I and my dignity thank ye, Jack. I don't need to be walkin' intae walls today!"

He chuckled and waved for her to follow him. "Think nothing of it. The others are already here, bickering among themselves as usual...well, except one."

"Oh, I'm sure whoever it is will be along shortly," she tucked her hands into her jacket pockets.

Jack Frost looked over at her and shook his head.

"No?"

"No...Tooth Fairy...ehhh...well, he wasn't summoned for this one. He...well, you'll hear about it in the meeting." Jack's smile melted from his face.

"Is he all right?" Alpha asked, more serious now. "Not ill, I hope."

Jack didn't reply, and she let the matter drop. She spotted a serious-looking Bernard, who brightened somewhat when he saw her coming, and she gripped his shoulder in passing.

"Good to see ye again, Bernard. You look well."

He smiled. "You too. I'm still not used to your human form."

"Me neither!" she said fervently with a chuckle, following Jack into Santa's study. Bernard, bringing up the rear, closed the door behind him and went to stand with Curtis.

After the group exchanged brief pleasantries and Alpha found a place to sit, Mother Nature brought her gavel down, startling Sandman into full wakefulness and signaling the end of idle chatter.

"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice. And thank you, Santa, for having us again." she smiled at Scott Calvin, or 'Santa', as was now called.

Santa nodded back, "Always a pleasure. I just wish it was under happier circumstances."

"What's going on?" Alpha asked, glancing at the place where Tooth Fairy would normally sit...or so she supposed; she had only attended one meeting before, and that was when the Council took a vote to let her join them as a Council member.

Mother Nature saw where Alpha's eyes were looking, and she nodded. "As I'm sure you've noticed, the Tooth Fairy isn't here. We're all well aware of certain sad events that took place recently." The council murmured assent, and even Cupid didn't have anything smart to say. Mother Nature went on, "I've been keeping track of his activities since then, and while he is still doing his job quite well, he's missed a few houses."

Santa leaned forward, a line appearing between his white eyebrows. "What?"

"No," Easter Bunny shook his head in disbelief. "He never forgets!"

"I'm afraid so," Mother Nature set down her gavel and folded her hands. "This has happened more than once now. Although, he did make up for it the next nights with a letter of apology and an extra coin. It also seems that he isn't taking proper care of himself."

Alpha's expression turned somehow inward as she mentally took a step back from the conversation. This sort of behavior from the Tooth Fairy was something she had occasionally succumbed to herself, for a similar reason, and her heart ached for the poor man.

"The children of the world will be disappointed if they look under their pillows and find that the Tooth Fairy hasn't been there. If this keeps up, I'm afraid that disciplinary action must be considered. Something must be done, and quickly."

Now Alpha looked took off her shades, having grown more accustomed to the brightness of the room, and storm clouds gathered in her dark eyes. "Excuse me, Mother Nature, permission to speak?"

The nature goddess smiled kindly. "You don't have to ask permission, Alpha. You can just go ahead and speak."

"Aye, all right...let me get this straight; the man just found out his sister was murdered...and now you want to punish him because he's upset?"

There was a chorus of 'No!', 'Of course not!', and 'Not at all!' from the others, and Mother Nature tapped her gavel lightly on the block. The room went silent again, save for the crackling of flames in Santa's fireplace.

"Of course not, Alpha. We don't want to suspend him at all. As things stand now, he is only nearing his first warning. But this can't continue, and we're all very worried about him." she explained.

Alpha's proverbial hackles went back down again, and she asked more calmly, "So, what do you have in mind?"

Easter Bunny twitched his nose. "Well, we were talking among ourselves before you got here, Jack had an idea. See, we were hoping that, maybe, you could go and talk to him. He's locked up tighter than Fort Knox, and he's still sore about how we voted in the last meeting. You're the only one he doesn't seem to have a grudge against, so maybe he'll hear you out."

Alpha folded her arms and sat back a little. She and Tooth Fairy had been outvoted on the subject of whether or not to let The Founders continue to exist. Both had voted in favor of execution. A sort of compromise was reached, and Father Time had the eleven Dark Elves in suspended animation for the time being, but Tooth Fairy wasn't exactly on speaking terms with most of the Council. Although Alpha didn't know this, even Santa, who was a good friend of his, got the whole 'coolly polite' routine after the last meeting. Alpha wasn't happy about the decision either, but she barely knew these people. To her, this didn't feel like a personal betrayal. It was a mess.

Finding all eyes in the room on her, Alpha looked at Bernard, as if she hoped to find some help there. The Elf quickly busied himself with straightening the ornaments on a nearby Christmas tree, and she rolled her eyes. So much for that! She wasn't sure what she expected him to do anyway. "I don't even know him all that well. What makes you think he'll tolerate my intrusion?"

Santa nodded, understanding Tooth Fairy's point of view somewhat. "He probably won't be too happy. But he's not too happy now anyway, and he already shut the rest of us out."

Alpha turned back to Mother Nature. "What makes you think I'm qualified?"

"If your answer is no," Father Time chimed in, "it'll just end up falling to someone else."

Alpha looked at the Easter Bunny, who shrugged.

"I already tried talking to him. Like we said, he won't listen to us."

"What did you say?" Alpha wasn't sure why sending the Easter Bunny would be such a bad idea.

"I made the mistake of citing how many siblings I have, and how he'd get over it before he knows it. Slammed the door in my face. Can you believe it?" Easter Bunny's nose twitched indignantly.

A collective groan circulated around the room, and Alpha put her hand over her face. "Ye don't tell someone 'you'll get over it' when someone close to them dies, no wonder he got steamed wi' ye!"

"Eh?" Easter Bunny had the good grace to look embarrassed.

Alpha rubbed her face, sighed, then nodded. "I really think we should just stay out of it and leave him alone, but...I guess..."

"Good, then it's settled!" Santa clapped his hands together, apparently ready to have this meeting over with. "Curtis, Bernard, would one of you mind dropping her off at his place?"

Bernard hesitated, reluctant to get involved, and Curtis took the opportunity to step in.

"I will, Santa. Alpha, come on over here." Curtis beckoned.

"Very well," said Mother Nature, "Meeting adjourned." The gavel came down, and Alpha walked over to Curtis.

"Supposing he doesn't answer his door? I know he works nights. He's probably asleep." she pointed out.

Curtis grinned and took her arm. "Not a problem."

Bernard saw the two of them disappear with the faint sound of jingle bells and a sparkling cloud of gold magic, and he shook his head. He had a bad feeling about this. "Curtis, you better not have..."

Jack Frost rubbed his hands together and quirked an eyebrow at Cupid. "Let the games begin."

Cupid, who lounged sideways in midair, gave an uncaring shrug as Bernard and the other Council members departed. "If you really think setting those two up is a good idea, you don't know much about how love works. For one thing, they got nothin' in common. They're not even the same species. It's weird. Plus, there's no guarantee that either of them will fall for the other, and there's every chance that only one of them will. Then you really got a mess on your hands."

"Well, how about a little wager?" Jack's smile widened.

Cupid righted himself and flew a little lower. "I'm listening.

"They're already friends, and I saw him check her out when he first saw her human form. I say they're a thing by the end of the year. And if they're not, then I have to...um..." he tried to think of something embarrassing, but not too embarrassing.

"You gotta streak through Elfsburg."

Jack held up his hands and backed away. "No. I'm not doing that."

"Those are my terms." Cupid grinned smugly at the Winter Sprite. "And just to make it fair, since I know my stuff, if I can't get them together by June of this year I have to fly through Elfsburg and sing a song of your choosing."

Jack gave an evil little chuckle. "You have to sing 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' by Cyndi Lauper. I'll give you a megaphone, and I might even record you."

"What do I care?" Cupid flew off. "You'll lose."

Curtis and Alpha appeared in the Tooth Fairy's darkened living room, and Alpha was about to demand to know what the Elf had done when a quiet snore reached them.

Tooth Fairy lay face-down on his couch with his left leg and arm hanging off the edge. A puddle of drool collected on the throw pillow beneath his stubbly cheek, and an old afghan covered him from the waist down. He seemed to have simply sacked out on his couch after work, not even bothering change out of his work clothes. And, though neither Alpha nor Curtis made mention of it, he was in need of a shower.

Alpha forced the look of pity from her face and hissed at Curtis, her occasional Scottish brogue creeping into her voice in her agitation. "Are ye oot of yer mind? Ye cannae just appear in someone's living room! What's the ma'er wi' ye? What if he wasn't dressed?"

Alpha's scolding filtered through Tooth Fairy's sleep haze, and he snorted and began to stir.

Curtis gave a wincing smile and whispered back. "Well, you see, my thought was that you wouldn't want to risk summoning a Fairy Ring around him, and he'd be too much of a gentleman to leave a lady stranded."

"What do ye-" Alpha began, but Curtis wiggled his fingers in a wave and teleported out. "-mean. Bat droppings..."

Tooth Fairy suddenly realized that he wasn't dreaming this up, and he quickly wiped his cheek and flipped the pillow over to hide the drool, then asked with as much dignity as he could muster, "Help you?"

"Och..." Alpha put a hand over her face. "I'm dreadfully sorry about this, Roy. I'll be havin' words with Curtis when I get back."

"What is 'this', exactly?" he asked, rubbing a thumb and forefinger at the inner corners of his eyes, trying to fully wake up.

She folded her arms, every bit as uncomfortable as he was. "The Council sent me. Something about you bein' near your 'first warning'."

"That's great..." He ran a hand through his sleep-tousled hair, his eyes flinty as he looked away.

She could tell he wasn't pleased, and she couldn't say she blamed him! "They're concerned about ye. And now...seein' the state you're in, I'm a little worried myself."

Tooth Fairy sat up, self-consciously scratching at his cheek bristles. He looked down at his wrinkled clothes and colored a little. This was all he needed! To have her see him like this... "Sorry...They shouldn't have put you up to this..."

"Well...I'd leave ye in peace, but my ride seems to have absconded." she nodded to where Curtis had been standing a minute ago. The Elf was obnoxiously right; she didn't dare use a Fairy Ring in front of him after what he'd been through. Why did it have to be her they picked to show up and embarrass him like this? More importantly, why had she agreed to it?

"So I see..." his voice, still gravelly from sleep, came to her muffled by his hands as he rubbed his face. "S'not your fault." He lowered his hands, his forearms resting on his legs and his hands hanging between his knees.

Alpha felt awkward standing in this man's living room as she tried to find the right words to say, but nothing especially helpful came to her. She walked over and sat down next to him on the couch. In for a penny, in for a pound! "How're ye holdin' up?"

"I'm fine," he replied, amiably enough, but without much conviction.

"Look, I really am sorry for showin' up like this. If I thought Curtis would deposit me in your living room..."

He shook his head, trying for impatience, but all that came through was weariness. "Forget it. Like I said, not your fault. Listen, um...wait here, and I'll grab a shower and a shave and take you back to the North Pole." He got up and moved off, not wanting to have her so close to him until he was clean. "Feel free to look around."

"All right," she replied, watching him climb the stairs that probably led to his bedroom and bathroom. She heard the shower turn on, and she rubbed her face. Lot of good she was; if she couldn't find the right words to say to a grieving friend, how could she hope to run a city? Her stomach growled, and she decided to take him up on his offer and look around. She noticed that there was dust on various surfaces, and given his mood she doubted he even cared.

When he came down again he found her standing near his bookshelf with an open dentistry textbook in her hands. He ran a hand through his hair and nodded at the book. "Pretty boring stuff, huh?"

Alpha shook her head and put the book back on the shelf. "No, not really. I didn't know teeth started forming before you're even born. I thought they just...sort of happened afterwards."

He cracked a slight smile for the first time in days and shook his head. "Nope. You can borrow that, if you want. I've read it a thousand times."

"Thanks," She retrieved the book, but looked doubtfully at his front door. "So...how exactly are we getting back to the Pole?"

"Well, these wings aren't here for decoration, you know. If they were, I would have picked something different." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

"Really?" she curiously cocked her head, a movement he recognized, even though her form was different. "I think they look good on ye."

He looked down, unused to having his wings complimented. She hadn't seen any other Fairies, as far as he knew, so how could she know that he lost the genetic lottery in that regard? He donned his aviator cap and held out a hand. "Here, I'll hold the book for you. What you're gonna wanna do is, you put your arms around my neck, and I'll carry you that way."

"Okay." Alpha handed over the book, and he led her out into his front yard. Wherever they were, it wasn't like the places she knew. It seemed to be similar to a regular suburban neighborhood, save for the fact that every dwelling seemed to be a natural feature of the landscape. Some homes resembled Hobbit holes, while others were made from enormous hollowed out trees. Tooth Fairy's own house was one of the latter, and since there was plumbing in The Hollow, Alpha didn't question how he had a working shower.

The place was populated not by humans, but by Fairies. There were no cars; apparently those weren't needed when you could fly. A few curious lookie-loos gawked at them in passing, but no one approached or bothered them. She saw that most of the men had large wings in shades of blue, brown, green, or even black. Now she had some understanding of why Tooth Fairy was so insecure about his smaller purple ones. Still, she rather liked them.

Tooth Fairy tucked the book into the crook of his left arm and held out his right, and she stepped forward. He slipped his arm around her waist as if he'd done this kind of thing a hundred times, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She caught a whiff of his aftershave and mouthwash, not an unpleasant combination, and looked away. "Heh...this is awkward."

"Sorry..." he looked a little uncomfortable himself, for various reasons. She had pretty much seen him at his worst, or very nearly, and...yeah, now seemed like the perfect time to fly!

"No, it's...Whoa!" She gasped when he took off unexpectedly, tightening her grip a little, but not enough to choke him. She looked down and saw the houses getting smaller and smaller. She felt her head begin to swim. The fact that she hadn't eaten much the past few days contributed to her mild dizziness, but her empty stomach would be a blessing if she became airsick, which she fervently hoped wouldn't happen. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Aye...Never been this high up before," she admitted.

He protectively tightened his arm around her waist, privately amused. He'd flown with passengers before, and they'd all been a little nervous at first, but he was surprised to see this reaction from her. She was so fearless in her Wereform! Maybe being in a form she wasn't as comfortable with was a contributing factor. For some reason, being in a position to reassure her made him feel kind of important. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall."

"I know," she said a little too quickly, keeping her eyes squeezed absolutely shut against the wind. No wonder he wore goggles! Plus, it was getting really cold.

He mistook her shivering for fear. "Don't be afraid; I got ya. We're almost there."

"I'm not afraid. I'm cold." She answered, practically having to shout this into his ear as the wind picked up.

"Oh." Well, that made sense!

"Wait...How did we get this far so quickly?" Alpha forced her eyes open, and saw that he was telling the truth.

"Time-space stuff," he yelled back over the wind. "Sort of a helping hand from Father Time. I'm not sure exactly how it works."

She buried her face in his shoulder once again as the blistering cold stung her eyes, and he found himself thinking that it was rather nice to have her this close.

Then he caught himself pondering the fact that her chest was pressed against his side, and he forcefully pushed the thought away. It wasn't like they hadn't hugged before, and he couldn't let himself think of her that way. This train of thought was unacceptable for him, and unfair to her. She was a friend who was doing him a kindness, and he was returning it by giving her a lift back. That was all. So what if she happened to be pretty? And soft...and with a perfect smile, and stop that!

A few minutes later he began his descent with no small degree of relief, and they let go of each other as they touched down in Elfsburg. Alpha turned to thank him, but he simply gave a terse nod, handed over the book, and turned to go. She snagged his arm. "Hey, wait a minute."

"Hm?"

"You don't have to leave so quickly. I thought maybe we could get something to eat, since I woke you up, and I don't know this place very well yet." She wasn't thinking that, but she didn't want him to leave without having a chance to sit and talk with him. Otherwise, this whole 'mission' was for nothing, which would mean she woke him up for nothing.

"Thanks, but I'm not that hungry."

As if on cue, her stomach gave a loud, plaintive rumble that started deep and ended with a squeak, causing him to do a double-take, and her eyes grew huge as she looked down. "Wow...excuse me!"

Tooth Fairy actually snickered at that, then his own stomach gave an answering gurgle. "Um...well...I guess a quick snack wouldn't hurt."

Alpha didn't mention that she was used to being a little hungry from time to time, and she let him lead the way to the cafe. They ordered some turkey club sandwiches and cocoa, but neither of them ate very much. His appetite wasn't much to speak of these days, and she couldn't stop thinking about her charges back home.

The silence between them was long and drawn out, him not really wanting to talk, and her not sure how to broach the subject. Finally, he cleared his throat. "So...How's things back at..." Unable to say the name without his voice locking up, he rephrased, "back home?"

Alpha glanced up at him, then down at her barely touched sandwich. She pushed her plate away and sipped her cocoa as she formulated an answer. "Slow. About a third of the population chose to leave. I can't say I blame them. It's a little brighter down there, though; we've added some white lampposts and such. And it feels different, as well. Not nearly as grim as it used to be."

"Hm," he grunted noncommittally, taking a bite of his sandwich and squirreling it into one cheek as he spoke. "If I had my way, that mansion of theirs would've been reduced to rubble by now."

"Actually," Alpha's mouth quirked into a rather sadistic little smile, "It was."

"Oh?"

"Aye, ye missed all the fun." She paused, belatedly realizing that he had only asked her out of politeness. He didn't really want to hear about the mansion, or anything related to the little psychos who used to live there. She pulled her plate closer, picked up a potato chip, then put it back down again. "Right now, we're just tryin' tae keep our heads above water."

"Oh..." He nodded again, wondering with some concern if things were as good as she said they were, and he looked at her plate. Her sandwich only had one bite taken out of it. "Thought you were hungry."

She took another bite of her sandwich to appease him, feeling guilty to be eating at all, but realized she needed to keep up the appearance of doing well. This was about him, not her. After swallowing, she asked, "What about you?"

He shrugged, eating a chip. "I go to work, come home, have dinner, brush my teeth, and go to sleep."

"Every day?" she asked.

"Yeah...why?"

She elaborated, avoiding the obvious painful subject, and going for something she hoped was neutral. "I mean...what do you do for fun?"

He sat back and frowned. Now he was getting irritated. This was getting a little too personal, and even though he liked her he didn't know her well. He recalled how he had broken down in front of her after learning the truth about what happened to his sister. Bawled his eyes out in front of an attractive woman. The phrase 'turn in your Man Card' came to mind, and he pushed it away. Shame for his tears and guilt for his sister came back full force, and this made him angry. He folded his arms, unconsciously putting up a physical wall between them. "Why do you want to know? I know the others sent you to play Armchair Psychologist, but you're not obligated to do this, and I'm not in the mood."

Alpha recognized the signs of disengagement, and frankly she probably would have done the same, had their roles been reversed. She would hate it if someone meddled in her private affairs. "Nor am I. Yes, that's why I was sent, and I'd be lying to ye if I said I wasn't concerned on my own. But I'm not trying to pry into your personal business. I'm just trying to get to know you a little better."

Tooth Fairy sighed and hung his head. He knew he was being a grouch. What was he doing? He knew he shouldn't take this out on her! At least she hadn't said something stupidly insensitive like the Easter Bunny. Still, he didn't understand why she'd want to know him. The circumstances of their first day knowing each other weren't at all pleasant, and his sister was gone because he had pushed her away. Besides, he was no one special. All he did was trade coins for teeth! "Why?"

She snorted, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Because I like ye. And I thought, maybe, you could use a friend. Ye said we were friends before. Or did that change?"

He shook his head. "No..."

She nodded, having already known the answer. "We don't have to talk about anything personal if you don't want to. Just know that you can, and I'll no' judge ye."

He bit his lip and blinked a few times as he averted his gaze, tamping down on the surge of emotion her words brought on. "Well...I appreciate it, but I'm fine."

"I've said that before..." she muttered, pushing her chips around her plate with a finger.

He frowned again, thinking he was being challenged. "You mean, you've heard that before, right?"

"No. I mean 'said'."

"I said I don't want to talk about it." He didn't raise his voice, but now he was drawing a line and warning her not to cross it.

"All right, we won't," she finished her cocoa, "and I apologize for makin' ye uncomfortable."

He sighed. 'Uncomfortable' was a good word for it, and there was a good deal of anger too, but he couldn't find it in himself to be angry at her. He just wanted all of this to go away and to be able to trade in his 'new normal' for the old one. "No, it's not you. I'm just not very good company these days."

"Really?" she cocked an eyebrow, "I thought you were quite the gentleman, giving me a lift back like this. Or maybe yer just sick o' me?" She winked. She meant it in a joking manner, not a flirty one, but such a gesture could be rather ambiguous.

"Wh..." In spite of himself, he chuckled a little and shook his head. "No, I'm not. Wasn't your fault they can't leave well enough alone."

Cupid fluttered by, wearing his toga in a slightly different style than usual. He was mostly covered, thankfully, but he was also unintentionally shooting a half-moon.

Alpha turned her head at the patter of wings, then quickly looked away. "Oh, boy..."

"Huh?" Tooth Fairy turned to look, then snorted and called out, "Afternoon, Butt-Crack! Moon-lighting as a plumber, Cupid?"

Cupid turned in mid-air to face them. "Well, look who's out and about! Good job, Alpha."

Tooth Fairy looked at Alpha, who seemed to be innocently studying the ice dome above Elfsburg, then he shook his head and popped another chip into his mouth.

"What?" Cupid didn't seem to get it.

"Look, just give the man some space, aye?" Alpha pleaded, and the cherub merely shrugged and flew off.

Belatedly, Alpha began to chuckle. "'Moon-lighting'...that's not bad."

Realization dawned on Tooth Fairy, and he nearly choked on his cocoa as he laughed at his accidental pun. "That's...that's awful!"

"Aren't they all?" she grinned.

"Ahh..." He rested his chin on his hand, turning serious once more. "Look...thanks for trying."

Alpha tilted her head in sympathy, but he'd made his boundaries clear. "Mm. Y'know, I think the timing was way off, and I'll speak to Curtis about this, but...my offer is still on the table, and I'll just leave it at that. You know where to find me."

Tooth Fairy's smile, though small, was warm and genuine. "Thank you. Maybe...maybe I'll take you up on it when I'm ready, but not yet."

"That's fair," she nodded.

"Well, I really better be going. I should try to get a few more hours of sleep before I start my shift." They got to their feet and exchanged a friendly hug. "Talk to ya later."

She stepped back, relieved that things hadn't gone as badly as she'd thought they might. All traces of the previous awkwardness between them were gone, and she decided she rather liked his unusual face while it was wearing a smile. "Don't be a stranger. Or I'll hold your book hostage."

"Heh..."

He flew off just as Curtis and Bernard approached; Curtis was all-smiles, and Bernard was frowning as he usually did when Curtis was around.

"So," Curtis rubbed his hands together, "How'd it go?"

Alpha turned and messed up Curtis's hair, causing him to sputter indignantly as Bernard hid a smirk. "None o' yer business, squirt. Next time ye wantae pull a disappearin' act on meh...don't."

Bernard frowned again. "What 'disappearing act'? Curtis, what did you do?"

"Oh, didn't he tell you? He teleported me to Roy's living room and just left me there." Alpha folded her arms.

"Seriously, Curtis?"

"What? Santa told me about the time you helped yourself to Neil's falafel sandwich!" Curtis jabbed a finger at Bernard's chest. Bernard's look was poison, but he had no comeback for that.

"Boys...C'mon, do I have to separate you two?" Alpha sat back down and draped her arm over the back of her chair, trying not to smile too much at their antics.

Bernard shook his head, not in response to her, but in exasperation. "How is he, though? Any improvement?"

Alpha turned her eyes skyward...or, rather, domeward, but Tooth Fairy was well on his way home and out of earshot. "Well, obviously, he's grieving. He's actually handling his loss better than I did when first arrived at The Hollow. I'm not proud of it, but I was a fall-down drunk for the first few months I was there."

Bernards eyes, always so expressive, were full of sympathetic sadness even if the rest of his face was relatively stoic. "Oh..."

"My point is, everyone handles it differently. Look...he's holding on. His work could use some improvement, but so far his mistakes have been minor, and now he's been made aware. He just needs time."

Curtis disagreed with this. "He was given time, but you saw him. He's a mess! How long can he keep going at this rate before he burns out completely? Do you know how many children will be disappointed if the Tooth Fairy doesn't come?"

"So, invading his home and his privacy is the way to go? What's the phrase the kids are using these days? That was just 'not okay'." She looked at Bernard. "Did I say it right? I'm a bit out of touch..." Bernard nodded, both in agreement with her and to confirm that she had, in fact, used the correct phrasing.

"I saw you get him to laugh," Curtis pointed out. "That's progress."

"Aye...well, I have no way to contact him, so now it's a waiting game."

Curtis brought out a funny-looking flat cell phone with a smug little smile, and began tapping at the screen with his thumbs. "Here's the cell phone we promised you last month. It's been treated with magic, so it doesn't have to rely on those silly cell towers, and it has infinite battery. You should be able to call anyone from inside The Hollow, no matter where in the world they are. You have access to the internet, and I've set up an email account for you. I've already added his number, and I just sent him a text on your behalf. Now, humans will have this technology very soon, but we've drastically improved on it, and-"

"You little..." Alpha took the phone and saw that Tooth Fairy had already responded to 'her' message with a single question mark. Now she gave a very human growl, causing Curtis to take a step back. "Show me how this thing works so I can tell him what ye did..."

Bernard gave her a rueful look. "You might as well just accept it, Alpha. You're not getting out of this, and neither is the Tooth Fairy."

"Wheesht..." she said distractedly as she followed Curtis's directions, and after exchanging a couple texts with the Tooth Fairy she put the phone away. "Right, fortunately he understands, and thanks once again, Curtis, for the boundary trampling. I think I'll get you some tap shoes next Christmas, since you seem to enjoy it so."

Curtis tromped away, clearly pleased with himself, and Bernard put his hands on his hips.

"'Wheesht'? What the gingerbread does that mean?"

"Means 'quiet'. Ah, don't look so sour. Want the other half of me sandwich?"

Bernard's scowl smoothed out at the mention of food. "Sure, I'll take it."