Freeze a Fever

Jack didn't get sick often. He never caught colds, or the flu, or any other common winter illnesses. The only illness that could ever get him down were fevers. Not the dangerous kind like scarlet fever or anything. Just fevers. They made him drowsy, weak, and nauseous, but weren't really dangerous to him.

He'd learned long ago what the best way to beat a fever was. Forget the fools who said to starve a fever. The best way to get rid of one was to freeze it. And freezing was Jack's specialty.

Lying in a snow drift for a couple days seemed to work best, Jack had discovered. That way he didn't have to expend his own power and weaken himself even more. He could just lay back and relax, and let the snow that was already there do its thing.

Only problem was, snow was harder to find in the summer. Time used to be, whenever Jack got a fever in the spring or summer, he'd head down to Antarctica. It was safe there. Desolate. No one to bother him or try to take advantage of his weakened state. He'd thought the North Pole was probably relatively safe, but he hadn't liked to chance it. He knew that the yetis were just big teddy bears no matter how threatening they pretended to be, but he hadn't really known North back then.

But now he knew North might look very big and intimidating, but deeper inside, he was downright jolly, and deeper down he was very caring. North wouldn't mind Jack Frost napping in one of his snow banks to sleep off a fever. Since the North Pole was closer to Burgess than Antarctica, that's where Jack headed when he felt the onset of the fever.

It had hit him in full force by the time he arrived. He staggered a bit when he landed near North's workshop, then let his legs give out underneath him and flopped down into the snow. The blessedly cold snow. It was still falling up here, making a nice soft bed for a feverish little winter spirit. The large flakes drifting to the ground made Jack sleepy just watching them. Well, he was already sleepy to begin with, but they made him sleepier, just by seeing how peaceful they looked. He closed his eyes and slept.

North laughed in delight at his newest ice prototype: a windup flying fairy doll. Tooth's proclamation that Sophie was a fairy fan had inspired a whole new line of toys in North's mind. This first one had taken so very long to make. The wings had to be carved so painstakingly, and the mechanisms that made them work were so delicate, but the end result was worth it. It buzzed like a hummingbird, flitting around the room, up near the ceiling, toward the window, near the door-

- which burst open and smashed the fairy doll like a bug.

"Ahhhh! If I told you once, I told you a hundred times! Knock before you open –"

"Yakul Braugh! Grawdruf Braucka!" shouted the Yeti, heedless of the crushed toy. His words drove all concerns for the toy out of North's mind too, no matter how many hours he'd spent getting it right.

"What? Jack Frost is here? And he's injured?" North took off running all other cares abandoned. He couldn't seem to run fast enough as he went at full speed, not bothering with his hat or coat despite the freezing temperatures outside. He ran as fast as he could, outside to where the yeti said Frost had been found.

Only a stone throw away from his own doorstep he found two more yetis standing over a very pale, very still Jack Frost. They were dusting snow off the boy when North skidded to a stop in front of them, his heart thumping so fast that it felt fit to burst, and not just because of how fast he'd run. Jack . . . Jack did not look good.

His skin was even paler than usual. Dangerously pale. His lips were purplish, tinged with blue. Had he been anyone else, North would have taken him for being dead on sight, but Jack was a child of the winter. The cold was his element. What would be death to anyone else revitalized him, so surely he had to be okay . . . right? Surely . . .

North reached out to check for a pulse, then jumped as Jack's eyes flew open the moment his fingers touched his throat. Jack's staff, never far from his reach, spun and was suddenly pointed right at North's face and he braced himself for the inevitable blast of cold that never came.

"Oh. It's just you," Jack said, sounding relieved as he lowered his staff.

His relief almost seemed like a mockery of North's own. North took a deep gulp of air and moved his hand from Jack's throat to his shoulder. He gave a weak laugh, then reached his hand up a little higher to ruffle Jack's hair. "You gave an old man a fierce scare, boy! What are you doing sleeping outside in snowdrifts?"

Jack looked rueful. "Sorry, I guess I should have asked for your permission first, but I was sick with a fever. So I came here to sleep it off."

North blinked. "You what?"

"It was either here or Antarctica, and here was closer. I figured you wouldn't mind. Er, sorry if I presumed too much."

"You were sick? And you came here, but did not come to me for help?" North asked.

"Well, yeah. No need to bug you about it."

"Jack . . . I would have helped you," said North.

"Well, not to be mean, but there's really nothing you could have done. The fastest way to get rid of a fever is by sleeping it off in the snow. You couldn't have done anything, North."

"I could have been here for you," insisted North.

Jack looked at him uncertainly. "But . . . that would have just wasted your time. Besides, I can take care of myself."

"But you shouldn't have to. Not when you're sick."

Jack shrugged. "But I do. I always have. And I'm feeling much better now, so I'm clearly doing something right."

"That does not mean you have to do everything on your own, Jack."

Jack looked confused and slightly frustrated. "It's what I'm used to."

"But it doesn't have to be that way anymore. You have friends now. People you can turn to for help when you need it," said North.

"But I don't need help. I take care of myself," Jack said again.

"I don't think you understand. We want to help you, Jack. Please . . . next time you are feeling ill, come to me. I want to help you."

Jack studied him for several seconds, then shrugged. "I'll think about it."

It was as good as he was going to get, North knew as he stood up, and started to reach a hand down to help Jack up too, but the boy wouldn't even let him do that much for him. He floated to his feet with his own powers and shook some leftover snowflakes out of his hair, reminding North of a puppy, so young (or at least young looking) and full of life. If only he was that trusting too.

But North had to remind himself that even though Jack looked like a youth, he was much, much older. He'd been alone so long, he'd forgotten what it was like to be able to trust others . . . no . . . he'd never even known, having woken up with no memories of his former life. And no one had even tried to show him what it was like to have friends and be able to trust others. Not even the Guardians. Not until now.

North refused to believe that it was too late. However long it took, he would make Jack Frost see that he wasn't alone anymore, and that there were people he could turn to for help now.

Each chapter's going to feature a different Guardian trying to help Jack see that he's got people who want to take care of him when he's hurt now. Next up: Tooth!