Hey guys! Sorry it has taken so long to get a chapter out! I had hit a major road block, but I've found new inspiration! And I have decided exactly where this is going to go, and how it is all going to play out. I have the details to the end planned, so I should be getting chapters out sooner (definitely not every 9 months!).

I plan on redoing the first chapter a little, to only clean it up. Plot wise, it won't change.

As far as this chapter goes, it does have some minor things, but the bigger stuff is happening soon, and probably by the next chapter! So, I hope you enjoy it! – AmmyPie

*I have redone a little in this chapter, but it was only minor things.*


Home for the Holidays – Chapter 2


Mark laughed loudly and acted as if someone shoved him slightly.

"What?" He said to 'Jack', "She said it was cute!" Andy just shook her head and tried to scoop Cathy up in her arms.

Andy carefully shifted Cathy in her arms before coming to the top of the stairs to put her in her bed. She hoped that Marie wouldn't mind that Cathy had an earlier bedtime. If she decided to get up later, Andy knew that Marie would make her be the one to stay up with Cathy until she finally passed out. Pulling the covers over the little girl, Andy looked out the bedroom's window. It was already dark and neither Marie nor Simon were home yet. Just as she pulled her cellphone out, it vibrated, indicating a message. It had been Simon letting Andy know that he was taking Marie out for dinner, a surprise date. He then apologized for forgetting to tell Andy about it. Also, Marie dropped off the groceries while they were still out, apparently. Andy sighed and quietly exited the room and closed the door.

"Hey, Mark? Your dad just texted me. He and your mom are going out for dinner." She called as she came to the bottom of the stairs. She could see that Mark was fighting off a yawn. Andy snickered, "A little tired are we?" Mark sent his aunt a glare. Andy rolled her eyes and leisurely walked to where she had been sitting on the floor only a few minutes before. With hands on her hips, she turned to the TV to see how far along into the movie they had gotten. The elf from the Rudolph movie, Hermey was his name, she thought, had just been introduced. She turned back around and looked to Mark, who had moved on to drawing other pictures. "So, what do you want for dinner? And am I going to have to make a serving for Jack?" Mark looked up and shrugged,

"I don't care what we have. Jack left while you were putting Cathy to bed. He said he was going to go see Jamie before he heads to Norway." Andy nodded slowly,

"Okay…well. How about soup?"


Marie and Simon ended up coming home a few hours later, not long after Mark had gone up for bed. Simon apologized again for the change of plan earlier that day, but Andy just waved him off and insisted that it wasn't a deal. As Marie went up to check on the children, Simon sat on the couch next to Andy, who had been reading ahead in her textbook. It had been a comfortable silence, until Simon turned on the TV to switch channels to a crime show. Andy closed the thick book she had balanced on the arm of the couch. She had been trying to read for a while now, but seemed to be on the same page, rereading the same paragraph, the same line over and over again. Absently chewing on her lip, she turned to her older brother.

"Did I have imaginary friends when I was younger?" She had been thinking on it since after dinner, but she couldn't pull any evidence of having one from her memories. Simon gave her an odd look and small laugh before pulling one of his legs up onto the couch with him. He seemed to think for a moment before cracking a bigger smile,

"Yeah, actually. I remember you only having one. I think he was supposed to be some giant rabbit." He laughed and Andy felt her cheeks get warm before shoving his arm lightly.

"Shut it, Simon." She laughed along with him.

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, Mark has an imaginary friend that he seems to share with some other kids." Simon nodded knowingly,

"Jack, right? Kinda creepy, isn't it? Cathy is in on it too, apparently. Did he tell you what he looks like?" Andy nodded, "Marie keeps joking around that it might be a ghost or something." Simon shivered. Simon had always been a giant pansy about such things since he was a kid, after swearing he had seen the dark figure of a man with glowing orange eyes in his closet.

"Yeah, maybe you are haunted. It'd explain why all of the other kids can see him. Oh!" Andy flipped her book over and opened up the back cover, pulling out the drawing. "I asked Mark to draw him earlier." She handed the picture over to Simon, who looked over it and nodded.

"Yeah, that's what he described him like. You know," he started as he handed Andy the drawing back, motioning her to keep it when she gave him a questioning look, "It wasn't until Mark started hanging out with Pippa and her friends that he started talking about this Jack." He turned the volume down on the TV slightly, so he could speak a little more quietly. "I don't mind it, really. I just didn't think that Mark would have an imaginary friend at his age. When you started playing with your imaginary friend, you were maybe six. By ten you had forgotten all about it. So why is Mark-"

"I think it'll be alright." Andy held up her hand a little to stop his talking. These were all things she had thought of earlier. "I'm sure it's nothing. For all you know, they're just playing a big game together. Or maybe they're just doing it to freak their parents out, pretending to play with ghosts. Who knows." Andy laughed, swinging out her legs from under her, stretching lightly. She stood and picked up her textbook. "I think I might head to bed." She said while fighting off a yawn.

"Alright. Goodnight, Andy." Her brother sighed and called after her as she headed towards the stairs. "And thanks again!" Andy chuckled, not turning around.

"Goodnight, Simon."


Once in the spare room, Andy set the book on top of the dresser with a sigh and closed the bedroom door. Reading her textbooks always made her feel tired. Grabbing a night shirt and underwear, she walked into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door as she turned on the shower faucet and began to undress. As she stepped into the shower, she began to think about the conversation she had about Jack and imaginary friends in general. She had never met a kid prior to Mark that had an imaginary friend. She assumed the best course of action was to go along with it, to humor them until they grew out of the friend. She didn't see the harm in letting him keep it up, and why not let him keep believing? It was probably the best to not try and crush his dreams just yet. She grabbed her shampoo and began to lather up; when did she stop believing in stuff like that? She honestly wasn't sure she could pinpoint an age. Simon had said it was when she was around ten. And when did she have a giant rabbit as an imaginary friend? When Simon spoke of it, she had the briefest jog of her memory. Like a dream she had had years ago. She shook her head, it didn't matter.

Maybe Marie was right, maybe it was a ghost? She did hear something a few times when Mark was talking about Jack. Laughter, she thought. Like someone had laughed quietly in the next room. Despite the warm water, Andy shivered. No, she reasoned with herself. It couldn't be a ghost. It was probably just the movie in the background, or something like that. She quickly turned off the water, grabbing the towel from the nearby hook. After drying off and changing into her night clothes, she grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste, thinking back to the snowball fight. She heard the laugh then too. It must have been one of the kids. But it had been so close to her... Spitting out the toothpaste into the sink, she quickly wiped her mouth before heading out of the bathroom and shutting off the light. As she began to fold her yoga pants, she paused and glanced at the open curtains. She had felt weirded out after all of talk of invisible people and ghosts. She shook it off though and continued to get ready for bed, combing out her hair. There was no way someone could see into her room. No ghosts. But that didn't stop her from hurrying from the light switch to the bed.


The next morning, Andy had woken up to the sun shining through the open curtains. She grumbled and turned over, not yet willing to get up. What time was it anyway? She flung her hand out in the direction of the night stand, blindly fumbling around trying to find her phone. Grabbing it, she looked at the lock screen. It had been almost 9 a.m., and she had three waiting text messages. She sighed, pulling her other hand out from the inviting warmth of the blanket. One was from her mother, asking how her vacation at her brother's was going. The other two were from one of her friends, Abbigale, who was wondering the same. She smiled to herself and sent brief texts back. Once she was done, she pulled her hands back into the warmth, intent on staying put for a few more minutes. As if on cue, Andy heard the pitter patter of small feet quickly approaching her door. Squeezing her eyes shut and groaning before the door opened, Andy sat up. Cathy rushed in, a smile on her face.

"Good morning, Cathy." Andy said with a yawn, smiling back at the little girl.

"Good morning! Mom wants me to let you know that if you don't get up, you're going to miss out on breakfast." Andy nodded, more to herself than to her niece.

"Alright. Can you tell her I'll be right down?"

"Yep! Mom made pancakes, so you'll have to hurry. Daddy ate a lot of pancakes already." With that Cathy turned to leave, Andy laughing. Well, she wasn't wrong. Simon could plow through plates of the stuff. Andy swung her legs over the side of the bed and sighed as she got up. She got up and changed, making sure to try and control her bangs before heading downstairs.

Glancing out of the window on the way to the kitchen, Andy could see that there was not a lot of snow left on the ground. It seemed like the forecast was holding up, there was supposed to be a "heat wave" (temperatures reaching a scorching 50 F) passing through the northeast for the next few days. Andy had been a little bummed about it, she had been hoping for a snowy white Christmas this year, unlike the last few years. As she grabbed two pancakes and thanked Marie, she could see the same feeling written all over Mark's face.

"Missing the snow?" Andy said and sat down next to him.

"Yeah, I was hoping Jack was going to make it snow more." Andy nodded. Right, Jack made this kind of weather. She sighed as her eye caught Marie watching her to see what she'd say.

"Well, why not talk to him the next time you see him? I'm sure he'll see what he can do." Marie seemed content with her answer. "And let him know I was hoping for a blanket of snow for Christmas too." She winked before she nudged Mark with her elbow and taking a bite of her pancakes. Mark rolled his eyes before getting up and taking his plate to the sink. Andy chuckled and quietly finished her food before going to stand next to the couch where Mark was sitting while Cathy had set up a small area for drawing and coloring. Seeing that there was not anything good playing on the TV, she walked back to the kitchen, where Marie was sipping her coffee.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Andy asked as she took a seat across from Marie. Marie shrugged, still holding the cup near with both hands.

"Simon has work until seven, but I'm not needed for a few more hours." She shot Andy a glance, "Are you sure you're alright with babysitting until Simon comes home? We can always call someone if you'd rather go see someone else while you're in town." Andy shook her head,

"It's really no problem at all, Marie. Besides, there's no one here in town I'm in a rush to visit with."

"Alright, as long as you're sure. Cathy has a birthday party sleep over to go to around one, but the girl's mom is going to pick her up early for you. She should be here soon." Marie said as she stood to get more coffee. "Do you want a cup?"

"Oh, I'll grab one in a second. I'm going to go upstairs and get some reading done for class. Let me know before you head out?" Marie laughed,

"How much reading do you have? It's a lot of work for winter break." Andy chuckled,

"I'm reading ahead before we start the next unit when I go back." She sighed, "The new semester hasn't even started yet, and I'm already behind." With that, she got up from her seat and grabbed a cup from the cupboard. Marie smiled before handing her the creamer,

"At least it'll be over soon?"

"I keep telling myself that." The younger girl smiled back, stirring her coffee before setting the spoon in the sink and heading towards the stairs. As she passed the couch, Andy noticed that Mark looked absolutely bored out of his mind. Looking between the stairs and Mark, Andy sighed and headed toward the couch. "Hey, Ace," she said, leaning on the back of the couch, "Wanna go for a walk?" Mark considered it for a moment,

"Yeah. Can we walk to the park?" Andy nodded before calling over her shoulder,

"Is that okay with you, Marie?" Marie was watching the two from the kitchen and nodded.

"I want to go on a walk with you guys!" Cathy perked up from her spot near the small table, discarding her colored pencils.

"Cathy, Camilla and her mother are going to be here soon. You can't leave. In fact, you need to start picking up your stuff. Do you have everything packed for tonight?" Marie got up and moved to the little girl. Cathy looked dejected but began to pick up her things.

"I have most of it in my backpack." The girl told her mother,

"Then go finish packing. I'll finish picking this up."

"Okay, mama." With that, Cathy turned to climb the stairs, but made sure that it was a painfully slow process. Marie rolled her eyes and shot Andy a smile.

"Camilla's mom should be here before I leave. If not, I'll text you."

"Alrighty. We won't go far." Andy left to put her cup on the counter before joining Mark at the door to put on her coat and boots.


"Aunt Andy, didn't you tell mom that you had homework to do?" Mark asked as they walked down the driveway. Andy shrugged,

"It's not that big of a deal, I can get it done tonight." She paused, "Speaking of school, how has school been going for you?" She turned to the young boy, who groaned, causing her to laugh,

"I'm glad that we're on winter break." Was all that he said. Andy continued to laugh lightly,

"I understand what you mean." Mark smirked, but sighed as he lightly kicked some snowy sludge that was left on the sidewalk.

"I really had been hoping that Jack would make it snow more." Andy thought for a moment before she shrugged,

"He probably has to bring snow to everywhere else, right? Everyone has to get their fair share, I'm sure."

"Yeah, but I wish Jack could stay here more. He's the best at snowball fights, and he makes sledding so much better!" Andy laughed at her nephew's enthusiasm.

"How about you tell me more about Jack Frost?"


Mark had happily talked the entire way to the park. He had gone into great detail about Jack Frost and an 'epic' battle between good and evil, between the Guardians and the Boogeyman. He hadn't known him at the time, but his friend Jamie had helped the Guardians save not only Easter, but the children of the world from the Boogeyman's horrible plot to darken the world with fear. Andy had been enthralled by the tale, not that she'd admit it readily. Mark had transformed into a captivating storyteller since she had last seen him, weaving the tales of sword fights and magic like he had been doing so for years. He spoke animatedly, making wild hand gestures and acting out most of the battles. The Boogeyman, Pitch Black, had finally been vanquished by the Guardians with the help of Mark's group of friends. The Guardians, a group of children's story characters, charged with protecting the children of the world. Jack was a newer member of this group, joining the ranks of those like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman. Andy had to admit that it was a pretty good story, wondering if the group of friends had passed around the story and had built it together. It seemed like no time at all before the two had walked their way around the park and back to the house. Mark had been disappointed to see that Jack wasn't at the park, and agreed that he wanted to go home to warm up and get some hot chocolate.

As they walked up the driveway, they could see that Marie had already left for work. Andy made her way through the melting snow to the back of the house, where a small pot concealed the spare key. Mark followed her before running past her to the back door. Andy laughed and taunted,

"Excited for that hot chocolate?" Mark looked back and gave her a half-baked scowl before Andy handed him the key. As soon as they were inside, they both quickly discarded their wet boots. As Andy shrugged off her coat, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. It was Marie, letting her know that she would be working until about eight that night. Andy leaned against the counter and quickly typed back a reply before heading to the fridge and cupboard for hot chocolate.


Hope you liked it guys! If there is anything that you see as a mistake in here, let me know and I'll be sure to fix it! Thanks again!