*hides under rock*

I am so sorry for how late this is! Procrastination man, it really likes to hang around me. ;) This chapter may be a bit…choppy (?) as I stopped and started, and stopped and started again a lot. Its also sorter than the others, but I felt you guys deserved an update! My muse for all my stories simply picked up a left for a bit. But now, surprisingly while I'm pretty down in the dumps, my mind is flowing once more. How odd is it that being sad brings out my muse? Oh well, at least I got writing again!

oh, and just a heads up, a bit of fluff in this. I'm not saying between who, ya gotta read it. Sorry, I couldn't resist. BUT I do not solely ship it, mmkay? c;

Also! I will be rewriting the first three chapters. No major changes, just revising. After going back through them, man are they messy! Check back often to see the edits. :)

Tooth, North, and I were all in the globe room in front of the fire place, the wood's crackle under the burning fire being the only sound. Sandy had been with Jack now for nearly two hours, and I was getting worried.

After the first hour I had started to pace, causing Tooth to watch me worriedly. I felt bad for not telling her about Pitch overshadowing Jack, but I also knew that it would only cause her to be more distraught if she found out.

Trying to distract my mind from worrying about Jack, I wondered how Tooth could even stay here this long. Normally she'd have left by now, making sure to not fall behind schedule in collecting the teeth. However she sat quietly, legs crossed neatly with her wings folded gently behind her in a chair North had the yetis bring in earlier. Her mini-fairies were silent as well, except for Baby Tooth that is.

The little creature had started making noise while I distracted myself, flying all around in a frantic pattern, trying to get us to allow her to see Jack. In a normal circumstance, by now I probably would've told her to shut it and stop moving like the others, but even I couldn't bring myself to be so harsh.

I assumed it was because of how she had bonded with him during the whole Pitch fiasco, smiling a little as the memory came back of Jack grabbing the little hummingbird-fairy right before one of Pitch's nightmare horses nearly got her. It was then I had started to trust Jack; he hadn't needed to stay and help us right then, but he did, and he helped us for the rest of the entire battle, mostly anyways. The kid really was on our side, I just wish I had given him more credit later on.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as Phil came into the room. Baby Tooth stopped her irregular flight pattern, and Tooth, North, and I all looked to the yeti who then nodded and turned around, pointing at the door. I ceased my pacing and sprinted past him, Tooth, North, and the mini-fairies right behind me. I stopped directly in front of the infirmary door, hesitating to open it until the other had caught up. Once I felt them behind me, I pushed the door open, poking my head inside.

I saw Sandy sitting on Jack's bed, a tired look on his face as he watched Jack, but he was smiling all the same. He turned his head at the soft sound of the door opening, and his eyes met mine. He nodded at me, motioning for me to enter.

I nodded, coming inside the silent room. I felt a gush of air as Baby Tooth zoomed by me, stopping only once she reached the head of Jack's bed and flying up to his pillow, and I think everyone in the room cracked a smile as she crawled on top of his head and buried herself in his hair. The two really were rather close.

I walked over to Sandy, relief filling me as I looked at Jack. He was now sleeping quietly, his expression relaxed and peaceful. An image of him having a snowball fight with Jamie danced above his head in golden dreamsand, and the glow reflected onto his face, highlighting the normal color of his skin now returned. The dark circles under his eyes were much less prominent, his hair no longer dark with shadows. The bruises and cuts still remained, but they would pass with time. I looked at Sandy gratefully.

"Good job, mate. He looks much, much better." I whispered softly. The Sandman nodded, creating an image of himself next to a dream-Jack, the dream-Sandy pulling strands of darker sand away from dream-Jack and dispersing it. The image changed to one of Pitch with an 'X' over him, and I chuckled a little.

"Thanks, Sandy. Did ya make sure all of the nightmare sand is outta him?" I asked in a hushed tone. For all we know, Pitch could've hidden it away somewhere deep in Jack's mind.

Sandy nodded again however, smiling confidently. He was sure, and that was enough for me.

North and Tooth came up behind me, and I heard North sigh in relief as Tooth flew over to Jack.

"Is everything okay now? What was wrong with him?"

I felt North's eyes on me, and I turned to look at him, silently asking what to tell her. The man sighed and nodded, pointing his head towards the humming-bird hybrid. I turned back to her.

"Uh, he was attacked, ya see, and he came to my warren lookin' for help-"

Tooth's gasp cut me off. "Attacked? By who?"

I scratched the back of my head, wishing to avoid the question. Sandy looked at Jack sadly, and North nudged me while Tooth looked on, her worry increasing by the second. I sighed.

"He was attacked by Pitch. He's…he's back, Tooth."

Her eyes filled with horror. "But... how? We just defeated him, what, not even a year ago? How can he be back? You saw his shadow creatures drag him back to his lair; we all thought he'd be gone for at least two years!" her feathers ruffled, and she huffed, beginning to work herself into a panic. Her mini-fairies floated about, all of them squeaking nervously.

Tooth rounded on me, her panic taking over. "Where could he possibly be getting his power? He should still be weak from our battle, shouldn't he?"

I raised a paw to her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "I don't know, Tooth. It's like he told Jack; Ya can't kill fear." I looked her in the eyes, and slowly her expression softened, her muscles relaxing and she landed softly on the ground. Her gaze dropped from mine, and I felt her hand take hold of my own. I barely noticed North and Sandy share a glance before they walked off, leaving just me, Tooth, and the sleeping Jack (with Baby Tooth asleep on his head) in the room.

"He's going to come after him again, you know that." she whispered softly. I put my free paw under her chin and lifted her head gently, flashing a small smile as worry continued to swim in her eyes

"He's gonna come after all of us," I felt her hand tighten a bit around mine. I smiled once more, squeezing her hand softly in return. "But we're gonna be ready for him. He ain't gonna get any of us, not this time." She leaned in a little closer to me, causing me to freeze up just a little as my fur ruffled. She took notice, and I saw her smile and giggle silently, getting back to her cheerful self.

Chuckling, I started to say something when a sudden burst of cold air rushed over us. Startled and a bit confused, we both turned to look to look at Jack, who's eyes were open and was sitting up ever so slightly, Baby Tooth leaning over his forehead, her head resting on her arms. Both of them had their gaze focused on us.

The winter spirit had a small smirk on his face, and Baby Tooth squeaked in a way that sounded like giggles. His voice was quiet and raspy,

"G-Get a room you two."