It was night by the time they reached the Pole. Mary had fallen asleep in Jack's arms just as they were crossing Russia, and Jack didn't want to wake her up. And so it was he found himself sneaking into the Workshop for the first time since becoming a Guardian.

He wanted to avoid North until Mary was safe in bed, as the big man just wasn't good at being quiet around sleeping children. Neither were the elves, but they, at least, could be bribed into silence. With cookies.

He carefully opened a window on one of the upper levels, and carefully manoeuvred himself and his sister inside, settling them in the rafters. Looking around, he spotted his favorite yeti working on what looked like a toy train.

"Hey, Phil!" He whispered, just loud enough to catch the furry beast's attention, "Can you prepare a room for my sister? I don't want to wake her up!" The yeti's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded and left the room.

By the time Phil got back, every elf in the room had their own cookie. Jack grinned sheepishly, shifting Mary in his arms and glancing down at the elves. They'd be on sugar highs for the next two hours, and he would usually have loved to stay and watch them, but he had to get his sister to bed, and so he followed Phil out of the room without a word.

He followed the yeti through several hallways before they finally came to a stop. Jack noticed that the room Phil had chosen for his sister was right beside his own room. Good. He set her down gently on the bed, tucking her in just as he had during his human life, over three hundred years ago. He smiled, seeing a stream of golden sand find its way into the room and float over to swirl over his sister.

"Thanks Sandy," he whispered, chuckling lightly as he watched the dream take shape. He stood and left the room, closing the door softly. He nearly had a heart attack when he turned around to find North standing behind him.

"I see you have met Mary Springs, Jack." He said, raising his eyebrows slightly. "But why bring her here? Are you not... mad at her? Does she not melt your snow every year?"

Jack narrowed his eyes in confusion. "You knew about her? And why does everyone think I'm angry with her just because her season comes after mine, anyway?" He asked rhetorically.

"Of course I knew about her!" North exclaimed, "Is my job to know when new spirit comes into world."

Jack's eyes widened. "So you know when someone becomes a spirit, but not their past..." he ducked his head, thinking hard. "I think... you should see my memories. All of you."

"What? Memories are very personal, Jack. You are sure?" North asked, surprised the younger spirit would trust them enough to show them something this important to him. They had left him alone for three hundred years.

It took Jack a moment to answer. "...Yeah. You need to know." Jack turned and walked down the hallway toward the Globe Room. North followed, a serious expression on his face.

When they reached it, North grabbed a snowglobe from a table and whispered something into it, throwing it at a wall. "Ready to go?" he asked, gesturing to the portal. Jack looked back at him, shaking his head.

"I'm not leaving Mary here, North. We can watch my memories here, can't we?" North nodded. It was clear Jack wasn't willing to be separated from the spirit of Spring, and North would respect that, though he didn't know why. Perhaps because she was so childlike?

"Dingle!" He shouted, and as predicted, three or four elves came forward at his call. Choosing the smartest looking one, he promised it two sugar cookies if it told Tooth to bring Jack's memories to the North Pole, and when it eagerly agreed, he tossed it through the portal.

North turned to face Jack. "Alright. Jack, what is going on? You turn up here with sleeping Spring Spirit, you are suddenly very attached to her, and you won't even leave her in safety of Workshop!" Jack sighed.

"I don't really want to explain this again... You'll know when you see my memories, okay? I'm gonna go take a nap." Said the winter spirit, yawning. "It's been a long day." With that, Jack retreated to the cool confines of his room and flopped down on the bed. Not a minute later, he was snoring lightly, golden images of himself playing with Mary floating above his head.

Hours later, he woke to find the Guardians assembled in his room. "Where... Where's Mary?" He asked sleepily, sitting up.

"Still asleep." North assured him. "Now, tell everyone why you had me call them here."

"Oh yeah. I want to show you guys my memories." Bunny's ears stood straight in surprise. He hadn't expected this, and it was clear that the others hadn't either.

"You sure, Jack?" Tooth asked, ruffling her feathers anxiously. "Memories are very precious things..." Jack nodded.

"I know. You need to see this, though. It's the only way you'll understand." The others exchanged looks.

"What do you mean, Jack?" North asked, but Jack shook his head.

"Let's just get this over with. Tooth, you have my memory box, right?" The winter spirit asked, looking at her. She handed it to him. "Everybody, grab hold of my staff," Jack said, holding it out, and when they'd done so, he took his free hand and activated his memories.