March 9

Manny spent the morning walking through his house. He started in the kitchen and checked on Sandy. The small teenager had woken up and seemed to be doing alright, considering what had happened. He had lost a lot of blood, but Wind had the same blood type and they had done a blood transfusion last night under Manny's careful eye. It looked like he was going to pull through and be fine, although Manny wasn't going to be taking any chances about his health. After that, he started breakfast. Sandy watched his movements around the kitchen and Manny talked to him to keep him distracted from the pain. He was on pain medication right now, but he wasn't the kind to say whether he still felt anything or not.

The next room he visited was the living room. Ana's fever was beginning to go down but she was still having trouble keeping down any food. She would also be fine within the next few days. He suggested eating breakfast to her, but she made a face and shook her head, saying she knew she wasn't even going to be able to get it down her throat. He advised a drink, then, before moving on to his next patient in his house. Wind was on the living room floor with a blanket and pillow, having not been willing to leave with the kids in such bad shape. Her gun belt was within reach on the floor in case someone had broken in to go after one of the kids. Manny woke her up, knowing she had to go to work soon. She thanked him quickly and left before she was late, grabbing a piece of toast and a banana on her way out.

Manny then went down the hall to a guest bedroom. Jack and Aster were sharing the bed, although it looked like only one of them had slept. Jack hadn't woken up since he had passed out the night before. Aster had been worried about brain damage, but Manny hadn't seen any bruising on Jack's head and said he was probably safe from that. He treated some of his wounds and asked Aster how he was feeling. He took care of his injuries as well, which had turned out to clearly be just as bad as Jack's although he was denying it. Manny told him breakfast was ready and suggested waking up Jack soon so he could go get some as well. Aster had nodded and Manny gave him explicit instructions to not allow any of the Guardians to leave the house unless it was on fire.

The last stop was the third bedroom upstairs next to his. North was snoring loudly and was the only healthy one, so Manny simply woke him up and told him breakfast was ready as soon as he wanted it. The Russian nodded thankfully, thought half-heartedly about getting up, and then went right back to sleep before Manny was even out of the room. He was snoring again as Manny descended the stairs. Ana was still awake and looked over the edge of the couch as he started gathering his things to go to work. She smiled weakly at him.

"Packed household, huh?" she said.

He smiled back at her. "It certainly makes things more interesting. Everyone should be fine. I don't have the strength to do it, so you're going to have to wait for the boys to get up, but Sandy can be moved off the kitchen table now. I don't think he's going to have any complications that will need surgery. Put him in my room. Remember that breakfast is ready if you want any. I have to go to work if we all want a house to stay in. Keep the blinds closed and don't answer the door."

"Of course. Be safe," she said as he finished packing up and headed towards the door.

He turned and waved, the smile still on his face. "It's going to be alright, Ana." The door closed behind him and the house fell silent. It was five thirty in the morning and she didn't think she was going to be able to go back to sleep.

She wanted to get the boys up to move Sandy just to do something, but she didn't think they would appreciate it. Aster had been awake all night. She knew that because she had been faking sleep while he walked around the house to check on everyone. He was mostly worried about Jack. Ana believed that was because they all pictured Sandy as being invincible. It was kind of assumed he would just spring up and be alright. North had also been up until about three. He had talked to Ana, knowing she was awake. Wind had been woken up by their voices and had joined in the conversation for half an hour before going back to "sleep". Basically, no one had slept well that night.

Ana got up and went into the kitchen. Sandy and she exchanged smiles, happy to see that the other was doing better. Sandy convinced her to get a glass of juice for vitamins since she was barely eating right now, and Ana helped him get some breakfast. They were still talking when Jack wandered into the kitchen, looking half-dead despite all the sleep he'd gotten. Aster was right behind him.

"Any food left?" Aster asked. Ana pointed at the stove, where bacon and eggs had been prepared, and the counter where pieces of bread and butter for toast had been laid out. A bag of apples and a bundle of bananas were also in plain view.

"Use your eyes instead of your mouth for once," she said.

Jack yawned. He dropped out of view a moment later, folding down onto his legs and then onto his stomach on the ground. Having his face with that close of a proximity to the floor seemed to have no effect on him. "Ya slept fer ten hours!" Aster groaned. "How can ya still be tired?"

They all stared at each other for a moment, with the exception of Jack whose silence could have been taken as a stare, as they realized what he had said. "You know," Ana said with a laugh, "I guess we all should take the next few days to get caught up on sleep. Protecting all of the town's children with five people is a bit of a hassle. I don't know about you guys, but I don't think my body knows what a sleep schedule is anymore and I think I've usually been running off less than five hours of sleep a night for the last few months."

"Same," Aster murmured.

"Let's all eat breakfast and then go back to sleep, then," Ana said. "We better take this opportunity to get caught up while we can. It won't last long. But first, let's move Sandy up to Manny's bedroom."

-.-.-.-

March 10

True to her word, they each slept the day away, not even waking long enough for meals. Breakfast was the last whole meal they had for the entire day, occasionally getting up to grab a small snack before crashing again. North never even woke up until eleven o'clock at night. Aster slept even longer after he went to sleep. Jack traded spots with him, sleeping often but keeping an eye on his friend's health while he rested. It was because of that they realized Aster had a slight fever, but his temperature was back to normal by the time Manny got home. Ana and Sandy were the most sporadic sleepers, staying awake for an hour before sleeping heavily for five. Wind came by during her lunch break and found the entire house asleep.

It wasn't until the next night at ten that everyone was awake and conscious enough to gather into Manny's bedroom. Since Sandy had the bed, he had been sleeping on the floor in case something happened. To avoid having to move Sandy, they all just gathered in that room to hold the meeting. The teenagers were all wide awake, having slept almost two entire days to recover.

"Okay, meeting time," Wind said, bringing everything to order. "I'm covering everything very fast because unlike you kids, I have not been able to sleep all day. Ana's fever is gone and she kept down two meals. We're assuming the sickness is gone but we can't be too careful. Sandy looks like he's in the clear and should be fine. See the doctor for more technical information. Jack and Aster are going to be totally fine, they just need some days to heal. That's everything you guys already know, I believe, so I'll skip to the stuff you haven't heard yet. Some of this news we got from the police department, some of it from the hospital, and the rest has just been learned by word of mouth. Hold your questions until the end, or I don't care how injured you are, I will instigate child abuse in this house. Got it?

"Phil Sowerby-"

"Wait, isn't that the name of the Groundhog in Pennsylvania?" Jack asked before he could stop himself.

Wind threw her handcuffs at him. Ana mouthed the words, "I think so" over the officer's shoulder.

"Sowerby has not left town. He went with some of his friends who Aster and Sandy beat up to the hospital to get their injuries looked at. Sowerby was able to talk to Manny alone and told him that no one has a clue that he was the one who gave Pitch's location away. There was another plan to get Aster to the base, so everyone thinks that someone just went ahead with it. Pitch and Onyx are probably the only two who know that something might be wrong. Phil doesn't approve of what they're doing and is offering to supply information to us."

"The Groundhog is giving us information from underground," Jack murmured. "I think we have a new fairy tale nickname."

A moment later and Jack was pinned on the ground underneath Wind as she used him as a seat. "Everyone who went to the hospital because of you guys is going to be fine and will be out in a few days if they haven't already been released. Because they know you know where Pitch's old base was, the entire building has been vacated, including the machinery you said was down there. It's going to take a while for them to get resettled, Phil says, so you've got a while to heal. On the note of your base, though, you can't go back. It was ransacked by Pitch's people, and as the weather warms up, the owners are going to start using it again soon. You need a new home. Figure it out quickly. Everything that was in there is now gone, so I hope you didn't have any valuables. You're going to have to grab supplies from somewhere else.

"And I'm leaving."

She stood up and then turned around to pull Jack off the floor. Everyone looked confused. "That was it?" Aster asked.

"No, I mean I'm not working with you guys anymore," Wind said. They all kept staring at her, but now realization and shock slipped into their expressions. "I have been trying to tell you that something bad is going to happen, but you're not listening. I can look at your faces now, even when some of you still have blood on your clothes or in your hair, and you want to go right back out there. It's a courageous cause and I can't think of anyone else who would actually be willing to go so far to protect someone else, someone who they hardly even know, but this kind of thing was just not meant to be. The next time I'm staying the night here, I don't want it to be because someone is bleeding out from an artery and is dying. It's going to happen. You just haven't realized that yet. Someone. Is going. To get. Hurt."

"Wind…" Jack said as she turned towards the door.

She paused and looked at him. "I'm sorry," she said. "I understand why, but the how part… It's not possible. It's a fairytale, not just to the kids, but to you too. This is a way for you to get out of the lives you left behind. I'm sorry, but this is real life. I don't know how else to tell you this and get this across to you. Look at how much help I was these last few days. The next time something like this happens, I could be worse than useless. I want to go before something else goes wrong. You don't have anywhere to stay, you don't have any supplies, and you're outnumbered. Take it as a sign to move on. You had a good run with this, you really did. I'm proud you got this far. But it's time to give it up."

She scanned the room. "I won't help you with anything related to this. If you decide to leave town and start over, I'll do everything I can for you. Anything to get you to move on from this."

A few moments of silence passed. North sighed. "I told Ana, back when we were waiting for news about what was going on… I said I think we will not live to see the results of what we do. You are right. I believe one of us will not make it to the end of this journey. But we have to try. We may have nothing left but each other, but these kids have everything to lose."

Wind grimaced. "I know. But…are you willing to lose what little you have? It may not be you who dies, North. There's a one in fifth chance. It could be any of you. It could be all of you." She shook her head. "I won't stay and find out. If someone is killed, don't tell me. Then I can pretend you all left town and are working safely in another state." She started to leave but paused. "If you prove me wrong and you're all alive in ten years' time, come let me know, okay?"

She was gone. They heard her car drive away a minute later.

Aster sighed, slumping against the wall. "We may not 'ave agreed all the time, but…it was nice ta 'ave 'er watchin' out fer us."He glanced across the room at Jack. "Sorry."

Jack nodded and blew out a breath. "She was right. She cared too much to see something like this happen again. For her sake, I'm glad she left." He looked at Manny. "You might want to consider it, too."

Manny shook his head. "I can't. You'll all be dead within a month if you don't have someone to treat you for injuries."

"I wish she was still here, but we will be alright," North said. "A little more hard-pressed, yes, but otherwise okay." He gestured vaguely with one hand. "We will miss her, but we have other things to worry about now. We need to check weather. With no home, we need to finish construction in forest soon. If the weather is willing, we should sleep out there to get it done faster."

"We'll learn the area around it quicker that way, too," Ana said. "Do we have enough supplies for it?"

North nodded. "Manny and Wind gathered enough. Do not worry about it. The rest of the supplies is a bigger problem. What are we going to do about food?"

"We'll have to work something out," Manny said. "Let me deal with that for now. I know there are a few rivers out there in the forest that you will be able to drink from safely."

"Really? That sounds too good ta be true," Aster said, frowning.

"No, there are really rivers in Maine where you can drink straight from them," Jack replied. "It's one of the only areas in the world that has any kind of body of water like that. If you can point them out to us, that'd be great. We can get our own water that way. Food's the bigger issue, now."

"As I said, don't worry about that just now," Manny said, waving it off. "You're going to need new clothes to replace the ones that have been tossed, and blankets and pillows are going to be needed as well. I'm glad Ombric took his pigeons back otherwise they would have been gone and Pitch would have realized your plan for using birds."

"My 'ome 'asn't been sold yet," Aster said. "If we break in an' steal some stuff, they'll think it was just some teenagers lookin' ta have some fun. We can throw some things around so it doesn't look like there was a specific reason why we broke in."

"I thought you said everything had been put into storage," Ana said.

He shook his head. "Most of it, but not all. What's the point in takin' beds wi' ya? It's not like anyone else is goin' ta use 'em knowin' their previous owners died. The new buyers for the house won't know about it an' will think they just got ta keep some a' the furniture. Anyway, we can grab blankets from there. Clothes?"

North nodded solemnly. "I do not approve of idea, but we will need to steal."

"Just this once," Ana said quickly as Manny sighed. "There's nothing else we can do if we want to be back on our feet before Pitch is." He shook his head but didn't say anything to disagree.

"Okay, that covers most of the supplies we're going to need for now," Jack said. "Let's get started!"

-.-.-

March 20

Ana and North were out in the elements within three days. They continued construction on the home during the day and ran around during the night, frantically trying to make up for the days they had missed. Aster and Jack wanted to go back out into the field immediately, but everyone put their feet down on that. They were finally released from Moon's Hospital ten days after being admitted. Sandy snuck out with them despite the fact that he really shouldn't have been moving around.

The floor of the base and several of the walls had been built already. North had told them several times that even after they moved in, he was going to have to spend a while enforcing the walls to let them hold up against the elements. There was a stack of supplies next to one of the walls, and it was decreasing in size every day as the base was built. The base wasn't very big, but it wasn't supposed to have been big either. There was just enough space for them to sleep and have a kitchen and a small workspace.

Now they were all sitting outside in the midday sun in a part of the field the base had been built in. The sun had started melting the snow away and they had cleared the rest from the area. It wouldn't do to make the ground underneath the base wet and cause a balance problem with the structure. A fire pit had been dug, and there were almost always a few flames crackling in it. Aster was sitting farther back from it than the rest but was still close to stay warm.

"Okay, so Pitch's guys are using weapons," Ana said. "What are we going to do about that?"

"Guns are bound to end with one of us shooting each other, or some other horrible accident," Jack said bluntly. "I don't trust them. Knives are too small to be threatening to someone in the middle of a fight whose not paying attention and you've have to stab them with it to get their attention. That is, unless you're carrying a large knife, but if we ever got caught, the kids would freak out."

"I don't really like the idea of carrying around a knife anyway," Ana said.

Aster sighed. "I agree, but when it comes ta one 'a us gettin' shot an' bleedin' out or one 'a 'em sufferin' an injury, I'd much rather it be them. We won't use it unless we have ta."

"I won't carry one," Jack said firmly, leaving no room for argument with his decision. "I trust my staff more. Longer reach and you can't hook things with a knife. Besides, I'm less likely to accidentally kill someone."

"Yer talkin' about the broken piece 'a wood, right?" Jack had brought it out to the base with them, as if it hadn't entirely sunk in that he wouldn't be able to use it. That loss was a different kind of denial than the normal kind.

"That's the one." Jack gave him a challenging look while Aster stared at him in irritation.

"Jack, I had idea about that," North said, breaking up the tension between the two. "Staff was not very strong wood and would have broken soon anyway. What if you repair it with metal?"

Jack blinked. "Uh, what? How?"

"My adopted grandfather was a blacksmith and he showed me a few things. I could probably put a core of metal in the center and wrap metal in thin strands along the outside."

Jack shook his head. "When the temperature changes, the wood and metal will expand or contract at different rates. The wood will start cracking and splintering. That won't work."

"We can experiment with it. I think there is a way to keep staff." He glanced at the others. "Jack is right. Even in a fight with Pitch and the others, we cannot be using guns and knives. That is too modern. We need to use something that won't kill people easily but can be used as a weapon. Try and think something up. Like Jack's hook, try and make it practical."

"Try and think it up fast, too," Ana said. "No pressure, but Phil wasn't very old and had a gun. The people Pitch is using from other towns seem to be more violent. We're going to need something to fight them off with, and fast."

Aster scratched his head with a stick absently. "Some 'a 'em'll 'ave ta be short range an' the others'll need ta be long range. Can't get close ta 'em if they've got guns, but can't really use a long range weapon if they're already close. When we go off in teams, we could put a long range person with a short range person."

Sandy scribbled something down on paper. He held it up. 'Slingshot'

"Well, there's short range and long range," Ana said. "You could throw it but hit them with that up close, too. Then Jack will be short range once he gets his staff repaired… Any other ideas?"

No one spoke up. Jack shrugged. "We've got some time. It doesn't need to be decided on right this minute, although that would be very convenient." He stood up, brushing dirt off. "Come on, we've got other things to do, don't we? Let's grab some of the supplies we were talking about a while back. I know it's the middle of the day, but Aster needs to go to his house, remember? Manny says he got blankets and pillows, so we should go pick those up. And someone needs to grab water. And we should probably get food at some point."

North nodded. "Ana and Sandy should go get supplies from Manny. He will want to check on Sandy's condition. I can get water. Aster and Jack should go to Aster's house." Sandy and Ana nodded and started off, but Aster scrambled to his feet and shook his head vehemently.

"North, what the hell? Ya need to stay here an' build a house. Send Jack ta get the water!" He gestured with both hands towards Jack, who looked annoyed at the whole situation. North sighed, but was overrun before he could say anything. "I don't know what yer thinkin'-"

"More than one person in that area is going to be suspicious as is! Having two? We're more likely to get seen and caught!" Jack sighed irritably. "Besides, you know us. We argue all the time. Even if they didn't see us, they'd hear us!"

North cut them both off by stepping forward abruptly. He clamped his hand down on Aster's shoulder and dragged him along. "Jack, put fire out because no one will be here for a while," he said without turning. "Stay there for a moment." He kept walking until they were on the edge of the trees. He turned Aster so he was facing him but North had his back to Jack. Aster folded his arms across his chest and scowled.

"I know what you're doin' here," Aster said. "Don't. I've got it under control. I'm fine, goin' back there. I don't need someone wi' me."

North gave him a look. "You always act fine, which is how we know you are not. You act too fine. I know you will be okay going back there by yourself, but you do not have to. The rest of us do not know what you are going through. Jack knows the most about it and is in a similar position. We do not know you as well as he does and we cannot help you as much as he can."

"I don't need help, North! Leave it alone, alright?" He pushed past, but North grabbed onto his arm and held him there. Aster tried to rip his arm free but the Russian held on tightly.

"Aster," he said firmly. "Take Jack with you."

"Why?" he snarled. "So he can get in the way?"

"Because he will take your mind off it. He always does. You do not put off the 'fine' charade when you're around him because you don't have to. You are too busy being annoyed at him to notice." North lowered his voice. "Besides, even if you do not always get along, you are good friends. And good friends stick up for each other. One day, Jack may need your help again in dealing with his family crisis and you will be there for him, will you not?"

Aster shoved his hands in his pocket and looked at the ground for a moment. He walked away from North again, but he wasn't stopped this time. Aster pulled one hand out to gesture sharply at Jack. "Come on, let's go," he said gruffly. Surprised, Jack followed him.

-.-.-.-

They made it to Aster's old home as swiftly and quickly as they could. Jack didn't bother trying to find out what exactly had made Aster change his mind, and Aster kept his mouth shut about it and moved with purpose, not once turning to look back and see if Jack was following. Jack knew better than to push it and just followed.

They took the back streets and stuck to shadows to try and hide. Whenever they were forced out into the open, they pulled their hoods over their heads and ducked away from anyone outside. Their fast pace took them to Aster's home quickly and they were sneaking in the back soon enough. The spare key was just where Aster had remembered it being, underneath the loose stone in the backyard. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. No one was outside and they didn't worry about someone seeing them through the fence.

The house was almost entirely vacant except for a few scant pieces of furniture. There was nothing on the wall, nothing to show that someone had ever lived here. After all, it wasn't a home anymore. A home is a place someone comes back to for safety. No one came back for this place. Jack didn't find it surprising and started to walk in, but stopped before he ran into Aster. His friend was halted in the doorway, starting at the empty hallway and the room next to it. Jack waited until Aster moved on, giving no indication that anything was even wrong. Jack stayed quiet as Aster wandered from room to room, seeing what had been taken and what hadn't. Everything that seemed to have been on value was gone.

They got into the dining room and Aster unexpectedly dropped down onto the floor, crawling under the table. He turned over onto his back and ran his hands over something on the bottom of the table above him, absently feeling whatever it was. Jack glanced around the room and out into the hallway, trying not to intrude. A gesture caught his eye and he looked back. Aster was waving at him with one hand, telling him to come closer. Jack crouched down beside the table and looked as Aster pointed at the top of the table, what he had been looking at. There was a horrendous crack in the wood. No one had apparently looked under the table for damage. Jack and Aster glanced at each other and grinned.

"Lachlan an' I did that," Aster said with a chuckle as he climbed out from under the table. Jack backed up to let him out. "Total accident but we were both grounded for three weeks."

Jack grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet. "I wish I could see the face of whoever finds that after they buy the house." Aster laughed and lightly bumped into him. Jack grinned again and they went around the bottom floor, knocking over tables and chairs. In the kitchen, all the drawers were pull out and arranged in the center of the room like Stonehenge. Once they were done on the first floor making it look like this was just a random ransacking by a bunch of teenagers, they went up the stairs and started stripping the beds of all the blankets and sheets. The piles were shoved into the hallway until they could grab them and leave.

"How're we getting this outside and back to the base in broad daylight?" Jack finally asked.

Aster stopped and stared at him for a moment before looking at the pile. "Uh…"

"I don't think we can."

Aster slapped his palm against his face. "Let's hide 'em in the bushes in the backyard an' come back for 'em durin' the night. Less likely to get caught that way."

Jack nodded, dumping another blanket on the pile. "Okay, is that all?"

"Nah, Lachlan's room still hasn't been done," Aster said. He didn't have any hint of emotion in his tone or face. His mask was back in place as he stripped the rooms his family had once slept in. Jack didn't fail to notice that he had done his room and the guest room while leaving his parents' room to Jack.

They entered the last room, both trying to appear like this wasn't extremely emotional. Jack kept talking, not sure if he should be distracting Aster or letting him relive old memories. They yanked off the blankets and sheets and threw them in the hallway, getting in and out in less than a minute. The blankets and sheets were rolled up and shoved to the stairs where they just pushed the large mass of it down to the first floor. Most of them made it down but a few got stuck. Jack started to descend, but Aster was looking back down the hallway.

Without a word, Aster went right back to Lachlan's room, a contemplative frown on his face. "Aster?" Jack called. Aster waved it off, gesturing for Jack to come with him.

Aster went back through the room and crouched down on the floor. He worked a wooden board off the floor with his fingernails and looked down into the open hole. Jack paused in the doorway for a moment, but then decided Aster wouldn't have told him to come if he didn't want him to see this. He knelt down next to Aster and peered inside curiously.

It was packed with miscellaneous items, from old art projects to a random brown pouch. Aster began pulling things out curiously, inspecting each individually. There was an old picture of a barn Lachlan had drawn, the pieces to Monopoly, and random cards from a game Jack didn't recognize. There were some old papers from school and some pictures. Aster was in a few of them. There was a gift at the bottom, still wrapped up in colorful Christmas paper. Aster pulled aside the last thing, the brown pouch, so he could pull out the present.

He laid it on his lap but waited to see whose it was, opening the pouch first instead. He dumped the contents out onto his hand. A swear word went past his lips as marbles spilled out and onto the floor. Jack grabbed a few of them before they could roll under something. Most of them fell straight into Aster's lap and coalesced in the dips of the present.

"He loved playin' wi' these things," Aster murmured.

Jack smiled slightly. "Emma did too, all the time. They would get all over the place. Mom tripped on some and fell down the stairs once. She was so mad."

Aster grinned and nodded. "It was like the entire house was a thing 'a ice, I'm telling ya. We'd slip an' slide all over the place. Dad always told 'im ta keep them where no one would trip, but, ya know, that always ended up happenin'." He gathered the marbles up and put them back in the pouch with Jack's help. He handed it to Jack, who held onto it for the moment while Aster looked at the present. He flipped the tag up to see who it was going to.

They looked at each other in surprise as they saw it was to Aster. Aster hesitated for a moment but Jack nudged him, pressuring him to go ahead and open it up. Aster started tearing off the paper until the present fell out onto his lap. It was a doo rag, but with a small change to it. Aster put it on curiously, finding the present a little strange for Lachlan's taste. Jack was the first to notice the change and burst out laughing immediately, falling onto his back and in tears within a moment. Aster looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

Jack managed to gasp out "Ears" before he dissolved into giggles again. Aster frowned and reached up, bringing the flaps around to look at them. It was then that he noticed the pattern that had been drawn on them.

"The Easter Bunny title really fits now," Aster muttered.

He pocketed the pictures but gathered the rest of the miscellaneous objects and put them back under the loose board. He stood up, leaving the ears on. Jack glanced down at the brown pouch in his hand and held it up to Aster. The Australian smiled slightly and shook his head, closing Jack's fingers over the pouch. Jack looked at his hand in surprise. Aster ruffled his hair and left, leaving the hidden compartment behind. Jack scrambled to his feet and went after him.

-.-.-.-

They returned to the Bunnymund house a few hours later and got the blankets back to the base. Everyone else had gotten their assigned supplies and split up on what shifts they did. The night passed easily as they ran around the neighborhood and spread good feelings around town. Sandy did shorter dreams so he could get to more houses. There were only two fights with Pitch's people and each was only a few minutes long. It was the middle of the day and there was nothing for them to do, so they were all sleeping now instead of later.

The fire was still crackling when Aster returned with more wood. The heat drew the other four close, bundled up in their blankets already and still looking for more warmth, but it was uncomfortable for Aster. He sat down three meters away from the fire, the closest he wished to get. North was prodding the fire around but glanced up once to smile at Aster, nodding his thanks for bringing more wood. He reached over and snatched one of the branches in half, adding both parts to the fire a second later.

"North, how long should it take to finish the base?" Aster asked. They weren't keeping the fire close enough to the construction site that they risked burning their new home down. It was near enough, however, that the half-built base blocked some of the wind from blowing out the flames.

"Another week, depending on if we are set back by Pitch or not," North replied. "Aster, why you so far from fire?"

"I'm good here, mate," Aster said as Ana passed him a blanket. He refrained from tightening it around himself.

They all talked a little more before they began nodding off into sleep. The conversation started trickling away. Ana lay down first. North reached out and took her hand from a moment, giving it a tight squeeze, and then let go and lay down with his head by hers . Sandy just flopped backwards and put his hands behind his head, pillowing them.

Jack glanced at Aster, who put his back to the fire when he reclined onto the ground. Neither went to sleep immediately like the rest of their friends. Jack continued watching the fire a little while longer. He glanced at Aster, who curled up into himself a little more with each passing minute. Fine puffs of cloud rose up over his head from his breath.

"Cold?"

"I'm fine."

Jack rolled his eyes, not believing it for a second. He nudged the fire with a stick, keeping the fire low so it would continue kindling but wouldn't get out of control while they slept. It was a little less warm, but at least it was there.

Aster's hands were bitterly cold. He tried blowing on them, but his breath wasn't warm enough to heat them up much. He could have put them close to the fire, but the thought unnerved him. Giving up on first attempt, he simply buried his hands in his blanket.

His movements once more caught Jack's attention. "Come closer to the fire. You just look ridiculous. Like a cold bunny."

"Leave me alone, alright?"

He felt Jack's hands on his arm, pulling him towards the fire. "Aster," he said in a serious tone, "it's freezing. You can't be that far from the fire or you'll get frostbite." He gave a hard tug, yanking Aster closer towards the flames. Aster flailed his arms, throwing Jack away so he could move back to his original position. Sandy stirred at the motion.

Jack had fallen on his butt from Aster's push and stared at him for a second where he had landed. "…Aster?"

"…Sorry. Just leave me alone, alright?"

"It's the fire, isn't it?"

"Jack," Aster said firmly, telling him to back off. Jack went quiet. He stared at the fire for a few more seconds, going back and forth in his mind about what to do. He made an exasperated sound in his throat, having made the inevitable but awkward decision.

Aster jerked back in surprise when he felt a presence uncomfortably close to him. He opened his eyes, glaring at Jack as his friend sat down with his thigh touching Aster's back. "Jack," he hissed angrily, reaching out to push him away.

Jack dumped his own blanket over the two of them, covering them in the warmth it had absorbed from the fire. "Shut up and never mention this again, alright?" Jack said, effectively quieting his friend for the moment. He plopped down, shifting for a few seconds to get comfortable. Aster continued glaring at him, but the effect was negated because Jack had his eyes clenched closed, obviously avoiding Aster's gaze. Jack could clearly feel cold wrapped around the Australian, settling in on the blanket and in his clothes. He clenched his legs tighter, knees pressing into Aster's back. He was curled up, similarly to Aster, with his head almost touching Aster's knees.

Aster started to tell his friend just where he could move off, but then realized he could barely feel him there. His back was numb and he couldn't feel any of the warmth from his friend. He closed his mouth on the argument, clenching up his muscles a little tighter to fold in on himself further. Jack opened his eyes for a second, a little surprised at the lack of opposition from his friend. Aster glanced at him with a grimace, admitting for a moment that maybe he was cold. He closed his eyes and relaxed slightly, head shifting to rest against Jack's chest and trying to settle in for sleep. Jack reached out and enclosed his hands around Aster's cold ones.

The two lay like that, pushing away any awkwardness for the moment. A minute later, an unexpected weight settled across their legs and a third blanket covered that area. Aster raised his head but was unable to contortion his body to see who it was. Jack looked up and Aster lowered his cranium. Jack settled back down and mouthed, "Sandy."

The three passed off into sleep, drifting from dream to dream. They were a little colder than would be preferable, but it was better than leaving one of their own to freeze. It was an abrupt awakening when a fourth person dropped down heavily by Aster and Jack's head, bear-hugging them to bring a center to the warmth. After a moment of consideration, North reached across the two to drag Sandy closer. The smaller teenager laughed soundlessly so his legs rested on Jack's hip and his head was on Aster's shoulder. Ana had apparently woken at North's absence and came over, dropping her own blanket on the dog pile and crawling underneath the mound to get to the middle. She was on top of Aster and North, but neither minded.

Despite the freezing weather and their far proximity from the fire, they all slept warmer than they would have if they had been on their own.

-.-.-.-

a/n: The full name of the Groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil Sowerby. Told you he wasn't the Yeti.

Are you Jackrabbit fans happy or what? I swear, this was like Aster Angst Time or something.