7 - 1

"Please no..." Jamie heard Jack say, barely above a whisper. What was going on? Did Jack know her? Jamie saw the woman open her eyes, they were the darkest green he'd ever seen and border on being a brown.

"Please don't ask me to do this... Please..." He said even as he stepped towards her across the ice.

"I knew you would come Jack... and it seems you brought a friend too." There was warmth in her eyes and her smile as she shifted to look over at Jamie who stared in surprise. This woman saw HIM too? How? How could she see them both? Jack spun around then, his eyes wide in surprise a moment as they landed on Jamie.

"Jamie..." The whispered word made Jamie almost catch his breath as there was helpless pleading in his eyes, in his voice.
"Please... ask her not to do this... talk to her... don't let her throw her life away..." Jamie's eyes went wide. Throw her life away? Was that what this was about? Before he could think to ask, however, the woman spoke again.

"It's too late for that Jack. I would die anyway... I just... I wanted to be with someone who understood me when it happened."

"Why?"

"You'll have to ask Jack about that." Jamie shook his head.

"I mean, why would you throw away your life?" The smile on her face dimmed in her eyes, but there was something of sympathy there now even if the smile didn't leave her lips.

"I'm already dying of something that cannot be cured. Something that has no cure at all, it's something that... well, I'm sure Jack can tell you more about it. I knew about this side of him, I know of you. Jamie... the Last Light. Jack has told me so much about you over the last ten years." The last... ten? So then... Jack had made a new friend in this woman?

"How... how old... how can you..." Jamie stumbled.

"I'm 30. As for how I can see you... well, I guess you can say I never grew up... that I became something more instead of growing up and stop believing. My beliefs changed, yes, but not enough to keep me from seeing... no, more like to help me to continue to see and to see more than anyone else." It wasn't really an answer, but Jamie had a feeling that this woman wasn't going to give him anything more, Jack seemed to be struggling now; struggling to just stay put, edging towards the woman one shaky step at a time, as if he was about to do something he really didn't want to.

"Can I at least know your name then?" Jamie asked.

"Kari." Came the reply. Jamie wasn't sure what it was he saw in those eyes, but he realized that whatever it was... things had to be this way.

"Jack... do it... whatever it is you're fighting so hard to do... Don't feel bad about it." Jamie found himself saying. He didn't understand why he was saying this. Why was Jack looking at him like he'd been betrayed and at the same time... like he was relieved? With a shaky breath, Jack finally closed the distance between him and the woman. It was hard to believe that she was as old as she said she was, she looked like a teenager to Jamie. She seemed so calm too, like she was at peace with her own death... and maybe she was.

"I'm so sorry... I... I wish it didn't have to be this way." Jack said softly, too softly for Jamie to catch the words.

"Jack, I'm the one who should be sorry. I know I'm asking such a great deal of you... that..." She paused a moment, her words too soft for anyone other than Jack to hear.

"I know how much pain this causes you, to do this. I'm not a child though Jack. I'm sorry to say that I can't beat this. I just know that... if what you've told me is true then I won't suffer. I trust you Jack, that is why I came here today. Why I asked this of you. You are my brother, a kindred spirit in this world."

"I should be saying that... since meeting you... I've never met anyone who understood me like you do. You always reminded me so much of Jamie..." His throat seemed to close just then, cutting off anything else he might have said.

"Maybe so, but I was never him. Never a replacement for him and now I see that you have him back. Jack... even if you never said it... it was always in your eyes. Now, you have to have faith in him. Just as he had faith in you all those years ago when he stood with you against Pitch." Jamie watched as the woman, Kari, sat down on the ice and Jack wrapped his arms around her. A pang of jealousy shot through Jamie and he blinked. Why would he be jealous of this woman? Was it because she had become close to Jack during Jamie's first years as a spirit? Because Jack seemed so torn in coming to do... whatever it was he was being forced to? Yes, Jamie could tell that Jack didn't want to do this at all... no, the winter spirit had been fighting it since he'd seen this woman and Jamie had no illusions about whether or not this woman was special. She meant something to Jack and Jamie wondered just what she meant to him.

"I always thought of you as a sister..." Jack murmured, his eyes bright with his pain. She placed a hand on his cheek.

"You are the older brother I never had. Please Jack, fulfill your promise to the winter and take me to the next life." A single hot tear fell down Jack's face only to freeze.

"I'm going to miss you... so much..." He muttered as he placed his forehead against hers.

"I'll wait for you, Jack... When the end of time comes, I'll be waiting for you on the other side..." She breathed softly and Jack lightly breathed on her lips, stealing away that breath and gently laying her down as snow began fall softly. It seemed so sad, to Jamie, as if the snow was weeping tears that its creator could not. The sky seemed to darken and he watched as Jack began to create something, his shoulders shaking. Jamie moved across the ice to him, longing to know what he was doing and at the same time, to comfort the grieving spirit. As he drew close he realized that Jack was making roses... out of ice. All sizes and they were just the blossoms... all except one... the one that was a full rose had been placed in the woman's hands. She looked like she was sleeping, but Jamie knew better and suddenly the pond became filled with the ice flowers that Jack was creating. He wrapped his arms around Jack as another rose fell from the spirit's hands to land on the pond. A sob escaped him and Jamie's embrace tightened, pulling the distraught spirit to him and carrying him away from the pond back to the North Pole. It was hard to tell when it happened, but Jack had quieted and slipped back into the embrace that was sleep, questions whirled in Jamie's mind about what he'd seen. Not just about the woman who had seemed to know Jack, but about what had actually happened. Jack had obviously taken the woman's life... but how? Why? None of this made any sense to him and only when he had tucked Jack in did he think about the flower, he'd seen that before somewhere hadn't he? Frost roses... yes... he'd seen them on graves before... but that wasn't why it was familiar and he nearly gasped as the pain gripped him once more, it wasn't anywhere near as intense as it had been the first few times, but it shocked him more than actually hurt.

"If something happened to you, I wouldn't know how to live with myself... and not just me. All the children who look up to you will be unhappy. I said I would protect you, but I didn't mean for just that one day Jack." Jack shifted to rest his head against Jamie.

"Jamie... I'm not that worthy of protection. You've done for me... far too much already."

"Jack-"

"No... you listen to me, Jamie. I'm not exactly who you think... or believe that I am." Jack couldn't meet Jamie's gaze.

"You don't know what I've done... if you did.. you'd probably hate me." Jamie hugged Jack close.

"Well... I'm still waiting for you to tell me." Jamie wondered how bad this could be, what could it be that Jack wasn't telling him that he thought so was so terribly bad that Jamie would hate him?

"You know you can tell me anything and that my feelings for you wouldn't change at all." Jack's eyes widened at hearing his own words reflected back at him, that Jamie seemed to understand his fear and was reassuring him just as Jack had done when Jamie had been a child.

"I..." Jack fumbled a little before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Jamie had wanted to know this, Jamie, the boy he had trusted with his life ten years ago.

"I've killed people... I regretted it afterwards, but... there was a time when I would do anything to get an answer from Mim. I sent a blizzard to a town, I froze anyone and everyone who dared to venture into my blizzard... Women, children, men... the young and old alike. I destroyed an entire town in a matter of days..." Jamie didn't interrupt.

"I barely remember what town it was or how many were frozen on doorsteps that night, how many didn't make it home the first day as I shouted at the moon... asking him if it was enough to finally gain my answers or if he would just sit back as always, uncaring about what it was that I did. There was, of course, no answer. I fell into an even deeper depression, it was Sandy who drew me out of it though, who didn't fear me and who showed me that there were still children who took joy in the snow and ice I brought them even when I didn't think I deserved their forgiveness. I wanted to die, but he showed me something that made it all worth it. A girl... she was my sister but I didn't know it at the time I saw the scene played before me... she stood up for me to other children. Saying how that they shouldn't blame the weather for what had happened and that they should enjoy it. How her brother wouldn't want her to blame winter for... for my death." Jack paused, gathering his thoughts.

7 - 2

"Maybe that's when it began... I don't really know for certain. I had believers even then -"

"Wait, you had believers back then?" Jamie was shocked to hear this. Jack nodded.

"In a sense. Not believers I wanted though." Jack murmured before going on.

"Those who believed in me, had heard rumors or even had seen evidence of me that I had left behind with each child who had thrown themselves deliberately into my blizzards. Had gone into them with one thing in mind, one desire, wanting only to end it all. To die." Jack's throat seemed to tighten, but he went on.

"I remember the first one, as if it were only yesterday... I haven't forgotten any of them. My first one was a little girl... she couldn't have been more than ten at the most. She had deliberately waited until it was warm enough that the ice would be thinning and melting on the lake of her home town. She didn't bother wearing shoes or a coat or anything like that to protect her against the cold. Just some sort of summer dress. She knew what she was doing... when I got to her... she'd broken through the thin ice and she had dropped into the icy water. I couldn't warm her up... she was shivering so badly when I pulled her from the water and onto the bank, but at the same time she looked at me... Really looked at me and saw me. I offered to take her back home, but she refused. She told me that she didn't want to go home, that she didn't want to go back but that she didn't want to be alone either and she asked me to stay with her." Jack took a deep breath, then another.

"So... I stayed. She told me her name and explained why it was she didn't want to go back home. I couldn't abandon her, I stayed by her side as the cold took her last breath. I'm not really sure what made me look up... but there was a boy who'd seen everything... Not me of course, but he'd seen the ice flower I'd made for the girl and had seen the life slip from her. I'm not sure how long he'd been standing there really. From that moment on... I found myself with a full time job that I didn't want. Children began to call me Brother Frost, as if I was some sort of holy man; word spread quickly, even with the lack of technology I found myself being called the Saint of Suicide. I always left a frost flower for those who called me and from that moment on my name became a whispered wish of children who were weary of life." He sighed a little.

"As technology advanced with the ages, stories of me spread far and wide, calls for me came more and more frequent. It became a common thing for me to do when I wasn't spreading my snow or watching the days pass by. Some places didn't get snow at times because of all the calls I as getting... and before you ask... I did try to ignore it. Tried to block out the sound of a child wishing for their end. I couldn't though, no matter how hard I tried; if I fought it then the power of winter inside me would take complete control of me until the deed was done. It was like being a puppet on a string every time..." Jack shook a little from the memories.

"I didn't want to do this, I didn't want this sort of thing to be what I was meant to do. I enjoyed bringing fun and joy to children, not taking their last breath away! Maybe that's why I was always so angry at the moon... so desperate for an answer because I didn't want this sort of life. It was during my lowest point that I met both Pitch and Sandy, Pitch had offered to be my friend, but before I could give him an answer Sandy had arrived and driven him off. He then showed me that scene I told you about. Strange as it might sound, I thought that after he had shown it to me that he would leave, just like all the other spirits who I had seen and spoken with, but he didn't. He stayed with me and made sure I had good dreams that night. He was the first one to truly show me any sort of kindness since I'd become Jack Frost. Even though he knew what I had done, what I was compelled to do, he assured me that I wasn't the Saint of Suicide, that I was an angel... An angel of winter who escorted weary souls to the next life, that what I brought wasn't truly an end to life, but an end to suffering and that what I did... I did out of compassion. He understood me and showed me that I was wrong to think so badly of myself..."

Jack fell silent for a moment, allowing Jamie some time to absorb what he'd said before he spoke again. He seemed to need Jamie to know this, all of it.

"I took pride in my work after that and did my best to bring joy to children with my snow. The last time I was at your house I heard what that girlfriend of yours said about me... it was one of the coldest that year and I hadn't meant for it to be, but what she said about me... she was right."

"You mean Erin?" Jamie asked. Jack nodded slowly, unable - or unwilling - to meet the teen's eyes anymore.

"You believe in Jack Frost that much?! Surely then you'd know about how he kills people with blizzards! What do you think of that? Huh?"

"So... you heard what she said then... and you just ran away? Jack don't tell me that was the reason you gave up on visiting me!" Jamie gripped his shoulders, suddenly it all made sense why Jack had been away for two years.

"I can't believe you left like that!"

"I couldn't stand... that someone close to you was saying that..." Jack's tone seemed to waver a little and Jamie felt like someone had squeezed his heart.

"Jack... don't you know I broke up with her on that day?" Jack glanced up, pure surprise on his face.

"Wow... You think I'm that shallow... it hurts."

"No, Jamie... I'm... I'm just scared."

The memory ended as abruptly as it had began. Jamie felt frustrated, he felt like he'd missed something. What could Jack have been scared of? It was only after a moment of thinking that he came up with a reason, the only reason that Jack would have of being afraid while Jamie was young and alive. Jack had feared that Jamie would forget him. That obviously hadn't happened until he'd died. He'd temporarily forgotten Jack, but he felt like he understood Jack a little more now. He still didn't understand fully the feelings he felt for the sleeping spirit, but he didn't doubt them. He was certain that he'd felt them even in that memory that had just been revealed to him. The memory had answered many of his questions about Jack, but nothing about the woman that Jack had wept over. Well, she had mentioned the last ten years, perhaps he didn't even know her at all, had never known her during his life. He hoped that Jack wouldn't be called again any time soon, he wanted the other to get some rest and that sort of thing really had been bad timing. Jack hadn't had time to recover from Pitch's visit properly. As he watched the spirit sleep on the bed he noticed that Jack seemed to be shivering; of course Jack couldn't possibly be cold and the frost that had covered his skin earlier had melted on the way back to the pole. Jamie did the only thing that came to mind, he slid from the chair and onto the bed; wrapping one arm around Jack and pulling him close. Jack was cold, for sure, but Jamie found it was a soothing cold and Jack had stopped shivering in his sleep. His body relaxing against Jamie's and before Jamie knew it he too had drifted off, not noticing the jolly Guardian who had quietly opened the door to check in on them both only to shut the door just as quietly with a knowing smile on his features.

7 - 3

"Are you sure about this? No way Pitch can be back so soon... Why would he be buggin' those two anyway? Wouldn't he just come after all of us?" Bunny asked.

"Is Pitch. He would want to target Jack first. Get revenge for Easter defeat." North replied.

"Yeah... that sounds like something he would do." Tooth agreed.

I'm surprised he did not go after Jamie... but is it possible that this is because he did not recognize him when he interrupted their time together? If anything... Jamie is the weak link among us in that it would break Jack if anything happened to him. Sandy said through his normal symbols, North translating for the others who hadn't been able to keep up.

"Sandy's got a point there." Bunny said thoughtfully.

"Who said he didn't get to Jack through Jamie though? Didn't he say that Jack looked off when Pitch left?"

"Yeah... but the question is, what exactly did he do to make Jack look that way? He obviously didn't do anything to Jamie... at least not directly."

"He probably wants to play with his insecurities." The four turned to see Jamie standing in the doorway of the lounge the group was gathered in. None were sitting in the plush chairs in the room, only Bunny seemed to be lounging and that was near the fireplace.

"Jamie... Did you find out anything new?" Tooth asked, worry flickering across her features. Jamie shook his head.

"No, I'm just theorizing at this point, but I'm the one who saw the look on his face when Pitch left. I had to chase Jack down. Took me two days before I found him in Antarctica. He's still asleep for the moment, but it doesn't help he had one of his spells..." Jamie trailed off, looking at the group.

"Please tell me he didn't keep this from you." Bunny shifted, the Pooka looked uncomfortable at the mention of a "spell" and the others glanced around.

"He tell you this?" North asked after a moment.

"It took some doing, but yeah. After it happened... I remembered him telling me about it. He was pretty broken up about revealing that side of him. I think... I think he's ashamed of it, of what he has to do." Sandy nodded a little, sympathy in the golden Guardian's eyes as a few symbols appeared over his head and North translated for him.

Jack has never fully come to terms with it. It is a part of him though and we understand that it is necessary, just as fear is necessary.

"Yeah... well, it happened not long after we got here. I just got him settled again and I dozed off myself. I donno when he'll wake up again, but one thing is for sure... whatever Pitch said or did to him... that spell thing is going to make it that much worse... He even knew the person who called him. Someone named Kari." He blinked when he saw the sudden flashes of sorrow that seemed to be shared by them all.

"Wait... you knew her too?" Jamie wondered just what this woman had been to the Guardians if they all knew her and not just Jack.

"Was good girl, that one." North said softly. The others only nodded.

"Not to sound insensitive... but who exactly is she? I mean, I've never heard of an adult who believed in the Guardians, let alone see them... and something she said before she died has been bugging me. She said that she never grew up, that her beliefs just changed and it seemed like there was something she wanted to say, but didn't."

"She was mortal Guardian Jamie. Like you were." Jamie blinked at North's words. A mortal Guardian?

"Some time, when child grow up they do not stop believing. They hold on to innocence that allow children to believe. You were mortal Guardian because of your belief in us, it is how mortal Guardians come to be; being able to believe beyond time... unaffected by one who helps children forget."

"There's someone who does that?" North nodded.

"Story for another time. Some, like you, are immune to spirit's influence. Do not forget when it is time, cannot let go of belief and choose not to. Mortal Guardians are usually short lived, belief does not survive past certain age, normally by end of high school those who may be a Guardian lose their belief under pressure from peers. Kari was not one of those, she was special, like you. She held special belief though since she was very young, very strong belief in us though she did not see us when she was child. She did not meet Jack until after your death, was complete accident on Jack's part, but did happen. Kari was good for him. Kept his spirit up and helped him search when could. Kept eye out for you, spoke with other spirits; Jack may not have found you had not been for her persistence. Is tragedy, what happen to her."

"Yeah... she mentioned she had something that wasn't curable... do you know what it was?"

"Rare disease that infects body, do not remember what called, found out on my own, but disease would have killed her slowly; having too much sugar build up in body lead to shut down. She did not lie when she say was incurable. Sad fate for her, was better what Jack did." Jamie could only agree quietly. He felt bad that he couldn't have gotten to know the person who had been there for Jack when he hadn't. He wondered what kind of person she had been and was resolved to ask Jack about it one day, but not today or the next day. He would let the winter spirit grieve first. Jamie wondered what he was going to do with Jack when he did wake up, he wasn't sure he would know how to comfort his lov- wait, where did that thought come from? He shook the thought aside, well... he had to admit, to himself at least that he did think of Jack as more than just a friend and hadn't he kissed him in the house that he'd grown up in? Jack had seemed more than willing as well, which spoke volumes about what the other likely felt, still, Jamie felt a little uncertain in that area. Was what he feel love or was he just fooling himself because of all the time he'd had with Jack when he was a kid? The teen summer spirit let out a quiet sigh of frustration, ignoring the weird glances the Guardians gave him as he turned about and left them to their discussion. There were more important things for them to worry about than Jamie's confusion with his feelings for Jack, like the reappearance of Pitch. Just the thought of the Boogeyman made his blood boil. He wanted to see that shadow fry and serve it up on a platter for Jack... Wow, he really had anger issues when it came to the Boogeyman... He wondered if any of the others felt this strongly, but he didn't feel like talking to any of them about it at the moment. They needed to deal with the more important issues. Jamie pushed the other Guardians out of his mind, as well as thoughts on Pitch, as he went back to the room where he had left Jack. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or not to find that Jack was where he had left him, sleeping soundly on top of the pale blue covers. Not that either of them had any use for covers, but Jamie figured that North had designed this room to be visually pleasing for Jack. That was how Jamie had known to bring him to this room specifically when he'd glanced at the other rooms, this was the only one that seemed to scream that it belonged to Jack specifically. There were quite a few rooms in the workshop, more than were in use oddly enough and Jamie had to wonder if that might have something to do with North's past because it just didn't make sense to have twenty or so rooms for living and actually have only five in current use. Jamie moved back to the bed and softly sat down, not wanting to disturb Jack. The winter spirit shifted, making Jamie freeze, but all Jack did was turn over so that he was facing Jamie. He looked so peaceful in his sleep and Jamie couldn't help threading his fingers lightly through the snow white hair. As he stared down at the sleeping form he finally came to a realization that had been battering at him since he'd seen Jack again. No matter what Jack thought or what their past had been like... he was in love with Jack. This 300 year old boy, who looked to be stuck near 18, much like himself, had captured his heart and when he closed his eyes, letting the thought settle, all he felt was warmth.

He loved Jack Frost. He wagered he always would and maybe he always had. He didn't have the memories to back it up, but it felt right. Thinking about how much the winter Guardian meant to him. Did Jack feel the same? He thought about it. Possibly, but the only way to know for sure was to ask. He wasn't sure he wanted to wake up Jack though just to get his answers. After all, what would he do if Jack said no? The thought was like a fist squeezing at his heart, it didn't fit right either. Jamie wasn't sure she could fully trust the feeling of "right" or "wrong" in terms of what Jack felt, but he was at least sure of what he felt now. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for Jack. The more he thought about his love for Jack, the more things seemed to fall into place and he felt like his memories, which had caused him pain before, were gently prodding at his mind; as if they were trying to be set free and he had a feeling that maybe the four years he'd missed out on hadn't been bad years, but had been years that he'd spent with Jack. Years that had led to this moment, where he loved the winter spirit. He'd always admired Jack, even when he was a kid and it had grown from looking up to him as some hero to looking up to him as a friend as he'd gone from elementary school to high school. Jamie considered the last memory he'd had before he'd lost his last tooth. It had been that kiss on the cheek to cool an injury... even then he'd liked Jack as more than a friend, but it had just been a crush then. Even without his memories, he was almost certain that his crush had grown into something more during the years... but if that was true, then who was this Erin he'd talked about in the last memory he'd regained? Why had he had a girlfriend?

A/N: For those of you who are curious, I have created a story that spans the missing 10 years and clarifies who Kari is. The story is: Waking Nightmare.