Disclaimer: I do not own the Santa Clause trilogy or any of its ideas, characters, and places. I only own the character of Crys.

A/N: So, how did you guys like that interesting cliffhanger? Don't worry, this chapter is good! Will they kiss or not? Read and find out! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and I am still loving all the good reviews! Thanks so much guys! (=

Chapter Ten: Frozen

Crys heard the request echoing over and over in her mind. She imagined running out of the room, but she knew she would never make it to the door. Then, she actually imagined kissing him and that idea seemed like a better one. Still...

"How do I know you won't trick me? How do I know you won't try to freeze me once I do...kiss you?" In her mind, Crys saw herself getting closer and closer to him, only to be chilled to the bone. Jack gave her a skeptical look.

"Crys, do you think I would try to trick you? Do you think I would really freeze you from the inside out? That sounds a bit cold," he said calmly. Crys considered her options again. She could leave, walk out those colorful glass doors for the price of one kiss. Did she even want to kiss him, after what had happened to Lucy and her mother? Yes, I do...Crys realized this as she willingly met his cool, blue eyes. Even so, Crys knew she would not leave unless she knew that snow globe was safe once again. She took a deep breath and made her decision.

Jack's eyes were trained on her face as she moved forward. His icy suit looked particularly icy under the glare of the lights. They were only mere inches apart now; Crys could feel the cool air surrounding him like an aura.

She placed her hands on his chest-he was colder than any winter imaginable-and she slowly moved her hands toward his neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her. There was a kind of hunger in his eyes now. Their lips lightly touched for a second and then finally met. It was like sparks exploding inside her. His lips were so cold against hers and that intimidating coolness seemed to fill every part of her body, but it felt good. She seemed to lose herself then. It was like time itself had stopped.

And then she felt him responding to her kiss. He began to kiss her back and he pulled her closer to him. She noticed that he didn't feel as cold as he had before. She stepped away from him and saw that a few patches of the ice on his suit were disappearing, as if her kiss had done something to make them begin to melt. I wish the iciness didn't melt away, she thought as she focused on the melting ice. Suddenly, the ice stopped melting and it started to freeze up once again. Crys wondered if she had done that as well. Jack was staring down at her, trying to read her expression. She decided to prolong any chance of words and leaned back into him to kiss him once again. She felt him losing himself in her kiss and she took her chance.

She tugged the snow globe out of his hand and dashed for the door. Jack stumbled for a minute. She was almost to the door when she just...stopped. Her legs wouldn't move off the floor. She could still see the door, but no matter what she did, her body wouldn't get any closer to it. She glanced down at her feet and saw they were frozen up to her knees. Jack walked around her and took the snow globe from her hands.

"That was a good try, Crys. Very clever. I'm still reluctant to freeze you," he admitted with a smile. He turned to the closet door and Crys' frozen family. He shut the doors tight and, almost as an afterthought, froze the handles of the closet door until they became one whole glacier of ice. "I'm sorry, Crys," he said. He sounded as though he meant it. He closed the doors behind him and Crys was left alone, frozen in place.

She began looking around for something to use to chip the ice from her legs, but there was nothing. She couldn't even feel her legs anymore; they were completely numb under the white ice. Crys even thought about kicking in the closet door and maybe grabbing a piece of wood, but she was too far away. There was nothing to use. The cold was spreading through her legs and she felt that she would have dropped to the floor had it not been the ice holding her still.

Crys put her hands against the ice, wishing her legs would warm up at least a little. Almost instantly, the ice became thinner and she could feel the jeans of her legs. Crys glanced at her legs and saw that the ice was slowly melting away under her touch. The water soaked into the carpet underneath her feet as the rest of the ice faded away. She didn't understand how it had happened, but she was free.

Jack Frost was heading to Carol's room. He hid the snow globe out of sight and he would wait for the best time to use it to his advantage. He couldn't seem to erase Crys from his mind, especially what had just happened between them. What was it about her anyway? He shook his head and was determined to forget Crys for the time being. Besides, she had every reason to hate him now.

He finally reached the room and found Carol inside with Scott. She was busy finishing up the decorating of their tree, all the while not trying to strain herself too much. Scott was paying minimal attention to Carol, even though she kept calling him over. Carol turned when she heard Jack enter and she smiled warmly. He could see she was trying hard to hide her sadness and disappointment. He returned her smile and moved to help her with the final touches on the tree. He had to do something drastic, something that would completely devastate Scott. If only Crys was here...

"The tree looks absolutely beautiful. Don't think so, Jack?" Carol gazed at the tree in wonder, her eyes becoming bright with delight.

"It is beautiful, Carol," a voice said from the doorway before Jack could answer. He stiffened when he recognized the voice all too well. There was Crys, standing calmly against the doorframe as if nothing had happened only minutes ago. She was smiling at Carol and her eyes gradually moved to Jack.

There was something there in her eyes, something like sadness but not quite. Something that looked like...heartbreak. Jack watched her as she went to Carol and hugged her with a kind of warmth that came from a daughter hugging her mother. Did Crys actually want her mother then? And how had she managed to get unfrozen? No one could break through such coldness and ice once Jack Frost decided to freeze them.

"Carol, there's something I have to tell you," Crys said. Carol looked at her with concern.

"Crys, can it wait until after we finish the tree? We still have to put the star on the top." Crys grasped Carol's arms tightly and begged her with her eyes. She pulled Carol away from the tree, hoping Jack wouldn't overhear their conversation. All the while, Jack came up with an idea to cause the last necessary bit of trouble. He noticed that Carol and Crys were facing away from him. He carefully bent to reach the bottom of the tree and unscrewed one of the pegs holding the tree up. Wait until they saw this tree fall.

"Crys, Carol is right. We should put the star on the top first. Scott, do want to put the star on the tree?" Jack motioned to Scott, who had finished what he was doing. He looked to Carol, who looked desperate for Scott to join them. Crys narrowed her eyes at Jack and he simply shrugged.

"Sure, let's get that star on the top," Scott agreed as he climbed onto a ladder to reach the top of the tree. Carol handed him the crystal star that was covered with a mixture of colored lights. Jack slid to the back of the group and waited. Crys kept her eyes on Jack, her expression holding so many emotions that she became hard to read. Carol was near the tree, looking so happy as Scott brought the star closer to the top. Jack wished Carol would move away a little; he didn't want her to fall with the tree, especially if she could lose her baby.

"So, Crys. Remind me again why you were sent here. It was because you made a Christmas tree crash, right?" Carol looked from Jack to Crys and back again. Crys' face was filled with confusion; she knew she had explained this to Jack and she wasn't sure what he was up to.

Scott finally edged the star onto the top and cautiously stepped off the ladder to view the tree. Jack frowned as nothing happened. Then, just as everyone was joyful that the tree was done, it leaned forward the slightest bit. There we go, come on, Jack thought as it started to fall. He glanced at Carol again. Why won't she move? Crys' eyes were focused on the tree and he suddenly realized that she knew what was about to happen. She looked to Carol, just as he did a minute ago.

The tree abruptly lost its balance. Crys, without another thought, jumped for Carol and managed to push her out of the way and onto the couch. The tree crashed and pinned Crys under it. Jack should have been ecstatic that his plan was working the way he wanted it to, but he could only see Crys, lying under the tree and not moving. Carol gasped and Scott hurriedly lifted the tree. Crys attempted to get up, but she dropped to the floor again. Jack was the only one standing still as Carol and Scott helped to pick her up. Scott carried her to the couch and checked for a pulse. Her eyes fluttered, but she didn't regain consciousness.

Carol faced the broken, fallen tree with its shattered ornaments and ruined crystal star. She knelt by the star and started to pick up the pieces. Tears rolled down her face and her breathing grew heavy. The pieces of glass fell from her shaking hands as she tried to put the pieces back together. Scott placed a hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off. Everything was broken now and there seemed to be no way to fix it.

"I...I can't do this anymore," Carol murmured before she began sobbing into her hands. Scott looked at her with dismay, and then glanced at Crys' weak, unconscious form on the couch. He silently nodded to Jack and then left the room. Jack paused by Crys' body and felt a pang of regret deep inside him. He reached out to lift a strand of red hair from Crys' beautiful face and then followed Scott outside to finish what he had created.