Chapter Ten

One week later...

Jack hadn't left Matthew's bed side at all, he'd barely moved from the chair. The other Guardians had been in and out to check on him. They'd been staying around the pole for the most part.

The Reaper had been healing slowly, they had been able to take the bandages off the small cut on his side and the bite. The wound on his neck was healing, but not enough to remove the stitches or bandage. The yetis checked his lungs everyday. They said the nightmare sand had been flushed out naturally. They were getting just enough oxygen and he didn't need the mask anymore. The yetis expected him to wake up at anytime.

The winter spirit sighed shifting in his chair. He took Matthew's hand in his again rubbing soothing circles into the back of it. He couldn't wait for him to wake up, Jack missed his company. The raven had stayed the whole time too. It would hop over to his chair and nest in his hair before going back to the headboard.

-❄️"Fear: forget everything and run or face everything and rise."❄️-

Matthew gasped awake looking around. He didn't recognize his surroundings and tried to sit up, but someone was pushing him back down. He panicked trying to make a sound, but nothing came out.

"Hey! Birdie, it's okay!" Someone was saying. They gently squeezed his hand and cupped his face. Jack finally came into focus and Matthew relaxed into his touch. "I'm here, no ones going to hurt you."

The winter spirit carefully pulled him into a hug. The Reaper clung to him tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He didn't think he'd see Jack again. He tried to talk again to apologize, but nothing came out, not even a squeak. His eyebrows furrowed, he didn't know why he couldn't speak. He needed to figure out another way to communicate.

"I was so worried." Jack said as he pulled back, he didn't let go of his hand. He squeezed the Guardian's hand and gave him an apologetic smile.

The Canadian suddenly had an idea. He took his hand from Jack's and turned it over. The winter spirit watched curiously as Matthew held up one finger than poked his palm. He held up two fingers and poked his palm with both fingers. Jack nodded seeming to be catching on to what he was doing. He tapped out 'sorry' in Morse code.

"It's okay Matthew." Jack said giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm just happy you're alright."

The Reaper looked around taking in his surroundings again. He realized he was at the pole, the wood work gave it away as usual. He looked down seeing he was in a gigantic bed most likely used for yetis. He wondered how he got there. The blond remembered landing in an alley and blacking out.

"Oh! Matthew! It's good to see you awake!" North said smiling and clapping his hands together with excitement. He had come to check in on Jack and heard him talking. "Are you in any pain?"

The blond shook his head and both Guardians sighed in relief. He felt stiff and a little sore, but nothing too major. He looked over himself, he could see a faint line on his side and the bite was almost healed. He reached up and gingerly ran his fingers over the wound on his neck. There was a bandage over it still. He took a deep breath, his lungs felt kind of stiff. He didn't have a better way to describe the feeling.

"Do you remember what happened?" The Guardian of wonder asked slowly. Matthew nodded. He looked like he was going to ask, but his eyebrows furrowed. He held up a finger and left the room. He came back with a pen and paper. He handed it to the blond.

The Reaper sat up letting out a breath. Jack helped him with a hand on his back. He sat cross-legged and stretched out his wings.

"What happened Matthew?" North asked.

'I had a nap in the forest with some bears.' The Reaper wrote. 'I woke up when they left and was about to fly home but Pitch showed up.' He turned the paper to show them.

"You stayed and fought?" North asked.

'Ya I was going to leave but he attacked me. I found a stick to fight with. He kept bringing more nightmares and I used up a lot of magic.' Matthew paused. 'I knew he was drawing out the fight and started to sing to get away. He threw sand at me and I breathed it in.'

"How did you get away after?" North asked he looked a little confused.

'I was pretty out of it. I couldn't breathe because of the sand and collapsed. I forgot where I was and what was going on.' The Reaper tried to remember what exactly happened. 'I was on my back and pitch was talking. He pushed my head back to get at my throat. I realized what he was doing and rolled away but he still got me. I got out of there and ended up in an alley.'

North nodded reading carefully. The blond handed the pen and paper back to him. "You can get up if you want." The Guardian said. He gave him a gentle smile. A yeti garbled at him and North turned to follow. "It'll be good for you to move around. Just be careful of your stitches."

The Reaper nodded. He needed to get up and start moving anyways. He had to get back to work. He was already dealing with the back log of work in his head. He swung his legs over the side of the bed. Jack left his staff and stood up. The Guardian took both of his hands pulling him up. He stumbled slightly, but the winter spirit caught him. Matthew felt weak, his legs were stiff and he already felt out of breath. Jack made him put his arm around his shoulders to help him along.

"Okay, Birdie?" The Guardian asked and he nodded. The couple slowly started to walk. The Reaper had to stop to catch his breath a few times. Jack was very patient and encouraging. He was a little bit frustrated with himself, but hoped he'd improve. "You're doing good."

Matthew paused and stepped in front of his husband. He put one hand on Jack's shoulder and clasped his other with his. The Guardian of fun smiled knowing what he was doing and put his hand on the blond's hip. Jack hummed contently as they swayed slowly back and fourth. The Reaper let out a breath and rested his head on his chest.

"I love you, Matthew." Jack said giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

'I love you oo.' The Reaper tapped out slowly on the back of Jack's neck. It took him quite awhile and he forgot what 't' was. The winter spirit smiled and pulled him closer resting his head on top of his.

Matthew was happy that the Guardian had gotten him to read that book all those years ago. Jack had read a mystery book where the main characters had sent messages in Morse code that the reader had to decode. He loved it so much and bugged the blond to read it. He was glad he did now and took the time to learn the code.

"Are you hungry? Maybe we can find some ice cream or something so we don't hurt your throat." The Guardian of fun suggested. Matthew nodded with a smile, he was pretty hungry.

AN: Wanted to get the communication stuff out of the way right away.