AN: The song Bridge of Light belongs to Pink and the makers of Happy Feet 2.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

If North hadn't been holding the reigns of his sleigh, he would have face-palmed.

The group – that included North himself, Jamie, Sophie, Jack and Bunny – were heading over to Tooth's palace so the kids could get their first tooth check-up. North had chosen to go by sleigh, without the use of the portals, because the children had never ridden in the sleigh before and were excited at the thought.

But after half an hour, the excitement had worn off and the kids had grown bored. Well, Jamie at least, who had been asking North the same question over and over. Sophie was giggling at Bunny, who had pinned himself against the bottom of the sleigh in terror.

Upon hearing Jamie's question again, the Pooka smirked at North. "I bet you wished we'd taken the tunnels now, eh?"

Jack, who was perched on the side of the sleigh, burst out laughing. North just rolled his eyes before taking out his snow globe from his coat pocket. "Tooth Palace," he muttered, before throwing it out in front of the sleigh. It opened a portal, and they flew through it.

When the portal closed behind them, North caught the globe in his hand again. Both Jamie and Sophie leapt to their feet as they surveyed their new surroundings; they were high above an exotic jungle in India, heading towards a large mountain, and in the air above them thousands of fairies were journeying back and forwards from the palace.

The group were spotted by Baby Tooth – who has just been returning with a tooth from New Zealand – and she flew towards them in excitement. Jack laughed as she greeted them. "Yep, we've come for a visit, Baby Tooth. Can you lead us to your Mum?"

The little fairy nodded before taking position in front of the sleigh and flying towards an opening in the mountain. Of course, Tooth wasn't really her mother; all of the Mini Fairies were just extensions of her. But since they were small and she was in charge – and also very protective over them – in a sense Tooth took on a motherly role for them.

The sleigh soared through the gap in the mountain, and both Jamie and Sophie gasped when they saw the Tooth Palace for the first time; its structure reminded the former of the Indian Palaces he'd seen in geography books at school, only this one was much larger. To hold all the collected teeth, he guessed.

The sleigh landed on a platform as Baby Tooth hurried away, and no more than a minute later Tooth appeared with a huge grin on her face.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted them. "Are you excited about your first check-up? I can't wait to see how well you've flossed!"

Jamie just looked at her with a confused expression, before his eyes widened and he turned to the others. "You didn't tell us we came her to get a check-up!"

Jack cringed. "We knew how kids hated seeing the dentist, so we decided it would be best not to tell you until we got here." He shrugged.

"No dentist! No dentist!" yelled Sophie. She covered her mouth with her hands before taking off at a run. Bunny immediately leapt after her, scooping her up within seconds before carrying her back over to the others, trying to ignore her kicks and hits.

Jamie took the opportunity to try and make a run for it too, but since Jack could fly, he was faster and grabbed the boy by his collar.

"Oh no, you don't!"

"Jack, let go!" Jamie tried to wriggle out of the young Guardian's grasp, but Jack kept a firm hold on him.

Tooth didn't know what to make of the children's reactions. "Why don't you like the dentist?" she asked. "Getting your teeth checked is fun!"

"Not when the dentist looks like Dr. Frankenstein with a creepy smile, has an old chair which keeps malfunctioning while you're sat in it, and the tools he uses feel funny in your mouth," said Jamie. "Heck, you can even go and ask Pitch; a quarter of the Nightmares kids have are about visiting the dentist."

"Well, do I look like your usual dentist?" Tooth gestured to herself; to her wings, and to the feathers which covered most of her body.

Jamie looked her up and down before shaking his head. "No."

"And I don't have a nasty chair, or those awful tools the dentist uses," she continued. "So what's left to be afraid of?"

The boy shrugged. "I guess it's just instinct."

"Then override them," said Tooth. She fluttered over to him and placed a comforting arm upon the young boy's shoulder. "It'll be alright. At least do it to show your sister that there's nothing for her to be afraid of."

Jamie looked over at Sophie; she had stopped struggling and was curled up in Bunny's arms, repeating over and over that she wasn't going to see the dentist. He realized that his own fear must have influenced hers, upon her first visit – or at least made it worse than it could have been. She probably would have been afraid even without his influence.

He sighed. "OK. You can look at my teeth."

"There's a brave boy." Tooth fluttered into the palace while the others followed. They reached a large room with tooth-shaped seats made of what appeared to be ivory, but Jamie doubted that Tooth would use anything that came from an animal. "Now take a seat."

Jamie sat down in one of the seats, while the others did the same around the room, and the boy couldn't help but grow nervous when Tooth approached him. "Will it hurt?"

"Not at all," she assured him. "Now open wide."

He did as she asked, and Tooth used her hands to open the mouth a little wider. She frowned with deep concentration as she scanned over the teeth, and barely a minute had passed before she let go and backed away. "All done!"

Jamie couldn't believe it. "Really? But you didn't even use a light, or any tools to move my gums."

"I didn't need to," Tooth explained. "My eyes are adjusted to the darkness for when I collect teeth, and they can see more than the average eye. I saw everything I needed to, and your teeth are in perfect condition. You've really flossed!"

The boy couldn't help but smile before he hurried over to Sophie. "Did you see that, Soph? There's nothing to be afraid of!"

Sophie had been watching out of curiosity, and while she saw that Jamie was right, she was still nervous. "Daddy stay."

Bunny smiled. He was never going to be able to hear that without smiling. "Alright, you little ankle biter." He sat her upright on his lap.

Tooth cautiously fluttered over; she didn't want to startle the girl with her over-excitement. "Now open your mouth, little one."

Sophie hesitated.

"C'mon, Soph! You can do it!" Jamie encouraged her.

But Sophie remained still. Being younger, it was hard for her to overcome her instincts.

"Maybe you should try singing?" Jack suggested. "Singing helps kids get over their fears."

Tooth nodded and took in a deep breath, before she laid a gentle hand upon Sophie's shoulder. "When your feet are made of stone, and you're convinced that you're all alone, look at the stars instead of the dark. You'll find your heart shines like the sun. Let's not let our anger get us lost. And the need to be right comes at way too high a cost."

Sophie began to relax, the fear in her eyes visibly leaving.

"That's when love can build a bridge of light," Tooth continued, "that's what turns the wrong so right, that's when you know it's worth the fight. That's when love turns night time into day, that's when loneliness goes away, that's why you gotta be strong tonight. 'Cause only love can build us a bridge of light."

Sophie took in a deep breath, before she opened her mouth wide. Tooth smiled as she peered in, her eyes scanning over the teeth.

"Atta girl," said Bunny as Tooth finished up.

The fairy's smile had widened. "You've flossed very well, little one. Your teeth are almost as white as Jack's!"

Jack chuckled at that, and smiled as Bunny placed Sophie down, who then took off at a run in excitement. He knew their next visit for a check-up would run a lot smoother.

Tooth turned to him. "Your turn, Jack!"

The smile was wiped off Jack's face.