Chapter Eleven-Motherly Love

When Pitch woke up at the Pole, he had a much easier time than Jack had in getting his bearings. He stretched, feeling much better after his nap, and looked around for Phil. He was, of course, frantic about if everything was alright. After reassuring him he went back to his "new job" with renewed passion. Sandy was sick because he had let himself get drug into a fight that shouldn't have happened. He decided to stay at the pole until he was at full power again, just to be safe.

As Jack woke up he got a mental image of a smiling Pitch whose skin was actually flesh-tone instead of grey and the fact that he registered that information sent him into another fit of nausea. He tried to breathe, maybe push it back and think clearly but it didn't work. He wished he could have a thought without almost vomiting. He was beginning to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with him when Mrs. Bennett knocked on his door. His guess was that he had made noise when he had the nausea a moment before.

"Yeah?" he called.

"Jack, are you feelin' any better?" She asked sweetly, pushing the door open with her hip and scooting in with a tray of food. His eyes bugged out when he saw what she was doing, he really didn't know what to think.

"Oh, um…better I think." He went to sit up and every muscle in his body screamed at him in utter defiance of moving. Jessica Bennett chuckled sweetly, setting the tray down and pushing him back down gently, knowing he was just going to keep trying if she didn't make him relax.

"Spoke too soon, did we?" She asked. He chuckled.

"Probably, what's…?" He trailed off, eyeing the tray behind her in question.

"Oh, that's breakfast sweetie." She said, trying not to giggle. He rolled his eyes playfully while her back was turned and when she turned back around he was smiling in a "woah this is actually happening' type way. That amazement that someone would do this for him was as heartwarming as it was heartbreaking.

"Thank you! Wow…oh! How's Sandy?" He asked, suddenly waking up enough to remember that he was sick.

"He's so much better but I think you got the ick from him." She offered. Jack cringed.

"I really hope this is nothing like what he had." He said in horror. He was on fire, his head was pounding and he could barely see straight when he had…well when he thought about that dream.

"I doubt it's the same thing, but taking care of someone like that, it'll mess with your immune system." She explained calmly. "You're trying to burn the candle at both ends." She gave him a 'cut it out' look that just screamed teacher to Jack and he had to giggle. She had made him coffee and he currently had his face buried in it. The steam felt amazing and every drink loosened him up a little more. She handed him another pain pill which he accepted and she turned back to the door.

"I know you're out there, come on." She called. Jamie stuck his head in with Aster and all the little ones in tow. Jessie waved him in.

"Hi Jack." He grinned excitedly, seeing him sitting with the mostly-eaten tray of food in his lap and a smile on his face. He would be fine.

"Hey kiddo!" He greeted happily. "They been gettin' you into trouble?" He asked, eyeing his siblings teasingly. They made various faces of amusement and mock insult.

"We aren't that bad!" Aster protested through a grin.

"Nah, they're not the trouble-makers." Jamie supplied, grinning at Aster the whole time.

With a nod of approval from Jessie Bennett the whole lot ended up curling up on Jack's bed to play cards and board games. He had been fine until he tried to get up so Mrs. Bennett insisted he stay put, and this was a wonderful solution. His siblings had been missing their favorite playmate. Sandy and Jack might nod off at a point or two and wake back up during their turns, but that didn't bother them. It was a wonderful day and Jack felt amazing when it ended. He carried medicine with him when he was out and about afterword but headaches didn't follow him anymore.

Soon though, it was time to get back into a sleeping schedule with the little ones so that the return to school wouldn't be as bad. By this point Pitch had picked himself back up and was visiting them more often. The little ones had told Jack about their new friend the Boogeyman who wasn't scary and he couldn't handle how cute it was. They were being kids for once, real kids without fear and it warmed his heart. He also realized that they definitely shared his enthusiastic imagination. How could they be making this up?!

"Yeah Jack! Fun fun fun!" Anna giggled, bouncing up and down on her bed. Jessie was peaking in, leaning on the doorframe while he put them to bed. They had taken to having dinner together at Jack's every night.

"Alright kiddo, I get the idea." He chuckled, trying to pull the blankets up around the silly girl.

"He was different this time, too!" Nick commented, back from his and Aster's room to join the conversation.

"How so?" He asked, genuinely interested in the plot-twist they had come up with.

"He was darker, like he got a tan." Anna supplied sleepily. She was starting to yawn, being wrapped up in all the warm, cozy blankets of her bed.

"Really? You think he went on vacation?" He asked, coming up with a slew of creative ideas to explain this in his head, but they all shook their heads in unison, Jamie included.

"Nah, we think he's getting better." Nick provided.

"Better? Was he sick?" Jack asked. Heads nodded, including one who was outside, sad smile on his face. If only he knew.

"Yeah! The moon is helping him!" Anna part-cheered part-yawned. Jack and Jamie's mom both chuckled at her great enthusiasm and determination to stay awake.

"Alright sweetie, you can tell me about it tomorrow, okay? All of you. Go on, bed time." He shooed Aster and Nick with a pointed look. Sandy hopped up into his bed and curled up to wait patiently for his tuck-in. Jack had to smile. He wouldn't tell anyone, but Sandy was his favorite sometimes. He loved all of them with everything he had, no doubt, but Sandy was special. He was just a little bit closer with him, and he had never figured out why.

There was something about that kid that made him special to Jack, and for a moment he thought he knew why. He stopped in the hall, just for a moment, and got a tiny hint of an idea. That dream that he had came flooding back to him. His memory giving him a still-life of himself but looking very, very different. Then there was an image of the Sand Man, and Jack felt like he knew him.

Before he could make the connection a searing headache ripped through him, causing him to catch himself on the wall. He took a deep breath and pushed the image, and thought, back in his mind. To his shock, it worked.

"Jack? Are you okay?" Jessie asked, poking her head around the corner from where she had been in the kitchen. He nodded and replaced the big, beaming smile on his face by remembering Anna's excitement. So I have some experimenting to do later, was that coincidence or… he mused as he sat back down on the couch.

"Yeah, ooh is that what I think it is?" he asked cautiously taking the plate and fork he was offered.

"It is." She grinned, taking her place beside him. Jamie had gone upstairs to bed and she had pulled a sneaky little surprise trick.

"Chocolate lava cake, mmmm." Jack muttered, inhaling the steam from the freshly reheated treat. "Thanks, but how did you manage this so quickly?" He asked in awe.

"I made them last night and I brought them down earlier when we had dinner, they don't take long to re-heat." She explained with a grin on her face that just spread to Jack like wildfire. Sometimes he couldn't decide if she was more like his momma or like an adult friend, and he loved that. He didn't like being coddled, but she was so good at making him feel better about it that he had been better taken care of that year than he could ever remember.

With Jack distracted by that cake, Pitch figured he had time to talk to the little ones.

"Pitch!" Anna had whispered excitedly when he tapped their window. Sandy clapped (quietly) and giggled his soundless little giggle.

"Hey there Anna, Sandy! There's my little buddy. Come here." He scooped the boy up who had raised his arms to be held. Pitch sat back down on his bed with him, giving the boy a little tickle because he knew he couldn't actually make a racket.

"I think Jackie believes more now." Anna offered, curling up next to him on Sandy's bed.

"Good job! You're doing better with not reminding him about the dream too, like we talked about, right?" Sandy nodded and signed 'better' with a stern nod and "serious face". Pitch couldn't help his giggle. He let out a deep, contented breath and let them snuggle into him a little closer.

"Alright, so I have a plan." He admitted after a long moment. They squirmed and looked up at him in question.

"What is it?" Anna asked sleepily.

"Well, we need Jack to believe, right?" They nodded. "So I need you to believe as much as you possibly can, and talk to him about it as much as you can without being upsetting, because he might not like hearing about it all the time. Then get him to tell you stories." He waited.

"Stories?" Anna asked, head tilting to the side. It was precious.

"Yes, stories about the guardians of childhood. Don't elaborate, let him come up with it himself. He'll get a little headache." He drew out the word 'little', pinching his finger and thumb together on one hand and squinting one eye. "but it'll go away when he's talking, and hopefully the more he tells you the better he'll feel and the more he'll remember about that dream. He needs to remember that dream." He explained.

"Why does he need ta remember the dream?" She asked through a yawn, having just looked over at Sandy and seen his question in his eyes and understood his quick little sign.

"Because, Jack is something very special, so are you. He needs that dream to remember." He offered simply. Rather than the slew of questions he expected he got quiet acceptance and two little sleepy kids curled up on him. He heard Jack talking about sleep and decided now would be a good time to split.

"Alright, come on Anna, back to bed. I've got to go now." He offered quietly, calmly. It was such a soothing tone that neither of them actually woke up for it. Once Anna was tucked in, and not a second later to Pitch's shock and near coronary, Jack walked in quietly.

As Jack basically crashed on his bed, Pitch couldn't help the instinct to pull the blankets over the boy who had barely managed to land on the bed at all. He curled around himself as the blanket was pulled up and when Pitch pushed a pillow over to his head his unconscious mind decided to cuddle it. He pulled it into a hug that tucked it under his head and Pitch had to suppress his 'aww' so he didn't wake Anna or Sandy. That was an image he wasn't about to forget anytime soon.

Alright, he has a plan, and Jack is about to have some Matrix stuff happen to him. (No I don't actually plan on referencing that, I'm kidding I swear.) I hope you like! :)

As always, you are wonderful people, please R&R! Thank you in advance!