Disclaimer: I do not own "Rise of the Guardians" nor any of the characters who appear in "Rise of the Guardians," I just like to play with 'em every once in a while. Bunny and all "Rise of the Guardians" characters belong to William Joyce and DreamWorks Animation.

A/N: This chapter doesn't really need a lot of set-up; it picks up pretty much right where the last one left off. So, in lieu of lengthy explanations, I'll simply put this here and say; here's chapter eleven, hope you enjoy!

Also, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Mists who helped inspire the content of this chapter! Thank you Mists!

Who says the Easter Bunny only works one day a year?

In which the Easter Bunny does not work just one day a year

It was hypnotic and after a while, his grip along the neck began to slacken and loosen and in order to keep the instrument from tipping over sideways, Bunny absently pulled it straight and rested the neck snuggly against his cheek. Then with his left hand still curled protectively around the body, the fingers of his right hand continued to amble lazily across the strings until at long last even they stilled.

The room descended into silence and Aster Bunnymund fell asleep.

Sadly, it was not a peaceful sleep.

Because it had been relatively early in the evening when Bunny had finally drifted off, the Sandman had not yet arrived and so, had been unable to intercept the Nightmares which had been keeping careful watch upon the Warren since earlier that day.

Thus, as Aster's exhausted body had finally yielded to sleep, the Nightmares had swept in and Bunny had, as on so many nights before, spent his precious few hours of rest re-living old traumas and re-opening old wounds. And while it was immensely gratifying for Pitch to know how painful those visions had been for Bunny, he was nevertheless far from pleased with the situation.

After all, he had hoped-been confident even-that Bunnymund's stubborn pride would have prevented him from seeking the help of the other Guardians, but apparently little Aster's confidence had been so shaken by Pitch's last assault that he'd already gone and gotten the Sandman involved and that was never a good thing. Pitch was going to have to be extra cautious and extra clever from here on out if he wished his plan to be successful and the luck, which had seen Bunnymund stricken with nightmares that were not of Pitch's doing, would need to hold out for just a bit longer.

The other Guardians weren't supposed to have become involved until it was far too late for them to affect his plans, but now, not only would Pitch need everything to go perfectly from here on out, but he would also need to make a few adjustments. Allowances for Sandy's involvement would need to be made and not for the first time, Pitch bemoaned the fact that that he'd had to wait so long to launch his attack on Bunnymund in the first place.

He was sure that if he had been able to begin sooner, if he had been able to strike when the rabbit had still been back on his heels from Easter, then things would have gone perfectly according to plan. He would have been able to make his move long before the other Guardians had even begun to suspect something was amiss and by now, he might well have already seen his plan successful.

But, he hadn't been ready then. He'd been too weak. So weak in fact,that he hadn't even been able fend off the Nightmares himself, let alone direct them towards another.

But now, he could. He had waited and waited and every day he had marshaled his strength and his fury and over time, he had finally hoarded enough that he had been able to turn on the Nightmares and bring them back beneath his thumb.

And now that he was once again their master, he fully intended on making good his revenge against all those who had once rendered him weak enough to have become their slave.

Tucking his summoning stone back into his pocket, Jack Frost soared gleefully down the tunnel to the Warren. It was a few minutes before midnight and though he knew he was a little early, he doubted greatly that Bunny would mind. The fastidious rabbit was always running early anyways so Jack doubted that a few minutes here or there would be a problem.

In fact, he half expected Bunny to congratulate him on his earliness because well, Bunny was just funny like that.

Yet, to Jack's great surprise, when he reached the cottage door and knocked enthusiastically, there was no answer.

Jack frowned and listened carefully for any sounds of movement within the cottage. The wind rustled gently through the Warren and distantly, Jack could hear the bubbling of the streams, but from the cottage, there was nothing.

How strange.

Even stranger; the door still hadn't opened after a second and third round of knocking.

The skin between Jack's eyes puckered in confusion and he stepped back to peer curiously at the windows of the cottage. Just as he was noting that at least one window was aglow with light, the front door swung open and Bunny appeared to wave Jack inside with tired, but welcoming smile.

"Hey, Bunny!" Jack chirped brightly as he bounced inside, "are you ready?" he asked with a grin.

Inwardly, Bunny winced at the brightness of Jack's voice but outwardly, he nodded jerkily and hid a yawn behind a large hand.

"Yeah, Jack," he answered mid-yawn, "just let me grab a few things and we'll be off."

Jack canted his head to the side and examined Bunny's features in the dim light; he looked tired. His fur was all tousled and his ears were drooping sloppily around his face. Had he just woken up? Jack stared up at him curiously but Bunny, who was already yawning again, this time with enough force that his eyes were watering; didn't seem to notice and turned to lead Jack onwards to the kitchen. A little surprised that Bunny seemed to have just woken up but not entirely shocked because Bunny had looked pretty tired when they'd spoken that morning, Jack shrugged carelessly and fell into step behind him.

Neither spoke as they walked. Jack, because he was too busy thinking about how cool it was that Bunny had invited him along and Bunny, because not only was he nursing a splitting headache but he was also trying (unsuccessfully) to silence the echoes of his nightmares and shake the fog of sleep from his mind.

By the time they arrived in the kitchen, he hadn't even succeeded in one but he work to do so, he gritted his teeth and got to it. He'd made sure to gather and arrange most of the supplies for their trip before he'd settled down to rest but there were still a couple of last minute items that he needed to prepare.

Among these was a bit of a snack for the road and with one more half-aborted yawn, he motioned to Jack and asked him to fetch a half-wheel of cheese from the larder, while he himself turned to pull a loaf of bread from the bread box.

Jack complied immediately with an exuberant smile that would have had Toothy's girls swooning where they fluttered and Bunny couldn't help but smile wanly but sincerely back. Then, standing at the great counter-top that dominated one wall of his kitchen, he reached into one of the many drawers and pulled out a pale yellow and blue kerchief, which he laid flat upon the counter and with a few quick knots, transformed into a simple but effective rucksack.

This he handed airily over to Jack and without even having to be asked, the boy plucked the bread and cheese from the counter, placed them in the center of the sack and handily fastened the final knots which would keep them secure. Bunny canted his head to the side and looked slightly impressed and Jack cocked an eyebrow and threw him a jokingly supercilious smile.

Immediately, Bunny rolled his eyes and snorted with amusement and Jack, always delighted to elicit such a reaction from serious old Bunny, broke his façade just as swiftly and laughed right along with him.

After that, Bunny felt considerably better. His head was still pounding and his body still felt like it was teetering on the edge of collapse but his spirit felt lighter and his heart less troubled. And as he watched Jack poke and prod at the great basket of supplies which sat upon the kitchen table, he felt his spirits lighten even further.

"What is all this stuff, Bunny?" Jack piped as he inspected the many smaller baskets and packages that were nestled carefully within the deep bowl of the larger one.

"Goodies for the ankle-biters a' course," Bunny answered with a smile and a voice still rough from sleep.

"Goodies?" Jack asked with interest, "what kind of goodies?"

"Oh-well, all kinds; different stuff for different kids. Take this basket," he said as he patted a large basket filled to the brim with heavy bags of rice, flour and other staples, "this one is for a little family in Phoenix. Their mum's been under it for a while and without her income, they're having a hard time making ends meet. So, I make sure they get the essentials and they're able to stretch their dad's paycheck a little further. This week I got 'em some flour and rice and lots of fruits and veggies, googies and of course—plenty of chocolate! After all, ankle-biters cannot live on bread alone," he finished matter-of-factly.

Jack giggled and rolled his eyes.

"I don't think chocolate is one of the major food groups, Bunny," Jack teased affectionately.

"Ahhh, but we're not just feeding their bodies, Jack," Bunny replied with a wink, "we're feeding their souls."

Again, Jack felt the urge to roll his eyes but then he considered Bunny's words a moment longer and he found, to his great surprise, that he could not. Because even though Bunny had said the words lightly and with an air of jest, he had meant them all the same and even more importantly; because in Jack's opinion they were true. So, instead of rolling his eyes, however affectionately he might have done it, Jack had smiled fondly and nodded in agreement.

For whatever reason, that simple gesture produced an unreasonably pleased reaction from Bunny and before Jack knew it, he was being regaled with detailed explanations about the contents of each and every little basket. Apparently, a good number of them were filled with staples for kids who might otherwise go hungry and some of these, which were bound for children living in agricultural communities, were even stocked up with the most robust and carefully cultivated staple seeds of that region.

The hope, Bunny explained, was that given time, the seeds might be used to generate a more reliable source of food for the struggling families, or if necessary even, sold at market for a good price.

But why, Jack wondered, if Bunny was going to go to all that trouble, did he not simply, make their dead crops grow? Or even better, just grow them crops whenever they needed it? To Jack it seemed like a much easier and far more far-reaching solution but Bunny had sadly shaken his head and replied that though he wished very much that he could, there were nevertheless rules that even he had to follow.

He explained that on Earth, as well as elsewhere, there was a time for everything and that everything had its time. As such, not even he could bring Spring where there was Winter or Life where there was Death, unless it was its time. Otherwise, he would be disrupting the Natural Order and as the Guardian of Hope and New Life, he just couldn't do that.

He wasn't allowed.

Surprised by the gravity and candor of Bunny's explanation and touched by the depth of feeling that had laced his voice as he'd given it, Jack suddenly had a new understanding of Bunny's commitment to his duties.

Suddenly, all those vicious tongue-lashings that Jack had received for bringing untimely Winter when there should have been Spring made a lot more sense. And suddenly, Jack felt a whole lot worse about all the times he'd accused Bunny of being a stuck up, humorless, bore. He wondered just how much responsibility Bunny really carried on his shoulders and he wondered if perhaps these were the things which Bunny had been trying to tell him all those years ago when he'd first arrived to chase him away from an unseasonably frosty Spring day.

He supposed it no longer mattered; he was learning them now. But at the same time, he couldn't help but lament all those years which he and Bunny had wasted in being rivals.

Bunny however had no way of knowing these things and so he simply took Jack's pensive silence to mean that he had satisfactorily answered his question and moved on. He told Jack excitedly about some of the children they were going to visit; about how some of them he had visited before and what they were like and about how others were going to be a surprise even to him. At that, Jack had cocked his eyebrow inquiringly and asked how that was possible and Bunny had smiled mischievously and promised him that he would see.

By that time they had finished gathering their supplies and were already walking single file down one of Bunny's tunnels.

In the lead and shouldering the great basket full of goodies, was Bunny and just behind him, was Jack, who for his part was dutifully toting (and helping himself to) the provisions in the rucksack. It was a pleasant procession but after only a short amount of time, Bunny was slowing to a halt and dropping the basket down by his feet.

Apparently, they had reached their first destination and as Bunny began to scoop an armful of smaller baskets out from the deep basin of the larger one, he motioned for Jack to stand beside him.

"Here you go, Jackie," he said with a smile as he looped a few baskets over Jack's outstretched arm, "why don't you leave the bread and cheese here and help me carry these?"

"Okay," Jack agreed at once as he too began to drape the offered baskets across his arm, "but what are we doing? Are all these for one kid?"

"Ooh, if only," Bunny said with a wry smile, "but unfortunately, not even I can get away with giving this much candy to one kid all at one time; Toothy would kill me. However," he added with an air of facetious innocence, "it is totally within my rights as the Guardian of Hope to bring a'lotta kids a little bit of candy. Particularly," he said with a softer smile, "if they've been feeling a bit under it lately."

Suddenly, exactly where they were and what they were doing dawned on Jack and instantly a dazzling megawatt smile spread across his features.

This was going to be awesome!

As it turned out, it was even better than awesome.

Not only had Bunny brought along a little basket of goodies for every child on the ward, but he had also, apparently, tailor made them to suit not only the child's personal preferences but also any and every medical limitation that they might possess.

Awestruck, Jack had asked him how he had managed such a thing and Bunny had thrown him an enigmatic smile and said that some things, the Easter Bunny just knew.

Absently, Jack had wondered aloud if there were any things that Jack Frost just knew and Bunny had tilted his head curiously at him and said, "I don't know, are there?" Then he had opened a tunnel to the Warren and summoned up one armful after another of perfectly arranged flowers.

As he'd done so, Jack had ruminated seriously upon his question but after a while of watching Bunny summon up bouquet after bouquet of flowers, he finally asked him why, if he could just summon things from the Warren, he bothered to carry anything at all.

Bunny had replied that in the first place; he couldn't just summon anything; it had to be something that was already located in one of the portals (which obviously the flowers had been) and that in the second; he only ever summoned that which he could not carry by himself and since he was more than capable of toting about a couple of baskets, he didn't bother placing them in the portals.

Also, he'd told Jack, in that sensible, matter-of-fact way that he had, that the flowers were far too delicate to risk traveling with, no matter how short the distance and so, he'd used the portals. At that Jack had merely shrugged, figuring that Bunny knew best and the two of them had set about the business of doling out the gifts.

To Jack's surprise, for as large as the hospital was, it didn't take them long. Not because there weren't many children to be found, because there were but rather because, while the hospital was indeed quite large, it was not, (unfortunately) very wealthy. As such, almost none but the most virulently contagious children were allotted a room to themselves. The rest were laid out on neat, bantam beds along the walls of a series of long thin rooms, with naught but a simple plastic curtain between them.

Thus, all Bunny and Jack had to do to; was work their way along the lengthy line of beds, matching up the residing child with their pre-prepared gift and taking care not to disturb the plastic barriers between them. It was simple enough work for two as nimble as Bunny and Jack and in no time at all there was a cheery basketful of candies and a dazzling bouquet of flowers lovingly deposited upon every bedside table.

It was, in Jack's opinion, a truly marvelous sight and as he swept his gaze across it, he couldn't help but notice how much livelier the somber spaces had become upon the addition of a splash of color and a token of regard.

Sadly, Jack wasn't given much time to admire their handiwork, for almost the very second that they were done; Bunny was pulling him insistently back down into the rabbit hole.

A bit put out by their hasty departure, Jack had been on the verge of complaining but, just as he was about to part his lips and declare the unfairness of it all, Bunny had hefted his great basket back upon his shoulder and announced that they had better get a move on because they had a lot more children to visit.

Instantly, Jack's irritation dissipated into thin air and like that, they were off.

They went to villages and cities, suburbs and metropolises, farms and towns and everything in between. They delivered children from uncertainties both physical and mental and they left more gifts than Jack could count.

For the children who wondered from where their next meal might come there were fresh loaves of bread; perfect, massive wheels of cheese, enormous baskets brimming with fresh fruits, vegetables, cereals and pastas and of course, a great heaping of exquisitely decorated hardboiled eggs.

For the unhappy and heartbroken there were baskets full of sweets and breathtaking bouquets of flowers. And for the terrified, despairing children who they had discovered wandering lost, further and further away from home, there were bread-crumb trails of chocolates and fleeting glimpses of a snow and silver cottontail which together, led them all the way back to safety.

Some of the children, Bunny had planned on visiting and others, like the frantic, doe-eyed, girl in Dallas, they had found through the wonderful application of sheer luck and superior Pooka hearing. Some were tall and some were short, some were rich and some were poor, and some were weak and some were strong. They came from every walk of life and each and every one of them was special and unique.

But no matter how different they all were, or how disparate their particular needs might have seemed there was one thing that they all had in common. Every single one of them, at that moment in their life, needed something to remind them that all was not lost. That they were not alone, that someone cared, and that no matter how bleak things might look today, there was always hope for tomorrow.

And Bunny, whose devotion to his charges was almost palpable, did, with his every act and gesture, his level best to show them precisely that. Even when his own obvious exhaustion had begun to take its toll and even when the dangers inherent in his work had reared their ugly heads. Even then his enthusiasm for his work had never waned and Jack could not deny that he was impressed.

It was one thing to bring gifts to a few children when you could soar through the air and go mostly unnoticed by all, as Jack could, but it was quite another thing to bring countless numbers of gifts to children whilst dealing with angry dogs, trigger happy farmers and apparently one's own debilitating exhaustion. But even when he was running headlong into a wolf infested forest, or dodging double barrels full of rock salt, Bunny's blazing avidity for his tasks never wavered.

He might have been yawning constantly and his words might have begun to slur somewhere around the second hour that they'd been out, but not once had he groused and not once had he pursued his tasks with anything less than the greatest of enthusiasm. Not when he had been forced to employ vicious full body shakes to dispel the encroaching fatigue and not when his almost preternatural grace had begun to deteriorate into an alarmingly uncharacteristic clumsiness.

Even then his enthusiasm had not been shaken and by that, Jack was impressed….and more than a little concerned. Because as awesome as it was to watch the big Pooka soldiering on so heroically, it could also never be denied that they were engaging in some fairly dangerous activities and should Bunnymund's focus or agility wander too far off the mark, he could really get hurt. And since Jack was not at all eager to spend the rest of his day pulling buckshot out of his friend's adorable little cottontail, he was more than a trifle relieved when Bunny had finally announced that they had but one more stop to make.

By then Bunny had looked about two steps away from collapsing but no matter how many times Jack asked him if everything was all right, the older Guardian would say little more than that he was 'a mite tired,' or some other equally vague and uninformative variation thereof.

Eventually, Jack began to get annoyed with Bunny's stubborn evasiveness and Bunny, with Jack's stubborn persistence. Not just because the nightmares were a slightly awkward subject but also because until Jack had brought up how tired Bunny seemed, Bunny had been doing a pretty decent job of forgetting about them for a while. However, the very second that the boy had begun to ask Bunny if he was doing all right, everything that Bunny had been pointedly ignoring came rushing back and he found himself struggling to keep his thoughts from descending into worry and dread.

And that was doing nothing for his mood. So, when he once again responded to Jack's inquiries with the clipped response of "I'm just a little tired," and Jack had rolled his eyes and snapped back an impressively venomous, "Well, obviously," Bunny had reacted no better and had instantly pinned Jack with a sharp, furious glare.

Almost at once, Jack had backed off. Not necessarily because he was actually afraid that Bunny might strike him or something but rather because he realized that such a belligerent approach would get him absolutely nowhere with Bunny. He was still concerned for his friend (and plenty annoyed with him) but if Jack had learned anything during these past few months; it was that if you wanted anything from Bunny, the best approach was almost always the earnest approach. Bunny didn't respond well to antagonism and he didn't respond well to sarcasm. So, after a couple of beats of a not quite comfortable silence, Jack tried a different tack.

This time, instead of pointing out how tired he seemed (which had seemed to annoy the Pooka), Jack had merely looked up at his friend and said, "I wasn't trying to be a brat and I get that maybe it's none of my business, but I was just worried, that's all, I thought maybe I could help."

Abruptly, the harsh line of Bunny's shoulders had dissolved and the fearsome scowl had melted into shamefaced guilt. Then with a deep, frustrated sigh, Bunnymund had tilted his head back and dug a clawed hand into the scruff of his neck.

"I'm sorry, Jackie," he said tiredly, "I didn't mean to snap. You were just being a mate and I almost took yer head off and….I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

Jack frowned and shrugged unconcernedly.

"It's all right. I was just worried that's all-I didn't mean to be a pest."

Bunny's shoulders sagged even more and he tilted his head slightly to catch Jack's eyes.

"No, it's not all right," he said sternly, "and you are not a pest; you've been a prince all night and you asked one question and I lost it. But I'm sorry, really, I just—I haven't been sleeping well and…I guess I'm just getting a little….crabby."

Jack smiled cautiously at the apology but peered curiously up at the weary features of his friend.

"Are you sure?" He asked carefully.

For a second, something like want flickered across Bunny's face and he looked just poised to say something important, but then, just as swiftly as it had come, the look went away and suddenly a tired and even remorseful smile was drifting across his features.

"Yeah, Jack," he breathed reluctantly, "I'm sure. Now come on, we've only got one more family to visit and then we're done for the night."

Intrigued by the brief and sudden flash of….something that had flitted over Bunny's features, Jack stayed rooted to the spot and stared curiously after Bunny for another moment or two. Then, with a shake of his head and a promise to himself that he would figure it all out eventually, Jack picked up his feet and trotted to catch up with Bunny, who, wishing to ameliorate any lingering hurt feelings; promptly snagged the back of Jack's hood and flipped it down playfully over his face.

Squawking indignantly but sincerely relieved to feel the heavy mood lifting away, Jack flipped the hood back down around his shoulders and as he looked up to find Bunny throwing him a contrite and conciliatory smile, he hip-checked the rabbit with as much force as he was able.

What followed was a stunning regression into adolescence for Bunny and a good bit of business as usual for Jack. There was good natured taunting and light-hearted shoving and by the time they arrived beneath their last stop of the night; the unpleasantness from a moment ago, and indeed the only black spot on an otherwise brilliant outing, seemed well put behind them.

Or at least it was for Jack.

The very moment that Bunny had looked down at him with that hopefully apologetic smile, he'd completely forgiven him of everything but Bunny, who was considerably better at holding a grudge when he thought someone had acted wrongly, was, in spite of his cheery demeanor, still stewing.

He couldn't believe that he had reacted so poorly to Jack's concern and he was positively ashamed of himself. Between insulting Sandy in the morning and snapping at Jack tonight, he was really batting a thousand and he just couldn't stop wondering what in the world was wrong with him.

Was he really this bad at dealing with people or was it just the situation? A part of him wanted to believe that it was the lack of sleep, the pounding headache and the overall stress but the better part of him argued that those were just excuses and that he knew damn well why he'd been mucking things up with people left and right; because he was terrible at admitting when he needed help.

And….there was something else. Something that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but that he knew must be there; something that he was forgetting or ignoring, something that for the life of him, he just couldn't figure out. It was confusing and infuriating and it was made all the worse by the disorientation of extreme fatigue. Not only was his head pounding, but his mind felt fuzzy and slow and like everything was underwater. It was taking everything he had to keep himself awake and alert and he just didn't have anything left with which to puzzle the mystery out.

But he did have a job to do and good friend beside him who didn't deserve to once again bear the brunt of his bad mood. So, instead of dwelling on it in the vain hope that his frazzled and burnt out mind could decipher what was going wrong, he deliberately put it to the back of his mind, promised himself he would suss it all out later and tried to allow himself to enjoy what was left of his night.

After all, he'd have all day to worry about his problems but only a little while longer to enjoy the very best part of his job; bringing a bit of hope to a child in need.

Or as it was in the case of the family who lived just above his current tunnel; three children.

A/N: Well, there it my lovelies! Hope you enjoyed it! I've been on holiday for a while and for me that means two things. One; that I've got a lot more time to write and two; that I have a lot more time to agonize over every little word, wallow in indecision and just generally do silly things like completely scrap thirty odd pages of a story because it just doesn't feel right.

It's a terrible habit, I know and I promise you that I and my lovely (and patient!) doctors are desperately working on it.

On the bright side however, I've really been trying to be more decisive, set deadlines and just let go a bit, so, fingers-crossed, I'll keep getting better.

Anywho, thanks to any and all of those kind souls who're still sticking with me and a happy hello to any and all new readers.

I hope y'all are doing well, and for those who are also on holiday; I hope you're resting and having a great time!

Also, I must give a shout out to Mists who very accurately anticipated exactly what the boys would get up to in this chapter. I must admit that I was on the fence about which kids they might visit here. I was actually going to cut quite a few of them from the chapter but Mists' suggestions made me decide to keep the ones I had originally planned, so in a very real way, Mists' suggestions helped inspire me greatly.

Next time: The boys' last stop.

BG:Thank you so very much for your kind review. I'm so glad that you're enjoying it and I just wanted to let you know how much your kind words meant to me. Thank you again-and, I'm glad you found the story too.

Mists: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As I'm sure you noticed, we think along very similar wavelengths. Thank you for the inspiration.