Warnings: None

Rating: K+

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Character(s): Human!Jack + Rosie + Tooth + Sandy

Summary: Memories are supposed to be sweet and nostalgic; they're meant to give people hope in dire situations and desperate times. But sometimes, a trip down memory lane doesn't always end in smiles...

"Ready Sandy?"

The man nodded, biting his lip a little as he placed a hand gingerly over the tiny golden box, as though it might bite him.

"Okay... Well, now or never, I suppose."

And with that, the world went black as they plunged in to Rosie's memories.

They were in a forest. That was the first thing Sandy noticed.

It was very beautiful; the trees were the tall pines you usually got in Burgess, and they were spread all around the small clearing Tooth and Sandy had landed in. It was that odd time between night and day, the sun setting in the distance. How did he know it was setting? Well, he was the Sandman; he had to know about this kind of thing...

Somewhere to the Sandman's right, he heard the Fairy's voice. "Are you alright Sandy? Sometimes the transition from reality to memory can leave your brain a bit fuzzy-"

The man nodded quickly, holding up a hand to cut her off. For a moment, Tooth looked a little affronted; she was only trying to help...

She had been about to ask why Sandy had done that - but then she heard the sobbing.

Her violet eyes drifted over to a tree on the edge of the clearing. It was a massive oak, probably chopped down in the present day. Its trunk was at least twice as wide as North, and its roots seemed to stretch across the ground forever, like an endless spider web.

The sobbing seemed to be coming from the tangled roots, by the shadowed base of the tree. Confused, and maybe a little scared, she followed the Guardian of Dream's lead and fluttered over to peer behind the ancient tree.

A girl, about four or five was crying quietly as she leant against the tree, her head buried in her knees, surrounded by wild strands of chestnut hair, shoulders shaking. She kept murmuring stuttered words under her breath, but Tooth couldn't tell what she was saying.

A maternal instinct was suddenly very alive and kicking in the fairy. She wanted to go to the girl, stop her crying, and, subconsciously, she reached a hand out towards her...

"Rosie?!"

The fairy froze, and she and Sandy turned to where the voice had come from.

More desperate, the voice cut through the trees like a knife. "Rosie?! Rosie! ROSIE!"

As the voice became louder, Sandy could've sworn that he knew it from somewhere... It was rough, but an octave or two higher than the man knew it should have been...

Suddenly, it clicked, and he could've face-palmed for being so oblivious.

It was Jack! Who else would it be?

Except... He sounded younger. A lot younger, in fact.

Without warning, the bushes seemed to erupt and a boy, no older than twelve, burst through the foliage, tears running down his face, brown eyes scared and desperate. The two Guardians snapped around at the sound, squinting through the dark to see the new arrival.

It took a few seconds for the them to realize that it was Jack they were staring at.

He was at least a foot smaller than what they were used to, and his face was younger, a blotchy red from running so much. An unruly mop of dark brown hair sat on his head, blown everywhere from the wind howling through the trees. His feet were bare as ever, and around his shoulders was some sort of cloth, keeping him warm. Clutched in his hand was his shepherds crook, even more taller than him in the past.

"Is that...?"

Sandy nodded, answering the fairy's unspoken question, his mouth slightly agape.

It was Jack. A young Jack. A young Jack who wasn't a spirit and didn't even know the Guardians existed yet. Right here was proof that he had lived, he'd had a life before he had been pulled from a frozen lake, before he'd become Jack Frost.

They watched in mild shock as he too noticed the sobs, and practically flew over to the tree. Dropping his staff on the ground carelessly, he he leapt over the roots to his sister as fast as he could without falling flat on his face.

"Rosie!" He exclaimed, wrapping his arms tightly around her shaking form, pulling her close - Tooth felt a smile cross her face, squeezing Sandy's shoulder to make sure he was seeing what she was seeing.

Jack must have been a brilliant big brother.

But that only made his story even more heart-breaking.

"J-Jack?" The girl sniffled quietly, peeking out from under her hair, "Is that y-you?"

"Of course its me." He said softly, relief evident in his voice, "Don't ever ever do that again, you hear me?"

And he says we sound parental, thought Sandy with a smile, watching the children with warmth in his eyes and a sadness in his heart. He knew their bond was soon to be broken.

Rosie's voice broke the Guardian out of his reverie.

"But mom and dad-"

"That doesn't matter right now -" Jack interrupted her, his voice firm, "All that matters is you, running off near dark and not coming back," he stated softly, putting his chin on her head, eyes closing as he breathed in the fact that she was safe and sound. Thank God.

As the boy kept on talking, Sandy couldn't help but notice how he rocked slightly as he held his sister, "I was worried. You know what that's like?"

"I-I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't... didn't mean to." She stuttered out, looking guiltily up at her brother with startlingly similar brown eyes, "It's just... They were yelling and throwing things. I've... I've never seen them do that before..."

"I know, I know. It's... difficult to see," Jack said comfortingly, trying to choose the right words. He wasn't used to comforting people. He made them laugh, made them have fun; he didn't often see people sad.

But making people smile was his speciality. And that was what he was going to do: make her smile again. It hurt him to see her so shaken, and he was determined to change that.

And idea came in to his head, and he smiled to himself. "Rosie?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Ya know I'll never let anything happen to you, right?"

She gazed up at him, hair falling in her face, a slight smile curving across her lips, "Really?"

"Of course!" He said, enthusiasm clear in his voice as he began to lead her out of her hiding place. She took his hands and followed him out in to the clearing. Curious, Tooth and Sandy followed closely, eager to watch this version of Jack. Tooth wanted to note down every little detail and etch it in to her mind forever.

She, Sandy and Rosie watched with fascination as the boy swooped down to retrieve his staff, wielding it like a sword. He pointed it at some invisible foe to his left, a daredevil smirk carving itself on to his young face.

"I'll protect you from monsters and dragons," he proclaimed, leaping from left to right as though dodging giant claws, narrowly missing them. His sister giggled at how ridiculous her brother looked. Jack took this as a sign to keep going.

"I'll battle evil bandits to rescue you!"

He mimed battling with swords, feinting off to the side, rolling across the dirt covered ground with no regard for his clothes, before leaping up and jabbing thin air triumphantly, spinning to face his sister and taking a bow.

She laughed, her tears forgotten, and the two Guardians couldn't help but notice how Jack looked up from his bow at his sister. It was painfully obvious how much he'd wanted to make her laugh. But he wasn't done yet.

He rushed forward, gathering Rosie up in his arms as his staff was once again forgotten on the ground. She laughed even harder as Jack threw her up in the air, catching her bridal-style in his arms.

"And then I'd have to rescue you from the tallest tower, like a knight, jumping out of the window to get away from the jealous sorceress who imprisoned you!"

"Because of my beauty?" She asked, grinning like a madwoman, her small arms wrapped tightly around Jack's neck.

"Why else would a sorceress imprison a young girl?" He asked her, a genuine smile on his face. It seemed like he did that more often in the past than he did in the present, Sandy realised with a frown.

"So you'll always protect me from evil, brave night, forever and for always?"

"Yes my fair lady," he nodded, planting a kiss on her forehead, "I promise."

And then, the memory faded, falling away like dust floating in sunbeams. It streamed away until Sandy and Tooth were just floating in nothing but darkness.

Confusion lit up the Dream Giver's face, as he looked over at Tooth.

"Oh, don't worry Sandy," she said absently, her mind still on the events that she had just seen. "It's just the transition from memory to memory... sometimes it takes a while."

The man could hear clearly how far away Tooth was. He could see it to. Her usually alert eyes were misted over and far away, and her sharp movements had been replaced with slow ones, sluggish even.

But he had no time to ask what was wrong, as another memory formed around them. This time, they were just outside what looked like an old school house in the middle of a field. It looked like a miniature barn, and children were slowly trailing out of its doors. The school seemed to be closing.

"Just let me go home!"

The two Guardians spun around at the familiar voice, only to see Rosie once again. Older this time; at least seven years old.

Sandy tapped Tooth on the shoulder to grab her attention, before pointing her over to where the girl was, and together, they flew through the air to watch the memory play out before them.

She was trying walk home, but the dirt path was being blocked by two very mean looking boys, both with dirty faces and crooked smiles. The eldest of the three looked to be about thirteen years old, head covered in scruffy black hair, clothes torn and aged.

"Now, why would we ever do that, huh?" The eldest leered, sneering at the small girl's face threateningly. She stumbled backwards at the sudden movement, falling over as she stared up at the two.

Tooth clenched her fists, starting to flutter towards the two boys without really knowing what she was doing. Sandy had to grab the fairy's arm to stop her completely. He couldn't let her interfere with the memory.

"Why are you doing this to me, Joseph?" Rosie glared at the black haired boy, before staring in the other boy's direction, "Adam?" She asked again, desperation in her voice, "What have I ever done to either of you?"

"Nothin' yet," the one known as 'Adam' answered. He was shorter than Joseph, with scraggly dirty blonde hair and two chipped teeth, Tooth noticed with a scowl, "But imaging ole' Jackie boy's face when 'is sister comes 'ome with a few extra bruises, eh?"

"It'll get him back for what he did to Tom - teach him to mess with us again," Joseph grunted in his gravely voice, taking another step toward the girl. Her eyes widened, but she still tried to hold her chin up high, her fists shaking, from anger or fear - she wasn't quite sure which. But no matter what, she absolutely refused to cry.

"But, that - that was just a prank!" She defended, her gaze solid as she tried to scramble backwards, "He didn't mean to break your brother's arm-"

"Oh, shut it will ya?" Adam interrupted, his voice angry as he advanced forwards, grabbing her wrist roughly and pulling her up. He leant down to speak in her face, his rancid breath filling her nostrils, " 'E's been eyein' us lot up since the day we met 'im. 'E's just jealous that you're all poor and we're not."

Before she could hold her tongue, she retorted, "You're just scared of him! He's better than any of you will ever be!"

The outburst caused the amused smile of Joseph to drop completely. Fear flitted across the girl face as he stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. Automatically, she closed her eyes. She knew this was going to hurt. A lot, in fact.

She heard the boys laugh at her as she clenched her eyes shut, trying to prepare herself. The hand on her wrist tightened, and the laughter quietened down as the black haired boy took aim with a fist-

Except... it never hit its target.

There was a grunt, a yelp and the sound of a heavy wieght hitting the ground, and suddenly the boy's hand was ripped away from her wrist. She pulled away instinctively, falling back to the ground as she opened her eyes.

She couldn't even describe the wave of relief that washed over her as she saw Jack. He was there again, protecting her as always. She could count on him, even in the darkest of times.

But there was an anger in his eyes, she noticed, as he pinned the black haired boy against the ground with his foot on his chest.

Jack was at least fourteen now, his face more mature and his stature gradually becoming the skinny one of the Jack the Guardians knew. He'd apparently grown out of his old cloak, and had a new one tossed around his shoulders, just reaching his elbows. His hands were like large, extraordinarily pale spiders, clutching his staff tightly as he pointed it at Joseph's throat,.

But what struck Tooth the most about Jack's appearance here wasn't how different he looked - it was his eyes. They were cold, emotionless, even though they weren't their usual icy blue. And before she knew it, she was reminded of the ice figure from weeks ago, with its rock solid gaze and cold, unforgiving hands.

And, in all honesty, it scared her.

Behind the two boys, Adam gulped. Jack had just knocked both of them to the ground in five seconds flat without breaking a sweat. There was a lump on Adam's forehead from where the Jack had punched him, he was sure of it; the spreading pain only seemed to confirm the blonde boy's thoughts.

Deciding he didn't want to take a beating, especially not from a guy who was seven inches taller than him and a year and a half older, Adam scrambled up, before turning to try and make a run for it.

Out of the corner of his hazel eyes, Jack saw the movement of the coward. Almost as though it were second nature, the tall boy spun his staff over his shoulder and hooked the running boy around the legs, pulling so hard it knocked the him clean off of his feet. He fell to the ground with a thump, blonde hair swinging in his face as he looked up at his attacker with a surprised kind of terror in his eyes.

Jack paid him no heed, however, as he turned back to the black haired boy. He twirled the shepherds crook absently in his fingers, before pressing the curved end against Joseph's throat. The boy gulped, glancing between the crook and its' owner more times than he could count.

A thick blanket of silence fell over the two as Jack glared at the younger boy, who stared back up at him with scared eyes, heart beating so hard against his ribs that he thought it might burst from his chest.

Eventually, Jack uttered words that fell calmly from his lips, as sharp as knives and twice as deadly.

"You ever come near my sister again," he warned quietly, a boiling hot anger simmering beneath the surface of his voice, "You're gonna have a lot more than just bruises and broken bones to worry about."

Tooth and Sandy watched the scene in shock. Just when they thought Jack didn't have anymore surprises up his sleeved, he proved the wrong. Again.

A final glare was sent at Joseph, when finally the tall boy lifted up his foot, and like rats running from a cat, the two boys sprinted for the hills, promising themselves to never mess with the Overland family again. That Jack kid was crazy; mom was right. He was a danger to the village - a menace to society. Someone you should never approach.

As Jack watched the two brothers run, he let out a humourless laugh, spinning his staff absently in his hands, before he turned to face his sister, concern in his face.

She couldn't help but stare at him for a moment, as though seeing him in a completely new light.

He had been so... angry.

She'd hadn't ever seen him like that before; not once in seven years. And the most strange part was that he hadn't yelled or lost his temper once, yet somehow... somehow he'd been the most intimidating person she'd ever seen.

But she ran to him anyway. Like always.

And he gladly hugged her back, crouching down to encircle her in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder, never wanting to let him go. Not ever.

"You okay?" He whispered in to her hair, his voice hoarse. She nodded, and he sighed, gathering her up in her arms as he stood, his staff resting in the crook of his elbow.

"Let's go home, okay?" He asked her. Rosie nodded, her hands gripping his clothes tightly as he held her closely, beginning to walk barefoot down the path, glad to be going home. Sandy and Tooth followed, interest peaked; there was more to this memory than they'd assumed.

The siblings walked down the path in that pesky silence for a few more minutes, until Rosie began to speak once again.

"Jack?"

"Mmhmm?"

There was a pause as Rosie tried to figure out what to say.

"Don't... don't ever do that again, okay?"

Jack stopped dead in his tracks, nearly tripping over. He looked her in the face, brow furrowed in confusion, hair falling in to his eyes.

"Do... what?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

"Get..." She paused, biting her lip, "Get... angry."

His eyes widened a little, and then he finally saw it. Deep in her eyes when she looked at him.

She was frightened.

Of him.

Somewhere in his gut, it felt like something just... broke. Snapped clean in half, as though someone had severed it with an axe.

Feeling numb to his very fingertips, he crouched down for the second time that day, and put Rosie on the ground in front of him, placing a hand on her shoulder. She stared at her feet, wondering if she'd done something wrong.

"Rosie, look at me."

She did.

"I promised to protect you; you remember that? Two years ago?" He asked, placing a hand on the side of her face.

"I-I remember..." She answered, unsure.

"Well, I meant it," he said, trying to give what he hoped was an encouraging smile, "I still mean it. I'll keep protecting you 'till the day I die."

Sandy winced at the metaphor.

"And I'll never get angry at you, my fair lady."

The girl smiled after he said that, giving her brother a grin.

"So you remember that too, okay?" He asked her, pulling her close once again, "I'll never hurt you. Ever. And don't you forget it."

"I won't."

With that, the memory once again faded, and left Tooth and Sandy staring at the spot where Jack and Rosie had just vanished in to thin air, leaving nothing but dark space behind them.

Tooth had that faraway look again, and Sandy could've sworn she had tears in the corners of her eyes.

Floating over to her, a question mark formed over his head, his face concerned.

Looking up from her daze, she jumped as though she'd only just noticed the Sandman's presence. Her eyes drifted over to the question mark, before she looked him in the eye.

"Oh... It's just, well..." She paused, looking around as another memory slowly began forming around the two, "It must be so... difficult for him. Remembering all this and knowing he left them all behind. He... He cared for his sister so much. You just saw it for yourself," she added, her voice quiet, "And he hasn't said one thing about either. If I had known-"

"It's okay, it's okay. Don't look down - just, look at me."

Tooth stopped her talking as though she'd been stung by a wasp.

She and Sandy spun around to see Jack, the Jack that was the same age as theirs, standing on ice. Though a smile was on his face, it seemed false, and his eyes were panicked - Sandy could see the fear shining brightly in them, as if it had always been there, tucked away underneath the cheerful brown for all his life.

"Jack... I'm scared."

Both Guardians snapped around at the voice - Tooth was sure she'd get whiplash - and to their horror, they saw Rosie, ice skates on her feet, her eyes panicked.

With a gasp, Tooth pointed to Rosie's feet. Sandy looked down, only to see ice cracking beneath the blades, spreading around the girl like a deadly spider web..

Eyes wide, he looked back up at the girl, glancing between her and her big brother as the ice cracked even farther. Not many times was the small man put under stress, but this, plus the other memories he'd just witnessed...well, safe to say it made him uncomfortable at best.

From beside him, Tooth placed a hand over her mouth.

"Sandy..." She murmured, her voice shocked, "This... This is what Jack told me about," she turned to face him, her eyes wide, a single tear flowing from her eye.

"This... This is how Jack dies."

He could only stare up at her, mouth slightly agape, eyebrows raised as his heart seemed to beat out of time. She bit her lip, grasping the Sandman's hand tightly as she turned back to the memory.

"I know, I know, but you're... You're gonna be alright," Jack comforted his sister, trying to balance on the the thin ice without falling, "And you're not gonna fall in. Uhhh..." He hesitated, trying to find the right words to keep her calm, "...We're gonna have a little fun instead."

Sandy felt his stomach plummet at those words.

"No we're not!" Rosie argued, slipping on the ice.

"Would I trick you?" He asked, trying to make her calmer by speaking with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Yes, you always play tricks!"

"Oh, alright," he laughed, but his eyes still showed his how scared he was. Of all the situations he'd ever been in this was by far the worst. If anything happened to her...

He didn't know what he would do.

He knew if he stayed quiet for too long, Rosie would start panicking again.

"Well... Not -not this time, I promise, I promise." He said, sliding across the ice, "You're gonna be... You're gonna be fine. You..."

He paused, looking her in the eyes, his heart beating faster as the cracks became longer.

"You have to believe in me."

A broken sob escaped Tooth as she sank to the ground, hands over her face. Sandy stood next to her, rubbing circles on her back as he continued to watch the events unfold in front of him, like some sort of twisted play.

"You wanna play a game?" Jack said suddenly, a false enthusiasm in his voice, "We're gonna play hopscotch! Like we do every day. Its as easy as one..."

Sandy flinched in unison with Jack as the ice cracked beneath his foot, but he couldn't help the sad smile that formed on his lips as the boy pretended to slip, making his sister laugh one last time.

"Two..."

He took another step.

"Three!" Jack stopped on the thick ice, safe for the time being. He reached over and grabbed his staff; Sandy hadn't noticed it there before, lying on the ice. He was too concentrated on what was happening in front of his eyes.

"Alright... Now it's your turn..."

Unsure, Rosie took a step forward, gasping as the surface cracked beneath her.

"One -that's it, that's it - two,"

She took one last step, and suddenly Jack leapt forward, catching her around the waist with his crook and launching her across the ice, shouting "Three!" As she slid on the lake.

The momentum sent the boy flying backwards to where Rosie had been standing, and Sandy suddenly found it very hard to keep watching.

But Jack smiled, and so did Rosie, and for a moment, Sandy could believe everything would be alright for Jack. For a moment, the Dream Giver could believe that he would live on and have a family, and not spend three hundred years alone.

But that was only for a moment.

A sound that tore right through Sandy's ears rippled through the air, and Jack disappeared from view. Tooth could only sob harder as Rosie ran forward, yelling her brother's name.

"Jack!"

The girl fell to her knees, staring in to the dark depths of the water, tears beginning to fall down her face.

"Jack! Jack - stop it!" She yelled at the water, her hand pounding against the ice. She wouldn't believe it - it wasn't true. Jack was not dead. He promised. He promised he would protect her, forever and for always. He couldn't just leave her-

But he just had. He couldn't protect her, not now.

Jack was dead. Her brother. Her closest friend, the only one she could confide in, was dead.

Numb from both sadness and cold, she cried, hitting the ice half-heartedly, repeating the same thing over and over again.

"Jack... Come back... Jack, please... Please!"

He would though. He was always there for her.

Except now.

Who knows how long she sat there - it could've been anything from a minute to a week, but she didn't care.

Her Jack was gone.

And he wasn't coming back.

Oh my LORD that is the LONGEST oneshot I have ever written. 4375 words! OH MY PRETZELS.

Its one in the morning over here in England as I edit and type this, and I think my fingers have been reduced to stubs from typing so much. I can't wait to go to sleep ;_;

The next chapter will be the continuation of Sketchbook, then it's back to Jack and his awesome badassery and fighting skills! YAY! Not to mention, a couple other oneshots written from suggestions sent it by some readers. DOUBLE YAY!

*Also, please excuse any weird typos - I'm very, very tired.

Replies!

Sparkly Waffles: I'm not sure... If you reviewed as 'Guest' then yeah, because there was only one person labelled as 'Guest'. Thanks for reviewing ^_^

E: It's a lot stronger than MiM realises, that for sure :D

JustPlainOldMe: I now absolutely adore the songs 'Shadow Days', 'Echo' and 'Some Nights'. Thank you for being my personal Messiah; I don't know how I suvived without these songs o_o And high five for being drawing fanatics! :D

Snow FlowerFrost: You will indeed get to see them confronting Jack about the lake! :D and thank you for the review :3

Lovepuppy316: For someone who doesn't write, you have some pretty epic ideas. Now I have to try my hardest not to steal that idea -kekekekeke-

feathered moon wings: It's almost supernatural. I'm still not sure if I like it, but I keep going back to it so I it must be good :o

snowflake1814: You too? Don't worry, we can be 'No-Lifers' together -nod nod-

QuillOwl: Oh my gosh yes it does! I love Echo :D

Thanks to:

MartialArtsDancer

guest131297

Aunna

Eternal She-Wolf

Alaia Skyhawk