Prepare your feels! This chapter was really heartbreaking for me. Thank CatLunanoff for the idea for what Pitch tells Jack!
Emma, Pippa and Cupcake changed into their pajamas silently so they didn't wake Sophie and crawled into their beds. The three boys said nothing to each other, not knowing what to say. Jamie found his stuffed bunny on one of the beds and hugged it close, falling asleep with tears still streaming down his face. The twins didn't even tease him about it, both still trying not to cry.
The Guardians sat in the room. They wouldn't go to sleep, not yet.
"Your rooms are down the other hallway. Each has a name on it. Pitch, you are to leave the kids alone." she said and yawned.
"I'm going to bed." she said.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked. She looked run down.
"It takes a lot of energy, bringing people here like I did. That and the time travel it took to get Emma... I'm just a little tired. No fighting while I'm asleep." she said, and went into the only door without a name plate on it. The name plate had been removed. The door shut with a snap. The Guardians, Jack, and Pitch glared at each other
"How could you just kill someone like that?" Jack demanded.
"You know, Jack, those guardians are a little hypocritical. Angering at me for killing a spirit, when they almost murdered you." Pitch sneered.
"What?" Jack breathed, turning to look at the Guardians.
"What is he talking about?" he demanded.
"I don't know." Tooth whispered.
"They didn't even realize it. They're so narrow-minded, you see. If they don't have enough believers they fade away, Jack. What would have happened to you, had you taken their oath? When you don't even have one?" Pitch sneered. Jack inhaled sharply.
"I-Is that true?" he asked softly. They exchanged glances but didn't reply.
"So it is true?" he asked.
"We would have stopped it. Sandy could make kids believe through their dreams." Tooth said.
"Y-you almost killed me?" he asked, hurt pooling in his eyes. He backed away before darting into his room, closing the door sharply. The Guardians were too angry at Pitch to even speak. They walked to their rooms, closing the doors angrily. Pitch simply smirked.
Black sand came out from under one of the doors to twirl around his palm and he smiled.
He hadn't even cause Emma's nightmare.
"Jack?" jack opened his eyes to dim light coming from his doorway.
"Emma? What's wrong?" he asked.
"I had a bad dream." She said softly. He sat up and she walked forward slowly, a pillow clutched to her chest.
"Come on. I'll protect you. The bad dreams will be gone when you wake up." He said. She crawled into the bed and under the blanket, dropping her pillow onto the floor. She used his arm as her pillow, her back pressed against his stomach. He wrapped his other arm around her waist as she fell asleep.
"Night, Jack." She whispered, half asleep. He fell asleep before he could even respond, tiredness taking over.
Faith was the first to rise the next morning, bright eyed and ready to start the day. She coked breakfast.
The smell of food is what woke the children and the Guardians up. It was debatable that Pitch ever slept, but no one knew.
At first, Pippa and Cupcake panicked because Emma was gone.
"Here's breakfast. I'll go get Jack." She walked out of the dining room and opened jack's door.
Emma was cuddled up into his chest, a peaceful smile on her face. Jack was smiling in his sleep, his arms around her and his staff lying on the floor, just out of reach. She surpressed a giggle and brought a hand up to her mouth.
Tooth peered around her and awed softly at the pair. North chuckled and Bunny had to hide how the sight touched him. Sandy simply smiled.
"Go on, you four. I heard what Pitch said last night. I'll explain to Jack." Faith whispered, nudging them away. She opened the curtains, letting light into the room.
"Ugh. Five more minutes." Jack muttered, pulling Emma a little closer.
"Sorry, but we need to finish the movie and get these kids home Jack." Faith said. He opened his eyes and sat up, yawning. Emma blinked a few times and stretched, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"Morning, you two! Breakfast is in the dining room, but I need to talk with Jack first." Faith said. Emma nodded and left the room, a little unsteady as she was still tired.
"Jack, I know what Pitch told you last night…" Faith said.
"And?" he asked.
"It's true that you would have started fading. BUT they would have moved Heaven and Earth to get children to believe in you, to save you. They didn't know, how long do you think it's been since the last Guardian was appointed? They all had believers then too. No one without any has ever become a Guardian before, they had no idea. They made a mistake, but we all make those Jack. And they would have fixed it before you died. Do you understand?" Faith asked. He nodded.
"Yeah, I guess so." He said.
"Good. Now come on, I'm hungry." She said.
The Dining Room was a little crowded and a little tense. The kids' eyes were all red from crying but they were putting on brave faces and chatting with each other and the Guardians between bites. Jack sat down between Emma and Tooth.
"Jack, can you hand me the syrup?" Tooth asked. He nodded and handed it to her, smiling.
It escaped his notice she didn't have any pancakes on her plate.
"Alright, this is the last half of the movie. Well, it's a little less than half but there's a lot of drama." Faith said as she sat down. Instead of sitting next to him, Emma crawled up into Jack's lap. He didn't even comment, just wrapped his arms around her as if he was so used to it.
Well, he was. Not that he remembered, of course.
Faith gave the two a knowing smirk as she hit the 'play' button and restarted the movie.