A/N: For those of you who have been waiting patiently, here's the next update! I'll have to update one per week until Finals are over (first full week of May), but that's okay because I have just enough written to get me to that point. Then I'll have to crank out umpteen chapters by the week so that you guys can have two chapters a week in all of my stories (internally freaking out). Thankfully, I have had the plot set in stone for awhile for all my stories, so I don't think it'll be too difficult.

Please read, review, and enjoy! :)

Chapter 21 - Walking on Egg Shells

Jack and Tooth flew back to the North Pole as fast as the wind could carry them. Of course, Tooth had wings that flew much faster, but she preferred to keep to Jack's speed. Jack, on the other hand, didn't feel like conversing much. Tooth had put a dangerous theory in his mind, and he wasn't sure if he would believe it. Even if it turned out to be true, how could Cinder be at fault? Pitch was controlling her through fearlings. That much was clear. But was it before or after this incident, or had she always been infected? How much control does she have over herself? Jack couldn't think of easy answers. He knew that Cinder cared for Jamie and Sophie, enough to nearly get herself killed in the rescuing process. Hopefully, they were all back home and safe. As soon as he possibly could, Jack set his heart on confronting Cinder once her "job" with the Bennett household was done. At least then, anything tying her to the place that Jack swore to protect most of all would be gone. He could talk to her without any worry that she might hide the truth, if she was doing so.

Or at least, Jack thought he could be objective about it. In truth, he still regarded her as a friend and wanted to keep it that way, almost to a fault.

The Guardians were in an uproar when Tooth told them about her theory. Jack rolled his eyes as she repeated it back to North, Sandy, and Bunny in rapid succession and the return of a thousand questions presented themselves. He could admit that the fearlings were a very real possibility, but the rest was blown out of proportion, he was sure. If Jack hadn't told Tooth about Cinder's missing case and her broken eye, they wouldn't have anything to go on. Besides, it could have been anyone that tried to burn down the Tooth Palace. Just because Cinder had been there to get her teeth didn't mean she had freaking fire powers for Moon's sake. Of course, no one would believe Jack's version after hearing Tooth's; tunnel vision ran rampant throughout the Guardians' minds.

"Is fearlings!" North cursed. "I did not think to check. She was passed out cold when Jack brought her here."

"That's what I'm saying!" Tooth exasperated. "Pitch must have found a weak point and flooded her with the scary little things!"

"Then why would he need her choppahs?" Bunny asked, not completely understanding Tooth's logic. Jack silently agreed with him.

"It must be so he can control her!" Tooth was changing her theory again.

"Is that not what fearlings are for?" North caught it.

"An' didn' you say she was the one to steal her own choppahs?" asked Bunny.

"Pitch must have bargained with her. You know, Jamie for her tooth case," Tooth clarified.

"But why would she do that if she wasn' bein' controlled yet?" Bunny instigated.

"Gee," Jack spoke up from his perch on top of the Globe, "maybe it's because she actually cared about Jamie enough to save him for us." Jack's voice was filled with bitterness.

"Lay off the salt, Frostbite," Bunny snapped.

Jack rolled his eyes and continued to half-listen to their conversation. At this stage in his relationship to the Guardians, he recognized exactly when nothing was going to get done about anything. Merely arguing for hours, they wasted their time instead of paying attention to the kids. Sure, Jack taught them that being close to the kids mattered, but did they truly take the advice? Doubt laughed in his mind. If they ever decided what to do about Cinder, another three hundred years would have passed.

"All in vote to bring the sheila in fo' questionin', say 'aye,'" Bunny's voice pierced Jack's consciousness. He spoke too soon.

'Aye' was heard unanimous, even Sandy had his hand raised. Jack couldn't believe it, but he could use it to his advantage.

"I'll go get her," Jack stood up, ready to jump out of the window.

"Oh, no you don't," Bunny jumped up and grabbed Jack's feet, pulling him down to the ground, level with the rest of them. "We ain't sendin' you on anymore scout missions."

"What are you talking about? She's not going to listen to any of you," Jack pointed his staff at Bunny's gut, knowing well the silent threat was received. "Why can't I go and get her?"

"Jack," Tooth spoke apologetically, "you're the only one with doubts. We just don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Cinder won't go with you!" Jack insisted. "She still has to watch Jamie and Sophie for a few more nights. Can't you guys wait until then, at least? Or are you forgetting what she did for us?"

"Look, Jack," North put his hand on Jack's shoulder, but he shook it away. This trick wasn't going to work again. "Cinder is key to finding out what Pitch is doing. We have to get to her before Pitch does. Think of it as protection for her and kids."

"Interrogating the girl is your idea of protection?" Jack asked incredulously. "Come on, she'd see right through that. Don't you know her at all?"

"We've met her like, twice, mate," Bunny informed him. "Are you sayin' you know her any better?"

Jack admitted he knew very little and swore under his breath. "But I can at least watch over the house in the meantime, can't I?"

"Not alone, no," North looked around for volunteers. All of the Guardians suddenly looked away and it felt like Jack was punched in the stomach. Were they really and completely against him? Even Tooth? Then Sandy looked to Jack and walked forward. Standing beside the winter spirit, Sandy turned to North and signed an arrow point to him, then to Jack, and then a picture of Burgess.

"Are you sure, Sandy?" North asked the older Guardian. When Sandy nodded, North sighed. "Alright, go. But if anything happens, you bring girl here! Do not interact with her until then!" North pointed to the ground.

Sandy nodded and Jack whispered a word of thanks to the golden Guardian. North handed over some globe portals and told them to check back in twenty-four hours. Jack narrowed his eyes but didn't object. Calling to the wind, he floated out of the Workshop and waited for the Sandman to fly up on his sand cloud. Once ready, Jack tossed a portal and they went through it.

Happening upon a lazy Saturday afternoon in Burgess, Jack and Sandy floated just above the forest's tree line on the edge of town. Jamie's house was closer to this side of town, which made this spot the best place to wait. There was something wrong with this plan, however: Jack hated to wait.

Right then, he balanced on a branch that should have been way too small to support his weight. He tossed his staff onto his head so that he had an extra object to balance besides himself. It was one trick Jack hadn't been able to do yet. Slowly moving his head in a circle, he tried to counterbalance the direction which the staff was falling. The movements were haphazard at first, but Jack was able to slow it down. The key was to become very still, very slowly. Patience was not normally his favorite virtue, but in a situation where he had a job that took awhile, it became an excellent pass time. This time, though, he had it. He was balancing it in a fairly still manner until golden sand out of the corner of his eye made him jerk his head around, causing his staff to fall. Catching it before it fell to the ground far below, he yelled indignantly in the direction of the sand. Upon looking that way, however, Jack saw that Sandy wasn't there. He twisted around, not seeing Sandy anywhere.

He was about to fly up and search him out until a golden lasso ensnared his waist and sucked him below the tops of the trees. Falling into his own snow, he had to fly to get out of the impression his body made. Jack admired Sandy's strength, but when he saw the golden man's silent giggle fit, Jack couldn't help sneering playfully.

"Really funny, big guy," Jack joked. He was about to return the favor when Sandy pointed toward the house up the hill. Jack realized Sandy had brought them down here because a girl was walking up to the house at that same moment. Instantly recognizing Pippa, Jack feared that she might get dragged into the entire situation if she saw Jamie as he was currently. Jack didn't want to put more kids in danger. He was about to walk out of the bare foliage and stop her when Sandy held up his hand and wagged his finger. He then sculpted a pair of binoculars out of his golden sand and looked back toward the house. Obliging, Jack crouched and observed.

It was Cinder who opened the door, and a pang of guilt resounded inside Jack when he saw her, still wearing the eye patch. She looked disheveled and out-of-place, tired and anxious. He hoped that she would turn Pippa away, for all of their sakes'. To Jack's dismay, Cinder opened the door wider and allowed Pippa into the house. He wanted to see what was happening, but the fence in front of the house hid the windows mostly from view.

"I'm going up there," Jack was itching to get a closer look. Sandy nodded, but held a finger to his lips and signaled a person tiptoeing above his head. Jack understood and ran up to the edge of the fence instead of flying. If there was any chance that they were going to be seen, Jack wanted to minimize it. As much as he was in disagreement with the Guardians currently, he comprehended the necessity to stay low. Talking with Cinder would have to wait until he could prove her innocence. Jack didn't know how he was going to do that, but he was confident that he'd find a way.

Jack peered over the fence just in time to see Cinder leaving the house. He gasped and hid himself behind the fence again. Where was she going? Jack closed one eye and looked through a hole in the fence that he discovered upon hiding. Cinder was walking in his direction and Jack began to sweat. However, Jack saw that she was only wearing jeans and a tee, without a jacket. He noticed that she was overtly shivering, and she ran back in the house after a few seconds. Jack chuckled. Does she have any heat left in her body? The thought was a half-joke, but also partially serious. Cinder came out a few seconds later, wearing Jamie's winter jacket. It fit her amusingly well, and she writhed underneath it. Jack wondered if it was the first time she'd ever worn such an article.

Jack ran around the corner of the fence and watched Cinder plod down to the sidewalk and up the road, away from him. Glancing in Sandy's direction, Jack pointed to himself and then to Cinder. Then he pointed to the Sandman and the house. With Sandy's nod, Jack followed Cinder from a safe distance in the air. He wasn't concerned about anyone else seeing him, he was just trying to keep out of Cinder's awareness. Jack wasn't sure if Cinder was conscious of this action, but he saw her look around occasionally, as if searching someone out. But she never looked in his direction. Did she know he was following her? Was she still angry at him? Probably.

Then Jack heard a little kid's voice and promptly flew down to the ground and hid behind a mailbox. This is ridiculous, I wanted to be seen for so long, and now I've got to hide from my own believers! Jack looked around the container and saw Sophie hugging Cinder with the kind of affection Jack remembered between his own sister and himself. A smile formed on his lips at the memory. He sat back and allowed them to flood through his mind. It had been awhile since he'd thought about and focused on his old family and the good memories. The past few days had ruined that for him and seeing Cinder and Sophie made Jack feel better.

Sophie's shriek caught Jack's attention and he ran around the corner of the street. He saw that Sophie had fallen into the road and a large truck was coming her way. Jack was about to run out and grab her when he saw Cinder do the same in the blink of an eye. For fear of being seen, Jack hid behind a parked car a few feet from them. Her heard Sophie's tears and Cinder's reprimands and wished he could have been there to alleviate both troubles. But Cinder handled it surprisingly well and Jack saw that they had picked up their travelling again. He walked behind them, careful not to make a noise.

Sophie was skipping and spinning and talking and giggling while Cinder laughed intermittently and smiled back at the little blond girl. The quiet complementary relationship between them had Jack thinking about his sister again. She had always followed him in the same way that Sophie was following Cinder, and Sophie acted much like Jack's sister. Jack hoped that his sister was still able to smile and have fun after he left their world, then he remembered his nightmare last night and frowned. It was just a dream, but for some reason, Jack couldn't shake the feeling that his reflection was telling him the truth: the house fire was real and his sister being in that fire was real. The thoughts made him woozy, and by the time he put himself back together again, he narrowly avoided colliding into Cinder. Panicking, he flew high into the air. Cinder turned around in time to see nothing, but Jack knew that she had felt something. Swearing under his breath, Jack felt stupid for almost ruining everything. That seemed to be a familiar pattern for him, he thought bitterly.

Jack immediately flew back to where Sandy was waiting. A disappointed look was painted on the Guardian's face, and Jack hung his head in embarrassment. He recapped what he'd seen, though, especially the part where Cinder saved Sophie from getting hit. Sandy took the news in with slow nods, deep in contemplation. Flitting his glance to the house and back to Jack, Sandy signaled a star's light, a plus sign, Pippa's face, and a pair of lips, followed with a giggle from the golden Guardian. It took Jack a second to realize what Sandy was talking about. Then it hit him: Jamie and Pippa had kissed. Jack was upset that he missed it, but at least it was a sign that Jamie was returning to his normal self. And he could totally pick on the teenager when times were more appropriate.

A few hours later, something strange happened. Cinder left the house again, but this time more cautiously. Nothing had really happened until just then, and Cinder's face betrayed her emotions. Above all, Jack could tell that she was freezing despite wearing what had now become several jackets. Jack told the Sandman that he was going to follow her again when the older Guardian created a giant stop sign in front of Jack's path. It was time to switch, and that meant Jack had to stay still and watch the house. Realizing he wasn't getting out of this, Jack sat in a snow bank he created and stuck his tongue out at Sandy as he flew off on a sand cloud.

When Sandy returned, his features were both brightened and concerned.

"What happened, Sandy?" Jack watched as Cinder walked up to the house, a brown bag gripped tightly in her left hand. Instantly, Jack knew what she had gone out to get.

"Are you kidding me?" Jack was fed up with Cinder's unpredictable behavior. "If she gets drunk, I am not carrying her back to bed again."

The Sandman furrowed his brows at the winter spirit and three question marks accompanied the look. Jack realized it sounded different than he intended.

"It's not like that," Jack insisted first and foremost. "The night I was watching over Jamie, Cinder got drunk in a tree and I had to carry her back to her bed. It wasn't pleasant."

But Sandy was still quizzical. Then he signed a spirit, a bottle of alcohol, and a cancel sign. When Jack didn't understand, Sandy signed it again, then pointed to Cinder and put a cancel sign over the spirit.

"Spirits can't get drunk?" Jack asked and Sandy nodded immediately.

"Which means..." Jack started to put it together, "it means Cinder's not a spirit!" Sandy nodded, a smile on his face.

"That's amazing! Cinder's clear of suspicion, then!"

Sandy frowned.

Jack thought it through and shut his mouth. The Guardians wouldn't change their minds that quickly. It was no longer a matter of whether or not she was a spirit. It was if she was in conscious control of herself or if Pitch had her wrapped around his finger, and for how long this has been occurring. Closing his eyes in defeat, Jack sank back into the snow.

But wait. This was his chance... wasn't it?

"I'm going to go talk to her," Jack stood up and started to cross the road when Sandy popped up in front of him. He signed that they weren't allowed to intervene until Cinder's job was done.

"I can't just let her drink all of that, and I know she'll try. It bothers me for some reason," Jack muttered vaguely, to which Sandy mulled over briefly. Finally nodding slowly, Sandy stepped aside and signaled Jack to be careful.

Jack walked up to the door and contemplated knocking. Deciding it would be best if he just walked in─ he didn't want to wake Abby or the kids─ Jack opened the door slowly. Once inside, he saw Cinder sitting on one side of the kitchen island, her head low and her hands grasping something he couldn't see. She didn't respond to him entering, so he took it to mean she was expecting him. Jack took his seat across from her, knowing Sandy could see into the kitchen from here. He didn't attempt to speak because she seemed to be deep in thought. The bottle was already open and a shot glass was in her hand, resting on the table. Jack wanted to smack it out of her hand, but he wasn't sure why the impulse was so strong. It was so strong that he was about to swing his arm, when Cinder's voice came out small and lyrical:

"I don't know where you're going
But do you got room for one more
Troubled soul?
I don't know where I'm going
But I don't think I'm coming home
And I said I'll check in tomorrow
If I don't wake up dead
This is the road to ruin
And we're starting at the end"

"Cheerful," Jack commented, his voice suddenly loud in the quiet atmosphere of the kitchen.

"It was an invitation," Cinder slid the shot glass toward him without picking up her head. "Since I can't ever drink alone, it seems."

"You got yourself stuck in a tree last time," Jack reminded her.

Cinder's shoulders shrugged lazily. The awkwardness in the air caused Jack to sigh dramatically.

"You have a... nice voice," Jack tried to get her to open up through the compliment.

Cinder hummed in acknowledgement. "Right," she said, not believing Jack in the slightest. He wasn't lying, necessarily. Her voice was pretty in a rough, natural way, but it wasn't very good at singing. Without precursor, she tipped the bottle back and took several gulps before Jack confiscated the entire bottle, spilling some on the floor.

"What the hell?" Cinder said after coughing. "That's alcohol abuse," she pointed to the spilled alcohol, "and I gave you your own glass."

"How gracious," Jack's sarcasm was as bad as Cinder's in the moment, "but I think what you're trying to do is what's called alcohol abuse."

Cinder scoffed and reached out for the shot glass in front of Jack. "Suit yourself."

Jack smacked her hand. They both winced and halted instantly, expecting the shock, the flash, the pain. When nothing occurred, Cinder tried again. This time Jack grasped her wrist and held it down. It was small and frail, yet smooth and gentle. And eerily cold. Surely a fire spirit wouldn't feel like this? "What do you think you're doing?" he asked louder than he intended.

"I have to drink, like, three-quarters of the bottle before their mom comes home, since I drank the last of her other bottle. It'll be like nothing was missing."

"You've got a few days, don't you? Besides, why don't you just pour it down the sink?"

"Again," Cinder tried to rip her hand free of Jack's icy grip to no avail, "that's alcohol abuse. Could you let go of my hand, please? It's freezing."

"Always has been," Jack let go solemnly.

"Well, worse than normal," Cinder got up and grabbed her sweater. She put it on and cleaned up the alcohol on the floor beside Jack. "So what are you doing here?"

Jack bit his lip and tried to think through his responses. He wanted to stop her from drinking. That had been the main thing. But now that he was with her, all the other questions he'd wanted to ask had vanished. Then they heard slight footfalls coming closer. Cinder shot up and hid the whiskey in a cabinet by her feet and sat down again. In through the doorway came a very sleepy Sophie.

Cinder's entire body suddenly softened. As she walked over and knelt beside her, she asked, "What are you doing up, Soph?"

The little blond girl rubbed her eyes and blinked at Cinder's closeness. "I wanted to sleep in your room, but you were gone. I thought you had left us and that mommy was back."

"Wouldn't you be happy that your mommy came back?" Cinder's entire demeanor had changed, and Jack sat still in order to observe, hidden from Sophie's view.

"Yeah," Sophie whimpered, "but I don't want you to leave, Cinder. I want you to stay." Her voice made Jack feel horrible about what the Guardians were planning.

"Oh, Hun," Cinder took the girl into a hug, and Jack was again surprised. He didn't know Sophie had grown so attached to Cinder, or vice versa. "I'll see if your mommy can keep me here, okay?"

"Really?" Sophie seemed to brighten up considerably.

"Mhm," Cinder nodded, "but you have to go back to bed, or your mom might think I'm not a good babysitter." Jack was unsure Cinder would be able to keep that promise.

"You're not a babysitter, Cinder, you're like my sister," Sophie stated with complete innocence. Jack saw Cinder shiver, and he guessed that she may have had tears forming in her eyes. "But okay. Goodnight," Sophie added as she plodded back up the stairs.

When they heard Sophie's door close, Cinder sat down with her head in her hands. After awhile, she looked at Jack with the most sincere green eye (since the eye patch was still securely over her injured one) he'd ever seen. "Jack, how long do I have?"

"What?"

"I know the Guardians have me under suspicion," Cinder admitted, "and I figure they'll want to talk to me. So how long do I have?"

"You were listening in on us?" Jack asked incredulously. North had said she was close to dying and passed out for so long that there was no way she'd even be on her feet as soon as she was, but she was actually awake and listening to them discussing her?

"I needed to make sure Jamie was okay," Cinder explained, "it's my job."

"You take it pretty seriously," Jack commented.

Cinder huffed a sort of small laugh. "Yeah, I guess I do." Was she smiling? "So are you going to take me away when the time comes?"

"We─ I was just ordered to watch over the house until their mom came home. That way it wouldn't be as bad for the kids," Jack almost slipped up in mentioning that Sandy was also watching.

"How gracious," Cinder imitated him, at which Jack smirked. "Listen, their mom called. She's coming home tomorrow night. So after they dismiss me, I'll go with you."

"Why are you giving in?"

"Giving in? I'm not guilty," Cinder clarified, not that it really cleared anything in Jack's mind. "I just figured I should clear my name with them. If anything, I just have a question for you."

"Go for it," Jack tilted his head in interest.

Cinder licked her lips and inhaled. "What happened? I mean, when you were human. How'd you become a spirit?"

Jack was taken aback by the question. "What made you think about that?" There was no way in his mind that he thought she was about to confess to being a spirit. Jack knew that she wasn't one now. Unless, was she trying to lie? But to Sophie and Jamie and everyone else that could see her, she was clearly human. So was she a human lying about being a spirit lying about being a human? Or a spirit lying about being a human, but also somehow able to keep a human guise? Jack's head started to spin.

"The first time you were here, you talked about being human once and regaining your memories from that time. I was just wondering, I guess. Whatever happened, it made you a Guardian, right?"

"You're not wrong," Jack smiled nervously. "I, ah... I had a family, a mother and a sister, actually. I don't know about my father. And, well, I was skating with my sister one day, and she skated over some thin ice. I hooked her with my staff here," Jack held up his staff that he almost never let go of, "and I switched places with her. I fell through, and..." Jack hadn't retold this story in four years, when he told the other Guardians just after getting rid of Pitch. His throat was starting to swell, and if he wasn't careful, it would wash over him anew. "Well, you can guess the rest."

"Oh my God..." Cinder's voice failed her and she looked painfully distraught, "so, that day I went skating with you and Sophie and my foot went through?"

Thinking back to that event, Jack closed his eyes and tried to breathe normally. When Cinder fell through... Jack had been in such a panic that he hadn't thought about it at first. But now, Jack realized he had been scared. He hadn't shown it, but he was scared to see Cinder literally falling into the same situation that killed him three hundred years ago. "It wasn't a pleasant revisit," Jack affirmed grimly.

Cinder took another swig from the bottle that she had deftly taken out of its hiding spot before Jack could react. "I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't know." Her voice was becoming hoarse and her breath smelled less than wonderful.

"It wasn't your fault," Jack ignored the action.

Cinder nodded thoughtfully and they fell into silence again. "If you don't want me to get shitfaced, can you at least help me drink some of it? She probably doesn't even know how much she had left."

Jack's eyes moved toward the bottle. It wouldn't hurt him because spirits couldn't get drunk, probably because they were dead to begin with, but what was Sandy going to think? Surely he was still watching their conversation. And who knows what the golden Guardian would do if he saw Jack participating in the very act he said he was trying to stop? "Alright... but only if I can get some answers as well." That would explain things to Sandy, wouldn't it?

"Be my guest," Cinder tipped the bottle toward him. In Jack's entire life─ human and spirit─ he'd never drank before. Taking the bottle, he lifted it to his lips and took a sip. It was so bitter and strong that Jack nearly spat it out. It was disgusting, repulsive, and it burned his throat thoroughly. It would be a huge surprise if he was even able to speak at all.

After a fit of coughing, Jack began. "Why'd Pitch want your teeth?"

"How should I know?" She grabbed the bottle from him and took an expert gulp from the bottle and set it down quickly, as if demonstrating how Jack was doing it wrong. "I just knew if I got him the teeth, then he'd release Jamie."

"So, what about your scar? I thought he wanted to kill you or something."

"You know," Cinder thought about it, "I don't know why he didn't just kill me. Perhaps having my teeth is worse?"

"It's far worse," Jack answered, "Pitch could destroy them and you'd never have your childhood memories to rely on. Eventually, you'd forget who you were before."

Cinder's eyes grew wide. "What?" Her voice was a little louder than Jack had anticipated, and he shrunk away from her. Apologizing, she passed the bottle to him and he tried to take a swig the same way that she had. The result was a second, intense burning in his throat and now a burning in his nose. How strong was this stuff, anyway? Turning the bottle over, he read something that said, "120 Proof." Jack didn't know what it meant, but it can't have been a low quantity.

"Yeah, but you're pretty much an adult, so I doubt it'll matter much if he destroys them now," Jack explained, "the memories are pretty set in your mind."

Expecting an answer but receiving none, Jack leaned his head in to see that Cinder was to the point of tears. Shocked, Jack walked around to her side and knelt down to see her face better. Her eye was closed, and she was scratching at the eye patch. A small, imperceptible tear shot down her cheek and rested underneath her chin. A few more followed and joined the original tear, forming a larger tear that dripped down onto her lap. The loud silence with which she lost control of her emotions was heart wrenching. Jack wasn't sure why she was crying, but he decided to kneel beside her in companionable silence, waiting for her to build her strength to answer.

Her sniffles disrupted the silence and Jack heard her clear her throat. She spoke weakly, "I don't remember my childhood, Jack."

A/N: The song used is "Alone Together" by Fall Out Boy. I'm surprised that I've used two songs in one fic. Normally, I wouldn't use any.

Anyway, sorry that my other fics (if you read any of them besides this one) haven't gotten any updates in awhile. School and stuff, you know? I promise I'll get them updated as soon as I can!