Chapter 28.
It was like Father Time himself was actively mocking them, slowing time itself down to a crawl around them. No sound was in the air. Not even the buzzing of the Mini-Fairy's wings could be heard by any of them. Their own breathing was completely silenced to their deaf ears, their entire focus zeroed on the pale man lying at their companion's feet.
Tooth, eyes wide and mouth gaping in a scream that seemed caught in her throat, kneeled at Pitch's side. Chest heaving, her hands shook as they hesitated in touching him, not knowing what to do.
A sob escaped her, her hands lying shakily on the Boogeyman's arm.
"Pitch…!" she rasped, unable to catch her breath, "Pitch, please…! Wake up!"
She shook him halfheartedly, as if not daring to hope and yet afraid of hurting him even more. No response was forthcoming from the Boogeyman. Tooth only felt her heart drop further into her gut as a single, thin stream of black blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.
He wasn't moving.
It didn't even look like he was breathing.
Tooth's vision swam, hot, fat tears cascading down her face as she stared at Pitch's motionless body. The clear droplets fell onto the Boogeyman's body, rolling down cold, pale skin. He lay undisturbed by the watery tears falling on his body, Tooth's body shaking.
"Pitch…oh god, Pitch!" Her hands were suddenly moving over his body, trying to stem the bleeding in his chest.
It wasn't working, her small, bare hands unable to stop the steady flow of black blood. She was too scared to touch the spear directly at its entrance and exit point, the blood nauseously warm and making her hands slip.
Panting, Tooth's wide, frantic eyes flew up to look at her equally wide-eyed colleagues. Throat closing up, Tooth took a deep, strangled breath and yelled,
"Help him!" she rasped.
Almost immediately, everyone leaped into action. North was suddenly beside her, tearing a strip of fabric out of his coat. Pressing a pair of fingers to the side of his neck, he found Pitch's pulse; it was weak and fleeting, dangerously so. He barked at Bunny to help hold the spear steady while he broke off the majority of its length on both ends. Using the torn fabric, he tied it around the remaining bits of the spear at Pitch's front, pressing the knot into the wound.
"Jack! Freeze spear in place!" he snapped.
Though hesitant, and looking quite nauseous, Jack did as he said as carefully as he could, freezing the spear at the exit and entrance areas to keep it steady. Once North was sure the Boogeyman would not be harmed any further by being jostled around, he picked him up bridal style and bellowed at Sandy to get them out of there.
The Sandman formed a large platform of Dreamsand, the others scrambling onto it as he raised it up towards the destroyed ceiling, Mini-Fairies trailing after them in a large, iridescent swarm. Sunlight immediately hit them, and Pitch moaned and hissed in North's arms.
"The sun…!" Tooth rasped.
Cursing, North quickly took off his coat and draped it over Pitch, blocking the sun's rays. Sandy immediately steered the platform for the sleigh down by the mountainside, the Guardians quickly scrambling off and boarding the sleigh. North dug into a velvet red bag in the driver's seat after setting Pitch in the back seat, producing a Snowglobe from it.
Barking their destination, he threw it against the mountain side, and snapped the reindeer into a quick gallop. They vanished into the portal, leaving behind a hoard of confused and frightened Mini-Fairies.
After that…Tooth honestly could not remember much of what happened after they virtually crash-landed into the Workshop.
She could recall in vague, surreal detail how North had yelled something to Phil in Russian, his large arms picking the Boogeyman up easily as he rushed for the infirmary. She and the others had followed him as he settled Pitch on his side in a cot, but no sooner turned on them and yelled for them to leave, all while snapping orders to the various medical Yeti in the infirmary.
Tooth could remember protesting, begging North to let her stay with him. But someone – Bunny she guessed – had to almost drag her out kicking and screaming. The Pooka had pushed everyone out of North's way, a Yeti slamming the door closed behind them and locking it.
After that, Tooth could not remember much – or how she ended up in the lounge just outside the infirmary. Night had long since fallen over them, an unknown amount of hours having passed since North whisked Pitch away to the infirmary. Everyone was silent, yet they vibrated with shock, confusion, and anxiety. A Yeti had brought them some drinks, but no one had the heart to so much as touch them. Even Sandy was refusing to touch his eggnog.
Everyone was worried and confused, trying to get some word out of the distraught Tooth Fairy. Was she okay? Was she hurt? Why had Pitch done that? But the fairy queen wasn't talking, refusing to take her eyes off the infirmary door. Her mind was racing, yet it was like she was watching a slide show going at full speed behind her eyes. She kept seeing Pitch leaping out in front of her, weak legs propelling him forward before he was impaled by the Monkey King.
She could see his wide, sulfuric eyes, pained yet determined. He seemed shocked at first, but no sooner his eyes burned with rage, and he spun to end the Monkey King's miserable life. And then she could see him slipping away, right in front of her, and she could do nothing.
A tear slid down her cheek, and she quickly reached up to wipe it away from her irritated, puffy eyes.
"You okay, Tooth?" Jack asked – though he did it more to get some word out of her. He knew she was not feeling alright.
She sighed shakily, "Yes…no…I don't know…" she said uncertainly.
Sandy gestured to her shoulder, expression concerned. Tooth reached out to touch her bandaged shoulder – a nurse Yeti had come by and tended to her, applying a plant-based salve to the wound that would absorb the iron in her blood. So far, it seemed to be working – her fever had gone down, and she didn't feel sick or pained anymore.
"Everything's gonna be fine now, Tooth," Bunny said, "That monstrous ape is gone now."
"But at what price?" Tooth rasped. Bunny frowned, Sandy stopping him from answering.
The fallen star formed various images over his head, Tooth blearily following them with an even blearier mind. But in the end she could only smile weakly at Sandy who offered her his own wide, gap-toothed grin.
He's going to be fine, he was saying, It's Pitch after all! We could never get rid of him, what chance does that monkey have of doing it?
Tooth let out a breathless chuckle, reaching up to touch her pendent. It had oddly escaped being bloodied by the end of the spear, avoiding any and all scratches or damage entirely. It made her wonder just what it was made of.
'It's going to be okay,' she thought, 'You'll ask him what it's made of, and he'll probably smirk and say something like, wouldn't you like to know, or something…'
And as if reading her mind, the door to infirmary opened and admitted a very tired North, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up and a black stained towel scrubbing at his hands. Tooth and the others sprung to their feet, the fairy queen rushing over to North in desperation.
"Is he okay?" she asked, almost afraid to know.
North sighed, shuffling over to an armchair. He slumped down heavily into it, folding up the small towel and tucking it into his pocket.
"He is fine now," he said, "But very, very weak. The spear just barely missed his heart. He is lucky it was made from his own element, otherwise the damage would have been much, much worse."
"But he's okay now?" Jack asked. North nodded.
"For now. It is best we keep watch over him," he said gravely, "He is in deep, deep sleep right now. He had a cracked rib, but it shall heal in time. Minor burns on his hands. As for his legs, they are very emaciated…"
"Emaciated?" Bunny asked with a raised brow.
"I suspect it was because he was in an unnatural form that did not use them the entire summer." North said with a shrug.
The others fell silent suddenly, as if unsure of what to say or do. But it did not last long, and Tooth soon spoke up meekly yet in determination.
"Can I see him…?" she asked.
North seemed to think for a moment. But after a beat, he nodded.
"You may," he said, "But he will not likely wake up. Not for some time."
Tooth nodded, flitting past the others and into the infirmary. The large room was overall empty aside from a single Yeti picking up used tools and dirtied rags. She valiantly ignored the bloodstained rags and tools, nausea dropping into the pit of her gut. Off to the left side of the room was the recovery room, and after a confirming nod from the Yeti, she quietly shuffled for its closed door. She hesitated, hand resting on the flat metal handle. A part of her was too scared to see what was on the other side – every horror she had seen in hospitals was crowding her mind like a hoard of angry bees. IV needles in arms, tubes down throats and noses, monitors hooked up to watch an unsteady heart and shaky breath, bandages wrapped around blood-stained wounds…
Tooth's eyes blurred with tears that refused to fall. She was almost amazed she could still even cry! She felt dried and drained out, her heart a heavy stone weight behind her ribs. Her stomach was in knots, the once pleasant butterflies that used to flutter inside her now replaced with thorny spiders and sticky webs.
And all of this, it could be made worse or better by the simple opening of a door…
Taking a deep, shaky breath. Tooth pushed the door open and looked inside.
She sighed in absolute relief.
The room didn't even look like a typical hospital room – it was warm, the floors not the sterile white tiles, but polished wood. Warm, cozy colors engulfed the room, a few modest Christmas decorations scattered tastefully throughout. A large fire was roaring in the fireplace in the back of the room, warming the room to a balmy, comforting temperature. The beds were not the typical white, plastic framed, wheeled beds. They were wooden, like beds straight out of a homey cabin in the woods. The only thing in the room that was white were the snow themed decorations and the white frosting of the cookies left by a single bedside.
The far wall was lined with five beds, each one divided by warm red curtains. But only one of them was occupied.
There were no tubes or machines or needles. There was, however, a single fluid IV stuck in the crook of the Boogeyman's right elbow, and a couple heavy, warm blankets draped over his thin form. He looked so out of place in the warm, Christmasy room, his pale body nearly clashing with the various colors and décor.
Breath catching, Tooth quietly closed the door behind her and tip-toed to the bedside, a chair having been placed by it. Tooth silently thanked North for his consideration, and took her seat at the Boogeyman's side.
Looking down at him, Tooth could feel the lead weight in her chest and the sickness in her gut receding. The shake in her hands now gone, she reached out and touched a pale cheek.
'He looks so peaceful…' she thought.
He truly looked like he was in a deep, undisturbed sleep. The frown lines that usually ruled his face were gone, leaving behind smooth skin and unblemished lines and angles. Her fingers gently ran over the hollow of his cheek, coming up to brush a thumb over a prominent cheek bone. His brows creased suddenly, and she moved her hand up to smooth away the lines distorting his brow.
No sound outside his soft, steady breathing escaped him. He was so quiet, like a sleeping ghost. Tooth almost didn't want to blink, afraid that any small second of absence from her would prompt him into spontaneously vanishing.
Tooth swallowed, her throat suddenly closing up on her again as her eyes wandered down to the Boogeyman's covered chest. She hesitated for a good two minutes before she carefully grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it down to Pitch's waist. She inhaled sharply.
The entire expanse of Pitch's chest was bound firmly in gauze. There was a barely noticeable, dark stain in the center, a few faint bruises marring the skin on his belly and arms. But other than those small injuries and his bound chest, Pitch did not look much different than his usual self. He was paler of course, but he hadn't changed much despite his power drain.
Tooth sighed, pulling the blanket back up his chest. Tucking it in around him, she sat back down in her chair and just watched him.
"Tooth?"
The fairy queen startled, veering around to see the other Guardians standing just at the foot of the bed. She hadn't even heard them come in.
It was North who had called her name, the Russian's expression concerned.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Tooth nodded, turning back to look at Pitch. The others did as well, simply watching the Boogeyman as he breathed. It was so odd; whenever any of them were this close to Pitch, he was usually trying to kill them. It was like watching a sleeping bear. It was surreal.
They had never once seen the Boogeyman look so…frail. Pitch had always been such a willful, powerful creature. It seemed like he could bounce back from anything. Nothing short of the end of the world could take him down. And yet a spear through the chest had put him in this state…
"It's so weird seeing him like this," Jack said quietly, as if afraid to raise his voice, "I've always thought he was this powerful, unbeatable guy."
"I thought that once, too," Tooth said softly, brushing a stray lock of hair off Pitch's forehead, "But he's not. If anything, he's just incredibly stubborn." She chuckled.
The others nodded, saying nothing for a long while.
"…what exactly were you thinking when you had him at your palace?" Bunny asked.
Tooth sighed, "I don't know. I guess I wasn't thinking. And it's not like he could just up and leave. He had no power, and nowhere to go."
"Still, he doesn't seem like the greatest house guest…" the Pooka muttered.
Tooth scowled, turning to look at Bunny.
"For your information, he was a wonderful guest. Yes, he was a bit of a jerk at first, but that was because I knew nothing about him," she said heatedly, "After we got used to each other and started talking, I learned so much about him! He's a good man; he's sweet, kind, and honest…"
She paused, refusing to look at the wide-eyed Guardians. She reached out and picked up Pitch's bandaged hand in her own, squeezing it gently. His palms were bound with gauze to cover the burns, his mildly burned fingers the only things uncovered. Yet despite the burns, they seemed too cold, lacking that feverish warmth she loved so much.
"He even befriended one of my fairies," she said, "He even gave her a name! And many of my other fairies love him. Despite what he's done in the past, he's never once hurt them while he was with me."
"Tooth, he nearly wiped out our very existence!" Bunny exclaimed.
"Because he was scared!" Tooth snapped, stunning the others, "He was terrified. We put him in a corner because we and Manny did not like what he was doing. And because of his own powers, powers he had no choice in having, he was punished! He virtually didn't have any other choice than to attack us if he wanted to survive!"
Bunny was staring at Tooth as if she had suddenly turned into something foul. Disbelief shone in his green eyes, his ears pinned back in open apprehension. The others were equally stunned, but did not appear as Tooth had slapped them.
"He attacked us because he was scared to die," Tooth hissed, "Who wouldn't be scared of dying? His very survival depended on what he did, just like us…but we took all of that away from him, because we didn't like what he was doing – because we didn't like what he was…"
She looked back down at Pitch, her expression softening. She gently stroked the back of his hand, twining her fingers with his own.
"And that wasn't fair of us," she said softly, "We came out of nowhere, and when we saw him, we assumed the worst…and we hurt him. And when we thought he was dead…we didn't even mourn! How could we just forget him so easily? He was only doing what he was born to do…and we punished him for it…"
No one said anything, too shocked to think of anything to say. But Tooth's words did not go unnoticed. As much as they did not want to admit it, she was right to a degree. They weren't sure if they could say Pitch was scared, but they could agree that he simply did not want to die; to fade away into nothingness.
Bunny scowled, clenching his fists, "We offered him a Guardianship more than once…"
"And why would he accept it?" Tooth snapped, "Why would he want to be a part of something that he despises, and that hates him back? Would you want to be a part of that? To be around people who loathe you for what you are and what you do? All because you want to keep a leash on them?"
Bunny did not answer, but it was clear what it would have been. To all of them. And North could not help but feel a wave of guilt wash over him as he recalled all the times he offered Pitch a Guardianship, suggesting he 'tone down' what he did. He had asked Pitch to change, to adjust to what they did. He never once considered that Pitch probably couldn't. It wasn't fair of him to expect Pitch to change for them – what had they ever done for him? They took everything away from him. And he had expected Pitch to feel honored by the proposition?
Tooth suddenly sighed, her wings limp against her back.
"I want to be alone with him…" she said quietly.
"Tooth, I don't think that's-"
"Go." Tooth snapped before Bunny could finish.
The Pooka scowled, but a hand on his shoulder from North stopped him from saying or doing anything. The Russian gave one last look to Tooth before ushering the others out.
"We will give you time, Toothy," he said, "Come get us if you need anything."
He suddenly paused, reaching into his pants pocket.
"Ah, almost forgot. We had to take this off when we removed the spear…" he said, pulling his hand out and handing Pitch's necklace to Tooth.
Blinking, Tooth stared at it in surprise as North ushered everyone out. The door closed behind them with a quiet click. And once they were gone, Tooth slumped, her hand clutching the pendent tightly. She sighed shakily, her chest tight as she looked at Pitch. She squeezed his hand, biting her lip.
She seemed to make up her mind about something, as she was suddenly out of her seat and crawling in beside Pitch, snuggling into his side and draping his arm over her waist. Gently, she laid her head on his shoulder, feeling a sense of relief as she listened to his steady heartbeat. Clutching both her pendent and his necklace, she snuggled down further against him, eyes watering.
"I'm so sorry, Pitch…" she rasped.
Sniffling, she tucked her head under his chin, shutting her eyes with a quiet sigh. She was asleep within minutes.
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