Chapter Fourteen

The Reaper huffed in disappointment as he shadow jumped into their room. Jack wasn't there. Their room looked fairly untouched. He noticed their big fluffy blanket was missing from the bed. He knew North had taken it to the winter spirit when he was still out from the surgery.

The Canadian turned and stepped back through the shadow. Shadow jumping was easier than walking. It took some magic energy, but he could still breathe. He jumped close to North's office, but not inside. He didn't want to scare him by just walking out of a shadow. He didn't want to scare the Guardian like he scared Meredith.

Matthew paused at the door. It was closed. He stood for a moment trying to figure out the best way to go in. The yetis around him were looking at him curiously. He smiled and waved at them. They still just stared in disbelief. They looked like they'd seen a ghost. He sighed turning. back to North's door. He bit his lip and knocked. The Guardian called for him to come in. He took a nervous breath before pushing inside.

Kumakuro looked up immediately, but North didn't. The bear jumped up from where he was resting on the couch. He trilled loudly running over. Kumakuro stood on his hind legs and gave him a bear hug. He was licking his face and rubbing his cold nose on him. The Canadian laughed silently hugging back.

"Matthew?" North asked in disbelief. Kumakuro dropped back down to all fours revealing who he'd been hugging. The bear sat next to him and leaned on his legs. The Reaper smiled gently. The Guardian looked ready to cry. "How? You were gone!"

Matthew shrugged as North stood from his desk. He walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. It seemed like he expected it to go through him. When it didn't, he pulled him into a tight hug. The Russian was crying and he was trying not to. The Canadian hugged back knowing how much pain he had caused. They both pulled back and Matthew went to apologize. He forgot he couldn't speak and nothing came out. He sighed and tapped his throat shaking his head.

"You can't speak?" The Russian asked wiping his tears away. The Canadian nodded. "Are you alright though? You're not in any pain?"

Matthew shook his head then nodded. North looked confused for a moment. He confused himself too. The Russian went over to his desk and grabbed a pen and paper. He came back over and handed it to the Reaper.

'im okay. just my lungs hate me and i cant talk.' Matthew wrote. He showed it to North. It took him a second to read his messy writing. He hated his hand writing. The Guardian looked concerned. 'not worried about it right now. where is jack? i looked in the med room and our room but he wasnt there.'

"I don't know where Jack is." The Russian said sadly. "He woke up, I told him about you and he disappeared. He hasn't been back since." North said and Matthew's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm worried. I've had the yetis watch out for storms, but there's been nothing."

'ill find him.' The Canadian wrote. He hoped Pitch or Bunny or any other spirit hadn't got to him. He knew neither one of them were in any condition to fight.

"Are you okay to do that?" The Guardian asked. Matthew smiled and nodded reassuringly. He handed the pen and paper back. North just looked worried. "Will you be back?"

The Reaper nodded quickly. He pet Kumakuro goodbye. The bear and North both looked reluctant to let him leave. The Russian thought he was hallucinating or dreaming. He was worried that if he left, he wasn't going to see him again. Both hugged him again before letting him go.

Matthew left North's office and walked a short way to a shadow. It was a short walk, but he was already out of breath. He stepped through to the roof of the pole. He knew it would be easier to start flying from a higher point. He wasn't exactly sure where to look for Jack. He thought about going to his lake, the sanatorium they used to stay at or maybe Antarctica. His thoughts were interrupted by a gust of bone chilling wind.

The wind was blowing strongly around him. It tugged on his clothes and ruffled his feathers. He opened his wings knowing now to trust the wind. He knew the wind would know where Jack was. The wind carried him quickly. He scanned the arctic as he flew. It took him a bit away from the pole before setting him down.

There was a crack in the snow. He stepped towards it as the wind blew him at it. He could see the crack turned into a tunnel that lead down into the ice. He stepped inside and started to walk. The tunnel was too small for him to stand completely upright. It shrank until he had just enough room to crawl on his hands and knees. He could feel it was getting colder the further he went. The dry freezing air was making it harder to breathe.

Matthew finally made it to the end of the tunnel. It opened up into a small den. Inside was Jack. He was curled up in a ball dead asleep facing the tunnel. He was covered in their huge fuzzy blanket with his bad leg sticking out. The cast was still on, but covered in a thick layer of ice. The Canadian looked at his face. There were dark circles under his eyes as well as frozen tears on his cheeks. All the bruises and burns had healed.

The Reaper wanted to wake him and let him know he was alright. He decided against it. The winter spirit looked like he could really use the sleep. He also thought it wasn't a good idea to wake him. He didn't want to scare him or freak him out. He knew how much pain he'd already been through and didn't want to hurt him more. He decided to wait until he woke.

Matthew settled on the edge of the den slightly away from Jack. He was trying to catch his breath and get comfortable. He pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on them. His chest was sore and stiff. No matter how he sat his chest ached slightly. It reminded him of the time Bunny had broke his ribs, but not as bad. Breathing sitting down and resting wasn't too hard.

The Canadian heard rustling and he looked up. Jack was just waking up. He rubbed his eyes sleepily before opening them. He looked at him blearily and his eyebrows furrowed. Tears started to well up in his eyes. He sighed sadly and rolled over to face away from him. He pulled the blanket up over his head.

"Please, Birdie." Jack said quietly. His voice sounded awful. It was rough from screaming and crying. "I'm sorry. I know it's my fault you died. And I know I promised you to be happy. I will be, maybe, eventually." He sighed. "Please don't haunt me."

AN: Sorry for the late post! I'm really not got at keeping track of the days.