A/N: It was getting kind of boring and monotone, so I thought I'd add a little excitement! I wanted to make this twice as long but I only had an hour to write.

.:07:.

It was past nine in the evening when Jack finally drifted back into Burgess. He'd gotten caught up in a rampage through New York, and he was tired. Floating lazily over Jamie and Sophie's house, he considering heading back toward his secluded little pond and sleeping for a while. A soft blue light caught his eye, and when he looked closer he realized Sophie's window was wide open.

Taking it as an invitation, he ducked down through the air and landed lightly on her windowsill. A small flurry of snowflakes announced his presence, twirling silently around him as he peered into the room. Sophie was lounged on her bed, looking half-awake and a little troubled. She clutched a book to her chest, and as she did her best to smile hello to him, her grip loosened and the book was discarded on the floor. Dragging herself into a sitting position, she waved for him to come inside.

Jack was a little alarmed at first, but when she didn't immediately burst into tears he relaxed. He closed the window and slowly crossed the room to sit by her feet. She drew her knees up to give him more room, and propped her elbows on her knees. Jack set his staff between his feet, then wrapped his arm up and around it. After a moment of consideration, he reached out and carefully took one of Sophie's hands. She didn't complain, and she squeezed his fingers in thanks.

"Did something happen?" Jack asked in a whisper. He wasn't terribly keen on the idea of Jamie barging in at the sound of his voice when Sophie was obviously outs of sorts.

"No… I don't know..." Her voice cracked slightly and she cleared her throat. "I've just been thinking too hard, I guess." She finished.

A concerned look crossed his face, and it was clear to Sophie that he felt extremely out of his element. Her lips curved into an amused smile at his discomfort, and she giggled quietly in an effort to reassure him.

"It's, just… Well…" Her voice trailed off and she looked down, away from him. He didn't push, and after a moment she looked back at him, her features more composed and slightly grim.

"Jamie and I were walking home, and we came up on this group of kids. This little girl was standing there crying, and a couple of the other kids were poking fun at her and calling her a baby. We broke it up and started walking the poor kid home, and she said the others were making fun of her cuz she told them the Boogeyman has been hiding in her closet…" She had a pained look on her face, and Jack's eyes narrowed in rising anger. When he failed to come up with a response to what she'd told him, she continued.

"You should have seen Jamie, he was furious. He just kept telling her the Boogeyman isn't real, but I don't think she listened. I'm worried about her. I know kids make up stories and exaggerate sometimes, but she seemed so honest and scared. What if she really is seeing him at night?" Sophie's eyes were filled with concern, and Jack felt a strange, almost warm sensation well up in his chest. He squeezed her hand and tried to look as confident as possible.

"Don't worry, Sophie. I'll figure out what's going on." He told her quietly.

Almost as a subconscious paranoia, Jack glanced over towards her closet. There was nothing lurking inside that he could see, but he finally noticed the blue nightlight she had plugged in beside her bedroom door. He groaned internally and glanced back at her with worry.

"Please don't tell me you believe in the Boogeyman." Jack murmured pleadingly.

Sophie seemed slightly embarrassed and sunk down a little in her bed.

"Well, the idea of him wandering this neighborhood really creeped me out. I know you're real, and the other Guardians, too. It wouldn't be a surprise at all if the monster under my bed turned out to be real, too." She muttered defensively.

"Also, it got me thinking. If all the myths are real, what about other stuff too? Like goblins and trolls? What if I pass by little monsters everyday and never saw them just because I never thought they might be real. So now I'm scared that I'm gonna trip over one now that I started thinking about it." Sophie grumbled miserably.

A sharp pang went through Jack, and he suddenly understood why the Guardians were so secretive, why they let kids forget about them as they grew up. The adult mind didn't tend to limit itself to bright thoughts and magic. Adults could think of all sorts of things that just never crossed a child's mind. Adult minds could be dark, scientific, calculating things, and he had introduced magic to two young adults. He started to deeply worry for her, not because of the possibility that Pitch might be nearby, but because of what Jack Frost himself might have already done to her life.

"Jack?" Sophie asked worriedly when he seemed to be lost in his own head. He snapped back to reality and found himself staring at her like a deer in the headlights.

"Um, are those things real..?" She asked nervously, drawing her knees close to her chest defensively. Jack swallowed thickly and forced himself to smile.

"Nah, Soph. Of course not. Don't believe everything you think." He laughed, and it sounded real enough to make her smile.

Jack bid her goodnight and took off into the darkness to patrol Burgess. He felt bad for lying to her face, but he really didn't want her to start believing in things she'd be much happier not knowing about. It was his fault she'd started questioning her own reality, he felt obligated to protect her from it now. First on that list was tracking down Pitch, since he'd apparently extricated himself from his own trap and was back to spreading terror in the hearts of children.