I do ship JackxTooth, but this fic will probably be relatively calm in terms of that.

*This chapter is dedicated to all of the fabulous reviewers who told me what they thought about this story, and especially to Thinking Without Speaking.

Chapter 4: Awaken

A week passed before Jack Frost was fully conscious and able to open his eyes. In truth, the yetis may have slightly overdone the sedation medications, but it was because they did not want him to be in pain. Pitch had done a number on him. When he did finally crack open his eyes, it took a while for them to adjusted to the bright light. He could hear someone's labored breathing, and with a small "Oh" of surprise, realized that breathing was his own. He turned his head suddenly as it all came back to him. The scythe, the blood, Baby Tooth…the list grew by the second.

He let out groan when his head spun from moving too fast. Nausea crept up his throat from his stomach. Jack willed himself not to throw up. When the room stayed where it should have in the first place, Jack was startled out of his barely functioning mind by the face of the Tooth Fairy hovering only an inch away from his own. "TOOTH! What the-You scared me!" He jerked away from her in shock. A small, strong hand kept him from falling off the side of the cot.

"Jack, you're okay. You're safe now. I'm the only one here, and I was asleep. When I heard you I thought it was Pitch. Sorry about that, it was just that...You scared me." Tooth pushed him gently back onto the bed. Jack lay back again, too tired to protest. He tried to breathe steadily, but that only resulted in a coughing fit. It took a few minutes for his respiratory system to calm down.

"What's happening to me?" Dread suddenly closed its cold hands around his heart. What if he couldn't regain his powers? Could he even be a Guardian anymore?

"Jack…I think…I think you know." Tooth looked at him not with pity, but with sorrow. She didn't want to tell him. And then he didn't need her to.

"No...No! I'm a mortal...I'm not a spirit anymore." Jack stared unseeingly at turned off his emotions completely, denying they had ever existed. It helped, somewhat. If he couldn't feel, maybe he wouldn't Reaching up, Jack tugged a strand of hair from his head. It was brown. The two sat in silence for awhile. The workshop was eerily quiet, devoid of its usual loud fanfare.

"Wow, I forgot what it was like to be THIS hungry!" Jack exclaimed suddenly. Tooth smiled sadly, fluttering up from her seat at the end of his bed. "I see if I can find something," she said, flying toward the infirmary door.

"I'm coming with you." Jack made to get out of bed.

"No, you most certainly are not." Tooth spun around to face him.

"Will too"

"For the last time, no! I don't want you getting hurt." Tooth shot back, putting her hands on her hips.

"Tooth!"

"Jackson!"

Jack crossed his arms. Tooth did also. Jack resisted the strong urge to pout like he'd seen Sophie do plenty of times. Usually it worked for her. And anyway, Tooth probably looked cute pouting. He considered doing it just to see if she would mirror his movements again. "Please, Tooth?" Jack shot a hopeful smile at the fairy. Tooth hesitated, then shook her head 'no'.

"But I could use some walking. It's only, like, four rooms down the hall from here! Seriously, I'm not a baby!" Jack argued.

Tooth sighed. "Really? Because right now you are sort of acting like one."

The hurt look on Jack's face when she said that was enough to make her give in. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say it that way. Guess I more tired than I thought." She said apologetically, stifling a yawn. Jack's smile returned, reassuring her that he would be okay. "I get it, Tooth," he replied softly. Then, leaning on Tooth more than he would have liked and less than she thought he should have, they made their way to the kitchen.

"What did I miss while I was out? Why are you the only Guardian here?" Jack asked, once he was sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen counter. Tooth, just about to open a cupboard, turned abruptly toward Jack to ask him what the heck he meant about the 'only guardian here.' Jack sensed her confusion and though inside it pained him beyond belief, he explained with a smile on his face, "I'm not a Guardian right now, Tooth. Right now, I guess I'm the same as any other believer and the same as any other mortal."

How could he just accept his present state so casually? Tooth turned back to face the cupboard with a pained expression. Attempting to distract herself from it all, she flew higher in order to see the upper shelves. She knew He was hiding his pain well, but he could not hide it completely his pain from her.

Jack studied her as she flew around doing busy work about finding food. She knew perfectly well the lay-out of North's kitchen; that was his clue that she was guessing about his state of mind. Jack, being Jack, had to break the crushing silence. Even the few yeti and elfish conversations in the workshop could not conceal this silence. Jack gazed at the (really) tall shelves and cupboards and pantries that lined the walls and called out, "Tooth!"

Tooth was next to him in an instant. She started asking him questions, like what was wrong, what hurt, where did it hurt etc., but Jack cut her off.

"Once, just this once Tooth, I would like something sweet." Jack caught her hands in his. She stared at him with a worried look. Then she registered Jack's hands holding her own. "What is it?" She asked, trying to look anywhere but his brown eyes. Jack's hands kept her from pulling away.

"I just wanted to say thank you, Tooth, for helping me. From last March to now. You don't know how much you have done for me." Jack looked at her with sparkling brown eyes that were a distraction in their own right.

"Oh, of course! You're welcome-" But Tooth never finished her sentence, because at that moment, Jack Frost leaned in and kissed her.

At first, she went still from shock. This was the last thing she expected him to do! But then, after a moment or two, she began to relax into the kiss. Gently, slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. It was not a needy kiss, but it conveyed many things to Tooth that Jack hadn't put into words. A warmth spread through her. It was almost like a dream, but better.

"I never had the courage to do this before now. I just wish I'd told you sooner." He whispered when she pulled away. How he wished they could have stayed in that moment forever.

The Workshop's alarm bells suddenly started to clang (they always did seem to go off at all the wrong moment.) "I bet that's North, Bunny and Sandy back from tracking Pitch!" Tooth exclaimed, looking up in surprise. Jack, still a bit unsteady on his feet, was able to walk to the globe control panels with a help from Tooth. When they got there, he felt like weaker than ever, and his vision blurred in and out of focus. Luckily, he was able to collapse into one of the arm chairs in the Globe Room. He hated feeling so helpless, so weak! He hated not being able to fight, to do anything but hobble around like an old man!

But with the room spinning, and an awful, nauseous feeling overtaking his senses, he knew he couldn't do anything at the moment.

When the vertigo and nausea had subsided, he joined the Guardians in front of the Globe of Belief. Standing with the help of the wooden table that held the Globe's controls, he and Tooth told everyone what happened since he woke up (minus the kissing.) Everyone was so relieved that he was awake. Well, everyone except Jack Frost himself. Jack wished he was still asleep. He would be of more use asleep then awake. He was startled out of his thoughts when, from the other side of the globe, he heard Bunny shouted, "Guys! I found Pitch! He's in Burgess!"

"Jamie," Jack whispered, clenching his hands into fists. They had to protect the young believer and stop Pitch before he could do harm to the boy. 'If Pitch so much as touches him,' Jack thought, 'mortal or not, I will make Pitch regret ever setting foot in Burgess.'

The Nightmare King was once again in Burgess, Pennsylvania. Jack Frost was left behind, while the other Guardians left to fight him. He supposedly had to stay at the Workshop to stay safe from the nightmares, which could get him more easily now that he was mortal. But Jack Frost did not want to hide; he wanted to fight. Was that too much to ask?

Remember that everyone is a Guardian. It doesn't matter who you are, how old you are, what you do or where you live.

Reviews would simply make my day! Thank you for reading.