Summary:

Jack gives a long awaited explanation of how his staff snapped the first time.

When Jack next woke he felt drained. He knew, without trying, that he couldn't move if he wanted to – and he didn't. Whatever he was lying on was comfy, cocooning him tight. He snuggled deeper, wincing as a sharp pain dug into his chest.

Shrugging it off, he was happily ready to go back to his sleep when a gentle, large hand brushed his hair back, and placed something of his forehead. Jack sighed, liking the cool touch; as he slowly came closer to consciousness he realised that he was hot like when he crashed in Australia. Snow was supposed to be cold, so he guessed that he should really get out of the sheets…but they were too comfy.

Someone, he realised, was calling his name, which was quite annoying seeing as he was trying to go to sleep and ignore the stabbing pain in his abdomen. Jack wanted to wake up and tell the voice to stop, but opening his eyelids proved the most difficult task yet.

Still, he stubbornly willed his eyes to open, finding himself staring into a darker blue pair.

"North?" Jack conformed aloud, shivering – wait why was he shivering so much – and North responded but smiling, though his eyes were shadowed.

"How do you feel?" Someone asked to his left. Tooth. How had he not seen her? Looking around, he saw that the others were gathered around his bed; Bunny was holding the pieces of his staff loosely, the fragments almost slipping from his arm.

He forgot his staff broke.

Tooth was leaning closer to him, and he realised that he hadn't answered her question. He swallowed, blinking slowly.

"Better…" it was true, though quite unnerving. It was as if his senses had dulled, trying to ease his pain. Either that or his brain was dying, which wasn't as nice.

Jack, instead of waiting for Tooth's response, found himself gazing at his staff again, furrowing his eyebrows. He knew he had the ability to fix it, but this situation was entirely different to the last one. Before, he was trapped in a crevice, high on adrenaline. The fix had been pretty quick after the break, so he hadn't had much time to acknowledge the pain and exhaustion.

Now, it had been a long time since it broke. Now he was weaker, filled with fever. Now, he was most definitely exhausted, and most definitely in pain.

How long had he been asleep anyway?

"Almost a day." Bunny answered quietly from his right. Jack blinked again, unaware that he had asked the question aloud. His brain felt like mush.

He had to fix the staff, he decided as North began to say something to him, and he had to fix it quick. He could feel each second drag by, weakening him further. He was fairly sure he wouldn't die from his conduct breaking, but he could feel his powers rising inside him He could feel them tearing open his chest – without a safe way to release his powers, they were probably were going to kill him.

It really did suck being the only winter spirit at times.

Jack reached out to his staff pieces, flexing his fingers. North paused in whatever he was saying.

"What is it?" Bunny looked down at the staff, and up at Jack again in confusion. Jack tried to explain, but his mouth wouldn't cooperate. Long sentences baffled him at that current time, so he let out a small "staff" in response.

"It's broken, Jack." Tooth said, misunderstanding. Jack let out small huff of annoyance. Bunny caught his eye and the spirit was suddenly glad that the pooka looked at that moment, at the peak of his frustration and desperation. The older guardian understood his message, and reacted to it immediately.

"He knows tha'" he growled. He moved closer, placing the staff pieces on the white sheets. The other guardians murmured nervously around him as he snatched them into each hand.

"He said he could fix it."

"When did it happen before?"

"Why?"

"Can he do it?"

"He can barely hold it!"

Jack closed his eyes, grinding his teeth, and pushed the voices away from his mind. He could feel his power rippling under his fingertips, and he urged it further, slamming the two fragments together. All noises had settled to a dull hum as he concentrated, pleasing with himself to correct the mistake.

A blinding white light seeped through his eyelids as he felt a shock wave of cold air blast through the halls of the workshop. He imagined the ice weaving through the cracks of the wood, binding them together.

Jack could pinpoint the moment when the staff was whole once more. The agonising pain left almost instantly, and he could feel himself grow cooler.

The spirit opened his eyes slowly, breathing deeply. The guardians were grouped around him, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Jack…" North began but Jack, with a faint smile, passed out.

—

The next time he woke he realised that it was night; lamps had been lit to a low light in the room which, he realised, was his own, and not an infirmary bed. It was a nice change to see his own icicles hanging from the roof and his own frost coating the walls, and it was nice to find himself in his own bed, in his own freezing sheets.

He was so happy to be in a familiar place that he hadn't spotted Bunny.

Actually, he wouldn't have noticed him at all, only that Bunny announced his presence in a typical fashion.

"Finally awake, are ya?" The pooka said, shifting in the chair that had been placed beside his bed. Jack blinked for a few seconds, processing the question. His brain was still basically scrambled in a mix of exhaustion and fever. He must've been quiet for a while, because Bunny, who had previously been acting relaxed and calm, was now leaning over towards him, face twisted in concern.

"Jack?" Bunny asked. Jack blinked again slowly.

"Yeah?" He murmured, shifting in the sheets.

Bunny's words were ignored before he even started, the spirit already distracted by the glowing wood in his hands. His staff was completely intact, and frosting at his touch.

"When did ya staff last break?"

Bunny's question pulled Jack from his daydreams. The spirit faced him, tilting his head. Bunny was staring back at him, his expression unreadable.

"Err…what?" Jack asked, burying himself in the sheets. The squeak of the chair told Jack that Bunny had moved closer, hardening his gaze.

"What happened? The last time?" Bunny repeated. Jack looked up at him, biting his lip. There was no escaping it, and he cursed himself and his fevered rambles.

"It was a long time ago…" Jack said uneasily. The event, despite his words, was still as clear as the staff in his hands: restricting and unpleasant.

"Wha' happened?" The pooka persisted. Jack muttered something under his breath. "Wha' was that?"

"It was on that Easter…when Pitch destroyed your eggs." Jack began, fiddling with the sheets. He hugged his staff close to him, trying to gain some comfort.

Bunny winced at the memory, but urged Jack to continue.

"Well, when I flew off I went to Antarctica and…Pitch was there, waiting."

"He what?!" Bunny burst out, shaking his head. Jack stared at him. "And then what happened?" Jack let his eyes close, deciding he was too tired to keep them open. He kept the details short, figuring that they weren't really needed – he didn't want to give away the secret more than he needed to.

"Well, he had captured baby tooth." Jack continued. "He said he wanted a trade – my staff for baby tooth. I said yes." Jack shivered. "He didn't give me baby tooth anyway, obviously, and snapped my staff. The end."

He heard Bunny breathe in deeply, containing what he guessed was an outraged yell. There was a few heartbeat's silence before Bunny said anything.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Jack opened one eye. In all of his time spent with him, he had never heard Bunny say sorry – not as shamefully as this. It was strange, especially when he didn't know what he was going to apologise for. "Sorry for what?"

"Breaking' ya staff." Bunny muttered. Jack smiled, closing his eyes again. He moved closer to the pooka, leaning against his arm.

"It's fine. I'm over it." Jack grinned sleepily. "You did it by accident. Pitch did it on purpose."

"There's a difference?"

"To me there is."

I haven't read over this so excuse mistakes