Disclaimer: Rise of the Guardians, NCIS, and all their characters belong to their respective owners
Chapter 5: A Shoulder to Lean On
His heart beat rapidly in his chest. Wait. Did he even have a heart? It certainly felt like he did. And it felt like it was going to pop. Jack had been pacing the length of the living room for the last five minutes, trying to comprehend this new information. Jamie sat on a stool by the counter which separated the kitchen from the main room, fiddling with the hem on his warmest sweater as he watched his friend with worry.
It made sense, in a way. When he became Jack Frost, no one could see or hear him, let alone touch him. It was like he didn't exist. So it stood to reason that he didn't actually have a physical body anymore. Not on the material plane of existence, anyways. It hadn't occurred to him, not once, that his tangible human body might still be there... in the bottom of the pond.
He felt like he was going to throw up. Never in his three hundred-some years, even after getting his memories back and learning he had died, was he faced with the harsh technicalities of his own mortal past. He was nothing but a corpse that rotted away under the murky water, his flesh probably consumed by fish and bacteria, leaving nothing but bones to become buried under the silt and sludge. His breath quickened at the thought, fear and helplessness clouding his mind and making him feel light-headed. He jumped when two hands firmly gripped his shoulders, steadying him.
"Jack, please, you need to calm down," Jamie pleaded, "You're going to make yourself sick. Just breathe. In... and out," he instructed, trying to keep Jack from hyperventilating. Breathe in, breathe out.
"Better?" Jamie asked when the winter spirit's breathing seemed to steady. Jack nodded numbly. "Alright," The brunette lead Jack over to the couch. "Why don't you sit down, and we can try to figure this out, ok?" Jamie sighed, running his hand through his messy hair as he sat down next to Jack. "I know this isn't exactly something you wanna be talking about right now, believe me, neither do I, but we don't really have the luxury of time on our side. If we don't do something soon, your body will be transferred from NCIS and..." Jamie gripped his hair in frustration, "if... if just removing your body from the pond affects you like this..." He couldn't finish. What will happen to you if they bury it somewhere we can't find it? Or worse... cremate it. That was something he didn't want to find out, but with no ideas on how to retrieve Jack's remains, it was becoming a very real and disturbing concern. He didn't know what to do.
Jack remained silent, hugging his shepherd's staff tightly to his chest. In that moment, he looked every bit the child he truly was.
Jamie bit his bottom lip. It was funny, this role reversal. Not so much a 'makes you laugh' kind of funny, but more like an ironic, unexpected funny. Despite the Guardian being over three-hundred years older than him, Jamie was the adult in this situation. He had joined NCIS because he wanted to protect people. He wanted to be like the Guardians. And now, here he was, sitting next to a lost immortal child who needed a guardian. Jack was more than his best friend. He was his brother.
An idea came to him. He perked his head up, tapping a finger on his chin.
"Maybe I could tell them that you're a distant relative of mine? I'd have to forge some kind of family lineage documents to prove it though, and if they did a DNA test that might be a problem... but if it works, then I could take your body back to Burgess. I can't put it back in the lake, though. Does your family have a cemetery plot anywhere?"
Jack shrugged sadly. "If they do, I've never been able to find it. I looked years ago, after I got my memories back... even had Bunny help. I don't know if they maybe moved away after I died, or maybe the grave markers were destroyed... maybe they weren't even marked at all," Unshed tears filled his eyes. "I don't know where they are." He vigorously wiped the salty liquid away with his sleeve, keeping his gaze to the floor. Jamie nodded mutely in understanding. Jack needed his support, not his pity. Still, he couldn't help but hurt for the boy. He glanced at his phone. It was getting late.
"Why don't you come with me tomorrow?" Jamie put his hand on the winter spirit's icy shoulder. "We'll try to figure something out then. At the very least, we can find out how long we have until the transfer; even stall it if possible."
"I dunno if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly stable right now," Jack gave him a halfhearted smirk, gesturing with his chin to the spot where the tip of his toe touched the floor. Sure enough, there was a sparkling layer of ice crystals stemming from where his skin came in contact with the old wooden floorboards. The couch around him was adorned with the fern-like patterns of frost, too. Jamie pulled his sweater closer to himself, as if just realizing that the temperature in the room was still well below a comfortable degree, even now that the window was closed.
"So then they'll just think there's a problem with the boiler or something. I mean, that kind of stuff breaks all the time," Jamie waved it off with a mischievous grin. It soon faded into a sincere, caring gaze. "Honestly, Jack, I just... I don't want you to be alone. You're my best friend... and I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you, like you were always there for me. You're not alone."
A grateful smile graced Jack's lips. It was faint, but it still managed to reach his tired eyes.
They sat in companionable silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. It was as Jamie noticed Jack falling asleep against his shoulder that he decided they'd both better get some rest. Morning would come all too soon.
"Come on, Jack," He muttered fondly. He slowly got up and led the drained winter sprite to the bedroom.
"'m not tired..." Jack whined feebly, his bobbing head and drooping eyelids proving the contrary. Jamie chuckled softly.
"Says the guy who was using me as a pillow not even thirty seconds ago," the brunette retorted.
Upon seeing the blissfully comfy bed, Jack frowned. "What about you?" He yawned.
"I'll be fine on the couch," Jamie reassured. "You look like you haven't had a good night's sleep in three-hundred years," he teased, eliciting a halfhearted glare from the other. Jamie walked towards the door and shut off the light.
"Is there anything you need before..." he stopped mid-turn, smiling to himself at what he saw. Jack was already sound asleep, curled up in a ball, with a peaceful expression on his otherwise weary face.
"Goodnight, Jack."
~~~''\*/''~~~
Jamie didn't get much sleep that night. His mind had been plagued with worse-case scenarios and worry for his friend. When his alarm finally went off, Jamie had already been awake for an hour. Feeling the need to let Jack sleep in as long as possible, the brunette quickly and quietly got ready for work. His goal was to get there early. Not only did he have paperwork to finish, since he left so abruptly yesterday, but he also wanted to be there before anyone else arrived. With Jack being in less control of his powers right now, he feared it would garner unwanted attention if the temperature suddenly dropped thirty degrees the moment Jamie stepped off the elevator. It was best to let them believe the furnace broke overnight.
Despite Jack's protest the night before, Jamie was intent on bringing Jack with him to NCIS. It wasn't just that he didn't want the winter spirit to be alone out of concern for his current mental and emotional state. He also wanted to be able to keep an eye on him in case his physical condition continued to decline. There probably wouldn't be much Jamie could do to help if that occurred, but at the very least, it would set his mind at ease.
It was nice enough outside that Jamie opted to walk to work today. While he did have a car, it was only a fifteen minute walk to the NCIS headquarters from his apartment, and he didn't think Jack would appreciate being confined in the vehicle.
As Jamie walked down the sidewalk, Jack floated closely behind. He had been walking next to the brunette up until the path became busy with more pedestrians. Jack was certainly not in the mood to be walked through right now, so he stayed above head-level. Every once in a while Jamie would glance up to make sure his friend was still there, though he remained silent. They both agreed that it wouldn't do either of them any good if people saw Jamie having a conversation with thin air. If worse came to worse and they really needed to talk, Jamie could always pretend he was on the phone. For now, however, subtlety was their best option.
The building was pretty quiet when they arrived. The only other people who seemed to be there were some office workers and the janitor. Jamie subtly ushered Jack in, trying not to draw attention. Unfortunately, the moment Jack stepped foot in the building, a gust of icy wind followed and sent papers flying off the front desk, much to the displeasure of the woman working behind said desk.
"Sorry," Jack winced.
The woman looked like she was ready to either staple her papers right to her desk or just quit her job altogether.
"It's, uh, really windy out there today," Jamie gave her a sheepish smile as he picked up her papers and handed them back to her. "You might wanna..." She raised her eyebrow and put a paperweight on top of the documents, "uh, yeah... that," Jamie finished lamely. "Um... have a good day?" The brunette quickly made his escape from the woman's piercing glare. As soon as they rounded the corner towards the elevator, Jamie let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Ok, so maybe this won't be so bad," he said quietly and grinned awkwardly at Jack.
"Yeah, as long as the wind doesn't keep trying to follow me into the building," Jack deadpanned. Jamie pressed the up button for the elevator.
"Well, at least there isn't really anywhere it can get in at upstairs," Jamie muttered with a shrug, stepping into the elevator as it opened. "You coming?" he asked, seeing Jack's hesitation.
Jack eyed the elevator warily but did not make a move to get in. Jamie held his hand over the doors so they wouldn't close. "Have you never been on an elevator before?" He asked, mentally slapping his own forehead. Of course Jack hasn't.
"I mean, I have... at North's workshop. It's just that the one there isn't so... enclosed."
"It'll be fine," Jamie gave him an encouraging smile. "We'll only be in it for like thirty seconds, I promise." Jack nodded to himself and cautiously stepped in, careful not to touch the walls. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally freeze the damn thing and be stuck in this metal deathtrap. As soon as the doors closed, Jamie let out a relieved sigh. There were never prying eyes in the elevator.
"Ok, so... I gotta get my paperwork for the case finished, and then as soon as Gibbs gets here, I'll see what I can find out about your remains. As far as I know, they're still down in autopsy," Jamie ran a hand through his hair. "Hopefully I can convince him to let me take them back to Burgess. If not, well... we'll cross that road when we get there."
As soon as the elevator opened back up, Jack was out, sucking in a breath of 'fresh' air, much to Jamie's amusement.
"Alright, just remember: no touching the electronics and don't make it snow inside," Jamie chewed on his lip. Then, after a brief moment, added, "and don't worry, everything's gonna be fine." He smiled. Jack gave a small smile in return.
For the next half hour, Jamie sat at his desk finishing paperwork. Jack lazily explored the room, being careful not to touch anything. It was an awfully boring place to work, in his professional opinion. As more employees started arriving, Jack perched himself on top of the filing cabinet behind Jamie. While he knew he wouldn't exactly be in the way, he was determined not to get walked through today; especially by dull, workaholic adults.
"Wow, everyone looks so stiff," Jack observed, eliciting a barely concealed snort from Jamie. "Ya know, when I'm feeling better, I should come by and get these people to have a bit of fun. Can you imagine if the whole office broke out into a snowball fight? That'd be awesome." He laughed when a crumbled up ball of paper hit him in the face, having been thrown blindly over Jamie's shoulder. "Ah! I'm picking up what you're putting down," the winter spirit winked when Jamie glanced back at him, "Can't have snow in the building, so it'll have to be a paper-ball fight." He grinned mischievously as he went back to people-watching.
Ziva, McGee, and Tony soon arrived, one after the other, with friendly greetings and not-so-subtle side glances and unspoken bickering and noses uncharacteristically engulfed in their work. Yeah, something was definitely up with them. With a sinking pit in his stomach, Jamie prayed that Gibbs would just not come in today. Alas, he would not be so lucky.
Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated :)
