Jack woke in a small room to the sound of pattering snow. His eyelids were as heavy as a ton of bricks and he struggled to open them, the slight movement draining him of any energy he originally had. He felt exhausted and his heart burned, like it was on fire. Of all things Jack couldn't fathom, fire was at the top of his list. Being a winter spirit, he had never gone near fire, for fear that it would burn him and he would lose his powers. Yet, the dancing flames always looked so intriguing, twisting and turning in the air, letting off warm glows and casting eerie looking shadows. He had never imagined it would feel like this. It felt like lava was flowing inside him rather than his ice-cold blood and it was the worst type of pain imaginable to Jack.

The winter spirit looked around, unaware of his surroundings. He had never seen this room before but, odly, he felt safe. Surveying his surroundings, he decided he was at the North Pole but he had no idea how he had got here. Upon second inspection, the room looked vaguely familiar, like he had been here before. Though he didn't notice, there was a pile of abandoned, frozen footprints infront of the bed from his earlier outbreak.

To his left, there was a window, with a beautiful, undistirbed world outside. The landscape was covered with a single sheet of snow, gently shaping the hills and dips of the North Pole. It looked so peaceful. Jack wished he was out there.

To his right, the door slowly creeped open and out popped the head of Tooth, her delicate blue and green feathers glinting in the Winter's sun.

"Hey." Jack said, attempting to smile. His lips felt too heavy and all he managed was a slight smirk. "Where am I?".

To Jack's surprise, Tooth broke down into tears at his words. Had he said something wrong? He tried to get up to comfort her but before he could, she was by his side, running her fingers gently through his wild silvery hair.

"You're okay," she croaked in between sobs "we were all so worried." She wrapped her arms around his chest, longing more contact than a simple stroke on his head. He winced, his heart and chest burning in pain. Luckily, Tooth didn't hear him, she just kept hugging him.

"Guys," she finally breathed "you can come in.".

From behind the door appeared two more heads, North's and Bunnymund's. Feeling better at the sight of all three of them (especially the Pooka) Jack managed a smile as they came in and relief overtook them - he was okay.

"Glad you're okay, mate," Bunnymund looked sheepish then, quietly, added "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? I'm the one who should be apologising." He was utterly shocked by Bunny's words, they were the last things he ever expected him to say.

Jack motioned for them both to come over and as he did, a small, barely visible tear slipped from the large Russian man's eyes. They all hugged Jack tightly, engulfing him in their comfort and warmth, making him feel safe. Yet, for some reason, Jack felt a hint of fear. Why? He didn't know but deep down, in the depths of his brain, he couldn't shake the feeling of the Guardians being enemies, not friends.

No he thought sharply, pushing the though away. These people are my friends, they saved me. Jack didn't go as far as to tell himself they were family. After all, spending as much time alone as he had caused some serious trust issues. He also knew from... past experiences... that if you give people your trust too easily, they will just break it.

Bunnymund was the first to pull away, snapping Jack out of his thoughts. North smiled at him, a hint of sadness in his eyes. But then his expression changed and a look of solemn seriousness swept his face. He asked Jack what had happened and why they found him bleeding and unconscious in the Antarctic and odly, Jack had no idea. He couldn't recall even being in the Antarctic. He was well aware of the fact that the Antarctic was his safe place but he simply had no memory of being there.

"I.. I don't know," Jack murmured, racking his brain for answers "I can't remember. I just remember leaving you in the park then waking up here." This wasn't entirely true; in the back of his head he could see some hazy, faded images playing but he couldn't decipher what they were showing so he decided there was no point in telling them. He saw snow and black dots littered among the vast whiteness. He shook the image away.

No one spoke for a second but, as of the silence pained him, North spoke up, his voice soft. "Jack, I don't know what happened to you. We cannot help you unless you remember." North paused, sighing before he continued "Though the rumour says we cannot die, we can. It would take extreme circumstances but it is very possible. We can be injured by humans, but not killed. Other spirits and immortals are the only ones that can inflict enough pain on us so that Man in Moon takes sympathy on you and releases your soul. We cannot kill ourselves. But Jack, we need you to tell us what happened. We were afraid you would not wake up. This sort of thing does not just happen."

That explanation made sense. He was hurt physically (and emotionally) when he ran into other seasonal spirits, as they didn't like him very much, but he had never been able to scar himself. He remember back to a dark time in his life when he had given up. He had tried to kill himself, numerous times, but it had never worked.

Instinctively, Jack reached his hand up to the back of his head, to where North said he was bleeding from. His hands ran over a bump and a few oddly placed stitches and he immediately winced; at the effort it took to do lift his arm up so far and at the sudden stinging he felt in his head when he touched his wound. One thing was for sure, it definitely hadn't healed yet.

"I...I can't remember. I'm sorry."

He felt more useless than normal in this moment. The one chance he could prove to the others that he was worth something but, yet again, he had screwed up. He knew he should just admit it, that's who he was and who he would always be - the loner, the screw up. The one who make a mess wherever he goes. And no matter how he tried, he couldn't push those thoughts away.

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