It was too cold to sleep. Once the car stopped running and the sun fully set, Jack found himself shivering as he watched his breath form clouds as it left his body. His gi did little to defend against the chill that grabbed hold of his skin and crept into his bones. Before long, he couldn't feel his hands, feet, or nose. He tried his best to curl into a ball to warm himself up as much as possible, but that only resulted in his shoulders tightening and aching even more. His mouth was already dry again, and he could feel his lips beginning to chap. His stomach was gurgling almost constantly, begging for something to eat. His head was pounding with every beat of his heart. Jack had never been so uncomfortable in his life.

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin when the trunk popped open and Gareth threw an unrolled sleeping bag at him. "There." He rolled his eyes at the shaking boy.

"Why?" Jack blurted before he could think better.

"Because my buddy doesn't want a dead missing kid on his property, and I don't want a dead missing kid in my car." Gareth snapped back.

"Well..." Jack couldn't believe what he was about to do. "Thank you." He wasn't sure how he got the words out through his chattering teeth.

"There's that respect I've been looking for." Gareth chuckled. Jack just glared back. "And to think, you might not even be here had you learned that respect sooner. Such a shame that it took you so long."

Jack bit his tongue to keep from hurling obscenities at Gareth regarding their situation. He didn't want to stir up trouble or get his mouth taped shut again.

"Don't think this changes anything." Gareth reached up to shut the trunk. "Remember, I'm only keeping you alive until I don't need you anymore." And with that, Jack was left alone in the dark again.

It took some maneuvering, but Jack eventually managed to get his entire body under the sleeping bag. Slowly but surely, his breath warmed the space beneath the sleeping bag, and his shivering died down. He still wasn't warm, but was no longer unintentionally shaking the entire car. Eventually, despite his aching body, Jack managed to drift off to sleep.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

"Jack." It sounded like his name was being called from miles away. "Jack." Was that…? No it couldn't be. "Jack, wake up."

He groggily opened his eyes and rolled over to see his father was indeed the one calling his name. "Dad…?"

"Morning, champ." His dad smiled as Jack sat up and tossed his comforter aside.

"Dad, what…? How...? Dad!" Jack leaped out of bed and practically threw himself at his father, wrapping his arms as tightly around him as he could.

"Woah, what's all that about?" his dad laughed and hugged him back.

"Nothing, nothing." Jack finally let go and looked up at his dad, holding back tears of joy. "I just… I love you."

"I love you too, Jack." His dad smiled and ruffled Jack's hair. "Now get ready, we have to leave for the tournament in less than an hour."

"Tournament?"

"Today determines if you go to the international championship, remember?" Jack's dad pressed a hand to his forehead. "Are you feeling okay? You were so excited yesterday."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine!" Jack ducked out from under his dad's hand. "Just, nervous I guess."

"You have nothing to be nervous about." His dad assured. "I've never seen a martial artist with more passion and dedication than you, Jack. Just leave everything out there on the mat and be proud of yourself. Do what your old man couldn't."

"What you couldn't?" Jack let his father guide him to the edge of his bead and they sat down together.

"I never told you about my national championship?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, I had gotten through to the semi-finals, taken down some of the best martial artists in America. Everyone at my dojo who came to cheer me on was sure I would make it to the top. Even your grandfather was getting cocky."

"Really? Grandpa was cocky?" Jack's grandfather had taught him never to be sure of anything, especially not victory. Always expect the unexpected is what he would tell Jack before each fight.

"Well, he told me he would be shocked if I didn't win."

"But you lost?"

"No, I didn't even make it to the mat." His dad laughed. "When I got up for my fight, I stepped on my own belt and took a header into a table."

"Seriously?" Jack burst out laughing with his dad.

"Seriously. I had to forfeit because apparently you can't fight while being rushed to the hospital because your head won't stop bleeding."

"Oh my god!" Jack couldn't contain himself and doubled over laughing.

"I know, it's ridiculous." His dad shook his head and pulled Jack into a tight side hug. "But there is a big difference between you and me."

"I won't step on my belt and fall before my fight?" Jack leaned into his dad's embrace.

"Well, two big differences." His dad shrugged. "I was talking about your drive. I always fought to be better than others. You fight to be the best you can be. You've always understood martial arts on a much deeper level than I could ever grasp. Even if I hadn't tripped and concussed myself, I wouldn't have made it to the international championship. I would have been too focussed on being the best instead of doing my best. That was ultimately why I gave up karate. I realized I would never be the best, no matter how hard I trained, and I couldn't handle it. But you would never let something like that stop you."

"Well, that's not entirely true…" Jack sighed, remembering his hiatus. "I quit for two years after Kai beat me, remember?"

"Hey, you didn't quit." His dad gave him a squeeze. "Even if you weren't training in a dojo, you lived by the Wasabi Code until that flame was rekindled. You never stopped being a martial artist. Not for a second. And I saw you practicing your routines in the backyard."

"You did?" Jack sat up with wide eyes. "I thought I only did that when nobody was home!"

"Not always." His dad winked. "Now come on, Jack-Attack. Get ready or we'll be late!"

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

The image of Jack's dad's smiling face slowly dissolved as his last sentence echoed around the room. Jack grunted and tried to roll over, but soon remembered where he was and groaned.

"Of course it was just a dream…" he whispered to himself and began the process of wriggling out from under the sleeping bag.