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"But I don't want to go without Jack!"

"Bundle up, Emma; Jamie wants you to go sledding. Don't worry, I'll look after Jack."

"Can't I at least see him and make sure he's okay? I-"

A knock at the door put a stop to the conversation between Mrs. Overland and her daughter. Good thing too, Jack thought, otherwise Emma might have tried to bust the door to the room down, and then she would have seen-

Well, she was still going out and having fun, and Jack decided that was the important part. There was an abundance of thick, fluffy snow, which was perfect for sledding on a hill with trees at the bottom; anyone who crashed had a slightly softer, kinder impact. It would be nice to go with them, even though Jack preferred icy snow, which allowed him to hurtle down the hill at faster speeds. As much fun as it was sure to be, he was more determined to find a cure to his current condition.

"Hi Mrs. Overland, hi Emma! Ready to sled?"

Jack heard a muffled giggling, which no doubt belonged to little Sophie Bennett, who had definitely accompanied Jamie to get Emma.

"But-!"

"That's enough, Emma. You go have fun, while I try to find medicine so that Jack gets better." Jack could envision the expression Mrs. Overland must have given Emma, a stern look that he himself had been subjected to many times before. "You do want him to be able to go with you the next time, don't you?"

There was a faint sigh of defeat, then Emma agreed with Jamie, saying; "Yeah, I guess. We have to go around back and get the sled, though." Her voice faded away, and there was the sound of the door closing.

Jack cautiously opened the door, and walked silently towards the kitchen, where Mrs. Overland most likely was resting. It was far too easy to be quiet, and his movements were too graceful considering he had been tripping over himself only a few hours ago. It made him feel uneasy, he was not supposed to be getting used to this body, it wasn't right!

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Jack padded into the kitchen and found Mrs. Overland slumped into one of the chairs, already asleep. He frowned and lifted her out of the hard, wooden chair, planning to take her to her room so she could get a proper rest. She thwarted his plans by shooting awake the moment he touched her, and he flinched away in alarm.

"What? Oh, Jackson, it's just you..." she trailed off, and pushed away some of the hair that had fallen into her face.

Biting his lip, Jack reached forward and took her elbow, gently lifting her up and letting her use him as a support so she could stumble to her room. Once there she collapsed into her bed. Jack pulled the curtains closed and tip-toed out of the room.

"Wait," he heard her mumble, and he turned in the doorway, so she knew he was paying attention. "Don't do anything rash," she muttered, and then she fell asleep once more.

Jack backed out of the room and closed the door quietly, then walked back to the kitchen. He then promptly ignored her advice and took the bottle of other stuff from the highest cabinet. He took his half-filled flask and added another drop to it, then filled the rest with water. He pulled the spare flask from the same cabinet and filled that one too, and put it back. He pulled a small wooden cup from a drawer and considered the bottle of Other Stuff.

It was made of oak wood, and looked very ordinary at first glance, unless one looked closely and noticed the small carvings near the neck of the bottle. There was an abundance of tiny letters, many of which were the ones Jack was used to seeing but a few looked archaic, and he didn't recognize them. There were also pictures, though few and far between. The image of a fox smaller than a thumbnail was carved right near the lid, and a miniscule bear graced the wider part of the neck. A single, solitary squirrel was curled up, cleverly hidden in a natural knot in the wood's grain. Flipping the bottle upside-down revealed the biggest picture of them all (yet even it was small, perhaps it was the size of the bottle's cap): a figure that looked human sitting crossed-legged.

Jack uncapped the bottle and peered inside. There was just under half left, and the bottle would need to be refilled come the next autumn. The liquid inside was a muddy brown, nearly matching the color of his hair (how his hair usually looked, was supposed to look, anyway), viscous and smooth, like syrup, though much more opaque.

Shrugging, Jack poured the bottle's contents into the small wooden cup, until Other Stuff dripped down the side of the cup. Jack swirled the bottle, and heard the remaining liquid slosh around inside. There was enough for a few days if he played his cards right.

Picking up the wooden cup, his adoptive mother's words came back to him. Don't do anything rash. Jack hesitated. He looked into the cup, full of Other Stuff, and spotted his reflection in the liquid. Hair unnaturally white (unnatural for humans, but he pushed that thought away), skin that was too pale to be healthy, and eyes an icy blue. The liquid shifted, and his hair and eyes were brown, and his skin was tanned, flushed a healthy pink. His resolve stiffened, and he lifted the cup to his lips.

Jack had never had Other Stuff on its own, it had always been dilated by water. It tasted much different by itself. He wanted to spit it out and finish in one gulp at the same time. It tasted a lot like the cough syrup from the pharmacy, but sweeter. Too sweet, and as he finished draining the glass his mouth began to burn from the saccharine taste. He rinsed the little wooden cup out with a bit of water from a pitcher and dried it. Putting it back in the cupboard, he began to feel lightheaded. The burn in his mouth seemed to spread to his cheeks, until he was uncomfortably hot. He grasped the counter when he wasn't sure if his legs would support him, and the world faded away from his vision. Leaning heavily on the counter, he felt as though someone had stuffed cotton into his ears. The cotton seemed to leak into his brain, and his thoughts became fuzzy. He imagined Emma sledding with the other kids outside, and he envisioned himself falling into the snow.

There was a thud as Jack toppled off the counter and onto the kitchen floor, eyes open and staring blankly at nothing.

A/N: So this is a shorter chapter than usual, but I really wanted to end there. You're welcome :)

IReviewThings: I am currently taking great pleasure in revealing things as slowly as possible. There are a few hints in this chapter, but next chapter clears things up.

Melancholy's Sunshine: I think he has a few more things on his mind to distract him, and he's already out! I'm mean, but not that mean... yet.

Serami Nefera: Honestly I had so much fun writing him struggling, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Brenne: What are they going to do with Jack? Don't you mean to Jack? I'm kidding! ...Probably.

KorrieChan: This cliff hanger is so much worse (Hopefully. I intended it to be, and if it's not I don't know what I'll do)

The purple hippocampus: That, my friend, will start to be revealed next chapter! In the meantime, have this tease of a chapter ;)

WinterCrystal1009: Actually Bunny hitting Jack with a frying pan makes sense! The only other person I could see doing that would be Sandy...

Guest: I heard someone say more so here I am!

Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews last chapter! Hopefully this one is just as good! Also, quick shoutout to WinterCrystal1009 and her fic Restoring Balance. I'd advise you read it, it's pretty good!

Until next time!