Thanks to Merlia W for favouriting!

"She's dangerous." Sophie hissed at Jack.

It was the middle of the day a few days later, and Jackie Bennett had gone back to school. What Sophie hadn't been expecting was Jack turning up, even less was that he was talking about her least favourite ice mover.

"She's not. She does dangerous stuff-"

"Exactly! And I know she doesn't do it alone, those women at the bookshop are usually gone at the same time. I'm not having them drag my Jackie into any of, whatever they do!"

"That's not what I'm asking." Jack was calm in comparison to Sophie. "Jackie Davies is here all year round, when I can't be-"

"Except she isn't." Sophie interrupted. "She disappears, infrequently, and can be gone for weeks at a time!"

"That's still more than me, most of the time." Jack countered. "She just wants to help-"

"Help what? Turn our daughter into a fighting machine?" Sophie shook her head. "What is she? Jackie Davies? She's not like our Jackie, but I know she has the same powers. What is she?"

Jack couldn't look at Sophie. "That's something you should ask her, but she does want to help." Jack wasn't sure how much of that was true, but he wasn't sure what else to say to convince Sophie. "And I think it's a good idea. I've known Jackie a long time, she wouldn't hurt our Jackie. She wouldn't."

"And yet, she comes back from her little trips looking like she's been through a war or something similar. I don't want to expose Jackie to that."

"She can help." Jack insisted. "She knows more about this than I think either of us, and she wouldn't hurt Jackie, ever." he reiterated.

Sophie was silent for a while.

"I'll talk to her." she said finally. "Just talk." she added as Jack grinned. "This isn't a guarantee of anything. Tell her to come during the day, when Jackie's at school."

"Will do." Jack was still grinning.

Jackie let out a long breath as she stood in front of the Bennett household. She was still standing on the sidewalk, not having gone up the path yet. She could see Sophie in the window, pretending that she wasn't looking for her.

On a scale of one to ten, how much shouting do you think there's going to be?

"I think it's going to break the scale."

Great.

Jackie let out another long breath and walked up the path, crunching through the snow. She made it onto the doorstep and rang the door bell.

She was kept waiting for a bit until the door finally opened.

"Hi Sophie." Jackie tried to be cheerful.

"Jacqueline."

And cheerful would have to go down to civil if this kept up.

"May I come in?"

Sophie stood back silently and Jackie entered, taking care to wipe her feet on the mat. Sophie closed the door behind her and led her through the kitchen, past the stairs and into the lounge, where they both sat down.

The lounge had an arrangement of squashy sofas facing each other with a coffee table in the middle and the television up against one wall. Sophie sat on the far end, facing the door they just came in, while Jackie sat opposite, her back to the door.

Jackie fought the urge to shiver. The only way it could get any colder if Jackie actually lowered the temperature.

"So, Jack talked to you about this?" Jackie tried to break the ice.

"He did."

"And?"

"And, I want you to tell me what you are, who you work for and why you think teaching my daughter is a good idea."

So, only what I should tell you and things I should never have to tell anyone, great.

"Okay, I'll try to answer those in order." Jackie started off explaining Descendants, and HOG, with Sophie's face slowly turning red.

"And you intend for my Jackie to join this, HOG?" she asked, unable to mask the venom in her voice.

"What? No." Jackie really shouldn't be surprised that Sophie had jumped to the conclusion, she had started slipping into what she normally told Descendant parents. "She can if she wants, but that's not the primary reason I'm doing this."

"And what is your primary reason?"

Jackie really had to think, she couldn't just say 'because Jack asked me to', so what was the reason?

"Because she needs, and will need help."

"And you think I can't help her?" Sophie's voice was very quiet, but still sharp with steel.

"That's not what I'm saying. You're her mom, she will need you, not just as a mother but as an anchor, to keep her grounded, but she needs someone to teach her about her powers."

Sophie opened her mouth, but Jackie kept going. "She's powerful, more powerful than me. She probably has more power in her pinkie finger now than I ever did when I was her age. And it will only grow from here. She's going to hit puberty in a couple of years, and her power is only going to increase at an even greater rate from there. She'll need someone to help her control it."

"And you think that'll be you?"

Why do I get the feeling this a job interview?

"Er, maybe?" if this was a job interview, Jackie had no chance of being hired after that response. "I teach other Descendants, and there's more."

Sophie didn't say anything, so Jackie continued. "Jackie isn't the first half immortal to have ever existed, and, while she's unlikely to attract attention now, as she gets older, more immortals are going to try and use her, she needs to know how to use her powers properly. And, maybe learn how to fight. To defend herself." Jackie added as Sophie suddenly looked volcanic.

"And you're the expert, are you?"

"It's my job to know these things."

"And you think you understand what's it's like. From what you've told me you've probably been in the company of Descendants all your life. How could you have any idea what it's like for Jackie?"

"I know exactly what it's like. Because I'm an exception."

"Prove it."

"Alright." Jackie leaned back in her seat, fingers lacing together and a cold glint appearing for the first time in her eyes. Her suddenly wintery expression almost completely at odds with her casual clothing of jeans and a hoodie. "I'll tell you what it's like."

"You feel utterly alone."

Sophie blinked in surprise, but Jackie was just starting.

"You are surrounded and completely alone, because you can't show anyone. You make friends, but they'll never know you, not really, because you can't tell them. You have no idea what they will do with that information, what the consequences will be, and with a government focused on a war against terror you can only guess what might happen. You have to hide something as natural to you as breathing, and nothing can compare to that kind of loneliness."

"It's also terrifying, because you're not completely sure what will set off your power, anything could happen that could reveal your secret. Your Jackie is lucky, she has you and her friend Sarah. She can be herself to you, but not to anyone else. And no one can truly understand that, unless they also face or have faced that."

Jackie had gotten herself worked up now, and so was almost glaring at Sophie, wintery replaced with the heat of anger. "And you could have spared her that if you'd told me! If you'd trusted me! I was your friend! And in the absence of Jack Frost I am the fore most authority on anything to do with cyrokinesis! But no, you didn't trust me with anything, the only reason I even worked out who and what Jackie is was because I know Jack!"

Jackie suddenly realised that she'd gone too far and retracted her expression back to calm, but it was too late.

"You didn't trust me either!" Sophie shot back. "You didn't tell me what you were!"

"I didn't tell anyone. Anyone in Burgess only knows what I can do by accident and it's not as if I knew how to make them forget!"

"You told Jamie!"

"Jamie just happened to be there when it was explained to me."

"Because you got him hurt!"

"That wasn't me!" Jackie cried.

"I hear you killed your own brother with your powers."

Jackie stopped. "That was years ago. I was younger than your Jackie."

By now they'd both realised they'd gone too far, but they couldn't take back what they'd said.

There was silence for a few minutes as they took turns, staring then not looking at each other.

"You think Jackie could do that as well? Hurt someone?" Sophie asked quietly, but the steel was gone.

"She's your daughter, you tell me."

"...She'd never want to."

"Of course not." Jackie's expression was more sympathetic."But people can do things they regret when pushed into a corner. Especially if they're not in as full control of their abilities as they think."

Jackie's words rang true and Sophie had little issue doubting her. There was no doubt that Jackie was speaking from experience.

"You honestly think she could be in danger, at some point in the future?"

"It's possible. Half immortals always attract a lot of attention. More powerful than a Descendant and just as fragile."

Jackie had to laugh for a second, although there was little humour. "There's also the novelty factor. Descendants are a dime a dozen in comparison."

When Sophie didn't say anything Jackie continued. "And, know this. Jackie is my blood relative. We share Jack as a relation, that makes her, and you, family. I protect my family."

"You killed your brother." Sophie countered immediately and Jackie struggled not to sigh. That would forever remain a scar on her record and her mind.

"That was 32 years ago."

Sophie sighed. "I want to trust you, because I believe you, but I want my daughter to be safe."

"She will be safe with me."

"Can you promise that?"

Jackie paused, and then decided to tell the truth.

"No."

"Thought not." Sophie smirked, then started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"You were always so good at lying."

"I try not to lie as much these days."

"Still a liar. I remember when you babysat me. The lies you'd tell me about why were so cold, physically. The lies you told my mom about why you couldn't make it one night, or why you were limping. I know you slipped after a while, or rather Jamie slipped and you were too off guard to deny it."

Jackie tutted to herself. "Even then my skill was slipping. A skilled liar can make a plausible excuse at the drop of a hat."

Sophie shrugged, "Those lies would probably hold up now. But, thank you for being honest."

Sophie tapped her knee with her index finger. "I'll talk to Jackie. "Can you come over on Saturday for lunch?"

Jackie did have some paperwork to do that needed to be in that day, but Sophie didn't need to know that, she was just glad that relations had started to thaw. "Sure."

To save a massive explanation next chapter, I'll explain something here. There is a spoiler to 'My Little Sprite' in this, so you have been warned.

HOG was aware of the fact that Jackie Bennett froze her classroom. Billy was in Burgess on a day off and noticed it first, so was the one who told everyone else. Jackie Davies had to get Descendants of North in to deal with memories, but Sarah and Jonathon Jessup (both Puella Pulchra's characters) were already on the case. So the Descendants ending up working off of them.