A/N :

BIG thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed this story! You guys are awesome! :D

Wololf : Wow, you read it all in two days only? I'm amazed. Glad you enjoyed it! :)

Celino : I agree fear is important, at least to an extent, just like you said. I went through 'night terrors' as well, they are creepy as hell but great inspiration for the story. Always look on the bright side. Haha, yeah, Bunny is a real softie but working hard to hide it. And big brother Jack totally rules! Ohhh, you're from New Zealand! Hi there, my dear kiwi! :D

The story about those children's first snow is really sweet, I'll see if I can include that in a chapter later.

justEmma : Sure there will be more angst, because I love writing it, evil me, hehe. I don't know if I'll write about them finding out about the Easter incident, maybe if I get a decent idea.

LobbyLane : Sugar-shock fairies will be a global threat! *screams and hides*

Warning, this will be quite emotional. Ye be warned.


It had been a rough week for Jack. Now and then he went through phases in which a strange kind of homesickness suddenly engulfed him, the home he used to have over 300 years ago. And above all, he missed his family. While being happy and grateful for having become a cherished member of the guardians and them treating him as if they were related by blood, he just couldn't push back the fact that his true family had died long ago. After having watched his memories he realized how much his parents and his sister had meant to him, more than he had ever dared to imagine.

To keep his mind from dwelling on these sad thoughts he had decided to distract himself and spread some blizzards and try to make children see him…again. It had been two years since the battle against Pitch and Jamie as well as his friends had spread the news about Jack Frost being real around the little town. The adults merely chuckled and blamed it all on vivid imagination while a few of the children actually started believing in him. The feeling of his existence being finally acknowledged had filled him with joy, but it also sparked his desire to get even more believers. Even though he refused to think about it too much he knew that Jamie and the others were growing up and would sooner or later stop believing in him. If he didn't want to be invisible to the whole world again he had to take action.

Unfortunately his attempts proved to be as successful as they had been the last few centuries, with the exception of the small group of children in Burgess, namely not at all. Children were blessed with snow days, snowball fights, sleigh rides, laughter and joy. And yet, they had no idea he was there among them. He had spent days without any rest to achieve at least another believer, in vain. When he hadn't paid attention and a small girl walked through him he couldn't take the constant failure and frustration anymore and headed back to the North Pole. He was exhausted, emotionally more than physically. For a while he just wanted to forget it all and laid down on his comfortable bed to take a nap. No pondering, no worries, no brooding, just sweet peaceful sleep.

The Sandman made sure he always got pleasant dreams, but this time Jack wished he had simply spared him the kindness. When he woke up he rubbed his still tired eyes and tried to ignore what he had just experienced in his unconscious mind. And still the images of himself playing hide and seek with his sister in a springtime forest and their mother eventually calling them in for supper kept forcing their way through. Cheerful moments full of fun and happiness were replaced by regret and sadness. The immortal teen gazed at the silent walls around him and all of a sudden he felt so very lonely. He needed to talk to someone, longed for some friendly company.

Quickly he grabbed his staff and left the silent room behind him. As soon as he had set foot on the corridor he was greeted by the familiar sounds of bustling activity reaching all the way up from the lower floors. Yetis shouting gibberish nonsense at each other, hurrying from one side of the workshop to the other, carrying piles of toys in their huge hands and elves running between them randomly or delivering sweet snacks, the bells on their hats jingling brightly. Jack had to smile due to the positive chaos before he continued walking towards North's office.

Just when he reached for the doorknob he remembered what the Russian Santa had told everyone so often. Instead of busting in the winter spirit gently knocked on the heavy wood, patiently waiting until a loud yet hearty voice yelled "Come in!".

"Hey, North."

"Hello, Jack! What brings you here?" the Cossack greeted him and shortly looked up from the block of ice in front of him, which would be another prototype for a brandnew toy soon but still had a rough undefinable shape right now.

The immortal teen didn't know what to reply. He seeked the older man's company because he felt lonely, but that sounded too pathetic to his own ears. His pride convinced him to give another answer, one he had yet to find.

"I, well-"

A loud thud cut him short and both guardians stared at the flung open door and the upset yeti standing at the entrance of the room. North sighed at the sudden interruption, wishing his fellow helpers would follow Jack's lead and finally learn how to knock. At least none of his precious creations got broken this time.

"What's the matter?" he asked while being slightly afraid of the answer already.

As usual the white-haired boy had no clue what the muttering and grumbling of the furry giant was supposed to mean, even though the tone and hectic of it indicated rather unpleasant news. A sudden throaty deep groan from North confirmed his assumption had been right.

"Alright, I'll be coming." he eventually spoke definitely not jolly at all and gestured at the yeti to leave and head back to wherever he had been working.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked curiously and a little worried.

"Elves dropped paint over finished toys, I got to see if they can still be saved or if yetis have to produce them anew." the Russian explained obviously frustrated about the incident and let out another moan before he stood up.

"Sorry, Jack. We'll talk later." he apologized and patted the teen's shoulder as he walked past him and out of the office.

"No problem…see ya." Jack kept his voice light and unfazed, hiding how disappointed he was.

Lacking any sort of motivation he trudged back to his room to ponder what else he could do to keep his mind busy. He let himself collapse on his bed like a wet rag and stared at the ceiling as if the solution to his problems was hidden somewhere up there. It refused to show itself so his gaze wandered around his room once more…until cerulean orbs landed on a golden shimmering capsule which was resting on his desk. Ignoring the pain in his soul and the root of his suffering had failed and soon he was daydreaming about his family again. No matter how hard he tried and how much the feeling of longing plagued him, he just couldn't make himself stop.

He had watched the memories in his toothbox so often and after every time he wished to learn more about his family, mainly what had happened after he had died. Too bad he couldn't access the memories of his sister.

"That's it!" he shot up into a sitting position and cursed himself for not having thought of this earlier.

His plan was simple and easy. All he had to do was seek Tooth and persuade her to give him his sister's toothbox. Well, maybe it would be less easy than he was hoping, the fairy took her job and the accompanying responsibilities extremely serious. Jack knew that there was a sort of prohibition which forbid anyone to take a look at someone else's memories, but in his case it was about family so he crossed his fingers that she would make an exception.


Countless little tooth fairies zoomed past him on his way towards the main tower of the Tooth Palace. Several of them squealed in delight and greeted him shortly before continuing to either gather or deliver children's lost baby teeth. When he further approached the center of the impressive Asian architecture he already saw the Guardian of Memories fluttering to and fro in the openly constructed top level of a high golden tower. His presence stayed unacknowledged by her at first since she was fully concentrated on giving orders to her fairies but this didn't surprise Jack. When it was about teeth she rarely took notice of anything else around her. Only thanks to Baby Tooth, who immediately let out a cheerful squeak the moment her mismatched eyes landed on the winter spirit, did the hummingbird-hybrid realize that they had company.

"Hello, Jack! What a pleasure to see you!"

"Hi, Tooth…and hi, Baby Tooth." Jack added smiling when the tiny fairy dashed towards him and rubbed her tiny head against his cheek.

She was aware of the jealous glares of her sisters without even having to look in their direction and loved it. She knew very well that she was the young guardian's favourite fairy and how badly the others desired to have the same privilege.

"Are you busy?"

Jack felt stupid for the question right after the words had left his mouth. Dozens of fairies were fluttering around their 'mother' and hundreds were working all around the palace and the globe, if that couldn't be called 'busy' then what could be? Tooth however merely mentioned a few more addresses and what kind of teeth had to be picked up before she focused her attention back on her visitor.

"To be honest, the amount of lost teeth has increased significantly during the last weeks. I heard something about a soccer world championship. I guess more children are trying out this sport and taking it a little too far." she sighed and secretly hoped the soccer-hype would end as abruptly as it had begun.

"Oh, well…I don't want to bother you but…can I ask you something?" the teen asked, a mixture of urgence and insecurity shining through his voice and instantly sparking the female's interest.

"Of course, but I'm afraid I really don't have much time. Baby Tooth, would you take my place for a moment?" she spoke and the smaller feathery being nodded despite having a hard time tearing herself away from her best friend.

The two guardians went to the edge of the tower where they had a perfect overview of the entire Palace but above all, it was quieter there than in the middle of the gathering of fairies.

"What's troubling you?" Tooth inquired softly and curiously gazed at the young spirit next to her.

"Well, I…you know I have no memories of my past life except those which are stored away in my toothbox…and I wondered…if you can give me the toothbox of….my sister…so I can find out what happened to her and my mother after I…you know."

Silence followed, only several seconds but for Jack it felt like minutes of uncomfortable waiting for a reaction. His blue eyes met the fairy's purple ones and the empathic yet sad glint in them already revealed that the upcoming answer wouldn't be what he was hoping for.

"I'm sorry, Jack…it's not allowed to watch the memories of others because they're personal and should stay secrets. I'd like to help you, I really do, but even if I made an exception for you it wouldn't be possible. Memories can only be accessed by the owners of the teeth and me. You wouldn't be able to see them."

Yes, that was definitely not what he had wanted to hear.

"No way?" the frost teen asked with a last glimmer of hope and Tooth's own heart stung when she had to extinguish it.

"No way, I'm so-" the hummingbird fairy started but was alerted by a chaotic chorus of high-pitched squeaks coming from the center of the tower where Baby Tooth was pretty much overstrained with the task.

Under normal circumstances it was no problem for her to take the handle and direct her sisters around the globe but the current unusually high amount of lost teeth was simply too much for her to handle. The Guardian of Memories glanced at the increasing crowd of fairies gathering in the tower and back at the winter spirit apologetically.

"You better take care of them. They need you." Jack spoke and forced a smile.

"I'll see you at the next guardian meeting." he added and was carried away by a gust of wind before Tooth had the chance to say goodbye since her attention was still drawn to the troubled fairies.

When she noticed that he wasn't by her side anymore all she saw was his slender form disappearing in the distance.


This day definitely belonged into the garbage bin. Why couldn't anything go right? After the setback at the Tooth Palace Jack desperately needed to get his spirits up again and since he was close to Australia the idea of paying Bunnymund a surprise visit sounded promising to him. A friendly banter and maybe a prank would distract him from the failure of the preceeding hours.

But soon he had to face the fact that this day still wasn't granting him any sort of success or fun. It was quiet in the Warren, only a few butterflies were fluttering from flower to flower and the only sound to be heard was the barely audible flow of the paint river. There was no sign of the Easter spirit anywhere.

"Bunny? Hey, come out of your hiding place, kangaroo! Helloooooo!? Cottontail, I know you're here!"

Apparently he wasn't there or the use of the loathed nicknames would have lured him out and caused a snarky reply already. Jack guessed the furry guardian was travelling through countries to gain inspiration for new egg designs again. It was a perpetual part of his job but why did he have to do it today of all days? Jack groaned and raised his hands to the sky in frustration.

"Fine then." he muttered to himself grumpily and glared at the lush green scenery.

Everything screamed spring and happiness, the brightly coloured flowers, the exotic butterflies, the warm rays of sunlight shining down from the huge opening between the rocks above. The positive athmosphere wasn't strong enough to compete against his sour mood, on the contrary, it seemed to mock him. He didn't want to stay here any longer. And there was still another place he could seek for company and uplifting words.

"Hey, wind, take me to Burgess!"


Jamie's window was shut. Jack peeked through the thick glass in hope of spotting the boy but after visually searching the whole room several times he had to accept that his first believer was definitely not in there. After sighing in defeat he flew to another window and finally found a reason to lighten up again.

In her room Sophie was sitting between a pile of drawings, still blank sheets of paper and an impressive amount of crayons on the carpet. Her focus on her artistic pastime was disturbed by a knock coming from the other end of the room. It confused her for a moment since the door was on the other side. As she followed the direction of the mysterious sound her eyes widened in joy the second she saw the white-haired teen grinning at her from behind the window. She quickly stood up and hurried there to open it and let him in, greeting him with a hug around the legs when his feet had barely touched the floor.

"Hi, Soph." he smiled and hugged her back gladly.

"Hi, Jack! Wanna draw with me?" the 5-year-old asked straight-forwardly, didn't bother to wait for a reply and grabbed him by the hand to drag him to the mess of art supplies on the ground.

"Sure, let's see what you got there already." he chuckled and sat down next to her where he took a look at the colourful scribbles.

"Wow, these are nice! All done today?"

"Yes!" the toddler beamed with pride and shoved a blank paper towards him before she continued to finish her own picture.

It showed very rough shapes of a small blonde girl and a taller brunette boy riding a sleigh.

"Is that you and Jamie?" Jack asked and was met with a slightly offended expression, as if it should have been obvious and the simple question was an insult to her artistic abilities.

"Of course!"

"Yeah, sorry...by the way, where is your brother?"

The child merely shrugged and reached for a green crayon, appearing to ignore the question but eventually mumbled while her gaze was still fixed on her drawing.

"At a friend's...staying overnight, I think."

"Oh."

Perfect timing like everything and everyone had today. But he wouldn't dwell on the bad luck right now, there was no reason for it since he had finally encountered someone who had time and leisure to keep him company. He watched the youngest Bennett work feverishly on her drawing and had to smile at how concentrated she was on the task. A few minutes later she was done and held it up to him proudly.

"Looks cool, you got talent!" Jack praised her and successfully caused a deliriously happy grin on her face.

"Don't you wanna draw something, too?" she asked when she noticed that the piece of paper which lay in front of him was still blank.

"I do, just needed to get an idea first." he explained and grabbed a blue crayon.

Just as he had drawn the first line he heard the faint sound of footsteps. Barely five seconds later Mrs. Bennett had opened the door and faced her daughter, who was darting an ominous look at her. She feared the worst and when her mother started to talk she knew her assumption had been right.

"Time for bed, sweetie."

Both Sophie and Jack glanced at the window. They hadn't even noticed that the sun had set and the night had approached already. The frost teen let out something that couldn't be quite defined and was either a weak groan or a throaty sigh.

"Noooo, I'm not tired yet! Not at all! And we're busy." the child started whining.

"Who is 'we'?" the brunette woman inquired curiously.

"Jack and me!"

Mrs. Bennet chuckled at her offspring's vivid imagination, apparently she and Jamie shared the same imaginary friend.

"Jack Frost?"

"Who else?" the toddler replied and smiled at the guardian who was returning the gesture.

"Well, I think Jack is tired, too." Mrs. Bennett tried to play along.

"No, I'm not." the spirit replied bluntly and let Sophie pass on the message.

"He says he isn't."

"You have to go to bed anyway."

"Just 5 more minutes!"

"Enough of this, you can draw again tomorrow. Now say goodbye to Jack and let's tidy up, it's late." Mrs. Bennett said in a firm yet loving tone and helped her put the artistic supplies back into the plastic box where they belonged.

Sophie gazed at the white-haired spirit miserably and hoped he had a master plan to get her out of this. Unfortunately all he had to offer was an apologetic smile and a shrug of his shoulders.

"You better listen to your Mom, we can play another time." he suggested with apparent chagrin in his voice and patted the child's head gently.

"See ya."

"Bye, Jack!" she shouted so suddenly that it took her mother completely by surprise.

The Guardian of Fun walked towards the left ajar window, pushed it open and jumped out of it into the night. Mrs. Bennett shuddered as a chilly gust of wind blew around them and immediately hurried to shut the window again.

Instead of flying away Jack stayed close, on the roof of the house. He didn't know why, maybe it was because he didn't feel ready to be completely on his own just yet again. Faint singing reached his ear, evoking his inherent curiosity, so he flew back to Sophie's window where it was coming from. Staring through it into to room he saw Mrs. Bennett singing a lullaby to her little daughter, who was resting in her bed with closed eyes and a soft smile on her face. A sense of déjà vu crawled up from the back of his mind when it slowly dawned on him why it seemed so familiar. He had watched this scene in his memories, just with his own mother and him. She used to sing him to sleep when he was a child. The pain of homesickness and the desperate longing to have his family back returned like an avalanche overwhelming his soul. And still he had to keep on staring at the display of motherly affection. Only when Mrs. Bennett bent down and gave her daughter a gentle goodnight kiss on the forehead did he find himself unable to witness it any longer.

Back on the roof Jack sank down, his back leaned against the chimney and knees pulled to his chest. He blinked shortly through watery eyes, noticing golden swirls of sand in the distance. After everything that had happened or rather failed today he was convinced that the Sandman didn't have time for him just like anyone else. The guardian was always busy with spreading dreams all over the world so Jack wouldn't even bother to run into the next disappointment. He seriously had enough of those. Even if it was a lost case he buried his face in his arms and tried to blend out his emotions by focusing on his breathing instead. All of a sudden he sensed a presence near him and lifted his head to glimpse at whoever had joined him.

"Hey, Sandy..." he greeted the little golden man with mild surprise but also still lingering sadness.

Since the incident with Pitch the Sandman paid extra attention to the Bennett's house. After all Jamie had brought him back to life and they owed a great deal of their victory to him. Ensuring that the boy and his sister got the most pleasant dreams possible was the least he could do.

Like every night he sprinkled an extra dose of golden sand over their home and that's when he spotted the winter spirit cowering on the roof. Intuitively he felt that something was wrong with the youth and he wasted not a single moment to check up what exactly was troubling him. When he landed mere feet away from him and Jack looked up he instantly noticed the glazed eyes and sad tone in his voice.

The teen stayed where he was without moving a muscle, just staring at the swirls of dreamsand Sandy sent in various directions before he slowly floated towards him. Over his head a golden snowflake, followed by an ok sign and a question mark appeared.

"I'm fine." the frost teen replied so unconvincedly that neither himself nor the Sandman believed it.

Golden arms were crossed and a raised eyebrow clearly indicated that he wouldn't accept this as final answer. Finally there was someone Jack could talk to and now he didn't know what to say. Words and sentences formed in his mind but he couldn't seem to find the right ones. They would make him sound weak and pathetic. He also feared he would start crying as soon as he uttered what was weighing so heavily on his soul. Sometimes he damned his foolish pride.

Sandy perceived the young man's internal struggle and sat down next to him, putting a tiny hand on his shoulder. Jack instinctively leaned into the touch and let out a soft sigh before closing his eyes for a moment. The older guardian waited patiently until the teen was ready and when he opened his cerulean eyes again he hesitantly started to speak.

"It's just...I kinda miss my family...you know, from my past life. It's stupid because I have you guys now and Jamie and Sophie and I'm really happy about it but...I still miss them."

His shoulders tensed as he pulled his legs closer to his chest in a futile attempt to keep his emotions at bay. On the one hand he felt relieved to have said it out loud at last but on the other hand he wished he had been strong enough to deal with it on his own and pretend everything was alright. He avoided eye contact with the golden man who kept looking sympathetically at him, silent as ever.

"Sometimes I wish I could see them one last time. Not only in my memories, but in reality..." Jack whispered so quietly that Sandy wondered for a moment if he had intended for him to hear it or not.

The gears in his mind started to turn in search of a way to help his young comrade. Not long later, he smiled brightly to himself. He had gotten an idea, nothing that would be a permanent solution but still better than not doing anything. If it gave Jack comfort for at least a little while then it would be worth it. Sandy was rather sure it would be overwhelming and tear down the wall the immortal teen had desperatly built around his feelings. But maybe that's what was necessary right now. No holding back or acting tough, just letting it all out.

After what had seemed like forever Jack finally faced the short guardian again when he send swirls of dreamsand around the youth's head. Instead of asking questions he merely shot an inquisitive look at him and watched as the sand traveled back to its master. Sandy concentrated for a second before more swirls appeared and took the shape of an adult female. Jack's jaw dropped as he stared at the golden glowing form coming to life and gracefully walking towards him. He trembled, stood up and dearly hoped his legs wouldn't give out under him. The golden woman, who was about his height, was now standing right in front of him and smiling lovingly. He opened his mouth but no sound came out, it took him several attempts until he was able to utter a single word, his voice sounding cracked and shaky.

"Mother..."

A tender hand reached out and stroked over his cheek. He couldn't take it anymore and threw himself into her arms, tears freely streaming down as he pressed his face into her shoulder. Gentle arms embraced him and held him close, his body shivering with every sob.

"I miss you...I miss you so much..."

Suddenly he felt another touch and glanced behind him where a tall grown-up man, made from dreamsand as well, had manifested and joined the hug. Jack felt his father's strong arms around him and wished they could stay like this forever. He had thought it was impossible to ever experience what it felt like to have his real family around again, even though they were not real and only creations of the Sandman. It didn't matter to him. He had them back, if only for a moment. But they weren't complete yet. Right then he felt somebody pulling at his sleeve and stared at the little golden girl who was smiling brightly at him. Jack softly let go of his parents and knelt down to the dreamsand replica of his sister.

"Hey Becky..." he spoke through watery blue eyes.

The girl's smile grew even wider as she wrapped her arms around her older brother, who didn't hesitate to do the same. More tears forced their way out as he held her tight.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you..."

He knew this wasn't his actual sister but he had to tell her anyway. It was something he had wanted to say to her ever since he had watched his memories for the first time. Although he had saved her life he also felt guilty. First they had lost their father and then, just when they had managed to carry on, he abandoned them as well. The fact that it hadn't been his fault and he had no way of remembering anything was secondary.

Sandy, who he hadn't even realized was still there, squeezed his shoulder gently and no words needed to be uttered as the two guardians looked at each other. It was time to say goodbye.

Jack got up, took his dreamsand-sister by the hand and led her to their parents, for a last embrace. His mother placed a tender kiss on his forehead and he closed his eyes, leaning into the safety of his family and taking everything in. The touch, the warmth, the comfort, the certainty of being loved.

"I won't ever forget you again...I love you." he whispered almost inaudibly.

Reluctantly he let go of them and walked a few steps back until he was standing next to Sandy. The mute guardian waited for a sign from the white-haired boy, who eventually gave him a hesitant nod. Slowly the golden human shapes dissolved into swirls of glimmering dreamsand, affectionate expressions directed at their son and brother gracing their faces to the very last moment. Jack took a deep breath and stared at them until they had completely vanished before he sank down on the roof again, emotionally drained and exhausted.

It was the bittersweetest experience he had ever had and yet he felt better than he had before. Maybe this had been what he needed. Sniffling weakly he gazed at the Sandman and smiled gratefully.

"Sandy, I-I..." he began but once more the words got caught in his throat.

The Guardian of Dreams knew precisely how deeply it had touched the young man and how much it meant to him. If this hadn't been an immense emotional overload then he didn't know what was. There had been a lot of hugging but one more couldn't hurt. Jack was mildly taken aback as the Sandman gave him a hug out of the blue. He had to smile and returned the gesture, enjoying the silent comfort of his friend, someone who was part of his new family.

"Thank you."


A/N : *hands out tissues* Reviews are highly appreciated as usual! ^_^