Author's Note: Surprise! I was supposed to spend today taking a break from the fic, but instead I wound up writing a whole other chapter. I blame Silversun XD for this since their review reminded me that it has actually been a long time since my first mention of the letter. I looked back and was appalled to see that it had actually been over ten chapters. I felt really guilty about that, so I decided to add in a bit with Father Time and Jamie. I haven't forgotten all about that plot, but it's not time to add it in just now.

As I was looking back at that, Crossover Junkie's review reminded me about hanging plot threads, and as I looked back at Toy Time and Toy Time Pt 2, I realized that I had left a lot hanging when I had moved on to more exciting things. So I wanted to turn back the clock a little and bring some of those plot threads into play with this chapter. This chapter was supposed to be all happy and fluffy, but August wasn't cooperating darnit and I realized that it wouldn't be realistic if I had him just happily go along with everyone. So there will be some angst in this too.

Now.. reviews!

Lady Syndra was happy Gethen got his revenge and I can see her point. Everyone was so mean to Gethen all that time ago, it's no wonder that he sought out revenge. I am sad about the spirits I killed off though.. I think Mistral and Leif would be interesting to have in the story more, but oh well. :(

Silversun XD was curious about the time traveling that the letter implied and where exactly that plot is going to go. I can't tell you, of course, since that would ruin the surprise. But I did feel bad, so I put in a bit with Father Time and Jamie, just for you. It doesn't explain anything, really, but it gets the plot moving along in that direction a little.

Crossover Junkie suggested I resume Toy Making, and I have to tell you that I am one step ahead of you this time! :P

I also have to warn you guys that this chapter is probably the longest one I've ever written since I knew that I absolutely couldn't end it where I was thinking of since that would be too cruel. So without further ado, here it is!

Chapter Sixty: Painting Party

North was all set to go into party mode as the music from the elf band swelled. He grinned at Jack and Pitch, but Pitch was frowning at the elves' antics.

Pitch started to talk, but the music was drowning him out and he gave a loud sigh that was unheard by everyone except for Jack. Pitch leaned in towards Jack and half-shouted in his ear.

Jack nodded and headed back to the couch, leaning down towards Mother Nature and Lillian to relay Pitch's message. He had to shout to be heard as well.

Pitch was glaring his harshest glare at the elf band, but the elves weren't exactly the brightest of the bunch and played on with even more enthusiasm than before.

Finally, Pitch's patience snapped and he shouted loud enough to be heard even over the band.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

The band ground to a halt and everyone stopped to stare at Pitch, who appeared to have an eye tick and looked rather angry at the elves and their terrible playing.

"Is never enough!" North said as he was about to gesture at the elves to resume playing. "You and Jack are Guardians now, we have much celebrating to do!"

Pitch pinched the bridge of his nose, looking almost pained to have to explain this to North.

"In case you haven't noticed," he said in a sort of forced calm, "there's a room full of exhausted spirits, including my children. All of whom still need quite a bit of rest."

North frowned at this, but finally seemed to notice all the pale faces, and that the Summer Spirits especially were all covered in various blankets and shivering in the very open room.

Tooth smiled at Pitch.

"We understand! We can do something once everyone's fully recovered."

Pitch muttered something that sounded like "Finally" as he went over to the couch where Lillian was. He went to scoop her up but then frowned as he took in Jack's form. Jack appeared to be struggling to stay on his feet, so he couldn't carry Lillian. He looked down at Lillian, who looked back up at him with her emerald eyes.

Sighing, he looked around and spotted Bunny. He glanced down at Lillian and decided to see how things would go. He carried her over to Bunny before handing her over.

"She needs to get to her room," he instructed the surprised Pooka before he turned and headed back to Mother Nature.

He gently picked her up into his arms and went to carry her off. He paused as he noticed he was the only one headed toward the rooms before he gave another sigh and snapped harshly at them all with a "Well? Are you coming to bed or are you all going to collapse on your feet?"

At Pitch's reprimand, all the Seasonals hastened to obey. Jasper especially hurried, not wanting to anger the new Guardian, as he was still unused to a Pitch that was anything but mean.

Soon everyone had been settled back into bed, Lillian had allowed Bunny to tuck her in and she had her sprites all resting on her pillow nearby her.

"I'm not tired," Lillian complained, but she sounded exhausted. She just didn't want to rest in bed since that was so boring.

"If yer so awake, why don't ya tell us a story," Bunny said with a smirk and a challenging tone.

"Fine!" Lillian huffed, "Once upon a time.."

"Nah, it should be somethin' that really happened to ya," Bunny interrupted as he sat down on the edge of her bed, enjoying himself.

Hesitantly, Flora and Kelby sat near the bed as well, so they could hear. They didn't know a lot about their Seasonal, but they would be more than happy to learn more about her.

"Like what?" Lillian asked, sounding put out.

Bunny paused, thinking before he smirked again. "Tell us about yer favorite holiday. As a human and a spirit."

It was Lillian's turn to pause, as memories swirled around. Unbidden, memories of her life as a child swam in front of her eyes. She had never liked Christmas since Santa never brought her presents. She was always bad, her father had always told her so. Their household didn't really celebrate any holidays, she realized as she thought some more about it. She remembered sitting down and writing Santa a lot of letters in her short life, but he never answered her.

Bunny was starting to get a little worried as the silence stretched out. He had thought his demands for a story would be something fun and that would help them all learn more about her. Lillian loved having fun, but she didn't really open up about herself too much. She was too busy running around with Jack or working on her book, or in more recent times, helping to save the world.

Just as he was about to tell her to forget it, she started to speak.

"My favorite as a human was always Easter," she said, her voice soft and sad. Thinking about all that time ago made her feel small and like a child again. "I liked finding the Easter eggs and putting them in my pockets."

Bunny's smirk came back and widened again. Ha! Take that, North!

"As a spirit.." Lillian trailed off, thinking of all the holidays she and Jack had celebrated with Pitch. She remembered when she and Jack had decorated Pitch's globe room and her sad look was replaced with a smile. "It's Christmas. The first Christmas I had with my new family."

Bunny blinked at that, but it made sense. But then he frowned a little at that.

"Why didn't ya like Christmas as a kid?" he asked, curious as to why she didn't love Christmas just as much when she was a human.
However, silence greeted this question and he looked down at her questioningly, before he noticed that her eyes had drifted closed and she seemed to be asleep.

He shook his head at that. Even though she was over forty years old, she was still such a kid. He reached out and let a paw rest gently on her curls, a soft smile on his face before he pulled it away and stood up. He made sure to cover her up with the warm blankets before he quietly left the room to let the spirits get some rest.


It was while all the Seasonals and the spirits and sprites were all recovering, that Father Time had noticed something was amiss. He had gone to peer in at his Room of Possibilities and saw that everything seemed to be fine for now. No adventures were brewing at the moment and he nodded to himself.

But when he had peered into another room, he had noticed that things seemed.. off. He looked at all the miniature hourglasses lined up on the shelves. He had some that were silver, and some that were gold. He had a few that were in other colors, all of the colors meaning something significant for their uses.

He used to use these long ago in place of time traveling spells, as these were much easier to use. Just a simple turn or two, and there he was, in another time.

But now as he looked around, he could see that some of his hour glasses were out of alignment. He frowned as he walked amongst the shelves, and then paused in shock as he stared at the silver hour glasses. Even though they had been moved to try and hide it, there was no denying that one was missing.

Someone had stolen one of his hour glasses!

But the question was: Who?


Jamie paused as he came out of one of his classes. For some reason, he couldn't concentrate on Mr. Underhill's droning voice today, even though this history lesson was pretty interesting. Mr. Underhill had whipped out his phone right after he dismissed class and was once again perusing articles about the terrible blizzard that had struck California, and the very severe thunderstorm it had somehow turned into after the temperature had mysteriously risen.

Jamie walked down the hallway, careful to not walk into anyone as he went to his locker. He spun the dial on his combination lock and soon had it open. He tossed his history book inside and grabbed his English text and then paused as he stared at the cover, suddenly remembering the strange letter he had gotten.

What had that letter said?

You'll know this adventure is beginning when you get Ms. Parker as your English teacher.

He shivered as he put the book in his backpack along with his English notebook. He grabbed a few books he'd also need later on in the day and closed his locker quickly. He could feel his heart beat faster as he thought of the letter. It had said that he would have his biggest adventure yet, and it had sounded like he would be all by himself.

The other kids had dismissed the letter with everything else that had been going on with the weather, but Jamie couldn't help but keep thinking about it.

With trepidation, he walked off to his English class and hesitantly entered the room. He let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding as he saw Mr. Plum at the front of the room like usual. He sat at his desk as a few of his friends shot him curious looks. They had seen how nervous Jamie had been when he had entered the room, but Jamie took out his English book and notebook and avoided their gaze.

He didn't want to admit it to anyone, but he was scared. Even though he had seen more than most children his age, he was still just a child. He stared down at his English book as Mr. Plum began to speak.

He really hoped the letter writer was wrong and that he never got Ms. Parker as an English teacher. He didn't know what he'd do if that happened.

The letter had been so confusing too! How was he supposed to go back in time anyway? Was time travel even possible?!


It had been a few days since the failed party and Lillian was bored. She and her sprites were visiting Jack and his sprites, while August and Jasper were off doing whatever. Even though they had all worked together to get the weather back to normal, they still weren't very close.

Lillian was sitting by Jack's side on the bed while the Spring and Winter Spirits and Sprites looked at one another awkwardly. They had all been held captive together, but they were not particularly close. They were opposites and their different temperature requirements made it hard for them to be in the same room together.

Flora didn't know how her Seasonal could stand to sit so close to Jack Frost. He practically radiated cold, and she shivered again and drew the blanket she had close around her shoulders. Kelby shot her a concerned look, but neither of the two Seasonals was paying them any attention.

"We should work on our toys!" Lillian exclaimed suddenly, as she remembered them. It had been so long since they worked on them that she had forgotten all about them. "Do you think Pitch ever finished his?"

"I doubt it," Jack replied as he thought of all the drama that had been going on.

"I need to interview August and Jasper," Lillian said as she realized this was the perfect opportunity to do so. "And you can show them your Snow Bazooka."

"Snowball thrower," Jack corrected automatically.

"Yeah!" Lillian agreed with a smile. "C'mon!"

She grabbed Jack's hand as she leapt up from the bed and dragged him off the bed and out of the room. Flora and Kelby looked at one another and then at the Winter Spirit in concern. What were their Seasonals up to now?

"We better follow them," Kelby said nervously. He didn't want to know what Pitch Black would say when he realized that they had let their Seasonals get out of bed. Kelby and Flora had been nervous just letting Lillian visit Jack Frost, and now here they were running off doing who knew what.

Lillian paused outside Jasper's room and knocked briefly before barging right in. She looked around the room curiously as she dragged Jack inside by his hand. There were a few Fall Sprites and Spirits around. Jasper was sitting on his bed, happily chatting away with his Fall Spirits. Crispin, Kale, and Laurel were all looking much better now that they had some rest, and were sitting on the bed with their Seasonal, eyes sparkling as they all caught up.

At the sound of the hasty knock and the door banging open, however, they all turned their heads. Crispin, Kale, and Laurel had all flinched at the loud sound, and Jasper had scrambled off the bed, taking a defensive position in front of his spirits. He gaped in surprise to see Lillian barging her way into his room with Jack Frost in tow.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, confusion evident as he stared at them.

Even though he was Jack's twin, he looked like he was in his twenties while Jack was still technically a child, and looked a bit younger. Now that Jack had his memories of his former life back, he could appreciate how much Jasper looked like Jack did when he was a human. If Jack had been human at that moment, they would look like brothers.

"Jack and I wanted you to see our toys. Well, I need help with mine," Lillian said in a rush. "I'm making a book about the Seasonals and I need to know some stuff."

Jasper took this all in and looked more confused than ever.

"..What?"

Jack laughed at Jasper's confusion and helped out with the explanations.

"Before everything happened, Lillian and I were helping to make some toys for Christmas. I was making a snowball thrower and Lillian was making a book that could be given out to the kids. It was going to explain all about the Seasonal Spirits, but Lillian doesn't know a lot about them. About you."

Jasper's brow furrowed as he listened to Jack's explanation.

"You're going to tell mortals about us?" he finally asked. "All of us?"

Lillian nodded.

"I wanted to tell them about Pitch too, but I think this book should be just for Seasonals. When I had a cold earlier, I was trying to come up with some spring drawings I could use for the book in the Spring section."

She looked hesitant as she continued to speak, as if afraid that Jasper would laugh at her or reject her.

"I was thinking that each of us could do some drawings or paintings for our section of the book," she said as she looked down at her feet instead.

Jasper looked surprised again, but then a smile slowly spread on his face at the thought of getting his hands on some paints. It felt like it had been so long since he had painted!

Jack saw the smile and looked relieved. He didn't want Lillian to be disappointed if Jasper said no.

"Are there any paints around?" Jasper asked eagerly, as he thought about painting a beautiful fall scene. He couldn't paint his forest for this book, of course, since he didn't want to give the location of his home away, but he could still paint a lovely more generic fall scene with lots of trees and leaves. Maybe he would include some pumpkins near the trees. Or a scarecrow. He couldn't wait to get started, as his mind took in all the possibilities.

Lillian finally noticed the look on Jasper's face and stifled a giggle.

"You really like painting, don't you?"

Jasper nodded absently, already lost in the world of Fall, thinking of things he could paint. Maybe he would make several paintings and select one to go into the book. The rest he could keep for himself. He had a large home and there was always room for more paintings.

"Well, North doesn't really have good paints here," Lillian said regretfully. "But Bunny said we could come to his Warren whenever we wanted. I bet he has a lot of good paints since he paints so many eggs. He probably has some easels and stuff we could use too."

Jasper's eyes widened at that. They were going to a Guardian's home to paint? It was unreal!

"R-really?" Jasper said, his voice a little higher than normal. "He wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not!" Lillian said with a giggle. "He's really nice. Do you think August would mind going to the Warren?"

Jasper looked thoughtful as he thought about it, shaking his mind away from painting for now.

"..I'm not sure," he said as he looked doubtful. "August is.. well.. August. If he's well enough to go anywhere, he'd probably go home before anything else. Or at least to California and see how things are going there. If the weather's good enough, he'd probably go surfing."

Disappointment filled Lillian's face as her expression fell.

"He wouldn't want to spend any time with us?" she asked, her voice small.

Jasper sighed as he looked down at Lillian. This was part of the reason why August didn't like her very much. She was rash and very childlike. She didn't even consider how the difference in temperature in such a spring-like place like the Warren would affect them.

"It's not that he doesn't want to spend time with you," Jasper lied. He knew for a fact that August didn't like what he called the baby Spring Spirit very much. She didn't seem to have as much care for Spring as Leif had, and it grated on August's nerves. "It's just that August is a Summer Spirit. He can't take milder temperatures like we all can. He needs very warm places or else he feels too cold."

"Oh!" Lillian exclaimed as understanding dawned in her eyes. "But Jack would melt if we went somewhere really warm. Couldn't August bundle up really well, just for a few hours?"

Of course August could do just that, Jasper realized. All he would need to do is borrow some more clothes and blankets. The question really should be if August would want to. Jasper seriously doubted if August would want to. But then again, having himself immortalized into a book might stroke August's ego enough to have him go along with it. Especially if August was told there'd be something about his favorite state in it.

"Maybe," Jasper said doubtfully. "But you better let me ask."

Hurt entered Lillian's eyes and she held her arms to herself.

"He doesn't like me," she said softly, more to herself.

"That's not true!" Jack quickly exclaimed, but then looked at Jasper. "Right?"

Jasper looked awkward at being put on the spot like that but was saved the trouble of answering as August himself entered Jasper's room.

"I swear I'm going to freeze - " August started, but then stopped as he saw Jack and Lillian were in the room. His lips turned down into a frown as he saw the two Seasonals there. Sure, he had helped Frost out with his staff, but that didn't mean that they were friends. And he was still angry at Lillian for abandoning them like that, even if she did rescue their missing Spirits and Sprites. She could have at least told them what they were up to!

"August," Jasper said as he gave his friend a nervous smile.

"Do you like me?" Lillian asked August suddenly as she whirled around to face him, peering at him from behind Jack.

August looked startled at the sudden question, but his frown deepened.

Jasper could sense that August was about to be.. well, August, but he couldn't think of anything to say to get August to be more gentle in his reply. Sometimes August could be quite blunt and he knew that it would hurt the Spring Spirit's feelings. Comparing her to Leif was perhaps unfair, but he and August had been doing that a lot lately when they had gotten together to gossip about Jack and Lillian.

"Why should I?" August said to Lillian as Lillian's face fell even more. Jack put a protective hand on Lillian's shoulder as August went on. "You make Spring flowers out of season and don't have a care for them. You accused me of the out of season weather at our meeting with Mother Nature. You selfishly went off to get your vengeance when you should have been helping us to fix the weather. You whine and pout like the child you look like. What is there to like about you?" he finished harshly.

Lillian's eyes filled with tears as she started to cry. She had never heard anyone say such mean things about her before. Jack, unfortunately, had been used to such things being said about him for hundreds of years, but he still felt sad that his friend had to hear such things. He picked up Lillian in his arms and glared at August.

"That was uncalled for!" he snapped, his blue eyes turning darker in his anger. "Lillian cares more than anyone about Spring, and she can't help it that wherever she walks, Spring flowers sprout up! And in case you haven't noticed, she rescued all the missing spirits and sprites by 'selfishly going off to get her vengeance!'"

August balled his hands into fists as his eyes blazed.

"She doesn't care as much as Leif did!" he shouted. "He spent hours making his flowers petal by petal and she does it in a few seconds! She spreads Spring in minutes without a care when Leif spent so much time carefully crafting everything about it!"

Lillian looked like she had been slapped and buried her face in Jack's shoulder. She hadn't meant for this to happen when she had asked August if he liked her. She didn't realize that August hated her so much.

"That's not fair!" Jack snarled. "Leif was hundreds of years older than Lillian! Of course, he spent more time on it, he couldn't make flowers appear wherever he walked! Lillian's not even fifty yet! She doesn't know everything that Leif did!"

Jasper looked at the devasted Child of Spring and the very angry Winter Spirit. He sighed, as he knew as soon as Lillian asked that question, that things would get out of hand.

August went to reply but stopped when Jasper put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"She's just a kid, August," Jasper said quietly to him. "And she never knew Leif like we did. It's not fair to compare her to him.. They're two very different people."

August looked at Jasper then, and Jasper could see the pain in August's eyes. He knew that August missed their friend as much as he did. They were all so close once. Now that it was just August and Jasper, it wasn't the same.

August's expression became more closed off and he shrugged Jasper's hand off his shoulder.

"Whatever," August grumbled dismissively. He turned and stomped back off towards his room after sending Jack and Lillian a scathing look.

"He'll come around," Jasper said after an awkward pause. He noticed Jack's utter disbelief in this and shrugged. "He just misses Leif. I don't think August would like any spirit who replaced him. Leif wasn't perfect, but he was our friend. It's hard to think of someone else spreading Spring in his place."

Lillian's face was still buried in Jack's shoulder and Jack nodded at Jasper.

"Look," Jasper said as he tried hard to ignore Lillian's sobs. "If August won't help with the book, I know more than enough about him. I could even paint some summer scenes in his place. August can't paint or draw anyway. Anything he did would be terrible."

Lillian's sobs died down slowly and she sniffled as she raised her head a bit.

"R-really?" she asked, her voice still small.

Jasper felt his heart break a little at hearing that tiny voice. Lillian looked so much like a child, and right now, she sounded just like one. A child that was lost and in need of protecting. He suddenly understood why Pitch was so protective of her and fierce with anyone who he thought might hurt her in any way.

"Of course," Jasper said softly to her. "You're a fellow Seasonal, and.. we need to stick together."

He suddenly felt very guilty for all the times he had spent gossiping away about Jack and Lillian with August. They should be helping one another out, not going against each other like this.

"We'll ask Bunny about the painting later," Jack said to Jasper. "I think for right now we should go rest some more."

Jasper nodded as Jack carried Lillian out of the room. He slumped back down onto the bed and stared dejectedly at the floor.

"That could have gone better," he muttered.

Crispin put a comforting hand on Jasper's shoulder.

"It'll take some time for August to come around," he said as he comforted his Seasonal and friend. "He's just lashing out because he's still hurt from losing Leif."

Jasper ran a hand through his hair and nodded at his knees, which were now crossed on the bed as he looked down at them.

"Hey," Laurel said as she poked Jasper in the side playfully. "At least you'll get to paint, right? Just think of August's reaction when he learns you painted all the summer scenes for that book!"

She giggled at that and Jasper couldn't help but crack a grin. He knew that August would never stop complaining about it, but would secretly be pleased at the thought of people learning all about the hard work that went into spreading Summer. Of course, the book was probably going to make it sound like August did all the hard work. Jasper knew that August wouldn't mind if he left out the fact that August's Spirits and Sprites did all the hard stuff. No one had to know that he would smudge the truth a little to help out his friend.


It was late afternoon when Jack had finally gotten around to asking Bunny about the Warren. Lillian had been subdued all day ever since that terrible morning, and the Guardians had all taken notice but were reluctant to ask her about it. Pitch was spending more time with Mother Nature in her room, so that left Jack to keep Lillian company when she was out of her own room. But now he had left Lillian behind in her room after spending all morning getting her to finally calm down and reassuring her that it wasn't her fault Leif had disappeared.

Until Lillian had burst into fresh tears in her room, Jack had no idea that was even bothering her. He knew that he would have to talk to Pitch about it soon, so Pitch could talk to her about it. The thought of having one of their serious talks over tea almost brought a smile to Jack's face. He just wished that sometimes they wouldn't have to talk about such heavy things when they did so. They normally had their tea when Jack was upset about something.

With a sigh, Jack had left Lillian's room and wandered off in search of the Guardians. All of them were visiting North's more frequently, not that Jack had realized this of course. They were always around when he, Lillian and Pitch were at North's, and he hadn't realized that this was anything but ordinary. North, for his part, was ecstatic at all the extra company and happily offered them all eggnog and fruitcake whenever one of the Guardians turned up.

Jack had found them all in the globe room, munching on cookies and drinking from mugs. Well, North, Bunny, and Sandy had cookies. Tooth kept glancing at them with a pained look as she drank from her mug of hot chocolate.

"Jack!" North boomed out happily as the Winter Spirit entered the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Jack said honestly as he came to stand in front of them. He shifted from foot to foot a little anxiously as he hugged his staff to himself almost unconsciously for comfort. He didn't realize it, but he looked very much like a child who wanted to ask their parent something.

"What is it, sweetie?" Tooth asked as she picked up on Jack's body language.

"Lillian and I were thinking about getting back to work on our toys, now that we're feeling better," Jack began as he cast an anxious look at Bunny for some reason.

Bunny, for his part, was very confused by the anxious looks being thrown his way, but he remained silent while he waited for Jack to continue.

"Excellent!" North called out happily. "Will you need help with prototype? I know you were struggling to get force of snowballs to be more gentle. When you are finished with that, you can work on more toys too! We will make lots of toys together."

Some of Jack's anxiety seemed to melt away at that statement and he smiled as he continued to hug his staff like a teddy bear.

"Actually, Lillian really wanted to get to work on her book now that August and Jasper are here. She was thinking that they could all paint some scenes for her book, but.. uh.." Jack grew hesitant as he shot North an apologetic look. "..North doesn't have the sort of paints that she needs."

Understanding dawned in Bunny as he suddenly realized why Jack was so anxious and hesitant. He twitched his ears as he thought back to what felt like forever ago. Hadn't he offered to help Lillian out? He could vaguely remember offering her his Warren for her to paint in.

It hadn't been that long after they had hashed everything out about that terrible Easter too, he recalled, but then things had gotten in the way and while Jack and Lillian had spent more time than ever at North's, they hadn't any time to continue with their toy making.

Now it seemed like Lillian was finally going to take him up on his offer, but why hadn't she asked him herself?

"'Course she can come to the Warren," Bunny said warmly to Jack. "Ya all can. But why didn't she ask me? Not that I mind you askin', but.."

Jack sighed and looked down sadly at that.

"August really hurt her feelings," Jack admitted. "He said some cruel things to her when she asked him if he liked her. She didn't feel up to asking you herself, so I asked for her."

Bunny's face hardened at the admission and his tone turned to steel.

"What did he say to the sheila?" he more demanded than asked.

The other Guardians also sat up straighter at this. No one would get away with hurting one of their few child spirits. No one.

Jack hugged his staff closer to himself as he shifted uncomfortably. He could remember Lillian desperately clinging to him as she sobbed and it was all Jack could do not to rush back to August and deck him for what he said to her.

"He accused her of not caring as much about Spring as Leif," Jack said after a brief pause while he gathered his thoughts. "He also said that Lillian doesn't spend as much time crafting Spring like Leif did. It bothered him that Leif spent a lot of time making his spring flowers, while Lillian effortlessly has them spring up at her feet. He uh, also said that Lillian was being selfish when she rushed off to go get her revenge on Gethen, and he accused her of being too childish for a Seasonal Spirit."

"She is a child!" Tooth cried out, sounding outraged and dismayed.

Jack nodded, glancing up at the outraged looks on the Guardians' faces.

"Jasper reminded him of it, and said that August wasn't being fair to her at all, but August didn't want to listen."

Bunny's face darkened and he took a few deep breaths to calm down.

"I'll have a talk with him," Bunny said, his voice still hard. "He needs ta learn that Lillian ain't Leif and that she'll do things differently than he did."

Jack looked a little awkward about that and fiddled with his staff as he looked back down at his feet. He saw a flash of golden symbols out of the corner of his eyes and looked back up to see Sandy asking him what was wrong.

Jack looked hesitant and the Guardians' hearts all dropped at that. Jack and Lillian had spent so much time at the Pole recently, but they had mostly been confined to their rooms as they had been very sick and recovering. Any time that had been spent with them had been fleeting, as Pitch had insisted that they needed to recover.

Then, Jack had disappeared after visiting Jasper's and everyone had panicked. When Jack and Lillian had finally returned, it was to find them all extraordinarily exhausted. North and Bunny had spoken to Jack a bit in California, but Jack was too distracted with what was going on. They really hadn't been able to spend much time with Jack after those few hours spent toy making.

This was the first time after that heart-to-heart they had about that terrible Easter that Jack had actually spoken to them about something important that was bothering him. Well, it was more about Lillian than anything, but it still hurt that Jack was hesitant to speak his mind around them.

"What is it?" North asked, his loud voice softer as he looked at Jack, who wasn't looking at any of them.

"I think Mother Nature should do it," Jack said after a beat, shocking them all. "She can talk to August when we're all in the Warren. Pitch can come along too. He's been spending all his time stressing out and worrying. He needs to relax for a bit too."

The Guardians had all realized this, of course, but they didn't know how to get Pitch to stop worrying about his children, so they let him fuss as much as he wanted. Sandy tried to make sure that Pitch was getting an adequate amount of sleep, but Pitch was often in Mother Nature's room and Sandy hadn't wanted to bother him.

Now they could see that maybe leaving Pitch alone hadn't been the right thing to do. Pitch so often had only himself to rely on that it probably never occurred to him that he could ask the Guardians for help in looking after the others.

They felt like they had let Pitch down again. Sandy remembered that it wasn't too long ago that Pitch was suffering from terrible nightmares about his past. Had those nightmares stopped once Pitch had made up with Mother Nature? Or was Pitch still having them and hiding it from them?

The normally happy spirit's mouth turned down into a frown as he thought about it. Jack and Lillian were the children spirits, but he had promised himself that the Guardians would look out for all of them, Pitch included.

Bunny had been the one who wanted to talk to August, but he realized that perhaps he wasn't the right person for the job as he would probably start shouting at August and might even make things worse. Mother Nature was usually very calm and collected, and she had known Leif the best outside of the other Seasonals. She would be the better choice to talk to August about this.

Bunny recalled the very awkward tea time that he had with Pitch what seemed like forever ago in his Warren. He had given Pitch his special tea leaves that he rarely used even himself, to make sure it would last all the longer. He, of course, kept growing the plants for it, but he still used them very sparingly.

He remembered he had told Pitch he was different now, and Bunny realized that Pitch really was. At first, he had been flabbergasted at Pitch being a Guardian, but Pitch wasn't the evil Pitch they had all known for several centuries. He truly had changed for the better. He cared about the children he spread nightmares to, and he cared so much about Jack and Lillian.

He nodded to himself and took a deep breath.

"Pitch can come ta my Warren too," Bunny said to Jack's surprise. "He can even help paint if he wants ta. Everyone can come with if they want. We'll make a day of it."

Tooth smiled happily as she remembered saying a long time ago that they could have a painting party. Bunny must have remembered that too.

"Ohh," she said with a happy squeal as an idea came to her. "We could have a picnic outside by the river! This'll be so much fun!"

Jack's face brightened at the mention of fun and his eyes lit up with childish glee at the thought. All the sprites and spirits could come too. They could all spend some time together, and they could see that Pitch wasn't evil anymore.

As North would say, it would be epic!


It had taken a lot of convincing to get Pitch to go with to the Warren and leave Mother Nature's side. It had finally taken Mother Nature's own reassurance that she would be fine, coupled with Jack's input that it would hurt Lillian's feelings if Pitch didn't go and didn't Pitch want to spend time with them?

Jack's voice had sounded hurt at the end and he looked at Pitch with wide, pleading eyes. If the Guardians could see what Jack was up to, they would have all been smothering their laughter. Jack was using the oldest trick in the book: puppy dog eyes!

Pitch had finally agreed to go after that, as long as Jack wouldn't be too warm. Jack had happily agreed that he would be fine, especially after he had had a few days to rest. He was feeling so much better than he had on the day of the ceremony, and he was nearly back to normal.

Mother Nature was looking better than she had in days, so it made Pitch feel better about leaving her alone for a few hours. Once Pitch had bustled off to go see to Lillian and make sure she was ready to go, Jack had hung back to have a word with Mother Nature.

She had looked touched that Jack had chosen to confide in her about his worries about August and Lillian, and about the problems they were having.

She had reassured Jack that she would speak to August about his behavior and knew this could not be allowed to continue. Like it or not, August would have to at least try to get along with the Child of Spring. They might not ever be close, but August would not be allowed to remain hostile towards her.


There were several shrieks as various Spirits and Sprites all came tumbling out of a tunnel Bunny had made that opened up to the Warren. Kelby had landed in a heap with Crispin and Kale, while Lauren was tangled up with Flora.

The little sprites had all used their wings to fly out and they were soon followed by happy Jack Frost who flew out of the tunnel using his Wind, and promptly burst into laughter as Pitch ungracefully fell out with North and Jasper and landed in the heap of spirits at the end of the tunnel.

Tooth followed them out with a grin with Sandy floating serenely not far behind and Bunny was the last, with Lillian riding happily on his shoulders, all traces of that morning gone.

The Summer Spirits and Sprites were all noticeably missing, as they had chosen to stay behind with their Seasonal, but since Jack didn't get along with many of them (including Lucian, who he had dubbed 'Sparky,' much to the spirit's ire), it was probably for the better.

Bunny straightened up as he nimbly leapt over the heap of spirits and gently set Lillian on the ground as she gazed around in wonder again at the Warren. She would never grow tired of this place, she decided. Ever.

After much groaning and grumbling, the spirits finally managed to untangle themselves from one another and get to their feet. Pitch, in particular, put a hand on his back as he stood up.

He hid a grimace as he felt his back crack uncomfortably as he straightened it out. He was getting too old for this.

Sandy placed a golden hand on Pitch's arm and Pitch looked down into concerned golden orbs. Pitch managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he pulled away from the golden man's hand.

"I'm fine," he snapped at the small Guardian.

Just to prove his point, he walked over to Jack and Lillian and proceeded to strike up a conversation with them. Lillian was practically bouncing in excitement and it made all of them smile to see her talking animatedly to Pitch, her gestures wide and her eyes glowing with excitement.

Jasper had watched Sandy's exchange with Pitch silently and tilted his head a little. He continued to watch Pitch as he walked and wondered if that was Pitch's standard response to everything. Then he looked surprised at himself for even wondering such a thing about Pitch Black of all people.

"If ya head over there," Bunny said as he gestured towards his river, "I'll go get the paints and we can set everythin' up."

Jasper nodded along with others and he made his way over to the dye river. Even though Spring wasn't his season, even he couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the place. He was touched that the Easter Bunny had let him and his spirits join everyone in going to the Warren. It was rare for one of the Guardians to have any non-Guardian visitors in their home, and even more rare to invite a Seasonal in. He couldn't believe the faith that the Easter Bunny must have in him to not use his Seasonal magic in the Warren.

He glanced at Jack and realized that the Easter Bunny must have even more faith in Jack Frost since Jack could do quite a bit of damage with his Winter magic. As if sensing Jasper's gaze, Jack glanced over at his virtual twin and quirked his lips in a bit of a smirk.

Jasper returned the gesture with a mischievous look in his eyes and Tooth, who had caught the exchange, cooed at them.

"Oh, how cuuute!" she gushed as she fluttered around with her ever-present abundance of energy.

Jasper coughed and blushed in embarrassment and decided to pretend that Tooth hadn't said anything at all.

Before anyone could say anything else, Bunny had soon returned with his arms full of supplies. Jasper rushed forward to help out, and between the two of them, they managed to get several easels set up. He realized there were far too many for just the Seasonal Spirits and he shot the Easter Bunny a questioning look.

"I thought you'd all like a turn at paintin'," Bunny explained as he caught Jasper's look.

"This will be so much fun!" Tooth declared as she settled herself in front of an easel.

Pitch found himself tugged in front of an easel by Bunny of all people, and he glared at the blank canvas in front of him.

"You have got to be kidding," he all but snapped at the Pooka. He didn't come here to dabble in water colors, he came here to help out Jack and Lillian and to keep an eye on them! He was already on edge from leaving his poor Emily Jane all by herself and was worried if she would be alright...

Bunny rolled his eyes as he shoved a paint brush into Pitch's hands and a palette that had several paint colors already on it, ready for use.

"I ain't askin' ya to do anything difficult," Bunny snapped back at him. "I thought you were here ta support Jack and Lillian. Ya won't be able to do that by hoverin' over their shoulders the whole time!"

With that, Bunny walked off while grumbling under his breath about stubborn spirits. Pitch huffed at that and stared at the blank canvas. He looked down at the palette to see that Bunny had chosen some dark colors for him, but also bright ones. There was also a cup of water, so he could easily rinse his brush off when he wanted to switch colors.

Pitch continued to look at the canvas, suddenly uncertain of what he wanted to paint. He looked around at everyone and saw that Lillian was standing on a stool to reach her canvas and she was already painting away with her Spring Sprites and Spirits all by her, excitedly giving her suggestions on what she could add to her painting. Lillian's bright smile made Pitch's lips quirk for a moment before he turned to observe Jack.

He didn't notice as he did so that Jasper was secretly watching him the entire time, silently observing. Jasper was so distracted in fact, that he was neglecting his own painting.

"Did you want to add shadows into your scene?" Kale asked Jasper a little skeptically, as Jasper's more generic fall scene suddenly took a darker turn as shadows were becoming more prominent in it.

Jasper almost face palmed as he noticed it and realized that this might not be the best painting to put into the book. But as he continued to look at his painting, he realized he could still salvage it and make it a decent Fall painting. It would just have a spookier theme than what he normally liked.

He grinned as he made the shadows behind the trees even darker and when the paint had dried more, he made a pair of frightening, golden eyes looking out at the viewer from the shadows behind the trees.

In front of the trees were some pumpkins to give it all a more Halloween-type feeling.

Laurel shivered as she watched Jasper's painting take on a new life.

"That is so creepy!"

While Jasper was correcting his painting, Pitch was watching Jack. His Spirits and Sprites were noticeably more subdued than the Spring and Fall ones, as they were the ones that had been held captive the longest, just after Jack had been named the Winter Spirit, in fact.

Neve and Neva sat on Jack's shoulders solemnly as they watched their Seasonal tilt his head as he wondered just what he should paint. The lone Winter Spirit was standing just behind Jack, essentially watching over his shoulder, but was careful to not stand too close so as to bother Jack. He remained silent as he watched to see what Jack would create, not feeling confident enough to offer his own suggestions. Jack wasn't anything like Mistral, who had been a demanding taskmaster in delivering his season, but the Winter Spirit still didn't feel as though he could suggest anything.

Maybe with time, he would eventually feel able to do so, but being held captive for so long didn't help in his levels of confidence. That and nearly dying at Gethen's hands twice didn't help either. He viciously shoved down any thoughts of Gethen and tried his best to forget the miserable three hundred years they had all endured..

Jack stared at the canvas, unaware of the turmoil of the spirit behind him, but he glanced back with questioning blue eyes.

"What do you think I should paint?" Jack casually asked, causing the Spirit's mouth to drop open comically.

Mistral never asked for their opinion.

"..I.." the Winter Spirit said hesitantly, not really knowing what to say to his Seasonal. Neve glanced back at the Spirit, a look of understanding in his eyes. He brushed his white hair out of his face, and his crisp voice spoke up, saving the Winter Spirit the trouble of answering.

Since it's about winter, Neve observed, you should have a scene with a lot of snow.

You could have children ice skating, Neva's more musical tones piped in, her voice soft in Jack's ear, but loud enough so that the Winter Spirit could hear as well.

"..The children could be having a snowball fight.." the Winter Spirit very hesitantly added on, "or else building a snowman."

"I really want to add Jamie and his friends in," Jack admitted with a grin, "but this book is going to be distributed all around the world and I don't want anyone bothering them."

Jamie? Neva asked. That boy that helped you before?

She could remember when Jack had told her all about what had happened with him, Pitch Black, and the Guardians when they had first met with their Seasonal.

Jack absently nodded.

"I guess I could have someone that looks sorta like him but not exactly," he mused more to himself.

With that, he began to put his brush to the canvas, trying out his hand at painting with actual paints for once instead of his frost.

Pitch was really lost for inspiration and found himself once again looked around at everyone else. Sandy had was floating gently in front of an easel and Pitch could see that Sandy's canvas was already covered in a lot of swirls of gold.

Tooth's canvas was covered in a riot of bright colors and she smiled happily even as she paused now and then to give out directions to her various fairies that kept flying up to her.

North was energetically slopping his paint all around and seemed to be getting more on himself than on the canvas, and Pitch had to look away with another quirk of his lips. After looking around some more, he could see that Bunny wasn't in front of an easel himself, but was instead leaning against a nearby tree as he sat and painted some eggs. Every once in awhile Bunny would glance up at the others to see how they were getting along. Pitch hastily averted his gaze when he noticed the emerald eyes gazing at him reproachfully, as Bunny noticed that Pitch hadn't even started yet.

Pitch returned his gaze back to the canvas as he stared at it. It was far too bright for his liking, he mused as he took in all the bright whiteness of it. He dipped his brush into a darker black, but then hesitated as he looked at the painting.

All his life seemed to be a series of shadows and darkness, at least what he could remember of it lately. Did he really want to paint something so dark?

He looked at the canvas some more and realized exactly what he wanted to paint. He began to brush the paint on the canvas, covering it in an inky blackness. As he painted, he added in some darker blues and various other colors.

He didn't notice Bunny thoughtfully watching him as he continued to paint, while Pitch tried to keep his darker moments as Kozmotis Pitchiner at bay.

For while Pitch had indeed made up with Mother Nature, that still didn't mean that he had stopped having his sleeping troubles. In fact, they were worse than they had ever been, especially with all the trouble with Jack and Lillian.

He was trying desperately to keep anyone from noticing and was hoping that when he, Jack, and Lillian all returned home, that everything would go back to the way it had been before his horrible nightmares had started.

So while he painted, Pitch tried not to let his own exhaustion show, as his thoughts drifted back to his life of so long ago.


Author's Note: So you can see why I had to make this chapter extra long. I had been planning on having everyone all paint together, as Tooth had brought up the painting party forever ago, but then I forgot about it. When I decided to bring it into the fic, I had at first wanted it to be all about the Seasonals. Then when I had gone back and actually read Toy Time and Toy Time Pt 2 again, I realized that I wanted Pitch to spend time with everyone else. Then I decided to have everyone go, because why not? August wasn't cooperating however, since he's still struggling to get over the loss of Leif and with his dislike of Lillian.

When I was browsing through past chapters, I realized that it had never been addressed if Pitch's nightmares had ever stopped, since too much plot was in the way, so I decided that Pitch had probably gone back to keeping them a secret from everyone again. It'll probably take some time for him to start asking anyone for any help. Tea Time with Sandy wouldn't fix all that in a day. I hope you guys don't mind that even with the author's notes, this chapter is over 9,000 words!

The next chapter will feature the rest of the painting party as well as Mother Nature's talk with August. When everyone gets back, Mother Nature will probably force August to talk to Lillian, so they can clear the air. Then after Pitch, Lillian, and Jack are settled back into their home finally, we'll get to see some more action with the next plot.

So you can expect that to happen within the next chapter or two, since I feel bad for making everyone wait so long. If you guys still have anymore fluffy ideas for everyone, I'll make sure to include them in later chapters. I can never have too much cuteness or fluff!