(Jack's POV)

I was probably starting to get on the other guardian's nerves, always leaving and not being around. They didn't understand though, they never would. People had always believed in them. For over 300 years I had lived alone, unable to physically touch someone. And Bunnymund doesn't count because he's a rodent.

Michigan was frosty as usual thanks to me, but I paid no attention to that. Staff in hand, I walked across the busy street to the large children's hospital. I didn't even bother looking for Jamie's green care, I knew he was at work today. Those were the days I would check up on his son.

I didn't even bother going to get a visitor's pass. Adults couldn't see me so I didn't have to worry. It was a natural movement to walk up the stairs and down the hall to room 319. I'd been coming to check up on him for the past five months.

Before I move on, let me explain something. It's been over 30 years since Pitch was defeated. Or scared away by my awesomeness as I like to put it. Anyway, I've kept close to Jamie because he was the first kid that was ever able to see me. He was closer than family.

Now he was all grown up and married with kids. He never stopped believing though, which is one of the greatest gifts of all. A few months ago, Jamie's son was diagnosed with cancer. Although, I wasn't as close with his son as I was with him, it still hurt. More than anything, especially to see Jamie so broken and closed off. I still hadn't accepted the fact that he was no longer the little kid who was afraid to see me go.

Shaking my head and gripping my staff, I walked into the hospital room. Something stopped me in my tracks. Standing next to the side of a bed was a girl. From the back, all I could see was her cloak, bow and arrows, and red hair that was braided in a tuck behind her head.

I gripped my staff tighter, feeling power surge through me. "Who are you?" I snapped.

Uneasiness bubble through me when she turned to face me. I kept my gaze as cold as possible-which wasn't that hard, hello I'm Jack Frost-when an unfamiliar green eyed gaze met my own blue eyes.

Her tone didn't match her young looking face. She sounded far too experienced. Something about her put me on edge. "Hello, Jack Frost." A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. Her voice had an accent that pulled on her words. Irish. "What a lovely way to greet me. I am Condren."

I was pretty sure my confusion was easily shown on my face.

She sighed like this was a normal thing for her. "I am a protector of children like yourself. I don't understand how you were chosen to be a Guardian, but I never doubt the moon's decisions. I suppose I'm not as well known as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny." Something about her tone sounded sad.

My grip on my staff loosened. "No one can see you?" I knew exactly how that felt. It gave me a soft spot for her. I shook my head, remembering why I was here. "Why are you visiting Aaron?" I asked, referring to the tiny bundle of blankets on the hospital bed with my staff.

Condren gave me a sad smile. "I am sorry, Jack, it is too late…" She motioned to the heart monitor connected to him. I hadn't noticed the long beep and line on the screen.

Everything inside of me broke. I almost fell down but caught myself with my staff. "No... No." Tears brimmed the edges of my eyes. He couldn't be dead, not after all of this fighting. Suddenly anger coursed through me. "Why are you here?"

She brushed a loose strand of red hair behind her ear. "I protect the children, help them when they are most vulnerable; sick." She looked back at the motionless Aaron.

I pushed past her so I stood next to Aaron. The familiar rise and fall of his chest was no longer visible. He was like a sack just laying there. I took his cold hand that felt even colder than my own. "It's not possible... It can't be..." I was mumbling things under my breath, things that were no longer coherent to me.

I felt Condren's presence still behind me, but I ignored her. After a few minutes of just holding Aaron's hand, I turned back towards the new girl. It was the first time I got a good look at her. The girl-or Condren-had blazing green eyes that made me feel rather exposed like she knew every detail about me. Her eyes were round almost doeish, making her intimidating gaze kind of innocent. Her ears were slightly pointed at the top like the elves. Light freckles were sprinkled across her nose, another feature making her seem rather pixie-ish than frightening.

She must have noticed my scrutinizing gaze because she called me out on it. "Why the staring, Frost?"

I glared at her, trying to make myself taller. "If you are supposed to help children when they are sick why didn't you help Aaron? You could've done something! Now look at him! He's dead!" Everything inside me came tumbling out, and without realizing it, I banged the butt of my staff on the hospital floor, causing spirals of ice to sheet the floor around me. That would be a surprise for the nurses. I wondered why they hadn't come yet.

Condren made a tisking noise at me, like she was chastising a small child for stealing too many cookies. "Calm down. There was nothing in my power I could do. He was already on the brink of death. All I could do was make sure the transition was as painless as possible. If it makes if you feel any better, he died with a smile on his face."

It didn't make me feel better like it should have. In fact it made me more angry; more angry at Condren. "He was an eight year old boy! He shouldn't die with a smile on his face, he should be alive with a smile on his face!" Again, I banged my staff on the floor.

Condren pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head. She walked to the window that over looked the Michigan streets. Opening it, she turned her head back at me. I was still giving her my coldest glare. "I'm afraid I must go. I'm sorry about Aaron, but usually the most deserving ones have to leave us. It's really a terrible thing." She sighed. "We'll meet again. I don't know how soon, but we will meet." Before I had time to even process her words she'd changed and gone as a hawk, leaving me wide eyes and gaping.

The handle on the door was turning, so I rushed to the window as well, shifting the windows to me desire. I drifted above Michigan. The full effect of Aaron's death suddenly hit me, and I tumbled down to land top of a taxi. Never in my life had I loved a taxi so much. It seemed to give me a wake up call. Enough to get me realizing that sulking over his death wouldn't bring him back. What hurt most was the look that would be on Jamie's face when he found out. May as well tell him now, this way he doesn't find out from a nurse and someone he cares about. At least I assumed he cared about me.

Taking a deep breath, I headed towards the building in downtown Michigan where Jamie worked. This was going to be hard.

Once I was safely landed on the terrace outside of Jamie's office window, I knocked on the glass with the hooked part of my staff. It took a few seconds before the familiar brown haired boy-man-opened it.

He looked worn out and beaten. "Jack," he said with hardly any emotion. He'd grown up so much since the night we defeated Pitch.

From the look of dread on my face he probably figured something was wrong. "What is it?"

I rubbed my staff against my head, a little bit of snow falling from my silvery hair. "It's Aaron."

Jamie immediately tensed up at the mention of his son. "What about him? What's happened? Is he okay?"

It only took a few seconds before I just blurted it out. "He's dead. He died. It finally got to him." It hurt to see any ounce of happiness fall from Jamie's eyes.

"H-he what? No.. You're lying."

I knew that Jamie knew I wasn't. I would never lie about something like this. Never. "I'm so sorry, Jamie." I choked on my own words. "He died with a smile," I told him, recalling what Condren had told me earlier. Maybe it would help him more than it would help me.

Jamie sunk down into his chair, hiding his face in his hands. Squeaks would escape his mouth every once in a while. I knew he was crying.

It was no longer my place to interfere. I closed the window, drawing a rabbit on the frost like I had done when Jamie had first seen me. I like that time far better than this.

With that I let Jamie grieve by himself. I'd come back when he was ready. But who knew when that would be