The events of that morning stayed in Jack's mind during his visit to the pole and after breakfast, he left quickly so North wouldn't see that anything was wrong. The monthly Guardian meeting, a new tradition created after Jack had joined the group, was coming up in a few days so Jack didn't visit any of the Guardians and threw himself into spreading winter through Europe. The hard work pushed the darker thoughts gradually away, until he stopped thinking about the strange events all together.
The Wind however was too concerned about Jack to just let it go and tried to persuade him to tell the Guardians at the next meeting, but Jack would have none of it.
'It was nothing, I was just tired. I'm not going to burden them with stupid things like that.' The Wind would have argued further but for the deep fear she sensed from her boy. She couldn't understand what he was scared of but stopped mentioning it, not wanting to upset him.
North was in his favourite sitting room at the pole when Jack arrived on the day of the meeting. North watched him carefully, but the strange tenseness which had worried him for the past days had gone from Jack and he seemed relaxed and carefree once again. Jack swooped in through the window before skidding on the floor on a blast of ice he had created. He hopped onto the back of the sofa and crouched down,
'Hey North! Is everyone else here yet?' He said smiling as a passing Yeti eyed the ice on the floor with evident disapproval.
'Sandy is getting snack, others are not here yet.'
Sandy wandered lazily in as North stopped speaking and raised his glass of eggnog to Jack before settling down on the sofa underneath where Jack was perching. Tooth appeared a couple of minutes later and the room buzzed with her instructions to her fairies. Bunny arrived out of a hole in the floor of the room, slipping on the ice Jack had left and crashing to the floor before the guardians. Jack fell off the back of the chair in laughter and Sandy chimed quietly. North stood quickly before anything could escalate, Bunny was looking at Jack murderously, and clapped his hands.
'Since were all here lets go the meeting room.'
Jack swung back on his chair in boredom. He loved his new family dearly and loved spending time with them, but these meeting seemed to go on and on! How long could one Pooka talk about egg distribution! He pushed his chair back a little further, the wind blowing through his hair, when gravity took over and suddenly his head was on the ground and snowflakes where dancing in his vision.
The Guardians all stopped talking and stared at Jack for a stunned second, all thinking the same thing. How could Jack fall? He could fly for gods' sakes. The silence was broken by the wind who rushed in around the room full force, sweeping the various pieces of paper on the table into a whirlwind as she rushed to Jack. Jack took a shaky breath and grabbed his staff off the floor where he had dropped it when he had hit the floor. He pushed himself to his feet and turned to the still shocked Guardians.
'Sorry guys.' He said bashfully and rubbed his hair in embarrassment. His hand came away red.
'You're bleeding!' Tooth gasped and was out of her chair and by Jack's side in a split second to inspect the damage. Jack had cut himself on a loose floor board and as Tooth fussed around his head he stared to feel lightheaded and dizzy. The wind helped him to a spare chair and he collapsed into it. The Guardians crowded around him in worry.
'Are you alright mate?' Bunny asked coming closer.
'Yeah, just a bump on the head, I've had worse.' He ran his hand through his hair again, 'This is never going to come out.' He said with a sigh.
Bunny looked at him incredulously, 'Yer bleedin' from yer head and all ye care about is yer hair?'
'What,' Jack said, mock defensively, trying to lighten the mood, 'White is a very difficult colour to keep clean!'
North waved a Yeti over and the Yeti scooped Jack up, despite Jack's objections and spluttered insults and carried him to the hospital ward where he was placed carefully, scowling, onto the clean white sheet of a hospital bed.
'North, this is hardly necessary!'
'You will need stitches and to stay in bed for a while.' North said sternly.
'How long is a while?'
'I would say four days, at least!'
'Oh my god, you have got to be kidding me!'
But Jack felt like he was starting to sound like a whining child and the throbbing in his head was starting to get quite uncomfortable so he didn't resist as North cleaned his wound and stitched his head as the other Guardians hovered behind him, looking as if they wanted to help but not knowing what to do. Jack managed to keep up a pretty impressive scowl for the whole process.
'I think you have concussion.' North pronounced, 'we'll all give you some peace now but if you start to feel dizzier or your vision starts to go black, just ring this bell, and someone will come.'
Jack, who didn't think he could feel any dizzier than he felt now, nodded sulkily and the guardians filed out of the room, North stuck his head back in before closing the door,
'Oh and Jack?' He said putting on his most commanding and serious voice, 'I expect for you to still be here when I come back'
He raised his eyebrows threateningly and closed the door behind him.
Once out of earshot, the Guardians stood silently for a second before Bunny spoke,
'Have any of you ever seen Jack fall over?' He asked quietly.
They all shook their heads silently, their eyes full of worry.
Once the Guardians had left the room, the Wind blew around Jack in apology for not catching him.
Jack, now quite sure he would throw up, comforted her,
'It wasn't your fault, I just fell.'
But the wind could not be consoled. Jack never fell! She never failed to catch him! How could she trust herself with him now, he had quite seriously hurt himself from falling from a chair, what is she dropped him from a real height!
'But,' Jack started confusion colouring his tone, 'Why did you not catch me?'
He wasn't accusing her of anything; he was just confused at how it had happened. But the wind was riled up into even more of a state.
'I don't know.' Was her only answer.
