Hi everybody! I hope you guys all had a restful summer and are now ready to get back to that demonic grindstone we call school!

Well, most of you anyway. From what I've seen, about half of you guys are home-schooled. Yay homeschool! Is there seriously anybody who likes regular school?

Ahem. Sorry. Once I get stuck on the public school system rant I just can't stop! And that's not what we're here for, is it? :)

I'm so glad that you guys started reading my story again and I hope that this chapter meets your expectations. enjoy!

Oh, and I don't remember ever putting a disclaimer on here, so I think I should do that. I don't own RotG. I wish, but if wishes were fishes, we'd all be swimming.

In the morning, when Kozmotis opened his eyes, he realized he felt more relaxed and rested than he ever had before. His body was warm and relaxed, his head wasn't pounding any more and he seriously felt like staying in that bed all day.

"But I can't." he whispered to himself. He reached up, pushing the covers off of himself and rubbed his face to get the crusty bits off of the corner of his eyes.

Dreamsand, he thought with a smile. That's what I always tell Seraphina. It's the Sandman's dreamsand.

Sandman's dreamsand or not, Kozmotis knew that he had to get up. He had guests, and he needed to make sure they were alright. He checked the clock on the bedside table next to him. Eight sixteen. Much later than he usually got up. Kozmotis yawned and stretched, popping his elbows and back slowly. Then he laced his fingers together and popped all ten knuckles and toes. This was a strange quirk of his, being able to pop all his knuckles. No one else he knew could crack all their fingers, much less crack all their toes as well.

Kozmotis stood and dressed in his normal black jeans and black T shirt. Most people, including his wife, wondered why on earth he had such a fondness for black. In truth, he didn't know why he preferred the color himself. It was a drab color that reminded Kozmotis of night and shadows. Yet he found it comforting and sometimes even reminiscent, like there was some forgotten reason why he wore it and he still continued to wear the color in his clothes and on his possessions to this day.

After brushing his black hair back into a ponytail and tying it, he gave his face a quick look in the mirror to the left of his bed. His face was it's normal shade of pale peach that all Englanders had and his chin clean-shaven. There were small bags under his eyes and he rubbed his face to get rid of them. He hated crow's feet. Then, slipping on a pair of black loafers, he headed out into the hall and towards the living room. No doubt Jamie and Sophie would be up already and bored out of their young minds.

"What am I going to give them to eat?" he wondered aloud. Jamie would no doubt eat anything because he was so polite, but what about Sophie? When Seraphina was her age, she ate almost nothing but cheerios. Kozmotis smiled. She'd grown so thin in that year that he'd teased her by trying to run his wedding ring through her little arm. His wife hadn't found it funny and as a result of her thinness she ended up going on a high-calorie diet for a few months to get her back to a healthy weight.

When he entered the living room, he found Jamie sitting on the carpet with his back to him and Sophie sitting on his big, black chair, reading a book. Kozmotis blinked. The book was big and bound in red leather and, as he walked behind the couch and closer to her, he could see that the book she was reading was his own copy of the Arabian Nights. It was a book that both Seraphina and his wife loved, though Seraphina couldn't read it because it was a very advanced book, so he was kind of skeptical that Sophie was actually reading it, instead of looking at the brightly-illuminated pictures.

"Enjoying that, little miss?" he asked, bending over to look over her shoulder. It was Arabian Nights, alright. She was looking at the picture of a Chinese genie or Djinni, as the proper term is, rising up from a magical ring and towering over the poor serving boy that must be Aladdin.

Sophie jumped and looked up at him, snapping the book shut. "Bad Pitch, spying like that!" she said, wagging her little forefinger.

Kozmotis smiled and ruffled her blonde hair that was sticking up in odd little spikes. She had the purple blanket he had given her the night before draped around her shoulders and she looked like she was having a good time. "And a good morning to you too, Sophie."

Sophie's stern little expression completely disappeared and she smiled, standing up and hopping off the couch. "Good morning Pitch!" she said, running around the side of the couch and launching herself at him, giving his knees a strong hug. "Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!"

Kozmotis, who had experienced this kind of thing with his own daughter, took the hug evenly and smiled and she repeated "Good morning!".

"Don't worry, she does that to everyone." Jamie said, sliding something behind his back and dropping the blanket he had wrapped around himself over it. This caught Kozmotis's attention and he gave the boy a questioning look. "It's nothing of yours." Jamie said quickly, nodding at the bundle of blankets. "Well, the blanket is, but I'd prefer not to show you what's underneath."

Kozmotis nodded. "That's alright Jamie, I don't think you're a thief" he said.

Sophie let go and said. "No thief!" then she laughed and started running around in circles.

Kozmotis watched this with interest. "Does she always do that too?" he asked her brother.

"Oh yeah. She's a little ball of energy." Jamie said, laughing as his sister narrowly avoided running into the wall. Then he glanced over at the book on the couch and said nervously."Oh, um, I didn't know if you would mind her reading the Arabian Nights. I got it off the shelf over there," he pointed to the shelf beside the big black chair. "She was getting fussy and I thought that reading-"

"It's quite alright Jamie." Kozmotis said, interrupting the apology. "Though, forgive me if I'm skeptical, but Sophie isn't really reading the book, is she?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "She's just looking at the pictures, right?"

Jamie smiled. "Oh no, she's reading it." he said proudly. "We have our on copy as home and I decided to teach her how to read when she was two. She picked it up and as soon as she was able to talk, she learned to recite the whole book. She loves it."

Kozmotis raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He was surprised. "Well, that's an interesting bit of information." He smiled and went to pick up the book. "It's good that children are interested in reading these days." he said, turning it over in his hand. No pages torn, no dog-ears. It really looked like she'd been reading it. "I actually thought you would have the television on first thing when you got up." he confessed, striding across the room and putting the book back on the shelf.

Jamie shifted nervously. "Oh. Well, I thought that it might wake you up. Sophie wanted to, but I decided that, since we're the ones staying over here, we should be respectful and keep as quiet as possible until you woke up."

Kozmotis smiled. The boy was very polite, something that wasn't all that common in modern American children. Most teenagers were surly and irritable and the children were whiny and bratty, always wanting things. Toys, games, things like that. But Jamie was absolutely none of these things. He was kind, generous, and he was a very clever boy. Kozmotis was reminded of himself at that age when he looked at Jamie, just like he was reminded of his own little girl when he looked at Sophie.

"That's very kind, Jamie. And in all honesty, I do prefer a good book to listening to that beastly idiot box." he added, giving the television a glare.

Jamie nodded. "I prefer books and video games. TV has too many ads."

"Completely true." Kozmotis agreed. "I-" he was about to say that he had only gotten the TV to appease his wife, but he was interrupted by an exclamation from Jamie.

"Oi! Soph!" Jamie said. He'd just noticed his little sister's lack of presence and he'd turned around to see her running towards a small shelf at the far end of the room which held some glass knick-knacks. "Be careful!"

Sophie stopped and turned around. "Was just gonna look!" she pouted, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

Jamie quickly walked over to her and picked her up. "Uh uh little miss. This isn't our house, and we have to be polite."

Kozmotis smiled. "Jamie," he said, taking a few steps towards the boy. "It's alright. She can look. They're just some old statuettes I brought from England."

Jamie blinked. "You lived in England?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course!" Kozmotis asked, laughing. "Where do you think I got this funny accent?" Many people had made fun of his slight English accent, including his wife and daughter. He took their teasing good-naturedly and just smiled whenever it same up.

Jamie smiled nervously. "I was wondering about that." he said.

"Funny voice!" Sophie said, clapping her little hands.

Kozmotis smiled. Her blonde hair was still sticking up in random spikes and he bent down to her level, squinting at her. "Is your hair always like that?" he asked.

Sophie reached up and patted her own head. "Hedgehog head." she said, grinning.

Kozmotis laughed. "Indeed." He said, straightening up and looking at Jamie. "What about some breakfast?" he asked. "I have.. ah..." he paused, turning around to give his kitchen the once-over. "As a matter fact I don't know what I have." he said, grinning sheepishly. "Shall we go check?"

Jamie nodded. "Sure. You hungry Soph?" he asked his little sister.

"Yummy! Yummy!" she chirped, clapping her little hands and jumping slightly in his arms.

"I guess that settles that question." Jamie replied, looking back up at Kozmotis and smiling, then his smile faltered a little bit and he said seriously, "Really, if you don't have much we can wait until noon when my mom comes home to eat."

"Oh no, no trouble at all." Kozmotis said, waving Jamie's worry away, though in truth he had no idea if he had anything in his cupboards that a little girl would eat. "I'll go prepare something."

He took the children into his kitchen and routed around in his cupboards for something for them to eat. Luckily for them, he had gone shopping a few days ago and still had some cereal. Apple cinnamon granola, healthy stuff. Not that sugary gunk, full of high-fructose corn syrup that most people bought. Jamie had accepted the bowl of cereal gratefully, but Sophie had stopped him before he could pour the milk into the bowl.

"Sorry," she said politely. "Don't like milk. Sorry."

Kozmotis frowned. "Is she lactose-intolerant?" he asked Jamie, still holding the carton of milk in his left hand.

"No." he said. "She just doesn't like it."

"Sorry." Sophie offered again.

Kozmotis shrugged. At least he hadn't wasted the milk and cereal. He put the items back and asked, "So, if you don't want that, what would you like?"

"Grapes!" she said without hesitation.

Kozmotis glanced at Jamie. "Uh..."

"She has a fruit thing." Jamie explained without looking up. "She loves grapes especially and she always gets at least one a day. If you don't have any," he added. "that's completely OK. We can wait until my mom gets home."

Kozmotis smiled and shook his head. These kids would never cease to surprise him. "Well, I don't have any grapes," he admitted. "but I do have some apples."

"Apples! Apples!" Sophie said, clapping happily.

"An apple will be fine." Jamie said, shooting Sophie a look.

She noticed and relaxed. "Thank you." she said politely.

Kozmotis nodded and pulled out a red delicious apple from an empty fruit basket and handed it to her. She took it and bit into it with relish, juice dribbling down her chin. "Yum!" she declared.

After they'd all eaten- Kozmotis had made himself some toast with butter and and black coffee -Jamie asked if there was somewhere his sister could go play while they figured out what to do about Jack.

Kozmotis said that she could play with some of Seraphina's old toys in her room, just to long as she didn't touch anything she wasn't supposed to, and that she would be safe.

Jamie nodded. "OK. Now Sophie, you listen close." he said, turning his little sister around to face him. Her mouth was smudged slightly and he wiped it with the edge of his sleeve. "I have to go see Jack. I want you to go into that room at the end of the hall and play in there, but don't get into anything that doesn't belong to you. OK? If you need me, call my name."

Sophie nodded. "OK Jamie." she said brightly. "Oh and Jamie, can you tell Jack hi for me?"

Jamie nodded and rubbed her head gently. "Will do little miss." he said, taking her hand and leading her down the hall to the room Kozmotis had pointed out.

Sophie instantly took to the brightly-colored room and ran inside, staring around with wide green eyes. The room was normal-size, with bright purple walls and a green ceiling with stickers and child-drawn scribblings on the walls. Seraphina loved her room and she was sure to be alright with a little girl playing in it for a little while. Sophie picked up a stuffed toy that Seraphina had left on the blue-carpeted floor. It was a purple elephant.

Jamie lingered for a moment to make sure that she was alright, then he turned to the bathroom which Kozmotis had put Jack in and headed into it. Jack was laying in a bathtub filled with ice from the ice maker in Kozmotis's fridge and he could still see the mattress beneath him. It really made Jamie sad to see Jack so still and lifeless. Usually he was excited and always moving. Now, he looked like a corpse. Kozmotis joined him a minute later and they stood in front of the tub, staring down at Jack.

His face was still covered with frost and he was still smiling slightly. It kind of creeped Jamie out, like Jack was going to leap up any moment and scare them, then perch on the rim of the tub, laughing. Jamie smiled. It would be just like Jack. Then his mind wandered to what Jack would do once he woke up. Would be run away, to the Pole straight away? Or would he wait and talk to Kozmotis first? Jamie wasn't sure that Jack would trust Kozmotis, because of him being an adult and looking a lot like Pitch.

He really does look a lot like Pitch, doesn't he? Jamie thought, still looking down at Jack. The same black hair but different style, same profile, but his eyes are definitely different. Green, not gold and silver. Green. Jamie smiled. I can imagine Kozmotis and Pitch looking at each other and probably thinking they were looking in a fun house mirror. And then there's his last name. Pitchner. Pitch-ner. That can't be a coincidence.

"Well?" Kozmotis asked, shaking Jamie out of his thoughts.

Jamie blinked, then he looked up. "Well what?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Well, what am I going to do?" Kozmotis asked, staring pointedly at Jamie. "How do I take care of this boy? How long will it be before he can walk on his own? Will I have to keep an eye on his wounds? Will-"

Jamie held up a hand. "Whoa whoa," he said. "I have his memories, but I'm not a magician. Say that again slowly."

"How do I take care of him?" Kozmotis repeated.

Jamie frowned. "Um... I'm not sure he really needs to be taken care of." he said. "I honestly think if you leave him here and keep ice heaped over him, he should be fine."

Kozmotis nodded. "Alright. How long before he wakes up?"

"I think a week." Jamie said, keeping his eyes on Jack's face. "Possibly longer, but not by much."

"And will I have to keep an eye on his wounds?" Kozmotis asked.

"I don't think so." Jamie said, bending down to shift some of the ice and check Jack's wounds. The rib was completely healed and there wasn't even a slash where the rib had punctured the skin. Jamie made sure not to touch Jack's skin as he shifted the ice back and said, "The snow has healed all of his wounds. That is, all the ones I can see. He might have some internal injuries, but I can't tell."

Kozmotis nodded again. "Is there anything else that I might to know?"

"Ah, now we come to the important things." Jamie said, rubbing his hands together to get the chill out of them from touching the ice. "First of all, don't try to move him." he said firmly, staring Kozmotis in the eyes. "If you touch him while he's hibernating, he might freeze you accidentally. He's healing right now, so his body is kind of on autopilot. Power will travel from him into whatever he touches. Just look at the tub."

Kozmotis looked and he saw, with amazement, that there were small tendrils of frost creeping up the sides of the white bathtub.

"Wow." he said, reaching out a hand to trace the pattern but Jamie pushed his hand away.

"What did I say?" Jamie demanded. "Unless you want to end up a Popsicle, don't touch!"

Kozmotis pulled his hand back and nodded. "OK. Not touching."

Jamie nodded firmly and said, "Good. Now, according to Jack's memories if you just leave him here, don't touch him and keep him on ice, he'll be completely fine. When he wakes up he'll probably want to get out into the open air. He might even want to head back to the Pole, so my advice is to let him."

Kozmotis frowned. "Wait, the North Pole?" he asked.

"Yes. That's where North lives and Jack stays there quite a lot. It's in Antarctica, so he loves it." Jamie said.

Kozmotis frowned again. "North?"

"Nicholas St. North." Jamie said. "You know him as Santa Clause."

Kozmotis blinked.

"I know, it's a lot to take in. My advice," Jamie offered. "You're an adult. Don't even try to figure it all out."

Kozmotis nodded and rubbed his forehead. "Gladly." he muttered.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the Kozmotis raised his head. "What about my wife?" he asked. "And my daughter?"

Jamie frowned. "What about them?"

Kozmotis sighed. "What am I going to tell them?" he demanded. "I can't just say, 'welcome home my dear. How was London? Oh, and I'm afraid we won't be able to take a shower or bath for a while until the magical winter spirit I found on the street is done healing!'" He turned to look at Jamie and was surprised to see the boy frowning at him.

"Why not?" Jamie asked.

Kozmotis gave him a dubious look. "Are you crazy, boy?" he demanded. "She would never believe that!"

"No, but Coal would." Jamie said. "She's seen Jack and, if she and you tell your wife that he's there, she should believe her."

Kozmotis shook his head. "No. It won't work. She won't go for it."

"Why not?" Jamie asked again, more forcefully. "You already told her about him, didn't you?"

Kozmotis nodded.

"Well, then just explain that Jack really is Jack Frost." Jamie said. "It shouldn't be hard to prove. With Coal- er, Seraphina's word to back you up, plus Sophie and myself, you should get her to believe."

Kozmotis was about to open his mouth to tell the boy that it would never work, when he frowned and remembered something that Jamie had told him on the way over to his house.

"He said that he was glad that we believed in him and that we should always believe."

"Always believe." Kozmotis repeated under his breath. "Jamie," he suddenly said, turning to the boy. "Why can some people not see Jack Frost?"

Jamie jumped at the man's question and fiddled nervously with his fingers. "Um, well..."

"Jamie, this is important." Kozmotis pressed more forcefully. "Why can't some people see him?"

Jamie shrugged and refused to meet Kozmotis's eyes. "Well, I don't know much about it, but I think it has to do with believers. The only people who can see Jack are people who believe in him," he explained. "Mostly kids. I've never heard of an adult believer, actually. It's almost always kids. Thirteen is usually the limit for believers, according to Jack."

Kozmotis blinked. "Wait, so... people don't see him if they don't believe in him?" he asked.

"Correct." Jamie said.

"Then... Why on earth could I see him?" Kozmotis asked, puzzled. "I never believed in Jack Frost."

Jamie nodded. "Yeah, I've been wondering that myself." he said. "And I've come to a conclusion."

Kozmotis looked up. The boy had continued to surprise him in the short time he'd known him, so maybe he would surprise him now and have an idea that he had not. "Well?" Kozmotis prompted.

"I have no idea." Jamie admitted, lowering his head.

Kozmotis rolled his eyes. Or maybe not. "Great." he muttered.

Jamie shrugged. "Hey, I'm a kid!" he said defensively. "If you want to know, go talk to Manny!"

Kozmotis didn't even want to know. "Alright," he said, passing his hand over his face. "Putting that aside. When he does wake up, will he come back if he does go to the-" he winced slightly. "The North Pole?"

Jamie nodded. "Oh he will." he said confidently. "If he forgets to come see you, he'll definitely come see me. And then I'll tell him to go see you, if it makes you feel any better."

Kozmotis nodded. "Alright. That sounds good."

Jamie's eyebrows furrowed and he glanced up at him with a puzzled look. "Um, Kozmotis," he said hesitantly, as if he was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"Hm?" Kozmotis asked absentmindedly. He was still thinking of what he might tell his wife and daughter. Jamie was right, Seraphina would believe him because she'd already seen Jack Frost, but his wife would be harder to convince. How was he going to do it?

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What?" Maybe he could just forbid her from going into the bathroom. Of course that brought him to the question of what they were going to do when they needed to go to the bathroom. Oh god, he moaned internally. This is going to be such a pain!

"Why did you stop to help Jack?"

Kozmotis blinked and pulled out of his thoughts, turning his head to look at Jamie. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well," Jamie said, fidgeting with his fingers. He wasn't sure if he should keep talking, but he wanted to know the answer and so he continued. "I mean, um," he coughed and decided to finally get it over with. He raised his head and stared straight into Kozmotis's eyes. "Why did you help Jack with that Nightmare? I mean, you could've gotten yourself killed. And you didn't even know if he was alive, and you went to so much trouble for him-"

Kozmotis held up a hand. Jamie stopped his babbling. "First of all, what nightmare?" he asked, puzzled.

Jamie blinked. "Nightm... OH!" he said, his eyes suddenly glowing with recognition. "I did say that, didn't I? Oh, well Nightmares- that's with a capital N, are the minions Pitch used to try and take over the world. They are made of Nightmare Sand, sand Pitch stole from the Sandman and corrupted to give children nightmares instead of good dreams. He made them look like real horses, but made of sand and have golden eyes. They smell fear, he said." Jamie shivered. "They freaked me out."

Kozmotis nodded thoughtfully. "I can understand that." he said. They did sound highly creepy.

"Yeah." Jamie said. "I personally never want to see one again. How did you take it down anyway?"

Kozmotis shrugged. "The same way you take down any horse." he replied.

Jamie blinked. "Uh. . ."

"Grab them around the neck and hold on, tire it out and then rap it sharply between the eyes to disorient it." Kozmotis clarified.

Jamie's eyes were wide. "Wow!" he said. "That's cool. Where did you learn that?"

Kozmotis shrugged. "I honestly have no idea."

Jamie nodded and filed that information away for later. "So, back to my question." he said. "Why did you save Jack?"

Kozmotis took a long time answering and when he finally did, it was with a shrug. "I thought he was a human boy." he said. I thought he was a normal human boy and I did what any man would do."

Jamie didn't believe him, but he tried not to show it. "I see. So, you were just trying to help?"

Kozmotis nodded, not quite sure why he was lying to the boy. Maybe it was the sight of that strange little moonbeam, shining down on him when he'd first started walking. He hadn't thought much of it then, but now that innocent little moonbeam that had led him through the twisting streets of Burgess began to take on a whole new meaning. Had it led him to the boy? Had there been some spirit at work, making sure the boy was safe?

Kozmotis remembered the wind picking up the closer he'd gotten to the boy- was the wind at play too? -and then he'd seen that strange, silvery-white spotlight shining down on the boy lying crumpled and in pain in the snow, like a beacon of a flare, calling out to whoever would come save him. Things like that didn't just happen, did they?

Did they? he wondered, staring at the boy in the tub. Did they really?

XXXXXXXXXXX

About three hours later, during which Jamie gave him a rundown of everything that might happen when he left and Kozmotis was beginning to feel slightly overwhelmed, Jamie got a text on Kozmotis's phone saying that his mother was on her way and Kozmotis offered to drive the children home.

"Oh no, it's OK. Me and Sophie will walk-" Jamie said.

"I won't hear of it." Kozmotis said firmly, putting on his coat and gloves. "It's too cold to walk, and Sophie is five years old. I'm not letting you walk all that way."

Jamie had tried to argue but Kozmotis raised his hand. "I'm driving you and that's that."

Jamie hadn't objected any more- partly because he knew that Kozmotis wouldn't take no for an answer and partly because Jack's influence was making the April weather freezing -and soon they were on the road to Jamie's house. Sophie, now wide awake, had asked to sit in the back seat and, with a stern warning not to wiggle, Jamie had allowed it. Now she was chattering happily about Bunny and saying how happy she was.

Jamie was looking out the window again, but Kozmotis could see a bulge in Jamie's coat pocket that wasn't just his hand. That mysterious object that Jamie refused to show him. Kozmotis was intrigued and he wanted to know what it was, but he knew that the boy guarded whatever it was closely, so he chose to ignore the mysterious object and focus on driving.

Or, at least, he tried to.

Aside from the strange object, other thought thoughts unbidden continued to whirl around his head as he drove. First of all, what was he going to tell his wife?

Oh dear. This is going to be so difficult. He thought, gripping the steering wheel. What will she believe? What will she say? What will I say?

"Mr- ah, Kozmotis," Jamie said, shaking Kozmotis out of his thoughts.

Kozmotis resisted the urge to turn and look at the boy. He had to keep his eyes on the road. "Yes Jamie?"

"Are you OK?" the boy asked. Kozmotis saw a worried look on the boy's face out of the corner of his eye.

Kozmotis smiled. "I'm perfectly alright Jamie." he said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you seem kind of nervous." Jamie said.

Kozmotis nodded. Jamie was obviously very good at reading emotions because he usually kept his face snapped shut like a book. "And you don't miss a thing, do you Jamie?" Kozmotis asked, smiling thinly.

Jamie shrugged. "Anyway, I was thinking about what you might tell your wife. About Jack, I mean."

Kozmotis sighed and, knowing he didn't have any ideas of his own, he nodded for Jamie to go on.

"Well, what about telling her that he's a normal boy?" Jamie suggested.

Kozmotis nearly slammed on the brakes and turned to stare at Jamie. Nearly. Luckily, he had a good control of his emotions and he kept the car steady. "Excuse me?" he said, gripping the steering wheel firmly.

"Well," Jamie said, oblivious to the man's nervousness. "When she comes back, just tell her that he's a normal kid and, when he wakes up, have him leave before she can ask any questions."

Kozmotis sighed bitterly. "Jamie, didn't we go over this earlier?" he asked tiredly. "First of all, she'll hardly think he's a normal boy when he's laying in the bathtub of my home covered in ice."

"I thought of that!" Jamie said happily. "Just put a blanket over the ice and tell her that he started bleeding and you didn't want any of the beds or couches to get blood on them."

Kozmotis snorted, but in all honesty Jamie's idea was a good one. It explained why he was in the bathtub, but Kozmotis really didn't want to lie to his wife and so he shook his head. "I'm sorry Jamie, thank you for your suggestion, but I'll have to think of something else. I don't want to lie to her."

Jamie shrugged. "Hey, adults lie to us kids all the time, telling us that Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny aren't real. Ha! As if." he said, snorting.

Kozmotis winced. He'd never lied to his daughter about fantastical beings such as Santa Clause. At least, not in the way Jamie described. He had told her that they were real, and apparently they were. So he technically hadn't lied to her.

"That's different." Kozmotis said shortly.

"How?" Jamie asked, puzzled.

"It just is."

"No really, how?"

"You'll know when you're married." Kozmotis replied, smiling.

"Blah!" Jamie said, making a disgusted face. "I'm never gonna get married! Yech!"

Kozmotis chuckled. "Oh Jamie, you'll definitely change your mind in a couple years."

"I will not!" Jamie said stoutly, folding his arms and making another disgusted face.

Kozmotis chuckled again. "Hmm. I'm skeptical." He looked at little Sophie in the mirror. "What about you Sophie? Do you want to be the flower girl at your brother's wedding?"

Sophie clapped her hands and squealed with delight. "Jamie and Pippa! Jamie and Pippa get mawwied!"

Kozmotis raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? Got yourself a girlfriend, eh boy?"

Jamie blushed. "No, I certainly do not!" he said firmly.

"Sophie, has Jamie kissed this Pippa yet?" Kozmotis asked, smiling and happy to get off the subject of Jack Frost.

"Nope!" Sophie chirped. Then she leaned towards his seat and whispered in his ear. "Bu' I saw them holding hands last week!" she said, covering the side of her mouth with her hand that Jamie could see.

"Aha!" Kozmotis crowned. "That's a sure sign of marriage to come!"

"How did we get on the subject of my personal life?!" Jamie demanded, blushing furiously.

"Hey, you started it." Kozmotis said, smiling. Then he noticed where they were and pointed with his right hand which was still attached to the wheel. "And here's your house. Is that your mother's car?" he asked, pulling into Jamie's driveway beside a beat-up red Kia Spectra.

"Yep." Jamie said. "Mom's home. Hey Sophie, mom's home!"

Sophie squealed and clapped her hands. "Yay! Mommy!" she said excitedly. The girl obviously liked her mother.

Kozmotis smiled and parked the car beside the Spectra. Then he got out and opened the door for Jamie. Jamie hopped out, then ran around Kozmotis to let Sophie out. She tried to crawl out but slipped, as she was wearing Jamie's thick sweatshirt wrapped around her thin body, and tumbled out of the car, landing on her padded rear end.

"Sophie!" Jamie cried when he saw her fall. He scooped her up, but she was so excited to see her mother that she was half-way to her feet and when he tried to carry her, she raised her arms and slid out of the big sweatshirt, landing nimbly on her little bare feet and not even feeling the cold stones as she ran up to the front door. Jamie sighed and allowed her to slide out, then he turned to Kozmotis and said, "Thank you for everything, Kozmotis." he said, smiling.

Kozmotis shut all the doors, save his own, and stuck out his hand. "The pleasure was all mine, Jamie. Thank you for your help regarding Jack. I promise to tell you when he wakes up."

Jamie took the hand and shook it in the firm way other men shook hands. "That'd be great. Thank you."

"JA-MEEEEE!" Sophie called. "Door stuck!"

"She's too small to get the door open." Jamie explained as Kozmotis frowned. Then he turned his back on the tall man and followed his sister to the door. It opened, they walked in and, with one last smile from Jamie and a wave, they closed the door and Kozmotis was left alone on the cold street. He stood there for a few seconds, then he blinked and got back into his car. For some reason, this whole set up didn't seem quite right to him. Jamie's lack of a cell phone- which anyone would give their child when they left for the day and night, for one, and the strange object that Jamie continued to drag around.

What was that thing? He wondered. It was rotund, round, and quite big. That he knew. He hadn't seem more than a glimpse of it, but he knew that whatever it was, it was very special to Jamie. He carried it everywhere and, now that he remembered it, Jamie had even brought that same object with him into the kitchen. He had set it beside him when they'd had that conversation in the bathroom too, but Kozmotis hadn't notice it before now. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

"Because I was too stupid to pay attention." Kozmotis muttered as he gunned the motor. It was true. He hadn't paid attention that much and until now, now that the had actually begun to put some pieces together, he was beginning to see it. Not only had the boy kept the mystery object close to him and hadn't confided in him what it was, but Jamie had seemed a bit too eager to leave when they'd gotten out of the car. True, he had been very polite and true, Kozmotis didn't know much about the boy, but he did know when someone- especially children, were lying and Jamie had definitely been lying about something.

"But what?" he asked himself. "The object? Jack? The whole spirit thing?"

His mind as he drove home was full of unanswered questions and by the time he pulled into the driveway, his fingers were twitching and he couldn't help the single thought that continued to whirl around his mind. What am I going to do?

In the end, he didn't have to wonder. The answer came on it's own.

Kozmotis opened the door of his car and, still thinking, closed it and headed up the stone steps to his huge, black house. He was about to pull out his key and unlock his front door, when the door opened from the inside and a familiar short figure with long, black hair came barreling out at him with a happy cry of, "DADDY!"

Kozmotis was so shocked he couldn't move. He just stood there with his little black-haired, green-eyed, fair-faced daughter Seraphina hugging his chest and babbling about how happy she was to see him.

"I missed you so much Daddy! What were you doing? Where did you go?" she asked, pulled away for him and picking up his hands in hers. "Come on! It's cold out here!"

Kozmotis allowed himself to be pulled inside his house. What was Seraphina doing here? It was far too early for her and his wife to be home! Wasn't it?

Apparently not.

"Daddy, why aren't you saying anything?" Seraphina asked. Kozmotis looked down at her. She was wearing child-size jeans and a green T shirt with a sparkly red rose painted on the front. She had a small jacket on over that shirt and she was staring up at him with her father's dark green emerald eyes. Her face was young and the same shade of Caucasian white as his own and her cheeks were flushed with excitement. Kozmotis looked into her eyes and smiled. All his worries just slipped away and he realized just how happy he was to see her.

"I'm just so happy to see you, sweetheart." he said, picking her up and hugging her close. It was so wonderful to see her again! Until now, he didn't realize just how much he missed her. "How was your trip?" he asked.

"Oh, it was great!" Seraphina said happily, throwing her arms around her father's neck. "I bought so many books! I saw so many places! And I missed you so so SO much!"

Kozmotis kissed her on the cheek and let her lay her head against his shoulder. "I missed you too, Seraphina." he said, holding her close. "I missed you too."

They stood there in the hall for a few minutes, just happy to see each other again, then then Kozmotis kissed her forehead and she lifted her head to look at him. She was smiling. "Let's go into the living room." he said, letting her slide out of his arms gently. Her little bare feet hit the floor and she smiled.

"OK. I'm hungry."

Kozmotis winced. "Well, I haven't exactly gone to the store for a while." he said.

"Daddy!" Seraphina reprimanded as they walked into the living room.

Kozmotis shrugged. "I didn't expect you to be back this soon." he said defensively. "I did mean to go shopping before you and your mother got home." The second the words were out of his mouth his eyes widened and he said, "Um, Seraphina, where is your mother?"

"In the bathroom." she said, sitting down on the couch. "It was a really long drive here."

Kozmotis blanched and, without another word, turned around and ran towards the bathroom across from his and his wife's room.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Seraphina called after him, but he ignored her.

Hell hell hell!

The door was coming up fast and just as he was about to open it and run inside, the door opened by itself and his wife- a tall, glamorous woman with gently tanned skin and kind, blue eyes -walked out. Her body was slim and she was fit as an athlete, with strong forearms and calves earned from decades of hiking and walking. She was wearing a pair of black jeans, a violet blouse with all the buttons done up and a tan pea-coat made from leather instead of wool draped over her arm. Her hair was dry, but her face was slightly pink from the cold.

Aside from being a very strong and glamorous woman, Kozmotis's wife was also very wise and educated- which was one of the things he loved most about her. She had a love of humor and an independent streak and a great personality, she was kind and honest and fair, and she was the most beautiful woman he had ever or would ever lay eyes on.

Yet, Sara had a fiery temper when she was angry, as he'd learned the day her father had tried to forbid them from marrying. If something that she believed was unjust was targeted at her, she would retaliate with rage and wouldn't stop until whatever conflict she was in was resolved. Kozmotis loved this about her as well and, in the twelve years they'd been married, he had never been on the receiving end of one of these rages. Yet he had a feeling that this was about to change when he stopped in front of her and gave her an uncertain smile.

HELL HELL HELL! She's already seen him! She knows! Hell hell hell!

"Uh... Hello dear?" he offered. OK, she's not yelling yet.

She smiled and reached out with both arms to hug him. "Hello Koz. Goodness it's good to see you again."

They embraced and, for a split second, Kozmotis forgot about the winter spirit in the room behind his wife. She was here, she was home! He had her in his arms and he pulled back, kissing her lightly on the lips and savoring the familiar taste of her cherry lip gloss.

"Oh Sara," he said, kissing her again and wrapping his arms around her waist tightly. "I missed you so much!" And so saying Kozmotis lifted his wife up off of her feet like a doll and swung her around the room, kissing her once, twice, three times on the lips. He was just so happy to see her!

"Put me down!" his wife demanded, smacking his back. "Koz!"

Kozmotis laughed. She claimed to dislike it when he swung her around, saying it made her feel short, but he just countered with saying that she wasn't short. He was just freakishly tall, and he was. Exactly seven feet. Anyway, he knew she loved it, she just refused to admit it and so he laughed again, swinging her around one more time and then setting her down gently. "Sorry love." he said when he saw her playful glare. "I just missed you so much."

Sara rolled her eyes and pouted. "You know it don't like it." she said.

Kozmotis blinked and gave her the puppy-dog eyes. "Aw come on," he said, letting his hand trail up her back gently. "I'm sorry."

Sara rolled her eyes and a smile stole across her face. "Alright alright, quit with the baby-face." she said, swatting his hand away from her back.

"YAY!" Kozmotis said, sounding like a small child who's been given a particularly good birthday present and hugging his wife. "My wife hath forgiven me!"

"Jeez Koz," Sara teased, pulling away slightly to give him a brilliantly white smile. "Did you get into the dark chocolate again?"

"Oh, come here you!" Kozmotis said, laughing and pulling her close again, kissing the top of her head. Her normal apple-scented shampoo filled his nostrils and he felt so happy to have her back.

"Sorry, sorry." Sara said, kissing his cheek. "It's just been so long since I've teased you. I have a reputation to uphold, you know."

Kozmotis laughed and kissed her once again, this time allowing his lips to linger on hers. One of the other things he loved about his wife, and despaired of sometimes, was her incessant teasing of him. It worked both ways of course. He teased her just as much as she teased him, and they never fought about it.

After a few minutes they broke apart and Sara took his arm, steering him down the hall. "I checked the cupboards in the kitchen, hon." she said as they passed the hall cupboards. "Completely bare, except for that weird cereal you keep buying. Blah!" she made a face.

Kozmotis rolled his eyes. His wife had an affinity for Oatmeal for breakfast and she must've missed it, living in the land of kippers and tea for a week. Poor Sara. "Don't worry, I'll go shopping today. Do you want to come with, Seraphina?" he called down the hall.

Seraphina bolted form her seat, ran into the hall and to her parents, latching on to her father's hand and squealing, "Can I can I can I? Really? Please?!" while jumping up and down on the balls of her feet in the normal child-way.

"Of course." Sara said, lacing her arm in her husband's and rubbing her daughter's head with the other. "You and your father go reconnect and I can baby-sit the boy in the bath tub."

Kozmotis froze. Crap.