A/N: I am so sorry for how long this has taken me. I wanted to update like two months ago. I had a chapter written and everything, but it wasn't going the direction I wanted the story to go. And then life happened. I have some time now, and I re-wrote the chapter, so hopefully the next update will be soon.

A/N 2: So I just realized I may have messed up earlier in the story. I said that the Blizzard of '68 happened roughly two centuries after Jack's resurrection, which would make it 1868, but then I talk about TVs, which implies 1968. To clear things up, I'm going with the later time period. So it is actually about three centuries after his resurrections, which I say in this chapter. Also, just as a heads up, I'm going to be messing with the timeline a bit with regards to the events that happen in ROTG. This is AU, and has been for a while, so this really shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

Anyway, happy reading!

Chapter 5: Decisions

Jack POV

Jack had been walking around the forest for near an hour before he found what he was looking for. One of the trees that was just peeking out of the snow had had a smaller limb broken off either during the storm or before. Jack didn't really care right now because he had an important job to do. There was a small tooth fairy waiting by his pond, cold and hungry, and he had to help.

A few decades ago, he had gotten bored of his daily routine and decided to pick up a hobby. Or maybe three or four. He had the time, so why not? He had learned to play the piano, although he could only have access to one occasionally, and learned how to paint. He also learned how to carve, which is what he was planning on doing now.

When he had learned, Jack had used ice for his medium but he figured wood wouldn't be too different. He could use his ability to form ice to make more precise cuts in the wood in areas that normally wouldn't have been reachable with normal tools.

As the sprite sat down to get to work, he thought back on his day. And what a day it had been! Jack had thought that it couldn't get worse after being completely drained of energy from the storm when the Easter Bunny showed up. He didn't mean to mess with the Guardian's holiday. He loved the kids and wouldn't want to hurt them in such a way. He hoped the Pooka would be able to find a way to deliver his hope and eggs even with all the snow.

And then he had gotten his first believers. He still couldn't get over that. He had believers now! A smile spread across Jack's face, so wide that he could feel his muscles straining. But he couldn't have cared less. He was so excited! He never would have thought that a storm would have done it. He had been trying for so long, with snow balls thrown from an apparently invisible arm and then, of course, all his frost pictures.

Jack had believers! He was no longer an invisible nobody. Someone could see him! And not just one but four! That was a thought that gave the winter spirit pause. He had adult believers.

He could feel the difference between the two types of belief now that he was searching for it. The children's belief was wild and untamed, ready to leave or become stronger at the slightest provocation. But the belief of the adults was steadier and Jack knew instinctively that he would have a hard time destroying that belief.

That gave the Spirit of Winter great confidence. The belief of children was fleeting, but if a spirit could garner the belief of an adult? That belief, although weaker, was steadier and more constant, and would last longer than any child's belief.

Jack looked at his work in his hands. The wood that had once been a part of a tree limb was now a beautiful little house, somewhere between a bird house and a doll house. He didn't think that the tooth fairy would appreciate being brought a bird house, but he didn't really think she needed a full doll house either.

The little wooden house in front of him had three rooms, a bedroom, living area, and storage room. He hadn't carved any furniture for it yet, but Jack figure he could do that to her specifications. Maybe on his next trip to Burgess he could grab a scarf or something so she would have something warm. He had carved out a little fireplace in the living area and lined it with some of his special ice that wouldn't melt in the heat, hopefully to keep any fire from burning the rest of the house.

As Jack continued to look at the house, he figured he should probably get back. He had been gone for at least a few hours and Baby Tooth must be getting cold sitting in a pile of snow. He got up, carefully tucking his work under his arm, before taking off into the air, the wind his ever faithful companion.

It took only a few moments to reach his pond and only a few more to find the hole he had dug for Baby Tooth. He crouched down in front of the hole and set the carving next to him before calling down.

"Hey, Baby Tooth. I'm back with a little house for you to keep warm in."

An excited squeak answered him before a groggy little tooth fairy stuck her head out of the den. It was so adorable that Jack chuckled a little.

"Did I wake you, little one? I didn't mean to, but you have to see your knew house. I carved it myself!"

As Jack kept talking, Baby Tooth could see his eyes begin to sparkle with happiness, taking pride in his work. And then he smiled.

"Baby Tooth? Baby Tooth, are you alright?" Jack was down in her face, a look of concern on his face. He had been telling the little fairy about the different rooms in the house, with her nodding along, when she had stopped and stared. It was a little frightening.

The fairy shook her head and stared at the sprite in wonder, squeaking rapidly and pointing at his face, almost bouncing on her feet. With Jack's questioning look, she sighed and pointed at her own teeth before pointing back at him.

Sitting back on his heels, Jack tilted his head and gave her an odd look.

"My teeth?" he said. "What about my teeth? Did they get chipped in the storm?" He was starting to get a little self-conscious with the tooth fairy staring like she was.

Baby Tooth started squeaking rapidly again, shaking her head and giving him a loving look. She raised her arms in the universal pick-me-up gesture. Jack complied and brought her close to his face, which maybe wasn't the best idea.

In the fairy's attempt to get closer to his teeth, she practically climbed into his mouth.

"Ahh," he mumbled around the little being in his mouth before getting her out. "Baby Tooth! What are you doing?!"

Jack looked back down at Baby Tooth, noticing how she looked almost sad to have been pulled out of his mouth. That's when it clicked.

"You like my teeth," he guessed. At the fairy's enthusiastic not, he laughed loudly, shoulders shaking and head tilted back.

"Okay," Jack said after calming down a little and wiping the tears from his eyes. He looked down to his little guest to see her glaring at him, arms crossed and foot tapping.

In true Jack Frost form, all he did was chuckle again and give Baby Tooth a little grin, showing off his teeth to appease her. It worked and the fairy stopped glaring long enough for Jack to show off his carving.

He set the fairy on the front porch so she could walk around as he explained everything to her.

"So if you go straight in, you'll enter the living area," Jack said as he walked her through her new house. "I gave you a fireplace so you could maybe burn a little candle or something to give you some heat. I lined it and the surrounding wood with special ice that won't melt so the wood won't catch fire should you use the fireplace. Okay, so the door on the right leads to your bedroom and the door on the left leads to a little storage area for whatever you find lying around.

"I didn't get you any furniture because I didn't know what you would like. I can carve out chairs and a bed and shelves if you want them. Just say the word and you'll have the best house any tooth fairy has ever had."

Baby Tooth was still walking around the house when he finished his little speech. He looked at her nervously, afraid she wouldn't like it. When she came to the door, though, he knew that his fear was needless. She was smiling and waving her arms excitedly, squeaking rapidly and nodding, telling him she liked it.

Jack grinned along with her. "So do you want a bed or a nest? I mean you are rather bird-like." His little jest was taken rather well as Baby Tooth just gave him one of those you-aren't-funny looks, before holding up her had with two fingers lifted.

"A nest?" Jack questioned. At her nod, he continued, asking her about what materials she would like for her nest and what other furnishing she wanted. He sat there for over an hour, widdling away at some wood to Baby Tooth's specifications.

As he set the last of his creations on the porch for the fairy to move around as she saw fit, he remembered he had never even introduced himself to her. He hadn't interacted with many people over the years, just his seasonal colleagues and they already knew his name. Jack never needed to learn how to be polite or the mechanics of conversation with friends, if he could really call Baby Tooth a friend.

As she came back out, Jack smiled and said, "By the way, my name is Jack Frost, the Spirit of Winter."

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Baby Tooth POV

It had been over a week now since the storm, and much had changed in the little tooth fairy's life. She now had a name, unlike her sisters. Jack had taken to calling her Baby Tooth, and she really liked it, even if she wasn't a baby. A name gave her identity, a separate something that not one of the thousands of her sisters had. And Jack had given it to her.

Jack Frost was certainly something. He was a mischief maker at heart, liking to play little pranks on her. She was never hurt at his expense, but she did frequently end up being cold or wet. He loved to laugh and his laughter was infectious, bringing out the fun times in her that she didn't know existed. Back home at the Tooth Palace, she was always so busy that she never had any time where she could just play with her sisters.

He also gave her a home away from home. Baby Tooth loved her house. She had little baubles that she found lying about the forest lining her shelves and a small candle in the fireplace that she could light when cold, although she found herself needing it less and less. Jack frequently went out searching for food for her, bringing back a variety that would last her for days.

Jack had given her so much. A home, a name, and a life. She knew now that he was caring and compassionate, almost as much as he was mischievous. Which is why she had a hard time understanding what they were doing now.

Over the last week, Jack had told her all about the last two and a half centuries of isolation and about never having anyone able to see him. He also told her about the effect his storm had on the surrounding area. She was excited for him when he said he had believers, but was confused when he mentioned adults. Her mother and the other Guardian's only ever had children as believers. The only spirits to have adult believers were those related to some sort of religion. She put these thoughts away for future contemplation, because then Jack had mentioned the reason behind his excitement.

He had, to Baby Tooth's horror, concluded that, in order to be seen by more people, he had to make more storms like the one he just did. He told her how he could feel other believers from the town, not just the ones he had seen, and from all over the affected area. Granted, they weren't many, only numbering in the tens and not hundreds, but for a spirit who had never had any believers at all, it was amazing. And quite the power boost.

Baby Tooth could already see the power of belief affecting Jack's magic, and it wasn't in a good way. Because the belief was garnered through fear, Jack's power was becoming more violent and unpredictable. He could still make the most beautiful snowflakes and frost designs, but the ice he made wasn't quite as smooth and the winds he controlled were more intense. He didn't seem to notice the change, but the fairy had. And this was why she was so terrified of what would happen if he let loose another storm.

The last one was terrible, but another with the type of power he wielded now would be catastrophic. With that thought in mind, she had talked him into bringing her with, having been unable to stop him with their language barrier and his desperation to have more believers. Baby Tooth was now sitting in a pocket Jack had made into his shirt, looking out at the land below and trying to formulate a plan to stop Jack from taking it too far.

They were somewhere over Eastern Europe, almost to Asia, and Baby Tooth could already feel the change in the atmosphere as Jack began his storm. He was putting more effort into this one, she could tell. He wanted it to be huge, but also not necessarily violent like the last had been. She wondered if he knew how many people would be hurt by these storms.

The winds were starting to pick up, wanting to rip her from her spot in Jack's pocket. The clouds overhead were building at terrifying speed. She could feel a seed of fear developing, not for those below her but for herself. Having already lived through one of these storms, she could not fathom trying to survive another.

Trying to hide from the raging weather around her, she curled up inside the pocket, no longer able to see what was going on outside. After a few moments, she noticed something odd. Although she could still hear the wind and feel the chill in the air, she felt safe. She was no longer being buffeted in the wind like a rag doll but sitting snugly in her little pocket.

As she poked her head back out to look around, she saw something that truly amazed her. Jack somehow had found enough control over the storm to create a bubble around himself to keep the worst of the weather away. Baby Tooth watched, fascinated, as the snow fell in a rapidly increasing rate around them. The wind was tearing through the surrounding area, beating against houses and trees alike, but they were safe.

She looked up to Jack who smiled down at her, a spark of excitement in his eyes.

"Isn't this amazing! I was able to keep the storm from getting to us! I know how much you don't like the cold," he finished with an apologetic smile.

In that moment, Baby Tooth knew she would never be able to leave him. She had been in his care for only a week, but in that week he had weaseled his way into her heart. Even in his desire and desperation for more believers, to end the pain of three centuries of isolation, he was still able to think of her and her comfort.

Her wing was almost healed, maybe a day or two more and she would be able to fly back to the Tooth Palace and her mother and sisters. But she wasn't going back. Mother had more than enough helpers to keep the tooth business running, but Jack had no one if she left. And he deserved to have someone after being ignored and hated for so long.

Baby Tooth would be his friend, the friend he deserved, even if these storms continued. She would help him in his quest for more believers in any way she could. She would bring smiles to his face and keep away the sadness as best she could, because he needed it.

And with that decision made, she no longer felt the connection she shared with her sisters and only vaguely felt the connection with her mother. Baby Tooth looked up at Jack and smiled, an honest and loving smile, as she realized she couldn't feel the cold anymore either. And as she gazed out at the storm, the prominent yellow feather on her head turned blue.

Reviews are always appreciated!