"…ke up…"

"…ight now…ing to be fine…"

"…eathe for me… on…"

A violent coughing roused Jack from his peaceful oblivion as the world around him came into dull focus. His senses felt numb. He could not feel anything, but could hear a soft sigh next to him. Was it the woman? Was he dead? Did she kill him, or save him? He coughed a few more times and began to shiver uncontrollably. His chest ached and his lungs felt clogged. He could not get in enough air. His breathing quickened as his last moments of previous consciousness came back to him. He must be dead. He was drowning. All around him was blackness. This must be the afterlife then.

"…en your eyes for me…"

That voice. Jack tried to focus on it, but his ears felt just as plugged up as his lungs. Everything was muffled, like he was buried under snow.

"…slowly…calm down… fine…"

Jack could not make out what the voice was saying. Something cold touched the curve right under his jaw. He tried to move away, but found that his limbs were dead weight. That cold thing moved to his chest, but the coldness abated a bit, just simply pressure. The pressure came rhythmically, and Jack tried to keep count as it went on for a minute, but his brain could not keep up. After a few more of the pushes, he felt something uncomfortable rising in his chest. He gagged and felt sick as the water in his lungs forced its way through his esophagus. Something rolled him over as he let everything in his stomach empty. His breathing came a little quicker now, his chest aching for the air it had lacked previously.

"…better… back home…"

Jack could still not clearly make out anything around him as he was lifted from the ground by something warm and soft. Perhaps he was dead, but Jack was okay with this as he let unconsciousness consume his mind once more.

"…just needs some time to rest…"

"…bloody nearly drowned! A hospital would be…"

"…waking up. Jack? Can you hear me?"

A soft groan escaped Jack's throat as he rolled his head towards the voices.

"Nor..." Jack coughed, then whimpered as his chest ached painfully. "North…" he tried again, and was pleased that he was able to get that one word out.

"I'm right here. I'm right here, Jack. Everything is fine."

"Well, no need to bloody lie to his face." Jack cringed at the second voice. It belonged to Aster and it sounded angry. "Everything bloody well is not fine! As I said before, we need to get him to a hospital. He was sick before, and I'm sure drowning didn't help." Yep, he was angry. Jack opened his eyes and flinched as the light scorched his retinas. He pulled his head away from the cool hand that had placed itself in his hair. It felt good, but he felt like he was suffocating from his own heat. He opened his eyes again, more hesitantly, and was able to focus on the worried face of North.

"Aster, please. Jack does not approve of hospitals. We need to make him comfortable. Is nothing we can't handle."

"And you've dealt with near death experiences often?"

"Aren't you the one who goes on about wrestling alligators and surviving the harsh climate of the desert?"

"I will admit, this is above me, North. My own safety is easy compared to that of others." Aster calmed as he observed the situation clearly for the first time since they had found Jack. Only a few hours ago, North went to give Jack some broth and found him gone and the window open. The only likely place he would be was the pond, the only place he ever was this late at night. Bunny shivered as he remembered how close they were to losing Jack. He arrived just as Jack slipped under the water. North jumped in first, but Aster was not far behind. They had nearly lost him. Aster stopped his thoughts where they were, refusing to go on.

"Jack, why were you out there, in the water?" North asked the boy gently.

"…a woman…" Aster scoffed at this, but was glared into silence again by North.

"What woman, Jack?"

"…was drowning. I saved her."

"Jack, there was no woman in the pond. Only you."

"She escaped. I sa-" Jack coughed a few times, his throat still rough and dry, and North helped him drink some water. It felt ice cold against his burning lips. "I saved her, North. Her foot was stuck on some netting. She left."

North stared at Jack, this teenager that he was responsible for, and tried to make sense of what he was saying.

"Was she the one who brought you into the water?" North asked, trying to get the whole picture. Only pieces were coming out and so far, none of them made any sense.

"She was there before… in the woods. She is afraid. I think she was trying to kill herself." At this North became concerned.

"But you said she escaped?" Jack nodded. North turned to Aster and nodded. Aster returned it with a grim frown and left the room.

"It will be alright Jack. Just relax. I will make tea. Help you feel better, yes?" Jack nodded and North left the room.

Over the next few hours North helped Jack get clean, wiping away the grime that had dried on his face, and got him into a fresh change of clothing. He slept fitfully after that, his fever steadily rising and falling. North paced in the family room, waiting for news from Aster. He had been out there for a while now, and North was becoming concerned that he might have gotten lost or fell in the pond himself. Just as North began to put his jacket on to head outside in search, Aster walked through the door, the same grim frown from earlier etched on his face.

"North-"

"What did you find?"

"If you would let me tell ya!" Aster snapped, then leaned against the door he had entered from. "North, I saw nothin' out there. Only Jack's footsteps leading into the pond. Nothing all around. I checked a two mile radius, or something thereof, and nothing. North, this is a problem. Jack-"

"Perhaps she covered her tracks?"

"North, I am an expert tracker, and you know that. Nothing gets past me. If there is something to hunt, I will find it. But I saw nothin'." Aster sighed and began to rub his temples. "Do you think the boy is losing it? He already has a loose grasp on reality, but now…"

"It's his fever. Is confusing him. He is seeing what is not there."

"And that's what I am concerned about, North. What if he reverts back to-"

"No. We will not allow that to happen. He is fine, you will see."

"I sure hope so, North."