"Yeah, they put me on antibiotics. Said it would help me get better or something. But, I put up a good fight. I'm just tired, is all, or else I would never have let them take me to the clinic." Jack laid back in the lounge and stared up at the ceiling.

"Don't you think it's strange how I always feel so sleepy when I come here?" Jack turned his head to face Dr. Mansnoozie, who was scribbling away in his notebook. Sanderson looked up and smiled and Jack averted his eyes. Just something about his smile that was so calming, but Jack did not feel like staying calm, no matter how much sleep pulled at the edges of his mind. Jack shifted his gaze to the hourglass filled with sand that was sitting on Sandy's desk. He always turned it upside down when he came in the room. Made him feel more comfortable since he remembered the man sitting opposite him to be the Sandman. It reminded him of the bond they shared, and still do, even if Sandy would not admit that he was indeed the bringer of dreams.

"I have been having these strange dreams, Sandy." Sandy stopped his scratching in the notebook to look up at Jack. He nodded his head for Jack to continue.

"Well, the dream always starts out white. I don't know why, but everything is white. It's weird. Like I was thrown into Antarctica or something. But then, I always hear someone calling my name, telling me I'm doing something wrong. That it's all my fault. I don't know what they're talking about, but it gives me the creeps. I always feel guilty, like I did do whatever they keep saying I did. And… and in a couple of the dreams, I see things. Not to sound weird or anything, but it changes. Sometimes it's a person, sometimes it's a bunch of people, but they're all blurry, like I'm trying to focus on them, but I can't. I never see their faces, just… you know, bodies. They're never alive. I have yet to see one living person in my dreams. What do you think it means Sandy?" Jack looked back at Sandy again, but Sandy just shrugged and wrote something in his notebook. He passed the notebook over to Jack and he read,

'Jack, it seems like your mind is trying to show you suppressed memories in its own fashion. Try writing down your dreams. It will help you remember them better. Bring them into our next meeting and we will analyze them together.'

Jack handed back the notebook and laid back down on the lounge chair, feeling his strength leave him.

"Sure thing, doc." Jack mumbled as his mind began to drift into sleep. He was startled awake by Sandy gently shaking his arm. He stood up, nearly knocking over the shorter man and walked to the door.

"Sorry Sandy. I guess I'm too tired to talk about my feelings today. Don't wanna break the tradition, so I think I'll go now." Jack said, then opened the door, but stopped when Sandy waved at him. "Yeah?" Sandy scribbled something on the notepad and Jack scoffed when he read it.

"I don't want to talk about my little adventure in the pond, thanks." Jack said then slammed the door behind him. He got to the outside of the building and sighed, feeling exhausted again. The antibiotics were supposed to help fight the pneumonia he had, but it didn't seem to do much good. Sure, he was feeling better than before, but he was still tired. And North was making him go to school tomorrow, since he was feeling so much better. Apparently four days without school was too much and he needed to catch back up on his studies. Jack sighed and pushed himself forward to North's truck. North had decided to run some errands while Jack was at his appointment and Jack didn't mind since he didn't have to face North in the waiting room, especially after the way he left today.

Jack opened the door and climbed in, then fell back into the seat and curled into a ball, trying to warm up. North looked down from his book and smiled at the boy.

"How are you feeling Jack?" Jack sighed and looked up at North.

"Just dandy," He said sarcastically, but the sarcasm fell short of North.

"Good! Then how about we take a break for rest of day, yes? Have a little fun. I know how much you like snow, so how about we go to sledding? Indoor sledding opened a few days ago in town. Sound good?" Jack perked up at the mention of snow and a smile crept onto his face.

"Can we get hot cocoa afterwards?" Jack asked, his energy coming back to him. North nodded and smiled back warmly, glad to see the boy finally enthusiastic about something. He put the truck into drive and began heading to the ice rink that hosted the sledding.

"How was visit with Sandy?"

"Today he just couldn't seem to shut up. I could barely get a word in." Jack joked, and North's smile widened.

"Yes, he does seem like talkative type, does he not?" North laughed.

"Do you really have to make me go to school tomorrow?" Jack pleaded after a minute of comfortable silence. North looked over at the boy, a stern look that told Jack everything he needed to know.

"You're a real bummer, you know that?" Jack pouted and stared out the window.

"I am just glad to see you feeling better already. Did you tell Sandy about pond adventure?"

"No. You already know, and I'm sure you've already told him everything. I don't see why-"

"I need you to understand that I do not know why you went in there. We had conversation already. Jack, you were alone in pond. There was no one there with you. You would have died, Jack. This is not a light matter, and Sanderson needs to know."

Jack stared out the window, the atmosphere thickening as the seconds passed by. "North, I'm sorry I scared you, but I'm fine and that's all that matters, right?" Jack finally broke the silence. North shook his head and glanced over at the boy, who was staring out the window still. North pulled into the parking lot for the ski rink and turned off the truck.

"You may take your time to tell me, Jack, but please do tell me when you can, yes?" North asked, and got a numb nod in reply. "Good. Then let's go sledding!" North opened the door and waited for Jack to get out and join him.

They both walked into the building and borrowed sleds from the main counter. They took an escalator to the top of the hill, and, North noticed with relief, the higher they went, the bigger the smile was on Jack's face. As soon as they were at the top of the hill, Jack sprinted toward the hill and threw his sled on the ground. He stared down the steep hill and sighed, feeling at home in the snow. How he missed being so far above the rest of the world, feeling free in his own element, able to create anything at a whim, and fly anywhere his heart desired. He may not be able to do the same magic as before, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it.

North walked up beside Jack and put a hand on his shoulder. "Race?" And that one word caused Jack to fall to his sled, a mischievous smile spread across his face.

"I'll win, of course, but I take your challenge. Now, get on your sled." North obeyed his command and readied for the initial push. Jack counted down, "Three…two…one…" then pushed off before he said "Go!" North pushed off after him, happy to let him take the lead. Jack maneuvered his sled like a professional, like he had been doing just this his entire life. It made North proud, in a strange way. They both reached the bottom at the same time, Jack swerving down the hill to make sure the race was even, slowing himself down when needed.

"A tie! We can't have that! I say, a rematch!" Jack exclaimed, then ran for the escalator, only getting halfway up before his pneumonia caught up with him and he had to catch his breath the rest of the way up. North shook his head and followed.

By the time they decided to get hot chocolate, the races were at 10-4, Jack winning most of them, of course. Jack sat back in the chair and sipped on the cocoa.

"North," Jack started between sips. North indicated he had his full attention. "What were my parents like? You say you're my uncle, but that means that I had parents. I can't remember them… well, I can't remember much, but, how were they?" North was taken a bit off guard, for this question had not come to North since the accident. North sat back and took a long drink from his cocoa.

"Well, they were good parents. Always loved you. They did not know you very long before they died. Car crash. It was sudden, but they went together. Your mother was a librarian. She loved to read to you. Your father worked for a good company. He was not home often, but that did not make him love you any less. I wish I could tell you more, but I was not close to your father, my brother." North set down his cocoa and looked over at Jack, who had become suddenly quiet. North took the mug from Jack as he noticed Jack was nodding off, his head lolled to the side and his eyes closed.

North smiled at the server watching them and the man took the cocoa away. North put money on the table and went over to rouse Jack back to life. He knelt down in front of him and gingerly shook his shoulder, but did not get a coherent response. North then scooped Jack up in his arms and proceeded to just carry him back to the truck. Jack's thin frame made for a mostly light-weight lifting and North was not a pushover in his age.

"North…" Jack mumbled into North's jacket as they made it outside, "I wanted to thank you for taking care of me…" North opened the door to the truck and laid Jack down on the seat. He put the seat back into a reclining position and shut the door.

They drove home in silence, but North was more than happy for this, for it gave him time to think about what Jack had said. He was finally accepting his new life. He acknowledged that he had parents and that North had always been there for him. This was a step North had been waiting for Jack to take. North had succeeded; Jack was finally accepting his life as a human. North was sure the day could not get any better.