A/N: To be honest, I was planning on discontinuing this story. But hey, I'm a sucker for reviews so might as well give you all another chapter.

I also want to thank everyone that has read my story. The reviews and favourites and follows are amazing, but my story is almost at 50,000 views, which is absolutely ridiculous. So thank you so much.

"Nothing!" Bunny roared, his frustration exploding after hours of keeping it in. "I've searched half the globe and I haven't found a single clue to where Jack, Pitch or Tock could be!" He flopped down on one of the couches in the Pole and buried his face in his paws. "Tell me one of you has better news."

Tooth bit her lip, then sat down next to him. "I wish I could, Bunny. I really do. But I found the same thing as you; a whole lot of nothing."

"We can't lose hope!" North strode into the room, looking exhausted but determined. "Bunny you are the guardian of hope! If you lose hope, we all do."

"Then how have you not lost hope yet?" Bunny asked, his face still hidden.

North walked over and put his hand on Bunny's shoulder. "I haven't lost hope yet because you haven't either. Dig deep, Bunny. You still have hope. Use it."

Bunny raised his head a little and managed to give North a small smile. "How is it that you always manage to see what no one else can, even if it's about ourselves?"

"I'm the guardian of wonder. It's my job to see potential in things that seem impossible to others. Just as it's your job to believe that you can do anything, even when others have given up."

His smile grew wider, and Bunny stood up and stood face-to-face with North. "You're right, my friend. Now, let's get our snowflake back."

Jack's eyes fluttered open. She groaned and reached up to feel her head. Luckily she was no longer bleeding, but she could feel the gashes that the broken mug had caused. There was an intense pain in her chest as well, but she felt her ribs and though they hurt, she doubted it they were more than bruised.

Next to her, Olivia was softly snoring. Though she was tired, scared and in pain, Jack couldn't help but smile at the sight. Her life as a spirit had been incredibly difficult. Then, when she had regained her memories and found a family, she had thought she was the happiest she could possibly be.

But now, looking at her little sister in person for the first time since she dies, Jack realized how sad she had been and how much she had missed Olivia. She had taken an instant liking to Jamie, who had the same colour hair and a similar personality to her sister's. Snowball fights were some of her favourite things in the world, which had all started when she was trying to make her sister laugh after getting in trouble from her mother. She mouthed off to spirits that were picking on her just like she used to do to bullies that were threatening Ollie. Just about everything Jackie had done while being Jack Frost had been subconsciously guided by one little girl.

Seeing Olivia again, getting to spend time again with the person that Jack cared about most in the world, it almost made being human again worth it.

Almost.

But Jack knew that this couldn't last. If she stayed human, how could she be certain that Pitch would be stopped in 2012? She was defenseless as a human, just because Pitch hadn't tried anything yet did not mean that he wouldn't threaten her family while she was human. And the Guardians were surely doing everything they could to find her back in her own time. This peacefulness of getting to see her little sister again would never last.

The door banged open and Jack realized that the peace was about to be disturbed quicker than she had hoped. Her father stood at the door. He looked a little bit worse for wear, which was to be expected considering he must have a killer hangover.

"Jacklyn. Up. Now," he growled.

Jack jumped up as if she'd been shocked.

"Make breakfast for the family. Then back to work, caring for the sheep. Almost drowning is not an excuse for slacking off." Jack kept her eyes to the floor, but nodded. "Why are you just standing there? I told you what to do, now do it!"

She quickly rushed to the kitchen to do as she was told. Her father turned on his heels and walked out the door to do whatever it was he was doing before.

Jack cursed herself. Why was she so afraid of him? She was Jack Frost for crying out loud! She was a guardian. She had defeated Pitch Black. She been in more fights with spirits than anyone she knew, which was saying a lot considering some of the people she knew were thousands of years old. But one drunk guy made her feel like a defenseless little girl in the span of a second.

Think about that just depressed her, she instead she thought back to her old train of thought. How was she going to stop Pitch? She couldn't kill herself, unless she died in a heroic way, Manny wouldn't pick her to be Jack Frost. More importantly, she couldn't leave her little sister alone with her father.

But she couldn't just stay human. Pitch could strike at any moment and she had no powers to fight back. Plus even if Pitch did leave her alone, there was no guarantee that the other Jack Frost would be able to stop Pitch from taking over in 2012. Would Jack Frost even be a guardian at all? She was chosen because she protected the innocence, the fun, in children. Those weren't requirements to be a spirit. Anyone could be chosen, but they wouldn't necessarily be guardian material.

"Jackie?" Olivia was sitting up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Hey, Ollie. I made you breakfast. Come on, come eat."

Olivia stood up and walked over to her sister's side. She gasped when she saw the bruises on Jackie's cheeks and the blood in her hair.

"Oh, I guess I should wash up, shouldn't I?" Jack tried to joke. "I must look like I stepped out of a horror film."

"A what?"

"I mean, I must look like a crazy woodsman that just went hunting, with all this red in my hair."

"Jackie, you can't be a woodsman."

"You never know kid. Sometimes you get confused for a dude for three hundred years. Could happen to anyone."

Olivia gave Jack a strange look. "Jackie, you've been acting weird lately."

"You always tell me I'm weird."

"Well, weirder. Is everything okay?"

Jack gave her sister what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Of course. Everything is just peachy. I know, I've been saying a few strange things. Just ignore me. Most people do. It's probably just the lack of oxygen talking. I mean, I was underwater for a while."

"I'm sorry Jackie," Olivia sniffed. "This is my fault."

'Crap, wrong thing to say.' "It's okay, Olivia. It wasn't your fault. I told you, it was my choice, and I stand by that choice. Nothing in the world would make me change my mind."

"But why? You could have died."

"I know. But you mean more to me than anything else in the whole world, Olivia. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. You're my number one priority. Always."

Olivia lunged across the table and wrapped her arms around Jackie's torso. Jack melted into the hug. She would never ever flinch away from her sister like she did with just about anyone else. And she had also made up her mind; Olivia was her number one priority. Always.

A/N: So Jackie has decided to stay human. Uh oh! Be sure to leave a review and I'll try not to take almost a year to update this time.