Chapter 4 - Even Deeper Still


The next memory began with Jack sitting on the porch of a house. The door creaked open and an older man came out of it, "Can I see her?"

"No, she's still too sick." The man spoke gruffly.

Then time began to move very quickly, Jack sat on the porch all day, and then when it got dark he went home, the next day at sunrise Jack was back on the porch and time slowed back to normal, the door opened again and the man came out and simply said, "Go away boy." before he slammed the door shut.

Jack did not leave, and stayed again until nearly sunset, when the door opened again.

The man asked Jack, "Why are you still here?"

"I want to know if she's okay, why won't you just tell me that?" Jack asked.

"Honestly? Because I don't like the way to look at my daughter." he said gruffly.

Jack blushed and immediately broke eye contact.

Bunny and North were laughing very hard, Tooth and Sandy were smiling widely, and even Jack was smirking a little.

"But," the man, who had been revealed to be Catherine's father said, "I'd rather have her out running around with you than her being alone."

Jack looked back up towards the man, "Will she be okay?"

"I don't know, but she is the luckiest person I know, I swear it's like she has someone in the sky looking out for her." Catherine's father looked Jack over for a moment, "Go home, when she's well enough to see anyone you'll be the first person I find."

"Thank you sir." Jack said.

"It's Doctor to you." he said before slamming the door.

"Mate, he did not like ya." Bunny said to Jack.

"He never did, I wonder what ever did happen to him after everything." Jack said quietly.

This prompted the Guardians to share a collective worried expression.

The next memory began with Catherine's father leading Jack up to the house.

"She's still tired, so you can't talk for too long." he told Jack.

"Yes s-Doctor" Jack corrected himself.

Jack walked into the fairly small home and Catherine's father pointed to the door on the left side of the home. Jack opened the door and was greeted with the sight of Catherine alive and well, sitting on top of her sheets reading a book.

"Jack!" she said happily. "Come sit." she added, patting the space beside her.

Time began to move quickly again, and eventually the memory ended with both Jack and Catherine asleep.

"Aww!" Tooth said.

"You two est very cute." North said.

The next memory started and Jack immediately recognized it. "Manny! Not this one!" He shouted upwards.

"What's wrong mate? Embarrassing?" Bunny asked teasingly.

Jack rubbed his forehead, "Not exactly."

Tooth and Sandy shared a confused glance, and the memory began despite Jack's protests. They were suddenly standing on a grassy field that

It started with Jack pushing aside the thick branches of a tree to reveal a beautiful lake that had been completely hidden by the forest.

"Catherine!" Jack called behind him, "I found it!" He pushed through the bush and emerged into the guardians field of view.

"I won't lie, I was beginning to doubt your navigational skills." Catherine said, and as she to came through the bushes the guardians were shocked, she had grown quite a bit from the last memory they had seen, she was about two inches taller and she had grown into her figure, she was gorgeous.

Jack laughed at the other Guardians faces, "Yeah, the boys who had made fun of her were biting their tongues that summer." he told them.

Catherine and Jack had waded into the water about ankle deep, Catherine was holding up her dress so it wouldn't get wet, and Jack had rolled up his pants. When Catherine wasn't looking Jack scooped up a handful of water and dumped it on her head. She squealed and turned around with a smirk on her face, "Oh you're so on!"

She kicked a bunch of water up at his head and he splashed her back, eventually they were both soaked head to toe and waded back to shore laughing, they sat down on the grassy shore.

Catherine laid down and Jack followed suite, "It's cold now that we aren't in the water." Jack said.

Catherine reached out to him and grabbed his arm and said, "You're cold?! I'm freezing compared to you!"

"Jesus, you're freezing Catherine." Jack said, sitting up.

"Yeah because my dress is soaking and that water was not warm." Catherine said standing up and reaching behind her.

"What're you doing?" Jack asked.

"I'm taking it off." Catherine replied as if it was obvious, Jack blushed. She made quick work of the outer layer, and all that was left was a tight fitting white dress that came to just past her knees.

She laid down beside Jack again and curled up beside him, trying to warm up. Jack put his arm around her and they just laid there for a while before Catherine started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked smiling.

"What would those old gossipers think of this? I can just imagine them all falling dead at the sight." Catherine.

"They would say, 'those godless children doing inappropriate things in the woods'." Jack said, doing his best impression of the old women in the village.

Catherine hummed in agreement, "They're probably right."

Jack furrowed his eyebrows, "Wha-" he was cut off.

Catherine kissed him, and the memory faded.

Jack sighed in relief and yelled, "Thank you!" upwards, presumably to Manny.

"Vhat?" North asked, "I do not understand."

"Something tells me that this little scene 'ere continued for a little bit eh?" Bunny mostly commented.

Jack blushed even more than he already was, "Things may have..." Jack shook his head, "You know what, no. We're not talking about this. Next!"