Author's notes- Yup. I'm back. I know I haven't updated for three years. I'm in college now. Life got extremely busy. I lost motivation for this story. But, I'm back.

Chapter Fourteen:

Life in the Warren

"Oi. Snowflake," the pooka called softly as he opened the bedroom door.

A groan came deep within the covers, but the body underneath didn't move.

Bunny reached forward and gently nudged her shoulder. "C'mon, Jack. Wakey wakey."

"Mmm... five more minutes North..." the snow spirit mumbled.

Chuckling to himself, Bunny turned on his heel. "Fine. Guess I'll have to eat this special breakfast all by myself." he smirked when the sound of the bed springs met his ears.

Jack was sitting straight up in bed, her bleary eyes starting to fill with excitement. Her crazy bed head gave her the appearance of a spooked porcupine. A rather adorable, porcupine.

Pushing the random observation to the back of his mind, Bunny held up a tray. "Figured ya might be hungry. Sorry it's not eggs and bacon, but it should fill ya right up."

A wide grin appeared on Jack's face. "Bunny, that's so nice of you! You didn't have to do this all for me."

"You hush, it was nothin," the pooka replied. Setting the tray down on her lap, he watched with amusement as Jack started scarfing down fruit. She was much hungrier than he thought she was.

Halfway through her meal, Jack seemed to remember Bunny was there. A thought suddenly occurred to her. She swallowed and smiles sheepishly.

"Sorry, you must be hungry too. Would you like some?" she asked while holding out an un-eaten apple.

Bunny took the fruit and placed it back into Jack's mouth. He burst out laughing at the surprised snow spirit.

"Don't worry about me, Snowflake. I ate after I got the yard work done this morning."

"It's so early. When did you get up?"

"At dawn. I always do. There's lot's of work that needs to be done around here."

"Oh," Jack's smile fell slightly. "I'm sorry. I wish I had known."

"You idiot, way to put your foot in your mouth," Bunny chastised mentally.

"Mate, don't worry about it! You needed your sleep," Bunny reassured her.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Now, finish your breakfast. Come outside to the garden when you're ready," he said before heading out of the room.

The day was already promising to be beautiful. Fresh dew sprinkled across trees and bushes. The weather was already starting to warm up slightly with the rising sun. Bunny took a moment to breathe in the fresh air. He was rejuvenated and ready to get to work. Some of the unpainted egglets scurried over to greet him.

"So, what do you have in mind for today?"

The pooka nearly jumped out of his fur. Jack was standing right at his elbow. Her messy hair had been brushed, frosty staff was in hand, and curiosity filled blue eyes.

"Crickey, you're like a ninja, mate!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Jack quickly apologized. Her cheeks were dusted pink in embarrassment.

Reaching out a paw, Bunny gave the snow spirit's head a pat. "Stop saying sorry. You have nothing to apologize for. I mean it."

After a few seconds, Jack's old smile returned to her face. "Okay! What are we doing?"

"Want to go paint some eggs?"

"I'd love to!"

"Come on then," Bunny said with a chuckle. Jack's newfound enthusiasm was amusing. She was finally starting to act like herself again.

For the next hour, the two guardians made a lot of progress with the egglets. By the time they were done, every single egg had been painted and safely stored away for Easter. It filled the pooka's heart with pride and joy. They would be more than prepared ahead of time this year.

"Phew! That was really fun," Jack exclaimed wiping the sweat from her forehead. Her long hair was covered in spots from color powder from the paint flowers. She looked over in confusion when she heard Bunny's deep laugh. "What?"

"You got some paint in your hair, mate."

"I do?" she asked. Her eyes widened at the hair she had taken into her hand. "Oh, crap! Will it come out?"

"It should. A hot shower should wash it right out."

"Okay, that's a relief."

Without thinking, the pooka stood up and walked over to Jack. She was too busy surveying the entire paint job of her hair to notice.

"C'mere for a second."

Jack froze when she felt paws take hold of her hair. Bunny started pulling all of it back gently.

"Hey... what are you doing?" she asked softly.

"Pulling your hair into a pony tail. So you don't get it any more dirty."

"Oh..." she still stood still, but released the tension in her shoulders. Her eyes drooped shut and enjoyed the feeling. "I never noticed how much I liked having my hair played with," she thought. She almost felt sad when she felt the paws leave her hair.

"There, all done." Bunny said with a smile. That smile slowly turned into a jaw drop as Jack turned to face him. She honestly was all eyes. With the hair pulled out of her face, sapphire eyes were what Bunny was losing himself in right now. Yeah, he would admit it. She looked so pretty.

Jack felt her face grow hot. She was starting to get uncomfortable with Bunny's staring. Did she have something on her face? Did she look stupid with her hair back? From his expression, she honestly couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Uhm... Kangaroo? You okay in there?" she jokingly asked. She then proceeded to tap the pooka on the nose gently.

This seemed to snap Bunny out of it. Shaking his head, his ears flopped back in embarrassment. "S-Sorry, mate! How long was I gone?"

"Not long at all. You were really far away, though," Jack answered. Her jokes quickly covered up her embarrassment.

"Oh Crickey, I'm so sorry! I honestly don't know where I went," Bunny exclaimed. Jack giggled at him getting flustered.

"Don't worry about it, Kangaroo. Happens to all of us."

"That reminds me," Bunny said, quickly changing the subject. "I've been meaning to ask you something. I've been making some new chocolates to put in the ankle biter's Easter Baskets. The only thing is, I need a chocolate taster."

"Ooo, me, me, me! I'll do it!" Jack exclaimed waving her arms wildly.

"Heh, Heh. I thought you'd say that."

Ten Minutes Later

"I now highly regret this decision," Bunny mumbled. He should have just had her eat one or two. But no, he had to make her taste pretty much all of them. Now, he wish he had known ahead of time to never ever give Jack a ton of sugar.

"Wheeeeee! Hey, Kangaroo, we should totally go swimming! Wouldn't that be fun?!" Jack yelled. She was currently flying extremely fast through the air and laughing like crazy. She couldn't sit still for one second.

"Maybe later, Snowflake. For now, I think it's a good idea if you go take a nap, or lay down."

"But, I'm not tired! I wanna fly!"

"I know, mate. But, all that sugar is going to make you crash eventually. You might want to try to calm down before then."

"What are you talking about, I'm perfectly fi-" Jack started to say, but then her eyes started to droop. She slowly floated to the ground and swayed slightly on her feet.

"Bunny...?" she asked sleepily.

Laughing lightly, Bunny walked over. "C'mon, let's get you to bed."

Without warning, Jack started falling forward.

"Whoa, easy Jack!" Bunny exclaimed. He reached forward and caught the snow spirit by the arms. Jack fell against his chest. She nuzzled her nose into white fur before drifting off. The pooka was glad she was asleep. His face was as red as a tomato.

"Yep, it's time for a nap, Snowflake."

Post notes- Sorry again that I didn't update this story. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!