When Past and Present Collide 8
The cold only increased with Jack's distress and the wind's howl was a living thing but in the shelter of the dark ice sculpture Pitch didn't pay it any mind. It wasn't as if the boy was doing it on purpose. In fact he probably wasn't even aware of it. Jack slept curled up against Pitch, twisting restlessly in the grip of a nightmare that was not Pitch's creation. The older man kept an arm around the sprite's shoulders taking in all that fear and silently waiting out the many hours of sleep that Jack so desperately needed. Yes it was winter, yes Jack's power was at its highest but exhaustion came in many forms and Jack was both mentally and emotionally passed his limit. The Guardian of Fun wasn't meant to worry so, he wasn't meant to deal with issues such as death despite his element. He was a child of fun and laughter and the occasional nightmare – MiM bless the boy for that – but not this. Pitch should have taken Jack with him when he left the other Guardians to deal with North and Nicholas. He should have thought it through but then again the chances of pulling Jack away from North's body would have been next to impossible. The child was beyond stubborn at times and probably would have iced himself to the ground and North if Pitch had tried.
Carding his fingers through his grandson's hair he silently hoped that the Guardian of Wonder had finally passed on. Without Jack there to hold the Russian to the mortal world North had nothing left to tie him to his mortal body. So Pitch allowed Jack to sleep. He used his magic to keep the boy under longer than truly necessary and after a while took the nightmares away so that the boy finally got some proper rest.
Sadly when they returned to Santoff Claussen nothing had changed. North was still hanging in there, just barely but enough for Jack to whoop in glee and go right back to watching over him and reading books to his comatose form. Pitch sighed. They needed another plan of action.
"Now what?" Tooth asked as she fluttered about the room anxiously. Her violet gaze wandered to Nicholas who looked just as lost about the situation.
"I don't understand," the young Cossack said as he warily eyed Pitch. "Why is this such an issue? Isn't the boy's father comatose? Wouldn't he just continue sleeping if he's removed from the machines?"
"No," Bunny said and even Sandy shook his head. "Those machines and Jack's magic are all that are keeping him alive. Once they're removed he'll be allowed to pass on to his next life."
Nicholas frowned. "There's no chance of his father recovering?"
Sandy shook his head.
"No. His heart is too weak but a part of him is still fighting…for Jack. But it's just making matters worse for them," Tooth said softly as she touched his arm. "And you."
Nicholas touched his chest, right over his heart. A vague feeling of pain pegged him for a moment. It was faint and far away as if a distant memory. He didn't quite catch everything Tooth said but he had the impression there was much more going on around him then everyone was saying and there was far more to Jack's father's condition than they were letting on. A jumble of images played before his eyes. Flying in a grand sleigh with flying reindeer pulling it, jumping in and out of chimneys delivering gifts, Jack smiling brightly at him as snow fell. They felt like his memories but he knew he had never done such things. Then came fear and pain and a horrific crash. His eyes snapped open and he glared at Pitch.
The shade raised his hands. "Not my doing," the dark man said before Nicholas could accuse him of anything. Pitch looked to Bunny. "Why not just kidnap Jack and drag him to his room for a few hours. I'm sure you can 'distract' him."
The Pooka's shoulders fell. "Tried that, couldn't even get a rise out of him. He literally gave me the cold shoulder and a few other places that are not meant to be iced."
Pitch stifled a laugh but it was hard the way Sandy was smirking and silently giggling. "I see," he managed to say but couldn't hide his smirk. "Any other ideas. I hate to force him to sleep until Nor-his father finally moves on but that's what it's coming down to."
Nicholas wasn't paying attention anymore. His chest was burning, right over his heart but he did catch Pitch's slip up and focused past the growing pain. North? Was that what Pitch meant to say. Nicholas was in the future after all and he had yet to come across future self whom he should have by now. After all if he had created this new Santoff Claussen, had created all these wonderful things and had an army of yetis working under him shouldn't he – his future self – be there somewhere? Why did his chest hurt so much?
"I'll go talk to the lad," he said, cutting to whatever Pitch was rambling on about. He didn't wait for anyone to respond. He got up and headed for the infirmary, brushing off Tooth when she reached for him. "He might listen to me."
In his mind he saw Jack's smirk at him, the boy laughing and dancing in the clouds. Images he knew he had never seen before yet again felt like they were parts of his memory. He saw himself…older, fighting alongside the boy, protecting him and praising him. He saw the wonder in the child's eyes when he was presented with a gift…his first gift from the Guardian of Wonder. Nicholas shook his head. These memories weren't his. They couldn't be. He pressed the butt of one hand to his forehead and paused just down to hall from the infirmary.
"What aren't they telling you, Nicholas?" he asked himself. "Why do I see these things?"
He nearly jumped when a yeti touched his arm. He looked up in surprise at the large brown and grey being Bunny called Phil. The yeti watched him with deep brown eyes before asking if he was alright.
"I…I don't know," Nicholas said honestly.
Phil nodded and took his elbow and led him into the infirmary. The curtain that had once been around the far gurney as now pulled back revealing a large man with white hair and long beard. Jack, the youth he had mistaken for Nightlight, was sitting on his knees on the edge of a chair, his head cushioned against the older man's massive chest just above the heart. Both males' eyes were closed but while the older man's face looked peaceful Jack's was tear stained and wary. Pitch had said the boy had slept much of the day away but Jack was obviously still exhausted.
Nicholas looked up at Phil, unsure if he should approach the boy or not. Sure he had told the others he would talk to Jack but he honestly didn't know what to say. He never had parents, never had to deal with losing one. He had lost friends in the heat of battle but not due to illness or natural causes. He never had to give someone up or say good bye. He had been a bandit after all.
Strangely he could hear soft murmuring from Jack, muffled by the angle of his face against the large man's chest.
Phil gave him a little shove toward the duo and a pointed look. It was strange. The yetis had been chasing the other Guardians away yet here he was, a stranger by all rights, being told to go where the others were not allowed. Squaring his shoulders he pushed aside the growing pain in his chest and moved forward. He wasn't what to say or if he should say anything at all. So, rather than speaking he placed a hand on Jack's slim shoulder and just offered his support.
"Go away," Jack muttered, shrugging Nicholas away. "Please, I just want to be alone. I promise, I'll let him go…I just need more time." He looked up in surprise when he saw Nicholas. Wiping at his eyes he looked away. "You shouldn't be in here. My…my father wouldn't want you in here. Please go."
"Jack, I'm so sorry for you loss," Nicholas said, giving the boy's shoulder a squeeze. "I don't know your father but I'm sure this isn't what he wants for you. I know if it were me I'd rather you celebrate my life not morn my death. I like to think he'd feel the same way." He leaned against the arm of the chair and rubbed the boy's back. This felt familiar and the right thing to do. "I would throw the grandest party in his honor, one that would ensure that no one ever forgot the wonderful man he was. There would be much drinking and telling of his tales. His adventures would be recorded for all time and then, as the night grew thin, I would send him off with a cremation grander than any god. It would be magnificent."
The tiniest smile tugged at Jack's lips. "That sounds like something he would do." There was the smallest hint of a laugh. "But…" He sighed and stood up. He brushed aside the old man's white hair. "How do I let go? He's the only father I've ever had."
"I don't know. You just do I suppose. You know that he'll always be with you. He's your father his spirit is tied to yours for eternity now."
Jack shook his head. "He's not really my father. He sort of adopted me when I became a Guardian."
Nicholas smiled softly. It was kind of the way Ombric had taken him in all those years ago. "It doesn't matter if you're related by blood or not. It's what's in here that counts." He placed a hand over Jack's chest right over his heart and then took his hand and placed it over the old man's. "If you loves you like a son and you love him like a father than that will stay with you both even in death. Your hearts will always be entwined."
The boy looked up at him before slowly nodding. "Do you truly believe that?"
"I know it."
For several seconds neither said a word. Hesitantly, Jack turned back to his father. He brushed his lips over the man's forehead. "I love you, dad," he whispered before closing his eyes and withdrawing his magic.
Nicholas felt it ripple through him and that pulse of pain rode through his chest once more. He bit back a moan and winced. Why did he hurt so much?
Jack slowly removed the respirator as Phil turned watched the heart monitor carefully. Then, with tears streaming down his cheeks, Jack laid his head back on the man's chest and waited. It didn't take long before the heart monitor began buzzing. Phil simply shut it off and placed a hand on the back of Jack's head in a comforting manner.
The pain grew so intense Nicholas thought his legs might give out from under him. This was worse than the pain of being run through with a sword. And then it was gone. There was no pain, no aches and no blocks in his memory. Everything came rushing at him with such force it was staggering. He looked to Phil and Phil looked back with wide eyes, his hand pulling away from Jack.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but I have to let you go. I don't want you to suffer any more," Jack whispered to the body beneath him.
Nicholas brushed the boy's hair behind his ear and gently cupped the back of his head. "Jack, it's alright. Everything's alright now," he said gently.
Jack sniffled and wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. "I know," he said but his hands still clung to the fabric of the old man's shirt. His eyes were closed tight. "I just need a few minutes. I just…" His eyes opened and he gazed up at Nicholas. Confusion filled his face and then suddenly his eyes widened. "North?"
"It's me, Jack." Nicholas St. North beamed down at his son, no longer looking like the young man who had come to comfort a grieving child but very much like than man who had just passed away. The last ties to his physical form had shattered the moment his body died and all his power and magic rushed to his spirit form. He opened his arms to Jack and the boy leapt into his arms, knocking him into the air chair and crushing him in the most powerful hug North had ever experienced. The child was laughing and crying in equal measure. North held him tight and rubbed his back. "Everything's going to be alright now."
Phil smiled warmly at the two as he covered North's mortal body with a sheet. Things would soon return to normal in Santoff Claussen.
Next: Party time/funeral