AN: So we're back to the present and Jillian and Jack are about to be reunited. Don't let the fluffiness that has been present so far in this story; angst is coming in the form of the reveal of Jillian's lover. But we have two chapters after this one before that, so no worries. :) Also, I apologize for Pitch's OOC-ness again; I figured I'd mention his daughter, though it didn't turn out like I wanted. Read and Review, please! – Katheryn xx

Chapter Five

One Week Later

As much as Jillian might have liked to, she couldn't stay in bed with Pitch all day this Saturday. She had to get up and face the world; she did have a job to do after all. After leaving a note for Pitch explaining where she was going and that she would be back later that day, she flew off to start her work.

Today's assignments were in Burgess. Two young girls of about the same age were developing their first real crushes.

First stop was a girl named Cupcake. Jillian had to shake her head at the name; what parent named their child after food? That was like naming your child Biscotti, or Gelato or some other such nonsense.

Cupcake was rather adorable, in Jillian's opinion. Her room had lots of pink all over it, which Jillian could appreciate even if she herself wasn't crazy about the colour. Which seemed funny coming from the only spirit with pink hair.

Jillian sat down with the short haired girl and they began to talk.

"Wow, this is a lot of pink," Jillian commented to get the ball rolling. "You must really like this colour."

"Yep, pink is my favourite," Cupcake smiled. "But don't tell the others; they might not think I'm tough if I like pink."

"Pink is a very tough colour!" Jillian exclaimed in mock outrage. "All of the greatest people wear pink. My own hair is pink after all." She giggled.

Cupcake laughed with her. "It is. I think it looks really pretty. I wish I had hair that pretty." She flicked back a lock of black hair.

"Your hair is gorgeous, sweetheart," Jillian complimented, taking Cupcake's hand. "You are beautiful just the way you are."

"But I want to look more grown up," Cupcake stressed. "I want to look more mature, to be seen as mature."

Jillian pulled Cupcake onto her lap, unconsciously mirroring the way Pitch had held her when she was that age. She stroked a delicate hand through Cupcake's black hair.

"The only thing I have to say to that is that you should enjoy your childhood, Cupcake," she began. "Nothing good ever comes of trying to force yourself to grow up too fast. Believe me sweetie; once you grow up, there are times when you wish for the simplicity of childhood again."

"But Carmella said that boys like girls who look grown up," Cupcake stressed. "She said girls who act like babies are doomed to be lonely forever."

Carmella. Of course. Jillian wasn't exactly a fan of Cupcake's older sister. Boy crazy in the extreme, which made Jillian's life difficult. And now it seemed like her supposed "experience" with boys was influencing Cupcake a bit.

"Cupcake, boys like girls who are true to themselves. Trying to be someone you are not is the worst way to try and get a boy's attention. And why are you worrying about boys, sweetie?" Jillian added slyly, ready to figure out who Cupcake's crush really was so she could figure out the best course of action.

"Because I…" Cupcake trailed off with a blush. "Can you keep a secret, Jillian?"

"Of course sweetie."

"Ever since the snowball fight earlier this week, I've been thinking a lot about Jamie." Cupcake said, face turned down toward her jeans, face steadily growing redder.

Jamie Bennett. Jillian should have known. After his spirited defense of the Guardians and his rebellion against Pitch, it was only natural that he would end up gaining quite a few admirers.

Jillian smiled and looked at Cupcake. There was no harm in her little crush. Granted they were too young for her to really do anything, but honestly, she had only been sent to Cupcake to make sure she wasn't crushing on someone much older than her; if that had been the case, Jillian would have had to do whatever she could to break the crush, for Cupcake's sake.

For the next hour, Jillian listened to Cupcake talk about Jamie and used her power only slightly, to make sure Cupcake's crush stayed a crush and didn't stray into an obsession.

Jillian waved goodbye to the now-reassured girl and flew off. One more assignment and then she could return to Pitch and they could discuss more about Jack. Like how exactly to tell him that Jillian was his sister and that she was, for lack of a better term, "married" to Pitch Black.