Interesting to know that no one seemed to be worried about Gretchen's well being. So you do take your happy endings for granted, don't you?

Did you forget that I made Jack kill Tooth in 'Cold Poison'?

Thank you so much for the reviews, though ;)


It was very late at night, but North was still in his office, checking old books, desperately trying to find a way to free Jack from his curse. He knew that somehow the winter spirit could control the other Jack, but he really didn't want his son to live like this for the rest of forever. The Guardian of Wonder wasn't having any luck. The third yawn in a row told him that maybe it was better to continue his search tomorrow, his brain was so fuzzy that he feared he may have had the answer in front of him without realizing it.

As he walked through the long corridor towards his bedroom, he noticed Toothie's door was open. He shook his head in disapproval but when he went to close it he noticed that, not only was the fairy not on her bed, but she had never been, as the bed was perfectly made. North frowned. He knew exactly where Tooth was.

He opened Jack's door to find Tooth snuggled up next to the winter spirit, both making it warm for him and exposing herself to the extra cold temperature of his bedroom.

"Toothiana!" he called, standing on the door. "Are you trying to catch pneumonia? He doesn't even know you're here!"

"I was just... Bunny does get to be by Gretchen's side for days on end, why can't I?!" she pouted.

North smiled. He loved this about Tooth. Sometimes she was the very wise, older than time Queen of the Fairies and even he looked up to her as the motherly figure of the group. Other times, like this one, she was just a fifteen year old girl.

"Well, Gretchen is not a winter spirit. She doesn't need the cold and Bunny won't get sick for being with her." he said. Tooth was about to protest but he continued "and you know that Jack will be perfectly fine..."

Tooth felt a rush of guilt at those words. They really were expecting the Groundhog to be better by now but she was showing no signs of improvement. Gretchen's condition had become the pink elephant in the room. They were all very worried but they all avoided talking about it, especially in front of Bunny, who refused to believe that anything bad could happen to her. At least she knew her winter boy would be flying around very soon, breaking his ussual havoc.

"We'll wake him up tomorrow morning and see how he feels, OK? In the mean time go and get some rest, in your warm bedroom..." added North.

"Ahk! matak lagu nokg ka ghu!" yelled a yeti from the corridor.

"Gaia...c'mon!" said North following him.

The two Guardians found another yeti carrying Mother Nature just a few meters away from the medical room. She looked OK, just exhausted.

"Is he...?" asked Gaia worried, looking straight at North.

"He's fine Gaia, your father, he's fine." he replied smiling. Mother Nature smiled but she seemed to be fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Gaia, are you OK?" asked Tooth, holding her hand.

Gaia nodded, her eyes half closing.

"Are we OK?" asked North, causing Gaia to smile again.

"Yes, the worst is over and I have every nature spirit helping. Except for the three you have here, of course. They have done more than enough already." she replied smiling kindly.

"Bunny could still help if you really need him to..." started North but Gaia shook her hand in dismissal.

"I prefer that he stays here looking after Gretch. How is she?" she interjected as they reached the medical room.

Both North and Tooth avoided her gaze.


Gretchen was lost in some world faraway, searching for a way back, an anchor to tie her to the world of the living. She was never afraid of dying but she really didn't want to go now, now that she finally had him.

She found the warm fingers wrapped around her hand and smiled inside her head. She clung to the feeling of the digits warming her rigid skin, literally for dear life, and felt herself coming back, coming back to him, back to the softness of his fur, to the warmth of his hand. Her eyes fluttered opened, but it took her a long time to process the information they were sending to her brain. She was in some sort of hospital yard, but all the lights were off, making it really hard to see, so she returned her attention to the soft fingers that brought her back into this world.

Bunny was sitting on a chair next to her bed, deeply asleep with his head resting on the side of her bed, one hand acting as a pillow, the other one on hers, giving her strength, giving her hope. She couldn't help herself and she gave those wonderful fingers a tiny squeeze. He immediately opened his eyes, as if even in his sleep he was waiting for any sign that she would come back. Unbeknown to her, this was their third night in the medical room. He stared at her, a little shocked, his eyes searching hers, unsure what to do next, not totally convinced that he wasn't just dreaming.

"Hi" he managed to say, smiling.

"Hi" she breathed back. Her voice felt alien to her, as if she had forgotten what it sounded like. "Bunny..." she continued, her raspy voice not much louder than a whisper. She was still in pain but she could now breathe easily and she didn't want to put it off any longer. She knew she almost lost her chance... "I need you to know... I love you too. I have always loved you, since the first day you called me a wanker with a dodgy system." she said smiling widely, but his reaction was not what she expected.

He was worried. She obviously didn't remember telling him that she loved him.

"Gretch, what's the last thing you remember?" he asked, his thumb tracing figures on her hand.

"I... don't know. Pitch saying something about me dying, I think you took me... somewhere. Wait! We never... finish what we started, did we?" she replied, trying to separate reality from dreams.

Aster couldn't keep a straight face any longer. He chuckled as quietly as he could, he knew that if the yetis heard him they'd come and check on her and this little exchange would be over.

"No, Love. I kinda prefer my women conscious. Was that a good dream, though?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"You have a lot to live up to..." she said with a wide smile. She was thrilled that he was there, that his hand was still on hers, that they could joke and laugh as if the nightmare never happened.

"I am always up for a challenge." he said smiling back, his eyes looking at hers kindly, lovingly, the empty, facetious words not reflecting the feelings in his chest. He closed the gap between them without realizing, but he just nuzzled at the nose, joining their foreheads. He needed to be closer to her, but he didn't think she was well enough for a kiss. She closed her eyes again, enjoying his proximity. But her heaven was very short lived.

They both jumped when the others entered the room with Gaia. They both pulled away as if they had been caught doing something wrong.

"Gretchen?" said Gaia as the yeti laid her on the bed.

"Gretchen! Slava Bogu!" said North, walking towards them with Tooth flying by his side. But they never made it to the Groundhog. As Bunny predicted, a wave of yetis came over to examine her, pushing the Guardians away.

"Is she OK?" asked Tooth, smiling.

"She doesn't seem to remember everything, but she was making jokes and smiling. I think she'll be fine" replied Bunny. "Is that Gaia?"

"Yes" answered North "she came looking for Gretchen... and her father." said North as a yeti came into the room pulling a very confused Kosmotis by the arm.

His expression softened when he recognized the beautiful young woman laying on the bed in front of him. Last time he saw her she was only a little girl. But he recognized the silky black hair, just like her mother's, the deep brown eyes that always seemed to look inside his soul, the pointy chin, just like his own.

"Sera..." he breathed.

"Father..." she said with a smile that illuminated the whole room. She had waited for this moment for so long that she thought it would never happen.

Pitchiner walked to her side, slowly, hesitant. He touched her pale skin, not too different from his, and his thumb wiped the single tear that was running down her cheek. A happy tear. He held her tightly in his arms and kissed the top of her head just like he did too many years ago, when she was little. He hummed her favorite lullaby and they stayed like that, in each other's arms, long after everyone else except for Bunny and Gretchen left the room, long after Gaia felt asleep, long after the sunlight sneaked in through the drawn curtains.


Jack smiled as he opened his eyes. All he could see was Tooth's face, hovering so close to his that his eyes could barely bring her into focus. Her gorgeous face was filled with anticipation, the slight breeze from her batting wings caressed his face as she moved side to side, up and down, almost as fast as she talked.

"Jack! Jack, can you hear me! Jack! Jack, are you OK? How are you feeling?! Does it hurt?! Jack!" she said frantically.

Her winter boy caught her in his arms and pressed her flushed against his body, burying his nose in his favorite spot, right where her wonderful neck met her soft, warm shoulder.

"I'm great!" he smiled against her feathers and she smiled too, knowing that he was referring to that particular point in time when she was in his arms. She too was great. It had only been a few days but she had missed him so much.

Bunny cleared his throat. Loudly. He was really more amused than angry, and he was relieved that the kid was alright, but he was not about to let Snowflake know that.

The winter spirit looked around. All the Guardians were there, North smiled widely at him, his eyes filled with an emotion Jack just couldn't pin point. Sandy gave him a thumbs up and the widest smile he could master. And Bunny was giving him the same fake angry look he always gave him when he 'crossed the line'. He didn't noticed the yetis standing in the corner. They were the same two yetis who had been looking after him for the past four days.

"I would ask if you're OK, but I can see that you are." said the pooka.

Jack smiled before burying his face in the soft feathers once more.


I hope it's not a turn off, but it looks like we'll have one more chapter after all. Too many characters, too many loose ends and a writter who really doesn't want to let this story go ;)