I'm writing another chapter with Tooth to make up for how bad the previous one was. Sorry it's so short.
Jack looked in amusement as Baby Tooth fluttered around the room, ordering the other fairies to their next destination. Tooth hovered next to him, for once free to stop and just chat for a moment without having to worry about the teeth being collected.
"I'm trying to train some of them to handle things here without me. If something happens again, I want to be free to go. She proved she was quite capable, so she's the first to learn to take over."
Jack grinned at Baby Tooth.
"So you got promoted, eh? Congratulations."
Baby Tooth turned back to him and looked very proud for a moment before turning back to her new duty with even more enthusiasm. She obviously tried hard to impress him.
"So you'll be free to go back in the field now. To see the children again."
Tooth wrapped her arms around herself with a look of regret. She stared down at the floor as she spoke next.
"I should have done this a long time ago. All of us, we should never have allowed ourselves to start caring more about how to bring joy to children rather than about the children themselves. To start seeing the children as merely lights flickering on the globe."
Jack stayed silent, not really knowing how to respond to that. Tooth raised her head to meet his eyes. She placed a hand on his cheek with a sad smile.
"Maybe if things had been different, we would have realized that other children needed us. Children who did not have a light on the globe. We wouldn't have let one alone for so long..."
It was Jack's turned to look down. Empty words of comfort came to him but he swallowed them back down. They both knew it was not alright.
