Sorry this took a while, but here it is: the last chapter of the conclusion to the Fun Times Are Over arc.

(please take the time to read the A/N at the end)


Sophie was still sleeping when Jack got there. It wasn't a surprised, as the sun was just rising. Maybe it was just as well. Jack pushed the window open, floated inside and crouched on the bedside table. He looked down at the sleeping young woman and sighed.

"I'm sorry, you know? It's not that I couldn't hear you. I just..." He remembered hearing her voice. It was one of the only thing he had been aware of, during that time before he could claw his way out of the darkness. But he had been too late. He sighed. "You were right to stop believing in me."

A sudden sound and flashing light startled him and he almost fell off. He looked down at the cell phone at his feet, the screen lighting up so that he could read who was calling. Ashley. He jumped off the nightstand when Sophie stirred and reached blindly for her phone. She brought it to her ear and mumbled something. In the silence, he could hear Ashley's voice replying, if not what she was saying.

"Ash? Yes, I was still sleeping. That long? Where are you, anyway? It's... early. What?" Sophie sat up in the bed, here eyes wide open, no trace of sleepiness left. "What happened? What? Why can't you tell me now?" She jumped off the bed and started to rummage through the clothes scattered on the floor. Jack stayed out of her way. "Alright, I'm coming. Keys on the nightstands, I get it. See you in a moment."

Sophie tossed the phone on the bed, grabbed a yellow shirt and shook it. It was time for Jack to go. He could make it to the hospital before Sophie did, talk to Ashley and see how Jamie was doing. As he headed back to the window, he saw Sophie move in his direction. He turned and, for an instant, thought that she could see him. He froze in place, only scrambling out of her way at the last second, when it became obvious that she was about to walk right through him. He had promised her, years ago, that he would never let that happen and, even if that had been a trick on her part, he was still going to keep that promise.

Sophie placed a hand on the still-open window to close it, but stopped her motion to stare at it, maybe trying to remember if she let it open before going to sleep. Snow had been falling over Burgess since Jack's return and a light blanket now covered the town. She released the window and placed her elbows on the sill.

"What am I doing here, anyway?" she asked the chilly spring night. "I can't remember. We... lost someone, no?" She looked up at the Moon as if expecting answers. In Jack's experiences, he rarely gave any. "Everything is fuzzy, expect that last talk I had with Jamie before going to sleep. He kept talking about this Jack Frost. I can't believe he still–I can't believe..."

"Soph?"

Jack held his breath. Sophie stared at the falling snow. She leaned out and looked around, then up. A snowflake fell on her nose. "...Jack?"

A smile split his face and he was almost too breathless to answer her. "Soph."

She whirled around and took a step in his direction. Then, she stepped back as memories of the previous days returned to her. Jack saw fear in her eyes. He winced.

"Wh–what are you doing here? What happened to Jamie? What did you do to him?"

Jack sighed and rubbed the back of his head, tugging on his short white hair. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry? Jack–where do those come from?"

He blinked at the sudden change of subject and looked down and what he was wearing. "Er... the North Pole?" He skipped the part about his other clothes having been covered in her brother's blood.

"The North Pole? So you went there? Really?" She looked at him with suspicion, like she didn't really believe that.

"Look, I'm sorry about everything that happened. But you have to listen to me, alright?" She narrowed her eyes, but didn't voice an objection. "It wasn't me, Soph. It was a nightmare."

"A nightmare? You mean that I just dreamt up the whole thing? And I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Er... no. I mean that it was one of Pitch's nightmare. You were awake. And I wasn't back."

"It was a fake."

"Yes! And I'm sorry I–"

She cut him off by running up to him and pulling him in a hug. "You idiot! Don't you dare apologize to me. I couldn't–I couldn't even believe in you. I should have known–"

"Soph–"

"Jamie never stopped believing in you. He brought you back, didn't he?"

"Yeah..."

She placed her hand on his shoulder and pushed him away to look him in the eyes. "Jack, what happened to him? How did Jamie get hurt?"

"I... don't know everything, but–"

"Nevermind, you can tell me on the way to the hospital. Ashley's waiting. I need to change–Wait a minute... Jack!"

The offended look she gave him baffled him. "Uh... what?"

"Were you just standing there while I was about to get changed?"

"What? No! I was about to go. I swear!"

"I guess I'll take your word for it." The amused smile on her face told her she didn't really doubt him. "Now, get out of the room."


Jack kneeled on the car's seat and ran his fingers along the window. He knew those things could come down, somehow, but he hadn't figured out how yet. He let out a little "ah!" when he felt it move, cool air entering the car from the gap. The glass kept coming down even after he removed his hands and, when he turned to face her, he saw that Sophie was pressing a button on her door. Confident that she had this covered, he sat with his back to the window, facing her, his knees pulled back against his chest. He leaned back with a content sigh when the window was fully down and he felt the wind play with his hair.

"Really, Jack., have you never been in a car?"

"No. Why would I want to travel in one of those metal boxes?"

"I guess when you can fly, there's really no reason."

"Exactly."

"Right. Now, start talking. What happened after... after I,,, what happened to Jamie?"

"Like I said, I don't know everything. But I know he came to the lake during the night. I know I heard him call me. The nightmare was with him, but he was calling me. By the time I showed up, he was lying on the ice, bleeding, and Pitch was telling the nightmare to finish him. What happened before that, you'll have to ask Jamie."

"And the nightmare?"

"It won't bother you again. Not that one, at least."

"Good. Anything else?"

"Ashley saw me."

"She what?"

"That light was red."

"Oh." She turned her attention back to the road. Thankfully, it was still early and not many cars were about.

"She said she was expecting explanations. I guess we're gonna have a talk."

Jack sighed. He wasn't sure how much he was looking forward to that. Things hadn't been easy for her and now her husband was hurt because of this whole mess. And none of this would have happened if not for Jack Frost. He got Jamie mixed into Guardians' business from the start. But what kind of mess would we have all been in if I hadn't? We owe him so much... and looked what that got him.

"I'll stay with you."

"Thanks, Soph."

Nothing was very far in Burgess, so it wasn't long before they reached the hospital. He followed Sophie to the receptionist's desk, then to Jamie's room. He was sleeping, but he looked fine. Not that Jack was a doctor, but he associated "not fine" to a bunch of tubes and beeping machines and he saw none of that. Ashley was dozing in a chair by the bed, still wearing her poodle-print flannel pajama, but she woke up when they walked in.

"Oh, you're here. Both of you."

"How is he?" Sophie whispered. Jack stayed a little behind, not too eager to bring the attention to himself.

"Sleeping."

"I can see that."

"He'll be fine. He needed stitches, but the doctors are not worried. But he was exhausted. So were you. You've been sleeping for a long time. How're you feeling?"

"Better. Much better."

"Good. So, is everything over, now? Can things go back to normal?"

Jack looked down at his feet at the distress in her voice. Sophie nodded.

"Yeah. It's over."

"Right. Good. I'll be going back home, soon. To sleep. But first, I want you two to tell me everything that happened, from the start. I'm tired of being left in the dark."

"Sure thing, Ashley. But... you understand why we didn't say anything before, right?"

"It's not like I could have said anything to you," Jack added.

"I get it. I would have thought you were using the stupidest excuse possible to avoid telling me the truth. Or that you were crazy. But, come on. Let's go talk elsewhere. I don't want to wake up Jamie."

"Did you have breakfast?" Sophie asked. "Because I didn't. Let's give that hospital food a try, shall we?"


Jack crouched on the chair, his toes curling around the edge of the seat. Not many people were here this early in the morning, so he felt it safe to pick a seat while the two women got their food, even if he couldn't stop anyone from sitting at his table. Only one other person present could see him, a child staring at a bowl of oatmeal. He gave a startled smile when he noticed Jack and the Guardian smiled back.

Sophie placed her platter down and sat next to him, while Ashley sat across from him. Both woman had taken pancakes. He doubted there was a lot of choice. Sophie took a bowl of fruit salad and a bottle of lemonade from her platter and set them in front of him.

"Thanks. You didn't need to."

"I don't want to eat while you're just staring at us."

He shrugged and grabbed the bowl, shoving a spoonful of fruit into his mouth while he waited for someone to start the conversation.

"So, uh, you've known Jamie and Sophie for a long time?"

"Twenty-odd years. I knew you too, then, remember?"

"Yeah, I do. But you guys seem to have some sort of special relationship."

He looked at Sophie while he tried to figure out how to best explain this. She grinned.

"I used Santa's magic snow globe to visit the Easter Bunny when I was two."

"You're kidding, right? Oh god. You're not."

Sophie laughed. Jack chewed on a piece of cherry, swallowed and started talking.

"Do you remember, when you were a child, a time when all the children had nightmares? It was around Easter."

She frowned, dragging a piece of pancake in maple-flavored corn syrup while she thought about it.

"I think I remember."

"This is going to sound crazy–"

"Crazier than Santa's magic snow globe?"

"Maybe not. Anyway, that was the Boogeyman trying to scare the kids into believing in him. And not believing in the Guardian."

"The Guardians?"

"Yeah, you know, Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman?"

"Of course," she said blankly. Jack bit his lip and continued.

"So, uh, Pitch got all of the kids to stop believing except for Jamie and he was asking his stuffed bunny to show him he was real so I drew an Easter egg on his window and made it snow in his room–"

"Jack," Sophie cut him off. "You're not making much sense."

"Okay, I guess you had to be there. Anyway, if Jamie had stopped believing, that would have been the end of the Guardians. We can't survive without our believers."

"We? So you're one of them?"

"Yeah, I am, now."

"So, Jamie believing kept the Guardians from uh..."

"Disappearing."

"What about you? What would have happened to you?"

"Nothing, I guess? I wasn't really a Guardian, back then, and Jamie was the first to believe in me."

"Ah. I guess that makes him pretty special to you, uh?"

"I guess you can say that. Anyway, we managed to defeat Pitch — uh, that's the Boogeyman, by the way — and for a long time, that was that. I mean, he caused us some troubles a few times since, but nothing major."

"Until a few days ago."

"Right."

"Jamie said that the Boogeyman killed you–"

"Jamie said that?" Sophie cut in. "To you?"

"I thought he was delirious. He certainly acted like he was. But, if that's true, was it revenge?"

Jack pushed his fruit around his bowl, not looking up at her. "Yeah, but... not against me. Not this time."

"You mean..."

He turned his attention to his lemonade. Sophie continued the story for him.

"It was Jamie he was after. Jack just happened to show up right on time and took the blow for him."

"Oh!" Ashley stared between the two of them. Jack still didn't look up. Sophie kicked his chair to force him to.

"Jack, Jamie felt awful about that. He said it's his fault."

"I know that. I told him he was being a fool."

"Good. I told him too, but I don't think he believed it."

"And how did Jamie get hurt? I woke up in the middle of the night to find him missing and then I found him lying on that lake with claw marks on his side and the only person there was you."

"Uh... evil nightmare pretending to be me hurt him? I wasn't actually there. I showed up a bit late."

Ashley sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Alright. I feel like I'm still missing a lot, but it can wait. I'm tired and I want to go home and sleep. But first, I have one last question and I want you to promise that you will answer it honestly."

She fixed him with such a severe stare that he backed away further into his chair. Sophie looked curiously between the two as she drained her coffee.

"Uh... alright. I promise." It wasn't like he had anything to hide.

"Is my husband having an affair with you?"

He blinked. Sophie burst out laughing, letting her head fall on her plate as she held her ribs, apparently oblivious to the fact that she was getting syrup all over her hair. Everyone was looking their way, but at least they couldn't see his completely bewildered expression.

"Uh... what? Is Jamie–what?"

"...I'll take that as a no."

Sophie laughed harder.


So, that's the end of this arc. This is also going to be the last chapter for a while. Like I said a few chapters ago, I'm putting this on hiatus for an indeterminate time. I'l come back to it eventually, but for now I have other things to work on. I'm not dropping off the face of the Earth, so, if you need to talk to me, you can still contact me, either here or on tumblr (or deviantart, if you have an account there). Keep in mind that I can't answer guest reviews here, but I can answer anonymous asks on tumblr, so if you don't have an account, that's your best option to ask me something. I have all those links on my profile.

I'll still be running my RotG tumblr blog, so I'll stay active in the fandom. I'm also vaguely considering registering as a beta reader for RotG, but I'm not sure about that yet.

tl;dr: This is now on hiatus. I'll still be around.