Author: Many of you wanted me to do a chapter in which Jack gets sick, so here it is. I'm not a 100% happy with this so I'll probably do another one in the future, good thing Jack can get sick more than once XD

Disclaimer: I don't own ROTG.

One Of Those Days.

"Sweet Tooth?" Not sure if she'd find her son in the bedroom Tooth flew into the room. As a spirit of... nature, Jack was outside a lot, though he made a big deal of coming home everyday, though his sleeping schedule was still pretty nonexistent. After all, it snowed when it was dark outside to.

Winter had no real schedule, just Jack's instincts and sometimes what Mother Nature ordered.

Smiling when she saw the lump in the hammock Tooth flew up to him. "Time to wake up, my little prince." She said gently shaking his shoulder.

He didn't even stir.

"Jack?" Tooth said worry creeping into her voice as she shook her son's shoulder, a little harder this time. "Come on Sweet Tooth, time to wake up."

This time Jack let out a tiny whimper and curled up tighter, his long arms around his stomach, clutching it as if in pain.

Placing her hand on his forehead Tooth's amethyst eyes widdened- once upon a time, in what felt like lifetime ago... When the world seemed... sweeter, Jack's temperature would be considered completely normal.

But now Jack is the spirit of Winter...

-ROTG-

Bending at close to his desk as he could without actually touching the little ice sculpture with his chin, North was about to cut away a little piece of the wing of the plane he was sculpting when-

"NICOLAS!"

His hands instantly reached for his swords and within seconds he smashed the nearest snowglobe opening a portal to Jack's bedroom. "Vere eez the dang-" The Russian stopped talking when he saw no immediate danger. Just his wife hovering next to their son's bedside. "what eez wrong?"

"Something's wrong with Jack." Tooth said her voice conveying the urgency.

That was all it took to bring back the adrenaline that had just left North a second ago. He quickly went to Jack's side and placed a large hand on his son's forehead. At the boy's human temperature, the Russian let out a low curse before dashing back to the open bedroom door and yelling out orders to his workers both in Russian, Yetish and in English. Each order holding the same meaning: "Medics get in here! Hurry! My son is ill!"

Within seconds the room was overflown with yeti, pushing Tooth and North out-of-the-way so they could get to their patient.

It didn't take the yeti long to make their diagnosis, one of the yeti told it to North, who did not like it.

"Appendicitis?" The former bandit scoffed. North had dealt with many diseases in his time with the cossacks, this one no different. "symptoms do not match."

"What are the symptoms?" Tooth demanded flying up to be seen over the many yeti in the room.

North looked at his wife, "If Jack has appendicitis, he'd be having extreme stomaches and he'd be throwing up. Which he isn't." He finished rather lamely.

"He came home late last night." Tooth says wings buzzing as the woman kept on moving around- too anxious to remain still for longer than two seconds each. "What if he had those symptoms last night an-"

"He would have told us" North shouts out, he states it like a fact- Because it is true. Jack trusts them, he comes to them and talks to them, but...

But there are days when their son's 300 years with barely any contact with other- days when it showed.

When Jack prefers to sit by the window and just think- thinks about all the things he'd seen. Jack had witnessed more than any 14-year old should. Though technically is older than any child- yet he will always be one.

On those days Jack sometimes forgets he has them.

North and Tooth look each other in the eye a silent communication passing between the two lovers. There is no doubt in their minds that yesterday was one of 'those days'.

At this realization North starts shouting out orders to his yeti.

The next thing Toothiana knows, she's being shoved out of the room so the yeti can carry Jack off to the infirmary and all the mother can do is wait and hope everything will go alright.

-ROTG-

The four-year-old brown-haired child moaned snuggling in his mother's lap as the fairy continued to hum the right song for him.

He moves to scratch one of the many red dots on his body but a large beefy hand stops his small chubby one.

"No scratching, Moy mal'ch'ik." His father tells him, a gentle caring smile on the young man's lips. "Eet will only make worse."

At that the child pouts. "But daaad" Jack moans. "It's itchy!" He wines in the way only four-year-olds can.

"Ah have just tha thing for that."

Jack, North, Tooth and Sandy all look up to see Bunnymund come hopping into the main living room, and to Jack's horror, the pooka is holding a small glass bottle filled with an orange liquid and a large spoon in his other paw.

"Alright, ya lil' anklebiter," Bunny says crouching in front of the couch where Jack's sitting on Tooth's lap, he puts some of the medicine in the spoon- the far too large spoon, in Jack's opinion. "Just a lil' bit of this and those pocks will be gone with tha wind. Now open up-"

"NO!"

"Sweet Tooth." Toothiana says, her tone holding a unmistaken warning.

Jack looked at his mom, blue eyes wide. He gave his mom the most pitying look he had, one that worked on almost everyone, including his mom... Just not when regarding things that included his health.

"Open wide."

After letting out a defeated sigh Jack opens his mouth letting Bunny give the spoonful of medicine. The little boy shudders at the bitter carrot-like taste.

"Yech!" Jack stuck his tongue out in disgust, his little button nose wrinkling at the grossed out face the child made.

Laughing loudly North reached over and lifts Jack from Tooth's lap and puts his son on his own knee. "Now my boy, I vill tell you tale of my time as bandit. Vill make you feel better da?"

Nodding vigorously Jack looks at his dad with wide blue eyes- eyes identical to those of the one about to start his tale.

Grinning North leant close, "There I was surrounded by five large with tatoo covered men all armed with guns bigger than you." He said using his story telling voice. "Uneven match, and in no time I had them all down, but then their leader showed up..."

Jack didn't notice Sandy sprinkling small bits of dreamsand on him, to engrossed in the tale of his father's past.

When North finishes the story Jack's eyes are already dropping, unconsciously he leans into Tooth's touch when she began gently running her fingers through his messy brown hair and when she started singing, the boy's eyes finally closed.

"It seems like the whole world is turning its back on you
That must be what you are feeling.

But while you sigh,
Stop your crying
Because I am here.

I'm here next to you
Just open your eyes and see

-ROTG-

I'm here in front of you
And I'm looking, I'm looking
straight at you."

Someone's stroking his hair, the touch soft and gentle. Mumbling incoherently Jack leans into the warm touch, relishing the song that he loved to hear so much.

For a moment the hand stilled. "Sweet Tooth?"

His eyelids feel like they are made out of leed but Jack manages to open them. He blinks once, twice- the first thing the Winter child notices is that he isn't in hammock, but in a bed in the infirmary.

The second thing he become aware of are the worried faces of his parents hovering over him. Jack blinks again. "Mom? Dad?"

"Sweet Tooth!" Tooth cheers flying up before quickly lowering herself to hug her son tightly only loosening her grip when her boy winced.

North lets out a loud booming laugh, one that holds happiness and a whole lot of relief. "Moy mal'ch'ik!" He laughs. "You gave us a scare!"

Again Jack blinks, still drowsy thanks to all the medicine the yeti had given him. "Scared you?" He croaks. "What happened?" Jack asks trying to sit up only to have Tooth push him back down and pull the thin covers over him.

"You got sick." North explains. "Yeti had to perform surgery, but all is well now." And that's all there is to it. There is no point with going into detail on the sickness, just like there is no point in asking why Jack hadn't come to them sooner.

They now the likely answer is that Jack didn't think it was serious or... he forgot to tell them... again.

So they don't ask, they are just glad their son is okay now.

Besides Jack seems satisfied with North's brief explanation, too tired to ask any more.

So North sits back down in the chair besides Jack's bed, the naughty and nice list in his hands- not that he'll really pay attention to the checking the list. He'll be watching his wife run her fingers through their son's hair and listen to her sing.

It didn't matter anyway, that's the whole reason he checks the list twice anyways.

Tooth sat down on the bed and began running her fingers through Jack's hair.

"I'm here next to you
Just put out your hand
And I'll warm it for you."