Alaia Skyhawk:

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.

~(-)~

Chapter 46: Getting Noticed by a Girl

The winds whistled around the edge of the pond, stirring up the inch or two of snow that lay upon the ground. Distant laughter of children could be heard from the other end of the park, but today wasn't a 'stories and games' day. That was something he'd started doing back in 1977, when he'd found it just a little too much to have the children of Burgess tracking him down every single day he happened to be hanging around the town.

So now he only told stories played games with them on weekends, and on Snow Days and Festival Days, although there were occasional exceptions. The rule being that if he joined it on a weekday, that was fine, but if they saw him on a weekday and he didn't join in, they weren't to pester him.

He loved playing with the children, but he'd learnt to value some time around Burgess to keep to himself and for family. With the pace of life among the mortals seeming to get faster with every year, to get busier, he needed that quiet. The world was a very different place now, than the much quieter world it had been back when he had been mortal.

Jack sighed to himself, sat in his usual tree beside the pond. His gaze idly noting the occasional car passing by on the nearby road. It was 1993 now, and a part of him found it startling to think that three-hundred years ago he'd been a nine-month-old babe-in-arms.

He frowned a little and sighed again, thinking about his mother and father. About how they'd died never knowing that their son had lived on, even after his death. That he'd protected them all those years, without them being aware of who the Spirit of Winter really was... The world had changed so much, and he had changed so little by comparison.

"Jack! Jack, are you up there?!"

Jack glanced down through the branches below him, shifting on his perch until he could see who was down there. And then he smiled, because some things hadn't changed. Like the support of his family, and the joy he felt at being a part of it.

He dropped down to the ground, grinning at the young man who was physically just two years younger than himself. Ian had moved away to Chicago, and forgotten he was real, but David had inherited the family legacy and the house near the pond. Living there and raising the next young man who would inherit. His son, Craig Bennett.

Craig gave Jack a long look once he'd landed, and folded his arms across his chest.

"Mom invited you to dinner, or did you forget? You're late."

Jack glanced up at the sky, as if looking at the cloud-obscured sun, and feigned surprise.

"Is it really that time already?"

Craig raised his eyebrows, not fooled in the slightest, as he reached out to tug on the sleeve of the blue turtle-necked sweater that his grandmother had made Jack for Christmas two years previous. The Spirit of Winter had finally hung up his cloak, shirt, and waistcoat. All three were now on a stand in the Ice Palace, preserved there along with a great many memories.

The teenager tugged again, when Jack didn't move.

"You know my mom doesn't like you sitting out here and brooding. You do it far too often, especially since the Blizzard of '68. I mean seriously, Dig had practically forgotten all about that Blackout within a few months. He was back to his usual self so quickly, but you keep acting all depressed when you think no-one can see you do it."

Jack relented and allowed himself to be tugged into motion, following Craig towards the house at the top of the slope.

"Well Dig isn't exactly the brightest star in the sky. He started life as an actual groundhog, and has been like a child ever since. He simply doesn't have the capacity to stay depressed."

"And the fact that you can say that so blandly, goes to show that you let yourself get depressed far too much."

Jack rolled his eyes at that, but didn't argue since his many-times great-nephew had a point. Guardian of Fun he may be, Jack would always be the first to admit to his bad habit of isolating himself rather than talking things through.

The two of them reached the house and entered, welcomed by David and his wife and the homely smells of good food. Jack allowed himself to enjoy that, even if he only accepted a small portion on his plate, along with his standard glass of chocolate milk for afters. Marie had to be the most stubborn woman since Emily, to marry into the Bennett Family. She'd insisted that every Wednesday during Northern Winter in Burgess, Jack would come and have dinner with the family. It didn't matter that he didn't need to eat, she'd put her foot down on the matter.

And truthfully, Jack would never complain. He enjoyed these evenings with the family.

When the meal was over and the plates cleared away, Marie went upstairs to her little office to finish up some work for her accounting business. David joined her, what with them being partners in that enterprise, leaving Jack and Craig sat downstairs watching some TV.

There was a new show on, starring Dick Van Dyke. 'Diagnosis: Murder'. And even though it was the first time he'd watched the show, Jack was already accurately predicting who the murderer was, barely halfway through the episode.

When it got to the end, he laughed and pointed at the screen.

"See? I told you it was the casino guy, and not the crazy lady with the gun!"

Craig, who had said he thought it was her, groaned in defeat.

"All right. Yes, I shouldn't have picked the obvious one. Still, she really wanted that thinteen-million lottery ticket. You have to admit that."

Jack chuckled.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you should always go with the obvious suspect. Where would the fun be for the writers of the show, if they didn't add a few plot-twists to stir things up?"

The two of them fell silent, as Craig began to flip through the channels in search of something else interesting to watch. But he remained a little distracted, as truthfully he'd been all through dinner and after. Eventually, Jack couldn't ignore it any longer, and nudged him with an elbow.

"Ok, what's wrong? You tell me off for brooding, and now you're doing it yourself." Craig flinched, hesitating, and Jack nudged him again. "Come on, you can tell me."

The sixteen-year-old looked away, hunching his shoulders and flushing in embarrassment, before he let out a sigh.

"There's this girl, Laura, and she moved to Burgess last week. She's in my class at school, and she..."

Jack's expression became a knowing grin.

"That great, huh? She pretty?"

Craig's blush deepened.

"Very, but that's not why I like her. She's so nice, and friendly, and she's really into anything to do with folklore and myths. Her bag is covered in pin-badges of fairies and dragons. Some of the guys on the football team, and the cheerleaders, tried to tease her about it. But she ignored them and told them that if they wanted to be boring conformists, that was their problem." He sighed. "She's awesome... but she doesn't even know I exist. She sits just three seats away from me in most of my classes, but I can't find the nerve to even say 'hi' to her."

Jack shook his head at Craig's hopelessness, and chuckled again.

"You've got it bad; Schoolboy crush. I remember when you dad started dating Marie. Their first date, he said a grand-total of seven words during the entire thing. It was just lucky for him that she was more than happy to do all the talking."

Awkward silence fell again, although it was one-sided and entirely sat on Craig's shoulders. And then, after a minute or so, the teenager murmured something.

"Um, do you think you could help me?"

Jack, who had taken charge of the TV remote and was flipping through the channels, almost dropped it as he glanced sharply at his nephew. He then pointed to himself, incredulous.

"You're asking me to help you get a date with her?" Craig nodded, and Jack continued to stare at him. "Um, you do realise that the last time I did any form of 'courting' was over two-hundred and eighty years ago? Death and rebirth as an immortal Spirit of Winter, tends to make you lose interest in girls. Mortal ones are a no-go, and most of the immortal ones have egos the size of a continent."

Craig's shoulders slumped, and he bowed his head.

"Fine... Forget I asked."

"Whoa, wait!" Jack used a hand to lift Craig's chin and make him look at him. "I never said I wouldn't. It's just that I can't exactly give you advice about it. I could still help you find a way to get her attention."

"So says the guy who's invisible to ninety-nine point nine nine nine nine whatever percent of the people on the planet."

Jack let go of Craig's chin and stood up, frowning with a hint of anger.

"That was low, and you know it."

He vanished through an Ice Mirror before Craig could say another word, stepping out into the snow near the pond before soaring up into the sky. He simmered in anger for a few minutes, before he sighed and forced himself to admit that he was the one who had pushed Craig to talk about it when he was embarrassed. The teenager had trusted him, and admitted to his crush on the new girl, and his uncle had basically said 'sorry, but even if I do help you, it'd be a waste of time'.

Jack landed on the roof of the house across the street, and leaned on his staff as he thought about it.

One way to make it up to Craig, would be to fulfil his wish and get Laura to notice him.

~(-)~

He avoided Craig and the Bennett House over the following two days, instead taking up position where he could watch the kids coming out of the local high school. Spotting Craig in that mass was easy, given the utterly depressed expression on the teenager's face. Spotting Laura, when he didn't know what she looked like, was more of a challenge.

Luckily, her bag was very distinctive.

Craig hadn't been joking about the pin-badges. The flap on Laura's satchel was covered with them, and she had a number of them on her coat as well. But just as her individuality had struck Craig with 'love at first sight', it seemed it had also made the other students reluctant to make friends with her. She may have only been in town for just over a week, but in normal cases a newcomer would have picked up at least one friend within a couple of days... Laura was leaving the school-grounds alone.

Jack followed her, having already decided his plan of action. Laura liked myth and folklore, and the biggest place for that in Burgess was the museum where Andrew was still the curator. All he had to do was lure her to it and it would be impossible for her not to learn after that, that the Bennett Family owned a large percentage of all the artefacts and documents on display. If Laura proved inquisitive enough, and got chatting with Andrew, she could well get invited to a family dinner. And if she met the grandparents, there was no way she wasn't going to get introduced to the grandson.

Jack landed a short way in front of her, watching as she came along the path that led towards the centre of town. Once she was close enough he then deliberately allowed himself to sink into the snow with an audible crunch. That noise startling her and drawing her attention to prints of bare feet in the snow just ahead of her.

Jack grinned, leaping into the air and landing on the top of a nearby fencepost. The snow crunched there as well, and again Laura looked. Coming closer to peer at the outline of a foot on the top of the post, and reaching with a finger to test if anything was there.

Before she could touch, or rather put her hand through him, Jack leapt and once again landed on the path. Taking deliberate slow steps backwards, leaving a trail of tracks that formed as she watched. That was when he saw a glint of mischief and intrigue in her eyes, and she smiled as she started stalking the invisible something that made footprints in the snow.

Jack laughed as he continued to lead her further into town, relishing this 'game' with a girl who was verging on adulthood. It was so rare to see such open curiosity in someone her age. She had such a clear sense of whimsy, in her delight at following his trail, that he now found it little surprise that Craig had been drawn to her.

He'd told the Bennetts often enough, that the eldest boy in each generation didn't have to choose a wife who would be open to gaining belief in him. But that didn't stop them from tending to make their choices with that in mind. Yet with Craig, the fact Laura fit that description had clearly not entered his mind. He was truly smitten, for all the right reasons, and that made Jack determined to get this right.

He led her up the steps of the museum, ending his trail just outside the doors. She paused there, at last taking the time to look around at where she was, while in the meantime Jack was floating in front of the security camera that watched the doorway, waving his arms.

Barely a minute had passed when Andrew came to the entrance, having seen Jack on one of the security screens, and he paused in surprise when he saw his immortal relative emphatically pointing to the young woman stood outside.

Andrew took the hint and opened the door, calling out to her.

"Can I help you, miss? The museum will still be open for another hour, if you want to come in and have a look."

Laura nearly jumped in surprise, and hastily composed herself.

"Um, sure." She walked over, passing through the door he held open for her and for the immortal who quickly dashed in behind her. "What's this place about?"

Off to one side, Jack spoke quietly, even though she couldn't hear him.

"She moved to town last week, and Craig has a crush on her. Show her around!"

Andrew spared a moment's bemused glance at him, before turning his attention to the girl.

"This is the Burgess Museum, and it is dedicated to the history and traditions of the town. Ranging from present-day, right back to the year when our greatest yearly festival was founded. A full seventy-five years before Burgess itself came to be, at a time when there was only a small, isolated village here in this valley."

Laura regarded him with awed wonder.

"Really, that far back? And what festival?"

Andrew led her into the first exhibit, which was dedicated to 'The Village'. In the dim lighting, the walls held framed charcoal drawings, while glass cabinets were filled with pottery plaques from the first Shrine of Winter, and ancient diaries were displayed in others alongside binders filled with copies of the most significant pages. At the centre of the far wall of that room, was a mural of Jack stood atop the storm-pole, smiling down at the villagers gathered below.

"The Festival of First Snow, which was founded in 1720 by my ancestress, Emily Bennett. Eight years prior to that, she and the village children had befriended the Spirit of Winter, whose home is the pond in Jackswood Park. At first the adults though it was just a game made up by the youngsters, but then none could deny the truth in their words. For just as the children said he would do, the Spirit of Winter conjured ice upon the top of the pole where the storm-lanterns were hung. In warning every time a harsh blizzard was about to begin, so that the villagers would know to take shelter."

They stopped beside a drawing of a woman, who was in a pose of laying a sprig of berries at the foot of the storm-pole. Beside her was the Spirit of Winter, his expression kind as he leaned upon his staff. Laura pointed to the drawing.

"Is that her?"

Andrew nodded.

"Yes. That drawing was done by her husband, Albert Bennett. It, like many of the items displayed in the museum, come from my family's private collection. They are on permanent loan to the museum, and are part of why I was appointed curator." When she glanced at him in surprise, he smiled. "Who better to be able to tell visitors about them, than someone who has grown up learning about them from his family?"

Laura began to walk along the rest of the room's displays, before stopping to regard him.

"So when did this place become known as Burgess?"

Andrew gestured for her to follow him, and led her into the next room. This one was dominated by a painting of Thaddeus Burgess and Gavin Bennett; the two men who had jointly served as the first Mayors of the Town of Burgess.

Andrew gestured to the painting and to other displays in the room, of which many were yet again of or related to Jack.

"Thaddeus Burgess arrived in this valley in early November, 1795. The winter that year was a very harsh one, but after being invited to the Festival of First Snow, and becoming a believer in Jack Frost, he and his family heeded the warnings from the Spirit of Winter and were able to prepare for it. Without that warning, they would have starved or frozen to death."

Laura grimaced at the thought.

"That would have been a bad way to go. What happened after that?"

Andrew gestured to a nearby framed document.

"The following spring, when more families arrived in the valley from Kirktown, Thaddeus made sure all of them learnt about Jack and took up the traditions of The Village. The Spirit of Winter's protection proved invaluable for the town, for never did they suffer the problem of planting crops to early and losing them to late frosts. Because Jack always told them when winter would be truly ended, and crops would be able to flourish. That cooperation only came about in the new settlement, thanks to Thaddeus, and he was repaid for his wise leadership when the town was named after him. And of course, The Village became part of the town as well, after a few years."

Laura followed him into the next exhibit, which dealt with items from the era during and around the American Civil War. One of the artefacts in this room was a large map of the town as it had been then, with a district clearly marked as being called 'The Village', and an area of woodland was marked out with the label 'Jack's Wood'.

"The town remembered the village, even after they merged? And is that areaJackswood Park, today?"

Andrew smiled.

"Yes, it is. Jack has laid claim to that section of land, and there is a set of deeds in the Mayoral Archives that declare that entire area as being his property." When he saw her puzzled expression, considering the area was a public park, he explained. "Jack 'leases' half of the area to the town for free, on the stipulation it be kept as an outdoor area for families to enjoy themselves. The other half, which contains his pond, is left to remain as natural woodland. People are permitted to walk through there, except on Wednesdays during winter. He likes to know that, should he wish to have some quiet time in his forest or at his pond, he has a day he won't be disturbed by people."

Laura, who had continued to look at the various artefacts as he'd talked, glanced at him with raised eyebrows.

"You do realise how crazy that sounds, right? For Burgess to admit a 'myth' legally owns the land their park is on."

Off in the corner, Jack snorted at that and rolled his eyes. In the meantime Andrew let out a single, humoured laugh.

"Ah, but everyone who has lived through a full winter in Burgess, knows that Jack Frost is real. And there is no scientist or expert out there, that has yet been able to definitively prove that he does not exist."

Laura stared at him.

"Wait, you mean scientists have actually tried to prove he isn't real?"

Andrew paused before answering and started to smile, since in the background Jack had just burst out laughing.

"Let's just say they didn't stay around town doing tests for very long. Jack took rather an exception to the principle of what they were attempting to do, and managed to convince them that there was a ghost stalking them. No such scientist has remained in town, during winter, for longer than a month."

There was a long pause, before Laura suddenly started to giggle.

"I wish I could have seen it. Jack Frost sounds like he's a guy who likes to have fun."

"That would be rather an understatement."

Andrew showed Laura around the rest of the exhibits, and at Jack's far-from-subtle prompting, invited the teenager and her parents to dinner. Unfortunately she turned down the offer, causing Jack to groan in disappointment, citing that her parents were still busy getting everything in the house sorted after their move to the town. Perhaps in a few weeks?

A few weeks was a bit too long for Jack's tastes, as in far too long. If getting her introduced to Craig at a family dinner wasn't going to work, then he would just have to come up with a 'Plan B'.

Except he didn't have one, resulting in Jack moping all night in his usual tree beside the pond.

The following day he once again watched the kids coming out of the high school, even going so far as to sit on a fence close to where he'd approached Laura the day before. In that respect he should have expected what ended up happening, but instead he found himself startled as she came along the path and then stopped.

"Jack Frost? Are you here again?"

Jack almost fell from his perch in surprise, before hastily swooping over and landing to leave footprints in the snow in front of her.

When she saw them, she smiled.

"Thanks for leading me to the museum yesterday, it was fun." She took a step closer. "You did that because you wanted me to know about you, right? A way to 'introduce yourself' to the town newcomer?"

Jack looked about, searching for a way to answer that, and settled for frosting over the window of a nearby car and writing on it using a finger.

'Yes, sort of. Not exactly.'

Laura spotted the writing, and tilted her head.

"Sort of? You did it for some other reason?"

Jack re-frosted the window, and scrawled a new message.

'Follow me to a place we can talk. Even in this town, talking to thin-air looks strange.'

She burst out laughing at that, grinning.

"Ok then! Lead the way!"

Jack started walking, keeping his pace steady so she'd have no trouble following his tracks. He led her to the gazebo in the park, where there was moderate privacy and a large floor-surface he could write on. And once they were there, they sat opposite each other on the benches inside.

He then tapped his staff on the floor, directing the frost it created to form words.

'So, what do you want to talk about?'

Laura mulled over that, although it was clear to see she was perplexed by the fact she could only guess where he was sitting. She didn't have a visible person she could look at and direct her words to.

"Back there, you said 'not exactly' when I asked if you showed me the museum to introduce yourself. If that wasn't the reason, what was?"

Jack didn't respond immediately, and instead took a moment to consider how much to say. He chose to keep his reply obscure.

'There's a boy in your class who likes you, but he's too shy to talk to you. I thought I'd give him a helping hand.'

Laura stared, and then she chuckled.

"You're playing matchmaker? Does Cupid know you're doing that?"

'No, but even if he did he wouldn't care. The more of our kind "spreading the love", the better as far as he's concerned.'

Laura blinked, the implications of that answer sinking in.

"So Cupid is real? And 'your kind'? You mean there's more of you?"

Jack grinned to himself, starting to thoroughly enjoy this 'conversation'. It was rare to find someone her age, as open-minded as her. Certainly none of her classmates apart from Craig, would even consider sitting in a gazebo in the park talking to a person they couldn't see or hear.

'Yes, lots more. There's about two and a half thousand of us, give or take a hundred or so. We're spread out all over the world though, and all do our own thing. I'm one of the handful who does work all over the world, and not just in one area.'

"Because you're the Spirit of Winter? Are there spirits for the other seasons too?"

At that question, Jack laughed to himself and wrote a new answer on the floor.

'Ariko Blossomsinger, the Spirit of Spring, is an Asian girl who is a total snob. Achieng Sunblessed is African, and a decent sort even if she can be opinionated and hot-tempered. Oisin Leaffall is from England, and he's more mellow than the other two.'

Laura smiled at his descriptions.

"And of course you're the odd-one-out. The one that prefers to have fun."

'Yep.'

She read that, still smiling, before she then sighed wistfully.

"You sound like such a great person. I really wish I could see and hear you like the little kids can."

A new message appeared on the floor.

'It isn't only children who can see me. The adults here would see me too, if they let go of Dumb Adult Logic.'

Laura got to her feet at that statement, then looked at the bench where she guessed he was.

"Dumb Adult Logic?"

'Concerns about "looking cool" or "not being strange". Deciding that the "fantasies of childhood" were just dreams and games. Letting the responsibilities of approaching adulthood, cloud their eyes and close their ears to the magic they used to believe in and see. Deciding that if something doesn't fit the "logical" view of what is possible and impossible, it can't be true. It's the same thing that makes parents think "I must have put it there and forgotten", when they go to swap a tooth under their child's pillow only to find a tooth fairy has already been and done it. Same goes for presents from Santa.'

Laura gaped.

"Santa and the Tooth Fairy are real?"

'Yep.'

She slumped back down onto her bench, stunned.

"Wow, that is so freaky... And so totally awesome!" She glanced towards where he was. "Do you think I could learn to see you? It would be so great to talk to you without you having to write stuff on the floor."

Jack regarded her, admittedly at a loss for a moment. If she'd been someone who grew up in Burgess, this was something he could have expected. But for someone who wasn't from the town, he was astounded that she'd brought the idea up.

But then Jack smiled softly, cleared his previous answer, and began writing.

'Believe that everything is possible. That there's no such thing as fairy tales just being stories, and that things don't always have to make sense to be real. Look at the world from the viewpoint of a child. Adult cares and responsibilities, they have their place, but never let them cloud your eyes. Just close your eyes, and listen with all your heart and belief.'

Laura read it, nodded, and closed her eyes. She then sat there, motionless, while Jack himself took a deep breath and spoke.

"Can you hear me, Laura? If you can, don't open your eyes yet. Just say if you can hear me."

She frowned a little.

"I... You asked if I can hear you, right? You're really quiet."

Jack took another deep breath.

"That's just Dumb Adult Logic getting in the way. Believe that I'm as easy to hear, as if you were talking to one of your parents."

Her frown deepened.

"Believe me, when they get going it's impossible not to hear them."

"Then I guess I picked a good example."

She burst out laughing, her eyes still closed, but her smile was triumphant.

"I can hear you!"

Jack stood up, and walked to the centre of the gazebo.

"See, it's easy when you really try. Most adults and teenagers give up on seeing us, and explain us away as figments of the imagination. Of course, here in Burgess, they explain away not being able to see and hear me, as being because 'only children can see Jack Frost'. It's so silly that it's stupid. That's why I call it Dumb Adult Logic."

While he talked, Laura nodded in agreement as he felt belief click into place. And then, without prompting from him, she opened her eyes. Green eyes that then widened in awe when she saw the white-haired figure stood before her... and then she blinked when she noticed his sweater.

"Aren't you supposed to be wearing a cloak?"

Jack grinned, elated that she could see him, and gave her a playful half-bow. He then leaned on his staff.

"I've worn the cloak outfit for centuries, it was by and time to get with the times, and update my wardrobe. This was knitted for me by Claire Bennett, Andrew Bennett's wife."

Laura stood up, surprised.

"The curator of the museum? But how could she make it for you and have it fit that well. She-"

"Can't see me?" Jack smirked a little. "I'll ask you to keep this to yourself, but you're not the only one in Burgess who isn't a little kid, who can see me. Claire and Andrew can, and so can their son David and his wife, Marie... And then there's Craig Bennett, the boy who is too shy to talk to you."

There was a moment of silence as Laura stared at him, before her expression became one of recognition.

"Craig Bennett likes me? He sits just a few desks from me in most of my classes, but he's so quiet that I had no idea."

Jack grinned.

"Trust me, he's smitten and he's admitted it to me. I tried the obscure route to get you introduced to him, but you turned down the dinner invite after I prompted Andrew to offer it. When you started talking to me back near the school, I figured then that maybe the direct approach would be better." He held out his hand to her. "And if you want the chance to see what he's like when he's not frozen with shyness, I'll show you."

She placed her hand in his, gasping as he pulled her up into the air and into the nearby woods. The winds carried them through that end of the park, until they reached the pond and Jack had her hide behind a bush. Because on the shore of the pond was Craig, pacing back and forth and occasionally calling out for Jack.

Jack landed on the shore, close enough to Laura that she'd be able to hear, and Craig rushed over as soon as he saw him. The teenager babbling apologies before he was even within twenty feet of the immortal.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that the other night. When you stormed out of the house, I..." He hesitated. "I shouldn't have made that comment about you being invisible to most people. It wasn't fair, and you were only being honest with me about probably not being able to help get Laura to notice me."

Jack gave him a long look, seeming to be thinking it over.

"I dunno, that was a really low blow. What are you going to do to make it up to me?"

"I uh..."

When Craig hesitated again, Jack's expression became sly.

"I know! Snow nuggie!"

He leapt at Craig and grabbed him into a headlock, before grinding a fistful of snow into the youth's hair as Craig protested.

"Stop it! Uncle Jack, stop it. That's cold!"

Jack let go of him, still grinning as Craig brushed the snow off of his hair and clothes

"So, feeling better?" When Craig didn't answer, Jack conjured a snowball and hefted it. "How about now?"

He turned and flung towards the bush where Laura was, hitting her with unerring accuracy. Her yelp of surprise made Craig startle, and then the teenager rushed to help her up.

"L-Laura."

She looked at Craig as he helped her up, and then she glanced at Jack.

"You're his uncle?"

Craig's expression froze, as Jack shrugged and answered nonchalantly.

"Fifteen generations removed. Emily Bennett was my sister, from before I became Jack Frost. I've been annoying the family ever since." At the choked noise Craig made in response to that, Jack chuckled. "What? It's not like anyone in town would believe her if she tried to tell them. Although I already know she won't, because if she does then I won't tell her about the tooth fairies, or the Sandman, or the Easter Bunny, or about a number of other immortals that I've met or know about."

Laura grinned.

"Sounds like a deal to me!" She then turned to Craig, as enthusiastic as a ten-year-old. "You have the best uncle ever!"

She then began to chatter, both to him and to Jack, and as the minutes passed Craig relaxed and started to smile as well. After all, only Jack could have pulled off something like this to get him noticed.

~(-)~

Alaia Skyhawk: For those who are wondering... Yes, Craig and Laura will be Jamie's parents. I know that in the film, Jamie's mom is a single-parent, but I won't be following that route. In my version, he'll still be living with both of them :)