Chapter Twenty-eight- A light lost
"Jack? Jack wake up." It was gentle, and quiet and calm, but there was a catch in the voice that brought the situation down on him. It was Jamie.
"Yeah kiddo?" Jack asked lightly, having regained a tiny sliver of what had been composure. Jamie had done fairly well for himself too, and Jack couldn't help being proud.
"Mom says she wants both of us in there." He offered simply, pulling Jack's hand a bit.
"Kay, I'm comin'." He mumbled through a yawn, still trying to make himself alert. As they made their way over to the bed on the far end where she was he suppressed the urge to fly over and tackle her, she was okay! She was alive! Jack couldn't have been more relieved at how she was looking.
"Jackie!" She greeted happily.
"Told ya he was still out there!" Jamie grinned proudly. He knew Jack better than they thought.
"You sure did sweetie." She shook her head, chuckling at her youngest boy. Jack was relaxing and realizing why Jamie looked so much better now. She would be fine! He could have done a backflip right there.
They talked for a while, fully pulling Jack into their little family, and by the time North poked his head in to check on them and get them something to eat both boys were curled up on the bed with her. Granted, this was a huge bed but the boys really were small, and she didn't exactly take up that much room herself. North held back a chuckle, not catching that she was still awake until she spoke.
"They're so cute when they're asleep." She commented through a giggle.
"Very true." North nodded. "Breakfast?" He asked, she shook her head.
"Nah, don't see a point." North's grin dropped from his face instantly.
"You know that the magic hasn't fully gone through your system? Could be just fine." He offered, trying to be optimistic.
"I know, I know…" She looked between them, "I Just feel like it's, you know, fighting me." She sighed heavily.
"I know, I do. Things will work out." He offered. She nodded and smiled as brightly as she could.
"You're absolutely right, North. Things do have a way of working themselves out around here." She chuckled. "Almost like magic."
"What's like magic?" Jack muttered, one eye open. North wasn't fooled, he had caught all of that, no doubt about it. Sneaky little spirit.
"Lots of things, Jack." North chuckled, ruffling the boy's already wild, snowy hair. Jack grunted and curled back up, knocking out quickly.
"You think he-"
"Every word." North nodded.
"Hi North!" Jamie greeted from her other side, sitting up in somewhat of a dazed state after all the talking waking him up.
"Jamie! You are awake. Breakfast maybe? We have pancakes…" North enticed. Jamie was super eager to hop off the huge bed and race after him for the wonderful breakfast treat. Jack, however, just stayed put until they were gone.
"You can sit up now, sweetie, they're gone." Jessica prodded on a hunch. Jack gently and effortlessly flipped around into a sitting position and looked her right in the eyes.
"Alright, now what was with all the skepticism?" He asked, getting straight to the point. He looked like he was annoyed or maybe a little mad but she could see the shining in his eyes. There's just no hiding from a momma.
"Jackie, they used a potion to try to restore what I'd lost when I got hurt, but…I don't think its working right." She admitted, not wanting to even try to sugar-coat because to him that was as bad as a lie and she knew it.
"What do you mean? You look a lot better than you did!" Jack insisted.
"Yes, but blood-type still matters, and I've had blood transfusions go wrong before. I recognize the reactions. Tooth told me earlier that all we can do is wait it out, medicine can't counteract a magical ailment…" She admitted, as calmly as she could.
"You…no." He shook his head.
"Jackie I'm sorry baby, but there's nothing we can do but wait. Maybe I'm wrong." She offered.
"But…but you're never wrong." Jack didn't know if that thought made him want to smile or sob, so he settled on a bit of a hybrid which was when he realized he had started crying.
"Oh sweetie, sweetie come here." She pulled him into a big hug, rubbing his back as she did. "It'll be alright." She soothed.
"How?" He asked, completely at a loss.
"You and Jamie have each other. You have the guardians. You'll be alright." She insisted.
"I know, but…" He didn't know what to say to that. Turned out she didn't either.
"Jackie? Jackie, Jamie doesn't know yet." She clearly hadn't decided how to handle that yet, and Jack more than understood why. He was so lost he couldn't imagine how she felt, how Jamie would feel.
"I won't say a word." He assured her. It should be her anyway. It wasn't long before North came back, Jamie in tow.
"Hey kiddo." Jack greeted, plopping down in one of the chairs.
"Hi Jack! Hey Mom!" He greeted enthusiastically. While he had been gone his mom had gone a bit more downhill and neither Jack nor Jessica had been able to deny it, so Jack had simply been there, talked to her, and then fallen asleep and accidentally cuddled with her. She couldn't help but be happy, that was until Jamie came back and she had the daunting task of breaking the news to her baby.
"You want me to give you a sec?" Jack asked. Jessica thought about it for a moment before realizing that Jamie would need Jack there. She shook her head.
"No sweetie, I think you should stay." She grinned sweetly at him. Jack nodded, not liking where this was going but knowing he was needed.
"Jamie, baby? There's something I need to tell you." She began.
"What is it mom?" He asked, clearly terrified. Jack opened an arm and he hopped into the older boy's lap for comfort. Jack gave his baby brother a little squeeze and scooted them closer to her.
"You remember how I told you that they had used some magic to help me get better?" She asked.
"Yeah, you said that it would fix you up, no problem." He reminded her.
"Yes, and it should have, but…but its having trouble." She offered, unsure of how to tell him, but knowing he'd get it. He was a brilliant boy, if ever there was one.
"Mom?" Jamie's eyes were searching hers for any indication that what he thought was wrong. She was his mom! She was awesome and strong and she couldn't… "No…"
Jack's heart shattered. Every ounce of pain that a boy could feel was poured into that one moment, that one word. Soon everyone was crying and Jamie was clinging to his mom with one arm and Jack's hand with the other. The other guardians would come in and try to keep the three healthy as they could, bringing food and comfort but nothing helped. They watched their youngest and this little family he had become part of break apart piece by piece and could do absolutely nothing to help.
After a day or so, no one really knew how long it was, her eyes fluttered closed and her breaths stopped coming. A silver light flashed through the room and the moon could be seen hanging dimly in the sky, saddened himslef.
The workshop had never been so quiet, the fairies had never been so slow, the eggs stopped shuffling around in the warren and the children's dreams became dull and ordinary.
Even the snow stopped falling in the world.
I know this one's sad but we aren't even close to finished yet! Thank you for your reviews and thank you so so much for sticking with it! You guys are wonderful and you make my day! I'm basically running this story non-stop, chapter by chapter at this point so be on the lookout for more! Happy belated St. Patty's day because I forgot to say it yesterday!