AN: I hope that everyone had an amazing Halloween and a frightful night. Here is the next installment in my little story and I hope that you enjoy. Watch as Jack begins to recover. Thank you so much to all those who have favourited, followed and reviewed, you guys are the reason that I randomly smile like a fool as I open my emails. Your encouragements mean everything to me. As always, I do not own Rise of the Guardians.
The next time he woke up, Jack felt a little better, immediately pulling on the new hoodie and grinning delightedly. Almost every time he awoke, one of the Guardians was sitting in a chair next to his bed. Sometimes they were sleeping, other times they tried to talk to him. Whenever he found one of them next to him, Jack just wanted them to leave him in peace in quiet. However, the few times he woke up without one of them right there, his mind tried to drag him into his unpleasant memories and hold him hostage again.
Days later, Jack was feeling well enough to eat and even try standing. All four of them were with him as he took his first steps and nearly collapsed into the circle of chairs surrounding him. Bunny quickly caught and steadied him, then eased him back onto the bed.
Jack sighed in frustration, throwing up his hood, he was ready to be out of the infirmary but his body was betraying him. Normally, he could just fly everywhere if he was injured. He tossed a disgusted look at his broken staff as he tried again to stand, this time supporting himself fully.
Later that day, North walked into the room and Jack quickly began writing, a question on his mind.
Is Jamie okay? Does he know anything?
"Jamie is worried, Jack. He is fine and he doesn't know what happened. Would you like to see him?" Jack hesitated before nodding his head.
"Then I will see if he can come," North decided, already tossing his snowglobe into the air. Jack tried to get his attention, but to no avail. This not being able to talk business was so frustrating.
Minutes passed and Jack became anxious about seeing him again. What was North going to tell the boy about what had happened to him? What if Jamie was disgusted by his injuries? Or what if he asked questions? Before he could think on it more, a swirling vortex opened up beside the bed, spitting out a blob of red and a much smaller one of blue.
Of course, it was North and Jamie. "Jack," Jamie cried immediately, pouncing onto his bed.
"Careful, Jamie," North called. Jamie looked back at the older guardian before turning his attention to Jack. His rich, brown eyes, gazed straight at the spirit, taking in his appearance.
"You look awful," Jamie commented. Jack saw North about to say something out of the corner of his eye, maybe to tell Jamie to be more sensitive. The spirit cracked a smile and then it spread, becoming a full out grin. Jamie started laughing as Jack reached for his paper.
The boy waited patiently, obviously having previously been told that Jack was not allowed to speak. You don't like my new look? I was thinking of going out like this full time.
Jack smiled sarcastically as he showed Jamie what he had written.
"I'm not sure it suits you," Jamie laughed. The two joked back and forth, causing North to grin at the exchange. It was nice to see Jack smiling again.
Suddenly, the boy asked, "What happened to you?" Jack noticed North tense, obviously awaiting his reaction. Honestly, the spirit didn't know how to respond, but he started to write anyways. He showed Jamie his message, and the boy's eyes widened. Then he asked, "How did you get out of there?"
Jack wrote again, satisfying Jamie's curiosity before switching subjects.
North went to check up on the two trouble makers after having stepped out for only 15 minutes. He came back to find them both asleep, Jack's head resting on the pillow and hand in Jamie's while Jamie leaned against the wall behind Jack.
The man carefully grabbed Jamie, taking extra care not to jostle either boy. He quickly returned Jamie to his home before portalling back to the Frost child. Once again, he removed the paper from his hand, scanning for something in particular. North walked to where the other Guardians were waiting in the conference room.
"What you got there, mate," Bunny asked.
"It is what Jack told Jamie about what happened to him," North responded. The others leaned in, curious about the note. The Guardian of Wonder passed it around, gesturing to where the message was written.
Jamie, there are some bad people who don't like me and decided that they were going to bully me. So, they took me and roughed me up so that I got the message.
North took back the note and looked at it again. "When Jamie asked how Jack got out of there, he say I stood up to the bullies."
The others were silent a moment as they took this in. "Does that mean that Frostbite escaped," Bunny asked. None of them had an answer.
Tooth asked the question that was weighing on all of their minds. "Why did Jack share this with Jamie but not with us?"
"Because it is not whole truth," North responded, "Jack was trying to reassure Jamie where he knows that vouldn't vork with us." They all thought about it and hoped that was the answer.
Days passed and Jack grew stronger. He could now walk around without help and was staying in a guest room at the Pole. The other Guardians slowly began to go back to their regular jobs, although they did continue to visit. Jack was relieved that they weren't hovering over him all the time now. He didn't want to be such a burden. However, sometimes when he was alone, all he longed for was their company again to drive away the dark thoughts.
About a week after Jack woke up, Tooth came to visit, bringing Baby Tooth along with her.
"Jack, how are you feeling," she cried. He gave her a mute thumbs up in return along with a slight smile. Baby Tooth flew up to him, chirping out questions at a rapid fire pace.
He grabbed for the paper beside him and wrote, Slow down.
The little Tooth Fairy blushed and asked one question at a time, mostly about how he was doing. Then, she asked about his staff which was lying beside him in the bed, still broken in pieces. He gazed down sadly at it, feeling the ache of brokenness in his heart.
"Why don't you just fix it again," Baby Tooth asked.
"What do you mean again," Tooth demanded, confusion written across her face. Baby Tooth looked between the spirit on the bed and her mother. Surely he must have told her what he had done after his staff was broken the first time. Jack looked down, refusing to meet either of their gaze. There was a reason he hadn't told the other guardians, several in fact.
Baby Tooth chirped angrily at him before explaining to her mother that Jack had fixed his staff after Pitch had broken it.
Jack expected Tooth to chew him out for keeping that a secret from them. Instead, when she spoke, her voice was calm and quiet, "Jack, why didn't you tell us? And why haven't you fixed your staff yet?"
He took a breath and reluctantly wrote out an explanation. He hadn't been planning on telling them the answer to either of those question. Mild annoyance at Baby Tooth ran through him before he brushed it off.
I didn't tell you because it doesn't matter. It's in the past. I haven't fixed it yet because I need energy to do that.
"Oh, sweetie," Tooth cooed, "I'm so sorry about Pitch." She thought for a moment before continuing, "You can borrow energy from us."
Jack shook his head emphatically, he didn't want to burden them and then drain their energy. It would be nice to fix his staff so that the aching hole would go away, but he would just have to wait until he had enough energy.
"I'm not taking no for an answer," Tooth called, walking out of the room. Jack raised a hand to tell her to stop but she didn't turn. He let out a heavy sigh in frustration and pressed his head against the wall, closing his eyes. None of them were listening to him.
Opening his eyes again, Jack shot a little glare at Baby Tooth who shrugged her shoulders. "Tooth has a mind of her own," she said, "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen." Her face was apologetic.
Jack scribbled out a message and showed it to the little fairy.
I'm not mad at you. He felt guilty for making her think that he was. He wasn't angry at all, just frustrated.
"I know," the miniature tooth fairy replied, snuggling up on Jack's new hoodie.
The two sat there in companionable silence for a few minutes until they heard footsteps approaching the door. Jack rolled his eyes and prepared himself to fight them about this. The door creaked open and Tooth flew in, followed by the rest of the Guardians.
"How could you not tell us that you could fix your staff," Bunny demanded.
"Ja, and that all you needed vas little help," North continued.
Jack seethed, they weren't seeing this from his point of view. He shook his head adamantly.
"Why not, mate," Bunny questioned.
Jack wrote out a simple answer before showing it to the others.
I'm not taking your energy.
"Yes you are," the rabbit countered, voice rising slightly.
"We want to help," Tooth chimed in.
Jack threw up his hands in annoyance, glaring up at the ceiling so that he could wait for his anger to abate. He tried to pull up his hood but Sandy floated over to him, taking a seat on the bed. The dream maker pulled his hands down, not letting him seek the shelter of the blue fabric.
The golden man signed a few symbols, We want to help.
Jack rolled his eyes and scrawled, I know but I can't accept it.
Sandy showed him a question mark and he felt helpless tears begin to form in his eyes. There was no way he could explain everything he was feeling in writing, so he simply jotted down a quick word, Because.
The Guardian of Drams rolled his hands around one another, signifying he wanted more of an explanation. Jack looked him in the eyes, trying to convey his emotions through his eyes. To his surprise, it worked as Sandy's face relaxed into a mask of understanding.
Then, the golden man showed an X, a group of people, an ear and a question mark. No one is listening, are they?
Jack shook his head, relief coursing through him at having someone understand. He thought Sandy would drop the notion of helping him now. The older Guardian flashed through a complex set of signs and Jack looked to the others for help.
They had been watching the exchange with confusion and wonder. Sandy was the only one who seemed to be able to get through to the youth right now, even without words.
"Sandy says, 'I understand, but you need help and ve want to give it,'" North paused as the golden man flashed through another set of signs, emphasizing something at the end. "'You are not burden and family always helps vhen other in need. Ve want to help.'"
The rest of them nodded encouragingly as North finished his translation. Jack glanced between all of them, noting the stubborn set of their features. None of them were going to give in. The winter spirit looked back at Sandy, trying to persuade him.
Sandy slowly showed Jack some more images, ensuring he understood what they meant. I know it hurts, the golden man stated, glancing down at the broken staff.
Jack looked away, not wanting to let anyone see the broken look in his eyes when he thought about his staff. Sandy gently pulled Jack's chin so that the two were facing each other again. He showed the spirit one last symbol, two hands touching together at the palms, Please.
Jack let out a breath and knew he had lost the argument. They were not going to take no for an answer. His shoulders slumped and he slowly nodded his head. The rest of them all broke out grinning. Baby Tooth flew off her perch on his shoulder, not wanting to get in the way of the process to follow.
"Excellent," North announced, "what do you need us to do?"
In answer, Jack stood and gestured for them all to make a circle. He then carefully gathered up the three pieces of his staff, fitting them together. He placed one hand over one of the cracks, holding the pieces together. The other hand did the same with the other broken area. He had to be careful though not to jostle his broken wrist. Jack looked at Tooth and North, the two standing closest to him. He caught North's eye and looked pointedly down at one end of his staff. The older guardian understood and grabbed the crook lightly, other hand reaching for Bunny. Tooth grabbed the other end of his staff as well as Sandy's hand. Finally, Bunny and Sandy closed the circle.
Jack closed his eyes and concentrated on the staff, feeling waves of energy pulsing through the circle. He poured his thoughts of fun, ice, cold and snow into his efforts, drawing first upon his reserves of strength. When he felt as if he was empty, the spirit reached out to the power of the circle, calling the strength into himself. His staff starting glowing blue, tendrils of power wrapping themselves around the ancient stick, burying into the broken areas.
A crack echoed through the room and a zap made its way through the circle of Guardians, causing them to release each other's hands. Before any of them could react, Jack fell to one knee where he rested for a moment before pushing himself up with his now whole staff. Everyone let out a shaky laugh, including Jack. The others froze in shock as they heard his soft laugh, eyes twinkling in merriment.
"Oh, Jack," Tooth called, tackling him with a hug. His eyes betrayed fear for a moment before relaxing slightly and he laughed again, hugging her back with one arm, the other clutching his repaired staff. Baby Tooth quickly zoomed around them, squeaking with happiness for Jack.
When Tooth released him, Jack went for his paper, quickly showing them his message. Thank you.
"It really was no problem," North commented, giving a big yawn. "But now we all go to bed." The others yawned as well, feeling slightly drained.
"Before we go, two questions mate," Bunny began. "One, how did you do that by yourself before? And two, why are you so stubborn?"
Jack gave a shrug, then a roll of the eyes, answering both questions perfectly.
The four (five with Baby Tooth), filed out of Jack's room casting glances back at the boy who was grinning from ear to ear. Sandy went last, giving the spirit a thumbs up before shutting the door.
As the door closed, Jack collapsed onto the bed, exhausted from the repair effort. He didn't want the others to see how much it had drained him or they would have yelled for not taking more of their energy. They were already tired as it was. Before succumbing to his exhaustion, Jack waved his staff through the air, immensely pleased at the little snowfall that was now coming down in his room.