A/N: Eeeee! I love you guys! Thanks so much for the continued support.

A Bit of Randomness:

I have had "Still Dream" stuck in my head for the past two weeks, and I have enjoyed every moment of it. I can't sing as well as Renee Fleming, though, but I try. :p

"Even in winter an isolated patch of snow has a special quality."
– Andy Goldsworthy

Chapter Four: Place We Belong

Jackie watched with amazement as Jamie's flashlight roamed over the other four Guardians. "Santa Claus?" Jamie whispered, his flashlight roaming over the Guardians. "Easter Bunny? Sandman. TheTooth Fairy! I knew you'd come!" he cried, his joy evident.

"Surprise!" Tooth trilled nervously, glancing at the others. "We came."

"He can see us?" Jackie asked, not even daring to hope. Finally, after so long?

The beam of light shone into Bunny's face again. "Most of us," he replied, looking at her with what looked like . . . pity.

Jackie's tentative smile slipped from her face as she realized that there was no flashlight shining on her. No shadow on the wall behind them at all. I knew it.

"Hey, you guys," Tooth whispered urgently, "he's still awake!"

Jamie's flashlight moved as each person talked. "Sandy, knock 'im out," Bunny commanded, to which Sandy responded by punching his fist with a satisfied expression. "With tha dreamsand, ya gumby!" he hissed, seeing the potentially violent gesture.

At Bunny's voice, the dog sleeping at Jamie's foot was startled awake. Seeing the closest threat – Bunnymund – it crouched defensively in front of the boy, growling.

"No, stop! That's the Easter Bunny!" Jamie shouted, trying to stop his pet from attacking. "What are you doing, Abbey? Down!"

"All right, nobody panic," Bunny said, setting down his sack of teeth and backing away slowly.

Jackie chose this moment to interject. "But that's a, um, that's a greyhound," she said, pointing at Abbey. "Do you know what greyhounds do to rabbits?"

"Well, it's a pretty safe bet that it's never met a rabbit like me," Bunny responded. "Six foot one, nerves of steel, master of tai chi . . ."

Sandy and Jackie rolled their eyes simultaneously, the former making a ball of dreamsand, and the latter quickly tapping Jamie's alarm clock. It immediately went rang shrilly, setting Abbey off.

"Crikey!" Bunny yelped, green eyes widening. Abbey leaped off the bed after Bunny, who shot around the room in a strange game of keep-away.

"No, Abbey, down!" Jamie was shouting uselessly.

Sandy carefully aimed at the pair, ignoring North's yells of his name. Then, the greyhound knocked into the Guardian of Dreams, knocking him off-balance and making him lose hold on the ball of dreamsand. The ball shot in North's direction, but he dodged it, the projectile smacking into both Tooth Fairies instead. They collapsed on the ground, contentedly dreaming about teeth.

"Get this dingo off me!" Bunny yelled, glancing back at Abbey. But the surprisingly bouncy ball slammed into Bunny's face and angled off a wall, hitting Abbey soon after.

North was down next, hazily saying, "Candy canes . . ." as he poked his dream. He fell on Jamie's bed, causing the boy to fly up into the air. Jamie landed in Sandy's arms, and was promptly knocked out with a flick of the Guardian's head.

"Whoops," Jackie said, not feeling a bit sorry at all. "Oh, I really wish I had a camera right now . . ." She suppressed her laughter as the carrots from Bunny's dream, and the candy canes from North's dream combined together to form tap-dancing carrots.

Sandy was putting Jamie back to bed, but then stared wide-eyed at something behind Jackie. She turned, alarmed at his fear, and gasped, seeing one of Pitch's Nightmares lurking outside Jamie's window.

"Sandy, come on!" she yelled, jumping outside. "We can find Pitch!"

They flew side-by-side, chasing the Nightmare and its friend through Burgess. Jackie was laughing, enjoying the thrill of the chase. She looked at Sandy, who was smiling as well. The two spirits glided past an apartment building, where Sandy caught one of the corrupted dreams and turned it into a golden stingray with his power.

Jackie chased after the remaining Nightmare, flipping around chimneys and racing up walls, but then sent a wave of frost as it flew over a rooftop. She laughed breathlessly. "I got it!" Jackie hopped over the wall, looking for the (hopefully) frozen shadow. As she poked it with her staff, a spark of blue magic raced along the Nightmare.

"Sandy!" she shouted loudly. With any luck, he could hear her across town. "Did you see that?" Jackie poked the frosted Nightmare again, now fascinated by it. "Look at this thing," she said, but more to herself this time.

"Frost?"

Jackie jumped, whirling at the sudden sound. Her eyes widened as she realized who was in front of her.

Pitch.

She shot a stream of ice at the Boogeyman, but he retreated back into the shadows. "You know, for a neutral party," he said, reappearing above her, "you sure spend a lot of time with those weirdoes.This isn't your fight, Jacqueline."

So he did know. "You made it my fight when you stole those teeth!" she snapped, raising her staff higher.

"Teeth?" Pitch chuckled humorlessly. "Why do you care about the teeth?" But then he gasped and jumped back as Sandy appeared behind him, an angry expression on his face. Regaining his "in control" air, Pitch chuckled again, spreading his arms out in welcome. "Now this is who I'm looking for!"

But Sandy turned back and sliced a golden whip at the Nightmare King, sending attack after attack. Pitch dodged each one, and summoned his own weapon – a scythe made of nightmare sand. The two dream bearers attacked relentlessly, whirling around in a dangerous dance.

Jackie dove to the ground as a tendril of dark sand came to close for her liking. Quickly moving her gaze up to the battle, she saw that Sandy had managed to wrap a whip around Pitch's wrist and was slamming him everywhere – to the sky, the wall, and the ground. Pitch was abruptly released, and he landed roughly on the pavement below, groaning.

She flew up to Sandy. "Remind me not to get on your bad side," she joked, staring at Pitch's stirring form. The two of them floated gently down to the ground, where the Boogeyman was quickly scrabbling backwards.

"Okay, easy. You can't blame me for trying, Sandy. You don't know what it's like to be weak and hated . . ."

So he was playing the pity card again. But Jackie wasn't going to fall for it this time!

"It was stupid of me to mess with your dreams," he continued, standing up and holding out a defensive hand. "So I'll tell you what – you can have them back," Pitch said, a dangerous glint in his golden eyes.

Jackie stared at him, not understanding, but then a huge group of Nightmares swarmed around her and Sandy, whinnying demonically. They stood back-to-back, Jackie nervously saying, "I'll take the ones on the left, you take the ones on the right?"

Pitch rode up to them on one of his creations. Sandy formed his golden whips again. There was a brief moment of tense silence, then –

"Boo," Pitch said, holding out his hands. The Nightmares then charged, Sandy striking a few with flashes of gold. Jackie raised her staff, protecting herself from the onslaught. Then she glanced up as she heard bangs coming from above her. It was the sleigh!

Jackie then felt Sandy grab onto her collar and lift her up into the air, avoiding the cloud of dark dreams chasing them. Once at a good height, he released her and he flew in another direction, leading the Nightmares away. A couple of them came in her direction, but she quickly froze the horses. The sleigh zoomed past her, and Tooth hopped out, slicing through the shadows with her wings. Jackie watched as North and Bunny destroyed the ones near the ground, but then two Nightmares appeared on either side of her.

Thinking quickly, she tucked her arms at her sides and dropped, the corrupted dreams smashing into each other. But as she fell, a stray Nightmare slammed into her side, making her lose her grip on her staff. Jackie groped uselessly at the air, a cold feeling of fear snaking into her heart. That staff was her connection to Wind, and to her powers. It was a part of her. And now she was falling.

But then her fingers locked around the familiar wood of her staff, and she landed on the wing of the sleigh, her eyes meeting Bunny's. She smiled in relief, seeing a somewhat friendly face after that intense battle.

"Ya might wanna duck," he said smoothly.

Jackie looked over her shoulder then ducked as Bunny's boomerang cut through the oncoming Nightmare and spun over her head.

Meanwhile, Sandy stood on a huge cloud of dreamsand, fending off an enormous horde of black Nightmares. He smacked his whips at them, flashes of gold twisting in the night sky. But then Pitch was standing on top of a Nightmare at a distance, staring languidly at the rapidly-tiring Guardian.

"We've gotta help Sandy!" she cried, a surge of protectiveness rushing through her. He was her first friend. Shewasn't going to fail him now.

North redirected the sleigh, and they all watched in horror as Pitch formed an arrow made of nightmare sand and shot it at Sandy. He cruelly smirked as it made an audible thud even in the cacophony of the battle.

"NOOOO!" Jackie screamed, impulsively throwing herself off the sleigh. Ignoring North's anguished call of her name, she flew as hard and fast as she could to where Sandy was – she could still save him. She had to.

"Don't fight the fear, little man!" Pitch cackled. His triumphant laugh echoed through the sky.

Sandy sank to one knee, weakening as the tainted sand infected the bright gold of his body. He looked at himself in disbelief as the black sand grew over him.

"I'd say 'sweet dreams,'" Pitch whispered, "but there aren't any left."

Jackie was so close now. She streamlined her body to shoot faster through the air. Why couldn't she move quicker?

The cloud of black sand swirled tighter around the Guardian of Dreams. There was a flash of bright gold, and then Sandy was gone.

"No . . ." she whispered, numbed by the sudden shock of Sandy's death. Then pure rage kicked in. "Nooo!" A scream of fury left her throat as she raced toward Pitch. She wanted to make him pay. He needed to die.

But then Pitch raised his arms up, and a huge wave of Nightmares rushed up behind him. Too late, Jackie realized her mistake. She was trapped.

She attempted to stop herself in midair, but she had too much momentum. They slammed into her body, encircling her, trying to send her to wherever faded spirits went. Like Sandy.

Sandy. Her already unstable emotions reached their breaking point as she remembered who she was fighting for.

Jackie's rage exploded from her body, a noise like a nuclear bomb going off as she glowed with an ice-blue aura of power. The Nightmares surrounding her were destroyed instantly. She screamed again, channeling everything through her staff at Pitch. A deadly stream of frost streamed along the horses to where he stood.

The combination of cold and dark exploded, sending Pitch and Jackie flying in opposite directions. As she fell, she hazily remembered that she needed Wind to . . . to help her do what? Then her eyes closed, Wind wrapping uselessly around her frost child.

He's falling! was the first coherent though that formed in Bunny's head. He stood up in the sleigh, staring up at the sky, where a small, blue-clad figure was hurtling through the air.

"Jack!" North yelled, urging the reindeer to move faster.

But Tooth got there first, zooming through the sky to catch the falling boy. She brought Jack back down to the sleigh, where she laid him gently on the seats.

"J-Jack, how did you do that?" she asked softly, as he stirred.

"I didn't know I could," Jack whispered, before his ice-blue eyes closed again, and he slumped on the floor of the sleigh.

"North, we need to get him back to the Pole," Bunny immediately said, looking down at the unconscious boy. He looked so much more vulnerable when he was asleep, without that annoying smirk on his face, or that defensive, closed-off look. He looked like a child. He looked like . . .

. . . like Jackie.

It was uncanny, their resemblance. Even their names were similar!

Tooth and North sent each other a nonverbal message through nothing but a look – something Bunny couldn't decipher. "Yes," North said, throwing a snowglobe in front of them. "We will get Jack back to Pole – and honor our lost friend."

Tooth nodded, before worriedly glancing back at Jack. Her violet eyes were brimming with unshed tears, though she smiled weakly at Bunny. "I didn't know you cared for Jack so much," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

He frowned as he carefully worded his next response. "Ah don't," Bunny said tersely. "He jus' took a pretty hard hit. Anyone in his shoes would probably be dead. He jus' has mah respect, that's all." But as he looked at the sleeping Jack, his gaze softened, a feeling of protection running through him.

"How could you, Jackie?" Tooth asked quietly, her hands over her mouth. "I thought you cared for him – for us, even!"

Jackie tried to move closer to her, to assure her that she did care for Sandy, that he was her friend. But her feet seemed to be stuck to the ground, and her voice wouldn't work.

"You were too slow, Jack," North said, his blue eyes downcast. "If you were faster, you might have been able to save him."

"There's nothing we can do, North," Bunny said, glaring hatefully. "Sandy's gone – and it's all because of her."

And then she was alone again, dark blackness pressing in around her. "I tried to save him!" she yelled into the shadows, her voice returning. "I did!" She screamed and sobbed uncontrollably when she realized that they were never coming back for her, that they didn't want her.

Ice-blue eyes closed as a cold, cruel laugh echoed in the dark.

"Jackie!"

"Jack, mate, wake up!"

Someone was shaking her. Her eyes blinked open, almost blinded by the blurs of color after being surrounded by black. Jackie propped herself up and blinked again, her vision focusing as worried blue, green, and violet eyes peered into her own.

"You're still here," she whispered, the words tumbling from her lips from against her will. She then cursed silently – they didn't need to know that she needed their company. Jackie's hands groped for her staff, but Tooth gently pressed the wood into her arms.

"Of course we're still here, Sweet Tooth," Tooth said kindly, taking her chilled hands into her own. "You're one of us, even though you don't want to be a Guardian. You're family now."

"Tooth is right," North said, standing. "Family sticks together."

Jackie stared, open-mouthed at the remaining three Guardians. "I . . . thank you," she said, not trusting herself to speak anymore. She closed her eyes, trying to hold back that rush of emotions.

They told her that she was family.

And it was the most beautiful sentence that she had ever heard.

"And, uh, ya did good out there, Jack."

Her eyes flew open. She stared incredulously at the person who had uttered that sentence – Bunnymund.

Seeing her confusion, Bunny sighed, then smiled tiredly. "Didn't know if we could trust ya, but ya sure proved it out there against Pitch."

The wave of emotions disappeared as Jackie smiled tentatively back. Maybe she could trust the other Guardians as well.

Tooth gently squeezed Jackie's hands. "Now let's go. We have a brother to honor."

Jackie followed the three Guardians until the Globe Room, but then hung back. The nightmare was still heavily present in her mind: she still blamed herself for Sandy's death, and this was their moment for grieving – not hers.

Jackie wandered to a window, her staff dragging on the ground. It left a trail of frost to where she sat. She looked over to where North, Bunny, and Tooth performed the ceremony, laying lighted candles on the ground. She could hear the mournful sound of bells ringing, honoring the fallen Guardian.

Sandy . . .

A tear slipped down her face, but she flipped up her hood to hide it. She could've done something! And if she had, Sandy would've still been here, alive and well. Jackie laid her head on her knees and breathed shakily. No more crying.

She sat up and pressed her pinky to the glass, looking on sadly as the frost took on the shape of the Sandman. Then she heard heavy footsteps approaching. No one but North or the yetis would sound like that.

"Are you all right?" It was North.

"I just . . ." She sighed. "I wish I could've done something," she admitted, saying her earlier thoughts aloud.

"'Done something'?" North echoed, a disbelieving tone in his voice. "Jacqueline, you stood up to Pitch. You saved us."

"But Sandy –"

"–would be proud of what you did," he replied, completing her sentence, though it wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

Jackie looked up at North, into his blue eyes that were so much like hers. She pushed her hood off and slid off of the window seat, walking slowly away.

Then North laid a hand on her shoulder, making her meet his gaze. "I don't know who you were in your past life," he said, "but in this life – you are Guardian."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "How do I know who I am," Jackie asked slowly, "until I find out who I was?"

"You will," North promised. "I feel it . . ."

Jackie waited with bated breath for something wise to come out of his mouth, maybe a word of exactly how they were going to help her –

"In my belly!"

Jackie cracked a small smile, despite her earlier feelings of sorrow. "Thank you, North."

"For what?"

She bit her lip, considering how to put her gratitude into words. "For . . . for everything, I guess. Helping me get my memories, keeping my secret . . . and, um, tossing me through a magic portal was a good one," she joked. And for telling me that you would be my family.

"We will do anything for one of our own," North said firmly, as if he had read her mind. "And you are one of us."

A flutter of wings made Jackie turn her head away from North. "Look how fast they're going out," Tooth said worriedly, coming over to their side.

Jackie's head snapped over to the direction of the Globe. Flying up, she said, "It's fear. He's tipped the balance." The glow of the remaining lights seemed so dim compared to yesterday. She looked back worriedly at Tooth and North, but Bunny came bounding over.

"Hey, buck up, ya sad-sacks," he commanded with a triumphant grin. "We can still turn this around." Jackie floated closer to the ground as Bunny drew up to his full height. "Easter is tomorrow,and Ah need your help." She dropped between North and Tooth and smiled as Bunny relayed his plan to them. "Ah say we pull out all the stops, and we'll get those little lights flickerin' again."

They all grinned as they realized that they could still win. They could still stop Pitch. "Let's go," North directed, leading them through a door. "Bunny is right," he added as they stepped on the elevator. "As it pains me to say it, old friend – this time, Easter is more important than Christmas."

Jackie tilted her head politely, letting Bunny walk off before her. But he was still in shock, marveling over North's words. "Hey, did everybody hear that?" He hopped to a nearby yeti and gestured in excitement.

"We must hurry to the Warren. Everyone, to the sleigh!" North said, pointing ahead.

But Bunny responded with a grin, "Oh, no, mate. My Warren, my rules." He paused, eyeing North slyly. "Buckle up!" Bunny tapped his foot on the ground twice, and Jackie knew what was going to happen two seconds before it did.

"Shostakovich!" North gasped.

A hole opened under their feet, and the ground swallowed them whole. Jackie flailed for balance for the first few moments of the trip, but then she was skating around the tunnel, almost like she was flying with Wind. She and Tooth flipped gracefully out of the end, but North and his yetis flopped on the ground hard.

He raised a dizzy hand. "'Buckle up.' Is very funny." North sat up and looked at Bunny, who had spread his arms wide.

"Welcome to the Warren."

The Warren was admittedly a beautiful place. Trees and flowers of all kinds grew, and butterflies flitted about. The temperature wasn't too hot, so Jackie didn't feel uncomfortable at all. This really could be a sort of Paradise.

But soon after the Pooka said those four words, his ears shot up. Whirling around, he began sniffing the air suspiciously. "Something's up," he warned.

They all stared at a nearby opening, where little egglets were quickly toddling out. Bunny drew his boomerangs, North unsheathed his swords, Tooth raised her fists, and Jackie gripped her staff. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the egg golems had twisted their faces around for battle. Bunny roared and charged forward, leading everyone to the danger.

But something sounded . . . off. Screaming also echoed from the tunnel, before a little girl in flannel pajamas burst out. Bunny skidded to a stop, and everyone else followed suit. The little girl stared at the spiritual beings, open-mouthed, clutching three egglets to her chest tightly.

Jackie was equally stunned. She recognized this girl. It was Jamie Bennett's little sister. "Sophie?"

Everyone quickly straightened up, grinning embarrassedly. To think that the legendary Guardians were freaking out over a small, three-year-old girl.

But Sophie simply ignored them, having spotted something much more interesting. "Elf, elf, elf!" she squealed, racing past Jackie's legs.

Bunny turned on North for an explanation. "What is she doing here?"

North frantically patted his red coat, before whispering guiltily, "Snowglobe."

Bunny's anxiety seemed to skyrocket. "Crikey, somebody do something!" He turned to Jackie for help. "Any ideas?"

Jackie backed up, smiling innocently. "Hey, don't look at me. I'm invisible, remember?"

"Elf! Elf!" Sophie said happily, dragging the poor thing along.

Bunny opened his mouth to fire a retort, but Tooth twirled into the air, singing, "Don't worry, Bunny. I bet she's a fairy fan!" Looking down at Sophie, she said kindly, "It's okay, little one."

"Pretty!" Sophie breathed, staring at the bright plumes adorning Tooth's body. The elf lay forgotten.

Tooth smiled, almost preening under the compliment. "You know what? I've got something for you!" She held out something in her hands to the girl, saying, "Look at all the pretty teeth, with little blood and gum on them!"

Jackie resisted the urge to do a face-palm. Really, Tooth?

Sophie seemed to thinking along the same lines as Jackie, because her face crumpled and she ran away shrieking in disgust.

Tooth seemed utterly bewildered. "W-what?"

Jackie walked past her and said, "Blood and gums?" She flew up onto an egg statue and watched Sophie play. "When was the last time you guys even hung out with kids?"

"Peek-a-boo!" Sophie shouted, scaring the little egglets out from under the statue. She giggled and chased after them eagerly.

"We are very busy bringing joy to children," North explained patiently. "We don't have time . . . for children," he realized slowly.

Bunny looked up from trying to gather the little eggs, and Sophie ran by, chasing butterflies.

"If one little kid can ruin Easter," Jackie said, forming a small snowflake with a simple wave, "then we're in worse shape than I thought." The snowflake blew past Sophie, who giggled. Jackie smiled when it landed on her intended target – Bunny.

The magic that she had poured into the ice took effect on him, as he wiggled his nose in shock, and slowly grinned. Bunny took Sophie's hand and led her to a small clearing, with Jackie following curiously, as she had never seen the Warren before.

The Guardian seemed to be a different person underneath that stiff persona of toughness. He was gentle and kind as he talked with the little girl, asking if she wanted to paint some eggs. Jackie sat on the curve of her staff next to North, wistfully watching the scene. It was so sweet. Bunny did have a soft side after all, and it had shown briefly on that first sleigh ride.

Jackie smiled dreamily as she privately thought to herself that Bunny looked nicer when he smiled.

Thousands of little eggs waddled on their tiny legs down the mountain. Jackie thought it was kind of amazing that they knew where to go, despite having no eyes to see, or ears to hear. But it was probably Bunny's own store of special springtime magic. It was a pleasant feeling, unlike Jasmine's harsh rainstorms.

North stared at the spectacle, seemingly impressed. As he said something in Russian, Jackie asked, staring at the plain eggs going by, "So, uh, how much time do we have?"

But Bunny bounded by, carrying a laughing Sophie on his back through the flower trail, where eggs were being sprayed with color. Letting the girl down, Bunny shouted, "All right, troops, it's time to push back. That means eggs everywhere! Hidden in every high rise, townhouse, and trailer park. Tennis shoes and cereal bowls! Oh, there'll be bathtubs filled with mah beautiful googies!"

Sophie was lying down on the painted eggs, still giggling as she was pulled along.

Other eggs hopped into the purple dye river, where North fished out one. "Okay, that's a little strange."

"No, mate," Bunny said softly, cradling some of his finished products, "that's adorable." He then hopped up on a large boulder, announcing, "There'll be springtime in every continent, and Ah'm bringin' hope with me!"

The yetis were assisting in every way they could, too. One was merrily painting one last egg red, but Bunny raced by, saying, "Too Christmasy, mate. Paint 'em blue."

Jackie watched Bunny then run over to Sophie's side. As he pointed out a small, pink egg to Sophie he said, "Oh, what's over there?" As she ran over to pick it up, he complimented her on the "find." "Oh, that's a beauty." Bending down and taking her hand, Bunny said," Now all we have ta do is get him and his little mates up through the tunnels to the top . . . and we'll have ourselves Easter."

The little eggs wobbled along the path and through the thousands of tunnels leading to the surface world. Jackie flew down from her perch and crouched next to Bunny and Sophie, looking at the egglets. Now this – this is beautiful. There was something peaceful about the thought of hope being spread throughout the world.

"Not bad," she said softly, as Sophie climbed into Bunny's arms.

"Not bad yerself," he replied with a gentle smile, surprising the winter sprite.

But she smiled back, overjoyed at the fact that Bunny seemed to at least like her now. Before, they couldn't be in the same area without blowing up at each other. It was a nice change. "And, look, I'm sorry about the – y'know, the 'kangaroo' thing."

Bunny chuckled. "It's the accent, isn't it."

Jackie laughed too. "Possibly."

The two of them stared at each other for a while, before Jackie cleared her throat and stared awkwardly at the ground. "So . . . why didn't you really like me at first?" She glanced back up, wondering if the question was a bit too intrusive.

Instead, Bunny seemed to ponder over it. "Well," he said hesitantly, "ya just . . . remind me of someone. Mah best friend, in fact."

"And that's bad, why?" Jackie wasn't being sarcastic, but merely curious. Humans seemed to like people who were similar to their friends.

"She – um, died. A long time ago." He shifted the now sleeping Sophie in his arms. "And Ah'm still looking for her soul, because people who die are reincarnated into the little babies that come into the world. She . . . she was special to me."

So that explained the bitterness he had felt toward her before. Jackie didn't know how to respond, so she just went with a simple "I'm sorry."

They sat in silence, watching as the last few eggs disappeared into the tunnels. "What were you dreaming about earlier?" Bunny asked abruptly.

Jackie flinched. He didn't need to know about that. "Oh, nothing much. Dolphins and snowballs – all that stuff," she lied.

His green eyes stared intently into her blue ones. "But ya were screamin', Jack. That was no ordinary dream."

She squirmed under his intense gaze. "It was about Sandy," she finally admitted, the pressure forcing the words out. It was technically the truth – just not all of it.

Bunny's look softened. "Ya did the best ya could, Jack. It wasn't your fault. It was Pitch's."

It was like what North had told her before, but that still didn't erase the guilt she felt in her heart.

"Aw, poor little ankle-bitah," Bunny said, shifting the subject back to Sophie as Tooth and North came by. "Look at 'er. All tuckered out."

"I love her," Tooth said, with a maternal note in her voice. "But I think it's time to get her home." She took Sophie from Bunny's arms, but Jackie interrupted.

"How about I take her home?" It was a good chance for Jackie to prove herself to the Guardians – prove that she could belong in their family.

"But Jackie – Jack," she corrected, "no. Pitch is out there, and I don't want you getting hurt, Sweet Tooth."

"But he's no match for this," Jackie replied, holding out her staff with a grin. She had sent him running with his tail between his legs during the battle, and who's to say that she couldn't do it again?

"Which is exactly why we need ya here, with us," Bunny said, gesturing to Tooth, North, and himself. Aw, he did care!

"Trust me," Jackie said confidently. "I'll be as quick as a Bunny." She moved her fingers for emphasis.

They had to smile. "All right, fine," Bunny conceded. "But no detours, Frostbite.

"And take Baby Tooth with you," Tooth added, gently placing Sophie in her arms.

Jackie's eyes widened as the little girl didn't pass through her hands. Maybe kids believed as they slept, or because Sophie was young enough to see everything. "I will," Jackie promised, meeting each of the Guardians' eyes. She and Baby Tooth flew up into the air, and she waved her foot at them, since her hands were a bit full.

"Be safe, Jack!" North called faintly.

As Jackie flew through the tunnel that would lead her to Burgess, she smiled. She finally had a family after three hundred years – one that cared for her, and loved her. People that she trusted.

For the first time in forever, the winter child felt warm.

Hiya! Well, it wasn't last week like I promised, but I finally managed to update between school stuff. Only a week left 'til I go back! It's crazy!

I do have the next chapter typed out already, so expect it sometime around Monday?

Until then, see you all next time!