POOKA JACK!...Need I say more?

No I don't own ROTG…

Jack ran down one side of the hill, reveling in the speed and agility afforded to him in his new body. With a snicker, he ducked behind a row of bushes, his ears low as he waited. Bunny eventually ran past the young Pooka, Jack ducking behind the foliage, his blue eyes watching as Bunny bent low to sniff carefully before continuing to run past him and further down the trail. Sneaking past the shrubbery, Jack's nose twitched as he stealthily went down the path that Aster had just come up, running the opposite direction. They had been playing chase hide and seek tag for the better part of the day, and the former winter spirit was having a blast. He had explored many nooks and crannies that he had never thought to investigate as a winter sprite, but now could find them with ease as a Pooka.

With a running leap, the boy turned anthropomorphic rabbit jumped over a brush of long grass, and landed in the middle of a small enclosure. It was completely closed in by long green stalks of grass, with shorter grass in the middle, and flowers all around. Jack cocked his head, nose twitching as he took an involuntary sniff. Hundreds of smells assaulted his senses, each carrying a feeling of nostalgia, telling a story that Jack couldn't quite remember but somehow knew was important. Hesitantly hopping forward on all fours, the former winter spirit took deep drafts of the scents surrounding him, poking his nose into the grass as he searched for the one that would clear his memory. Standing up on his hind legs, a breeze blew across the enclosure, and the young rabbit closed his eyes, allowing the feeling to wash over him.

"Come 'ere, ya Ripper!"

Jack's eyes sprang open as the phantom voice drifted across his consciousness. A breath caught in his throat as phantoms of the past played before his eyes, like an old movie, their nearly transparent forms danced through the glen.

"Jackie!" Aster cried planting his front paws on the ground as an invitation to play "Come on Snowball, show me what ya got!"

A small white ball of fluff chased him down the hill, and tackled him to the ground, Bunny laughing loudly as it snuggled underneath his chin. Rolling to lay on his side, the large Pooka smiled gently as he nudged the small ball with his nose, only to be rewarded with exuberant licks and nose touches. Aster chuckled deep in his throat, nuzzling the smaller rabbit before gently washing its face with his tongue. Snowball purred and cuddled into Bunny's fur, his eyes growing droopy, and his pink mouth stretched as he gave a large yawn. Aster smiled tenderly, before lying his own head down near his kit, and as the scene slowly disappeared, Jack heard one last thing whispered by the warrior rabbit.

"Love ya, Snowball…"

Jack fell on his butt on the ground, his mouth agape from the memory that had hit him with such force. He didn't remember everything, but he remembered this place, it was the nursery where he spent a large portion of his time with Aster. He remembered the Pooka feeding him, and taking care of him, and even playing with him. Backing out of the glade Jack looked around the warren, suddenly being overwhelmed by a tsunami of memories, his blue eyes unblinking as he watched each one play before his eyes.

There was a vision of him and Bunny playing tag, the larger rabbit laughing gaily as the smaller one chased him for all he was worth.

Another vision of Bunny cradling him in his arms, a bottle held in one hand as he lectured him for not taking his milk properly.

Bunny freaking out when he couldn't find him, and running around like mad, only to find the kit asleep in the middle of a group of eggs.

Bunny giving him a bath, scrubbing paint from his fur as he lectured the white(and now purple) ball of fluff about not harassing his eggs.

Words flooded his mind, various phrases drifting through his consciousness, a voice ringing from memories forgotten now being resurrected.

"Jackie! Don't go over there, ya'll get hurt!" "Stop the cutesy act Snowball, it ain't helping matters." "Love ya, kid" "…Always be there…" "…Protect you…" "You're my kit…" "Care about ya" "You're my son…always…" "Don't feel so alone anymore." "Finally have someone to take care of…" "Kit of my own…" "…Family…" "…Miss my kind…"

Jack hugged his knees against his chest, low hoots ringing from deep in his throat, moisture stinging his eyes as he processed what the visions meant. He never knew that Bunny had been suffering the same way that he had been, never knew that the Pooka had felt the same suffocating loneliness of not having anyone around you. North had yetis and elves, and Tooth had her baby fairies, but him and Bunny they had no one. Snow didn't speak, and eggs weren't the best conversationalists, and so the two had struggled alone. Feeling lost, and abandoned without anyone to talk to. Jack never thought about what Bunny did on his off seasons, but suddenly he looked around and realized just how big and lonely the warren seemed, and all he could do was sob in broken hearted understanding for his family member.

Wait…family member? If his memories were accurate, then his time as Snowball made Bunny see him as his kit, his son, and then it hit him…the last memory.

Chikashi holding him by the ears, Bunny snarling, and pain, horrible mind numbing pain radiating from his head. He remembered crying out for his dad, wishing someone to save him, and then all of a sudden…he was surrounded by warmth. His vision changed as he turned to look up and saw the haggard worried face of the guardian of Hope, and felt Bunny's trembling paw check his ears to ensure no damage had been done. Jack gazed at his memory in shock, watching as the Pooka gave a comforting nuzzle to his armful, and then deposited him in a safe nook out of the path of danger.

"Stay here snowball" he said softly "I promise, I'll keep ya safe."

Standing up, and knowing that Jack was safe in the burrow, Aster was finally free to take out his boomerangs without fear of hurting his kit. Twirling them expertly in his paws, the Pooka threw a wicked grin at the trickster spirit whom had finally stepped out of the shadows to face Aster.

"A'right ya bludger" Bunny snarled as the fur on the back of his neck stood on end "How about I show you what happens when ya mess with a Pooka's family."

"But that's just it, though isn't it?" Chikashi spat "He ISN'T your family. Less than a year ago, he was a winter spirit that you despised for his immaturity and lack of control."

"Ya think I don't know that?" Aster snapped "Ya think I don't regret my actions in the past every time I see that kid's face? Because I do! But he is family now, and I'm going to spend the rest of eternity making sure that he knows that!"

"Oh please" the trickster scoffed "Your words mean nothing when your actions have quite proved otherwise, so unless you have a valid reason for why you're protecting him, I suggest you step aside and let me take the kid."

Limbs trembling with rage, both at himself for the way he had acted in the past, and at Chikashi for taking it upon himself to become an angel of retribution, the Pooka growled deep in his throat.

"Ya want a reason?" he snarled "fine, I'll give ya a reason."

Leaping high into the air, Bunny slammed both back feet into Chikashi's chest, sending him crashing through several tree trunks "I protect him because HE'S MY KIT!"

Jack fell backwards, his mind reeling as he felt an emotional and mental whiplash from the sudden revelation, and his ears drooped as he gasped for air. So engrossed with his confusion over the rush of memories assaulting his mind, he did not notice the grey streak of fur barreling towards him. With a large whump, the Pooka tackled the younger rabbit, and they rolled down the hill landing in a tangle of arms and legs.

"What is the point of hide and seek," Aster chuckled "if ya are sitting in the middle of the wide open?"

Jack looked up at Bunny with startled blue eyes, and quickly disentangled himself before hopping a couple of feet away and chuckling nervously "Sorry, I got distracted."

"Distracted by what?" the Pooka asked with one eyebrow cocked in genuine interest.

"N-nothing important" Jack stammered, his ears ducking behind his head "just was thinking is all."

A smirk joined the raised eyebrow "You were…thinking?"

"Don't say it so sarcastically!" Jack huffed "I DO take time out and think every once in a while."

"Whatever you say ankle biter," Aster chuckled "so what were you thinking so hard about Frostbite?"

"Uh…" The former spirit stammered turning his head to look at the ground and hugging his knees to his chest "Well…"

Bunny leaned forward so that he could look Jack in the eye "Yeah?"

Jack mumbled his answer into his knees, and Bunny cocked one ear "What ya say there Snowflake?"

Once again the Pooka got a mumbled message, and the larger rabbit gave a sigh "Look Jackie, you're gonna have to speak a little louder than that, because I can't hear ya."

Jack gave a long sigh and finally whispered "I said 'I remembered everything from when I was a baby Pooka'."

Aster felt his jaw drop, and his eyes suddenly sting with tears, while his throat clenched tight. Turning around, the bunny ran a quick paw over his eyes, trying to hide his sudden melt down "Oh" he replied in a choked voice "That's…That's good."

Jack sat in an uncomfortable silence, unsure of how to continue what was becoming a truly awkward conversation, and merely shuffled his feet "You know," he began quietly "I still don't really remember my dad."

"Huh?" Bunny turned to him, surprised by the sudden change in topic.

"My dad," the former winter spirit repeated before continuing "I don't remember him. I mean, I remember that night at Santoff Clausen, and remembering how my dad died, but other than that, I don't know him. I don't remember having a dad, except for the part where I lost him, and even though that hurt it still felt like the pain belonged to someone else…someone who knew who he really was, and loved him as a son should."

Aster pursed his lips in careful thought before answering slowly "I think, that that isn't as bad as you think it may be."

Jack turned surprise filled eyes onto the Pooka, waiting for his explanation, which Bunny readily gave.

"I mean," the Easter Bunny chuckled "in a way, it was someone else who loved… and lost yer dad. You're Jack Frost, and even though I know ya still have some elements of the original Jackson inside of ya, yer still very different from him. Ya have yer own ideas, and convictions that make ya a different person in many ways. So it isn't a bad thing to feel that way about yer dad, I'm sure he was a good man, but in the end you still have spent over three hundred years without memory of yer family, and that made you grow and develop in different ways, in good ways, ways that I wouldn't want to change for anything."

Jack felt a blush sear his face and ears, and he looked away shyly before muttering "What was your dad like?"

"Honestly?" Aster asked waiting for Jack to nod his head "That Pooka was tougher than me, and twice as grumpy."

Jack felt s surprised bark of laughter explode from his mouth as he listened to Bunny describe his father "That guy could fight against twenty of our own kind at the same time, and never get tired. He was strong, fearless, and hardheaded. You could tell him the right answer to something, but if it wasn't his idea, he wouldn't follow ya, he would do his own thing until he had no other option except for the idea ya already gave him."

"Sounds like someone I know." Jack chuckled.

"Yeah," Aster laughed "I do take after my old man, of that I know for a fact. I never did defeat him in a sparring match though, I could beat any one of the young bucks, or older warriors, but my father was one that I could never gain a win on, no matter how hard I fought."

"What happened to him?"

Aster gave a long sigh, and then scratched the back of his neck, his green eyes softening with memories of times past "Well," he began softly "he died. Just after my stripes came in, we were in the middle of a war, and my father was one of the generals at the front lines. I was itching to join the military, but my pap told me to take care of my mom and siblings, and since I was the oldest, I had to obey and watch over my kin. Before I knew it, I was out working in the fields, and got the notice from a military messenger that my father had been killed. After that, I immediately joined the military, and became a decorated officer and actually made quite the name for myself. I miss him, but I can't stay in the past, he gave me what I need to survive and now I'm living life in a way that makes me happy."

Jack looked over at the Guardian of Hope "Is that what happened to the rest of your kind?"

Bunny tensed, and then relaxed with yet another grieved sigh "They're all gone, Frostbite…Dead. My mom, my sisters, my brothers, all of my friends and even the girl I had my eye on."

"You had a girlfriend?!" Jack burst out, his blue eyes bugged out in surprise.

"Yeah, and don't sound so shocked," Bunny snapped "she was the prettiest Pooka in my whole village, and had a heart bigger than the whole world. She was kind, intelligent, and could even sing. She was perfect, in every way, and I never forgot about her."

"What did she look like?"

"She was pure white," Bunny smiled wistfully "like freshly fallen snow, and she had beautiful purple eyes, that had an almost almond slant to them with long dark lashes. And her stripes were soft lavender that twisted and curled like vines with patterns that almost looked like roses. Actually, you almost look like her in a way, almost like you were the one we never…"

Suddenly Bunny let out a violent cough, clearing his throat, and stood up. Dusting his legs off, the rabbit began to walk towards the warren, his ears drooping with grief. Jack felt a knot of guilt tie his stomach, and quickly bounded over wrapping him from behind in a hug. Hot tears trailed down the boy's face, and he clenched his eyes shut as he spoke around the ball of emotion lodged in his throat.

"I'm sorry" Jack burst "I'm sorry that I asked about something that you probably didn't want to talk about."

"Don't worry about it Snowflake," Aster smiled gently as he patted the paws gripped around his torso "It's ok."

"No it's NOT!"

Bunny froze at the cry, his ears twitching as he listened to Jack continue in a voice nearly overwhelmed by sobs.

"I-it's not o-ok," the boy turned Pooka wept "You've b-been completely alone f-for who knows h-how long, and y-your family and e-everyone you cared about are d-d-dead. I've been a jerk, and I even made you t-talk about things that are painful to you, and I n-never thought about how you must feel all alone in this warren. I was so selfish thinking that you didn't know what I was going through, and I never thought to ask. I could have been there, but I was so caught u-up in m-my problems, I never thought that m-maybe you're suffering t-too."

Bunny clenched his jaw, shutting his eyes in an attempt to stem the flow of tears springing from his eyes. Jack merely held on tighter, his voice cracking from the force of his yells. "I-I mean," he continued in broken sobs "No one knew…none of us…We just assumed that you were a workaholic bunny who enjoyed being grumpy and painting eggs, but really, we had no clue… I had no clue… That you were all alone, down here in this huge warren, and you had no one. You never let any of us know; you just pasted on a smile, and pretended that you were ok. And…we were stupid enough to fall for it."

Finally Jack just melted into uncontrollable sobs, his shoulders shaking from their force as he buried his face into Aster's back, and only the occasional apology being the only thing intelligible from his gasped weeping. Finally the Pooka turned around to face the former winter spirit, who was now gazing at the ground, his eyes downcast with shame as he wiped his eyes with one paw. Grasping the younger rabbit by his shoulders, Aster pulled him in for a hug, burying his nose into the soft fur behind Jack's ears.

"Ya don't need ta apologize Snowflake," he whispered through his tears "it was a long time ago, and I have healed. Yeah, I've been alone, but at least I have you and the other guardians. So in a way, I have my family again. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's something."

Jack wrapped his arms around Bunny's neck, his face firmly planted in the larger Pooka's shoulder "That's not what I remember," he grumbled "when I was stuck as a baby you talked about how alone you were, and how you missed having Pookas around."

"Did not…" Bunny muttered.

"Liar" Jack retorted.

Finally the Easter bunny heaved a sigh "Fine, ya caught me," he said softly "I miss my family, I still hurt over the fact that Sabina and I never got a chance to start a family together, and I miss her more with every moment that passes. I wish that I wasn't alone, and I'm tired of constantly being the hopeful one when I personally don't have any to spare for myself."

"Then I'll help," Jack replied, snuggling further into Bunny embrace "I'll be there for you, and help you not be lonely, that's what family is for, right?"

Bunny smiled, then leaned back and ruffled the fur between Jack's ears fondly "Yer absolutely right Snowflake."

"Aw," a mocking voice called across the warren accompanied by the neigh of a horse "What a touching scene, almost makes me want to hug my pillow, and feel all warm and fuzzy."

Jack turned around, his eyes now dry, and his lip curled into a sneer "Pitch!"

"Yes," the Boogeyman smiled "but I'm not alone."

Chikashi stepped from behind the man, his mouth curled into a malicious smile full of evil intent "Hello Jack," he waved jovially "been a while, hasn't it?"

"Not long enough in my opinion," Jack muttered as he felt Bunny place a reassuring paw on his shoulder.

"Pitch," Bunny called, a low growl rumbling just beneath the surface of his words "I suggest you and your little pest leave my warrens, and if not then I promise you a world of hurt ten times worse than what you experienced when we last tangled."

"Yeah, about that" Pitch replied in a bored monotone "you seem to forget that you're sorely outnumbered. You see, I have nightmares at my disposal, and Chikashi here is skilled in spells. You are all on your lonesome, with a useless, bumbling teenage Pooka to protect."

Jack felt his heart seize with fear as he remembered that in his current state he was as good as mortal, and without his powers, he was practically defenseless. But Aster merely squeezed his shoulder in comfort, one green eye slowly winking at him. Facing Pitch once again, Jack squared his shoulders, and drew his staff from its holster on his back. Bunny stood up to his full height, and twirled his boomerangs in expert paws. They would fight, they might not win, but they would fight.

Pitch merely glared down at them, his evil grin widening to show pointy teeth before he barked;

"Get them!"

OH MAN THIS WAS HARD TO WRITE!

My muse all of a sudden left me in a quivering sobbing heap, and I begged for it to return, but it ignored all my phone calls and text messages. Finally after bribing my muse with chocolate, and promises for many fluffy family and hurt/comfort chapters later on down the road, it complied with my request.

READ AND REVIEW!