Jack rushed to his room, pursued by Bunnymund.
"Get back here you waste of a snowflake! Ah'll teach you fer freezin my Googies!"
Carrie looks up the stairs to Jack's room balancing her laundry basket on her hip. "Jack? Everything ok?" She called.
"You are irresponsible! Why you were made a Guardian is still beyond me!" Bunny's tirade was going on loudly. Luckily both kids were in school, so no one heard the Pooka's wrath.
"It's five months before Easter, Frost! you bloody set me back about eight!"
Carrie was able to hear some sentences that never should be said to any child, least of all Jack Frost.
"You ever wonder why yer only friend is the Wind? It's because deep down, you're nothing but trouble. Trouble, and Winter. You deserved to be tortured by the other seasons. You deserved it because you, Jack Frost, are trouble."
Carrie stormed into Jack's bedroom dropped the basket and punched the Easter Bunny square on the mouth. "Shut up!" She snarled.
Aster looked totaly suprised "OI! Sheila what is yer problem?"
Carrie ignored the Easter Bunny and looked at her son. "Jack honey are you ok?"
The poor boy was wimpering, whispering softly "I deserved it...I deserved all of it."
Carrie immediately pulled her son into a hug. "No you didn't." She begins to run her hand though Jack's hair utterly furious with that stupid rabbit.
Aster rubbed his chin "Oi, Frostbite I...I don't know what came over me."
Jack ignored him, repeating again "I deserved it, Mom...I'm trouble. The spirits all know. I deserve their scorn."
Carrie gave the Easter Bunny a scathing look. "No you don't deserve it and you most certainly are NOT trouble. Your a kind thoughtful young man who-" Carrie stopped mid sentence and began to smile. "You called me mom." She says happily.
"I don't remember my Mom, and though all of us seasonals call Mother Nature Mother...you just seem the right one to call Mom." he said tiredly
Carrie squealed in glee. "You called me Mom!" She peppered his face with kisses before hugging him tightly. "This calls for ice cream."
Bunny went with her
"Honestly Shela...I didn't mean to take it that far."
Carrie glared at Bunny over her shoulder. "We can talk in the kitchen."
He joined her and sat down. Jack still refusing to come down until he had composed himself
Carrie gave the Easter Bunny a flat stare. "Now why were you yelling at my son?" She asks flatly.
"We all have our jobs. Mine cannot CANNOT get delayed or it costs me children, and believers. every time he makes a mess, he sets me back. This makes me angry and he knows it. I've tried talking nice, begging, nothin works. When I yell, he sulks for days, leaving me in piece"
"What did he do?" She asks.
"Froze ten percent of my Googies, and the dye rivers and the entrances to France, Germany, and Utah."
Carrie raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because he's trouble! why else?!"
Carrie stared at him. "Please tell me you don't say things like that around my kids."
"Ah no. the ankle biters would be upset at me."
Carrie stared at him clearly wondering if he's that stupid. "You do realize I count Jack among my children?"
"Actually no. I didn't." he said honestly
Carrie gave him a deadpan look. "So were you just not paying attention when I got excited over him calling me mom?"
"honestly i was too ashamed to do anything but stare." his ears lay backl
"I see."
"Look I...I know it hurts him. But man...its been hard. We work, he messes things up...just for attention."
Carrie heard Jamie's voice in her head, 'cut him slack mom, Jack's been ALONE for 300 years!'
Carrie gave Bunny a level look. "Really how do you know that?"
"Tooth says so. She says he needs as much as he can get."
Carrie stared at him. "How did you get 'he makes messes on purpose to get attention' from that?"
"Oh North says the reason Frostbite keeps bugging us is to get attention. By bugging us, he means making messes"
Jack still wimpered upstairs, where a new problem had raised its head.
A Nightmare was at his window.
Carrie stared at Bunny then shook her head. "You are either willingly blind or stupid. Now I'm going to go upstairs and actually ASK Jack why he froze part of his home. You can follow and listen if you like but you will keep your mouth shut." With that Carrie stood up and went upstairs knocking on Jack's door. "Jack can I come in?"
"Mommy...I'm scared." came the wimper "I'm scared and I'm hurt and I'm useless and I want ice cream."
Carrie took one look at the scene and hurried over to her son immediately pulling him into a hug. "It's ok honey it's ok." She cooed giving the Nightmare an absolutely vicious glare and motioning for it to go away.
The Nightmare was puzzled, and galloped off.
Jack clung to her like any child would after a bad dream. Except for Jack this dream was a reality
"I wanted Bunny to play with me." he said softly "I didn't mean to mess up his work! Honest!"
Carrie began to run a hand threw Jack's hair. "It's ok honey why don't you tell me what happened?"
"Well," he began "I was bored, so I asked North if he would need help. He didn't, so I visited Tooth and she punched me on accident, apologized, checked my teeth, and shooed me off. Sandy was working in Hiccup's territory, and so that left Bunny."
Carrie nods. "And then?" She asks.
"So I went to the Warren. I thought that today Bunny would learn how to skate, so I froze the dye river. I though also, that the Googies would like to skate too, so I froze them, I do it to the elves all the time and they love it. So I waited for Bunny. And he exploded and chased me out."
Carrie sighed. "Jack honey you should have asked Bunny's permission to freeze the rivers and from what Jamie's told me the Googies are a bit more fragile then the elves."
"But...I wanted to suprise him...I didn't know he'd hate me for it!"
"I know but if you change things in someone else's home you should ask permission first." Carrie then raises an eyebrow. "Did you ever ask Bunny if he wanted to learn to ice skate?"
"Yes. he said he did, but he also didn't want to learn anywhere it was too cold. The warren is in constant Spring, so I thought he would be more comfortable learning there than my lake. I really didn't mean any harm!"
Carrie nods thoughtfully. "Ok I think the three of us need to have a talk over what happened."
Bunny waited impatiently, tapping his foot and sighing
Carrie wrapped an arm around Jack's shoulder as they walked down to the kitchen giving Bunny a look that clearly says 'be nice'.
"I'm sorry about the warren, please don't hate me!" Jack said softly
"Hate you? Frostbite I don't hate you. Ye just pissed me off that's all."
Carrie sat down at the kitchen table motioning for Jack an Bunny to do the same. "Jack why don't you tell Bunny why you froze part of his home."
"Well I...I know you wanted to learn to ice skate, but there is nowhere to teach you that isn't cold. I thought, since the Warren is comfy for you, I would teach you there. And I'm sorry about your Googies, the little things wanted to learn too!"
"Frostbite wait...you did all of that...fer my comfort?"
Jack nodded.
Bunny put a paw in his face
"Blimey...I'm a fool aren't I..."
Carrie smiles and nods. "Yes yes you are and you owe Jack an apology."
"I really am sorry, Jack. Those things I said...well they weren't true. I'm sorry."
Jack smiled, "Awe Kangaroo, you know you're forgiven."
Carrie smiles. "Now who wants ice cream?"