Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "The Winter Child!" =D This chapter's a drabble, but I still think it's really sweet. X) This chap also wraps up Jack's eight-year-old arc, so another time skip shall take place in the next one. =D

We're so close to 100 reviews, and I honestly can't believe it. XDD Thank you guys so much for your undying support, and I hope you all enjoy this drabble. ^u^


~ XXXIX ~

You Did Well

Often, he thought he wasn't doing enough

That there was more he could do and provide

But really

He had done more than enough

To raise Jack in a place filled with light

...

A heated tag game was taking place in front of North's house. It was Tooth's mini fairies and Jack against the Sandman, who was surprisingly a great tagger.

Well, with his dreamsand acting as extended arms, that wasn't much of a surprise. But Jack and the fairies found this as an even better challenge, so they squealed and laughed as they tried to avoid the several golden tentacles chasing after them.

North, Aster, and Tooth watched from the porch, each of them drinking cups of tea. They smiled as they watched the playful game take place in front of them. It had been a rather eventful few days with recovering from Pitch's attack. North and the Guardians still felt somewhat rattled after the events, and Jack had woken up from a few nightmares on some nights. But all of them were doing their best to continue on, despite the terrors they had experienced.

North watched as Jack led the mini fairies to hide behind the corner of the fence. As his boy's laughter rang through the air, North thought about how far he had come. Jack had been so small, so frail when he had first found him. He couldn't believe he was eight—going on to nine—already. Time really did fly.

As he took care of the boy, North had multiple occurrences where he wondered if he was doing enough for the winter child. He knew that he could never completely replace the boy's previous parents, and Jack would forever have the hole in his heart that his biological parents should've filled. But North and the Guardians had done their best to provide and protect him…though Pitch's attack had been a close call.

Jack had nearly gotten hurt by the Nightmare King, and North couldn't get over the feeling that he had almost lost Jack. He should've been there with him, but he wasn't, and this caused all the old doubts to return. What kind of a father was he, failing to defend his child until the last possible moment? North knew that it had been a tight situation, but still, he felt as if he could've done something more. He sighed, his thoughts whirling through his head like a blizzard.

Tooth and Aster noticed North's unhappy expression, and Toothiana asked, "What's wrong North?"

North turned to the two, knowing that he couldn't hide his thoughts from them. "It's just...after everything that's happened in past three weeks, I feel like I haven't been doing enough for Jack. Pitch broke into Big Root, and I wasn't there to protect him."

"Pitch tricked us all," said Tooth. "None of us were expecting him to make an appearance. It's not your fault, North."

"I tell myself that, and yet," North watched as Jack and the fairies ran out of their hiding place, squealing as Sandy chased after them. "I don't feel like I did enough. I feel like I'm not doing enough."

"Ya did everything ya could," reassured Aster. Tooth and North turned to him. "Even now, yer doin' everythin' ya can ta make sure Frostbite's comfortable and happy. That smile he's wearin' over there is all thanks ta ya. If ya didn't find 'im that day in the woods, Jack probably never would've made it.

"Ya did well with him, mate," concluded Aster. "And I'm sure Jack's grateful too."

Neither North nor Tooth were expecting to hear those words come from Aster. He wasn't the type of person who spoke with such sentiment. But they were the words North needed to hear, and he felt much better knowing that he indeed was doing the best he could for Jack.

"Aw, Aster. I've never heard you sound so sentimental," remarked Tooth.

Flustered, Aster said, "Wha—I am not!"

"I don't know Bunny…" North said, running a hand through his beard. "Perhaps you are really going soft."

"I'm most definitely not," Aster denied.

And that only made North and Tooth laugh.


Author's Note: Short 'n sweet. =3

I don't have anything else to say, so...yeah. XD Thank you guys so much for reading, and I'll see you all in the next chapter! =D

Until the next chapter!

~BeyondTheMoon1203