Ch10: A Little Fun in Burgess

The only thing that Jack could think about as he flew to the North Pole wasn't Rapunzel's brown hair or even her fiancé, but what kind of gift that would be right to thank her for giving him the chance to feel her heartbeat, because it really meant a lot to him. Jack was sure that Rapunzel must have felt uncomfortable doing that, especially from the fact she had been wearing just a bathrobe, but he truly believed that she was dead, and so that was the only way for him to know for sure that she was really alive. This gift couldn't be frost lanterns, since Jack had already showed those to Rapunzel when she lived in the tower, and it couldn't be frost bunnies either, considering the fact he just showed those to cheer her up back inside her room in the castle of Corona. Perhaps it should be something from one of his fellow Guardians, such as a personal tour of North's Workshop or a visit to Bunny's Warren, or maybe a bag of Sandy's Dreamsand so that Rapunzel would always get to have sweet and peaceful dreams instead.

Suddenly, the expression of hope and anticipation that Jack had on his face disappeared when he began thinking more about his friends. Would the four of them really approve of Jack having this kind of contact with a young woman who wasn't even immortal like they were? Jack remembered that if if wasn't for him making a child believe in their existence, then they never would've been able to defeat Pitch. Any sort of thoughts Jack was having about what the Guardians would think of his friendship with Rapunzel vanished from his mind.

It wouldn't be odd for Jack to be late to the meeting, because he was always late, and his friends never did bother asking him what took so long. He saw North's workshop come into sight, and Jack usually preferred to make a big entrance so that everyone knew he finally arrived. With the help of the wind, Jack opened up a window and let a cold breeze go through the entire workshop as he went inside of it. Jack caught a glimpse of Bunny ruffling his fur and Tooth rubbing her feathery arms before his feet landed gracefully on the stone floor.

"What's up, guys, sorry to get you all chilly." Jack said, while sticking one hand in his hoodie pocket and leaning against his staff.

"That's what you always say, but at least you showed up." Bunnymund replied, before turning around to face North. "What's going on, mate?"

"Pitch has returned," North declared solemnly, and each Guardian's eyes widened. "He has not returned exactly, but he's getting stronger."

"Stronger, but how that's possible," Jack inquired, as he stepped forward. "The only way that can happen is if Pitch has believers." He added.

"Yes, that is correct, but people do believe in him now and I'll show you." North responded, while he walked closer toward the Globe of Belief.

"Although lights have been flickering in many locations, there are other lights that have just turned off in some of them." North explained.

He pressed a few controls to have the Globe turn in his direction so that he could show the other Guardians what locations he was talking about.

"Lights have gone off in a few cities across America, and especially in the same city where we fought Pitch; Burgess, Pennsylvania." North revealed.

Jack's eyes widened once again from knowing that Pitch was gaining believers in the exact same town where Jamie and his family lived.

"So, North, what's the plan?" Jack asked, as he wanted to protect how many kids were left in Burgess that hadn't been affected by Pitch.

"I suggest we send out a worker of our own to keep watch on each of these states, to make sure Pitch doesn't come back." North answered.

Jack didn't have any helpers like North had his elves and yetis, while Tooth had her mini-fairies, but he never found that to be a problem.

"I should take Burgess," Jack announced, and everyone else turned to look at him. "I've been there the most and the kids know who I am. . ."

"Good idea," Tooth agreed. "It's best to go there now, and besides, you'll get to see Jamie again, since you haven't seen him for a while."

Jack gave a nod of his head and just as he was prepared to leave, he remembered that he still didn't mention Rapunzel to the other Guardians. Now didn't seem like a good time at all, considering the fact they had to go after Pitch again, but Jack didn't want to risk losing his first believer. With that decided, Jack took off and flew out of the same window that he used to get inside North's workshop, and made his way for Burgess. Since Jack didn't ever like to be bored when flying, he decided to keep his mind busy with what he and Jamie should do together when they meet.

Jack thought it was a good idea not to mention Pitch around Jamie, not even once, because he didn't want to have the kid worrying so much. Whatever activity he would do with Jamie, it would have to be something completely new, and nothing like what they've done in the past. Jack already used his powers to help Jamie build a snowman in his own bedroom, freeze his drainpipes, and throw snowballs on the beach. Thinking about all of this only caused Jack's mind to focus on a conversation he had with North after he visited Rapunzel in the tower that same day.

When Jack finally reached North's workshop, he flew over to one of the fortress' big windows and tapped it with his staff for a total of three times.

"Open up, North!" Jack called out, as he looked through the glass window for a while until it was opened up by Phil, one of North's yeti workers.

"Oh. . .hey, Phil." Jack said, greeting the yeti, as he stepped onto the window sill, but he was taken aback from Phil grabbing him by his right foot.

"Hagahdghaderaba!" Phil grunted and growled as he carried Jack all the way to North's office and walked inside the room before dropping Jack.

"Aaahh!" Jack shouted, as he fell to the floor with a "Oof!" and he rubbed his head in agony before sitting up to find North staring down at him.

"Ah, Jack! Good to see you! I take it you received my call?" North asked confidently, as he saw that Jack had a very deep frown on his face.

"It was hard to miss." Jack answered sarcastically, as he was still unamused with the way that he was brought into North's office by Phil.

"So, Jack, tell me, where have you been?" North asked, as he watched the boy get back up on his feet. "What have you been to lately?"

Jack didn't want to bring up Rapunzel and how he spent his time with her to North, so Jack decided to tell a little white lie to him instead.

"The usual, North, giving snow days for kids, and when I'm not doing that, I'm just flying around, it always feels great to be up in the cold air." Jack fibbed.

"You still visit that boy who lives in that small town?" North asked. "Now, what was the name of it again? Oh, yes, Burgess." He added.

"Yes, North, I've been to Burgess, and by the way, that boy's name is Jamie Bennett, so why are you asking about him?" Jack inquired.

"He is part of the reason why I have called you here." North revealed, as he crossed his arms, and Jack quickly knew this was serious.

"Go on." Jack replied, while the look on his face was neutral, as it didn't have either a smile or a frown, and he waited for North to keep talking.

"Well, up here at the North Pole, I have received numerous reports of frozen pipes and snowmen made in the heat of summer in Burgess. The local people call them 'unexplained phenomena'. We both know that these things are not a coincidence, Jack." North explained sternly.

"So what if they're not?" Jack asked, as he definitely thought this conversation with North was becoming much more like an argument.

"Normally, I don't have to keep any of the Guardians on a leash, nor do I like to, but Jack, you seem to be an exception." North responded.

Jack was a lot more offended now from what North said, especially from the word 'leash'. "I'm in trouble for making a kid happy?" He asked.

"As a Guardian, you need to keep a lower profile! You need to start acting a little more mature, not doing petty things like freezing drainpipes! What would Jamie's mother think if she found a snowman on her son's bed?" North asked, while trying his best not to raise his voice.

"That's who I am, North! You should all have known what you were signing up for when you added me to your little gang! If you don't like it, then tough luck!" Jack shouted.

"This is not a choice, Jack. This is me telling you to stop being a child, and take on the title you were given! Leave the boy alone, and let him just believe in you, not see you. We are only supposed to be dreams and fantasies, not real friends who do whatever we want to do!" North commanded.

"North, I'm not bothering Jamie, he wants me to be there! I'm doing exactly what my job is, I'm bringing fun to kids! Maybe you should just stop policing me! What gives you the right to control what I do and how I do it? The children are happier when they can see us! You always say how you and the rest of the Guardians bring stuff like wonder and hope to them, but that's all a lie! All you do is just hide up here playing God!" Jack yelled.

North took a step backwards with a look of genuine shock on his face, because never before had he seen Jack become this angry, no one ever had.

"In case you've somehow forgotten, I had to suffer through three hundred years of complete isolation and loneliness! No one could see, hear, or even touch me for every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every month for three whole centuries! It filled me with so much pain and frustration to deal with lots of people paying no attention to me, and going right through me, as if I didn't exist, as if I was some kind of ghost!" Jack shouted.

Tears were now coming down Jack's eyes as the memories of what happened during those three hundred years all ran through his head. A few seconds passed before Jack noticed North timidly reach out to him, with his bearded face now plagued with guilt and sorrow. Despite the outburst that he just saw from Jack, North was hoping that he could come closer and give an embrace for the teenager.Unfortunately, it didn't seem like that would get to happen as Jack held up a hand to stop North from taking any more steps toward him.

"I don't want your pity, and it's too late for it anyway, and just a reminder, if I hadn't gotten Jamie and his friends to believe in me, then you guys would've all disappeared and Pitch would've taken over the world and there would've been nothing but fear and darkness, so you really should be thanking me for doing that."

North had to admit that Jack was right, if it hadn't been for his efforts, then they wouldn't have been able to defeat Pitch and have the children's faith in them restored. He realized that Jack had never chose to join him and the Guardians in their fight against Pitch, North had the boy kidnapped and just expected Jack to say "yes". They also were too harsh to believe that Jack purposely betrayed them to get his memories back and not even consider the possibility that Jack had been tricked. All of a sudden, North noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jack was heading for one of the windows and thanks to the wind's help, the window blew open.

"Jack, wait!" North shouted, but as soon as those words had left his mouth, Jack was already gone, and heading for the same town that they talked about.

Although Jack felt terrible even now about the things he said to North on that day, he still believed the man was very unreasonable with telling Jack of what he should do and not do. North had never told Jack to stay away from Jamie until that day, not even once, so what reason did North possibly have to demand for Jack that he keep his distance from the boy? Whatever that reason was, it didn't really matter to Jack now, since he and North had already buried the hatchet and let bygones be bygones, so Jack still had permission to visit Jamie.

As the American town finally came into Jack's sight, an idea had come to his mind at the same time, and fortunately, it was a brand new activity he and Jamie had never done in the past. Jamie's mother had to be fast asleep before they did this activity, which was for Jack to take Jamie personally for a flight and see the moon more up close than he'd ever seen it before. Jack was quite sure that Jamie would be a little scared of going through with the flight, but the kid wouldn't have anything to worry about, since he'll be in Jack's arms for the whole time.

He fell through the clouds, toward Burgess, and Jack could already see that the streets were empty, so it obviously meant everyone was sleeping, and he was off to Jamie's house. Right when Jack arrived, he flew to Jamie's bedroom window, and he quickly noticed the boy was sound asleep, but was also stirring around in his bed, as if Jamie was having a nightmare. Jack opened the window a little more, then he formed a snowflake in his hand before letting it glide off his fingertips and float across the room until the snowflake landed on the tip of Jamie's nose. Jack entered the room just as Jamie opened his eyes before sitting up on his bed, and a smile instantly came on both of their faces when they saw each other, and Jamie quickly got out of his bed.

"Jack, you're here!" Jamie said, as he gave Jack a hug, and he made sure to whisper since it was the middle of the night and he didn't want to wake up his mother or sister or worse, both of them.

"That's right, Jamie, and now that you're awake, we can have a little fun together, but before we do that, there's something that I want to know first, is your mom and Sophie asleep?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Jack, they both are, but why'd you want to know?" Jamie inquired, as he became a lot more curious to know why Jack would ask him that question.

"How would you like to go for a flight high above Burgess?" Jack asked, and he saw the expression on Jamie's face change from confusion to amusement.

"Wait a minute, Jack, when you say flight, you mean that we'll be as high as an airplane?" Jamie asked, wanting to be sure of what Jack just said to him.

"Yeah, Jamie, but I know it would be the first time, so I understand if you don't want to go through it, and we could do something else." Jack answered.

Jamie didn't respond to Jack right away, which must have meant he was taking a moment to think about Jack's offer, so Jack stood by and waited patiently.

"So, Jack, how long would this flight be?" Jamie asked, and Jack wasn't all that surprised the boy's reply to him hadn't been either a 'yes' or even a 'no'.

"As long as you want it to be, Jamie, or at least before your mom wakes up, because we wouldn't want her to think you've been kidnapped." Jack responded.

Jamie nodded his head in agreement, since the last thing that he wanted was for his mother to get worried and believe something bad happened to him. After that, a moment of silence had come between Jack and Jamie, as if they were waiting for the other person to say something, but Jamie went ahead.

"Well, what are we waiting for, Jack? Let's go!" Jamie shouted quietly, as he walked over to the window, and saw Jack bend down with his back to him.

Jamie quickly got himself onto Jack's back and he also wrapped his arms around the Guardian's neck before Jack flew out of the window with staff in hand. Jack bent down once again so Jamie could get off his back, and he dropped his staff on the snowy ground below before standing on top of it with his feet.

"Hey, Jack, why do you need to do that?" Jamie asked, as he wanted to know why it was necessary for Jack to stand on the thing he used to fly around.

"I'm going to carry you in my arms during the flight, so I can't hold my staff, but I'll be riding on it like a snowboarder for the whole time." Jack explained.

"That sounds so cool, but have you ever tried it before, and what I mean by that is have you carried someone while riding your staff?" Jamie asked.

"No, Jamie, you'll be the first, but you don't need to worry, I won't let you go, I would never let that happen, and you do trust me, right?" Jack asked.

Jack bent down on his knees and held out both of his arms, then he watched as Jamie walked over to his left side and stood with his back to him. Jamie closed his eyes and took a deep breath before allowing himself to fall, and to his relief, Jack caught the boy, having one arm under his knees. The Guardian had his other arm firmly placed underneath Jamie's back, and he stood up on his feet, while being glad to know he did have Jamie's trust.

"Hey, wind, take us up!" Jack shouted, while looking up at the sky, and the two boys could notice the trees swaying and their leaves flying into the air.

Jamie began to feel more nervous from what was happening, but he didn't have to worry about his mother hearing Jack, since she didn't believe in him.

"Get ready, Jamie, it's coming," Jack announced, as he kept his eyes wide open and Jamie closed his eyes shut as the wind began to blow past both of them.

Only less then about ten seconds had passed by as the wind carried Jack and Jamie up high into the air, and above the clouds that remained in the night sky.

"Woooooo-hoooooooooo!" Jack shouted in joy as he took in the sights below. "You should open your eyes, Jamie, you really need to see this!" He persuaded.

Jamie's eyes slowly opened, and although his heart started to palpitate when he brought her head down, Jamie couldn't resist to ignore the view below him. Never before in his whole life had Jamie seen his hometown look so small, and knowing that he finally had the chance caused the boy to feel a lot more happy. He could say it was like having a dream come true, especially since there were times when Jamie would imagine of what it would be like for him to actually fly. Of course, Jamie had always believed it was nothing more than a fantasy that would never come to life, but that all changed when he believed in Jack Frost.

Jamie didn't want Jack to know this, but sometimes, he would feel jealous of how Jack got to travel around the world and see so many cities and continents. Even though it was part of Jack's job to go from one place to another to spread his winter magic, it didn't stop Jamie from feeling a twinge of envy at times. Having this emotion would frequently get Jamie to think very hard of a way to be a Guardian himself and gather more believers for Jack and all his friends. Jack did tell Jamie that he was kind of a Guardian if him and the other Guardians would always be in his heart, but Jamie hasn't been feeling like one lately.

The boy wondered if whether or not he should tell Jack about this, and he also thought if Jack would make the time to help him feel more like a Guardian. It happened to be the middle of Winter right now, so it was definitely considered to be a rare occasion for Jack to take time off from his job to visit Jamie. Who knew of when would be the next time that Jack would decide to show up in Burgess again, so that idea caused Jamie to decide he would tell Jack. Speaking of Jack, he noticed that Jamie had been silent for quite a while, but it wasn't so hard for Jack to figure out that something was on Jamie's mind.

"Hey, Jamie?" Jack asked, and hearing his name caused Jamie to look up and face him. "Now usually when you're quiet, that means something's wrong."

"Oh, nothing's wrong with the flight, Jack, if that's what you're thinking, and I was just wondering if you could help me become a Guardian." Jamie said.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'become a Guardian?" Jack asked, before giving Jamie a questioning look. "Don't you remember what I told you on the lake?"

"Yes, but to be honest, I haven't been feeling like one lately, especially since more kids in Burgess have stopped believing in you guys." Jamie revealed.

Jack obviously knew this was happening because of Pitch, but he still didn't want to tell Jamie and risk having the boy scared that Pitch will come for him.

"If you think the Boogeyman has returned, that's not true, and you should know because you helped me and the Guardians defeat him." Jack reminded.

"How do you explain kids looking tired and depressed, the same way that my friends used to feel when Pitch had given them nightmares." Jamie inquired.

"They're probably staying up very late and not getting enough sleep, or there must be a personal emergency that's going on in their lives." Jack assured.

A frown had begun to appear on Jamie's face, as the boy was sure Jack didn't believe what he just told him, and Jamie couldn't help but feel disappointed. This was something that Jack caught on to, and he took a moment to think of how he could take Jamie's mind away from what was happening in Burgess. It didn't take Jack so long to have an idea, and even though it was something they've done before, Jack was hoping that Jamie wanted to go through with it.

"You know, Jamie, I think that we've spent enough time up here in the sky, so how about we go for an epic sled ride through the town?" Jack suggested.

Jamie was silent for a while, which caused Jack to believe that he didn't want to go sledding, but that changed when Jack saw a smile appear on Jamie's face.

"Hey, wind, take us down!" Jack shouted, before he felt the wind carry both of them lower until finally, he was back to standing on the snowy white ground.

Jack carefully let Jamie get down from his arms, since it wasn't necessary to carry him anymore, and he stepped off his staff so that he could hold it again.

"Obviously, the only thing you'll need is your sled, Jamie, and I can go inside and get it for you, but you just have to tell me where it is first." Jack requested.

"It's up in my room, Jack, and I'm sure it won't be too hard for you to find my sled, since you already know what it looks like, right?" Jamie asked curiously.

"Sure I do, it's red and made of wood." Jack answered, impressing Jamie with his memory before he flew up to the boy's bedroom window and went inside.

After finding Jamie's sled, Jack made sure to have the window closed and arranged the bed so it would look like Jamie never left and he was still sleeping.

Jack carried the sled with one hand while he had his staff in the other as he flew down to the ground and handed the sled over to its' rightful owner.

"Thanks, Jack," Jamie said, expressing his gratitude, as he brought his sled over to the road before carefully lying down on top of it with his stomach.

Jack knelt down as he brought the g-shaped arch of his shepherd's staff close to the road, but too close for his staff to actually touch the black concrete.

"Are you ready, Jamie?" Jack asked, while facing the boy, and when Jamie nodded his head excitedly, Jack used his staff to create a sheet of ice on the road.

Jamie's sled picked up speed as it slid down the icy road, and Jack gently guided him onto the path, making sure he didn't accidentally veer off into the snow. Both of them still remembered the very first time that Jamie had been sledding like this, when it was daytime and there was a lot of traffic in the streets. During that time, Jamie felt scared and he didn't believe in Jack, but now, he had no reason to be afraid, because he knew Jack was looking out for him.

They didn't have to worry about Jamie colliding with a car, since it was the middle of the night, which meant all the vehicles were parked in a garage. No one usually went out at this time of night, so the chances of someone discovering Jamie going through Burgess' streets on his sled were very slim. Jack wanted to make this the best sled ride ever for Jamie, so he had the boy slide through every street possible, as if the town was some kind of race track.

However, Jack knew that no matter how much fun Jamie was having at the moment, it couldn't go on forever, so he decided to give the sled ride a big finish. He thought maybe Jamie would like to go flying, so flew ahead to change the pathway of the ice trail, and Jamie's sled turned onto a newly formed ice ramp. Just as he was going to make a fresh mound of snow for Jamie to land into, Jack heard a voice, and to his surprise, it wasn't the voice of his late sister.

It was Rapunzel's voice, but how was that possible, since the only memories Jack had were from the tower, her previous home, and the castle in Corona. Could it be that the reason why Jack constantly thought of those memories and wanted to see Rapunzel was because he felt some kind of feelings for her? Before he could actually take more time to think about it, Jack brought his mind back to Jamie, and that's when his eyes widened from what he saw happen. Instead of falling right in front of the statue of the colonial settler and town's founder, Thaddeus Burgess, Jamie's head made contact with the statue itself. It wasn't until Jamie had tumbled off his sled and fell onto the ground that Jack regained his senses and flew down so he could cradle the boy in his arms.

"Oh, Jamie, I'm so sorry," Jack whispered, while having one of his hands under the boy's back. "It's going to be okay, I'm here, you're going to be fine."

Jack's attempt to stay positive didn't work out for him as he slowly moved his other hand from below Jamie's head to see it was covered in fresh blood. The sight of this red liquid caused Jack's hand to tremble, and his mouth went agape to find that more blood was coming from the back of Jamie's head. If blood still ran in Jack's veins, then it froze where it was, and his heart skipped a few beats before stopping altogether, and his mind ran in panicked circles. Jamie needed to be taken to a hospital immediately, but how could Jack explain to someone how Jamie got hurt if no one at the hospital believed in him?

None of Jamie's friends were awake right now, and the last thing Jack wanted to happen was for them to find out that Jamie had been seriously injured. Jack started to think of taking Jamie back to the Guardians when he felt a crushing shame; he had failed a child, and they were not to know about this. He had failed in his duty to protect a child, and in fact, he had been the one to hurt Jamie in the first place. Maybe not intentionally, but it happened, and there was no changing it. Bunnymund had once accused Jack of not looking after children enough, and the rabbit had insisted that Jack cared more about fun than a child's safety.

At the time, the words had angered Jack, and he'd hotly and immediately defended himself, but now he realized that the older Guardian was absolutely right. He hadn't been looking out for Jamie, or thinking about protecting him; he hadn't been thinking of how much fun they were going to have, and how that streak of ice was going to make the best sled ride ever for the boy. He'd been thinking of a girl who had been happily living a life without him. Despite living three hundred years alone, Jack was not very good in a crisis. When he was injured, he could mostly control the panic long enough to patch himself up, and then try to calm himself down by unleashing a huge blizzard somewhere. When he felt scared for himself, he quelled the fear very well.

When Jack was scared for a child, the avenues of terror that he could wander down were endless; what if the child had a concussion? What if the child had permanent head trauma? What if the child ended up dead? Jack didn't want any of those scenarios to happen for Jamie, but if the boy didn't get medical attention immediately, then all those scenarios won't be so improbable. Even though he felt reluctant about going though with it, Jack decided to take Jamie back to his house, since it wouldn't be right for Ms. Bennett to have no knowledge of his son's injury. With the boy in his arms, and his staff underneath his feet, Jack flew to his first believer's house as fast as he could, but then Jack wondered of how he was going to get the woman's attention.

Jamie was unconscious at the moment, so it's not like him and Jack could work together to come up with a story of how Jamie managed to sneak out of his home and end up with his head bleeding out from the back. If the winter spirit stayed in Jamie's house for too long, then Jack would bring down the temperature, so he had to get the boy inside his home, alert his mother and get himself out of the house as quick as possible. When the brown-haired boy's house was finally in his sight, Jack used the wind to open up Jamie's bedroom window and fly through the opening literally, which ended with Jack landing with his back on Jamie's bed. Jack let out a sigh of relief from the safe landing, but then his eyes widened another time from realizing he'd forgotten Jamie's sled near the town's statue, but Jack decided he would return it to the house as soon as Jamie was being taken care of at the hospital.

Fortunately, it didn't take Jack so long to find Ms. Bennett's bedroom, and once he was inside, Jack gently laid Jamie down right next to where his mother was sleeping, and since he wanted her to wake up, Jack used his staff to set off the alarm clock on the bedside table. Hearing the loud ringing noise caused Ms. Bennett to rise up suddenly, and bring a hand out to find her glasses from the table and she put them on before turning off the alarm clock and she turned on a lamp after that. When she noticed her son's motionless body on the bed, Ms. Bennett simply believed that Jamie had a nightmare or he couldn't sleep, but both of those assumptions went out of her mind when she saw the back of his head. Jack had already gotten himself out of the house before this happened, and Ms. Bennett quickly got herself out of bed, and she ran over to pick up Jamie in her arms from the other side before making her way to Sophie's room.

Ms. Bennett didn't even bother with getting her daughter out of her pajamas because Sophie could just wear boots and a jacket to keep herself warm, since Ms. Bennett didn't want to leave Sophie on her own in the house. Once she made it down to the living room, Ms. Bennett laid her son carefully on the sofa, then had Sophie sit right next to her brother before running into the kitchen so she can find the phone and call for an ambulance to arrive. Jack decided not to wait any longer in getting Jamie's sled, since it wouldn't have made any sense to make it look as if Jamie got himself hurt and somehow managed to make it all the way back to his house without using his sled. Since he was flying at a very fast pace, Jack found the sled in practically no time at all, and he flew right back to the house while holding the sled with one hand, then he put the sled in the exact same place where he saw it earlier.

Before he even left the room, Jack heard the sound of a howling siren and he looked out the window to see an ambulance flying down the street at top speed, running red lights, and obviously heading toward Jamie's house. Jack made sure to have the window closed before he flew out of Jamie's room, and as his bare feet met the snow covered ground, he watched as one of the EMT men come out the back of the ambulance and approach Ms. Bennett. The EMT man asked Jamie's mother a few questions in a brisk and professional voice, regarding the nature of her son's accident, such as when and where Jamie had been when he got hurt, but Ms. Bennett was truly at a loss for words. Obviously, she knew Jamie had received an injury to the head, but Ms. Bennett literally didn't know how he got it, and because she didn't believe in Jack, he couldn't be able to give her an explanation for what happened to her son.

The EMT man figured Ms. Bennett was in a state of shock, so he brought the woman and her daughter into the ambulance, not before Jamie was laid carefully on a stretcher and put in the back. The white doors were slammed shut, and the ambulance took off once more. Jack had never liked cars much; they were slower than flying, and in his rather adrenaline-junkie-crazed eyes, that made them rather boring as well. But tonight, he clung to the side of the car, leaving a trail of frost on the windows because he couldn't control the panic seizing him. When the ambulance finally arrived at the hospital, Jamie was brought in through a pair of green double doors into the emergency room, and Jack followed as closely as he could, while trying not to bring the temperature down too many degrees in his fear. He was actually wringing his hands as he followed them down the hallway, and into a small room, leaving everybody except Ms. Bennett and Sophie outside to get their own heads checked, even though Ms. Bennett insisted that there was nothing wrong with them.

Jack chose to follow Ms. Bennett, as he knew that there was nothing wrong with her unless you counted shock. When he got his first good look at Jamie again, he shook so badly that he had to lean against the wall to hold himself up, and then slide down to the tiled, rubbing alcohol-scented floor. When he took a glimpse at his hands, Jack noticed they were still stained with Jamie's blood, and since he didn't want the boy to see this and panic when he woke up, Jack found a restroom to wash his hands off, but it didn't work out so well as the sink's water quickly froze to his touch. Once he came out of the restroom, Jack could see doctors filing in and out, giving reports on the boy. A smiling nurse came in and filled up five sheets on a clipboard on what Jack assumed to be information about Jamie, and fortunately, it didn't take so long for Jack to find the boy's mother. As Ms. Bennett was his legal guardian, and Jamie was a minor, she was permitted to stay in the room while the doctors slowly inspected the injury, washed the blood away, and began to stitch, while Jack sat down on a nearby chair, but kept his feet off the floor to avoid leaving a trail of frost.

Jamie awoke halfway through the process and he demanded to know why they were messing with his head and he kept asking what was going on. Ms. Bennett was trying to answer his questions as best as she could, and Jack found it a little odd that the boy wasn't asking for him. He had been the last person Jamie saw before the accident, so it would've made sense for the child to want to find out where the Guardian of Fun was, but still, Jamie didn't mention Jack at least one time, and it was also strange when Jamie said he didn't remember going out of his house tonight.

Jack simply believed that Jamie wasn't mentioning him because he was angry at the moment, and honestly, he couldn't blame the boy for feeling that way; none of this would've ever happened if Jack had kept his attention to Jamie and then he wouldn't have hit his head on the town's statue. The immortal teen got himself off from the chair and shakily made his way over to the bedside, as Jack wanted to take Jamie's hand and tell the boy he was sorry what he'd done, but when his hand ran right though Jamie's body, Jack staggered back in shock, unable to believe what just happened. Jack stayed by Jamie's side until the stitches were completed and one of the doctors decided that Jamie would stay overnight to be safe, and when Ms. Bennett finally felt that everything was settled long enough to use the restroom, Jack believed now was a good time to talk to the boy.

"I'm so sorry, Jamie." Jack said, as he knelt down beside his bed so they were at eye level. "This is all my fault, I should have been watching you after I sent your sled flying, and I wasn't, all because I was thinking of someone else, a person who doesn't even live here in Burgess." Jack revealed.

Jack had expected Jamie to be curious and ask him about who he was thinking of before he hit his head, but the boy remained silent, which led to Jack presuming that Jamie was still upset and pretending he wasn't next to him, but Jack felt that he deserved it and so he continued talking.

"It doesn't matter who I was thinking about at that time, what matters now is that I'm going to be a lot more careful when we spend time together, meaning I'll never take my eyes off you for every time that we have a snowball fight or even a sled ride through town." Jack promised.

A few seconds passed before Jack made another attempt to touch Jamie by resting his hand on the boy's shoulder, but his eyes went wide as his hand ran through Jamie's body again, and Jack was all too familiar with this from the three hundred years of isolation and loneliness he suffered. Was it possible that the accident had caused Jamie to unintentionally lose his belief, trust and faith in Jack, and perhaps the other Guardians too? Jack shook his head in disbelief, as he refused to believe that was true, and thought this was just a nightmare that he would wake up from soon. Even though all of it seemed too real to be a nightmare, Jack didn't want to think otherwise, and he assumed his mind was playing a trick on him. Suddenly, Jack heard footsteps and he turned his head to notice Ms. Bennett returning, so Jack quickly moved himself away from Jamie's hospital bed.

"Hi, Jamie, how are you feeling," Ms. Bennett asked as she sat down on a chair next to her son's bed. "Would you like something to drink right now?"

"Yes, Mom, and I'm a little cold too." Jamie replied, and Jack obviously knew it was because of him that Jamie's body temperature had gone down.

"I'll ask a doctor to give you a blanket," Ms. Bennett said while getting up from her chair. "Besides, you don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

Jack had expected Jamie to tell her mother that Jack was real, and he could see Jack, and Jack was here with them, but Jamie didn't say any of that. Instead, the boy just said three words, and it was a question that Jack was sure would never come out of Jamie's mouth until he was an old man. . .