Frosted Memories

Taking it Slow

It took a while to process things after such a discovery. Jamie was happy, but he wasn't Emma. He was Jamie. He had gone to Jack about it once everyone went and did their own thing, and after North was hesitant to leave Jack's side.

Jamie had explained to Jack that even though he was his sister reincarnated, he wasn't her. He explained to Jack how he didn't want the spirit to treat him differently or act as if Jamie was his sister, and to the teen's surprise, Jack smiled.

"Of course I won't treat you differently, you're Jamie not Emma." He had told the boy through Dalliah and North, of course. Jamie was relieved but a bit surprised. "It just brings me comfort to know that she isn't truly gone." Jack had explained to the boy.

After that conversation, no one else really brought it up. They knew better than to question spiritual stuff, they tried it once. Now, the kids had to go back home to attend school again so North took them home while Bunny stayed with Jack.

Tooth and Sandy had their jobs that they returned to, so it was just the Pooka, Jack, and Dalliah. Though, Dalliah wasn't going to be too useful without North, but she had found a notepad and could somewhat write in english.

Jack, never learned to write but Bunny didn't question why he didn't write things himself. "Alright, mate, want to try some tea again?" Bunny looked a bit hopeful, but Jack seemed nervous and wary.

"If you can't, then we won't force you, but you need to try." At this, Jack nodded slightly. Bunny went to go make it but Jack didn't stay behind, instead he followed the rabbit. Bunny paused and looked at the boy quizically.

Jack motioned to his eyes, then pointed at Bunny and made a motion as if he was pouring tea from a kettle. "You want to watch?" The Pooka asked for confirmation and Jack nodded slightly with a shy smile.

Bunny smiled at that, who would have known that Jack Frost was curious to see how tea is made. "Alright then! Would you like to come Dalliah? I don't think you'll need to play translator for now, but you're welcome to join," Bunny looked up at the yeti.

She looked to Bunny, then to Jack who nodded at her that he'd manage without her for a while. She bowed politely in thanks to leave but Jack halted her for a moment.

He made an ice Dalliah, the flower, and stood on his tippie toes to put in her hair. He wasn't quite tall enough so she leaned down slightly and smiled brightly once it was in her hair. Since meeting her, Jack had discovered that she liked the Dalliah flowers and North allowed her to name herself after the flower, finding it a lovely name for the gentle yeti.

After saying goodbye once more, she made her leave and Jack turned to face Bunny, surprised to see a smirk on his face. The spirit eyed the rabbit questioningly, waiting for an explination for his facial expression.

"That was sweet. When do I get a present?" He asked, slightly teasingly. Jack frowned, realizing what Bunny meant. He had given Phil a carefully crafted hair stick and a never melting Dalliah for Dalliah.

Jack let out a voiceless chuckle as he rolled his eyes, going to what he discovered to be a refrigerator in the kitchen and handing Bunny an egg with a smug smirk. The Pooka looked extremely unamused at this gesture, but took the egg anyway, making Jsck wheeze out a laugh.

Though Bunny was unimpressed by Jack's "gift" he was glad to see him laugh. He hadn't even cracked a smile in days up until earlier. "Alright ya little ankle biter, very funny." He began to brew the tea after putting the egg back in the refrigerator.

Jack sat on a stool at the center island to watch Bunny work. "I think Phil is planning a check up on you today. If your neck is healing up, you won't have to keep it covered anymore." He looked to the side to look at Jack, noticing his expression falter.

Jack was scared to see the damage on his jugular, he'd honestly prefer it to be covered. Bunny watched silently as Jack pressed a gentle hand to his neck, wincing slightly as the fear of what almost happened flashed across his mind.

"Oi," Bunny grabbed his attention. "It's gonna be okay. You can wear a scarf, I found one with little snowflakes on it a while back, but wasn't sure if you'd want it since you don't get cold, but if you want it, its yours." Jack smiled and nodded, making Bunny smile.

"I'll go get it in a bit then." He informed. Upon finishing brewing the tea, he put a few ice cubes in Jack's cup to help cool it down before handing it to him. Jack took it but hesitated, he didn't want it to hurt like last time.

Bunny sipped on his, "Take your time mate, no rush, but at least try." He encouraged. Jack slowly took a small sip, grimacing as it burned and cut at his poor esophagus. Tears pricked his eyes at the pain, but he got it down without a coughing fit.

Bunny beamed proudly at Jack. "You did it! Good job!" He cheered. He was delighted at the progress, Jack was healing, things were looking good. After a moment, Jack smiled at Bunny, proud of himself as well. But he didn't want to drink any more right now and Bunny made sure Jack knew he didn't have to.

"North's gonna be so happy for you," Bunny added, making Jack smile brighter. "Rhaddga," Phil said upon entering the kitchen. Jack looked over at him with a wary look and then to Bunny. "Time for your checkup already?" Bunny asked to be sure to which the boy nodded.

"Want me to come?" At his question Jack nodded shyly. He didn't know why he was so nervous, but he was. Bunny nodded and they followed Phil to the exam room. Phil instructed Jack to sit on the edge of the bed as Bumny stood off to the side. The Pooka was probably just as nervous as Jack was, maybe more.

He didn't want to see how bad it was, but he also wanted to. Phil slowly began unwrapping the bandage and Bunny had to keep from making a noise. Jack's neck was a sickening blue and purple, with tinges of green and yellow on the edges.

In the middle of his throat, where the sand was choking him, it was indented displaying that it was strong enough to cause some deformities. Bunny felt sick. How could someone do this to a child? To anyone? Jack was looking at Bunny warily, he could tell something wasn't right.

The Pooka remained unmoving, his ears flattened completely on his head, his eyes were distant yet rageful. The Pooka's demeanor fightened Jack a little. But once Bunny realized Jack's eyes were on him, he took a calming breath. "Its alright mate." But Jack knew better.

He knew it was bad. He remembered the pain when it was happening well enough to know it wasn't just a little boo boo. It was a serious one. He decided he wouldn't look at the damage so instead looked up at Phil who had more bandages and shook his head at the poor boy in apology.

Phil had seen Jack writhing on the ground with North and Sandy above him during the battle. He was affected by the thought of losing Jack as much as everyone else. Jack sat patiently as the yeti wrapped his throat with gentle care.

They were both glad that no one else had seen what Bunny and Phil had seen of Jack's neck. However, Bunny is going to give Pitch quite the fistful for what he'd done.