Now There Are Five... Wait... Six?

Chapter 11

The entirety of the North Pole was in mourning.

A candlelit remembrance ceremony was held for Sandy, attended by North, Toothiana, and Aster, along with all the elves and yetis. They all quietly grieved their loss, their heads bowed under the new burden they carried. Throughout it all, the soft chime of bells from the elves' pointed hats played a sad melody, sending soft echoes to the two non-attending spirits.

Katherine had been restricted to the nursing bay immediately upon their return. The room was created specifically for times like these, a rare exception as spirits didn't get injured as mortals did.

Jack had refused to leave her side, holding her hand as he rested his head on the bed surface, letting her play with his hair.

They were both hurting and stricken with loss that they both felt they could have stopped. 

"Are you alright?"

Jack turned his head, giving Katherine a blank look, "I should be asking you that."

Katherine gave him a sad smile, her eyes glinting with unshed tears, "I'm trying to be... I want to be alright."

Jack sat up, enveloping her in a hug, "Shhh... It's okay. Let it out."

She followed what he said and sobbed into his shoulder.

He held her as she cried, quietly whispering little phrases of reassurance and letting her grieve. It was a feeling so new to him, but this method of sharing their pain made it seem much easier to bear. It made him wonder why he never did this before when he had broken down in the past.

He knew why he didn't, but he still felt angry that he had let himself believe in his bad choices before now.

"I wish I could have done something," Jack murmured, his face downcast.

Katherine choked back her tears, wiping them away with her wrist as she sniffed, "Jack, you stood up to Pitch..." she managed to let out a sigh of amusement, "You saved us... you saved me..."

"But Sandy..."

"Would have been proud of what you did."

Jack grunted; whether in agreement or disagreement, Katherine couldn't tell, but she could feel the vibration from deep in his chest.

"Jack, I found something about your past," she revealed.

Jack gripped her by the shoulders, looking her dead in the eye, "What? How?" he blinked, "You're young again!"

Katherine looked down at her hand, noticing her skin was pliable and smooth once again, "Well, it's nice to no longer look like a prune."

Jack chuckled at her attempt at humor, "Well, you were a pretty cute prune..."

She cleared her throat, giving him a mock-serious look, "Another comment like that, and I may refuse to tell you what I found.

He raised his hands in surrender, "Sorry, sorry!"

It was all bravado. Neither felt like smiling at the moment, but neither of them could afford to wallow in their sorrow for too long. When the time came, they would mourn properly, but now wasn't the time for them.

Katherine reached for her book, pulling it onto her lap, "Considering the time you lived, there were no official records of birth and death," she began, "But a journal from the local parson in the town of Hawthorne mentions a Jack Overland. Considering the circumstances, I'm positive this could be about you."

Jack looked at her, breathless, "When did you find this?"

Katherine traced her fingers through the pages,  treating each with care, "My library is an extension of my mind, Jack. I searched for what I could while we were gathering teeth."