Oops.

Tooth struggles to breathe evenly, hands fluttering at her chest. Her feet are firmly planted on the ground, for she is much too stunned to trust herself in the air. Her eyes are wide and carefully trained on the small figure currently hidden behind a tree, where he had dived after she had raised her voice for the others.

She takes a deep breath and briefly shuts her eyes before slowly kneeling on the forest floor, attempting to keep a friendly smile on her face. "Come on, sweetie," she manages to get out, whisper-quiet. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to frighten you. Why don't you come out? I promise I won't yell again."

The little figure hesitates, but eventually white hair peeks out from behind the thick tree trunk. Tooth silently sighs in relief and relaxes when the small child begins to step away from the bark and closer to her, only to be sent scurrying back as loud crashing noises come from the forest and North stumbles through, swords in hand.

"Tooth!" he cries when he catches sight of her climbing to her feet again. "What is wrong? Is there danger?" He looks around wildly, and Tooth feels the irritated scowl slip from her face, to be replaced by a sad look of sympathy. How can she stay mad at him for making such a racket when he has just been making sure she isn't in trouble? She knows perfectly well that he is just worried – that they are all worried – of losing another member.

"Shh!" she hisses as this thought springs to mind, bringing with it the reminder of the little form crouching behind the tree. Tooth jabs a finger at the tree, a grin spreading across her face as her eyes sparkle. Confused, North puts away his swords and swivels his head around to follow her pointing.

Before she can explain, Bunny and Sandy burst into the clearing, whips and boomerangs at the ready. Immediately, Tooth waves her arms to calm them then raises a finger to her lips. Obediently the sand-whips disappear and the boomerangs slip away, but now she is faced with three befuddled looks.

Cautioning them to say nothing with her eyes, Tooth turns back to the tree with a reassuring smile. "It's okay," she says gently. "There's no need to be scared. These are friends of mine."

"Tooth, what -" Bunny starts, but then abruptly cuts off as the sound of tiny feet shuffling against the carpet of dry leaves reaches his ears. "You found the kid that's been wanderin' round here!" he exclaims, sounding relieved. "I caught the scent of 'im. Is he a'right?"

Sandy forms a light-bulb over his head and eagerly looks at Tooth, while North raises his eyebrows in anticipation.

"Yes," she stutters out, "but, I mean, it's not – he isn't just a – oh, just look!" She harshly throws a finger out to point at the tree, where a hint of blue and white can be seen. "Oh," she sighs, "come on, honey. No one's going to hurt you; I promise. I'm the Tooth Fairy, remember? You can trust me. Look, Santa's here too! Don't you want to meet Santa Claus?"

A head finally appears as the child finally steps into full view, his eyes hidden behind his hair shyly, so they cannot get a good glance at his face – or his hair really, since the hood of his oversized jumper is up. "Santa?" he repeats softly, voice lilting in excitement. "Really?"

North steps forward, a smile already stretched across his face – but Tooth knows he hasn't yet really spotted what is so amazing about this child, for his eyes are sad and his smile painfully forced. "Yes!" he exclaims jubilantly, throwing his arms out wide. "I am Santa Claus – and who may you be?"

Tooth is about tell them to get a better look at the child – notice the blue jumper that tumbles past his knees and trails on the ground? see the hint of white hair peeking out of the hood? you must see the oh so familiar blue eyes! – but before she can, the boy's words cut her off.

"Jackie," he giggles. "Jack, Jackie!"

All the Guardians except for Tooth freeze, and she nearly sobs at the broken look on all their faces. "Guys," she whispers instead, "look at him properly! What do you see?"

Sandy understands first. She can tell when he finally understands because he jumps backwards and his eyes go as wide as saucers. He swivels his head around to her and points at the child, seemingly unable to form pictures above his head. Tooth nods enthusiastically, a stupid grin on her face. Sandy becomes unfocussed for a minute, but finally he turns back to the boy, and when he does, bursts of dream sand shoot up from the ground and twine around them all. They split into all kinds of creatures in reaction to his ecstatic mood, and the other Guardians – who have not quite figured it out yet - look surprised and a little wary.

As a small sand-dolphin swims circles around him, little Jackie gasps and then laughs as he spins around and around trying to catch it. He trips and cries out in shock as he falls to the ground, throwing out his hands to catch himself. When he does so, his hood slips from his head, revealing a mop of brilliant white hair.

Bunny drops his arms from where they have been trying to ward off some sand-greyhounds and steps backward, his ears ever so slowly lowering themselves to his eye-level. North openly gapes at the child, mouth open and all.

"Jack?" Bunny whispers. "Frostbite?"

"It cannot be," North chokes out. "We saw Jack… he was… he can't be!"

Tooth slowly makes her way over to him and hovers up to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. She offers him a soft smile when he cranes his head around to catch sight of her, his eyes wide, somewhat glassy, and full to brimming with hope he doesn't dare let himself feel.

"The Man in the Moon must have brought him back," she suggests quietly. "Perhaps the fact that Jack was – is – a winter spirit allowed him to linger long enough to be revived. Maybe Manny could only bring him back as a young child because Jack has already been brought back to life once before?"

"He's alive," Bunny states blandly, appearing to be in a state of shock. "Jack's actually alive?" Being the Guardian of Hope seemingly makes him more susceptible to its clutches, because the rabbit's eyes are glinting, almost feverish in the dim light of night, and Tooth can practically feel the desperate hope, the desperate need for this to be real radiating from him in waves.

Little Jack only then starts to struggle back to his feet, his tongue stuck out between his - still perfectly white and straight! – teeth. Now that his hood is gone and Tooth can get a better look at him, she estimates his age to be about five or six years old. His face is round and enthusiastic as only a child's can be, a constant twinkle in his eye – one more pronounced than his usual, older, sparkle that only promises mischief. Jack's eyes seem larger and brighter when set in his baby face, beacons of everything the Guardians protect – in them swirls endless wonder in every new discovery, limitless hope for more fun times and worriless nights, even the boundless imagination that grants potential for the best of dreams. Only, Tooth notes as she wilts, his eyes are void of any recognition for them other than their personas as childhood legends and myths. He has no memory of his life as fourteen-year-old Jack Frost.

Clumsily, with exaggerated movements, Jack ruffles his hair, dislodging a few leaves that have gotten tangled in his unruly locks. Finished, his eyes rest on Bunnymund. His whole expression lights up and he lets out a sound that can only be described as the excited squeal of a child whose deepest wish has come true.

"Bunny!" he squeaks, bouncing on his toes.

Aster flit a questioning glance at Tooth, and her heart breaks as she shakes her head, quelling the bud of hope in his gaze. Jack is not calling him by name, but rather by label – the boy only recognizes him as the Easter Bunny, not a Guardian and personal friend.

Still, he is definitely Jack, and is clearly alive and well – even if he is a few feet shorter and a whole lot younger. So when the child vaults himself at the rabbit, Bunny does not hesitate to crouch and skilfully catch him before he plants head first into the ground. Jack does not seem perturbed as he giggles and bounces up and down even as he squeezes the rabbit around the middle.

"Crikey," Bunny mumbles, his voice somewhat strained despite his faked calm demeanour. "Yer a lively one, ain't ya mate? Sure like ta laugh. Bet ya have a -"

Before he can finish his sentence, Jack gasps and pushes away from him, eagerly dashing over to an equally elated Sandman.

"Short attention span," Bunny ends, arms swinging back as he straightens back to his full height. His eyes stay locked on the little boy now studying Sandy's pictures with adorable concentration, still looking a bit shell-shocked. Tooth aches for him as she notices the lost glimmer in his eyes; as if he isn't sure what to do or how to truly to process things.

She stays by North's side, however, as he seems to be even more affected than the Easter Bunny. Santa is silent, head inclined in the direction of Sandy and Jack, but his eyes are unable to remain focused on them for long. He will attempt to look, to guarantee to himself that he is not imagining things; that Jack really is alive, but he can only manage for a handful of seconds before his eyes flash with pain and he squeezes his eyes shut. Only Tooth has noticed, and though it kills her to do so, she turns her back on Jack to look him straight in the eye.

"North?" she says softly, but he still jumps and his eyes snap open. He is fast to mask his emotions that are easily displayed in his eyes, but not fast enough before Tooth can make out grief, immense relief, pain, fear, and a little bit of guilt. Her breath catches in her throat and her wings briefly stall in their rapid beating, but she crinkles her eyes in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he says, sounding genuinely confused. "Jack is back! All is right with world, yes? What could be wrong?"

Instead of shrugging and letting him deal with things however way he wanted, Tooth huffs and narrows her eyes stubbornly. He seems to wilt under her gaze, the fight seeping out of him.

"'Tis truly nothing," he sighs. "You need not worry. I am fine, Jack is fine. We must celebrate!"

Despite her better judgment Tooth bites her lip and steps away, allowing North's mask to fall into place and hide his true feelings from them, from her. She can confront him about it later, but for now she can't hold off her excitement over Jack anymore.

Hoping North will understand, Tooth spins around and tracks for Jack with her intent gaze, feeling antsy and impatient. She finds him a few feet away from his previous position, peering over the edge of Sandy's sand-cloud. The little Sandman has clearly formed the mode of transportation in preparation for the trek back to the Pole they will surely be having, and the boy has immediately become consumed by the desire to come recklessly close to the edge in order to see things in a higher perspective – exactly something Jack would be apt to do.

It still puts Tooth's nerves on edge, terrified that he'll slip off the cloud, even though she knows that Sandy would never let that happen. She zips over to them and quickly scoops mini-Jack into her arms, who squawks in surprise, and lightly touches back down in the middle of Sandy's 'vehicle'. He gives her an amused look, but there's a hint of understanding in his eyes. The child in her arms stops squirming to be put down – which Tooth had planned to do as soon as he was away from the ledge, but had somehow lost the thought – and contents himself with gently stroking the feathers on her arms.

"Pretty," he murmurs, and Tooth is vividly struck with the memory of Sophie Bennett. She smiles at him, and Jack grins back toothily, distracting her with his glimmering pearls. But then he yawns, his mouth gaping and nose scrunching, and he snuggles closer into her chest. Sandy brightens considerably, clapping his hands gleefully. Jack watches him wearily out of the slits of his drowsy eyes, but offers no resistance when the Guardian begins spinning dream sand in his hands. The boy seems engrossed in the action, watching with deep interest up until the moment Sandy flings the clump at him, causing the little boy to instantly fall deeply asleep.

Tooth tries to give Sandy a reproachful look for his trickery, but stops when she sees him looking satisfied with himself, his gaze softening, and she catches him staring at Jack oddly, an unreadable look on his face. Tooth lets it be and gives him a moment before the slight weight in her arms shift and she gracefully folds herself into a sitting position on the cloud, cradling her prize close to her. Taking the hint, Sandy swivels back around and raises his hands parallel to the cloud in order to steer it. Suddenly, Tooth snaps her head up in search of North and Bunny, but they are both gone – as well as the sleigh. She feels a stab of guilt at forgetting them – North had probably wanted to give little Jack a ride in his sleigh! Maybe Bunny had wanted to bring him to the Warren, in hope of jogging his memory.

As if sensing her thoughts, Sandy pats her shoulder comfortingly without taking his eyes off the ground in front of him as the cloud hovers higher and begins to fly smoothly north. Letting out a breath through locked teeth, Tooth settles back to enjoy the ride, fingers idly pulling through the snoozing boy's hair. Jack's much cuddlier this way, she decides. Small enough to be cradled in her arms. For a moment Tooth amuses herself with the mental image of how tiny this Jack would look with Bunny or North. Jack had been dwarfed by them as a thin, lanky fourteen-year-old – he'd be absolutely miniscule compared to them now that he's only just shorter than Sandy.

As the journey wears on, Tooth begins to get the sneaking suspicion that Sandy's dream-cloud oozes tiny strands of dream-sand into one's system, gradually lulling them to sleep. Her fears are confirmed when drowsiness overtakes her and her eyes slip shut.

North had left without so much as a goodbye. Silly thing to feel guilty over, of course, considering he's pretty sure Sandy will take Tooth and Jack, itty-bitty shrunken Jack, back to the Pole anyway, but he can't shake the heavy feeling from his shoulders.

He slumps further in his chair, eyeing the plate of cookies beside him in disgust. The only reason he has permitted the treat to exist inside his Workshop again is because of the miraculous return of Jack, the heart and soul of the Guardians. When he had first made the request, merely four and a half minutes ago, the Yeti and elves had frozen throughout the entire Workshop, the halls so echoingly silent that one could hear a pin drop.

North remembers that Phil had been close by when he had asked Sean, the head Yeti chef, to make the biggest plate of his best cookies. His head Yeti had had a twisted look of pain on his furry face, and North had had to swallow back some similar feelings. However, Santa had forced a wide smile and thrown his arms out wide, declaring loudly, "Big news! Jack is not dead!"

He had not explained further, he wasn't sure he could, but no other words were needed. The halls had immediately burst into ruckus pandemonium, so loud that it pounded against one's eardrums painfully, beating a headache into place. Yeti had instantly dropped whatever toy they had been working on and rushed to help Sean, even though the Yeti was far from needing help. The kitchen had bulged with furry mountains, filled with grumbling and nonsense cries.

North had left them to it, finding a free armchair in his study and sinking into it, feeling exhausted by the turmoil of emotions from within.

He's beyond elated that Jack is not dead; a warm feeling encases him every time he thinks of it, and he feels like he is floating on clouds above anything and everything that may bring him back down. He believes it a miracle that they are being given another chance at protecting the boy, like they should have done the first time round – well, the second time really, though they should have protected him as Jackson Overland too – but that's just it. North has failed before. Jack had died by Pitch's hand, all because North was unable to save him. How can he truly be a Guardian of the children if he had not been able to save their very own Guardian child? If North had just noticed the dagger flying towards him sooner, he would have gotten out of the way and Jack wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself. North should have been the one to save Jack, not the other way around. But Jack is alive! He is not gone!

But if it hadn't been for North's mistake, Jack wouldn't be a little kid now. None of them would have had to experience his death if it had not been for North. It's his fault that things are the way they are. He knows Jack would never blame him for this if he could remember them, but this does nothing to chase the sorrow away. This is the only thing dragging his mood down from his gleeful high; twisting his thoughts and making it so he can barely bear to glance at Jack in his new form without a wave of guilt crashing over him.

He doesn't like feeling this way. He wants to just feel happy that Jack is with them again – and he really is – but his feelings taint his happiness. It isn't fair to North, nor is it fair to Jack himself. So Santa can only think of one option: pretend. Pretend that everything is fine; pack down the guilt and pain and mask it behind the positive feelings. It shouldn't be too hard – the positive feelings are very nearly over-whelming as it is, but –

"Don't be an idiot, North."

He leaps up from his chair and spins to face Bunny, leaning against the doorway. The rabbit seems less shocked than he did in the forest, but his eyes are blank and his posture tense. North thinks he might have an idea why, but doesn't let the thought fully form.

"What?" he says instead, letting a trace of indignation trickle into his expression.

"I said don't be an idiot," Bunny replies simply, unmoving. "I know what yer thinking. Yer blaming yerself for what happened to Jack, and ya shouldn't. It wasn't your fault, North; Jack chose to get in the way and save you. I know he's – he's little now, and I have no idea what that means or how it's possible, but he's back. It's mad, but he really is back, North. Just be happy he isn't really dead."

"You are not," North points out without blame. He moves to the side of the room to peek out the window to see if there is any sign of Sandy yet.

"I'm happy," Bunny argues. "More than happy. It just seems wrong somehow. He isn't our Jack anymore, not when he's… Jack died, North. He's back now but he ain't himself. He's not Jack Frost; he's just a little kid that we found in the woods near Jack's lake."

North frowns, eyes showing his inner conflict like windows. In a way, he knows Bunny is right; the reason the Guardians loved Jack so much was because of his personality, and that personality was based on his foundation of memories collected over three hundred years. Of course, as a human Jack must have had similar traits – one does not simply conjure a different sense of self out of thin air, even if one does not have their memories.

Without the basis for Jack's personality, however, all that's left is a little boy who's the mirror image of their beloved winter spirit and has the same merry twinkle in his eye and the same trouble-maker grin. Yes, Jack is alive; but Jack Frost is gone.

On the other hand, no one said this situation is permanent. Perhaps after a bit, once Jack has gathered enough power and energy back to restore himself, he will revert back to how things were. After all, Tooth's theory is that Manny has brought Jack back from the dead, but Jack is not strong enough to maintain his fourteen-year-old status. It stands to reason that after a period of time things will return to how they should be: Jack older, alive and well, retaining full memory of all of them.

Bunny seems to read the conflict of emotion across his face, because he pushes off from the doorframe and his gaze softens in understanding. "I'm not saying I'm not… relieved that Jack is actually back, I'm just saying it isn't the same."

Briefly ignoring his blatant hesitation, North slumps his shoulders. "Maybe things will go back to normal," he suggests, though it sounds half-hearted to his own ears. "After a while, maybe Jack will be Jack again."

Bunny nods. "Maybe. I hope so."

Nothing else can be said, because at that moment a sharp rapping rings through the room. Surprised, North spins around, his shoulders tense and his eyes narrowed. His hands are halfway to his swords before he realizes that Sandy is stationed outside his window, pleasantly waving to come in. Shaking his head to rid himself of the uneasy feeling, North hastily makes his way to the other side of the room and yanks the window open, wrinkling his nose as a gust of freezing wind makes its way in.

Sandy carefully maneuvers his dream-cloud into the room, and North sees why when the Sandman stalls in the middle of the room. Tooth is curled up on the cloud, her soft, even breathing indicating her deep sleep. Tucked away safe in her arms is a tiny blue bundle, which North quickly discerns as Jack by the tuft of white hair.

"Sandy," Bunny says as he comes up beside them, sounding disapproving yet vaguely amused, "did you make Tooth fall asleep, too? I get making the ankle-biter sleep – imagine having him running 'bout the Workshop in a frenzy, he was bad enough before – but it's yer own fault if Tooth wakes up and wants ta tear inta ya."

Looking only faintly worried, Sandy nods and flashes a grin, appearing much happier and more himself than he had ever since Jack's death.

"Tooth," North stage-whispers, poking the slumbering fairy. "Toothy? Wakey-wakey."

Unfortunately, he awakes the wrong sleeper. Blue eyes blink open, revealing shades of foggy curiosity and sleep hazed confusion. Jack hums as he shifts out of Tooth's arms, scrubbing his eyes with his small fist. He yawns, revealing a full set of beautiful teeth and a rosy pink tongue.

"Ah," North exhales, wincing. "Oops."

Despite the fact that everyone except Tooth (who is still sleeping undisturbed) tenses in anticipation of the loud cries, perhaps even wails, that one usually expects from an awakened small child, they are all pleasantly surprised to find Jack silent, peering at them oddly.

"Hello," he greets in a quiet whisper, apparently mindful of Tooth beside him. "Where'm I?"

Sharing a quick look with Bunny, North sucks in a breath and prepares himself mentally for whatever excitement is about to occur. "You are at my Workshop!"

Jack blinks at him.

"You know…" North trails off, looking crestfallen and confused. "Santa's Workshop? Because… I am Santa!"

This time Jack narrows his eyes and scowls, shoving a finger to his lips and shush-ing him, jabbing a finger forcefully at Tooth. "Fairy sleeping," he hisses. "Be quiet!"

Bunny snorts in laughter, but tries to stifle it behind his paw lest the pint-sized winter spirit turn his (rather adorable) anger on him. North mumbles an apology and Jack lessens his glare enough for Santa to relax – who knew the kid could be so intimidating? Especially now he's mini-sized.

Jack crawls back to Tooth's warm figure, and the Tooth Fairy immediately wraps him in a welcoming cuddle. He nestles his head on her shoulder, using her feathers as a pillow. He trains his eyes on the other Guardians for a moment, before they flutter shut and he curls into a ball. It takes merely seconds for him to fall back asleep.

"Sandy," North whispers, "how long do side-effects of dream-sand last?"

The Dream Guardian shrugs, watching the two slumbering figures curiously.

"Well," Bunny sighs, "guess be bettah find a place fer them ta sleep – I'm guessing ya don't want them on yer cloud all night?" Sandy shakes his head regretfully. "All right. So where can they sleep, North?"

He ponders on it for a minute. "Jack's old room," he finally says, though he winces when it leaves his mouth. They freeze for a moment, barely breathing as they bounce around in their own minds and memories until a gentle snore from said boy startles them out of it.

"Right," Bunny chokes out, sounding strangled. "Jack's room."