Summary:

Jamie has never helped Jack before – it was always the other way around. But now the spirit's life was in his hands, and he wasn't about to let it go.

Jamie, after a second's debate, decided that what Jack really needed now was somewhere out of the sun; he had heard from the other guardians what happened when Jack stayed out in the sun too long, and knew it would only worsen his condition. He pressed down harder against the large wound on his torso, jostling Jack from his temporary unconsciousness. The spirit already was looking worse: his eyes were almost grey when they gazed at Jamie in confusion.

"I need to lift you." Jamie told his friend. Jack didn't seem to register what he said, his eyes already fluttering shit again. Jamie gave him a sharp pinch, biting his lip. "Come on, you need to stay awake."

"I'm tired though…" Jack whispered, panting. Jamie forced a smile, trying to ignore how raspy the spirit's breaths were beginning to sound. Jamie was suddenly struck with how young Jack actually looked – too young in his opinion. The last time Jamie had seen Jack was when he was thirteen, when Jack still towered over him. But now, as he studied his boyish features, he realised that Jack was roughly eighteen, barely an adult. How Jack managed to save the other guardians was beyond him.

"You can't sleep yet, but later." Jamie said quietly, slowly wrapping his arms around Jack's shoulders. Jack gave a low whine, tears pricking out of the corner of his eyes, and Jamie felt sympathy wave over him. The moment passed and Jack quickly went limp in his arms, his hand swinging as the brunette walked out of the woods.

"You still there?" Jamie asked. Jack groaned in reply, giving a small nod. Speeding up his pace, Jamie broke into the park's open field, spotting his children a few metres away. They ran towards him, hovering at his side as he walked quickly to his home. He thanked himself for picking a house so close by to the destination all those years ago – only a five minutes walk away. With the added bonus that Jack weighed almost nothing (though not necessarily a good thing) Jamie could get to his home in a reasonably short time. He was already on the doorstep, frowning as Jack coughed weakly, moaning quietly. He could feel weak tremors underneath his hoodie, and he realised sickeningly that there was now trail of splattered blood leading up to the door.

Natalie grabbed the keys from the flowerpot, unlocking the door, and Jamie wasted no time in rushing into his living room, gently lowering Jack onto the couch. The spirit didn't react, and he couldn't decide whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that he couldn't feel the pain.

"Kids, could you go play upstairs until Daddy calls you back down again?" He asked over his shoulder, already routing through the several drawers dotted around the sofa for any blankets.

"Ok." He didn't see Natalie or Wren go, but he heard them stomp upstairs, opening their bedroom door.

Jamie cursed, realising he was looking in the wrong place, and ran into the bathroom. He grabbed a bundle of white towels and dashed back, shutting the door behind him.

"Jack? Can you wake up for me?" Jack had fallen unconscious again, and the constant flickering between worried the brunette. He watched as his friend stirred but didn't open his eyes. Blood was already staining the sofa, and Jamie began to place towels over his wounds, whispering soothing words as Jack twitched in pain.

"That's it." Jamie whispered as Jack opened his eyes. He groaned, murmuring something that Jamie only just caught.

"It's hot…" the spirit, though not as bad as before, was sweating, his eyes still glazed. Jamie sprang to his feet, running over to the kitchen and grabbing the large first aid kit lying on the counter. He also, as a second thought, grabbed a glass, filling it with water.

When Jamie returned, Jack had curled up on his side, his hands wrapped around his torso. He was biting his lip, small frame full of tremors. Jamie dropped to the spirit's side, placing a hand on his forehead, brushing back the bangs. He was burning up, and quickly.

"It's okay…just look at me." Jamie ordered gently, forcing his voice to stay calm. Jack obeyed surprisingly fast, his gaze shifting focus abruptly. His face was creased with pain and fear, making Jamie's heart clench.

"Here. It's okay." Jamie grabbed a few ice packs, placing them around Jack like a nest, and let the last one rest on his forehead. Jack suddenly gave a strangled scream, his back arching, splattering the sofa with blood. Jamie stubbornly pushes the tears from his eyes, grabbing some scissors. His hand hovered over Jack's chest for a second before he cut through the blue hoodie to get a better look at the wound; not that Jack seemed to notice, trapped in his own world of fever and pain.

The wound on his side wasn't as bad as Jamie imagined it to be. Though a large slash, it hadn't hit any organs, making his life much easier. The brunette grabbed some disinfectant from the first aid kit, unscrewing the lid.

"Jack, this will hurt." Jamie warned, pouring some of the foul-smelling liquid into the cloth. Jack looked at him, his eyes bright with pain and fever. Jamie couldn't bring himself to meet the stare, instead squaring his shoulders, trying to barricade his emotions physically. He moved his hand down quickly, gritting his teeth.

Jack screamed when the disinfectant touched his wound, his back arching again to try and battle against the pain. The spirit began to thrash, blood seeping out of the many cuts that littered his body.

"Jack please!" Jamie was crying, all professionally abandoned as he saw his childhood friend writhe with pain. "You have to trust me!"

Something about his words seemed to get through to Jack. The spirit stopped moving, his head flopping back into the cushions. His body still shook, his face still pale, but he had visibly calmed in a way that Jamie had never seen before.

"It just…really hurts…" Jack murmured, his eyes staring at the wall opposite. Jamie sighed, bringing the cloth away from the wound. He was certain it wouldn't get infected.

"I know. But it's over." Jamie looked at the other wounds briefly, deciding that they could be dealt with later.

"Sorry." Jack slurred, coughing. Jamie looked up from studying the wound, surprised.

"For what?"

"For leaving you…for so long…" Jamie was sure it was the fever making Jack speak the truth so quickly, but he found himself listening to his words. "I was just afraid…"

"Of what?" Jamie asked, but Jack didn't answer, apparently losing interest in the conversation. The brunette, seeing Jack shiver again (seriously, Jack Frost should never shiver, this fever was bad) looked back down at the first aid kit, glaring at the needle and thread lying in the centre. He didn't want to put Jack in so much pain again – he was fairly sure it would kill him – but the wound on his side would only continue to bleed dangerously. The towel he had pressed on it was already being stained red; Jamie had never seen anyone lose this much blood and live.

"Here." Jamie handed Jack the glass of water. When it was clear that Jack was still only half aware, the brunette pressed it to his lips, helping him drink. Jack moaned, catching sight of the needle and thread in Jamie's other hand.

"I need stitches?" The spirit asked quietly. Jamie nodded grimly.

"It's gonna hurt, isn't it?" Jack asked, not expecting an answer. "Bunny had to stitch me up once…"

Jamie saw the fear flash in Jack's eyes at the sight of the needle, so he chose to try and distract him from the pain that would come; Jack always asked him questions whenever he got hurt as a kid as he froze the wounds with his staff.

Speaking of the staff, where was it?

"Where did your staff go?" Jamie asked, dipping the needle in the disinfectant.

"I lost it…I know where it fell though, I just couldn't…make it…" Jack had closed his eyes drowsily, and Jamie gave him a hard pinch to keep him awake. However, it didn't seem to be working this time; the pain in Jack's body was simply more demanding.

"What even happened?" Jamie asked lightly, trying to keep him engaged. "I mean, I don't think you meant to turn up at my feet like this." He steadied his shaking hand, pressing it against Jack's skin. It would be about twelve stitches.

Jack gave a weak laugh.

"Summer spirits…they don't like me…" Jack muttered, curling his fingers as Jamie stabbed through his skin. "I wanted to go to the – " he cried out as the pain grew.

"And?" Ten more stitches.

"They – they got annoyed –" his breath hitched.

"Breathe. Breathe Jack." Jamie instructed. Jack let out a shaky breath. "How on earth would you ever annoy anyone?" He tried to joke, threading the needle. Nine stitches.

"I know…" Jack laughed, but it turned into a groan. "They kinda ambushed me and took my staff…"

"Ouch." Jamie muttered. Seven stitches.

"I fell…an' then that kid came…" Jack's eyes were closing again, blue skits against his pale complexion.

"That was my daughter." Jamie said, trying to block out Jack's sudden cry of pain. Five stitches.

"She was nice." Jack coughed. "She was lost…"

"She gets lost a lot." Jamie smiled, despite the circumstances, at the thought of his daughter. Three more stitches. "Almost done."

"Thank Moon." Jack murmured, nestling closer to the icepack. Jamie looked up at Jack briefly, almost cursing at how quickly he had deteriorated. His skin was now almost transparent, he had large bags under his eyes and sweat glistened on his chest. He looked like death. The rasping breaths only amplified the fact, and Jamie finished as quick as he could, not wanting to push Jack further over his limit.

"Done." Jamie cut the thread, wiping the newly-stitched wound with the remaining towel. Jack hummed, closing his eyes.

"Here." The brunette rearranged the ice packs over Jack's bare chest. Jack let out a pleased sigh, muscles visibly relaxing. Jamie let himself smile, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Don't sleep yet." He said as Jack was beginning to drift off. Jack let out a low moan. "I've got to check that these other wounds don't need healing as much as this one."

"When did you get so smart?" Jack muttered. Jamie laughed.

"I'm a doctor now." He replied. He studied at the odd angle Jack's leg was at, deciding that he could splint it, but he didn't have the correct equipment. He could always wrap some bandages around it, using a long stick as a support like they used to do. Then, when Jack was up to it, he could be moved to the guardians. The brunette decided that he wasn't going to warn Jack of what he was going to do, grabbing one of the many sticks Wren had scattered around the house from his "adventures".

His experienced hands wrenched the leg back into position, and Jack let out a scream, shifting weakly.

"It's fine, it's gonna be fine." Jamie quickly made the DIY support, glancing up at the spirit, who was gritting his teeth. "Sorry."

"No…you're doing a great job." Jack whispered, calming down. "I could never do this by myself."

Jamie smiled, treating the other wounds fairly quickly – he was right, the wounds weren't as serious, and they were fixed with some disinfectant and a bandage or two. He was still worried about Jack's fever, but figured it was best to let the spirit sleep.

He wrapped a blanket around Jack's torso, pleased to see that the spirit was already physically recovering. Jamie slumped beside him, leaning his head back on the armrest.

"Why do you still believe?" Jack asked him unexpectedly, on the brink of sleep. Jamie paused, letting his body relax.

"I could never stop, not like the others." He replied truthfully. "You always were there for me – and I vowed that I would be there for you when you came back, and I was."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to see you go…" Jack murmured sleepily, shifting slightly. Jamie smiled.

"I understand." The brunette threaded Jack's fingers in his own, trying to comfort him like he had done all those years ago. "Just don't run off again."

Jack laughed, and a few moments later he fell asleep. Jamie sighed, running a hand over his face. For many moments during the last few hours, he thought that Jack would slip away in his care. But he had done it.

He had returned the favour.

Yeah…I dunno whether this was good or not…and sorry for the wait, I just wasn't motivated until now