Bonus 5: Meeting Jack's Children

"Whoa! Are you a minotaur?" Caleb asked, pushing up the rim of his orange hat so he could see better. The rest of the children jostled to get closer to the new spirit.

"A minotaur is half bull," Jamie informed his friends. "I think he's a goat person."

"Like Mr. Tumnus from the book I just read. It's called The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe," said Pippa, the tomboy of their group.

"I'm a faun, actually," Jesper explained, taking a step back in an attempt to give himself some space.

"Are you a guardian, like Jack?" Claude, the older twin, asked.

"Well, I was a postman when I was alive, but now I'm a messenger. I help collect letters for Klaus… er, North. Santa? He goes by a lot of names, apparently."

"When you were alive?" said Jamie. His question was echoed by the rest of the children.

Jack immediately sprang forward to say, "We don't really talk about that part, but the man in the moon chose us to be Guardians of Childhood to protect the children of the world. Or, in Jesper's case, to help us do our jobs. He mostly works for North though."

"The man in the moon was the one who led me to the workshop at the North Pole. It was his voice that encouraged me to keep going – there was a bit of a snowstorm the night I was revived, but my lantern helped light the way," said Jesper, pulling the lantern from his satchel.

"The man in the moon talks to you?" Jack Frost asked, taking a step back to stare up at the older man.

The postman nodded. "Yes. Quite a bit at the beginning, but not much anymore."

As if on cue, the children pushed forward again, each rushing to ask a question.

"Do you leave hoof prints everywhere you go?"

"Can adults see you?"

"Are you wearing pants?"

"Is there a Mrs. Claus?"

"Does she make cookies, and give kisses to Santa?"

"How do you collect the letters? Do you have to sneak into the post office?"

Jesper took another step back, holding out his hands to ward off the onslaught of questions. "One at a time. One at a time."

While all this was going on, Jack Frost had retreated to the back of the group. He leaned his chin on the crook of his staff as he gazed at the postman. He was sure he was the only one who noticed the startled expression on the faun's face at the mention of a Mrs. Claus. An expression that turned to sadness soon after. Of course, clearly not wanting to disappoint the children, Jesper was quick to slap a smile on his face as he proceed to answer their questions. Naturally, the most intriguing question on Jack's mind was the man in the moon, but he could wait until the children went home.

Question 1: "Do you leave hoof prints everywhere you go?"

"When I stop long enough I sometimes leave hoof prints, but usually not when I'm traveling. I'm either moving too fast, or I'm taking a shortcut with my lantern. Of course, not leaving footprints could also be a magic thing."

Question 1b: "Is your lantern magic?"

"I think so. My lantern lights my path, but it also creates these swirling portals when I focus hard on a person or place. For example, if I think of Klaus, I can open a portal to the North Pole."

Question 2: "Can adults see you?"

"I think they catch glimpses of me. I heard someone call me the Messenger of Christmas once. I try to avoid being seen. It would be hard to explain away having goat legs, after all."

Question 3: "Are you wearing pants?"

"Yes, I'm wearing pants. They're just shorter than the ones I normally wear." (Jesper is not amused)

Question 6: "How do you collect the letters? Do you have to sneak into the post office?" (because Jesper would prefer to save the most difficult questions for last)

"I don't go to the post office. Big cities sometimes take a few tries, but I usually just open my satchel, and… well, I mentally call the letters to me. They just fly right in," Jesper said, gesturing to his letter bag. "I think the man in the moon made it magic, like my lantern, because I can fit a LOT of letters into this pouch without it feeling heavy. Of course, when my satchel feels full, that's when I know it's time to head home – I mean, time to head back to the workshop."

Question 4 & 5: "Is there a Mrs. Claus?" "Does she make cookies, and give kisses to Santa?"

Taking a deep breath, Jesper knelt down until he was at eye level with the kids. "I'm afraid there isn't a Mrs. Claus, kids. Klaus… North was married a long time ago, but his wife passed away."

"Was she pretty?" the younger of the twins asked. "Did they have any kids?"

"No… I mean, yes, she was pretty," answered Jesper. He'd seen her photograph on the dresser in Klaus' room. They looked very happy together. Klaus was pretty amazing, so it was only natural that his wife would be equally so. The postman shook his head, straightening back to his full height, a ghost of a frown on his lips. "And no, they didn't have children. Sorry to disappoint you."

"Is he trying to find a new Mrs. Claus?" Cupcake wanted to know.

"Oh… I'm not sure. He's never mentioned it to me," said Jesper, unconsciously rubbing his neck.

"I didn't mean to make you sad," Cupcake murmured, taking a hesitant step back.

I am sad. You reminded me that Klaus is beyond my reach. He's meant for so much more. I'm just the friend who delivers his mail. And someday he'll fall in love again, and it won't be with me. It will be with a pretty woman who can give him children, make him his favorite cookies, and warm his bed at night. Jesper tightened his grip on the strap of his bag, and forced a smile onto his face. "Klaus is my best friend, so I'm happy that he had a chance to experience being in love with someone special, even if she's gone now."

"But you live at the North Pole now, so North won't be lonely," Jamie exclaimed, a bright smile spreading over his youthful face.

Jesper glanced down at the little boy in amazement. "I suppose that's true. I think it's more the other way around, actually. He's good company."

"So, now that Jesper answered your questions," Jack Frost said, letting the wind carry him up into the air. "Who is up for a… SNOWBALL FIGHT!"

"Have a good night, guys! Jamie, don't forget to tell Sophie that Bunny says HI!" Jack called out, waving to the children as the made their way down the forest path. The Guardian of Fun turned to the man next to him, giving him a smirk. "Sophie is Jamie's little sister. Bunny is her favorite! She got a hold of North's snow globe last year, and ended up at the Warren. We had a little adventure there, and then returned her home."

"They seem like good kids," Jesper agreed.

"Sorry if they made you uncomfortable," Jack said.

"They're just kids. You should have seen the ones in Smeerensburg," Jesper grumbled, his thoughts drifting back to the first days he spent on the little island.

"So… you mentioned that the man in the moon spoke to you," Jack commented, unconsciously clutching his staff close.

"Yeah. Sometimes he whispers to me. Like a voice in my mind. He doesn't always answer when I try to talk to him, though," said Jesper.

Jack Frost frowned, drawing a little circle in the snow with the bottom of his staff. "He's only ever talked to me once. The day he revived me."

"What did he say?" the faun asked, his ears perked in anticipation.

The frost spirit glanced away. "He told me that my name was Jack Frost… and that was all he ever told me. Three hundred years, and he never told me why he brought me back."

"Three hundred years," the postman whispered in amazement. "I think that makes you older than me."

"Yeah, it seems weird, doesn't it?" Jack huffed, a smile curving his lips at the thought. "You know, I actually remember the day I first learned about North. Of course, he wasn't called North back then. The kids kept telling stories of a magical man that had a flying sleight pulled by magic reindeer. A man who could squeeze down chimneys, and delivered presents. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it was ALL TRUE!"

"I'll have you know that I'm the one that squeezed down the chimneys in Smeerensburg. Klaus only started doing that AFTER he… well, after he truly became the spirit of Christmas," Jesper said, picking his lantern off the ground.

"Do you have more letters to pick up from this town?" Jack asked, letting the wind pull him a foot into the air.

"No, I'm done. I should head to the next town," said the postman.

"Sounds like a plan. Hey, can I tag along with you? That magical lantern of yours makes traveling easy."

"I don't mind. And Andy said he'd be happy to teach us both how to bake shortbread cookies the next time you drop by," said Jesper, raising the lantern into the air. It only took a moment of concentration to cause a portal to open in the glow of the lantern's light.

"Andy is, like, the best baker at the North Pole. But I'm pretty sure Phil still has it out for me," Jack insisted, following the messenger through the portal.

"Phil is a big softie once you get to know him," said Jesper, even as the portal closed behind them.

Note: While I don't have current plans for Jesper to meet Sophie, I think she'd end up calling him 'Mr. Goat Man.' Cause she's cute and innocent like that.

I wanted to get this last short out before the next part of the main fic, in which Jesper and Klaus spend their first Christmas together.