A continuation of the previous cliffhanging chapter, Intense isn't it?

"NORTH! North, get up!" Jack cried, shaking the larger man's shoulder. Pippa whined with her ears drooped and head down, unsure of what else to do in the situation.

Jack had just returned from a day of giving snow only to hear Pippa howling from down the hall. Confused, Jack had quickly followed Pippa's howls only to find North on his side on the floor unconscious with Pippa howling beside him. His heart practically leapt into his throat as Jack raced forward and screamed North's name, bringing them to the moment at hand.

"Please North, wake up!" pleaded Jack, tears brimming in his eyes he scanned the hallways, "Help! Somebody help!"

Three yetis rushed to them having heard the commotion in the middle of their work and upon seeing North unmoving on the floor they rushed to assist. Growling amongst themselves as Jack couldn't entirely understand them yet, two knelt to examine North while the third gently pried Jack away from the elder man wrapping a hairy arm around the winter spirit. Reluctantly, Jack let himself be pulled away as he pleaded for the yetis to help and all he could do was stare helplessly. Pippa nudged her snout against Jack's hand in an effort to reassure the immortal boy and the small action seemed to jolt him out of his state as realization dawned on him.

"The others!" Jack exclaimed, "They need to know what's going on, they have to be contacted!"

Jack looked up at the yeti loosely holding him and the yeti nodded, grumbling a response to the others the yeti quickly led Jack away towards the Globe room. Jack squirmed out of the yeti's hold and dashed towards the control panel in front of the ever slowly turning globe that glowed with the tiny lights of children's beliefs. The winter spirit had to brace both of his hands on the larger handle and grunted as he pushed it down sending out the northern lights signal to the other guardians. Heaving in breaths, Jack stepped back from the control panel and just hoped and prayed that North would be alright.

By the time Jack had returned, the yetis had moved North into the larger man's room and they now had him lying in his bed with the blankets pulled and tucked up to his chest with his arms at his side. He remained unconscious but he was breathing nonetheless as a few yetis tended to his medical needs. Jack was about to step into the room but was quickly ushered outwards by a yeti grumbling at him and Jack needed no translation to figure out what the yetis did and did not want him to do. "You're seriously going to make me wait out here?" Jack frowned but despite his efforts, the yeti blocking him nodded and grumbled as he motioned for Jack to step back and closed the door.

The winter spirit let out a breathe he barely knew he had been holding and stepped back until his back was against the wall and slid his body down until he was seated on the floor. He laid his staff on the floor beside him and Pippa stepped towards the immortal boy and whined. Jack's eyes were glazed over with tears threatening to fall, he hated not being able to do anything, and he couldn't stand it. Not knowing what else to do, Jack pulled his hood up over his head as Pippa pushed herself against him and nuzzled her nose against his cheek in attempt to comfort him. He wrapped his arms around the young wolf and buried his face in her grey fur as a few tears escaped and the two remained where they were awaiting any news on the Guardian of Wonder's condition.

It wasn't long before the other guardians arrived and all were confused and worried as to what exactly as going on. Tooth, Sandy, and Bunny had entered into the Globe room only to find that neither North nor Jack were anywhere to be seen. Tooth fluttered around the room as Sandy flashed images above his head most being question marks amongst other symbols and Bunny stood with his arms crossed and a foot gently tapping the floor with impatience. "Just what the blazes are we doing here?" Bunny asked though no one had an answer.

"It must be something important," Tooth shrugged, "Are the children okay? Maybe a rogue nightmare? Has the Globe been checked recently?"

"Well we ain't gonna find out just standing here."

Sandy waved to the two guardians and the golden man pointed to an approaching yeti that seemed more frantic than ever. Bunny jumped forward to the yeti, "Oi, just what the heck is going on? Where are North and Jackie?"

The yeti frantically grumbled and growled the entire explanation and all three of the guardian's expressions faltered as Tooth gasped while covering her mouth, an exclamation mark appeared over Sandy's head, and Bunny's ears drooped.

"We have to check on North!" Tooth said, "Oh, Jack must be so worried!"

Bunny nodded, "Come on."

They travelled through the hallways as fast as each of them could go and in no time reached the bed chambers as they rounded the corner and came to a stop. Jack sat against the wall with his hood over his head and his knees close to his chest, one arm rested on his knees while the other was wrapped around Pippa. The wolf was pressed as close as she could get to the immortal boy and her ears were drooped and she quietly whined in concern.

"Oh, sweet tooth," Tooth gasped as she fluttered towards Jack, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"M'okay," Jack muttered, barely audible. Sandy came to settle by Jack's side as he rested his hand atop Jack's that lay on the boy's knee, the little golden man giving what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Bunny stepped forward, "Have you heard anything, mate?"

"N-no, nothing."

Huffing a breath, Bunny stepped up to the door and knocked, "Oi, open up!" The door eased open and a yeti grumbled at Bunny from the other side. The other guardians could not hear what the other two were discussing but eventually the yeti stepped to the side allowing Bunny to enter. He turned to the others, "Wait here, I'll find out what's going on."

Jack slouched and muttered, "That's all we've been doing is waiting."

Tooth patted his shoulder, "We just need to be patient for a while longer, Jack."

"B-But…" Jack stammered but the patting of Sandy's reassuring hand on his knee soon quieted him as the little golden man nodded in agreement.

From that point on the next few hours felt thrice as long as each should have been as Tooth fluttered nervously back and forth, Sandy stood and tapped his fingertips together with an occasional sand symbol appearing and disappearing over his head. Jack had lowered his legs from against his chest and now sat cross legged with Pippa sprawled halfway across his lap; one had rested against the wolf's fur while the other gripped his staff lying at his side. The same thought was constantly going through all of their minds, just what was taking so long? How much longer were they expected to wait? Was North even alright? Just how bad was he?

The answer came just a mere half hour later when the door to North's chambers finally opened and out stepped Bunny and the rest of the yetis within the room. Tooth was the first to fly up to him as Jack and Pippa stood next to Sandy, "Well?" Tooth asked, "How is he?"

Bunny sighed, "It's going to take some time, but…" the others stared in anticipation, "North will be fine." A collective breathe was released amongst the group in relief.

"So," Jack began, "Can we see him? Can I talk to him?"

Bunny shook his head, "He's not even awake yet, mate. Like I said, it's going to take time and to be honest, Frostbite, we're not sure when exactly he will wake up."

Tooth hovered in place, "What happened in there, Bunny? What caused all this?"

"It's not as bad as you lot all think," Bunny explained, "The stubborn bloke overworked himself and ignored the needs of his health. He forgets that he is older than he likes to think and it catches up with him if he's not careful. From what the yetis said before we arrived he seemed to have collapsed from the exhaustion. His body just needs to rest and catch up with the rest of itself before he wakes again."

"So, he's really going to be okay?" Jack asked.

"We'll find out when he wakes up, Jackie."

"I suppose," Tooth stated, "All we can do is keep him comfortable for now."

Sandy waved to get their attention and he formed symbols of a ruler, a setting sun, a clock, and a bed and he repeated the symbols a few times over.

Bunny nodded, "Sandy's right. We could all do with some rest."

Tooth agreed, "The yetis always have spare rooms set up for us. Let's get some sleep while we can for now."

Jack looked back and forth between the group and the door to North's room, "Should we really leave North alone without someone to watch him?"

"The yetis already arranged shifts to keep an eye on him." Bunny answered, "In the meantime, Jack, you especially need to get to bed."

"You gotta be kidding me!"

"I ain't. Now off your pop, to bed with you."

"But, I-"

"Jack," Tooth calmly yet sternly said, "Even Pippa is nearly falling asleep next to you. Come along now."

Jack sighed, "Alright."

Tooth led Jack to his room with Pippa only a few steps ahead, the young wolf wanting very much to curl up and sleep. Bunny and Sandy went in search of their own spare rooms while Tooth set about tucking Jack into bed. A task that was usually handled by North. Jack switched his blue hoodie for a more comfortable night shirt and he leaned his staff against the bed frame before silently crawling in as Tooth arranged the covers around him. While Jack was appreciative of Tooth's motherly caring efforts, it just didn't seem quite the same. However, the winter spirit remained silent and let the tooth fairy pull the covers up around him, tucking the few stray corners of the blankets in. Pippa made herself comfortable at the foot of Jack's bed and had already began to doze off into sleep.

"Tooth?"

"Yes, sweetooth?"

"Do you… Do you think North will wake up soon?"

"Well I… I sure do hope so." Tooth fluffed up Jack's pillow, "But North is strong, and he will come back to us as soon as he is good and ready." Jack nodded in understanding and Tooth pecked a goodnight kiss to Jack's forehead before fluttering to the door.

"Sleep tight, Jack." Tooth said and she softly closed the door.

Jack turned on his side and buried himself into the covers and closed his eyes thinking that maybe if he managed to get comfortable he would eventually fall asleep if only for a little while. He lay like that for many minutes before shifting and turning over to the other side, repeating the same actions as before. Moments later he wasn't satisfied with that position either and he shifted again. And again. And again. And again. Flipping onto his back, Jack groaned in annoyance and sat up to find Pippa staring at him from the end of the bed where she lay. "This isn't helping either of us, is it?" he said and Pippa just stared at him.

The winter spirit knew very well why he could not sleep, no amount of tossing and turning in bed could deter that fact. Sighing, Jack pulled back the covers and stepped out of bed, he grabbed his blue hoodie and pulled it on overtop of his night shirt. Pippa lifted her head and almost made a move to follow but Jack simply stroked her head and settled her back down, he wasn't going very far for her need to follow. Jack quietly opened his door and peeked out, he looked up and down the corridor and saw no one to be found. He opened the door wider but then promptly closed it with only a sliver to peek through as the door to North's room opened and a yeti walked out and headed down the hall in the other direction. The winter spirit assumed the yeti had just been on a shift to watch North, why the yeti left Jack did not know but Jack took that chance to ease his door open and slip out. His bare feet hardly made a sound against the hardwood floors as he neared and stopped just short of a few feet away from North's door.

Was this even a good idea? Perhaps he should just go back to his room… No! Regardless, Jack had to see North for himself. He reached up to open the door yet his hand hovered over the handle. No turning back, now or never. Bracing himself mentally, Jack gripped the door handle and opened the door as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Jack's eyes glazed with tears and his chest and throat tightened at the sight of the large man who lay motionless in his bed. If Jack hadn't known better he would have just though North had been sleeping, only he was much too still and quiet. North's eyes were closed as he lay on his back and was propped up at a mild angle with the covers pulled up to his chest and his arms rested at his sides. Medications had been placed on the bedside table and a clipboard with clear instructions listed on it, and on one of North's wrists was a thick heart rate bracelet to calculate his health. The bags under the elder man's eyes were now much more prominent than earlier that day and it showed just how far North had gone to hide it all from everyone.

Jack slowly stepped towards the bed, fearing that something might happen should he move any faster. Eventually he made it to North's bedside and Jack leaned against the edge of the bed, "North, I…" Jack began but he stopped, unsure of how to continue. Could North even hear him? Jack wasn't even sure at all, but nevertheless he couldn't not say anything either.

Jack shifted his weight to sit on the beds edge and tucked his legs underneath him. "North… I don't even know if you can hear me but… I'm scared. You know why? Because of you. You scared me, North, and you're still scaring me. Right when I saw you fall and I called you so many times… So many… And you weren't moving or waking up… I thought-" Jack's throat hitched and the words briefly halted before Jack managed to continue, tears brimming his eyes. "I thought you were going to die! I thought we lost you right then and there. I couldn't even do anything… The yetis took care of you and Bunny helped after the others arrived but what did I do? Nothing. I didn't know what to do then and I don't know what to do now…"

By now the tears had begun to fall as they rolled down the winter spirit's cheeks and Jack tried to wipe them away with a sleeve. Hesitantly, he reached out with a hand and placed it on top of North's massive unmoving hand. "I don't remember very much about my past life, but I do remember what family feels like… And right now I feel like I nearly lost it again today. You're part of my family, North… You're like my… No, you are my dad! You've been there for me ever since I was first chosen to be a guardian. You took me in as your own; you've looked after me… I can't lose you, North… I just want you to come back…"

Jack pulled back his hand and covered his face with both of his hands and his head ducked down as the tears flowed. "Just come back, dad…"

In his highly emotional state, Jack failed to notice a large hand slowly reach up and land gently against the side of Jack's head. The winter spirit's eyes shot open as he removed his hands away from his face and looked up. North's eyes were open! The elder man managed a small smile as he brushed a stray tear from Jack's check with a thumb and he softly said "I am right here, my son."

"North?" Jack gasped, "North!"

Jack leaped towards North and the larger man gladly gathered the winter spirit to him with one arm. "You're okay," Jack said, "I was so worried, I thought… I didn't…"

"I know," North replied, "I know."

North released him as Jack pulled away, "So, you're okay?"

North quietly chuckled and then tiredly sighed, "I suppose a solid rest will do me some good, yes?"

Smiling, Jack nodded and North readjusted his position in the bed before gesturing to the now open space beside him. Jack wasted no time in placing himself at the larger man's side and curled up as North wrapped an arm around the young winter sprit and soon, sleep overcame both adoptive son and father.

Happy New Year everyone! I am so happy you all still enjoy this multi-story and here's to more in the future! See you next time!