AN: This is the last chapter. I apologize for cutting the story short, but I ran out of ideas an inspiration. The song Believe belongs to Josh Groban and the makers of The Polar Express.

It all happened so fast.

Jack had taken Jamie and Sophie sledging, and for old time's sake, he had taken them to Burgess so they could use the high hill near the pond. It had been months since the fire in the Bennett home, and both siblings had been pronounced dead since investigators couldn't find a trace of them anywhere.

The young Guardian had only been gone for a moment; he had spotted someone walking nearby, and had blown a cold wind towards him in order to make him turn around. It had worked, and the man had left, but when Jack flew back to the hill Jamie and Sophie weren't there. So he'd flown down to the bottom.

What he saw struck his heart cold.

Jamie and Sophie were on the ice of the pond, and Jamie was using a long stick to toss Sophie aside and away from the thin ice. Jack immediately soared towards them, but he wasn't quick enough – for while Jamie was able to get his sister to safety, he was unable to save himself, and fell through the ice with a cry of horror.

Jack tossed his staff aside and dived into the water after him. He could see Jamie below him, struggling against the cold water, and as Jack tried to swim towards him the scene changed; instead of Jamie, Jack could see himself before he changed. His hair and eyes were brown, and he was wearing his old clothes...

...then Jack was seeing the memory through his own eyes. How hard he'd struggled to get back to the surface and his sister, how he'd regretted not learning how to swim, how much it hurt to feel the freezing cold water entering his screaming lungs, how utterly hopeless he'd felt...

With a great push of determination, Jack shook the memory away and focussed on Jamie. The boy had stopped struggling, and seeing his eyes closed, Jack realized he'd fallen unconscious from the lack of air. He grabbed the young boy and attempted to pull them both up to the surface.

But even without his staff, his powers were taking effect on the water; the hole where Jamie had fallen through was starting to ice over again, if slowly. It didn't make a difference; Jack still didn't know how to swim, and despite his strength of will, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to reach the surface in time...

Suddenly a shadow descended over him, before a hand grabbed his hoodie and yanked him out of the water.

Jack coughed up the water in his lungs – not that it really mattered since he couldn't die – before lying Jamie down on the ice. The boy was still unconscious, and had turned a light shade of blue from the cold and the lack of oxygen.

"We need to get him to the North Pole," Jack explained. "I can't carry him; it'll only make him worse. You'll have to do it..." He trailed off when he saw exactly who had pulled them out.

Pitch sent Jack a raised eyebrow. "I can't touch him as much as you can't, unless you want him turned into a Fearling." Despite the unsympathetic way in which he'd said this, his eyes were a little wide and he looked almost worried.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I felt your fear, and hers." He gestured towards Sophie, who was curled in a tight ball next to the sledge, crying. "But don't worry; I sent for help."

He disappeared, and moments after he had, a portal opened up before the rest of the Guardians charged through. All of them froze at the sight of Jamie lying on the ice, soaking wet and close to death, with the distraught Jack sat next to him.

"Please...help..." Jack's voice betrayed how utterly broken he felt.

Jack paced back and forth outside the Workshop Infirmary.

North was leaning against the wall nearby, watching the younger Guardian with the same amount of worry that Jack felt for Jamie. Tooth was giving out commands to her fairies in the background, occasionally glancing over for any change, while Bunny was cradling the sleeping Sophie in his arms; Sandy was providing the little girl with soothing dreams.

"I shouldn't have let them out of my sight! I shouldn't have even taken them there at all! Then none of this would have happened! I'm so stupid! I'm useless at this-"

"Jack!" North strode over to him and placed his hands upon the boy's shoulders, preventing him from hurting himself. "Jack. None of this is your fault; you were only making sure children were not spotted. Remember what Pitch said? We will make mistakes, but making mistake is no excuse to give up or blame ourselves."

Jack sighed. "You're right. Never thought something Pitch said would end up being right; never thought he'd bother to help us, either."

"Mother Nature likes Jamie," said North. "And Pitch fears his daughter's wrath." He sat himself down on a nearby work bench, and after pacing again a few more times, Jack sat down next to him.

He sighed. "I'm still worried. Even without the self-blame. If he dies...I don't know what I'd do."

North laid a gentle hand upon Jack's shoulder. "Believe in what your heart is saying; hear the melody that's playing. There's no time to waste; there's so much to celebrate. Believe in what you feel inside, and give your dreams the wings to fly. You have everything you need, if you just believe."

Jack felt the worry lifting from him, even if just a little, and he sent North a smile. "Thanks."

Before more could be said, the door of the Infirmary opened and a yeti stepped out, speaking gibberish. North understood what he said perfectly, and immediately rose to his feet with a smile on his face. This reaction was enough for Jack, who then bolted into the room. The other Guardians followed.

Jamie was lying in bed, looking much better, and only just waking up. "What happened?"

"You fell through the ice," Jack explained. "You were getting Sophie to safety when the ice broke underneath you."

"Sophie..." Jamie sat himself upright. "Is she OK?"

"She's fine," said Bunny. He showed the boy the girl in his arms, who was just beginning to wake up, too; she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

Upon seeing her brother, she smiled. "Jamie all better."

"Who pulled me out?" Jamie asked.

"I dived in after you," Jack explained. "But I couldn't really swim. Then Pitch of all people showed up and pulled us both out. When you're feeling better, maybe we can go make fun of him over it."

Jamie laughed, and Jack smiled down at him. "Thanks anyway, Jack. Even though you couldn't swim, you still jumped in."

"I said we'd always be here, Jamie," said Jack. "And we meant it."

"I know, Jack," said the boy. After everything that had happened, none of the Guardians had to say it; their actions spoke louder than those words ever could.