As it turns out, the day I completed the Guardian Ceremony, Tooth told me I was pregnant. It made me incredibly upset for months, and I couldn't perform my duty as a Guardian for nearly four months. I was confined to my bed, drowning myself in my tears. Of all things to happen, this happened. Now. He wouldn't be there for me when the time came, he wouldn't be there to see his child grow up. I had no one to turn to when the baby took their first steps or said their first words. But then I realized that I did have people I could turn to. My family, Santa, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy. They were the people I could turn to when my baby spoke or walked.

After four months of crying and wishing Pitch were here, I finally got out of bed and motivated myself. I couldn't do my job very well, mostly because everyone forbade me to do much fighting when they had to. So I just sat around, looking at the globe. I could no longer wear the short shirt I used to; I had to wear a normal shirt that covered my belly. The only thing I was permitted to do was help Tooth and her Baby Fairies collect teeth. I enjoyed it sometimes. There was one time that Charlie lost another tooth in August, and of course, he woke up. Just my luck. He gaped at me once again standing in his room.

"Jack?" he said, sitting up and rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Hey," I said quietly, smiling at him.

"What happened to you? I mean around Easter time," he said.

I was quiet for a while, then said simply, "It's complicated."

"Tell me?"

I sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. "The most important thing you need to know, not because I don't want to tell you but because you won't understand, is that Pitch was my friend and him dying, or whatever happened to him, really hurt me," I said.

He looked me over, his eyes lingering on my belly. I already had a bit of a bump, and it was definitely noticeable. "He was just your friend?" he asked knowingly. I could see in the darkness that he had a smirk on his face.

"To you, and for this purpose, yes, he was just my friend," I said with a small laugh.

"I hope you didn't get fat," he said, pointing to my stomach.

I laughed and shook my head. "No, I didn't get fat," I said.

"Okay, good," he said. "I hope to find a pretty girl like you, and it would be really bad if you got fat."

I blushed slightly and smiled. "Well I'm sure you'll find a pretty girl in time," I said. "Just remember, it's what's on the inside that counts."

He nodded and got up on his knees in front of me, then hugged me.

I laughed a little in surprise and hugged him back. "Alright, get back to sleep before you get me into trouble with Tooth!" I said, releasing him.

But he didn't let go. "How come you don't visit more?" he asked.

"Um…" I thought for a moment of a kind way to put it. "Charlie, I'm here more than you think," I said. "I can't visit you all the time because I'm actually not allowed. But I do come. Just remember, I'll always be in here." I gently pushed him away and poked his chest.

He nodded and looked at me. "Okay," he said. I reached behind my head and took a small snowflake from my clip, then blew it at him. It landed on his nose, like it had the first time, and he laid back down. "I hate when you do that," he mumbled sleepily.

"I know. Good night," I said, leaving his gift and taking his tooth.

"Night…"

I left his room and finished my night rounds, then went back to Tooth. "Here," I said, giving her all the teeth.

"Thank you," she said happily. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I sighed. "Tired."

"Well you're done for tonight so go rest," she said, pushing me out of the room.

I sighed again and left, looking forward to getting back into bed.

When Christmas came, I got sad again. I really missed Pitch at this point, especially because the baby was due in just a few weeks. I started crying a lot more again and at first, everyone tried cheering me up. But after a while, they just gave up and left me alone. Bunny came to visit me almost every day, bringing me much-needed chocolate bunnies and eggs. He was a lot nicer to me now after the battle we had with Pitch. I think it was mostly because he felt bad for me. But I didn't really care. I just wanted Pitch back.

And I almost got him.

The night before I had the baby, I woke up and looked around my empty room. Seeing a slight movement from the corner of my eye, I sat up–with great effort–and looked around. I saw a shadow move in a corner then dart to another corner. I smiled a little as the shadow climbed up to the ceiling. "I'll come back, Jackie, I promise." I heard the whisper right in my ear, and it gave me chills.

"I'll hold you to that," I whispered back. I felt a finger trail up the back of my neck, then down my jawline. For an instant, I thought I saw Pitch's yellow eyes in front of me, but they were gone as quickly as they had come. "Wait!"

The room was still and silent, and I was unsure if he'd left already.

"Pitch?"

I heard a whisper in my ear again, sending chills down my spine again. "Yes?"

"Kiss me?" I said quietly, hoping he could.

I felt light kisses on my neck, then my forehead, then my lips. It was amazing to kiss him again after so long of not hearing about him, seeing him, touching him. I knew he was really there and that it wasn't just his shadow because I felt his hand on my back. I put my hand on his chest and slid it up behind his neck, not wanting him to leave again. I wanted to ask him a million questions but knew there'd be no time.

He broke the kiss and softly caressed my cheek. "I'll be back," he whispered.

"Wait, but where are you going? Why can't you stay here with me?" I asked, tears welling in my eyes.

"Because, I just can't," he said, getting up. "I'll be back soon, and then we can run away together, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay," I said quietly, tears sliding down my cheeks.

He wiped them away gently and kissed me once more. "Be strong for me, okay? And the baby," he said, then turned into a shadow and left out the window.

"Pitch! Pitch!" I cried.

I stayed up the rest of the night crying, angry at him for leaving when he could have stayed but upset that he wasn't here. A part of me was also happy that he was alive, but yet another part of me wondered where he was and what he was doing.

I will always remember this day: January 9. That was the day our baby was born. Even though Pitch wasn't there to hold my hand like I'd seen in movies, I know he was there. His shadow was in my view the whole time.

I was glad everyone was there with me, Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, and Santa, because I know I couldn't have done it without any of them. They were all just as, maybe even more, excited than I was to have a new baby around. I was so happy when I found out it was a boy. I sat with him in my arms that night, just looking at him. It was still crazy to me what we could do, what Pitch and I did. The one time I had sex in my 317 years of existence (including my previous life before I was Jack Frost) is the one time I get pregnant. But I was still happy.

With Pitch's promise to come back and the baby in my arms, everything seemed better. Pitch's shadow crept from under the sofa I was on and he materialized himself beside me. I smiled and kissed him, then he looked at the baby. "What's his name?" he asked quietly.

"How about Daniel?" I said.

He looked up from the baby and smiled. "That's a good name," he said.

"I know," I said.

"We did a great thing together, Jackie," he said. "And we can do even more. You make me so crazy. I'll be back. The time is almost here–"

The door opened and Bunny came in. He looked at the two of us and Pitch turned into a shadow and slipped out the window. I smiled to myself and pulled my feet up on the sofa, holding Daniel closer to me as Bunny glared at me. "What could go better than cold and dark?" I asked him, smiling sinisterly at him.