I'm back! :D

Christmas Eve.

The one night of the year when North could break all the rules regarding flight speed limits and really unleash the full potential of his beloved red sleigh and the massive antlered beasts that powered it.

And tonight he was pulling out all the stops and performing tricks and stunts that even the gods of old would admire and envy. For tonight, for the first time in nearly five hundred years, he had a passenger to accompany him.

Sitting next to him, Jack stared wide-eyed at the vast simmering landscape sleeping far below them. From up here the towns and cities looked as bright as the star themselves and just as small. All around the small twinkling lights patches of darkened forest slowly melting into the deepening blackness as land blended into sea. It was truly a beautiful sight, and one that never ceased to amaze him.

"Whoa look at that city!" Jack shouted over the noise of the rushing wind and heavy bellows of the reindeer. He leaned impossibly far over the edge of the wooden rail as he pointed to the world below and laughed in delight. North smiled at the young lad's enthusiasm and pulled him back by the scruff into the sleigh for what must have been the hundredth time tonight.

"Sit down Jack; we are nearly at next stop"

The boy reluctantly pulled his head in and dropped back into his seat next to his adopted father. He could have easily jumped out the fast moving vehicle and raced along side the powerful, thundering reindeer but there was something different about riding in the sleigh and flying. Sure, with flying, he was permitted more freedom and the chance to perform some amazing aerial stunts but sitting in the sleigh offered much for of a thrill. It was like a rollercoaster ride that had come to life and been given way too much sugar and fizzy pop. With flying he knew he was safe, but when North got behind the wheel… er, reins, there was always that small chance you wouldn't be getting off the same way you got on.

As far as he knew, no one had even died while taking a ride with North but everyone and I mean everyone knew that would change one of these days. The only question is who would be the first to claim the title.

"North! North do the barrel roll again!" Jack roared delightfully like an over-excited child, which technically he was.

North turned around in his seat to tell the youngster to sit down again, when suddenly the boy's expression turned from joy to stunned amazement.

"Wow, look at that thing! It's bloody massive!" Jack screamed in pure astonishment. North did not need to turn around to see what had captured the child's attention. He knew there could only be one thing out tonight that was worthy of just a reaction.

"That, my boy, is our next stop" He smiled at Jack's gawping face and spurred the speeding reindeer on, banked shapely to the right, and flew straight towards their destination.

A fully loaded, four hundred ton, rocketing jumbo jet!

The sight of just a massive and heavy piece of machinery racing through the skies was amazing to say the least. Its huge wings cut through the air like fish through water and the deep throb of the powerful engines made the very sky around them pulse and vibrate.

And the noise!

There wasn't a force in nature that could ever hope to trump that!

"So what do you think Jack?" North yelled at the top of his lungs, only just making his voice louder then the plane's roar.

"Is very impressive, da?"

"It incredible! Look how big it is! How is that thing even in the air?!" Jack bellowed back, his voice barely auditable but somehow managing to reach him.

"Is it magic?"

North roared with laughter. "No dear boy, is good old engineering" He tapped the side of his head for emphasis and winked. "All the magic comes from here."

"But it's not possible for that thing to be up so high without something making it stay up! No one could make something that big fly without some sort of spell or magic artefact!"

"And yet they did" He smiled happily and cracked the reins, moving closer to the behemoth. "The world is changing Jack and mankind is changing with it. It may not be magic as we know it but is still very magical in idea. After all, man has always dreamed of flying. Now though the magic of the mind it is reality."

"But how does it work? What makes it fly?" Jack leaned closer to North as he spoke. All his attention captivated by the giant in the skies. North loved the youngster's enthusiasm. Jack was always so keen to learn, even about stuff way beyond his comprehension. It was one of his many endearing qualities and quite often, one of his more annoying ones.

Once something caught Jack Frost's eye, he would never shut up about it. And if your answers didn't satisfy the spirit of winter's curious questions, you were as good as screwed.

"It is very complicated to explain."

"Which means you don't know." Jack shouted matter-of-factly. North had to give him credit for that one.

"Which means I do not know." he agreed with laugh.

Cracking the reins hard he quickly spurred the herd of reindeer closer to the great beast until the thunder of the engines out done the thunder of the deer and completely filled the rushing air around them. All questions and possible answers would now have to be saved for fireside stories later back at the pole. Otherwise, they would both lose their voice trying to be heard over such a racket.

Now that they were closer, Jack could truly see the full scale of the machine. It was beyond words such as huge and massive. This thing was a monster!

Impossibly high and enormously long, this thing was bigger then most glaciers he had made in the artic. He dared not even think how much such a beast could weigh. The thing looked like it could easily top half a dozen elephants and possible still weigh much more. Yet it could fly as easily and freely as any bird or fairy (but nowhere near as gracefully)

"Amazing! So North- North!" He scrambled up to North's shoulder and shouted as loud as he could in the man's ear. "North what are we doing here!?"

He only heard the last two words Jack had yelled but he had some idea what he was asking. "Delivering presents of course!" He hollered at the top of his lungs. The engines were beyond loud and he could not be a hundred percent sure Jack had heard him but there was no time to double check. They had many more stops to make and this jet would soon be nearing its destination. Time was of the essence at the moment.

Pulling firmly on the reins he eased the front-runners gently sideways until the deer had brought the sleigh flying evenly above the giant aircraft. The noise didn't faze the powerful beasts in the slightest. Each one remained as calm and behaved as if they were flying over the quietest, sleepy village in existents. This was not the first time they had neared a plane and their calm demeanour showed just how well North had trained them.

Pull lightly on the reins North checked and double checked their position, moving them ever so slightly when one was off and edging them just an few inches closers. This had to be perfect. This machine was travelling at an incredible speed and positioning was everything. Too close and he risked his deer hitting against the hard metal top of the jet and being injured or possibly killed. Too far away and he would not be in the right position and ran the very unhealthy risk of getting caught in the wind and losing balance. Something that, at this speed, could prove crippling.

"North! How fast are we-"

The large man didn't hear the boy's inquiry and without explanation pressed his reins into the Jacks small chilling hands.

Jack was stunned by the gesture. He hadn't expected North to hand over control of the sleigh at any point during this trip.

He was about ask him what he had planned when a sickening thought made his stomach do back flips. He was now in control of a vehicle flying so fast it would give superman a run for his money, with nothing beneath him except a monster of a machine that by all logic should not have been able to leave the ground.

He suddenly very nervous.

"North! What are you-"

"Don't panic Jack!" North somehow shouted loud enough for his voice to raise above all the noise. He had expected Jack to freak out a little when he handed over the reins. He was prepared for this.

"Jack!" He shouted, putting one hand on his son's shoulder. "I must board the plane; you need to stay here with sleigh!" The wind and engines were furious but Jack got just enough words to piece together what North was trying to say to him.

"Board? You mean you're going one that thing and leaving me here on my own?! But I can't-"

"You can Jack," He leaned in until he and Jack were face to face. This was very important I he had to make sure Jack heard him. "Just keep sleigh level and wait for me. Whatever you do, keep sleigh close to plane, do not move too far. I will need you to be close when I return. I will not be long."

"But North-"

North never heard the rest of the sentence. He had already pulled out a blue tinted snow globe from deep within his red coat and cracked it effortlessly between his hands. Instantly the air around him blazed a brilliant white, surrounding him completely and nearly blinding him. His red sleigh vanished from beneath, as did his adopted son who had been by his side not even a second ago. For a brief moment, all he could see was white.

Then as quick as it happened, colours started to seep back into his vision and familiar colours and objects quickly replaced the white void. All together, the experiences of portal jumping lasted roughly eight seconds. When it was over, he found himself standing before rows and rows of sleeping passengers with only the sound light snoring and the now dull throb of the engines blaring outside.

North's breathe quicken ever so slightly as the sudden surge of excitement and queasiness hit him. He had only ever done a few of these deliveries before and he was nervous. Last year he had accidentally tripped over one of those metal dinning trolleys and tumbled ungracefully down the aisle. The noise of crashing bottles and left over packets of peanuts had been loud enough to wake the folks in business class. The year after that he had not even made it onto the plane. He had miscalculated his speed and distance from the aircraft and ended up bouncing off the top of it, leaving behind a lovely big dent that could never be explained by the staff.

This time things had to go smoothly if he ever hoped to continue making these night flight delivery.

Swallowing in a deep breath he picked up the courage to take a step forward. Not a soul stirred as his heavy boot hit the floor with a small tap. He cringed at the soft sound. To his ears, it sounded more like a bang in the small, confined space.

At least there was not trolley to be seen!

Remembering that Jack was outside and waiting nervously for his return he began to move faster down the quiet aisles, tucking small gifts between the arms of sleeping children as he went. There were not as many children as he had been expecting but that didn't matter. Whether there were one or one hundred children on this plane, he would have made the trip come hell or high water.

Or more appropriately in the case, high planes.

The whole 'delivering gifts on jets' thing was still pretty new to him. Many years ago, there were no planes, or at least not ones that could carry more then two people at any given time. It seemed like now more and more people were travelling by the giant aircrafts and with them, many young and excitable children.

He always worried about the amount of youngsters he saw on these planes. During the pass few decades he had heard terrible tales of planes going down or missing without a trace.

Sure, planes may be a little safer then they were ten years ago and sure, when a plane crashed, it did not necessarily mean that everyone on board was doomed to die in a fiery inferno with little to no hope of survival...

Oh dear Manny this plane was going to crash!

No! The plane is fine, I am fine, the children are fine, we are all fine! We will not crash. We will not crash. We will not crash. WE WILL NOT-

"Santa?"

The sound of a young girl's voice pulled him out of his train wreck of thought and back to reality and logic.

He looked over his shoulder to the row he had just passed and spotted the top of a brunette head and dark brown eyes peeking over the headrest of the seat to stare right at him. He blinked dumbly at the little child before his brain finally kicked into gear and his natural fatherly instincts took over.

"Hello there little one" He stepped back as he whispered; retracing his steps until his was back on the same row as the child. Smiling excitedly, she eagerly rubbed the sand from her eyes and crouched back into her seat. "Hi Santa." She whispered. Her voice was so sweet, like bird songs in spring and her petite little face was the most adorable sight he had ever beheld. Of course, he thought that about every child, but that did not stop it from being true.

Leaning down to her eye level, he released a joyous grin and whispered quiet enough so not to wake anyone.

"Have you been a good girl this year Zoey?"

The child gasped at the mention of her name and her tiny hands raced to cover her mouth as she squealed. "You know my name!" It was not a question. It was an excited statement.

"I know more then your name little one. I know how much you have been wanting new story book" Still smiling he reach deep within his large pocket and pulled out a thin parcel wrapped in glistening pink paper with silver moons and stars decorating it. Wrapped neatly around it was a beautiful handmade dark pink ribbon. The little girl's eyes tripled in size and all that he could hear pass her delicate fingers was a small entranced gasp of wonder.

The little one's reaction was heart-warming and without denying her further, he held out the gift to her.

"Merry Christmas Zoey"

Slowly the child reached out a soft hand and gently took the gift from his grasp. In her tiny little hands the gift looked bigger and for a long while she could do nothing but look at the beautiful present wrapped so carefully and lovingly. "Thank you sir" she whispered, her voice filled to the brim with awe and gratitude.

She was obviously a very well brought up little lady. Not many little ones have ever called him sir before. The formality made him chuckle heartily despite trying to keep the noise down.

"There is no need for thanks little one. You have been very good girl this year." He reached back into his pocket, pulled out a red and white striped candy cane, and placed it in her hands. "And this," he said with a smile. "Is for writing such wonder letters to me."

The girl's eyes lingered on the sweet treat in her hand before looking up at the jolly man. She smiled so brightly at him she could have put the sun to shame. Before he knew what had hit him he had an armful of very happy, very excited little child."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she sang loudly. "I knew you would get my letters! My big brother always said you read all the letters. I can't wait to tell him I met Santa for real!"

"Who met Santa?"

Lifting his head up from the little girl's shoulder, he was greeted by several little heads peeking up from the row in front, like rabbits hopping out if their burrows. All round him, small gasps of surprise and joy reached his ears and at once, he knew he was rumbled.

"So much for keep low profile da?" He winked cheekily at the giggling girl as he straighten up. All around him he watched as children throughout the cabin eagerly nudged their neighbours awake while the ones that were all ready up started pointing and laughing gleefully as the being from their storybooks stood before them.

"So…," North said, surveying the sea of smiling faces. "How many of you have been good this year?"

Outside of the aircraft, Jack was fidgeting with unbound nerves. North had been gone a long time and while the powerful reindeer never tired, it was becoming increasing difficult to keep the sleigh level. The south wind was relentless in it mission to knock them off course and even though he had the help of the ever-faithful north wind by his side, it was still a struggle.

It seemed as though the south wind had just been waiting for the jolly red man to disappear before making its move. Jack could practically hear its mocking voice roaring in his ear.

Quick! Get the pesky winter boy before the fat man returns! He can't fly the sleigh with we throw a bloody tornado at him!

Meddling southern wind. It had always had an attitude with him. Even just last week it had-

A bright, blinding light exploded in the air directly in front of him, just above the last two reindeer. All thoughts of the troublesome wind was instantly wiped from his mind and replaced with "oh Manny we're gonna crash!"

Reacting on instinct Jack completely forgot his task and yanked brutally hard on the reins. The lead deer hadn't noticed (or just didn't care about) the dazzling white light behind them and jerked with surprised fright as their bits were pulled uncomfortably into the backs of their mouths.

Instantly the front-runners decreased their speed, sending the ones behind barrelling into them with startled grunts. The deer closest to the sleigh, frighten and confused, kicked furiously against the front of the wooden vehicle, splintering the wood and stripping the paintwork. Jack yelped as the force of the kicks jarred him and he scrambled to try and keep the reins firmly glued to his hands. If he let go now it would be beyond words like disastrous and devastating.

It would be the freaking end of Santa's sleigh!

Fortunately, for him, North came shooting out of the portal just at the right moment. Not necessarily at the right angle but most defiantly at the right moment.

He was this close to abandoning ship.

Unfortunately however, the speed in which North reappeared had not been calculated and just as quick as he had came, he was gone again. Jack barely had time to watch him fly pass as he missed the sleigh entirely.

Jack's heart jumped in his throat as he saw the body of North freefalling away from both the plane and the sleigh. From up here he looked like bird.

A really big, heavy bird that couldn't fly.

Oh no!

Fighting the panic and the screaming voice inside his head Jack pulled on the reins with all his might, willing and pleading with the giant deer to turn around.

"Come on! Come on! Move!" His voice did little to control the chaotic animals but that didn't really matter. His momentary lapse in what little concentration he had, had caused the deer to lose their balance and bank (very frightfully) to the left out of the way of the speeding jet and the strong wind.

The front-runners bellowed and snorted fearfully before regaining their senses and getting their ranks back under control. Jack immediately took his chance and spurred the deer into a deep dive before they could have time to think about it.

North was still a good way off from the ground but even that was still to close for his likening. Cracking the reins and screaming like a lunatic, he surged the deer faster until, to his great relief, they passed their master.

Jack, still working on his instincts, snapped the rein hard against his chest, forcing the front-runners to come up from their dive. The deer were not happy about the rough treatment but had no time to express it.

No sooner had they levelled out, North's massive weight struck the sleigh with such a force that it dropped an extra couple of feet through the air. The jolt of it nearly sent Jack sailing clear out his seat but he didn't mind. He was too busy trying to get his heart beating from the heart attack he was as sure he just had.

"Haha! I knew would were right spirit for job Jack!" North boomed loudly from his awkward position on the back seat.

"Never have I seen such driving in all my years! You remind me of a younger me, you know, before I got such big belly and bushy beard, Haha!" laughing like a maniac (which Jack knew he was) he slapped the stunned teen hard on the back as if they had merely be taking a short drive and not a death defying freefall through the night sky.

Straighten himself up, North clambered into back into his seat at the front of the sleigh and held out his hand. "I am thinking you would be liking me to drive for a while da?"

Jack looked at the reins clutched between his white knuckles and thrust them into North's waiting hand as if they were venomous snakes. FoHe couldn't let go of them quick enough. North smile widened and once he was back in control, he snapped the reins and urged the beasts on at a leisurely pace. Jack was still trying to recover from his horrifying ordeal and failed to notice the sleighs angle of accent.

"North?" Jack asked once he was sure he could form proper words again.

"Da?"

"Never, and I mean never do that to me again."

North chuckled. "I am sorry my boy, but you have to admit, was very thrilling no?"

"No. no it was not." Even as he said it, he couldn't keep the smile off his face any longer. Maybe it was because North was okay with it or maybe he was just mad but, at that moment, he couldn't help but find the whole situation suddenly hilarious. Pretty soon he was laughing like a fool on gas. It was the laugh of someone who had just cheated death and boy did he find it funny.

"I have never been so freaked in my whole life!" He cried, wiping tears from his eyes and chocking back the giggles. "I thought you were a goner this time!"

Encouraged by the boy's sudden good mood North too, quickly melted into a fit of giggles of his own. "It was better then being on plane. I nearly had to demonstrate how to use sick bags. Would not have been a pretty sight for little eyes to see. At least I did not trip over trolley like last time!"

Jack cracked up even more. His sides were starting to kill.

"You tripped over a trolley? Oh, that is priceless! Why was I not around to see that huh?"

"Because you have never been near plane before! Very tricky things to get near, and even trickier to stick too."

"Tell me about it." He could keep better track of an invisible, raging polar bear then he could a plane and given the chose between the two, the bear would win his vote every time.

"Those things are crazy. I still can't believe you boarded that thing and left me to fend for myself. What if it had sped up, flown through a cloudbank, or burst into flames? What would I have done then?"

"You would have gotten bored of waiting and stolen my sleigh!" North slapped him on the shoulder and laughed heartily.

"You're right about that!" Jack laughed along with him and briefly wondered what he would do if he did so happened to find himself commandeering North's pride and joy. He would have to experiment one day and see. Maybe he could sneak it all the way passed the yetis before they noticed him (hey, let a teen dream)

But that would be a challenge for another night. They weren't finished with Christmas yet!

Slowly North managed to bring them back to their original height. By now, the plane was a long way off and growing smaller and smaller with each passing second as it sped off to its final destination. The image of a handful of wide-awake and excited children now sitting down and waking their parents made North's heart swell with joy and pride. He truly loved his job even though it sometimes took him to extreme measures to fulfil it. More and more people were travelling by plane now and even Christmas Eve did not stop them from flying. It was different years ago when all he had to worry about was how many dogs could be hiding in one house.

If you had told him years ago that he would be leaping onto great flying machines to deliver presences he would had laughed it off as a fools joke. But then time decided to make him eat those thoughts and before he knew it, he was face to face with a new exciting challenge.

And he was proud to admit that despite a few hiccups here and there, he had risen to meet that challenge.

Like they say, practise makes perfect and so far this was, without a doubt, the best plane run he has ever done. Near death experience included.

In addition, explaining how the children aboard theses airlines woke up with new presents was surprisingly easy. Apparently, the parents thought that the staff aboard the planes had handed them out as a surprise while the plane staff assumed the parents had been responsible for the mysterious gifts.

Of course, only children would ever know the truth and what a thrill it was for them to be able to say they met Santa Claus on the plane to Turkey.

"Um North" North tore his gaze away from the now empty skies and turned to his son curiously. "Shouldn't we be making tracks? It's, what, nearly one in the morning and we still have less then half the globe to finish. Unless you just want to call it a night?"

"Call it a night! We still have millions of gifts to deliver and many more exciting trips to make!"

Jack saw the excited twinkle in the older man's eyes and groaned sarcastically. "I know that tone. If I had cookie from every time I've heard that tone I'd be dead from a sugar overdose." Resigning himself to the inevitable fate he knew was coming, he asked with a mischievous grin. "So how many more planes do we have to board tonight?"

Please let the answer be none.

"At least six more at moment."

Fantastic! Six more changes to be crushed!

"But some planes will be nearing destination soon so might be less."

Okay, so maybe less then six more changes to be crushed! Hooray!

Smiling quietly to himself Jack took a moment to breathe in a lungful of good clean air and watched as North clicked his tongue at the deer and changed directions. Now that all the adrenaline was leaving his system, he felt suddenly bored and wished they could have stay just a little longer with the plane. Maybe some of the kids saw them as the shot passed the windows. It was unlikely but who could really tell for sure.

Thinking about the happy kids made he wish he could have boarded with North to see them.

Looking out of the corner of his eye North recognised the deep brooding expression on the young Guardians face. He wasn't really to call it quits on the fun just yet.

"Are you up for challenge Jack?" North suddenly asked unexpectedly and leaned forward with that same twinkle in his eyes that he always got when he was enjoying himself. In his hands, he held the reins out to him. Jack gazed at the offered straps of worn leather and beamed eagerly.

Taking the reins from him, he looked up to face his mentor and father and said cheekily.

"What kind of spirit of fun would I be if I said no." and with that cracked the reins against the flanks of the reindeer and shot off into the night, ready and willing for another crack at aeroplane dodging.

Well, it's been ages since I last updated and i have a few things i need to mention.

Firstly i love you guys for all the reviews, favs and follows you've all left me. You are all the best and i just want to write forever when i read your comments. i seriously can't thank you all enough!

Secondly some of you may have noticed an earlier chapter deleted. that was the movie night chapter and i got rid of it for a few different reasons. the main one being that i was not happy with it.

Now, i got some wonderful reviews for that chapter and a lot of people seemed to like it but i am not a good writer and writing movie based chapters are my worst nightmare. I can't do it properly and more importantly i don't enjoy doing them. They are too hard to get right and i was not looking forward to writing another.

Don't get me wrong, there will be a few television based chapters later on but from now on I'm leaving the movie-based chapters up to the more skilled and intelligent writers. That being said i still have that chapter on my deviantART account if anyone really wants to check it out (my account is under the same username as the one i use on here)

And lastly, i will try and get the next chapter up a little faster then i did this one.

Thank you all for reading and being patience. If you have the time please feel free to comment, if not thanks for stopping by :D