One second, Pitch was there, his scythe inches from burying its blade deep in Jack, and the next he was simply gone. Mouths gaping, shocked speechless and immobile, the four of them stood staring where Pitch had been.

Jack was the first to move, the wind throwing him over the wall Pitch had been dragged over, the others following belatedly in his wake as they followed the sand trails to where a vortex of golden sand rose toward the sky, a familiar golden shape taking form inside it.

"…it…cannot be…" North whispered as Sandy, their Sandy, scolded a thoroughly cowed Pitch before a solid, well-earned uppercut sent the Boogieman flying into the sky.

Nodding once in smug satisfaction, Sandy drifted over to the still stunned and silent Guardians. Smug as the proverbial cat trailing canary feathers, he waved casually, as nonchalant as only the Sandman could be.

Deciding to play it as casually as Sandy was, the older Guardians stepped – or in Tooth's case, floated – towards their restored companion, only for a blur of blue and white to shoot past them all.

Jack impacted with Sandy with a soft thump, the impact sending Sandy backwards and making them lose a good foot of altitude as Jack wrapped himself around the smaller Guardian, babbling a stream of "ThoughtyouweredeadyouwereDEADdon'tyouEVEREVERdothatagainmissedyousomuchpleasebeokay" as he buried his face in a confused but obliging Sandy, who wrapped his arms around the younger spirit, never one to turn down a hug even if he wasn't sure why he was getting quite such an enthusiastic one.

Jack's sudden – and completely unexpected, from the normally snarky and standoffish teenager – show of affection made the other Guardians pause again. Suddenly North boomed out a laugh, wrapping his huge arms around Jack and Sandy, lifting both feather-light spirits higher effortlessly into a huge bear hug, burying his face in Sandy's hair.

"You scare us, my friend," he exclaimed, squeezing briefly but refusing to let go. "Never again, da?"

Openly crying now, Tooth flew up to wrap her arms around the still confused but more enthusiastic Sandman, Jack, and North.

"You are okay, right, Sandy?" she asked quietly. Sandy nodded, his sands forming a thumbs up over his head. No chance of dissipating back into sand here, really, Tooth, he formed in his pictures. Satisfied for the moment, she rested her head on his hair, squeezing a little tighter.

Still muttering almost inaudibly, Jack rubbed his cheek against Sandy's, opening his eyes to grin at the others.

"…are you crying, Cottontail?" he asked suddenly.

"…course not, ya drongo, got sand in me eye," Bunny muttered, hopping forward to wrap his arms around the other three, giving Sandy's head a quick rub with his chin. "…good to have ya back, mate."

They stood there for a minute or more, reluctant to let go. Sandy, who had given up on confusion in favor of free hugs, snuggled down into his family's arms. Suddenly five sets of eyes snapped open as Pitch stormed past, calling for his remaining Nightmares and growling about irritating Guardians who couldn't take things seriously.

"…perhaps it is a bit early for group hug?" North suggested. The others nodded silently, staring after the flailing Boogieman. Group hug after they finished saving the children.

…and if, on the way back to the Pole after everything was over, three of the five Guardians used the Sandman as a combination pillow and cuddle toy, no one ever mentioned it again.