A/N:alright and now for the last installment of Sleep and at the end theres a pretty long authors note

Disclaimer:I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters

Chapter Forty Three

Bunnymund and North became silent when there was suddenly and eruption of laughter. Jack was sitting up in his bed cracking up at the sight of Bunny as his hands were clutching his sides. He was laughing so hard he could barely breath and there were even tears freezing at the corners of his eyes. "Oh my gosh Kangaroo since when have you been green?" he asked between giggles. If Bunnymund was a human, he would have been red with embarrassment. Instead, he was tinted green because of a certain spirit who probably did this on purpose. Jack's laughter had spread to the others in the room and the next thing you knew, North was howling with laughter as well while Tooth was giggling to herself. Sandy was on Jack's bed silently chuckling while Jack was hunched over.

"Alright knock it off its not that funny!" Bunny protested but Jack had another thing in mind.

"Oh no, no this is priceless. We might as well hang candy canes and tinsel on you ears and call you the Christmas Kangaroo!"

The room only burst with more laughter while Bunny scowled. Deep down, he was actually pretty glad that Jack was back to his usual self but having everyone laugh at him was still irritating.

/

"So Jack, what do you think?" North asked to the newly awoken boy. Everyone's laughter had died down a few minutes ago and Jack was gazing around the room at the moment while North watched him anxious for a response. The room was so magnificent, Jack literally had nothing to say. The four wooden walls were painted to look like a mural of his forest back in Burgess and they were so real it looked as if you could just walk right in it and climb the trees. Each branch was decorated in and assortment of snow and frost while icicles dangled from their tips. Each detail into the ice and snow was so flawless it was as if Jack had done it himself.

The bed that Jack had been sleeping in was carved out of some type of wood and it had thin white bedsheets and two white pillows. A night stand was resting next to the bed with a lamp made out of ice and when it was turned on it illuminated the room in a shining white light. In the middle wall of the room was a large window with icy blue translucent curtains and there was even a latch on the window so that it could open like doors.

On the far left of the room was a wooden dresser and the top was garnished with snow globes that had a moving figure in each of them. Jack took a closer look at one and saw two people ice skating inside the globe while the kids from Burgess were having a snowball fight in the other. There was even a snow globe where it had three dolphins swimming around while wearing Christmas sweaters and fuzzy red hats. Covering a majority of the cold wooden floor was a soft white rug that was as soft as freshly fallen snow minus the cold surface.

Did he really deserve something amazing as this? North just stared at Jack as he walked around studying every last detail with curiosity but he still had that look of amazement that every child had when they would wake up on Christmas day. He could tell that Jack obviously appreciated the gesture. The winter spirit was even making sure not to frost over the carpet too much when he stepped on it. It wasn't until Jack turned to North he replied.

"Listen North, this is all wonderful and all, but why? What's the occasion?"

"Why? This is your room Jack!"

"What?"

"This is where you'll be staying whenever you visit pole!"

Jack just stood there speechless with his staff gripped in his hand. Sure he was at the North Pole most of the time now that he was actually welcomed, but his home was back at the frozen lake in Burgess. Well, it was his home until spring and summer would make it too hot for him there. When it would get too hot Jack would just go to the opposite end of the globe where he could make all the snow he want and not having to worry about melting. Besides, Jack like wide open spaces to fly around rather than being cooped up inside. But that didn't mean that he didn't like the room, no, it was the best thing he'd ever gotten. Then again, this was the first time he's ever received anything from anyone. Jackson Overland Frost held the record on the naughty list, he wasn't supposed to get anything from Santa Clause not to mention the others. But North had said that he had wiped the slate clean when Jack had popped his pale little head out of that sack.

The look on North's face though was what impacted Jack the most. North looked like a five year old on Christmas Eve. How could he possibly decline to that? Being the embodiment of winter, Jack could act cold to others and he didn't have the most manners, but he couldn't crush the spirits of his family.

"I, I love it." he said with a smile.

/

Bunnymund was somewhere in the workshop trying to wash off the green paint while Jack was just as lively as he was before. There were no longer black bags under his eyes and he wasn't feeling tired at all. Instead, Jack had been flying through the hallways with the other three guardians pursuing him.

"Hey North, the Kangaroo is in one of the bathrooms upstairs right?"

"Yes he's washing the paint out of his fur."

"And how old is this place?"

"I don't know maybe a couple centuries. Why?"

Jack grinned revealing his perfectly white teeth and Tooth had known Jack long enough to know that he was up to something.

"Jack, what are you planning?"

"Nothing why?"

"I know that smile Jack, you're planning something aren't you?"

"Who me?"

"Yes you!"

"Nah. I was just thinking about freezing some more elves later."

Before anyone could stop him, Jack flew off down the hall ignoring the shouts coming from the others behind him. He weaved in and out of surprised yetis as he made his way through hall after hall until he reached the bathrooms. Jack could hear the water running through the pipes and there was a certain bathroom where it was closed but it was warm as if there was something inside radiating off heat. Bunny must be taking a warm and pleasant shower and Jack had two options. He could either freeze all of the water pipes, or sneak in the bathroom and flush the toilet.

Deciding to go with his second option, Jack slowly placed his hand on the door and stuck his head in. A warm mist had brushed over him and he was right about Bunny taking a hot shower. He must be using up half of the hot water in the workshop. Well, if Bunnymund liked taking hot showers at the North Pole, then he was going to love this.

Jack had only been awake for ten minutes and he was already planning a prank on the Easter Bunny. Tip toeing into the bathroom, Jack quietly made his way over to the toilet that was placed next to the shower Bunnymund was in. The boy moved his hand over to the handle while trying his best not to laugh. Bunny didn't even notice that anyone else was with him. He was behind a red shower curtain scrubbing at his fur.

Jack's fingers were on the toilet flusher now. Very slowly, he pushed it down.

/

"Where could he have gone?" Tooth asked. She was in the hallways with North and Sandy while they were all trying to determine where Jack had flown off to now. "I don't know where Jack is, but I have a gut feeling he's-" North was cut off mid sentence when Jack suddenly whooshed past them laughing. A soaking wet Bunnymund trailed after the boy but North grabbed one of the pooka's tall ears.

"Bunny what is it?"

"Oh I'll tell ya what it is, Frost is really in for it now."

Jack Frost had just scalded the Easter Bunny with boiling hot water and the winter spirit wasn't going to be let off that easily.

"Oh hey Kangaroo you look so mad. You're practically steaming." Jack said as he floated in the air high above the guardians.

"Now listen up Frost, I-"

"Oh I can't wait to here it. You'll have to tell me once you've finally cooled down."

Bunnymund growled at Jack but he only stuck out his tongue before flying off again and the guardian of hope began his chase once again. He honestly couldn't believe this kid. There he was, washing green paint out of his fur and the next thing he knew there was a flushing noise and blistering hot water rained down on him and he swore out loudly. Then he had heard the laughter of a child in the room and when he looked he saw it was none other than Jack Frost standing by the toilet.

Still soaking wet, Bunnymund was on all fours as he raced through North's workshop. Jack was high up in the air leaving a trail of frost behind him on purpose just to taunt the pooka. The other three guardians had followed them as well and were having trouble just trying to keep up. Jack had been flying under and over toys and yetis while avoiding the occasional elf and he was almost out the door when Bunnymund had suddenly popped out of the ground in front of him. The boy didn't even have time to stop or to react and he collided into the warm wet rabbit as they tumbled through the open door and out into the snow.

Jack hastily got back up before Bunnymund could grab him and was now flying five feet above the pooka's head. Cold and frustrated, Bunnymund got back up and started shouting at Jack.

"Frost you better get your bloody carcass back here!"

"Pfft. Yeah right. I've been out of the field for a while and you know, I have places to go and winter to bring."

"Just wait til I get my paws on you Frostbite!"

The other three guardians arrived at the door just in time to see Jack wave goodbye.

"Don't worry North, I'll be back before midnight." he called down as the wind carried him farther and farther away. North shouted something back but Jack was too far away to make out what it was but if it was important, North would probably find another way to tell him.

It felt so good to be back. Jack had honestly missed flying across the globe without a care in the world. He was re-energized and nobody was trying to kill him as he flew freely through the air. With a wave of his staff, snow began to fall as Jack spun in the sky. The sun was setting so he didn't have to worry about getting too high as the wind carried him across the planet. Jack had somewhere to be at the moment, and that place happened to be a small town called Burgess.

The wind carried its rider to Burgess and he touched down on a sidewalk. There was still some leftover snow from when Pitch had created that snowstorm and snow plows had pushed it all to the side. Off in the distance, Jack spotted a group of teenagers talking loudly by a metal pole.

"Common Nathan do it I dare you!"

"But what if it just freezes there and doesn't come off?"

"Dude that never happens. Now come on do it!"

The other teens around Nathan were grinning while the by slowly bent down and placed the tip of his tongue against the cold metal. Jack saw this as a opportunity and flew by Nathan and froze the boy's tongue to the pole in the process. Nathan had started to squirm trying to remove his frozen tongue while Jack just snickered at him. "You're not that bright are you?" he asked despite the fact that they couldn't hear him.

"Aw man dude it totally happened!"

"Nathans tongue froze to the pole!"

Jack decided to move on to cause some more mischief as he spotted his next target, a woman walking on the sidewalk with a scarf wrapped tightly around her head. With a tap of his staff, ice began to spread over the sidewalk and onto the woman's path as she slipped on it and fell back. There happened to be a man passing by and he suddenly caught the woman in his arms. "Hey nice catch." Jack said as he watched woman stare into her savior's eyes and blushed under her scarf.

"O-Oh. Thank you."

"Your welcome miss."

Jack rolled his eyes and flew back into the air causing a gush of cold air to rush past the couple. He balanced on the edge of a tall skyscraper as he watched the white puffy clouds pass by. Everything was so at ease now, and everyone was so peaceful and unaware of the battle that had gone on days ago. Jack decided it was too quiet and flew to the snow covered park where he saw five kids playing.

"Yeah! Best snow day ever!"

"No school tomorrow either!"

"That'd be the third day schools are closed due to snow!"

They were obviously happy that there had been a snow storm a few days ago. The schools were closed giving them free time to have fun outside. Jack didn't know who these kids were, but that didn't stop him from starting a snowball fight with them. He picked up a clump of snow and balled it up in his bare hands and he threw it at the back of a girl's head.

"Hey! What was that for?"

Everyone denied every accusation the girl made towards them before she threw a snowball back and hit a boy in the face covering his glasses.

"Sorry Ian! I meant to hit Amy." the girl said as she apologized. Amy giggled at her friend's horrible aim until a snowball flew out of nowhere and hit her back. Within seconds a battle ensued as the kids were chucking snowballs at each other in a five way free for all. They weren't even noticing Jack but he didn't care, all that mattered was that he was having fun with them. Jack waved his staff and dozens of snowballs formed on the ground that the kids scooped up to toss at each other. Glancing over to a clock tower, Jack saw that he still had time to through one last snowball with these kids that he'd just met today.

Forming a perfect snowball in his hand, Jack focused on a tall brunette and threw the ball of white snow as hard as he could. It flew through the air like a rocket but its target moved out of the way before it could hit and it smashed straight through a car window. Everyone froze and stood in silence as the sound of a car alarm rang through the area. Jack must have accidentally put some ice in that snowball, that would happen sometimes.

"My car!"

The children started to flee the scene and Jack has never been so glad to be invisible. This was terrible. Jack was the one who broke the car window and unless the owner of the car happened to believe in him, the kids were going to be blamed.

"Okay don't worry I'll fix this,"

Jack hustled over to the car as he started to hear hurried footsteps coming closer. He quickly began to place a sheet of clear ice on what was left of the car window until it was able to be passed off as if nothing had happened. Now the ice on the car would melt away eventually, but by that time the kids would be long gone so no one would know who actually broke the window in the first place.

The owner of the car, who happened to look as if he was in his mid fifties, ran to his car in a huff and inspected the window. It look brand new but there was broken glass inside his car. "Don't worry old timer. That ice should last a few days." Jack said before flying off once again.

This time Jack perched himself on some telephone wires and watched the sun set. It lit up the sky in a bright array of colors as the winter spirit pondered in his thoughts. The past few months had been hectic and painful for him, but despite that he found out he was actually welcomed into the guardians and that they truly cared about him. He also made quite a few discoveries about himself. Jack sighed as he looked off in a certain direction. There was still a certain someone he needed to see.

/

Jamie sat on his bed and groaned. His parents had grounded him when they saw all the ice in his room and when they saw the snow on his pajamas. That and they saw the broken window in his room that Sandy threw Pitch out of. He was so bored staying in his room all day. He couldn't go outside in the snow with his friends and Sophie was napping so he couldn't do anything with her. But Jamie was still hopeful. The last time he saw Jack was maybe three days ago when he was with all of the guardians. His skin was grey and his hair was black and he had Pitch inside of him but he should be alright now shouldn't he?

A light snow was falling outside so that must have meant that Jack was back right? Jamie huffed and blew some stray hair out of his face while sitting on his bed. Sulking and staring at the ground again, Jamie really hoped that Jack was okay. He was too busy being lost in thought to notice how cold his room had become. Jamie hadn't noticed Jack's presence until a dolphin made of ice swam past him.

"Jack!"

Jamie ran to his broken window and pulled the sheet back covering it. They really had to fix his window soon, Jamie couldn't look out at the snow through a sheet. Just as he though, Jack Frost was hovering outside his window smiling. Jack looked different too. His hair was back to its normal silvery white color and his eyes had gone from a golden yellow to an icy blue. He flew up and entered through the broken window and greeted his first believer.

"Hey kiddo hows it going?"

"Hows it going? Jack what happened? Like I know that you're you now but you were all grey and evil and Pitch-"

"Oh well uh, that's a long story."

"Oh,"

"But hey, did you miss me?"

"Of course I did!"

The sun outside was beginning to set meaning that Jack had to do what he needed to do right now before it got too dark.

"Okay Jamie listen, I need you to go get your snow gear."

"Why?"

"I have something in mind."

"But my parents took all my snow stuff and won't let me go outside."

"And I was told by a very grumpy yeti to never come to the North Pole ever again and that was years ago."

"Can you just tell me what happened as a bed time story?"

Jack really had no interest in telling Jamie, this young child, about all of the horrors that he had faced within thepast few months so instead, he was going to have fun with him.

"Hey you wanna see something cool?"

"Okay!"

"Alright now I know that you don't have your snow stuff, but just grab my hand. We'll only be outside for a few minutes I promise."

Jack's pale hand was outstretched to Jamie who eagerly grabbed onto it. The last time Jamie flew with Jack the winter spirit had been holding onto Jamie's shirt but now they would be holding onto each other like in that Peter Pan story Jamie had read about.

"What are we going to do Jack?"

"You'll see,"

A smile was on Jack's face as he flew through the window with Jamie. The sun had already set and the night sky was illuminated by the moon shining brighter than ever.

In no time the wind had carried both of them over the snow covered forest outside of town and Jamie was grinning from ear to ear at seeing the winter wonderland below that was shining under the silver moonlight.

"Wow. Jack this is amazing! I've never seen the forest from so high up before!"

"Oh that's not what I wanted to show you Jamie."

"Its not?"

"Nope. This is only the ride."

"Really?"

"Yup. What I have in store way better than flying over a forest."

They touched down in the forest and Jamie could barely hold in all of his excitement.

"Are we having a snow ball fight?"

"Nope, not right now. Right now you have to close your eyes."

"How come?"

"Its a surprise."

Jamie obeyed Jack and covered his eyes. All around him he could hear the wind whistling and the sound of ice and frost forming. He knew Jack was up to something, because the air kept rushing back and forth around his body while he could hear the muffled laughter coming from Jack who sounded just as excited as he was.

"Okay, open your eyes."

Jamie looked around and his mouth hung open at what he saw. A highway of ice was winding through the forest and it was full off twists and turns making it look like a roller coaster. Besides him was Jack standing next to a sled made of ice that he must had made prior to the surprise.

"So remember the day when you were sledding and you went out into the streets and somehow remained unscathed until that sofa hit you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well I was thinking we could try that again minus all the cars and furniture."

"Of course! Jack that would be awesome!"

Jamie was jumping up and down now full of enthusiasm. He remembered that day when he had lost that tooth in that sledding accident, it was the most fun he had ever had besides helping the guardians fight Pitch with his friends while golden dreams surrounded them. Nothing would ever be greater than that. The young boy hopped onto the icy sled not caring that it was cold. He was about to create some memories with the guardian of fun.

/

"Ready Jamie?" Jack asked. Jamie was currently perched at the highest summit of the ice roller coaster and the boy looked down below him. It was in the middle of the night and he was spending it with Jack Frost who was about to guide him through a roller coaster made of ice while riding on a sled also made of ice that felt like glass. He gulped nervously before replying.

"Yeah,"

"You know you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world! Now let's do-WHOA!"

Jamie's hair was blown back as he began sliding down the incline. He was going down a very large drop and was going at such speeds that Jack almost had trouble keeping up with him. Almost.

Both of them were laughing as Jamie accelerated through the roads of ice while Jack few along his side making sure that the boy never went off coarse even during a cork screw. There were millions of butterflies in Jamie's stomach as he glided up and down left and right all through the night while being jostled during every twist and turn. Now Jamie had been on roller coasters during summer carnivals, but this was beyond comparison. This was created by Jack Frost, the guardian of fun.

"Hey Jamie get ready for the loop de loop!"

"The wha-"

Jamie let out a scream of joy when he suddenly turned upside down along the track. His velocity had kept him from falling off and by the end of the loop Jamie was laughing. Jack had to give credit to North for the 'loop de loop' since that was where he had gotten the idea from. Jamie's coffee brown eyes widened when he suddenly saw that the path in front of him was starting to grow shorter with a nothing but wide open space at the end.

"Uh, Jack,"

The rush of wind whistling past Jamie's ears blocked out whatever Jack was saying but judging by the confident look on the teen's face, he knew that he had nothing to worry about.

Jack wouldn't let Jamie get hurt right?

Right?

Jamie yelled when he suddenly shot over the end of the track and he rocketed through the air. His body was soaring over the forest on its own without the help of Jack or the wind. He could feel the sled of ice come out from under him as he started his descent through the air. That was when Jack tackled Jamie's body and the wind hurdled them into a very very deep snow bank freshly formed and their bodies were shot into it.

"That was amazing!" Jamie barked while popping out of the snow. Jack popped out as well but was taken by surprise when his skinny torso was hugged by Jamie. He patted Jamie on the back and shook some snow out of his hair.

"Glad you liked it."

Jack looked up and saw golden tendrils of dream sand coming down from the sky and swirling over Burgess. Looks like it was time to go. Time does really fly when you're having fun.

"Alright kid time for bed."

"Awww but why?"

"Trust me, sleeping is a good thing. I'll drop you back home but don't worry cause I'll be back in no time."

Jack picked up Jamie who had started to shiver from the cold and flew him back to his house.

"Good night Jamie."

"Good night Jack!"

/

Jack was back at the North Pole. He would have been there sooner but he had stepped on to one of Bunnymund's hidden rabbit holes and ended up falling through it and into one of the tunnels. It was there where he met the Easter Bunny who as still a little peeved about the incident with the shower and the toilet flushing. Bunnymund also happened to have a hairdryer with him which he used to chase a very nervous Jack around in the tunnels. Now the hairdryer wasn't on, and Bunnymund knew not to actually use it on Jack, but Jack didn't know that.

After a while of a panicking Jack being chased around by Bunnymund in his tunnels they had both tired out before they exited through a tunnel leading to North's Workshop. The pooka was pleased with himself at getting his revenge on Jack as they walked through the workshop. Tooth and Sandy had been out working during that time but North wasn't and he laughed at how they reacted to each other. It wasn't until the Tooth Fairy came back the Easter Bunny and the embodiment of winter were scolded for the behavior but they never listened. Sandy had seen what Jack was doing and gave him a nod of approval having fun with Jamie like that but then motioned that next time don't make it so extreme.

They were all currently gathered around North's fireplace relaxing while watching a magical fire crackle. They could have used normal fire, but instead they used an enchanted one so that it wouldn't harm anyone but could still serve its purpose. Jack knew that the fire couldn't harm him, and he knew that they could throw his entire body in there and the only injury he would get would be from hitting his head on the fireplace, but that wasn't stopping him from staying up in the rafters. Besides, he had a bag of raw marshmallows since when they had tried to roast marshmallows earlier Bunnymund had a carrot on his stick because he didn't like having all that white goo in his fur, North had tried roasting marshmallows but they kept catching on fire so he was just roasting chestnuts, Tooth wasn't eating anything sugary and was just drinking some eggnog, and Sandy was the only one there actually roasting marshmallows until they were a golden color.

Jack plopped another white marshmallow in his mouth and chewed on it. "Jack, maybe you shouldn't have any more marshmallows." Tooth said to him while fluttering up to where he was. "Relax Tooth, my teeth won't rot away from just a few marshmallows." he said. Being preserved in the frozen dead corpse of who you once were had some perks. Jack's body became frozen in time like this while he was under that lake meaning he was stuck like this. Maybe that was why his teeth were so white all the time. Jack's hand reached into the bag and pulled out another marshmallow. He seriously doesn't remember the last time he ate anything. He was too busy hyped up on adrenaline to notice how hungry he was.

Tooth decided that Jack had had enough sugary marshmallows and swiped the bag from him.

"Hey!"

"I just think you've had too much sugar right now."

"What about Sandy? He's probably eaten an entire bag by now."

Down below them the other three guardians were watching Jack and Tooth. It was like a boy arguing with his mother before bed time.

An hour later the fire was put out and Jack had actually fallen asleep while hanging out in the rafters. They had an option of moving him to someplace more comfortable like his bed or the couch, but he was so peaceful in his sleep and they didn't want to disturb him. All that never stopped Tooth from flying up to him and placing a blanket across his body. She sighed and lightly smiled while watching over him. Sandy had flown up as well and sprinkled his dream sand over Jack's head and within seconds golden visions of his dreams appeared above his head. But these dreams were different. No, they weren't nightmares, or snowball fights, or dolphins, it was the guardians.

His family.

"Well, its gettin late. See ya tomorrow." Bunnymund said waving off before disappearing through a rabbit hole. Later on Tooth and Sandy had to depart as well both promising to come back tomorrow if they ever had any free time. Within seconds it was just North and Jack. The guardian of wonder looked up to where Jack was resting and grinned at the boy. Jack didn't know it, but he had actually turned the guardians into his own family like the ones humans had. North and Tooth were playing the parental roles, Sandy was like an older brother to Jack, and Bunnymund was like a grumpy uncle who's really fun to mess with.

It had taken his entire life, but Jackson Overland Frost, Old Man Winter, an expression, the guardian of fun, the lonely winter child, wasn't so alone anymore.

A/N: aaaaah this thing is finally done and now I can start posting my new stories but I must say, I'm a little sad to end this but I also want to thank you all for sticking with this fic til the end and for reading and reviewing. I love all of you people out there and I send out virtual hugs to everyone.

this thing has actually changed me a lot. If I hadn't posted this story, it would just be sitting in a notebook in my room collecting dust but look at it now. ive had people asking to draw fanart and theres also people who have messaged me asking when the next update would be. all of the reviews have really meant a lot to me and they allow me to make it through the day just knowing that people like my writing :3

and so I end this fic but don't worry! I'll be posting my next rise if the guardians fanfiction soon as well as a few one shots. So if you wanna read my next story when it comes out it'll be called Kill the Lights. Yes, it's named after the song kill the lights by the birthday massacre and if you want you can go listen to that song before I post it but only if you want to.

so til next time. And once again, thank you all :3