Tooth watched worriedly as the two boys slept. They had been at the Pole for three days now. Most of their physical trauma made it impossible to walk, and the Guardians were also concerned that Jack and Jay were getting ill.

"They don't look much better, Toothy." Bunny said.

"I know." She replied, "In fact, I think they look worse."

It was true. Not only were they still thin and weak, now they had faces that were flushed with fever, coughs, glassy eyes, and as of late, headaches.

"We have medicine," said North, "Did you give them some of that?"

Sandman nodded miserably.

Jack stirred slightly in his sleep, a whimper coming from his mouth. Tooth tensed, asking quickly, "Is it another nightmare, Sandy?"

Sandman shook his head, frowning. A band-aid appeared over his head.

"He's in pain." Bunny translated.

"Should I wake him up and give him more medicine?" Tooth asked, "I feel like we should let him sleep."

Jay coughed feebly, his thin arms shaking against the Velcro. 

"I think we should wake them both up." North said. Sandman shrugged and nodded solemnly.

Oh, I wish we could just let them sleep!  Tooth thought, They look so tired...

However, she approached the bed where Jack slept nonetheless, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Jack, wake up, kay? I need to get you medicine." She murmured. 

Jack jumped awake and pulled back instantly, fear clearly written across his features, trembling. Tooth felt her heart sink down to her feet. He was so afraid of them. It was clear that he had only known abuse and torment for so long that he actually expected it.

"I'm just gonna give you a little medicine, and then you can sleep." Tooth promised. "How do you feel?"

"F-fine." He whispered.

North was so surprised that he nearly fell. The fact that Jack actually answered Tooth was monumental, but saying he felt fine when he looked so sick...!

"Are ya sure about that?" Bunny asked.

Jack winced and nodded.

Sandman frowned.

"You're allowed to tell us if you're in pain, Jack." Tooth said gently. Jack's eyes widened and he started shaking slightly. "Pitch... Pitch probably never let you say when you were hurting, huh?"

At the sound of the name, a whimper escaped Jack's lips. His eyes darted around the room, searching for the Lord of the Shadows, and he began trembling violently, curling up slightly.

Tooth realized she probably shouldn't have mentioned Pitch.

"Hey, you can relax." Tooth said, "He isn't here. You're safe. He can't get to you anymore."

Jack only shook his head. "Y-you don't un-u-understand. He's-" He cut off with a gasp, tensing and grimacing from pain. 

"I was right, then. You do need medicine." Tooth said, though more to herself than anyone else.

As she filled a paper cup with pain and fever meds, she noticed Jack raise a trembling hand and stare at it, his eyes growing wide.

The hand was covered with scars.

Not cuts or bruises, actually, horribly, terribly scarred.

The skin on the hand was warped, twisted, and marred, like it had been dipped into boiling water. Jack probably hadn't seen the scars because it was dark where he lived before, because now he looked shocked.

Then he laid his hand back down and looked away, almost as if he was ashamed.

"Sandman, see if you can wake up Jay for me, please." Tooth instructed, then said to Jack, "Drink this. It should help with your fever and pain."

Jack hesitated. Dropped his gaze. Inhaled shakily.

Accepted the cup.

Tooth smiled as she gave it to him. Jack looked at the medicine reproachfully before drinking it, coughing slightly as the stuff went down.

Sandy walked across the room and tapped the back of Jay's hand. Jay's eyes snapped open and he shrank back; or tried to, he was held in place by the Velcro.

"He is awake, Toothy." North said. 

"Good." Tooth said, "Hi, Jay. I know you feel sick and you're probably hurting a little bit, so I have medicine over here to help."

Jay shook his head.

Tooth was stunned for a moment. The boys had been sleeping for so long that she forgot that Jay wasn't able to speak.

Then she cleared her head, cursing herself.

"You don't have to hide being sick here, mate." Bunny said quietly. Jay flinched.

"Here, just drink some of this." Tooth instructed, "Don't worry, Jack already did."

Jay sent his brother a panicked look, shivering, his breath coming out in gasps. Jack hesitated.

Handing Jay another paper cup, she said, "This will help."

Jay turned away from her. 

"Jay... Please?"

It was obvious he didn't trust what was in the cup. Tooth wondered vaguely how many times Pitch had forced them to drink something they didn't want.

"I'm going to apologize for this before hand," she said softly.

Tooth felt horrible as Jay flinched when she pinched his nose shut the same way she had done with Jack; forcing him to drink the bitter liquid. Jay coughed slightly, his eyes shutting tightly. 

Good, Tooth thought, Hopefully they'll start walking in a few days!

She frowned. Maybe she shouldn't think so far ahead. After all, they were still feverish, weak, and very injured. Looking at the two boys lying in bed, Tooth felt her heart sink. Of course they wouldn't be walking in a few days! Jay especially, what with his broken leg.

And Jack...

Well, they both had nightmares, but Jack seemed to be the only one experiencing flashbacks. That was very bad. And Jay couldn't seem to stop having mental breakdowns, in which he would go very still and become unresponsive. 

Jack looked out the window longingly. He must have wanted to go outside, but then his expression darkened and he looked away, a shiver running down his spine.

What was he thinking about?

Tooth would have given anything to know.

As she and the other Guardians left the infirmary, Tooth was suddenly hit with the thought that they might never recover. 

_______________________________________________________

Hey, loves! So sorry about the long wait, but I spent the weekend with my cousin and aunt. We went floating down the river in these innertubes. I fell out right as we were going into the rapids, and only made it out in the nick of time!

Also, we went shopping. I went to Hot Topic and got a shirt that says 'I morn the death of fictional characters' on it! Here's a pic:

Bye! 

Luvies!

~Jack_Frost's_Girlfriend_13