Of the Northmost Winds and Skies

Chapter 43: Jack comes home

Jack's vision was filled with color and pitch darkness, sound and silence, fixed movement. He closed his eyes, hugging Jamie to his chest, and let himself fade out of existence, into the place between time and space.

And then they were back, and they were falling.

Jack's eyes shot open. Underneath him was a vast, white landscape – one which in any normal person's eyes would've looked bleak and unforgiving, but which made Jack's chest flare with joy. The North Pole! Jack would've laughed if he hadn't been so tired, before remembering he was carrying a child and they were still falling. Baby Tooth zoomed around his head, all but screaming at him to wake up. He gritted his teeth and steered them out of their freefall. The effort made black spots appear in his vision.

"Wind!" he yelled, his voice breaking weakly.

But the wind heard him anyway, and gave him the push he needed in the direction of the workshop.

Jack assumed they'd appeared in the exact same spot where the time fragment had swallowed them. It was as if no time had passed at all. Maybe that was even the case, somehow. He looked down at Jamie, who had passed out, but Jack had expected as much. Traveling through time was no bed of roses, even after spending months with dragon-riding Vikings.

The workshop came into view. It looked no different than what it always had, no trace from the attack whatsoever. Jack aimed for the dome containing the Globe and slipped in through the window, floating down to where Jamie had lain passed out the last time he was here. He landed on unsteady legs and wobbled over to the sofa.

The fireplace was crackling, as if someone had just been sitting there, though Jack knew that was just the magical workshop keeping itself warm. He carefully lay Jamie on the sofa and kneeled in front of him, checking if he was alright.

Jamie's face was relaxed and his breath even. Jack brushed some hair out of his face and felt himself smile.

"Told you I'd get you back," he whispered.

"Jack?"

Jack's breath caught in his throat. He looked up to see North, looking slightly shabbier than usual, holding a huge mug of what Jack could choose believe was hot chocolate, but it wasn't steaming so it might as well be something stronger. His mouth hung open and his eyes were wide and confused, as if he thought he was hallucinating.

"North," Jack breathed.

He didn't register that he'd moved, and he didn't know where he'd stored that extra burst of energy, but in the next moment he found himself throwing his arms around North, clinging to him like his life depended on it. North gave a surprised yelp, and Jack heard the mug fall to the floor. He didn't care.

North gave a huff of air, stumbling back a step, before he was hugging Jack back. Jack only realized he'd never hugged North like this, before he got his breath squeezed out of him, and he made a sound somewhere between a wheeze and a laugh.

Baby Tooth zipped happily around them, demanding North give her attention as well, which was probably the only reason North eventually let Jack out of the hug.

"But how?" North asked, his voice faint with shock, looking at them like he still wasn't sure they were there – especially Jack. "You are spirit again, you- What are you wearing? When did you get back?"

Jack's throat was so tight with joy, he found it hard to speak. "It's- It's a long story," he managed. "But we did it. We—" He stopped, remembering that they hadn't done everything yet. "The time fragment. What happened?"

North shook himself out of his stupor. "Sandy has it trapped," he said, looking up at the window over the Globe. "But he can't hold him forever. We need the crystal to—"