The girl talked to her imaginary friend. Daddy was becoming more embarrassed as the soldiers in his battalion whispered about his weird daughter that talked to thin air.

She sat in Burgess Elementary School, third grade class. Everyone knew the Army brat. Her Daddy marched in the Memorial Day parade and picked her up from school dressed in his Army uniform.

The girl was bored in class. She would glance out the window, looking at the light snow that fell outside. She couldn't wait until recess to play. During the boring lesson, she heard a tap on the window and looked towards it. There was Jack Frost. He waved at her and smiling playfully through the frosted window. The girl looked towards the front of the class to make sure the teacher wasn't looking, then opened the window just enough to be able to speak to him, not so much as to let in the cold air.

"Hi, Frostbite!" she whispered, her face lit up with excitement.

"Hey, Snow Angel," he said. "When are you gonna come out and play?"

The girl looked at the clock to check the time. "Recess is gonna be soon. I can't wait to play with you!"

Jack rested his chin on his fist, looking at what the class was learning. He wasn't familiar with what was going on, but it looked boring anyway. He thought of ways he could amuse himself and his best friend.

"Want me to bring a little fun?" he asked with an impish grin.

"Um, I don't think that's a good idea, Jack," the girl replied hesitant. "I don't want to get in trouble."

The teacher, Ms. Derkins, saw the girl looking out the window and talking quietly to...someone. She approached the girl's desk slowly to see who she was talking to, but there was no one there.

"Who are you talking to?" asked Ms. Derkins.

The entire class giggled and whispered about the weird Army brat who talked to thin air. The girl shrank, blushing that she had gotten caught.

"Jack Frost," said the girl. "He's my best friend."

Oh yes! Ms. Derkins knew the girl had an imaginary friend. Which was fine. Considering the circumstances.The classroom burst into peals of laughter. The teacher gave a stern look at the laughing students.

"Now, now," said Ms. Derkins to the class. "We shouldn't laugh at someone because they have an imaginary friend."

"Jack's not imaginary," the girl insisted. "He's real."

"Of course he is," said Ms. Derkins, patting her shoulder to assure her that it was fine. She was about to shut the window.

"No! Don't shut it!" said the girl.

"Is your friend outside?" Ms. Derkins asked.

The girl nodded.

"Why doesn't he come inside? He can join us if he wants to."

The girl looked towards the window, seeing the mischievous look on the winter spirit's face. She knew he would start trouble as soon as he set foot inside. She shook her head with wide eyes to Jack.

"Alright, Snow Angel," he promised. "I won't come inside if you don't want me to."

"No," said the girl. "It's fine. Jack prefers to be outside. Besides, I'm a little hot. Just leave it open a little."

"Alright then," said Ms. Derkins. "But if it gets too cold in here, we're going to have to shut the window."

The class called her a weirdo and shook their heads. Jack decided to have a little fun with the kids who laughed at his best friend. He touched the floor with the base of his staff. The girl watched as featherlike frost streaked across the floor, turning into ice. That's when the recess bell rang, the entire class got up from their seats...and slipped on the frozen floor. Everyone was confused. Where did the ice come from? How was this possible? Jack burst into laughter while the girl held back hers.

He always brought fun! He even made all the kids in her class forget about teasing her and made fun times with everyone.

*****

...Jack Frost. Colleen froze. He looked like a ghost, so still...upon speaking her name, she screamed in alarm and fell out of the hospital bed, getting twisted and tangled in the wires of the leads and IVs.

The EKG machine beeped wildly as her heart raced from being startled. She smacked her head on the floor.

"OW!" she cried, rubbing her head.

Jack sat up, trying to contain his own laughter as he looked down at Colleen, all entwined and ridiculous looking. Classic reaction! Just like she did when he first met her. He was sure she could see him this time.

"FUCK!" she yelled, clutching her chest. "Jesus, Frostbite! You scared me!"

"Sorry, snow angel," he said, clapping a hand to his mouth.

He smiled at her. Then he stood up up and hopped off the bed, light as air and walked over to her. He laughed a bit and shook his head as he remembered that clumsy girl he grew to know.

"Need a hand?" he offered to help her out.

Colleen looked up at him. She recalled the dream she had about her old childhood friend, him kissing her nose...was it real? It sure felt real.

"Oh God! Please tell me this is a dream," she sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Want me to pinch you to make sure?" he asked.

I must've really hit my head harder than I thought to be able to see my imaginary childhood friend. Colleen thought. "Um...no thanks," she answered.

After a beat, she thought for a moment. OK, she could see him. But if he was here, then that meant...

"Wait...were you watching me sleep? How long were you sitting there?" she asked suspicious.

Jack Frost thought for a moment. "Maybe for a while, I was," he answered with a shrug. "Not sure, I lost track of time."

"Uh, and another question: what are you doing here?" said Colleen, rubbing her sore head where she bumped it after falling out of bed.

"I wanted to know how you're doing and all," he said to her with a smile. He saw her rubbing her head. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she said.

Colleen thought for a moment of her last memory.

"The last thing I remember was being at SERE training in the woods with my platoon and someone thought it would be funny to throw a snowball at me..." she said.

After a beat and a few memories as a child: the snowball, the laughing soldiers when she got mad...it all made sense now.

"That was you, wasn't it?" she said accusingly.

Jack Frost leaned against a wall and smirked. He was glad she remembered that moment.

"What makes you think it was me?" he said, deciding to play it off like he didn't do anything.

"Please!" Colleen replied with an eye roll. "You were my best friend since I was eight. I know your snowballs. Your fun magic that you would blow in my face whenever I was grumpy. Your pranks."

"Okay, okay," he said with a laugh, giving in since she knew him well enough to tell he did it. "Yeah, that was me."

"Well, you gave my platoon's position away and got us captured," Colleen said with a scowl. "I was trying to teach the cadets to AVOID the enemy, not get their attention."

The winter spirit's face fell with shame. His best friend was angry. He didn't mean to. He was just teasing her. Still, he didn't understand that whole incident that he saw: how Colleen and her group were treated so abusively, how those men beat and tortured her.

"Sorry about getting you captured, Colleen," he apologized.

With thin lips, she sighed. It was all his fault. She really wanted to get the evasion part of the SERE test right the first time. Still, it was hard being angry at the Guardian of Fun since he was her only friend as a child; she didn't really have any friends in her adult life either. She acted professionally with her comrades. In social situations, she would have a date or hook-up once in a while, but mostly she shut people out. She preferred to be alone...not allowing people to get close to her.

"It's fine," she said resigned. "And not to be rude, but this isn't a good time for you to just pop in the neighborhood."

"Oh?" he said. "And why not?"

"Uh...I'm a sergeant of the US Army," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I just got this promotion and fun isn't exactly on my agenda."

"Well, you should have a bit of fun now and then, ma'am," he laughed, mockingly saluting her.

"Don't address me like that!" Colleen said annoyed. "You only address the officers by those names."

Jack playfully pouted, mocking Colleen's expression. "Mm," he teased in a low voice. "So...serious!"

She groaned in irritation. Did this guy take anything seriously? Oh, that's right! He was the winter spirit of fun! When she saw Jack making a silly face, she felt a slight giggle slip. Shit! He always had that affect on her, making her laugh. Stupid impish winter spirit bastard!

"Oh, is that laughter I hear?" he continued to tease. "Gee, I didn't think soldiers laughed, least of all you."

"You didn't happen to use your fun magic in that snowball, did you?" she shot back.

The playful boy just smirked.

She just had enough of the teenage hellion's teasing, from using his ice and snow to playing tricks on her as a child. She picked herself up, ready to kick that arrogant little winter spirit's ass...only to realize she was still tangled in wires and tubes. Yelling 'ow' as her IV was pulled...crow-hopping and cursing, trying to get out of this mess. Jack laughed lightly at how ridiculous she looked.

"How I wish I had a camera right now," Jack said quietly.

"I'm going to get you for this, you devious little...!" Colleen growled, struggling.

Then the EKG lead wire disconnected from the machine, making the monotonous flat line noise.

"Shit!" she hissed, frantically trying to reconnect it.

More curses slipped out of Colleen as the wire kept slipping out of her hand. She bent over, the back of her gown opened, showing a pair of plain underpants. Noticing her ongoing struggle, Jack went over to her. Though this was amusing, he couldn't continue letting her make a goof out of herself. When he noticed her exposed underwear, it made him blush a bit.

"Hey, hey. I got it," he offered as he went to reconnect the wire to the machine.

Once the EKG wire was reconnected, it stopped making the noise. The flatline tone was replaced by the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. Colleen forgot her anger. She still felt embarrassed.

"Um, thanks, Frostbite," she said with a nonchalant shrug.

Jack Frost gave off a generous nod towards his close friend. "Um, your, ahem, gown," he replied, blushing.

She felt her gown was wide open and with a blush, she pulled it shut. Her best friend saw her in those horrible underpants! Jeez! How much more embarrassing could it be? Of all times for her imaginary childhood friend to show up, it had to be now: tangled up in wires in her underwear! Well, sort of. He probably got a nice view of her ass. All those years of striding to be the ideal soldier: disciplined, orderly, getting things right the first time.

Several medics rushed in with the defibrillator in a frantic. When they saw the young woman was fine, they heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God, Sarge!" said one of them. "We thought you bit the dust again."

"Uh...what?" Colleen said confused.

"You almost died," said another. "You hit your head and you nearly drowned."

"What?!" she gasped.

Colleen recalled the brutal exercise from SERE training...how the instructor ducked her head under ice cold water in an attempt to get her to talk...then it went black...then her dream. Falling snow, cold, Jack Frost appearing...

Jack watched the situation on hand go by, listening to them speak to the girl. He knew they really couldn't see him so he didn't bother doing anything like hiding. It was pointless, after all. Hearing all these dangerous acts she went through and witnessing the brutal scene earlier today, he sighed, wishing she wasn't really involved in all of this. He'd hate to find her dead one day. If he had to go on without her, he'd truly miss her deeply.

"What happened to you?" another asked seeing the state the young sergeant was in.

"I, uh, fell out of bed," Colleen replied, embarrassed. "I'm fine. Just got tangled up in the wires. Could you excuse me?"

The medics nodded and left. She face palmed herself with a sigh. Jeez! A sergeant and already she was making a fool out of herself. A complete disgrace to the Army! And now finding out she nearly died! How the hell did this happen?!

"You need to stop getting yourself nearly killed," Jack Frost said to her. "Did those men hurt you?"

"Uh...what men?" she asked with a furrowed brow. "What are you talking about?"

"There were men who had you tied up and were hurting you," he explained.

She thought for a moment about what he said, then realized.

"That was an exercise," she explained.

"It didn't look like one," he responded with a frown.

"Well, it is," she responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I don't understand how you can cope with these people. No one should be able to do that to you...to anyone. It's just wrong." Jack grumbled softly. "Why were they hurting you?"

Colleen sighed. She didn't think the Guardian of Fun would understand something like this. She had to explain what was going on.

"Look, Jack," she began. "There's nothing to worry about. I was in no danger whatsoever. Those 'men' were instructors and the reason they were 'hurting' me is because it's supposed to give soldiers an experience of what to expect when they're captured and interrogated in enemy prison and what to do."

Jack glanced at her, so angry and scared. "That's not helping! That's traumatizing! And it causes damage to you!" he said, near tears.

"That's the point of these kind of exercises. It's to scare us into telling the enemy what they want. They will do whatever it takes to break us. Besides, being a soldier is my job. I'm a guardian...like you. That's one thing we have in common: you protect children. I protect my country and its citizens. And with that comes a risk, right?"

Jack Frost understood where she was coming from.

"I guess so. I mean, I helped stop Pitch so he couldn't harm the kids anymore," he said. "Well, still, yours is bigger than that...I mean, the world is crazy. Crazier than it was back when I was alive."

A silence washed between the two of them. He had a slightly worried and scared look on his face as he stared at her.

"Still, it was scary. I almost lost you today. I don't want it to happen again." Jack said, glancing at her.

Colleen didn't want to admit she was scared; she was taught fear meant being weak. How she had trained hard to face death, knowing she would die to protect her country and comrades, only to look it right in the face. If she never got to see her best friend again.

"Yes, it is," she said. "But I knew the risks I'm taking when I signed up and I have to prepare if it ever does happen in real life. And don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'm a big girl and I can take a few bumps and bruises."

"Please, just be more careful," he murmured and placed his hand over hers. "I really don't want to lose you again."

"I always am," she assured. "I'm a trained professional."

Upon the young man mentioning Pitch Black, the Nightmare King: a shadow that hid in the closet, dark corners and under the bed. She had seen him as a child: dull-grey skin, his black robe like a velvet shadow, his lamp-like eclipse eyes, his wicked jagged-toothed smile, his slicked-back black hair stood up in spikes like one would see in comics of a terrified person. She thought about her recent nightmare. She could've sworn she heard his sinister laugh. She looked at Jack as he gazed out the window, watching the ground and then the sky with hope that all is right in the world. That the kids he loved and would protect are doing great. Perhaps she should tell him this. It was rather strange that Pitch would show up again.

"Jack..." she said. "I think Pitch showed up recently."

Hearing about Pitch made him turn around and look at her with surprise.

"Pitch? But how? Why?" he asked.

It didn't make sense to him. Why would Pitch go to her? She wasn't a child, she was an adult.

Colleen instinctively touched her chest, feeling the scar on her right breast. She didn't want Jack to know what happened so long ago. That Pitch may have returned because of her fears...

"I'm...not sure," she said with a furrowed brow. "I found that quite surprising myself."

"This can't be good if he's after you. I really hope he's not," he said.

Jack Frost tried to think as to why Pitch would go after her. He thought maybe to get at him for the past. Shaking his head, he came to a conclusion.

"I'm gonna go see what Pitch is up to," he told her.

"Alright. Just...be careful." Colleen said concerned.

"Don't worry. Just relax and wait for me to return," Jack told her.

She nodded. He decided to flick some snow at her teasingly with a smirk.

"DAMMIT, FROSTBITE!" she shouted, annoyed, wiping the snow off of her.

She hoped nobody on the night shift heard her talking to thin air. One whiff of this and it was off to the crazy house for her. Probably discharge. Who knew? She had spent her whole life trying to be as normal as possible when it came to the Army. Now the winter spirit had returned and was already causing mischief.

And with that, Jack Frost was gone and on his way to the lair of nightmares. He was going to find out what he was up to. What was he planning? And why of all people, go after Colleen?