A Bunny To Feel Better

"Oh no you don't, ankle-biter."

Bunnymund chased the little mop of blond hair around the stone table riddled with eggs - both painted and unpainted - to get the poor little flailing egg away from her before she dropped the egg and broke it. Or worse, before she tripped and fell. When he had finally caught her in his enourmous paws, she giggled and instantly released the egg before she was picked up and craddled in Bunny's arms. The newly freed egg ran off in search of a hiding place.

"How did you get in 'ere, hm?" Bunnymund asked, poking Sophie in the tummy lightly, which elicited a happy shriek. "Did you find another one of North's globes?"

Sophie nodded.

"Thought so." This was the third time she had broken into the Warren since the battle with Pitch - each time all thanks to a mysteriously aqcuired snow globe (which he thought to be the work of either Jack or Tooth). And to think it had only been three months. So, he had learned to keep on the lookout for Sophie and her mess of hair at all times. Just to be safe.

"Pretty eggie!" Sophie cried, reaching downward towards a line of newly painted eggs. The little egglets started and ran in different directions upon being discovered, frantically trying to find places to hide. Meanwhile, Sophie found it rather amusing and started wiggling around to get out of the rabbit's arms.

"Woah, woah! Easy there!" he cried, reigning Sophie into an immovable position in his arms. Once she had realized that she wasn't going to be released, she gave an angry little huff and stopped squirming. Bunnymund set her down gently on a moss covered rock and sat rabbit-like in front of her.

"Now Sophie, you can't just go an' scare all my little googies like that, understand? They could get broken. You don't want all the other little girls an' boys to be sad 'cause there's not 'nough eggs to go round, now do you?" Sophie shook her head, doning a look of sorrow. Bunny sighed in a relieved manner at her understanding.

"Sorry." Sophie mumbled quietly, which sounded more like 'sowwy' in her two-year-old speech. The Easter Bunny chuckled and patted her head softly in a forgiving gesture. It was only then that he noticed that her cheeks were a tad more red than they ought to be. Come to think of it, so were her ears.

"Hey, squirt. You feelin' alright?" Bunny asked with worry. Sophie smiled and nodded after a moment. She quickly climbed off the rock and went after one of the smaller egg warriors, who had no problem with Sophie chasing them, and in fact willingly invited her to play tag to keep her busy. Bunnymund hummed for a moment, and tried to brush off the feeling that something was off with Sophie. It's just from runnin' around, he thought before turning his attention back to his unpainted eggs.

.0.0.

A few hours later, Bunnymund's ears twitched. His attention was ripped from his eggs to the sounds of the Warren. He noticed a distinct lack of giggles and happy shrieks from Sophie and the pitter-patter of tiny feet that belonged to the egglets, knowing instantly that something was wrong. One could say the Easter Bunny felt it in his belly.

"Sophie? Where are ya, you little ankle biter?" the rabbit called as he hopped through the Warren, a few egg sentries following him. He spotted the little egg warrior Sophie was playing with earlier suddenly stop his advance toward them and start running in the other direction. Bunny's stomach dropped. He kicked at the ground harder, effectively launching himself faster and farther across the grassy grounds. He silently wished these eggs could just talk.

"She near here?" Bunnymund asked when the egg stopped at the edge of the river that was running dye instead of water. The little warrior saluted; yes. The Easter Bunny stood up as high as he could, fearing that she had fallen into the river. Thankfully he spotted Sophie a little ways away, curled up in a patch of flowers. He bounded over to her lightly, relieved to find her asleep. He picked her up gently and instantly felt his heart skip a beat.

"Bunny.." she mumbled softly, curling into Bunnymund's chest and grabbing at the fluffy hair on his chest before falling back into a doze. She shivered softly but felt extremely warm. So his suspicions were true; there was something wrong with her. The poor girl was sick.

"Uh-oh." Bunnymund held Sophie tighter to him and looked over to the little egg warrior. "I'll be back."

The egg just saluted.

"Right then. Let's get you home," Bunnymund said softly to Sophie, who sighed in her sleep. He tapped the ground twice with his foot and was off through the tunnel, the blond little girl safely tucked against his chest.

.0.0.

"'Ere we are. Home sweet home." Bunny whispered to Sophie, who was only half aware of what was going on. It was still dark out, so he tucked her into bed with her teddy bear and turned to leave.

"Noo.. Bunny don't go bye bye," Sophie said hoarsely as she suddenly got up and tried to make a weak grab for the rabbit. Bunnymund sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed and effectively making Sophie at least sit back down. She crawled into his lap and laid her head gently against him, once again holding onto his fur. It comforted her immensly.

"There, there," Bunny soothed, stroking her messy hair and she fell back into a light sleep. The rabbit sighed softly, laying down on the bed knowing full well he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. Before falling asleep himself, he curled around Sohpie in a protective manner. Abby would just have to sleep on the floor or in Jamie's room for a while.

.0.0.

The Easter Bunny awoke to the sound of heels clicking along the wooden floors and a female voice saying, "Sophie, honey, why aren't you up yet?"

He bolted off the bed when he heard Abby trot in after her and start growling. He hopped off into a corner of the room while Sophie's mother shushed Abby and pushed her out, shutting the door in the greyhound's face. He heard Sophie cough weakly and frowned when her mother cooed in worry.

"Oh no, are you sick, baby?" her mom asked, feeling her forehead with the inside of her forearm. All Sophie said was, "Bunny."

Bunnymund felt his heart drop. He walked over next to her mother and knelt down while the woman handed her a stuffed rabbit off the floor.

"It's okay, squirt. I'm here." Sophie smiled, obviously pleased, before going into a coughing fit and sniffing afterwards. She sounded awfully congested.

"Mommy!" the blond cried when her mother turned to leave. The older woman came back to her daughter and petted her cheek.

"I'm just going to get you some medicine and tell Daddy, okay?" Sophie nodded and blinked tiredly. Her mom let out an "oohh" before leaving, shutting the door behind her to prevent Abby from entering.

"Hey there, ankle-biter." Bunnymund said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Sophie wrapped her arms as far as she could around his waist. Which wasn't very far at all. "Don't you worry, your mum's gonna get you all better."

"Bunny don't go bye bye." Sophie said again, burying her face into the fur at his hip. He took to stroking her hair again until Sophie's mother came back in, followed by Jamie. Bunny stood and whispered a rushed "I'll be right back" to Jamie before tapping his foot and disappearing. Their mother turned at the odd sound for a minute before turning back to Sophie, thinking it was just Abby's tail against the door. Sophie started whimpering.

"Hey, Soph. Don't worry!" Jamie told her with a smile, moving to the other side of the bed. He picked up another stuffed rabbit – blue polka-dotted this time – and gave it to her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Bunny will be back!" Jamie soothed, smiling still. Their mother just smiled; kids and their imaginations. Sophie nodded, apparently still heartbroken though.

"Sophie, honey. Can you drink this for Mommy please?" their mother asked softly, holding a spoon of freshly poured pink medicine. Sophie nodded, sitting up and opening her mouth wide. Her mom made an airplane sound, weaving the spoon carefully side to side before depositing the liquid into the child's mouth. Sophie made a sour face.

"Icky!" she exclaimed. Their mom petted her hair and kissed her head.

"I know, baby. But it'll help you get better." she promised. The woman glanced over to the princess clock on Sophie's bookshelf before gasping.

"Oh no. I'm going to be late," their mother said worriedly.

"Bus!" Sophie cried suddenly. Jamie laughed softly.

"It's okay, Soph. I'm going to be staying here with you today. School is out right now, remember?" Jamie told her. His school was currently in the middle of their fall break. Sophie cocked her head to the side for a moment before shaking her head and laying back down. Jamie laughed softly again.

"Okay, I need to go. Dad will be here for another hour before leaving too. You know where everything is, the numbers are on the fridge, and please try not to let Abby inside right after playing in the dirt. I'll call on my lunch break to see how everything is going," their mom said hurriedly, rushing over to deliver a kiss to both Jamie and Sophie's foreheads. She walked out at a brisk pace while the sound of her heels clicking grew softer as she made her way downstairs and outside.

Sophie whimpered again.

"Aw, Soph. Bunny will be right back. Promise." Jamie assured. He pulled her blankets up to her chin and hugged her before walking out. Abby once again was prevented from entering. Sophie clutched the toy rabbit tightly. She sniffled a couple of times before yawning, her eyes steadily drifting closed. In no time, she was fast asleep.

.0.0.

When her dad came in to say goodbye, Sophie woke up again.

"Hey sunshine," he said, sitting next to her. She coughed and he frowned.

"Feelin' a little gloomy today, huh?" Sophie nodded, resting her head against her father. He smiled and sat with her for a while. He told her a short story about a rainbow which got her to at least giggle. She yawned again, rubbing at her eyes.

"Where Bunny?" she asked softly. Her father looked confused for a moment before peering at the floor. He picked up the rabbit she was sleeping with earlier – blue with a white ribbon – and gave it to her. Sophie shook her head, tossing both of the toys to the floor before repeating the question again. The man hummed for a moment.

"Jamie!" Sophie yelled as loudly as she could – not much higher than a normal talking volume. The pair heard feet running up the stairs and Jamie appeared in the doorway. Abby darted around him and up onto Sophie's bed.

"Abby!"

"Abby, down!"

"Nooooo! You scare Bunny!" Sophie tried to throw a pillow at the greyhound. Her father took the pillow before she could throw it while Jamie led Abby out by her collar. Once he shut the door, he went over to Sophie. She was curled up in a ball crying.

"Bunny!" she wailed softly. Her father looked at Jamie with a puzzled expression.

"She... misplaced one of her rabbits!" Jamie told him quickly. "We've been trying to find it for a couple of days."

"Oh, well don't worry, sunshine. We'll find it when I get home, okay?" he rubbed her back softly. He said goodbye to the kids before leaving. Sophie continued crying. He tried to soothe her, but it didn't work. Figuring she would just cry herself to sleep, Jamie left.

But Sophie didn't sleep; not for a few hours anyway.

.0.0.

Bunnymund popped up in the Bennett's living room, scaring Jamie and causing Abby to start barking.

"Abby! No! Shhh!" Jamie cried, throwing himself at the dog. He held her for a moment just petting her. She eventually calmed down, but still growled lightly.

"Bunnymund! Where have you been?" Jamie asked, a light scolding tone lacing his voice.

"Sorry, mate. There was a situation I had to deal with," he told Jamie in an apologetic tone. Jamie nodded in understanding.

"Sophie's upstairs. She's pretty heartbroken." Uh-oh. He climbed the stairs to the child's bedroom, easing the door open. Sophie was curled in a ball in the middle of her bed. Bunny frowned and walked over to her. He picked her up and placed her under the covers – her tear stained cheeks not escaping his notice. His gut twisted in guilt as she stirred awake with a sleepy mumbling of "Bunny?".

"I'm 'ere, ankle-biter." Sophie's eyes fluttered and she smiled, quickly falling into a doze. He sighed. Rubbing his face with his paws and laid down on the bed next to Sophie. And just like that morning, he curled around her. The rabbit was stroking her hair when Abby came in. Shoot. He had forgotten to close the door.

"Go lay down, mutt." he muttered. Surprisingly, Abby listened and laid down in front of Sophie's bookshelf. The two watched each other for a while before Abby fell asleep. He smirked triumphantly before letting his eyes slip closed too. Meanwhile, Sophie had taken a hold of Bunny's chest fur again.

.0.0.

It had been a few days of Sophie coughing, sneezing, running a fever, and throwing tantrums until Bunnymund came back from checking on the Warren when her fever finally broke. She woke up in Bunny's embrace covered in sweat and as she yawned, she sat up and stretched. Bunny jolted awake as she was climbing off the bed.

"Where ya goin', squirt?" he asked drowsily. All she said was "Potty." as she walked into the hallway and disappeared down it. He shrugged. At least she didn't have an accident in the bed. Though he second-guessed the thought; his fur felt a little damp. He twitched and then groaned. If that's what had happened, he would seriously need a bath or shower or something. He was pulled out of the horrifying thought by Sophie, who was climbing over him and was nestling back against his chest. Bunnymund then noticed that her hair felt damp and her skin showed a light sheen of sweat. He sighed, relieved.

"How ya feelin'?" he asked once she had gotten comfortable; the soft grip on his chest fur back. He rolled his eyes lightheartedly with a smile.

"Good," she said softly, coughing once and then yawning. She certainly sounded better.

"Sophie, I need to go check on the eggs real quick, okay?" he asked. She nodded, her "okay" sounding like an "otay" as she released her grip on him. She was definitely feeling better.

Sophie watched him disappear down a hole, leaving only a flower behind. She giggled softly and in no time at all, he had appeared again, resuming to cuddling Sophie while she resumed her hold on his fur. Abby had come in and laid in her usual spot in front of Sophie's bookshelf. Bunnymund knew that even in the years to come, Abby would probably never trust him, but he didn't blame her. What other dog would trust a seven-foot-tall rabbit? And one that could talk at that. Speaking of, Sophie had started babbling about a rainbow – nearly not understandable in her two-year-old speak – while Bunnymund tried to keep up, 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing at what he hoped were the right times. Sophie was satisfied nonetheless. His ears picked up the sound of feet approaching and he untangled himself from the child, telling her that it was okay and he was going to stay. The footsteps turned out to be Sophie's mother.

"Hi, Sophie," she said, looking surprised but relaxed.

"Hi Mommy!" Sophie exclaimed, jumping out of bed and running over to her mother, who wrapped the girl in a hug as she picked her up.

"Someone's feeling better!" Sophie nodded, a huge grin on her face. She was still drowsy, but otherwise you couldn't even tell she had just gotten over being sick only moments ago. When asked if she was hungry, her stomach replied for her with a growl.

"Uh-oh. Is there a monster in your tummy?" her mom asked, feigning a look of shock. Sophie laughed.

"Mommy!" she cried when her mother leaned her backwards and blew raspberries on her stomach when her shirt fell up. Sophie shrieked happily. Her mother laughed with her. Standing back up, her mom turned around and started walking out then while Sophie smiled and waved to Bunnymund over her shoulder.

"Bye bye, Bunny."

"See ya soon, ankle-biter." With that he was gone, leaving only a flower on her bedroom floor.

.0.0.

It was a few weeks later, and the Easter Bunny was hopping around the Warren checking off things on a clipboard as he went. His egg sentries were watching over the production of things and his warriors of various sizes were bustling about helping the egglets get to where they needed to be. Everything was running smoothly and according to schedule.

Out of nowhere, his ears twitched as he heard the voice of a two-year-old little girl shout, "Eggies!" followed almost immediately by, "Bunny!" and his heart swelled as he turned to greet the little mop of blond hair running towards him.