"J-Jack..." Jack frowned and slowly woke up as Mark tugged on his pointy ear. "Jack," Mark stammered again. His voice was small and childish in the giant's ear, and concerned Jack opened his eyes.

"Mahrk?" He mumbled drowsily. "What is it?" He realized he could hear the small man's teeth chattering; Mark was shivering.

"I-I can't f-f-feel m-my body," Mark stuttered. Jack slowly turned over and looked down at Mark. He was unusually pale, and every fiber of his body shook violently with trembles.

"What's wrong?" But as he asked the question, Jack became aware of the chilly air that nipped the areas of his skin that weren't under the covers. "Oh fuck." Jack sat up and looked at the window. Frost fogged the glass panels, and outside was a white winter world.

"Shit!" Jack gasped. "It's not suppose to snow until next week!" He laid down and scooped Mark up. He gasped again immediately. "Mark! You're ice cold!" He laid the shivering engineer on the sheets and nudged him against his throat. Mark shuddered and curled up, pressing against the giant's neck.

"C-cold," he murmured, closing his eyes. Jack put his hand over his tiny friend and rubbed his back.

"Come on Mark, it'll be ok," he stammered. "You're gonna be just fine."

"I-I'm so... t-t-tired..." Mark yawned. He barely had enough energy to nuzzle against Jack. A bolt of fear struck the giant.

"No!" He gently shook Mark. "Stay awake, ok? Here." Jack pulled the covers over his head and held Mark close. "You're gonna be ok, you're gonna be just fine," Jack repeated. "Just keep talking to me, stay awake, ok? You can rest after you've warmed up." Mark whimpered and opened his eyes.

"Warm..." He whispered. His voice was sluggish and frail, and it made Jack's hairs stand on end to hear the deep-voiced human speak so brokenly.

"That's right, I'm warm," Jack murmured. He kept his voice low as he continued rubbing Mark's back. "I'm very warm, I'm the hottest guy around!" Mark managed to smile as he closed his eyes again.

"W-whatever b-b-boosts your-your ego..." he sighed. For thirty minutes, Jack laid there trying to warm his friend up, worrying fervently that every time Mark took a breath he might never move again. But after three quarters of an hour, Jack could feel the small engineer finally warming back up to room temperature. He sighed in relief and swallowed to get rid of his cotton dry mouth.

"We need to get something warm in ya," he murmured. Mark shifted under Jack's hand and, still shivering, brushed his head against the hairs on the giant's coarse chin.

"S-some hot c-c-coffee would b-b-be nice," he stammered. Jack nodded and carefully yawned.

"You wanna stay here, or do you want to come with me?" Mark immediately nodded; he didn't want to go or stay anywhere without Jack. "Ok." Jack slipped his hand under Mark and slowly sat up. The cool air made Jack's skin prickle, and he felt his little buddy weakly shudder in his hand. "Pocket or shoulder?"

"P-p-pocket, p-please." Once Mark was situated in his little warm slice of heaven, Jack climbed out of bed and went into his closet. He yawned again as he browsed through the different articles of clothing, and then he finally pulled out a coat he thought would suffice.

"Is this too tight for you?" Jack asked as he buttoned it up. "I can leave the top buttons undone." Mark opened his eyes and tested the walls of fabric.

"It's-it's all r-r-right," he mumbled. He didn't care if things were a bit of a tight squeeze, all that mattered to him at the moment was warmth, Jack's body heat. The familiar rhythm of the giant's heartbeat thumped in Mark's ears, and Mark closed his eyes again. His mind took him away from the thick fabric walls that pressed against him and offered protection, and he imagined himself laying in a warm meadow with grass dancing in the wind and glowing rays of sunshine sparkling on his skin.

Mark dozed off as he continued his daydream. He could see Chica, his sweet Labrador, bound over to him and lick his face with her sandpaper tongue, and he could see himself laughing as he sat up and hugged the dog, rolling around with her in a play fight through the luscious green grass. Then his mind stretched and took him farther away. He imagined the faces of his friends and felt both sad and happy. Would he ever find them? Would he ever go home?

Did he even want to go home...?

Mark's daydream was stopped when he was gently prodded, and he woke up confused. "Huh?" He blinked sleep out of his eyes and saw that Jack was gently poking him awake.

"Wakey wakey sleepyhead," the giant murmured. Mark yawned and cuddled Jack's finger.

"Don't wanna," he whined. He could easily imagine that Jack was smiling at him and on the verge of fanboying.

"Maaarrrk, come on!" Jack encouraged. "I want you to drink this, it'll help you warm up. Then you can go back to sleep, ok?" Mark groaned and clutched Jack's finger, wanting to go back to sleep. But Jack took this as a yes and gently pulled Mark out. Mark covered his eyes and whimpered, curling up in a ball.

"Jaaaaaaaack," he complained drowsily. He sneezed with a jerk and covered his nose with his forearm. "Ugh..." he groaned. Jack frowned.

"Great, I bet you have a cold." He put the small spaceman on the table beside a cap full of a steaming brown liquid. Mark sniffed and rubbed his nose. It smelled like hot cocoa, but it hard to be sure at the moment.

Jack picked up his own mug of the drink and took a sip. "Ahh," he sighed. He licked his lips and took another drink. Mark sniffed again as he picked the cap up and gently blew on it to cool it off. He took a small sip, and then he relaxed as the hot liquid sloshed into his stomach, heating his body core. It tasted even better than hot cocoa! Back on Earth people's cocoa was from a processed powder that, to Mark, tasted like dirt, but this was rich and silky, and it slipped down his throat as smoothly as eating a cloud.

As Mark drank his fill he could feel the cold ebb and release its icy grip on his body, and he let out a tired sigh. Jack slurped his last gulp up and set the mug down.

"You feeling any better?" He asked. Mark nodded, but he didn't speak. He didn't want to stop drinking, and he kept going until he polished off the last drop. He set the cap down and licked his lips, savoring the taste.

"That was really good," he murmured. Jack smiled and took the cap and mug and went to wash them.

"You any warmer now?"

"Yeah." Mark froze and suddenly sneezed again. Jack tensed and turned to look at the engineer.

"Dude!" Mark sniffed and rubbed his nose again. Jack sighed and walked back to Mark. "You definitely have a cold," he announced.

"Thanks for the Facebook update," Mark grumbled. Jack frowned but he didn't ask what Facebook was. Good, Mark thought, I'm too tired to answer questions right now. He yawned while Jack crouched down and looked at his small friend on the same eye level.

"You wanna go back to bed?" Jack asked. "It's still early, the sun's barely up." Mark blinked sleepily at the giant and nodded as he yawned again. Jack couldn't help but think how adorable the sleepy little man looked as he reached over and scooped Mark up.

"Where does the wild Markimoo want to sleep?" Jack asked as he carried Mark back to their room. Mark rubbed his eyes and shrugged.

"I don't know," he muttered. He didn't care, just as long as he could sleep somewhere safe and warm.

"You want to sleep in your bed?" Mark quickly shook his head.

"I woke up freezing," he admitted. Jack frowned and pursed his lips.

"Hmm..." Jack put Mark on his bed and took his coat off. Mark sank in the covers and sighed pleasantly; the giant's body heat was still imprinted on the bed sheets... Jack hung his coat up and turned to look at Mark. He thought for a second before shrugging.

"I guess you could sleep with me," he suggested. "I don't toss and turn in my sleep, and you've slept in my pocket before." Mark nodded and sneezed into his arm.

"Ok sure." He glanced up at Jack with a small grin. "But don't get too comfy babe," he teased. Jack scowled and rolled his eyes.

"You wish I were your babe! But you can't handle all of this bossness!" Mark giggled as Jack climbed back into bed and wriggled under the covers. He waited until Jack got comfortable, and then he climbed off the sea of covers and made his way up the giant's chest. Jack held his pocket open for the small engineer, and Mark gratefully brushed against his thumb before crawling into the small place and curled up at the bottom.

Mark felt his body relax as he was surrounded by the familiar warmth and fabric. He sighed and closed his eyes, and he felt a weight settle on top of him. He smiled; he knew Jack's hand was covering the pocket, protecting him from the big bad things that would just love to get their fangs or claws on a tiny little thing like himself. In this case, he was keeping the cold away.

Mark was so glad he had his own special little safe place.