It was 8pm, and Wendy watched from her bed as Michael ran around and around the toy box in the middle of the room, screaming at the top of his voice. She looked to the corner of the room, and saw John hoisting a pirate flag that he had made himself from the curtain rail. Wendy knew that they should all be getting ready for bed by now, but she made no effort to calm her brothers down. All that afternoon Wendy had been feeling rather troubled. It was the first day of school the next day, after the break from Christmas, and the first day back after Neverland. They had returned almost two weeks ago now. Christmas day had been and gone, and New Years Day had been the same as any other year. Everything was just so normal!

Wendy was staring at her school uniform draped over the end of her bed, when suddenly she heard a humongous crash from the hallway. In ran six boys, all wrapped in cosy soft towels and screaming at the top of their voices.

Saying that, Wendy's life was not at all normal. Compared to the Neverland it was normal, but it was very different from what it had been before. This was mostly because Wendy now had eight brothers instead of two. The lost boys had recently joined them in their house, out of the want and need of a mother, and there had never been a silent moment in the house since.

Nana the dog promptly came running into the room and started chasing after Michael, who was refusing to wash and brush his teeth. The lost boys, Curly, Slightly, Tootles, Nibs and the twins, had just had a bath, and were now so wound up with the excitement and nerves of school the next day that they too were screaming and running about like headless chickens (except headless chickens can't scream... because they haven't any heads).

Wendy watched as Michael tried to crawl under the bed to avoid Nana, and as the twins spun around on the spot, Mr and Mrs Darling came in.

'Now what is all this racket?' shouted Mr Darling at the top of his voice.

All apart from Michael fell silent, and stared up at Mr Darling with innocent eyes.

'Into bed now boys,' said Mrs Darling gently, and the lost boys scrambled over and on top of each other as they jumped into their beds. Mr and Mrs Darling stepped swiftly aside as a tired and impatient Nana dragged a wriggling boy from the room by his trouser leg.

All the lost boys were in bed by now, but were in no mood to go to sleep. By some miracle the Darlings had managed to fit six more beds into the rather large nursery. They had asked Wendy if she should like a room of her own, but she had immediately declined, merely in the hope that Peter might return to visit. She would miss him if she was sleeping in another room, and she couldn't have that! She hadn't, however, given this reason to her parents. They did know about Peter, as Wendy couldn't possibly stop the boys from telling them about him, but they did not know the full story. For example, they did not know that he had run away from his parents and met Tinker Bell, and they did not know that he could fly. Her parents thought that they had all climbed out of the window.

'Now, everybody, your mother and I wish to have a word with you...about school. Now...'

Mr Darling was immediately interrupted; all the boys began inquiring in very loud voices what it was about school tomorrow that he so wished to talk about. He put a hand to his forehead and pinched his brow. Wendy saw the tired look in both of her parent's eyes. Even with a nanny as efficient as Nana, nine children were a lot to manage.

Despite this, however, Wendy sometimes caught them gazing at their children with a mingling look of pride and love in their eyes. She knew that they did not regret adopting the lost boys, even though they had had to hire a new maid just to do the laundry and wash the dishes, and had to buy a dining table twice the size of their previous one.

The Darling household was altogether a very happy and stress free place to be. Anyone who entered was instantly happy and in a good mood, for how could you not be with all the laughter and fun in the house. Yes, the neighbours had talked a bit when the lost boys had first joined the Darling family, but now they didn't look twice whenever they saw the Darlings taking their nine children for a walk in the park.

'Listen! As you all know, you are all going to school tomorrow, and the school expects certain behaviour and for you to abide by the rules. You boys are all, I hate to say, rather rowdy, and I am worried that you may get into trouble with your new teachers. Just promise you will do as you're told, and won't say anything out of turn.'

'Yes Father!' the eight boys cried. 'We promise!'

What Mr Darling had said did not really apply to John, but John said it anyway. And saying that, Michael and him had become a lot more boisterous since their new brothers had moved in. The lost boys had also taken to calling Mrs and Mr Darling Mother and Father. Mr and Mrs Darling hadn't asked the lost boys to call them this, but neither had they asked them not. They just did, and no one objected.

'Now, off to sleep with all of you!' said Mrs Darling, clapping her hands together.

Just as she said that, Michael came in screaming, riding Nana like horse.

'Michael! Nana! Quieten down!' Then Mrs Darling began her usual round of the beds, kissing everyone goodnight. Wendy was almost asleep when she reached her, and she barely felt Mrs Darling's soft kiss on her cheek.

'Good night Mother,' she said with her eyes half open.

'Good night Wendy darling.'

Wendy was woken what felt like minutes later by a slight breeze tickling her right ear. Thinking it merely a breeze, she was just considering getting up out of her snugly bed to close the window when suddenly out of nowhere she heard...

'Wendy?'

Wendy jumped so high that she hit her head on her bed's headboard.

'Who's there?' Wendy whispered cautiously, and as she turned her head to the right she saw a pair of bright blue eyes staring at her under a crop of messy and knotted hair. The eyes came forward and stared at her, so close that she could have stuck her tongue out and touched his nose.

'Is that you Wendy?'

'Peter?' Wendy asked, baffled. Then what he had said sunk in. 'Of course it's me, Peter! Who else could it be?'

'Oh good, it is you! I was finding it hard to remember what you looked like. But I remember now!'

'Oh,' said Wendy, hurt. 'I would have thought you might at least remember what I look like!'

'I remember you silly! Just, it's hard to picture you sometimes.'

Wendy shook her head. 'What are you doing here Peter?'

Peter jumped impossibly high into the air and landed legs folded on Wendy's bed.

'To see you of course!' said Peter innocently.

'It's only been a few weeks,' she said, pretending to act nonchalant.

'Has it? It feels like it's been years since I saw you last.' he looked somewhat confused.

'Have you missed me Peter?' Wendy asked hopefully.

Peter looked offended. 'Miss you? I barely noticed you were gone. I've been so busy since you left. And it's much more fun without the lost boys as well,' he said matter-of-factly.

'Now Peter! You honestly can't mean that?'

'I do!' avoiding Wendy's gaze as he played with the quilt on her bed.

'And you don't even have enough time to come and listen to my stories?'

'No, they were only ever for the lost boys,' he said, but Wendy knew that he was lying.

'Actually,' Peter continued, still looking down, 'I came here for something else.'

After Wendy realised that he wasn't going to say any more she asked,' and that is?'

'Well...' he looked rather uncomfortable with himself. 'You see, even though Neverland is even better now that you have all left, I just couldn't help wondering how you're all coping without me to look after you. So, I have decided, I am going to come here and look after you for a while, and so now you don't have to miss me anymore!'

'Are you saying that you want to come and live here with us?' Wendy couldn't believe her ears! She had always just accepted that Peter would always stay in Neverland, and now he wanted to come and live with her! Peter nodded in response to her question, and she whooped for sheer joy. Then to Peter's surprise, and even her own, she flung her arms around him and planted a kiss on his cheek. It was clear Peter didn't know how to react to this, and Wendy was filled with even more joy as she felt his arms rap around her back. Wendy leant out of the embrace and looked at him. He was still dressed in the same green and brown leaves, but there were dark circles under his eyes that had never been there before.

'Where is Tinker Bell Peter?'

'She went away, I don't know where.' Peter looked up at her for the first time since he had sat down. 'I am staying then?'

'Of course you can stay. Oh, I just can't wait to tell Mother!'

As if they were in a play and that was her cue, Mrs Darling came bursting through the door in her night dress and dressing gown.

Peter jumped up and was about to fly when Wendy grabbed his arm and pulled him back down onto the bed. It was better if her parents never knew about being able to fly.

'What's all this shrieking Wendy?' said Mrs Darling as she came in. 'It is five o'clock in the morning and some of us are trying to sleep...' Mrs Darling was half way across the nursery floor when she saw Peter, and immediately stopped in her tracks.

Peter stared at her with huge wild eyes, and then suddenly he was of the bed and pressed back against the wall of the nursery beside Wendy's bed. Wendy saw his left hand reach for his knife, and bit her lip nervously.

Mrs Darling recovered from her initial shock quickly and gave Peter a warm smile.

'And who are you then?'

Peter stepped forward nervously and bowed low as Mrs Darling raised her eyebrows at his leaf clothes and knotted hair.

'I am Peter Pan,' he said proudly, and stood back up straight, his chin slightly in the air.

Mrs Darling looked completely taken aback. 'Peter P-Pan?'

'He's really here Mother! May he stay here, forever?' Peter Winced slightly at the word forever, but Wendy wasn't worried. Once he saw how splendid it was to have a mother he would never think of returning to Neverland again.

Mrs Darling's eyes were wide with surprise, and before she could respond a tired and slightly irritated voice travelled down the corridor.

'Mary, what is happening in there?' called a voice from the hall. Mr Darling came in, dressed in a long dressing gown and matching slippers, a mixture of annoyance and confusion on his face.

Peter didn't move a muscle, and Mr Darling showed no signs of having noticed him at all. He came in, stood beside his wife and turned towards Wendy.

'Now Wendy, what were you thinking staying up this late?'

Wendy ignored his question completely and grabbed Peter by the elbow, pulling him out of the shadows as she spoke.

'Father! Peter Pan has come to stay! He can stay can't he? He has flown... I mean travelled all the way to get here. It's just perfect! He just has to stay! Please Father?'

Wendy knew she was talking too much, but she just couldn't help herself! She was so exited!

Peter hadn't bowed at all like he had to Mrs Darling. He remained stiffly straight, looking up at Mr Darling with a mixture of doubtfulness and defiance in his eyes.

Mr Darling looked down at Peter with the same look of bewilderment that had been worn by Mrs Darling a few moments before. The perplexed man cleaned his throat. 'Peter Pan you say? Well, um...'

'...I'm sure we can squeeze another bed into the nursery!' Mrs Darling finished for him.

Mr Darling nodded with a smile, which then turned to shock as Wendy whooped again even louder than before, waking up the side of the nursery closest to her.

After the lost boys had rubbed the sleep out of their eyes and seen Peter, they joined the screeching, until the whole of the nursery was piling on Peter with a warm and welcoming hug. Peter laughed heartily at this merry welcome, and the sound of it made a sudden smile spread across the Darling's faces.

'Oh, we missed you so Peter!' shouted a voice from the pile.

'You are staying forever aren't you?'

'Why didn't you come before?!'

'Now we can all go to school together...'

Peter jumped up and backed away. 'School?' He said it quietly, his face emotionless.

'Well, we'll probably wait a few days to get you enrolled into the school, but yes, you'll go. You can all go together!' Mrs Darling said with a slightly doubtful smile on her face, looking at Peter as though he was a bomb that could go off at any second.

Peter remained motionless, his arms limp and his eyes staring at the ground.

'Right then,' Mr Darling said with a shifty and awkward look at Peter. 'Boys, off to bed with you! Wendy, calm yourself down and get back into bed. Er, Peter, we'll have to make a make-shift bed for you on some spare pillows or something... Susan!'

Susan was the maid, and Mr Darling quickly left the room, hurrying down the stairs to go and fetch her. Mrs Darling had already left the room, and Peter was left alone standing beside Wendy's bed. The lost boys all called good night to him as they settled down, and he waved them to sleep with a slight smile on his face.

'Peter, did you hear? Father's gone to fetch you a bed. Where would you like to sleep?'

'I don't need a bed; I shall sleep here!' he said firmly, and he dived onto the floor with such force Wendy thought he might break something. Wendy winced, but he just floated down like a feather and landed just as lightly on the smooth wooden floorboards.

Wendy protested, but he remained still, his eyes already shut.

'Well, at least have this!' and Wendy grabbed her spare blanket from the end of the bed and threw it at him.

He smiled as it him in the face, his eyes still closed. He accepted the blanket, but made it into a pillow instead.

'If I wake up tomorrow and you're frozen solid you'll have no one to blame but yourself!'

Wendy waited for Peter's reaction, but after a few seconds realised that he was already asleep. She was now the only one awake in the nursery, and as quietly as she could she turned down the bedside lamp and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to claim her.

Wendy was still half awake when Mr and Mrs Darling came in balancing an old mattress, with Susan, in a dishevelled looking night gown, walking behind them carrying a pillow and some blankets.

'Well, where is the new boy then?' said Susan inquisitively in her strong cockney accent.

'Well, it looks like they're all asleep, but I wonder where...'

'What's that down there? Is that him?' said the maid, pointing down to where Peter lay between the wall and Wendy's bed.

'I can't believe it,' said Mr Darling. 'He must be freezing his socks of down there!'

'If he had any socks,' Susan said, inspecting Peter's green feet.

'He's asleep, we shouldn't wake him,' said Mrs Darling.

'Well, maybe we should just leave all the bedding here and just put a blanket over him,' said Mr Darling.

'OK, we'll sort something out properly tomorrow. I hope he's all right,' Mrs Darling whispered.

'Well if he's lived all his life in those clothes, I think he can manage the floor for one night!' said Susan, half laughing.

Wendy saw Mrs Darling raise her eyebrows at Susan, and the maid quickly set down the bedding and made her exit.

'You know, George,' whispered Mrs Darling, 'he seems quite different to the other boys. More... complicated maybe? Less carefree. When we mentioned school his reaction was...'

'Don't worry yourself Mary!' Mr Darling interrupted. 'He just needs to settle in.'

'I wonder what his life was like before he came here...'

But by this time Wendy was so tired she couldn't pay attention any longer, and the words her mother said gradually drifted and swirled until they were undistinguishable, and Wendy fell into a world of dreams.