Pre-story notes and disclaimers: I've had this idea for a while. I wrote this story with different characters and a similar plot to this one. I don't own PP&tP. The only character I own is Arielle; there's also a mention of one of the new Lost Boys from the movie Hook (Ace; I don't own him either). I also don't own Nibs' real name, Nathaniel Roivas, which someone else made up for their own fanfiction.
His Chance to Dream
It was Spring Cleaning time in the Underground House again. Normally, the Lost Boys tried to run at the first mention of housework, but this time, Slightly, who had been given a radio from the Cavern Wherever as a gift from Tinkerbell, supplied music to clean by.
Suddenly, the music changed. They had been listening to George Strait's All My Exes Live in Texas, which Curly thought was really funny, but they were surprised to hear the song change in the middle of a verse to KC and the Sunshine Band's Get Down Tonight.
"Nibs! Put it back!" they heard Slightly shout.
"Sure! The radio was on the shelf, right?" Nibs asked, smirking.
"You know what I mean! Besides, you know it's slightly bad form to interrupt in the middle of a song!"
Nibs grinned wickedly. "That bad form stuff may work with Hook and Peter, but not with me!"
"Oh, pick a station and stay with it!" John called in mock anger.
Suddenly, they heard another song they all liked. They also saw Slightly grin as he made his way over to the bucket of soapy water Wendy was using to clean the floor with. Wendy laughed as she watched him tie sponges to his shoes, jump in the water, jump out again while the sponges were dripping wet, and start skating to the O-Jays song Love Train. She saw the Twins grin at each other and join him. She knew that these three loved any and every kind of music.
As he watched them, Curly came up with sponges tied to his own shoes. "Slightly, we may disagree on what style of music we all like, but there's absolutely no way I'm letting you have all the fun!"
"That goes double for me!" Nibs agreed, skating out to them.
"Why didn't I think of this before?" Wendy mused. "What brought this idea about?" she asked as the boys skated by her.
"I've slightly seen the pirates do this when Hook wasn't around," Slightly said as he whizzed by Wendy and let Curly take the lead.
Soon, when the boys were breathless from all the laughing and whooping, Peter heard a noise outside. "Well, the fun won't be stopping here!" he said as he flew out to investigate.
The Lost Boys barely had time to get their breath back as they took the sponges off and followed their leader outside. They saw the pirates at the edge of the forest.
"Pan, this is the last time I will put up with your monkey business. Today is the day I introduce you to Davy Jones! What do you say about that?" Hook yelled as he and Peter moved across the forest in a duel. As he spoke, Peter flew between his legs, taking his cape with him, causing the man to fall on his back.
"Well, I don't know what Peter has to say, but Monkee business and Davy Jones? I slightly love that group!" Slightly said from where he was dueling Mason, and he started to sing, "Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean...to a daydream believer and a homecoming queen?"
"Good one, Slightly!" Curly shouted from his spot where he and Smee were going at it.
Nibs rolled his eyes good-naturedly from where he and Starkey were fighting. His attitude's gotten a lot better since Tink gave him that radio, he thought. Suddenly, his smile faded when he saw that Cookson had a bundle across his back. Upon closer investigation, he saw that it was a girl that had been tied up. "Taking a girl prisoner? I don't think so! And I think it's high time the second-in-command got the girl for a change!" he muttered. He raised his voice. "Twins, cover me, I'm going in!"
He flew over to a tree where he knew the Twins had rigged a hidden rope. He activated the switch, and the greasy Greek chef stumbled over the rope, falling on his face and letting the girl go. Nibs took the girl in his arms after he cut her bonds.
When the battle was over, the boys gathered around her to see if she was all right, but all her attention was on Nibs. "Good sir, I thank you," she said. She revealed herself to be a nymph as she added, "I am in your debt."
"She's beautiful," Curly mused, looking over her waist length dark red hair, sparkling green eyes, and short lilac colored dress that revealed legs that seemed to go on forever.
"She's quite fetching, I'll give you that!" John agreed, even though he and the Lost Boys were rarely ever taken in by a pretty face.
"She's not bad," Slightly shrugged.
"Curly, John, stop drooling. Slightly, I actually agree with you," Peter half-joked, but he was just as taken by the girl as the boys were. "What I want to know is, what's her name, and what the pirates wanted with her."
"I am Arielle," she answered, turning her gentle smile to him, "The pirates captured me to offer me a spot on their ship. But I refused, seeing as how I lost the love of my life. When they learned that I wouldnt join them, they were going to throw me to a crocodile. But," she added, turning to Nibs, "thanks to you, Nathaniel Roivas, I am safe once more."
"Nathaniel Roivas? I haven't heard that name in a while!" Nibs' eyes widened as he repeated his old name, "But you can call me that, or Nibs, whichever works for you." he added hastily.
"I don't know, guys," Slightly turned serious now, "Tink slightly says that nymphs can be tricky."
"Tink slightly says too much," Nibs said as he offered Arielle his arm and the two walked away. As they watched the blonde, the boys saw that his feet were on the ground, but his head was in the clouds. This was the first time they'd ever seen Nibs act like this.
"Slightly, you may have a point," John said to him, "Some of us should go find Tink and fill her in on what happened, and some of us should follow those two love-birds." Suddenly, he looked as if hed said something wrong. "Wait. With Nibs gone, you're second-in-command now. Whatever you say goes."
"Your idea's good, John," Slightly assured him, "you and the Twins come with me. Curly, you and Peter go get Tink and slightly fill her in on what's going on here."
While some of the boys flew off to heed their temporary second-in-command's orders, Slightly, John, and the Twins followed the same path that their smitten friend had gone down.
Nibs and Arielle were sitting on tree stumps in a mossy field of flowers. Nibs was hanging on to her every word as she told him her story. They never saw the boys that approached them.
"I was born of high position in Small Monday Island," Arielle was saying. "My father wanted me to marry a Lilliputian, but my affections were taken by a human. He was one of young Lord Pan's Lost Boys, like you. Sadly, however, he was lost in a shipwreck in the Mysterious River the night before we were to marry. Since his death, I vowed never to love again."
"The Lost Boy you wanted to marry was lost in a shipwreck in the Mysterious River?" Nibs repeated, "That's where my old friend Ace disappeared." he said softly, "you mean you wanted to marry him?" He was already lost in thought over his old friend.
Flashback... Ace had been in Neverland as long as Peter. He was a blending of all the Lost Boys. He loved music as much as Slightly. He was as mechanically inclined as the Twins. He had Curly's sense of humor, and a mild form of John's know-it-all attitude. He loved stories as much as Tootles and Michael, so Nibs would leave the Underground House at night, and regale him with Wendy's stories in his treetop hideout. Also, when Nibs had been in Small Monday Island's production of Cats, he sneaked a ticket to his friend. However, Peter had banished Ace over something trivial, and Nibs' oldest friend left his hideout and had never returned. End Flashback
The two shared a moment of respectful silence for their friend, then Arielle said, "Yes. And you remind me of him: brave yet gentle, always willing to help others. He was a young gentleman, just like you. And the Lilliputian who wanted to marry me wouldn't know true gentlemanly form if someone came up and...put a flower in my hair." she added as Nibs rose, plucked a small flower off a tree, and tucked it behind her ear.
"And he'd always be faithful to you," Nibs agreed as Arielle kissed his cheek and touched his shoulder. A second later, he was surprised to see himself eye-to-eye with her; she had returned to her small stature, and he had been shrunk by a spell. Also, his bear cap, red shirt, and brown pants and boots had been replaced with a colonial-style blue jacket, white shirt, black pants, and boots. His hair was tied in a ponytail that lightly bounced behind him as he walked. He also saw Arielle's short lilac dress turn into a long white gown, and her hair, which had blown freely in the wind, was now in a tall French knot. Nibs smiled at her as he took her in his arms. "I've never felt this way about anyone," he murmured as he tilted her face up toward his, and drawing it closer to his until their lips touched. Nibs murmured, "What was that song I heard the Twins play for Wendy? Oh yeah..."
The lamp is burnin' low upon my table top
The snow is softly fallin'
The air is still within the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly callin'
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
Upon this winter night with you
"That song is beautiful!" Arielle whispered as she leaned closer to him.
"No, my friends told me that it's called Song for a Winter's Night," Nibs said to her. (A/N: This is a running joke in my stories, but there actually is a Gordon Lightfoot song called Beautiful.)
Arielle smiled as she sang the next verse:
The smoke is rising in the shadows overhead
My glass is almost empty
I read again between the lines upon the page
The words of love you sent me
If I could know within my heart
That you were lonely too
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
Upon this winter night with you
"Hey, not bad, Nibs!" Nag commented when he heard the song.
"Yeah, good choice!" Plug agreed as he recognized the song.
"What song is it?" Peter asked.
"Song For a Winter's Night." Nag explained.
"Classic Gordon Lightfoot love song," Plug nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Nibs and Arielle smiled at each other as they sang the last verse together
The fire is dying now, my lamp is growing dim
The shades of night are liftin'
The mornin' light steals across my windowpane
Where webs of snow are driftin'
If I could only have you near, To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
And to be once again with with you
To be once again with with you
"You sing beautifully, Nathaniel," Arielle murmured when their duet was over.
"You're really good too," Nibs' voice was as soft as hers.
At that moment, the Lost Boys, and Wendy as well, arrived with Tink. The pixie gasped when she saw what was going on. "We have to help him! Slightly, your intuition was right; she's not who she says she is!" she said as she shrank everyone down to her size.
"Okay, so who is she?" Wendy asked when the spell had been completed.
"Is she some kind of con artist?" John inquired.
"No. Arielle is...was...the daughter of an old fairy sea captain. She was right, she was going to marry Ace, but after he died, she spent her life in solitude. Then she was lost in another storm years later," Tinkerbell explained, "She and her father were coming back from a festival in Tintagel on his boat when a fierce storm blew in. They were both washed overboard. Her father was found near Kidd's Creek Bay, and he was nursed back to health, but Arielle, and the boat, were lost. The ironic thing is that her mother was lost the same way, years before."
"Nibs sure knows how..." Nag started.
"To pick a girlfriend." Plug finished.
"Twins, I know you mean well, but now isn't the time for jokes," Wendy said to them.
"I never thought I'd say this, but Wendy's right. We have to get him away from her. Arielle can't stay here," Tinkerbell said as she produced a book and started leafing through it.
At that moment, Nibs turned, and saw the others. He turned to them, and he had a dreamy look on his face. "Peter, everyone, I want to tell you something important: I'm going to carry out Ace's dream of giving Arielle the life she's always wanted," then he turned to Slightly, adding, "Slightly, I know you'll do a great job as Peter's new second-in-command."
"That's a slightly tempting offer, Nibs, but this isn't about her or me, this is about you," Slightly said as he and Curly took Nibs' arms and led him away from her.
"Nathaniel!" Arielle wailed as Nibs was led away from her.
"Arielle!" Nibs yelled as the boys led him a few feet away.
"Nibs, this is for your own good," Tinkerbell said as she opened the book. She found the page she was looking for, and began to read.
"NO!" Nibs yelled as Arielle started to fade from sight, "I've already lost one friend, don't make me lose another one!" He squirmed out of the boys' grip, raced over to Tinkerbell, and ripped the book from her hands. "Tink, stop! Please! Don't let me hurt anymore!"
Curly came forward, and he was uncharacteristically serious as he said, "Nibs, we want you to be happy. But life with a ghost isn't worth it."
Slightly nodded in agreement as he took the book and gave it to Tinkerbell. "That's right. Ace was slightly amazing, but like I said, this isn't about him. This is about you."
"So many people here need you, Nibs," Wendy said softly.
"So does she! Ace wanted to marry her, but he died before he got the chance! Arielle needs me now!" Nibs yelled, tears already streaming down his face.
"Maybe so, but people here need you too," John said to him.
As he looked at each of his friends, Nibs' heart got heavier. He knew what they were all saying, but this was the first time he'd ever been in love like this.
"It's your decision, Nathaniel," Arielle whispered.
At last, Nibs turned to her and nodded sadly. "They're all right. Ace would want us both to be happy. He needs you with him, and I have to stay here. But Arielle...you've given me a dream to last my whole life!" When she sadly nodded consent, Nibs gave the book back to Tinkerbell and let the spell continue.
As Arielle vanished, Nibs' clothes returned to normal, and everyone was restored to their full height.
When she disappeared completely, Nibs sank dejectedly to the ground. His face was buried in his arms, but the boys heard his muffled words: "What was I thinking? How could I have been so stupid? How could I have let myself get taken with her like that? Maybe Robert Mullins is right, the opposite sex is bad luck!"
"Just because Mr. Mullins thinks that way doesn't mean it's true," Wendy said as she sat next to him. She held him and stroked his hair as if he was one of her brothers and gave him a gentle hug as he came closer to her. "Everything will be fine. You'll find another girl someday."
Later, when everyone was back in the Underground House, Michael said, "Nibs, we never saw you again after the fight."
"Yeah," Tootles agreed, "What happened?"
"I was on a date with a ghost," Nibs replied as he sat down on the bed.
"Sure you were, Nibs," Tootles said dryly as he and Michael sat on either side of him.
"Let me tell you guys a story," Nibs said to them, "A long time ago, a sea captain had a daughter. She was just like the girls I know today: she had Wendy's sweet nature, Tink's independent spirit, and Tiger Lily's sense of adventure. With the love of her life by her side, she knew that she could handle anything thrown her way..." As the younger boys listened to Nibs' story, they saw Wendy come up to them again.
"Nibs, I agree with something she said," Wendy said, "You know how to make other people feel special."
"You really mean that?" Nibs asked as he looked up at her.
"Yes. That's why we love you so much," Wendy said as she gave him another hug.
Suddenly, they heard snickering. They saw the Lost Boys, and Tinkerbell, listening to their every word. Some of them walked away innocently, but Slightly whispered something to Tinkerbell, who alit on his hand.
"You know how to make other people feel special. We love you so much!" Tink imitated Wendy's voice.
"You really mean that?" Slightly gasped, imitating Nibs.
"Yes...Oh, Nibs!" Tinkerbell gasped, hugging Slightly's wrist.
"Oh, Wendy!" Slightly hugged Tinkerbell with his thumb and finger.
"Oh, no..." Nibs muttered as he started chasing them.
As he chased Slightly and Tinkerbell around the room, he tried to look angry, but the boys saw him smile. He knew that they were trying to cheer him up, and he appreciated everything they were doing. He was also smiling for another reason, too; thinking of how he'd never forget the first love of his life, and how he knew that Ace and Arielle could now have the life they'd always dreamed of.
Final notes: This story is based on an episode of the old cartoon Tale Spin, which is actually entitled "Her Chance to Dream".