A/N: Just a little something that came to mind while I was supposed to be doing something else. Its based on a combination of the lovely book by Mr. Barrie and the 2003 live action movie which is spectacular. I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Peter Pan but I do dream of flying.
...
Wendy poked her head into the dimly lit room to check on her 11 year old daughter. Jane sat on the window seat, gazing up at the stars with a melancholy air, and sighed. It was the same every night since summer began: she was waiting for Peter to come back and take her to Neverland again for spring cleaning.
Wendy crossed the room and sat down behind her daughter, lightly stroking her hair. "It's time for bed, sweetheart." She said.
"But what if he comes back? I don't want to miss it." She didn't need to say his name, they both knew to whom she referred.
"If he comes, he will wake you. Peter Pan never was one to respect bed-time." Wendy said with a fond chuckle.
"I am so afraid he's forgotten me. I had hoped that I was different, that I was more special." Jane gasped and covered her mouth as she realized she had spoken this aloud. "Sorry mother."
Wendy laughed gently, a sweet, lilting sound. "Oh, my darling girl, you have not upset me. Peter is not the kind to spend time reminiscing. Being forgotten by him is not an insult, but a habit. He does not spend time looking back as we do. He's too busy flying into his next adventure."
"But didn't it hurt?" Jane turned to face her mother now with anxiety clearly marking her features. "Weren't you upset that he waited so long to come for another adventure with you and took me instead?"
"Not at all."
"But, how? Why? I thought you loved Neverland."
"I do love Neverland, and I cherish those memories. That is why I enjoy telling you and the boys all my stories. But there is one story I have yet to tell. I have been saving it for you, for this day." Wendy said.
"What is it?" Jane's excitement and interest in her mother's secret made it hard for her to hold still.
Wendy smiled adoringly at her child. She had enjoyed every moment with her children, watching them grow and discover their world and all its treasures. It was these very moments which confirmed in her again the lesson she had learned all those years ago.
"Peter gave me a very special gift when I visited Neverland with him." She began.
"What gift? You never told me before. Can I see it?"
"It's not the kind of gift you wrap or place on a shelf to be admired. I don't think Peter even realized that he gave it to me. You see Jane, when I left Neverland, I came home with a knowledge, a certainty, I had not known nor could have found before that adventure. Peter showed me a delightful and special place in Neverland, as you well know. We had adventures and so much fun that it is appealing to imagine staying there. But he also showed me what I would not have."
"I don't understand."
"I know child. Let me explain. Through all the games and pretending to be a mother to the Lost Boys I came to know my own heart. There was something I deeply wanted that Neverland and Peter could never offer. It would have taken me years to figure it out on my own and so in my heart I thank Peter every day for this precious gift. He helped me to know myself, something which is much harder to do than you may expect. But I realized then that I didn't want to just play at being a mother and having a family – I wanted the real thing. I could not know how much before that."
Jane looked out the window again. "But Peter Pan is so much more exciting."
"More exciting than you and your brothers? I do not think so." Wendy said. "That was part of the reason I demanded to come home and I have never looked back, sweetheart. Peter is wonderful and full of adventure, but there is more than one kind of adventure to be had in life. The adventure I really wanted could only be found here. I was not surprised when Peter forgot to come back for me, but I did not wait long for him, as you still do now a year after your visit to Neverland. You see, I was preparing for my own adventure. Peter helped me to know myself and I graciously accepted the changes my parents made in my life to prepare me for growing up. When I was introduced into society I knew the kind of young man I wanted to find."
"One like Peter!" Jane guessed.
"No, not exactly. Peter is unique and cannot be copied or replaced. True, I did want to find someone who could laugh and have fun, but I also wanted someone who could care for me and a family, someone to be a friend, an ally, and a husband. Peter may play at being a husband and father in the only way he understands it, but he will never truly know what it means."
Jane pursed her lips. "Does that make you sad mother? Were you upset that Peter wouldn't be your husband?"
"No. I would not change Peter for the world and growing up would certainly have done that. But thanks to him and his perfect imperfections, I recognized Tom, your father, when I found him."
Jane looked back into the house thoughtfully. "Father." She said. Distantly they could hear the sounds of the boy's bedtime story: the deeper rumble of Father's voice and the giggles and calls from the boys as they reacted and added to the narrative. Wendy smiled fondly, a different light making her features glow from within. Jane studied her mother for a moment.
"You are happier here than you would have been to stay in Neverland?" it was half question, half statement.
"Oh yes, my child! So much happier than I could have imagined. Think now: don't we have fun on your Father's day off when we go to the gardens or the zoo?"
"Father makes such good animal sounds. I think he was really talking to that lion the last time." Jane remembered.
"And on holiday, when we go to the lake district. Don't we have our own adventures there?" Wendy asked.
"The fort we built. Peter was so impressed that I already knew how to tie such good knots and defend a fort. Father taught me everything."
"Do you know that you, your brothers, and your father are my greatest adventure?" Wendy took her daughters hand and squeezed it.
"I hadn't thought. . . I believed the best adventures only happened in Neverland." Jane mused, clearly rethinking her definitions.
"It's just as Peter always says: To Live will be an awfully big adventure." Wendy said.
Jane smiled. "I can make my own adventures."
"Yes, darling." Wendy gently prodded Jane who now let herself be guided to bed. She yawned and lay back on her pillow while Wendy tucked her in.
"I love you mother." Jane mumbled sleepily.
"I love you too, my dear Jane." Wendy kissed her forehead and turned down the light before going to the open window.
"Goodnight Peter Pan, and thank you." Wendy whispered to the twinkling stars in the night sky before closing the window and leaving the room.
In the hall Tom was leaving the nursery as well. He came to her and put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him and placing a kiss on her temple.
"How is our little girl tonight?" he asked.
"Asleep now."
"Will she keep waiting for him?"
"We had a little talk. I hope she will be happier in the morning." Wendy said.
"And you? Are you happy?" Tom asked as they walked into their bedroom.
"Beyond words." Wendy turned and wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed her husband tenderly.