A/N - The song is Jessica Simpson's 'Where You Are' featuring Nick Lachey (italics are the female vocals, bold italics are the male vocals, underlined italics are both). It does not belong to me, and neither does Poppy, though Peter does. (Though you all know that by now.) Anyway, on with the songfic, and if you have the tape or CD, it's really better if you listen to the song while you read this.
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there are times i swear i know you're here, when i forget about my fear,
Peter's presence was in the room, eerily strong. Poppy could almost feel his hand on her shoulder. She whirled around in her chair to look, but the was no one there. She smiled; suddenly she was unafraid of anything life might throw at her. How could anyone who had ever been loved so deeply be afraid again?
feeling you my dear watching over me
She undressed slowly and slipped her nightdress over her head, then crawled into the empty bed. It still felt vast and cold to her, but once she was asleep her dreams could take over and her longing became hope.
my hope seeks what the future will bring when you wrap me in your wings and take me where you are
During the day Poppy wondered where Peter was and if she would ever be reunited with him in another world. But at night, she knew.
where you and i will be together once again
They would see each other again, he would hold her again, and she would look into his eyes and be content for Eternity.
and we'll be dancing in the moonlight just like we used to do and you'll be smiling back at me
They would dance under the moonlight as they once had, but this time there would be no taint of Dark Lords and danger, no threat of anything taking them away from each other.
only then will I be free when i can be where you are
It was a place that haunted her with wonderful yet heart-wrenching visions, and would haunt her until her dying day.
and i can see your face your kiss i still can taste not a memory a waste
Peter did not think Heaven was all it was cracked up to be. How could he be happy when he was up here and Poppy was down there missing him?
oh i see your star shining down on me and i'd do anything if i could just be right there where you are
The gold telescope swivelled of its own accord, focusing on a bright star in the west. Poppy wondered irrelevantly if one could visit the stars after one was dead. Perhaps that was where Peter was now. What would it be like to live on a star? Perhaps one day she would find out. The star twinkled at her and grew brighter.
where you and i will be together once again
Poppy shut her eyes for a moment, savouring the vivid picture of Peter that had appeared in her mind's eye. His hands rested lightly on her waist, and hers were on his shoulders as they danced under the power of the stars to an unheard celestial tune.
and we'll be dancing in the moonlight just like we used to do and you'll be smiling back at me
His lips, so kissable, were curved upwards in a loving smile. Poppy opened her eyes abruptly, a sharp pain shooting through her heart. She looked up at the star again.
"Star light, star bright," she whispered, "First star I see tonight . . . " The bright ball of silver fire twinkled reassuringly. "I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight . . . "
only then will i be free then i will be free so take me where you are
Eyes closed, Poppy wished with every particle of her soul to be with Peter once again. All logic and realism was thrown aside, and it didn't matter that she was wishing for something impossible, because sometimes wishes come true.
baby there are times when selfishly i wish that you were here with me
And from his celestial post on a certain star in the west, Peter felt her wish and wished just as strongly that he could grant it.
so i could wipe the tears from your eyes and make you see that every night while you are dreaming i'm here to guard you from afar
He wished desperately that he could have his mortal form back even for one night, just to see Poppy again and tell her that they would be reunited one day, and that even though she couldn't see him he was always there for her . . .
and any time i feel alone i close my eyes and dream of where you are
He wished he could tell her that the dreams she had every night were only a preview of what she would have one day. Once her purpose on Earth was fulfilled she would be free to come to him in Heaven as she wished to every day.
where you and i will be together once again
"One day," Poppy thought dreamily, "one day we'll be together again, and we'll never have to be apart. Eternity will be ours to do with as we like."
and we'll be dancing in the moonlight just like we used to do and you'll be smiling back at me
"We'll dance under the moon at midnight and lie side by side in a meadow filled with wildflowers, and everything will be bliss, with none of this longing that has trapped me."
only then will i be free then i will be free
"I'll never want anything again, because I will have it all, right there in Peter's eyes looking back at me."
A tear slipped out from under Poppy's dark lashes. It was followed by several more. They splashed down her face in a slow rhythm of longing; mournful, yet full of faith.
baby I still believe, oh i still believe i will touch you that sweet day that you take me there where you are
If she could just believe in what she knew to be true, she could live her life as if she was alive, not just longing for the release of death.
i still believe i will touch you that sweet day that you take me there, where you are oh where you are
It wasn't that she wanted to be dead; she didn't. She wanted to be alive with Peter. And she believed that her soul would live on when her body died. She believed that she would be more than alive when she was reunited with Peter – she would be reborn.
i'll always be waiting here
"Take your time," Peter wanted to say to her. "I want you with me, but I don't want to cut your life short. I can wait, for up here there is no time or space."
that sweet day
Poppy sighed. "Yes, I can wait," she thought to herself. "But I wish I didn't have to." She smiled a sad yet elated smile. "Peter was so alive," she murmured. "I'm going to live my life the way he would want me to. I'm going to keep our love alive and I'm going to believe that one day I'll be right where I want to be; in Peter's arms again. I'll be there for Eternity, and who couldn't wait for that?" The smile lit her features again, and Peter, on a far-off star in the west, felt her love.
i only want to be where you are