Pan: the lost boy

As Rumpelstiltskin and Pan fought, Rumpel stabbed the lad with his dagger. A puff of black smoke swirled up and suddenly Malcolm, Rumpel's father stood in place of Pan.

As the Dark One twisted the dagger in further and Malcolm cried out they both vanished and in the spot where they had both stood lay the boy who was Pan.

Belle fell to her knees in tears as Snow dropped to comfort her.

Charming and everyone else looked stunned.

"What just happened? I thought Rumpel would take care of Pan, why is he still here?" Regina asked.

Emma cautiously walked over the boy. He appeared to be unconscious. "What do we do now?" she asked no one in particular.

"Perhaps it would be best to put him in jail before he wakes up." Hook advised.

Regina snorted. "No jail can hold him."

"Can you place an enchantment on it, or something that would at least hinder his abilities to escape?" Charming pondered looking at Regina.

"I can try. I suppose it's worth an attempt."

Charming picked him up and carried the limp body to the jail. He laid him on a cot inside. "He's bleeding pretty badly from the dagger, maybe we should have taken him to Whale?"

Regina shook her head. "Too dangerous!"

"Hand me the first aid kit." He then proceeded to sew the wound shut and poured antiseptic over it, before bandaging it. "It looks pretty serious to me. In all good conscience we can't just let him die."

"He would gladly have let us all die. He has powers he can heal himself when he wakes up, besides a little blood loss isn't a bad thing in his case, it will keep him weak hopefully long enough to keep him confined until we can come up with another plan." Regina said.

After treating him Charming laid the boy back down on the cot, even though unconscious Pan cried out in pain. The prince stepped back and looked at the boy who looked so young and innocent lying there. He knew how powerful and how dark Pan was but he couldn't help feel a twinge of guilt leaving him injured and suffering. He took a deep breath fighting his protective instincts and then locked the cell shut. Regina waved her hands and muttered an incantation. The bars and wall glowed a sickly green for a moment then looked normal again.

"If he tries anything, he'll be hurt and suffering for awhile at least, let's just hope he's not strong enough to try again too quickly or the spell won't hold. As much as I hate to admit it his power is stronger than mine." Regina admitted.

"We can't keep him indefinitely; we'll have to come up with another solution." Tink commented.

"It's a shame we can't send him to Neverland and bind him there. With no more lost boys to boss around he'd be on his own without anyone to harm." Hook mused.

"Is it safe, Regina, to leave him here for the night? Is the spell strong enough do you think? He is weakened from Gold's stab wound but is it enough to keep us safe for the night?' Charming worried.

"Yes given his condition I'd say at least until midday tomorrow. Good thing he doesn't have any healing water from Neverland or we'd be in trouble." Regina assured.

They went home for the evening. Emma was thrilled to have Henry back. After a lingering look of longing at Hook she bade Neal, Tink and Regina good night. After comforting Belle and leaving her with Tink, Snow hugged Charming and turned in.

As moonlight shone through the window in the jail cell, the boy awoke; shivering uncontrollably he wrapped himself in a blanket as best as he could. He was so thirsty. He saw a jug of water over by the sink and got to his feet, only to collapse to the ground feeling dizzy and sick to his stomach. He looked around, seeing nothing much but darkness and bars. Where was he? How did he get here, he couldn't even remember that much. With much effort he crawled over to the bars and touched them. The reaction was instantaneous, a white hot pain seared through him and he was thrown backward. He sobbed as the chill he had felt disappeared and he found himself feeling as hot as a fire. He lay down on the cold cement of the jail cell pressing his hot cheek against the coolness of the cement, gritting his teeth against the unbearable pain in his back; soon the darkness enveloped him again.

Charming, Emma, Hook and Regina headed to the jail first thing in the morning. They were relieved to see all the bars still in place but were shocked to see Pan lying facedown on the floor. Fresh blood was visible having soaked into his shirt.

"Pan, wake up." Regina growled.

The boy didn't move.

"He's faking it." Regina surmised.

Hook moved closer to the bars. "I don't think so. I think he is seriously injured."

Emma stood beside him. "He's bleeding pretty badly. I agree with Hook."

Regina snorted. "Of course you would agree with your boyfriend."

Emma rolled her eyes. "No, I have eyes in my head. Look at him. From what we can see of his face, his cheeks are flushed red and that is fresh blood seeping from the wound. I think he's in trouble."

"Good, then let's hope he just dies and our troubles are over.' The witch exclaimed.

"While I understand why you feel as you do, we can't just let this happen. Is it safe for me to go in?'

Charming asked.

"He's touched the bars but I'll shut it down for now and reset the spell later. Go ahead but be careful, he could just be pretending." The witch warned.

Charming unlocked the cell and entered. As he got closer he realized how shallow and labored the boy's breathing was. He gently lifted him off the floor and carried him back to the cot laying him on his stomach so he could again treat the wound. He had ripped out the stitches, apparently when he moved too close to the bars activating Regina's spell. He removed the blood sodden bandage and stitched up the wound again dousing it with antiseptic. As he re-bandaged the wound, Pan stirred. Worried he stepped back. The boy groaned and opening his eyes. Charming's heart clenched seeing how much pain there was in those green eyes. Pan looked at him horrified and lurched backwards. "Get away from me." He croaked, his voice hoarse and barely audible.

"You are bleeding pretty badly and you are feverish. I'm just trying to help." Charming explained.

With a cry of pain, Pan tried getting to his feet only to fall back on the cot breathing heavily and shaking. Charming made an attempt to step closer but again Pan used his last ounce of strength to back away. "Stay away, why did you do this to me?' he asked his voice barely a whisper.

Charming frowned. "I didn't do this to you. Rumpelstiltskin did."

Pan looked confused. "Who?'

Charming looked at the others who looked equally confused. Except for Regina who narrowed her eyes. "Stop with the games, Pan. You know exactly what happened and you deserved it. What I don't understand is how you are even still alive. What did you do to your son? Where is he?"

Pan's eyes widened in fear, his body shivering uncontrollably. "I don't have a son. You're insane."

"Enough of this." Charming's frustration had reached the boiling point. He went over to Pan grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him to his feet. Pan gasped and struggled to get out of his grip but he was too weak. His legs gave out under him and Charming quickly lifted him into his arms. "We're going to see Whale." Pan continued to fight and tried to push away from Charming's chest when Emma grabbed his wrists and handcuffed them together. His reaction shocked everyone. Like a trapped wild animal Pan went wild, hysterical with a blind panic to escape. Charming set him down when he realized the boy couldn't breathe.

"He's hyperventilating." Regina observed.

"Pan, calm down, we're not going to hurt you." Emma found herself saying, realizing how ridiculous it was considering the harm he could do.

"Bloody hell. He's going to pass out." Hook came close. "Pan, stop it!"

Regina sighed grabbed a paper bag and placed over Pan's nose and mouth forcing his head down. After a few minutes his breathing slowed, Tears dripped down Pan's face and his eyes were greener than ever. "I hate you all. I don't belong here, Let me go!' he gasped.

Regina frowned. Pan crying wasn't something she ever expected to see. Something was wrong here. "Who are you?" she asked.

The boy sneered. "Peter Pan, I rule Neverland. Why have you taken me away?"

"Did you fall on your head, lad? We didn't take you away; you followed us here by switching bodies with Henry." Hook explained.

"What are you blathering about? I hate grownups. I would have been happy to never see another one in my life. You stole me from Neverland and brought me to this…place." His breathing quickened again.

"What is the last thing you remember before waking up here?" Regina asked suspiciously.

Pan took a shaky breath. "I need water."

Emma got him a glass and lifted it to his mouth. He gulped it down as if he hadn't drunken in days. When he finished Regina suddenly lifted her hand to his forehead. "He's burning up."

Charming snorted. "That's why I wanted to bring him to Whale."

"In a minute." Regina snapped. " Well Pan, what do you remember last?"

"I was coercing Tinkerbell into giving me some pixie dust." He responded resentfully.

Regina met Emma's eyes. "Something isn't right here. Either he's playing us, since he's so good at it. Or something else is happening here."

Pan suddenly went very pale, then leaned over and retched. He threw up all the water he had just drunken, and then went limp in Charming's grasp.

"I think we better get him to Whale. He's not faking this, the lad is very ill." Hook suggested.

Charming lifted Pan in his arms and they headed to the hospital.

A/N: Just a little idea that wouldn't leave me alone. I thought the actor playing Pan did an amazing job and I think it would have been very beneficial for the show to somehow add him to the cast and to expand the appeal of the show to its younger audience by having a teen character – I wish they hadn't made Pan be Rumpel's father it would have made the possibility a lot easier. So this is an alternate ending shall we say to episode 11 using what they gave us but with a twist. It will only be a few chapters long.

Hope you enjoy it so far…if so please review.