Title: "Freedom At Last"
Author: Kat Lee
Rating: G
Summary: Escape seemed impossible.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: 244. That's the number of stories that were sitting on my hard drive collecting dust because I lack the energy and time to take care of them as I once did. My betaing pattern has always been to write, then type up if written on paper, the story, read it aloud to my beloved Jack and our children, editing as I go, and then finally format and post. Sadly, this part is simply taking too much of my time and energy, and my beloved Jack and I have too little time together in person these days to be able to keep up with my stories. So what to do? Give up writing? I actually considered it for a while, tried to make excuses to myself other than the large number of stories collecting cyber dust on my computer, as to why I lacked the energy and Muse to write new tales. And then, with the turn of the new year, I decided to stop running and face the problem. The problem is, quite frankly, that once one gets so bogged down in formatting and editing that writing is no longer a pleasure but the actual posting of those writings becomes a hassle and - egad! - work, it's time to cut something out, and that will never be the writing process. So, in short, yes, there will be mistakes in this tale. Yes, it's missing about half of the header information I usually include. But I wrote it for pleasure and am posting it in hopes of sharing that pleasure with others. Do with it as you will.
It seemed impossible for them to escape, but finally, one night with a little pixie dust and a great amount of wishful thinking, they did. For the first several years, Hook expected Pan around every corner and was never without his pistol or sword. Smee tried to get him to leave them behind when they went to certain places, like out dining on a quiet night for lovers, but James wouldn't hear of it. He had to be ready to protect them, he'd explain again and again, for when that dreaded boi finally did show his ugly face and try to drag them back to Neverland.
Yet time moved on, and Pan still didn't show. Eventually, Hook did settle down, finally becoming more James than the Captain Hook he'd been forced to become to survive as an adult in Neverland. He planted daisies and enjoyed watching them grow as he and his beloved also grew, growing older, shorter, fatter, and grayer. There came a time when James could no longer keep his pistol steady for the way his hands shook, and at last, he shut it away in a drawer beside their bed.
As fate would have it, it was then, on a quiet street in London, one hundred years later than the last time Pan had almost run James through, that the aged Pirate Captain finally did meet his lifelong arch rival. He hadn't expected him. His hands had been shaking, and he'd dropped the present he'd bought for his sweet Smee. He'd been bent down, carefully lifting the package and feeling of it to make certain it wasn't broken, when he spotted a pair of green boots ahead of him on the graveled road.
James had stilled instantly, his entire body going stoic still in terror except for his mustache who quivered in sudden renewed vigor. His hair had gone back to its younger days as his mustache shook, trembled, and looked as though it was ready to jump off of his wrinkled face. Yet, when no sword tapped him in the booty, James slowly raised his head. Even more slowly, he stood and looked at the boy who was no longer a boy.
Peter Pan looked back at him from adult eyes. "Good noon to you, sir," he called and went about his way, holding to the hand of a woman who, despite her uncanny resemblance to the trollop, couldn't possibly be Wendy.
Hook couldn't run much any more. Simply kneeling to tend to his flowers often winded him. Yet, on that day, the infamous Pirate Captain did run. He ran, his package tucked under one arm and his umbrella crooked onto the other, all the way out of town, down the dusty roads that led to his home, and up the pathway that wound betweenst fields of flowers all the way until he collided into his love's arms.
Smee heard him coming and screaming his name as he hadn't since the days that the crocodile had searched for him. "SMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Smee met him, standing on their porch with his arms open wide. James collapsed into his love's hold, his long, tall body shaking inside Smee's short, protective arms. "I SAW HIM!" he gasped. "I SAW HIM!"
The dread that set into Smee was as obvious on him as it had been on his beloved Captain. Yet, then, he realized: The boi wasn't following him. His love had escaped unscathed. "Did he see you?"
"Yes," James gasped, but then his breathing slowed. His lips began to gradually curl up into a smile. "He saw me," he told him, his eyes twinkling and mustache curling to match his sly grin, "but he didn't know me!"
"You . . . You're sure he saw you?"
"Yes!" James grinned broadly down at him. "He saw me, but he didn't know me!" he repeated gleefully. He lifted Smee into his arms and began to dance with him across their porch as they once had on the deck of their Pirate ship. Smee was quite happy to dance with his beloved but still confused as to why he was suddenly so happy they were dancing. "Do you realize what this means, Smee?" James nearly crowed.
"N-No," Smee admitted, pushing his glasses back up his red, round nose before they could fall completely off of his face.
"WE'RE FREE!" James shouted, his joyous cry echoing over their fields of daisies. "WE'RE FREE!" And, then, almost as if to show just how free they were, he covered Smee's face with kisses.
The End