"How do you fly to the Mainland without fairy dust?"

It was undoubtedly the hardest dilemma Peter ever faced. In order to find their missing fairy creature, they had to fly to the Mainland, but without any fairies they couldn't fly. It had been so long since the birds taught him the secret to flying without fairy magic. Peter didn't know if he could figure it out again.

But if he could find just a little more fairy dust…

"Peter?" Cub reached out to shake his friend's arm. "Peter, where is your head? It's certainly not here with the rest of us."

"Our home is dying, Cub." Peter looked over at the curly-headed young man, wondering when they all grew up so much. "I have to do something."

"I don't think we can." Cub scratched his head. "Not when all the fairies are gone. That's the only thing that can save Neverland now. Fairy dust."

"I don't think all the fairies are gone." Peter confessed quietly. "Titania, with her last breaths, demanded I find the lost one. She insisted that 'she' would save Neverland. I think… I think Titania meant there was a fairy creature who had been sent away."

"Why would anyone send a fairy away from Neverland? That doesn't make sense." Cub shook his head, his eyes wandered away from Peter and out over the still landscape before them. "How would a fairy live on the Mainland?"

"I don't know. That isn't the problem right now." Peter stood and paced the rock outcropping they were perched on. "If I can get to the Mainland, I can find her. And if I can find her, I can bring her back."

"And if you bring her back, Neverland will start to heal." Cub nodded in understanding. "But we'll never go back to the boys we were. We'll still stay this age."

"So Neverland will be a little different. A little more grown." Peter shrugged. "It will still be ours forever."

"Do you think this fairy creature will approve of how Neverland has changed?" Cub asked quietly.

Peter shrugged. "If she has never been here, how will she know it's any different?"

He and Cub shared a laugh before they both fell solemn again. It was no laughing matter, saving Neverland. Everyone's life depended on it, even the dreaded pirates. If Neverland died, what would become of childhood dreams and belief in fairies? What would lost boys do? Neverland had to survive, even if the rest of them died in the saving.

"Peter?" A smaller, almost timid voice called from behind a nearby tree. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Bink stepped forward and tugged a leather strap out from around his neck. "If it's to save Neverland, I don't think Tink would mind if I gave this to you."

Peter knit his brow as a small jug rested against his palm. He gingerly opened the seal. A few sparkly tendrils of light leaped from their place. "Fairy dust…"

"The last bit of fairy dust on the island." Bink rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. "It's only enough for a trip or two. You'll need to be careful with it and you'll only get one shot."

"Where did you get this?" Peter looked up, astonished with the generosity Bink showed.

Bink ducked his head bashfully. "If I'm being honest, I found it in Tink's house after she… anyway, I thought she'd want us to have it. So I kept it in case we needed it." He shrugged. "Sounds a lot like we need it."

"Bink, thank you." Peter smiled for the first time in a long time. "Thank you so very much!"

Bink grinned and shrugged his shoulders as if it were nothing. "Go find our fairy, Peter. We all need her."

* .* . * . . *

Fable rushed to fill all the orders given her and slid bag after bag across the counter. Closing time was always the busiest, but today seemed far too busy. Did something happen that made everyone rush to her store for candy? Did they have to be so impatient?

Fable stuffed another chocolate in a box, sealed it, and handed it to the snooty woman across from her. If she had less manners, Fable would have half a mind to spit on the sweets first, just to get a little revenge later. But she was raised better than that, so she let it go for now.

It took longer than she would have liked to deal with the end of the customers and send them on their way, but it was okay. The smiling children made it all worth it. How could anyone think there wasn't magic in the world when little ones smiled like that?

Fable locked up the shop and opened the door beside it. The door that would lead up to her flat. It wasn't much, but it was hers. She tried to make it homey, but somehow it wasn't enough colors or whimsy. She didn't understand why she could never be satisfied with what she had. Why did she always need more? She should be happy just to have a job at this juncture.

The universe truly was a strange place.

Fable stretched her arms over her head as her door shut behind her. Finally. Home. A cozy little nest filled with trinkets and pillows and shiny things. She never could resist a good shiny thing. Fable took a running start and threw herself onto the pile of pillows that served as her bed. Why buy such a trivial thing when pillows were so much cheaper?

She relaxed there, letting her fingers unweave the braids in her long blonde hair. It was so soothing, being home and away from the rush and bustle of the London streets. Why couldn't everything be so relaxing as taking a night's rest?

Something thudded against the roof.

Fable frowned and looked up, as if that alone could tell her exactly what happened. It was probably some beggar running from the coppers again. They always thought the rooftops were an easy escape route. She sighed and settled back in against her pillows.

This time the thud came from the hall. Something crashed against her front door.

Fable shot to her feet and stared at the closed door with wide eyes. She wasn't particularly a scaredy-cat, but that didn't sound too good to her. Inch by silent inch, she made her way back to her door. Somewhere along the way, she picked up an umbrella and wielded it like a bat. Just in case.

"Calm down, Fable…" she instructed herself quietly. "It can't be so bad." Her fingers reached out to tuck themselves around the door handle. With one final inhalation, Fable tugged it open.

A small yelp escaped her as a large body crashed against her entryway rug. Fable skittered back a few steps and pressed a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart.

The man on her floor couldn't be many years older than her, but he was of a different league entirely. His hair hung shaggy around a chiseled face, his lips forming a perfect, plump bow. His shirt barely covered his wide shoulders and the neck dipped low to showcase his muscular chest. How did he get here and what was his plan?

Fable reached out with the tip of the umbrella and poked at his shoulder, wondering if he was really unconscious or if he had other plans. London wasn't a safe place nowadays, but… something told her he didn't hail from London. Not at all.

When he didn't move an inch, even after several prods from her umbrella, Fable decided he probably needed some form of attention. With yet another sigh, she tossed the umbrella aside and tucked her hands under his arms.

It took too much tugging and far more stumbles and falls than she liked, but eventually Fable managed to drag him in and over to her bed of pillows. He looked odd, draped out over her colors and sparkles, but at least he'd be comfortable until he woke.

Now if only she knew what to do next.