The sun, and the rock we stood on were both half drowned. Peter's left side was slick with blood down to his knee.

"Wendy, you must leave."

"You're hurt," I reached to him.

"Don't touch me," he cringed and pulled away.

"I can help you."

"Leave me. Fly. Now."

"Fly with me."

"I cannot... it hurts, Wendy..."

"Even if I could take flight now, I'd think of you, here, and I would fall."

"Then swim. The night is cold. Leave now."

"I won't leave you."

He curled in on himself.

"We must move high, Peter."

"This is Marooner's Rock. It will be covered within the hour. It doesn't matter."

"The boys are still out there. We will move higher and maybe they will send help."

He tightened his lips, and pulled himself up. Some how we made it up the rock. I went up first, and lowered my apron to him to use as a handhold. The spray from the waves slapped salt against his wounds. I couldn't tell if it was tears or seawater that streaked his cheeks. The top of the rock was drier. Peter lay on his side, shivering. His light shirt stuck to his back. I saw the shapes of the sheets of muscle layered across his small frame, and the cruel gash that broke through their elegant symmetry. All those beautiful pulleys broken, he'd never swim like that.

I ripped open my pocket ", Let me help you, Peter."

He looked at the needle in my hand.

"Are you afraid."

"You will cut me to pieces..."

"Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, why would you?"

"I don't want to-"

"Why did you do that to Tink?"

"Tink?"

"My fairy..." now his face crumpled. I leaped to his side.

"She was broken. She was dying like the others. I had to put her back together. I didn't do that to her! You know I didn't."

"But Hook knew you."

"Hook doesn't know anything."

"How did he know we were coming here then?"

"Excuse me?"

"You take us to see mermaids, against my wishes, then you force me to listen to their song. You're a spy."

"I didn't-"

"Fairy-killer."

"I promise, Peter, I promise I have nothing to do with it! Please Peter, if I wanted you dead, if I was helping Hook, would I still be here?" He reached for my skirt and balled it in his fists. I pulled him to me, draped him across my lap.

I cut bigger holes around the wounds to see better. I had him hold his own fist to his thigh to stop the flow of blood there, while I tended to the more desperate of the two. I wiped away as much blood as I could with my apron. I pressed it against the opening for a minute, hoping to slow the flow. I watched the sun fade. The apron came away sticky and hurt him as I pulled. I threaded my needle.

I stroked his hair in what I hoped was a comforting way, and began. I leaned in close to see in the fading red light. Veins first, pulling broken ends together, tying them off with thread when they were too ready to let out more blood. I used pins to hold the topmost layer of flesh out of my way. It all glimmered in that last light. It was as if the boy was filled with precious gems, blood red. I willed the tissues to join, pushing tangled sinews back where they belonged. They would go where I designed. They would work as I meant them to. When it got to dark to see I put one hand on the other side of his back, feeling him whole, the way he was created, perfect. With the other hand, my needle. I used a gold thread to lace him together. I felt out the membranes like layers of cloth, tying off between them, pulling them to make sure they moved.

The boy hardly flinched throughout. So when he spoke, I jumped.

"Wendy, the sea is coming."

I didn't say anything. Just the skin remained. I laced him up before he could think to say anything else.

"I can swim. I will carry you," I said.

"No," he stubbornly, rolling off me and trying to stand. His balance was poor.

"I didn't fix you up, just so that I could leave you," I said.

"It will be an adventure. The boys haven't come for us. You must go find them."

"Dying is not an adventure. Come here." I went to him. I wrapped the stained remains of my apron and tied it around his leg tightly.

"The water is cold, it will numb you. Mothers don't leave," adrenaline pumped through me, I was prepared to take him by force now.
But he sat on the edge of the rock with me. I lowered myself into the water, and he wrapped his arms around my neck. When I began to swim however, he was too heavy for me. He could not make headway against the waves without me. We returned to the rock.

"Silly boy," I said, nearly crying ", Are you frightened now?"

"No. Wendy, you tried. You're a good mother, but you must save yourself. Here," he held out his hand, "you should have your kiss back."

I reached out to his hand, and felt my thimble, and the stitches from our first meeting. I stopped. Then pulled his hand to me, grabbing my little scissors.

"What are you doing?"

I snipped through a tiny knot and with a snap, his shadow pulled free from him, disappearing into the night.

"Now I shall never find him again," he said sadly.

"Come on!" I pulled him into the water. Without his shadow, he weighed nothing at all.