"No peaking." Johanna chastised.
"I'm not, miss." Toby assured her. They had returned to the country a couple of weeks ago. After getting pardoned Johanna apologized and apologized, and Toby apologized and apologized back until Archer had to intervene and forgive them both for each other. After hearing the whole story and dragging a few more details from Toby, Johanna was disgusted with herself. Here she was, hoping for a family that loved her, never knowing that they were there the whole time and never gave her a second thought. So she did not think of them in return. They had all got back to work quickly. Johanna packed a few of her belongings that she wanted to keep and sold the rest, along with the Judge's possessions and the house. The Miss Lovette's Pie Shop was scrubbed down and auctioned off to a wealthy businessman, who needed another branch of offices. Anthony, Archer, Lila, Johanna and Toby all packed up and headed back to the sea. They settled with only some difficulty back into their old habits, the incident in London was not forgotten, but neither was it often thought about. They all experienced what Toby had experienced the first time he arrived in that seaside town; a bliss that made the past and the rest of the world seem insignificant, hardly even real. However, Toby became anxious when Johanna and Lila started taking more and more trips into town without him. Until the day that Johanna beckoned him to his side and left the house, before the door closed behind them Toby caught a wink that Lila directed at him. Now Toby had been walked around town, Johanna telling him repeatedly to close his eyes. Eventually she placed her hands over them to be sure he wouldn't peak.
"Almost there Toby, don't you love surprises?" Johanna asked.
"No." Toby replied bluntly, making Johanna laugh.
"Here we are." Johanna said at last, lifting her hands. Toby blinked a few times, and found himself staring at a quaint cottage. The paint was fresh, the grass was green, the doorhandle shined. The patches of fresh dirt on either side of the door hosted little green sprouts that were the beginning of a flower garden.
"W..What?" Toby stuttered. Johanna smiled at him.
"Why, this is our new home, Toby. Lila has been taking me around town to see all the houses, we couldn't impose on them like that forever. But if you ever miss them, they're right around the bend there. Sorry about dragging you around, I wanted it to be a surprise. Lila showed me this house and I fell in love with it straight away. I brought Anthony up and he signed the papers last week, we've just been fixing the place up for you. Come on inside then." She urged Toby's frozen feet forward. Automatically he followed her into the cottage. The front door opened to the sitting room, it was dainty and furnished with cushioned polished Mahogany. Then he was lead into the kitchen and dining room, the two combined were about as big as the sitting room. The tiny kitchen was clean, the dining room had a polished table and six matching chair crammed in. Johanna and Anthony's bedroom was beyond that, it was once again about the size of the sitting room up front. Johanna kept it simple, but her elegance slipped in in the lush coverlet and the gleaming chiffarobe.
"Want to see your room?" Johanna asked. Toby nodded mutely. Johanna took him back to the kitchen and reached for a rope on the ceiling. She gave a heave and the trapdoor opened, a ladder sliding down to the ground. "Up you get." Johanna prompted. Toby climbed the ladder carefully, Johanna right behind him. When he got upstairs it was completely dark until Johanna lit a couple branches of candle, when he could see Toby found himself facing a newly-built wall. "That's where we'll be keeping extra things, storage." Johanna said, indicating the wall that lead to half of the attic that spanned across the entire house, "And this side..." She drew the candle away from the wall and let them light the rest of the room. Toby turned and saw where he would be staying. Johanna had obviously put a lot of thought into this, he lived in the attic but there wasn't a spec of dust or a single cobweb. He had a bed, a real bed, and comfortable blankets and several pillows. He had a dresser that was no doubt full of clothes, a full length mirror and a large rectangular something next to his bed that was covered by a gray blanket. "Isn't that gaudy?" Johanna asked, "The nightstand is a gift from Archer, and he insisted it be covered by that sheet, horribly enough. Don't tell him but I'm going to uncover it and through that ugly blanket into the fire." Not that Toby wasn't listening, he was just distracted by a few sheets of paper on his bed. Johanna followed his gaze and a little smile graced her light lips. Toby went to his bed and picked up the sheets of paper, looking at the heading.
"In the adoption of Tobias Ragg..." He read incredulously. He looked up at Johanna, who looked shocked.
"I thought you couldn't read." She said, looking him up and down in proud speculation.
"Archer taught me, I can write too." Toby said, looking back down at the paper and flipped to the end frantically, seeing Anthony and Johanna's signatures, "Adoption?" He whispered, "You and Anthony adopted me?" Johanna studied his face for a few moments, not being able to tell what he felt.
"Look, Toby," She said seriously, "I know this place isn't much, but we could make it a home, the three of us. We think of you as a son already, as a part of the family and we want you to stay with us until you find a pretty girl and move out on your own. I don't know, maybe you'll become a sailor like Anthony. And sure this is an attic, but I cleaned it so well and we're trying to get a couple of windows up here so it won't look so dingy. I'll clean it and buy you more clothes and toys and furniture and everything. You need a chest, of course, and some... well you can pick out your own playthings. And you need a rug for in here, and now that you read and write we could maybe get you a desk and a chair up here. It'll be wonderful, and we're right downstairs. We could have dinner every night, and Anthony could help you with your schoolwork, we enrolled you in the school in town. We could sit in the sitting room in the evening, maybe you could read to us, eh? We'll get you a bookshelf and some books. It isn't much, but it could be enough, I know that I behaved badly before, but you're Toby. And I can't imagine being anywhere without you. So this room is yours, if you want it. We're yours, if you want us." Johanna watched Toby, disappointed that his face only showed disbelief, "Toby, please, I don't want this to upset you."
"Upset?" Toby asked, how could he possibly be upset? "Miss...Johanna. This is perfect, I can't think of anyplace I'd rather be. I'm not used to being so cared for, I'm sorry I concerned you but don't worry, I've never been happier in my entire life than I am right now." Her heart filled with unconditional love and acceptance as she knelt down and took him in her arms, embracing him with all her heart. Toby hugged back, just as emotional and heartfelt, he didn't know how to express just exactly how happy he was. Not only was he forgiven but utterly rewarded, he would have done anything for this moment, and he'd done a lot for it. They stayed locked together for several minutes until Johanna finally pulled back, wiping a few tears from her cheeks.
"Well, I'm going to get rid of this now." She said shakily. She took the gray blanket off of it's stand and folded it under her arm.
"Look!" Toby said in delighted surprise. Johanna looked up from the blanket over her arms and her mouth dropped open. Archer's mysterious nightstand was actually a bookshelf, already stuffed with books. "Guess this means you don't need to get me a bookshelf." Toby said, grinning wider and looking happier than Johanna had ever seen.
"Good old Archer." Johanna said, "But this bookshelf is so small and already full. You'll be a great scholar someday, I can tell. You'll need more places for all the books you'll have." Toby knelt in front of the shelf and picked out a book at random. He looked at the title; Peter Pan. He sat on the bed and opened the book to the first page. Johanna sat on the ground next to the bed, leaning on the sheets, cuddling the blanket to her chest with one hand and taking Toby's hand in the other. "Read it to me." She said. Toby smiled, content. Soon Anthony would come home, they'd all eat dinner and go sit in the sitting room. Lila and Archer would probably come to visit. Toby would soon start school, Archer and Anthony would provide him with all the help he'll need. Eventually Lila will teach him a few recipes, he'd make a fuss but secretly love it. They would all love each other, care for each other, be there for each other when they needed them. For a few people that never had anyone dependable, anyone loveable in their lives it was perfection. Toby loved thinking about it, for the first time in his life he loved the idea of tomorrow. So he enjoyed the moment and began to read;
"All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, 'Oh, why can't you remain like this for ever!' This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end..."
And so the last chapter concludes, I was actually really sad to end this. And in such a case I may just have to write a sequel, who knows? Actually, I may have even hinted it in the last paragraph there... :) Author Alert me for a sequel this summer, and review, tell me how much you love this and if you want more TELL ME! So I can work this in before I get too busy and stretch myself too thin to write another Sweeney Todd story.
And yes, I know that technically Peter Pan hadn't been written yet, but it was the thought that counts so just play along, yeah?
Epic love to everyone who read this! Don't Forget:
REVIEW!
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