Author Note: Thank you to all who reviewed Chapter 9! I'm glad you guys liked James… I definitely enjoyed writing his character! He's cute… hahaha. And there will be a lot more to come with him. Anyway. Hope you enjoy Chapter 10!

By the way, for those of you who read this chapter BEFORE it went through revisions, I wanted to let you know that the pizza scene has been removed. Sorry, it was kind of lame and I realize that now. But hope you like this anyway!

Chapter Ten

Jenna entered the tree home that evening with the tune to every corny love song she'd ever heard on the tip of her tongue, and her conversation with James, in its entirety, replaying in her mind. It was pathetic, really, the way she was still thinking of him, fifteen minutes after they had just met, but even after talking to him just once, Jenna had a feeling that she would soon find herself falling for James.

And why not? He was chivalrous and extremely good-looking, the type of respectful boy that any girl's parents would approve of.

Then again, Jenna did not care about what her parents thought of the boys she liked – at the moment, she nearly forgot she'd even considered returning home. Only the thoughts of Adam Clarke – her best friend and would-be boyfriend – were enough to remind her that eventually, she had to go home.

Jenna was practically skipping, tightly grasping the basket of berries, as she entered the tree house. Waltzing into the tree house, she nearly crashed into Peter.

"Whoa!" Peter exclaimed, watching Jenna in all of her silliness. He held firmly onto her arms to steady and calm her down, stopping her in her tracks. Hastily moving his hands once Jenna regained composure, Peter stood up straight and backed away slightly.

"Um… thanks," Jenna said slowly in response, trying to show some gratitude to Peter, watching as his sincere smile transformed to a sneer. She wondered what she'd done to deserve that.

"I see you collected a lot of berries," he laughed, referring to the tiny basket that Jenna carried. "Let me remind you, we have five boys to feed. Not just ourselves. What took you so long?"

Jenna blushed, annoyed at herself for not realizing how many berries to pick. "Sorry. Next time, I'll know to pick more," she told him. "As for where I was, let's just say I met someone." The pinkness in her already-rosy cheeks continued to deepen.

"Met someone?" Peter raised an eyebrow, not having realized that it was possible for Jenna to meet other people in Neverland. I wonder if she met the Indians, he thought to himself. Letting curiosity get the best of him, Peter finally asked, "So, who'd you meet?"

"Oh, just a boy." She smiled, her mind a little lighter than usual. "His name is James, and he lives on a ship. He seemed really nice, too. D'you know him?"

Peter groaned, upset that Jenna had such poor taste in friends. He wondered where she would have even crossed paths with him in the first place. The last Peter had checked, James was merely a defenseless baby. Could he indeed have grown up?

"James?" Peter clarified with a gulp. "James Hook?" He tried not to sound too suspicious.

"I guess, yeah." Jenna frowned when she saw how flustered Peter looked, which was a surprise. "Why do you seem so upset?"

"Because… h-his father. Captain Hook. He had always been my nemesis- he even tried to steal Wendy from me, back when I brought her here… surely if she's told you about me, she's told you about that pesky codfish. Long after Wendy left, I killed Hook. I killed James's father."

Suddenly, the name Hook seemed to mean something to Jenna. How could she be so daft, not remembering this part of the legends? Jenna sighed. "But how could Captain Hook possibly have children?" She wondered aloud. "His ship was filled with only men, wasn't it?"

"Nope." Peter brushed back his hair casually with one hand, looking down at the ground to disguise the fact that his cheeks were beginning to flush. "There was one woman on the ship, and her name was Anna Patricks – they called her the ship wench. She died when James was born. Hooky died soon after, but that of course was on my accord. I guess Smee, who worked for Hook, ended up raising the baby. But James is a baby no longer, you said?"

"No, he's not," Jenna agreed hastily. "So tell me, is James as evil as his father?"

Peter shrugged. "I don't know. We're not exactly friends." He paused for a moment, then said, more out of jealousy than wisdom, "Promise me you'll stay away from him. He's probably just like his codfish father."

"I will." Jenna bowed her head in disappointment, set the basket of berries down on the ground, and sat down on a mushroom seat.

Of course James had seemed charming, Jenna realized. His father had been credited as being the most sinister of villains when on his politest behavior. The apple probably didn't fall far from the tree. Why hadn't she listened more carefully to his introduction?

James entered the dining area of the ship, in time to see Smee carrying a platter to the long table. He grinned fondly at his young ward, though surprised to see him returning already.

"James!" he exclaimed in greeting. "Back so soon?"

"Yes, Smee," James responded calmly. "It would seem that way."

"But why? Surely she wanted to stay and talk." Smee frowned slightly. "I always thought that girls love talking."

That's why he's still never had a girlfriend, James thought with a smirk. "I sensed she needed to be somewhere," he finally told the older man. "Besides, Smee, I didn't want to scare the poor girl away. I wanted to make sure she was worth the chase without actually chasing her."

"Ah." Smee paused, though inside he was bubbling with questions. "So, is she worth the chase?"

James smiled. "I might think so. I'm quite taken with her, actually, and we've only just met."

"It's so nice to see that you've found a girl you're interested in after all this time!" Smee exclaimed, clapping his hands in delight. "I knew that Wendy would prove to be more than just a pretty face."

"Wendy? Smee, I don't know who you're referring to, but this girl tells me her name is Jenna. I have no reason to doubt her."

"Aye." He paused, confused at James' explanation, but nevertheless willing to overlook his lapse in memory. "Is she a smart girl, then?"

James shook his head. "I don't really know. As I said before, we didn't talk for very long. But she was quite pleasant to me; I'm sure she enjoyed my company as much as I enjoyed hers. And she's beautiful. If I were worried about having an heir right now…"

"Oh, James… it's never too late for you to start worrying about that." Smee beamed at the boy. "A Hook must always have at least one male heir to take over after his death. That's why we've ventured so often in search of eligible girls, my boy. One day, not too far into the future, you'll want a suitable wife to live alongside you. You seem to take a great deal of interest in this girl, this Jenna, so I suggest you hold onto her. If she's new to Neverland, you may want to show her around."

James scowled. "Smee, you saw her with Peter earlier, didn't you? I like her and all, but knowing that she's with him, he'll want to keep her close. That filthy, disgusting…"

"James!" Smee interrupted, knowing that the boy would have uttered some expletives had he kept talking. "Er, perhaps this is fate's way of saying, then, that the time has come for you and Peter to forgive and forget." He sounded hopeful as he spoke.

Solemn as ever, James stood silent for a moment, before finally replying, "Pan and I can never be friends, Smee. I can never forgive him for what he's done to us. He killed my father. No- he stole my father from me." James took time to think about his last few words, when suddenly, a new idea came to mind. His tone changed. "Maybe, though, revenge is in order. Maybe this is fate's way of saying that the time has come for me to steal something dear to Peter."

For dinner that evening, Jenna served the few berries she'd gathered earlier that day, as well as various other foods that had remained in the tree house from the day prior. As they ate, Jenna gave each boy leaves to use as napkins, and when they spilled, she cleaned up after them.

"I think you'll make a wonderful mother," one of the triplets, Chip, told her in admiration. "Really."

The boys stood up from the table and scurried to the floor in the gathering area, sitting cross-legged in a big group. Peter followed and sat beside Scar, who appeared to be the self-appointed leader and the "toughest" Lost Boy. Jenna watched in amusement but did not know what to say or do.

"Come, Jenna!" Peter exclaimed, motioning for her to join them. "I promised the boys a story. Wendy always used to tell stories."

"Who is Wendy?" Another triplet, Flint, asked, before his brothers told him to shut up.

"A story?" Jenna smiled softly. "Okay. Here's an adventure for my brave sons to hear." She stood up straight, facing them. "Once upon a time, in a place called Neverland, there was a boy named Peter, who never wanted to grow up…"

Acknowledgments: I would like to thank Tallemera Rane, Candelabra, Lady Radcliffe, hefalump, Blackcat69, lexxx42, Shoppinshortii, girly, Blondie Hair, Yuki Asao, andkuyaga.