Since Peter's initial visit to his office window, Mr. Darling had been watching his oldest child carefully and noticed that although she seemed to be alright, one had only to look beneath the surface to see that Wendy was terribly upset and hurt, and nothing could hide the dark circles underneath her eyes.

Three nights later Peter returned with a large sack full to the brim with gold and jewels from the pirate ship, plans were made for the time of his arrival, and Peter received a set of clothing consisting of pants, a shirt and a jacket with the instructions that they were to be worn when he arrived. And it was brought to the forefront of Mr. Darling's mind that Peter Pan would be here to stay in a mere four days. He resolved to talk to his wife, who was the open ear and confidant of all their children, to seek her assessment of Wendy's possible reaction.

Later that evening all of the children had gone to bed and Mr. and Mrs. Darling were preparing for bed. They both changed into their nightgowns and Mr. Darling waited for his wife to climb into their bed before blowing out the candle and climbing in himself.

"Dear," he began as he put an arm around his wife, "how is Wendy? She seems troubled."

Mrs. Darling heaved a great sigh. "You are right George," she told him. "She is just turned 16, and that is such a tumultuous age you know." Mr. Darling made a sound of agreement. "Of course, she is most upset about Peter," was her gentle reminder.

"Yes, I had thought so," Mr. Darling said softly. "Do you think she will be upset to have him here and going to her school?" he asked his wife anxiously. "Are we doing the right thing by not telling the children?"

"I imagine she will be none too pleased to begin with," said Mrs. Darling with a soft smile. "But she loves him; she will come to remember that eventually," she told him. "Besides," she began wryly, "I am afraid she might take it into her head to run away," she ended with a chuckle as she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "My darling," she said to him, "everything turns out alright in the end."

Mr. Darling smiled in agreement and fell asleep with the one person he loved most in the world.

Preparations for the arrival were hushed yet harried. Every Darling child knew that something was amiss, but neither Mr. nor Mrs. Darling said a word. Yet the guest room was aired and a splendid dinner planned for Saturday with the explicit instructions that every child be present. And so, in a whirlwind of mystery and activity, the next few days flew by until it was Saturday and each child was practically humming in excitement.

It was nearly five o'clock in the Darling house. The boys, dressed in fine dining clothes, were milling about the ground floor of the Darling household with Mr. and Mrs. Darling trying their best to calm them. Wendy was still upstairs getting ready for their dinner. She had been their one child who seemed detached from the excitement of the mystery person's arrival. In fact she seemed detached and apathetic about most things lately, a fact which had not escaped her family's notice.

Suddenly the doorbell was rung and all activity ceased as the boys came to a standstill, looking as if they were trying their best to put their good manners on. They watched expectantly as Mr. Darling opened the front door and saw, to their surprised, none other than Peter Pan. But a Peter Pan unlike any they remembered, for here was this boy who had grow so tall wearing the same type of clothes they were, instead of the outfit fashioned from leaves and berries they were accustomed to. They could do nothing but gape in surprise as Peter smiled at each of them uncertainly, and Mr. Darling welcomed him into his house.

Peter was wondering--with a certain amount of dread--just what he'd gotten himself into with this 'man' business as he stepped into the Darling house. He smiled at each of his Lost Boys, and at Michael and John, and smiled in return to Mrs. Darling's lovely warm smile, but noticed that Wendy was not to be seen. Alarmed, he turned to Mr. Darling with a questioning look in his eye, ready to ask the question, when he heard footsteps from behind and above and the rustle of fabric.

"Father!" he heard Wendy exclaim. "I apologize for being... late..." she trailed off as she reached the foot of the staircase and took notice of the visitor, who turned to look at her... and was struck speechless. Finally regaining her composure, she managed to stutter, "P-Peter?"

Peter, though, was struck speechless himself, looking at this young lady before him. Was this truly the Wendy who had flown to Neverland with him so long ago in a white nightgown? Wendy stood in front of him with her hair piled in soft curls atop her head and a sky blue dress that was almost the same color as her eyes. Finally finding his voice, he smiled and said, "Hello Wendy," with a hopeful look in his eyes. Would she forgive him? Would she accept him back? As her gaze hardened and her mouth narrowed in an unwelcome line he could tell that no, she would not forgive him so easily.

Wendy looked from her father to her mother and back again. This was the surprise visitor? This was what they'd kept so hushed this past week? And they wished to welcome the one person who had hurt her the most into their home--her home? How could they?

"Father?" she whispered tremulously, on the verge of tears. "What is this?"

Her father stood straighter. "Peter has decided to join us," he said, conscious of the silent stares from his sons.

"But..." Wendy seemed to be floundering. "Why? Why would you do this to me?" she asked with a hurt look in her eyes. She seemed to totally ignore Peter as she turned to her mother. "Mother, please...?" she asked, not sure what she was asking for. All she received, though, was a warm smile and a nod of affirmation. Peter, here? Wendy thought frantically, looking to and fro. How could she survive this? What was he even doing here?! Wendy found her breath coming shorter and shorter, and her confining corset was no help at all as she tried to catch her breath, putting one hand to her chest.

Mr. Darling cast a worried look towards his wife, who only had eyes for her daughter as a concerned look crossed her face. He watched her eyes grow wide suddenly as she rushed forward and he saw her catch their daughter as she fell limp and collapsed to the ground. And all the while Peter stared on, wondering if perhaps he had made the biggest mistake of his short life.