.Tenshi-san: I blame my slowness on the fact that my muse wants me to draw, not write. But I'm not drawing vaguely S&M pictures of my original male characters, no matter what Loki wants. Unless... uh... well, onward. And the fainting scene was cheesy, but damn if it wasn't fun to write!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Peter Pan, or any of his incarnations as cartoons, movies, and abridged novels. And what idiot abridges Peter Pan? It's only 233 pages! And that's in a giant font! ...Bloody idiots...

I Will Follow

I was on the outside, when you said,

You said you needed me.

I was looking at myself, I was blind

I could not see.

A boy tries hard to be a man,

His mother takes him by his hand,

If he stops to think he starts to cry.

Oh, why?

If you walkaway, walkaway

I walkaway, walkaway- I will follow.

I was on the inside,

When they pulled the four walls down,

You looked through the window, I was lost,

I am found.

If you walkaway, walkaway

I walkaway, walkaway- I will follow.

(Your eyes make a circle,

I see you when I go in there)

If you walkaway, walkaway

I walkaway, walkaway- I will follow

I will follow

I will follow...

Bono

Lili returned to the waking world gradually. The first thing she noted was that her head felt rather like someone took the top off and stirred her brains with an egg-beater. One of the old-fashioned ones, with the crank that always got stuck. As she blinked slowly, it seemed like her hearing faded in and out, like an out of tune radio.

"Hav...ou ever... nyone faint... that chil..." said a person who seemed to be standing quite close, but sounding as if they were in the next room with the door almost shut. As the unintelligible talking went on, the rest of her brain came online and yammered at her to check on Peter.

Sitting upright sort of worked. She made it to the floor, but, unfortunately, not on her feet. Sitting up had told her one thing. Bits of her skull felt as though they were sliding backwards and forwards, and brought on all the other symptoms of a rather bad concussion. This is quite normal if you think about the fact she did a floor dive head first into some ceramic tile.

So, lying still on the unmoving, if itchy, carpet seemed like a good idea. One of the other people in the waiting room, in a fit of kindness, had grabbed a passing nurse and pointed out Lili's prone figure.

"Miss, are you—"

"You're going to say it aren't you? You are going to really ask me if I'm all right." Lili said in a slightly bemused voice. "I'm afraid I'm not. The floor and I had a disagreement and it won I think."

"The doctor said to have you lie down for a bit, but to wake you in a half an hour."

"I'm awake. What about Peter?"

"Who?" said the nurse. She looked quite agreeable, and really didn't deserve the fate of nursing.

"The boy I brought in. Blond, really green eyes? Suffering blood loss and such?" Lili looked up at the nurse and tried really hard to focus. "He's the reason I have what seems to be a nice concussion."

"Oh! That poor little boy! Is he yours?"

"I suppose he is... as much as I can own another person. Is he going to be alright?"

"I really... You should speak to his doctor really." The nice nurse bent and helped Lili sit up. "I could help you to his room so you could wait for Dr. Carter."

"That would be... really nice." Three tries later Lili tottered to her feet and the nurse half walked, half carried her to a room. "If I may ask, what possessed you to get into nursing?"

"Oh, I want to help people." she smiled, and nodded at Peter's sleeping form. "They deserve it, don't they?"

"Yes, but most of them aren't very... pleasant about getting help." Lili looked at Peter.

"No, but I usually find they are the ones who need it the worst."

"Thank you."

"How couldn't I help? What happened to your son..." the nurse shook her head in disgust and turned to leave the room. "People are sick."

"Oh, he's not my son." Lili replied to a young doctor who entered.

"Really, then who's is he?"

"I couldn't say."

Dr. Carter sighed, and pushed his glasses up. "So he's not your son. Everyone in the ER was sure he was, the way you tore into that nurse." he paused, studying Lili. "But when they brought you up here, I thought you were... a little on the young side. He's... what? Twelve?"

"Thereabouts. I think." Lili smiled sheepishly.

"And you, you're about eighteen. I know people get knocked up awfully young now, but that would have made you... six when he was born. And from what I remember about human biology, that's not possible."

"How very insightful."

"Yes. But in addition to the whole 'is he her son?' thing, there's the question, if you aren't his mother, what are you?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"I'm curious, but frankly, seeing the damage done to his body, not to mention his mind, I'm not sure I'm going to like the answer."

Lili studied her hands, which were coated in dried blood. Without looking up, she asked "Do you think I did this?"

"My head says, possibly, but my heart and gut says no."

"The heart is a notorious liar..." Lili glanced towards Dr. Carter, who suddenly looked far older than his years. "But he will... heal, won't he?"

"Yes. He's not really that hurt, physically, other than the whipping. And once that was stitched together, it'll heal cleanly. Who ever did this knew what he was doing. None of the marks overlap each other, he is just cut, he didn't lose any skin."

"Yes, that sounds about right. He didn't want Peter to die, just hurt..."

"Do you know who did this?"

"I... you'd want to report it, wouldn't you?"

"I can't keep something this bad from the police. You do understand."
"Yes... but... You'll never catch the man who did this. I'd bet my life on it." Lili rocked back on the balls of her feet and stared at the ceiling.

Dr. Carter studied Peter, who slept the peaceful sleep of the heavily sedated. "Are you prepared to bet his life on it?" Lili didn't answer; she just smiled slightly and stroked Peter's hand.

Peter woke up for the first time in two days. He ached all over. Even his hair and fingernails, which was saying something. Slumped in a chair near the bed slept Lili. He moved quietly, pushed himself slowly into a sitting position, and reached out to touch her.

The doctor caught his hand before he touched Lili. "You know, you shouldn't move around too much. The stitches will tear."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's exhausted and hurt."

Peter pulled out of Dr. Carter's grasp and scooted back, eyes large, "Who hurt her?"

Dr. Carter smiled faintly "The floor mainly. She hit her head quite hard."

"So...no one..."

Dr. Carter shook his head. "No one touched her."

"When will she wake up?"

"I came in to wake her."

"Oh." Peter slid further up the bed. Dr. Carter gently shook Lili bye the shoulder, and said "Ms. Leonhart?"

"What? Where! Weasels! Not the biscuits!" Dr. Carter took a step back, somewhat aghast at her reaction.
Peter grinned at his expression. "Don't worry, she always does that when you wake her up."
"Really? How... interesting."

Lili rubbed her eyes and looked at the doctor. "What?"

"Weasels?"

"The weasels in the barley butter were jumping up and down..." Lili looked at Dr. Carter vaguely aware she had frightened him. "Sorry... reoccurring dream..."

"Ah." Dr. Carter grabbed the chart on Peter's bed, and tried to get back to business. Quite the difficult thing to do after that little episode. "Well, the reason I came here is to tell you that he's free to go."

"Really!" Lili's unabashed happiness made Dr. Carter smile.

"Really, really."

Lili was fighting with the lock on the front door; Peter had one arm wrapped around her waist, and was leaning into her like she was the last solid thing in the world. "For the sake of my continued sanity she better not have changed these locks..."

Suddenly the door slammed open, and she was hit by a small tornado. Er, boy. He had... well... glomped her and clung to her legs, as that was as high as he could reach. "Lili! You came back!"

"Gabriel?" Lili pried her younger brother off her legs, grinning she asked "Where is Raphael?"

"In the nursery. Mummy said he is sick and has to stay in bed..." Gabriel looked up at her, "Do you think he's ok?"

"Why don't we go see?" she turned to Peter, and said, "Well, are you just gonna stand there? He doesn't bite." Peter smiled faintly, and replied.

"I'm just tired..."

"I don't blame you. You can lay down inside."

Upstairs in the spacious but very empty nursery Raphael sat on his bed hugging a large plushie orangutan named Dajbog. Burying his face in the velvety softness of the ape's head he sighed, wishing he had something to do. Raina, operating under the belief that Raphael had Pneumococcal pneumonia, had removed pretty much all the toys from the nursery so he could 'rest'.

Never mind the fact the doctors had diagnosed him with a bad chest cold. Raina was just one of those people who was always right, come hell or high water. If she believed her son had a nasty type of pneumonia, he did. One shudders to think what she would think of Lili's rather unconventional relationship with Peter. Probably that Lili was a raving lunatic, kidnapping and subjecting small boy children to arcane tortures trying to open the way for the Anti-Christ and the Apocalypse.

So Lili wasn't all that surprised to enter the nursery and find a very bored Raphael. She had rather vivid memories of sitting on her bed bored out of her mind after returning from Neverland the first time. She had finally wiled away the hours by telling herself stories and creating a small, but very colorful imaginary land.

But Raphael had never been much of a storyteller, and so had taken up staring at the door waiting for visitors.

"Well, you look as if you are having the time of your life." said Lili.

Raphael's long face disappeared and he bounced in place, "Lili! Mother said you'd never come home!"

"Mother also said that bad children are what fuels the stove."

Gabriel looked up at her fearfully, "That's not true is it?"

Peter laughed and answered for her, "No, bad children have to brush crocodiles' teeth."

"Really? That doesn't sound too bad." said Gabriel.

"It isn't unless you hit a sore tooth. Then they tend to bite, and brushing their teeth with your feet is really hard..."

Lili snorted, "Well, you would know firsthand, now wouldn't you?"

Peter acted shocked, and did the old hands on the hips move, "I never had to brush!" he grinned, "I supervised."

"Must be nice being captain."

Raphael asked, "Captain?"

Peter strode to the center of the room and turned to face them. "Yes, captain of the Lost Boys."

"Lost Boys! You're Peter Pan!"

Peter grinned again, the lost cockiness wrapping about him like a newly found favorite old cloak and said, "The one and only."

Lili couldn't help grinning herself "Accept no substitutes; there is only one Peter Pan. And he makes a good peanut butter."

Peter stuck out his tongue.

Something must interrupt this marginally happy moment. Or rather someone. Raina, with her preternatural ability to sniff out fun discovered Lili's reappearance in the house with all the happiness one would expect.

None whatsoever.

Growling fit to be a wild animal Raina said, "What are you doing back in this house!"

"I don't know, Mother, visiting?"

"Get out! You'll overexcite Raphael and make him sicker!"

"He doesn't look sick to me." Lili studied her youngest brother, who simply looked... bored. And had a cough.

"That's because I kept him calm! Now out! Gabriel, go to the recreation room."

Gabriel looked at his feet and muttered "Yes Mother." and hurried out. Raina stalked from the nursery and Peter and Lili followed in her angry wake.

Raina banged mugs and made a mess of tea in the kitchen.

"Mother..."

"Don't you 'Mother' me!" She screamed, startling Peter. "You disappear and reappear and break in and try to kill your poor sick brother!"

Lili snapped to attention, eyes narrowed at this sudden diatribe. "I'm sorry an urgent hospital run disturbed you so. Next time I find a friend bleeding heavily on the floor at my feet I'll be sure to ask your permission to go to the hospital."

Raina slapped her. Peter, still not quite into this discussion managed to grasp the slap. As Raina pulled back for another whack at the stunned Lili, Peter caught her hand and twisted her arm. He growled "Don't you ever lay a hand on her."

Lili shouted "Peter!" As Peter released Raina from the arm lock, pain bloomed on his face. "You silly ass, you're back is still all torn up..."

"I think I'll take a pass on the next defense of your honor..."

Back in her room, the door locked against any assault Raina might plan as revenge for Peter's sudden outburst, Lili was checking Peter's stitches making sure the motion hadn't torn anything.

"You seem to be fine, nothing is bleeding, but I would try to keep fast movements to a minimum."

"Thank you Miss Obvious..."

Their rather idle chatter was interrupted by a splat on the window glass. A round of obscene chiming floated in the partially open window, and an exhausted Tink crawled in.

"Tink!" Peter's exclamation was greeted with some tired chimes, and he scooped up the half dead fairy. "What possessed you to try the trip all by yourself?"

"Yes Tink, pray tell. Everyone knows you can't make it half way around." Lili never had liked the jealous fairy. Tink smiled sweetly and chimed. Peter opened his mouth to translate, but Lili waved a hand. "No need, I have a good idea what she just said..."

Tink looked up at Peter and chimed solemnly.

"What happened to Galen!"

Tenshi-san: Neener! Cliffhanger! And I'm so so sorry I am slow. It shouldn't happen again. My muse is a tad ADD ridden, and likes to start new things... But I plotted out the rest, so he has no more excuses to not write. Because I know what will happen, so I just have to flesh out the bare facts. Which was quite easy. Yay, go me.