Author Note: Missed me? You'll be pleased to hear that my other big story is finished, and that I will be spending more of my time working on Never Say Goodbye!

One thing I might want to add – as you may well know, I started this story when I was thirteen. Now, I'm seventeen. That's a huge jump, and my writing has definitely changed in that time. So over the past few days, I went back and did some revisions to the first fourteen chapters (the rest were done recently enough that it didn't matter too much). You might notice some changes if you go back, but nothing major that will change anything you read now. No worries!

Sorry for such a long author note. Hope everyone had a fab Christmas or Hanukkah, and a wonderful New Year!

Chapter 21

Upon entering the kitchen with James, Jenna spotted a stout, diminutive man facing an oven. He seemed completely engrossed in whatever he was doing – baking, perhaps? – and was so engrossed, in fact, that he did not notice James' and Jenna's entrance.

"Smee!" James called out, identifying the man for Jenna. "I have brought us a guest."

Smee turned around and smiled, his cheeks taking on an even rosier color than usual. "How delightful!" he exclaimed, rushing over to them. "Pleased to meet you, my dear."

Jenna giggled in spite of herself and held out her hand to shake. "My name is Jenna," she introduced herself. "Pleased to meet you too, Mr. Smee."

Smee shook her hand firmly. "Nonsense," he said. "Just call me Smee!"

"Jenna and I came down here because we were hoping there might be something to eat?" James said hopefully.

"Aye!" Smee straightened out the apron he was wearing. "I'm about to take the pie out now!"

Jenna smiled, patting her rumbling stomach. "It smells great, sir," she told him truthfully.

Smee beamed. "I like this girl, James," he told the boy. "Appreciative of the culinary arts, she is!" He threw on a pair of oven mitts and pulled out the pie.

"Please, sit," James told Jenna, pulling out a chair for her. He took a seat beside her.

Smee brought over two slices of pie and set them on the table.

"Aren't you joining us?" James asked, trying to be polite but inwardly hoping the man would give them some privacy.

Smee smiled and shook his head. "I'd love to, but I've some reading to catch up on, so I'll leave you two be."

Smee doesn't know how to read, James thought to himself. Then he smiled. The old man had gotten the hint!

Once Smee left, James turned to Jenna.

"If you don't mind me asking," he began, "what brought you here tonight?"

Jenna sighed. She knew she owed him an explanation.

"Peter and I got in a fight," she said simply. "You were right about him."

James reached out for her hand and held it reassuringly. "I'm sorry for that," he told her. "But he doesn't know how to appreciate what he has. He's had you this entire time, and he's been too afraid to do anything about it. Am I right?"

Jenna bit her lip and nodded sadly. She took a bite of pie.

"I know what your problem is," James continued, taking a bite of his own pie.

Jenna sighed. "What's that?" she asked, not entirely sure she wanted to hear it.

"You don't know what you want," he said. "You came to Neverland as an escape, but I don't think you want to stay a child forever."

Jenna continued to eat her pie, and simply listened to James' analysis of her situation.

"You do want to grow up, but you want to do it at your own rate. And Peter can't give you that." James watched her carefully. "He's just a boy and that's not enough for you."

Jenna cocked her head in confusion. "What makes you any different?" she asked. "You're just a boy, too."

James shook his head. "I can offer you so much more," he told her. "I won't be just a boy forever. I plan on growing up at my own pace."

"How?"

"Hooks' Secret." He grinned. "Can't tell you unless you're a Hook. But it's perfect for someone like you to know. I understand your predicament – you're not quite a girl, but not quite a woman either. And you're not ready to make the transition just yet."

Jenna laughed in spite of herself. "Not a girl, not yet a woman… kind of like Britney Spears." At least she remembered one aspect of her life at home – the music.

James raised an eyebrow. "Spears? Who are we spearing?" The name meant nothing to him.

Jenna suppressed a small smile, and merely shook her head. "Oh, nothing. It's nothing. Please continue."

"Well," James said, "I have a solution for you."

"What's that?"

He sighed. "As you know, Jenna I'm quite taken with you. You can stay here as long as you need for shelter, but if you would like to make the situation permanent, I would love to make you my wife. I know we're young, but it would make you a Hook… and then I could let you in on Hook's Secret." Inwardly he grinned, knowing that the idea was plausible.

Jenna gasped. Marriage? She wasn't even fifteen yet! She hadn't expected to get married at least until she was out of college.

"Make me your wife?" she repeated incredulously.

"Take some time to think about it," he told her. "I know it's rather soon, but at least give it a night for the idea to settle. Will you give me that?"

Jenna nodded slowly. "I'll think about it," she promised.

I don't need her, Peter thought to himself dejectedly.

He lay perched atop a tree branch, staring up at the sky. Hours had passed since Jenna's sudden departure, and he still could not shake her from his mind.

Jenna and her feelings! They ruined everything.

He sighed. The Boys were extremely upset with him once they found out that he was the reason Jenna had left. If Klutzy hadn't opened his mouth…

Peter shook his head. He knew it was not Klutzy's fault. Jenna was the one who had opened up to him, who had tossed around "love" like it was something perfectly harmless. Peter knew better than to listen to that sort of rubbish.

This was proof that love did not solve anything; it only made things worse. The two of them had been through a lot ever since he'd brought her here; they'd practiced sword fighting and flying and had even come face to face with a pirate. Peter knew that, if Jenna hadn't ruined everything tonight, the fun would have never ended.

Who needed feelings, anyway?

The night came and went. Jenna and James had finished their pie before their conversation really resumed; Jenna's response to James's "proposal" had clearly made things awkward for a while. However, after James had showed her the cabin in which she was staying, Jenna had some real time to think.

Marriage. She had always considered marriage the ultimate symbol of adulthood. Soon after marriage, you were supposed to have children… and sometime before, you were supposed to have a job and salary. Right? And, as Jenna had reminded herself before, she was only fourteen.

Then again, things were different here. On the Jolly Roger, she and James would be self-sufficient (most likely with Smee available to help with any problems that may arise). What reasons did she have to wait? This was Neverland – if she stayed, Jenna wasn't going to have college or anything else standing in the way.

Besides, James had been nothing short of wonderful to her ever since her arrival. And hadn't she been extremely taken with him when they first met? He was sweet, charming, handsome… she'd basically had to force herself away from him at the beginning. She could easily see herself growing to love him one day.

Sighing, Jenna climbed into her new bed. The cold sheets felt foreign against her skin, but it had been ages since she had slept on a real mattress, so she savored the feeling. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander elsewhere; right now, she just needed some sleep.

Peter awoke the next morning, still atop the tree branch, as the sun was rising. Realizing that he had never returned to the tree house last night, he flew off the branch at once. The Boys would be wondering where he was… Jenna would be wondering…

As he descended by the tree house, he smiled to himself.

Today will be the perfect day for a hunt, he thought. He could take the Lost Boys early on, and then he and Jenna could visit the Indians, and then…

"Boys! Wake up - I'm back!" he called out as he entered the tree house.

Five very sleepy boys entered the main room, their expressions showing slight annoyance.

"It's so early, Peter," Flint told him with a yawn.

"Aye," agreed Scar. "The sun's barely up!"

Peter rose a few inches in the air and crossed his arms. "Now remember, Boys – I'm the father. I can wake you up when I want!"

The boys mumbled to themselves, but stood up straight and waited for Peter's orders.

Suddenly, Peter looked around perplexedly. Where was Jenna? Had she slept through his wake up call?

"Where's Jenna?" he demanded. "Is she still asleep?"

The Lost Boys exchanged nervous looks, before Klutzy finally stepped forward. "The two of you got in an argument last night, remember?" he reminded him gently. "She ran away."

Peter shook his head in denial, but suddenly memories from their fight came flooding back. They had argued about love and feelings – how could he have forgotten?

But it was a new day, and he figured that if he had forgotten it, maybe Jenna would have too. He had no residual anger from the day before, after all.

"Then I'm going to go find her and bring her back!" Peter exclaimed, flying out of the tree house at once.

Jenna stretched out on the bed and yawned as she woke up. She sat upright and looked at her surroundings. The room was dim, with dark red walls and a small but covered window next to the bed. Crawling over to the window, she moved the curtain aside, only to see water.

Of course. She was still on the Jolly Roger.

Standing up, she noticed her wet clothes from the day before resting on a hook across the room. Jenna headed over to retrieve them. Both her shorts and tank top were completely dry and wrinkle-free. Though she wondered how they possibly could have dried that quickly, she chose not to question it. Instead, she pulled off the strangely oversized dress and changed into her old clothes.

I need some air, Jenna thought to herself, opening the door and heading out to the deck. Maybe I'll go for a walk.

She left the ship quietly, and stepped onto land. Noticing a rabbit hopping along nearby, she decided to follow it.

Suddenly, she heard her name.

"Jenna! Jenna!"

She looked around, not seeing anyone around.

"Jenna!"

With a shrug, she looked up, where she saw Peter Pan hovering many feet above her.

"Peter! What are you doing?" Jenna demanded, as Peter lowered himself to the ground.

"Looking for you, of course!" Peter exclaimed, taking her hand at once. "The Lost Boys need you, Jenna. Come back with me."

Jenna snatched her hand away and shook her head. "We can't just pretend yesterday never happened, Peter."

Peter's grin remained. "I'm willing to forget if you are," he said cheerfully.

"No." Jenna sighed exasperatedly. "That's not something you just forget."

"Why not?" Peter's face fell.

"Because!" Jenna's eyes flashed. "It was really important to me! I care about you… a lot… and you can't even appreciate that."

Peter thought for a moment. "The Lost Boys need you, Jenna," he repeated, not knowing what to say.

Jenna scoffed at this. "The Lost Boys, hmm?" She crossed her arms. "And what about you, Peter?"

Peter looked around nervously, still unable to say anything. "I… um… well, I…"

"Right. Whatever, I think it's time I head back. I'm staying with James on the Jolly Roger, in case you were wondering." She knew this would upset Peter, and that was why she said it.

Peter's eyes widened. "Jenna, you can't! He's a total codfish!" If she had to escape to anybody, why did it have to be him?

"He's better than you are," Jenna countered bitterly, not allowing herself to cry. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have something very important to tell him."

And with that, she pushed through the trees and made her way back to the ship.

Maybe love doesn't need to come before marriage, she thought to herself, stepping onto the deck. Maybe everything will fall into place afterwards. She found her way to the kitchen and sighed.

As she entered, she noticed James sitting at the table with fresh fruit and biscuits. His face lit up when he saw her.

"Good morning, Jenna!" he greeted her warmly. "How did you sleep?"

"Just fine," Jenna told him, biting her lip. "I have something important to tell you, James."

James stopped eating and looked into her eyes. "Yes?"

"I've been thinking about what you asked me yesterday, and I decided." She took a deep breath. "I accept your proposal."

Acknowledgments:I would like to thankSuperWafer, Destiny's Daughter, CurryCurran, MistFairie93, imagine everything, Blackcat69, The Puce Olive, Noble Broken Beauty, Sara, chels-mouse, iiceangel3.o,and kuyaga for their reviews on Chapter 20. You all rock!