Whoah. Whats this? An update. It must be a miracle. I honestly cannot believe how understanding you guys have been and its really made me realise I need to kick my butt into gear. So I'm re-watching, re-reading, doing everything I can to get this story to you guys. I love you guys so much and the support you've given me is absolutely astonishing. You guys are honestly the best out there. Updates still may take some time, but I'm going to do my best to make sure they are not a year apart again.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Keeping Her Safe

Peter did not want Wendy to go home. He wanted her to stay, with him, in Neverland forever, where they could have fun, and extinguish the pirate problem together. In a fit of anger he flew to the Darling household, hoping to see Mr and Mrs Darling carrying on with their lives as normal. But when he arrived that hope was short lived.

Sitting on a rocking chair in the middle children's rooms was Mrs Darling, her head in her hands and her shoulders hunched over, her form tired from searching the heavens for her children, including Wendy. Her neat hair was frizzy and wild and sniffles were resounding from her nose every so often.

"Oh John, Oh Michael. Where are you? And Wendy! Oh Wendy where are you?" She wailed lifting her head from her hand and shouting to the heavens with a cracked voice. Peter had to jump away from the window to avoid being seen and his heart hurt looking at the distressed woman, her eyes red from crying and tear tracks tracing down her face.

Suddenly, there was a commotion from downstairs and thumping was becoming louder, and Mrs. Darling jolted up from her chair as a man with a grey balding head and messy grey stubble on his large angry face stormed into the room, Mr Darling trailing after him followed by a short woman with greying brown hair and a gaunt, tired face.

"Eric. Michelle." Mrs Darling said, her voice hoarse and cracking.

"Save the pleasantries Mary." Eric Ford snapped, "Where's our brat? She hasn't been home in three days."

"I-I-I don't know." She stutters out, "We've already called the police and they've set out a missing persons report and search party but their nowhere to be found."

Mr. Ford scoffs, "You make sure she's found." He pauses for a moment and analyses Mrs. Darling seethingly, before scoffing again, "That bitch is probably off looking for fairies or pixies or something. If you hadn't encouraged her bullshit stories she'd probably safe at home."

Now it was Mr Darling's turn to scoff, "Safe. You honestly think she would be safe with you? We've seen all the bruises and the marks you've left on her Eric. We know what happens in that household of yours, and frankly it's disgusting. You don't actually care about Wendy, you're just sore that you've lost your favourite punching bag. Can you even call yourself a father?"

Mrs Ford gasped and Mr Ford turned as faced Mr Darling and stomps over to him, so close that there are only a few inches between them, and growls out, "And you think you're parent of the year? You may not have noticed, but three children have gone missing form under you're roof. Has anyone even got any clues to where they are."

Mrs Darling quietly pipes up before her husband can snap again, "The police believe that they've gone camping and they've taken he wrong track, but there hasn't been any sign of campers for at least a week."

"The police! You really think that those pigs are going to find them? You should be out there looking for them. You're the ones who lost them."

"Now see here! Mary and I have been searching for the children day and night and we haven't once seen you two out there once!"

"Why should we be out there?" Mr Ford growled, "They went missing from under you're roof. They were your responsibility."

"Because one of those children is your daughter." Mrs Darling pleaded to him, trying to draw some compassion out of the cold man.

The man looked at her with cold eyes, "Yeah and when she gets home she's going to wish she wasn't."

Mr Ford stormed out the bedroom door, and Mrs Ford looks up at the Darling couple with big eyes. She silently makes her way to Mrs Darling and places a hand on the younger woman's shoulder and locks their eyes together, sadness and fear reflecting in both pairs. The next words Mrs Ford whisper out were filled with such heartbreaking anguish that Peter felt the lump in his throat swell as he chocked back the welling feeling in his eyes, "Find her. Find her and keep her safe."

In that moment Mrs Darling understands the quiet woman in front of her. Mrs Ford was just another victim from her husband's abuse. The first victim. Wendy may have suffered greatly at the hand of her father, but so did the lady standing in front of Mary. The dark circles under the older woman's eyes reveal the sleepless nights she has because her even in her dreams she cant run away from her nightmares. Mrs Darling understands that this mother doesn't want her child to return to that same nightmare, but to live in safety and warmth. Mrs Darling reacted without even thinking about it. She pulled the older woman into her arms and whispered into her ear with a kindness Mrs Ford hadn't heard in a lifetime, "I'll find our girl. She'll always be safe here. And so will you."

Tears welled up in Mrs Fords eyes and she held onto Mrs Darling a little tighter until her husbands harsh voice shouted from the level below, "C'MON WOMAN! I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

The older woman broke apart from Mrs Ford and wiped some stray tears of her cheeks before rushing downstairs to her waiting husband, the front door slamming a few minutes later.

As soon as the slam echoes to the upstairs room Mrs Darling broke down again, slumping back into her chair, her sobs racking painfully through her body. Her weeping made Peter's heart break, and Peter's eyes became wet with tears. Was keeping Wendy with him wrong? But the words of Wendy's mother rang through his mind: 'Find her. Find her and keep her safe.'

And that's what he had done. He had found her when she was in despair and he had kept her safe. He kept her safe from the pirate that had made her life misery and that is what he promised right there and then to keep doing.

So he waited. He waited while Mr Darling entered the room, his eyes tired and brimmed red from searching the heavens, Nana on his heels with her tail in between her legs and her drooping low. He waited while the man knelt down in front of his wife and took her hands in his and pressed his forehead against hers. He waited while tears streamed down the parents' cheeks and Nana whimpered as she sniffed at the foot of Wendy's bed. He waited while Mr Darling helped an exhausted Mrs Darling up and led her out of the room, to their own bedroom. He waited while Nana jumped onto Wendy's bed and curled herself up, her whimpering not ceasing until she was asleep.

And then, when he had finished waiting, he moved closer to the window again. He could almost feel the sadness dragging him in from inside the room, bringing him down to drown him. He seized the top of the window – an action later on thought to save him from being sucked into the whirlpool - and whispered into the room "I'll keep her safe," before he started to push the heavy window to a close.

It was almost fully closed until it got caught, and with one great push it slammed shut. The bang was loud enough to wake Nana up and she jumped off Wendy's bed in a roar of barks and snarls. It took three seconds for Mr and Mrs Darling to rush into the room.

Checking each bed Mrs Darling cried, hope mixing with despair, "John? Michael? Wendy?" And when she saw the closed window where Nana was still howling she let out a cry terror before running to it, attempting to force it open, "The window's closed! George the window is closed! It must always stay open George! Always!"

Both husband and wife pushed and forced the window but it was jammed shut. Where their eyes could not see, Peter was pushing the window back down, so it would not open up ever again. But Mr And Mrs Darling continued to push, putting all their strength into keeping the window open. With a final gigantic shove the window flew open and Peter was forced away from it, flailing onto the roof to avoid being seen.

The two grown ups stuck there heads out the window, looking for any sight of the children. Mr Darling let out a heartbroken sigh when he could not see anything and leant against the window, "They have not returned."

Mrs Darling covered her mouth with her hand to hold back her sob. "I'm sorry." He voice cracked as she spoke and she ran from the window, and out of the room.

Peter had seen and heard enough, the guilt inside his body starting to eat at his insides. He had to get back to Neverland, to make sure Wendy had not tried to leave. If he was to keep her safe she must stay in Neverland with him. With that though he lifted himself from the roof and flew into the sky, a shining light passing the second star to the right.

Mr Darling, who was watching the night sky with tired eyes watched this light pass the sky and closed his eyes, making a wish on this shooting star, "Please be safe."