The first morning at their new house was glorious, luxurious. The siblings all rose early. Wendy woke first, blinking in the sunlight. For a moment, she thought she had woken up in a dream, surrounded by her family. She had to remind herself that her time on Neverland was over. She had been reunited with her family. It was so indescribably wonderful to wake up and see her them. She stretched and yawned and made her way to the bathroom. The bathroom looked very different from what she remembered, but on closer inspection there were still knobs that turned the hot and cold water on and a sink and other amenities. It took her some time to figure out how to turn things on and how to get the right temperature, but eventually she got it. She didn't have to wake he brothers for help.
She clambered into the bath, discarding the pyjamas that had been given to her by Mary-Margaret, she immersed herself in the water that was almost too hot to bear. She scrubbed all the grit and dirt and Neverland off of her. She used all the soaps and shampoos that she could find in the bathroom, massaging them into her skin and hair. The bathroom was filled with a heady mixture of steam and perfume and it was luxurious. She was the cleanest she had been in years. She could feel the past century melting away.
After an hour, she drained the bath and wrapped herself in a fluffy robe and put her hair up in a towel. She drifted downstairs, pulled by the smell of pancakes. In the kitchen, there was a large island in the centre of it, topped with white marble. It was surrounded by more of the same countertops, a stove and several other appliances Wendy didn't recognize. John was leaning over the stove, flipping pancakes. Behind the island was a breakfast nook, with windows surrounding around it. Morning light streamed in. Michael sat at the breakfast table, chopping fruits. The light lit up his hair almost white blonde and she was reminded of how he had looked as a toddler. Baelfire was also sitting at the table with Michael, having arrived sometime during Wendy's bath.
John was the first to notice her and smiled. "Good morning," he greeted. "Nice to see you so clean." Wendy hummed in agreement. She felt as if she was floating on a cloud. This scene in the kitchen was a dream she might have had.
"I'm impressed you figured out the bath," Michael commented.
Wendy shrugged. "They aren't that much different from what they used to be." Michael nodded in agreement. Bae motioned for her to come over to the breakfast table. He offered her what appeared to be a cup with a strange lid on it. It was one of several. Wendy took it and examined it.
"It's a to-go cup," Baelfire explained. "Coffee shops give it to you so you can take your drink and go."
Wendy continued to stare at the cup. "Why?"
Bae shrugged. "People are in a rush. It's an American thing."
Wendy took a sip and found it was tea, with cream and sugar, just how she liked it. "You remembered how I like my tea!" she exclaimed, beaming.
"How could I forget?" Bae returned.
She took a seat across the table from Michael. "Very easily," she said. "It's been a hundred and twenty years since I last saw you. I wouldn't blame you if you forgot."
"Good," Michael said. "Because I forgot."
After a couple moments, John came over and laid the plate of pancakes out before the group. They served the pancakes on their plates and topped them with berries and maple syrup and whipped cream. Before they dug in, John stopped them all. He raised his to-go cup.
"I'd like to make a toast," he said. "This is the first meal we have had as a family in over a hundred and twenty years. We, of course, are missing two members: Mother and Father, but they are with us in spirit." He paused a moment and swallowed. "We have been separated for a long time and it was hellish. But I believe the reason we were able to return to each other was because we are in each others's heart. Michael, Wendy, Baelfire, you are a part of my heart and I am sure the same can be said for each of you." The three other siblings nodded. "I'd like to toast to our hearts; they have kept us alive and together, even though we were apart. May we never be separated again and may we always know that our hearts are what connect us."
They all clinked their cups together and sipped.
"That was beautiful, John," Wendy said, placing a hand over her heart. Her heart was glowing and it felt as if that glow might break right out of her chest. She hadn't felt this kind of love for a long, long time.
"That was sentimental drivel," Michael said, digging into his pancakes. He had never been one for flowery language.
"I've been working on that toast for a century now," John said sarcastically. "I'm quite hurt." There was a low rumble of chuckles. Breakfast continued on joyfully. They continued to share their lives with each other. Neal spent the majority of the time talking, explaining how he had made it off Neverland and ended up on Earth. How he had met Emma.
Soon enough, breakfast came to a close and Wendy stood, turned and then stopped herself. She turned back to her brothers. "I want to go and change, but I have nothing to change into," she explained. Neal wagged a finger and looked around his chair before pulling out a paper bag. He handed into Wendy.
"Mary-Margaret sent these over to you," he said. "She said these will tide you over until you're able to buy your own clothes." She opened the bag and peered inside. She touched the soft fabric.
"Remind me to thank Mary-Margaret next time I see her," she said. "And thanks for bringing these, Neal."
Wendy rushed upstairs to what would eventually be her bedroom, but was bare at that point. She took the clothes out of the bag and examined them. They were all twenty-first century fashions. There were no more corsets or chemises or any other uncomfortable things she remembered. There was a note in the bag explaining that there was now new underwear and a bra that women wore and how to put them on. She struggled for a while with the bra, but eventually got it on. After that, Wendy examined the few dresses that Mary-Margaret had sent over. It was clear the woman had been careful in what she sent over. Wendy figured the dresses probably would have been considered conservative, hitting the mid-calf (which still would have been considered scandalous in Victorian London). They were made of soft fabrics with light colours. Wendy chose a light blue dress with lace trim on the sleeves and hem of the dress.
She examined herself in the mirror. When she had left Earth for London, she had been a couple months away from turning seventeen, on the cusp of leaving childhood behind. She still had that youthful look to her, but she knew her eyes gave her away. She knew her eyes looked as if they had lived through decades and decades and they had, after all. She had been staring at the same face for so long now and she wondered what it might look like when she grew older, now that she was able to.
Eventually, she joined her brothers downstairs. They piled into the car and headed into the town's centre. They spent the day shopping for furniture and bedding and clothing and books. They did that for a number of days after that. Once they finished shopping, they went about setting up the house.
Soon enough, their rooms had furniture and Wendy had a new closet, complete with skirts that went above her knee and tight shirts that she knew would have horrified her parents.
John and Michael began to discuss what they might do now that they could settle down. John wanted to take up his law practice again. He knew that there was no lawyer in town and that they would be needing one. Michael had taken up woodworking as a hobby and had become quite good. He was considering becoming a carpenter. The boys assured Wendy that she could finish her nursing degree at the hospital soon enough, but that she needed much more time to acclimatize. Wendy didn't protest. She was just happy to be with her family.
The days began to blend into each other and Wendy began to get used to the quaint little town of Storybrooke. She liked the area. The rolling hills and the green-blue bay and the delightful little shops were all very nice. She enjoyed going to Granny's restaurant with her brothers. She enjoyed something called a milkshake.
One day while she was sitting with her brothers at Granny's, sipping on a strawberry milkshake, her eyes drifted over to the Charming family. She watched Granny serve Henry a hot chocolate and the boy immediately wrinkled his nose. The expression was eerily familiar.
"Cinnamon? On hot chocolate?" he asked, almost outraged. His family all turned to look at him, concerned.
"Henry, that's the way you normally take your hot chocolate. Just like me, remember?" Emma told Henry, concern growing in her voice. Henry faltered as he looked around the table, his mouth hanging slightly ajar. Wendy knew that she knew that look… but it was impossible, wasn't it? Pan was supposed to be trapped away in Pandora's box.
"Well, I know it is," he stammered slightly. "I just didn't know Granny knew. That's all." Emma and her family seemed satisfied with the answer, but Wendy was not. She glared at the child, not knowing how or why she knew that this was Pan, in some form or another. She knew it made no sense. The boy caught her gaze and lifted his chin. He gave a small grin, so quick that one might have missed it if they didn't know what they were looking for. But Wendy knew.
Suddenly, a shriek pierced through the din of the restaurant. Can we get through one meal in peace? Wendy thought to herself. Everyone rushed out of the store. They followed the shrieking down the street and around the corner to the church. They all stopped dead in their tracks as they watched the inky black Shadow swoop down onto Mother Superior and catch her by the neck. Her shadow was ripped from her so fast that if Wendy had blinked she would have missed it. She fell to the ground, lifeless.
The Shadow sailed over their heads, zipping over the trees and then out of sight. Wendy felt a cold fury grab hold of her. Could she not be rid of Pan? She just wanted him out of her life. She did not want to spend another single second dealing with his underhanded plots.
Emma dashed over to Mother Superior and checked for a pulse, shaking her head solemnly. "She's gone," she said.
They all stared at each other dumbfounded until Regina broke the silence.
"Pan is back," she said with barely controlled anger.
"That isn't possible. He's trapped in the box," Mary Margaret said. Wendy just barely held her tongue. She was not so sure anymore.
"Pan must be controlling it from inside the box," Emma quickly deduced. Wendy wanted to say that she thought this was wrong. She had seen how the boy, Henry, had acted. He had been just like Pan. But her voice felt frozen as she looked at the boy clinging to Regina. If she was wrong, which she very well may have been, she would causing the boy severe harm. And if she was right, it would be stupid to announce it in front of Pan himself. So, she stayed quiet.
"Mom, you need to protect me from Pan. I'm so scared," Henry told Regina, clinging tightly to her coat. Emma saw this and reassured him that she would keep him safe.
"I think I can handle this one, Emma. Remember, I had ten years of soothing him before you came along?" Regina told her mildly. Emma looked as if she had just been slapped in the face. She turned Henry for some sympathy, but the boy just continued to look up at Regina.
"We'll go to my vault and stay there until this whole Pan mess is sorted out," Regina reassured him. Henry smiled a docile smile and they both made their way away from the group. Wendy narrowed her eyes at their retreating figures. At least now she knew where Pan may be. If she was right.
As soon as Regina was out of ear shot, Emma turned to the group and began to instruct everyone on what to do. She instructed Belle, John and Michael to help move the other fairies to a safer place. Then she turned to Mary Margaret, David and Wendy. She looked at Wendy and just shakes her head. Wendy know what's coming.
"Wendy, I'm sorry, but we're going to have to visit an old friend."
XXX
The store bell jingled as Emma burst through Rumplestiltskin's shop. The Dark One stood at the counter, looking over a dusty volume of a book in a language that Wendy didn't recognize. He looked up as Emma walked in. She was a woman on a mission.
"Ms. Swan?" he asked warily. Even the Dark One with all this unlimited power seemed to be more than slightly intimidated by Emma, the Chosen One.
"Pan is controlling the Shadow, that escaped from the sail, from inside the Box. He just killed the Blue Fairy," Emma explained to him quickly. Wendy watched quietly. She hadn't decided when or if she was going to voice her own theory.
"That's impossible. The Box traps all magic inside. Pan couldn't possibly be controlling the Shadow. You need to be outside the Box," he told Emma, logically, trying to shut her down. He obviously did not want to open up that box. He had very good reason not to.
"Well, that's the only explanation," David said, hands on hips looking frustrated. Mary Margaret nodded vigorously in agreement. Wendy observed the scene, lips twisting. For people who constantly did the impossible, they were missing a very possible explanation.
The Dark One caught her look and grinned a grin strikingly similar to Pan's. "I think Ms. Darling has another explanation."
The three Charmings turned to her, questioningly. Wendy briefly wondered why Emma had chosen to bring her along. Sure, she was the resident Pan expert, but beyond that she wondered if Emma had just brought her along because she was an extra body. She was sure that none of the Charmings had actually expected her to contribute to their mission.
"I don't think Pan is in the box," Wendy said, flatly. Emma opened her mouth, but Wendy continued, "Mr. Gold says that Pan can't control the Shadow from inside the box, yet it is being controlled. On the boat, Pan had a moment alone with Henry just before he was sent into the Box and Pan could have had time to switch bodies with Henry." She paused and looked at their bewildered faces. "I've only met Henry briefly, but I know Pan. And Henry has been acting like him, without a doubt."
She could see the pieces fitting together in Emma's eyes. "That makes perfect sense, Wendy. Henry has been acting very strange lately. He only wants Regina now. I just thought he didn't want me anymore," she finished, sounding less confident and more like a mother who missed her son. Wendy understood the feeling.
"Well, let's open up the Box," David said, trying to barrel through to the back of Mr. Gold's shop. Gold quickly stepped in front of him and chuckled, waggling his finger at him as if David were a puppy who was not yet trained.
"Not so fast, dearie. If Ms. Darling is wrong and Pan is in the Box and still controlling the Shadow, we can't just open up the Box in the middle of town. We need to open it up where there is no magic," Gold explained, slowly.
"The town line," Mary Margaret said. They all moved immediately and soon enough, they were at the town line. They were surrounded by tall trees. Down the line, the road seemed to stretch on forever. There was a world beyond it that Wendy was itching to explore.
They all stood at the town line as Emma crossed it. Her footsteps echoed loudly as she stepped carefully over the white line in the wet road. She turned and looked back at the group, a small black gun in her hand for protection.
Gold set the Box down on the road and carefully, tenderly opened it. A whirl of red light exploded out of it. It was so blindingly bright that Wendy had to shield her eyes from it. As Wendy stood blinking, she heard, "Mom?"
Standing before them, in all his glory, his eyes bright and concerned, was Peter Pan. He looked just as he had when Wendy had last seen him, but as she looked at his eyes, she knew this was not Pan. There was a light behind those eyes that had not been there before. She knew she had been right.
She saw Emma tense. The others couldn't tell, thinking it was a trick, but she already knew that it was not Peter Pan.
Emma cocked her gun and pointed it directly at Pan. "What?"
"What are you waiting for? Shoot him!" Gold commanded.
"Don't! Please! I'm Henry," he begged. Pan was able to manipulate people easily. He knew how to push Wendy's buttons very well. But he could not fake that kind of sincerity. One needed their humanity to sound like that. "Pan, he-he switched our bodies."
"You expect me to believe that?" Emma demanded. Well, yeah, it makes perfect sense, Wendy thought.
"Don't! It's one of his tricks!" Gold called out angrily.
"No, it's not!" Pan, or Henry rather, protested. "He did it right before Mr. Gold captured me in the box. I swear." Henry made a move towards Emma, holding out his hand, but she only readjusted her gun.
"Don't come any closer!" she warned.
"Shoot him," Gold said.
"Maybe he's telling the truth. Maybe that's why I can't shake this feeling that there's something off about Henry. Maybe Wendy is right," Emma said. If anyone wanted to ask Wendy her opinion, they could do so at any time.
"That's what he wants you to believe," Gold said, waving his cane dangerously like a sword. "If he steps over this line, we're all dead."
She felt irritation flare up at the man. She turned to him and gave him a hard stare. "You asked me my opinion and you were willing to test out this theory, but now you're acting as if you already know?" she demanded. The Dark One just stared back at her. She could tell he was judging her again, sizing her up. This is the supposed kind-hearted Wendy? he must have been thinking.
She pointed at Henry, who stood there with Pan's face. "That is not Pan," she said, decidedly. She knew she was right and nothing could convince her otherwise.
"He's my brother," Gold countered. "I can judge." He stared at her with those dark, unnerving eyes again and she felt something wither inside her.
She did not like this man. "You have not seen him in four hundred years. I spent the last hundred and twenty years with him. I am the expert here," Wendy told him. She felt anger boiling up in her chest. This man had asked her opinion and then decided to stomp all over it. He was almost as infuriating as his brother.
"You don't know the kind of magic-"
"Stop," Emma said. "If it's Henry, I'm the expert." She turned to her son. "If you are really Henry, prove it. Tell me something only Henry would know."
"I got trapped in the mines. I tried blowing up the well. I like hot cocoa with cinnamon," Henry said, all in a rush.
"This proves nothing!" Gold said vehemently, clearly upset he hadn't gotten his way. Wendy glared at him.
"He's right, Emma. Henry could have told Pan all of this in Neverland," Mary Margaret put in.
"Pan might know facts, but life is made up of more than that. There are moments. He can't possibly know all of them. The first time you and I connected. You remember that? Not met, but connected," Emma pleaded, begged.
"Yeah," Henry said, lovingly. Pan was not capable of that kind of feeling. At least, he wasn't currently.
"Where was it?"
"In my castle, right after you came to Storybrooke."
"What did you tell me?"
"That I knew why you gave me up."
"Why?"
"Because you wanted to give me my best chance."
Emma lowered the gun and tucked it into the waist of her pants. "Henry," she said softly. "It is Henry." She races and embraced him and held him tightly, tenderly, lovingly, just like a mother. It was a beautiful reunion and Wendy tried not to be jealous, knowing she would never get that kind of reunion.
They separated and Emma told Gold to not incinerate them when they step over the line. Gold looked down sheepishly and nodded. As they stepped over the line, Henry practically jumped into the waiting arms of his grandparents as Emma handed over the Box to Gold.
Emma came over and put a hand on Wendy's shoulder. "Nice call," she said.
"If there's one thing I know, it's Pan," Wendy said gravely. Emma nodded solemnly and began to make her way over to the cars that had brought them there. Wendy jogged up to Gold and got in his path.
She pointed an accusatory finger at him. "I told you so," she said. She didn't care if she sounded self-righteous or smug. She had been right. "I told you you should have killed him."
Gold stared at her again in that calculating way that she had come to dislike so much. She got the distinct feeling that few people reached his soul; everyone else was just a pawn, expendable.
He narrowed his eyes at her. Finally he said, "You were right, Ms. Darling. I should have listened to you." Now, this was unlike his brother. Pan did not admit he was wrong. He admitted to no faults whatsoever.
She gave a curt nod. She had not been expecting that response. Pan usually just argued with her. "Thank you," she said.
He shook his head at her. "You're not what I was expecting," he told her at length.
"What were you expecting?"
"Someone milder perhaps. You're quite forceful," he observed. Wendy wasn't sure if that was meant to be a compliment or an insult. Gold cocked his head to the side. "I wonder why my brother kept you around." He didn't say it like a question. He said it as if he had just figured out the answer to something. She wanted to shake the answer out of him.
"I suppose I'll have to ask him when I see him next."
XXX
The heroes all sprang into action. They immediately went to Regina's vault to retrieve Pan, but found him missing and Regina under a sleeping spell, with the scroll of the curse that created the town gone. Wendy wondered if she had voiced her opinion earlier if this would have changed things. Gold deduced that Pan intended to enact a curse of his own and create his own New Neverland.
In the mayhem, they found time to collect what they needed to switch Henry back to his rightful body. They also tried in vain to reverse the curse that Pan was about to enact. John, Michael, Hook, Bae and Tinkerbell searched all over town for Henry, who came bounding out of the library, scroll in hand.
Henry and Regina embraced, glad to see each other again. Henry gave back the scroll to his mother and she took it readily, but as she was about to destroy it, a purple light erupted from it and she collapsed on the group.
Everyone crowded around her and after a few minutes, she regained consciousness. Soon enough, she was back on her feet.
"Mom! Mom! What happened?" Henry frantically asked.
"I saw what needed to be done," she said with a grimace.
"Mom, a-are you going to be okay?"
"The important thing is you will be," Regina said, clutching at Henry's hand and then she opened her other hand to reveal the scroll, which puffed away out of sight.
"No, he won't," came an all too-familiar voice from behind. Wendy whipped around to see Pan, standing in the street. He looked just as he had several days before, still dressed in his usual garb, scroll in hand. She felt a wave of hatred roll over her. Can't I just be rid of him? she thought.
"He has the curse!" Hook shouted.
"That I do," Pan said, waving it about. He grinned his all too familiar grin and waved his hand. Wendy immediately felt all her joints locking, freezing her in place. "Look at you all. A captive audience." He smiled, proud of his joke. Wendy felt like screaming.
"I could play with you like a pack of dolls, couldn't I?" He meandered over to Belle and Baelfire and Wendy wanted to pounce on him. If he touched a single hair on her brother's head, she would kill him herself. "I could play with these two dolls first, or I could start with you, doll-face."
He strolled over to Wendy and looked down at her. Wendy glared back at him, hoping he understood how furious she was. "A little Shadow told me you thought I should have been killed instead of being put in that damn box," he told her. She glared back, her tongue caught. "They should have listened to you." He turned around and called to his captive audience. "Bird was right! Should have listened!" He turned back to her. "So sorry to be breaking up the happy times you've been spending with your family, but you know how I am about Neverland." He held up a finger. "But you will be pleased to hear that I killed Felix!" Wendy stared at him, wide-eyed. He killed Felix, his right hand man? "Killed him for the curse. The thing I loved the most. Finished the job you started… what was it? Eighty years ago? Ninety?"
She was in a rage. She couldn't believe that he could talk so casually, so flippantly about a time that she knew had been painful for both of them.
He laughed and she knew from the look in his eye that he understood just how furious she was with him. "You know, I think I'll keep you around in the new Neverland," he said. "You're quite entertaining when you're like this. I can just hear all those self-righteous, sanctimonious lectures. This time, I'll keep you with your brothers. A kindness." She hoped that her glare communicated that she was not going to let that happen.
Suddenly, he turned to Belle and Baelfire. "But you two will not have a place in my new kingdom," he said vehemently. "My little nephew and sister-in-law. How sweet. It'll be very hard to decide who to kill first." He rolled his eyes. "No, it won't. It's you," he said, pointing to Neal. Wendy felt her bones creak against the magic that held her in place. She desperately wanted to throw herself in front of Baelfire. She would not have Pan hurt him.
Suddenly, Pan was jerked back violently by Gold, who had materialized in front of them all suddenly. "Don't you dare lay a hand on him!" he growled out. That was probably the first thing that Gold had ever said that Wendy agreed with.
As much as there was anger on Gold's face, there was just as much indifference on Pan's. "Well, how about this?" he said, his voice amused. "The worm has teeth. What? You're here to pwotect your wuved ones?" Pan teased.
"I'm not going to let you touch either one of them," Gold told him.
"Oh, I'd like to see that," Peter said, coolly.
"Oh you will," Gold warned. "Because I have a job to finish, and I have to do it, whatever it takes. No loopholes. And what needs to be done has a price. A price I'm finally willing to pay." Gold turned to Neal. His eyes were full of love. "I used a curse to find you, Bae, to tell you I'd made a mistake. To make sure you had a chance at happiness. And that happiness is possible. Just not with me. I accept that."
"Pretty, pretty words," Pan taunted.
"I love you, Bae," Gold almost whispered. "And I love you, Belle. You made me stronger."
"Stronger?" Pan scoffed. "Yes, but still, no magic."
"Oh, but I don't need it," Gold said almost happily. The man knew something the rest did not. "You see you may have lost your Shadow, but there's one thing you're forgetting."
"And what's that?"
"So have I. I sent mine away with something to hide." And then a shrieking filled Wendy's ears as Gold's shadow appeared and dropped a dagger into his hand, as he gripped onto Pan. "You see the only way for you to die, is if we both die. And now, I'm ready." Gold plunged the dagger into Pan's back. Wendy felt her heart freeze. Pan grit his teeth in pain and Gold shook and the dagger stabbed both of them.
"Rumple, please," Pan urged. "Remove the dagger. You can stop this. We can start over. We can have a happy ending." Pan's voice sounded so raw, so small, so human. It was almost painful to hear.
"Ah, but I'm a villain and villains don't get happy endings." And with those words Rumple twisted the dagger. Both men exploded into golden light, blinding Wendy. And as the light faded, Gold and Pan were both nowhere to be seen.
Wendy felt her joints unfreeze as she heard Belle begin to weep, falling to the ground, crying out for her husband.
Wendy had wondered what it might be like if Pan died. She did not care to know how many times or how long she had thought about it. She had always thought she might feel joy or delight. Instead, she just felt cold.
Regina soon stepped forward and picked up the scroll.
"My father did what he had to do," Neal said, his voice breaking. Wendy reached out her hand and Neal grasped it tightly. "He saved us. Regina, don't let him die for nothing."
XXX
The Darling siblings stood on the road leading into town. The ground was wet and grey. The wind whipped sharply around them and bit through Wendy's coat. The fields at the town border were ashen and dark. Clouds covered the great expanse of sky that had been bright and blue just a few hours before. Off in the distance, a cloud of green, glowing light approached; the curse. It was a solemn scene, appropriate for mourning.
The entire town stood around them, waiting for the end of it all, of Storybrooke. The curse could not be stopped or changed. All the towns inhabitants were going to be returned to their original homes in the Enchanted Forest. Only Emma and Henry would remain. Regina had told the Darlings that since they had spent the past 120 years steeped in magic, they would be brought to the Enchanted Forest with the rest of the townsfolk.
Wendy's brothers stood at her side, silent and severe as Regina explained this to them. From the set of John's jaw, she could tell he was trying desperately to hold back frustrated tears. He had had the same look when he had been a child. If Michael grabbed his toys or when her father wouldn't let him joint parties with the grown-ups, he would set his jaw like that. It was a telltale sign that he was about to stamp his feet and demand what he wanted. It didn't really work back then and Wendy knew it certainly would not work now.
Michael stood next to him, his brow furrowed and his mouth in a thin line. She felt like giving them both a shake. They both thought they had lost, that their happy ending was no longer in sight. But, Wendy knew this was not the case.
They would lose their house, their cars, their clothes and furniture. But, all of those were just things. They still had each other. Baelfire would come to the Enchanted Forest with them. They would build new lives there, find jobs, get married, have children of their own. Pan had not managed to keep them from each other forever. They still have each other and that was what mattered most.
"Pan failed," she told them. "We're still together." They both turned to her, wary as ever. "I spent my time on Neverland mourning you, not anything else."
John's jaw relaxed. Michael opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to come up with a rebuttal, but couldn't. She may have looked a decade younger than the two of them, but she was still their big sister. She would still put them in their place.
John turned to her with serious dark eyes. He looked like their father. "You sounded just like Mother then," he told her solemnly. Her breath hitched in her throat. Wendy's heart twisted at the thought of her mother, her soft smile and halo of blond hair, the way she always smelled of lavender and the sound of the rustle of her skirts. She quickly wiped away tears that had sprung to her eyes.
"I was expecting protests," she said, letting out a small chuckle. "Not this sentimental stuff."
"Well, you're stuck with us," Michael told her.
"I was expecting to come back to brothers who weren't so sappy," she joked. Michael laughed and for a moment, the situation didn't seem so dire. Wendy turned back to the small crowds of people. They were all hugging and wishing each other good-bye. Regina had informed them that they wouldn't all appear as one group in the Enchanted Forest, but in small groups scattered all over. It was the biggest worry that was on Wendy's mind.
John seemed to read her thoughts and asked, "What if we can't find each other?"
"Shit," Michael swore. He apparently hadn't considered this.
Wendy put on a brave face and assured them, "We've gotten through worse. We'll be able to figure it out." She tried not to let on that the prospect of entering a new universe without them terrify her.
"Do you think you can get cell reception in the Enchanted Forest?" Michael said, jokingly. The tension seemed to break on John's face and he turned back to his brother.
"It'll cost a fortune for roaming," John quipped back. It may have made Wendy feel less scared if she actually understood the joke. She drifted off into the crowd, leaving her two brothers to joke. She didn't want to bog them down. She was still worried and wanted to at least try and find a solution.
Wendy walked amongst the crowd, searching for Tinkerbell. Tinkerbell had been on Neverland, too, and had had her own dealings with Pan. Wendy had not seen her often, but it hadn't really mattered that they didn't see each other frequently. When she did, they were able to comfort and take strength from one another. Tinkerbell had been her only friend on Neverland and for that Wendy was eternally grateful.
She found the fairy standing in the crowd, her eyebrows furrowed, watching Emma Swan arguing with her parents, trying to convince that she should go with them. Baelfire was off to the side, wishing his son goodbye. They looked warily on at the family that always seemed to be in the centre of whatever mess the townsfolk were dealing with. Trouble seemed to follow the family wherever they went.
She approached cautiously and touched Tinkerbell's shoulder lightly. The fairy turned and beamed at her. She wrapped her in a tight hug. She smelled like spring and she seemed to glow. She looked genuinely happy. Wendy's heart squeezed in her chest, she was so happy for her friend.
"Wendy," Tinkerbell breathed. "It's so good to see you off of Neverland." She held her back and took an appreciative look at the outfit Wendy was wearing. Underneath her light blue wool coat, Wendy wore a white wool sweater and a navy, pleated skirt. She wore brown loafers and black tights. "I like the look," the fairy complimented.
Wendy smiled back. "I could say the same for you." The fairy was now wearing clothing that was similar in fashion to the other townsfolk. She wore a green dress with a dark green cardigan. She looked clean and warm and well.
"What is it, Wendy?" Tinkerbell asked.
Straight to the point. Wendy could appreciated that about Tinkerbell, but even so she was nervous to ask what she had planned. She had shirked any and all magic. Whatever Pan was interested in, she wanted no part in. But now… it was different. She knew magic came with a price, but she had to keep her family together. Especially now that they had just gotten back together.
"Well… This curse," she began awkwardly. "Regina explained that we won't all arrive in the Enchanted Forest together. I was wondering if…"
Tinkerbell cracked a smile.
"Am I missing something here?"
"I can help you!" Tinkerbell burst. She took Wendy's hands and gave them a squeeze. Wendy smiled back, sharing in the excitement, but still genuinely confused as to what was going. on. "I'm going to be your fairy godmother!"
Wendy laughed. The prospect of it was an honour. It touched her heart to know that her friend would continue to support her in such a wonderful way, but it also sounded ridiculous. No one actually had a fairy godmother. She wasn't living in a fairytale.
"I'm not sure if I should get a fairy godmother. I don't know what I've done to warrant one," she told them honestly. All she really had been looking for was a locator spell or a tracker spell or something.
"I talked to Mother Superior about this before…" Tinkerbell's smile faltered and Wendy 's stomach drop. Pan still had his Shadow over both of them. She squeezed her friend's hand "You've proven yourself worthy a hundred times over. You sacrificed your life to save your brother. You survived Neverland and remained kind and loving. You helped take down Peter Pan twice." When she put it like that, it did sound sort of impressive. "You deserve a happy ending," Tinerbell said quietly.
"Thank you," Wendy said. She felt so overwhelmingly grateful for both women. "I do have a request. I know there is a price for magic, but-"
Tinkerbell waved away her timidity. "You paid the price for more than a hundred years." She put up a finger for Wendy to wait for a moment and began to hurriedly search through her pockets for her wand. She eventually ended up pulling it out of thin air. She whirled it around once, twice, three times and suddenly, a blue velvet bag materialized in her hand. The drawstrings of bag were silver and twinkled, even though there was no sun.
She quickly pressed it into Wendy's palm, urging her to open it. She looked down at it, questioningly, but undid the drawstrings and a bright flash of silver light immediately filled her vision. She tentatively reached in and pulled out what looked to be a star, the size of her palm, pulsing, glowing and full of light and energy. It was beautiful.
"What is it?" she asked breathlessly.
"When Pan died, Neverland collapsed in on itself. It left behind the second star to the right. He originally used the star to find what his heart desired: Neverland. Now that it's gone, it can be used to find what your heart desires," Tinkerbell explained.
It felt fitting that she now had what Pan had desired most. She could reclaim it, use it for good. She would show Pan, that even in death, he had not won. She had her family and she would keep them with her. She would take what he had made, something lonely and isolated, and use it to bring people together.
Tinkerbell quickly explained that to use the star, all she had to do was let it go and think of her heart's desire. "But, you are the only one who can use it. If someone else is to use it, you have to give them your express permission," Tinkerbell instructed.
Wendy nodded. She turned and could see that the cloud of Pan's magic was quickly approaching. She thanked the two fairies and went back to her brothers, tucking the star in her pocket. Even if they got separated, she would be able to find them, without a doubt. She told them this and their faces relaxed. They could tolerate a new world as long as they were together.
And that's how the curse found them. All three siblings, huddled together, crowding over the star, laughing and smiling at their hope and safety.
