The first thing Wendy was aware of as she was hurled out of blackness was that she was going to be sick. A whirl of green and shafts of light flew across her vision as she was tossed unceremoniously onto solid earth. She coughed and heaved as tears stung her eyes. It was not exactly the nicest way to begin her existence in a new land.

She felt strong hands rubbing soothing circles on her back as she threw up. She distantly could hear someone speaking to her in a comforting voice. She continued to cough and sputter for a few more moments before she gained her bearings. She soon realized that the strong hands and comforting voice belonged to Baelfire. She breathed a sigh of relief. One of her three brothers had made it with her.

Once she finally stilled, she turned over to see her other two brothers staring down at her, looking worried. She closed her eyes and smiled. All of them had made it to the Enchanted Forest together. Thank God, she thought.

Baelfire eventually helped her up onto her feet and she almost fell back just looking at him. He had magically changed into a brown leather jack, a billowing white shirt, leather gloves, tight black slacks and a cape, of all things. This Baelfire seemed completely foreign to the one who dressed in the grey colours of 19th century England and 21st century Storybrooke, but she reminded myself that this was the land he was born in. This must have been like a second skin to him.

He offered her a canteen of water to rinse her mouth with. She turned to look at the field that they had been unceremoniously dropped in. The field was lined by trees which seem to slope up, creating a valley, hinting at mountains in the distance. Everything was lush and alive, green and vibrant. She breathed in the smell which was clean and fresh. This land didn't seem that foreign at all. It reminded her of the Alsace-Lorraine region they had once visited on a family trip in France. Everything was green and wide and beautiful.

She surveyed her other brothers, who were wearing similar dress to Baelfire. However, they both looked uncomfortable in the tight slacks and heavy leather jackets. John, with his slim figure, almost looked like he was swimming in his clothes. She found herself also changed. She was wearing a light blue dress with bishop sleeves, a low cut bodice that would have scandalized her parents, and skirts that brushed the grass. She was wearing leather boots that pinched her toes. She was also wearing a deep blue cape like her brother.

She turned and looked around the field. Regina, Belle, Snow White and David along with Granny and the dwarves had all been there to witness Wendy throwing up. But they all seemed too dazed to have noticed (or at least, she hoped). They blinked in the bright light of their old homeland. Everyone is quiet and still, mourning the life they have known for the past thirty years, but also rejoicing over being finally able to start their lives anew in their home world.

Baelfire, however, was different. He had a deep sadness in his eyes. He had lost his father, Emma and Henry in one fell swoop. She was unsure if he was ready to start his life anew in his old home world. Wendy, Michael and John would not be able to fill the hole that had been left in his heart.

A murmur rippled through the crowd and Wendy stood on her tiptoes, peaking over shoulders to see just what was going on. Snow White and David were having a jovial conversation with what looked to be a real-life prince and princess. She caught the tail end of a sentence and learned their names were Aurora and Phillip.

"That's Sleeping Beauty and her prince," John whispered to her.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"In the movie, they have the same names," he explained. She couldn't quite remember what a movie is.

"Is that the one that helps you find things?" she asked, confused.

John shook his head and quickly said, "That's Google. A movie is a moving story." She opened her mouth to ask for further explanation, but he then put a finger over her lips, telling her to be quiet.

They continued to listen in on the conversation as Aurora and Phillip explained that they were working on rebuilding their kingdom after they had defeated the ogres (Wendy had not know that there were any ogres to defeat in the first place). They explained that the Charming's castle had been destroyed in the first curse, but Regina's was intact. Mary Margaret and Regina soon began to bicker over who exactly owned the castle.

Wendy rolled her eyes and wanted to pipe up that it didn't really matter. As long as people get fed and have a roof over their heads, does it really matter for the time being? she thought The bickering eventually subsided and the two women grew quiet. They had come to the conclusion Wendy was already at, it was more important that all of them got to the castle safely, it did not really matter whose it was.

Prince Phillip offered to send runners to bring back food and horses for the journey. Within hours, supplies arrive. Everyone began to load up onto the horses and make their way to the castle.

The Darling siblings stood in the middle of it all, flabbergasted. "I can't believe we're here," John breathed. "It's like something out of a fairytale."

Michael turned to him and said dryly, "It literally is."

Someone cleared their throat behind them and they all turned to find David standing awkwardly with a large grey horse. Wendy hadn't gotten to know the only father figure in the Chraming family particularly well. When she had met him he was in the middle of dealing with the fact that he was cursed to stay in Neverland forever and he had seemed very preoccupied. Not the best time to get to know someone.

"This is your horse, Ash," he said, handing the reins to John, who stared at the horse in terror. They had been city children so there hadn't been much opportunity to ride. When they were out in the country and they did have the opportunity, John had balked at the large creatures. He had told their father he would exclusively be taking carriages everywhere. Michael and Wendy, however, had gotten a fair amount of practice with horses.

"To keep?" John asked.

"Phillip had extra to spare and he knows you're not from here," David explained. A pity gift. Delightful, Wendy thought.

Wendy took the reins from John. "Thank you, David," she said. "John probably won't be riding, though."

"Yes, I think you should ride. I saw how sick you were coming out of the portal. You should rest," David told her kindly. She was mortified. She had really been hoping no one had seen her throw up. "We'll be leaving soon."

When David left them, Michael jabbed her arm. "Ha ha, thought you could get away with barfing in a field," he taunted. "Everyone heard you. You always barfed loud."

"I'm so happy you remembered that from our childhood," she replied sarcastically.

"That's on you. You're a noisy yakker," he said, ignoring her sarcasm. She wasn't sure she had missed her brothers loudly describing how she threw up.

"Yeah, well, you're the one who has to walk, so, ha," she retorted back.

Michael stuck out his tongue at her and she immediately burst into laugher at the absurdity. They were both more than a hundred years old and here they were acting like children. It felt wonderful.

XXX

That evening, Baelfire, John, Michael, and Wendy all sat around the campfire, bone-tired and weary. It had been a long day and they weren't able to get into the castle because the Wicked Witch of the West was taking up residence there. Apparently the Land of Oz existed and its residents enjoyed stealing castles. The whole thing was tiring and Wendy felt terribly sorry for the Charming's and Regina. All they wanted was to start a new life together, but it seemed as if fate just constantly loved to block their way. Wendy understood what it was like to have fate bar you from the path you wanted the most. She had had a hundred years to deal with it.

Although she sympathized and it was very sad, it didn't much involve the four of them. She would have loved for them to be able to get back into their own castle, but to be perfectly fair, she had her own family and life to worry about. It wasn't like she was going to be able to take down this Wicked Witch of the West. She had dealt with one antagonistic magical being and that was quite enough, thank you very much.

Neal ripped off a piece of bread absent-mindedly. The whole day he and Belle had been close together, constantly whispering about something. He had hardly said a word to either Wendy or her brothers. Now, his eyes glazed over as John and Michael tried to keep up a cheery conversation, but no one else was really participating until suddenly Neal piped, "I want to go find my father."

The conversation stopped dead in its tracks. "But he's dead," Michael said bluntly. Sometimes she wished Michael wasn't so blunt; he had never particularly eloquent. Neal did his best not to roll his eyes.

"We never saw his dagger," Neal countered. Wendy was not sure how you coule counter the fact that Mr. Gold was dead, but Neal somehow managed it. "I want to go to my father's castle and see if there is anyway to bring him back. I'm not even entirely sure if he's dead." Neal's voice started out excited, but soon faltered as he realized that if his father wasn't dead, then what did that mean for Pan? They all let the question hang in the air. Wendy hadn't once uttered his name while they'd been in the Enchanted Forest and she intended to keep it that way.

Neal looked at them expectantly, a question on his face that he hadn't asked. Would they help him?

There was silence around the campfire. No one dared mention that if Neal were to bring back Gold, Gold would be one of the only people who could bring back Emma and Henry, as well. John and Michael both squirmed and she could see them coming up with ways to kindly break it to Neal that that there was no hope, that there was no way Gold was still alive, that being reunited with his son and the mother of his child was impossible. They saw it as impossible. They didn't have the same love for Henry and Emma and Gold that Neal did, the same love that gave Neal hope. She knew that if it was her that Neal was asking to find (or rather, bring back from the dead), they would agree in a heartbeat. After all, John and Michael never gave up hope for her, even when it was impossible and she never gave up hope for them or for Neal. That love and hope had been what kept them all going for more than a century. They had spent their lives searching for each other, they had all been walking around without a piece of their heart. Neal was missing a piece of his heart, too. Her brothers couldn't see that, but Wendy did.

"I'll help," she said quietly. Before John or Michael could even form a retort, she continued, "I went to Neverland to find you even though it was almost impossible and John and Michael never gave up hope for me. I'll help you." She could see Michael and John both begin to realize where Neal was coming from. Not just from a reckless, dangerous, and illogical place, but a place out of love that never gave up; true love. She wasn't sure what would come of this, but she was willing to help Neal.

"We will, too," Michael said, nodding. John murmured his support, too. The glow from the fire lit up her brothers's faces and she could see a shimmer of their old selves, their childlike faces. She could see them again, all in our brownstone in London, gathered round each other, promising to protect and help the others over the light of a candle. Though she was the only one who looked the same, she still wanted to preserve that image. She wanted to hold onto that promise to protect and love them no matter what. That was what family did.

"Are you sure?" Neal asked. He tried to keep his voice as even as possible, but Wendy could tell he was surprised they had offered their help.

"Of course we are," John reassured. "What would make you think we wouldn't?"

Neal scratched the back of his neck, nervous. "It's just… It's been so long. We've been apart for so long and I just though after all this time that-"

"Are there expiry dates on brothers?" Michael asked, joking. Wendy wasn't entirely sure what exactly an expiry date was meant for, but she understood the gist of it.

Neal laughed and he looked less nervous. "I guess not." He smiled over at his brothers and Michael clapped him over the back.

"We're family," Michael grinned back at Neal. "We love you, Bae."

Neal beamed and Wendy could see relief roll off him. Her worry about losing those four little children, huddling together with promises of protection was gone. She saw the little children just the same huddled around the fire, hundreds of years older, hundreds of years wiser, but still just as loving and protective.

XXX

It took about a week until people began to realize that their livelihoods weren't contingent on the Charming's and Regina getting their castle back.

After a day out hunting, the dwarves returned with more than just food. They said they had found their old house deep in the woods. Their cheeks were pink and rosy and they looked like children who just found a lost toy. They talked animatedly, excited that they could return to their home after thirty years.

Once word spread that the dwarves had found their old home, the entire camp started to grow restless. There was no more need to stick around for a castle that wasn't theirs; their homes were waiting for them, empty and with open arms.

Snow White's face fell as many people headed out from camp. The fairies followed the dwarves, knowing their hollow must be intact. Soon, Granny and Red and eventually the twenty other people who landed in the same field as Wendy and her family followed suit. But unlike them, she and her brothers remained.

Wendy watched them go, jealous. Those folks all had homes to return to. The Darlings didn't. She desperately wanted a place to call home. She had spent a century in a small tree house, living right next to a violent encampment. She was long overdue for a home with four walls and peace. It was the one thing she wanted most in the world at that moment.

Neal had told her that his father had many properties all over the Enchanted Forest, not just the Dark Castle. The only problem was that people could only find the Dark Castle if they had found it before. And although both Belle and Baelfire had been to the Dark Castle, it had been thirty years since Belle was there and two hundred for Bae. Neither of them remembered where it was. And without the castle, the other properties couldn't be found either. (Wendy also wouldn't admit it, but she did not want to live in the Dark Castle. She had had about enough of magical lands owned by morally suspect magical beings.)

They all lay about the camp, aimless. She could see John and Michael growing agitated and frustrated that they were nowhere close to finding a home. The Charmings had a little too much on their plate to be recommending empty houses they could all move into. She figured that her brothers had believed that in coming to the Enchanted Forest, they would almost immediately have one, but there was no such luck. She didn't disagree with the assumption though. That had been one of the things she had imagined would happen once she got to the Enchanted Forest. A home for her family. It was something that even a few weeks before would have sounded like a wild dream. But now it wasn't so much of a dream rather than an aching desire.

All I want is a home circled in her mind for the majority of the days that passed after the dwarves left. She mended the Merry Men's jackets and gathered firewood with John and collected water from the river with Michael. Her mind grew restless and she spent her time imagining what her home would look like, if she ever got one. She would like a large airy kitchen, a cozy living room where she could curl up with a book. She imagined a large bed that she could sink into. She imagined a warm, inviting dining room that she and her brothers would share dinner over, laughing and talking. Her heart ached just thinking about it.

She finally found a moment and sat by the fire late in the afternoon and allowed her mind to wander. She sat with her head propped up on her hands, feeling quite useless until suddenly she had a thought.

The star! She had no idea why she hadn't thought of this before. She quickly leaped from her seat as she began digging in her pockets, searching for that wonderful velvet bag. She wasn't entirely sure that a house was the one thing in the world that she desired most. After all, it was just a material possession, but what it would bring was worth so much more. She hoped that that would make it work.

She took the star out of the bag and looked around, making sure that her brothers didn't know what she was doing. She didn't want to get their hopes up about what may potentially have been a dead end.

The star prickled in her hand, and as she opened her palm, she saw it brightly burning a wonderful silver. She slowly let it out of her hand and immediately watched it zip through the forest. She chased after it, her hair and cape flying after her as she raced through the damp woods. Branches and brambles tore at the bottom of her dress, but she raced on, following the bright, beautiful star. The dead leaves squished under her feet and she nearly lost her footing multiple times as the ground began to slope down. She grab for the trees that eventually became fewer in numbers, and she could tell she was approaching the edge of the tree line.

Suddenly, she burst out of the woods, panting, and she saw the star zip down the valley before her, and at the bottom of it, it came to hover over a stately manor. It was made of wonderful red brick that jumped out against the expanse of its green gardens. The windows were lined with white shutters. There were wide doors in the middle, leading up from a winding brick path. It was just like one of the manors her mother and father had always talked about buying out in the country.

It looked liked a home.

But before she could race down and explore the place, she was yanked back by the hood of her cape. She turned around and saw all three of her brothers all looking down at her, wearing the same disapproving look. She felt as if I'm about to get scolded. She wanted to laugh, that had usually been her job.

"What do you think you're doing?" John asked, struggling and failing to keep his voice even. Oh, I suppose I was right, she thought.

"You can't just up and leave like that without any word!" Michael scolded.

"You could have gotten lost or worse," Neal said sternly.

She gave them a smile. "Before we begin to bicker, I'd like to remind you all that I am the eldest sibling here and therefore, I should be the one doing the scolding." Neal tried to suppress a laugh. "But look at what I found with the star!" She whirled around and pointed to the house and they all stared, stunned. The house would be the first one they all lived in together since the brownstone in London.

Her heart fell light and warm. She felt as if she might cry tears of joy.

"We can't just go taking houses wherever we please," John pointed out, ever the rationalist. She turned back and saw Michael nod in agreement.

Before she could protest that the star had lead her to it so it must be exactly what she desired most (a.k.a. available to move in to), Baelfire put in, "This is the area where no one left, it was never abandoned. There's a town just down the road, which wasn't taken in the curse. I think this house was abandoned long before the curse ever happened."

"So this is just a normal abandoned house that Wendy wants us to live in?" Michael asked dryly.

"The star led me to it!" was the only protest she could come up with. Michael looked unconvinced.

"We'll go and check it out, okay, Wendy?" John mediated. "If it really is abandoned and we really like it, then we will see about taking it." John looked to Baelfire. "That can be done, right?"

Neal shrugged. "I don't see why not."

No one objected any further and they all started walking down the hill. The walk was quick and as house came into view, she could see that it really was quite old. Neal's theory about it being abandoned before the curse began to make sense.

As Baelfire opened the iron gate, it creaked with age and she could see that the garden was overrun and that the grass was almost as high as her hip. This place was going to need a lot of work.

John walked up to the door and knocked. After no answered, he rattled the door handle and it swung open. He peaked in, cautiously, but after a few moments, straightened up and motioned for the rest of them to come in.

When she walked in, she was met first by a cloud of dust and cobwebs, but then by the sense that this was home. Passed the door was a foyer which opened up to a staircase and she could see the second floor in a square with railings. Off the side of the foyer was a larger room with chairs and tables all covered in white cloths. The ceiling was high and the bay windows let in afternoon sunlight, and it made the room feel warm and welcoming even though it was very clearly abandoned. Michael grabbed at a sheet and through a cloud of dust, she saw a regal light blue chair, perfect for reading a book in. Michael plopped himself in it, and another cloud of dust greeted him. Beyond that room, there was a dining room which led into a huge kitchen that looked out onto a large backyard with a pond and a dock with an old boat. Back through the front foyer was a large sitting area that was lined with many many old volumes of books, and a large office at the back. Baelfire flipped through them and found that the newest book was nearly fifty years old. It looked like this place had long been abandoned.

Up the stairs, the second floor went around in a square, with six rooms each with a bed and old dusty furniture and large windows that looked out onto different views of the valley. Four of the six had adjoining bathrooms.

Sitting back in what seemed to be the living room, she could feel the words 'I told you so' heavy on her tongue.

"Well, I guess that star of yours was right," Michael said in defeat. She could tell by the looks on their faces that they were just as taken with the manor as she was.

Two days later, they moved in.