A/N: Hiya! So, I just posted chapter 9 yesterday, and I hope to make some more progress on the story. It's so hard with this story because I have a bit to go before I get to the parts of the story that I have had planned since the beginning of writing this. Obviously though, I don't want to rush out a half-baked product, which is something that I did when I first published the first four chapters of this story. I want to make sure that these sections are not dull, so I'm once again sorry for the slow progress. I will try my best to not disappear again, as I'm working on updating more consistently.

Anyway, with all that aside, here's chapter 10.

!

Margaret didn't leave her bed the next day. When she woke up, tears filled her eyes as the sight of what she witnessed in the pond the night before clouded her vision. A heavy weight settled in her chest; a lump formed in her throat. Her Nana…she was dead. And it was because of her. First her own parents, now her Nana. How could she face the world?

Throughout the day, she barely moved in the bed. The Lost Boys attempted to make conversation with her, but she remained completely unresponsive with the exception of a few stray tears that would slip down her cheeks upon their attempts at engaging with her. Peter quickly told them to let her rest.

Margaret didn't have the energy at all to do any chores, so the hideout quickly began to resemble the desolate state that she found it in. Tootles, however, who had been assigned by Peter to stay at the hideout to look after Margaret, did his best to tidy up the place as best he could. His efforts, however, were far sloppier than Margaret, who had more experience in keeping a tidy home than the rambunctious Lost Boys.

Tootles would occasionally sit on the edge of Margaret's bed. Unlike the others, he did not attempt to speak to Margaret. He figured that she didn't want to talk because she looked so sad. It might be better to just comfort her with his presence.

Margaret would attempt to smile at Tootles, but only a deeper look of melancholy befell her face when she looked at Tootles. She was rather fond of him, and it broke her heart that he held such concern for her, especially because of how demanding she had been during her time in Neverland. She felt she didn't deserve, a feeling that was amplified to an even worse magnitude by the thought she was responsible for her Nana's death.

Tootles also made various attempts to help Margaret eat, but she refused all food that was brought to her. She didn't feel hungry at all. In fact, food revolted her. She felt that she would throw up if she tried to consume anything.

That night, the Lost Boys filed in quietly into the tree. They all peaked in on Margaret, who remained laying her bed, eyes wide open and glazed over. Tootles sat at her said, patting her exposed hand. He looked at the other Lost Boys and put a finger to his lips, a sign to be quiet.

They all withdrew, quietly preparing dinner for themselves for the evening. Peter dropped in not too much later. He hoped that Margaret would be moving around, but upon seeing the state that hideout was in, he realized that had remained in bed all day. His face fell at seeing Margaret's unmoving form. The Lost Boys all wore solemn faces as they looked over at her silently. Peter motioned for Tootles to come to him, of which he complied after squeezing Margaret's hand. The two slipped outside, where they wouldn't disturb Margaret.

"How's she doing?" Peter asked Tootles. Tootles creased his eyebrows as he thought extremely hard for a moment.

"She's super duper sad. Margaret hasn't said a world all day. She doesn't move. She's like a statue," Tootles relayed to Peter. "Margaret doesn't want to eat anything either," Tootles continued. Peter felt himself go pale at this. Not eating, not sleeping…

She was killing herself over this.

Peter sighed as worry chipped away at his lively features. "I want you to stay here and watch her tomorrow. She likes you; that might cheer her up."

Tootles nodded with the utmost seriousness before scurrying inside. Peter remained outside, casting his gaze up to the sky as the stars twinkled brightly. The moon cast a silvery glow over Neverland, it's light slivering into the darkest of places.

"What should I do?" He asked to the sky. The sky didn't answer. A slight breeze stirred in the air, the trees in the jungle beginning to dance to their rhythm. He pondered for a moment before closing his eyes and feeling the life energy around him.

Peter's eyes snapped wide open. "I have an idea."

!

"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Peter?" Slightly asked him as they both stood in the middle of the clearing. "I know that you're concerned for her—but we're all worried. It's dangerous for you to go with all the pirates around."

"If I don't do something Margaret will likely wither away. She's extremely brokenhearted right now. There's something deeper to all of this than we understand," Peter replied, as he looked through one of the holes in the tree to peak at Margaret's sleeping form. "Tootles is staying with her again. I think his presence makes her happy." He returned his attention to Slightly. "As always, you're in charge while I'm gone. I'll make it out fine, so don't worry about me," Peter told him. Slightly nodded obediently, stepping aside so Peter could fly without any obstructions. Peter regarded him with a nod before launching himself into the air. The distant shout of pirates echoed across Neverland as the spotted him. Slightly smirked; they wouldn't be able to catch him.

!

Margaret once again didn't leave her bed during the day. Tootles, true to Peter's command, stayed by Margaret's side loyally. She slept throughout the day; her grief had not been reduced any from the previous day.

A few of the Lost Boys inquired about Peter's whereabouts, but Slightly only gave them cryptic answers in response. Slightly decided to keep everyone in the hideout for the day, so the Lost Boys found themselves restless without anything to do. This resulted in them spending their time checking up on Margaret when appropriate and attempting to play whatever games they could come up with during the time in between.

The day passed by slowly with the Lost Boys groaning about their boredom. Tootles would occasionally tell them to be quiet as to not disturb Margaret, but they were too bored to take any heed to his words. Margaret, however, didn't show any annoyance toward their behavior.

When the sun began to set, the echoes of shouts reached the hideout. All of the Lost Boys glanced at one another before running outside to greet Peter as he crashed through the tree line. A triumphant grin graced his features as they all crowded around him.

"Where were ya? We were so bored!" Nibs exclaimed. The other boys began to voice their own opinions all at once, leaving Peter amused. Slightly quickly cut them all off.

"Well, it looks you managed to survive," Peter commented as he dusted himself off.

"It's good to see you Peter," Slightly greeted.

"I'm guessing you kept them all in the tree?" Peter asked as he watched the rest of the group file back in.

"Yes."

"That it explains it, then." Peter glanced into the tree where Margaret's bed lay. Tootles glanced back at him, shaking his head. Peter nodded before looking back at Slightly.

"So, what were you looking for?" Slightly asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"This," Peter replied simply, holding up a shell necklace.

"Wait, that's Wendy's!" Slightly stated as his eyes lit up.

"This necklace was something that I made for Wendy. She always told me that if she were to die, that she would want it to be buried with her. Supposedly she even put that on paper. My hope is that if Margaret sees this, she'll know that Wendy isn't dead," Peter explained to Slightly.

"That's a good idea, Peter. Are you going to show it to her now?"

Peter shifted his jaw in contemplation for a moment. "I have no idea how me she'll want to see me. I think if I gave it to Tootles to show her, that might be more effective," he concluded. "I should probably do that now," Peter said. Slightly nodded before popping inside to order the other Lost Boys to go do their lookout duties for a while. Peter waited as the other Lost Boys ran out into the overgrowth. Finally, Slightly came back out, saluted Peter, and ran to his position as well.

Peter took a deep breath before walking inside. Tootles greeted him with a solemn expression. He ushered Tootles to come over to him, of which he complied. Peter handed him the necklace and whispered a few instructions before he took his leave, leaning against Hangman's Tree outside. Tootles walked over to Margaret's bed with the necklace in hand. She was laying down with her eyes closed, but it was obvious she was awake.

"Margaret," Tootles said, coaxing her to open her eyes, "I found something for you." She didn't respond, as he expected. However, when he lifted up the necklace to where she could see it, Margaret's demeanor completely changed.

She shot up in the bed reaching out to take it from Tootles. Her breathing had quickened as her eyes widened. She scrutinized each shell on the necklace, almost in a state of disbelief.

"Tootles where did you find this?" She asked him, her voice cracking.

"Peter found it in Wendy's house," he replied quietly.

Margaret focused her attention back on the necklace as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. "Nana always said that she wanted to be buried with this necklace. It was written down in her will. I was there when she signed it." A few more tears slipped down her cheeks. "If he found this necklace then…" tears streamed down her cheeks as relief washed over her. She dropped the necklace on the bed before crushing Tootles in a hug. "Thank you, Tootles."

Tootles blushed slightly as she released him from the hug. He nodded in acknowledgement of her thanks.

"You said Peter found this?"

"Yes."

"Where is he now?" Margaret asked quickly. Tootles pointed toward the opening to the tree. Margaret jumped out of bed and sprinted through the room out of Hangman's Tree. "Peter?" She asked upon seeing him.

He looked up at her as he pushed himself away from the tree. "Margaret, I'm sor—"

Margaret interrupted him by hugging him. A pool of tears shimmered in her eyes as she held him. He wrapped his arms around in reciprocation tilting his head toward her shoulder lightly. "Thank you, Peter," she whispered to him. He squeezed her a little bit in response. The two remained hugging for a lengthy period of time. They only parted when the began to hear the Lost Boys return.

"I'll prepare dinner," Margaret stated, wiping her eyes.

"Margaret, I know you feel bad, but you shouldn't. I want you to rest and get back you're strength—"

"Peter, I'm cooking dinner," Margaret stated once again. Peter reluctantly nodded as he led her inside. The Lost Boys returned soon after, all of them riled up after a particularly long day.

Margaret smiled in their direction as she went to work preparing the food they were going to eat. Peter helped by gathering some herbs, berries, and other edible plants for Margaret to cook with. The Lost Boys took little notice of Margaret's rejuvenated state as they ran around the hideout, engrossed in their play.

However, they all sat in awe of Margaret once dinner was served. For the first time, Margaret spoke freely at dinner with Peter and Tootles, which was a sharp shift in atmosphere from the previous days that Margaret spent in Neverland. Margaret and Peter spent their time partaking in witty banter with one another as the boys slowly joined into their conversations. Dinner was a lively affair for all of them.

After dinner, Margaret spent time cleaning the dishes while Peter put the boys to bed. They all protested, much to Margaret's amusement, but eventually, they all retired to their hammocks to sleep. Peter stored the extra food in the cupboards.

"They appear to be quite peaceful," Margaret observed quietly as she dried one of the turtle shells. Peter looked over at the boys to see them all passed out into a deep sleep.

"It's funny that they always assure me they aren't tired, but they go to sleep so quickly once I convince them," Peter recounted with a chuckle. Margaret giggled lightly as she finished, the two standing in the kitchen.

"So," Peter began, rubbing the back of his neck, "would you like to sit in the clearing with me?"

"Sure," Margaret agreed, following him outside. The two sat by the pond as the quiet night rose above them. A few crickets could be heard chirping in the distance as Neverland took on a life of its own. The jungle appeared to be at its most alive during the night hours.

"Peter, I'm so sorry for how I have acted during my stay here," Margaret said looking over at him. "There's no excuse for my rudeness. I've been a handful, and I shouldn't have acted that way when you have sacrificed your safety to save me…twice."

"Margaret, I don't think you've been that bad," he said. "Maybe you weren't very pleasant, but you were worried about Wendy. That's…understandable," Peter finished. Margaret wanted to continue to say that he shouldn't excuse her behavior, but instead she chose to nod. The two sat in silence as they both found themselves at a loss of what to say to one another. Finally, Margaret turned herself to face Peter.

"I'd like to start with a clean slate," she said to him sincerely. Peter glanced over at her with a confused expression before understanding twinkled in his eyes.

"Alright."

"Hello, my name is Margaret," Margaret introduced reaching out her hand. Peter took it, shaking it awkwardly.

"And I'm Peter Pan, at your service," he introduced with a grin. Margaret smiled.

"It's wonderful to meet you Peter," Margaret said.

The two of them looked at one another with a gentle smile on their faces. A new friendship had just begun.