Chapter 7: Peter and Amy: Puppy Love?

Note: Puppy love is about all it can be. Don't forget: These are young kids we're talking about here.

Peter and Amy sat on a cliff overlooking Pirate's Cove, staring at the Jolly Roger anchored in its usual place. The boy and girl had taken to spending a lot of time together, just the two of them.

"I thought you and Jane sunk that thing," Amy said to Peter. "What's it still doing here?"

"Well," Peter smiled at her. "Old Hook had the best divers in his crew swim down and actually take the ship apart, piece-by-piece, and brought them to the beach. Once all the pieces of the ship were recovered, he had them rebuild the entire ship. It took them months to put it back together, but evenutally, they had the Jolly Roger completely rebuilt, right down to the smallest nail."

"Persistant, isn't he?" Amy giggled.

"Yeah, I'll say that for him," Peter agreed with a grin. "But it wouldn't be much fun without him, ya know?"

"I'm sure," she agreed.

"Sometimes, though," Peter sighed, "he gets a little out of control. I can't control what he does; I can just try to handle whatever trouble he causes."

"Look at it this way: As long as you can keep them here in Neverland, it means that there is one less pirate ship to cause trouble in the 'real world'."

"True," Peter smiled. He liked being with Amy. She was smart, caring, tough, but was still feminine. He remembered having strong feelings for both Wendy and Jane --and Tink's jealously over his attention toward the two girls. But Tink seemed to be steering herself toward Dusty for some reason. Peter did not understand it, but the presence of a male pixie was attracting Tink as much as having a girl in the Underground House was attracting Peter. Maybe this time, Tink will not be so jealous of the girls living with the Lost Boys.

Peter stared out over the water, thinking about Amy's request about Marzi. To let the child grow, if only just to the age of five. That was a tall order for this boy who, himself, did not want to grow up. Time --and aging-- in Neverland was very different than it was in what was termed the "Real World". Aging was more of a matter of will than an event that just happened year-by-year. In truth, no one --Peter included-- knew just how old Peter really was. He could be centuries, or even millennia old. He --and Neverland-- could have very easily have been in existance from the begining of time, itself. But the history of the magical island was lost to antiquity, as well as Peter's own history. All he was really sure of was that he had run away from home the day he was born. Even that may not be his true origin.

However long the eternal youth had lived in his little world, he never aged a day past the age of twelve. But he had to get to the age of twelve first, right? How had he done that? Had he simply said one day, "Okay: I'm only a baby right now. I need to grow some to really have adventures. So I think I'll grow until I become twelve years old. Then, I'll stop growing and then I'll always be a twelve-year old boy."?

There was a possibility that it was Peter that controled time in Neverland, although he might not know it. Or perhaps you just had to keep track of time for it to pass in a normal manner.

However it happened, time did pass in Neverland. Just not like it does in the "Real World". That's why Amy's request to allow Marzi to grow was such a heavy request. The control of time was in question, and allowing something, and having it happen may be two different things.

On the other hand, in Neverland, anything was possible. Even normal aging. And stopping at a certain age.

"What are you thinking about?" Amy asked, bringing Peter back from his train of thought. He turned to her with a "Huh? Oh..." and smiled at her.

"Just thinking about Marzi," he told her. "I'm not sure how time goes here in Neverland. We don't keep track of much, aside from day and night, and season to season. Even then, we don't keep track of how many suns and moons and seasons go by. But I'm willing to let Marzi grow --only," here, he stressed the word, "only" and locked his chocolate eyes with her blue eyes, "to the age of five. No older."

"Thank you, Peter!" Amy cried. Then, she did what no girl had ever done before --at least, Peter did not remember a girl doing it before--: She kissed him hard on the cheek!

Peter stared at Amy, not sure what to think. There was a dim memory of young Wendy trying to --kiss? Was that what it was? He remembered her sighing, and looking at him with dreamy, starry eyes, then saying that it was so wonderful that she thought she would give him a kiss. His reaction: "What's a 'kiss'?" and scratching his head in confusion. She then said that she would show him, and suddenly, Wendy was walking toward him with her eyes closed and her lips forming a little "O". Not to be rude or anything, but he thought she looked a little like a fish when she did that. Course, he would never say that out loud. He had cared too much for Wendy to do that.

Jane had never tried to kiss him. In fact, she did not seem at all impressed by him, no matter what he did. He thought of it as a challenge. She did give him a hug after he had "knighted" her as the first Lost Girl. Jane had learned to play with Peter and the Lost Boys on their level, even going so far as playfully pushing Peter off a small outcropping of rock. If he was not constantly flying and floating, the eternal boy would have fallen into the lagoon. As it was, Jane endeared herself to Peter and his little band of Lost Boys.

Now, Amy had gone and done what Wendy attempted to do and Jane never thought of doing: Kissed Peter Pan! And that was without pausing to think twice about it.

Peter tried to decide how he felt. The kiss had been quick, but had left a wet mark on his face. He could feel the wetness there. Slowly, he raised his hand to touch his cheek, his fingers brushing the mark of her lips the kiss left behind.

"What's the matter, Peter?" Amy asked. "Haven't you ever been kissed before?"

"Uh...sure...I think..." he stammered.

"Don't lie to me, Peter," Amy grinned, looking him in the eye. His cheeks went a bright red.

"Well...no...not really," he admitted. "Wendy almost did, but Tink pulled her hair and..."

"Nevermind," she laughed. He smiled and took her hand in his. For long moments the two of them just sat and stared at each other.

*~*~*

For the next several days, Peter and the others focused on Marzi, and teaching her how to talk, walk, and feed herself. She made quite a mess with the spoon, getting more of her mush on her face than in her mouth. Walking was not easy, either. She fell down several times. It helped, though, that she was always pointed toward Peter. It gave her a goal: Get to her beloved "big brother". The talking was not working out very well. At least, not at first. Marzi pretty much just babbled and giggled whenever they tried.

The sleeping arrangements were nearly the same as they had been: Peter was now sleeping in his hammock, with Amy and Marzi in the bed. He figured it was okay for Amy and him to be in the same room --or even the same bed, if Marzi was between them-- as long as they slept in different beds. He wondered what was going on between them. Wendy would never approved of the sleeping arrangement. She probibly would have slapped him if he even suggested such a thing. He was not so sure Jane would have gone along with it, either.

So what was it about Amy that made it seem okay? Peter was sure he did not know. He just let it alone, joining them in the bed if Marzi showed any signs of bad dreams or something. Peter had to admit that he loved the tiny girl a lot. Something scared him, though. He was very uneasy about having her with them for some reason. No, it was not Marzi, herself. It was...

It was...

No beating around the bush. It was that he had assumed the role of "father" to the girl. And if Amy was "mother"...

No. He was not going to be "daddy" to little Marzi. "Big brother", yes, but not "daddy". Never!

Never say "never", Peter.

*~*~*

"Come on, Marzi," Peter coaxed the child gently. "You can say it: Peter. That's my name; Peter."

The child just looked at him and giggled, reaching for him. She did not seem intrested in talking.

"Having problems, Peter?" Petra asked. The Lost Boys were watching as their leader attempted to teach the baby her first words, but not seeming to have any luck.

"Teaching someone to talk is not the easiest thing in the world," he answered. "About what age do kids start talking?"

"About one, one and half, somewhere along there," Amy answered. "To be truthfull, she looks like she might be overdue. Just keep trying. Sooner or later, she'll try to imatate you talking to her and say her first word."

"Okay," Peter sighed. He went back to teaching Marzi to talk as the others looked on.

This was going to be a very long five years...

*~*~*

Peter sat at the table with Marzi in his lap. He fed her a mixture of banana and berry mush that she seemed to like a lot. He talked to her as he offered her the food, slowly and carefully spooning it into her mouth.

"A bite for Amy..." he said, giving her a spoonfull of the mush. The baby ate it eagerly. "A bite for Petra..." Marzi ate that little bit of food, as well. Peter went through every name he could think of, oddly enough, avoiding his own. Pretty soon, however, he ran out of names. Taking a spoonfull of the mush, he offered it to Marzi.

"And how about a bite for Peter..." Marzi giggled and very eagerly ate the fruit mush. Then, Peter began the names again.

It was when he got to his own name for the third time when it happened. Everyone just looked first at Marzi, and then at Peter in surprise and shock.

"Peeteer," Marzi said in a high voice.


Next: Chapter 8: Marzi Pan Flys! It's now five years later. No one but Marzi has aged, and now, the child is ready for her first flying lesson. How will she do?