Chapter Four: Peter And Jane

Peter had had enough. He got down on the floor, stuck his head between his legs in a tiny ball, and began to bawl right there in front of the girl. Jane got out of her bed, wiped the remaining tears clinging to her eyelashes, and walked over to Peter sitting on the floor.

"You asked me why I was crying, so now i am going to ask you the same. Boy, why are you crying?"

Peter was staring down at the wooden floor as he wept. He looked up at Jane, his green eyes flashing red before her.

"Why do you think i am crying! I'm crying, because you've forgotten all about me!"

Sorrowfully, she sat down beside Peter to comfort him.

"May I know your name first before we start talking about anything else?"

"Peter", he said looking at her. " Peter pan." He forced his eyes away from her worried face as he finished his name. Peter never mentioned his name to anybody through a bowlful of tears. He had always said his name with great pride and joy. It was a great honor to be Peter Pan.

"I'm truthfully sorry Peter, but I am afraid that I don't know who you are,"

She managed to say even though she didn't want to seeing as it would hurt his feelings more. But it was a fact. She never even heard of the name peter pan before in her entire life…. Or had she?

"Don't you remember Jane? Don't you remember how we battled the rest of captain hook's remaining crew on the pirate ship, or how we played with all of the mermaids in the lagoon? Don't you remember it? Please, remember it!" he pleaded with her. But Jane's mind was still clouded with thoughts of growing old. She had to go to bed early tonight because tomorrow she would be in town with mother to purchase a gown for her birthday ball. But here she was, sitting on the cold floor next to a boy dressed in leaves trying to make her remember things she had never done! Maybe she was just dreaming. Yes, she was certainly just drifting away into the depths of dreamland, only picturing herself speaking to a handsome, young boy dressed in leaves. She made herself giggle as she thought of a dream like this.

Offended, peter said

"Why are you laughing at me? Look, the only reason I came to your window tonight was to take you away to Never land. Where the lost boys are. And the pirates we never caught, and all of the other adventures that are waiting there for us!"

" Never Land? What's…. Never land?" Jane said, intrigued. Peter didn't even want to hear it. He had already made it to the opened window, ready to sail off into the night to the one star that differed from all the rest.

Jane's heart skipped two beats. She wasn't dreaming. This whole ordeal was all true. Her head began to grow hot with fright as she watched peter look over his back at her and set off out the window. Before he could get too far, she rushed to the window and screamed out to him so he wouldn't leave.

" PETER!!! WAIT! DON'T LEAVE ME! ILL TRY TO REMEMBER IT! JUST PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE ME!"

She was panting heavily now, staring out at the floating figure a few feet away from her, begging to herself that he'd fly back through her window. How many times would she see a flying boy with sweetly golden hair who spoke of a land with pirates and mermaids abroad?

Thankfully, peter agreed with her and immediately soared back through the opening.

Peter was wondering how long it would take for her to call for him to come back. He smiled to himself.

"You were only nine years old at the time when I flew you away to Never Land. But boy, did we have amazing adventures while you were there!" he ran to her bed, jumped on it, and began to animate his stories for her so it could surface to her mind. Giggling, Jane sat cross-legged upon the floor to watch him thrash his sword two and fro as he acted out how they defeated captain hook's evil pirate crew.

" And then, the cruelest pirate of them all named Worthly, dived for you!" he imitated an ugly pirate's grin as he raised himself into the air in a diving position, his two arms straight out in front of him, charming Jane as she watched.

"A pirate? Tried to.. Kill me?" she said through gasps. Peter nodded at her, still stiffly holding himself in his position over the bed covers. He lowered himself back onto the bed and watched her horrified look and laughed.

" Have no fear, my Jane!" he coaxed her as he flew towards her and scooped her up off the floor gently.

"What happened then?" she whispered to him, her creamy peach cheeks almost touching with his. Peter grinned at her.

"I scooped you away from him before he even got to you, and then, you said thank you peter!" he mocked her once girly like tone and laughed. Jane was thinking differently of him now. She felt an insane connection to this boy, whoever he was. She felt the gathering excitement inch up the back of her spine all the way up her dress as she sat there in his arms, towering effortlessly off the floor of the nursery in the air. Was he feeling the same as she?

Peter was wondering if that dreamy look on Jane Darling's face meant that she was finally remembering what she had done with him in Never land. But whatever that expression meant, it had to count for something. Peter turned over thoughts in his head of taking her back to Never Land again. The boys would have a mother again, and he would have a girl again. He missed having feminine company around. Having a girl with him always made him feel more powerful, more like a king.

As Jane Darling leaned in closer to his darker then tawny skin, a flash of memories rolled through her head. She saw her, when she was but a child, and peter, fighting off nasty pirates on a large pirate ship. Then rolled another image. Boys. Little boys. Lots of them gathering her up in their arms to carry her to some kind of underground den… she was finally remembering!!!!

" PETER PETER IM REMEMBERING! IM REMEMBERING WHAT –" peter quickly put his hand over her mouth again.

" Shhh! You mustn't wake your mother!" he said glancing over at her door to see if anyone had heard her. Nobody had, thankfully.

Rising to the occasion, Jane leaped from Peter's friendly arms. He was puzzled.

"Oh peter! Now I remember all of those wonderful times we had together! You me, and all of the lost boys!"

Peter smiled down at her as if she were his angel of hope.

"And I remember their names too I think!" She began to pace around to dig up their names from her memory.

" Oh! Now I remember! Slightly, and, and nibs, oh and the twins! How could I forget the twins!"

Peter beamed with pride and happiness. His little Jane was remembering! He felt the sudden urge to sweep her up into his arms and give her a hidden kiss, just as Wendy had given him the day he almost died waving off hook. Her kiss had saved him, luckily.

Now that she was remembering, Peter felt confident that she would gladly accept his invitation to Never Land again. She had when she was younger.. Why would she back down now? Peter was back on the floor now, staring at Jane. She stared back at him, flashing him a big, pearly smile.

"Wendy?"

"Yes?"

"W-w-ill you come back to Never Land w-with me? You don't have to stay forever! I promise you! Just for one more night before you must…" peter cleared his throat.

"Become a woman."

Jane's smile faded to a deep frown as she heard woman echoe through her ears. She'd rather die right then and there in Peter's bare hands then become a woman too fast.

"Take me away, peter. Please, take me away to the place I used to go with you when I was only a little girl. I want to be with you and the lost boys again! Take me back there!"

Peter opened his mouth to speak before a disturbance frightened the both of them.

"Oh no, its mother!" Jane said.

"Wendy!" said peter.

"Peter, we shall go together to Never land."

They heard a band of footsteps edging closer and closer to the door.

"If mum catches you here, she'll shut the window on you forever. You must hide first!"

Peter already got on it and dashed for Jane's stand up dresser, shoving his body into it and then carefully easing it shut.

The door creaked open. It was Wendy.

"I was hearing some strangeness going on up here."

Wendy's heart fell to the bottom of her stomach. Her mother had heard everything peter had said to her!

Jane Darling prayed quietly to herself in her head so her mother wouldn't think of stepping into her room, but her prayers were of no use.

"Why aren't you in bed, darling?"

" I thought I saw a – a –a mouse! Yes! A mouse running around the carpet in that corner of there," she lied. Mrs. Darling detected it.

"Why are you lying to me?" she asked her patiently, out of curiosity searching the corner Jane pointed to for any signs of a mouse. When she saw nothing, she turned to catch her daughter looking nervously over her shoulder at her dresser. Jane had given Peter's hide out away!

"What's there? Why are you looking over there?"

Mrs. Darling questioned her eagerly now, stepping in the direction of the dresser. Jane stepped back along with her so she could block it. Maybe even whisper to peter to fly out the window when Mrs. Darling wasn't looking. Or maybe he was smart enough to hear what was occurring outside that dresser.

Jane decided to go with her gut and created a diversion with the mouse so that peter could get out of that nursery… before something really bad would happen to the both of them!

"Oh mum look! There's that dreadful little mouse I was telling you about!"

Mrs. Darling hated mice, so she whirled around on her heel to see where it was hiding.

"Oh dear me!" she wailed.

"Where? Where is the little furry beast!"

Peter was in fact, listening to the activity happening in front of him, so he flew out the window at the speed of light, landing right outside to the right of the window ledge as an annoyed Mrs. Darling stared at Jane seeing no mouse anywhere.

"He has come for you, hasn't he?!" she lowered her voice.

Jane's eyes grew as wide as saucers. The secret was out.

Trying to cover herself up somehow, she replied

"Nobody has come for me mother! You must be mistaken!"

" I KNOW HE HAS COME FOR YOU!" she squealed in her face.

" He wants to take you to that, that, Never land or wherever it's called! Jane, listen to me! I cannot stop you from taking this journey with him, but you shall regret it deeply if you go! When you return, peter pan will forget all about you he has many adventures! What makes you think he'll want to come back for you!"

"Because I have gone with him before."

Wendy Darling froze in her spot.

"W-what did you say?"

" I said, he has taken me to Never land once. When I was a child. You never knew it because nana was asleep in her doghouse, unaware of any of it, and you were at a charity ball in the city. Peter came to me that night when you were not with me and took me away to Never Land, where we had wonderful adventures. That is why he has not forgotten me."

Jane even surprised herself at the way she spoke with such pride and respectfulness towards her long lost friend. She hoped that he had at least heard some of what she had said of him. And of course, peter had. He smiled to himself as he thought of how tall Jane had gotten. And how pretty she had become. He couldn't wait any longer to take her away with him to Never Land so the lost boys could play with her once again!

Mrs. Darling stared at Jane for a long, hard time.

" You must promise me, dear one, that you will return to this very nursery by twelve o'clock midnight tomorrow night."

Jane didn't want to promise her mother a single thing. But if she were to lie, how would mother ever trust her again? She probably wouldn't. She didn't want to become a woman. Not ever. She wasn't going to promise a word to Wendy. So? How would she ever travel to Never Land with Peter Pan?

Becoming impatient with Mrs. Darling, peter took a peep around the edge of the window and saw Jane caught between a very raucous decision to either stay and become an old geezer in that nursery, or to come away with him and enjoy being young while she could. He decided to make the decision for her.