Title: Spirited Away
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Ten - Hanging By A Thread
Rating: PG13
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"Wendy?"
"She can't hear you boy...you should take her to the Indian camp."
"No..she wouldn't be safe there."
"She's burning up Peter..."
"I'll make her better...She'll wake up soon."
There was a loud sigh then the second voice spoke again."Peter...if you won't take her to the Indian's you'll have to take her back."
"Back?"
"Back to her world..."
"NO!"
"They can take care of her..."
"I can take care of her...she'll stay here."
The voices faded away as Wendy sank back down into burning oblivion, her mind drifting, Hook's laughing face swooping down at her, then Peter's, his eyes full of love and concern, then the faces changed, Wendy batting them away like flies buzzing round her head. She felt hot and her chest felt tight, as if a great weight was pressing down on her, stifling her, suffocating her. In desperation she fought the covers keeping in the heat, kicking them away every time she felt them over her, fighting to drag air into her starving lungs until the blackness sucked her down again.
Peter adjusted the cover again as Wendy appeared to slip into a deep sleep, her restless movements finally stilling. He watched as she slept, his finger reaching out to twitch away an errant strand of hair, brushing against her skin, feeling the heat coming off her forehead.
"Please get better...I don't want you to leave me."
Wetting a cloth, he squeezed it out before laying it on her forehead, her head turning towards him, her eyes tightly closed.
He'd carried her off the Jolly Roger and back to their home, a small flock of fairies shadowing him as he deftly negotiated the wide window and landed on his feet, Wendy still held close, her body shivering against him. Dropping to one knee he gently placed her on the sail cloth mattress, her body laying boneless and unaware. Getting to his feet he stripped off his weapons, dropping them carelessly on the floor before rummaging for a dry change of clothes for Wendy. Grabbing a towel as well he returned to the bed and started to dry her hair, rubbing the long strands and spreading it out around her head. Next he started to remove her soaked shirt and trousers, his fingers shaking with nerves at first but a sudden shudder from Wendy steadied him, his fingers quickly undoing the buttons before lifting her up to pull the wet shirt down her arms, tossing it away before laying her down again. Briskly he toweled her arms and torso, lifting her up so that she leant against him while he rubbed her back dry. That done he tackled her breeches, tugging them down her hips and off her long legs, the trousers joining the shirt while he rubbed her legs dry. Throwing the damp towel to join the heap behind him, Peter pulled over the long nightshirt and once more eased her upright, slipping the shirt over her head and tucking her arms in the voluminous sleeves. With her covered from her neck to her knees, Peter rolled her into a blanket, tucking it around her, cocooning her. Exhausted, he crawled onto the mattress beside her, drawing her limp form against his body, his own shivering from his damp clothes as he wrapped his arms about her.
He'd held her through the long afternoon until the sun dipped below the trees, dozing himself, his leaf outfit drying on him. When Wendy started to throw off her blanket, he rose and filled a basin with cool water, wringing out a cloth and bathing her flushed face, smoothing her sweat soaked hair off her forehead before laying the cloth over her skin to cool her. Kirano appeared at his side not long after, the little man sitting cross legged on the floor, brown eyes worried as Peter wiped Wendy's sweating face again.
A bruise marred her white face, Peter taking care not to press against her swollen mouth, his blood boiling every time he thought of the blow struck by Hook. As far as Peter knew or cared, the pirate was still aboard the Jolly Roger, the ship breaking up around him, Peter leaving him to the fate of the wind and sea.
Above his head the fairies sat up in the rafters, casting a glow over the room as the soft light of sunset filled the sky. Kirano shifted, the shells around his ankles clinking in the silence broken only by Wendy's labored breathing.
"I'll have to take her back."
"It's for the best boy...she's done everything that was expected of her...you have your memory back, you are who you should be...Neverland is restored."
"At what cost to me...to her...is she going to die?"
Bowing his head Kirano fiddled with his bone necklace.
"No...she will not die, not if you return her to her world."
As Peter stared down at her, Wendy suddenly started to cough, a wet sound that racked her frame as she curled up on her side, drawing her knees up. When the coughing stopped Wendy lay gasping for breath, her eyelids fluttering before opening fully, focusing on Peter who hovered over her, worry creasing his brow.
"P-P-eter?"
"We're home Wendy...you're safe from Hook."
"You rescued me?"
"Yes."
Wendy coughed again, wincing as her fingers encountered her bruised mouth.
"I'm so cold..."
Leaning forward Peter lay the back of his fingers against her cheek, feeling heat flush her skin, two bright spots of colour painting her face.
"I'll keep you warm."
Laying down beside her again, Peter gently pulled her so she lay with her head on his shoulder, the rug tucked around her and partly over him. Wendy closed her eyes and shuddered against him, her fingers convulsively clutching the edge of the blanket.
"I have to take you back Wendy..." Peter started to explain, stopping as a lump formed in his throat, choking him. Oblivious, Wendy snuggled closer, her pounding head blocking any understanding of his words.
"P-Peter...please..."
Thinking that she was asking him to take her back to her home, Peter swallowed hard, tears pricking his eyes. "I'll take you tonight."
Forgotten, Kirano glanced up at the fairies hovering above before sighing and shaking his head. Rising to his feet he picked up his staff and tapped it on the floor. Lifting his hand he held it above the makeshift bed, both Peter and Wendy unaware of his presence. Invoking the ancient magic of the island, Kirano sent Peter into a deep sleep, the fairies weaving complex patterns above the couples head as Kirano moved his staff over them.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Wendy's form started to fade, her body disappearing from Peter's arms as he slept, Kirano also fading away until only the fairies remained to stand guard over their unconscious savior.
When Peter awoke with the dawn he was alone.
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Wendy opened her eyes and blinked slowly, yawning as she resisted the pull of sleep, for once not feeling the tightness gripping her chest and making breathing difficult. Staring up at the ceiling she wondered idly where she was, the room nothing like a bedroom, the walls quite plain and painted a pale green on the upper half, a dirty cream on the lower. Turning her head she saw a door with a glass window insert, the air redolent of disinfectant and soap. The linen beneath her head felt crisp and starched, the sheet covering her the same, slightly rough against her fingers. Her mind struggled to remember why she would be laying in a hospital bed, her brows drawing together with the effort as she racked her memory for anything to explain why she was there.
The door opened and a nurse appeared, her skirts rustling as she approached the bed, her eyes smiling down at Wendy.
"You're awake at last...how are you feeling?"
Licking dry lips Wendy could only croak, as if she had lost the use of her voice. Filling a glass standing ready on the bedside table, the nurse lifted Wendy's head and let her take a few sips to moisten her mouth.
"There now...try again."
"Where am I?"
"Saint Judes'' hospital dear...do your remember your name?"
"Er...Wendy?"
"And your last name?"
"Um...I'm not sure...Pan?"
"Pan?"
"I think so..."
"So...Wendy Pan...at least we can put your proper name on the charts at last."
"Why am I here?" Wendy asked, watching as the nurse straightened the covers after resting a cool hand against her forehead.
"You had a nasty inflammation of your lungs. Had you been left much longer it could have been pneumonia."
"Oh...how long..?"
"About a week...do you have any family Wendy?"
At the mention of family an image of a lovely woman and a bespectacled man appeared in Wendy's mind, her hand coming up to rub at her temple as their names eluded her.
"I think so...I can't remember."
"You're bound to be a little muddled at first, but I'm sure you'll remember eventually. Do you think you had a husband or fiance?"
"Why do you ask?"
"You kept calling out a name when you were sick...Peter."
"Peter?" An image of a tall youth with short blonde hair, fathomless eyes and a roguish smile jumped into Wendy's head, his cheeky expression making her lips curve into a smile. "Peter."
"Yes, you said the name several times...do you remember him?"
"I can see his face...but that's all."
"Never mind...I'm sure it will all come back to you."
"I hope so."
"The Doctor will be around to see you soon...he'll be pleased that you're more yourself at last."
"Thank you."
After the nurse left the room, Wendy lay staring up at the ceiling, the image of the handsome boy teasing her, his name repeating itself in her head as she strained to remember who he was and why he was wearing a strange costume of leaves.
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Peter padded to the hot spring, quickly stripping down to his skin before climbing into the pool, the water soaking some of the tension out of his limbs, steam rising and tickling his nose with its sulphurous smell.
It had been over a week since he'd opened his eyes and found Wendy gone from Neverland. He'd searched the island from top to bottom, even returning to the Jolly Roger, the ship broken against the reef, no sign of its former captain or captive.
He'd questioned both the Indian's and the fairies, receiving no answer from either, his repeated calls for Kirano to appear remaining unanswered. He ached inside, his memory recalling her image at every turn of the trail, every time he looked around his home, with each pass over the wreck of the ship or the smoke plumes of the Indian village. Wendy was every where in his mind but no where on the island.
Frustrated he scoured every corner of Neverland, always followed by a flotilla of fairy folk, their bright lights his constant companions as he flew over the jungles and forests of his domain. A domain achingly empty without her by his side.
Now he tilted his head back and allowed his body to relax, the line between his eyebrows easing and smoothing out as he sighed, heat finding every knotted muscle and untangling them.
He hoped that wherever Kirano had sent her, they were looking after her and making her well again, his last image of her bruised white face haunting him, both asleep and awake.
Slipping into a doze he let his mind go blank, his breathing evening out as he drifted. Images started to flip through his mind like snapshots, of a room with a white bed and a girl laying against the pillow, her hair spread around her head, curling damply against the clean linen. Her lips parting as her head moved restlessly back and forth, her brows knotting as her hands clenched against the crisply starched sheet. The image changed to the same girl sitting in a chair and staring out of a window, her eyes unfocused as she chewed absently on a thumbnail, her hair brushed and shining about her pale face as she sat lost in thought. Again the image changed with the girl dressed in a loose fitting gown obviously not her own, her face blank as she faced a couple entering the room, the woman running over to her and embracing her, tears streaming down her face, the man similarly moved, his pale blue eyes hidden behind round spectacles, tears sliding down his face as he watched the reunion of his wife and eldest child. The image changed again, the young woman was now in a house, once more seated in a chair, her face turned to the window once again blank, her eyes unfocused, lost in her thoughts, her lips moving, speaking a name, his name.
With a start Peter's eye flew open, his mouth filling with warm water as he floundered in the pool, coughing as he scrambled to his feet, Wendy's image still clear in his head. She was alive, she was well, she was thinking about him.
Scrubbing his face with his hands, Peter waded to the edge of the pool and climbed out. Rubbing himself down with a towel he donned his clothes and padded back to the tree house, his mind full of thoughts of Wendy. When he climbed the ladder he found Kirano waiting for him, the tiny savage sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"You're going back for her." Kirano stated, staring up at Peter as he seated himself at the table.
"I can't get her out of my mind...I want her here..with me."
"Why? She did all that we needed for her to do...she belongs in their world...not yours."
"Because she belongs with me...I brought her here the first time...she gave me her hidden kiss..."
"There are any number of girls out there...why her?"
"She tells stories...she...she...argues with me..."
"She's pretty, brave..." Kirano added, a smile hovering on his lips.
"She loves me..." Peter's whisper dropped into the pause and Kirano had to quickly hide his smile.
"And you?"
"Me?"
"Love spoils everything...isn't that what you said?"
"I...I did say that...but I was wrong."
"Wrong Peter?"
"Yes...I love her."
"And now?"
"I'm going to bring her back here."
"What about Hook?"
"Hook has disappeared."
"He's just waiting...biding his time...he will still try to kill you."
"Why? What happened in the past is lost to us...whatever my heritage, I cannot go back to it..."
"You could..." Kirano interrupted, watching Peter react as if struck.
"What?"
"Your inheritance, in her world, is held in trust for Peter James Panferris, only son of the Earl of Strathvern, who vanished along with his guardian, Captain James Hook during a voyage from the port of London...Peter?"
His audience was absorbed in looking at the couple painted in miniature, facing each other in the locket, Peter's finger tracing over the faces as he stared at them intently.
"I don't want it...Hook can have it...I have nearly everything I need here."
"Nearly?"
"I need Wendy...here, with me."
Kirano sighed then grinned broadly.
"Then you will have to go and get her."
"Why not..." Peter waved his hands.
"Use my magic?" Kirano asked, receiving a nod from Peter.
"Because this must be her choice this time."
Nodding, Peter closed the locket and looped the chain back over his head, the ring and locket clinking together.
"How will I find her?"
"Let your heart guide you...it knows where she is."
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Wendy sat and rocked gently in her chair, her eyes drawn to the rain falling outside her window. A knock at the door heralded the arrival of her Mother who beckoned for a maid to carry in a tea tray, the teapot exuding wisps of steam as she placed it on the table near the window.
"How are you feeling dearest?"
"Fine...thank you." Wendy answered a trifle abstractedly, her eyes not leaving the streaming rivulets sliding down the glass pane. Ignoring her apparent indifference, Mary Darling set about pouring a cup of tea for her daughter, her eyes glancing repeatedly at Wendy's face, wondering at the faraway look in the blue eyes.
"Thank you Liza...I'll ring when its ready to be collected."
Waiting for the maid to leave, Mary poured herself a cup before passing Wendy hers. "Here dearest, are you hungry?"
"No...thank you."
Sipping her tea Wendy wondered when the feelings of loss would leave her. It had been a shock when her parents arrived to collect her, her memory of her life before waking up at the hospital still fractured at best. Her parents had seemed so patently pleased to have her back after apparently being missing for several years, she didn't have the heart to tell them she didn't remember them. This didn't deter her mother and father from lavishing her with every care, her body recovering quickly once they installed her in their home, her brothers as generous with their love as her parents, welcoming her back to the family as if she'd never been gone. Despite her return to the bosom of her family she felt something missing, a part of her cut off from her the life forming around her, a part that kept dredging up images that didn't fit with the cosy house and rambunctious boys, with her loving mother whose face still bore the lines of strain and grief caused by her disappearance so long ago.
The Doctor's had said she would remember in time where she'd been and what had happened, but Wendy had a feeling that wherever she'd been taken, or by who, they had not treated her badly or harmed her, quite the reverse in her estimation. Despite her illness she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was looking for her, searching for her, wanting her to return to wherever she'd been before the hospital.
"Wendy dear?"
Drawing her attention back to her mother, Wendy sipped at her now cold tea, drinking it all before handing the cup over to be refilled.
"I think if you are feeling better dearest we could try a trip to the park, the weather has been so nice the last few days...what do you think?"
"Yes please...I'd like to feel the sun on my face again."
"Then that's settled...tomorrow we'll hire a carriage, an open landau I think if the weathers nice...a picnic, what do you think?"
"A picnic would be nice."
"Then that's what we'll do...of course your father will be in the city and the boys at school, but I think a trip with just you and I will be a pleasure."
Reaching her hand out, Wendy caught her mothers and squeezed it. "A great pleasure." Smiling, she gave her mother an encouraging smile which was returned with one of unbearable poignancy.
"Why are you so sad precious?"
"I don't know why...I think it has everything to do with not remembering what happened to me...I feel I left something important behind, something unfinished...but I don't know what."
"Would it have something to do with why you remember someone called Peter and called yourself Pan, instead of Darling?"
"I suppose so...it's so strange...I remember everything up to us going to that house...but nothing until I woke up in the hospital, why is that?"
"The Doctor said you'd have a blow to the face, and you were so ill."
"But surely that would mean I'd forget everything...not remember it as I have...almost as soon as I saw you I knew who you were, you and father. When the nurse asked me about my family I had an image of you both suddenly in my head."
"We never stopped hoping, looking...you have no idea how many times..." Pulling out a scrap of cambric, Mary Darling wiped away a tear. "The police would contact us whenever any young woman with your description appeared on their books as an unknown...we hardly dared hope when they said you remembered your first name..." Overcome, Mary broke down, her hands pressed to her mouth.
Feeling tears start to prick her own eyes, Wendy once more clasped her mothers' hand, both taking comfort from the other.
Blowing her nose, Mary Darling gave her daughter a watery smile. "Well...there I was supposed to be cheering you up...and I'm weeping all over you. I'll ring for Liza to clear this away."
Once more alone, Wendy stared once out the window, the images crowding her brain no less confusing or bewildering, the one constant, Peter's face, anchoring her. She knew now that it was Peter Pan's face she was seeing, but he had aged, as she had done, by several years. As she didn't remember seeing him since their goodbye at the nursery window so many years ago, she couldn't explain why his image was so clear to her now. What had happened to her in those missing years, where had she been? Had she been with Peter, had he come back for her? All she did know was that her heart ached unbearable, as if something, or someone very close to her had been ripped away. Sighing she closed her eyes, slipping into a doze, her daydreams filled with strange images and a longing to be somewhere else.
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The morning dawned fine and the plans for the picnic went ahead. The Darling women, along with the maid Liza, packed a wicker basket along with rugs and parasols, loaded it all into the hired landau together with themselves and set out. Wendy breathed deeply, the sun warm on her face as she tilted her parasol to allow the sun to bathe her skin.
They were heading for an estate just outside London, the grounds open to the public during certain months of the year. As they bowled along Wendy felt some of the uncertainty leave her, as if their destination was, in itself, the answer to some of her questions. The parkland had once belonged to a distinguished family, their history one of tragedy with the only heir having disappeared and the house and grounds put into a trust. With no living family occupying the house, the estate had become a bone between several interested parties until it was decided to make it a public concern for the enjoyment of all. Bowling through the ornate gates Wendy glanced up at the iron work and felt a frission of shock run through her at the letters entwined in the fretwork.
"What was the name of the family that originally owned this parkland?"
"I believe it was Strathvern...such a sad end to the Earldom."
"What happened?"
"It's not entirely clear, it all happened so long ago...but I believe the Earl and his wife were killed in an accident and their only son, and heir disappeared a few years later, along with his guardian."
"Was there no-one to inherit the estate?"
"No...it was held up intestate for several years because the Earl's will was lost...cause a dreadful kerfuffle, they had to wait for the heir to be declared dead before the lawyers could decide the next in line, and when that became unprovable it became the property of the crown, then many years later it was made into a public park."
"What about the house?"
"According to the London Guide, it was converted a few years ago into an orphanage run in conjunction with the great Ormand Street hospital."
Wendy stared across the grassy parkland with its mature trees and central lake, ducks and swans swimming around the central island with it's ancient oak on the summit. The drive swept around the lake, the house sitting off in the distance set like a white pearl amongst the greenery. Their driver tooled the landau to an area where other carriages stood waiting for their owners to return from their walks or picnics. With the help of the groom, the ladies found a shady spot that overlooked the lake under the spreading branches of an old willow, its tender green foliage cascading down artfully and creating a leafy bower.
"Isn't this beautiful," Mary Darling enthused, standing to one side with Wendy while Liza lay down the rugs and mats, the basket off to the side. Once settled, they watched the various people who were already promenading around the grounds, feeding the ducks and some boating on the lake.
"I think I'd like to take a walk...will you come, Wendy?"
"No thank you...it's so peaceful here, I want to just soak it all in and watch the world go by."
"As you wish...I won't go far...Liza?"
"Coming Ma'am."
Wendy watched her mother walk sedately down towards the lake, Liza trailing behind. Alone, Wendy settled herself and lay back upon the rug, her hat discarded, parasol closed beside her. The willow provided all the shade she needed as well as protecting her from inquisitive eyes as people strolled by. She stared up into the branches of the tree, listening to the birds and the faint murmur of voices, punctuated with the distant rattle of carriages on the driveway. Closing her eyes she sighed and relaxed, for once letting some of the sadness seep out of her.
Suddenly a sweet melody pierced the bucolic sounds, someone nearby playing softly on a flute, so softly that only Wendy appeared close enough to hear it. Lifting her head, she could see her mother and their maid down by the shores of the lake. Laying her head back she listened to the music, letting the melody drift over her as the player wove the notes over and over in a tune she didn't recognize. As if enticed to join in a bird started to warble, its chirps complementing the flute as the tune floated to her, even the breeze rustling the willow branches seemed to add to the magic. On a final quavering note the music stopped, Wendy holding her breath as she sat up, twisting her head to try and see the player. A sound made her look up and she saw a very brown foot dangling down from amongst the branches, the owner of the leg swinging it to and fro.
"You in the tree...was that you playing the music?"
The foot stopped swinging and suddenly disappeared, pulled into the greenery as its owner prepared to climb down. Sitting up, Wendy watched as a lanky youth lowered himself with his back to her from a branch, dropping to the ground in a crouch before rising up to his full height.
"Yes is was me...did you like it?"
"It was beautiful...my name is Wendy."
"I know...have you forgotten me already?"
Turning, the youth faced Wendy, his blue-green eyes meeting her wide blue one with an intense expression.
"Peter?"
"Then you do remember me."
"I remember your face..but...I remember...so little.."
Moving slowly Peter approached her, his eyes never leaving hers, his hand reaching out to help her to her feet.
"I've come to take you home Wendy."
"I am home...my parents...my brothers..."
"I mean home to Neverland...my home."
"I-I..." Turning her head, Wendy glanced quickly towards the lake, her mother already making her way back towards the willow.
"I can't leave them again...they suffered so much."
Peter's hand still held hers, his thumb stroking the back of her hand, distracting her, pulling her eyes back to his.
"I want you to come back with me...I need you Wendy."
"I've only just been returned...I don't even know what happened to me...was I with you?"
"Yes...Neverland brought you to help me."
"Did I?"
"Yes...you saved me...saved Neverland..."
"I did?"
Nodding his head, Peter drew her closer, Wendy unresisting as his arm slipped around her waist.
"I can tell you everything that happened...please Wendy."
"I can't...I don't know..." Her whispered protest remained unfinished when Peter covered her mouth with his own, his lips moving over hers with an assurance born of familiarity which both alarmed her and excited her beyond reason. It felt so right to be kissed by him, held close to him, her body quivering against his as his tongue teased her lips apart and delved within. So caught up in their embrace, neither heard the shocked gasp of her mother as she entered the willow's shade, or of the maids' stifled giggle before she clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Wendy...who is this?"
Startled by her mothers voice, Wendy broke the kiss, her eyes flying open to meet Peter's, her fingers pressed against his shirt covered chest feeling his heart pounding as hard as her own. Letting go of his shirt front, Wendy turned to face her mother, not seeing the cocky smile paint Peter's face as he licked his lips.
"Ur...Mother...this is...Peter."
"Peter...as in Peter Pan?"
"Er...yes."
"But I thought he was just...a boy."
"He was...is...was...but he got..."
"Big," Peter added helpfully, schooling his features to hide the smile threatening to break out again. His body still shook slightly, his heart only just starting to slow down as he swallowed hard.
Wendy glanced back at him then, her intention to quell his irrepressible cockiness, but one look and she felt spellbound, her mother seeing the look and feeling a pain lance through her. This was the one, the one to take her child away, the one that made her feel incomplete when she wasn't with him.
"You're going to take her away from us again." Mary Darling stated flatly, sinking to the rug, defeated.
At her mothers tone, Wendy turned away from Peter and knelt down, throwing her arms about her mother and hugging her. "I'm not going...I won't leave you and father again...the boys..."
Looking up at the handsome young man standing beside them, Mary Darling sent him a wan smile. Hugging her daughter tightly, she pushed her away to stare into Wendy's face. "Yes dearest, you are leaving us again. You said yourself, you felt that you'd left something behind...left something unfinished...this is it. He is what you left behind...you have given your heart Wendy...and you must go where your heart leads you."
"But I've only just come back."
"I know and I thank God that you are well, and I know you will be happy...that is a gift in itself, to know you are alive and in good hands."
"I don't know...I don't want to leave you all again."
"You would have left in a few years anyway dearest...you are of an age to be looking to the future."
"But..."
"Wendy...do you love him?"
Knowing that Peter stood only a little way behind her, Wendy could only nod in confirmation, her head lowering as tears started to overflow her lashes.
"Does he love you?" Her mother asked under her breath, tilting Wendy's chin up, forcing her to look at her.
"I think so." Wendy replied, sniffing.
"Then that is all you need to know. Oh my darling, I so want you to be happy, and you have been so sad..." Mary glanced up at Peter over her daughter shoulder. "Will you make her happy?"
"I want to...more than anything."
"Do you love her?"
"I-I...yes."
"Right then..." Pushing Wendy away, Mary reached for her handkerchief and mopped her own eyes before patting Wendy's cheeks dry. Liza stood behind them sniffling loudly. "Liza...pack up all this stuff...we are going home...and you," she hugged her daughter, "you have your future to discuss with this young man."
Wendy gripped her mother's hands tightly, nodding as she accepted a kiss on her cheek before Mary Darling climbed to her feet, letting go of Wendy's hand. Turning she faced Peter who stood his ground when she stepped forward and embraced him, kissing him on the cheek before stepping away.
"Her father and I would like to know one day what happened during those years our darling girl has been away...but not now. Take care of her Peter Pan...she is very precious to us."
"As she is to me."
In no time at all the ground had been cleared of the rugs and baskets, Liza sent ahead to wait by the carriage for Mary Darling. Wendy stood beside Peter, still a little bewildered with the turn of events, her bottom lip trembling as her mother took a final leave taking of her eldest child, crushing her against her before releasing her with a final kiss on the cheek.
"Be happy my dear...and let us know how you go on, from time to time."
"I will...I promise."
"Goodbye Peter."
"Goodbye...Mother."
Unable to speak past the lump in her throat, Mary Darling turned her back on the couple and passed out of the curtain of willow leaves, not looking back until she put her foot on the step of the landau, only then did she glance over her shoulder at the couple still standing in the shade of the tree. Then she lifted her skirts and sat on the seat, Liza climbing in beside her, the driver whipping up the horses and carrying them along the drive and out of sight.
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"Wendy?"
"Yes Peter?"
"Your mother said you were sad."
"I was...from the moment I woke up in the hospital. I didn't know why until now...I-I-I missed you."
They were standing still hidden behind the curtain of willow, Wendy staring sightlessly after the carriage taking her mother away. Peter stood just behind her, his hands twitching to hold her again but also inexplicably afraid. When Wendy said she missed him, he felt his heart soar, a smile lighting his features.
Reaching out his hand he turned her to face him, her lashes hiding her eyes from him as she ducked her head. Seeing a single tear slip down her cheek and the quiver of her bottom lip, Peter groaned and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest.
"Please don't cry...I missed you to...more than I ever expected to. I saw you everywhere...I even dreamed of you."
"Oh Peter...I feel so torn." Resting her head against his chest she listened to the strong beat of his heart, her fingers twisting the folds of his shirt into a knot.
"I want you with me, in Neverland, forever...and I want...I want."
Lifting her head Wendy stared into his face, seeing his brows knotted as he struggled with the words he needed to say.
"What do you want Peter...tell me."
"I want it all," he blurted out, "but it has to be your choice...you have to want it too."
"All?"
"Everything...I want to be able to touch you without you pulling away because I'm not your husband...I want you to stay with me forever and not leave because you have to marry someone else."
Wendy pulled back and stared at him for a moment, her lips parted in surprise.
"I want you to choose me Wendy...make me your choice."
Snapping her mouth closed, Wendy ducked her head and concentrated on pleating his shirt, her busy fingers driving Peter to distraction. Clasping her fingers in his own, he stopped her fidgeting.
"What do you want Wendy?"
Looking up suddenly Wendy surprised a look of worried anticipation on Peter's face, his eyes intent on her face.
"I want...I want...you Peter. I choose you."
For a second Peter's face didn't change, then he suddenly grinned, his arms going around her and swinging her up as he twirled around, Wendy's feet leaving the ground and she squealed, Peter losing his balance so they ended up on the grass, laughing helplessly, limbs tangled.
"SHE CHOOSES ME!" Peter shouted, drawing more than a few curious stares as Wendy tried to shush him, her fingers covering her lips only to have him nibble on them and draw them into his mouth, shocking her with the sensation of his tongue against her fingers.
"She chooses me," he whispered again, his eyes sparkling up at her as she smiled down at him.
"I choose you." Wendy repeated, biting her bottom lip.
In a sudden move Peter rolled, taking Wendy with him so that she lay on her back, her hair coming loose from its pins and cascading over her shoulders. The neck of Peter's shirt gaped and a chain slipped out, a heavy locket and ring suspended from the golden thread. It dangled in front of Wendy's face and she reached up to stop it moving, her fingertips brushing over the letters entwined on the back of the rounded locket.
Suddenly she remembered the image wrought in iron above the main gates.
"Peter...what is this?"
Forgetting that Wendy didn't remember, Peter laughed down at her. "You know what this is."
Frowning, Wendy shook her head, turning the locket over and inspecting the painting on the front.
"It's my parents locket...remember we found it in the chest...the one from Hook's cabin."
"You're parents?"
"We found their will...Hook was my guardian...there's a picture of them in the locket."
Finding the catch, Wendy opened the jewel, staring at the people painted within.
"What was their name?"
"It was like mine...Panferris. You read the will to me...my mother's name was Emilia and my father, Phillip Panferris, Earl of Strathvern."
At the mention of his fathers name, Wendy suddenly paled, her eyes widening.
"Strathvern?"
"What's the matter...why are you looking so strange?"
"Oh Peter...this park...this estate...it should have been yours."
"Mine?"
"This park is the estate of the Earl of Strathvern...your parents used to live here..."
"What...here?"
Wendy nodded, swallowing as the enormity of who Peter could have been swamped her. Peter was staring down at the locket still held between her fingers, his face thoughtful.
"Would I have been an Earl too?"
"I suppose so...yes."
"Would I have met you if I was an Earl?"
"Oh no...we never would have met...I'm too far down the social scale for you to have noticed me."
"Then I'm quite glad I'm not an Earl...because I would have hated to miss out on knowing you Wendy."
Not bothering to work out the illogical reasoning behind his statement, Wendy could only thread her fingers through his short curls and pull his head down to her.
"Then I'm glad you're not an Earl as well."
With exquisite sweetness, Wendy kissed him, the locket laying between them as Peter cradled her head in his hands, his hands tilting her head to slant his mouth across hers, deepening the kiss. After several pleasurable minutes he lifted his head, pressing a kiss on the end of her nose as she sighed, her fingers toying with his ear while the other trailed down his cheek.
"When can we go home Peter?"
"Whenever you wish Wendy...right now if it suits."
Biting her lip she traced the arch of his brow. "I think right now sounds perfect."
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TBC...