"He is called Husband."
Peter's breath caught in his throat as he burst awake from the only dream he'd had of late. The only thing he could think about was the story Hook had told him to bring him down… his Wendy forgetting him.
He knew, of course, that her kiss belonged to him, but he could not shake the odd feeling of loss. Neverland as a whole seemed to take notice- even the littlest of fairies… he did not have as much fun playing games with the lost boys and Indians; he didn't want to hear stories anymore. He didn't feel like he wanted a mother again. Yet he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. He didn't feel sick. He wasn't hurt… but he constantly felt a pain in his chest when he thought of Wendy or the time when she was in Neverland at all. He wanted so much to tell his new lost boys of the great adventures they had had together, and the adventures of the lost boys before them, but for some reason, he could not.
Peter knew there was not a single person in Neverland he could ask about these odd feelings, so he flew off to the one place he thought he could find someone who might know something.
The window was open, and all the children were asleep. Peter saw the bed. The one with the heart cut out of the foot of it. He knew who was asleep there, but he also knew his heart would not let him go near it. Peter snuck quietly though the new beds and into the hall way, trying very hard to stay silent. He tried to think of it as a game, but it was not fun. He just thought of what would happen if he woke a lost boy, or John or Michael, or worst of all, Wendy. He did not want to see her. She'd left him, and he was not ready for her.
He snuck into the room, crouching low and silently made his way to the bed. Peter was startled at how much alike Wendy's mother and Wendy looked. He gently shook her, hoping she'd be quiet when she woke to see a young boy's face in hers. Her eyes fluttered open and a soft smile spread across her face as she silently slipped out of bed and motioned for Peter to follow her out of the room. He silently floated behind her all the way down to the living room and settled on the floor at her feet.
"Peter. I am quiet surprised you are not here to see Wendy. She's grown into such a charming young woman, and I know she'd be delighted to see you." How ever soft and kind her words were, they stung Peter more painfully than the never-bee. Mrs. Darling saw it in his eyes, the pain, the turmoil that no child could possibly have. He'd changed, Peter Pan. Mrs. Darling knew what had happened, as she had seen so many of the lost boys change in the same way when they were adopted into their family. And with Wendy, too. She'd seen the pain in Wendy's eyes when she realized she was far too grown up for Peter Pan to come back, every time she glanced at the nursery window and Peter was not standing there, his eyes bright with laughter. Mrs. Darling felt a great pain in her heart when she realized what had happened to Peter Pan.
"Why, Peter… you seem to have gone and grown up on us while no one was watching over you."