Margaret blinked her eyes, attempting to reconcile the disorientation she was suffering from. Why just moments ago, she'd observed Peter kiss her body through the haze and now—
Now she was staring straight into his eyes. Margaret's pupils wandered the room, her brows knitting together in confusion. She felt the strange sensation of a heartbeat in her chest. She froze. Margaret felt her head immediately turn to look at Peter.
"Peter?"
A flash of green caught Margaret's eyes before she realized that Peter was holding her in a suffocating embrace. Despite the emotions running through her, she couldn't even bring herself to cry as she heard Peter sob.
Peter lifted his head to look at Margaret and crawl so that they could both hug upright. All of the emotions were readily available for Margaret to read on his face. Heartbreak, relief, joy, and more swam across his features. In turn, Margaret reached out a disbelieving hand to stroke Peter's face.
"Margaret," Peter said quietly, his voice cracking. He pulled Margaret into a tight hug again, allowing her the opportunity to soak in the warmth of Peter's embrace.
"I'm here, Peter," Margaret whispered.
Peter's shaky breathing relaxed into something resembling a stable pattern as he gently stroked Margaret's back during their embrace. He needed to confirm that this was real, that this moment wasn't just a dream. Peter wouldn't be able to bear her leaving him again. Not now.
"I'm so sorry," Peter said in a nearly silent, warbly voice. "I'm so sorry—"
"No, Peter," Margaret interrupted gently. She pulled back to hold his face again. "You, the Lost Boys, the fairies, and the mermaids did everything you could. No one should be blamed for what happened—"
"I should've protected you," Peter's voice broke. Margaret shook her head, running a soothing hand down Peter's left cheek.
"None of it was your fault. You did everything that you could."
"But—"
"Peter, don't let hindsight torture you with what could have been. I'm here now and both of us are alive. Frankly, I feel that's more important."
Peter went mute, nodding his head far too quickly. Peter crushed Margaret in another embrace, gently lowering her against the bed where he was positioned slightly on top of her. Margaret shifted so that the pair began laying on their sides while hugging, allowing for more comfort to both persons.
She was here. Margaret was alive, here in front of him. He could hug her again. Peter could hear her voice. Peter felt his heart flutter as he pressed his head against Margaret's chest. He heard her heart beating too.
Tears slipped down his cheeks. Margaret was really and truly alive. Alive.
"Peter…?" a tentative voice asked. Margaret and Peter both lifted their heads. Tootles stood in the doorway of the hideout with wide eyes. He blinked for a minute as he gathered his bearings. Then, suddenly, he burst into tears, sprinted, and tackled Margaret in bed.
"MARGARET!" he sobbed, wrapping his arms in a tight grip around Margaret. Margaret felt happy tears slide down her cheeks as she hugged the little boy fondly.
"What's going on—Margaret?" Nibs asked.
"Why are you guys saying—MARGARET YOU ARE ALIVE!" Cubby screamed, running and diving to try and embrace Margaret. Nibs joined in a similar manner. The other Lost Boys filed in, throwing their own voices into the commotion as everyone grew to realize that Margaret was alive once more.
Tears were shed. Apologies were expressed. Words of comfort were uttered. And Margaret had never felt that a moment had been as perfect as this in her life (well, besides all of the perfect moments she shared with Peter the day before her kidnapping). Surrounded by people she had grown to love, in a place that she had grown fond of…she couldn't picture a life that would make her this happy.
Margaret pulled away from the group embrace slightly as she ran a fond hand over Tootles' onesie. She wanted to express her gratitude in some way. Gratitude for everyone's companionship, advice, kindness…everything. But as she opened her mouth to speak, Margaret grew overwhelmed with happy tears, resulting in an incoherent string of comforting words from the entire troupe. Margaret smiled as the tears reddened her cheeks, reaching out a hand to ruffle Nibs' hair, as he had the hood of his onesie off.
Tootles wrapped his arms around the speechless Margaret, resulting in another group hug. Although, this time, the hug was much less crushing. Peter watched on from the other side of the bed, a watery smile cracking his face in two. Such a beautiful moment that he knew would be cut short. Margaret made eye contact with Peter, confirming this fact based on how a sadness seeped into her eyes.
She knew they would be leaving, too.
"Alright, men, I think it's time that we give Margaret a bit of space. She just woke up after all; wouldn't want to suffocate her," Peter said as playfully as he could. Margaret held onto Tootles as she pulled him to her side while everyone else backed away.
"I'll go and get you some water, Margaret," Nibs said.
"And I'll go and grab some food!" Cubby called out before sprinting out of the hideout.
"We'll help!" the Twins yelled in unison.
"I'd offer to help, but it seems like we have everything covered," Slightly said with a shrug of his shoulders. Peter shrugged his shoulders in response, as the quartet remained quiet for a minute to allow Margaret time to adjust without overwhelming her.
Margaret's face fell as she ran a hand over Tootles' hood. "I…I never thought I'd actually be able to return." A troubled expression fell over her features as she spoke. Peter reached out a hand to intertwine his fingers in hers.
"What do you mean?"
"Well…hm," Margaret hesitated. "I…you see…this is a bit difficult to explain."
"We've probably heard more unbelievable things," Slightly said.
"I wasn't entirely dead, when I appeared to have passed—I had unfinished business you see, and that meant my soul could not be put to rest for some time. The universe required that another individual do something to bring me back and—and that meant that I had no control of whether I would return. I…knew that the person involved would want me back I just wasn't certain that he would do what was needed for me to come back—" Margaret stopped herself, feeling the precursors to a ramble developing in her voice.
Instinctively, she turned to look at Peter, who appeared slightly confused with what she was saying. When Margaret turned to look at Slightly, the younger boy had his brows raised in a clear tell of his understanding. Tootles shifted slightly, looking at Margaret, then Peter, then Margaret again. Tootles then looked over at Slightly, where the two shared a nod.
"I think Tootles and I should go," Slightly said. "We need to look over the Roger to see about any repairs."
Peter looked at the pair in complete vexation, but gave a nod to dismiss them. Slightly and Tootles quickly scurried from Hangman's Tree, leaving Peter and Margaret alone. Peter looked over at Margaret, confusion even deeper on his face than before. "I must be missing something from what you said. Slightly and Tootles had something going on there—"
"I'll explain more…in-depth, about my experience in the afterlife," Margaret interrupted. Peter nodded, scooting closer to Margaret so that she could rest her head on his chest. Margaret took a deep breath. "When I passed on, I went to this really strange place. It was as if I was in our world, but I wasn't. Everything was continually shifting around me with an oil-painting texture to it. I could watch people as they moved, but I could never hear a word that was uttered. I…was simply allowed to observe from a distance." Margaret sniffled. "It was hard, watching everyone grieve for me. I wanted to be there, to provide comfort, and I couldn't."
Peter gently squeezed Margaret's hand, acknowledging the toll that must've had on her. Margaret continued.
"Mum greeted me there. Apparently, I had some very strong ties to a particular individual who was still alive, which meant that my soul could not move onto the afterlife. The place I was in was an 'in-between' place, where I would reside until the universe determined whether there was enough justification for me to have another chance at life."
"But, how does that have anything to do with having strong ties—"
"Let me finish," Margaret huffed, moving so that she was laying over to Peter's side in order to see his face. Peter fell silent. Margaret placed a hand on Peter's chest. "As I was saying, the universe would determine whether I would be allowed to live once again or not. That was all predicated on…on the individual who I was tied to showing that his love for me would be lasting…not…fleeting." Margaret could've sworn that she felt Peter's heart stop for a moment. "You might reason your way to understanding who that person was—"
A pleasant softness crashed into Margaret's lips. Margaret's eyes closed on instinct as she felt Peter's lips meld with her own in a delicate dance. His lips would break contact occasionally for a millisecond, only to press against Margaret's again more surely each time. Margaret allowed herself to relax into the kiss as it continued, feeling herself reciprocating Peter's intensity and gentleness with her own quiet passion.
And then came the moment in which neither individual could continue the kiss. Peter pulled back from Margaret, his eyes alight with an intensity that Margaret hadn't seen in him since…since… "Peter…"
"If I knew that giving you a kiss would make the universe bring you back, I would've done that long ago. And I would've done it right."
"Do you consider the way you just kissed me the right way?" Margaret asked with a giggle, her cheeks wearing a hue of blush.
"Yes," was Peter's simple reply. He leaned forward to kiss Margaret's forehead. "I'm sorry that I made you wait—"
"Well, I…I don't think the kiss was the only reason. I mean, logically speaking, a kiss cannot help one to discern whether a love is fleeting or lasting. I think the kiss was what sealed my fate, but not the only consideration that determined the universe's decision."
Peter hummed in reply, allowing Margaret to press her head against his chest again. She heard his heartbeat skip as she did so, eliciting a small smile on her lips. Peter started to stroke Margaret's hair, which was a far cry from its raggedy state when Margaret had been on board the Jolly Roger.
"So…what now?" Peter asked tentatively, knowing the unfortunate answer.
Margaret appeared to think for a bit as she didn't respond immediately. Upon coming up with her answer, she sat up to look at Peter in the face. "I think…I'd like to go home."
!
A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a lovely morning, afternoon, evening, or night wherever you are. I can confirm that there are two more chapters after this one before the main story will end. I have potential plans to do an extended epilogue as a separate story (most likely a collection of oneshots).
However, that said, I'm glad that I will finish this story in my lifetime! Better to finish late than never! As for timeline info, I have finished the first draft of Chapter 32 and I'm currently working on the first draft of Chapter 33 (the epilogue). I don't know when I will get a chance to edit in depth, as I am leaving to go on a trip this Thursday (the trip will be a week). I may even be able to finish the edits for that chapter before I leave, but again, not certainties.
Do be on the lookout for a special thanks section in the epilogue.