Title: Madly in Love

Summary: When Wendy came back from Neverland and started telling people about her experiences, they all thought she was crazy… literally. Can she convince anyone to believe her? And what if they don't?

Author's Note: I would just like to say: Tara Pan, I love you! I'm so glad you responded saying you'd like more. Please forgive my lateness but I'm still in my lazy summer mode. I have another chapter of this already planned out (and another chapter for my other Peter Pan story hand written) but it's just a matter of typing it up. REVIEW!

Nighttime slumber brought not the tranquility Wendy had been craving. She thought that once she was home she could sleep peacefully in her own bed but as soon as she closed her eyes and began to dream, the memories of the past several weeks plagued her mind. She could feel the stone-cold linoleum floor beneath her feet and even hear the nurse's voice scolding her. Everything there felt… blank. The perfectly white walls screamed to be colored. The lifeless patients begged for a purpose. And the endless drawl of a therapist called for something more interesting to do. All of it made her bored.

Wendy's eyes popped open and stared into the dark. She sighed and then turned on her side, trying to get more comfortable again.

"I never want to go back there. That place would make a normal person go insane. Hell would be better.

Wendy silenced her internal thoughts and remembered what happened on that horrible night…

- - - - - - - - - - - Six Weeks Ago - - - - - - - - - -

Five years… It had been five years since Wendy had seen any sign of Peter. She hadn't even seen him peeking in from outside the window when she would tell the boys stories. Still, she waited relentlessly and would almost always leave the window open in hopes of his return. That particular March night, she was sitting at her open window as she gazed at the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of a shadow lurking amongst the stars.

A forlorn frown spread across her face after nearly two hours of watching. She rubbed her arms and shivered as a gust of wind blew in. She wrapped the sheet from her bed around her shoulders, and thought idly, "It will be spring soon."

The longer time went on, the more anxious she was to find her hero. It'd been too long. Did he even remember her?

"Peter, have you abandoned me?" whispered Wendy as her eyes brimmed with tears of disappointment.

She had been missing her Pan more than ever now. When the option of never growing up had been laid before her, she rejected it with every part of her being. She knew that there had to be more to life than playing, sword fighting, and flying. However, now she wished with all her heart that she could have a second chance. She thought that she might have been missing something by staying young forever, but she realized that as the years went on, all she'd be missing would have been expectations, deadlines, wrinkles, and death. She understood now that she was never meant to be an ordinary English woman. Besides, how exciting could an English lady's life be? All they did all day was cook, sew, and gossip. A woman would practically be stoned to death if they even showed their ankles in public. In Neverland she could be as free as she wanted. She could be adventurous and no one would reprimand her for being too bold. She could learn to use a sword to carve up pirates instead of a kitchen knife to carve up chicken for dinner. "Nature" meant the jungle in Neverland, while in Bloomsbury it might merely mean the daisies on the side of the road. Wendy longed for wide, open spaces and clean, clear skies. She wanted freedom more than anything else in the world. Neverland could give her that freedom that she desired.

She stood up and stared out the window as the white material of the bed sheet fell around her feet.

"If you won't come to me, I'm going to come to you," said Wendy resolutely. Taking in a deep breath of the sharp air, she readied herself on the outer windowsill that hung over the outside of her house. She had no balcony in her new room so it made balancing a little difficult. A happy thought of the impending springtime brought her mind serenity. With her happy thought ready, now it was time to take off! Eyes closed, smile on her face, she jumped… And she began to fly! Faster and faster she soared until… she heard a sickening crack and thud. Everything was still. At first, Wendy was confused. What had just happened? Suddenly, he leg felt like it was on fire. Along with that, she had a splitting headache. She finally opened her eyes and when her vision came into focus, she spied a streetlamp. Wondering where she was, she tried to turn her head to look around but the second she started to shift it, the headache worsened.

"What… what happened?" she thought hazily. And then the initial shock of the pain wore off and she understood her situation. She hadn't flown at all. She had fallen. And she had landed incorrectly on her leg. All of a sudden, the fire of pain turned into an unbearable inferno feeding off of her flesh. Finally, she found her voice and released a piercing scream. It hurt so badly the only thing she could do was scream until she was out of breath. As her cries disturbed the calm night, a racket came from inside the house. Her name was called twice before two faces peeked out of the window. Her mother and father looked around and when they glanced downward, Mrs. Darling gasped and Mr. Darling instructed her to call the hospital right away. Quick breaths made Wendy feel a little better but she feared that if she kept up this rapid breathing pace, she was sure to pass out. Fat tears rolled down her face as she let out another loud scream. She couldn't cope with this kind of pain, it was eating her up. Several neighboring houses had heard her and flicked on their lights. Some even came out in their nightgowns and pajamas to see what all the fuss was about. Mr. Darling burst out of the front door and rushed to Wendy's side. He took hold of her hand.

"I'm here, dear. It's alright. The ambulance will be here soon," he said soothingly even though she could hear his heart beating a million times a minute. As he said, just moments later, a large whitecar came speeding up and they got Wendy and Mr. Darling inside. Eventually, she did pass out in the hospital car but even in her unconsciousness, she could feel her leg throbbing painfully.

A blinding light awoke Wendy hours later and she cracked her eyes open just enough to see. At first all she could see was white, but as soon as her eyes adjusted she could clearly see everything in the room. To her surprise, her leg had been propped up and put in tight bandages and Mr. Darling stood just outside the hospital room as he conversed with what looked like a doctor. Still aching from a few hours prior, her head had been wrapped up but with light bandages, which told Wendy that her head injury wasn't at all severe. Just as she sat up in her bed, Mr. Darling glanced over to check on Wendy and saw her awake. He smiled quite cheerfully and entered the room.

"How are you feeling, Wendy?" he asked, like all concerned parents do.

"Fine," replied Wendy. "My head is sore and my leg feels stiff but I'm much better than a while ago."

"You gave us quite the scare when you fell out of the window. Your mother is still at home with the boys and she called and said that they're very anxious to see you well again."

"Well, I will be sure not to disappoint them," said Wendy and she smiled. Just a moment later, another doctor came in and requested Mr. Darling's presence. As asked, George left and talked to the man in private. So for a few minutes, Wendy had nothing to do but looking around. The only thing that she really noticed was a small, furry stuffed owl on the table that stood next to the hospital bed. She smiled and let out a short laugh as she grabbed the owl, Leroy, whom she used to hold when she would get her teeth pulled at the dentist or get shots at the doctor's office. She sat him on her shoulder (for he was small enough to do that) and rested her cheek against him. Then, her father returned.

"What did the doctor want, Father?" she inquired but Mr. Darling was hesitant to answer.

"Wendy, dear... Something… has come up. They need to take you to the institute," confessed Mr. Darling.

"What? Why?" asked Wendy. She was so confused. Why would they need to? Did they think that the bump to the head had shaken up her brains?

"They want you there just to keep an eye on you and take care of you. That's all," said her father but he averted his eyes in a manner that told Wendy he was hiding something.

"Is there more?"

"Um… yes, well… you'll be there for six weeks and then they'll be able to tell how you are after that."

"Six weeks? What could be wrong with me!"

"Nothing, darling. They just want to be safe."

Their short conversation was interrupted by the same doctor entering the room but stopped as soon as he realized they were talking.

"Pardon me, just getting medical documents about our Wendy here. I'll be right out," he said in apology and once he grabbed the papers on the table next to the hospital bed, he exited quickly.

For a few minutes, neither the father nor the daughter said anything for Mr. Darling was feeling too guilty and Wendy was still rather perplexed. Something was just all wrong with Mr. Darling's reasoning. They wanted to be safe? Her father insisted that he knew nothing could be the matter but they still wanted to take her to the "loony bin"? If they were all truly certain about her sanity they would just let her go home. It's not like she hadn't been to the institution before but they always sent her away after a few hours saying that she was absolutely fine.

The silence was finally broken by Leroy the owl falling off Wendy's shoulder and hitting the floor with a soft "tuff".

"So, I'm to stay in the mental clinic for almost two months. And nothing is wrong?" clarified Wendy. 'This doesn't make a bit of sense. I have a feeling there's something that Father is not telling me.'

"That's exactly right. They said that they'll take you over there this afternoon. It's about ten o'clock in the morning as of now," answered Mr. Darling with his eyes darting nervously around the room.

"Will I be able to have everyone visit me once in a while? Can the boys can and see me sometime?"

"That will depend. Things will all work out but for right now you just need to do as the doctors and nurses tell you and behave like a lady." Mr. Darling was slowly heading for the door as he spoke and smiled once last time before departing. "Goodbye, Wendy."

Wendy stared at the closed door for minutes even after her dad had left. She was just in shock at the moment. He just abandoned her here at the hospital!

"Bloody Hell, what is he thinking!" she said in exasperation but she said it quietly so no one would be upset by her foul mouth.

So there she laid, with Leroy still on the floor and her still barely awake. What an ordeal Wendy was about to face in the next six weeks. She tried to remember what it was like at the mental hospital when she has gone there before but she had never spent anytime there to truly know what horrors might await her. Just the thought of what might happen sent chills down her spine. This was not going to be an enjoyable time, because for the next number of weeks she was going to be treated like she was insane.