A/N - I sort of used a new style when writing this chapter (or at least I tried XD) I added a lot more small details then I did in my last few chapters, so I hope you like the way I wrote this chapter.
Here is another long chapter, I got so into it I couldn't stop writing.
See? I didn't forget about my lovely readers.
Sickness of the Heart
Chapter 6 - Shock
Peter ran throughout the darkened Hospital room, looking under the bed and pulling out shelves, even though he knew Wendy could not possibly fit under such small places. Just yesterday, Wendy had another one of her bad days. She had a great deal of chest pain and was bedridden all day. Peter had been so worried about Wendy all day. Then something struck him.
"Oh no... What if she ..." Peter shook his head and tried to push that horrible thought out of his mind. As hard as he tried, it kept resurfacing itself.
Peter's eyes grew moist with tears. He tried to hold them back, but soon they flowed freely down his face. He felt himself sink down to the cold floor. He drew his legs to his chest and hugged them tight.
"It's all my fault." He said to himself "If only I didn't listen to Wendy and made her come to Neverland with me." He rested his head against his knee and watched as his tears hit the floor, creating a small puddle on the floor in front of him.
Peter's head snapped up when he heard someone enter the room and the lights flickered on. It was Wendy's nurse.
"Why are you crying?" The nurse flitted to Peter's side. She seemed to have a natural instinct that told her when to jump to a persons aid.
"Wendy is gone...It's all my fault that she died." Peter let more tears stream down his face, but the nurse still looked very confused.
"Died? Boy Wendy never died!" She said while leaning down to comfort the crying child. Peter felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder.
"She didn't? Then where is she?"
"Wendy was sent home so she can be with her family." The nurse passed Peter a handkerchief to clean his face. Peter smiled at the nurse's kindness. Never before had he met an adult who displayed such a trait.
"Thank you." He said.
"Now you go and clean yourself up and go see your lady."
"I will." Peter nodded. Before he left the hospital he stopped in the washroom to clean his tear stained cheeks with some cold water.
As soon as he was done at the hospital, Peter made his way over to Wendy's nursery window as he was so used to doing.
The window was shut, but thankfully, Peter gave it a light tug and the window popped open with ease. Peter looked around Wendy's side of her shared nursery. Everything on her side seemed to be a different shade of pink. Including the large pink frilled canopy bed where Peter spotted Wendy sleeping. Peter cringed at that color, being that he was a boy.
He tiptoed over to her side of the bad. Wendy's face was very pale and her hair was very wet and stringy. Tiny beads of sweat hung on her forehead, every now and then, one slipped and landed on her light pink pillow delicately.
Peter leaned over and placed a light kiss on her hot, feverish forehead. She opened her eyes quickly, but shut them again as the world around her seemed to spin.
"Peter?" Wendy said finally opening her eyes. Peter couldn't help but rise a few feet off the ground at the site of her. Wendy giggled lightly, but stopped because of her swollen throat that burned and ached with every giggle.
"Why did they decide to send you home Wendy?" Peter asked and sat down at the edge of Wendy's cozy bed.
Wendy appeared to be very uneasy about the question. She bit her bottom lip as if thinking really hard about something. Then she pushed her oversized pink quilt out of the way and crawled over to sit next to Peter.
"Promise me you won't get upset Peter..." Wendy looked up into Peter's eyes as she awaited his answer.
"I promise." Peter replied proudly.
Wendy's throat burned. It even hurt to breath, but maybe that was caused by the horrid chest pains she had been having. On top of that, she felt dizzy and feverish.
She scooted closer to Peter and rested her hand on his lap.
"Peter... the doctors said that... they don't know what's wrong with me, which means they can't cure it. But whatever it is, they say its not good and could even eventually end up ...Killing me..." Wendy put her head down. Peter saw a tear land on her night gown and sink into its delicate threads.
"No..." Peter shook his head in disbelief. He felt hot tears well up in his eyes as well. Wendy choked back her own tears and continued.
"They sent me home because they wanted me to spend the rest of my time with my family..." Her eyes were slowly becoming bloodshot under the weight of her confession.
'No! not my Wendy...' Peter thought "If she dies she'll be gone forever! She can't die! I WON'T LET HER!'
"NO!" Peter shouted out. "NO! Wendy! It's not going to happen!" Peter shook with rage. Peter stood up in a defensive stance in front of Wendy. Wendy stood up and reached out her hand to touch Peter, but he quickly backed away.
"Peter please... I know this is horrid news, but you promised not to get upset!"
"You're not going to die Wendy! I won't let you!" Peter yelled out hysterically.
"You're acting childish! You can't stop death! This is serious Peter and I need you to be there for me!"
Peter, not being able to control himself, ran to the open window and took to the skies without so much as a second look back.
All night, Wendy thought of nothing else but Peter as she tried to drift into a restless slumber. The look on his face hurt her more then having to tell him the horrible news.
Wendy had to admit, she was scared. Death is never a friendly word, especially when you have to tell that kind of news to a young and confused boy who hardly understood that whole concept. All Peter knew was that death means forever... and forever was an awfully long time.
Wendy needed help, She needed someone to talk to. Someone who can make her see that everything was going to be all right. Wendy stood up from her bed and walked across the hall to her mother's room.
"Mother..." Wendy said rather hoarsely. Her throat still burned pretty badly.
"Yes darling?" Wendy's mother said. Mary darling sat at her vanity table in her nightgown. Wendy could clearly tell that her mother had been crying.
Out of her whole family, Mrs. Darling seemed to be taking it the best. Wendy's brothers locked themselves in the guest bedroom to cry. She guessed they didn't want to sleep in the nursery with Wendy since it gave them an uncomfortable feeling knowing one day Wendy may never be there. George Darling walked around the house on eggshells. He was constantly apologizing to Wendy for the day he yelled at her in the hospital and sometimes even breaking out into tears.
Wendy entered her mother's room and sat on the edge of her parent's bed.
"I need to tell you something..." Wendy said in a dream like voice. Even though her voice was hoarse with sickness, she somehow still managed to sound whimsical and melodic. Mrs. Darling sat down on the edge of the bed next to her daughter.
"You can tell me anything Dear." Wendy bit her lip not knowing how to start.
"Well, I don't know how to tell you without sounding positively mad..."
"Take your time Wendy." Mary said. Wendy took a deep breath before beginning.
" Do you remember the night that me and the boys ... disappeared.?" Wendy asked.
"Yes." Wendy took another deep breath, trying to think of how to tell her mother.
"...Well... do you remember when I was younger and you used to tell me Peter Pan stories?"
"Yes." Now Wendy just had to come out and say it. She opened her mouth to say something but then just shut it again to contemplate her words harder.
"Mother... I know you'll think I'm crazy when I say this but, when we disappeared ... Peter came for us. He took us all to Neverland, but I wanted to come home, so he brought me back." Wendy just blurted it all out before she had time to chicken out again. Surprisingly, her mother said nothing.
Instead, she got up calmly and walked over to her dresser. She pulled out the bottom compartment and took out what looked like a jewelry box. It was satin blue and was carefully embroidered with silver roses.
"Can I show you something?" Mary asked her daughter. Wendy nodded. Mary opened the jewelry box and a soothing melody flowed out of the musical contraption. Mary took out something shiny and gold, holding it just so that Wendy could see.
"Do you know what this is?" Mary asked. Wendy looked closer at the gold coin her mother showed her. Engraved in the middle was a cross bone pattern.
"Pirate gold!" Wendy shouted. Mary flipped over the coin to the other side. It looked like a hook shape had been aggressively carved into the other side.
"Captain Hook!" Wendy shouted out again in plain disbelief. "Mother, did you go to Neverland?"
"Yes, a very long time ago. He came for me too when I was a little girl, but I too wanted to come back and have my own children so I could pass on his story."
"Well then, you may understand me when I say I want to go back." Wendy blurted out "I need Peter, and I think he needs me too." Wendy's mother nodded in agreement. Then she reached into the jewelry box and pulled something else out. She put it into Wendy's open hand.
Wendy opened her hand to see a ring, Her mothers Wedding ring. A beautiful perfectly cut diamond with a gold frame. The diamond shimmered as Wendy held it up to her mothers table lamp.
"Keep it." Mary said, "if you feel Neverland is your place, then I cannot stop you. This world is not for everyone."
"But you understand... that if I leave you will probably never see me again, right?" Wendy's mother nodded.
"I understand, I just want you to be happy, and I know how Peter can be quite the little charmer." Mary said while nudging her daughter. Wendy laughed with her mother knowing just how true she was.
"I'm going to bed then. I have some things to think about." Wendy stood from her mother's bed, embracing her tightly before heading back to her own lonely nursery.
"Good night dear."
Later that night, when Mr. Darling came home from work, Mary was sitting at her vanity table staring with unfocused eyes at her reflection in the mirror. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched George get undressed.
"George?" She said quietly.
"Yes dear?" He replied.
"About Wendy..." Mary noticed upon mention of her, George visibly paled. "She told me she was leaving. Going to Neverland with Peter Pan." At that, George grew red and angry with rage.
"What did I tell you about filling that girls head with such nonsense? She was probably delirious when she said it!" George yelled, but Mary remained calm and close-minded about the subject.
"Whether you believe it or not, I'm letting her go. Once she goes... She will probably never come back. She won't be able to Handle the pressures of Neverland and our world. We won't ever know what has become of our Wendy, whether she lives or dies, but if you want her to have even the smallest chance of living, you would let her go too."
"This is exactly the kind of nonsense I tried to keep out when I locked the nursery window."
