A.N. The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

The shriek of steel on steel rang throughout the decks of the Jolly Roger. Grunts and swearing could be heard between the sharp sounds of swordfight, and eventually the sharp clang of a sword hitting the wooden deck, followed quickly by the heavy thump of a body as it fell to the floor as well.

"I s-surrender, Cap'n! I yield! M-mercy!" cried one rather burly sailor with dark, wiry hair on his broad chest. He held his meaty hands up to cover his sweaty face, cowering before his Captain.

And his Captain was frightening. At that moment, his blue eyes flickered with flames of red, and his mouth had yet to lose the maniacal grin it had twisted into only hours earlier. As soon as he had stood and gotten control of himself and his mind, Captain Hook had held out his new right hand towards his crew (who had all shrunk away) and demanded a sword. The moon had set hours ago, and now the dawn's light was caressing the horizon as Hook turned away from the fallen man and raised his arms in challenge.

"Who will be next, then? Who will come forward and duel with this new villain, this young, dark brigand?" He howled in his lighter, younger voice. "Who will next fall to this fierce pirate's blade? Come! Step forward you cowardly dogs! Step forward or I shall run you all through one by one!" He leapt forward into the crowd of sailors, and they scattered like little girls who had spotted a mouse.

One sailor hid behind a mast and snagged Mr. Smee as he ran past. He covered Smee's mouth as he squealed, and pulled him close to his face. "He's fought near to all of us and hasn't slowed down a lick. You mark me words he'll kill the next man who fights him. You must do something about this madness, Smee, and you must do it soon or we all will be at the bottom of this sea, do you understand?"

"What shall I do, sir?" Smee asked incredulously. "What shall small little me do against such forces that have the power to re-grow a man's hand, long since sliced off? What would you have me do against magic as black as that, eh?"

The sailor stammered, and then shoved Smee away in frustration. "Something, Mr. Smee, and something quick like!"

A sword cut off Smee's helpless reply as it bit into the wood of the mast just above his head. "What's this? A talk of mutiny, is it? I'll hang you all from the mizzen mast! I'll gut you all and leave you for the crows! I'll-"

"Cap'n! No, sir! No mutiny to be had here! We," Smee nervously stepped out from under the Captain's sword and away from the mast. "That is to say, the men and I, we're just so impressed by your new…your newness, sir!" Smee stammered. "We think so highly of your new abilities, Cap'n!"

"New?" Hook spat. "These abilities are not new. I've always been so formidable. Before that boy sliced off my hand," Hook ground his teeth together and flexed his new extremity around his sword as he pulled it free from the mast. "I could best any pirate on the sea with a sword. And now, now it's all back." Hook grinned. "It's all back as if the years didn't exist. It's all back, and so am I."

Hook spun and threw his sword towards his cabin. His sailors threw themselves to the deck as it sliced through the air above their heads and then embedded itself next to the ship's bell, causing the bell to swing hard to the left, and it's clapper to hit firmly against the metal inside of the instrument. As the loud sound reverberated around the ship and carried across the lagoon and into Neverland's forest, it carried with it the triumphant voice of the New Captain.

"Hear this truth and tremble!" the Captain cried. "For never was there a scoundrel of the sea as feared as I, and never shall there be again! Let it be known, here on this wretched island as well as across all the seven seas, that Captain James Hook is no more. Despair oh children of this island and worlders alike, for Captain Jas Blackblood has risen, and thirsts for vengeance! And HE SHALL HAVE IT."

With his bloodthirsty cry resounding throughout Neverland's hills and valleys, the sun rose and threw a bloody sheet of red and orange light across the island. With that red light behind him, Captain Blackblood let loose a rapturous laugh and leapt upon the highest rail on the Jolly Roger. His white teeth gleamed in the new dawn light as he pulled his shed hook from where it had hung on his belt. He caressed the artifact with his purple eyes for a moment, and then snapped his sharp eyes up. He gazed into the forest, eyes moving quickly across the foliage. The twisted smile suddenly tore wider across his face as his eyes stopped searching the forest and grew wide.

He drew the hand that held his hook back behind his head. "Vengeance," he whispered; his burning eyes never blinking, never straying from their target. "Ready yourself, Peter Pan."

He snapped his arm forward and heaved the hook into the forest with an unnatural strength.

I finally pulled myself out of the freezing lagoon as the first rays of dawn rolled across the surface of the water, reaching towards me. Standing slowly, my frozen legs shook as they awkwardly carried me to the shore. I pulled on my clothing without paying much attention, and stuffed my bathing supplies into by bag. I tossed by bag over my shoulder and began the walk back to the Tree.

My stomach began to swing dance with my pancreas as I thought of returning to the Tree. My lungs clearly didn't appreciate that and soon I was bent over and gasping for air.

This is ridiculous, a more in control bit of my brain chided me. He doesn't remember, the others don't know, and Teaken…

I stood up and threw my shoulders back. Teaken can go jump off a damn cliff if he has a problem with me after this.

I knotted my hair into a quick braid down my back as I walked. I reached the tree and placed my hand softly against its trunk. A thick vine was lowered in answer, and as my hand automatically moved to wrap around it, I raised my eyes and watched as a beautiful flower bloomed on the vine right where my hand had nearly grasped. Tears wet my eyes and I smiled.

"At least someone is appreciative," I sighed, admiring the bloom. I lifted my fingers to caress the soft purple and orange petals, and the flower broke off and landed in my palm. I carefully placed the gift behind my ear and hugged the vine with all my might. "Thank you." I whispered.

The tree only wrapped its vines securely around me in its unique version of a hug and raised me slowly through its branches. I gave the vine a last pat and stepped through my window and into my room. I placed my bathing supplies on my bed with a sigh. A bright yellow petal drifted from the ceiling and landed on my shoulder. I brushed it off, and my eyes were caught by the explosion of color that had replaced my ceiling. Every vine, every branch, every surface of my room had blossomed. Thousands of blooms covered the ceiling and draped the walls. Petals fell softly all around, softening the floor and filling my room with a tropical, floral scent.

My breath caught in my throat, and I was crying again before I had even blinked.

"Worlder women seemed to like getting flowers," A voice near my doorway made me spin around in surprise. "Figures that you'd be the one worlder offended by them."

I gave Teaken a weak and watery smile. "I'm not offended."

He tipped his head to the side. "Then why are you crying?"

I sighed and wiped my face off, shaking my head. "Overwhelmed, I suppose, among other things. But it's beautiful, Teaken. I don't have a clue how you did it, but thank you."

Teaken stepped out of the doorway and into my room, patting the wall by the door as he did. "It was nothing. Just sweet talked the ol' lady, a bit. She pretends to be harsh and domineering, but she's really a big softy underneath it all."

The Tree didn't seem to like that, as a section of my ceiling immediately loosed all its petals violently at Teaken, as if the Tree had sneezed flowers on him. I laughed as Teaken spat petals out of his mouth and grouchily brushed them from his hair and shoulders. "Moody vegetation," he groused.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you," I warned, gesturing to the ceiling. The hole the expelled flowers had created had immediately been covered by new blooms. "It seems there's plenty more where that came from."

Teaken rolled his eyes as he pulled the last petal out of his hair and tossed it to the floor. He looked up at me from under his fringe, his hands sliding into his pockets, his stance careful now. "You were gone for a long time," he began.

Ah, I sighed to myself. Here we go again.

"The mermaids didn't give you any trouble, did they?" Teaken asked, reaching out to pull a stray petal off of my shoulder.

I flinched away. I couldn't help it. Teaken froze, his hand next to me, the petal in his fingers. I closed my eyes and mentally told myself to get a grip. "Uh, no. No they didn't bother me. I guess I just…lost track of time."

Teaken narrowed his eyes a fraction, and slowly lowered his arm. His eyes trailed down and over my body, taking in the long scratches that had been left on my arms and legs from the rocks and sand that I'd grated continuously against my skin. "Then where did you get all that?"

"All what?" I asked, turning away in nonchalance and reaching for my bag of bathing supplies.

I heard him sigh in annoyance behind me. "You know what, those scratches all over you, Mary."

I moved about the room, putting things in places that they weren't originally kept. Anything to keep from being trapped beneath his gaze. "Oh, I slipped, um, on the way to the lagoon. Briar patch. I'm fine, nothing to worry abo-" I gasped when I turned around and he was suddenly there. Inches from my face, glaring at me. I tried immediately to move back, to put distance between us. He followed.

"Don't lie to me, Mary."

I shrunk back from him as far as I could. "I'm not-"

"Stop it." Teaken struck the wall he'd backed me up into with his hand. I flinched turned my face away, startled. I heard him take three deep breaths through his nose before he tried to speak again. "There aren't any briars on this island, Mary. And you never used to be afraid of me." He continued in a quiet voice.

I turned my face back towards him. He sounded almost hurt. Well, that was rich. I go through possibly the most humiliating and detrimental night of my life, and he has the nerve to come and play all misunderstood and abandoned?

Oh I don't think so.

I shoved him away from me as hard as I could, and then marched right back up into his face. "How dare you try and make me feel guilty? How dare you put your feelings on me when you cannot possibly fathom what I am going through right now? Who the hell do you think you're dealing with, Teaken?" I shoved him backwards again. All he'd managed to do so far was fight for equilibrium as I continued to turn gravity around on him. His mouth hung open as I continued to rail at him. "What do you expect me to do, hm? What do you want from me? I just got back from giving up my body to your leader so that you and the rest of your friends can live forever on your happy little island and not have to grow up! Now I come back and you decide that I need to solve your personal problems too! Well I'm so sorry that you're feeling rejected and lonely, Teaken. Why don't we just lie down on my bed and I'll help you feel all better? Is that what you want from me? You think that now that I've done it with Peter, I'll just give out free tickets to the next Lost Boy in line?"

Teaken had become paler and paler as my rant when on, but suddenly color rushed up his neck and into his face. He gritted his teeth and shoved me back. I was so unprepared for his backlash that I fell to the floor.

"That's enough," he growled. I glared up at him from the floor and watched as he fought to get a grip on his anger. He finally turned away from me and stood by my window, his hands on his hips, and his back expanding quickly as he took deep breaths. I rolled my eyes and stood, brushing the petals off of my backside.

"I'm sorry," he said gruffly, his head was turned over his shoulder, but not far enough to look at me. "I'm just frustrated. I want to understand. I want to help. But you," he sighed and turned to look at me. "You keep…running."

I raised my eyebrow and gestured around sarcastically. "Oh yeah, I'm in the middle of a marathon right now. I'll be sure to let you know when I'm done."

"Dammit, you know what I mean. You ran off to the lagoon right after….and you were gone for an entire day. I almost had to have Grinz physically restrain me to stop myself from going after you. And when you finally do come back, you're crying, scratched to hell, and you won't talk to me, you won't let me near you. Hell, you act as if I'm a damn leper."

"Well, excuse me if I feel the need for some fucking personal space right now, Teaken. After everything I've been through since you dragged me here, I'd think that isn't too much to ask." I turned my back on him and made for the door. I knew we weren't going to get anywhere in this argument today. Partially because I wasn't willing to let it go anywhere, and partially because Teaken was a gigantic dickhead; I wasn't sure which was the bigger factor.

Apparently Teaken agreed with the dickhead factor because he wouldn't leave me alone. He grabbed at my elbow as I left the room. I shrieked and yanked my arm away from him.

"What is wrong with you?" He shouted.

"You are what's wrong with me! Now get away from me!" I screamed as I turned and started down the steps.

"Oh, believe me, right now I'd love to. But knowing you, the moment I left, you'll trip over a grain of sand or something and fall down the stairs, effectively ruining all of our hard work."

I stopped dead, my mouth hanging open. Would there ever be a line he wouldn't cross? Had the boy learned nothing of angry, hormonal woman in all his worlder studies?

I turned and faced him. "All of our hard work?" My voice was dangerously calm. Warning sign number one. Sign number two was the pulsing vein on my forehead, but Teaken missed that one because he was staring at his feet. He knew he'd gone too far and was now afraid to face the music. Well too bad. "You are unbelievable." I hissed, as I turned my back on him and marched down the rest of the steps. Teaken followed me into the room the Lost Boys used as their dining room/war strategy room/weapons repair space/breakfast nook.

"Mary, I didn't mean it like that."

"What's going on?" Grinz glanced up from his spot at the table, a careful smile on his face. It appeared the room was the weapons repair space at the moment, as he was sharpening and polishing his curved blades. He put them aside for the moment; he knew a good show was brewing.

"Grinz, could you give us a moment-"

"No, Grinz, stay. In fact, do you have some Neverberry juice? Our poor Teaken here has had a long and exhausting day. Maybe you could fetch Slightly to rub his feet for him?" I interrupted, never taking my diamond hard glare from Teaken's face. He winced.

Grinz only smiled wider. "Oh, you bet, Queeny. Slightly! Slightly, get in here!" Grinz could barely control his laughter. He called the other Boys, too. That's fine. The bigger the audience, the crueler I could be. And I felt like ripping Teaken's cheek bones off and shoving them through his ruined eye sockets.

As the confused and curious Boys trickled in one by one, Teaken sighed and wiped his hand down his face in agitation. He walked towards me, his hands up in surrender. "Mary, you've made your point, alright? I've already said that I didn't mean-"

"My point, Teaken, is that you should really take better care of yourself. I mean, what would the rest of us do without the great and wonderful Teaken around to take care of everything for us? Are you sure you've enough energy to walk around like that after all of your exertions the other day?" I asked, my voice dripping venom. I pulled out a stool from beneath the table and dusted it off with my hand. I offered it to Teaken, my eyebrows raised.

"Mary, this is ridiculous." Teaken shook his head impatiently at me.

"What's ridiculous? All I want is for you to sit down." I picked up the stool and threw it at his head with all my strength. Teaken's eyes widened and he threw himself to the ground to avoid being hit. The Lost Boys gaped for a moment, and then burst into cheers and applause. They immediately began describing other things around the room that would be convenient for me to toss at Teaken next.

I grabbed a bowl full of fruit from the table, my hard eyes never wavering from Teaken's form. The Lost Boys sniggered. Teaken recovered from the stool attack and snapped his head up when he heard the Boys egging me on. He held up his hands in surrender, but I had not yet begun to fight.

"Mary, stop this."

"Are you hungry, Teaken? After all-" I threw a piece of over ripe fruit at him. "…that…" I pitched another. "…work?!" I heaved the entire bowl.

Peter entered just as the bowl shattered against the wall, just over Teaken's shoulder. He stopped short, jostling Tinkerbell from her place on his shoulder. She shrilled in annoyance and fluttered above Peter as he took in the scene before him. The Lost Boys quieted and stood at attention, but I barely noticed the silence, so ensconced was I with Teaken's immediate need for pain and punishment. But something tugged inside of me when he entered the room, and I turned my head to look at him. His eyes met mine and all the fight went out of me.

"Mary, Teaken, what…?" He began, but never got to finish. Just as I stumbled back against the opposite wall from Teaken and slumped to the floor, physically and emotionally exhausted from my little demonstration, a metallic whistle sliced through the air where my head had been and something heavy and sharp embedded itself in the wall above where my head now rested.

"Mary!" I heard two voices call out as Teaken and Peter both ran towards me. Teaken immediately fell to my side and demanded to know if I was all right. Peter knelt next to me as well, but he was examining what had flown into the window and nearly cleaved through my head.

All this happened around me in a few dizzying seconds, and I suddenly clutched my stomach. I didn't feel so well…

I focused on slowing my breathing and calming my nausea for the next few seconds, so I didn't notice when the shouting had quieted to curious murmurs until it the silence rang loudly through the room. I opened bleary eyes and looked up. Peter stood in front of me, holding a steel hook in his hand.

Not just any hook, Hook's hook.

Teaken glanced from Peter, to the hook, to me, no doubt trying to discern which needed to be dealt with first.

"Pan, sir," Nibs spoke, pushing his way to the front of the group of Boys. "That's not…"

Peter narrowed his eyes and smirked. "I believe it is, actually. Huh. The codfish is off his hook."

Tinkerbell peeled out of the window, leaving a sparkling trail behind her. She returned two seconds later, tinkling rapidly to Peter and shaking her little head. He simply nodded, never taking his eyes off the hook in his hand.

"Well, w-what does it mean?" Slightly asked, quietly puzzled. "Is he here?"

"No," Peter said, glancing at Tinkerbell. "But it means he knows where we are," Peter said, turning the hook over in his hand.

"That's impossi-" Grinz began, but Peter turned and slashed the air in front of Grinz's throat with the disembodied hook. Grinz shut up quickly and gulped.

Peter raised his eyebrow and smiled. "Apparently not."

Teaken looked away from me, seemingly convinced I wouldn't croak in the next ten seconds. "That's not all it means," he said solemnly, looking at the hook in Pan's hand.

Peter laughed delightedly. "Teaken's right!" he cried, tossing the hook and catching it. Watching the hook spin up and down in the air was making me sick again. Why was I so nauseated all of a sudden?

Peter suddenly stopped playing with the hook, stuffed it into his belt, and turned to his Boys, who all stood at attention. "It means war." He proclaimed, grinning and darting off of his feet and into the air. "Prepare yourselves for battle, Lost Boys!" he crowed. "We attack at sun down!" He darted out the window, Tinkerbell trailing after him, and the Lost Boys all cheered and scrambled to follow Pan's orders.

"All right!" Nibs pumped his fist into the air. "A proper war! Finally!" He sprang out the window to his left and slid down the nearest vine to his room.

Grinz was already brandishing his deadly curved blades. "What d'you think, ladies?" he grinned, clearly addressing his weapons. "What d'you say I take you out for dinner and a bloodbath tonight, what?"

"Come on, Teak!" Slightly cried, sharpening the iron tips on his cross bow arrows. "Are you coming to this party, or aren't you?"

"Course he is," Peter said, flying back through the window, his golden sword strapped across his back. He landed in front of his second-in-command and held out Teaken's belt of daggers. "He just isn't dressed for it yet."

The other Boys cackled appreciatively at Peter's quip as Teaken slowly stood and accepted the belt. "This isn't a game, Peter." I heard Teaken say in a low voice to Peter.

"War with Hook isn't ever a game, Teaken." Peter challenged back. "It's more. It's everything. It's for victory, for glory!" Peter crowed.

I was fighting a losing battle with my nausea. All the flurries of movement and noise were not helping the situation. Teaken looked at me as I pulled myself up off of the floor and stumbled to the widow just in time to be violently sick. What was wrong with me?

Teaken turned back to Peter. "The stakes are a little higher than that now."

I'd been fighting so hard to push that little realization away for as long as I could, but the truth in Teaken's words hit me like a cannonball to the face.

"Mother of God," I gasped and then proceeded to vomit again.

I was pregnant.

A.N. Before anyone with a nursing degree (or a shred of common sense, frankly) jumps down my throat, yes I know that things don't work that quickly…in the real world. But Neverland isn't the real world is it? And we're on a timeline, here. Mary's pregnancy will not be normal in any way. Clichéd sometimes, perhaps, but never normal.

Thanks for reading and sticking with me. I'll tell ya, there's nothing like an ice storm to create a prison out of your home and get the creative juices flowing.