Peter Pan was startled awake by the sound of the office phone suddenly going off. At first he let it continue ringing. It was after-hours and if Glass needed him he would call his cell. He waited for the phone to stop ringing before he placed his head back on the desk to finish his post-work nap.

The phone rang again and Pan's eyebrow twitched with irritation. He reached out blindly for the phone, knocking several objects off Sydney's desk.

"Daily Mirror, why the Hell are you calling?"

"Pan? Oh for God's sake!"

"Well it was nice to hear from you too." Pan muttered as he raised the phone to hang it up.

"Wait, don't go! I need your help! Can you get away?"

Pan froze at the sound of urgency in Wendy's voice.

"What have you done this time?"

"Do not start! I need you to come to the alley behind Granny's, and I need you to bring a jacket or something, she's about to freeze to death."

"Who's about to freeze? What's going on?"

"I don't…I don't know! This whole thing is out of control! I need to call Sheriff Graham but I keep getting the paper..."

Pan forced himself out of his groggy state and began to search for his. Something was really wrong and he needed to move fast.

"Pan? I'm going to hang up now just…just don't say anything about this, please?"

"Hang on, where are you?"

"I…Pan, no. I'm not letting you get involved in this."

Pan scoffed. "Darling, this is my town. I'm already involved. Just tell me where you are."

"Pan…I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because every time you come near me I get shot at! You're too reckless and I'm sick of getting caught up in your smog of disaster!"

Pan twitched at the reminder of his foully during the de Vil case. He hadn't been trying to get them both sent to the hospital. He had just been doing what he'd always done: going at it alone. If it had just been him, he would have gotten out of it fine. But Wendy had been in the cross-fire, and now he was never going to be able to live down what he'd almost done to her.

"Okay, let's make a compromise. Tell me where you are and let me come to you. Then, we can call Graham together. Okay?"

The line was quiet and Pan feared she had denied his offer and hang up.

"I'm in the alley behind the diner." She said quietly.

Pan sighed. "Okay. On the way. Do I…need to bring a gun or something?"

"That…is not a good idea." Wendy laughed hoarsely.

Pan felt his lip twitch with a smile. He allowed himself to wonder if there would ever be a day that they would have a normal conversation before he pushed the idea out of his mind. Business only.

"Fine. Hold tight."

"Peter?"

"Yeah."

A brief pause followed before Wendy said her piece. "Thank you."

She hung up, and Pan frowned at the dial tone.

It wasn't until he was putting his key in his moped that he realized that she called him by his first name.

-,-,-,-,-,-

Wendy tried to hide her fidgeting as she waited for Pan, not wanting to unnerve the girl behind her more than she already was. She wasn't sure what she was going to do about her, what she could do.

"What's your name?" Wendy asked her gently, placing her own jacket around her shivering shoulders.

The girl looked at her, grasping the question but not seeming to know how to answer it. Wendy kept an assuring smile on her face to keep her calm.

"Were you a patient in the hospital?" Wendy asked, though the question was abundantly clear. She was wearing the standard hospital gown, though it was torn and dirty. She was painfully thin and pale. Wendy couldn't even begin to guess how old she was. Wherever she had been, she had not been properly taken care of.

The streets of Storybrooke were blessedly empty, most of the population probably holed in their homes with their families. Still, every sound, no matter how minor, made the girl jump and whimper, causing Wendy to start to become agitated with nervousness.

Finally Pan's moped rolled in, causing the girl at Wendy's side to dash behind the trashcans and cover her ears.

"No No No! Not going back! Not back!"

"It's okay." Wendy tried to reassured, but each time she reached out the girl slapped her hands away. Finally, she pushed Wendy back so hard that she stumbled and nearly hit her head on the opposite brick wall.

"Hey!" Pan yelled out, running to the two women. He stopped at Wendy's side, the bag slipping from his unclenched fingers when he laid eyes on the mystery girl.

"Pan?"

Wendy picked herself up, becoming uneasy at his sudden change in demeanor. She followed his gaze to the trashcans where the girl was peaking up, staring at them with wide-eyed awe.

"Don't I know you?" the girl asked with a crooked smile.

Wendy looked to Pan. "Does she?"

Pan's lips trembled, as if speech were struggling to exit. He began to slowly back away and Wendy feared he was going to run.

She grabbed his hand, keeping him grounded. "Pan, please. I don't know what's going on but I need your help."

Pan's eyes darted from her to the girl, his head barely shaking.

"I…I..I can't…" He started backing out of the alley, ready to leave Wendy to deal with the mystery.

"Wait."

Wendy looked back at the mystery girl. She had crept out slightly from the trash bins, eyes locked pleadingly on Pan's tense back.

Wendy turned back to him. "Pan?"

Pan's shoulders sagged with an irritated breath. "Where did you even find her?"

"The hospital."

Pan shot around, staring at Wendy like she had just spoken a demonic incantation. "The hospital?"

"Yeah, she just ran into me but I think she was running from someone. I think she's in trouble."

"That much is apparent." Pan barked, something equivalent shaking his voice. "Did you see anyone else? Were you followed?"

"No….I mean…there was someone else down there. I think they're security or something." Wendy touched her tender neck where she could feel bruises forming. She was thankful Pan couldn't see them in the dim light of the alley.

"But we've been out here about thirty minutes now so I think we're okay."

"Nothing's okay in this town." Pan muttered, and the malice in his tone made shivers run up Wendy's spine.

He shook his head and picked up the bag, pushing it in Wendy's hands. "Get her in these and then we'll figure out the rest."

Wendy nodded and searched through the bag, pulling out a green leather jacket and black beanie.

"Are these Tink's?"

"Well she wasn't using them!" Pan hissed, watching the street. "Hurry it up!"

Wendy rolled her eyes and approached the mystery girl cautiously. "Here, these will keep you warm."

The girl took the clothes, her hands rubbing over the cool leather slowly, lovingly. Wendy nodded and watched her put it on, struggling briefly with the tight sleeves. The hat came next but the progress was hindered by the girl's unkept hair.

"Here." Wendy reached out to adjust it but the girl shot back, staring at her in horror.

"Sorry." Wendy held her hands up, glancing at Pan and mentally signaling for his help.

"How are we going to get her out of here? If she won't let me touch her, I doubt she'll get on that thing." Wendy said, nodding to his moped.

"Leave that to me." He brushed past her and going up to the mystery girl. Wendy was about to warn him not to get too close, that the girl, despite her malnourishes, could hit harder than a heavyweight champ. She watched Pan kneel to her level. The girl flinched back, but didn't start attacking him like she had done her.

Wendy wasn't sure whether to be jealous or relieved.

"Hi." He greeted detachedly.

"Don't I know you?" the girl inquired, confusion and just a speck of hope gleaming in her hazy blue eyes.

Pan gulped. Those eyes bore into his and he had the urge to run again. He looked down instead at her dirty, bare feet. They were a terrible sight: her left pinky toenail was gone and there were fresh cuts on the sides.

"I'm going to help you." He said. "I'm going get you somewhere safe."

Like a switch, the girl's demeanor changed from remission to defensive.

"No not the safe place NOT THE SAFE PLACE!"

"Shhh!" Pan hissed, glancing at the door where any second someone could come out to take out garbage or take a smoke. "We're not going to the same place. We're going somewhere else."

"I don't want the needles." She said, curling into a ball.

"No needles." Pan promised in his most comforting tone (which was not an easy feat for him).

"Is everything okay?" Wendy called. Pan waved her off.

"That annoying little bird of a girl is going to help you." He said to the girl. "She's going to take you somewhere away from the needles."

The girl's head peaked up from her ball. "No safe place?"

"Not the one you were in."

Wendy watched their exchange with worry and interest. She'd never seen him so comforting towards another human being. Any comfort he tried to give was usually labeled with sarcasm and blame, a way for him to fluff his superiority complex. But he was nothing but gentle towards the mystery girl, keeping his distance and keeping his voice soft.

Finally they stood, Pan's arm hovering just over her shoulders.

"So?" Wendy inquired.

"We're going to walk her to your apartment, then we'll figure out what to do."

"What happened to calling Graham?" Wendy sputtered in protest.

"We will…later."

Wendy growled in frustration, stomping her foot into the gravel. "Before or after one of us gets shot? I knew you were going to do this, I knew it!"

Pan grabbed her shoulder, pulling her to him so that the frightened girl at his side couldn't hear.

"I need you to do this for me Wendy. We will go to Graham, I swear on my life, but right now I need you to help me. Hide her and keep her safe, just for a few days. Please?"

Wendy stared into his desperate eyes, more confused now more than ever. She had never seen him this raw, this frightened.

"Okay, we can take her to my place. But you have But you have to tell me soon what the Hell is going on."

Pan instructed her to wrap an arm around her back, as linking arms caused the girl to panic. Wendy let Pan do the leading since the girl seemed to trust him more.

Wendy's heart was pounding as they led her through the town. She wanted to look at everything which slowed them down significantly. Pan kept easing her along, his eyes darting around like at any moment they'd be stopped or questioned.

By some miracle, they made it to Wendy's apartment and directed the mystery girl up the three flights of stairs. Wendy hurriedly unlocked the door and allowed them entrance, locking every lock she possessed. She turned around to find Pan settling her new guest on the sofa, wrapping the throw she had thrown their around her pale shoulders.

His eyes lifted to hers and he started at her neck.

"What the Hell happened to your neck?"

Wendy frowned, grazing her fingertips over the sensitive bruises. "Someone tried to…I don't really know. It happened in the hospital, after she escaped."

Pan motioned for her to move into the small kitchen connected to the living room. Wendy watched in slight irritation as he began going through her cabinets, pulling out mugs and the glass jars of tea leaves she had brought from town.

"Do you have lemon?" he inquired.

"No."

"Whatever." Pan said as he turned on her electric kettle. "Now tell me everything that happened."

Wendy crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. "Are you asking me as someone involved or as a reporter?"

"Well I'm not asking you as a friend."

Wendy felt a twinge of hurt twist in her chest. Of course, she knew that they weren't friends, probably never would be, but she wished he wouldn't be so callous about it.

"Fine. I was at the Children's day and I was trying to leave. Somehow, I went down a…I don't know...an abandoned wing of the hospital? I got trampled by her, nearly choked to death by someone else, and then I found her at Granny's, accidentally called you, and now we're all here having a spot of tea like old friends!"

Wendy saw the girl jump out of the corner of her eye and tried to calm down before anything else was said.

"And you didn't see the person who choked you?" Pan inquired, ignoring her temper.

"No, but I think there was two people, and I think they were after her."

The kettle began to whistle and Wendy grabbed it before Pan could. She prepared the tea and turned to asked Pan his preference but found his attention once again focused on the girl on her sofa. His gaze was almost mournful, but also angry and unsure.

"You do know her, don't you?" Wendy accused.

Pan shot to her and glared. "Wendy-"

Wendy stepped into in his personal space. "Did you know she was locked up, that someone was doing this to her?"

"I'm warning you!"

"So help me if I find out you were allowing this-"

Pan grabbed her shoulders, shaking her as he screamed at her through clenched teeth. "You have no idea what you're talking about! You don't know anything! I would never hurt her!"

The corner of her mouth lifted. Despite the bruising grip on her arms, she felt satisfied. Some of her questions were finally being answered.

The girl had shot from her seat, holding her hands out in defense.

"It's okay." Pan said, forcing a gently smile. "You want some tea?"

The girl nodded after a moment and Pan turned back to the mugs, his face flaming.

"Will you at least tell me her name?"

Pan slammed the kettle down and gripped the counter, his arms shaking.

"You trusted me enough to let you get involved, will trust me enough to help her?" Wendy begged.

He remained silent, his jaw twitching.

"Belle." Pan muttered finally. "Her name is Belle."

"Belle." Wendy smiled. "That's a beautiful name."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful person."

Wendy gasped. "Is she your sister? An ex-girlfriend? Your mother."

"Does she look old enough to be a mom to you!" Pan hissed, stalking out of the kitchen and heading to the door.

"Wait! Pan, what did I say?"

"Just drop it!" he yelled, pausing at the couch where the girl…Belle…was staring up at him.

"I'll be back tomorrow." He told her. "Wendy's going to take good care of you."

Belle turned to Wendy, eyes unsure, before turning back to Pan as he stomped out the door.

Wendy watched with a heavy heart as Pan closed the door, leaving her with just as many questions as answers. She turned her attention back to her new guest.

"Are you ready for tea, Belle?"

Belle blinked, recognition reflecting in her gaze. She nodded and Belle brought her a mug, grabbing a writing pad and pen from the counter drawer. Belle's small hands just wrapped around the mug but shook as she picked it up. She took a careful sip and set the mug down roughly, causing the liquid to slosh.

Wendy paid it no mind, more interested with the overall damage done to Belle. Her wrists were embedded with marks, as if she had been tied down for some time. The same with her bare, dirty ankles. The most peculiar marks on her of all were the ones on her temples. They were shaped like suction cups, and Wendy could only theorize that she had undergone shock therapy on multiple occasions.

Wendy swallowed her grief for her and let her journalistic instincts take over.

"So Belle, are you hungry?"

Belle looked up at her and shook her head. Wendy was glad that she could communicate non-verbally but hoped that she could get her to speak a little bit. She would eventually have to go to Graham and needed all the information she could about Belle's previous whereabouts.

"Belle, do you know who did this to you?"

Belle's stared wide-eyed at her, pain and sorrow seeping into her features. She brought her legs to her chest and held them tightly.

"Belle, I know you don't know me, but you can trust me. I want to find out what happened to you, who hurt you like this."

Belle's incredibly blue eyes stared into hers, unsure but brave and willing.

"Safe place." She muttered. "Is not safe."

"The safe place? That's where you were before, at the hospital?"

She nodded, gulping at what must have been a painful memory.

Wendy wrote down her response and continued. "Do you know how long you were down there?"

Belle shook her head and Wendy could see tears welling in her eyes.

"Okay, Belle, just one more question: do you know who did this?"

Belle shook her head harder, cupping her temples and burying her head between her legs. Wendy reached out to comfort her but quickly pulled back.

"Okay. How about we get some sleep?"

Wendy led the shaking girl to her room and then went to the drawers to pull out some pajamas.

"These are for you, and bathroom's right here." She showed Belle the connected bathroom. "I'll be in the living room if you want anything." She watched Belle rub her hands over her bedspread before stepping out of the room.

"Don't!" Belle screamed.

"Don't what!" Wendy gasped.

"Door…don't…"

Wendy left the door open, earning her first true smile from Belle.

She collapsed on the couch once she got back in the living room, more exhausted now than she had been all week. She still had so many questions and both of her sources were too closed-off to supply her with answers. She was torn between keeping her promise to Pan and going straight to Graham in the morning.

Frustrated and mind swirling with thoughts, Wendy gathered just enough strength to throw her throw over her and curl up on her side, staring at the mug of cold tea Belle had been drinking.

She had no idea what she was going to do.

.,.,.,.,.,.

Pan stalked through the darkened streets of Storybrooke, thoughts clouding his mind and eating at his control.

"He hates me."

"No he doesn't Pan-the-man, he loves you very much."

He gulped, shaking his head and willing away the memories of the kind, blue-eyed women who made him feel the safest that he ever had. He turned the street heading to Granny's with the intention of grabbing his moped and heading back to Wendy's. He couldn't leave Belle there too long. It was too unfamiliar and she might go into a panic.

He could see the neon sign of the diner flashing but knew it would go off soon. He wanted to avoid any of the employees, especially Granny who would cuss him out for leaving his moped carelessly behind.

He reached the alley but paused when he saw someone else hovering over his bike. He stared at the person for a moment, trying to place him. It wasn't until he turned to him and the street light reflected off his glasses that Pan did and his gut sunk.

"Peter? Peter Pan is that you?"

Pan growled under his breath and stepped into the shadows.

"Dr. Jekyll, last I checked a mob chased you out of this town."

The doctor giggled, a sound that made chills run of Pan's spine. "Is it illegal for a former member of the community to pay a visit?"

"I doubt anyone would want to see you after what you did, you insane prick."

Jekyll frowned. "Name-calling isn't your forte, Paney."

"Shut up!" Pan gnashed his teeth. "Now what are you doing here!"

"Just handling some unfinished business, old friend."

"I am not your friend."

Jekyll hummed, tapping his chin in thought before turning the finger accusingly at Pan.

"If I recall, you were quite chummy with me when you were writing the story that ruined my life!"

Pan scoffed. "I did what I had to to get you exposed."

"Yes you did, some very undesirable things if I recall."

"Not nearly as undesirable as what you did to all those people."

Jekyll's chortle made Pan's blood run cold. The man never had regrets for the things he did or the people he hurt. That was the one trait he shared with Pan, but Pan knew he wasn't nearly that far gone. He knew the difference between ruining lives and demolishing them. In his short career as a journalist, he had ruined many lives: made it harder for them to go out into public or, in Jekyll's case, made it nearly impossible to show their faces in the town of Storybrooke again. Those people were still living and breathing unlike the lives Jekyll had demolished.

Pan didn't let his mind travel any further. He didn't like thinking of the past, the good or the bad.

"Speaking of undesirables, where's that lackey you used to carry around like arm-candy?"

Jekyll's smirk became unnervingly calm.

"Why don't you turn around and say hi to him, Paney."

Shit!

Before he could turn, a force slammed into the back of his head, white spots blinding his vision and eventually swallowing him whole.

"You ruined my life all those years ago Paney, ruined it beyond recovery. Now that you've once again poked your nose where it doesn't belong, I'm going to ruin yours, starting with that pretty blue-eyed creature…and ending with that nosy little blond."

-,-,-,-,-

I was going to make this a lot longer but didn't want to overwhelm my readers. Have part three out soon!