A/N: Hi guys! I know, I know. I'm sorry for leaving you for so long (please don't kill me). And this chapter is really short (please don't kill me even more) but this is really exciting for me and hopefully for you Abigail/Felix shippers. Hehehehehehe. I had a dream last night that I was in love with Felix and he totally betrayed me and killed my family. Don't worry; it was only a dream. My family are fine.

Anyway, on with the story. I'll try to update fairly often again. Even though I have exams in a few weeks. I always choose the perfect times, don't I? *facepalm*. Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

"Where are we going?" Abigail asked between panted breaths. They had been running for a long time and, as she had discovered last time, that was something that her body fought against with all of its might. Neal was much better at it than her.

"Just keep running."

She threw him an anguished glance, "I don't think," she sucked in a few heaving breaths, "I can for much longer."

To her relief, he slowed down, but the sudden break in the pace made her legs wobble dangerously beneath her and before she knew it, she had fallen to the floor. He crouched beside her anxiously.

"Just take a few breaths," he said, checking around them, "We need to keep moving."

"Can't we just find somewhere to hide?"

"Come on, Abby, you were here longer than me. You know he can find us anywhere."

She dropped her head into her hands, groaning, "He's going to kill us."

"No he won't," Neal said, sounding unconvinced, "He won't kill you."

She lifted her head just enough to raise an eyebrow at him and then dropped it again. She was too tired, too exhausted and too emotional to argue or think of any way of avoiding capture. She tried to keep her eyes open, knowing that the moment she closed them, she'd probably fall asleep. They had an irritating heavy feeling that made it impossible to focus on anything.

She mumbled half to herself, "I need to sleep."

Neal shifted uneasily. He knew that they needed to keep moving or Pan would find them, but he also knew that it was going to be nearly impossible to keep moving with her in such an exhausted state. Her eyes kept closing and her head slumped forward for a second before she jolted awake, remembering that they needed to keep moving.

"Fine," he said after a moment, "You get some sleep. I'll find us some water. I'll come back as soon as I can. And if you wake up and hear anything, run. I'll call if it's me."

She was already asleep. After getting the surrounding leaves and branches to hide her as much as possible, Neal ran off in search of water.

Felix felt a throbbing headache through the darkness, before he forced his eyes open. Thankfully, Neverland was always so dark that he didn't have to worry about any bright lights to increase the pain. It was only after a second that he remembered that his prisoner had escaped with the girl Pan had fought so hard to keep in his control.

Cursing, he looked around for any sign of where they might have gone. Part of his mind was in panic. What would Pan do when he found out that he had lost not only Baelfire but also the former queen? The punishment was not going to be easily taken. He needed to get them back. He refused to traipse back into camp like a guilty dog and admit his mistakes. He needed to find Abigail.

But another part of his mind was relieved. She was safer away from Pan. Baelfire would keep her safe, even if he was as stupid as he had ever been. Every moment that Abigail was in the camp, the closer she got to losing herself and he didn't want that to happen again. As much as he wanted her around, he didn't want her to get hurt.

Their tracks were easily traced. He followed them deep into the jungle, instinctively dodging tree roots that they had clearly stumbled over. After a while, he reached a space where the tracks went strange. They branched off. The bigger tracks circled around for a bit before leading off into the jungle while the smaller tracks seemed to almost disappear. That meant that Abigail must still be around somewhere. She was nearby.

He looked around for a second until his eyes were drawn to one of the trees where an unnatural amount of branches and foliage was surrounding it. His footsteps were silent as he approached it. Carefully, he pushed away the leaves and smiled at the sight before him. Abigail was curled up on the floor, her head in her arms and her eyes closed. Her mouth was slightly open as she breathed in and out, deeply and evenly. It was nice to see her so peaceful. She never seemed to get any peace when she was awake.

He crouched down and touched her shoulder, trying to wake her as gently as possible. He didn't know why he did that. He should have just picked her up over his shoulder and carried her back to camp whether she was awake or not. But he had done it, and Abigail was waking. Her eyes opened and for a moment, she frowned, clearly trying to focus away the sleepy blurriness. When she saw him, she gasped, jolting back so suddenly that she hit her head on the tree trunk.

"It's ok," he said, quietly, "I won't hurt you."

She was watching him, suspiciously.

"I just ran away with the prisoner who knocked you out and you're not going to do anything about it?"

"I should be taking you back to camp."

Her frown deepened, "So why aren't you?"

He paused. He didn't know what to say. Was he really just not going to take her back? Surely, Pan would know. He had found her. He might as well take her back. He would be able to keep an eye on her there. But he had the seen the kiss. It had been obvious. She had felt something. The possibility that she could still have feelings for Pan tore him up. After everything he had done. The way he twisted and manipulated her. It wasn't right. It was dangerous. She was safer away from him, even if it meant giving her up himself.

"You're safer here."

Her frown disappeared. Instead, she looked surprised. Was it really so surprising to her that he didn't want her to get hurt? Was she really that oblivious? He almost couldn't look at her, but managed to hold his gaze.

"I don't understand you, Felix," Abigail said, looking at him like she was searching his face for some sort of answer.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Nothing's obvious with you," she murmured, "Sometimes I think you're actually being nice and you speak to me like I'm some sort of precious little princess who needs protecting. But then you go and do whatever Pan says no matter what it costs me. Where were you earlier when I had to…" she blinked, not having meant to say as much as she had.

Carefully, Felix took her hand. His thumb grazed the back of her hand. He looked down at it as he spoke. He couldn't look at her when he said it.

"I'm sorry, Abby," his voice was slow and quiet, "I didn't want it to happen but I can't stop him. No one can stop him. But I promise you," with effort, he looked up into her face, "I won't ever let him hurt you."

Silently, he pleaded with her to understand. He needed her to understand. He couldn't say the exact words out loud. Anyone could be listening. He had already put too much out in the open. If Peter heard him say any of that, it would have been close to mutiny. He would kill him, if it wasn't enough that he had lost his prisoners.

She was staring at him. She looked like she was seeing him for the first time. For the first time in a long time, Felix felt his face heat up. Embarrassed, he stood up. He turned away.

"I'll tell him I lost you. And Baelfire. Go find him. Run. Hide. Pan'll be looking for you."

Before he could risk saying any more dangerous words, he ran away.

For a moment, she stared after him. His words were still sinking in. Was it possible? Could what he said really be true? Did Felix, Peter Pan's right-hand man, love her? Or was it some sort of manipulation ordered by Pan? She wouldn't put it past him. It certainly succeeded in shaking her. She didn't know what to do now. Did she like him back? Honestly, she had never even considered it. But now that she thought back, there had been moments. Even before, even when she had duelled him and cut him, there had been something.

But she only allowed herself a moment. Leaping to her feet, she jumped over the foliage that had surrounded her and began running. She needed to find Neal.

After about twenty minutes, she heard voices and ran into a clearing just in time.

"Stop!" she yelled just as Rumplestiltskin was about to kill his son.

A/N: Oooh, juicy! This was a lot of fun and I got back into it surprisingly easily. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, send me a message or drop a review.

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