"Mom! Dad! We're home!" Wendy announced opening the door and immediately moving to take off her shoes. John and Michael walked in after her and followed suit.

"What on earth took you so long?" Mrs. Darling inquired walking out of the kitchen. Her face and apron were stained with flour which Wendy knew to mean she was making dessert.

"Wendy was flirting with Peter Pan," Michael said flopping down on the couch.

"I was not!" Wendy protested coloring violently.

"I should hope not. That boy is nothing but trouble," Mrs. Darling said sternly before giving Wendy a floury kiss on the forehead.

"I know, Mother. He was just trying to help me find John and Michael," Wendy explained.

"Find them? Where were you?" Mrs. Darling asked eyeing the boys suspiciously. There was a knock at the door and Wendy took the opportunity to spare herself he brothers' elaborate excuses. She opened the door to see Henry Mills.

"Hi Henry. Ready to get to work?" she asked letting him in. Henry's dad was a close friend of the family, so naturally Wendy couldn't say no when they'd asked if she could help Henry with his homework once a week. She'd soon discovered that Henry didn't really need help just an escape from his birth mother and adoptive mother's bickering. Still, she was happy to help.

"Always. Hi Mrs. Darling! Hi John! Hi Michael!" he said waving to everyone. Wendy waited for everyone to exchange pleasantries before ushering Henry to the backyard where they did homework when it was warm.

"How was school?" she asked once they were sitting down.

"It was okay," Henry said shrugging.

"How are your parents? " Wendy asked and then clarified, "All three of them, I mean."

"They're okay I guess. My moms are still having trouble deciding how to handle this whole custody thing."

"I hope they figure it out soon," Wendy said, and she did. For Henry's sake. It wasn't right for an eleven year old to carry so much weight on his shoulders.

"They will. I've tried to convince my Dad to mediate, but he says there's no use getting in the middle of two mothers, especially two as stubborn as them." Wendy could only imagine how that must be. Emma Swan and Regina Mills were arguably the two most stubborn people in all of Storybrooke.

"Do you need help with anything?" Wendy asked, meaning more than homework.

"Me? Nah, everything's fine," Henry assured her.

"Okay," Wendy said reluctantly. She didn't trust that Henry was really okay with everything going on, but she wasn't the prying type.

"Will you read to me? I always understand things better after I've heard them from you," Henry said handing her a book. Wendy smiled. She'd been reading John and Michael bedtime stories for as long as she could remember.

"Sure," she said opening the book and beginning to read.

Wendy spent the rest of the day reading to Henry and checking his homework. She'd barely noticed how much time passed until she realized how low in the sky the sun was getting. "Oh! Henry you'd better get home before it gets dark," she said standing up.

"Already?" Henry asked looking up at her. She wished he could stay with her forever. He reminded her of how John and Michael used to be. Young, innocent, and ready to face the world. She suddenly found herself wishing Henry never grew up.

"Wendy? Are you okay?" Henry asked.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. Just... Stay you okay?" Wendy said handing Henry his book bag.

"I'll try," he agreed looking mildly confused.

"That's all I can ask for. Come on I'll walk you to the door."

Wendy didn't think about Peter at all until she was in bed. It was in the space between awake and dreaming where he haunted her. His eyes, voice, that stupid, stupid smirk, danced around in her mind for hours, until she fell into an uneasy, restless sleep.