Peter took a little more convincing, but Wendy finally persuaded him. She was coming with him in the morning. He intended to fly most of the way, but with Wendy at his side he could not. There was no more fairy dust for her. But deep in his heart, he was content beyond belief that she wanted to come with him. It would keep him from being lonely. But the thing that finally convinced him was that he could protect her much better when she was in his sights. He thought of what would have happened if Tiger Lily had not been there to save her from Hook. The thought made him cringe. Besides, after having sex, she was a part of him now, and he was a part of her.

They had helped each other wash and put their clothes back on so by the time the lost boys finally came back, they were in the main living area, Wendy stoking the hearth and Peter sitting in his chair.

The boys ran through the house shouting. "We found meat!"

"Oh lovely!" said Wendy, not giving a hoot about food. She was thinking about her and Peter's second excursion of lovemaking. She had gotten to explore him that time and found she could elicit the same noises out of him that he could of her.

"Just lovely," said Peter, thinking the same thing. The two of them glanced at each other with heated eyes, and a blush bloomed on Wendy's cheeks.

"What's with you two?" asked Curly, unpacking their quarry.

"Nothing." Wendy shrugged and knelt in front of the fire with a smile.

John narrowed his eyes at both of them. He knew exactly what was with them, and it made him extremely uncomfortable. But then that made him think of Tiger Lily, and that thought made him tingle.

Wendy cooked their quarry and they all sat together eating silently, feeling a little gloomy. Then Peter spoke. "Men, Wendy and I are leaving tomorrow. We're going to Never Peak to find Tinkerbell." He began the story of why Neverland was changing, what was happening, and why the journey needed to be made. The boys were quiet for a while.

"We're coming with you too Peter," said Nibs standing.

"Yes," said Curly, "we're coming too."

The twins stood with their hands in a saluting position. "And us too."

The boys all stood up amidst Peter and Wendy's protests.

"No boys, this is something I have to do myself. I barely agreed to Wendy coming with me."

"And that took a lot of convincing," said Wendy her eyebrow raised at him with a side smirk. Peter let out a goofy chuckle, then cleared his throat.

"I can't let you join us, you need to stay here and look after each other. I... I don't know if we'll return," he said grimly. He sat down and reached for Wendy's hand.

The boys looked around at each other. They seemed to come to an understanding simultaneously.

"We haven't had a good adventure in a long time Peter," said Slightly. "We're coming. Besides, what kind of sons would we be if we didn't protect our mother?" He got up and wrapped his arms around Wendy's neck. "I love you mother," he said.

Wendy surprised, stood up, and enfolded him into a tight embrace. She suddenly found herself surrounded by boys in an unyielding group hug. "We love you mother!" came the sweet voices all around her.

She sniffed, and wiped her eyes. "I love you too boys, more than anything! Oh Peter," she said turning to him. "How can we leave them?" she said stroking Nibs' head.

Peter narrowed his eyes, and then sighed.

"Alright," he said standing. "But you have to listen to everything that I say."

"Yes Peter!" they cried snapping to attention.

"You have to be on your guard at all times."

"Yes Sir!"

John nodded and straightened his back. He thought of Tiger Lily. He would do this for her. He wanted her to live the life she deserved, in the lush greenness of Neverland. He would tell her this tonight. Tonight. He grinned, their heated kiss coming to mind.

The rest of the day was filled with preparations. Wendy made them straighten their bunks, and sweep and dust to much protesting. But one threat of not coming from Peter and they all threw themselves into their chores. Wendy went down to the creek to bathe, and when she returned insisted they take a bath before they left, they were so filthy from cleaning. Peter and the lost boys all went down to the creek to splash around for a while pretending to wash. John waited until they left. He wanted to speak to Wendy alone. He made them a pot of their herbal tea, and poured it into two chipped tea cups. He sat her down and they drank in silence for a while.

"Wendy, I know this may be uncomfortable," said John finally. His English upbringing of denying his feelings be damned. He needed to check on his sister. "But I just want to make sure you're… alright."

Wendy sighed, and slurped her tea. "Yes, I'm alright. I mean of course I don't want to go, the thought of seeing Tinkerbell again, makes me a little squeamish, but…"

John cleared his throat. "Oh, yes, that. I know that will be hard for you. I was referring however to… to…" He stared into his cup, and then flicked his eyes to her face quickly and then away.

"Oh!" cried Wendy, grasping his meaning. "That. Yes, I'm alright John. Perfectly fine in that regard."

"Good! Good... I'll just go and catch up with the other boys..." He drank the rest of the liquid and set his cup down, then picked it up again. "Well I did have a question…" Wendy shifted uncomfortably from side to side.

"Yes?" she asked.

John looked at the floor. "Did it hurt?"

Wendy's eyes darted around the room. "Yes and no. It did for a moment, but I found that I didn't care." John nodded understandingly.

"As long as you're alright Wendy," he said looking her square in the face.

"Thank you John," she smiled. He took her cup from her, and set them down. He held out his arms, and she fell into them, as he hugged her tight.

"It's my job to look out for you," he said.

"I thought it was mine to look out for you," she said. "I am older."

"It will be both our jobs then."

"I can live with that," she said. She kissed him on the cheek and cleared their dishes.

...

After everything was prepped, food and blankets tucked in packs, they all spent the evening together on the rug next to the hearth. Wendy told them their favorite stories again as they listened rapt. The boys eyes began to blink with weariness, and Wendy finally commanded them into bed. They climbed into their bunks, and blew their lanterns out. Peter spirited Wendy away into his bedroom. It didn't take long until the boys were snoring.

John however was wide awake.

Once he was satisfied that everyone was asleep, he sat up and put his spectacles back on. He swung his legs over the bed quietly, and stepped onto the dirt floor. Tiptoeing out of the hideout, he put his slippers on outside and eagerly made his way through the trees. His senses were on fire.

In record time, he reached the hot springs. He had planned on waiting for her, but he found that he didn't need to. She was already there. In the springs. And it looked as though she had no clothes on.

"Hello, John," she purred, moving her arms over the surface of the water.

John found his throat tighten again, the confident rogue he so desperately wanted to be was gone. "He-hello Tiger Lily," he stammered. He stood there a moment, not exactly sure what to do.

"Do you not wish to get into the water?" she asked tilting her head. "It's very warm."

"Yes, of course, it is rather chilly out here," he said scratching the back of his neck. He started to climb in, but Tiger Lily held up her hand.

"You should discard your clothes."

John rather nervously reached for the hem of his nightshirt, and then looked down at her. She rolled her eyes and turned around. "I will not peek," she said.

John took a deep breath. He peeled off his shirt and folded it. He placed his spectacles, which had already started to fog up from the steam, on the ground next to his clothes. He hopped over the rocks into the water with a splash. Tiger Lily turned around to face him. They regarded each other for a minute, John losing himself in her brown eyes, and her admiring the broadness of his shoulders. He had changed so much since she had first seen the young awkward boy when he first came to Neverland. Now he was older and infinitely taller. Taller than Peter. He was not as muscular as Peter, but she found that she liked the lanky sinews of his arms and chest. And he had the most delicious mouth.

She put her hands on his shoulders, and moved to draw herself to him, but he he held her arms. "Wait Tiger Lily, there's something we need to discuss first. I wish I wasn't about to say this, Lord knows I don't want to stop what's about to happen. But I want you to make up your mind as to whether we continue or not."

She wrinkled her nose, pulling away from him. "Speak."

"We're all going up the mountain tomorrow," he said. "I wanted you to know. Like your father said, we don't know if we'll return. What if we do something tonight that you'll regret, and you'll never see me again? But maybe that would make it easier on you... I..."

Tiger Lily tilted her head and kissed him effectively stopping his rambling. "There is a simple answer to this," she said. "I am coming with you also."

"That's not quite what I meant," he said frowning. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you…"

"I was going to come with you all along. I intended on telling you tonight." She put her hands on his shoulders again, and ran her finger over his collar bone. She floated closer in the water and John's breathing became uneven.

"How are you doing this to me?" he asked quietly. "I have so many grand ideas of how I might sweep you off your feet with my words, or how I might… well… and I'm the one who seems to be undone by you." He gasped as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed her body against his in the water. He found he couldn't breathe with her slippery, naked, and moving against him.

"You do sweep me off my feet," she whispered, kissing the corner of his mouth. "And I like that I make you feel this way." She kissed the other side. "A woman likes to know she makes a man feel undone." Their lips came crashing together in a hot fury of tongues and teeth. John pulled her body tightly against his, running his hands down over her hips to her buttocks, securing her to him. He buried his face in her neck, placing searing kisses there.

Somehow she had maneuvered them so that his back was against the mossy rocks that lined the steaming water. "Tiger Lily," he said, his voice husky. She raised herself out of the water so that her breasts were above the surface. They puckered in the cold air. John looked down at them and back up into her face. She nodded. He sucked her left nipple hard into the wet heat his mouth and she cried out throwing her head back. "John," she said raggedly. Hearing his name, he moved to the other, flicking it with his tongue. She moaned, holding his head.

He brought her down steadily so they were eye to eye. He kissed her again. She moved her hand down to stroke him under the water, and he grunted in surprise. "Oh God!" he cried.

"I want to make love to you," she said.

"I want to too. God how I want to. You know what comes next?"

She nodded. "My old nurse told me, when I asked. I found my hidden place last night. I want you to find it too."

His eyes shot open. Slowly he reached down between them, to the apex of her thighs. He pressed his fingers in and felt a wet heat even hotter than the springs. She threw her head back. "Oh John," she breathed.

He removed his hand and positioned himself in front of her. "Darling. Are you ready?" he asked.

She nodded. He pushed into her, and she shuddered. "Yes, this is what I want," she said. He gasped at the tightness around him.

"I'm going to try my damndest not to hurt you," he said. She nodded, and attached her mouth to his again, matching the rhythm of his hips. He thrust hard once, and her eyes flew open with pain. "I'm sorry!" he cried, "I'm so sorry!"

"Keep going John, please keep going," she said after a moment of adjustment. He picked up his pace again carefully, but found the throb increasing so much he had little room for care, with her crying into his ear for more. The pressure built steadily. Their eyes locked, their innocence giving way to a new paradigm of understanding. It was magical to experience it together. She leaned back a little, and thrust her hips undulating them upward, wanting him deeper. That one move made them fall off the waterfall of pleasure together. There was light exploding behind their eyelids, and they held onto each other wrapped so tight they were too close to kiss. They rode the waves out together, the water splashing around them.

Slowly as the swells ebbed away, Tiger Lily smiled at him, panting. "You have magic," she whispered.

"Hardly," he said grinning, his hair plastered around his flushed face. "I'm fairly certain you're the one with the magic."

She smiled at him, her eyes growing dark under her eyelashes. "Maybe we have magic," she said kissing him.

"You're probably right," he murmured against her lips.