A/N: New Chapter! Thank you for the patience: this one has been so difficult! I hope you enjoy it and thanks to CaptainHooksGirl, Royalraven007, AvengersGirl-LokisSpy and Miss Savvy for your reviews on the last chapter. Keep them coming, they help so much! I also couldn't resist throwing in a little bit of the 2003 movie at the end. Have a good read!

Chapter 6

It had been precisely two nights since Wendy had disappeared from her bedroom in the cosy suburbs of London. As the third morning approached, bringing with it an unnerving fog that seemed to linger over the city's streets, an air of anticipation arose within the Darling household. Since Michael's abrupt awakening, the rest of the brothers had been unable to return to their slumber and had instead spent most of the early hours of the morning discussing what they were going to do in order to rescue Wendy from Hook's clutches. They had rather quickly come to the understanding that none of them had saved any fairy dust in case of the need to return to Neverland, and after a few bumps and bruises, and one particularly scary moment where Curly had jumped head first into Wendy's old dolls house and almost knocked himself unconscious, they had also come to the conclusion that none of them still possessed the power to fly, much to their disappointment.

"Well, how are we supposed to rescue Wendy if we can't even get to Neverland?"

Two hours later and still no answer had been found. Collapsing onto the bed with a sigh, John surveyed the ceiling of the nursery, detailing every twist and turn in the elegant design that engulfed it. As if in canon, the other boys followed suit, collapsing onto their respective beds and gazing up at the ceiling. Nana, as just as tired as the boys but not wanting to collapse in such an untidy manner, retreated to her basket with a sigh, resting her head on the edge as if to trick the boys into thinking she was still paying attention. After a few moments, during which the air was so thick with disappointment that an elephant could have entered and no one would have noticed, a soft knock sounded on the door.

"Nana, are the children awake?"

No one replied, but in truth Mary Darling had been listening to her children's discussion for quite some time.

Cracking the door open and stepping into the room with that air of grace that she couldn't help but exhibit everywhere she went, Mrs Darling smiled warmly as she cast her eyes over the exhausted children.

"Nana, did they not get enough sleep?"

Lifting her head, Nana let out a little whimper in response, rolling her eyes, if that is such a thing that dogs can do, before slumping back into her basket. With a laugh as beautiful as a new born child's, Mrs Darling made her way over to Michael's bed, at which the child himself had sat up and was now looking intensely into his Mother's eyes.

"Mother?"

"Yes, my child?"

"Do you believe in Neverland?"

At this point, one by one, the six other children slowly raised their heads to gaze in Michael's direction, intrigued as to what their Mother's answer may be. Being the careful Mother that she was, Mrs Darling hesitated, knowing she couldn't divulge the extent of which she had explored Neverland as a child, as all dreams of that nature must be put away before becoming an adult and revisiting them would depress even the toughest of souls.

"I did once Michael, but I'm afraid I had to stop a long time ago, just as you should," she turned outwards to address the rest of the boys, "just as all of you should: you are all becoming much too old for Neverland."

"But…"

Before Michael could continue in his protest, Nibs had interrupted. "Yes Mother, you're right."

After a short pause, Mrs Darling cast a weary glance at the children, her eyes travelling over each one's form, from the youngest to the eldest, each of them in turn catching her eye before turning away. Addressing no one in particular, Mrs Darling spoke. "I find that when I am troubled with something no one else can help me with, I look to the stars for guidance." With a sigh, she stood up and left, leaving the children to their own devices. They watched her go, one by one turning their attention to her words, which were now hanging delicately in front of their eyes, trying to understand the meaning behind the riddle.

At this very moment a soft glimmer of light managed to squeeze through a gap in the nursery's curtains. Jumping up and down it began to explore this mysterious new room, creeping over the floor, startling itself in the mirror and chasing Nana's tail before settling in a hover on Tootles' bed. Slowly, Tootles' turned towards it, as if attempting not to scare it off. With a whisper, he called the other boys over, each of them hurrying to his bedside where they gazed down in wonder at the shimmering ball of light.

"What is it?" One twin asked.

"It looks like a magic." The other replied.

"It can't be a magic! Magic doesn't just appear."

"Yes, it does!"

"No, it doesn't!"

"Stop!" Just as quickly as their argument had begun, the twins silenced themselves, turning to face Curly, whose normally relaxed fists were clenched tight.

"It's not a magic." The second twin stuck his tongue out at the first, and as quick as a flash they had descended into a much quitter brawl. This time ignoring them, Curly looked up at the other boys surrounding him.

"What is it then?"

John's question remained unanswered for quite some time, lingering in the air like a stale smell. Every boy's gaze was transfixed to the ball of light, some so intensely that after a minute or two they were able to notice something within the light, jumping up and down and producing a sound similar to that of a bell. Michael's throat dried up as he suddenly realised what was before him, the memories rushing back into his small mind so fast that at first the other boys thought his sudden outburst of stuttering was a panic attack.

"It's, it's, it's…"

"What?!" They interrupted in unison, all eyes now on Michael.

"It's a fairy!"

"A fairy?"

"Yes, and her name is…"

However, that memory had not quite returned to Michael's mind and it was with a sigh that he shook his head, giving up.

"…I can't remember."

"Her name is Tinker Bell."

As if on cue, the ball of light began to jump up and down, jingling happily at Nib's words. The boys looked on in wonder as Tink flew around them in joy, having had quite enough of them not remembering who she was. She landed on Tootles' shoulder and, stomping her foot to get the attention of the boys, not that the action was necessary for they were already engrossed by her every movement, she began to whisper hurriedly into Tootles' ear.

"She says that Peter is in trouble, and that he needs our help!"

The twins jumped to attention, almost knocking Tink off her perch.

"Peter's in trouble?"

Again, Tootles was left to translate.

"Hook isn't dead anymore and he has a whole new crew who are more dangerous than ever!"

The uproar that followed this was almost enough to drown out Tootles' next words, but not quite.

"She says that someone else has returned too… Red Handed Jill!"

John stopped in his tracks. "Red Handed Jill? But Red Handed Jill was Wendy."

Michael chimed in, "It's just like I saw in my dream: Hook has Wendy!"

All of a sudden, Tootles gasped at Tinker Bell's requests.

"But Tink, Wendy would never be a pirate!"

"Wendy's a pirate?"

Again, the boys descended into uproar, each one trying to argue Wendy's innocence amongst Tinker Bell's protests. Eventually however, the fairy won out, as to be expected. After all, fairies are so small that they can only hold one emotion at a time, and Tink, who had always regarded Wendy with a strong dislike, could have continued with her argument for a very long time. And so, it was with a sigh that Curly sat on the edge of Tootles' bed, watching Tink rant as she flew around their heads angrily, miming her words as if they weren't clear enough to begin with.

"Maybe she has gone back to Neverland to be a pirate."

"After all, she wasn't happy here. Especially with Aunt Millicent and Mother and Father trying to find her a husband to marry." John agreed.

"Marry?" Michael protested as he too collapsed onto Tootles' bed in dismay. "Poor Wendy. I don't ever want to marry: not now, not ever!"

At his comment a few of the boys began to giggle until almost everyone was laughing, including Michael. In fact, the only boy who didn't join in the moment of joy was Nibs, who had frozen in his spot as his mind ticked over the day's events and discoveries.

"Perhaps she didn't want to grow up anymore."

Silence resumed once more among the children, each one contemplating Nibs' words.

"But Wendy has grown up, we all have."

Sadly, they all agreed, even Michael, who at the age of ten was just beginning to discover the pressures of adulthood, but still retained his position as the baby of the family, understood John's words.

"What can we do?"

Tink rose into the air, preparing to begin her plea to the boys, for, despite her jealousy of Wendy and her wish to get her removed from Neverland as soon as possible, Peter, although he didn't realise it, was in trouble: Hook was back and this time he was able to use Wendy's fading innocence to hurt him more than ever. She had to stop them before it was too late and the only ones that could help, and restore Peter's memory, were the Lost Boys, for they knew Peter more than anyone else. The boys gazed up at her in wonder as she explained her plan, not daring to question her until she had finished in fear of her tiny mind losing her train of thought. Eventually however, Tink had finished and took in a deep breath to highlight the fact. After a moment's pause, Curly spoke.

"But how are we going to get to Neverland Tink? We already tried flying but none of us can remember!"

The other boys nodded their heads in agreement, turning anxiously towards Tink. Landing on the edge of Tootles' bed she began to pace up and down the frame, tapping her chin as she concentrated hard to find a solution. Suddenly, as if a light bulb had appeared above her, Tink jumped into the air, circling the room in one swift movement, her arms spread wide as if to mimic the way the children had flown when with Peter. As she glided through the air a small sprinkling of dust fell from Tink's wings, covering the children in a fine layer of powder that, apart from its ability to make them sneeze, would have gone unnoticed by them all.

"It's fairy dust!"

"Yes! We need fairy dust to make us fly. How could we forget?"

As the glorious memories of Neverland and the boy's adventures finally filtered through their minds, each one began to slowly rise off the ground, giggling joyfully as they bumped against the ceiling of the nursery and circled each other, looking down at their beds as they hovered gleefully above them. Nana rose angrily from her basket, having not appreciated it the first time she had witnessed Michael, John and Wendy fly around the nursery, and certainly not enjoying it now that the seven children were doing precisely that. Preparing to alert the Darling's with a series of short barks, Nana stopped herself, realising that no matter how hard she tried, the children would still escape her grasp. And so, it was with a sigh of resignation that she slumped back into her basket, secretly wishing that perhaps, one day, she might be able to fly too.

Unfortunately for Nana, her wish came true quicker than expected. As the children settled upon the windowsill, ready to fly out over the midday London skies towards the second star on the right, and eventually Neverland, Tink lifted into the air above the exhausted dog, shaking the excess fairy dust off of her clothes. The twins gasped as a surprised Nana rose into the air, her paws waving in all directions as she frantically tried to return herself to the ground. In shock, she began to bark loudly, her distressed calls echoing through the Darling household, much to the children's horror.

"Quick, we have to go!"

"But what about Mother… and Father!" Michael counter argued, "What will they think of us disappearing?"

The boys thought for a moment, until eventually Nibs spoke up.

"Peter needs us."

"And think of the adventure!"

"Think of the fun we'll have!" The twins gaped.

Curly smiled. "Wouldn't it be wonderful to return to Neverland?"

It was at this precise moment that Mrs Darling, who until now had returned patiently to Mr Darlings side in the day room, alerted herself to Nana's barking.

"Whatever could be the matter?" She queried, rising from her seat.

Mr Darling rose too, pushing his reading glasses further up his nose as he listened quietly.

"It couldn't be… could it?"

The pieces of the puzzle suddenly flew together in Mrs Darling's mind: the children's quietness, their questioning of Neverland, their unusual early morning activities. Almost knocking over the small side table that she had rested their midday tea upon, Mrs Darling hurried to the door, Mr Darling close on her heels.

The two of them hurried up the stairs as fast as possible, tragic thoughts filling their minds, all too aware of what had happened last time they had heard Nana in such distress. It would be more than delightful to report that they reached the nursery in time, particularly after the horror that had been inflicted upon them during their children's previous disappearance… but then, there would be no story. Or at the least, it will have not ended in the most triumphant but saddened manner that this one does.

Once again, as Mr and Mrs Darling burst into the nursery, the children had flown the nest, leaving the nursery windows wide open and a certainly distraught Nana hovering three feet above the floor. At their entrance she fell back into her basket with a loud thump, rushing over to Mrs Darling in order to assure her that the children would be home soon. Of course, dogs cannot speak English in the same manner than humans cannot understand the canine language and it passed that Nana's reassurance did nothing to allay Mrs Darling's worries.

And so it came to pass that the Lost Boys returned to Neverland, with John and Michael not too far behind; all on a mission to restore Peter's memory and rescue Wendy from Hook's clutches. Although, as I am sure you are beginning to realise about now, her need to be rescued was lessening at the passing of each and every day.