James Radcliffe had come to Rhy'Din to set the record straight about Peter Pan - or at least, that's what he'd told himself when he'd first arrived. That had been just over two years ago, and since then, he'd mostly forgotten all about Neverland and his adventures there as the infamous Captain Hook. The desire for revenge had gone out of him with his marriage to Ashlyn Granger and the birth of their daughter, Cora Leigh. Why should he care about revenge now when he was so happy' What did it matter if thousands of children hated the pirate he'd once been when he was that pirate no more" That life - that nightmare - was over now, or so he believed, but if there was one thing he should have learned during those endless years in Neverland, it was that Peter Pan never gave up. He never surrendered or admitted defeat, and he always won, no matter what. It was late one night when the good captain was unpleasantly reminded of that fact and was forced to embark on one last adventure in Neverland. It all started with a dream ...

It was more like a nightmare really, or a memory of long, long ago. It had all started with the death of his mother, Charlotte Annabelle Radcliffe. He'd been too young to understand at the time, but she'd been sick. Or at least, that's what his father had told him. When he'd cried about it, his heart broken, his father had only scolded him. Young James - or Jamie, as his mother had called him - had been only six years old at the time, hardly old enough to bear such a loss like a man, no matter what his father demanded of him. It was the night of her death that a boy came to him, promising to take him to a place where no one ever grew old or died and where his father would never find him.

It was late at night when the man that had once been Captain Hook heard that voice once again in his head, calling him, luring him back to Neverland.

"Come back to Neverland, Jamie. Neverland is no fun without you anymore. I miss our games. We'll have such fun together! Come and catch me quick!" the voice said, like a whisper on the wind. It was followed by a faint tinkling sound, like the chime of tiny bells rustling in the wind.

James awoke with a start, heart racing, lost for a moment in that place between dreaming and waking when one is unsure which one is real. He hesitated only a moment to look around the room, finding Ashlyn peacefully sleeping beside him, like an angel. There was nothing strange about the room, nothing to cause him the terror he was feeling, and yet, deep in his heart, he knew something wasn't right. And then he heard it, as if from far away - the unmistakable sound of a boy's laughter - and he surged to his feet and raced to the nursery, heart racing with terror.

By the time he got there, baby Cora was crying - screaming frantically - as though something had terrified her in the night, just as it had her father. The window was thrown open and the curtains fluttered in the breeze. There was a chill in the room from the night air, but Cora was there, safe and sound. James picked her up in his arms, unaware of the tears on his face, and snuggled her close, whispering soft words of reassurance as he moved to the window to pull it closed.

"Hush, now. It's all right. Just a bad dream," he whispered, though he had no explanation for the window, but one that he didn't dare entertain.

"James?"

Ash's sleepy voice called to him from the bedroom he had just left. Cora's screams had not been the normal cries that roused them at night, after all, and despite her ability to sleep through almost anything, Ash couldn't sleep through the sound of their daughter in distress. Soft footfalls betrayed her following, one hand rubbing through her hair as she came into view, squinting owlishly at them both.

"Is she all right?"

"Aye, she's fine," James replied, turning to face his wife as she joined him in the nursery. "The window came open somehow, and she was cold," he explained, though he wasn't sure how it had happened and didn't want to give voice to his darkest fears. It had just been a bad dream - that was all.

Rubbing her neck, Ash moved further into the room, gently brushing her fingers against Cora's head as the baby girl calmed. "Such a loud noise from such a little girl," she said softly, her voice as soothing as it always was around their daughter. Raising her eyes to James, however, her expression grew concerned at the tears on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked warily. "Something happened, hasn't it?"

He was only vaguely aware of those tears, though he realized suddenly that his face felt wet. He must have been crying in his sleep, but it had only been a dream, hadn't it' "Just a dream, lass. Just a bad dream," he explained with a strained smile that he hoped reassured her a little. But it had been more than that, hadn't it' More like a memory than a dream, and then there'd been that voice and that laughter, calling him out of sleep. It wasn't the first time that James had awoken in the night with nightmares, but this was the first time those nightmares had seemed to come alive.

Ash sighed, drawing her thumb over his cheek to wipe the tears away. "Jamie," she breathed to him gently. "You don't need to protect me. It's not just a dream if it makes you cry." She smiled a little sadly, rising up onto her toes to kiss his cheek. "Why don't we take her into our room tonight?"

He smiled faintly back at her, more grateful than she could ever know for her love and affection. She was the only person who had ever truly cared for him in a very long time. He nodded his head, not ready to explain what he'd seen in his dream or the fears in his heart. Cora and Ashlyn were safe, and that was all that really mattered. "Aye, I think that would be best."

"Go on, then," she told him. "I'll bring her blanket in." Smiling encouragingly, she turned to the little crib, reaching in to collect Cora's blanket. Something tumbled out of the folds, dropping to the carpet with a squashed-sounding squeak. "What the ..." Laughing, Ash bent to pick up the offending toy - a strange sort of carrot that squeaked when she squeezed it. It was very familiar. "Did Gabi's boys leave this over here when they visited?"

He was on his way to the door when he heard something squeak, followed by her laughter, and he turned back to see what it was she was asking him about. "Torky?" he asked, of the stuffed carrot in question - a favorite of the twins. "No, Gabi would have mentioned it. The boys can't sleep without it." For a moment, he was puzzled, and then he remembered the sound of a boy's laughter again, and his blood went cold. "Ashlyn, call Gabi straightaway," he said, wasting no more time, as there was no time to waste. "Warn her. I think it's Pan."

"Gabi?" She frowned for just a moment before her mind caught up with what he was saying. His bad dream, Cora screaming, the open window, and now this ....too many coincidences, even on Rhy'Din. She abandoned the blanket to rush from the room, scrabbling for the phone to call her cousin on the Grove. Perhaps it wasn't too late to stop what was coming.

Come back to Neverland, Jamie. Neverland is no fun without you anymore. Those words echoed in his head in a voice he would never mistake or forget as it could only belong to that of his nemesis - Peter Pan. But if it was Pan, what was it he wanted" To lure James back to Neverland to finish him off once and for all" No, that, James realized, had never been Pan's game. He wanted Hook alive, so he could play at their battles forever and always, or at least, until Pan grew bored.

In another room, he could hear Ash pacing as she waited for the phone to be picked up. "Hi, Gabi" Gabi, I need you to check on the boys. Don't ask, just go and look on them." There was a painful pause of several minutes, and her voice rose again. "Shit. Look, go up to the big house. We'll be there in ten minutes, we'll tell you what we think's happened. Stay together."

Certain there was nothing more he could do in the nursery, James followed Ashlyn to the other room, where she was busy calling Gabi. His heart froze in his chest when he heard her giving instructions to Gabi, fearing the worst - knowing somehow that his past had finally caught up with him.

"He won't hurt them," James assured Ashlyn as he came up beside her. Not intentionally anyway, but the island was still full of dangers to both pirates and Lost Boys alike. "It's my fault, Ash," he murmured, though there was really no time for fault-finding now. "I didn't think he'd find me here. I thought ..." He'd thought he was done with Neverland forever. What had been the point of the goddess saving him if he was only fated to go back there? But then, it hadn't occurred to him that maybe his business there with Peter wasn't finished yet.

Hanging up the phone, Ash was already moving to pull clothes out of drawers. "It is not your fault what that little ....boy does." Somehow she made the word "boy" sound like the worst insult imaginable. "He has messed with the wrong family, Jamie. You're not alone, and I don't care if he doesn't intend to hurt them, he hurt my cousin by stealing her boys." Fierce didn't even begin to cover it when Ash got angry, and she was steaming now. "Get dressed, we'll use one of the coins to get to the big house."

"He would have lured them, Ash. Promised them adventures. Peter can't take anyone to Neverland who isn't willing to go," he pointed out, which was only in part why Cora was still safely at home. "He wants me to follow him," he pointed out further, though that much seemed obvious. "I thought I was free of him, free of that bloody island," he murmured to himself, realizing now how wrong he had been.

Hopping into her jeans, Ash buttoned them at her waist and reached to take Cora from his arms so he could dress himself. "You said yourself that you didn't think it was over," she admitted unhappily. "You're not going back there alone, James. If you try, I will do something highly regrettable. Like stab you in the foot so you can't go on your own."

"I'm not a bloody fool, Ash," he replied, knowing he had little chance of winning this game on his own. He knew the boys would only be freed if James agreed to Peter's terms, and he had a bad feeling about what those terms might be. On the other hand, if the boys wanted to come home of their own free will and Peter refused, they'd be trapped there and have no choice but to grow up and join the pirates. Neither scenario ended well, but James was determined not to let it end that way this time. "This has to end. This ....game between Pan and myself. One way or another," he said, stopping just short of declaring, "It's Pan or me now." He quickly got dressed, choosing to forego the pirate gear for modern clothing, but for a sword and a dagger. Let Pan make what he would of that.

"I know you're not, but you have a past with that ..." Ash swallowed down what she was going to say. Even knowing James' side of the story, she was uncomfortable insulting a child. Cora was nestled against her shoulder as she pulled a thick cardigan on over her pyjama top. At least she knew there was no question of her going with him. "You need back up, not just because you don't know what you're walking into, but because you might need someone to keep you from making an emotional mistake. You're not going there to end the game; you're going to get the boys back."

"According to Des and Piper, she took down the Fae that came to steal her away without much help," Gabi added, wiping her face roughly. This was better, this seemed as though there was a plan, though she knew she wouldn't be involved in it.

Ash bit her lip at James' question. "I think she's capable of a lot more than we know," she offered. "Just from what the others have said, she's not a child, but she chooses to be one. It's difficult to explain."

"But he is a child," James said, musing quietly aloud, a little lost in his own thoughts or memories. "It's the fairy who's to blame. She's the one who keeps him there, who's convinced him not to grow up." He only realized it now. Peter had not always been his enemy; Peter had once been his friend. "Bloody hell," he murmured to himself. He wasn't sure if he could trust his memories, but if what he was remembering was true, the realization of it shook him to his core.

"Jamie, Lyneth has the experience of being a child with loving parents, and of being an older sister, and of being a protector," Ash pointed out, trying to convince him to agree to this. "She's got magic at her fingertips, even if she likes to pretend otherwise most of the time. If anyone can get you in, and get you and the boys out again, it's her."

He wasn't so sure he was getting out alive again, but perhaps it was time someone told Peter no. He didn't think Peter would kill him so much as taunt him, but what would Peter do if James refused to play along" "I can think of no better alternative," he reluctantly admitted. Even if he knew the way, he could not fly there, and it would take too long to sail there. There were the portals, but they were tricky at best. And Ashlyn was right - it was foolish to go alone.

"Can't one of us go with you?" Gabi asked hopefully, still clinging to George as Ash took a moment to call the relevant house and try to win the parents over to letting Lyneth go on an adventure to Neverland.

James shook his head. "You're both ....grown. You'll be pirates in Pan's eyes. He'll keep me alive, if only to torment me, but you? You would be forfeit. It's safer if you remain here," he told them. George held Gabi close, his own face pale and drawn. He'd said little, since James and Ashlyn had arrived, but now he felt he could remain silent no longer. "You're asking us to put our trust in you," he pointed out. "Aye," James replied. "But I know Neverland, and I know Peter Pan."

"You're sure he's not going to hurt them?" Gabi asked, her voice wavering on the edge of tears once again. She was hard enough on herself over the little mistakes. Not even noticing that her children had been stolen from their bedroom in the middle of the night until a cousin called to ask her about it was going to weigh on her mind for years to come. And what was she going to tell Ennis if James couldn't bring the boys back"

"Aye, I'm sure," James replied, sounding as sure as he could. It wasn't the boys Pan wanted really. Oh, he'd enjoy the companionship for a while. So long as they agreed to go along with all his little adventures. Peter wouldn't purposely hurt the boys, but the island was full of dangers even Peter couldn't protect them from. "I will have them home to you as soon as I can," he promised, solemnly. "You have my word. I will not return without them," he added, so she knew how serious he was about his promise.

Gabi nodded tearfully, closing her eyes as she rested her cheek against George's chest, trying to keep hold of herself as she accepted that the only person who could do this was someone who knew the real Peter Pan.

A tapping on the window startled the little group, Ash looking up even as she spoke into her phone. "No, I think she's here," she was saying. "She's trying out the snowy owl look, right' Cool, she's here. I owe you, Des."

Whatever it was Ashlyn had said to Desmond to convince him to ask for Lyneth's help was unknown, but it seemed the half-Fae had agreed. James followed Ashlyn's gaze to the window, not too surprised by what he saw there. "She can fly," he murmured to himself. "Of course, she can fly."

The snowy owl on the windowsill was unusual in only one respect - the eyes that would have been yellow or brown in usual bird of that type were bright turquoise on this one. She tapped politely on the glass once again, insisting on being allowed inside sooner rather than later.

"She can do a few things I didn't know about, it seems," Ash mused, moving to open the window and let the owl inside.

The beautiful bird hopped awkwardly onto the inner sill, spread her wings, and changed in a shimmer. But the shape she chose to appear in was not the cute, cheeky child they were all used to seeing. Instead, Lyneth had taken her Fae form - the beautiful woman with bright eyes and dark hair, whose wings were a soft flutter of gossamer light against her back.

She looked around at the awed expressions, and a very familiar giggle erupted from her lips. "You should see your faces!"

"You're just like her ....The fairy ....Only bigger," James murmured, unable to hide the shock from his voice or his expression.

George, too, appeared shocked, but his expression was more one of wonder than of distress at what he was witnessing. "Can you find them?" he asked her, as worried as Gabi, though he was trying to be strong for her.

Lyneth sobered, meeting George and Gabi's combined gaze with gentle empathy. "My brother's mate saw them being taken," she told them. "I know where they went through. James knows where we're going. Don't you?" She tilted her head toward the pirate, raising a brow at the shock on his face.

Ash snapped her fingers in front of her husband's nose. "She's Lyneth," she reminded him firmly. "She's on your side, remember?"

James blinked out of his reverie when Ash snapped her fingers, murmuring a reply. "He'll take them to Neverland, to the Tree, but ..." he trailed off again, furrowing his brows as he tried to lift the veil on those memories that seemed so deeply buried in his brain. He looked to Ashlyn again, as if needing her reassurance that he was doing the right thing. "I don't know what to expect. I don't know what happened after I left."

"You're not going in blind," she reminded him. "You know him, you know his fairy or whatever she is. You know the sort of thing he is likely to do. And you won't be alone."

"He is likely to cheat," James replied, knowing Pan a little too well. While the boy had his own set of rules, he was just as likely to break them, if they didn't suit him. "One thing you must know about Pan is that he doesn't understand right from wrong. He lives only for fun and adventure. It is when his fun and adventure is taken away that he is most vulnerable and most dangerous. He is like a spoiled child and Neverland is his playground."

"He needs to be spanked," Lyneth translated cheerfully from her perch on the windowsill. She did look entirely too happy about the forthcoming adventure. "How does time work in Neverland?" she asked curiously. "Will we be returning to this night when we come back, or does it move in the same way as Rhy'Din?"

"Time is hard to measure there, but it moves slower than it does here. I spent over two hundred years in Neverland, but I hardly aged at all," James explained. "The days and nights seem longer there. When I first arrived, I tried to keep track of the days, but ..." He shrugged. "We cannot afford to stay there very long."

"Then we could be back before morning." Lyneth nodded, meeting the eyes of the concerned parents as she said this. That was heartening, she hoped. It felt wrong to see Gabi and George so silent and sorrowful, a reminder that they were experiencing what her own biological father had tried to do to her parents. Her jaw set, and she rose to her feet. "Should we go, then?"

"Lyneth, he will try to drag this out. Make the game last as long as he can," he warned her, hoping her magic would be stronger than his - stronger than the fairy's, stronger than the island's. That said, he moved over to Ashlyn and carefully laid baby Cora in her arms. As much as he wanted to come back, he wasn't sure he could promise her that. He wanted to tell her he loved her and beg her not to let Cora forget him, but he refused to give up hope. That was not the way he wanted to start this adventure.

"I will do my best," he promised her, touching a kiss to her lips before turning to brush a gentle caress against their daughter's cheek. "I will not let him ruin me again, or keep me from you. I promise."

Lyneth didn't seem too concerned by his warning, though she knew very little about the place they were going to, or the people they were likely to meet. All she did know was that she was capable of doing some truly powerful things, yet the greatest power they could rely on was the twins' affection for their parents. She moved to embrace Gabi and George, murmuring promises to bring the boys home no matter what, as across from them, Ash leaned into James, cuddling Cora to her chest.

"We'll be waiting," she promised him in return. "I'll cook breakfast. All those revolting things you like - kippers, blood pudding, all of it. Just come home."

James couldn't help but chuckle at Ashlyn's promise, despite the gravity of the situation. "You hate kippers and blood pudding," he reminded her, though he understood what she was trying to tell him. "I don't need kippers and blood pudding to bring me home. I just need you and Cora," he told her, touching his forehead to hers and slowly breathing her in, as if he wanted to memorize her forever.

He wasn't the only one memorising this moment. Ash leaned into him, not daring to close her eyes. She knew this might be the last time they were together, a thought that chilled her blood. But she didn't dare let him see that fear. He needed to go off confident in her and in himself. So she kissed him softly, drawing her thumb over his lips as Cora fussed against her shoulder, falling back to sleep with a low sigh. "Just come home," she repeated in a low whisper. "I can't do this on my own."

"Lyneth!" he called. "Are you all right, lass?"

Lyneth was definitely not at home in the water, certainly not in her adult form. She flailed, gulping mouthfuls of air and water in equal, panic overtaking her when a cooler head would have helped her to change back to her child's shape. As it was, James had a fully grown, panicking Fae on his hands, certain she was going to drown.

She was clearly not all right, as uncomfortable in water as he was flying through the air, but he was a pirate and had learned to swim more out of necessity than choice. "Hang on!" he called as he swam closer. "Stop flailing or you'll drown us both!" he shouted, as he tried to get close and get an arm around her, so he could tug her toward land.

Recognising that help was right there, she threw her arms around his neck, coughing and spluttering as her own splashing around choked her. But just having something - someone - to hold onto was enough to calm her a little, and a moment later, James had the little girl Lyneth clinging to him, crying in fright because she couldn't swim very well.

"Shh, it's all right. We're almost there. The water is warm. You won't freeze and you won't drown, so long as you hang onto me and don't panic," he told her, in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. Whether she looked like a woman with wings or a small child hardly mattered. He had a responsibility to bring Lyneth home safely, as well as the twins, and he couldn't do either of those things if she drowned.

The little girl nodded, holding on tight to his neck and his coat, little legs kicking furiously as though that might keep her head above water. Snippets of story were going through her mind - of petty-minded mermaids and crocodiles in the waters of Neverland and its islands. It wasn't a reassuring thought. And there again, the worry of what had happened as they passed through ....she needed to be on land, to connect to the source of her own power again to determine what had gone wrong.

Thankfully, no respectable seaman couldn't swim, and the good captain was no exception. Even with his boots on, he managed to swim well enough to get them to shore, hoping the croc didn't find them first. He had no intention of losing another limb to the crocodile, or to Pan's blade, for that matter. He'd lost his own sword, but he still had a dagger, if it came to fighting the beast. As for Peter, he was not such a scoundrel as to murder a child in cold blood, whether it was a fair fight or not. By the time they reached land, he was weary and out of breath, depositing Lyneth as carefully as he could on the shore before pausing there to regain his strength.

The little girl crawled further up onto the shore, thrusting her hands deep into the white sand as she tried to calm down. It seemed to take a very long time to find what she was looking for, but they were safe for the moment. The sky was dark, shining with those few stars and a single moon, and all around them only the sound of a sleeping world.

It was taking James a little longer than he'd hoped to catch his breath and regain his strength, but then he wasn't as young as he used to be. "Are you all right?" he asked slowly, taking a breath between each word.

Slowly, Lyneth rolled over onto her back, looking up at the sky. "This place is ....it's wrong," she said, her little voice deeply troubled. "Like the world doesn't fit here. I didn't mean to drop you but I couldn't find my magic until I was on land again. It's always summer here. That's not right."

"It's Neverland, lass," James tried to explain as he, too, rolled over, propping himself up on an elbow to look over at her. "Nothing is right here." He looked around for a moment, remembering. Something was wrong - she was right about that much - but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Something is wrong. It's too quiet."

Lyneth's unnaturally blue eyes were shining in the moonlight as she gazed up at the sky. "The seasons don't turn here," she said unhappily. It was an uncomfortable thought for her, a child who had been created purely to be the embodiment of Autumn. She raised one small hand experimentally, testing her power. Yes, it was still there, manifesting in the smell of leaf mould and chill winds, in the way the green leaf on her palm found an orange hue at her touch. She sighed with relief, pushing herself to sit up. "Where do we go now?"

"What are you doing?" he asked, pushing himself off that elbow to sit up and take notice of the magic she was testing in her hand. There was no accusation in his voice; only curiosity. "Neverland is as unnatural as a boy who never grows up. There are no changing seasons. It is forever summer here," he confirmed.

"He'll take the boys to Hangman's Tree," James said, without any doubt in his voice. It was Peter's home in Neverland, and the safest place to take the boys.

"Then we should go there too, " Lyneth suggested, pulling herself up onto her feet and brushing the sand from her hands and clothes. Neverland being what it was, she was already dry, glancing down at the leaf on her hand before gently placing it back on the ground. It occurred to her that he had asked her a question she had not answered. "I was just ....checking something," she attempted to explain. "Fae are linked to the seasons. Autumn is still here, held back, but I can still touch the power. I'm just not used to it being behind a wall, that's all."

"Autumn?" James echoed, brows furrowing in confusion. "To the best of my knowledge, it has never been autumn in Neverland," he said, looking from the leaf she had just placed on the ground to the trees that surrounded them. "It feels ....different," he said, but was it really Neverland that was different or was it him"

"Summer feels old here," the little Fae said unhappily. "It wants autumn, but autumn never comes." She looked up at James, wriggling her hand into his. "Which way is this tree?"

He wasn't sure what she meant by that exactly. Neverland wanted autumn, but autumn never came" There had never been autumn in Neverland ....or had there" Despite all the years he'd lived there, he'd never really understood, except to know it was magic. He blinked out of his thoughts and looked up at the sky, orienting himself by the pattern of stars he could never forget. "North," he said, pointing in the general direction. It would be faster to get there by flying, but he wasn't sure Lyneth could do that again. Or by sailing, he thought, turning his gaze southward, in the general direction of Pirate's Cove. But he couldn't know for certain if the ship was still there or if she was still able to sail. "I'm not sure where we've washed up, but I'll know better soon," he promised, needing to get his bearings of the place and where exactly they were.

She watched as he looked around. "It'll be easier to do that from up above," she pointed out. "But we can't go too high, just in case it happens again." She squeezed his hand, slowly beginning to rise in that gentle way once more, bringing him with her as the ground fell away beneath them.

"I've never flown before," James confessed, as they floated upwards. The truth was he wasn't too fond of heights, but he refused to admit that to anyone, including himself. He couldn't remember a time when he'd ever flown - that was something Peter never shared with the Boys, until Wendy arrived. "There's something you should know, Lyneth," he started, clinging tightly to her hand.

"I won't let you fall and hurt yourself," Lyneth promised him, letting him cling as tightly as he liked to her little hand in his as they rose over the moonlit island. "What is it?" she asked curiously, wondering what else he hadn't told his wife about this little adventure of theirs.

"If the boys are at the Tree, we'll either have to draw them out or you'll have to go in alone. I'm too ....big," he explained for lack of a better word. There wasn't much he hadn't told Ashlyn, though some memories of Neverland had grown foggy since he'd left and were only just coming back to him.

"I could make you smaller," she offered, though she had a feeling this wasn't quite what he meant. "And if they're not there, where else would they be? I don't know this place, Mr. Captain." She stilled their rise, high enough to see the island laid out beneath them.

"It's night. They're always at the Tree at night," James replied, turning his gaze downward and risking a wave of dizziness to look at the island beneath them. "See there?" he said, pointing a shaky finger toward the mountains, which occupied the very center of the island. "The Tree is north of the mountains, at the northernmost part of the island."

She peered in that direction, magically slanted eyes seeing more clearly than he might have guessed. "That's a long way," she said thoughtfully. Her head turned, those eyes looking him over. "Mr. Captain ....what do you like bestest, mice or rats?"

He turned to look back at her, almost relieved to shift his gaze from the view down below, which was threatening to give him a severe case of vertigo. If only he was a child again, without fear, but he hadn't been a child in a very, very long time. He narrowed his eyes at her, suspecting he wasn't going to like what she was planning. "Why do you ask, lass?"

Lyneth offered him her most innocent gaze, though given how cheeky her resting child's face was, it wasn't very innocent. "I can make you small like a mouse or a rat, and carry you, and we'd be there in minutes," she informed him, neatly not actually saying what she had in mind at all.

"And get me into the Tree, as well," he mused aloud, though he wasn't sure he liked the idea of being shrunk. "You won't drop me, will you?" he asked, glancing momentarily downward.

"Nope, I have never dropped anyone like that." But since he'd implicitly given her permission, he didn't get the chance to ask if she'd ever actually done this before. She raised her free hand, concentrated, and James the pirate captain abruptly became ....James the field mouse, clutched gently in the talons of a turquoise banded hawk, swooping over the island toward the distant Tree.

Sensing where her thoughts were going, James opened his mouth to protest, but that protest came out as a squeak of terror as he found himself soaring high above the island in the talons of a hawk. Suddenly he was prey, rather than predator, and some part of him that was still James hoped Lyneth remembered who she was and wouldn't decide to eat him.

At least he was being carried by a Fae and not an actual hawk. Tiernan had worked hard with Lynnie all year to make sure she knew not to let the bird overtake her mind when she made the change. Neither one of them could have guessed it would come in quite so handy so soon. The hawk swept silently over the island, angling to the north, to where the Hangman's Tree stood, lit from within. She tucked her wings and dove into the branches, landing awkwardly on one foot before gently putting the mouse down on the warm wood. Then her beak lowered, nudging the little creature toward an opening in the trunk, too small for a man but definitely big enough for bird and mouse.

Lyneth giggled as he suddenly changed the subject, shuffling closer. "Yes, lots," she told him. "My mummy writes stories, too, and my daddy tells really good stories, and Uncle James and Aunty Ash know lots of stories. Hold still." Just to make sure, she put her little hands on his forehead and chin, leaning close to plant a gentle little kiss on his cheek. "That's a proper kiss, like what people give people they like or they love. There's hugs, too. Sometimes hugs is better. And cuddles, cuddles go on for ages and you can fall asleep being cuddled, and that's the best."

Peter's eyes widened, not only at the deluge of information she was babbling in a quick rush of words, but at the soft touch of her lips against his cheek that made him feel all funny inside. He touched his fingers to the place where'd she kissed him, full of wonder at the way such a simple thing could make him feel all warm and strange inside. "Love?" he echoed, the word sounding strange on his tongue.

"Aye, Peter. Love," James interjected, as gently as he could, and Peter glanced at him with a curious tilt of his head, having almost forgotten he was there at all.

"Is-is that the same as wishing you could be with someone forever?" he asked, looking back at the fading light that was his fairy, his eyes swimming with fresh tears.

The fairy replied for them with a faint tinkling sound that sounded suspiciously like she was saying, "You silly ass."

"It's close," Lyneth offered, though even she knew that wishes were nothing compared with real love. But for a little boy who didn't know what being part of a family felt like, wishes were close enough. She looked back at James worriedly, afraid she wasn't getting through to Peter.

James shifted his limbs, as much as he could, feeling cramped and sore in the small space. He couldn't wait until he could stretch his legs again under an open sky, but right now, his own desires would have to wait a little while longer. "What Lyneth is trying to tell you is that you're going to grow up, whether you stay here or come home with us," he explained, deciding blunt honesty. While it might seem cruel, Peter had to understand what would happen if he decided to stay behind.

"Home with you?" Peter echoed, looking from one to the other. "If I stay here, I'll be all alone," he said, looking to Lyneth for confirmation because grown-ups, like pirates, lied sometimes. He wasn't too sure which "us" the captain was talking about. Was he asking Peter to go home with him or with Lyneth or both"

She nodded. "There won't be anybody here but you," she told him sincerely. "Because no matter what you decide to do, I'm taking my cousins home. Hurtin' other people so you can have what you want is wrong, and it makes you a bad boy." She tilted her head curiously. "Don't you want to have a mummy and a daddy and a baby sister?"

What he wanted" What did he want, anyway' Peter blinked, unsure if he understood what it was she was offering him. "A baby sister?" he echoed again, glancing to James, slowly understanding. "You're a father now, Jamie. I saw her, the new one. She's very small. Too small for Neverland."

"Aye," James replied. "Her name is Cora." He smiled softly, as he, too, at last understood what Lyneth was after. "You could be her big brother."

Of course, neither of them were pausing to consider what Ash might make of this, but James knew his wife had a heart big enough for the whole ocean. There was room in that heart for the very first Lost Boy, too.

Lyneth patted Peter's hand gently. "You could have a family," she told him. "A mummy and a daddy, and a baby sister. And they would love you, even when you did wrong things, because that's what families do."

"A mummy?" he asked, looking to Lyneth with eyes that seemed too afraid to hope. "My mother 'bandoned me. Tink said so. She didn't care about me. What if this new mummy doesn't care about me either?" he asked, with an almost challenging look in his eyes.

The little girl looked him straight in the eye. "My real daddy was a very bad man," she told him firmly. "He hurt my mummy lots, not just by 'bandoning her, but when she found someone to look after her, he did somethin' scary to him and made her all hurt again, and nearly stole me away. But now I have a daddy who really loves me, and he's special 'cos he chose to love me and be my daddy. And my aunty Ash is lots of fun. She will love you, and teach you lots, and give you lots of cuddles. And Christmas is comin', and that's somethin' Aunty Ash and Uncle James do really really well."

"Crisp'miss?" Peter echoed again, brows furrowing in confusion, though he supposed he would find out what that was when the time came. He turned to James again, almost afraid to ask the question that needed asking. "We were best friends once, Jamie, before you went away to grow up. We had so much fun together. You said your father didn't care about you. I cared about you and you left. None of the other Boys were ever as much fun as you. If I go home with you now, how do I know you will care about me" How do I know you won't leave me again?"

Lyneth's head swung back to James. She didn't have an answer for that one; she hoped he did. She didn't think Peter would accept her telling him that he just had to trust his old friend.

James shook his head. "I don't remember that, Peter. I only remember being a pirate, and I didn't like that very much. It wasn't much fun having a hook or being chased by crocodiles," he said, trying not to wallow in self-pity or give into hatred for what had gone before.

The boy's eyes widened as he took a closer look at his old friend and nemesis. "Jamie! You grew a new hand! That's brilliant! What kind of magic is that?" Peter slid off the chair, leaving Tink behind with Lyneth, almost but not quite forgetting her, as he made his way toward the ex-pirate. "I almost forgot all the fun we used to have together, until Tink reminded me." He lifted a small, grimy hand toward James and the pirate forced himself not to flinch. "Let me help you remember," the boy said, with a touch of his fingertips to James' temple.

Cradling Tink in her hands, Lyneth followed Peter, gently nudging his arm before he could make contact. "You should ask first, before you do stuff to people," she told him. "It's rude to just fiddle with people, and it makes them not trust you."

Peter hesitated at Lyneth's nudge. He had a lot to learn, but what did one expect when he'd lived all his life as a wild boy with no one to tell him differently' "May I?" he asked, as he looked back at the man who he claimed had once been his friend.

James looked wary, but he didn't think Peter would try to cut off his hand while Lyneth stood nearby and Tinker Bell was dying. One or the other had to find it within themselves to trust the other, or this was never going to work. He gave a short nod of his head and Peter touched his fingers to James' temple, submerging the man in a whirlwind of memories.

The memories were not unlike the murky dreams he'd had from time to time, playing out like a vision somewhere in his mind's eye. It had all started with his mother's death, of course. That he remembered well; how could he forget when his whole life had changed in a moment' He remembered how it had felt like his heart was breaking, and how a boy had come to him in the middle of the night and offered to take him to a place where there were no rules and no one beat you or scolded you or sent you to bed early without supper. Lonely and heartbroken, the boy that had been James agreed, and he became a Lost Boy, only second to Peter. For years, they had the grandest adventures, but then more Boys were added to the ranks, and Jamie no longer felt special in Peter's eyes. They'd had every adventure he could possibly think of, and Jamie had started growing bored of Neverland and sick for home. And so, he and Peter had argued, and Peter had told him that if he left, he might come back, but he could never be a Lost Boy again. Somehow, James had awoken one day to find himself in his own bed, a little bit taller, and with no memory of Neverland, except that it had been some strange dream. He never saw Peter again, not until he became a privateer and his ship had gone off course and found itself in Neverland once again. And the rest was mostly history.

James' eyes slowly opened, remembering now everything all the long years had made him forget. How had they become enemies when they had once been such close friends" And now, he was a grown man and Peter ....Peter was still a small boy. "It wasn't just a dream," James whispered in wonder.

"No," Peter replied with that boyishly impish grin of his. "Do you remember all the fun we used to have now, Jamie?"

"Aye," James replied, "but that was before ..."

Peter nodded, the smile fading to a frown. "Before you grew up and became a pirate."

"Aye," James confirmed quietly.

"Doesn't mean you can't have fun now," Lyneth offered quietly, though she had no idea what had passed between them. "There's more fun in being friends with people than in fightin' them."

Peter nodded at Lyneth's remark. "That much is true," he said, offering Jamie a hand that was so much smaller than his own. "Shall we call a truce, Captain, and be friends again?"

James looked warily from one to the other. Being friends was not the same thing as family, and he was too old to be a good friend to a boy who was not much than nine years old. "I'm not sure we can be friends anymore, Peter. I'm so much older than you now."

"You could be his daddy," Lyneth suggested helpfully, still cuddling the stricken Tink against her heart. That silver light was fading slowly; it wouldn't be long now before Tinker Bell really was gone for good.

James arched a brow, but made no reply. If he agreed to be Peter's father, he was deciding for Ashlyn to be Peter's mother. And yet, he couldn't imagine Ashlyn turning away any child in need, and if there was one thing that was certain, Peter was a child in need.

Peter, on the other hand, grinned back at her. "And when we open them, we'll be home!" he declared excitedly.

"We will!" Lyneth assured the boy. "Now shush, and close your eyes." She waited until Peter had done as he was told before sending her will outward to the appropriate portal, passing through the blinding white light and out into the dawning light of morning over Maple Grove, where autumn was already beginning to slide into winter and homes dotted the greenery below just beginning to wake up for the day.

Peter obediently closed his eyes, trusting that Lyneth would bring him through the portal safely, just as Tink had only a short while ago. "Are we there yet?" he asked, as impatient as any child when they were eager for the journey to be over.

"Open your eyes and see," Lyneth told him, her form shifting back to that of a child as she drew them carefully downward toward the wide gardens of the big house below.

Peter had, of course, been here before when Tink had brought him to bring the twins to Neverland, but it had been nighttime then, and he hadn't had time to see very much. Now that daylight was dawning, he was able to see the ground of Maple Grove in all its autumnal glory. It was very different from the wildness of Neverland, and yet it was beautiful in its own - so beautiful that he gasped in awe.

"It's-it's a garden!" he said, reminding of another garden, long long ago.

James breathed a sigh of relief to have his feet back on the ground. "I am never doing that again," he said, mostly to Lyneth.

Lynnie giggled as they landed, letting go of Peter's hand so he could explore a little. She patted James' hip gently. "You don't never have to, Mr. Captain," she assured him, lifting the twin mice out of her pocket. They were awake now, but apparently not bothered by being rodents for the time being. "You should take them back to Aunty Gabi," she suggested. "Me and Peter can look after Tink and come and find you, so's it's not a big shock with Aunty Ash."

James looked over at Peter, who was a little lost in wonder at the beauty of the gardens. "Are you sure you can handle him?" he asked her quietly, keeping his voice down so Peter didn't overhear. He might only be a small boy, but he was a small boy capable of drawing blood, if the mood suited him.

Lyneth gave him what could only be called an old-fashioned look. "I could squish him like a bug," she informed her cousin by marriage sternly. "But I won't, 'cos he's sweet, and he's hurtin'. Here." She put the mice down on the ground, concentrating briefly, and James suddenly had two four-year-old boys clinging to his legs, blinking sleepily.

James was still watching Peter and wondering what it would be like to raise the boy as a son. Would he prove to be as sweet as Lyneth said, or was he already too spoiled to be saved" And what would Ashlyn say when she found out he had inadvertently volunteered her to be Peter's mother" Still, whatever his past, Peter was just a small boy who deserved to know what it was to have a family and be loved. James blinked out of his thoughts to find two bleary-eyed boys clinging to his legs.

"All right, boys. Time to go home to your Mummy. She's missed you," he said, hefting one twin into each arm before turning back to Lyneth a final time. "Thank you, lass."

She flashed him a wide grin. "You shouldn't thank me until Aunty Ash knows what we did," she warned impishly, though she was pretty sure Ashlyn wouldn't hold the decision against him. It had been her idea, after all. "This won't take long," she added quietly, her smile fading. "But he's going to need a mummy and a daddy when we come in."

"Lyneth ..." James said, mirroring her frown. "I don't think he understands the finality of death," he told her quietly. Though he and Peter had once been enemies, it seemed they had once been friends, too, and no one here on Rhy'Din understood him quite the way that James did.

"He probably won't understand properly now, either," she told him. "But he will learn. You should get him a dog." She patted his hip again, grinning at her cousins as they started to complain about being out in the cold in just their jammies.

"A dog," James murmured with a sigh. Their little family was definitely growing. Not only were they going to have a new son, but Lyneth was suggesting they get a dog, too. He wasn't sure how a dog was going to take Tinker Bell's place, but maybe that wasn't the point. "All right, boys. Time to go home," he repeated, meaning it this time. He shifted their weight in his arms before setting off in the direction of the manor to find Gabi and George and return their sons.

Left alone with Peter, Lyneth drew in a slow breath, turning to look at the boy as he explored the garden. She moved toward him, offering a hopeful smile. "How's Tink, Peter?" she asked, hoping to draw his attention back to his ailing friend gently.

As it happened, his attention was already focused on Tink, as he held her gently in the palm of his hand and walked her slowly around the garden, so that her last moments were full of his voice and the beauty of the garden. He didn't understand it or have a name for it, but the link between the two of them was nothing short of love. "She's fading," he said, unable to hide the sorrow from his voice. "But she likes it here. She says it's peaceful."

"She's not the only one of her kind here, either," Lyneth told him quietly. She made a soft noise in the back of her throat, and suddenly the garden around them was alive with little faces, little voices. Fairies of all kinds and colours, winged or pedestrian, from flowers and shrubs and even grass, peeped out to see their faery child and her friend, and the fairy he held in his hand so affectionately.

"All the fairies in Neverland died," Peter said, his words still tinged with sadness, even as he looked up to find them surrounded by fairies very like those he'd grown so fond of. "Tink said it was because people stopped believing in magic." Not the people of Rhy'Din, but the people of Earth - or at least, the Earth that had been somehow linked to Neverland.

"My mummy was born on a world where there isn't any magic at all," Lynnie told him, sitting down cross-legged on the grass as the fairies inched closer to them, curious about this boy who was new and yet felt familiar in some small way. "She had to come here when she was making me, or she would of died, 'cos there was no magic there to make me big and strong in her tummy."

Peter dropped down beside her, crossing his legs just like her, but careful not to jar the little fairy he held in his hand. He extended his hand so that Tink could see all around them and see how they were surrounded by those of her own kind. "See, Tink?" Peter told her, wanting her to know she wasn't alone and she wasn't leaving him all alone. "Just like Neverland!" He wasn't ignoring Lyneth, but he wanted to make sure Tink was able to see what he was seeing.

Curious little fairies stepped up onto his legs, peering over the lip of his hand to whistle softly to Tink. Others flew down to rest on his shoulders, or Lyneth's, sad and quiet as they absorbed the fact that this elder of their kind was breathing her last here in their garden. One of the white fairies skipped away for a few moments, coming back with a bulb she had sacrificed from beneath the ground. Clearly, they had plans.

Peter understood the fairies enough to know that they were trying to do something for his friend, but he wasn't quite sure what. "What are they doing?" he asked Lyneth quietly, not wanting to disturb them with his questions.

"When fairies die, there's a little teeny bit left over of their magic," she tried to explain. "They're going to let her put it into that bulb, and then you can plant it wherever you like when you're ready. The fairy that comes out of the flower won't be Tink, but she'll be your friend for always."

"For always?" Peter echoed, eyes wide. He knew always was a very, very long time. Tink had promised they'd be together for always, but now she was leaving him, just the same. "I'll grow old and die someday, too, won't I?" he asked, knowing at least that much about what it was to be human.

Lyneth nodded. "But that won't be for years and years," she promised him. "And my mummy says that it isn't the 'mount of time you've got that's important, it's what you do with it. Like finding out what you love, and who you love, and being happy, and helping other people be happy, and not hurting people. That's a good life."

Peter thought about that for a minute, wondering if Lyneth would die, too, or if she'd live for always, like the fairies and the other Fae creatures. The more they talked, the more questions he had, but it seemed he had plenty of time to ask those questions. What was important right now was Tink, but because of Lyneth, he had realized something else. "I love Tink, don't I?" he asked, not so much because he was unsure of his feelings as he was unsure what exactly that word meant.

Again, Lyneth nodded, smiling gently as she watched the fairies carefully maneuver the bulb into Tink's fading light. "She's been your family," she said carefully. "And nobody is going to try and replace her, or tell you to forget her. But she couldn't ever be a proper mummy, or a proper sister, for you. Humans love people in a very special way that no one else can. You're human, Peter. You deserve to have a human family."

Peter lowered his hand so that the fairies could reach Tink better, so they could help her save a little of her magic to make Peter a new fairy friend. "She's my friend," Peter whispered, his voice threatening tears. Somehow he understood that family was different, but Tink was the only friend he'd had for a very long time. "I don't want her to go."

"You can't make her stay," Lyneth said quietly. "But she won't ever really be gone, as long as you remember her." She patted his back gently, a little at a loss as to how to help him. She wasn't big enough to give him a proper hug in this shape and yet ....she didn't want to change her shape to do it. He would just have to wait for a proper hug from someone who would give him lots of them.

Ashlyn twisted about until she was beside the little boy. "Humans don't fly," she explained gently. "Not without help. And it would scare me and James if you took Cora flying. Scaring someone is like hurting them; it doesn't feel good, and it makes people angry." She saw the tears forming in his eyes, forgetting to be careful with the new person in her life as her arm wrapped about his back, drawing him close into her side to lay her cheek against his hair. "I'm sorry Tink's gone, Peter," she whispered to him. "We won't forget her, I promise."

Peter blinked, furrowing his brows at the information she was giving him. No one had ever explained these things before, though Wendy had tried. She had been the closest thing he'd ever had to a mother, but in the end, she'd left him, too. He wasn't quite sure why Ash was drawing him close, but it felt strangely warm and comforting, despite his confusion. "The fairies, they gave me her magic to plant in the ground and grow a new fairy," he told her, as simply as his child's understanding could explain it.

"We have a garden at our house," Ash told him gently. "Maybe we could make a special place for the new fairy to grow, somewhere she can see the sea. Does that sound like a good idea?"

"Can we?" he asked, eyes bright with tears as he lifted his head to regard her. There was hope in those eyes - hope for a new life he never before dared imagine. "Will I have to go to school?" he asked, looking from Ashlyn to James for an answer.

"Of course we can," Ash assured him with a smile. His question, however, gave her a moment's pause. She'd never read the book, but she knew Peter from James' perspective. "I think," she said carefully, "what we'll do, if ....if your father agrees ....is keep you home with us until the start of the new year, which is just over a month away. Then we can talk about school, and you can decide if you would like to go to school with your cousins - which you have lots of now - or if you would like to stay learning at home for a little bit longer. But you do have to learn things, like how to read and how to write and how to make numbers work together. And it isn't as boring as it sounds, I promise."

He seemed to consider this, too, with a serious look on his face, more thoughtful than anything else. "Will I be able to read stories?" he asked, curiously. One of the reasons he'd taken Wendy to Neverland, after all, was because she knew so many stories. He wasn't too sure about the rest of it - the writing and the numbers, but there were skills he possessed that most boys his age didn't.

Ash nodded, glad to have caught his attention with at least something that a basic education was good for. "Yeah," she assured him. "There are lots of stories you'll be able to read. And maybe you'll write some, too, all about your adventures someday."

"Me" Write stories?" Peter echoed, eyes widening. It had never occurred to him before that he might write his own story. He glanced to James again, as if looking for confirmation of this, and James nodded. This was something else no one had ever told Peter about growing up.

"You can do whatever you want with your life, Peter, once you're grown." And who better to set the record straight than Peter Pan himself"

Behind them, Vicki was stirring herself to life, regimenting her small army of Emily, Ben, and Lyneth into gathering the various ingredients for a cooked breakfast. Ash glanced over her shoulder with a smile as Gabi and George offered up the boys to help out, glad to see that even a restless night wasn't enough to stop Victoria Granger from taking over once she had coffee in her.

"Do I have to grow up?" Peter asked, darting a brief glance at Lyneth as the red-haired lady led the others about the kitchen.

"Everyone grows up, Peter," James replied. "It's part of being human," he explained.

"Growing up doesn't mean being boring, Peter," Ash assured him warmly. "You know what I do for a living" I get to swim in the sea, and meet lots of kinds of fish. I get to swim with turtles, and sharks, and study them. We have a big tank at home, with all kinds of fish in it, and I can tell you anything you want to know about them. And I do that because I enjoy it. It's fun for me. So you'll be able to find something fun to do as you get older."

"And I captain a ship," James volunteered. Two ships, really, but he didn't want to confuse the boy. "It's all I've ever wanted to do, ever since I was a small boy, like you," he explained. "I never expected to fall in love and have a family," he added, looking to Ashlyn with an expression that explained what the word meant without any words.

"And if I stay, I will be part of your family?" Peter asked, looking from one to the other.

Ash's smile softened as James caught her eye. Despite the circumstances, she couldn't help wanting to make this little boy feel welcome. He wasn't the demon James had described him as the first night they'd met - he was lost and alone, and he needed them. "Yeah, you'll be our son, and Cora's brother," she said, twisting a little to point at the others in the kitchen. "And you see all of them' They're all your cousins. We have a very big family."

"Cousins?" he echoed, following her gaze a moment, unsure what that word meant, as he'd never heard it before, realizing there was a lot he had to learn, besides reading and writing and numbers. "But you will my mummy and daddy?" he asked, looking back at the two adults in front of him. Cora reached out with a chubby hand toward the little boy in front of her and gave him a toothless grin, as though she was inviting him into their family, too. "I like her," Peter declared with a smile of his own as he reached out to touch Cora's cheek.

"Yes, we will, Peter," Ash promised him, catching James' eye with an encouraging smile as Cora flailed toward her new brother cheerfully, turning her face to suck his fingers as he touched her cheek. "We'll need to borrow some clothes from someone so you can have a bath and get dressed in something clean, but we'll keep these clothes," she added, gently tugging on his tunic.

Peter laughed for the first time since arriving as Cora sucked at his fingers, finding this hysterical. Thankfully, James caught Ashlyn's look before he had a chance to pull Peter's hand away. A little dirt never hurt anyone. "Want to see what the fairies gave me?" the boy asked, drawing back from Cora to reach into the pouch at his waist, uncurling his fingers from around the flower bulb to hold it out the them. "Lyneth says it holds Tink's magic and will grow a new fairy someday." He'd already explained this much, but something inside him wanted to show them this last remnant of his friend. "But I can't fly away to Neverland anymore, can I?" he asked further.

"Sure, I'd love to see it," Ash assured him, more than capable of producing the right amount of enthusiasm to take a look at the silver flower bulb he showed them. "We can plant it in our garden. And I'm sure there are other fairies in our garden. They've never said hello to me, but I bet Lynnie could get them to say hello to you." Her fingers gently stroked through his tangled hair. "If you want to be part of our family, Peter, you have to let go of Neverland. Maybe you could visit it sometimes, but you have to tell us when you're going, and how long you'll be there, or we'll worry about you. That's what families do."

As much as he despised rules, Peter nodded his head at everything Ashlyn was telling him. He understood enough about families to know that the parents made the rules and the children were expected to obey them, but that wasn't entirely why he was nodding. There was that frown again, sad and full of grief. He wasn't sure if it was right to feel happy about having a family when he had just lost Tink. It didn't seem right somehow, but she'd wanted him to be happy.

"Now Tink's gone, Neverland would be lonely," he said, sniffling back tears and trying to be brave. "I don't want to be alone," he admitted quietly.

"Oh, sweetheart ..." Ash twisted to face him, wrapping her arms around the little boy to draw him into her embrace, stroking her fingers against his hair as he sniffled. "There's nothing wrong with being sad, okay' No one's going to be angry with you for missing Tink."

James seems to take this as his cue to let Ashlyn have a moment alone to bond with the boy, who, it seemed, was going to stay. "I'm just going to check on breakfast," he told them both quietly, as he got up, taking Cora with him. He wasn't going far anyway, close enough they could call him back if he was needed.

Peter didn't seem to notice, falling in love as he was with his new mother, though he was as yet unaware of it. "You won't ever leave me, will you?" he asked between sniffles, as he surrendered himself to her embrace.

Ash nodded as James eased away, her attention needed by the little boy in her arms as he sniffled into the first proper hug he'd ever had. She didn't grimace at the dirt that clung to him, or wrinkle her nose at the smell of a child who hadn't had a proper bath in years. She just held him, stroking his hair as he clung to her. "No, Peter, we won't ever leave you," she promised softly. "We'll always be here, whenever you need us."

No words were really needed after that, though there were plenty of things he could have said. He didn't understand what it was about her that made him want to be good, that made him want to please her and make her proud. He'd never known these feelings before, not even when he'd brought the Wendys to Neverland. Suddenly, unexpectedly, something broke inside him, all the pain and loneliness of abandonment causing him to burst into a flood of tears.

"Okay, little man." Feeling him start to fall apart against her, Ash heaved herself up onto her feet, lifting him with her to tuck his legs about her waist, carrying him out of the busy kitchen and into one of the quieter rooms to let him cry himself out without feeling embarrassed to have done it in front of the other children or James. She could still remember when crying in front of her big brother and sister had been excruciatingly humiliating, even when she'd had good reason to do it. Start as you mean to go on.

And then he was winding his arms around her neck, hugging her close without even being able to put a name to what he was doing, wetting her sweater with his tears. It was strange to be crying, when he couldn't remember ever crying before, but once the dam burst, a flood of tears came forth, cleansing and strangely liberating. There was comfort in her embrace that he'd never known before. Was this what a mother's love was all about, he wondered.

Thankfully, Humphrey's study was empty, the Old Man apparently having been roped into feeding Jon's twins with him for once. Only Cosmo was there to witness the new little boy's tears with Ash, letting her settle down in the window seat with Peter on her lap, rocking him gently as the storm raged itself to a standstill. The collie sat down on the seat next to her, always eager to help, but wary of frightening this new scent as she gently dried Peter's eyes.

"You feel a bit better now?" she asked softly, wiping his cheeks with a soft tissue.

Wrung out from the crying, but feeling a strange sense of relief, he sniffled and nodded in reply as she dabbed at his tears before noting the furry face watching them curiously. He gasped in surprise, not having met many dogs face to face. Most of them had only barked at him in the night, warning him away. "Is-is that ..." he stammered, searching for the right word.

With the little boy tucked on her lap, Ash smiled at his surprise on seeing the collie sat beside them. "This is Cosmo," she introduced him. "He's my cousin Jon's dog, and he lives here at this big house, with Jon and Vicki - the lady with red hair - and their children, and with the Old Man, who is like everybody's grandfather." She winked at Peter. "Why don't you say hello to him' Put your hand out, with your fingers curled over, let him sniff you. He won't bite."

For all that Peter claimed not to be afraid of anything, he was a little wary about the dog. He'd fought pirates and natives and wild animals with bravery few grown men possessed, but faced with this furry-faced dog, he was a little uncertain. Everything here was so different and new, but learning about it all was certainly going to be an adventure. He sniffled again, trusting his new mother's judgment. She wouldn't be a very good mother if she started out lying to him, after all. He held out a hand to the dog as he was told, bravely not flinching or pulling away when the collie moved closer to inspect him.

Cosmo sniffed the proffered hand curiously and, just as Ash had known he would, flopped his tongue out to lick Peter's fingers, pushing his head against the boy's hand. She chuckled softly, raising her own hand to stroke the collie's head. "See" He likes you."

Peter laughed, never giggling. Never one to do anything by halves, if something amused him or was funny, he would always give himself over to laughter. "I like him, too," Peter said, letting his fingers move through the dog's fur. "Do you have one, too?" he asked, realizing this particular dog belonged to someone else.

"Not yet," Ash told him, her eyes twinkling impishly as she smiled at the boy. "Maybe we should ask your dad about getting one, what do you think?" She tilted her head as she looked at him. "Hungry' They're making breakfast in the kitchen."

His Dad. He looked confused but only for a moment as he remembered that the Lost Boy he'd known as Jamie and the pirate Captain Hook was to be his father now. He nodded his head vigorously to both questions. "Yes and yes, Mother dear," he said, mimicking something he'd once heard Wendy said, while he'd watched at the window.

Ash laughed quietly at the archaic form of address. "You don't have to call me "mother", little man," she told him warmly, gently setting him on his feet to take his hand as Cosmo flumped down off the window seat with them. "You can call me Mom, or Mama. We're not very formal; we like to be comfortable with each other."

"Lyneth calls her mother Mummy," Peter stoically reported, as if this was very important information as it gave him a further choice in what to call his own mother. "What would you like me to call you?" he asked, looking up at her as she took his hand, clearly enamored.

Across the table, Theo perked up in surprise. "Lynnie got wings?"

Vicki caught Jon's eye with a grin - they could always rely on their daughter to get a conversation started.

Peter laughed, the loss of Tink temporarily forgotten. "Not pickle ducks, silly! Pixie dust!" He grinned at her question and glanced over at Lyneth, clearly enamored or at least in awe of the little Fae girl. "Yeah, I saw them. She's got fairy wings only bigger! And she took Papa and the boys flying, only she had to turn the boys into mice 'cause they couldn't fly on their own."

This was probably the first Gabi and George were hearing of this part of the boys' adventure. "She turned the boys into mice?" George echoed, the first time the quiet man had joined the conversation.

In the meantime, Peter was having fun dunking his toast in his egg yolk and gobbling it up.

Gabi was blinking politely, visibly having her breakdown reaction behind her eyes in absolute silence so as not to disturb the equilibrium of the breakfast table.

Lyneth smiled sweetly over at the Bradfords. "Only 'cos I only has two hands, and I had to use my hands on James and Peter," she explained. "I put them in my pocket, they were all safe and snuggled up, promise!"

"We could have sprinkled pixie dust on them, but Tink was fading and didn't have much left," Peter explained, that frown appearing on his face again before he turned a little too quiet.

"I turned James into a mouse, too," Lyneth defended herself. "He squeaked! But he was a really cute little mouse, with little black ears and white feets!" She might have been sharing those details on purpose, deliberately taking the attention away from Peter as Ash ducked her head to reassure the boy at her side.

"Don't remind me," James muttered quietly, inwardly wincing at the memory and hoping to never repeat that particular adventure again.

Peter snuggled into Ashlyn for a moment, drawing comfort from her gentle reassurance. No matter how much Tink might have loved him, she could never hug him or care for him the way a mother could.

"It certainly sounds like an adventure!" Jon said, in an attempt to break the momentary tension. "Did you know Juno turned me into a girl once" I never want to wear high heels again!" he added with a laugh.

"A pregnant girl," Vicki added with a low laugh, remembering that particular incident only too well herself. "Daddy was pregnant with you for a whole day, Ems!"

Emily stared at her, turning her eyes to Jon in disbelief. "Was you all Mummy-sized, and everything?"

"Yes, and that is one adventure I never want to repeat!" Jon replied with a laugh. "I do have a newfound respect for pregnancy, though." And it went without saying, pregnant women.

"I would have liked to have seen that," George murmured with a smirk.

"I have pictures," Vicki told him with a grin of her own. "But you wouldn't know it's him unless you know Juno swapped our minds for a day."

Gabi giggled quietly, absentmindedly reaching over to pry the sippy cup from Maddy's fingers. She'd been a mum to babies for too long not to intervene when she could see an injury waiting to happen.

"Is my mummy or my daddy comin' to get me?" Lyneth asked then, curious about who was going to try and pretend not to be mad first from her house.

"Um, Daddy, I think," Jon replied. "He should be here soon."

"Is he gonna be angry?" Peter asked worriedly, as if he sensed that underlying tension in the room. He knew all this was his fault, but everything had turned out all right, hadn't it"

"He'll only be mad 'cos I had to come on my own without him," Lyneth assured him. "He'll be happy 'cos everyone came home safe and all." She patted Peter gently, setting her cutlery down to lift her glass and take a long drink.

Up to now, Peter's only real experience with grown-ups was with pirates and natives, neither of which were very friendly most of the time. "I'm sorry if I got you in trouble, Lyneth," he apologized, looking contrite. "You can punish me, if you want, Papa," he said, turning to James. "Shall I go to bed without supper?" This was a choice punishment he'd learned from the Wendys, though he hardly found it fair.

"Punish you?" James echoed, looking from Peter to Ashlyn and wondering if the boy was serious or if he was just playing a game. "We're not going to punish you, Peter. You said you're sorry, but you must promise to never do it again."

"I promise!" Peter declared, laying one hand against his heart, as he'd seen some of the Lost Boys do on occasion. "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye!" he said, tracing an X across the middle of his chest.

Ash laughed softly, stroking her hand over his hair. "I've never heard that version," she told him. "When I was little, we used to say cross my heart and hope to die -"

"- terrapins tickle me if I lie!" Gabi finished with her, both women dissolving into giggles, much to the confusion of most of the table.

"Nibs taught me that one!" Peter told them, smiling at the comforting touch from his new mother, but furrowing his brows in confusion at her version of the rhyme. "What's a terror pin?" he asked, looking puzzled.

"Hello!" A familiar male voice called from the general direction of the front door. "Where's my favorite trouble maker?"

"It's like a little turtle," Ash explained with a grin. "I've got a couple at home." She glanced up at the sound of a familiar voice calling through the house.

"Daddy!" Lyneth wriggled down from her seat, forgetting to remove her napkin from her neck, and ran headlong out of sight to pounce on Des wherever he might be.

Peter's interest in the terrapin would just have to wait until later. Right at the moment, his head was swiveling after Lyneth as she dashed from the room and out of view. He wasn't afraid of Lyneth's father exactly, but he was dreading a lecture, knowing that was the worst form of punishment ever.

In the other room, Desmond scooped Lyneth up in his arms, kissed both her cheeks, and hugged her close. If anyone knew what Lyneth was really capable of, it was Desmond, and though he'd been worried for her, he'd had faith she'd come home to them safe and sound. "We missed you," he told her, though she likely knew that already

Lyneth snuggled into his arms, hugging tight. "I'm sorry I had to go," she apologised. "But James couldn't of gone on his own, and we brought back Jake and Theo and Peter, and Peter's going to be James's little boy now, and you should be nice, 'cos he's scared of people being angry about what happened last night."

Now it was Desmond's turn to look confused. "Wait ....Peter is here" Peter Pan?" he asked, a little incredulously. It had been hard enough to believe she was going to Neverland in the middle of the night to rescue Jake and Theo, but this was Rhy'Din, and Desmond had learned that anything was possible.

She nodded happily. "Only he's a bit sad, 'cos of Tink dyin', but the fairies helped her make a magic bulb so's he can plant a new flower and have a new fairy friend." Lyneth beamed. "Wasn't that nice of them?"

Desmond nodded, understanding perfectly what Lyneth was talking about, even if he was still a little doubtful about the actual existence and arrival in Rhy'Din of Peter Pan. "Can I meet this Peter Pan?" he asked, wondering if Lyneth was just teasing him, though she was the most honest child he knew.

She nodded again, wriggling to be let down so she could seize his hand and pull him toward the kitchen. "He's havin' breakfuss with everyone and Hump'y," she explained, dragging Des along behind her. "Look, everyone, it's Daddy!"

Vicki, predictably enough, was the first one to speak. "Hello, Daddy! Would you like some coffee?"

"I can't stay long. Piper's been worried sick, but I'll have a quick cup," he replied, once Lyneth had tugged him into the kitchen. He looked from face to face, but it wasn't hard to find the new one in the group. The new boy looked a bit grimy and unkempt and was dressed in what looked a deerskin shirt and leggings, a bit ragged and worn. There was a single toe sticking out of his shoes, but he didn't seem to mind much.

The boy took one look at Desmond and a bright grin appeared on his face. "Scrapper!" he said, sliding off his chair and beaming up at Desmond. "You're Lyneth's father?"

"Scrapper?" Gabi twisted to look up at Desmond, a faint smile playing about her lips as Vicki and Ash separately spluttered into their own cups.

Ash glanced between the two men with a faint grin. "No, I think we're going to go back the way we came," she said, laying down the law gently for her husband. "Let's not overwhelm Peter with too much new technology all at once, hmm?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't have eaten breakfast," James muttered a complaint, though there was no certainty it would come back up.

"Can I offer some Pepto?" Jon asked, trying hard to hide a smirk. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Peter," he said, addressing the boy. "I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of you."

"You can hold Cora," Ashlyn told her husband with a grin. "So try not to throw up on her." She rose from her seat, moving to say her goodbyes to the various cousins and the Old Man still around the table, pausing to thank Des quietly for allowing Lyneth to save the day. Lyneth herself was waiting impatiently for Peter to get down from the table so she could hug him.

Peter was feeling just a little out of his element here, as his parents debated which form of travel to use to go home. "I could just fly," he suggested. Though he wasn't too familiar with Rhy'Din, he didn't think he'd have any trouble finding the house. He'd been there a few times before, after all.

"We need to talk about that," James said, though he didn't say why. "Why don't you go say goodbye to your friends" It's been a long day." And night.

"Yes, Father," Peter replied obediently, sliding down off his chair. It was hard for James to tell if the boy was being sincerely obedient or if he was just playing a game.

As soon as Peter was on his feet, he had an armful of Lyneth. The little Fae girl bounced right over to him and threw her arms around his waist, snuggling in with a grin. "Welcome home, Peter," she beamed happily, giggling as Emily decided to join in the hug as well.

The question of whether Peter was being cheeky or obedient was derailed by Lyneth and Emily's hugs, which took the boy completely by surprise. Unsure what he was supposed to do in return, he only blinked in confusion for a moment, before instinctively wrapping his arms around them. He wasn't even sure what to say in return, as he tried to sort out what Lyneth meant by the word "home", which seemed to have several meanings.

"Home?" he asked, curiously, wondering just what she meant by that.

"Home is lots of places," Lyneth told him, giggling as Emily lost interest and padded off to pounce on her brother instead. "Home is the world where you live, and the town where you live, and the house where you live, but it's mostly being with the people you love."

"But I ..." Peter started, a look of confusion on his young face again. Love was a pretty big word and a pretty big concept for him to wrap his head around. He realized he'd loved Tinker Bell, in his own way, but did he love these people who offered to be his family' Not yet, maybe. Love didn't happen overnight, but he did feel some kind of belonging here that he'd never really felt before, even in Neverland. "Do you ....love me?" he asked Lyneth awkwardly.

She lifted her head, stepping back with a cheeky grin. "Not yet," she told him, patting his hand. "I like you. Boys and girls don't love each other prop'ly until they're older, like sixteen, unless they're brother and sister." Another wicked little grin flashed over her face. "Tell you what ....ask me again when I'm sixteen, and if I do, I'll give you a kiss like your mummy kisses your daddy."

Peter screwed up his face, like that was the most disgusting thing he'd ever heard in his entire and very long life. Now that he knew what a kiss was, he wasn't so sure he wanted any more of them - at least, not the kind that Lyneth seemed to be talking about. Though he might have been born a few centuries ago, at heart, Peter was still just a nine year old boy who had no romantic interest in girls - not yet, anyway. "Now you sound like Wendy," he told her. "She was always after me to play house."

Lyneth snickered. "S'okay," she assured him, offering another hug before stepping back. "S'okay to jus' like someone, Peter."

"Are you confusing my son, Lyneth Granger?" Ashlyn asked from nearby, her voice rich with amusement.

"I do like you, Lyneth. You're my friend," Peter replied, before being rescued by his new mother, as well as Lyneth's father.

"Time to go home, Lynnie," Des reminded her, reaching for her hand. "It's way past both your bedtimes," he teased. Though it wasn't even mid-day yet, he knew they'd been up all night, along with half the family who'd stayed awake with worry. "Maybe Peter can come visit on the weekend and you can introduce him to the rest of the kids," he suggested, looking to Ashlyn for approval.

"That sounds like a very good idea," Ash agreed, laying her arm about Peter's shoulders, as much to reassure him as to gently steer him to where James was collecting Cora from her temporary basket. "We'll probably make a day of it and eat here, Humph, how's that sound?"

The Old Man looked up from Gabi's twins, who had claimed his lap to tell him all about being mice. "That would be charming, Ashlyn."

"What's a weekend?" asked Peter, looking up at Ashlyn, the first of many questions. "Bye, Grumpy!" he called over to the Old Man, accidentally smooshing together Grandpa and Humpy - or maybe not so accidentally, though he looked innocent enough.

Des rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I have a feeling you're gonna have your hands full," he warned Ashlyn, sympathetically. He had his own hands full with Lyneth.

"What makes you think I didn't already?" Ash asked cheekily, hugging Peter into her side as he said goodbye to Humphrey in a particularly impish way. The Old Man saluted Peter, wisely choosing not to take issue with the name laid on him.

"C'mon, sweetheart, this way," Ash told the boy. "You know there are seven days in a week, right' There are two days together - Saturday and Sunday - that people call the weekend, because a lot of people don't have to go to their jobs on those days."

Des chuckled again, as he steered his own bundle of trouble toward Humphrey to say goodbye before he took her home, relieved she was all right, but a little confused about her little adventure. He was pretty sure she'd be eager to share the story with him as soon as they walked out the door though.

Peter furrowed his brows at Ash, a little confused still. "Why seven?" he asked, knowing enough about numbers to be able to at least count to ten.

"I have no idea," Ash told him honestly. "That's just the way it is. Seven days in a week; twelve months in a year. I'll explain about months when you've had a bath and a rest, and I have a calendar to show you." She squeezed him gently, coming to a halt beside James. "Ready to go, Mr. Captain?"

"Careful or I may have to punish you, Mrs. Captain," James warned under his breath, almost forgetting there were small ears nearby.

"Are you going to send her to bed without supper, Papa?" Peter asked, gravely.

James sighed and exchanged glances with Ashlyn, Cora asleep on his shoulder. "No, Peter. She was teasing me and I was just teasing her back."

"Teasing?" Peter echoed. "You were lying then, right?"

"It's a way of playing, Peter," Ash tried to explain, though she knew this was going to come up again at some point. "We weren't lying, we were playing. You don't always have to go running around, fighting imaginary monsters, for it to be a game. You'll learn, sweetheart; you don't have to know it all at once, and we'll help you."

"Oh," Peter said, a thoughtful expression on his face as he took that all in. "Tink said grown-ups lie and that they can't be trusted, but I can trust you, right?" he asked, realizing Tink wasn't always right about everything.

Ash paused, turning to crouch in front of him so he could see how serious her face was. "Peter, if we ever lie to you, it will be because we're protecting you from something much, much worse," she promised him. "We won't ever lie without a very, very good reason to do it. The truth isn't always a good thing, but it's always the best thing, and we believe that, so we'll share it with you. Will you share the truth with us?"

Peter was smart enough to know when someone was being serious and he looked from one parent to the other, as if to make sure they were truly being honest with him. After all, the only grown-ups he'd ever known in his whole life had either than savages or pirates. "I don't lie," Peter replied, equally seriously. He couldn't recall a time in his whole life where he'd lied. Oh, he hadn't always played fair, but he'd never lied. He'd never had to.

"I'm very pleased to know that, Peter," Ash told him, smiling fondly. "Shall we go home, then?"

Peter nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, Mummy," he replied, unsure which form of Mother he was going to settle on yet.

Rising to her feet, Ash took hold of his hand, glancing between James and Cora, and Peter, with a grin. "C'mon then, munchkins," she declared, much to the amusement of Victoria who was on her way out of the kitchen with a twin on either hip, "home is where we're going. With magic."

Munchkins was another unfamiliar word to Peter, but he held his tongue this time around. "What does reverse teleport mean?" he asked, pronouncing both words correctly, as he looked up at his parents with that curious look on his face again. "Will it make me sick?" he asked further. He'd never been sick before in his whole life and wasn't sure he wanted to start now.