With her back turned to him, he didn't see her grimace as he pinched at his arm, or the way she rubbed at her own forearm in response. "Kind of stings," she said, sounding almost grumpy.

His eyes widened in surprise. Filled with excitement, he let go of his forearm and turned to face her. "You could feel that?" he asked in astonishment.

"You dint think I would?" She looked almost hurt by his apparent assumption, holding out her arm to show him the little red mark that had appeared in the same place where he had pinched himself.

He glanced at her arm before holding out his own to show how they had matching marks. His gaze shifted back to hers, eyes wide. "That means you love me," he whispered in awe.

Lyneth blinked at him in surprise. "'Course I do," she said, as though it was patently absurd he could ever have thought otherwise. "Why, don't you love me too?"

"I think I do," Peter replied. The concept of love was a hard one for him to wrap his head around, but he knew that he liked her a lot and that he couldn't imagine his life without her. "I mean, I care about you, and I like spending time with you, and I miss you when you're not around."

"That's all right, then," was her reply, a satisfied look on her face. "Are we goin' swimmin'" Only if we are, I got to get my swimmin' costume, 'cos Mummy says I'm not 'lowed to go without."

"We could ask Uncle Humpy to watch us in the pool," Peter suggested. He had grown rather fond of the old man, who never seemed to fail in spoiling them.

"Oooh, we could!" Lyneth seemed to light up with excitement at this idea, all but buzzing cheerfully where she sat. "Humpy likes jus' sittin' around and bein' silly."

"We'll haf'ta go get your swimmin' suit first," he echoed her previous statement. "Does your mom have any ice pops?" he asked, his mouth watering at the very thought of them. If it was warm enough for swimming, it was warm enough for ice pops.

"We can ask," Lynnie said firmly, wriggling to the edge of the walkway and letting herself drop. It wasn't something she did when adults were watching - they tended to assume she was going to hurt herself. Adults usually couldn't see the fairies that slowed her fall so she landed safely. "C'mon!"

As for Peter, he didn't need any help, and he didn't need the ladder either. All he needed was a little pixie dust, care of his fairy friend, but a little went a long way and he'd already dusted himself earlier that day. "Come on, Chewy!" he called, the two of them jumping off the ledge and sort of floating downward toward the ground. It had taken the dog a little while to get the hang of flying - or rather floating - but Peter had been training the dog since he'd been a puppy.

Chewy was still just a little ungainly in the air, but he no longer panicked when he didn't land when he expected to. Of course, that might have had something to do with not looking silly in front of Knip, Lyneth's Kneazle, who pretty much flowed down onto the grass beside his diminutive mistress with feline ease.

Thankfully, Chewy couldn't talk or he might call Knip a showoff. Also, thankfully, he'd gotten acquainted with the Kneazle early on and hard learned to tolerate her presence. Lucy was a little harder to keep track of, but today he had her safely tucked away in the pocket of his shirt.

As Peter landed, Lyneth automatically took his hand, skipping across the grass toward her own house, where Piper and Des had taken to storing clothing for Peter as well as their eldest daughter. That way, he always had something clean to wear home if their adventures got exuberant.

Peter half-skipped, half-ran at Lyneth's side, always too eager to move on to the next thing to take his time, Chewy at his heels and Snowdrop flittering nearby.

Skipping in through Lyneth's own back door found Piper baking with three-year-old Amelia's help, since Dylan was out and about with Daddy today. Mia looked up as her sister skipped in with Peter, flour on her face and hands, and a beaming smile lighting up her face.

"I make cakes!" she declared happily, waving her hands at the pair of them.

Peter couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Lyneth's little sister covered in flour. "We're goin' swimmin'. Wanna come?" he asked her, forgetting that Lyneth was supposed to ask permission first.

"Can we go swimmin' please, Mummy?" Lyneth was quick to add, batting her lashes at Piper in the hope of getting a yes.

Piper tilted her head, glancing down at Mia, who was already clapping her hands in anticipation of a swim. She chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "I suppose we're all going swimming, then," she said, waving her hand to the two older children. "Go and find your suits, you two. I'll prep little miss mess here."

"Are you done bakin' your cakes?" Peter asked curiously, plunking himself into a chair, Chewy at his feet, while Snow made a nest of his hair. No matter how much they tried to tame him, there was always going to be a little wildness about the boy.

"We're just waiting for them to cool down," Piper assured Peter with a smile, lifting Mia down onto her feet so the toddler could go and find her swim suit.

Lyneth paused, torn between getting ready for swimming and staying with Peter and her mum. "We can decorate them later. Maybe all of us could."

"Can I?" Peter asked, eyes sparkling with hope. Lyneth's house had almost become like a second home to him, and though he loved living by the sea, he sometimes wished he lived closer, as the pair was practically inseparable.

"I don't see why not," Piper told him, reaching over to stroke Lyneth's hair out of her eyes. "You're staying for dinner, after all. You should have the chance to help make dessert."

"Yay!" Peter shouted, clapping his hands and floating up from his chair, practically crowing with happiness, though this was no unusual occurrence. He was as likely to be found at Lyneth's house as she was to be found at his, especially in the summer.

Piper laughed, waving her hands at the pair of them. "Go on," she said. "Swimming costumes, towels, bags - I'll call Humphrey and warn him we're coming."

Lyneth grinned, hugging her mother about the waist affectionately in thanks before grabbing Peter's hand to rush off in search of the aforementioned bits and bobs.

Peter grinned, too, but didn't go so far as to hug Lyneth's mother. That would be weird. He liked her a lot though, but not as much as his own mother. He hurried after Lyneth, excited to start their next adventure.

It was testament to how experienced Piper was as a mother these days that they were all walking up to the big house on the Grove within a matter of minutes, everyone wearing their swimming costumes under their clothes so they could get into the pool faster. Mia toddled along happily at Piper's side, excited to be included in her big sister's plans for the afternoon even as Lyneth skipped ahead with Peter.

Peter was chattering with Mia about Cora and how she and Cora and Kai were going to be BFFs someday, just like him and Lyneth. Well, not exactly like him and Lyneth, because Lyneth was a girl and he was a boy, but almost the same. He laughed as Lyneth tugged him away from Mia to skip ahead of them, almost as if she wanted to keep him for herself. He'd completely forgotten about the ice pops, but it didn't matter, as Uncle Humpy was likely to have something just as good and Lyneth's mother had promised them cakes later.

"Do we have to wait for Uncle Humpy?" he asked uncertainly. He wasn't much for patience.

"No, you two can plunge straight in," Piper assured the two older children. "Just remember to take your clothes off first!"

Lyneth let out a happy yell, accelerating to rush around the side of the house toward the pool that awaited them on the other side. Humphrey, it turned out, was already sat at his table on the patio, Cosmo by his side, reading a book in the shade.

"Yay!" Peter echoed that yell, breaking into a run at full speed to keep up with Lyneth, but thankfully staying on his feet. He'd discovered running could be almost as much fun as flying. Chewy greeted Cosmo with a bark, tail wagging, almost as happy to see his dog friend as the children were to go swimming. Peter was just about to yank off his shirt, when he remembered Lucy. "Come on, Lucy. Time to go for a swim," he told the frog, rescuing her from his pocket and setting her gingerly in the water.

Humphrey laughed at the sight of the two small children stripping off their clothes as they ran for the pool, watching in amusement at both the careful placing of the frog and the cannonball of a jump Lyneth performed as she entered the water. One thing they could all be confident of was that, these days, Lyneth knew how to swim.

Once Peter was assured of Lucy's safety, he tore off his own clothes, laughing as Lyneth splashed him with her cannonball. Not to be outdone, he dove straight into and beneath the water, until he surfaced beside her, purposely sputtering water like a fountain. He'd swam with the mermaids in Neverland and was just as confident in the water as on land.

Piper was already grinning as she rounded the corner with Mia, lifting a hand to wave to Humphrey in greeting before she and the youngest carefully climbed down the steps into the shallow end of the pool. Lyneth cackled happily, splashing Peter with a handful of water before she swam away. "This was a good idea!"

Piper looked at Des from where she was working over the stove. "And did the boys have a nice outing?" she asked in amusement.

"I think we did," Desmond replied, looking over at Dylan for confirmation, though the boy was too busy decorating a cupcake to take much notice. "He made a couple of runs today," he informed her of their son's progress with the game of baseball.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Piper enthused, looking over at their son with a bright smile. Probably the only person in the room who knew for a fact she had no idea what a run was, was Des himself.

Presumably, she at least knew it was a way of scoring. "You should come to a game sometime," Des remarked, reaching over to snag an as yet unfrosted cupcake. "It's not as confusing as cricket," he pointed out with a smirk.

"I don't find cricket confusing at all," she countered laughingly, rolling her eyes at him. "You're setting a terrible example, you know." Ash and Jamie were expected at any moment, no doubt bringing Cora with them. Dinner tonight promised to be a rowdy affair.

"For who?" he asked, before cramming the cupcake into his mouth with a mischievous grin. Who was going to argue with him when he could pull the Dad card"

She reached out, smacking his hand gently with her fingers. They both knew perfectly well that the table full of children was watching to see if Des got punished for being a bad boy. "For the children," Piper informed him. "And because you've been a bad boy, you can clear the table and set it for dinner."

"Yes, ma'am," Des replied, still grinning. He leaned close to whisper, "It was worth it," before drawing back to plant a kiss on her lips. "Okay, gang! Time to wash up for dinner!" he said, turning to shoo the kids from the table so they could do as he said.

With Piper laughing as she went back to cooking, Lyneth and skipped down from the table as soon as she was shooed, moving to lift Mia down as well.

"C'mon, let's get soggy!" she declared, gesturing for the boys to come with her. "Aunty Ash and Uncle Jamie will be here soon!"

"Don't forget to change your clothes, Dyl!" Desmond called, as the foursome scurried off. "Is it me or are they growing up too fast?" he asked, as he moved to start cleaning up the cupcake mess for dinner.

"Far too fast," Piper agreed, setting the lid on the pan as she turned to him. "But they're enjoying themselves, and that's really all that matters. I would much rather see them grow up with smiles than stagnate and be unhappy, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, of course!" Des agreed, as he gathered cupcake fixings up and wiped the table down. "I just can't believe how times flies." Wasn't it just the other day that they'd met and he'd fallen in love with both Piper and Lyneth' And now, Lyneth was nearly nine, Dylan was old enough to play baseball, and Mia was chattering like she'd been born talking.

"At least Lynnie seems content to take her time growing up now she has a best friend her own age," Piper mused. "I don't think I could have handled another premature aging up just because she was feeling left behind."

"I'm in no hurry for her to be a teenager," he agreed with a chuckle. And in no hurry for her to be dating. As close as Lyneth and Peter were, it was all pretty innocent.

"Oh goodness, I am not looking forward to that," Piper admitted with a low laugh of her own. "I don't expect bad behavior, just a lot of staying out past curfew and needing the talk a little sooner than everyone else their age."

Desmond winced at the mention of "the talk", thankful he wouldn't have to be part of that, at least not until Dylan was older. "Yeah, let's not rush things," he said, as he went about setting the table. "You know, we're gonna need a bigger kitchen!" he said, chuckling as he took out plates and cutlery to set the dining room table.

"We'll cope," she predicted, glancing up as their front door opened and a familiar voice called out to those inside.

"Hello, hello! Is there a Peter in here somewhere?"

"Who's Peter?" Des called back with a chuckle, recognizing Ashlyn's voice. "Come on in! Door's open!" he added, though that much was obvious, since she had already peeked her head inside.

It wasn't Ash who appeared first, but Cora, three years old and toddling at speed toward the nearest adult who could stop her from either crashing into something or falling over.

Piper chuckled at the entrance, her smile warm as Ash and Jamie came into view. "Just in time."

Desmond chuckled as little Cora crashed into his leg, and he stooped down to scoop her up into his arms. "How's about a kiss for your Uncle Desmond, hmm?" he asked her, with a dimpled smile.

"Careful," Jamie warned, taking up the rear. "She's a heartbreaker."

As Cora smooshed a kiss into Desmond's cheek, Ashlyn grinned, thumping down into a chair. "You two look like you've had a day of it," she said, glancing between the other couple in amusement. "Peter wasn't too much of a handful today, was he?"

Piper shook her head. "Not at all," she assured them. "We didn't have any flying or magic incidents at all today."

"It's all Piper," Desmond pointed out, giving credit where credit was due. "Dyl had a ball game. We just got back a little while ago," he said, handing Cora off to Jamie so he could finish setting the table.

"I still do not understand this game baseball," Jamie confessed as he took Cora in his arms.

"You and me both," Piper told him with a smile, moving to gather together all the extra bits and pieces that made up the meal cooking on the stove. "But he enjoys it, that's the main thing. I think we're lucky to have children who prefer being outside to being on a computer or a console."

"Maybe you should ask Peter if he wants to join," Desmond suggested, though that would mean doing something without Lyneth as she had made it clear she had no interest in team sports.

Jamie snorted at the suggestion. "If Lyneth isn't doing it, Peter won't either."

"Even if they did do it together, they'd eventually get split into different teams at some point," Ash pointed out cheerfully. "I can almost hear the inevitable shrieks of injustice now."

"They can't do everything together," Desmond remarked, a slightly worried look on his face. One was a boy, and one was a girl; they were eventually going to be forced to split up for something sometime. He wasn't even sure it was healthy for them to do everything together.

"I don't think you're going to convince them otherwise unless one of them comes up with it themselves," Ash said thoughtfully. "Peter's deeply afraid of being parted from anyone. That's not a fear we can fix in just a few years - it might take a lifetime."

"He doesn't have to lose anyone in order to find his own interests," Desmond pointed out, but he knew better than to push the matter. Maybe in time, Peter would realize that on his own and find some interests of his own, too.

"He'll get there," Ash promised. "Just like Lynnie will. They're just very attached to each other right now. I'm pretty sure all kids get overly attached to their first absolute bestie, don't they' I sure did."

"Was your bestie a boy or a girl?" Desmond asked curiously, as he finished setting the table. He wasn't sure it mattered when they were little, but as they got older, Peter and Lyneth's feelings might change.

"A boy, kid called Ruthien," Ash said, absently getting up to inspect the pot on the stove as Piper warmed the tortillas. "We kind of parted ways when we hit eleven and we were put into different tutor forms in secondary school, but before that, we were totally inseparable."

"You think that might happen to Lynnie and Peter?" Des asked, more concerned about the idea of separating them than he let on.

"Should I be jealous?" Jamie teased his wife. "Where's the troops? Cora's losing her patience," he said, as the little girl practically wriggled her way out of his grip.

"They'll find their way," Ash said confidently, snorting at James' comment. "Yes, honey, you should be terrified that I'm going to look up the chubby boy I used to go fishing with when I was ten."

From elsewhere in the house came the sound of Lyneth and Peter corralling Dylan and Mia, apparently on their way back downstairs from the bathroom.

"Well, I didn't know he was chubby," Jamie pointed out, still smirking. It was no secret the man was vain. He blew out an exasperated breath, crouching down to set Cora on her feet. "And there she goes!" he said, as she wandered off, making a beeline for the other children.

Piper laughed, lifting the pan off the stove to take it over to the dining table, hooking out a pot stand for it. "Dinner!" she called, just as an explosion of sound announced that Cora had found her brother and cousins.

"Do you think Lucy would like a ....bullfrog?" he asked as he toweled his hands dry. Behind them, the rest of the family was busy chatting and eating and talking about their day, but Peter wasn't worried. Lyneth had promised to make his feetas for him, and she always kept her promises.

"No, sweetie, I don't think our Lucy needs a bullfrog," Ash assured him. "She's happy just the way she is, with her Peter to look after her." She kissed his hair fondly, picking up the little dish with the frog in it. "C'mon, it's our turn to eat."

"Okay, Mumma," he replied obediently, trusting her with his pet. He might have even kissed her and told her that he loved her right then and there, but there were too many people around. Instead, he skipped back to his seat beside Lyneth and flashed her a smile. "Lucy's gonna live in a t'rarium by my bed so she doesn't get lost or squished."

Lyneth's eyes went wide as she hastily swallowed her mouthful, sliding his plate over to him with his pair of "feetas" neatly rolled and ready for eating. "That's brill'yant," she crowed cheerfully. "I bet she's gonna be real happy with that!"

"I hope so!" Peter said, looking far happier than he'd been a few minutes ago. "It was my Dad's idea," he declared, with a flush of pride and a grin at the knowledge of that.

"Oh, wow!" Lyneth was beaming right alongside him at that, feeling vindicated all over again at the knowledge that she had been right to nudge James into adopting her best friend.

Peter only grinned back before taking a chomp out of his "feeta".

Across the table, Ashlyn nudged Jamie affectionately. "See?" she murmured to her husband. "I told you he'd be pleased it was your idea."

"Well," Jamie started, keeping his voice low, just for Ashlyn, "He can't carry a toad around in his pocket forever." It wasn't healthy for either the boy or the toad. Frog. Whatever.

"Frog," his wife corrected him. "So what do you think of fajitas?" she added in a louder tone. "Something I should try cooking sometime, or not?"

"Toad," Jamie whispered back. "You mean the feetas?" he said with a smirk, purposely mispronouncing the word to mimic the smalls. "I don't know, lass. Do you think you can duplicate Piper's cooking?"

"If she gave me the recipe, sure!" Ash was nothing if not confident, looking hopefully over at Piper.

The raven-haired woman giggled through her mouthful, swallowing before she tried to answer. "I will share my secret with you and only you," she intoned impishly.

"What secret?" Des interjected. "It's chicken, onions, peppers, and cheese wrapped in a tortilla!" Of course, there was a certain way of preparing the chicken, but he wasn't the one who had cooked it.

"And the seasoning, of course," Piper added with a faint grin. She reached out absently to catch a wayward strip of chicken that was dropping from Mia's wrap, deftly tucking it back inside with a wink to her youngest.

"Of course," Des replied with a smirk at his wife before taking another bite of his tortilla.

"They're really yummy, Mummy!" Dylan exclaimed with a grin, salsa and sour cream dripping from his fingers.

"I'm so glad you are enjoying them!" Piper responded fondly. "The sauce is very good for the skin, too, so long as you don't cover yourself in it on purpose." This was lost on the children, although Lyneth smirked a little along with the adults.

"You rhymed!" Peter was quick to point out to Dylan, grinning around his own mouthful of fajita. "Wanna play the rhyming game?" he asked, bare feet kicking back and forth beneath the table.

"Only if we don't use names," Lyneth immediately responded, licking her fingers clean with a bright grin.

Piper rolled her eyes, licking sour cream off her thumb before attending to Mia's soon-to-be disaster of a wrap.

"Why can't we use names?" Peter challenged. "Dylan said 'Yummy Mummy'. That's a name," he pointed out, logically enough for a nine-year-old.

"Mummy is kind of yummy," Jamie murmured, a smirk of playful mischief on his face.

"Don't scar the kids for life, dummy," Ash countered to her husband, nudging him again with a grin of her own.

Lyneth looked at Peter in confusion. "I was rhymin'," she pointed out.

"Oh!" Peter exclaimed with a chuckle. "Um, okay, Simon!" he said, blurting the first word he could think of that rhymed with rhymin.

Lyneth pulled a face, but gamely tried to pick it up. "We should wash after, 'cos we've got all this ....grime on," she managed, beaming proudly.

Peter frowned. He had only just barely managed to come up with a rhyme the last round. How was he going to come up with another one when it was such a hard word to rhyme"

"You know, I think maybe this game is bad time'on," Des interjected, saving Peter from having to find another rhyme. "If you're done with your dinner, why don't you go feed your pets?"

"Oooh, yeah," Lyneth agreed, looking to Peter. "Wanna come play with the food?" She extended this invitation to Dylan. "You can feed Loki, Dyl!"

"Okay!" Peter was quick to reply. He'd just about finished his feetas anyway.

"Hold your horses, buckaroo!" Desmond said, snagging Dylan before he made his escape so that he could wipe the sauce and sour cream from the boy's hands and arms first.

Giggling, Lyneth made a big show of wiping her hands and mouth clean before she wriggled down from the table, pottering into the kitchen to prep for feeding the bigger animals.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes in amusement. "I have no idea how you guys handle her," she admitted, tearing up Cora's wrap so the little girl could see how many bites until she was finished. "She's a wildcard."

"Hurry up, Cora, so you can come out and play!" Peter urged his sister before following the queen bee into the kitchen to feed their pets.

Cora blinked, looking up at her parents as she chewed. "Do I has to?" she asked worriedly. She didn't want to upset her brother, but she was that rare child who took her time eating and enjoyed every moment of it.

"No, sweetheart. You don't have to," Jamie assured his daughter. "Peter just doesn't want you to feel left out," he added, assuming that was Peter's intention. He did seem to adore his little sister.

"I play after?" the little girl asked hopefully, lifting another handful of torn up fajita to her mouth. "Wiv Mimi?"

Piper bit down on a faint grimace. She was just about happy with Mia as a nickname for her youngest; Mimi was pushing it a little far.

"You mean Mia?" Jamie corrected gently. It was obvious to anyone who saw them together that Cora was the apple of her father's eye. Of course, he was equally fond of Peter, but theirs was a different relationship.

Cora nodded happily. It wasn't as though Mia had run off with the other children, either. She was still working her way through her own dinner bit by bit next to Des.

"So, where are the Terrible Twosome sleeping tonight?" Jamie asked, regarding Peter and Lyneth. All summer, they'd been trading houses, but summer was quickly coming to a close.

Piper glanced at Des, but they'd discussed this plenty of times. "We don't mind taking Peter again tonight," she said. "But ....well, I was wondering if there was a reason you were so determined to live out on the Point while the children are so young."

Jamie exchanged a glance with Ashlyn, a small frown on his face, before turning back to Piper and Des. "Actually, we've been wondering that ourselves," he said. He'd had the house by  the sea built for Ashlyn before the children had come along, never realizing it might someday prove too far away.

"Far be it for anyone to tell you what to do, but perhaps you could consider coming to live on the Grove until Peter and Cora are old enough to travel back and forth safely without you?" Piper suggested a little tentatively.

"We've been thinking about it," Jamie said, looking at Ashlyn again, as if hoping she'd add her two cents. Thinking, but as yet, they hadn't done anything about it. The truth was, he felt torn. He had grown attached to the house by the sea and didn't want to give it up, especially given the fact he'd had it built as a wedding present for Ashlyn.

Ash looked just as reluctant as he no doubt felt, but they both understood that this wasn't really about them. She sighed, her smile just a little resigned as she curled her fingers into James'. "It's a hard decision," she admitted to the others. "Our house at the Point, it's home. It's ours. But you're right, it's a long way away from family and the other kids their age. If we moved back to the Grove, it wouldn't be permanent. We would always plan to go back to the Point."

"Or in Lir's cave," Piper added, setting the pan on the counter and turning the faucet so they could rinse everything before loading the dishwasher. "He doesn't come out much in winter, so if we lose them during the snow, they're usually in there with him."

"Right," Des agreed, moving about the kitchen and dining room to set things right. Double the gathering meant double the mess, especially when half of them were children. "Is Peter adjusting better these days?" he asked his cousin.

Ash thought about her answer before she gave it. "He's doing better," she said eventually, snagging a cloth to wipe down the dining table. "I mean, he probably has an unhealthy attachment to everyone and everything he knows right now, but I think that's gonna ease back over time. The one thing that terrifies him is the thought of being alone."

"Which is why he brought Theo and Jake to Neverland in the first place," Desmond recalled. Or at least, that's what he assumed. He couldn't imagine ever being as alone as Peter had been, with no one but a fairy friend to love.

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "I know it seems a little weird just how attached he is to Lynnie, but I think she's got a good hold on it. I trust her not to let him get so attached that he can't function without her."

"I think she's good for him," Desmond agreed, though he didn't want Lyneth or Peter to form an attachment that might become an unhealthy one.

"I don't think he would have settled in as well as he has without Lynnie," Ash admitted. She bit her lip. "But being closer to other kids their age might help him spread his wings a little when it comes to friendships."

"She's a blessing," Desmond said. Though she wasn't his daughter by birth, he had come to think of her as his. Theirs was a special bond that was rare even for fathers and daughters who shared a bloodline.

"I still owe you for letting me borrow her that night," Ash pointed out. Des and Piper had never called in that favor. "I still can't quite believe how gorgeous she's gonna be when she finally decides to be an adult."

"Let's hope that's not for a while yet," Desmond said, frowning a little at the thought of it, not because he disagreed with Ashlyn, but because he wasn't ready for her to grow up yet.

"She's got a reason to grow up at a normal rate now she has Peter," Piper offered in amusement. "She won't want to leave him behind."

"I suppose not," Des admitted. He made no remark on what Lyneth looked like as a woman, hoping if he didn't acknowledge it, it wouldn't happen for a long time yet.

"So long as they're happy, I'm good with them hanging out together," Ashlyn commented. "If it ever gets weird, that's when I'll intervene, not before."

"Maybe when they're teenagers," Des suggested with a chuckle, only half kidding, though that was still a few years away yet. "So, I guess they jointly decided to quit STARS. Has he mentioned that yet?"

"I wouldn't call it mentioned," Ash said, trying not to laugh. "He sort of walked in and announced it to a breathless audience. Something along the lines of pretending to be someone different every week is boring, I'd rather be me."

Desmond laughed. "That sounds like Peter," he said. "Has he mentioned what they want to do instead?" he asked, assuming it wasn't anything so innocent as take ballet lessons.

"Not yet," Ash mused. "I think they're looking for something they want to do together, but they don't have the experience to be able to pinpoint what it is. I thought about maybe introducing them to sports, but which ones?"

"Not fencing!" Des was quick to point out with a wry chuckle. Peter had already gained some experience with a blade in Neverland, but it wasn't something a normal nine-year-old should be doing in the playground.

Ash laughed. "What about a martial art, then?" she suggested. "Something like karate, or judo' Something they can do together, but advance individually through?"

"Hmm," Desmond murmured thoughtfully. He'd taken some martial arts classes himself as a boy and had found them helpful not only in teaching him self-control, but also in focusing his anger. "That's not a bad idea, but I'm not sure Lyneth would be interested." Then again, the grown Lyneth was a badass in her own right already.

"It wouldn't hurt to ask," Piper said thoughtfully, turning the dishwasher on finally. "She only really knows how to fight with magic. Learning how to defend herself without relying on magic would be good for her."

"I think it would be good for Peter," Desmond admitted, though he didn't want to go into any explanations about his own past and how it had helped him.

"They could practice together, too," Ash said with a grin. "That would be very funny to watch."

"You're right. It would," Des admitted, moving to pour himself a cup of coffee. "I wonder which would be better at it."

"Lynnie's sneaky, but Peter's quick," Piper said thoughtfully, setting out the decorated cakes on a plate. All the children knew which ones belonged to them. "They might be evenly matched."

"Should we suggest it and see what they say?" he asked, before taking a sip of his coffee. Cora and Mia were still too young to worry about lessons of any kind, and Dyl seemed set on sports.

"Hey, are you sharing that, or is it Desdemona's special super-sekrit coffee?" Ash asked her cousin teasingly, nudging his arm with her own. "Maybe we should wait a couple of days before suggesting our kids start throwing down with each other."

"I can share," Des replied with a smirk of his own, as he set his cup down to pour one for Ash. He didn't bother to offer Piper a cup as he knew she wasn't much of a coffee drinker. "One thing at a time," he agreed. The idea of moving from one home to another was enough of a change for now.

"Signing them up for judo could be a Christmas present for them," Piper mused, smirking as Des moved to caffeinate his cousin.

"So long as it's something they both want to do," Desmond remarked. It might be something only one of them wanted to do, but he had a feeling they'd be more inclined to do it together.

"We can test the water over the next few months," Piper said confidently, settling into a seat at the kitchen table with her own cup of tea. "What do you suppose that husband of yours is doing with the zoo?"

Ash snorted. "Honestly' Only heaven can tell."

"They probably have him pushing them on the swings or something," Des said, mostly of the girls. Better Jamie than himself! He got conned into doing that often enough in the past, mostly by Cora and Mia.

"At least they fed the dogs and Knip," Piper added, nodding to the bowls on the floor that contained only the barest residue of the food that had been in them.

"Should we join them?" he asked, not looking too anxious to leave the quiet of the kitchen just yet and rejoin the troops. There were cupcakes to think about though.

"They'll remember they haven't had dessert in a little while," Piper predicted, just as comfortable where she was sitting with her tea.

Ash chuckled at the pair of them. "Gods, you two are nauseatingly domesticated," she teased.

"That, my dear, is entirely your fault," Des pointed out with a cheesy grin. He might have drawn his wife onto his lap if it wasn't for the presence of his cousin.

"How is it my fault?" Ash asked laughingly, sipping her coffee. "You're the ones who keep volunteering to have my Lost Boy overnight. He's practically been living here this summer!"

"I meant Piper!" Desmond said, chuckling again. "We've enjoyed having him," he added at the mention of Peter, looking to Piper to hopefully back him up on this.

"Things are never boring when Peter and Lyneth are in cahoots," Piper agreed. "But he's a good boy. You're going well with him, Ash. And Cora is turning into a polite little princess."

"Things are never boring, when either of them is around," Desmond murmured, whether it was Peter, Lyneth or both of them together at the same time. "And Dylan is like the third musketeer," he added, glad the pair never chased him away when he wanted to join them.

"They certainly get up to all sorts of things together," Piper said with a smile. She tilted her head at the sound of a small explosion of laughter from outside. "Sounds as though they're enjoying themselves."

"Think we should go rescue your husband?" Des asked, half-teasing. He didn't look too eager to get up from his chair just yet, and he hadn't heard any protests from outside.

"I'll go," Ash volunteered with a chuckle, setting her finished cup down. "You two keep reenacting Parents of the Victorian Era a little bit longer - you deserve the break!"

"Parents of the Victorian Era had servants!" Desmond pointed out, before realizing that was the point she had probably been trying to make. At least, those who were wealthy did.

Ash could hear Piper laughing as she slipped out through the back door, moving to join the gaggle outside who seemed to have congregated around Chewy in the middle of the garden. "And what is going on here, hmm?"

Peter was the first to pipe up, pointing at the chocolate lab with a dimpled grin on his face. "The fairies are sitting on Chewy's back!" he explained, whether she could see them or not.

"Are they really?" Ash could not see them, of course, but she joined the little circle with a smile, tucking her arm around Jamie's waist to lean into his side. "Dare I ask what they're doing?"

"Um," Jamie started. "It almost looks like they're having a party," he told his wife quietly, though it was hard to tell with fairies. "I'm just waiting for Chewy to shake them off," he added with a smirk.

"He seems pretty content," she commented, watching as the dog walked carefully in a circle, apparently doing his best not to shake his passengers from their perch. "He doesn't look like he's in distress."

"You can't see them?" Jamie asked, arching a dark brow. He had learned that some people could see fairies and some couldn't, and Ash still seemed to belong to the latter group, despite having Peter Pan for a son.

She shook her head with a smile. "I'm not a child, and I'm not touched by fae or fairy magic," she explained easily. "I know they exist, I just can't see them."

He might have suggested Peter sprinkle some fairy dust on her, but he wasn't sure she'd appreciate that too much. "It's strange. I can see them plain as day," he murmured.

"You spent a long time in Neverland," she reminded him. "There's a little fairy magic in you, even now." She squeezed him affectionately.

That only made him frown. He didn't really want fairy magic in him and never had, but it was probably a good thing with a son like Peter Pan. "I suppose," he admitted, sliding an arm around her shoulders to draw her close and drop a kiss to her cheek. "Love you," he whispered for her ears alone.

She smiled, turning her head until her nose brushed his. "Love you back," she murmured in turn, her eyes sparkling with mischief for a moment. "Kinda like the idea of turning the Point into our dirty weekend getaway for a while."

He grinned at that thought. "That means leaving the kids with a sitter, you know." Here at Maple Grove, there were plenty of people willing to take their children off their hands for a few nights.

"Haven't we been doing that every other night this summer anyway?" she teased, kissing the tip of his nose. For the moment, she was blissfully unaware of all the little faces watching them being affectionate to one another.

"You be a good girl for your aunt and uncle, okay?" he asked her, though he knew she would be.

Cora nodded, reaching up to hug him with very sticky fingers. "'es, daddy," she promised, planting a sticky kiss on his cheek.

Ash grinned, moving over to kiss Peter and give him a hug. "You have fun, okay?"

"We'll see you tomorrow," Jamie assured his daughter, though she didn't seem to need his reassurance, as he hugged her back. At that moment, he realized it was him who was going to miss her far more than she'd miss him. "Love you, sweetling," he whispered in her ear.

"Lub 'oo," his little girl whispered back, beaming as she pulled away to finish eating her cupcake. She might have a wobble later on, but Piper and Des knew they could always call Jamie and Ash so Cora could feel connected to them again.

Jamie smiled, not letting Cora see how torn he felt at letting her go. How was he ever going to let her grow up" He reached over to ruffle Peter's hair. "Keep an eye on your sister," he told the boy, trusting the boy to do just that.

"And have fun, both of you," Ash added with a smile, clicking her fingers to call Chewy to her side. Leaving Lucy and her live crickets was probably enough for Piper without adding another dog into the mix as well.

"Sorry about the crickets," Jamie murmured to Piper once the goodbyes had been said.

"We'll be fine," Desmond assured his cousin and her husband. "And so will they," he added. It wasn't the children's first sleepover, after all.

"We'll miss them more than they'll miss us," Ash agreed, sliding her hand into James' as they made their goodbyes to the adults. "Call us if they get rowdy or weird, okay?"

Desmond smiled. "Go already. They'll be fine," he said, sliding an arm around Piper's waist as they said their goodbyes.

James closed his fingers around Ashlyn's, eager to get home and have her all to himself, but reluctant to leave the children behind. "Call if you need anything," he added, just for good measure.

"Get out," Piper told them affectionately, her soft smile more than enough to make the order seem far less harsh than it was loving.

Ash laughed, giving Jamie a tug to the door, Chewy padding in front of them. "We're going, we're going."

"Night!" Jamie called back as he was half-dragged to the door. He laughed as they stumbled outside, knowing he was being ridiculous. "Sorry, love. I guess I'm an old worry wart."

"We both are," Ash assured him fondly. "I guess it's all part of being a parent, huh?" Ahead of them, Chewy galloped down the path, pausing at the gate to look back as though expecting them to be chasing him.

"I guess," Jamie agreed. It wasn't Peter he was worried about so much as it was Cora, but he also knew Peter adored his little sister and would do everything he could to keep her safe.

"They'll call us at bedtime," Ash predicted, squeezing his hand as they stepped out through the gate and turning them in the direction of the chestnut trees not too far away. "We'll just have to make sure we're not too distracted until afterward."

"Good luck with that," Jamie remarked with a snort and a chuckle. It was more likely they'd simply fall asleep than get distracted anyway.

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Why am I the one who needs the luck in this scenario?" she demanded playfully. "You're the one who occasionally goes all lady-grabbing pirate on me. Which I love, don't get me wrong."

"Are you saying I can't touch my wife and talk to my children at the same time?" he asked, that brow of his arching upwards as he eyed her seriously.

She snorted, cackling a little at the mental image that sprang to the fore at that. "Jamie, you just sent my mind to some very inappropriate places."

"I mean on the phone!" he said, looking and sounding just a little exasperated. Thankfully, he had learned what a phone was and what it was for. He had learned a lot since winding up in Rhy'Din, but some things still confounded him. At the moment, it was his wife.

Cackling at the exasperation on his face, Ash leaned up to kiss his cheek. "You're so easy to tease, baby," she murmured tenderly. "I am never going to get tired of it."

"Hmm, you're lucky I love you," he told her, smirking as she kissed his cheek. He didn't bother to say what he might have done about her teasing if he didn't love her.

"I absolutely know it," she assured him, glancing up as the shade of the trees blocked the evening sun. "Let's take a look at the Gables, shall we" It's just through here."

"Aye, let's have a look," Jamie replied, letting her lead the way, hand in hand. How bad could it be? He'd yet to find any dilapidated properties at the Grove.

Sure, the garden was over-grown a little, and the whole place needed an overhaul, but on first inspection, Chestnut Gables was not that bad at all. It smelled a little of dust and mold, and there was definitely a leak in the roof over the kitchen, but on the whole ....it really wasn't that bad.

Jamie kept his thoughts to himself as they looked around the house, making a mental note of things that needed work. The house wasn't as nice as the one he'd had built for her at the Point, but all it needed was a little work. "What do you think?" he said, asking for her opinion before sharing his own.

Ash sighed as she looked around. "I think I don't want to move, but moving is better for the kids, so it might as well be to here?" she said, offering him her honest opinion. "It needs work, but not as much as I thought it might."

"Nor do I, but it would be better for the children," he reluctantly agreed. The children had become rather attached to their cousins, and the Point was too isolated and far away.

"We can go home when they're older," she said with another soft sigh. "I guess I well and truly grew up, if I'm making this decision." She snorted at her own realization. "Wow, your wife became an adult. Shocker."

"About time," he teased, playfully bumping her arm. In all honesty, he thought she'd always been the more mature of the two, despite the fact that he'd lived a lot longer.

Ash laughed, the sound more her own laugh than the more put-upon option that had emerged earlier in the evening. "You're an adorable dick sometimes, you know that?"

"Are we talking about my charming personality or what's below my belt?" he asked, a teasing gleam in his sea-blue eyes. He was just vain enough to know he was good-looking, but he wasn't sure he'd go so far as to use the word "adorable" to describe the parts of his body that made him a man.

"Bit of both," she teased back. "Your decision which bit is which." Grinning, she drew back, turning to make sure the stairs were still safe by stamping up them as hard as she could.

Jamie winced as Ashlyn stamped up the stairs, tempted to close his eyes in case she fell through, but instead, he hurried after her, shouting, "Be careful, Ashlyn!"

"Better me than someone else," she called back. Perhaps she wasn't quite the adult she'd just claimed to be, bouncing around on the top floor just to be sure. She was careful not to do it anywhere near the hole in the roof, though.

"You're going to give me a heart attack!" Jamie claimed, as he reached for her arm to pull her close. There was a slight look of panic on his face, as though he was truly afraid she might fall through the ceiling.

She giggled as he pulled her close, looping her arms about his waist. "I don't have a death wish, baby, we're good," she promised. "These houses were built to last - if it was dangerous, it would be locked up and fenced in, like some of the others."

"Some of the others?" he echoed, looking alarmed. "Why don't they tear them down?" he asked, surprised to hear there were houses somewhere at the Grove that were actually decrepit.

"Maybe because Humph remembers the people who lived there when he was young?" she suggested. "I don't think anyone would suggest tearing them down while he's in charge of the estate."

"Yes, but ..." Jamie trailed off, unsure it was worth debating. The old man was the family matriarch, after all, but in Jamie's opinion, decrepit houses were nothing but a hazard.

"Is this really what you want to spend your evening thinking about?" she asked innocently, tilting her head as she smiled. "You're gonna start getting worry lines again."

"No, I just ..." He sighed. There wasn't much point in arguing about it. "It just seems like such a waste ....and someone could get hurt," he admitted with a shrug. Then again, what did he know"

"So maybe you should talk to Humph about it," Ash suggested. "He trusts you, and he likes you. I mean, he had a ship built for you to take me all over the world in."