17/3/2004

Title: All Because Of A Thimble Pt.II - The Adventure Continues.
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: One - The First Step.

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Author's Note: Yup.....you caught me......I'm back writing again after an indecently short break...what can I say....I'm hooked!! This is a baby-fic, so if you're not into the whole Peter/Wendy/grown-up relationship stuff, as per my previous three stories.....run away.....NOW. Otherwise, settle in for a comfortable ride on the adventure rollercoaster that is the Squeezynz Express. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The young woman in the hammock held her hand up so that the sunlight glinted off the gold band encircling the third finger of her left hand. She smiled to herself, the ring glowing as she lowered her hand to rest across her middle, her eyes sliding shut as the hammock rocked lazily in the hot afternoon. She didn't usually feel so tired in the daytime, but this one had been especially warm, the insects buzzing loudly among the leaves and lulling her to doze, her lips curved up slightly at the corners. It had been two months since she'd returned to Neverland, the first few weeks fraught with danger and adventure as she and Peter had battled Captain Hook and a wicked Indian Princess, their lives frequently hanging in the balance. Now the island was at peace, Hook banished back to his past, never to return; Tiger Lily banished to the other side of the island. Peter had wanted Wendy to order a far worse punishment, still seething over the girls wicked deception of himself and attempted murder of Wendy. But after a blissful honeymoon, Wendy simply didn't have the heart to cause more bloodshed or heartache for the Indian Chief, father to Tiger Lily, so she left the exotic Princess's fate up to her own kind. Peter had fumed, but accepted her reasoning, especially as she offered to explain her motives while they took a dip in the waterfall pool, to allow him to cool off. As it turned out, cooling off was the last thing on their minds when they eventually left the pool, the secluded glade mute witness to their passionate lovemaking, their cries of release drowned by the roar of the falls.

Now Neverland basked in sunshine, her forests lush and burgeoning with new life. Their tree house was almost hidden with the luxuriant growth of the vines that wound their way around and through the huts perched in the branches. Their sleeping hut was redolent with the scent of the trumpet flowers that continued to bloom and pervade the air with their exotic perfume. She had one of the brilliantly coloured flowers in her hair, and occasionally a bumble bee would hover about her head, irresistibly lured by the sweet honey-suckle scent. The sound just added to the background hum of the insects and Wendy found herself dropping into a light sleep, her face dappled in shade from the overhanging branch above the hammock.

In the short time she'd been on the island, her skin had lost its fashionably pale complexion, the fresh air and sunshine giving her a softly glowing golden colouring that only enhanced her sun-touched hair which still hung down to her waist. She had suggested cutting it once, as she didn't think it very practical, but Peter had argued vehemently against it, and she'd happily conceded, not ready to give up her crowning glory quite yet. All the fruit and fresh caught fish and meat had rounded out her slim figure, so frequently starved of food before she left London, so that she could fit more snugly into her tightly laced corset. Those days were a thing of the past, her clothes now more practical than pretty, her body softly rounded while still slender. Wendy felt more vital now than she had in her entire life, barring her earlier adventure as a child. If she had any complaints, it was the persistent nausea that nagged at her. It never got bad enough to make her ill or throw up, but it persisted all through the day, regardless of what she ate or drank or did, or, as in today's case, did not. It had started a couple of days before, a general feeling of upset, nothing serious, just a nagging nausea that she put down to the changes in her diet and the way she was living now, compared to her previous life. She hadn't told Peter, not wanting to worry him, or to have any fuss over the whole silly matter. She just did her best to ignore it and hoped it would eventually go away. As if conjured up from her thoughts, a shadow passed over her and a drop of water landed on her cheek.

As she ignored them both, a pair of warm lips pressed against her cheek, a tongue darting out to lap up the errant drip.

"That tickles Peter!"

Opening her eyes, Wendy found herself nose to nose with her very wet and impossibly handsome husband.

"You were snoring," he announced, grinning at her, his eyes alight with mischief.

"I don't snore....and its very impolite of you to say anything if I did....which I don't!"

Laughing, Peter shook his head, a spray of water covering Wendy with icy drop, her hands reaching out to push him away. The force of her push tumbled her out of the hammock so that she ended up landing on top of Peter, both of them giggling, Peter finding himself with an armful of pliant and warm Wendy. Leaning over him, Wendy gazed down into his face, her finger tracing the path of a drop of water as it slid down from his hairline. As she reached down to kiss it, Peter shifted and she found her lips possessed by his, her eyes sliding shut as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her firmly to his damp skin.

Breaking free, she sucked in a much needed breath, her hands bracing herself on the decking as she pulled away, Peter pouting up at her in disappointment. As she raised her head she saw a length of twine with three plump fish threaded through their gills, their scales glittering in the sun.

"Good fishing?"

"Not me.......Jack sends them with his best regards."

"Oh....then why are you wet?"

"I was telling Merrill the story you told me last night.....and I, er, fell in."

"Fell in!"

"Well....Merrill pulled me in.....she got tired of waiting for the end and decided I looked like I needed to cool off."

"Oh....I see." Wendy looked down at Peter, her eyebrow arched as she pursed her lips in annoyance. Unaware of anything wrong, Peter stretched, his muscles rippling as Wendy pushed herself back on her heels and got up. Still grinning, a trifle smugly to Wendy's miffed eye, Peter leapt to his feet, reaching down to snag the fish before heading off towards the eating hut.

"I'm starved......ready for something to eat?"

Wendy watched as he sauntered over the rope bridge, his arm swinging the fish back and forth.

"Ravenous.." Wendy called, turning back to pick up the rug and pillow tossed out of the hammock in all the kafuffle. As she bent down, she suddenly felt dizzy, the wooden slats whirling around in circles as she reached out and grasped the edge of the hammock to regain her balance. The hammock proved useless, swinging wildly as Wendy closed her eyes, nausea rising as the trees around her started to join in the dizzying dance. With a small sigh, she collapsed, her head landing fortuitously on the edge of the pillow as she slumped to the ground.

Peter heard the soft thump and turned to look back to where he'd left Wendy. Seeing nothing, he frowned slightly, putting the fish down on the workbench before turning back to cross the rope-bridge. As he approached the platform he saw Wendy's slumped body, alarm shooting through him as he hurried towards her unconscious form laying on the boards.

"Wendy!" Reaching her, he knelt down, noting her pale face and shallow breathing. He felt for the pulse in her neck and breathed a little easier when it responded to the pressure of his fingers with a strong and steady beat. Unsure what had precipitated her collapse, Peter lifted her in his arms and flew with her to their sleeping hut, carrying her to the bed and laying her down, his shaking fingers brushing the few strands of hair that dared to stray across her face. Worried out of his mind, Peter could only sit by her, one of her limp hands in his, his other hand stroking her hair, taking comfort from her steady breathing and strong heartbeat. It was only a few minutes later, although it seemed like hours to her worried husband, Wendy's eyelids fluttered and she moaned softly, coming awake to see Peter's anxious face above her, his eyes darting over her face, his own creased with worry.

"Peter....what happened.....why am I here?"

"You fainted....collapsed, I don't know what..I found you lying next to the hammock. How do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Pushing herself into a sitting position, Wendy blinked at Peter, unable to account for her inexplicable blackout.

"I don't think it hurts....no it doesn't, and I feel.....fine, I think."

"Did something bite you.....or....or.."

"Peter," Wendy lay a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm his frantic questions, "I'm fine....I don't know what it was, but I'm fine now."

"I'm taking you to see Jack.......he'll know what it is."

Seeing the look on his face, Wendy thought it better to acquiesce than put up a fight. When Peter looked that determined, it was simply better to allow him free rein, than try to dissuade him. Nodding, Wendy swung her legs over the side of the bed, ready to stand up, but as she rose, the room started to swirl again and she put a hand to her head, nausea once more choking her throat. Peter, already beside her, saw her sway and instantly put his arms around her, his face furrowed in alarm as Wendy leant against him, her eyes shadowed with fear. Ignoring her faint protest, Peter scooped her into his arms and walked out of the sleeping hut, Wendy shutting her eyes to stop the trees from whirling dizzying around her. With the ease of long practice, Peter launched himself into the air, Wendy's weight no hindrance to his ability to fly. His heart thumping in his chest, he flew them both towards the new Pirate Town that lined the shores of the Mermaid Lagoon, the mast of the Sea Witch clearly visible from some way inland as she lay at anchor in the natural harbour. As he approached the small town he saw Jack sitting outside his hut, mending a net. A shout from Peter alerted Jack to their arrival and he rose to greet them, curiosity replaced by worry as Peter hurried towards him with Wendy clasped in his arms.

"Jack....something's wrong....Wendy's sick."

Seeing the girls pale face, Jack didn't hang about, ushering Peter into his hut, following him in as several other pirates peered out of their dwellings in curiosity.

"Put her down here lad," Jack told him, indicating a narrow bed. Peter lay Wendy down as gently as possible, kneeling on the floor beside her, his fingers threading through hers as he waited for Jack to return. When Jack appeared, he was holding a battered medical bag, which he placed on the small table beside the bed.

"You'll have to wait outside, Peter lad, I need to examine this young lady," he raised his hand when Peter started to protest. "I won't keep you waiting long, but you must allow me to work. Now outside with you, I'll call you as soon as I know anything."

Climbing to his feet, Peter leaned down and pressed a kiss to Wendy's brow before letting go of her hand and backing out of the room, Jack closing the door firmly on his anxious face before turning back to survey his patient.

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Peter kicked at a pebble, his hands on his hips, his face pulled into a scowl as he paced up and down in front of Jack's hut. Rufus sat cross-legged on the ground in front, his broad back against the huts wall, his round face looking up at Peter as he paced back and forth.

"Missy Wendy be alright.....Jack'll fix her."

"I hope you're right Rufus....I just wish....." Peter kicked at the ground again, swinging around to pace away until the sound of the door opening brought him running up to face Jack. The ships doctor was wiping his hands on a clean towel, his expression one of suppressed delight.

"What is it Jack.....she not...she won't..." Peter couldn't force the words past the obstruction in his throat, his eyes burning.

Jack took pity on him and stepped down to place a warm hand on Peter's shoulder. "Steady lad....there's nothing to worry about....it's a perfectly natural reaction."

"Perfectly natural reaction to what?"

"Peter lad......you're going to be a father!"

Jack grinned broadly, his face wreathed in lines of merriment as Peter stood as if poleaxed, his mouth dropping open in shock as he stared at Jack, his hands slipping off his hips to rest at his side.

"Are you saying...er..what are you saying?"

"I'm saying lad, that your Wendy is expecting a baby....in about seven months, or thereabouts....." Jack glanced down at Rufus, winking at the giant as Rufus grinned up at him.

Reaching for Peter's lax hand, Jack started to shake it vigorously, "Congratulations are in order.....if only I had a cigar!"

Peter came out of his shock and pumped Jacks hand enthusiastically, a grin stretching across his face as the doctors words sunk in.

"I'm going to be a.....father!"

"Yes lad.....you are. Now go and see your young lady, she's fine..." Jack tailed off as Peter leapt past him and galloped into the hut before Jack could finish speaking. Jack only shook his head, still grinning as more of the former pirates gathered around to hear the news.

Inside, Peter knelt once more beside the cot, his eyes bright and his grin, impossibly wider, still in place as he held Wendy's hand in his own.

Wendy looked up at him, a trifle apprehensive but quickly squashing her fears as Peter leant forward and kissed her.

"I don't know why I didn't think of it myself......I guess I should have realised......but there's been so much..." Wendy rambled, a flush creeping up her face as she dropped her eyes from Peter.

"Are you feeing better?" Peter asked, his eyes noting the flush as he raised her hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on her palm.

"Jack says I'm fine....very healthy for someone expecting....a baby,"

"Do you need to take any medicine or anything?"

"No Peter.....I'm expecting....not sick. I just need to rest, Jack said, and take care of myself."

"I'll take care of you Wendy......you won't have to do a thing."

She looked up into his sparkling eyes, seeing the love and pride there, his face brimming with excitement. Ruthlessly pushing her own fears aside, Wendy smiled back at him, her free hand unconsciously smoothing her dress over her stomach, no hint yet in its flat contours of the baby growing within.

Jack re-entered his hut, walking over to beam down at the happy couple, his eyes twinkling.

"Now just you take good care of yourself." He wagged a finger at Wendy, "lots of fresh air and fresh fruit...a little of whatever you fancy....but don't be surprised if what you liked one day, you hate the next. Try and avoid any heavy lifting and let me know if you have any concerns. I've birthed a few babies in my time, so there's no problems on that score."

Peter helped Wendy to sit up, her face still a little pale. Leaning heavily on Peter, Wendy got to her feet, thanking Jack for his care of her before they walked to the door. Once outside they found themselves surrounded by a crowd, Mister Smee pushing his way to the front to place a kiss on Wendy's cheek and to shake Peter's hand.

"Wonderful new.....wonderful news....never were such times!" Smee gushed, his wrinkled face smiling broadly.

Accepting the congratulations of the crowd, Wendy felt her smile starting to crack and pressed Peter's hand, drawing his attention to her.

"Take me home Peter.....please." She whispered, Peter noting her strained expression. Saying a brief goodbye, Peter once more lifted her into his arms and leapt into the air, the pirates waving goodbye as they flew up into the sky and disappeared out of sight, beyond the forest canopy.

Peter carried her back to the tree-house, Wendy unusually quiet in his arms, her face turned into his neck. On arrival he took her directly to the sleeping hut, setting her on her feet just inside the door before releasing her, one hand remaining around her waist in case she still felt faint.

Wendy turned and hugged him, her face buried against his shoulder. Peter gladly hugged her back, his smug grin still in place. They stayed there for several minutes before Wendy pulled away and Peter saw her eyes were sheened with tears.

"Wendy...what's wrong....do you still feel sick?"

"No Peter....I just.....I......" She rested her head against his chest, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm....afraid."

Drawing her to him, Peter wrapped her in his arms, his cheek resting on her soft hair. She could hear his heart beating strongly under her ear, her fingers smoothing the long muscles on his back as her hands roamed against his satin skin.

"Don't be afraid.....I'm here....Jack's here.....we're all here to help...I won't let anything happen to you....or the...baby."

"I know...I just feel.....its such a huge thing...having a baby, I feel so unprepared."

"Is anyone ever prepared for a baby?" Peter asked, a warm chuckle rising in his throat.

"No....I guess not....I didn't expect.....silly really, I should have expected, afterall, my mother had two babies after me.....you'd think I'd know the signs."

Pulling away only enough to lead her to the edge of the bed, Peter sat down, Wendy beside him, their arms still around each other.

"I think you'll make a wonderful mother......look how you were with the Lost Boys.....you're a natural."

Wendy snorted against his chest. "They weren't babies Peter, looking after a handful of naughty boys is vastly different from looking after a tiny baby....."

There was a long pause before Peter spoke again.

"You do want this baby......don't you Wendy?"

Raising her head, Wendy looked up at him, her eyes wide, a small gasp parting her lips as she took note of Peter's serious expression.

"Of course I want it.....why wouldn't I. It's ours Peter.....as my Aunt would say, an expression of our love. Whatever it is, boy or girl.....it's ours. I want it with all my heart."

Smiling at her vehemence, Peter leant down and kissed her, his eyes sparkling wickedly as he pulled them down to lay on the furs, his hand reaching up to stroke her face.

"I love you Wendy.." Peter kissed her again, his hands roaming over her curves and hollows as she returned his kiss with a passion.

Pulling away only briefly, Peter looked down at her as she lay breathless beneath him.

"Jack didn't say anything about us not doing.....this.....did he?"

"No...nothing at all...." Wendy replied, reaching her arms up to draw him down to her.

Outside the hut, the bees droned in the hot afternoon sun, the scent of flowers intoxicating as sunlight sent its golden shafts down through the rippling leaves to dapple the ground.

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Chapter: Two - Gift horses

Never look a gift horse in the mouth, even when you don't like what its saying.

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Peter stared off into the distance, his mind far away from the rock that he currently sat upon, his thoughts turned inward as he considered all that had happened to him since he'd awoken all those weeks ago to find his known world turned upside down. He'd had to cope with coming to terms with his newly matured body with all its attendant urges and needs, as well as his newly awakened feelings, many of them confusing and quite alarming in their intensity. One of those new feelings was causing his current state of bemusement. Two weeks had passed since Jack had informed him that Wendy was expecting a baby. Two weeks in which Peter had been unable to wipe the unbearably smug, as Wendy was wont to call it, smile from his face. He sometimes felt that he was floating several feet off the ground, a sensation similar to flying, but more intense, his emotions see-sawing from elation to mind numbing fear, as the implications of his impending fatherhood crowded in. Wendy was his one constant, his lodestone, his morning star, in her arms he found all his fears washed away, all his uncertainty wiped clean. He marvelled that she seemed to be taking it all so calmly, her serene smile adding to her bloom as she carried out some small task or other. He never tired of watching her, all the more so with the added knowledge that she carried the future of Neverland within her delectable curves. Alindra had told him that his heir would take over the care of Neverland, when Peter's time had passed and it seemed that the prophecy, if that was what it was, was coming true.

Sighing, Peter felt his smile slip just a little, his arms folded around his knees as he sat waiting for the Mermaids to appear. He had asked Wendy if she wanted to join him, but she'd declined, saying she would be visiting the Indian village that afternoon, the Chief Wife, Autumn, had specifically asked for Wendy to meet her there. Peter had a suspicion that Wendy was really just trying to avoid meeting the Mermaids, her feelings regarding Merrill very poorly concealed, despite her best efforts. Peter took a conceited pleasure in the knowledge that Wendy was jealous of the Mermaids, but rather than disabuse her and tell her that she was his one and only, he let the situation continue, rather liking his teasing of her, and having her react so predictably.

Relaxing his legs, he let them dangle over the edge of the flat rock to the sea gently lapping below, his feet sinking up to his ankles in the cool water, his hand reaching for the pan pipes held by a cord to his belt. Lifting the delicate flute, he placed it against his lips and started to play. The notes danced out across the water, skittering across the waves as he played a soft melody, his eyes closed in concentration. After several minutes a head appeared, surfacing beside the rock, the Mermaids' liquid eyes gleaming as she bobbed in the water. Opening her mouth she started to sing, softly at first, her song combining with the pan pipes, lifting the tune and entwining it with her voice, making an ethereal sound that echoed around the bay. Peter kept playing for some time, the Mermaid singing along, more heads appearing out of the water to listen, as Merrill and Peter drew their impromptu concert to a close. When the last note died away, Peter opened his eyes to find he had an audience of nearly twenty Merfolk, Mermen as well as Mermaids, all of them watching him intently. Beside the rock, Merrill preened, launching herself out of the water to land on the rock beside Peter, showering him with sea water.

"Hey.......no fair!" Yelped Peter, tucking his pipes inside his shirt to keep them dry. Merrill leaned towards him, her long seaweed hair draped over her shoulders and down her torso.

"Peter play....lovely." Merrill purred, reaching out a webbed hand to touch his shirt. A chorus of sound drew Peter's attention back to his audience, finding that several of the Merfolk had left with the end of the music. Those that remained had disapproving looks on their faces before they dived away, only two of the Mermaids remaining behind. They swam towards the rock, circling it, making waves that slapped against his leg. Peter felt a twinge of uneasiness at Merrill closeness, his respect for the Mermaids not abashed one whit as he eyed her long, muscular tail and sinewy arms.

"Thank you Merrill....you sing very nicely too."

"Peter play some more?"

"Er......not today.....I thought you wanted to hear the end of the story.....we only got halfway through, yesterday."

"I don't care for stories any more," said Merrill, her voice low as she continued to stroke her webbed fingers down Peter's back, like she was petting an animal. "I want to hear Peter play some more."

Finding her intense regard faintly unnerving, Peter made to get to his feet but found Merrills hand on his shoulder, holding him down. The two Mermaids that had been circling the rock now bobbed, shoulder to shoulder, in front of Peter, their wet eyes staring at him.

"I have to go now.....Wendy will be wondering where I am," Peter said more forcefully, smiling at the Merfolk, but seeing no answering humour in any of the Mermaids eyes.

"You don't have to go........the Wendy will wait for you return."

"Maybe she will.....but I want to go now."

The two Mermaids in the water made a grab for his feet and legs, their broad hands latching onto his lower limbs, starting to pull Peter off the rock. Belatedly realising his peril, Peter kicked out, but the Mermaids had too strong a hold. Merrill bared her blackened teeth at Peter in a parody of a smile. Her strong hands gripped his arms from behind, pinning them to his sides.

"Let go of me.......Merrill, what are you doing?" Peter cried out, his body twisting in her relentless grip.

With a flick of their tails, her two accomplices yanked Peter forward, his body sliding into the sea, scraping against the rocks' edge before plunging under the surface in a froth of bubbles. Merrill launched herself off at the same time, joining her sisters as they held on tight to their struggling prey. Peter's head surfaced briefly, his mouth open wide to suck in much needed air before he was pulled under again. Merrill dived below, her face coming close to Peter's as he struggled in her sisters remorseless grip. As she watched Peter let go the breath he'd been holding and fought to return to the surface, she waited for the moment he stopped fighting before pressing her lips to his and imparting life giving air to his starving lungs.

Once again she waited for him to release the breath and stop fighting her sisters grip before approaching him again and giving him her breath of life. Peter finally got the message, his eyes open wide as he stared at the Mermaid, his lips clamped shut to hold in her last breath. Smiling her deaths-head grimace again, Merrill took hold of Peter's hand and started to swim away with him, dragging him behind her. Her sisters flanked him, their powerful tails giving them more freedom of movement than Peter could ever hope to have. As they travelled, just below the surface of the sea, Peter only had to indicate and one of the sisters would approach and lock her lips to his, giving him a new breath. Merrill ignored them, her head turned towards the open ocean while her sisters kept Peter alive as she towed him far away from Neverland's shores.

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Wendy alighted on the springy turf, her toes curling in the grass as TinkerBell buzzed around her head, the fairy's light glancing off her face under the shadowy overhang of the tall trees. They were standing on the outskirts of the Indian village, the tepee's clearly visible through the tree trunks. Wendy smoothed her skirt and patted her hair before starting to walk forwards. As she approached one of the women saw her and gave a glad cry, the call echoed by other women as they surged forward to welcome Wendy to the village. Autumn came forward and clasped Wendy's hands, leaning towards her and pressing her cheek to Wendy's.

"We are so pleased you came, Wendy. My village is honoured that you visit with us."

Slightly overwhelmed, Wendy smiled shyly back at the woman, blushing under the scrutiny of the Indian women as they crowded around. Autumn shooed them away, drawing Wendy after her towards the largest tepee in the village, its sides ornately decorated with lifelike depictions of animals common in Neverland. The crowd of women followed, all laughing and chattering, the menfolk standing well back between the tents, their faces rueful in the face of their womenfolk's take over of the central area of the encampment. Autumn held back the flap of the tent and indicated for Wendy to enter. TinkerBell followed Wendy into the tepee, her light bright in the dim interior. Inside were fine furs scattered around a small central fire. Wendy sat down, crosslegged where Autumn showed her, settling her skirts around her while Autumn shooed the curious faces away from the doorway and pulled down the flap, shutting off the outside.

Wendy let go a sigh, glad to be out of the sun, her head throbbing a little, her face still heated with a blush from all the attention.

"You are feeling fine, I hope?" Autumn asked, passing Wendy a beaker of water. Sipping the cool liquid, Wendy smiled back at her and gestured to the flap.

"I wasn't expecting quite such a reception."

"It is a great honour to welcome the mother of Pan's child to see us. We are all so happy that Peter has brought you here."

Wendy looked down at her hands. "You are very kind to say that.....given all that's happened since I arrived."

Autumn looked grave for a minutes, her face hinting at sadness deeply buried. "You are referring to my daughter.......I have tried to forgive her for all she had done, she is my daughter after all is said and done, but she has disgraced our family, brought pain and dishonour to my husband. I still love her, but I am glad that she is now in the care of Grey Wolf...."

"I'm so sorry Autumn......if there was anything...?"

"Pan's Wendy is very generous.....you of all people have cause to hate my family," Wendy started to protest but Autumn waved her down. "No....I am right, you have more cause to wish my daughter dead, but you were compassionate, and I thank you for your kind heart." Autumn reached over and patted Wendy's hand.

Feeling unsettled, Wendy fidgeted slightly, looking around the inside of the tent as Autumn pulled forward a cloth wrapped bundle which she started to unravel.

"I have collected these from all the women in the tribe, they all wanted to contribute, but this is only a sample, there are more to come." Autumn unravelled the bundle and pulled out the first item. Wendy couldn't help but smile as the woman held up a small tunic the colour of spring grass, obviously intended for a small child. Autumn passed it over and Wendy felt the softness of the material, rubbing it between her fingers as she smiled back at Autumn.

"This is beautiful work, did you do this?"

"No, Little Acorn did that tunic, she will be pleased that you liked it." Autumn smiled broadly, pulling more baby clothes out of the bundle, the tent floor rapidly covered in tiny clothes, miniature copies of the adults, down to the fringing and beading. TinkerBell hovered over the many items, darting back and forth, touching one then moving to another, before setting herself on a pot hanging from the central pole, content to watch from a distance as Wendy and the Chief's wife viewed the extraordinary gifts from the Indian women.

After half an hour Autumn once more packed up the clothes into a neat bundle before handing them over to Wendy, and indicating that they should rise and leave the tent. Pushing back the flap, Wendy ducked down and passed through, finding that the women hadn't left, that they were, in fact, sitting outside the Chief's tent waiting for Wendy to emerge. When she did, a trifle startled to find them all there, they rose and came forward, reaching out their fingers to touch her, lifting tendrils of her hair or plucking at her dress. Wendy smiled and nodded, embarrassed but not put out by the women's curiosity. She saw a large women pushing her way through, her face beaming at Wendy as she elbowed the last obstruction out of the way.

"That is Crying-Gull...she tended you when Peter brought you to our camp...." Autumn whispered in Wendy's ear as the large woman finally came forward. Wendy smiled at her, aware that she largely owed her life to the Medicine Woman.

To her astonishment, Crying-Gull engulfed her in a warm hug, the woman squeezing Wendy, almost lifting her off the ground in her enthusiasm.

Finally releasing her, the Medicine Woman beamed at Wendy.

"You are all well again, it is as I suspected, you are a strong spirit, not easily devoured by the Dark Nothing."

"Dark Nothing?" Asked Wendy, a little bewildered.

"The Dark Nothing.....that which takes us all...." she pointed to the sky with one pudgy finger. Wendy raised her eyes skyward, rounding her lips in a silent oh as she saw Autumn nod her head.

"I knew you had a strong life force.....you will need it for the trials to come." Crying-Gull suddenly gripped Wendy's ring hand in both of her own, her eyes staring into Wendy's with a frightening intensity.

"You will know great danger, great fear, but you will also know great joy......you will return to those that love and miss you.....you will endure much for those you love, you will sacrifice all to save the one that is you destiny."

Wendy felt a little faint, her eyes mesmerised by Crying-Gull's. As she stood there, Autumn gently disengaged their hands, putting an arm around Wendy's shoulder, breaking the contact between the two women. Wendy blinked, coming out of her daze, feeling the hot sun burning a hole in the top of her head. Of the Medicine Woman there was no sign, the women still standing in a circle around her, looking on curiously as Wendy turned her head to look for the large woman that so unsettled her. With her arm still around the girls shoulder, Autumn led Wendy to a stool in the shade of the tent and sat her down. Wendy moved like one in a dream, her hand lifting to press against her burning cheek, as the Chief's wife pressed a cup of cool water into her nerveless fingers. Gulping down the water, Wendy drew in a shaky breath before turning to speak.

"What did she mean.....I will know great danger, fear......return to my loved ones?"

"Crying-Gull is our wise woman, our soothsayer.....she has a window into the soul, into the future....what she says will come true....it is already happening around you."

"But....Neverland is at peace, Captain Hook is gone....the pirates live peaceably.....what is there to fear here?"

"Neverland has a purpose.....you are part of that purpose now....we all have our part to play."

"I don't....I don't understand?" Wendy rubbed her temple, feeling the start of a headache as she tried to make sense of Crying-Gulls words.

TinkerBell appeared beside her, flapping her wings to make a breeze to help cool Wendy down, her tiny voice tinkling as she hovered.

"I think you're right Tink.....I'm sorry to cut this visit short, but I want....I need to go home."

"As you should......I understand...there will be other afternoons for us to visit. Don't forget the bundle." Autumn pressed the wrapped parcel into Wendy's arms as she rose. Smiling weakly, Wendy leant forward and kissed the Indian woman on her brown cheek, Autumn looking at her wryly, before pulling her into a hug.

"Take care, Pan's Wendy.......there are many dangers in this place, not all of them as easy to recognise, as Captain Hook."

With Autumn words ringing in her ear, Wendy walked out of the camp, the bundle of clothes clutched to her chest as TinkerBell floated worriedly around her head. Once among the trees, Wendy leant against one of the trunks, her forehead pressed to the rough bark.

TinkerBell came down and floated just beside Wendy's face, looking at her anxiously. Wendy turned her head to look at the fairy.

"Sorry Tink....it was all a little much..." She shrugged, straightening up and turned around to lean back against the tree, her head tilted to look up at the leafy canopy far above her head. Drawing a deep breath, Wendy pushed away from the tree and started to walk again.

On reaching a relatively clear space, Wendy launched herself into the air and flew slowly skyward, her fairy companion close beside her.

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Chapter: Three - Oceans away

Where Peter discovers a side of Neverland he never thought to see.

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Peter lost track of time, his mind always on the brink of blacking out, his lungs screaming to breath normally, his eyes stinging from the salty sea. Merrill kept her remorseless grip upon his arm, his body helpless to do more than relax and go boneless against her powerful pull. He briefly thought of his new found, and sorely untested powers, so briefly exercised aboard the Jolly Roger when Captain Hook was returned, along with those that also chose, to his original time. Since then, Peter had not pursued Alindra to find out what else he could do, despite her assertion that he only had to wish for something, for it to come true. He'd tried wishing himself out of the Mermaids power, but all his wishing was in vain, he was still Merrill's prisoner, and her sisters were still keeping him alive, just. He had his eyes closed, withdrawing into himself, his whole focus on the effort required to keep what little air he was given in, and all of the ocean out of his lungs, blackness and the relentless flow of water over his body the only constants. Cold was the other sensation, the sea water sucking his body heat away, so that he felt numbed to everything but the need to breath. He was so inured that he didn't notice when Merrill let go of his hand and her Mermaid sisters no longer pressed their chill lips to his to impart their icy, life-giving breaths. It was his body that alerted him to the fact that he was no longer being towed through the ocean, when it started to shiver, reacting to the bone chilling air that surrounded him. His lips, so long pressed together to preserve his air, suddenly parted, dragging in damp air into his starved lungs.

His eyelids were too swollen from the immersion in brine to open at first, the air moaning past his shaking lips as he fought to remember how to breath without holding it in. Eventually his heart stopped pounding and he managed to prise his eyelids open a crack, blinking wetly as they stung, tears streaming as he lay with his cheek pressed to the cold, wet floor. Slowly his other senses returned, feeling coming back to his arms and legs, like a thousand daggers pricking his skin, sound starting to intrude above the thrum of his pulse, wet sounds of lapping water and the muted sound of voices. His fingers started to flex against the wet surface beneath his body, slipping against the slick stone that chilled his clothes and sent violent shivers down his spine. His eyes, red-rimmed and blurry, could only make out indistinct shapes against a swirling background, the light changing as objects passed in front of him.

His lungs finally stopped their labouring, returning to their familiar pattern now that air was no longer at a premium, his body relaxing fractionally, as he drew his knees up to preserve what body heat still remained. His eyes were partly open when something large loomed over him, blotting out the light, an overwhelming smell of fish assaulting his nose as he tried to squint up at the apparition.

"This is a bad business.....he should never have been brought here."

The voice tutted, the shape moving away as Peter lay like a stranded fish, unable to do more than gasp and blink. Suddenly hands were reaching down and grasping his arms and legs, Peter crying out hoarsely at their rough handling as they picked him up and carried him a short distance, before laying him on a yielding surface. Hands started to tug at his soaked clothes, the glint of a knife registering in front of his streaming eyes before it was used to cut off his shirt and trousers, Peter incapable of stopping them in his weakened state. Finally, as he lay naked and shivering, a warm cover was thrown over him, hands once more manhandling him, tucking the cover around his shaking form until he was surrounded from his toes to his nose in dry warmth.

Once more a shape approached and leant over Peter, the fish smell announcing it to be the same person as before.

"Sleep boy....you've had quite a trip...sleep and I'll see you in the morning."

Peter tried to speak, his salt chapped lips moving but no sound came out, his head moving restlessly.

"Don't try and speak, you need to recover.....rest," a hand patted Peter's shoulder, "rest....you'll be better in the morning."

Unequal to the task of struggling any more, Peter closed his eyes and his mouth, the warmth of whatever they'd covered him in, stealing through his limbs and sapping his will. Within a minute he was unconscious.

Captain Benedict Harvey stared down at the tousled haired young man laying on the dried seaweed mattress, his dark, almost black eyes narrowing as he tapped his lip with the tip of the knife he'd used to cut off the boys' clothes. He'd noted the ring on the boys finger, and the fine gold chain with a gilt thimble around his neck, as well as the evidence from numerous scars on the young mans athletic body, that this boy had seen considerable fighting action in the not too distant past. Where and why remained a mystery, but Captain Benedict was a patient man, the morning would bring him the answers to all his questions.

Turning away, Benedict walked to the wall of water that separated him from the fathoms of ocean beyond the cave, his boots scuffing against the wet coral-stone floor as he gazed out at the shapes swimming beyond the curtain, their bodies twisting and turning as they glided effortlessly amongst the coral spires that made up their underwater city.

It was an ocean ballet that he never tired of, his hands clasped loosely behind his back as he watched the lithesome forms in their natural element. They appeared distorted through the curtain of water, the many coloured fish darting between them, lending colour to the seascape.

Turning on his heel, he approached the bed, his hand reaching down to lay the back of his fingers against the boys cheek, faint colour starting to steal into the pale face as Peter's body warmed itself amongst the pelts of sealskin tucked around him. Satisfied that the newcomer was recovering, Benedict walked away, nodding to the man delegated to stay and watch over the boy, before yanking open the wooden door that lead into a maze of tunnels dug deep into the coral reef, the door closing quietly behind him.

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Wendy paced the balcony, her thumb against her teeth as she chewed at the skin, her brows drawn into a worried frown. It was getting dark and Peter hadn't returned. She'd returned hours before from the Indian village, not surprised to find Peter still gone. He'd taken to visiting the Mermaids in payment for one of them, Merrill she suspected, saving his life when Peter had been chained to the traitors rock by an old shipmate of Hooks, Billy Boyd Runcimen who'd captured Peter and Wendy and planned on trading them to Hook for his own freedom. The Mermaid had freed Peter and extracted a promise that he would tell the creature stories in payment for her rescue. Wendy sometimes wondered if Peter just liked to get away and return to doing something that he used to do before all the upheaval caused by his maturing body and his relationship with herself. It was a hurtful thought, that Peter wanted to get away from her, but she shrugged philosophically. In the real world, her mother had only seen her father when he wasn't at work, as was the way with all married couples. She had heard that sometimes people only saw each other in the marriage bed, the husband gone before the wife rose in the morning, and not returning until after supper at night. In Wendy's case, Peter had been almost constantly in her company since they'd flown to Neverland all those long weeks ago, so she supposed, not knowing all that much about grown-up relationships between married people, that it was entirely natural for such an active young man as Peter to want eventually to escape the domesticity of their current life.

All that understanding aside, it didn't make it hurt one little bit less, jealousy rising to choke her as she fought to regain her composure.

"If you prefer their company to mine......then you're welcome to them!" She stormed at the sky, her eyes burning, her chin set stubbornly as she turned from the railing and walked back into the hut they used as a sitting room. Wendy flounced down onto the cushioned window seat, her elbows resting on the window ledge as she stared moodily out at the rapidly darkening forest around her.

She must have dozed because it was full dark when she opened her eyes again, tiny fireflies darting around the interior of the room and outside, echoing the stars visible between the branches as she stared up at the sky. A little spurt of fear shot down her back, making her shiver, her hands coming up to rub her arms as goosebumps chased their way down her chilled limbs. Rising off the window seat, Wendy made her way by starlight out onto the landing platform, the trees dark and forbidding around her as she leant on the railing. She could hear the night insects clicking and grating, the occasional call of a bird as it passed overhead, the rustle of some creature making it's way through the underbrush far below. All these sounds were familiar to her, but tonight they seemed to take on a sinister tone, the hairs on the back of her neck rising as she stood there, alone and apparently unwanted. A faint breeze brushed against her and she shivered, turning away to make her way to the sleeping hut to find a shawl to wrap around her shoulders. She'd never known Neverland to feel cold, its climate bordering on the tropical most days, its ocean warm, its jungles humid. But somehow, maybe because for the first time she felt truly alone, it was too chilly to stand outside without something on her arms. Finding a warm shawl, she wrapped it tightly around her shoulders, hugging it to her. She thought about lighting a candle or lantern but felt too miserable to bother, laying down on the fur covered bed, her eyes burning as she wallowed in self-pity, her fears becoming dread as she contemplated life in Neverland without Peter. Her head filled with non-sensical, and completely illogical assumptions, Wendy curled herself into a ball and cried bitter tears, convinced that Peter didn't love her any more and fancied instead some slimy, seaweed covered, fishy Mermaid instead of his pregnant wife.

Morning fortunately brought a measure of sanity and commonsense, a good cry and a deep sleep dispelling alot of the hysteria, so that Wendy looked upon the day with new eyes and a new worry. Despite her misgivings of the night before, Wendy castigated herself for ever doubting Peter or his love for her, her thoughts turning to the words of the Medicine Woman and her prophecy that she would know great danger, great fear, maybe this was what was happening, right now.

Quickly she changed her clothes, the sun warming her as she hurried to the eating hut and made a quick breakfast, her nausea, for once, taking a back seat to her fears for Peter's safety. First she had to find out if Peter was, in point of fact, missing or in danger, not just sleeping over at the pirate village or in the Indian camp. With a purpose and renewed hope, Wendy launched herself from the treehouse and flew towards the coast, the sun rising in the sky as if to greet her, promising another fine day.

She chose to alight a little way out of the village, not wanting to appear suddenly and raise undue alarm, in case she was worrying for nothing. Walking towards the small fishing village, she looked out to sea and noticed a storm gathering, far out on the horizon, the clouds dark and menacing, the occasional flash of lightening faintly visible. Above her the skies remained blue, dotted with the usual fluffy white clouds, so she ignored the distant storm and looked ahead as the first of the ramshackle buildings appeared. Seagulls cried and wheeled above the crudely made stone jetty that served the small community, several small boats tied up to the rocks with nets spread out to dry on the sandy beach.

She walked down the main street, acknowledging the few pirates already abroad, their calls to her polite and deferential, Wendy replying with a wave and a smile as she passed. On reaching Smee's tiny house, she paused before lifting her knuckles to knock on the salt-stained wood. She heard noises from inside and stepped back as the door creaked open, Smee's sleep tousled head peering out to survey his early morning visitor. On seeing it was Wendy, Smee pulled the door wide and fumbled with his spectacles as he ushered her in, one trouser brace hanging over his arm, his shirt rumpled.

"I'm so sorry, Mister Smee....did I get you out of bed?"

"Ur...no....I was just taking a.....nap."

"I'm sorry to rouse you so early, but I have a little problem,"

"Problem? What sort of problem, if I may be so bold to enquire?"

Smee ushered her to sit on a stool while he bustled over to the tiny stove in the corner, lifting a steaming kettle off the hob and carrying it over to the table to sit beside a large brown tea-pot.

"Tea?" He inquired, one eyebrow raised. Wendy nodded and Smee busied himself with the cups as he poured the hot brew into his best china, in honour of his visitor.

"I'm afraid there's only goat's milk.....but there's a bit of sugar left, if you like."

"Milk will be fine Mister Smee......thank you." Wendy accepted the proffered cup, amused at the old pirates genteel behaviour. With a cup balanced on his rather shabby trousered knee, Smee looked inquiringly at Wendy, indicating for her to speak.

"I was wondering if you've seen Peter this morning?"

Blinking, Smee took a hasty sip of the tea and had to waft his hand in front of his mouth as the hot brew burnt his tongue. "Peter, ya say. No I haven't seen the lad since......a couple of days ago when he was here to get some more fishing hooks from ol' Patrick."

"So you didn't see him yesterday either ?" Wendy asked, knowing the answer but hoping for a different one. Smee shook his head, taking another sip, more cautiously this time.

"Sorry lass, the boy hasn't been here....not to my knowledge at least," Smee chortled, "it's not exactly a metropolis, so everyone pretty much knows everybody's business, and I don't remember anyone mentioning seeing Peter recently."

Wendy swallowed her disappointment and raised her cup to sip. Smee watched her shrewdly, his rheumy eyes not missing much.

"He didn't come home last night, did he." Smee stated, causing Wendy to rattle her cup in its saucer.

Wendy looked up, her eyes worried. "I haven't seen Peter since yesterday morning, he didn't return from visiting.....the Mermaids. I went to the Indian village to visit, but he wasn't at home when I got back, of course I didn't expect him to be.....but then he didn't come home at all and I spent the night alone......oh dear....where could he be?"

Smee placed his cup back on the table and reached over to pat Wendy's hand, his face serious.

"Now you are not to worry, in your condition, worry can be very...detrimental. I'll go and see Jack, and we'll make some enquires. Have you been to the Indian's to see if he spent the night there?" Wendy shook her head, her eyes shadowed. Smee nodded, getting to his feet. "You just stay here and let me make myself presentable, then I'll go see Jack."

Wendy finished her cup of tea, more out of politeness than actual need, her brain churning to find a reason why Peter would be missing. She was sure he wasn't deliberately hiding, there was no reason and she didn't think he'd be that cruel to worry her unduly. That left only one real solution, that Peter was lying injured and alone somewhere, maybe even......Wendy refused to think the word, let alone voice it. Smee emerged from the back room, his clothes all in order, his stocking cap on his head. Putting down her cup, Wendy sprang to her feet. Smee took in her pale face and engulfed her cold hands in his large, work roughened palms.

"Why don't you come with me....it'll save my old legs and you can maybe supply some more information."

Tucking Wendy's hand in the crook of his arm, Smee led her out of his cottage and along the street, several curious pirates leaning out of their houses to watch the pair as they approached Jack's shanty. Before Smee had a chance to knock the door flew open and Jack's beaming face appeared.

"What a pleasure.....Miss Wendy, how are you this morning....looking a mite peaky...not sleeping well, are we?"

Smee cut across the doctors rambling. "We seem to have mislaid the lad, can we come in?"

Ushering his visitors into the house, Jack shut the door and turned to survey Wendy. "What's happened....tell me everything!"

As fully as possible, Wendy related all she knew from when she last saw Peter, to what he'd been doing and where he'd been going. Jack listened, asking a question here or there, but mostly letting Wendy pour out her fears until she stuttered to a halt. Smee had remained silent through her recital, occasionally patting her hand in an avuncular fashion, as if to give her courage.

"So......I would say we need to do one or two things first. Check with the Indians to see if they know anything......make sure there is someone at your home, in case he returns, and go and find a mermaid, see if it can shed some light on the mystery. As he was going there yesterday, its logical that they would have seen him last."

"Oh thank you Jack.." Wendy whispered, fighting to keep her composure.

"I'd say you've been worrying yourself into a fit, haven't you?"

Wendy nodded, blushing under his scrutiny. Jack only tutted. "You have to look after yourself, Miss Wendy. Let me and Smee sort out the Indians and the mermaids. You just make yourself comfortable here, there's really nothing we can do until we know some more."

"But I want....." Wendy started only to be waved down by Jack.

"That's as maybe...Peter won't be thanking me if you get yourself into a state. He'd expect us to help, so that's what we'll do. Leave it to me.....we find out where he's gone off to, don't you worry."

There was no great distance between the two encampments, so Jack dispatched one of the comparatively younger pirates to make inquiry's of the Indians, while another was sent to check if he could see any Mermaids in their lagoon. Another man was sent to find the fairy tree and inform the Fairy Queen of the state of affairs and maybe shed some light on the event. For the rest of the morning, Jack and Smee worked hard to distract Wendy from her fears, their attempts meeting with limited success as the hours dragged by. The runner sent to the Indians returned and reported that no-one had any news there.

TinkerBell arrived alone, the man sent, having relayed the message to the fairies, travelling on to the Pan's treehouse to wait, in case Peter returned, while Tink passed on promises that if the fairies could help, to send Tink and they'd be there in no time at all. TinkerBell fluttered around Wendy, her tiny hands wringing together as Wendy told her what had been happening. Finally the man sent to the Mermaid Lagoon returned in the early afternoon to report, unusually, that none of the Merfolk had appeared in their usual places, in itself almost unheard of as the Mermaids almost daily liked to sunbathe and gossip in their own special place.

In all the news was not encouraging, Wendy almost desperate now for something to do.

Smee was fixing another pot of tea, the kettle whistling merrily, dispelling some of the gloom within the small cabin. A knock at the door heralded another pirate who doffed his had before entering, nodding towards Wendy but turning to speak to Jack and Smee.

"There's a fearful storm out at sea Jack.....I think we should batten down the hatches and pull up anchor. She looks a fierce'un."

"A storm......but...." Jack rubbed his chin, casting a speculative glance over at Wendy. "Peter can affect the weather..can't he?"

Wendy looked up, her eyes wide as she suddenly understood something that had been bothering her. "The storm!!"

"You think it might be Peter?" Smee chimed in, putting the tea pot down as Jack watched Wendy.

Rising to her feet, Wendy had eyes only for the small doorway, moving towards it like a sleepwalker. Smee made to stop her but Jack waved him back, letting her go but following close behind her. Outside the sky was still blue over the pirate village but a bank of black clouds was rapidly filling the horizon, roiling and crowding the sky, lightening flashes visible among the towering cumulus thunderheads. Wendy walked to the sea wall, her face turned to the sea, the rising wind lifting her long hair so that it streamed out behind her like a flag. Jack came to stand next to her, his arm coming up to hug her around her shoulders. Wendy stared out at the sea, the storm coming closer but still miles out to sea.

"Why would he be out there Jack......there's nothing out there but ocean....and why is the sky like that.....surely....it doesn't mean.....he's not...."

"What does your heart tell you girl?"

Wendy unconsciously reached for the gold acorn hanging around her neck on a delicate chain, her fingers gripping the talisman as she closed her eyes. Jack simply waited and watched, the wind messing his usually neat hair into wild tendrils around his line face. With a deep sigh Wendy opened her eyes and turned to face Jack.

"I don't know Jack.......I feel....that he's alive, but I have this awful feeling of fear...and..cold. I can't seem to get warm."

Pulling off his jacket, Jack draped it around Wendy's shoulders, a wan smile his reward before Wendy turned once more to stare out to sea.

"We have to go out there Jack.....I have to go out there."

"No way....there is no way you can go out there....look at it girl, its a cauldron, a seething, boiling cauldron. If Peter is out there, he must either be above it, or below it....no one could survive in it."

"I'll need a boat...."Wendy continued, ignoring Jacks words.

"Are you not listening.....I said you can't go out there......it's madness! You'd be drowned for sure....and what do I tell Peter then?"

"Peter is out there Jack......so I have to go there." Wendy turned to regard her friend, her eyes strangely calm. "With or without help...that," She pointed to the horizon, "is where I have to be."

"No..." Jack moaned, realising that short of tying her up, Wendy was set on going.

Jack rubbed his chin, his hand on his hip as he considered their options. "We can't take the Sea Witch....we don't have enough men to manage her, except for short voyages in safe waters around the island. It'll have to be the new sloop. That only needs four men to crew her. She's light and fast. She should be able to run before the storm, but I don't fancy our chances if we're caught in the core of that monster."

"I'm sorry Jack....I wouldn't ask this of you for the world.....but Peter is missing, and I don't think he went of his own free will. He is still alive.....I think the storm is telling me that. I know that it's a risk, but then Peter has risked much to rescue me in the past. I think its time I risked something for him."

"But Wendy......what about......" Jack flicked his expressive eyes to Wendy's still flat stomach. Looking down herself, Wendy laid her hands across her middle before smiling a strange smile and looking up at Jack.

"Do you think I would want to live if Peter died for want of me risking my own life, if he died because I did nothing?"

Jack could only gape at her, his expression shocked. He'd known pregnancy to do some strange things to women, from unusual cravings to bizarre behaviour, but her calm announcement that she'd take her life and that of her child, chilled Jack and made him fear for Wendy's sanity.

"Wendy......" He stopped as she raised her ocean blue eyes to his. He started again. "Wendy......Peter wouldn't want you to risk yourself, or your child in some foolhardy venture. I couldn't live with myself if you were to come to harm, I couldn't face Peter is he came back and found you'd been.......didn't come back." Jack waved his hands, flustered and not at all happy.

"Then don't be here.....come with me Jack......then if the worst happens, you won't have to face Peter at all!"

Faced with her completely illogical argument, Jack gave up.

"As if I would let you out of my sight lass.....of course I'll be coming with you....and I'm sure Smee and Rufus will want to come as well...just see if you can stop them!"

Shaking his head, Jack patted her arm and turned to leave. "I'll see about organising some supplies and the boat. Don't stand here too long and get chilled..." He cautioned automatically, shaking his head again when he realised the absurdity of it, given the raging storm they would be sailing into. Catching a chill would be the least of her problems.

Wendy grinned at his retreating back, his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets as he tramped away. Turning back to face the distant storm, Wendy wrapped her arms around her middle, holding the edges of Jack's jacket around her. "I'm coming Peter.......I'm coming."

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Chapter: Four - Under the Sea

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Peter coughed, his throat raw as he awoke from a nightmare where a Mermaid had dragged him under the sea and taken him so far from Neverland, he could never get back. His eyes opened wide, blinking up at the unfamiliar curve of the stone roof, many feet above his head. As he coughed again a sound drew his attention to the side, as a man stood up from his vigil beside the pallet, his unsmiling face staring down at Peter before turning to leave. Peter tried to call to the man but his voice was mute, his throat working as he tried to swallow down a cough unsuccessfully, the force of his expectoration making him curl up, pain lancing through his chest. What little he managed to expel tasted briny, his tongue wetting his chapped lips as he peered around the room. He saw very little. More rock walls and a wooden door, through which the man had passed, a rough stool with a small table beside it, an earthenware jug and beaker on it's scarred surface. Moistening his dry lips once more, Peter lifted his arm out from the confining seal skins and reached for the jug, his teeth pulling on his bottom lip as he strained to reach the table. He was about to lose his balance and topple off the bed when the door opened and a tall man entered, taking in the situation at a glance before hastening over to catch Peter about the shoulders before he fell. The man righted him, before turning to fill the beaker with water and holding it to Peter's mouth.

"Not too much, mind. Don't want you bringing it all up again. Just sip.....that's right."

Peter held the mans hand around the cup as he sipped the heavenly liquid, the water slipping down his sore throat like nectar. After a few seconds the man pulled the beaker away, placing it on the table again, before pulling up the stool closer to the bed and sitting down. Peter felt a cough rising and tried to suppress it, but couldn't, so turned his head away as the spasm racked his chest. When it passed he returned his gaze to the stranger.

"I'll have Smitty find something to help with that cough. Don't want you catching your death for a sake of a spoonful of one of Smitty's concoctions." The stranger smiled down at Peter, his eyes very dark but with crinkled laughter lines at the corners.

"Where am I?" Asked Peter, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Ah.....well that could take some explaining. Lets just say, you're safe, for now. Safe and dry, which is more than I can say for when you arrived."

"Who are you?"

"Captain Benedict Harvey at your service." Benedict reached over and lifted Peter's hand, shaking it briefly.

"How....how long have I been here?" Peter's eyes flicked briefly around the room.

"Not long.....a few hours....you were exhausted and cold when you got here, so you've been sleeping and getting warm.....haven't really missed much. Now, how about you tell me who you are, and why the Mermaids have such an interest in you. You must be someone very special, Merrill hasn't brought a human to these caves for nearly ten years....so I'm interested to know why she's chosen you."

"My name....is Peter.....Peter Pan."

"Well....nice to meet you Peter....welcome to the bottom of the ocean."

"W-w-what?"

"Well I suppose that's a slight exaggeration, we're aren't quite at the bottom, that's several fathoms down yet, but we might as well be. This is Aqualicia, one of the seven Coral Cities. It's one of the smaller cities, but no less beautiful for that, and its quite shallow by comparison with Oceanicae, which is the deepest city. But I've never been there, it's so far down the water would crush me in an instant."

Peter closed his eyes, too befuddled to take it all in. The one fact he was able to glean was that he was somewhere under the sea.

"So....did you're ship founder?"

Peter stared at Benedict blankly, his sea-green eyes shadowed with confusion.

"Ah, well you see, I supposed you to have come from a sinking ship, maybe.....did you fall overboard?" Peter could only shake his head at the Captain. Benedict continued, "Didn't fall overboard...well you must have been on a ship," he laughed softly, "'cos there ain't no land near here within a hundred miles."

Peter stared at the man, "I come from Neverland." He croaked.

"Neverland? Can't say I've heard of that place before.....what country is it in?"

"It's not a country....it's an island......it's just.....it's Neverland!"

"Ah...well you see, it's been some little time since I was out in the world, and I wasn't particular about learning all the islands on the map, just the ones on my shipping route. Don't ever recall one called Neverland before, but then, that's not a surprise, it's a big world out there."

Peter felt more and more bewildered. He wet his lips, a cough working its way up his throat, pain cutting into his side as he curled up. Benedict waited for him to relax again before speaking.

"How long you been married lad ? You hardly look old enough to have a wife, mind you."

Peter lifted his hand, staring at the gold band still encircling his finger. Slowly he clenched his fist, the ring pressing into his finger. "Not long....not long at all."

"Ah.....I'm right sorry lad...she'll be grieving for you now."

"I have to get back to her....I can't stay here!" Peter made to rise, his face contorted into a grimace as he coughed again. Benedict helped him to sit up but his expression was sombre.

"You won't be going back to her.....or to the world you've known lad. Your wife is lost to you now, you are a captive of the Mermaids. There is no escape from here."

Peter gaped at him, his eyebrows climbing to his hairline. "I can't stay here.....Wendy will be frantic, she's going to have a baby, I have to leave."

"You're not listening Peter.....no-one leaves this place. No-one. You're here for good now....or for as long as the Mermaid's want you to be here. This is their world, their city.....we are just servants, slaves to do their bidding. Whatever you had up there," Benedict pointed a finger at the roof, "is no more....your wife will think you drowned, there is no going back."

"No....you don't understand," Peter tried to disentangle himself from the seal-skins but another coughing fit racked his chest and he had to lay back on the mattress as Benedict tucked the skins around him once more.

"Calm yourself.....we all have to come to terms with the state things are, it's natural that you'd be distressed, but it will pass." Benedict patted Peter's shoulder, not surprised when Peter turned his head away, his eyes tight shut. "I'll leave you now....don't try and get up too soon, I'll arrange a change of clothes for you, and when you're ready I'll get you settled in your new quarters."

Rising to his feet Benedict Harvey stared down at the young man, his own face twisting as he remembered his first day as a prisoner of the Mermaids. It had been hard, but time proved the cure, acceptance the only way to survive in their underwater prison. Turning on his heel, he left the room, closing the door behind him, but not locking it. He had a feeling Peter would find adjusting to his new life all the harder, having left behind a wife and his future child. It was always hard, but eventually everyone accepted. If they didn't, they died.

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Wendy cinched the belt a fraction tighter around her still slender waist, her lips compressed into a thin line as she thrust her feet into a pair of bucket boots before pulling on the long oil-skin coat. She was in Jack's back bedroom, donning the clothes he'd found for her, her dress and shawl quite inadequate for the rigours of an ocean voyage. She plaited her hair into one smooth rope down her back, tying it off with a leather thong before snatching up the stocking hat and walking out of the room. Smee and Jack were waiting in the front room, Smee puffing on a pipe as he sat staring out of the small window. Jack was pushing a knife into a battered leather sheath attached to his belt, before allowing his coat to fall forward to hide it. Both men were dressed for rough weather, with long-sleeved closely knitted fishermen jerseys and woollen hats, complete with thick sea boots. They both looked up as she appeared, neither man smiling or saying a word. Smee climbed to his feet and they three, walked out of the small house, Jack turning to lock the door behind him. The pirate community was ranged up and down the street, forming a guard of honour as they passed, no-one waving or cheering, their countenance' reflecting the same grimness as on the faces of Smee, and his companions. Wendy stared out at the sea, the storm still raging on the horizon, the breeze chill against her cheek. She followed Smee as he made his way down to the rock wall that acted as their landing jetty, a boat bobbing on the high tide. Rufus was taking a box from another pirate on the quay, his round face as serious as everyone else. He secured the load before standing amidships to await the arrival of his small crew. Smee climbed aboard first, followed by Jack who turned to hand Wendy into the boat. The rest of the pirates lined the shore and rocky outcrop, their silence broken only by the occasional cough and the cry of a gull, as they watched the small sloop prepare to depart. Wendy settled herself by the rudder, her hand curled around the smooth arm of the tiller as she settled herself on the hard bench, her eyes glancing up at the sails as Jack and Rufus lowered the mainsail, and the wind caught the canvas. Smee cast the tie-lines and the boat started to move away from the makeshift dock, gathering speed as Rufus trimmed the sails and Wendy steered them out to sea. She glanced back once, the silent pirates starting to disperse, turning their backs on, what she was sure they considered, a suicide mission, a waste of good sailors on a rescue that had no hope of succeeding.

"With this wind we'll make good time," Smee commented, his grizzled face turning back towards shore briefly before he pointed his nose into the wind. It was starting to get rougher the further from land they sailed, Jack and Rufus keeping the sails tight and the rigging secure as they sped across the waves, the bow of the boat sending up spray as she cut through the whitecaps. Wendy passed the tiller over to Smee, making her way to amidships, keeping out of the men's way as they worked. She buttoned the oilskin coat up to her throat as spray dampened everything and it started to rain. The clouds on the horizon looked black and menacing, the tops now hundreds of feet in the air with lightening zigzagging through the darkness, the strong winds teasing the edge of the clouds into long streamers. It was a magnificent and awe-inspiring sight and completely terrifying.

They set a course for the heart of the storm, Jack referring to his compass, noting that the apparent centre hadn't moved, in all the hours they'd been on the water. The sea was now very choppy, with occasional giant swells that launched the sloop high in the air and then down deep into the back-trough so that the sky was almost shut off by the steep waves. It was both exhilarating and monstrous, Wendy hanging onto the gunwales and the ropes as they pitched and tossed in the mounting seas. Smee, oblivious to the salt spray and rising wind, had his pipe clenched between his teeth, his eyes glancing between the sea and Jack, taking his direction from ships doctor as he steered them into the maelstrom. They were now at the outskirts, the sky obscured with dark, forbidding clouds, the ocean the colour of slate, its waves like hills to be climbed, the troughs like chasms to be survived. The sails of the little sloop gleamed palely in the darkness, the ropes straining against the rising gale as they fairly flew across the water, coming ever closer to the center.

There was little conversation or comment between the four people on the boat. Wendy spoke not at all, her teeth clenched as the boat soared and lurched, her face pale and set. Her hands were frozen, entwined with the ropes to keep her from being flung over the side, her eyes fixed on the boiling sea ahead. Rufus sat slightly forward, providing much needed ballast as the wind tried to push the boat over, the sails taught, almost torn from their halyards as the wind howled its fury. Jack stood by the foremast, his arm wrapped around the sturdy post, a rope snaked around his wrist as he grimly rode out the waves, his body soaked every time the prow dug into a wave and showered them all with sea water. In his other hand he held the compass, glancing down at the tiny instrument which hung around his neck on a chain.

Just when Wendy thought she could take not more, the wind abruptly dropped, the sails sagging like deflated balloons as they found themselves in the eye of the storm, the sea ahead relatively calm. They all gasped with tension and relief, Wendy releasing the breath she hadn't been aware of holding as she loosened the ropes that held her arms. Smee shifted slightly at the tiller, his brawny arms flexing as he eased the kinks, from holding the rudder steady for hours.

"Well then......what now?"

Smee voiced what they all were thinking. They had survived the journey and arrived at the heart of the storm, but there was nothing around them except more sea. Looking up, Wendy marvelled at the towering clouds swirling above their heads, lightening flickering among the vapour. Behind them she could see the tortured waves beyond the wall of the eye, the gale force winds sending spray spiralling up to the sky. Ahead, the calmer water stretched unmarred by either rocks or any landmass. She had hoped that they'd find something to indicate what lay beneath, a submerged volcano or something similar, but there was nothing. Jack worked his way back toward where Wendy sat, his face crusted with salt, his coat drenched.

"Well...we're safe enough here. The storm hasn't budged an inch since we set out from Neverland. That in itself is just not natural....with all that wind, it should be moving at a fair old rate, but its completely stationary. It has to be Peter."

"But how do we find him?" Wendy gestured to the featureless ocean around them. Jack shook his head.

"That I don't know lass."

Rufus passed them a water bottle and Wendy drank gratefully, handing it on to Smee before taking the bread offered. As they sat rocking gently on the swell something rose up out of the water, several feet from where they were. Everyone was too intent on their meal to notice when the dark shape disappeared back under the water to re-emerge directly under the wooden sloop, its humped back pushing upwards, sending the occupants of the boat plunging over the side and into the cold sea. wendy screamed as she fell, her mouth filling with brine when she hit the water. The boat continued to rise up, canted to one side, as the mast started to heel over. Wendy found herself beside Jack and Rufus, all of them staring at the dark shape that seemed to be pushing itself out of the ocean, their boat like a bizarre hat on its broad back. Smee surface spluttering not far away and they swam towards him, keeping as far as possible from the black hump.

"What the hell is that?" Cried Rufus, treading water as they watched the creature start to descend, the sloop sliding off its gleaming skin to land right side up with a loud slap on the water, rocking madly before settling. The black shape started to submerge as the four swam back towards the sloop. Wendy found herself making heavy weather in her sodden clothes, her boots dragging at her feet.

They had only just reached the side of the ship when the black creature started to rise again, this time directly beneath both them and the sloop, lifting them all out of the water, like some smooth rock rising from the ocean. All four held onto the side of the boat, their feet slipping against the slick skin. Jack lost his grip and started to slide back towards the sea, but Rufus managed to snag his hand and pulled him back up, the creature now quite high out of the water with the sloop and its frightened passengers clinging to its back.

"Don't let go.....any of you....if you drop now, the fall will kill you!" Jack shouted above the sound of the churning water as the creature moved forward, its back arched so that its unwilling hangers-on were now fifty feet above the surface of the sea. A great plume of water and air erupted out of the creature from somewhere close to the water-level.

"Is this a whale?" Wendy shouted above the sound, her face turned towards Smee. The old man shook his head in the negative.

"It's no kind of whale that I've ever seen!"

As she scrabbled, her grip on gunwales slipping, Wendy felt the creature start to descend again, the arched back lowering them all towards the water.

"Hang on tight....or you'll get sucked down with the creature!" Jack shouted, winding another trailing rope around his arm in desperation. Wendy tried to do the same, but the creature suddenly dropped the last few feet so that the boat and its crew found themselves suddenly emersed once more in the cold ocean, the pull of suction too strong as they found themselves dragged from the foundering sloop and tossed in the back wash of the creature, all of them spiralling down into the depths.

Just as blackness descended on her oxygen starved brain, Wendy felt something touch her mouth and her eyes flew open to find a Merman pressing his lips to hers, her shock rendering his efforts useless as she fought to free herself. As she kicked for the surface, the Merman followed, wrapping his preternaturally strong arms around her and bringing his lips back to hers, his chill breath surging into her starved lungs as she went limp in his tight embrace.

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Peter struggled to get into the clothes left at the end of his bed, his flesh cringing from the cold as he shucked the seal-skin blankets and pulled on the rough shirt and loose trousers, before shoving his feet into scuffed boots. Lastly he pulled on the heavy coat, pulling the edges together to keep in his own warmth. Beside the bed sat a beaker of foul tasting cough remedy, brought by a man that had the greenest eyes that Peter had ever seen, and the longest mutton-chop whisker to grace a man's face. Smitty proved to be a sensible man, his examination of Peter brief but competent. The syrup had all but rid him of the cough, Peter feeling more easy in his chest each time he sipped the noxious brew. Smitty had also brought the clothes, laying them across the bed before examining his patient. Peter had tried to ask the man a few questions but received only a stony silence, Smitty taciturn to the point of muteness.

Now Peter was alone again, warm and dressed, his head clear and his cough subsiding. He wandered across the room to stare at the curtain of water that made up one wall of the chamber. On the other side of the barrier, shapes flitted through the water, together with tiny coloured fish, distorted by the broken curtain, darting back and forth across his vision. He tentatively reached out to touch the wall but a shout made him pull his hand back. He turned around and found that Captain Benedict had returned, the man's long strides quickly bringing him over to stand in front of Peter.

"Unless you want to find out what is swimming around outside, don't put your hand anywhere near that wall. They're just waiting for you to do just that, so they can pull you out there...into their world." Benedict jabbed his finger at the wall. "You wouldn't survive two seconds without help from one of them, and they delight in watching land-dwellers die."

Peter took a precautionary step back, glancing at the wall as shapes appeared to gather on the other side, their features indistinct but their presence still menacing.

Benedict turned to leave and Peter followed, the two men leaving the cave through the wooden door. The Captain led the way through a series of tunnels carved into the rock, the walls slick under Peter's questing fingers. They passed several rooms and more corridors leading off theirs before the reached a much wider passageway where several men of varying ages passed by, before Benedict pulled Peter into it and proceeded to walk down its length. This tunnel was high and wide, broad enough for a horse and cart, with still more room for people to walk either side. Again, several branch tunnel opening appeared but Benedict ignored them, keeping to the main tunnel with Peter walking briskly behind him. The light was strange, not like torch light or from candles, but seemed to come from the rock itself. Peter thought of the crystal caves of Neverland and supposed that this rock was from a similar vein, but a different consistency as it glowed continuously, not just when struck. The men that passed them nodded to Benedict, ignoring Peter, their eyes sliding over him as if he were invisible. Peter was too intent on his surroundings to worry about their rudeness, his mind occupied with thoughts all of getting out somehow and returning to Neverland and Wendy.

Benedict turned down a branching tunnel and they emerged into a large rounded chamber about thirty feet across, the roof disappearing into murk as they stood on a stone gallery that ran right around the rim of the room, a rope railing stopping anyone from falling off the edge. Benedict started to walk around, towards a tunnel opening on the other side, but Peter stepped to the edge and looked over. Far below he could just make out the figures of many men working on the floor of the huge shaft, their tools ringing out as they hit the hard stone, the noise like the chiming of church bells, sometimes in rhythm, sometimes discordant as the men worked to break up the ore.

"They are digging for aqualite, a crystal unique to this underwater mountain range." Benedict explained, coming to stand next to Peter as he stared down at the men working below. "It is highly prized by the Merfolk, they use it in their jewellery and as a form of currency. It's softer than diamonds but more brilliant, with a heart of rainbow colours as varied in shades as a sunset."

"Why don't the Merfolk dig for it themselves?"

"They've exhausted all their water mines, the only source available now is this vein that runs right through the center of the mountain. It's inaccessible to them, but not to us. That's why they take anyone they find in the sea, to boost the work force and replace those that sicken and die. That.." Benedict pointed to the men far below. "That is your future....all our futures, there is no escape."

"You're wrong....this is wrong....I won't be a slave!" Peter glared angrily at the Captain, his hands clenched in fists.

"You have no choice boy....your food, your life is dependant on the Merfolk, they hold all the cards. There is no access to the surface, only through the sea. There is no food other than what they provide, and no water that they don't distil. Rebellion is not an option, so choke down that anger and resign yourself. This is your world, there will be no other."

Although his expression remained kindly, his voice had taken on a note of steel, resolute in the face of Peter's youthful defiance. Turning away, the Captain walked the remaining distance around the gallery, waiting at the tunnel mouth for Peter to catch up.

Determined to find a way to escape, Peter drew in a deep breath, calming his anger and relaxing his fists. Angering the only person he knew, was not the best way to get information, so he closed his eyes for a second before opening them and walked the rest of the way, joining Benedict at the tunnel before the two men continued on their journey into the bowels of the mountain.

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Chapter: Five - Reunited

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Jack opened his eyes and wondered if he was dead. If he was, it was damn cold and wet, as well as smelling faintly of fish. Groaning, he rolled over onto his back, his wet clothes sticking clammily to his back, sending a shiver down his spine. Groaning again, he stared up at the rocky ceiling, bluish lighting gently emanating from the surface, as if lit from inside. Taking a mental inventory, he carefully tested his limbs and other faculties before attempting to rise, his body feeling chilled as he lay uncomfortably on the stone floor.

"Get up Jack.....you're not dead yet.....get those arms moving!" Jack hissed at himself, moving his arms to try and get them working as his knees lifted, flexing his legs. After a few seconds he felt more in control and rolled onto his side again, this time bringing up his knees before pushing himself upright. Again he shivered, his clothes clammy and cold, his boots squishing against his toes as he flexed his foot. In the blue gloom he could make out the shapes of other bodies slumped on the ground around him, three in all, which meant one of them could be Wendy. Galvanised into action, Jack got himself onto his hands and knees and approached the first body, finding it to be Smee, the grizzled man's chest rising and falling, while his eyes remained tightly shut, despite Jack shaking him and tapping his cheek to wake him. Leaving the old pirate, Jack crawled to the next, pretty sure from the size of the outline, that it would be Rufus. The large man was peacefully out cold, curled like a child on his side with his knees drawn up, as unresponsive to Jack's calls as Mister Smee. Which left the last body. Jack crawled over, feeling his limbs start to shake with cold as he huddled over Wendy's still body. Rolling her onto her back, Jack reached to feel her pulse, finding it strong but a little erratic. Smoothing the hair from her pale face, Jack saw that her lips were cast with a blue tint that owed nothing to the gloomy lighting, her body trembling under his touch as he picked up a lax hand and chafed it.

"Wake up Wendy.....you have to start moving.....you'll catch your death if you don't wake up!" Jacks voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper and his chattering teeth made him almost incomprehensible, but he kept shaking the girl, his knees protesting the hard ground as he repeated his litany, hoping that Wendy would hear him. A door opened behind him but he ignored it, his ears deaf to anything but a response from the girl lying insensible at his feet. A blanket was placed around his shoulders and he brushed it off, that small action alerting him to the fact he was no longer alone. Turning his head slightly, he noticed that several people were now in the room with him, their dark eyes staring at those still on the ground, their silence complete and unnerving. Jack left off his ministrations and lurched to his feet, swinging around to address the men watching him.

"Please....I need dry clothes, blankets, heat.....I need...heat."

One of the silent watchers stepped forward, casting a quick glance at the bodies still on the ground before looking up at Jack.

"We're here to help you but you must keep quiet. You'll have the clothes, and the blankets, you just have to follow us and you'll have everything you need. Is your cabin boy alright?"

Jack stared blankly at the man, glancing down at Wendy and seeing her as they did, her face washed of all colour, her hair hidden under the stocking cap, her body shapeless under the oilskin coat.

"I need to get....him warm, or he'll get pneumonia. Please."

"I'll carry him...." the man started forward but Jack waved him back, turning and bending down to lift Wendy himself while the other men roused Rufus and Smee, the older man peering around blearily, his glasses lost when they were dumped out of the sloop. As they shuffled out of the room, the man in front led the way down a stone tunnel, the eerie blue light continuing to glow from its unknown source, but brighter in the corridor than in the room. A short walk brought them to an even more brightly lit dormitory, the walls lined with beds, each one with a chest beside it and rough bedding over it. Jack lowered Wendy to one of the nearest beds, her eye dark ringed, her skin cold to the touch. Most of the party of silent men left, once Jack and his companions were in the room, leaving only the man that had spoken to Jack.

"You'll find clothes in the chest's beside the beds, and there's blankets a plenty. I'll arrange for someone to bring a kettle of hot water and some food and drink."

He turned to go but Jack touched his arm, to halt him.

"Where are we, what is this place?"

The man stared at Jack with haunted eyes. "This is hell."

Jacks hand dropped from the man's arm in shock, watching him walk out of the room without looking back. Shaking his head, Jack turned to face Smee and Rufus who both sat on a bed each, hugging themselves and shivering.

"Get out of those wet things....quickly, and get dry. I'll see to Miss Wendy."

Fumbling with the catch, Jack flung open the closest chest and pulled out an assortment of men's clothes. Smee and Rufus retreated to the end of the room and turned their backs while Jack stripped Wendy as quickly as possibly, redressing her in the dry clothes and snugly wrapping her in several covers, pulled off the other beds. Once she was encased in the blanket cocoon, Jack saw to his own clothes, stripping off and rubbing himself down, stirring his circulation before donning dry clothes and draping a blanket around his shoulders. Smee and Rufus joined him as he sat watching for any sign of Wendy waking up.

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Peter was led by Captain Benedict to a room that contained row, upon row of beds, the cots spread with a variety of coverings, the walls bereft of any pictures or personal momento's, everything uniform and without a shred of the clutter you would expect in a room occupied by a dozen or more people. Peter raised an eyebrow at Benedict who shrugged.

"This is just one of many sleeping dormitories, there should be a couple of free beds here, near the door, so pick one."

"Tell me Captain.....I've only seen men here, what happens to the women from the ships?"

Benedict shuffled, his eyes looking down at his feet before flicking up to meet Peters.

"The Mermaids don't bring women here. They only want workers."

"But....." Peter began, but Benedict raised his hand to cut him off.

"The Mermaids don't want the women, but the Mermen....that's another story. They will rescue any female and bring her to the colony, if they can keep her safe from the Mermaids. As the male Merfolk are outnumbered ten to one by the females, there are precious few women here. What few there are, are kept in the kitchens and laundry, the Mermaids keeping them busy and as far from their Merfolk as possible."

"Has nobody ever escaped from here?"

Benedict shoved his hands into his pockets, glancing away from Peter before speaking.

"Some have tried.....men and woman, wanting to return to their lives up there. But it's usually only those people that really want to end their lives, not return to them. There is nothing up there, 'cept miles of ocean, so that even if you made it to the surface, and I've never heard of anyone who has, you'd never see a passing ship and drown anyway."

"So it has been tried,"

"Yes lad.....people have left....never to return, and they have lost their lives in the attempt. In my time here, I've seen too many drowned corpses to ever think of trying it myself, or encouraging anyone else to. Escape is a sure fire death sentence."

"Some might think that a preferable alternative."

"Aye....for some that can't adjust....it's an option. But I think life is far to sweet to give it up, just for the sake of seeing the sun again."

A dull gong sound could be heard resounding through the tunnels, and Benedict's head shot up, turning to stare at the doorway, his eyes going wide.

"What is it?" Peter asked, almost smelling the man's fear.

"It's the Merfolk.....they want us all to gather. We have to hurry!"

"But....." Peter started, but Benedict wasn't listening, the man grabbing Peter's arm and dragging him out of the room and down the corridor, other men joining them as they hurried along.

The tunnel started to slope steeply downwards and the crowd increased, until Peter found himself jostled and pushed along by the surge through a doorway, into an enormous chamber that stretched into the distance and was rapidly filling with the population of humans trapped beneath the sea. As he looked around, Peter saw all ages and nationalities, all with the same haunted look in their eyes, looking past or through their neighbours, chatter kept to a minimum as they congregated in the center of the chamber, milling around each other.

Benedict pushed his way forward, Peter following close behind so that they ended up on the edge of the crowd to one side. In front of them Peter could see a water curtain, similar to the one in the room he'd first awoken in, the water gleaming very blue, with shapes swirling beyond the wet veil. In this room a channel had been carved into the room itself and was filled with water, providing a conduit between the worlds of water and air. At the end of the conduit was a raised platform, smoothly rounded, its surface gleaming wetly. As Peter watched several men approached the raised platform with large wicker baskets, two men per basket, which they heaved up to sit on a ledge carved into the platform, leaving them there. Peter couldn't see their contents but Benedict leant over the hissed " Aqualite," before returning his attention to the water curtain. Peter looked about him, his height giving him a good view around the chamber, his eyes meeting some of those men near him, their own sliding away after giving him a curious stare, their pale faces, for the most part, expressionless. Nearly all the men gathered looked overworked and defeated, their skin sallow from lack of exposure to the sun. In contrast Peter exuded health and vitality, his skin a golden hue, so different from the sun-starved features surrounding him. Unsettled by the quietness of the crowd and the curious, often hostile stares, Peter turned his attention back to the front, missing the late entrance, at the back of the chamber, of three men, one of them carrying another bundled in his arms.

"I don't like this Mister Smee......not one bit," hissed Rufus, shuffling nervously, as he gazed out over the heads of the men gathered in the huge rock chamber. Smee could only look up at Rufus and give him a reassuring smile.

"We're not dead yet, me hearty, so don't cave now. We'll just find out what all this malarky is about, then we're out of here."

Jack was kneeling down behind them, settling Wendy on the stone floor, her body still swathed in the covers and blankets, her white face peering up at him from the folds as she sat with her back to the wall.

"What is this place Jack.......where are we?" Wendy whispered, keeping her voice as deep as possible to hide her gender from anyone close enough to be listening.

"I don't know .....we've yet to find out. But it looks like I was right to pass you off as a boy.....I haven't seen one woman in this crowd, or a boy below seventeen summers of age. There's something terrible going on here, and I think you'd better keep hidden, I don't want you put at risk."

"I want to see Jack, please help me stand up,"

"You won't be able to see anything over all these heads...keep down and I'll tell you what I see."

Their whispered conversation was drawing attention so Wendy withdrew back into her blankets and Jack stood up to see what was happening nearer the front. Given his height he was at a severe disadvantage, plus Smee was almost blind without his spectacles, so they both had to rely on Rufus to give a running commentary on events happening further down the room.

"There's some sort of wet...no, it's like a waterfall...but it's across an opening in the cave...like an archway." Rufus relayed, speaking from the corner of his mouth as Smee and Jack listened. Their immediate neighbours, after staring with mild curiosity at them, largely ignored the newcomers. "There's a channel dug into the floor that runs from the waterfall to a round rock. Some men have placed big wicker baskets on a ledge, but I can't see what's in them."

A man standing in front of them, turned briefly and addressed them in a whisper. "It's Aqualite crystals.....the reason we're all here in this hell hole," before turning his back once more. Jack and Rufus exchanged a look before Rufus continued his commentary.

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Peter glanced around the room as a hum of noise started among the waiting crowd, the men shuffling as they waited for whatever they'd been gathered for. As Peter swept his gaze over the restless crowd, he spotted someone standing tall at the back of the room. Narrowing his eyes, he stared at the man who appeared to be speaking to someone out of sight below the height of the men around him. It was impossible, but the man looked uncannily like...Peter shook his head, it was not possible, but he looked again. The man raised his head from speaking to whoever was beside him and his head turned toward Peter, the mans mouth dropping open as Peter raised himself on tiptoe to get a better look. A raised hand was all the acknowledgment he needed, it was Rufus, and against all odds the man was here in the same stone chamber as Peter. If Rufus was here, then it was likely that Jack or Smee were with him. Galvanised into action, Peter started to work his way through the crowd, leaving Benedict behind as he pushed and shoved his way towards the back of the room. Behind him he heard a cry but ignored it, fighting his way towards the back wall.

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"Oh my God!" Rufus suddenly yelped after trying to describe the scene to his companions. To Jack's surprise Rufus raised his arm and waved to someone in the crowd.

"What are you doing? Stop waving!" Jack hissed, pushing past a bewildered, squinting Smee to pull at the big mans arm.

"But it's..." Rufus started to say when the gong sounded three times and everyone turned to face the front, the water curtain parting and admitting a mermaid, who swam up the channel before climbing up to sit on one side of the rounded rock platform. Another three followed in quick succession, one of them a Merman, until there were four Merfolk draped over the round stone, their tails flapping slowly as they stared at the assembled humans.

Peter had heard the gong sound, but hadn't stopped his progress through the crowd, taking a different tack, making for the back wall at right angles to where Rufus still stood, his head searching back and forth for sight of Peter Pan. The men he passed through were straining to see whatever was happening at the front of the crowd, their eyes glinting with mixed emotions, Peter seeing fear and anger in their expressions. With a final shove he reached the cold stone back wall, breathing heavily. He turned to look back and saw the four Merfolk draped over the rounded rock, their sleek bodies preening as they stared at their captive audience. Turning his attention back to his current mission, Peter started to push his way along the wall, getting ever closer to where Rufus was standing. When he was barely ten feet away he saw Smee and Jack, someone else, wrapped in blankets, being held up between them. With a final burst of energy Peter found himself catapulted through the crowd and standing at last beside Jack, who turned and gaped at him in surprise.

"Peter!" Jack's cry pulled Smee and Rufus around to stare at their missing friend. The figure beside Jack dropped the enveloping blankets and threw herself at Peter, clutching him to her, her pale face flooded with a welter of emotions. Rocked on his heels, Peter clutched the slender form to his chest, Wendy raining kisses on his neck and cheek as he stood for a moment in shock. Within seconds his arms had closed around her and his lips were seeking hers in a desperate kiss, his strong embrace lifting her off the ground as she wound her arms around his neck, returning his kiss with equal passion, oblivious to the people around them.

Rufus, a grin curling his lips was splitting his attention between the couple lost in their own world, and the scene taking place at the front of the crowd. Turning to Jack he tugged at the man's sleeve to gain his attention. Jack looked up at Rufus, his smile slipping when he noted the man's suddenly serious expression.

"What is it Rufus?"

"I'm not sure.....but I don't like it.."

Down in front of the rounded rock the Merfolk were pointing to men in the crowd with anyone indicated being led forward to stand beside the rock. One of the Mermaids was searching the crowd, obviously looking for a particular person, her gaze passing over Rufus before quickly returning and calling out, her long, sinewy arms raising to point directly at Rufus, her eye's gleaming like oil.

"She's pointing at me Jack......what do I do?"

"Nothing Rufus....just stay still.....maybe she'll move on to someone else."

Peter and Wendy were still embracing, touching each other to reassure themselves that their presence together was an actuality not just a heartfelt wish. Jack coughed to get their attention and they both turned, Jack finding himself stunned momentarily at the love shining from the young couples faces as they looked at him.

"Urr...there's something happening....the Mermaids..." Jack said, looking back at Rufus who was staring at the front of the room. The crowd was starting to part in front of the small group, leaving a clear passageway, exposing the newcomers to the direct gaze of the Merfolk.

Peter held Wendy close to his side, his eyes meeting Jack's before turning to stare at the Merfolk at the front of the chamber. Peter saw Benedict start to walk towards them, down the cleared pathway, the man's face grim as he approached the small group. He started when he saw Wendy pressed to Peter's side, his surprise almost comical before his mouth thinned into a grim line and he looked at each of them before speaking.

"You are all called to serve the Merfolk, there is no chance of refusal.....you have to go."

"What does that mean Benedict ?" Asked Peter, Wendy looking up at the man, her hands clutching Peter's coat convulsively.

"It means they want to take you to another city....what will happen there I don't know....no-one has ever returned to tell us."

A call behind them drew their attention back to the Merfolk, who were all staring at the small group of humans at the back.

"What if we don't want to go?" Peter challenged, lifting his chin in defiance.

"They will order your slaughter as a demonstration of their power, you remains will be hung in the chamber to act as an abject lesson on the foolhardiness of defying their rule."

Wendy gasped, the sound echoed by her companions as Peter's arms tightened around her.

"I don't think so...." Peter glanced down at Wendy, a smile tilting his lips as he looked down at her. "Tell them we will only speak to Merrill.....she brought me here.....she is the only one I'll go with."

Benedict gaped at him, the men standing around them starting to press themselves as far as possible from the foolhardy newcomers.

"I can't tell them that!"

"Then I'll tell them myself."

"You speak Mertongue?"

"As well as anyone here. Better, most likely."

Shaking his head, Benedict turned on his heel and walked back down the room. Wendy looked up at Peter, a question in her expressive eyes.

"Trust me Wendy....I'll get us out of this.....all of us."

"Peter....what about your magic. Can't you wish yourself out of this place?" Asked Jack, Smee and Rufus crowding closer to hear his answer.

"I tried to use it on the way over.....it didn't work, maybe I'm too far from Neverland."

"What about flying.....has that gone too?" Asked Smee, peering short-sightedly at Peter.

Peter cocked a crooked grin, before replying.

"Where would you have me fly to....." He glanced up at the rock roof far above their heads, "Even the famed Peter Pan can't fly through a mountain."

"Peter, you still have the power to disrupt and change the weather, it's what drew us here, to find you. There's a storm raging above, it showed us where you were." Wendy explained, glancing around at the silent audience hanging on every word.

"Then I'll have to find a way of using that.....to our advantage."

Benedict had stopped, beckoning them on. With a glance at his would-be rescuers, Peter started forward, Wendy's hand held firmly in his, confidence surging through him as they walked towards the Merfolk. Around them voices rose in a crescendo of muttering and murmurs, the captive men watching round-eyed as the small group walked the length of the chamber to end up in front of the rounded boulder.

The three Mermaids and one Merman looked down on the small group of humans standing in front of them. The Merman pointed to Wendy and said something to his companions, Peter scowling as he listened.

"What is he saying Peter?" Wendy stared up at the Merman, her eyes suddenly meeting his as he turned his head to regard her. She felt a shiver run down her back, already fearing Peter's answer.

"He won't have you Wendy....I won't let him take you."

"Peter?" Wendy gripped his hand tightly, moving closer to his side. The Merman above saw the slight movement and hissed in anger, his tail slapping the side of the rock. Peter stared back at him, his mouth opening to emit a sentence in Mertongue, incomprehensible to everyone but the Merfolk. They started in surprise, the Mermaids rising up on their tails before breaking into a torrent of speech, pointing at Peter and exchanging shocked glances between themselves. Getting over their initial surprise, the Merfolk started to reel off a series of short sentences, their webbed fingers pointing and flexing as they gestured to Peter and his friends. Peter replied in kind, his chin lifting as he addressed them in an arrogant tone, his expressive eyebrow lifting as he seemed to mock them. Wendy could only take comfort in his warm hand entwined with her own, her eyes darting from Peter to the four Merfolk, the conversation apparently stirring the creatures into a frenzy of speech, incomprehensible to most of the listening crowd around them.

At length, one of the Mermaids turned and slid off the rock into the water beyond, her powerful tail propelling her towards the curtain and out into the open ocean, leaving her the two Mermaids and the Merman behind. Peter adopted a bored expression, before turning away and speaking to his anxious friends.

"The Mermaid has gone to fetch Merrill....they don't quite know what to make of me....." Peter smiled to himself, "I told them I was a powerful sorcerer. That I was the Pan that killed the famous Captain Hook, and ruled the island of Neverland. I also told them that the storm raging above is a taste of my power and if they didn't let us go, I would turn my attention to their city and destroy that with a whirlpool."

"Can you actually do that Peter?" Asked Wendy worriedly.

"I don't know....I've never tried, but they don't know that." He grinned down at her cockily, his infectious smile winning an answering smile from his friends.

"You're taking a might big risk," said Jack, rubbing his chin.

"Do you have a better plan?"

"It's a very big bluff...." said Wendy, glancing over Peter's shoulder at the Merman perched on the rock. He was glaring at Peter's back, his eyes flicking to hers before she lowered her gaze and turned away.

A loud splash alerted them that the Mermaid had returned, this time she was accompanied by Merrill, her long seaweed hair swirling behind her and she raised herself out of the trench and onto the rock beside the other Merfolk. Peter turned slowly around to face her, his face set in angry lines. Merrill saw Wendy standing beside him and she hissed loudly, her mouth opening to show off her pointed, blackened teeth. Wendy tilted her chin and stared back, hoping that the trembling in her limbs didn't show.

"What nonsense is this you speak, Peter Pan. You are no sorcerer...you are just a boy!" Merrill leaned forward, her upper torso gleaming as she preened her hair back over her shoulders, her grey skin flushed with dark mottling that appeared and disappeared as she glared at Peter. "If you are a sorcerer....why are you still here, why have you not escaped?"

"I would have.....but I was intrigued to know what has been hidden from the sight of men, so far below the surface." Peter swept his arm wide, "this is a crime against us all.....to keep these men here as slaves."

"They are lucky to be alive.....they would have drowned if we had not brought them here." One of the Mermaids said, rearing back on her tail smugly.

"Then you should have freed them, not turned them into slaves. You've taken away their choice to live or die. They belong back in the world of man, not here in your world."

"Why should we listen to you, Pan. You are now our slave...you are alive because we choose to let you live."

"No Merrill...I am here because you took me against my will. I'm no sailor lost overboard from a ship, or a survivor of a foundering, I was brought here by you for your own reasons."

The Merfolk turned to stare at Merrill, their glassy eyes registering surprise and suspicion. It was one thing to take advantage of a situation, another to deliberately snatch a creature from their world unwillingly. The Merman turned and regarded Merrill with something close to disgust.

"Is what this Pan says true?"

Merrill drew back her lips and hissed angrily, her eyes flicking from Peter to the Merman. "What does it matter what he says, he is here now, and as much a slave as the others."

"Is what he says true?" Asked one of the other Mermaids, her expression stony as Merrill shrugged, tossing her hand airily.

"What if it is.....he has no power down here. This is our world, with our rules..he will obey as they all do."

"No I won't Merrill....I thought you our friend, you and your sisters, I told you stories, played my pipes, we were friends."

"No Mermaid can befriend a man....you are weak and useless except as slaves, this is wasting time. Kill his companions, especially her......she should never have sought him out."

"No!" Both Peter and the Merman shouted at once, surprising the Mermaids and themselves. Glaring at the Merman, Peter drew himself up to his full height and raised his chin.

"You were warned, touch one hair of mine or my friends heads and I will unleash a storm that will destroy all you know."

"He's bluffing!" Merrill shouted, her long arm lashing out, Peter dodging back as she swiped her webbed claws at him.

Taking a step back, Peter let go of Wendy's hand after giving her a reassuring smile. Jack, Smee and Rufus also backing off, giving Peter room. Wendy remained by his side, not touching but closing her eyes, willing her strength into Peter, her hands coming to rest across her belly as Peter raised his arms and tilted his head back, his eyes closing. Almost immediately the air above his head started to move, the breeze swirling his curls around his head, lifting tendrils of Wendy's hair, the mini tornado expanding so that Merrill found her seaweed hair whipping around her head, dust and dirt joining the tunnel of air, giving it substance. In the centre, Peter stood with his arms outstretched, his face tilted up with a smile playing over his lips, a glow starting to surround him as the funnel of air grew in strength, beating at the men cowering behind him and blasting the Merfolk on their rock, their hands coming up to shield their faces as debris pelted them, the wind whipping up water from the channel to join the maelstrom forming in the air above where Peter stood.

Wendy stood within a protected area beside Peter, a glowing warmth starting to spread from her stomach into her whole body, enveloping her in a bright heat. Peter now had a bright light around his outline, his eyes still closed as the storm gathered strength above him, reaching as high as the stone ceiling far above. The force of the wind started to dislodge rocks. As they crashed down, the men scattering to the back of the room and down the tunnels to escape the danger, their cries and yells barely heard above the scream of the wind. Jack, Smee and Rufus were crouched as flat to the floor as possible, their heads covered as they rode out the force of Peter's power, Jack glancing up to see the Mermaids starting to leave the rock but stopping when they found the channel devoid of water, it all sucked up into the funnel of wind that roared around them.

"Stop.....stop!" Merrill screamed, her arms raised to shield her face as another rock slashed her skin, the wind lashing her hair about her shoulders.

Opening his eyes, Peter narrowed his gaze and lowered his arms, his green eyes glowing with an unearthly light as he smirked at the cowering Merfolk. Taking in a calming breath, Peter lessened his concentration, the wind starting to drop as he let go of the power throbbing through his body, the glow around him fading as the tornado dissipated, dirt and debris dropping to the floor as the wind lost its grip.

Finally the gale turned into a breeze, ruffling Peter's hair before dying out all together, leaving only Peter and his friends facing the four Merfolk still perched on their rock. Jack helped Smee to his feet, Rufus glancing up before unwinding his tall form from the stone floor to stand beside his friends. Wendy slipped her hand once more into Peter's, the heat inside her subsiding as his glow disappeared.

"Do you need a further demonstration?" Peter demanded, staring at each Merfolk in turn, Merrill still defiant, baring her teeth at him.

"You have proved you are a great sorcerer, Pan." The Merman said, his former arrogance cowered by Peter's display of power. "We will release you.....and the others."

"NO!" Shrieked Merrill, back-handing the Merman so that he fell back into the channel, the shallow water splashing up as he hit. The other three reared back in shock, one starting to back away as Merrill whipped around, her tail lashing out and sending the Mermaid to join her fellow thrashing in the channel.

The remaining Mermaids slithered off the rock onto the floor, clumsily using their arms to drag themselves away, scattering the baskets that had formerly stood on the ledges, their glittering contents scattered over the floor. Merrill reared back, tall on her tail, her hands raised like claws in front of her. With a sudden movement she snapped one hand back as if throwing something, a dart flying from her hand, Peter ducking to the side in reflex, the missile burying itself in Wendy's chest before Peter could jerk her out of the way. Her eyes wide with surprise and shock, Wendy looked down at the black thorn protruding from the shirt covering her chest, a ragged circle of blood starting to stain the rough fabric.

"Peter?"

Horrified, Peter gathered Wendy in his arms as her legs gave way and her head flopped back on her neck. As Peter knelt down, Jake pulled his knife from behind his back and sent it flying towards Merrill, the blade hitting her in the throat, dark blood spraying out as she scrabbled to pull the hilt from her gills. It proved ineffectual, her chest quickly stained with her life blood as she screamed her defiance, slipping off the rock to land with a thud almost at their feet, her eyes fogging over as death claimed her, her last breath gurgling in her lungs.

Peter ignored the noises behind him, his eyes staring into Wendy's as she struggled to keep her eyes open, the poison from the dart making it difficult for her to breath or think. Jack knelt beside him, pulling Peter's arm to get him to release her, Peter glancing up in anguish as Jack explained he needed to see the wound. Rufus bundled up his coat and laid it on the floor to act as a pillow as Peter lowered Wendy gently to the floor. Jack plucked the black dart from Wendy's chest before pulling her shirt aside and examining the wound, the flesh red and inflamed, blood seeping sluggishly from the hole, Wendy's eyes rolling as she finally succumbed to the darkness pulling her under.

"Wendy.....come back, don't shut your eyes!" Peter cried out in fear, Wendy's body starting to convulse as dark streamers started to fan out from the center of the wound. "Jack...save her!" Peter implored, staring wild-eyed at the ships doctor, who could only stare back helplessly.

"I don't know what to do.....I don't know!" Jack whispered, his eyes round as he stared at the long black fingers radiating out from the small hole which no longer bled. Wendy's breathing was becoming labored, her lungs heaving as she tried to drag in each breath, her eyes closed, her body trembling with the strain of breathing. A wet sound behind them made Peter leap to his feet, his teeth bared as the Merman approached awkwardly, his body balanced on his hands, his tail trailing behind.

"It's a poison.....Shatung has gone for the remedy......we didn't know Merrill was armed, its not...." He stopped, gesturing helplessly as Peter turned his back on the Merman, kneeling down to take Wendy's limp hand in his, bringing it to his lips for a kiss, his eyes burning with unshed tears.

The Merman shuffled back, leaning his back against the rounded boulder, his hand coming up to press against the back of his head, his webbed fingers coming away coated in dark blood from his fall from the rock. The channel behind the rock had once more refilled with sea water, a mermaid appearing suddenly through the curtain and swimming quickly up the channel before climbing out and coming to sit beside the Merman.

"Shatung is here......Pan, the cure is here.....quickly!"

Peter let go of Wendy's cold hand and reached out for the vial held out by the Mermaid, his fingers closing around the small bubble of glass, his eyes bleak. Turning back he passed the bottle to Jack who pulled the cork and held it to Wendy's blue lips. He managed to get some into her mouth but a trickle ran out one corner, her throat muscles paralysed.

"She can't swallow Peter....I can't get it down her," Jack cried out, his hands shaking as he glanced over Peter's shoulder to the Merfolk watching the tragedy unfold. "What can I do....she can't swallow!"

"Pour it on the wound.....quickly!"

Jack looked at Peter for a translation. "Pour it on the wound Jack...."

With trembling fingers, Jack poured the light blue liquid onto the small hole left by the dart, the potion rapidly disappearing directly into Wendy's skin. Where it touched the black lines, they started to recede. As Jack poured the rest of the liquid onto her chest, the black lines started to fade, Wendy's breathing becoming easier, her chest slowing its frantic heaving as air flowed in more easily. Within seconds her lips lost their blue cast, parting to let life-giving air flow into her lungs as the cure banished the poison from her system.

Peter gathered her into his arms, rocking her as she lay limply in his embrace, her eyes still shut, her heart thudding against his own as he breathed her name into her hair, his hands holding her pressed to his chest.

Behind the small group, the Merfolk sat quietly talking, the Merman gesturing towards Peter and the others as he argued with the Mermaid he'd called Shatung. Rufus, glancing warily between the drama taking place at his feet and the Merfolk, stepped towards the body of Merrill, laying slumped at the base of the boulder. Looking at her mottled skin, Rufus lifted her arm and found a cleverly disguised holder under the Mermaid's wrist. Tearing it off, he opened it and found four more darts gleaming in their holder. Closing the case carefully, Rufus returned to the group gathered around Peter, seeing Wendy's eyelids flutter as she regained consciousness.

"P-p-e-t-e-r-r..." Wendy's slurred whisper brought Peter's head up, his eyes alight with hope as he returned her heavy-lidded gaze, his lips lifting in a half smile.

"You gave us all a fright....how are you feeling?"

"Th..e.....ba...by?" Peter glanced up at Jack, unable to answer Wendy's question, his eyes pleading with Jack to give her the answer she needed. Jack could only shrug slightly, his gaze anguished. Peter closed his eyes briefly before returning to look down into Wendy's glazed eyes.

"The baby's fine love.....don't worry, you're both fine." He lowered his head and kissed her, his lips trembling slightly as he heard Wendy sigh in relief, his heart heavy in his chest.

"Jack.....take care of Wendy for me....I need to talk to the Merfolk."

Lowering Wendy to the floor, Peter got to his feet and turned to face the Merman, his face impassive as he approached the creatures sitting against the rock. Folding his arms across his chest, Peter stood, legs slightly apart, waiting for the Merman to speak.

"She will live now.....you got the potion to her in time. We are glad." The Merman announced, his eyes flicking from Peter to the half-hidden figure still laying on the ground behind him.

"We need to talk about the situation down here.....these people....they need to be freed from their bondage." Peter stated, his tone implacable.

"We have had long discussions about the situation here, long before you arrived Peter Pan. The mine is rapidly running out of Aqualite, this last offering is the most that has been mined in many years. There had been some proposals to shut the mine down, but there was the problem of what to do with the men."

"Where were you taking those you'd chosen, before you brought me forward?"

"We try and distribute the men around the various cities, spread the load of caring for them, although they are no longer needed for the mine. We usually choose the oldest or sickest, farm them out as servants for various families....we thought we were doing them a favour....it seems that we weren't. The men we take usually don't survive after the first few days, the losses to suicide have been.....upsetting."

"Why did you choose me and my friends?"

"I don't know......the Mermaid that picked you out, she has disappeared. We suspect she was in league with Merrill to keep you for herself......even though Mermaid and Man relationships are banned by our laws, as an abomination."

"Will you free the remaining people here?"

"What if we don't?"

"You've seen what I can do......do you really want me to get angry and unleash that storm among your coral cities?"

The Mermaid made a small noise and the Merman turned to her, before turning back to face Peter. "We don't want that.....we would be happy to release the workers....but if they return to the surface as it is, they will drown.....there is no ship to take them back to where they came from."

"Neverland is not far from here.....that is where Merrill took me from. If they could be taken there......?"

"I have heard of Neverland....although I have never been there. Is the island large enough to take so many?"

"More than big enough. What we would need is a ship."

"That can be supplied.....not all ships that sink are unsalvagable. There was one only last week......but I digress. First I must put your proposal..."The Merman paused, his mouth twisting wryly. "Your request that the men be freed, to our council of Ten. But I don't think there will be any opposition. This problem, as I said before, has long been under discussion, and a solution sought. This will bring it to a head and I'm sure, please everyone."

"How long before you have an answer?"

"By the next tide you will have your answer."

"Good. Let us hope your council of Ten agrees with you."

As Peter watched, the Merfolk worked their way back to the channel cut in the rock and dived in, swimming strongly for the cascading curtain before disappearing into the sea beyond. Peter's shoulders relaxed visibly before he turned on his heel and came to kneel beside Wendy. She smiled up at him, her left hand resting on her middle, the other outstretched to him. Peter took it and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, smiling back at her.

"We need to get her somewhere more comfortable than this rock floor lad."

"You're right Jack....we'll go back into the tunnels, Benedict was showing me a room with many beds just before the gong sounded. That should do fine."

With relative ease, Peter knelt and lifted Wendy into his arms. Rufus offered his arm to Smee to guide the short-sighted old man, while Jack brought up the rear, returning briefly to pull his knife from Merrill's neck before walking after the others.

As they trooped out of the chamber, Rufus glanced back to stare at the devastation left behind, the rock strewn floor and dead Mermaid. Shaking his head, Rufus turned back and followed his friends up the tunnel, Smee's firm grip, warm on his arm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter: Six - Surfacing

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Wendy looked over at Rufus, the giant sitting uneasily on a cot beside her own, his head swinging between glancing at her and the doorway beyond her bed. As he kept watch he twisted his hands together anxiously, his fleshy bottom lip pulled into his mouth and worried by his top teeth.

"Rufus.....you don't have to stay if you want to go and see what's happening."

"Oh no....Peter asked me to stay.....and stay I will....it's just....I don't like it here, its too closed in. I like being on a ship, its open and free......here its dark and pokey."

"You really don't like enclosed places, do you Rufus....I'm sorry I got you into this mess."

"Not your fault...."Rufus shrugged, "it's the reason I became a sailor and not a miner." He stared off into space for a second. "My father was a miner, and his father before him.....all my brothers worked in the mine, but I couldn't......great disappointment to my family, I was...." He heaved a sigh, looking down at his fingers.

"Well I'm very glad you're not a miner Rufus....you've proved a good friend to me and Peter...and I'm sure your family would be very proud of you..."

Wendy was rewarded for her kindness with a broad smile from Rufus, his blunt face quite transformed by his grin and twinkling eyes.

Wendy smiled back, before shifting on the lumpy mattress, her hip digging into a particularly hard lump as she turned to face the door, as eager as Rufus to find out what was happening.

Peter, together with Jack and Smee had left hours ago, to meet with Captain Benedict to explain what they'd learnt from the Merfolk, and the proposed plan to release the men back to the surface. Absently she rubbed the spot on her chest that still felt a little sore, hardly believing that she had been struggling to draw a breath, on the brink of dying as the poison from Merrills dart spread its poison through her body. Now she felt fine, a small puncture wound the only evidence that it hadn't all been a bad dream. She longed to return to Neverland, to their treehouse, to having Peter to herself for a little while. She reached up and pressed her fingers around her talisman, the gold acorn cool against her finger-tips. A commotion outside the door drew her up onto her elbow, Rufus rising to his feet, his hands clenched into fists.

A face appeared around the edge of the door, a woman, followed by several more, all of them crowding into the room, shuffling inside and sidling down the wall of the room, keeping as far from Wendy and Rufus