----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------
Notes from the Authoress: Hey guys, Ellie here! That's way 19 was not exactly up to par. Sorry loves! Anyways, this fic is finally coming to a close with chapter 20, and it's been very hard to say goodbye. I've just had the most amazing time writing this, and I thank all of you for your support and reviews, criticism and comments. I couldn't have done it without you guys; you're the ones who keep me writing. Sooo....are you ready for the tumultuous chapter 20? Alright! Read, review and most all, ENJOY!!!
I LOVE YOU ALL
~Ellie~
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------
The church was one of special magnificence. Its steeple shone of gold in the early afternoon sun, and there were countless religious figures pieced together by stained glass that stared blankly out upon the bustling streets of London. It was quite obvious that Edward's family were the ones who were paying for the whole affair; not even after Mr. Darling's promotion could Wendy's family afford such a grandiose location.
Its location was perfect as well. It had the most darling view of picturesque London, with sprawling streets of shops, inns and quintessential Victorian houses. The people who milled about on the streets with their peddling carts and children were smiling and laughing as they made trivial, pointless jokes to one another. Under any other circumstances this would have been the most marvelous place Wendy could think of to be wed.
Unfortunately, the circumstances that she was currently under gave Wendy a bleak outlook on the whole place. Everything seemed to have a grey shadow cast over it, a sad, foreboding sign of things that had not yet come to pass. The happy people seemed to stare when they passed, as though thrown under a sudden rain cloud (Wendy's perpetual sorrow, she supposed).
She stepped out of the carriage daintily with the help of a distinguished- looking man who she'd never seen before; whose services were obviously bought by Edward's family. Her white shoes hit the ground with a light thud, and her faerie skirt came whirling down to hide her legs and feet. Wendy looked up at the church, but it was quite difficult to look at through her thick white veil that hid her from the rest of the world.
'Maybe that's why brides wear veils. Maybe it's a sort of drug or something; they can't see who they're marrying.'
The trek up the church steps was long and boring, with her family chatting excitedly around her. She clutched her bouquet of red and white roses tighter, feeling many of the thorns stick into her hand. She didn't loosen her grip, but instead grabbed tighter until the roses were practically stuck to her hands, relishing the feeling of the cool blood slipping down her hands. The pain took her mind of the wedding for the time being.
The doors of the church were a deep, rich mahogany with a majestic looking door knocker that resembled a boar's head. They instead entered through a little side door, where Wendy was ushered into a room with a mirror in it for last minute alterations to her dress and makeup and hair. It was like her mother liked to refer to as the breathing room; a place to catch your breath before the wedding.
The room was quite bare, with a full length mirror at one end, and a very short stool on which Wendy could stand. Three stout, short women sat in chairs on the other end with a little sewing basket full of god-knows-what; and when they saw Wendy they jumped to their feet and rushed to her, dragging her over to the stool.
"My darling, don't you look beautiful!" one of them squealed delightedly, as the three ladies presently kneeled to the floor and began to stick colorful little needles in the hem of her dress. Wendy felt quite violated by this, and opened her mouth to protest, but her mother gave her one of her infamous looks and she snapped her mouth shut.
She stared off into space as the women fussed over her skirt and train and shoes. There was nothing really exceptional about the room, but for some reason it comforted her. Her eyes wandered to the corner, where she noticed something strange.
Wendy's eyes practically popped out of her head when she saw what lay in the corner.
It was a kiss! A lovely, tiny acorn kiss strung on a silver chain, laid there quite inconspicuously by an unidentified visitor. A smiled broke Wendy's stoic face....Peter must be somewhere in the church! He was going to rescue her! The kiss seemed to smile and wink and Wendy in a comforting and encouraging sort of way, so Wendy didn't even take notice when the three little ladies rose from their squatting position to announce that they had finished.
She saw the lost boys pass the room, and Slightly stopped to wave, and she reciprocated quite jovially. He turned to leave, but before he did he gave her a broad wink and then ran away, leaving Wendy a bit confused. Did he know something she didn't know? The little bugger, he was a mischief maker fit for Neverland, alright.
He was one of those boys that would make a completely romantic boyfriend and a roguish best friend at the same time. He took after Peter in that sense. This thought made Wendy smile. She was considerably more elated than before now that she suspected that Peter might be somewhere, readying himself to rescue his true love!
Presently, Wendy heard Edward's voice in the hall.
"May I see my bride?" he called from the hallway, and the three ladies gasped.
"Of course not!" one of them cried, "You may absolutely NOT! Not until you're married, laddie." The one that was shorter than the rest waddled out of the room, and Wendy heard a feeble smack as she gave Edward a good slap. "Patience, dear, patience is a virtue," she heard her mutter absentmindedly as she hobbled back into the room, a triumphant smile on her face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John was walking absentmindedly around the back corridors of the church, contemplating. It was quite relaxing. He was staring at a painting of the Christ when he felt a tap on his shoulder and jumped at least a foot in the air. He whirled around and heaved a huge sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank god, it's only you! I thought for sure...." he trailed off, smiling at the two people standing before him. Peter Pan and the lost boy Slightly were standing before him, Peter back in his traditional leafy garb; Slightly in his very uncomfortable church clothes.
Before either of them could make a wisecrack or smack him on the shoulder or the like, John began interrogating them.
"Peter, you know where the little alcove behind the altar is? Good. Slightly, you've been practicing your fake cry? Good, let's see. Excellent! Remember; make it noticeable enough that people will want to follow you. If no one follows, this doesn't work. Did you make sure Brianne and Edward are somewhere near each other?"
"They've already walked off in the other direction together," Slightly said, smiling slyly, "Courtesy of me, o'course. Couldn't keep their eyes off each other at the party yesterday."
John tousled Slightly's hair fondly, his mischievous and happy nature was contagious. He turned to Peter and picked up where he had left off. "You know what to do after this rascal runs off? Yes? No? Excellent! And you left the kiss? Good, I'm sure she loved that. Now, off you go! Go hide, Peter; Slightly, go take your seat."
Peter was gone in a flash, and Slightly bounded down the hall toward the chapel, where the faint strains of organ music could be heard; which meant that the wedding procession was about to start. John started, remembering that he was the ring bearer, and took off as fast as his legs could carry him.
The wedding was about to begin!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wendy waited just outside the door to the chapel, holding her father's arm. She felt faint, and clung to her father as though she would give way any second. The lobby of the church was littered with roses and ribbons, and a most magnificent display of tulips hung around the door. Rather tacky crepe paper streamers decorated the vestibule, making it look very small.
When Wendy heard the organ begin to play her hands went clammy, and she began to sweat. She looked over her shoulder and saw John, who gave her an encouraging smile.
This was most definitely the moment she had been dreading for months now, she had never really though it would come, but come it did.
The doors swung open. The chapel was large and elaborately decorated with flurries of roses. Brocaded tapestries hung from the wall, giving the whole place a subdued effect of beauty. They were the kind of things that Wendy would want on the walls of her life, colorful and bold; dangerous even. With a deep breath, Wendy took her first step onto the long white carpet that led to....that led to....
Nothing!
The organ came to a stop as Wendy halted.
There were whispers and mutters in the audience. "Where's the groom?" and "He doesn't have cold feet, does he?" were heard throughout the chapel.
A grin began to break out on Wendy's face, but it was quickly erased when she saw her mother looking straight at her from the audience. She gave Mrs. Darling a confused look and turned back to her search for Edward. Her spirit was elated to the highest level; maybe he had gotten cold feet!
'Not possible,' a voice echoed inside her head. Wendy knew this was true.
Slightly sat quietly in his pew, staring at his feet. He was conjuring the best fake tears he had ever created, and was ready to set the waterworks loose any minute. With a deep breath, he lifted his head slowly.
A wail echoed throughout the chapel. Everyone's head turned to stare at the young boy who was now crying like a baby. There were multitudes of "tsks" that could be heard, and Slightly rose from his pew and ran down the isle, still crying. "Don't marry him, Wendy! Stay at home with us!" he cried as he passed her, and left her standing there with her father, bewildered as could be.
Many of the guests stood up, including Mrs. Darling and Edward's parents, and as they ran past Wendy after Slightly, John and Mr. Darling joined them, Wendy hot at their heels.
Wendy hadn't realized quite how hard it was to run in a dress; especially a wedding dress. She also hadn't realized how many hallways there were in the damn church! By the time they had turned the first corner she was already panting, not sure if she could keep up. "Slightly!" she called desperately, "What on earth is wrong with you?"
Similar cat calls could be heard throughout the hallway, but Slightly's young agility kept him a good few feet in front of everyone else at all times. By the time he came to a halt, everyone was exhausted and panting, trying to catch their breath.
"Why did you follow me?" Slightly inquired, putting on a pair of puppy dog eyes like Wendy had never seen before. "I was just trying to hide in this broom closet....I couldn't BEAR watching you leave us forever, Wendy!" he cried dramatically.
"Oh, but Slightly I...I won't be leaving you, I'll still make you dinner and tell you stories and-"
"I'll have none of it!" Slightly cried dramatically, surprising the crowd that had now assembled in the small corridor. He flung open the door to the closet and gasped dramatically.
"What HAVE we here?" he cried as everyone crowded around the door to take a peek inside. They were greeted with a most shocking sight. Even Wendy had to gasp; she hadn't expected this at all. She even heard some older women faint in the background.
Brianne had Edward pushed up against the wall of the closet. Her dress was unbuttoned in the back, and Edward's usually slick hair was mussed and tousled. He had bright pink lipstick marks all over his face, and looked rather dazed. He squinted from the light. Brianne looked utterly satisfied, she was in the midst of kissing his necking and running her hands through his hair. They broke apart and tripped over each other and fell to the floor when they saw everyone looking into the closet.
"WHAT IS THIS?" Edward's father cried as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd, getting a good look at the scene that lay before them. Edward looked up into his face guiltily, as Brianne quickly stood up and smoothed out her dress. She walked out of the closet and ambled down the hall victoriously, as if nothing had happened. You see, things like these were so common for Brianne that her family had come to expect it; she knew that they would get over it quickly. The Darlings were just like that. Her sisters all patted her on the shoulder in a congratulatory fashion as she passed them.
"Father....Mr. and Mrs. Darling.....I can explain....really, I can!"
But it was too late for apologies. Mrs. Darling walked over to Edward and slapped him good and hard. "THAT'S for making us believe you were right for our daughter!" She turned to Wendy, a look of utmost guilt on her face. "Wendy....darling.....can you ever forgive your father and I? We're so sorry-if we'd had any idea we never would have...."
Wendy smiled and ran to embrace her mother, and in turn gave her father a large hug. She nodded her head apologetically at Edward's father, who had picked Edward up by his ear and was in the midst of dragging him through the now dissipating crowd.
"You will pay dearly for this, you bloody idiot!" he was roaring. He turned to Wendy. "Miss Wendy, I am so....SO sorry about this. I never thought-I never-"
Wendy gave him a pat on the arm. "It wasn't your fault sir," she said, "You couldn't have known. On the contrary, I'm sorry that you have to take that idiot home." He smiled at her appreciatively, and then proceeded to drag Edward down the hall, most likely to give him the ear-boxing of his life. Wend had never felt so downright happy in her entire life!
As the guests walked down the hall they heard whispers of "Well, I guess we can go home now. No wedding's taking place today, that's for bloody sure," and "And he seemed like such an honorable young man too!"
Wendy watched all of this happen as though she was in a dream. She saw John and smiled, mouthing the words 'Thank you' to him before she rushed down the hall and back to chapel. She entered the big room that was now empty and silent. She looked up at the picture of Jesus and laughed.
"Thank you, God, thank you so much!" she cried, twirling around and laughing like a little girl. She froze when she heard a noise coming from behind the altar, though. She stared as she saw a form begin to move behind it.
When the unidentified figure came out from the shadows a huge smiled broke out on Wendy's face.
"Peter!" she cried, "Oh, Peter! You came! I knew you wouldn't let him do it! I just knew it!"
She ran towards the boy clad in green, who was standing next to the altar with an impish grin on his face. When she reached him he wrapped his arms around her, and they stared into each other's eyes for a moment.
"You know I'd never break a promise," he whispered, "What? You actually thought I wouldn't come back to you? You've gone bonkers."
Wendy laughed. "I was silly. I should've known. Now....what are you waiting for? Kiss me, you fool!"
She brought his face to hers and they shared the a kiss that put even their first one to shame, this time knowing that they didn't have to hide it. They were free, in love and most all, happy.
And at that moment, everything was perfect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EPILOGUE
Yes, Peter did leave Neverland behind. Yet—he never regretted it. Once in a while he would look to the stars and gaze happily at the second star to the right, knowing that he had had the most perfect childhood anyone could ask for. He would always miss Tinkerbell. But that was childhood.
Peter and Wendy did get married, of course. It was a simple, magical affair, after which Peter finally learned what the term 'sexually attracted' meant. He certainly didn't regret it. Wendy finally had her children, Jane and George, whom their uncle John visited frequently. Peter was relieved that he didn't actually have to go child-hunting.
They bought a lovely Tudor house in a nearby London neighborhood, and quickly became the lovable oddballs of the place. They were free spirited, rather uncouth and hauntingly beautiful and kind people; a bad word was never heard upon their lips.
Peter could be found often wandering through Kensington Gardens in bare feet, staring at the sky. He came there so often that after a while the park keeper handed it over to him when he retired, saying that he wanted the gardens to go to someone who loved nature and plants as much as he loved his wife, which was beyond the scope of the imagination.
I regret to say that Peter and Wendy did grow old. They did die. But they grew old and departed knowing that they had experienced the absolute best childhoods and adulthoods imaginable. Their love grew old together, and when age finally gave way to death....
Well, they began again. They found themselves in Neverland once again, where they remained in eternal childhood bliss, and their young love lasted forever and ever.
And just like before, everything was perfect.
~FIN~
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------
Afterthoughts: And....it's over. Wow. I can't believe I actually finished my first fic. Um...not much to say. I hope this ending was as powerful for you as it was for me.
I LOVE YOU ALL
~Ellie~
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------
Notes from the Authoress: Hey guys, Ellie here! That's way 19 was not exactly up to par. Sorry loves! Anyways, this fic is finally coming to a close with chapter 20, and it's been very hard to say goodbye. I've just had the most amazing time writing this, and I thank all of you for your support and reviews, criticism and comments. I couldn't have done it without you guys; you're the ones who keep me writing. Sooo....are you ready for the tumultuous chapter 20? Alright! Read, review and most all, ENJOY!!!
I LOVE YOU ALL
~Ellie~
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------
The church was one of special magnificence. Its steeple shone of gold in the early afternoon sun, and there were countless religious figures pieced together by stained glass that stared blankly out upon the bustling streets of London. It was quite obvious that Edward's family were the ones who were paying for the whole affair; not even after Mr. Darling's promotion could Wendy's family afford such a grandiose location.
Its location was perfect as well. It had the most darling view of picturesque London, with sprawling streets of shops, inns and quintessential Victorian houses. The people who milled about on the streets with their peddling carts and children were smiling and laughing as they made trivial, pointless jokes to one another. Under any other circumstances this would have been the most marvelous place Wendy could think of to be wed.
Unfortunately, the circumstances that she was currently under gave Wendy a bleak outlook on the whole place. Everything seemed to have a grey shadow cast over it, a sad, foreboding sign of things that had not yet come to pass. The happy people seemed to stare when they passed, as though thrown under a sudden rain cloud (Wendy's perpetual sorrow, she supposed).
She stepped out of the carriage daintily with the help of a distinguished- looking man who she'd never seen before; whose services were obviously bought by Edward's family. Her white shoes hit the ground with a light thud, and her faerie skirt came whirling down to hide her legs and feet. Wendy looked up at the church, but it was quite difficult to look at through her thick white veil that hid her from the rest of the world.
'Maybe that's why brides wear veils. Maybe it's a sort of drug or something; they can't see who they're marrying.'
The trek up the church steps was long and boring, with her family chatting excitedly around her. She clutched her bouquet of red and white roses tighter, feeling many of the thorns stick into her hand. She didn't loosen her grip, but instead grabbed tighter until the roses were practically stuck to her hands, relishing the feeling of the cool blood slipping down her hands. The pain took her mind of the wedding for the time being.
The doors of the church were a deep, rich mahogany with a majestic looking door knocker that resembled a boar's head. They instead entered through a little side door, where Wendy was ushered into a room with a mirror in it for last minute alterations to her dress and makeup and hair. It was like her mother liked to refer to as the breathing room; a place to catch your breath before the wedding.
The room was quite bare, with a full length mirror at one end, and a very short stool on which Wendy could stand. Three stout, short women sat in chairs on the other end with a little sewing basket full of god-knows-what; and when they saw Wendy they jumped to their feet and rushed to her, dragging her over to the stool.
"My darling, don't you look beautiful!" one of them squealed delightedly, as the three ladies presently kneeled to the floor and began to stick colorful little needles in the hem of her dress. Wendy felt quite violated by this, and opened her mouth to protest, but her mother gave her one of her infamous looks and she snapped her mouth shut.
She stared off into space as the women fussed over her skirt and train and shoes. There was nothing really exceptional about the room, but for some reason it comforted her. Her eyes wandered to the corner, where she noticed something strange.
Wendy's eyes practically popped out of her head when she saw what lay in the corner.
It was a kiss! A lovely, tiny acorn kiss strung on a silver chain, laid there quite inconspicuously by an unidentified visitor. A smiled broke Wendy's stoic face....Peter must be somewhere in the church! He was going to rescue her! The kiss seemed to smile and wink and Wendy in a comforting and encouraging sort of way, so Wendy didn't even take notice when the three little ladies rose from their squatting position to announce that they had finished.
She saw the lost boys pass the room, and Slightly stopped to wave, and she reciprocated quite jovially. He turned to leave, but before he did he gave her a broad wink and then ran away, leaving Wendy a bit confused. Did he know something she didn't know? The little bugger, he was a mischief maker fit for Neverland, alright.
He was one of those boys that would make a completely romantic boyfriend and a roguish best friend at the same time. He took after Peter in that sense. This thought made Wendy smile. She was considerably more elated than before now that she suspected that Peter might be somewhere, readying himself to rescue his true love!
Presently, Wendy heard Edward's voice in the hall.
"May I see my bride?" he called from the hallway, and the three ladies gasped.
"Of course not!" one of them cried, "You may absolutely NOT! Not until you're married, laddie." The one that was shorter than the rest waddled out of the room, and Wendy heard a feeble smack as she gave Edward a good slap. "Patience, dear, patience is a virtue," she heard her mutter absentmindedly as she hobbled back into the room, a triumphant smile on her face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John was walking absentmindedly around the back corridors of the church, contemplating. It was quite relaxing. He was staring at a painting of the Christ when he felt a tap on his shoulder and jumped at least a foot in the air. He whirled around and heaved a huge sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank god, it's only you! I thought for sure...." he trailed off, smiling at the two people standing before him. Peter Pan and the lost boy Slightly were standing before him, Peter back in his traditional leafy garb; Slightly in his very uncomfortable church clothes.
Before either of them could make a wisecrack or smack him on the shoulder or the like, John began interrogating them.
"Peter, you know where the little alcove behind the altar is? Good. Slightly, you've been practicing your fake cry? Good, let's see. Excellent! Remember; make it noticeable enough that people will want to follow you. If no one follows, this doesn't work. Did you make sure Brianne and Edward are somewhere near each other?"
"They've already walked off in the other direction together," Slightly said, smiling slyly, "Courtesy of me, o'course. Couldn't keep their eyes off each other at the party yesterday."
John tousled Slightly's hair fondly, his mischievous and happy nature was contagious. He turned to Peter and picked up where he had left off. "You know what to do after this rascal runs off? Yes? No? Excellent! And you left the kiss? Good, I'm sure she loved that. Now, off you go! Go hide, Peter; Slightly, go take your seat."
Peter was gone in a flash, and Slightly bounded down the hall toward the chapel, where the faint strains of organ music could be heard; which meant that the wedding procession was about to start. John started, remembering that he was the ring bearer, and took off as fast as his legs could carry him.
The wedding was about to begin!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wendy waited just outside the door to the chapel, holding her father's arm. She felt faint, and clung to her father as though she would give way any second. The lobby of the church was littered with roses and ribbons, and a most magnificent display of tulips hung around the door. Rather tacky crepe paper streamers decorated the vestibule, making it look very small.
When Wendy heard the organ begin to play her hands went clammy, and she began to sweat. She looked over her shoulder and saw John, who gave her an encouraging smile.
This was most definitely the moment she had been dreading for months now, she had never really though it would come, but come it did.
The doors swung open. The chapel was large and elaborately decorated with flurries of roses. Brocaded tapestries hung from the wall, giving the whole place a subdued effect of beauty. They were the kind of things that Wendy would want on the walls of her life, colorful and bold; dangerous even. With a deep breath, Wendy took her first step onto the long white carpet that led to....that led to....
Nothing!
The organ came to a stop as Wendy halted.
There were whispers and mutters in the audience. "Where's the groom?" and "He doesn't have cold feet, does he?" were heard throughout the chapel.
A grin began to break out on Wendy's face, but it was quickly erased when she saw her mother looking straight at her from the audience. She gave Mrs. Darling a confused look and turned back to her search for Edward. Her spirit was elated to the highest level; maybe he had gotten cold feet!
'Not possible,' a voice echoed inside her head. Wendy knew this was true.
Slightly sat quietly in his pew, staring at his feet. He was conjuring the best fake tears he had ever created, and was ready to set the waterworks loose any minute. With a deep breath, he lifted his head slowly.
A wail echoed throughout the chapel. Everyone's head turned to stare at the young boy who was now crying like a baby. There were multitudes of "tsks" that could be heard, and Slightly rose from his pew and ran down the isle, still crying. "Don't marry him, Wendy! Stay at home with us!" he cried as he passed her, and left her standing there with her father, bewildered as could be.
Many of the guests stood up, including Mrs. Darling and Edward's parents, and as they ran past Wendy after Slightly, John and Mr. Darling joined them, Wendy hot at their heels.
Wendy hadn't realized quite how hard it was to run in a dress; especially a wedding dress. She also hadn't realized how many hallways there were in the damn church! By the time they had turned the first corner she was already panting, not sure if she could keep up. "Slightly!" she called desperately, "What on earth is wrong with you?"
Similar cat calls could be heard throughout the hallway, but Slightly's young agility kept him a good few feet in front of everyone else at all times. By the time he came to a halt, everyone was exhausted and panting, trying to catch their breath.
"Why did you follow me?" Slightly inquired, putting on a pair of puppy dog eyes like Wendy had never seen before. "I was just trying to hide in this broom closet....I couldn't BEAR watching you leave us forever, Wendy!" he cried dramatically.
"Oh, but Slightly I...I won't be leaving you, I'll still make you dinner and tell you stories and-"
"I'll have none of it!" Slightly cried dramatically, surprising the crowd that had now assembled in the small corridor. He flung open the door to the closet and gasped dramatically.
"What HAVE we here?" he cried as everyone crowded around the door to take a peek inside. They were greeted with a most shocking sight. Even Wendy had to gasp; she hadn't expected this at all. She even heard some older women faint in the background.
Brianne had Edward pushed up against the wall of the closet. Her dress was unbuttoned in the back, and Edward's usually slick hair was mussed and tousled. He had bright pink lipstick marks all over his face, and looked rather dazed. He squinted from the light. Brianne looked utterly satisfied, she was in the midst of kissing his necking and running her hands through his hair. They broke apart and tripped over each other and fell to the floor when they saw everyone looking into the closet.
"WHAT IS THIS?" Edward's father cried as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd, getting a good look at the scene that lay before them. Edward looked up into his face guiltily, as Brianne quickly stood up and smoothed out her dress. She walked out of the closet and ambled down the hall victoriously, as if nothing had happened. You see, things like these were so common for Brianne that her family had come to expect it; she knew that they would get over it quickly. The Darlings were just like that. Her sisters all patted her on the shoulder in a congratulatory fashion as she passed them.
"Father....Mr. and Mrs. Darling.....I can explain....really, I can!"
But it was too late for apologies. Mrs. Darling walked over to Edward and slapped him good and hard. "THAT'S for making us believe you were right for our daughter!" She turned to Wendy, a look of utmost guilt on her face. "Wendy....darling.....can you ever forgive your father and I? We're so sorry-if we'd had any idea we never would have...."
Wendy smiled and ran to embrace her mother, and in turn gave her father a large hug. She nodded her head apologetically at Edward's father, who had picked Edward up by his ear and was in the midst of dragging him through the now dissipating crowd.
"You will pay dearly for this, you bloody idiot!" he was roaring. He turned to Wendy. "Miss Wendy, I am so....SO sorry about this. I never thought-I never-"
Wendy gave him a pat on the arm. "It wasn't your fault sir," she said, "You couldn't have known. On the contrary, I'm sorry that you have to take that idiot home." He smiled at her appreciatively, and then proceeded to drag Edward down the hall, most likely to give him the ear-boxing of his life. Wend had never felt so downright happy in her entire life!
As the guests walked down the hall they heard whispers of "Well, I guess we can go home now. No wedding's taking place today, that's for bloody sure," and "And he seemed like such an honorable young man too!"
Wendy watched all of this happen as though she was in a dream. She saw John and smiled, mouthing the words 'Thank you' to him before she rushed down the hall and back to chapel. She entered the big room that was now empty and silent. She looked up at the picture of Jesus and laughed.
"Thank you, God, thank you so much!" she cried, twirling around and laughing like a little girl. She froze when she heard a noise coming from behind the altar, though. She stared as she saw a form begin to move behind it.
When the unidentified figure came out from the shadows a huge smiled broke out on Wendy's face.
"Peter!" she cried, "Oh, Peter! You came! I knew you wouldn't let him do it! I just knew it!"
She ran towards the boy clad in green, who was standing next to the altar with an impish grin on his face. When she reached him he wrapped his arms around her, and they stared into each other's eyes for a moment.
"You know I'd never break a promise," he whispered, "What? You actually thought I wouldn't come back to you? You've gone bonkers."
Wendy laughed. "I was silly. I should've known. Now....what are you waiting for? Kiss me, you fool!"
She brought his face to hers and they shared the a kiss that put even their first one to shame, this time knowing that they didn't have to hide it. They were free, in love and most all, happy.
And at that moment, everything was perfect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EPILOGUE
Yes, Peter did leave Neverland behind. Yet—he never regretted it. Once in a while he would look to the stars and gaze happily at the second star to the right, knowing that he had had the most perfect childhood anyone could ask for. He would always miss Tinkerbell. But that was childhood.
Peter and Wendy did get married, of course. It was a simple, magical affair, after which Peter finally learned what the term 'sexually attracted' meant. He certainly didn't regret it. Wendy finally had her children, Jane and George, whom their uncle John visited frequently. Peter was relieved that he didn't actually have to go child-hunting.
They bought a lovely Tudor house in a nearby London neighborhood, and quickly became the lovable oddballs of the place. They were free spirited, rather uncouth and hauntingly beautiful and kind people; a bad word was never heard upon their lips.
Peter could be found often wandering through Kensington Gardens in bare feet, staring at the sky. He came there so often that after a while the park keeper handed it over to him when he retired, saying that he wanted the gardens to go to someone who loved nature and plants as much as he loved his wife, which was beyond the scope of the imagination.
I regret to say that Peter and Wendy did grow old. They did die. But they grew old and departed knowing that they had experienced the absolute best childhoods and adulthoods imaginable. Their love grew old together, and when age finally gave way to death....
Well, they began again. They found themselves in Neverland once again, where they remained in eternal childhood bliss, and their young love lasted forever and ever.
And just like before, everything was perfect.
~FIN~
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------
Afterthoughts: And....it's over. Wow. I can't believe I actually finished my first fic. Um...not much to say. I hope this ending was as powerful for you as it was for me.
I LOVE YOU ALL
~Ellie~
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------