Sorry for the delay people, been editing a chapter for my original novel I'm working on, also been moving. Finally got settled into the new place and got the chapter down and out for feedback. But anyway, here we are, the final chapter. It's been a long time coming, but we got here and I would like to thank everyone for reading! As per usual, list of my awesome reviewers from last chapter and then you guys can go and
shalmarrose
demonorangel
TinkerbellxO
cassidily72
I'mGoingToWiticha
myshrinkanditalkaboutlove
simplesonnets
Many thanks you guys, It's been awesome. After this, I'm gonna throw myself into my DW fic, so if any of you guys are fans and want to see what I"m doing there, feel free to pop over to my profile and find out! Now, THE FINALE!
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Final Battles and Farewells
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Sarah was the first to hit the ground, her body bouncing softly against an invisible cushion of air. She had expected heat, or perhaps just an instant of fiery pain followed by death. What she hadn't been expecting was the warm kiss of an ocean breeze against her face. The smell was so familiar, so welcoming and the sounds were not what you would expect to hear inside an active volcano. It wasn't until she heard a small grunt off to her side that she realized she'd closed her eyes during the fall. She took another moment to prepare, breathing deep, taking in the scent of sea air, and opened her eyes.
She was at her old summer house. Lucas lay in the sand beside her, looking around with the same kind of dazed confusion she knew must be on her face. How in all the hells had they come to be here? She hadn't even seen the little sea cottage for years, her father had sold it not long after her twelfth birthday, and she was absolutely certain that it wasn't in the mouth of a volcano, in Neverland. But it was so real. The sand felt warm and soft under her toes, shells glinted in the sunlight and the sound and smell of the ocean was exactly as she remembered it from those summers spent here as a child.
"Sarah? What the hell is happening?" Lucas sounded scared. He'd never seen this place before. She fought down a smile as she settled in the sand, the pieces starting to click together.
"It's my dad's old summer house. He would bring us here when the pressure of writing go to be too much for him. I remember one time, I almost drowned just off shore, right over by that palm tree. I turned a stone with my foot and it trapped me. My dad had to overturn his typewriter to get to me in time." She smiled, looking around, but it wasn't a smile of happiness. Lucas knew that look. It was what he'd come to call her "you aren't fooling me" smile.
"So, how did we get here?" He couldn't help but smile as well, Sarah always got things done when she had that look.
"My guess? We aren't really here. This is some kind of magic or illusion. Toby started out as a fairy in this world remember? Whose to say that the fairies aren't way more powerful than we thought?" She looked over at him, eyebrow raised, whole body exuding confidence.
"More than you know." The voice was less preternatural than she had become used to, but it was Toby all the same.
"So I'm right then? This is an illusion?" She stood, turning to face him where he stood in the arch of the small porch.
"Not exactly, more, a memory. You see Sarah, in this world, I can go wherever I please, so long as pain is there. I believe you were mentioning an unfortunate incident in this place?" He stepped aside and her twelve year old self came running out of the house, her brother not far behind, shouting about who could hold their breath the longest.
"Going to make me relive my own near death are we? Please. I've had worse since then, mostly caused by you." She crossed her hands over her chest, cocking a hip out as she watched the events unfold. Lucas had tensed, clearly having some personal thought, but he didn't share it so she paid him no mind, too busy tracking the motion of her younger self, waiting for the moment she knew was imminent.
"As always, your choice of words is impeccable." As Toby spoke, young Sarah's head disappeared under the water, her body barely visible, thrashing and bubbling as she struggled to get free. At that same moment, Sarah dropped to the beach, her clothes and skin suddenly soaking wet, her hand at her throat as she struggled to breathe. "Oh don't make such a fuss Sarah, you know you don't die here. Your father comes to save you remember? Oh, but where is your father? Funny how he seems to be missing." He laughed, the sound soft and sinister, almost Hook like. "Perhaps I could save you?" He walked by her, running his fingers along her cheek.
Sarah stilled, looking around. He was right, her father was nowhere to be seen. But this was a memory, he had to be. If he wasn't here, it wasn't a memory, it wasn't real. She grinned, relaxing her throat muscles while the figure of her younger self stilled under the water. Lucas let out a cry, looking down to see if she too had gone still, but was met with that same small grin.
"Good try hun, but you seem to have a few things confused. Memories are simply replaying what has already happened, you can't change them. I didn't die, obviously, which means this is just an illusion. Honestly, my best friend is an eclectic Physicist and Sci-Fi writer, did you actually think I wouldn't figure that out? Good shock tactic though." She flipped her hair over, shaking the water out. As she straightened, she fixed Toby with her best smirk, something she remembered always pissed him off and cocked an eyebrow. "Is that the best you got?"
"Oh not by far my little mistake. We are far from finished." He faded and so did the beach scene, the craggy walls of the volcano bleeding through the blue Caribbean skies.
"Well, that was fun." She dusted her hands off even though there was no sand left on them and sighed, looking over at Lucas. He, for his part, had remained standing, even through the shock of her supposed death, but he looked shakey.
"You call that fun?" His voice cracked as he looked at her, his mind working through the myriad of differences in her from the woman he'd known.
"Hunny, my for all intents and purposes boyfriend is Captain Hook. We're both honorary Lost Boys and we're chasing my demon incarnate ex-boyfriend through an active volcano. Why does that shock you?" She leveled him with a grin and started off down the only path visible. He paused for a moment and then nodded, walking after her as quickly as his busted ankle would allow.
"At least the ground is level here." He called after her. He watched as she stopped and turned, taking his arm over her shoulder again.
"Sorry, got caught in the moment, forgot you were hurt. You okay?" She looked at him sheepishly.
"Yeah yeah yeah, I'm fine and you're forgiven, let's just go kick this guy's ass huh?" He smiled at her, motioning her forward.
"Pan, stop before you collapse again. Beating yourself against it will do no good." Hook sat slumped against a boulder, flask in hand.
"Well it's better than giving up entirely. Where is your honor? Where is your courage? Where is the man that dragged me up that damned mountain all to save her?" Pan was on him in an instant, knocking the flask away and grabbing him by the lapels of his coat.
"My dear boy. Firstly, you do not know the first thing about honor. Secondly, Courage is not something I have in abundance. Thirdly, that woman does not want me to save her, that is apparent. And lastly, if you do not remove your hands from my person, I will see them fed to something far worse than a crocodile." He took a swipe at Pan, managing only to upset his perch on the boulder and send him tumbling to the ground.
"Well I'm not afraid. I don't care if it kills me, I will get through this barrier and save her." He turned, launching himself at the invisible force again. Hook, for his part, stayed on the ground, his less the sober mind searching furiously for a way out of this whole mess. Part of him wanted to simply give up and return to his ship, the anchor had broken, he could leave now. But something in him held him back. He wouldn't be able to manage the ship single handedly, and his crew were all dead, some by his own hook. He couldn't leave. So he would save the woman and make her help him leave. But he couldn't get to her through the damned magic.
That sparked a thought. Magic, it as all magic. Toby's arrival, the poisoning of the island, the barrier, it was all magic. What could undo magic? Water would do for an enchantment, washed it clean away, but this was far too large for that. The fairies knew of magic, but they would never deal with him, not after the not inconsiderable number he had ended. It was then that something caught his eye. Pan had resumed his pointless assault on the barrier, beating it until he was bleeding, but that was not the interesting part, though it was funny. No, the interesting thing was that, wherever his blood hit, the barrier would shimmer, clearing for a moment. That was the key.
"Pan stop. I know how we get through." He stood, hook raised to his own arm as he approached. "It is blood it wants. We must suffer to pass." He should've known that it would be something so crass. Toby was not a refined man and seemed to take pride in causing others pain.
Peter nodded, putting his dagger to his bare chest. They both slashed at the same moment, the blood beginning to run as they moved forward. They met with resistance for a moment, but as the blood began to flow harder, the barrier dissolved around them and they were able to pass through, stumbling to a halt at the mouth of the volcano.
"We did it! Can you still fly?" Pan looked over to him, already hovering on the currents of hot air coming from the volcano's stone. Hook nodded, his feet leaving the ground with little effort. He met Pan's eye and dove into the mouth of the mountain, avoiding the jets of steam and ash that popped and spewed around them. It didn't take them long to reach a small island, a bridge of rock connecting it to the rest of the mountain. Hook started, the place looked familiar. He looked across the bridge and saw a corridor, the same as he had been in before. He looked around, trying to find any sign of the horrid little creatures that had troubled Sarah so. They were all gone.
"Damn! So that's how he's done it. The bastard." He felt a fury flare in his chest. None would accuse him of being fond of Neverland. It was full of all the things he hated and precious little of anything he could actually want or use, but to devour its soul, that was truly reprehensible. He would see that demon pay for this.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Pan followed his gaze, looking around at all the pillars and platforms around and under them. They seemed out of place with nothing on them, like there should be something here.
"Do you know what happens with children leave Neverland? How they leave?" He looked back at Pan.
"No, I just assumed they took the path back. Why? How do they leave?" He narrowed his eyes, a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"They trade. A piece of them stays here, a small bit of their childish soul is torn from them. It is why you can never stay away. You are the embodiment of that soul. The things that were here, in this place, were the regret and despair that you never used to feel. They were your other side. Now they are gone, devoured by that black creature. It is why the Island is in such danger. The balance has been destroyed. We must hurry." He didn't wait for Pan's reaction, he knew what it would be. The boy would catch up to him all too quickly once he came to terms with what his existence really meant.
Sarah felt a tremor under her feet, something had changed. She looked to see if Lucas had noticed, but he seemed no more confused than he had been this whole time. Perhaps it was something to do with Toby, or Hook. She felt her heart lurch at the thought of her lover, the look on his face as she turned from him. It was heart breaking. Everything in her longed to turn back, bring him with her, let him protect her. But she had to be the one to end this. She couldn't hide behind anyone else anymore.
"Lucas, something is changing, I can feel it. I have to leave you here, I can't risk losing you too. I'm sorry. If what I think is happening is true, someone will be along soon." She helped him sit down, meeting his eyes so he could see the seriousness of what she was saying. He nodded, patting her on the shoulder.
"Go on, kick his ass, then come back and tell me all about it. I was just slowing you down anyway." He smiled sadly, pushing her shoulder away and reclining back against the rock. It made her feel almost happy, the faith he had in her.
"I'll be back soon, promise." She nodded and took off at a dead run down the corridor.
"Keep up boy. We haven't a moment to spare." Hook didn't bother to look back, he knew that Pan had fallen behind again.
"I'm trying, but these stones are hot, and I can't breathe down here. I need open air." He groaned the same complaints that had been his constant litany since they had entered the passages. Hook was about to respond, mouth open, body mid turn, when a noise caught his attention. It was a sigh, or a groan, it was hard to tell. But it was close.
Pan stilled as well, his eyes meeting that of his former foe as Hook put a finger to his lips. Pan nodded, silently drawing his dagger from its lambskin sheath. Hook turned, stalking toward the source of the sound. It was around the next bend in the passage, where Toby had originally shown himself to Sarah. But this time it was Lucas who met his gaze.
"Oh damn." He turned as Hook's eyes narrowed, trying in vain to crawl away. He was pinned a moment later, angry red eyes filling his vision.
"Where is she?" The voice was soft and deadly, like a viper ready to strike.
"She set me here and went off that way. She knew someone was after us and she didn't want to try and fight while trying to keep me safe. She knew it was you. She didn't say it, but she knew." Lucas didnt bother to check his words as he spoke, merely sharing any and every insight and word that had been impressed on his mind in that instant.
"Pan. Take this man and go back. If we do not succeed, flee this place in my ship. I trust you can sail her?" He turned, removing his coat and hat, the red velvet set that Sarah so loved, and handed them both to the boy. It was a ceremony that normally had much more pomp and circumstance, but time was of the essence. Pan spared a moment to understand the importance of the moment and took the articles of clothing with a reverence Hook did not think him capable of.
"Are you sure?" At Hook's nod, he took the coat and hat and turned, picking the wounded Lucas up with a surprising strength and headed off back down the corridor. Hook turned away from them, feeling the final door snap shut. It was done, he was free. He would see this through to the end with no regrets. He took a breath, eyes closed, feeling the red bleed into them as his heart quickened. When they opened again, Hook the gentleman was gone, replaced with the blood thirsty man that had haunted young Wendy Darling's stories so long ago. And he was ready for battle.
Sarah knew she was close. She could feel it. Her vision had been slowly narrowing, tunneling down into a single point of clarity, guiding her. She no longer thought about her steps or chose her path, she simply followed the pull that was so strong it was a physical weight in her chest. It would lead her to him, she knew that much, and then she would kill him, and end this.
She stumbled, her vision snapping into clarity, the tunnels gone. In their place was her old apartment. It was a place she had hoped never to see again, a place that held all the pain and misery of her long relationship with Toby. Of course it would end here. She felt a smile spread across her face. If he wanted to bring her here, let him, it would make no difference. She squared her shoulders, taking the stairs two at a time to the loft, kicking in the door, pistol ready.
He stood there, a normal man, all black leather and rugged good looks, and a gun. It barked twice, the pain flaring in Sarah's belly like fire as she fell back against the railing, her own pistol giving a resounding crack. He looked down, dropping to his knees , hands cradling the pool of blood and flesh that had been his chest. She laughed, wincing as the pain intensified. She'd got the bastard. He looked up at her, his eyes clear of the madness she'd come to know, tears beginning to fall as his body fell forward, exploding into ash, the scene dissolving around her.
"Oh very good. Did not expect the blunderbuss, that hurt ya know." His voice was icy cold and hard. She jerked forward, meaning to stand, but the pain rocked her back again. The bullet wounds were still there.
"Guess that one was a little more real then?" She pushed herself up along the wall. She spared a moment to wonder what it was with guys and wounding her stomach before raising her head to meet Toby. She had a funny thought that this was his "final form" and actually laughed a little.
"Something amuse you? Perhaps you are already delirious from the pain? You never could handle much you know. I can take it away Sarah, all the pain and fear. I can put things right for you. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave." He stepped forward as he spoke, coming ever closer.
"That's the best you got? Empty promises and a Labyrinth quote? Damn man, what did I ever see in you?" She laughed again, groaning softly as the muscles screamed in protest.
"They may not be my words but they mean no less." He was in front of her now, eyes full of soulful emotion and sincerity. "Just love me Sarah. Please." He took her hand in his, holding it tenderly to his lips.
"Go fuck yourself." Her words were cut off as he slapped her and gripped her throat, squeezing tightly. It was his fatal mistake. She looked up at him with a smile as she drew her knife, driving it up into his chin with a wet crunch. His body went rigid for a moment, his hand squeezing so tight Sarah thought her eyes would pop out, and then his body went slack, sliding down to the floor with a dull thud, taking her knife with it.
She let out a shout of victory, her vision suddenly swimming with unshed tears. She felt light headed and giddy, until she felt something begin to ooze past her legs. It snapped her back into reality and brought her vision firmly downward, it was the babies. Those empty little babies from the platform room. They were squirming around in the black mess that had been Toby's body, struggling to get free from the small tendrils that held them. But not all of them could escape, something was moving inside the black puddle, a shape was forming.
She began to back away, out of weapons and growing weak as another Toby formed. It was the half formed, insane version of him she had seen one her last trip down here. Tentacle were waving around him wildly, his eyes narrowed to red ovals in his face. He meant to kill her now, she knew that, and she was powerless to stop it. But maybe she could take him with her.
"Follow the leader ass hole." She shot back down the corridor, the monster's enraged scream echoing around her as he gave chase.
Hook heard the scream. He knew that scream. He'd heard the bark of gun shots and the resounding boom of his blunderbuss, a gift to Sarah after their battle on the ship. He felt his blood run cold. She would never fire that unless she absolutely had to. He stopped his thoughts, the line they were on did not bare consideration. Instead, he used the reverberations as a guide and took off toward the sound. He would end this thing with his own hand, or hook, whichever struck his fancy first.
It didn't take him long to reach his goal. He saw Sarah take a fork toward the platform opening, the black form of Toby racing after her, tentacles hardened into spikes, sinking into the rock behind her feet. Hook narrowed his eyes as he put all he could into running faster, catching up to the black monster quickly. He launched at the thing, landing on its back, hook rending every inch of black flesh he could reach.
The screams brought Sarah up short. She turned and saw Hook on Toby's back, flaying skin from him with every swing of his hook. She was about to call out to him when a knife fell to her feet. She grabbed it, looking up and meeting his eyes, blood red and full of murder and felt a grin cross her face. Something in her screamed that this was wrong, that this was the madness that had grabbed hold of the rest of the island, but she ignored it. Madness was what it took to defeat something like this. You had to be ruthless and vicious if you wanted to win, and she wanted to win.
She launched herself at the creature, stabbing at his center over and over again, crimson liquid staining her with every withdrawal. It was hot, too hot to be human, and this just reaffirmed her vigor. This was not a human, this was an amalgamation of all the hatred and pain she'd felt in her life. It was the culmination of all the shit she'd been through and all the dark secrets she'd repressed. It was her drug habit and all the people she'd hurt and all the people she'd let hurt her. It was a monster, undeserving of love, compassion or mercy. She dimly registered a scream, long and loud. It was her.
The creature finally collapsed to the side, its body finally dead, its eyes glassy. It's face turned to her, lips opened to plead but as it began to speak she simply said "no" and the glassy eyes cracked, shattering into a fine red dust. The black ooze exploded apart, turning to ash.
Sarah looked up into the not brilliantly blue eyes of the man she loved and felt herself slip sideways, her legs finally giving out. Hook caught her, lifting her in his arms as he walked among the tide of infant souls, now free from their prison. He stepped out onto the first of the platforms, where they had first seen these little creatures, and turned his face up, his body taking off as quickly as he dared.
Sarah's last thought, as she felt her body relax into soothing stillness, was how the sky looked. It was blue, full of puffy white clouds that you could sit on, if you were small enough. That had always been her favorite part.
"Sarah!" Pan ran to Hook the moment he landed, kneeling beside him as he pulled open her hirt, exposing the small wounds on her belly.
"This wasn't made by any weapon I know." He looked up at Lucas, his eyes demanding an answer.
"Modern fire arms are a lot different. Roll her over, did the bullets go out the other side?" Lucas knelt down beside her. It wasn't the first time he'd had to do any kind of triage on either of them. He'd made it a personal hobby to research the most common causes of injury, among them, bullets. There were two large exit woulds on her back, the skin torn apart. "Okay, at least we don't have to dig them out. Now, we need to clean the wounds and close them so she doesn't bleed out. We just have to hope he didn't hit anything vital." Lucas stood up, looking around for anything he could use to work with.
Hook barked instructions to them both about where to find the medical kits in his cabin and hovered protectively over Sarah. He would not let her die. He'd brought her back from worse than this and he was never one to let himself be outdone.
Smee burst from the cabin, medical kit in hand, hobbling on a make shift cane Sarah had once used to get around the ship. He waved a hand as Hook opened his mouth to protest and sank down to the deck, pushing the cane away and rolling up his sleeves.
"All due respect cap'n, I need ya ta move. I can't work on the lass if you're so close." He looked up at Hook, his eyes hard and stern in a way that he'd never seen before. It shook him for some reason and he set Sarah down gently, moving back until Smee gave him the sign to stop.
The next few moments were pure hell for him. Sarah was unconscious, but her body still felt pain. He watched as Lucas held her bucking hips and writhing shoulders still as antiseptic, Muskat and gauze were poured and pressed against the still angrily bleeding flesh of her torso. It was almost more than he could stand as she began to thrash under Smee's quick and precise stitching. It was only his faith in his first mate and his first hand experience under that needle that kept him from tossing them all off the ship.
No one knew how to close a bullet hole like Smee, and he was also the only one on the ship who knew how to check a belly wound for infection. He'd saved Hook's own life as well as the lives of his crew more times than he could count. He assured them all that nothing had been knicked or punctured, he'd ascertained this by digging his finger down into her torso. It was crude, but the best way to tell, according to Smee at any rate, and after another round of sterilization and stitching, Sarah was closed and bandaged up and resting in Hook's bed.
The light was what woke her. It was so bright that it hurt her head, even with her eyes closed. It was like a flashlight was hovering above her face. She swatted at it and gasped, her hand clapping to her side. The pain brought back memories of her fight with Toby, the gunshots, the knife and the flight back to the ship. They'd won.
"I think she's awake, get the cap'n." That voice, she knew that voice so well. It filled her with warmth and comfort. "Think ya can open your eyes fer me lass?" She felt a wrinkled hand on her cheek, turning her head as she tried to pry her eyes open. The sight that met her was too good to be true. She saw Smee, his face already beginning to plump up, smiling that wonderfully fatherly smile. There was light in the cabin, and the light that had woken her resolved itself into a fairy, Tink. The little fairy gave a squeal of glee and rushed toward her, hugging whatever part of her she could get to and peppering her with kisses so light they felt like dust fall.
"Tink! Stop that." Peter ran over, grabbing the little fairy and setting her off to the side, turning to Sarah with a watery smile. "We thought, when you didn't wake up...you're okay now right?" He sounded like he was on the verge of tears and she opened her arms to him, moving slowly to avoid aggravating her wound. To his credit, Pan moved slowly, kneeling by the bed and resting his head against her chest, his shoulders shaking as he let out all the pain and worry he'd felt since this whole ordeal began. She held him close, patting his head softly and whispering comforts to him until he settled down. "I'm glad you're not dead. Bye!" He smiled and waved, nudging Tink as he left the room, taking off as soon as he cleared the door.
"Strange boy." Smee shook his head, leaning back in to check her wounds. A voice from the decks stopped him dead and he stood, moving the chair, and his body, out of the way of the rather large body that came barreling into the room a moment later. It was Hook, and he was not happy, nor was he angry, nor was he sad. But he grinned as if he were happy, shook as if he were angry and a single tear rolled down his cheek as if he were sad. He was at her side in a moment, kissing her with such force that she couldn't have moved if she'd wanted to.
"Never again, do you understand? You will never do this to me again." He rested his forehead against hers, his voice was quite and rough, as if he'd spent a great deal of time shouting.
"Yes sir, cap'n sir." She closed her eyes, shedding the tears that had been swimming in her vision since she'd first seen Smee, a smile stretching her face. A deep chuckle echoed around them, the only sound in the room besides the quiet closing of the door and the worried chatter of a certain friend, still waiting out on decks.
Sarah woke for the third time that night, her body aching still, though the wounds had finally closed over. Hook lay in a mess of sheets and hair beside her, eyes still closed in slumber. She took the sheet, it was the only thing free, and walked over to the furthest port hole. It faced East, and she loved to watch the sunrise on her restless nights. She knew what was keeping her from sleep. She had a decision to make. Stay, or go. Hook, or her life. She had a career, friends, family that she loved very much. But Hook was here, with adventure and danger and a love so deep and passionate that she sometimes feared she'd be eclipsed by it. Who did she choose? How did she choose?
She was shaken from her thoughts by a pair of arms wrapping around her middle and pulling her back against a muscled chest. One of the arms still had a scar forming along it, Hook's evidence of the battle that had nearly parted them forever.
"Trouble sleeping?" His voice was will thick with tiredness but it hid an alertness that sometimes frightened her.
"Don't I always?" She joked, or tried to.
"Is it about, your choice?" His voice turned slightly darker, harder. She'd been pulling away from him over the past week, becoming more withdrawn, sleeping in the guest's quarters when she woke in the middle of the night. He read it as her making up her mind, despite her assertions to the contrary.
"Yup. I think I've decided. Do you want to know?" She turned her head to side, letting his lips travel down her neck, setting a spark to burning in her belly.
"That depends, will I like it?" His fingers knotted in the sheet, pulling it away from her body, letting it fall away as they began to explore her skin, paying special care to the still puckered skin where she'd been shot.
"I don't know, it depends." She turned in his arms, looping her arms around his neck and sliding away from him, sauntering back to the bed.
"Oh? On what my dear?" He crawled up the bed toward her, pinning her to mattress with his body, his arousal evident against her thigh. She pulled her legs apart, letting his rest between them.
"On how you feel about me, deep down." She looked up at him, still resting on her elbows, biting her lip softly. He just grinned, pulling her hips toward him, sinking into her up to the hilt with a groan.
"I love you." He whispered, kissing her deeply as he began to move.
It was magic to her. She felt a connection to him like she'd never felt before and it only served to heighten the pleasure she was feeling. She gripped tightly onto his shoulders, moving her hips in tandem with his thrusts, eliciting all manner of groans and gasps from him. She had never simply given over to him before, trusted him completely and let him bring her to climax. It was something she now felt very stupid about.
Hook, for his part, was showing in credible restraint. It was the first time he'd had her since before the battle. He longed to lose control and drive into her until she screamed, but her wounds were still too fresh. He settled for sinking his hook into the wooden headboard and giving her all he could. He felt a jolt through his core as he looked down at her, hair askew across the pillow, eyes closed, mouth open in a silent cry of pleasure. He groaned, his body hunching over hers as he drove into deeper.
The answering whimpers were almost his undoing. He captured her lips to silence her, determined to make this last as long as he could, but it would seem her body had other plans. The kiss was enough for her, sending her body to quivering, her muscles tightening around him so much it almost hurt. She held onto him, her scream muffled by his lips and he lost control, pounding forward until he felt his release.
They stayed for a moment, still and panting before Hook straightened up, looking down at her. His gaze was suddenly guarded. She had never answered him. Was this goodbye? He watched as her face spread into a lazy, sated smile and she reached up a hand to rest against his cheek.
"You never said your answer. What have you decided? Will you stay?" He held his breath, his heart beating entirely too fast for his liking.
"Well if the sex is always gonna be this good, how can I leave?" Sarah smirked, quirking an eyebrow as a smile spread across his face. He grabbed her up, resting back on his knees as he held her, feeling her arms wrap around his neck in a return embrace. She started laughing and soon, he followed suit, though what they were laughing for, neither could say. It simply felt good.
Sarah told Lucas the news the next day, giving him a message to give to her family as well as a letter of resignation to give to her publishing house. It hurt to see him go, but she was where she belonged now. Hook finally had his storyteller and Sarah finally had her pirate.
Peter returned Lucas to his room, still in shambles, and returned to his normal routine of terrorizing the pirates still on the island and collecting up children who didn't want to grow up. He forgot their names, forgot their faces and found new ones to take their place, but he would never forget the way Sarah looked the day the Jolly Roger set sail. She stood on the very back of the ship, held down by a rope hanging onto his hand until she left the realm of Neverland forever. It still made him sad, although not for very long, because he would remember that wherever she was, she was with Him, the only Pirate to ever beat Peter Pan.
Well, there yo have it. The final chapter, The End, The conclusion, sorry, enough of that. Let me know what you thought. As always, I long for feedback and am always accepting ideas. Should there be a sequel? Is this truly the end of their story? Do you want me to shut up and stop writing things? LET ME KNOW! Thanks again for reading guys, I couldn't have done it without you! *hugs*