REVISED: JANUARY 21, 2005

Peter Pan Fanfic

Summary: "I want always to be a boy, and have fun." Was Wendy right? Was this Peter's "biggest pretend"?

- Peter Pan - PG - English – Fantasy/Action/Adventure/Romance – Multi-Chapter – Status: In-Progress –

Peter Pan © Great Ormond Street Hospital

All Fanfics created by Chiruken (me) were written for the sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.

The One Left Behind

By: Chiruken

Chapter 6

Without fail, night after night, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell returned to the tree outside the nursery of Number 14, watching, waiting…and listening. The boy was quite pleased with the discovery that he'd been correct in assuming the oldest girl did indeed know stories. Some stories Peter was familiar with such as "Cinderella", though her re-telling was somewhat different than what he'd heard before, and others that weren't familiar at all. Stories about witches and wizards and teddy bears with fangs; mice and rose bushes and magical amulets; there were so many different kinds of stories being told at night within the nursery that Peter could barely keep up. He knew that there was no way he'd ever be able to remember everything he'd heard which only strengthened his resolve to return to Neverland with the children. Or at the very least, with the girl who seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of new stories. Peter wasn't certain about the other two children. There were times that he thought they had to be the most spoiled and malicious children he'd ever seen and others where he would quietly cheer at their antics, though he was quite certain the oldest girl wasn't cheering along with him.

Through his nightly visits he learned that Wendy's family no longer lived at Number 14 and these weren't her relations at all, but instead a new family. He decided it didn't really matter, though he did feel a pang of loss at the thought that so many changes had taken place while he'd been away. Once again he was brought to the realisation that time flowed differently here in London than it did in Neverland.

For her part, Tinker Bell was becoming increasingly bored with the inactivity. If pressed, she would admit that she did enjoy the stories she was hearing…especially the ones told about the beauty and bravery of fairies and magical kingdoms filled with fantastical creatures. But despite her boredom she put herself to good use and it was through her that Peter had learned of the changes within the house after she'd sneaked inside to listen to the adults talking in the downstairs drawing room. Though glad that she wouldn't have to worry about her friend's fascination with Wendy…the girl she'd never liked and felt tremendous amounts of jealousy towards…she was also worried that the new girl would become an even bigger threat to her position in the boy's life. And so Tinker Bell found herself in a bit of a quandary. She wanted to help Peter find permanent friends to return to their home with, but she also wanted to keep his attention, such as it was, focused solely on her.

There was also an added problem with the weather not being ideal for sitting in a tree all night wearing nothing more than skeleton leaves. Though Peter was used to going without coats and boots in Neverland, the climate there was drastically different than in London. As time passed, he developed a somewhat irritating tickle in his throat accompanied by a runny nose. Having never been ill before, he wasn't quite sure what to make of this new development though he didn't allow it to sway his determination to bide his time with the children of Number 14 before whisking them off to Neverland.

Both Peter and Tinker Bell had developed a distinct dislike for the noisy vehicles that zoomed down the streets at all hours of the day and night leaving in their wakes puffs of foul smelling clouds. They also learned the hard way that there were more dangers in the sky than they remembered from before. Now instead of having merely watch out for birds while they flew amongst the clouds they also had to take care to avoid the large metallic objects roaring through the skies. Through a bit of research…listening in on conversations, in other words…Tinker Bell discovered that these strange things were called airplanes, or jets. She didn't particularly care what they were called, however, and considered them to be a dangerous nuisance.

Peter, through his vigilance, discovered that a routine of sorts ruled the household of Number 14. It seemed that for the most part all the children spent their time in the nursery in the evenings either playing or listening to the oldest girl's stories. However, there was one night a week that the girl would be in the nursery alone for the better part of the evening. It was also on those nights that the rest of the house would remain dark for the duration. He wondered at that, but considered it a stroke of good fortune at the same time. He'd decided that he would approach the children separately in order to convince them to fly away with him.

It was on one of these nights that he decided that he'd had enough of sitting out in the cold with the freezing rain drenching him. Standing on the large branch, he glanced at the fairy hovering near his shoulder. "I'm going in, Tink." He turned away quickly and sneezed, feeling more miserable than he had in a very long time. Tinker Bell chinkled her concern and flew closer to place her tiny hand against his forehead, a worried frown drawing her delicate brows down. Peter waved her away impatiently. "I'm fine. Let's go." Looking up at the sky he sighed, knowing he'd receive no help from the stars on an overcast night. Shrugging, he approached the window and pressed his hands against the glass, pushing lightly. He was quite surprised when the window opened without protest. Stepping through the window he closed his eyes and sighed deeply at the warmth of the room. It was a sharp contrast to the cold he'd been experiencing since he'd first returned to London this time around. His eyes snapped open at the sound of a sharp gasp and he darted forward, reaching out quickly to cover the girl's mouth before she could release the scream he knew was about to come. "Don't…" The rest of his words were cut off when, to his everlasting surprise, he felt a fist connect with his stomach, doubling him over with the sudden sharp pain and knocking the wind out of him with a grunt. Looking up accusingly, he glared at the girl who returned the look with one of her own. "Why'd you do that?"

"Who are you and what are you doing in my bedroom?" She countered, hands fisting on her hips. When he started to move closer to her she lifted her chin and backed up a step. "Don't come any closer or I'll scream!"

Peter was confused. He hadn't thought he'd be on the receiving end of a reception quite like this. Scowling, he hastily stepped back. "Fine." He took a few more steps back towards the window.

The girl nodded slowly and relaxed her defensive stance somewhat. "How did you get in here?" He gestured behind himself towards the window, still eyeing her warily. She had an amazingly powerful punch that he had no wish to be on the receiving end of again. "The window?" Her eyes narrowed when he nodded. "Right. And I suppose the stars blew it open and you flew straight in." She snorted derisively when he nodded. "Who are you?"

Suddenly remembering the fine manners taught to him by the fairies in their grand courts he bowed deeply to her before standing straight with his fists on his hips, head held up with his rapidly returning cocky show of attitude. "Peter Pan." He announced with a grin. "Who are you?"

"What an odd name." His grin disappeared at her softly spoken words. She cleared her throat and smiled, though the wariness hadn't left her eyes yet. "Kate Gracie Montgomery." She paused and shrugged. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." She grudgingly added.

He snorted and shook his head. "Could've fooled me." He muttered under his breath while surreptitiously rubbing his stomach. "Is that how you greet everyone?" He asked with more than a hint of annoyance in his tone.

Kate folded her arms across her chest and pursed her lips thoughtfully before nodding slowly. "Yes, especially when they're strange boys who sneak into my bedroom at night."

Peter scowled and mirrored her stance. "I didn't sneak…" He paused and shrugged. "I flew."

"Uh huh." Her eyes narrowed even further as she regarded him suspiciously. "And I'm a fairy."

"You're too big to be a fairy." He pointed out what, to him, was the obvious and held up his hand, closing it into a fist. "Fairies are no bigger than this."

She studied him quizzically for a moment before shaking her head. "There's no such thing as…" The rest of her words were cut off when in the blink of an eye he was in front of her again and covering her mouth. Her eyes widened and her hands closed into fists, preparing to hit him again.

"Don't say it!" He hissed angrily. "Don't ever say anything like that! Every time someone says those words a fairy drops down dead somewhere."

She pushed his hand away and took a hasty step back. "All right, all right! I won't say it." She frowned and studied him for a moment before her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! I remember you! I saw you in the tree a few weeks ago." He nodded with a grin, quite pleased that she remembered. "Why were you spying on me?"

"I wasn't spying. I was watching."

"And there's a difference?" One delicate eyebrow rose when he nodded. "Fine. Why were you watching me?"

"To find out if you knew any stories." He answered readily. "I like stories." He added almost as an afterthought. "But yours are different than Wendy's. Even 'Cinderella'. You don't tell about the pirates and sword fights."

"There aren't pirates in 'Cinderella'. Only wicked step-sisters and a prince."

"What?!" Peter was shocked. "Of course there were! Wendy's stories always had pirates and fighting and good triumphing over evil."

"I don't know what kind of stories this Wendy tells, but that isn't how 'Cinderella' goes." Kate marched over to her bookshelf and pulled out a book. "Here." She opened to the correct page and held it out for the boy to take. When he just stared at her blankly she frowned. "Take it. You can see for yourself."

Peter was saved from having to admit that he couldn't read when they both heard a door opening on the first floor. "Tink!" He called, irritated that she hadn't warned him that the others had returned. Sighing when he received no answer he turned back to face the girl still holding the book. "I'll be back next time." He promised with a grin and ran for the window, launching himself out into the night without a backwards glance.

Kate ran to the window and, with her heart thudding painfully in her chest, looked down at the ground so far below. Her eyes widened and she just stared for several long moments at nothing. Slowly she raised her gaze to the tree outside the window and then the sky high above, lifting her and to cover her mouth as a startled gasp escaped. "He…flew!" She whispered in awe, excitement making her head spin.

"Of course I flew!" Peter grinned as he dropped down to hover in front of the window.

Glancing towards the door quickly when she heard footsteps on the stairs, Kate bit her lower lip worriedly before looking back to the boy currently floating outside her window. "Come back next week. They'll be gone again. I'll leave the window open, all right?" His only answer was another cocky grin before he disappeared over the rooftop and out of sight.

xXx

Author's Notes:

Okies... Here's the revised version of Chapter 6. Hopefully it's much better than the previous version.

Once again, thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed.

Tymiko the Pirate Girl

AngelicPirate

hefalump

Vetor Swest

genkai young

Oddly enough this chapter has been one of the most frustratingly stubborn things I've had to deal with in quite some time. It just simply refuses to upload. . .so, here's hoping that 7's the charm. .