“Michael, NO!” John yelled as his little brother fell from his hand. Michael let out a piercing scream as he tumbled down into the darkness. Wendy began screaming his name. With a jerk, Peter’s hand left her own and then she and John were also falling, so quickly that she didn’t even understand what was happening. Peter was gone in a flash of light, and then there was just the sky above her and the dark water below. Her body turned as she fell, her hands out in front of her, as if she could break her fall, John tumbling beside her, calling “Papa!” as he fell. Falling was even faster than flying, Wendy thought with horror, as they plummeted down toward the Thames. Suddenly Peter was above her and then beside her, Michael’s body up over his shoulder.
“Take my hand,” Peter shouted to Wendy, his hand reaching for hers. She flailed her arms, hoping to catch his hand. Finally, their fingers connected, and her fall simply stopped, as if the momentum of falling just failed to exist, and then she was moving with intent, with Peter, toward John’s tumbling form, twisting as it fell. The note from Booth fluttered out of her pocket and lazily flapped down towards the Thames. Wendy’s heart twisted at the sight of it, but her focus, for the moment, was on saving her brother.
“Grab him!” Peter shouted.
Wendy lunged for John’s leg and wrapped her hand firmly around his ankle, and then they were motionless in the air, a family hovering. John’s sobs faded quickly, and he turned to hide his face from Peter.
“I’m sorry,” Peter breathed heavily. “I couldn’t catch Michael and still hold you both. Better to catch him first and then grab you on my way up.”
John wrenched himself upward and traded his foot for his hand, finally righted. Michael was sobbing.
“I’m sorry, John! I forgot! I wanted to touch Giles.”
“It’s all right, Michael. It was an accident,” Wendy soothed him.
“It is certainly NOT all right!” John yelled. “Michael, you could have killed us all! Do you understand? What were you thinking? What is wrong with you?”
“John, leave him be! You’re being quite terrible!” Wendy admonished.
“No! He needs to understand. You could have killed us because you were worried about your stupid teddy bear.” John reached out and grabbed Giles out of Michael’s hand.
“John, stop it, right now!” Michael wailed.
“No. You need to learn. You aren’t a baby anymore.” With that, John dropped Giles. The teddy bear fell swiftly and silently into the dark night.
“Giles! NO!” Michael turned his body into Peter’s chest.
“John!” Wendy turned her hazel eyes on him, righteous anger curling up her chest. “I know you are scared, but try not to take out your anger on Michael. He is five.”
“He needs to grow up,” John snapped. “We’re going somewhere to have adventures, not play with stuffed toys.”
Peter silently watched the family bicker before clearing his throat. Gently, he uncurled Michael from his arm and took his hand in his own. Michael and Wendy were now on either side of Peter, with John at the end of the line. Peter tucked in his chin and peered into Michael’s tear-streaked face.
“John is right, Michael. You shouldn’t have let go of John’s hand. That was very dangerous.” But then he grinned, his eyes lighting up with delight. “But how would you like to go to a place where you don’t need to grow up—ever? Where you can have all the teddy bears you want?”
Michael nodded. Peter then circled around until he was face to face with John. “And John, how would you like to go somewhere where you aren’t in charge of a five-year-old boy, but an army?”
John looked intrigued. “Yes, sir.”
“Yes, Peter.”
“Yes, Peter,” John corrected himself.
Finally, Peter leveled his gaze on Wendy. “And you?” Wendy was lost for a moment, looking back the way they had come. What was Booth doing right now? Was he still waiting for her? Did it even matter? If Peter was telling the truth, then Booth wouldn’t even notice her absence, and yet . . . Then Peter was in front of her, his green eyes looking into hers with a ferocious intensity, and her thoughts about Booth disappeared. “Do you want to go somewhere where your parents’ opinions and rules don’t matter?” He leaned in toward her and then brought his lips to her ear, so close they brushed her cheek. “Do you want to go somewhere where you can have anything you desire?”
Peter’s warm breath washed over her, smelling like leaves and honey, and then she was gone, caught up in him, caught up in the night, in the wind that whistled around them.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Take us there.”