Peter saw Wendy coming out of the lift that descended into Neverland and he ran to her. She beamed when she saw him coming and his heart soared. He lifted her up and spun her around, kissing her for a long moment before setting her back down on the ground again.
"Ew!"
A chorus of gagging sounds erupted behind them, and Peter turned to see a group of boys looking at them in disgust.
"Miss Wendy, did he spit in your mouth?"
"No, he kissed her," another boy piped up. "It's something people do when they grow up."
"Gross! I'm never going to grow up!"
"Alright boys, that's enough," Wendy said, her expression equal parts embarrassment and exhilaration.
"Where's Trevor?" Another one of the boys asked.
"He's doing battle games with Nibs in the jungle," Peter responded.
"Ooh! Can we go, Miss Wendy? Can we go?"
"Yes, but stay together," Wendy said. "Matthew and Arthur, you're in charge of keeping an eye on Zachary and Duke."
"Yes, Miss Wendy."
The boys took off towards the jungle, leaving Peter with Wendy. He bent down and kissed her again, and she kissed him back in a way that made it feel like they weren't surrounded by crowds of people. They broke apart and she winked at him, then took his hand and began walking down the path. It took several seconds for Peter to clear his head enough to notice where they were going.
Peter couldn't help but smile. The last two weeks had been euphoric. It had been a little stressful extracting the rest of Hook's treasure from the chambers in the lagoon and trying to manage the bakery and help run Neverland at the same time, but having Wendy back in his life had made Peter feel like anything was possible. She would usually come to Neverland twice a week with the boys from Mrs. Nancy's, and then she would often come back in the evenings after Neverland had closed.
"How's your mother?" Peter asked as they walked by Smee giving an exotic cooking demonstration.
Wendy shrugged. "She's fine. Her new job is at a hospital that's farther than she likes, but she's adjusting alright. To be honest, I think she misses working at the bakery. She's always talking about how fun it was."
Peter laughed. He wouldn't exactly call working with Wendy's mom fun, but she had been very helpful and he had enjoyed getting to know her a bit better. He had hired someone else to manage the bakery with Susan, and he only dropped in occasionally to make sure things were running smoothly.
He heard kids squealing with delight as they passed the animal arena where people were feeding the kangarabbits and lining up to take a ride on the Buffalostrich Rex. Finally they arrived at the section of the jungle where Nibs simulated battle games. Peter could see that Nibs was gearing up the boys to play Dead Man's Plaugue, and a few of them were being pretty careless with the pigment shooters.
Wendy frowned. "How long do the effects of those darts last again?"
"A couple hours," Peter responded. "Why?"
"I'd rather not return a bunch of multicolored boys to Mrs. Nancy."
Suddenly a small red-haired boy ran out from behind a zebra tree and rushed over to Wendy.
"Trevor!" She cried, kneeling down to embrace the boy. "How are you?"
"Great! I just created a walkway in the Imagination Tower! It massages your feet when you step on it, and Curly said they might keep it in the park! And last night I helped Slightly find some people that were hiding out in a cave!"
Peter shook his head. "Wait, what? Who was hiding out?"
Trevor's eyes glistened with excitement. "It was a boy and a girl. They were trying to spend the night, but Slightly told them they had to leave. Then they tried to fight, but Slightly's girlfriend took care of them."
"Slightly's girlfriend?"
"Yeah, Lily. She was amazing! She was running up walls and doing flips and she tied them up with her sweatshirt!"
Peter and Wendy looked at each other in alarm.
"I'd better go talk to Slightly," Peter said, giving Wendy's hand a squeeze. "I'll be back."
Peter found Slightly by the lagoon, reading a newspaper.
"Hey, I heard you had an exciting night yesterday."
Slightly blew out a breath. "Yeah. Somehow a couple visitors circumvented our closing security check. They resisted, but luckily Lily was there to help."
"Lily?"
Slightly blushed. "You've seen her around. She's that stunning girl with the long brown hair."
Peter smiled. He was glad that Slightly's foray into the Grey World had brought him so many good things.
"Anyway," Slightly went on, "we were having dinner on the beach when Trevor showed up and said he kept hearing noises near the caves. You probably know the rest."
Peter ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe we should hire a night guard."
Slightly furrowed his brows, but then a sly smile formed on his lips. "Jack would do it."
"Jack Baker? The guy with the great beard?"
Slightly nodded thoughtfully. "He does have a great beard, doesn't he? I have a feeling he'd have no problem changing shifts."
Peter shrugged. "If you think so, then that's settled."
Slightly nodded and gazed out at the water. "That's one problem solved."
"Is there another one?"
Slightly sighed. "Yeah." He held out the newspaper. "Have you seen this?"
Peter took the newspaper from Slightly and read the headline.
"Neverland mermaids stun audiences with incredible feats of showmanship."
"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Peter asked. "People are impressed with the mermaids."
Slightly looked down at the newspaper. "This reporter speculates the mermaids use wires or jet-powered tails to help them perform their stunts."
Peter snorted. "That's ridiculous. They're just using their natural skills."
"Except that those skills aren't natural."
"What do you mean?"
Slightly looked pained. "Mermaids don't exist. They're fictional, fantastical creatures."
Peter was about to laugh, but then he realized that in all the time he'd spent in the Grey World, he'd never heard anything about mermaids. He thought about how Wendy had reacted to them and about conversations he'd had with Cora that suddenly made a lot more sense. He felt nauseous as he grasped his ignorance.
Slightly nodded, reading the expression on Peter's face. "I felt pretty daft when I found out too."
Peter swallowed, trying to rid the dryness from his mouth. "Then how...?" He trailed off, squinting at the lagoon.
"I don't know," Slightly admitted, looking sober as he folded up the newspaper.
Peter stared at Slightly, then back out at the water. "That is a problem."