Penny Pan the heir to neverland // Peter Pan

STAY

     "I want you to stay," Penny began saying and kicked a log out of the way. "I want you and Henry to stay and you could-"

Lacey tried to object and tell Penny how ridiculous she was being, she couldn't just stay here and leave her home. But one look in Penny's golden eyes and Lacey never wanted to look back. Maybe that's why it's called Neverland, Lacey thought as Penny tried to reason with her. Neverland, because you never want to go back to your old life once you arrived here.

"You can finally teach me about God too. Mama would have liked that." Lacey shook her head no, she couldn't just pack up and leave her home and job. "Please, just think about it. You lost over ten years with Henry and now you can make them all up right here. Never age a day. It will be like the past ten years never happened. And Neverland needs a teacher!" Lacey thought deeply on that for a moment while she looked over the barren area outside the treehouse.

Penny handed Lacey a sketch Peter had drawn of what he wanted to build on Neverland. He drew out little houses, a school, a section for a basketball hoop, he thought of everything, it was all right here in front of her. A fresh start, a clean slate, why couldn't she just take it when it was offered up to her on a silver platter? She pictured the layout of the building and where the school rooms would be, where the story room would go, where she could teach all the little ones of God too... it would be beautiful if they could do it.

"I don't know," she said again, she shook her head but her mind raced with the possibility. Penny grasped Lacey's hand, determination and a hunger for change filled Penny's smile. "Let me think about it, alright?" Penny nodded begrudgingly but saw Henry coming so she put a smile on.

"Hello Henry, good day." She tipped an imaginary hat and ran off towards the forest.

"Bye," he said as he watched her run away. "Hey Mom," she still loved to hear that. She would never get used to hearing his voice, hearing him say her name. "I was wondering when you wanted to go back to your home."

"Our home," she corrected pulling him in to hug her. "We can go back whenever you want..." then she remembered where she was and that she didn't know how to get back home. "I just need some help navigating." She said, her eyes meeting his.

"Can we st-stay here for a while?" This was going to make Lacey's choice easy, whatever Henry wanted, he would get. "I just made all these fr-friends and I don't w-want to lose them," he stuttered as he spoke but he wasn't scared when he asked his mom to stay. He never would have asked Hook such a thing, he never talked to him about anything really. But Lacey was caring and compassionate and Henry could see that she cared about him and Henry didn't want to live anywhere without her again. "But I really don't want to lose you, ever again, so whatever you want, I'm okay with." As Henry talked he realized his stutter had disappeared, as if his stutter was from fear and now that he was happy, now that he was safe, he was able to speak freely, he was free.

"We can stay here as long as you would like, but I do have to go home and pick up our dog if we are to stay here a while."
"We have a dog?" Henry's face filled with joy, "What kind? What is his name? How old is he?"

"He is a boxer mix named 'Ike' and he is four years old and he is going to love you!"

"Ike," Henry repeated imagining the dog running around Neverland with him.

"Hey," Peter interrupted. "It is getting late and if you wanted to head back tonight," Peter glanced around at the growing darkness. "Not that I want you both to leave... I would like it if you both stayed..." Peter placed a clammy, weak hand to his head still recovering from his near death experience. "But if you were to want to go back home tonight we should get going soon."

"We are not leaving," Henry announced. Just then Penny appeared out of a tree and lunged onto Henry.

"Yay," she said hanging on to his lanky limbs. Peter looked to Lacey who seemed to be the happiest woman alive.

"I'll make up a bed for you two," Peter said as he left the two unlikely friends rejoicing near the firelight.

********

They built up Neverland like a castle. It took a long time to build but they didn't mind the tiring hours of work, Penny knew that it would be worth the sweat and blisters.

Although Lacey and Henry left they promised to come back. Lacey couldn't just pack up and leave her life behind, she had work and her students, she had her church who were all very interested in seeing Henry after all these years, after all their prayers were finally answered. Of course they didn't understand how her son could still look so young after all these years.

Slowly the logs turned to walls back in Neverland and the walls turned to ceilings and the empty land that the pirates had destroyed was looking better than new. The school house was filled with log chairs and desks. It was the most beautiful thing any of them had ever seen. Not pristine and clean like back in Illinois but raw and real. All the cracks and chipped wood was a remembrance of the pain that had been endured since Peter and Penny's original idea of the school and church was thought. It symbolized how Penny was determined to fight evil at all cost and how they all rose out of the ashes, beaten and bruised but not broken.

Once the foundation was built each and every kid came and cut their name into the wood. All the little knife marks were the kids names engraved to show that they were here. They were to be the first generation of Neverland scholars.

"Now that it's built," Penny spoke up, admiring their handiwork, "what are you going to do?" Lacey knew what was logical, what she should do, but what seemed right and what seemed more fun, was what she needed to do. Lacey opened her mouth to answer but Penny wasn't quite sure she had convinced Lacey to stay yet.

"You know, to live can be awfully big adventure, but where would you rather live that adventure? Here?" She spun around arms out stretched, a smile as big as the moon on her face, "or there?" Penny jabbed a thumb over her shoulder and made a face of disgust.

Lacey smiled, "I would like to stay and help teach you." Penny lit up with joy as she wrapped her arms around Lacey but only for a moment. Then, Penny ran to their newly made tree house home and searched for Darla's old journal. Lacey watched Penny run off following her and searching for Henry to tell him the good news as well. He had been begging to come back to Neverland to see his friends even thought it had only been a month back in the 'real world'. "Henry," Lacey started to call as Penny reemerged.

"My mom would have loved what we did with Neverland, and she would have loved... all of it." Penny expressed her feelings as she handed the journal to Lacey, the journal that Peter showed Henry, the journal that changed everything. Penny smiled in agreement, Darla would have loved what Neverland became. Penny couldn't hold back, "Darla, my mom, prayed for you, a lot. I think that she would be really happy that you finally found Henry."

"You found him," Lacey lovingly said as she looked through the pages. "You brought me back my boy, you precious, precious girl."