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"Yes, Tinkerbell I know how people get pregnant... yes... yes... Tinkerbell," Peter slurred dully as he packed up a bag. Darla and Peter were supposed to travel a bit after the wedding and Darla wanted to 'get a real job' or consider going back to school before starting a family but... "I KNOW TINKERBELL!" Peter screamed ramming his face up to hers. "We have a lifetime to travel, and besides a new Peter running around," the thought of another one of him made Peter giddy with joy and a smile he couldn't contain finally caused Tinkerbell to simmer down.
"We are going to stay in the states," Tink let out an angry stomp on Peters head. "With her parents nearby to help with the pregnancy and first few months of baby birth..." Tinkerbell shook her head in outrage. "She has less than 8 months before the baby comes and she will need her mom," Tink's eyes went wide and she hoovered yelling at him, spitting out fairy dust, Peter ignored her. "Since we will be staying here in Neverland for a long while once we have the baby..." he waited for Tink to stop storming around the tree house but she only paused momentarily, her little glow burning brighter than ever before. Was she excited? Or angry? Peter couldn't tell.
"We don't know how pregnancy works in Neverland... what if she stayed here and she ended up pregnant for 3 years?" A thunder of laughs came out of the tree and broke through the roof. "Hello Milo," Peter tried not to sound annoyed that he would have to fix his roof again when he returned. This was a good teaching moment to see if he would be a good father. "That was dangerous." Peter said, trying to sound serious as he helped Milo off the ground. Peter didn't know how to hold him though. He stood with his arms at his sides not the usual arms across his chest defiantly, and his feet were closer together instead of wide apart. Less boyish, he thought as he starred down to the young boy. Peter was taller and radiated authority but this wasn't fun. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned down, "Shall we go swinging from some trees before I go?" The boy ran out the door, Peter followed at his heels. Darla wouldn't like it. She wouldn't want her son, or daughter swinging from trees, not right away at least.
"Oh, and Tink," Peter rushed his words and slurred his speech. "I'm going to stay with Darla in Illinois until the baby is born, I don't want her to be alone." Peter slammed the door temporarily locking Tink inside as he ran to catch up with the boy.
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Peter missed Neverland but Darla and her family kept him busy. 8 months was a long time for Peter to sit around and make toys out of wood for their baby and sing songs to Darla's tummy. So upon dinner with Darla's parents one night when Sam remarked about 'work'.
As they all sat in Darla's and Peters tinny tiny apartment (they never had need for much room seeing as though they were in Neverland over half the time anyway). Sam and Stacey picked at their pizza, watching their daughter and her husband smile and laugh. They were happy, they had been happy at the wedding and did give Peter their blessing but still, something was off about him.
"You know," Sam started as he sipped his beer, "I saw that the hardware store was hiring, right off of Randall Rd," Peter chewed on his pizza not getting the hint.
"Don't you already have a job, Mr. Jones?"
Stacey started coughing, she had momentarily choked on her pizza and Sam patted her back gently trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
"Yes, I do have a job Peter," he bit out. "Because that's what grownups do." Darla opened her mouth to protest but Peter put a hand on her knee, he didn't need her standing up for him, it would only make things worse. "Grownups get real jobs, have a stable income, and then they worry about marriage and children, but a job should come first and that way..." Sam was going off on a never ending one sided conversation that Darla knew Peter couldn't get out of. He was getting a lecture now and after ten minutes of blabbering Darla told her father to be nice.
"I have applied for three jobs," Peter stated silencing Sam. Sam dropped his fork in surprise. "And why on earth are you eating pizza with a fork?" Peter questioned lifting up the fork near his plate. "It doesn't make any sense, pizza is finger food," all food is finger food Peter thought as he took another oversized bite.
"You applied for a job?" Darla questioned, "why didn't you tell me?" she whispered not wanting her parents to know that he didn't tell her.
"Where did you apply for son," the word son was meant to be nice and should have showed compassion but it came out cold and defying.
"Well it is no hardware store but it is bound to be much more fun."
For starters Peter needed a real job and knew that the dinner with Darla's parents would entail a badgering about jobs and income and money and why the heck did you marry this boy? So when Peter applied for a job at a theme park and actually got it, he was thrilled and so was Darla. The theme park manager seemed the most fun and somehow, through some not entirely legal documentation, Peter got the job and was having fun all day, 'working'.
"Who says you have to grow up?" He asked the teenagers that were playing on their phones instead of enjoying the fresh air and fun that surrounded them. He decided that he never wanted Darla and his child to have a phone. Phones took up too much time and were pointless. Peter had survived just fine without a phone and besides, Neverland didn't have cellular reception.
"Hello Mr. Jones" Peter said smiling widely as he passed by Sam at the grocery store.
"Hello Peter... How is working at the" Sam cleared his throat as if saying the words were ridiculous, "theme park?" Peter had nothing but junk food in his basket and seeing that Sam had veggies and fruits Peter knew he needed that list Darla gave him after all. Peter started pulling out items and placing them along the shelves in wrong locations.
"Oh, it's so much fun." Peter stated as he reached for a green thing that claimed to be 'healthy'. "You and Stacey should stop by you would really enjoy the rides, they are fun for all ages..." Sam gave Peter a knowing look. "Well, that's what we tell everyone at least." Peter felt embarrassed and like less of a man when he talked to Sam; they tolerated him sure but they never truly accepted him.
"Well I should get going" Sam spoke dully sticking out a polite hand for Peter to shake. Sam pushed past Peter and made his way down the whole grain isle.
"Bye," Peter sometimes wished Darla didn't have parents. That she was just like him, but he knew how much she cared for them and they for her, so he tried to push them out of his mind. Peter wished he made more of an effort, no he wished they made more of an effort, especially when they got the news of Sam's condition.
"And Peter Pan and his lost boys sailed away on Hooks pirate ship after defeating the mean old Captain Hook."
"What are you doing?" Peter questioned delivering Darla a Dairy Queen blizzard. He flipped it upside making Darla's shoulders tense and face cringe.
"Telling the baby a story," her eyes fell back onto her stomach, "I'm telling it about it's daddy and his wild adventures."
"One day he will be fighting pirates with me."
"Or she, I like sword fighting, she probably would too." They had agreed that they wanted to know the child's gender but they also wanted to keep it a secret, and they couldn't have it both ways. They said that when the baby came they would know, 9 months of not knowing wouldn't kill them.
"Boy and girl, I want one of each." Peter declared as he sat down next to her and patted her stomach gently, "we will teach them everything there is to know about Neverland and 'the real world'" Peter quoted.
"You will never let me live that down will you?"
"You called Neverland a fake world," Peter accused.
"Because it was," she paused, a smirk on her face "it was a fake world, until it wasn't." Peter's face twisted slightly confused but also understood, she had to see to believe.
Five months into Darla's pregnancy her father was diagnosed with Colon cancer. Sam made it seem like nothing and not to worry but six months into Darla's pregnancy, Sam's cancer had progressed. He was in chemotherapy twice a week and the pain in his stomach was so strong that he didn't want to live another day. Plus with his history of heart attacks the doctors were concerned about Sam.
Everyone was a mess and it was Peter's self appointed job to take care of everyone and everything. Darla was still his first priority so Peter took Darla on a walk to get ice cream, to get her mind off her father. Ice cream made everything better, and being pregnant she got all the ice cream she wanted.
"If it's a boy I want to name him Peter," she stated as she licked her sprinkle covered ice cream cone.
"You want two Peters running around?!" Her laugh made everything alright even after her father's diagnosis.
"And if it's a girl..."
"We will name her Darla junior, DJ."
"No," she said instantly "that's a horrible name"
"That's your name" he countered.
"I don't want two of me"
"But you want two of me?" Her voice was strange and confusing, she was holding back tears and an utterly huge smile of joy. What did she want? What could he do to help?
"Yes Peter, I want two of you but if it's a girl..." she stopped walking again and looked down saw a penny and leant down a flipped it heads up for the next person to have good luck. As she placed the penny down correctly a look of peace settled over her. "Penny," she stated.
"Yeah it's a nice penny... what's going on in that beautiful mind? Is this pregnancy brain?"
"Penelope" she said "that's what I want to name her. "Penelope Pan, Penny for short."
"Peter or Penelope." Peter thought on that for a moment as he took a bite of her cone, "yeah I like that too." They shook on that, that Peter or Penelope would be their unborn child's name, a binding contract between the two of them, standing over that lucky penny. When they dropped their hands Darla's smile faded as if that moment kept her from thinking of anything else but the future of her father.
As Darla turned away Peter bent down and scooped up the penny putting it in his pocket. If it was a girl she would want to see the penny that her mom picked to name her after.