Dill immediately throws his tiny arms around my waist and his grip is so tight that he unintentionally pulls at my skin enough for me to feel a stretch on my back. I bite my lip and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to stop the scream boiling out of me, but I end up grunting in pain and then whimpering. Dill is puled back by the rest of the Boys, who all start freaking out. Dill starts to cry and my heart breaks. I open my eyes again and look at him.
"Dilly, sweetie, it's ok. I'm fine." I try to calm him down, biting back my own tears. "It wasn't your fault."
"BOYS! What's going on in here?" Nosh is suddenly behind them. I look up at his face and notice how tired he looks. He's always looked old, but he seems to have aged years since I last saw him. He feels his eyes on me and when we make eye contact, he gasps.
"Boys, out now! Someone go get Peter!"
All of them scurry out of the tent with Dill still crying. Nosh quickly kneels beside me and I finally let the few tears I was holding back fall free.
"What is it, Aashi? What happened?" He asks gently, noticing the tears.
"Dill was just giving me a hug, but he tuged too hard. My back is on fire again." I say in a pathetic little whine, so sick of being in pain. "Nosh, what happened? What's going on? Is Hook really dead?"
"Addie-"
"ADDIE!" Peter soars into the tent, landing on the other side of me. "Oh Addie, you're awake! Thank god!"
I'm shocked when Peter sarts to cry softly. I stare up at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. It takes me a second to find my voice again.
"Please. Please Peter, don't cry." I beg him quietly, unable to handle him crying too. It was selfish of me to think this, but I really need him to comfort me right now, and I hated seeing him like this.
He takes a deep breath before leaning down to kiss me, not caring that Nosh was barely three feet away. It was one of the most passionate kisses we've ever shared. For that moment, my pain disappears, my memories disappear. It's just me and Peter. I literally feel fireworks go off in my stomach and I want to wrap my arms around him and pull him closer, but I couldn't quite move them.
Peter breaks the kiss and looks into my eyes with the saddest little smile I've ever seen. "I'm sorry baby. I just thought I lost you."
I open my mouth to say something along the lines of how it's not that easy to get rid of me, that I'm not going anywhere, but I stop myself and close my mouth again. It hadn't been easy, but it had happened. Hook killed me. Peter lost me. Tears pricked my eyes again, I couldn't help it.
"I can't believe you found me, Peter." I cry out. "I was so scared." I admit as he wraps his arms around me, but only under my sholders, carefully avoiding my lower back.
"I know, Addie. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry. I never should have left you. I should've been there." Peter says as he kisses my hair.
I bury my face into his shoulder and take a deep, shaky breath. That day he left me in the woods seemed like an eternity ago. And as much as I hated it, the pain of abandonment he lad left me with was still there. While it was not his fault I got kidnapped, I will never blame him for that, I was still upset that he had just left me alone like that.
I was never going to admit that to him, but I swear he can read my mind at times. He pulls back and gently lays me down again. I look over and realize Nosh had left the tent at some point.
"Addie, I need you to listen to me." He says gently, but with more seriousness than I've ever heard him use before. "I know you still haven't forgiven me. Leaving you... I'll never forgive myself for it. None of this would've happened if I hadn't left you."
"Peter-"
"Don't tell me it's not my fault, because it is." He cuts me off. "I should've been with you. I never should've let you go on that ship alone. And I sure as hell should've been there to take you home." He takes a deep breath, never breaking eye contact with me. "I don't know if this is possible, but I hope with my entire heart that you can forgive me one day. I swear on my life and on Neverland itself, I will NEVER ever leave you again. No matter what. I will never let anybody hurt you again. And I'm sure as hell never losing you again."
I think for a minute. I knew he was sorry and that he really meant everything he said. "Peter, I forgive you. And I love you." I feel this huge weight lifted from me as I say this, and I slowly life my arm, bringing my hand to his cheek. A couple more tears slip down his cheeks, and I wipe them with my thumb before gently guiding his face down so I can kiss him again.
He breaks this one too after a few seconds. "We need to let Nosh look you over again. We need to get you better so you can get home..." He says looking down. He stands up and flies over to the door, poking his head out to find Nosh standing right outside. "Sorry.." Peter hangs his head, embarrassed, as Nosh smiles softly at him. Nosh and Peter cross the room again and kneel beside me.
"The Boys saw me like this.." I say looking at Peter as Nosh looks through his little supply kit.
He sighs. "I know."
"We're going to put more bandages on you. I've been letting them breathe and air out for a couple days as you slept, but since you're awake and moving now, we need them." Nosh says with a sorry expression.
"Ok." I take a deep breath and decide I was done being weak. I was done with this pain. I wanted to be strong again. But that changes as soon as Peter lifts me into a sitting position.
"Ow." I whimper as I lean into Peter for support.
"I know, baby. Just hang in there. He's almost done." Peter whispers in my ear as Nosh starts to wrap my up.
I expect Peter to lay my down again once Nosh finishes, but instead he places on arm under my legs, keeping his oher around my shoulders. He lifts me up as if I'm made of glass and sits on the bed before pulling me into his lap. I bury my head in his chest as he slowly begins to rock me back and forth, kissing my forehead.
"I'm going to go get her something to eat." Nosh says quietly to Peter, who nods. Once Nosh is gone, I look up at Peter, knowing what he's thinking.
He was already looking down at me. "Are you ready to tell me everything?" He whispers.
"Yes." I nod once.
"Ok, but if you get uncomfortable, stop."
I take a deep breath and close my eyes, leaning my head against his chest again. "When I left the island, they were waiting for me. I had just broken through the clouds when I realized I forgot to heal the Hollow. I turned around and before I knew it, they fired a cannon that had a net attatched to a couple cannonballs. I couldn't get out of the way fast enough."
"I fell to the water and two life boats were already waiting to drag me back to the ship. Hook left me in the net and started dragging me across the deck, and the men kept stabbing at me. But one of the actually stuck a dagger in my back. He brought me below deck, told me I was never going to escape, and threw me down the trap door. The only sunlight I had was that litle hole in the wall. He had two men come get me the next day and they brought me to Hook's cabin. He gave me the option of joining him, or dying." I look up at Peter again, his face was hard as a stone as he stared back down at me. He nodded ever so slightly for me to keep going. "I basically told him to go to gell and tried ecaping again. He cut my cheek, and had me thrown back down there. Over the next couple days he had someone throw me down tainted water and spoiled food every once in a while. It was so dark, Peter. And it was such a small space. I kept freaking out." Just when I think I've run out of tears, I feel a few escape my eyes again. His grip tightens protectively around me, but it doesn't hurt.
"Hook came down one last time and offered me a position on his crew. I had a broken piece of wood hidden with me, and I stabbed him. But he hit me. His hit me and stabbed me. And then he had Smee toss down the chains." As I tell him this, I feel as if I was back in that room. I could feel Hook's breath on my face as he told me I was going to die. I could feel my wrists bound again. I started to shake a little, but knew I was safe in Peters arms.
"The last time I saw Hook, he told me was going to die down there. The fod and water came less and less. I got sick. The pain just kept getting worse. And... Peter I saw my parents."
"What?" He whispers, stunned. "What do you mean?"
I start crying a litte harder now. "Peter, when I died, I saw my parents. I was in my house before it burned down. They were in the kitchen downstairs. I wasn't hurt anymore, I was perfectly alright. And I really got to talk to them, Peter, Dad told me I had died while they held me in their arms. But when you found me, I started feeling the pain again. The cuts and bruises literally appeared on my body as I screamed in their arms. They told me it wasn't my time, and hat they loved me, and the I woke up in your arms."
Peter takes one hand and gently brushes my tears away. I could tell he didn't know what to say, and he was pale now havng heard about what happened to me when I died. That was the weirdest thing to say. I had died.
"Oh...there was one more thing, Peter." I could tell he was super confused when he saw the small smile form on my face.
"What's that, Addie?"
"Dad said to tel you that he's ALWAYS watching you." I laugh softly, finally feeling safe, realizing it's all truly over.
His grip loosens around me as he relaxes. "Oh boy... I've gotta be really careful" He says with a small grin. "Wait, so they're actually watching us, right now?"
I nod and shrug the best I could. "Yeah, yeah they are."
Peter smirks his signature smirk. The smirk that says he;s up to no good. I had missed that smirk more than I could've ever imagined.
"What?" I ask biting my lip, starting to slowly feel like myself again.
"What is your last name again?"
"Bell... why?" I ask confused now.
Peter chuckles. "Sorry Mr. Bell." He says looking up at the ceiling before pulling me into another passionate kiss. I giggle against his lips, and blush knowing that my parents were in act watching us at that moment. Once he pulls back, I grin up at him.
"You better hope my dad doesn't know how to haunt people."