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Chapter One
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Dana awoke in near-total darkness.

For a few seconds she was confused; disoriented.  Her mind was awash
with strange, disturbing thoughts and images.  Images of monsters, both
human and otherwise; thoughts of pain and suffering and heartache.  And
fear.  There was so much fear pervading her mind, and she didn't know
where it had come from, or why.

And there had been a man -- tall, dark-haired, hazel-eyed.  His face was
worn and lined, and so very, very sad.  He was crying ....

Dana felt herself flushing as more of the dream -- it must have been a
dream -- started coming back to her.  She had been in bed with the man,
and she had been naked.  They both had been naked.  And they had been
doing ... things.  The sorts of things that were in those magazines
she'd found hidden one day in the back of Bill's closet, wrapped up in
his football jersey.  Strange, terrifying things.

Wonderful things.

She stirred in bed slightly, and as she moved her legs she noticed the
odd, unexplained dampness between them which had been there a few times
when she woke up the past several months.  She was pretty sure the
dampness was associated with sex in some way -- and in this instance it
was also associated with the dream she'd just had, and with the odd,
fluttery tremors in her abdomen ....

There was some surreptitious giggling about such things among the other
girls at school, but so far Dana had been too embarrassed to pay much
attention, and she hadn't been able to work up the nerve to talk to her
mother about it.  She had asked Melissa about it one day recently, but
Missy had just laughed, and said she'd understand when she was a little
older.

Darn Missy anyway.

Dana's eyes had finally adjusted to the dark, allowing her to make out
the familiar, comforting shapes that constituted her bedroom.  There was
her bureau, with her collection of snow globes dimly visible on top of
it.  Her study desk sat in one corner, the small stack of school books
making a neat, rectangular outline.  Her father's old telescope, a
present given to her on her thirteenth birthday a month earlier, stood
by the window, ready to plumb the mysteries of the universe.

Dana frowned as she realized the window was open, the curtains
fluttering in the soft evening breeze.  She had closed the window before
going to bed; she was sure of it.  But now it stood wide open, and as
she gradually came to full wakefulness she realized that there was a
chill in the air.  She shook her head and sighed; she must have just
*thought* she closed the window.

With a groan of protest Dana threw back the covers and climbed from her
bed.  The floor was cold and unforgiving beneath her feet, even through
the carpet, and she wasted no time in crossing to the window and sliding
it shut.  She then turned and hurried back to bed.  She was about to
slip beneath the blankets once more, when she heard a quiet rustling
noise, coming from under her bed

Great.  Her room had mice again.  Just what she needed.  For a second
she considered turning on the light and looking for the mousetrap she'd
used last time, but then she shook her head.  Morning was soon enough.

The bed suddenly shook a little, and Dana felt her eyes widen as she
stepped back in surprise.  Her back bumped against the wall;
instinctively, she reached out and flicked on the light.

Nothing.  There was nothing there.  Dana took a deep breath, and waited
for her heart to slow down.  There was nothing there, she repeated in
her mind.  Nothing there.  She lifted her hand to turn off the light
again, her gaze drifted over to the bureau ... and she furrowed her
forehead in confusion.

One of her snowglobes seemed to be missing.

Dana gave a sigh of frustration.  Darn that Bill!  He was constantly
coming into her room, moving stuff around, borrowing things without her
permission ....

She found herself standing in front of the bureau, looking at the
snowglobes in turn and counting under her breath.  There were supposed
to be an even dozen, but now there were only eleven.  And the missing
one was the pegasus globe -- the one that was a gift from Grandmother
Kinsella.

The one Bill was making fun of just the other day ....

She heard a rustling noise behind her, and Dana spun around, her eyes
narrowing into slits.  Her bed was definitely shaking this time, but now
she thought she knew who it was.

"Bill!" she said, sharply but softly.  No need to get Mom involved in
this -- yet.  "Bill Scully, I know you're down there.  You come out of
there this minute!"

Immediately, the bed stopped moving.  Dana took a cautious step forward,
and put her hands on her hips.  "Bill!" she repeated, a little more
loudly.  "Do you really want me to go get Mom?  Or are you going to come
out of there on your own and give me back my snowglobe?"

There was moment of silence.  At last, a muffled voice said, "My name's
not Bill.  It's Peter."

Dana rolled her eyes.  "Yeah, whatever," she said.  "Just give me my
snowglobe back and get the heck out of my room!"

More silence.  Then:  "But my name really isn't Bill."  A head popped
out from under the bed.  "It's Peter."

Dana felt her eyes widen in surprise, and her mouth dropped open.  It
really wasn't Bill.  She found herself staring down at a face she had
never seen before.  It appeared to be a boy, about her own age or a
little older.  He had a full head of chocolate brown hair, with a stray
lock falling over his forehead, and his eyes were a dark greenish-gray
color.

Hazel, she decided.  His eyes were hazel-colored ....

Dana shook herself, and realized that she was still just standing there,
staring at the strange boy whose head was poking out from beneath her
bed.  She should do something, she thought.  She should call for her
mother -- or for Bill.  Ahab had told her that while he was at sea, Bill
would be in charge, like an executive officer.  That announcement had
hurt Dana's feelings -- *she* was supposed to be Starbuck, after all. 
But orders were orders ....

With greater ease than she would have thought possible, the boy
scrambled out from under the bed and hopped to his feet.  He was tall
and lanky, and was wearing black denim jeans and a dark gray t-shirt --
and there was now a broad grin on his face, an expression that Dana
somehow found reassuring rather than menacing.  No, not reassuring.  It
was more than that.  A sense of ... something about him, almost like one
of Missy's auras.  He seemed interesting.  Intriguing.

Exciting.

Almost as if he were reading her thoughts, the boy's smile broadened,
and he took a step towards her.  That was enough to break the spell Dana
had been falling under, and she stepped hurriedly backwards, maintaining
the distance between them.  This *was* a stranger, after all, and he was
in her room, in the middle of the night --

"What's the matter, Wendy?" the boy said with a frown.  "Don't you
recognize me?"

Automatically, Dana shook her head.  "Recognize you?  How could I
recognize you?"  But even as she said the words, she knew that they
weren't entirely true.  The boy *did* look familiar, in an eerie, deja
vu sort of way.  She hadn't seen him before; she was sure she hadn't. 
Nonetheless, he did look familiar.

But why was he calling her Wendy?

"Come on, Wendy," the boy said, breaking her concentration.  "You've got
to recognize me!"  As he spoke, he moved a little closer -- and this
time Dana stood her ground, despite the voice in the corner of her mind
telling her that this was dangerous, and that she should call for help. 
She *knew* this boy.  She didn't know how she knew him, but she did. 
She could trust him.

"Maybe I do," she temporized, "and maybe I don't."  Part of her -- the
part that wanted to call for help -- couldn't believe she was standing
here calmly talking to a stranger in her bedroom in the middle of the
night.  But the rest of her -- the part that seemed to be governing her
actions at the moment -- was fascinated by him, and the exotic sense of
... something ... that seemed to surround him.

"You know me," he said, nodding wisely.  "I can always tell."  He took
two more steps forward into her personal space, until he was standing
directly in front of her.  Abruptly, he thrust out one hand.  "Here's
your snowglobe."

Dana blinked in surprise at the sudden movement, then reached out and
took the snowglobe from the boy's hand.  Without really thinking, she
gave it a couple of quick shakes, then held it close to her eyes and
looked at it.

It really was beautiful -- the most beautiful of all her snowglobes.  It
contained a small figure of a pegasus, its wings outstretched and
sparkling as it galloped along the tops of the clouds.  She held it a
bit higher for better viewing and shook it again, and watched as the
tiny flakes swirled around the little winged horse.

"It's so lovely."

The sound of the boy's voice, right next to her ear, startled Dana so
badly that she jumped.  She whipped her head around, and saw that he was
now standing by her elbow, peering over her shoulder at the snowglobe. 
And how had he gotten there without her hearing him move?

And why wasn't she moving away from him?

"Look," the boy went on, in a low, almost hypnotic tone of voice.  "Look
how the snowflakes swirl and swirl around the pegasus.  See how his
wings are beating against the wind?  Hear how his hooves are drumming
against the clouds?  It's so beautiful, Wendy -- so beautiful!"

The third use of the strange name jolted Dana back to reality, and she
shook herself and took a step away from him.  "Who are you?" she
demanded.  "What are you doing here?  What were you doing under my bed? 
And why do you keep calling me 'Wendy'?"

"I told you," the boy said with a shrug.  "My name's Peter.  Peter Pan. 
But just call me Pan, because I hate my first name.  As for what I was
doing under your bed --"

"Oh, right, Peter Pan," Dana said sharply, cutting him off.  "Like in
the kid's book.  And I suppose you were under my bed because you were
looking for your shadow!"

Abruptly, all the energy seemed to go out of the boy, and his shoulders
slumped.  "No," he said, dropping his gaze from hers.  "I was looking
for my sister."  He shrugged, then turned away and started walking
towards the window in slow, leaden steps.

Dana felt her eyebrows shoot up in surprise at the sudden change in his
mood.  After a brief hesitation, she set the snowglobe on the bureau,
and hurried after him.  "Where are you going?" she asked, suddenly as
disturbed by the boy's apparent leave-taking as she had been by his
unexpected presence.

"I've gotta go," he mumbled as he struggled with the window.  "I've got
a lot of places left to look."

"Through the window?" she asked, not bothering to keep the amusement
from her voice.

"Yeah," he said, still struggling.  "That's how I got in.  Why'd you
have to go and close it?"

"I was cold," Dana replied.  She sighed in exasperation, and reached out
and jiggled the window in its frame.  Bill had promised a month ago that
he'd fix the darn thing; she really ought to just get Ahab's tools and
do it herself.  It probably only needed a little oil --

Suddenly, the window leapt upward in its track -- and a small, golden
ball of light zipped into the room, buzzing angrily.  Dana jumped back
in surprise, and watched in amazement as the ball of light swept around
the room, finally arcing up towards the ceiling before diving back down
to come to a stop two inches from Pan's nose.

"So *that's* where you were!" Pan said, rolling his eyes.  "I should
have realized.  Honestly, Tink, if you can't keep up --"

The golden ball of light -- which Dana now saw had a tiny human figure
at its very center -- bounced up and down in apparent agitation, and
more buzzing was heard.  Pan seemed to be listening intently.  Finally,
he shook his head.

"It's not her fault," he said to the ball of light.  "She was cold."  He
glanced over at Dana.  "Weren't you, Wendy?  By the way, this is
Tinkerbell.  She's a fairy."

The ball of light buzzed again, and swooped in a wide, looping circle
around Dana's head before coming to rest, once again, in front of Pan.

"No!" the boy said sharply.  "I don't want to hear it."  He batted
lightly at the fairy.  "But we're done here, anyway."  His shoulders
slumped again, and he turned once more towards the window.  "C'mon, Tink."

"Wait."

The word was out of Dana's mouth before she quite realized she was going
to say it.  Again, part of her was horrified at the indiscretion; he was
leaving, and she should be thankful for that.  But it was too late for
second thoughts; already, Pan was turning to face her again, wearing an
expression of surprise mingled with hope.

"Uh, I mean, you can go if you want to," she stammered, suddenly feeling
very awkward.  "That is, if you need to.  But ...."  Her voice trailed
off.  She didn't know what she wanted to say; how could she be expected
to find the right words?

Pan was looking at her intently, now, and Dana felt herself flushing
under his scrutiny.  He almost seemed to be peering inside her, and Dana
reflexively crossed her arms across her chest.  Finally, Pan took a
cautious step towards her, and said, "Do you want to come with me,
Wendy?  Do you want to help me look?"

"Look?"  Dana's thoughts spun wildly as she tried to process his
question.  She shouldn't even be considering this.  But she was.  "You
mean help you look for your sister?"

Pan nodded, and stepped forward into her personal space.  "That's
right," he said, his voice suddenly dropping into a lower register. 
Dana was distantly aware of Tinkerbell chittering in the background in
apparent agitation, but most of Dana's attention was focused on the boy
in front of her.

Pan was dominating her with his presence, now, looming over her and
gazing down at her with compelling, liquid eyes.  "I need your help,
Wendy," he said.  "I've been looking for her for such a long time, and I
can't find her anywhere.  Will you help me?"

He slowly leaned down, until his face was only inches from her own --
and Dana realized that he was about to kiss her.  Her hands twitched at
her sides, but she didn't know whether it was to grab onto him or push
him away.  Then he stopped, and for a few seconds neither of them
moved.  At last, although she was not quite sure what she was agreeing
to, Dana said, "Yes."

For just another moment, Pan seemed almost to hover over her.  Despite
her best intentions, Dana found her eyelids starting to drift shut. 
This was really going to happen, she thought.  It was the most bizarre
set of circumstances imaginable -- but it was really going to happen. 
Her first kiss ....

Pan's war whoop took her by complete suprise.  Dana's eyes snapped open
and her head whipped around, to see him *soaring* through a
seemingly-impossible double backflip, and finally coming to rest on the
windowsill.  "Y'see, Tink!" he exclaimed, as the fairy swirled
erratically around him.  "I told you she'd help us!"

Tinkerbell buzzed in apparent fury, and the golden light around her
thickened and brightened.  For a moment Dana wondered if Pan might
change his mind, but he just rolled his eyes at the fairy, and batted
her lightly away.  Then, still crouching in the windowsill, he turned
and extended his hand to Dana, a happy smile on his face.

Dana hesitated, then started walking slowly towards him.  The fairy
swooped past her, coming within an inch of her face, and Dana flinched
-- but she kept on walking.  She was no longer able to question any of
this.  As strange and unfathomable as the night's events were, she
couldn't stop herself from going to join the boy.  Tinkerbell continued
to zip around her, chittering and buzzing without pause, but the fairy
seemed to be bent only on harrassment, and offered no actual hindrance.

Finally, Dana was crouched in the window next to Pan, balancing herself
against the frame with one hand while he clutched her other hand tightly
in his.  Everything was so strange tonight, she thought.  Everything was
so different.  Even the moonlit vista of her own backyard seemed
mysterious and wonderful.  She was vaguely aware that she was still
wearing only her pajamas, but somehow that didn't seem to matter.  She
didn't even feel especially cold anymore.

"Ready, Wendy?" Pan asked in a murmur.  Now that the two of them were
together in the window, Tinkerbell seemed to have given up on her
campaign of harrassment, and was hovering a few feet in front of them.

Pan seemed to be waiting for an answer, but Dana couldn't find her
voice.  At last she simply nodded.  He said, "Okay.  Just hang on
tight.  You can do this yourself, but you need to get the hang of it. 
You just have to want to believe."

Dana felt doubt reasserting itself within her.  They were perched in a
second floor window, and the ground seemed a very long way down.  It was
only 15 feet or so, she reminded herself.  And somehow, she knew she
wouldn't fall, in any case.  She could trust this boy; somehow, she just
knew she could trust him.

"Here we go," Pan said.  He slipped his free hand behind her and lightly
traced his fingers down her spine, finally coming to rest on the small
of her back.  She felt his body tense slightly, and she knew the moment
was here.  "On three," he whispered.  "One ... two ... three!"

Dana closed her eyes and jumped.

================END CHAPTER ONE================