Captain's Quarters (Sequel to The Piper Boy)

Chapter 15

~10 Years Later~

Amily knew she wanted to live near the sea and never be apart from it. The crashing waves and salty aroma meant so much more to her than anyone would ever know. The sea represented a part of her past that she wanted never to forget.

Never. That word, it always hung in the air when her past came to mind. As Amily stared at the horizon she thought she could see a speck there. An island no doubt. But the tears tickling the backs of her eyes reminded her that there was no way that this could be Neverland. They were much too far away to see it. So in order to keep it together she steered her thoughts away from the harsher parts of her past to the ones she loved to remember.

The first one that came to mind happened not five years before...

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Byron said to her. She could see the echoing disappointment in his chocolatey brown eyes and though doubt was plaguing her she didn't want to let him down. Amily knew he wanted this so much and truth be told, she wanted it too.

"I'm sure. Come on, I don't want to wait any longer" She hoped her nervousness looked like excitement in Byron's eyes.

Byron clasped her hand and led her above deck to where Hook and the crew were waiting and Neverland was shadowing the ship with it's fierce enormity and magic. The captain stood at the helm next to his new love and Amily's dearest friend, Alexis, awaiting his duty for the young couple he cared so deeply for.

Once Byron and Amily stood in front of him in position, Hook spoke directly to his dish-washer.

"You two know that this isn't official, right?" he said bluntly.

"You've been like a father to both of us, Hook. This is as official as it gets" Byron looked his captain straight in the eye and the respect between the two of them could have been visible, it was so thick.

"Okay, I guess I'll get started then" With a smirk he took a deep breath and began.

"Would the two of you join hands please?"

Amily's hands were sweating and she hoped Byron couldn't see her nervousness. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Lads, we are gathered here on the deck of this very ship to join together two treasured members of our crew" Hook started.

"Byron Porter, do you take this young woman to be your wife?" The captain asked him with a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"There's not a doubt in the world that I do" said Byron. Amily's heart thudded harder and blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Amily-" Hook cursed.

"I don't know your family name, love"  he whispered, leaning in close.

"I never had one" Amily whispered back with worry.

"Of course. Right then" Hook cleared his throat and continued.

"Amily Jones, do you take this young man to be your husband?" he said.

Amily sighed. She would not cry, she couldn't. Not now.

"I do" she whispered.

"I'm sorry, did anyone hear what she said? I couldn't hear" said Jed from the back of the crowded crew. He held his whittling knife in his hand but did not use it, the occasion was too special.

"She said 'I do' Jed! Amily loves me, remember?" Byron joked with a wink at Amily.

"Oh of course, of course"Jed muttered. Amily could see the age wearing him down.

Amily gripped Byron's hands tighter. Oh boy, was she ready for the future.

"As captain of the Jolly Roger, I now pronounce you man and wife" Alexis looked like she was tearing up as Hook said the final words of the marriage.

"Hook, aren't you forgetting something?" said Byron with a grin.

"Oh go on. Kiss her!" shrieked Alexis. She hadn't spoken at all since the ceremony had started. Everyone laughed at her sudden desperation at the romance. She was usually so hardened.

So Byron did. The first kiss of many to come. It was short and sweet and they emerged from their embrace to cheering of the crew and it's captain.

But all Amily could see was the boy she left behind at the age of16 standing on a cliff overlooking the entire ceremony who clapped along with everyone else as if it were his ceremony to celebrate too.

Amily emerged from the memory as if from a long plunge into cold water on a hot day. It was pleasant but she was crying nonetheless. That was the last time she saw Peter Pan but she thought of him often yet not in the way most young women did. It was with fondness yet painful nostalgia. She had to admit that that part of her life with him was as painful as it was pleasant.

But this was her life now. A perfect marriage with her one true love in a cottage by the sea.. it was all she could ever ask for. Amily struggled to think that just her memories could ruin it but they tended to bring her down every now and then. She couldn't help but think there was something unfinished between her and Peter Pan but Amily knew that when they said goodbye it was for good. She would never see him again.

"What are you thinking about?" Damn Byron, he always had that power to awaken her from any daydream.

Before she turned to look at her husband, Amily wiped the stray tears from her cheeks. She dreaded turning away from the view of the ocean and the beach but Byron had something special that she wanted to see.

"Oh, nothing" she laughed it off and went to greet her family.

"There's someone who's been waiting to see you" Byron giggled and handed her the small pile of blankets in his hand.

Inside was the most perfect child Amily could've ever wished for. He had Byron's big brown eyes and Amily's dimples. The happy couple had named him Jack after Byron's murdered brother. Amily had hesitated at first because she knew who had murdered him, but the name suited the child and the situation.

The scene was idyllic. All Amily's dreams had come true. But there was one dream she would never share with Byron or her son. Peter Pan was always there, in the deepest depths of her heart. Amily swore to herself that she'd never let him vanish from her heart nor mind. 

And their paths were supposed to never be crossed again. But everyone knows that the future has a funny way of bringing people from our pasts back into our lives.

So Amily would see Pan again. But not of her own choice. That was for her son to decide. When the time was right.

And it is here, my friends, that I bid you adieu. Captain's Quarters has unfortunately come to it's end and I hope you guys are happy with the way it concluded.

As far as discussion of a sequel, I haven't exactly got a plot or an idea in mind so I think I'll just let this one float for awhile (And leave you guys stewing :P ) If you have any ideas or demands for a sequel let me know : D

But thank you for this amazing experience. This is really my first and only kind-of successful fan fiction and I had such a great time writing it. And it couldn't have been that way without the support from you guys, the readers. So really this is all I can say, is thank you.

I hope I have satisfied you by putting my ideas and a little piece of my imagination out there for you to enjoy. I love you all.

Keep calm and watch Once Upon a Time!

Love Katrina xx