They traveled for days with very little rest time.  Peter only expected it to originally take them a little less than a week to get to camp when it actually was taking closer to two weeks.

"Are you sure he knows where he's going?" Mars quietly asked Venus.

"No," she answered, "but I do know he knows these woods better than I do."

Venus was starting to wonder herself if they were ever going to reach the camp and after twelve days of having to eat nothing but NEGS she was over ready to get there.

"Hold on," she whispered to Mars before jogging ahead to catch up to their leader.

"Peter?" She asked.  Peter seemed deeply lost in thought and Venus was worried that he wasn't actually paying attention to where they were going.  She had been suspecting it for days.  After watching Pepa die it was like a light inside of him was snuffed out.  Venus didn't blame him.  She wouldn't be able to handle it if something happened to Mars or Cas but they couldn't spend the rest of their lives walking aimlessly through the forest.

Peter turned his head to look at her.

"You alright?" she asked.

He gave a small nod and continued walking.

"Are we getting closer?"

Peter stopped and scanned the forest, taking in all the landmarks, "It should only be a couple more days," he told her.

"Should be?" she questioned not liking the uncertainty of his response.

"Give or take a day," he reponed.

"Are you sure? Because it doesn't seem like you're paying attention to where we are going."

"I know where I am, Pepa."

Panic shot through her and she quickly corrected him, "Venus, my name Venus, Peter."

A confused looked grew on his face, "What did I say?"

"You called me Pepa."

Surprise replaced confusion then melted into grief, "Oh."

Peter started walking on in his mindless trance and Venus jerked on his arm to get his full attention, "stop," she demanded.

 "I'm going to hate myself for saying this," she said, "but you gotta snap out if this.  We need you," she gestured toward Cas and Mars. "We can't just keep wandering around these woods until we run out of food and water.  We are counting on you.  I'm truly sorry about Pepa but we have to get to your camp."

Peter looked around at the three Breeders with a pain filled face then his gaze fell back on Venus once more, "I know where we're at.  Pepa wanted the three of you safe within my camp and I'm not going to let her down again.  Don't worry, I will get you there."

Venus gave a nod and Peter continued on.  

Mars and Cas caught up to Venus and Cas looped her arm into Venus's, "It's hit him hard."

Venus watched their guide meander through the trees.  His shoulders were slumped and his head hung low like a wilted summer flower after the first frost.  

"Wouldn't you?" she asked, "I can't imagine the pain he's going through right now."

"Yeah, you can," Cas told her.

Venus gave her a quizzical look.  She didn't understand what Cas could have meant.  She's never had anyone she's cared about die.  She's never watched the light of life fade from them and only leave an empty husk behind.

"Year after year we watch our children be ripped from our bodies and carried off to some place where we never see them again," Cas said.  Her voice was quivering as she spoke.  It was the first time she ever heard Cas called the babies she bore her children.  She always called them derogatory names to try and make the birth more bearable. 

"I don't think it's the same thing," Venus quietly said.

"I don't see how it's any different," she replied.

Venus didn't really see much difference either.  She just assumed it was worse, but she did know the pain of not being able to see the baby she had worked so hard at growing.  The ones she thought about constantly, even after they were gone.  She hoped that they were happy and healthy where they were, but she didn't really know.

When they stopped that night Venus offered to take the first shift and rested against a large oak on top of a hill so that she could see out over the treeline while the others safely rested below.  The night sky was clear of any clouds and the stars shined brightly.  She had never seen such a beautiful sight.  She had learned about the stars in her formative years but had never actually seen them.

Her heart swelled at the beauty and a tear slid down her cheek.

She heard the crunch of footsteps coming up the hill behind her and quickly turned to see who it was.  Peter came into view and Venus quickly wiped the dampness from off her cheek.

"You alright?" he asked.

Venus nodded, "Hormones."

Venus rested her hand on her belly.  With it being her fifth pregnancy and second set of twins it didn't take long for her belly to start swelling.  It wasn't noticeable to the others quite yet but she could feel the small bump on her belly when she touched it.

Peter's eyes drifted to her stomach and concern grew on his face, "We don't have anyone in camp that knows how to deliver a baby.  I don't know how you're going to do it without-" he trailed off without mentioning his sister's name.

"It'll be alright," Venus assured him. "It's not my first birth and Cas can help me."

"Has Cas helped deliver a baby before?"

"No," Venus admitted, "but she's had a few of her own."

Peter sighed and turned his vision to the stars as he leaned back against the tree, "It's beautiful out tonight."

Venus nodded in agreement.

"We'll be at camp tomorrow," he told her.

"Thank you, Peter, for everything,"

Peter gave her a small smile, "I already told you, I wasn't doing this for you."

"Still," she said, "thanks."

The next morning Peter woke the three of them up bright and early.  At first, Venus panicked thinking something was wrong, but when her brain finally registered that Peter was smiling she was able to calm down.  Peter walked a little taller than he had the laster several days and his pace was a little quicker.

The closer the got to the camp the quicker Peter stepped.

Before they knew it they were running after him leaping over fallen logs and darting through the trees.  Peter turned a sharp corner and the other three, hot on his trail, almost ran into him when he turned the same corner.  Peter had come to a full stop in front of a blanket of leaves.

He turned and looked right at Venus before saying, "Welcome to Neverland," as he pulled away a branch to reveal a small camp of tents hidden beneath a thick canopy of trees.

~THE END~

A/N: 

I know this seems like a horrible place to end the book, but remember, there is another part.  So please follow the continuation of the story in the second part. 

I hope to start on the first chapter sometime next week.

Love,

Reading_Mermaid08