I wake up covered in cold sweat. I think someone has poured water over me to put out the fire at first. Then I see all the island's inhabitants huddled around me and everything comes back into focus. My body is stiff like I've been asleep forever.

"Can you hear me?"

I try to sit up but Aaron stops me, brushing my hair out of my face.

"Take it easy, darling."

The scenery has changed. I'm in my bedroom with my head propped up on a pillow. Aaron is sitting at my side and I notice Jimmy's blue eyes are cloudy with tears as Luka rests a hand on his shoulder. I look for Charlie and find him staring at me intently from the doorway.

"How long was I out for?"

Aaron's frown deepens. I don't like the expression on him. "About an hour. They came in when they heard you stirring."

The intensity of this spell was far worse than any other I have experienced. I wouldn't have been shocked if I opened my eyes and saw Heaven. My biggest concern is that this pain isn't supposed to be felt weeks after an injection. Whatever they put in me last had to be particularly poisonous and I don't know what that means for me.

Jimmy's lips tremble. "Is she okay?"

"I'm fine." I try to ooze as much confidence into the answer but Jimmy doesn't seem convinced. It looms over me that not too long ago we were in the same position with José - gathered around his bed anxious about his health.

"We should give her some space," Willow says, ushering the boy towards the door. She takes the rest of them with her and they flash uncertain expressions as they go.

Charlie lingers at the door, drumming a beat with his fingers on the frame. I lock eyes with him and wait for him to say something. He doesn't. I almost ask him to stay. I don't.

Aaron stays.

He doesn't move from his seated position on my bed. I sit up, crossing my arms against my stomach. It seems wrong to go from flat out ignoring each other to being in such a vulnerable position like this.

"Willow said you seemed fine before you fainted," he says, his tone soft as a feather. "Did you feel sick?"

I fiddle with the loose strings of my bedding.

"It was the injections from Dr.Nakpuna. I get side effects from them that usually go away after a while but this time . . ."

Aaron leans in, appearing almost as disturbed as he did when I said I wanted to go back on the ship in his place.

"When you went to go get Charlie, I passed out from the pain and didn't wake up until you got back. That's why I was at the docks. I never made it back to the castle."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He furrows his eyebrows. The action makes creases between his brows that age his youthful skin. "Something might be seriously wrong with you."

"Something is seriously wrong."

Charlie was acting desperate to fix things a few days ago. He was acting so guilty for all the damage that was done to me that I have to wonder if he saw something else when he looked at the facilities files, something he didn't tell me.

"It's okay," Aaron says, running his fingers through his hair. "We'll fix it. You're going back soon and the researchers can check it out or better yet a doctor."

There's something in his words that softens me. It's in his nature to save others, to make sure they are cared for and maybe that's his biggest reason for being so adamant that he be the one to go back. Even now, I can see his mind working to figure out how to get me help.

"I shouldn't have given you a hard time about going back," he blurts out after a round of silence. He reaches his hand toward mine but lets it drop midway. "I understand why you need to go back better than anyone else. I'm sorry if I made it more difficult for you."

Part of me thought he would let me leave the island without making an effort to resolve things between us. Considering how high the stakes are, I'm glad he didn't. It seems unwise to hold grudges when we're all in constant danger of being caught and held captive again.

I interlace our fingers together.

"Let's forget about it."

He gives me his stellar smile that knocks me back everytime.

We sit together for a while, taking the time to discuss the things we didn't get to when he was ignoring me.

"So what were you and Charlie laughing about at dinner?"

I shrug and imagine the kick Charlie would get out of hearing this question. He'd go right back to miming airplane crashes.

"Nothing really."

"You two have been spending a lot of time together lately. You aren't replacing me, are you?"

My eyebrows knit together. "You were the one ignoring me."

His smile has yet to fall but mine has vanished. "He's around you a lot."

"He's my friend."

"Just make sure you save some time for me." He winks, which should make the conversation feel lighter but it doesn't. It's like he doesn't even hear himself.

I've saved plenty of time for him. I sat under our tree for hours hoping he'd eventually get over himself and come to see me. I waited for him to realize that I needed someone to assure me that I'll get out of that ship again - that I won't ruin this whole operation for everyone. All those nights that passed where I was too anxious to sleep, he wasn't there because he was too busy punishing me for making the hardest decision of my life.

"I was thinking about telling the others about my flying abilities."

The announcement yanks me out of my thoughts so violently that I have to take a second to process it.

"You're going to tell them?"

"It's a big secret to keep to myself. Especially with you temporarily leaving."

I bring my legs to my chest, excitement fluttering my heart. I can push aside my frustration from his previous comments for now. "How are you going to do it?"

"I have the coolest plan to surprise them all! When you feel better you can help me with it."

I wonder if he takes into consideration that his ability has heavy connotations and will bring up a lot of dirt for the boys. He seems like he's managed to cope with that but there's no certainty that the boys have. He should keep that in mind for his big reveal.

"Anywho," Aaron says, rubbing his thumb against my hand. "I should leave you to rest. Shout if you need anything."

He kisses my forehead and leaves. The door echoes shut behind him. The silence that follows swallows me whole. Everything he blurted out in the last few minutes feels like too much. Things flipped upside down so quickly.

The pain that had gotten hold of me is fresh in my memory and an overwhelming sense of anticipation claws at my throat. I hate knowing it can come for me again and I hate not knowing if it will eventually kill me.

My days on Neverland are numbered.

I am betrothed to the behemoth of a ship, destined to march down the aisle of slimy planks that descend into a prison stitched together by unfeeling hands. It's a place run by people who can hold a little girl like Tina captive and not have an ounce of remorse or pity. They'll stick more injections in me. They don't care how much it hurts.

I can feel their hands are on me. They're dragging me through the split in the cargo crates, tossing me down the steps and letting me roll into a prison cell as the doctors wipe down their tools.

I won't see the sun. I won't see the stars.

I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

My bed flies back.

It had been awkwardly placed at the room's center and it remained there because I wasn't strong enough to move it. Now my back is against the wall. The poles leading up to the canopy shake from the after shock.

I'm frozen as I wait for more shaking. This could be an earthquake.

Then, from the corner of my vision, I see the lounge chair. I crawl to the foot of my bed, trembling at what I think I see.

The lounge chair is floating. Hovering. Levitating. Flying in the air. It nearly touches the ceiling.

I stand with weak knees.

The lounge chair flying.

Aaron. It has to be Aaron. His abilities are evolving and he accidentally did something to the furniture in my room.

I hear a squeak. A mouse runs across my toes and I scream. Then, to my horror, the mouse starts floating. It heads toward the ceiling at an alarming speed and I'm scared the poor thing is going to be squished.

I extend my hand. It stops floating and becomes suspended in the air. As I lower my hand, it follows. The mouse is carefully placed onto the ground and it resumes scurrying to the door.

Goosebumps run up and down my arms. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end.

There's only one possible explanation for all this.

I can make things fly.