Never Never

"Never Never" is a short story by Bruce Glassco, written in 2004. It was published in The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm (2004), an anthology of shorts about fairies. It features 19 other pieces by authors such as Neil Gaiman, Gregory Maguire, Patricia A. McKillip, Charles de Lint, Holly Black, Kelly Link, and Tanith Lee. It features a cover and decorations by fantasy illustrator Charles Vess. Edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, it was a finalist for the 2005 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. Never Never focuses on Captain Hook as its central character, exploring his role in Neverland.

Peter Pan does not appear in the story, being away from Neverland at the time, but he is of course frequently mentioned. Although Hook remains the "villain" in this story, he is its protagonist, and even a sympathetic one. The story begins with the fairy-executed revival of Hook (and his familiar crew) from fatal defeat by Peter, which has happened innumerable times before, in preparation for them to fight Peter and fall to him... again. The pirates are just one of the various factions that Peter keeps around for his amusement, and the entire crew suffers from the existential angst of their predicament, but the educated Hook is troubled most of all. He is aware that time continues to pass in the outside world, and is taken aback by the changing attitude – and vocabulary – of the current Lost Boys (and Girls), in what appears to be the present day. He seeks advice from Tiger Lily, who has grown up but remains merely middle-aged; she and Hook have apparently developed a kind of friendship based on their shared entrapment in Neverland. He stumbles into one of the Lost Boys' traps, where Tinkerbell takes pity on him. She explains to him that Neverland is the place where Lost Childhood is kept safe, and he comes to accept his fate, even using the one wish Tinkerbell grants, not for escape (as he had previously schemed), but simply to put Noodler's hands back on the right way when they are next revived. He returns to his crew, ready to give Peter Pan another adventure.