Billy Jukes sat up, terrified, in his hammock. The thunder was rolling ahead ferociously, like a monster about to swallow him. He was used to storms at sea, but there had never been such a fierce storm before in all of Neverland.

All around him, the men slept uneasily, but none showed as much fear as he did. He couldn't even close his eyes. A gust of wind blew cold spray down the ladder and it stung like needles of ice against Billy's skin. The boy shuddered and wrapped his blanket closer around his body, wishing he was anywhere else now but on a tossing ship in the raging sea.

"Gall and brimstone!" roared a very familiar voice. Hook was up and about as well, Billy realized. But not for the same reasons as he was. Hook wasn't afraid of anything; as brave he expected the rest of his men to act.

"All hands on deck! Wake up, you lily-livered scugs!" The door to the pirate's quarters swung open to let in a drenched and dripping Hook. He looked furious. And when Hook got furious, there was usually either his cat'o'nine tails or his hook to deal with. Jukes wanted to tangle with neither one of those things. He swung his legs over the side of the hammock and dropped gracefully to the floor.

At that moment, the ship groaned and turned nearly sideways toward the starboard side. Jukes and Hook both yelled in surprise. Hook grabbed onto the ladder, but poor Billy had nothing to hold on to. He was sent crashing into Mullins' bunk. The man woke up with a fierce shout as he tried to untangle himself from Juke's small, clinging body.

The ship turned upright and Mullins, disgruntled and displeased at having been awakened, managed to dump Billy on the hardwood floor of the ship. "What're you at, Billy boy? Tryin ta scare the daylights outta me? I thought you were a cold ghost or somethin set after to drag me to the deep, the way you were clingin on me!"

"I'm sorry, Mullins. 'Twas the ship's rocking that sent me flyin into you."

"Belay that!" roared Hook. "All hands on deck before she capsizes and takes on more water!"

The men all opened their eyes, wakened by both the thunder and Hook's commanding voice. Jukes and Mullins were the first on deck and they scrambled to lower the storm-anchors. Mullins looked to the portside and saw - in the slim second of a lightning flash, an approaching monster wave. "Jukes! Hold on to something!" Mullins yelled, grabbing ahold of the mast.

Jukes made a dash for the strapped in cannon, but never made it. The wave tore across the deck, sweeping Jukes along in its path. Mullins cried out for his younger shipmate and reached out a hand as Billy was torn past him. Their hands reached out but could not meet. Billy screamed in pain as he was slammed against the starboard. A piece of jagged wood scraped across his back as the wave dragged him over the side and into the depths below.

His small body hit the sea with a cold shock and he struggled to swim to the surface. Don't panic, don't panic, he told himself, frantically. To panic would lead him to take in seawater, either by screaming or by trying to breathe. He had to stay conscious . . . just had to or else he didn't have a chance.

Jukes was determined not to lose his head, but he was scared. A wave slapped him in the face and he choked, spitting out seawater. Shore had to be somewhere . . . he'd swim until he found it . . . or until the Crocodile . . .

Billy's heart constricted so suddenly that he was nearly paralyzed from fear. The Crocodile . . . where was she? Hopefully, not out in this storm, or he was doomed for death. No, he couldn't think about her . . . Jukes heard another roar and saw a giant wave above him, ready to crash down.

"Ohhh . . ." he whimpered, then took a deep breath and dove under it. He dove as deep as he could in order to get out of it's path, but the current caught him and dragged him along. Everything went topsy turvy as Jukes was spun around like a top in the wave's rip tide. His lungs were screaming for air and he was beginning to black out. He couldn't . . . not if he ever wanted to see sunlight again . . .

Jukes managed to break through the surface and took a deep breath as the wave still dragged him along. Sharp pain suddenly penetrated his body and no matter how he struggled, he could not see or get away from it. The wave was traveling at super-speed, and later, Jukes realized, dragging him across coral reefs that tore and ravaged his skin.

He was dragged underwater again and this time he did black out - but only temporarily. He was rudely awakened when the wave, as if it were a child tossing away a broken toy, slammed him on the sand of the shore. The impact sent water spurting out of his lungs and mouth and he layed there, bleeding and coughing for a good while.

Billy tried to move and found that he was too exhausted. He buried his face, in the sand then coughed and spat as the next wave swilled around him sliding him forward. Billy couldn't stand the pain any longer and he was afraid that the waves would either smash him to death or drag him back into the ocean.

Little by little, he inched away from the water until he could almost touch the grass beyond the first tree. His legs were numb from the cold and hopefully not because they were broken. He was sore and exhausted beyond belief, but he kept dragging himself along the sandy beach toward safety.

Finally, he reached the forest floor, sobbing with mixed pain and relief as his hands came into contact with dry leaves and dirt. A tree loomed in front of him, its trunk hollowed out. Jukes felt splatters of rain land on his body as he crawled into the opening. As soon as he was inside, the drops started pelting down like bullets.

Jukes curled on his side and closed his eyes, cushioning his head on his left arm. His whole body was stiff and sore and he knew it would be much, much worse in the morning. The last thought on his mind before he fell into sleep was of his shipmates on the Jolly Roger. Were they allright? Was the Jolly Roger capsized? Wrecked and stranded on sharp rocks? Billy hoped not. The ship was his home and his friends were the closest thing to family he'd ever known. Even Hook, fearsome as he was, was family. Jukes also wondered if Hook would look for him after the storm had blown over.

His body twisted and turned with dreams that night and ever so often, when the thunder was so fierce that it threatened to wake him, he whimpered and called out for someone.

But he stayed dry and warm through the night and when daylight found him, he was peacefully asleep.

"Hey! I found something," shouted Nibs. Peter and the other Lost Boys flew to where Nibs stood on the beach. They were all searching for treasures that the horrid storm might have brough out from the depths of the sea.

Nibs had found no gleaming doubloon or jeweled goblet, instead he'd found a certain bandanna that all the Lost Boys recognized.

"I say, isn't that Billy Jukes'?" aked John.

"It most certainly is, I recognize that anywhere!" Peter replied.

"Peter, look!" Nibs pointed to some spots of dried blood nearby where he had found the bandana. It was a trail that led into the forest.

Peter and the others flew into the forest and noticed another trail - one of flattened grass- that ended in front of a large dead Neverbeech tree. Peter motioned for the others to keep back and drew his dagger, approaching the tree cautiously.

He peered inside and discovered Jukes, still deep in exhausted sleep and looking rather worse for wear.

Peter whirled around, dagger raised, searching the treetops and the bushes with his blue eyes never holding still. No, it wasn't a trap and yes, Billy was alone here. Peter nudged Jukes with his foot until the young pirate opened his eyes.

"What happened to you?" Peter asked as Billy moaned and tried to sit up.

"Wave . . . killer wave knocked me over the starboard . . . tried to swim and I . . . hurts," Billy whimpered, clutching his ribs which still ached and throbbed.

"Well of course, silly, you should never try to swim in such a bad storm."

"It was either swim or drown. The waves pulled me under and dragged me through the reefs. Look at my legs."

Peter gingerly reached out a hand and pulled back some of the ripped leggings to see that the young pirates legs were red, covered in swelling cuts and crusted with dry blood.

"Wow, that looks slightly infected," said Slightly, in concern. Jukes paled.

"Oh please, don't say that, please! Hook'll have my legs cut off!"

Peter began to laugh, then saw that Jukes was really afraid. "Hook won't cut your legs off. Maybe the Chief can help. Here, let me give you a hand up."

"I . . . am I your prisoner?" asked Jukes warily.

"If you give us reason to make you our prisoner, you will be. But since your wounded, there's really no sense in it because you wouldn't be able to fight or try to escape and that just wouldn't be fair play. Am I right boys?"

"I think you ought to tie him up," worried Tinkerbell, who had just arrived to see what all the commotion was about. At these words, Jukes moved away from Peter's offered hand.

"No, Tink," said Tootles. "He's hurt. Let's give him a chance."

Encouraged now, Jukes reached out for Peter's hand and Pan helped him to his feet.

"Can you walk?"

"I think so."

"This is a bad idea, Peter. He's a pirate!" fretted Tinkerbell.

"All I want is to go back and make sure my shipmates are alright. I want no quarrel with you."

"Until next time, when you're well and then you'll try to make us into shish kebobs!" scolded Tink, two inches from Billy's face.

"I . . . I . . . I have to fight you! Do you know what happens to anyone who befriends the Lost Boys? First they get hung -"

"Jukes, I have a slightly better idea," Slightly said, putting his arm around the pirate's shoulder.

"What's that?" Jukes asked, raising an eyebrow. He tried his best not to lean his full weight on Slightly despite the fact that Slightly's arm was pretty much the only thing keeping him standing.

"You could join us!" offered Nibs before Slightly had a chance to speak. Slightly glowered at Nibs for stealing his idea.

The other Lost Boys continued in a chorus. "Yeah, don't go back! Stay!"

"But you've already got inventors. What use could I be?"

"Use?" Peter was shocked. "Is that all you think we care about? You don't have to be useful to be a friend, Jukes."

"Really?"

"And, we could use help," started one of the Twins.

"With our invention designs," finished the other.

"It sounds allright . . . but what about Wendy? I don't think she likes me very much, well, since I'm a pirate and all that."

"Wendy!" squawked Tinkerbell. "Wendy's a pushover! She'd trust a two-headed ogre if the occasion ever arised that we'd meet one! It's me you're going to have to worry about, Billy Jukes! Just you try any funny business with me!" she yelled at Jukes, then abruptly vanished.

Jukes blinked in surprise. Slightly patted him on the back. "Don't worry, she does that to slightly everybody. You'll get slightly used to it."

"I . . . I haven't even given you my answer yet," Jukes stammered.

But Peter had already risen off the ground and floated ahead. "Come on, boys! Let's get Jukes to Chief Panther."

Slightly and Curly supported Jukes as they rose into the air. Jukes was immediately overcome by dizziness as they began to fly toward the Indian village. As the boys flew over a treetop, the tips of branches brushed against his legs, setting off small fires in his wounds. Billy made a small sound of pain and felt sick as he watched the ground blur past them. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to blot out the nausea and exhaustion that had returned to claim him.

"Hang in there, Jukes," Slightly comforted him. "We're slightly far from the village, but we'll get there in no time."

Jukes would've acknowledged him if he hadn't fainted.

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