After Edmund's unpleasant discovery about his torch, Peter's hearty commiserating punch, and the resulting laughter from the girls, all four of them slumped down in the most comfortable positions that one small bench and their assorted baggage provided.
"I'm very tired, Peter. Were you this tired when we came back last time?" Susan asked, putting an arm about Lucy.
Peter turned his head from the box on which he was lying. "Not as tired because I wasn't fighting before then, just riding and hunting. Lot less work, I must say."
"Oh, is your wrist still hurting?" Lucy looked up from Susan's shoulder where she was leaning. "I forgot all about it when I had my cordial out—mph!"
Edmund clapped his hand over her mouth and began to tussle about with her as the stationmaster poked his head out the door.
"Lassies, lads, the lassies' train is comin' in late, aboot thirty minutes. Just so ye know, like," he said, a cheery smile twinkling all about his round red face.
"Thank you sir. Edmund, would you stop?" Peter asked, rolling his eyes as Lucy squeaked and retreated to Susan's bench minus her shoes.
"Ah, young'uns will be young'uns," the stationmaster chuckled as he let himself back inside.
"Really, Edmund, was that necessary?" Susan was the only one sitting upright now, ankles crossed primly as she cuddled a yawning little sister.
"Got any other ideas for keeping information to ourselves, Su? I'd love to hear them, if you do." He had reverted back to his drawling schoolboy voice, something he knew she and Peter couldn't stand for any length of time.
"Edmund!"
"Both of you, cut it out. We're all exhausted and drained from our vacation," Peter said pointedly. "I don't want to listen to you snipe for half an hour before boarding a train to take us back to school. I want to nap and I think Lucy wants to as well."
"No...I just want to go back," a very small voice responded from the depths of a sweater.
The three older Pevensies glanced over to see Lucy hunched into a little ball, tucked into Susan's side with a sweater over her face. Then, they exchanged glances among themselves, remembering…
...Peter's pacing up and down in his room in the night after they came back the first time…
...Edmund's screams that same night as Susan found herself sleepwalking down the hall…
...Lucy's torrent of tears as soon as they got to somewhere private…
...and the struggle between the two sets of raw memories as they straggled back to the house from the creek.
Oh, it had all died down by the next day or so, but still...that first day back had really hurt.
Peter squeezed himself onto the bench and pulled Lucy into his lap, with an arm around Susan, who pulled out an old handkerchief and leaned against him. Edmund rummaged about in his bag and pulled out a bar of chocolate.
"Here, you want some?"
"Where did that come from, Ed?" Peter asked.
"Mother's birthday present. I didn't ask."
"You managed to keep it for that long?"
"Yep. 'M not sure how, but it's just as well. Here, Lu, this is for you."
Lucy smiled weakly as she took it, for they all knew this was a big sacrifice for Edmund to share his chocolate. Peter accepted a piece as well. Susan looked dubious but took the sticky morsel.
Edmund shoved the rest in his mouth and licked off his fingers. "Mmmm, that's not half bad," he said approvingly. "That at least we never got this time there."
"No, it's quite good. Only—" Susan floundered to a stop as she bit her lip, consternation spreading over her face.
"Only what, Su? You leave something too?"
"No, I'm not that stupid, Ed. But what are we going to do for today's lunch?"