AN: Okay so this a little more intense than the fics I'd normally write. A while back I was really into a show called beyond belief, Fact or fiction. I used to watch it just about everyday. The show basicly told a bunch of stories and you had to guess which ones were true and which ones were not. One story that has stuck in my head for a really long time was the one about the girl who was in a coma and told her boyfriend (Using telepathy mind you) not to let her family pull the plung on her. I don't know why but I kept thinking about it and thought about what would happen if Susan was in a coma like that and had to use telepathy to ask her siblings for help. And supposing she could only ask one? Which one would it be? (I decided on Edmund) and would that sibling be believed before it was too late? Also there's a really cute bonding moment between Peter and Lucy in this! I hope you guys like it.
The morning was grey and silent. And in the Pevensie household there was no sound to be heard other than the ticking of the clock and the soft breathing of the four siblings as they sat in the living room.
Peter was sitting on the window seat with his back to the rain drop-stained window itself. Lucy laid on the seat as thought it was a bed her head was on Peter's lap and she snored softly.
Edmund and Susan sat in the middle of the room playing chess. Quite suddenly, Susan broke the silence by saying, "I do not spend to much time with my school friends, Ed."
Edmund's jaw dropped and he turned very white in the face.
"He didn't say you did, Su." Peter crinkled his forehead in confusion.
"Yes he did." Susan insisted. "I was looking over there at the grandfather clock and I heard him say very clearly that I spent too much time with my friends."
"I didn't say that...I thought it...but I didn't say it." Edmund admitted.
Peter let out a nervous chuckle. "Okay, that was odd."
They went back to their game. a half hour later, Edmund frowned at Susan. "I'm not cheating, I'm simply better at the game than you."
"Edmund, she didn't say you were cheating to begin with." Peter said as he tried to shift his right foot that was falling asleep with out disturbing Lucy.
"I thought it." Susan gasped. Was it possible that she and Edmund where communicating telepathically?
"Two for two." Peter laughed. "Must be a full moon tonight. Or else you know each other way too well."
The day went as quietly as it had come to begin with. Neither Edmund nor Susan heard any more of each others thoughts and as the weeks passed, that strange day was all but forgotten.
It was a rainy night and Susan was getting dressed to go out. After she had applied far more than her fair share of lipstick, she opened the bathroom door. She passed by Lucy's room. Lucy was jumping up and down on her bed trying to touch the ceiling with each bounce. Susan shook her head and smiled before heading down the stairs.
She knew full well she wouldn't see her parents downstairs (they were away on a business trip) but She heard a light groan that sounded somewhat like her father come from the kitchen.
There with all his books spread out in front of him, was Peter studying for an upcoming exam. He looked quite tired, and even a bit...old.
"Oh Peter, give it a rest, you can't study forever." Susan told him. "It's Friday. Everyone is out having fun. Even Edmund's gone out for pizza with the rugger team."
"I have to stay home with Lucy anyway, I might as well get some studying done." Peter explained.
"Why don't you take Lucy with you somewhere?" Susan suggested.
Peter raised his eyebrows in surprise. "At eight-thirty at night? Mum and dad would have a fit." He noticed Susan was very dressed up. "Where are you going anyway?"
Susan tugged nervously at the back of her hair. Even though he was her brother he went into 'dad mode' with out warning whenever she did something he didn't approve of. "I'm going to the pool hall with some of my friends from school."
"Oh Su, you really shouldn't." Peter gave her a disappointed glance. "Mum wouldn't like it, it's a rough crowd."
"I'll be fine." Susan assured him. "Look, my friends and I are going to stick together the whole time. I'll be back by eleven."
"Okay, but be safe." Peter said in a weary voice.
"Sure thing, and don't study the whole night...go play game with Lucy or something." Susan suggested cheerfully.
"I'll read her a story before bed." Peter promised.
And with a quick wave, Susan was out the door. Peter took a deep breath. He couldn't study now. He didn't like the idea of his little sister at the pool hall even with her friends. He'd met her friends. None of them were really trustworthy. Then he had an idea. He went for the phone and called "Tony's Pizza"
"Tony, This is Peter Pevensie." Peter said into the phone. "Is my brother there?"
"Yeah, I'll get him." Tony said. "Edmund Pevensie, you've got a caller."
Edmund got up from the booth and took the phone. "Yeah?"
"Edmund, It's Peter, on the way home, could you please swing by the pool hall to check on Su?"
"Sure thing." Edmund told him.
"Okay but don't tell her I sent you." Peter reminded him.
"I wont." Edmund assured him.
"Okay, bye."
"Yup, bye." Edmund hung up the phone.
Then Peter glanced at the clock. Time for Lucy to go to bed. He walked up stairs. Lucy was still jumping up and down on her bed.
"Bed time Lu." Peter told her.
"I'm not sleepy." Lucy yawned.
"I think you are," Peter smiled at her and pulled a picture book off of her book shelf. "Now into bed you go."
"Oh all right." Lucy said yawning again. "Maybe I'm a little tired."
"That's what I thought." he laughed.
"Will you tuck me in? Mum always does." Lucy pleaded.
What a sweet little girl his sister was. She'd been so grown up in Narnia that he'd almost forgotten what she was like as a child. "Sure thing, sweetie."
Then he proceeded to read the storybook aloud doing different voices for the different characters. Mermaids had fishy voices that made his throat hurt. Wolves howled after ever sentence, and witches always crackled.
"Why does the witch crackle?" Lucy asked.
"That's what witches do." Peter told her.
"The white witch didn't crackle." Lucy pointed out. "All she did was steal Edmund,"
"Okay, I think it's time for lights out." Peter laughed. "You're getting way too tired."
"Am not." Lucy yawned as she snuggled down into her pillows.
"Goodnight, Lu." Peter said as he turned off the light.
"Goodnight Peter." Lucy yawned as she feel asleep.
Peter gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before he left the room. Then it was back downstairs to study more. The lines in the text books blurred. He found that his eyes kept shutting on him. Next thing he knew it was over an hour later and there was a spot of drool on his homework. What time was it? Almost Ten thirty.
The door swung open and Edmund stood there his face white as a sheet paper.
"Ed? What's wrong?" Peter stood up and walked over to the doorway with a concerned look on his face. "Wasn't she at the pool hall?"
"She wasn't there." Edmund said distantly.
"Well of all the cheek..." Peter couldn't believe she'd lied to him.
"I think she's really frightened." Edmund mumbled.
"How do you mean?"
"I know this sounds really weird but..." Edmund tried before his voice gave way.
"What is it?" Peter asked.
"When I was leaving the pizza shop with the team I heard Susan's scream." Edmund explained. "It was very loud and clear."
"She was outside the pizza shop?" Peter asked. This story was getting hard to follow.
"No..." Edmund tired to explain. "she wasn't there...I looked...but I swear I heard her scream."
Peter shook his head. "It must have been someone else."
"Peter, I'm tell you it was her." Edmund insisted. "Something horrible's happened. I don't know where she is, but she wants help. We have go find her."
"Look if she's not back by eleven like she said I'll phone Mum and dad." Peter tried to remain calm.
"But..." Edmund tried.
"Let's not panic with out reason."
"but..." He tired again.
"No buts, Ed." Peter said sternly.
Eleven rolled around and Peter phoned their parents. "No answer."
Edmund stood up from the kitchen chair he'd been sitting in. "I'm going to and look for her."
"No you're not, it's too late at night for you to be out."
"What do we do?" Edmund asked.
"We wait by the phone." Peter answered.
They sat by the phone for hours and hours with no word from Susan. They became more and more worried. Peter started to wonder if he should call the police. Finally at 2:30 AM the phone rang. Peter snatched it up eagerly. "Hello?"
Edmund gripped the end of the table, tighter and tighter until he thought his knuckles would pop open and bleed.
"Yes, I'm her brother." Peter said to whomever was on the other end of the phone.
Something bad did happen. Edmund thought to himself. If I'd gone looking for her maybe whatever it was could've been stopped.
"What?" Peter gasped into the phone. His whole face dropped and seemed to crumble under the weight of suppressed tears. "Yes, I'll be right there."
"Well?" Edmund asked.
"She's in the hospital, Ed." Peter said weakly.
"What happened? Is she okay? Can we go see her?" Edmund asked question after question but the look on Peter's face didn't change.
"She was in an automobile accident." He said getting paler by the second.
"Is she okay?" Edmund repeated although he could tell from his brother's expression that she was not.
"She was left in the automobile for hours, her stupid friends...they saw she was hurt, panicked, and...they just...left her there..." Peter now looked angry as well as worried. "Thankfully, a someone came by, saw that there was someone in the car and called for help."
"Let's go see her." Edmund said, heading for the door.
"No, you have to stay here with Lucy." Peter told him. "I have to go down there and straighten things out. I have to get in touch with our parents...if Lucy wakes up give her some warm milk and send her right back to bed okay? Don't say a word about Susan to her."
"Okay." Edmund said.
Then Peter grabbed his coat and ran out the door. Suddenly, Edmund thought he heard the faint sound of a girl's voice calling his name. He looked at the stairs expecting to see Lucy but she wasn't there. The voice was very faint. It sounded weak.
It sounded just like, "Susan?" Edmund said aloud looking around the room. Maybe it was all a mistake, maybe she was just late getting home...maybe she'd come through the back door. Edmund got up and checked all the doors. She wasn't at any of them.
Hours later, Peter returned. He didn't say a word to Edmund. He simply walked over to mum's rocking chair and collapsed into it. Then he buried his face in his hands and didn't move them for a long time.
When he did move them, he looked sadly over at his brother and said, "She's in a coma."
"You saw her?"
"Yes, she's in really bad shape." Peter's voice was faint, almost a whisper. A few tears ran down his cheeks. "The doctors think she might..." He couldn't handle this. He buried his face back into his hands.
He didn't need to finish that sentence. Edmund knew. He could tell what his brother was trying to say. She might die. He felt numb all over. Every part of his body felt colder than ice but he didn't shiver. He just stood where he was as though he was made of stone.
"When, Lucy wakes up, we'll all go see her." Peter told him.
"Do our parents know?" Edmund asked.
"Yes." Peter said. "They're going to meet us there."
Months passed. Susan didn't seem to be getting any better. She just laid their in the hospital bed barely even breathing. Her family visited her every day. Edmund rarely left her side.
Despite the doctors warnings, Edmund thought she was going to be okay. He would stand by her bed and talk to her as though she actually was awake and listening. Everyone said she couldn't hear him. But he felt quite certain that she could. He told her about everything. Rugger, school, friends, their siblings, jokes, stories, how much he missed her, everything.
Finally one day, the head doctor said in a very grave voice, "There doesn't seem to be much hope of her ever waking up. If she was going to, she would've at least flinched by now. But there's been no movement what so ever." The doctor shook his bald head and lowered his voice. "I think, Mr. and Mrs. Pevensie, that you should take her off life support. I'm sorry. It's just going to wipe out your pockets and there's no hope."
"There is hope!" Edmund insisted. "Please don't...she's still alive..."
"Mum, you can't!" Peter agreed with Edmund. "Really you mustn't."
"Dad..." Lucy tried her big childish eyes lined with tears. "you wont let them kill Su...you wont...right?"
Their father took a deep breath before telling the family of his decision. "We're going to give her two more weeks." He said. "An if there is no change by then..."
"What?" Edmund cried. "No! She might need more time!"
"Do you really think it's what we ought to do?" Peter asked their father.
"Of course it's not!" Edmund snapped.
"Edmund, if you can't keep calm, we are going to have you leave the room." Mrs. Pevensie said.
And so the first week started. Edmund sat by Susan's bed even more so now. If she made the slightest movement, he could tell their family and save her. But nothing happened.
Finally Edmund heard a voice calling him. "Edmund? Ed? Can you hear me?"
Susan! He looked at her. Her lips weren't moving but it was her voice. "It's me Ed. I've been trying to call you but I was too weak I guess."
"Susan?" Edmund asked in disbelief.
"Yes...Listen, you can't let them do what they plan to do...I over heard them."
"I know!" Edmund cried. "It's so cruel of them!"
"Ed, I'm okay. Really. I can move." Susan's voice said.
Edmund smiled. She could move! She was saved! Edmund raced out the room and into the lobby where his parents and siblings were. "Mum! Dad! Susan's okay! She can move!"
"She moved?" his mother cried happily.
"Well no..." Edmund confessed. "But she told me she could."
"She spoke?" Peter and his father said at the same time.
Edmund shook his head. "No, not like that...I know it's crazy...but she spoke to me telepathically! I know it was her!"
"I believe you!" Lucy told him. Then she gave him a tight hug.
"It's sweet that you care so much about your sister." his father told him. "But that doesn't excuse making up stories. You're only making it harder for all of us."
"Well Peter believes me!" Edmund said. "Don't you?"
Peter hung his head.
"Don't you?"
Peter turned red and didn't answer. "I'm going to get a soda." he said.
Edmund stamped his foot, cursed under his breath, and went back into the room ignoring his mother's calls of, "Did you just say..."
Why didn't anyone believe him other than Lucy? This could save her. They weren't listening.
Its all my fault. Edmund thought to himself. If I'd told less lies growing up they'd believe me now. Oh, Susan, I'm so sorry
He didn't get any more word from Susan until the two weeks were up and they were about to pull the plug.
Lucy was squeezing Peter's hand, tears streaming down her face, feeling rather like a murderer. She believed Edmund with her whole heart. And felt that her family was killing her sister.
"Don't!" Edmund was pleading. "She needs more time!"
His parents only wiped the tears from their eyes and didn't listen to their son.
Suddenly, he heard Susan's voice. "Edmund...help me..."
He wanted to help her but how? They wouldn't listen.
"My hand, Edmund. Look at my hand!" Her voice trembled a little.
"Her hand!" Edmund cried out. "Look at her hand!"
"Ed, Please don't make this any harder..." Peter begged.
Lucy looked. Susan's hand moved up and she wiggled her fingers. "He's right! Mum, Dad, Peter! Her hand's moving!"
Mr. Pevensie signaled for the life support not to be unplugged.
Peter hugged Lucy tightly. Both had tears of joy in their eyes.
Edmund smiled. he heard her voice again.
"Thank you. You saved my life."
"You're welcome, Su." Edmund whispered in a choked up voice.
AN: so whatja think? I'm just dying to know! Please review!