Thank you to my reviewers! Y'all are awesome! Here's the next chapter, Susan is finally reunited with Caspian! Enjoy & review if you are so inclined. I'd love to hear from you!

Chapter 2

The door to the king's private chambers creaked open, and Doctor Cornelius led Susan toward the large four poster bed and it's occupant who looked far too small in comparison. "Caspian, my son," he said, gently rousing the king from a fitful slumber, "there is someone here who wishes to see you."
Praying she appeared braver than she felt, Susan approached where her beloved Caspian lay. Even in the dim lighting of the room, she could tell he had changed much since she last saw him. Caspian was now 72 years of age. His hair and beard were white with streaks of grey. His handsome face was lined with wrinkles earned from many wise years spent as king. His once strong body was frail, and his breathing labored. But when he looked into her eyes, she saw the young prince she had once known gazing back at her. Love, every bit as strong and overpowering as it once was, washed over her, her body aching to be near him again. "Caspian," she whispered, perching on the edge of his bed and taking his hand in hers.

"Susan, my beloved," he smiled, the tension leaving his body as he sighed in relief. "I knew you'd return to me someday."

"I'm only sorry it took me so long," she murmured, placing a kiss on the back of his hand.

"The horn..." he managed to say, before a deep cough overtook him.

Susan frowned. "What about my horn, my love?"

Catching his breath, he turned to her with a smile. His eyes sparkled, just as they had when he was younger. "It worked. You came back to me."

She nodded. Just a few weeks ago, she could have sworn she heard something, but no one else had seemed to notice, so she thought it best not to mention it. Peter was right, she should have trusted Aslan. Caspian had been calling her home. Desperately trying to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks, she promised, "And I'll never leave you again. I love you, Caspian."

Caspian closed his eyes and smiled, a single tear falling onto the pillow that cradled his head. "Now, I can die a happy man."

Susan's heart lurched, and panic seized her. She squeezed his hand desperately. "No, Caspian please," she begged, her voice breaking as her facade of calm and control shattered. "I can't lose you again! Not when I've just got you back."

"Don't cry for me, Beloved," he said, ever so slowly reaching up to brush a tear away and tuck a soft curl behind her ear. "I've lived a long life. I've seen all there is to see. I've been given more than any man could ask for. But all I've ever wanted is you."

"Then don't leave me. Please, my beloved, stay with me," she begged him, choking back a sob. Caspian could not stand to see her cry. He gently tugged on her hand, and she more than willingly laid down with him, curling into his side and resting her head on his chest. His arms wrapped around her, and for the first time in many years, he felt whole. The ache that had so long threatened to crush him beneath it's weight was finally lifted. He sighed again and placed a kiss to her hair.

"What Aslan wills I cannot change. I learned that lesson many years ago," he whispered, stroking her dark locks soothingly. "But I will stay with you, Beloved, as long as I can."

Looking up at him, she placed her palm against his whiskered cheek. His eyes too, were wet with tears. He looked so much like the young king she'd left behind that terrible day she went back to England with her siblings. She'd thought that had been their last kiss. She gave him a small smile. Far from it. Ever so gently, she pressed her lips to his. Her body rejoiced at the familiar, yet long denied sensation. Oh how she loved him! How she'd missed him! Peter never got a second chance with Annalise, but here was hers. However much more time she had with Caspian, Susan was determined not to waste a minute of it. Once they broke apart, she snuggled back down against his chest, ensuring they were both warm beneath the thick Narnian bed clothes. His breathing was slightly less labored now that Susan was beside him, and she lay her hand over his heart, rejoicing with every strong beat that kept her beloved Caspian with her just a moment longer. As she was drifting off to her first peaceful sleep in years, she heard him whisper, "I love you, my Susan."

The next morning when Susan awoke, the sun was streaming through the window, peaking through the thick curtains. For a brief, terrifying moment, she was sure last night had been another dream, and she was back in her own bed in Finchley, her wedding to James drawing ever closer. But Caspian's light snore reminded her that she had indeed returned to Narnia, and to him. She looked down at her beloved king, still sleeping soundly. Though his hair was white and his body weak, she still found him handsome. Truthfully, he looked much the same as she remembered. The young king she had left behind was there, in the strong jaw, the chiseled cheek bones, the broad shoulders, and the dark eyes that had haunted her dreams since the day she'd left Narnia. She nearly began crying again when she thought of all the lonely years he'd spent waiting for her return. The five she had endured suddenly seemed terribly insignificant. If only she never would have left. If only they could have gotten married, had children to rule Narnia after they had grown old together, and died in each other's arms, happy with the life they'd lived. Bitter tears burned her eyes, longing for what could have been, unable to imagine how Peter had been able to endure such thoughts all these years. She carefully left the bed chamber and entered Caspian's personal library so as not to wake him. There she found Doctor Cornelius.

"Oh, I am sorry."

"There is no need for an apology, my queen," he said, standing upon her entrance. Susan blushed. She was no longer used to being treated in such a way. Her old friend noticed her tears. "But what is troubling you? Has Caspian..."

"No, he's alright. He is asleep and I did not wish to wake him," she assured him, knowing the old doctor loved Caspian as he would his own son. "Could you tell me about him? About the man he's become? I feel as though I've missed so much."

Doctor Cornelius sighed heavily, motioning for her to sit beside him. "Your departure was not easy for him to bear, your majesty. Even then, all those years ago, I feared for him. May he forgive me for telling you this, but he locked himself in his chambers for weeks, not speaking to anyone. He scarcely ate or slept. I was the only one he allowed near him. Often I would find him sobbing and completely inconsolable, or in a rage, tearing apart anything and everything in his path with his bare hands, as I had all weapons removed from his keeping. But, one day, just over a month after you'd been gone, he emerged. There was something different about him though. The light had gone out of his eyes. Although he presented himself to Narnia as the model king, which he was in every way, he was suffering. His heart went with you, Queen Susan. He was alive, but not truly living. Last night though, I saw something in him heal that has long been broken. It is good you have returned, my queen."

"Thank you," Susan smiled her gentle smile. "It's good to be back. It's good to be home. I only wish I could have returned sooner. If I could have spared Caspian such pain..."

"What's done cannot be undone, my queen," he told her. "But I know, for he told me time and time again throughout these many years, he never regretted a moment he had with you. To know love, for however brief a time, is better than never having loved at all."

Before Susan could respond, they heard Caspian calling for her. Immediately, she went to his side, only to find him propped up on his elbow in their bed, coughing into his fist. "Caspian," she soothed, "it's alright, love. I'm here."

Catching his breath, those dark eyes turned to her. "Susan..."

"Yes," she whispered, helping him lie back and gently running her fingers through his silver locks. "It's me. I'm here."

"When I awoke to find you gone," he said breathlessly, "I was so afraid last night had been just another dream."

Susan leaned down and softly pressed her lips to his. "No, Beloved. I'm here, and I'll never leave you again."

Caspian sighed with a small smile. He cradled her hand in his, tracing circles on her porcelain skin with his thumb. "In that case, my queen, what would you like to do today?"

"Do? Don't you think you should rest?"

A rueful smile he had not worn since his youth danced across his features. "I've been in this bed for months, Susan. I've had enough rest. I'm not about to waste a moment I have with you."

"Caspian, we have all the time in the world..."

"I thought so too once, and I lost you for more than fifty years," he reminded her. She fell silent, dropping her gaze to their entwined hands. He tilted her chin up so he could see those beautiful blue eyes. "How does a walk through the gardens sound?"

Susan smiled. "Lovely."