Disclaimer: I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to C.S. Lewis.
Rating: T
Summary: What do you do when you've lived two lifetimes? What do you do when you fall in love with one life and can never go back? Or so you think...(Book and Moviebased)
"Speech"
/Personal Thoughts/
Nighttime Demons
By Sentimental Star
Chapter Four: Welcome Return
(Seven Hours Later, Edmund's P.O.V)
The sound of curtains being pulled back startles me out of my sleep. I groan and roll over, throwing my arm over my eyes and squinting in the strong sunlight.
"Su, turn off the sun, will you?" I grumble, not looking up at her. "I don't want to go riding today. Honestly, you can take some of the courtiers with you, you know. Or Lu."
There's laughter, but it's not Susan's.
"Edmund Pevensie, flattered as I am that you'd consider me worthy of courtiers, I'm not your sister. Come on," there's a light slap to my leg, "up you get."
I'm startled. Pulling my arm away from my eyes and rolling onto my back, I blink them rapidly to adjust to the sunlight and stop them from watering further.
Mum's standing beside the bed, smiling with her hands on her hips.
Oh. Right. London, not Narnia.
"Morning, Mum," I greet around a yawn.
She's still smiling. Must be joy that the war's over and Dad's coming home. "Good morning, sleepy-heads. And would either of you care to explain why both of you are in the same bed?"
I stare at her, not understanding. What does she mean, both of us? As far as I know I'm the only one here.
There's a low chuckle from my left. Quickly, I roll onto my side and find…
"'Lo, Ed," Peter greets, smiling sleepily and propping himself up on his elbow, face resting on his hand.
I blink and glance down at my shoulder, realizing that his arm's around me. Feeling slightly sheepish, I peek back up at him. "'Lo, Peter."
He starts laughing. Once he's through, he grins at me, "I decided to stay the night." He shrugs and turns serious, voice quiet, as he continues, "You were having nightmares again."
"You didn't have to," I mumble, dropping my eyes from his warm blue ones.
He gives my nose a friendly flick, still grinning. "'Course I did. You know that."
I glance at him again and finally let myself smile, if somewhat shyly. Yes, I did know that—it's how we worked. I watched his back, and he watched my nightmares. He always did. That's just how it was. I can't count the number of times I've woken up to find him sleeping beside me on my bed the next morning.
He hasn't recently, because of going to the university and all, but it's comforting to know that he'll still do it if he feels I need him to.
And I needed him to last night.
Before I can even thank him, however, there is a sudden shriek of joy from Lucy downstairs, "Daddy!"
Immediately, Mum pales and bolts for the door, rushing through it and out into the hallway. We can hear her clatter down the stairs. Then…"Colin!"
Peter and I exchange wide-eyed, white-faced glances before we practically scramble out of the bed and burst into the hall, very nearly tumbling down the stairs when we come to them.
Peter grabs my wrist and fairly drags me down the steps. "Ed, come on!"
He has a huge grin on his face, and I realize it's been quite sometime since I've last seen him this happy. So I let him pull me into the foyer, a smile tugging on my lips.
He abruptly halts in the center of the downstairs hall and I lightly crash into him from behind. "Pete…?" I begin to ask, but trail off when I look over his shoulder.
I stare. Peter's staring, too.
"Dad…?" I breathe.
Dad? Dad!
I feel tears prickling at the back of my eyes.
Because it is. Dad's home—finally home—after the war. He's standing there, just inside the front door which isn't even shut, yet, with Lucy hanging from his neck like she used to when she was little and Mum kissing his face over and over again. He's grinning, even looks like he might start crying.
But he's there. He's alive. He's real. And he's home.
He looks up, sees Peter and I standing there, and then the tears start trickling down his cheeks. "My boys," he whispers, and his voice cracks.
But that's all right, because I'm crying, too. Even without looking, I know Peter's the same.
I grin tremulously. "'Lo, Dad," I return softly, nudging Peter forward.
Dad lets Lu down and she bounds over to us, face flushed more from joy than the fever she's had for the past couple of days. "Oh, Peter, you see, you see!" she cries, throwing her arms around his middle and giving him an exuberant hug. At thirteen she still comes only up to his chest.
He manages a wavering grin and releases her with a shuffle of her hair. "I see, goose."
She looks up at him, eyes dancing, and gives him a kiss on the cheek, before darting over to me and hanging onto my arm. Peter looks over his shoulder at me and raises an eyebrow. I can see the tear tracks on his cheeks.
Well aware of my own, I shake my head at him and grin. Peter ought to greet Dad before I do—he's shouldered all of his responsibilities while he was away and I know how much pressure that sometimes put on him. Furthermore, he's dealt with Su, Lu, and I all at our worst moments and yet, still continued loving us and trying to do what was best for us through it all. He deserves this.
His grin widens, and without further hesitation, he strides over to Dad.
Dad catches him up in a huge bear hug, and my own smile grows when I notice it lifts him almost off his feet. But Peter doesn't appear to care and returns the embrace just as tightly.
I feel Lucy hug my arm more closely to her and I glance down, still wearing a grin.
She's smiling just as brightly up at me. "Isn't it wonderful, Ed?"
"'Course it is, squirt," I answer.
She's too happy to frown like she normally does when I call her that. "I'm telling Peter on you," she retorts, but she's so busy grinning that the threat doesn't hold much weight.
It throws me for a loop. Not "I'm telling Mum" or "I'm telling Dad," but "I'm telling Peter." And as I look back at Peter and Dad, I'm suddenly very aware that there's a distinct difference in what I feel when I look at them.
I'm almost deliriously happy Dad's home and I missed him something awful. But Peter…when I look at him, I feel a rush of warmth and affection, just a sense of home…that I don't feel when I look at Dad.
And that change unsettles me.
Dad's looking at me now, having released Peter, and I'm not about to pass up a hug from him. Not after he's been gone for five years.
Peter ruffles my hair when he rejoins the two of us, and as I gently disengage myself from Lucy's grip, I shoot him a grin.
Out of the corner of my eye I see him swing Lu up onto his back, and as she puts her arms around his neck, my grin widens even more before I turn to face Dad, fully aware of the tears on my own cheeks as well as his.
When I reach him, he grabs me in his arms much as he did Peter and crushes me in a hug. "Eddy," he whispers.
And I'm too busy burying my face in his shoulder and hugging him back as hard as I can to object to the nickname. I don't even mind that he has lifted me clear off the floor. I simply don't care. I'm too happy to have him back, and to have him safe, to mind.
When he finally puts me down, it's several long minutes later. I scrub my tears away and grin at him, before backing up to stand with Peter and Lucy. With his free arm, Peter reaches out and briefly clasps me to his side. We exchange smiles and then he releases me, all three of us turning to look at Dad when he speaks again, voice suspiciously thick, "Well, let me take a look at you all."
Peter grins and lets Lu down, who stands next to him, still flushed and smiling. Dad takes a few steps forward as Mum stands aside and watches, brushing her tears away. When he's standing a meter or so away, he stops and crosses his arms over his chest, carefully looking us over. After a few moments, he shakes his head and smiles. "You've grown," he remarks softly, "but that's to be expected. And grown quite nicely, I might add." He shares a warm look with Mum before turning back and looking over us once again. Then his brow furrows in confusion. "But there's something…different about you, too. I can't quite put a finger on it."
Peter, Lu, and I all trade glances. We know what that "something different" is that's confusing him—Mum noticed it, too, when we first returned from the Professor's house.
The effects of Narnia.
But we aren't going to tell him about it, because although we did tell Mum, she didn't understand. I doubt Dad would, either. Professor Kirke and Aunt Polly are the only adults who understand, and of course, they've been to Narnia themselves.
So when Dad just shrugs, and smiles again, I relax and return it. I know Peter's done the same. And Lucy…well, she hasn't stopped smiling.
"Well, whatever happened, I'm glad to see it," Dad finishes. He closes the distance between us, and kneeling, crushes Lucy, Peter, and I in yet another hug.
We let him, returning it.
It's only as he releases us that he realizes someone's missing. Surprised, he turns to Mum, "Where's Susan?"
Mum, who has joined him, just smiles. "Upstairs sleeping. She should be up in another hour or so—she went out to see the Channel fireworks last night and didn't get back until late. The boys stayed in with Lucy."
He gives Peter and I a pleased smile. "Did you?" When we nod he turns the smile to Lucy, "You're a very lucky girl."
Lu, who Peter has swung onto his back again, returns the grin. "I know."
Dad laughs and straightens up, gaining his feet. "I'll surprise her at breakfast, then." He gives Mum a knowing, mischievous look, "You are making breakfast, Helen?"
Mum laughs as the five of us make our way into the kitchen. "Of course!"
Lord, how good it is to have Dad home.
Tbc.