Author's Note: I'm SO sorry for the long wait! I thought I would have this done a lot sooner, but I've had a lot going on lately... And with taking a bunch of advanced classes, I haven't had the time to type. But I promise you I haven't left this story behind! I just haven't had enough time to put the effort into it that I know I need to... So, I'm going to just go ahead and give this chapter to you, since I'm in a good mood... It's short, and crappy, but it's better than the nothing you've had for the past I don't know how long... Anyways... The end is the worst part to me.. I hope you like it anyways... read! :D

Song for this chapter: Paradise by Coldplay


After breakfast was finally finished, Edmund still hadn't shown up. Ari knew all too well that if she tried to look for him it would be in vain. She herself was good at staying hidden when she wanted or needed to, but her husband of over a decade had a natural talent for disappearing. It was what made him such a wonderful spy despite the fact that everywhere he went people knew who he was.

So it wasn't very long after she left the dining hall that she found herself standing outside of the room that Susan was staying in. She cringed slightly before lifting a pale hand to knock lightly on the dark wooden door. When she received no answer, she turned the brass knob and timidly stuck her head in through the opening.

"Susan?" She asked quietly as she peered into the room.

"Yes?" Susan said in a slightly stiff voice as she turned a page in the book she was reading. She didn't look up, but continued before Ari had the chance to speak. "This is about Narnia isn't it?"

Ari froze in her place. Susan place a bookmark to hold her page and then set the book to the side on the nightstand. Only when she swung her legs over the bed and sat up did Ari see that her sister-in-law's face was streaked with tears and that her eyes were red and puffy. By listening to Susan's unwavering voice just a moment before, she wouldn't ever have guessed that she had been crying. This was a clear reminder of how good of an actress Susan was.

"Oh, Su…" Ari whispered as she walked to the bed. She sat down on the blue coverlet and put an arm around the older girl's shoulder. "Come on. Tell me what's wrong."

"I-I can't t-tel them why I cant t-talk about Narnia." Susan sniffled, her voice cracking as she spoke. "But you might understand."

"Me? Why would I understand when they don't?" The redhead exclaimed. She was taken aback. Ari stared at her sister with an incredulous look. "Surely you could tell Lucy. She always knew just what to say in times like these."

"No!" Susan snapped. She winced at the look of hurt that crossed Ari's face. She mentally cursed the hormones coursing through her sister's veins. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and then began to speak again.

"It's...Painful to remember. To think of all that I had and to see that my life is so much different here. I get tired of not being show the respect I had there. i feel like there's this gaping hole in my chest. Like I'm standing in the middle of a crowded room screaming my head off and no one even looks up... I just feel so..." Susan stopped to take a shuddering breath, amazed that she had been able to get all of that out without breaking down.

"Helpless?" Ari supplied when Susan didn't continued. "Look. You can't just shut your family out." In three seconds flat Susan was reminded just how scary a pregnant Ari could be. The redhead looked half-crazed as she glared at her sister-in-law. "Do you have any idea how the way you're acting is eating away at your siblings?" Susan flinched as Ari's glare increased in intensity and she raged on.

"They are worried sick about you! Peter is blaming himself for not being able to keep you safe, and Edmund is beating himself up about it because he's being faced with a problem that he doesn't know how to fix, and don't even get me started on your sister! Poor Lucy doesn't even know how to react!"

By this time, Ari was standing on her feet in front of Susan. She was breathing heavily in a way that Susan was sure wasn't healthy for a woman in her condition, sending chills of worry up her spine.

"Ari, please sit down!" Susan pleaded, worried eyes boring into Ari's. "Calm yourself down. You should know better than anyone that stress isn't good for you, or the baby."

Ari opened her mouth to shout again, but promptly shut her jaw with a snap. She sighed and sat down on the bed again, but this time let herself fall backwards. She laid back and ran a hand gently over her enlarged midsection.

"It's scary, you know." The redhead said softly. "All those years we wanted a child more than anything, and now I'm terrified out of my mind."

"That's normal, Ari." Susan said as she flashed her sister a bright grin.

"So I've heard..." Ari muttered a bit more darkly than was normal. "The only thing I wish I could change about this whole situation is that if I could do it over again, I would have wanted to have our baby in Narnia."

"I wish Peter and I could go back... Things aren't the same here in England..." Susan muttered. Suddenly, Ari's face brightened and she sat up.

"Wait here... I've got an idea..." She said, a smirk on her face. She was gone before Susan had the chance to protest.


Author's Note: Yeah... That ending was crappy. Really crappy... You guys deserve better, but with all the stuff going on at home right now, this is all I can crank out. I'm not abandoning this story, remember that. I just don't have a lot of free time on my hands right now...

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