Rachel and Peter were walking up the path to his house. Peter was explaining to her that during the Second World War, the house had all but been destroyed in the air raids. Most of their pictures, keepsakes and heirlooms were gone. Only what was in the bomb shelter had been preserved, including his parents wedding photo and a picture of his father. He explained that he had never returned from war. His eyes had begun to water as he mentioned this, but he quickly blinked the tears away. They had rebuilt the house in the same spot.

He quickly explained his siblings to her. Susan was a year younger than him and was 17 years old. She was a senior in high school. Edmund was the next eldest and was a 15-year-old sophomore in high school. Lucy was the youngest, he explained. She was 12 years old and was in the seventh grade.

Rachel took all the details in. The home was beautiful and simple. The windows were shuttered and there were flower boxes full of orange and yellow wildflowers. They walked up the path to the door and Peter knocked. Rachel suddenly became nervous. What if is family did not like her? What would she do then? He seemed so close to his family. Without their approval, she doubted she would be with Peter much longer. She squirmed, and suddenly wished she had chose a more formal outfit.

Peter noticed her discomfort. He massaged her hand. "It's just a informal dinner," he said. "No pressure."

She smiled weakly. Her stomach was doing back flips. After a brief moment, the door opened. Standing in the doorway was what had to be Peter's mother. She noticed immediately that she had the same kind eyes as Peter. They sparkled blue at the sight of her son.

"Peter!" she exclaimed, opening her arms to envelope her eldest son in a hug.

"Hello mother." Peter was nearly a foot taller than his mother. She had light brown hair that was curled at the ends. Though her eyes sparkled with youth, her face was lined in a way that suggested that life had not been easy recently. Rachel instantly liked her. Mrs. Pevensie turned her eyes toward Rachel.

"This must be Rachel," she smiled. "How are you dear?" Rachel stepped forward and received a hug as well.

"It's lovely to meet you Mrs. Pevensie." Her nervousness began to dissolve.

"Well, you can't stand on the doorstep all evening. Come in dears." Mrs. Pevensie welcomed them into the house. Rachel watched a green blur streak past the mother and smash into her boyfriend.

"Peter!" it exclaimed.

"Hey Lu!" Peter crushed his littlest sister in a hug. "I want you to meet someone."

Lucy pulled away from her brother and snapped to attention in front of Rachel.

"Hello, I've heard so much about you. I'm Lucy by the way." she shook Rachel's hand enthusiastically. She launched into a mile a minute speech. "Peter talks about you all the time. He said you were quite pretty. That really didn't do you justice, I think. He also said-"

"Slow down Lu, don't scare her away." The voice was coming from what Rachel assumed was Peter's brother Edmund. He shared Peter's handsome features as well, but his were younger and darker. The blonde of Peter's hair and the blue of his eyes had melted into black tresses and dark brown irises. He smiled at her as he walked into the room.

"Hello Rachel, I'm Edmund. You can call me Ed. I see you have already been subjected to Lu's interrogation." Rachel shook his hand warmly. "Hi there Pete." The brothers hugged. It was obvious to Rachel that they shared a close bond. She was moved by this knowledge.

"Well," Mrs. Pevensie said, "that nearly everyone. Where is Susan?"

"I'm here." Susan came down the stairs. Rachel was struck by how pretty she was. She suddenly felt very underdressed.

Susan swept towards her. "I'm Susan, it's a pleasure to meet you." Rachel shook her hand. The nervousness had returned. "My boyfriend Gregory will be joining us tonight as well."

"Oh," Rachel stammered, "how lovely." Peter smiled encouragingly at her.

"I love your dress Rach!" Lucy exclaimed, ending the awkward tension.

"Way to give her a nickname already Lu." Edmund chuckled.

"It means she likes you," Peter whispered in her ear.

Susan stood nearby watching the exchange between her older brother and his girlfriend. She was rather pretty, she decided, but also quite unique. Where Susan was classically British beautiful, Rachel was not. Her curly hair and dark skin set her apart. She noticed that her brother had not stopped smiling since he had arrived. She was happy for him. She decided that anyone who could make Peter smile like that was worth keeping around for a while. She became anxious, where was Gregory? There was a second knock at the door. Susan exhaled a sigh of relief.

Peter turned and opened the door. Gregory stepped inside the house. The Pevensie family had already been exposed to Gregory, but he insisted on making formal introductions anyway. Rachel looked rather bemused by his formalness. He was dressed in a suit. He was handsome enough with his tall frame and dark brown hair, but he carried a snobbish sort of presence that was off putting among the friendly Pevensies.

Peter took in his sisters boyfriend carefully. He tolerated him as long as he made Su happy, but truth was he was waiting for him to slip up. He and Edmund had an unspoken agreement that if Gregory put one toe out of line, they would personally remove him. He and Ed watched Gregory approach Su and plant a chaste kiss on her cheek. He produced a small velvet box out of nowhere.

"Pearls for my Pearl." Edmund rolled his eyes and Lucy mimed gagging behind Susan's back. Rachel choked down her giggle and Peter cleverly changed his laughter into a coughing fit. Mrs. Pevensie shot her children a warning look.

"Well," she said, after watching Susan gasp over her present. "Shall we eat?"

The family and their visitors made their way into the dining room.

A/N: I'm still going strong! Thank you all so much for the reviews! Please continue!