Disclaimer: I don't own The Chronicles of Narnia.

Hey everyone!!! Umm, first off, I have a friend who was involved in a serious car accident last week, so if you could keep her in your thoughts that would be greatly appreciated. On a happier note, there are now 11 chapters in this story! This is my favorite one so far, and I hope you guys like it as much as I do! As the title suggests, there will be bonding between Edmund and Peter, and I am a huge fan when it comes to that! :P Thanks again kutlessgurl90 for reviewing! Okay, well here is chapter 11!!!

Chapter 11: Brotherly Bonding

"Su, why don't you go get the horses so Peter won't have to walk that far?" Ed asked.

"All right, but if I get lost I'm blaming you," Susan replied, a smile pulling at her lips.

"Telula, why don't you go with her just to be safe?" Edmund questioned. The dwarf nodded and followed our sister into the slowly-darkening wilderness. I was leaning fully into Ed now, and he didn't stagger or complain one bit.

"Lucy, do you, by any chance, know where Midnight got to?" he inquired. Lucy's face lit up.

"Yes, actually, I do! I'll be right back," she exclaimed, running towards the back side of the building. I heard Edmund sigh in my ear.

"Aslan's mane, it's been a long day, hasn't it? The Great Lion certainly is testing our unwavering faith. But he's been good to us…" He broke off. "Peter, it's a bit of an embarrassment to admit this, but earlier, I was so afraid that we were going to lose you. It was scarier than anything I have ever experienced, even my time with the White Witch. I don't know what I, our family, or even Narnia would do without you. I know we've had our disagreements, but I love you, Pete, and I can't stand the thought of losing you. It's painful to even think of it. If something were to happen to you…" he trailed off, looking in the opposite direction.

I couldn't believe it. My witty little brother, whom up to a few years ago hadn't a care in the world except about himself, was speaking of his emotions to me. He had never been a deep person and I would never have dreamed about him telling me how he felt. I was practically speechless. I don't think he'd ever understand how much his words meant to me. He has grown so much in the time we have spent in Narnia, I thought. I carefully clapped him on the shoulder so I wouldn't lose my balance.

"Thanks, Edmund, and I love you too. But I have to say that I am glad it's me injured instead of you or the girls. If I had to see any of you suffer and know that I failed protecting you, then I'm not quite sure how I would handle it," I confessed. I saw Ed's normal pale skin tone begin to change into a bright red. A sheepish grin pulled at his face and his chocolate brown eyes were tinted with guilt.

"All right, since we're having this strange and completely unusual type of conversation, I'm going to be one hundred percent honest with you. Peter, during that first ambush when you got knocked off of Bill, I did get injured. I went after one of those idiots who shot you and he sliced me across the arm reasonably well. Of course after that I killed him and another man, but then Lucy took care of me. She gave me the cordial and used water from her canteen to wash the blood out of my sleeve. And then I was perfectly fine," he told me. He looked down at the ground, most likely not wanting to create eye contact with me. I was completely thrown off guard.

"Ed, why didn't you tell me?" I asked. But I couldn't help letting a large grin escape my lips. I was so proud of my brother, more than he would know. Edmund shrugged.

"I guess I didn't want to worry you," he admitted, looking back up. He saw me smiling and began to chuckle in embarrassment. I joined him. I could hardly believe that Ed and I were having a serious conversation.

"Don't get me wrong, this was nice and all, but let's go back to me cracking jokes about Telula, okay? It's not quite so, umm, awkward," Edmund pointed out. He gave me half a grin.

"You know, I do wonder what goes through that girl's mind sometimes. I mean, one moment she seems so fragile that you'd think just by breathing on her she would break, and the next she can be completely overbearing," I put in.

"Yeah and whenever she looks at you her heart melts into a million pieces. Sometimes I swear I could upchuck!" Edmund shook his head in disgust. I smiled and tousled his hair playfully. He let out a muffled, "Hey! Knock it off!" but I just laughed to myself.

"Yes, it is quite… strange trying to speak to her. I wish she wasn't crushing on me, or at least I wish she wasn't flirting with me," I said. Sure, Telula was nice and all, but it's not like I was going to fall in love with her. I hoped she knew that, for I didn't want to hurt her in the future. Once I stopped messing with Edmund he looked up at me through his disheveled hair and gave me a blank stare, and then a small smile began to pull at his lips. I knew that look; he had one of his infamous comments to make.

"So, Pete, when are the wedding invitations being sent out, and am I the best man?" Ed questioned. I nudged him in the side and almost choked from laughing so hard. Then it suddenly turned into a gasp as I realized how much it hurt. My grip tightened on my brother as I placed a hand on my midsection. He looked concerned.

"Umm, no more jokes until your ribs are better, okay?" Edmund suggested. His tone was a blend of seriousness and worry put into one. I nodded, knowing that it was probably for the best. Then I heard the gentle clip-clop of hooves beating against the ground. I saw Lucy riding to us on her horse, Midnight.

"Welcome back," I greeted. She smiled, but then it turned into a frown.

"Peter, you don't look well," she declared.

"Yes, well his ribs just flared up again, Lu," Edmund explained. I wondered how I looked right now for Lucy to notice a problem so quickly. My face was probably pale and my eyes most likely weren't the same vibrant shade of blue.

"Oh Peter, I wish I could do something for you. I can't stand seeing you like this, and the only thing I can offer you is my cordial. But it's already been proven that that won't work," Lucy pointed out. She sighed.

"You're not the only one who hopes he has a speedy recovery," Ed put in. I think I hated seeing them worry about me almost as much as they hated seeing me in the state I was in. I just wanted to get back home so I could heal up and my siblings wouldn't be so concerned.

"Well, shall we go now?" came a voice from behind me. I hadn't even noticed Susan and Telula join us with the horses.

"Yes, that would be wise," Edmund declared. So Susan led Bill over to Ed and me. He slowly and carefully helped me onto my horse, but I couldn't say there wasn't any pain involved. I held onto the reigns to steady myself and gripped my knees against Bill's sides. I squinted my eyes because the setting sun was obstructing my vision. I was surprised my eyes didn't completely shut; I was still tired and they were already halfway there.

"Okay, well, let's do get moving. The earlier we start, the earlier we'll get home," Susan stated. She and Telula moved to the front of us to take the lead. Edmund went up beside them, for he had a very good sense of direction. Lucy stayed parallel with me while the others were our guides. We all talked every now and then but for the most part we were all silent. We rode for nearly four hours, which made for about and eight hour day tomorrow. Edmund spotted a patch of grass large enough for all of us to lie down in. I lowered myself off of Bill and carefully held onto him as I made my way to the ground. Lucy scrambled over to me to lie down beside me.

"How're you doing?" she wondered.

"Better," I assured. It definitely wasn't a full recovery, but at least I wasn't quite as bad as earlier.

"That's wonderful! Just think, Peter, after the morning sun awakens us we'll be on our way home! I can't imagine how great it will feel to be back at the Cair after all this! Especially for you! Goodness knows you've been through so much lately, it ought to feel utterly heavenly for you to be home! You can rest peacefully and heal up as well. And you won't have to worry about us all the time," Lucy explained. She shot me a disapproving glance which eventually turned into a laugh, seeing as she knew she could never change my mind set when it came to my siblings. I smiled and said,

"Yes, it will feel quite remarkable to be home." Only eight more hours of riding, provided nothing slows us down on the way. But what if something did? What if the enemy had seen us as we were making our descent and had followed our every move, waiting on the perfect time to strike? No, nothing was going to happen. Aslan would take care of us, and we were too close to home for anything to occur now. I brushed those thoughts away and made myself as comfortable as possible, closing my eyes. The only thing I heard was the sound of everyone else's light breathing; they were asleep. And then a voice startled me, almost making me jump.

"Rest assured, Son of Adam," it declared. The voice was full of authority, yet gentle and kind. It was Aslan's. My eyes darted around for any sign of the Great Lion. He was nowhere to be found. I cautiously sat up to look for him more, but it caused me a great deal of pain. I let out a small cry as my eyes searched the perimeter. Nothing. One of my siblings stirred; I turned to see who it was.

"Pete, why are you sitting up?" Edmund asked quietly.

"Aslan spoke to me and I was trying to look for him," I answered. Edmund stood up and walked over to where I was sitting.

"Aslan spoke to you," It wasn't a question; Ed never doubted me when I was talking about Aslan. His eyes looked around, a slight glimmer of hope shining within his brown orbs. But he, too, saw nothing.

"Maybe I was only meant to hear him, Ed," I put in.

"Yes, maybe. At any rate, you should lie back down and get some rest," Edmund pointed out.

"Yes, I am utterly exhausted," I said. It wasn't an understatement, either. He helped me lower myself back to the ground and he lay down beside me.

"G'night, Pete," he whispered.

"Night," I replied. And once again I gave myself over to the peaceful darkness that had been eagerly awaiting me.

A/N: Did you guys like it??? I hope you did! :D Please review and let me know what you think!!!