A/N FINALLY, things are beginning to pick up. This is a very dialogue driven chapter, I apologize, its quite, well, I guess choppy and awkward as well, but it's the chapter that I have had the most fun writing so far. As always, enjoy, and thank you.

Your author in Training,

havah

Rebecca realized her mistake, but it was to late. She pulled away from Peter as quickly as she dared. "Oh-oh my g-d, I am so sorry! I had no right to do that, I-I, I have to go, the others will want to know you're ok," Rebecca looked flustered as she tried to come up with a viable excuse to leave.

"It was my fault as much as it was yours. Please don't go, it's alright, besides, I don't want to wake the others, they should be sleeping, actually, so should you, why aren't you?" said Peter.

"I slept for quite a while after the ritual, and I wasn't tired. Also, someone needed to look after you, we decided since I was awake, and not planning on sleeping anyway, that I would take shift one. Then when it came time to wake Susan, I decided to let her, and the others sleep," Rebecca explained, as she sat back down in the chair. Peter took this in, and said nothing. Ht was lost in his thoughts. I can't believe that happened! Now Susan's REALLY going to kill me. He fell back down on the bed, to weak to support himself any longer. "Are you ok? You look as though you could use some more sleep," asked Rebecca, noticing Peter's lack of energy.

"I'll be fine, just a little weak from earlier. I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep. We lost the other 10, where did they go?" wondered Peter aloud about the mis-preformed ritual.

"I'm not sure, they just went. We will figure it out later when more people are awake, for now, you just stay here, and don't do anything energetic, I'm going to go and get Lucy and her healing thingy, that should bring you to full strength." Rebecca got up to get Lucy's cordial, but she was stopped by Peter throwing a pillow at her. "What'd you do that for?" she asked.

"Sorry, it was the only thing I could reach. Lucy's cordial heals injury, it doesn't bring back strength. The only thing that waking her up would do would be to take just a little bit of her energy," Peter managed to laugh a bit, and Rebecca turned back around, smiling.

"I'm just to glad that you're alright, that this is all over. I'm free, there's this feeling that something is over, and something's barely begun," Peter stared at Rebecca, not quite sure what she meant. "T-the war I mean, the war has barely begun," Rebecca explained, mentally kicking herself, though she was beginning to hope that maybe something between her and Peter was barely beginning, and she smiled a little smile all to herself.

"No, I know what you meant, and you're right. Once battle is over, and now we have to face the war, but Narnia is strong, and we can do it, all of us, together," said Peter, trying to sound as though he knew what he was doing. Damn, that was really corny wasn't it? Oh well, she stumbled around too, so it's alright, thought Peter. "If you are tired go to bed, but try not to wake anyone else in the process," advised Peter, trying to sound wise, then he became confused. Why am I trying to sound so wise around her? So wise and so, well, valiant? This should probably stop before I really screw up.

"Oh, I'm not going to sleep, but I'll leave if you like, if you need some time to yourself, and I won't wake anyone, I promise," said Rebecca, making ready to leave yet again.

"No, no, it's fine, I would like some company, and no one else is awake, and if you're awake, I mean, there's really no point in us both being awake alone in separate places," reasoned Peter, finally happy with a statement that he had made. They sat there in an awkward silence for a few minutes before anything was said. "So how does it feel? To be free of the witch," asked Peter at last, wishing that this awful silence would go away.

"I don't know, I just fell, well, free. Like a huge load has been taken off my back. I don't have to worry anymore about whether something that I have subconsciously done is killing someone that I care about, and that's a great feeling," Rebecca was serious, but she put a bit of a joking tone to it, she liked Peter's smile, and she liked it even more when he laughed.

"Well, that's a very good thing. I'm a wreck when I think of the possibility that my actions may have taken part in someone's death, or a serious injury. I had a bit of trouble bearing it when Edmund was captured by the witch, and again when you were dying," said Peter, sharing his feelings as easily as if he were talking to one of his friends from school.

"Susan said that you really beat yourself up over that, please understand, it wasn't your fault! I know that I've said this before, but you had no control over it, and we are all alive and well, so it's alright," said Rebecca, trying to get Peter to stop blaming himself for every little thing that went wrong. "Anyway, it was so brave of you to perform the ritual that saved me from my imprisonment."

"It was my place to do that, for Narnia. We need you beside us in the fight, you know first hand, and that will be very useful. Narnia needs you, Susan needs an older girl around, Lucy could use a role model that's not Susan, because Susan is a bit to uptight sometimes, and Edmund needs to learn some lessons. He doesn't really listen to me and Susan, so we are better off with you cured, and me weak for awhile, then me at full strength and you possessed," said Peter, now just speaking to be saying something. I need you to, I need a friend that's not going to refer to me as your majesty, someone who is not a relative, some that I can talk to, and not have to worry, and someone to care about, but there's no way I'm telling anyone that.

"Thank you, I appreciate your need, and I will do all that I can to make sure Susan has a friend, Lucy a role model, and Edmund a teacher," Rebecca smiled, hoping that somewhere in side of him, Peter needed her to, and not just for the fight.