Blessings of a Second Chance Chapter 7: Blessings of Love and Life, a chronicles of narnia fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or anything that is from C.S. Lewis's work. The plot, though is mine. This is just an idea I had, and thought to get it out. Movie based, thank you very much.

A/N: Well, last night I finally finished the whole of the Chronicles of Narnia with 'The Last Battle'... so beautiful! So, now that I know the whole of it, I tell that this tale is very much A/U, with all due respect to the brilliant Mr. Lewis.
And, on that note, I hope you all enjoy this last chapter - I know it would be nice for it to go on longer, but all good things must come to an end! But, I do say, this is a really long chapter... I didn't hold back on this one. So, thank you to all the faithful readers who have supported me with the most lovely reviews, and enjoy!

Imagine the look on Mr. and Mrs. Pevensie's faces when their daughter, whom they had spent the last few months worrying about terribly, due to her sudden and unexplainable depression, came home from the park happy and laughing and at once began dancing through the house.

Had they known more about such things, they could have compared her dance to, say, a wood nymph. But, of course, Mr. and Mrs. Pevensie didn't know much about nymphs, and so they merely thought she was amazingly happy… and had no idea why.

Naturally, Lucy's Mother and Father tried to inquire what had brought about this turnabout in mood, but it seemed that it was near to impossible to gain any information from their youngest daughter. Along with her new happiness, she also had the inability to focus on much of anything at all…

They asked Edmund, who had arrived home after Lucy did (and avoided any and all questions as to where he had been all day) if he had any clue as to what had brought Lucy to such lively hood. Edmund, with a laugh, answered truthfully that he wasn't too sure, but perhaps she'd ran into an old friend… but he supposed it didn't really matter, just as long as she was happy.

Mr. and Mrs. Pevensie were confused, yes, and spent the rest of the night wondering what they could thank for the change in Lucy, but worrying they did not. Nor did they need to wonder for very long.

The next morning, Lucy awoke feeling exceedingly happy and far better rested than she had in a very long time.

At first, she stayed where she was, simply enjoying the feel of the sheet on her bare toes, and how the light from her window played across the room. Her eyes met with the chair that remained by her window sill… it had been there for a long time. In the last few months, she hadn't slept well, and so rather than stay in bed, she would merelysit there, by the window, until morning, and oftentimes continue to sit there until afternoon. But why, she wondered, had she not sat up in the chair last night?

And with a gleeful squeal, Lucy recalled the events of the previous day. She leapt from her bed, unable to sit still a moment longer, and only just managed to slip her robe on over her night dress before she headed for the door to go down to breakfast. By the time she'd gotten halfway down the stairs, she'd completely forgotten to tie her robe closed – or, if she did remember, she didn't care.

Singing down the stairs, she spun into the kitchen where her Mother stood by the stove, cooking breakfast. Mrs. Pevensie was so surprised to see her daughter up, and still as happy as she'd been the night before, she dropped her turner with a clatter to the stove top.

"Good morning, Mother," Lucy sang, kissing her mother's cheek and handing her the dropped turner.

"My darling," Mrs. Pevensie laughed, "Seeing you up so early! This is a good morning!"

Edmund, who had been up only a little earlier than Lucy had, came into the kitchen then, leaning in the door way. He gave his sister a knowing smile, to which she blushed bright red.

"Oh, Lu," he said casually, "Father is in the sitting room and, I think he'd like to speak with you…"

"Alright," she said lightly, flitting past Edmund and heading down the hall.

With a small spin, she turned the corner into the sitting room – and came to a dead stop. Her cheeks flushed bright pink and she quickly grabbed the ties to her robe and closed the front.

Beside her Father, who was seated on the small, modest sofa the Pevensies had in the first room of their house, was a young man with curly hair and a cane. He smiled up at her, mischievously. Despite her embarrassment at being caught in her nightdress, Lucy smiled back.

"There you are, Lucy," said Mr. Pevensie with a smile, "Can you imagine my surprise when this young man turns up at our door this morning, here to speak with me – about you?"

Lucy, suddenly concerned, stuttered in her response, "Uh, w-well-"

But Mr. Pevensie interrupted his youngest daughter, "My question to you, my dear, is: if you are to marry this lad, why haven't you brought him to meet us sooner?" Her Father smiled at her, lovingly.

Lucy giggled, "It's a long story…"

"Oh, Lucy, stop that wiggling!" Susan protested.

"I can't help it," Lucy cried, wringing her hands. "I'm terribly nervous!"

Susan smiled at her sister, reaching out a hand to straighten a stray lock of her sister's coppery hair. "You don't need to be nervous, Lucy," she said quietly, hugging her sister tightly, then whispering, "He brings out the best in you, you know,"

Lucy drew back, "Why, whatever do you mean by that?"

Susan hastily wiped tears away from her eyes, "Before you found him," (this was what all the Pevensie siblings had come to call Thomas's return into their lives) "Even your hair was darker. Since that day in the park, you've brightened. You're lovely. You haven't ever looked this bright and happy… not even on the throne at Cair Paravel." This last bit she added in a whisper only Lucy could hear.

As it turned out, after Peter, Susan and Edmund had left Lucy and Thomas in the park, the three of them hadgone straight away to send a wire to their cousin. Eustace Scrubb had been to Narnia on more than one occasion,and wasvery fond of his time spent there. Naturally, Eustace had heard of Mr. Tumnus many times,and had long suspected that there was something more between hiscousinLucy and the faun.The wire had been brief, and so Edmund went tomeet him right awayand discussall of the recent events that had occured– Susan had wanted to go, but had been too tired and needed to get home and rest.Peter'swife, who was expecting their second child, needed him to be home presently for similar reasons.

Eustace had been delighted, and amazed (as they all had been), to hear the news of Mr. Tumnus – or Thomas, as the case was. Edmund, perhaps even more than the others, understood the situation before them and had suspected right away that Thomas would want to marry his sister. This idea pleased him greatly, but he also knew that his own Father, while careful about Lucy's feelings, might need reassurance of the young man. The Pevensies had all grown close to Eustace, especially after the summer that Lucy and Edmund had spent at his home, and Edmund supposed they might need his help; he full remembered the events that followed Susan's engagement.

And, of course, Edmund knew full well that Eustace, and his dearest friend Jill Pole, would have hurt feelings ifthey weren'tincluded in this new adventure, right away. Jill, perhaps most of all, as all the Pevensies knew that she was extremely fond of adventures that didn't involve fighting or swords or fleeing for one's life.

Mr. Pevensie had, in fact, taken a liking to Thomas right away, but still felt the need to find someone who could vouch for his integrity. Eustace and Jill had come into the city to visit within the next few days, and were pleasantly 'surprised' to meet Mr. Holt, whom they insisted was the spitting image of an elderly instructor named Holt they had known at school. Eustace went on and on about how 'jolly nice' their Holthad been. They also spent time speaking with Mr. Pevensie and Thomastogether, speculating on relations and family lines, even though Thomas was an orphan. However slim the chance for a relation between the two Holts was, it stood to reason that he very well could be related, and Jill insisted that if that was the case, Lucy could surely do a lot worse.

So, after much thought and many discussions (but not nearly as much as happened with Susan) Mr. Pevensie gave his consent to Lucy and Thomas.

Over the next few months, there was quite the commotion in the Pevensie house. Edmund was already engaged to a lovely girl named Miranda Linwood, and their wedding was approaching in less than three months. While the Pevensie house wasn't quite as busy as the Linwood house was due to their marriage, Lucy's engagement opened up a whole new business, and that on top of the excitement already present made quite a hullabaloo.

And yet, six months later came in a blink. True, for Lucy and Thomas, it could not come soon enough, but for the other Pevensies, they could hardly believe their eyes when the wedding day arrived at last.

Lucy had been sitting on a stool, fidgeting, while Susan put the finishing touches on her hair and veil. Lucy's dress was very simple, for neither Thomas nor the Pevensies had too much money to spare. (This, though, was not a problem for either Lucy or Thomas. Neither truly wanted a large wedding, and preferred to save their money for their life after the wedding. It was, after all, the life together that mattered, not really the wedding.)

Her dress was very plain, with the exception that it was white. Mrs. Pevensie had extended the hem line down farther, for the original dress had not gone more than six inches below Lucy's knees, and she had embellished a little with lace around the sleeves (which traveled to Lucy's wrists) and around the modest neckline; lovely,butsimple all the same. And,as simple asher dress was, it was perhaps the most lavish part of the wedding. Everyone else was clad in their Sunday best, and in a small church, with not too many people there.

The entire affair was simple and quiet, but exactly as Lucy had hoped it would be.

"No lies, now," Lucy said, modestly to her sister.

"Oh you know I'm not," Susan said, "You're lovely, and I've never seen you happier."

Lucy thanked her sister just as her Mother came bustling in, teary-eyed, telling them it was time.

Soft music played through the church while Jill and Susan came down the isle first. Thomas, standing next to Edmund and Peter, watched and waited. After a few slow moments (during which Thomas feared that he'd never see her, that she'd not come around the corner and through the doors at all) Lucy came around the corner, dressed all in white.

Thomas felt his eyes fill with tears at the sight of her. He felt Edmund place a hand on his shoulder, but he was quite unable to look away from Lucy. In the congregation, Professor Digory Kirke (who had come into the city especially for such a joyous occasion) patted the shoulder of his companion, and best friend, Polly Plumber, who blew her nose in her handkerchief.

In no time at all, she wasright beforehim. Not even her veil could hide the tears that were already falling from her eyes,mirroring the ones thatfell from his. Nothing mattered, to either of them, at that moment. It was as if the entire church had vanished and they were the only two people on earth.

Lucy blinked as Edmund handed a ring to Thomas, who placed it on her finger, and then a ring to her, which she placed on his finger, in kind.

And then the Priest's words entered into her thoughts, bringing her into the moment.

"… until death do you part?" this was said to Thomas. Lucy smiled.

Thomas smiled back. "No,"

Lucy blinked and frowned as a small gasp echoed throughout the room.

But, expecting this, Thomas reached out and took Lucy's hands, saying, "I, Thomas Holt, take thee, Lucy, to be my beloved wife from this day forward, to have and to hold for time and all eternity, and swear to you to stand by you always with a solemn promise to you, before God, that regardless if we be together, apart, rich, poor, or even temporarily separated by death itself, that I shall always be faithfully yours."

Lucy began crying in earnest now. Several noses blew in the small congregation.

The Priest seemed a little flustered by Thomas's vow, but continued anyway, "And do you, Lucy…"

But Lucy cut him off. Thomas's words had engraved themselves on her memory, and her heart. "I, Lucy Pevensie, take thee, Thomas, as my beloved husband from this day forward, to have and to hold for time and all eternity, and swear to you to stand by you always with a solemn promise to you, before God, that regardless if we be together, apart, rich, poor, or even temporarily separated by death itself, that I shall always be faithfully yours… I love you…" she added hastily, unable to hold back.

And then they were joined together, and Edmund took Thomas's cane for a moment while he lifted Lucy's veil and kissed her sweetly. And, just as had happened that day in the park, Thomas started to pull back, but Lucy pulled him closer and kissed him again. Both kisses were sweet and chaste... but Lucy made a silent promise that that would change, later on. Little did she know that Thomas had much of the same idea.

Never had either of them had ever been as happy as that moment, especially knowing that now, regardless of what world they were in, alive or dead, they would be together forever. That was all that mattered.

Lucy sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily. The room was dark and she couldn't see well, but she felt around frantically on the other side of her bed.

Nothing. The sheets weren't even wrinkled on that side.

Her breath came quicker, "No…" she breathed frantically.

She'd been dreaming again… was it all a dream? Had it all been a dream? She began shaking all over – she'd die where she stood if it was all a dream…

"Thomas," she called out, her voice quaking, racing for the bedroom door. "Thomas… Thomas!" her voice had risen in pitch, slightly.

She threw open the bedroom door and her eyes were instantly assailed with bright light. Lucy blinked furiously, trying to focus her eyes to see. The lights were on in the living room. Lucy's eyes cased the room… it appeared to be empty…

"Thomas!" she cried, near hysteria, now.

"Darling?" his head popped up from the other side of a large backed chair he'd been sitting in, beyond where she could have seen him. "Are you alright?"

"I…" she paused, "I woke and you weren't there…"

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, "I'm sorry, dearest… I was busy in here and fell asleep in the chair…" he yawned, "… musta forgot to go to bed, I guess. Oh, Lucy, were you dreaming that dream again?"

Heaving a shaking sigh of relief, Lucy crossed the small room and fell to her knees in front of him, laying her head on his lap, "It always starts so lovely, recalling how we found each other and our wedding day…"

"And then you lose me, don't you?" he said, stroking her hair gently.

"Yes. And waking to find you gone was… was just so… so frightening!"

He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "Up," he said simply, taking her hand and pulling her to sit on his knees and wrapped his arms around her. Once there, pulled her close and just held her tightly. "My darling," he said to her softly, "It's been a year since you and I married. I'm not going to leave you, ever."

She sniffed against his chest, "I know, I just… I'm afraid that I'll still wake up and you'll be gone from my life as quickly as you came back into it…"

He kissed the top of her head, "I know. I have dreams like that, too. Of course, when I wake, it's easier for me to know it all did happen and it's all still real, because of my legs. Sheets against skin and feet and toes, feels rather different than sheets against fur and hooves."

Lucy exhaled against his neck, feeling him shiver slightly as she did so. "Do you ever regret it?"

"My choice? Never. Never in a million years would I ever..." his voice died away as his mouth found hers and he kissed her hungrily.

Lucy, perfectly content with where she was, was rather reluctant to end the kiss, but did so as she remembered something she'd forgotten. Thomas sighed as she pulled away.

"Wait, it really has been a year, hasn't it?"

He smiled at his wife, "Yes, as of…" he checked the clock on the mantle over the fire place, a few meters from his chair, "…three hours ago."

Lucy smiled brightly, "One year and three hours of pure heaven! Did you get me anything?" she added with a grin.

Thomas, knowing his wife all too well, grinned back. "It's what I fell asleep doing, my dear," he reached an arm over the edge of the chair and took hold of something Lucy hadn't seen before.

"I didn't wrap it," he warned, "But I won't make you close your eyes," he pulled it over her head and into her sight. "Happy anniversary, my love."

Lucy gasped. It was a detailed drawing (this was something she'd learned of him in Narnia, that he was quite the artist, and his hands had retained their talent over the years) of Lucy, standing in grand finery, with Thomas himself standing in clothes she'd only seen Peter wear, at Cair Paravel.

She clutched the home-framed sketch and stared at it. "Oh Thomas… it's lovely… how could you remember all those details?"

He smiled at her, "You aren't the only one to have dreams of the past, darling. Now… what about you?"

"What about me?" she teased.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and tickled her lightly, "You goose! I've gone and given you a gift, what did you get me?" In truth, he didn't care about gifts, for he treasured every day with her, and no gift could compare to that, but he knew gifts mattered more in her world, so he played the game.

She smiled at him and sat the drawing aside, "I confess, this gift is a bit of a cheat, but still…" she ran her fingers through his curly hair and took a moment to kiss him as deeply as she could. He shivered more than he had the last time.

Then, just as she felt him kissing her back, she pulled away, just a little, and moved her lips to his ear, while at the same time claiming one of his hands topress it against her stomach.

And then, in a voice so small, barely above a whisper, she said, "My dear Thomas… you're going to be a father,"

He drew back sharply. "What? Really? No jokes?"

Smiling at him, grinning wildly, she shook her head, "No jokes. Not about this."

He mouthed silently for a moment, eyes wide, staring about the room, "Are you sure?" he asked at last.

Lucy nodded. "This," she pressed his hand against her stomach again for emphasis, "Will be a lot bigger, before long. Happy anniversary."

Thomas met her gaze, his eyes brimming with tears. She frowned, "You're not upset are you?"

He shook his head, "Just when I thought I couldn't thank Aslan any more…" he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, "I know now I'll never be able to stop! Oh, Lucy, I love you so much!"

"I love you, too," she whispered, "Forever, my dearest, and always!"

"Yes," he said, "For Always."

Fin.

A/N: (sniff) Aw, even I am choked up, now that it's the end... but, as I've said, fear not! I like Thomas and Lucy, and I'll surely bring them back for a few one-shots... after all, there's a whole year we haven't seen, right? It may be a while, but still, I'll probably bring them back. So, it's been awesome! I hope you all enjoyed reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Really quickly, I'd like to add in a special thank you to my very good friend, Razorbomb (XD), for reading over this, sharing her thoughts on it - and other stories - and being a super sweetie who graciouslypointed out those pesky typoes. Love ya!

And, this story was written with a very good friend, Jen, in mind. Her strength, endless humor, and prowess with the trendiest cane around, inspired much of what I wrote. Thank you, Jen.

Lots of love, until next!

MartiOwlsten