Chapter 15-A Visit from the Physician

Peter swore in his head again and again. He had gotten so carried away by his passionate feelings for Caspian that he had forgotten that the doctor was coming to take a look at Lucy. He was suddenly up on his feet as he heard a noise from upstairs.

"Peter?" Susan called as she came down the stairs.

Peter turned swiftly to face her, trying his hardest not to blush. He saw Caspian stand in his peripheral vision and hoped that he wasn't blushing. It would only cause too much attention.

"I'll answer the door. You go up with Lucy." Susan said, taking control of the situation.

Peter nodded, not arguing with her. He motioned for Caspian to follow and once he was certain Susan had disappeared to answer the door, he whispered, "We'll talk about this later."

Caspian nodded, not speaking. Peter guessed he was still recovering from what had just happened. Peter didn't want to make him feel more compelled to love him, especially now that they needed to be on their best behavior in front of the others. None of them could know.

When Peter opened the door to Lucy and Susan's room, Edmund was already sitting beside her bed. He turned to look at the two who had come in.

"Peter." He said. "Caspian…where did you go?"

Peter wasn't sure if Edmund was referring to him or Caspian and he gave Edmund a confused look.

Then, Caspian spoke up, "I'm sorry, Edmund. I had to…I made a mistake earlier."

Edmund glanced from the prince to Peter and Peter couldn't help the knowledge that his brother was growing suspicious of them. Caspian, shut up. He thought. It was just best to pretend that nothing was going on.

Edmund didn't question further, but Peter figured it was because Lucy had moved a little and woke up. Susan came in moments later with the physician behind her.

"Good afternoon," He greeted as he came into the room. Peter moved first to take his hand in proper greeting and he said, "Ah, you must be Peter?"

Peter nodded, "Yes, sir." He figured the physician knew him from what Susan must have told him.

The doctor didn't bother to shake Caspian's or Edmund's hands as he moved over toward the bed, kneeling as he spoke lightly, "Lucy?"

Lucy turned to face him, smiling reluctantly.

"My name is Dr. Davidson. What seems to be bothering you?"

"Well," Lucy said, "my stomach hurts quite a bit. My head feels hot and I can't always stand up properly. My legs are shaky when I try to walk."

"Mm-hmm." The doctor said, jotting down notes in a small book. "And how long has this been going on?"

"I felt bad Saturday morning." Lucy explained.

"Hmm." The physician murmured. Peter watched as he started taking several instruments out of his bag. He checked Lucy's heart rate and made sure her breathing was normal. He checked her eyes, her nose, her ears, and her mouth. He pressed on her stomach and Peter winced as he saw Lucy's face grimace.

"Well," The doctor said after examining her, "I can see when I put pressure here," he indicated her stomach, "it's painful. She seems to be having some abdominal pain. I noticed her nose looked a bit congested as well. And…she appears to have a rather high fever."

Susan clasped her hand over her mouth involuntarily. Peter looked warily at Lucy and turned back to the doctor. "How bad is it?"

The doctor turned to face him and removed his spectacles. Peter gulped. That was never a good sign.

"I think she may have a mild case of influenza." He said.

"Influenza?" Edmund asked. "Like the flu?"

Peter rolled his eyes at his brother's stupid question and the doctor nodded slowly.

"Do you think it's serious?" Susan asked.

"Well, the flu usually is." The physician said, "Though her symptoms appear to be slightly less severe which is unusual at her age, but good nevertheless. Has she had any nausea or vomiting in the past few days?"

Susan shook her head. "No."

"Ah, well, then I can tell you that it isn't the stomach flu. What she has will probably last up to a week or two. It's not so serious and severe that she would have to go to a hospital, but it is something to look after. Now, you have a caretaker I assume?"

"Yes," Susan replied, "Mrs. Simmons arrives in the evenings. She should be here soon."

"Okay," He said, "I recommend that Lucy get lots of rest. Also, she needs to drink lots of fluids. I also recommend that I come back in a couple days to check on her progress. The flu can be a nasty thing to work with, but if treated the right way, then I can assure you she'll be better soon. Now, she doesn't seem to have all the symptoms like most of my other patients did, but if her fever gets too high, contact me immediately."

Peter and his sister nodded as the doctor bid them all goodbye. Susan was standing over Lucy, looking troubled. Peter suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Lucy had not been feeling well at all since Caspian's arrival, yet now, he couldn't have been more euphoric to see him. But the fact remained that Caspian was only here to see Lucy and to make sure she recovered before he had to leave. Peter didn't want to admit that he knew Caspian had to leave, but he knew it would be inevitable nevertheless.

The eldest Pevensie sighed and Susan turned to him. She then whispered in a hushed voice, "Peter, we have to contact mum. She'll be worried sick about Lucy."

"Are you mad?" Peter asked. "Contacting her will only put her into more misery than she already is."

"But she ought to know about Lucy's illness. If this is life-threatening—"

"Don't you dare say that." Peter said through clenched teeth. He didn't want to think about the morbidity of the situation if he could help it. "Lucy will recover. Besides," he said in a more optimistic tone, "the doctor said it's only mild."

Susan regarded him carefully. "Still. I think it's best if she knew."

Peter sighed as he finally gave in. "Fine, call mum. Tell her we're also peachy and doing quite well in school."

Susan sent him an unbelieving look as she left the room, slamming the door behind her. Peter winced, but didn't care essentially. He knew his mother would want to know how they were, but hearing that Lucy now was under the influence of a mildly dark illness gave him more incentive not to let her know. She would surely ask them to come home immediately. Either that or she would pay a visit there. And then, she would find out about Caspian. Even though he could probably pass for a friend, Peter still had his qualms about whether his mother would allow him to stay with them. It's not like he had anywhere else to go.

Then, Peter's eyes lit up. Of course, he thought extravagantly. Of course!

Wheeling, Peter brought Caspian out of the room by the arm and disappeared quickly towards the WC. As he turned the corner, he instructed Caspian to get in.

"What?" Caspian asked, amazed at Peter's sudden decision-making.

"Just do it." Peter told him in a hushed voice. Caspian went in and Peter soon followed, closing the door behind him and locking it.

"What's going on, Peter?" Caspian asked.

Peter didn't speak, at least not yet. He needed to get the words out at the right moment. But he couldn't oversee the present opportunity that lay at hand for him. He and Caspian were in the W.C. together, not something that happened everyday. He grabbed Caspian's shoulders and backed him against the wall opposite of the sink. Caspian looked slightly alarmed.

"Peter?" He asked.

Peter just kept staring at him, taking in his semi-frightened expression and beautiful complexion.

"I just want us to be together right now." He explained, attempting to alleviate his fear. He brought a hand up to stroke the prince's hair and Caspian smiled at him.

Then, Caspian frowned as he said, "that illness that Lucy has…"

"The flu." Peter said quickly. "It's a virus and it's sometimes life-threatening, but the doctor just said that Lucy's case was mild, so that means that she should be better in a matter of weeks."

"Weeks?" Caspian asked. Peter couldn't place his tone and wasn't sure if he was exasperating or whether he was upset at the time span.

The eldest Pevensie nodded, his eyes never once leaving Caspian. "That means we only have so much time together…that is, before you return."

Caspian swallowed and regarded Peter in a worried way as he said, "It bothers me to leave you in such a state."

"Come on, Caspian, you know it's inevitable that you have to go back to Narnia. You can't just decide you'll stay here and never go back." Peter said.

"I know," The prince admitted, "But it still pains me to see you upset while I'm away."

"You're not leaving now, Caspian. So stop saying your goodbyes and allow me to spend some time with you." Peter said, struggling through tears that started welling in his eyes. He wiped them away on his shoulder, still keeping a firm hold on Caspian. He wanted this moment more than anything else, but the prince kept talking about going home. You're not abandoning me yet, Caspian. I still have a few weeks with you.

Caspian smiled as he admitted that Peter was right. It was stupid to say goodbye when they still had some time to be together. Peter wasn't looking forward to Caspian's departure, but he knew it would eventually come, and when it did, Peter wasn't sure what would happen. He didn't want to continue being miserable without him. Maybe Caspian wouldn't have to go back, but Peter knew it was a very slim chance that that would happen. Plus, without Caspian there, who would be the king of Narnia?

At this thought, Peter pulled out of the embrace he had been in with the prince and regarded him seriously. "Caspian, who's the current ruler of Narnia?"

"Aslan." Caspian answered. "He took my place temporarily. He wanted me to make sure everything was okay, and I think everything is. Lucy just needs to recover from the illness."

"Yes." Peter said, though he wasn't as confident. He wondered if Aslan knew about him and Caspian. He knew his feelings for the prince weren't exactly in agreement with the social norm of society, but he couldn't help feeling the way he did. He suddenly became very paranoid.

Caspian must have noticed his expression. "What's wrong?"

Peter shook his head. "Nothing."

Caspian still looked concerned as he bent his head slowly towards Peter's, resting his forehead against his. Peter could feel his heart racing suddenly as he felt Caspian's cool breath touch his neck. They stayed like that for a moment, then Peter relaxed a little as he wrapped his arms around Caspian, holding him close. He didn't want him to leave. He never wanted Caspian to leave him alone again.

Very carefully, Peter pressed his lips against Caspian's neck and gradually went up the side of his face until he found the prince's lips. Caspian invited Peter to taste them and Peter felt more exhilarated than he had before. Caspian was his now. There was no question about it. Susan was in the past. She had her boyfriend, whom Peter hoped would talk to her again. It annoyed him that James made Susan upset like that. He would never hurt Caspian in the same fashion. They had until Lucy got better to be together, even though the time depended on his youngest sister's health, Peter decided to make the best out of the situation. Making out with Caspian in the W.C. was a good start.

A/N: This was a difficult chapter to write, mainly because of the medical parts in it. I wanted Lucy to have an illness that was mildly serious, but not life-threatening. Please, no critical reviews on whether or not I got the symptoms right either, thanks.