A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them! Hence the next chapter already!! A bit of flashback, as promised…and quite a bit of Ed and Peter angst. Oh how I love to write that stuff!! Almost as much as I like to write battles, injuries and the likes! Enjoy!

A/N 2: This has been revised since it was originally posted. Some slight changes were made.

Part Three:

Edmund grunted.

He opened his eyes and then let out a pained puff of breath as a flailing arm impacted with his side again. "Pete?" he said, rolling sideways until he was on his back next to Peter, who was turned on his right side and whose right arm had been the one to smack into Edmund.

There was no response, but Edmund could make out in the wan light that there was a tight grimace on Peter's face and beads of sweat on his forehead. The arm that had hit him jerked back toward Peter, who flipped restlessly onto his back and flung his arm over his own face. Edmund couldn't make out words, but Peter was mumbling something.

Leaning closer, careful not to jostle Peter's torso, he gently prodded his brother in the arm. "Peter? Can you hear me? You're dreaming, Pete."

The latter continued to mutter, this time loud enough for Edmund to hear. "C…can't move, please... help me!" He shifted again, but this time must have put too much strain on his wound because he yelped and his eyes shot open.

Ed laid a restraining hand on his older brother's shoulder, afraid he would try to sit up too fast. The gesture drew Peter's gaze to his brother and their eyes met. "Ed? What…did I wake you?"

"Uh…"

Apparently that was answer enough because Peter frowned and shakily levered himself into a sitting position, his head hung low. "I'm sorry. I should have thought before agreeing to the sleeping arrangements."

It was Edmund's turn to frown now. "Do you often have nightmares, Peter?"

His brother looked up through his fringe and nodded slowly. "I've been having them since I regained consciousness the final time. So for a few months. I was almost hoping they would go away in Narnia."

Ed bit his lip. "Will you tell me what you were just dreaming about?"

Peter shook his head. "Ed, I can't. It's…it's not pleasant."

Edmund snorted and Peter looked at him like he'd grown another head. "What's so funny about that?" the blonde asked with an odd quirk of his lips.

His brother laughed lightly. "Oh Peter, c'mon, I gathered it wasn't something pleasant. Hence the word 'nightmare'. Honestly…"

A small smile crept across Peter's face at that. "I suppose you're right, Ed. But still, I don't know if I can talk about it right now." He sighed and, realizing the sun wasn't up enough yet, laid back down.

Ed followed him, propping himself on his left side with his hand holding up his head. "Please, Peter. You remember my nightmares after my time with the White Witch. It wasn't until I spoke to you and Susan that I was able to sleep through the night."

He waited with baited breath for Peter's answer.

"Did I say anything, during my nightmare?"

Edmund told him what he had heard and Peter sighed heavily again.

"I didn't tell you guys, but when I first woke two weeks after the fight, there was more wrong than just a painful wound," Peter said quietly. "I couldn't feel or move anything from the waist down."

If he'd been gutted by a sword, he imagined it would feel very much like he felt that moment. With a low groan, Peter Pevensie wrenched his eyes open. He wasn't sure if he was feeling hot or cold, but he wasn't in too much pain. And he was awake at least.

The light was bright and he squinted, turning his head to the left to try and lessen the impact. He saw a blurry figure rapidly approaching. It could have been a woman, but he wasn't sure since he was seeing more of a light blob than a clear image of a person.

"Peter?"

The voice was feminine, so he took it to be a woman. His mouth was so dry, all he could manage was an odd croak, so he instead focused and managed to nod his head lightly in the affirmative.

A hand took hold of his wrist and he could feel fingers resting on the inside of his wrist. They stayed there as the person spoke again. "No speak. Wait. Get Dr. Mulner."

Peter was confused. Who spoke like that? And why couldn't he talk, not that he had the strength or ability at the moment to do it anyway. So he waited, hanging onto his consciousness with sheer determination.

He wiggled his fingers and then his wrists and finally his arms. There was a sharp pain in his right shoulder. Why?

Then it hit him. He'd been running. Retreating. And then he'd been shot and he'd fallen. And then he'd been shot again. It was all blurry after that, but he remembered a man in fatigues. Who spoke broken English…

"Peter?"

This time the voice was male and Peter switched his gaze from the ceiling to the man at his side. Kneeling, the doctor leaned close. "Must not speak. Only to me. You in hospital. Think you German soldier."

Though he was groggy, Peter understood what the man was saying. He was in the hands of those he'd been fighting against. So why was he being treated so nicely? What was going on?

Peter struggled to speak, needing to know more. "How? Why'd…why help?"

He could hardly recognize his own voice, so weak and harsh. But he'd spoken, that was something. The man, who he could now see clearly, smiled lightly. "Look like son. Not able leave you. Rest. Heal."

The doctor stood and began to ask Peter to indicate when he felt himself being touched. The man started at Peter's chest, lightly poking various spots on his patient – careful to avoid the painful areas.

Peter nodded when he felt pressure on his lower right side, but then the doctor seemed to stop. With a frown, Peter stopped nodding and waited for the doctor to start up again. But instead, the man knelt down by Peter's waist. "No feel?"

Confusion crossed Peter's face. "No…"

The man looked down at his hands and Peter struggled to follow his gaze. What he saw sent his heart into his throat. The doctor was poking a sharp object into his right upper thigh. And Peter didn't feel a thing.

"Can move foot?"

The doctor moved to the bottom of Peter's bed and waited. Peter concentrated and willed his foot to move. The doctor's frown deepened and Peter knew it had not moved. He felt panic rising and his breathing sped up.

"C…can't move, please... help me!" His voice was low and frightened. The nurse lowered herself quickly and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Shhh. Calm. Try later."

The doctor moved up to his charge's head as well. "Bullet close back. Swell. Wait for no swell."

Peter took that to mean there was swelling around his spine and relaxed minutely. It could go down. He could regain feeling; movement. Closing his eyes, he tried to take a steadying breath. He felt the doctor pat him on the shoulder and add, "No speak. No forget."

The young man nodded before drifting off, the stress of being awake for the first time and receiving such ghastly news draining all his energy.

The doctor and the nurse cast pitying looks on the British boy before moving off to complete their rounds.

Edmund swallowed hard. "I can't even imagine, Peter. That…that must have been...I can't even imagine." He paused, not sure what to say, too shocked by the story to think of a way to comfort his brother.

A hand on his arm drew his attention and Peter shook his head. "It was horrible, Ed. But obviously I regained feeling. But it still takes a bit out of me to walk a lot and I haven't even thought of running. I'm not sure how much use I'll be here."

Edmund fiercely glared at his brother. "You don't need to run or fight to be useful, Peter. You know that. Lucy hardly fights and she is invaluable. Don't worry your pretty, blonde head over it."

Peter swatted his brother, his mood considerably lighter after having conveyed the tale. It took a load off his shoulders now that his brother knew the part of the story he had been holding back. And he knew his brother would be aware of what was going on if he started to falter during their trek.

"Peter? Edmund?"

Lucy poked her head into the back room where Peter and Edmund were still lying side by side in the small bed. "Is it sun up already, Lu?" Edmund asked, moving to appear to be rubbing sleep from his eyes. Peter was mimicking his brother, pretending to have just woken up too.

Their youngest sister narrowed her eyes at her siblings, but didn't press. If they wanted to tell her what was going on, they would. She instead nodded and plastered a half-genuine smile on her face. "Yes, and Susan found some fruit we can eat for breakfast. We should go before the trail gets cold and all."

Peter smiled and nodded. "We'll be right there, Lu. Save me an apple, would you?"

His sister nodded and disappeared from view. Peter turned to Ed and the smile fell off his face. "So…can you help me up, Ed?" There was no hesitation from the younger boy and he pulled Peter to his feet and waited until he was steady before stepping back. "Thanks for listening. I do feel a bit better about it now."

That drew a smile from Edmund. "Glad to help, Peter. I owe you for helping me out after Beruna anyway." His smile drooped when he saw the darkened expression on Peter's face at his mention of Beruna. He knew his brother partly blamed himself for Edmund's injury, but it felt like there was more to it than just that now. "What?"

Peter shook his head and stepped past Edmund. "Nothing, let's go."

Edmund could tell he wasn't going to get an answer now, so he filed it away as something to pry out of Peter another time. Scooping up his school bag, which he had taken with him into Narnia, Ed hurried after his brother and joined his siblings outside the hut.

The trail wasn't difficult to follow. From what Edmund could tell, and he was the better tracker out of the siblings, at least one of the beings that had trampled through here was large. Probably the size of a human. And there had been more than one, running for sure.

The other tracks were harder to discern and were probably a small talking animal, or perhaps a dwarf. Or perhaps both, he wasn't too sure. But one thing was for certain, they were making no attempts to disguise their trail.

Peter watched with fond amusement as his brother stooped again to study the ground before them. Susan and Lucy drew to a halt beside him, waiting, and Peter stood leaning against the nearest tree. His brother was very good at tracking after spending many an afternoon training with the talking Dogs during their reign.

Watching him now, it was as if Edmund had never left Narnia – even though he was still clad in his school clothes, minus the blazer since it was warm outside. Peter wrinkled his nose as he felt a pinching pain in his torso. Shifting, he managed to relatively quickly dispel the feeling.

Edmund stood up now and gestured for the others to move on. And so it went for long minutes that stretched into a few hours of near silent plodding along through the forest. Lucy was looking around, eyebrows furrowed, and Peter couldn't take it anymore.

"What is it, Lu? Something seems to be bothering you."

The young girl turned to her brother, continuing to walk, but slowing to place herself beside him. "Don't you think it's odd, Peter? We haven't seen a single Narnian. Not a single Dryad. Nothing. Just woods. What do you suppose happened here? The forests used to be so … alive."

Peter didn't reply immediately. The same thoughts had actually been running through his mind as they had begun on their trek, but he hadn't voiced them. The woods were so still he was starting to wonder if they really were in Narnia.

"I don't know, Lu. I've been wondering similar things myself and I haven't an answer. But something has happened, I can feel it." He looked up ahead at Edmund and Susan, who were quietly chatting with each other. "Whatever happened, it's why we're here. To help set it right."

Lucy nodded. "Yes, and I dearly hope we find someone soon because I'm really beginning to worry. And I can't stop wondering about Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers, oh and Aslan!" She glanced at her brother, frowning as she saw a slight tremor in his step. "Peter? Are you all right?"

She said it just loudly enough for Edmund to pick up and he halted almost immediately, a chagrined frown on his face. "Peter? Do you need to stop?" he asked, backtracking a bit to reach his brother and sister. Peter had stopped when Lucy had questioned him and it was now more evident that his legs were shaking.

Seeing this, Ed reached forward and drew Peter toward him, pulling his arm over his shoulders and forcing his brother to lean on him. He knew Peter was feeling awful when he didn't protest.

Edmund looked around and spied a nice spot a few meters from the river they were now walking adjacent to. He moved his brother off and then lowered him beside a tree. Peter started to rub his legs and nodded his thanks to Edmund.

"What's wrong with Peter?" Susan whispered to Ed, sensing he knew more than he was letting on about Peter's predicament. Her elder brother heard her question and looked up to Edmund.

A slight nod indicated it was all right to tell Susan and Lucy – since it was bound to happen for a while yet. Provided they didn't find Lucy's cordial, of course. Peter listening mutely as Edmund gave a brief description of his brother's temporary paralysis.

Lucy's eyes were wide when he completed his tale and she turned to Peter, who wouldn't meet his siblings' gazes. With a small huff of breath, she fell to her knees beside her oldest brother and hugged him. "Oh Peter, that's so horrible. I'm so glad you weren't like that forever. Do you think the cordial will help when we find it?"

Peter looked up, arms still wrapped around Lucy's slight form. "I hope so, Lu. I really do."

Susan patted him on the shoulder as she lowered herself to the ground beside him and Edmund sat down in front of his siblings, reaching into his bag to pull out some more fruit. The four sat quietly munching while Peter rested his weary body.

They resumed their walk, albeit at a slower pace, for another few hours, stopping occasionally when it was obvious Peter was beginning to ail. It was nearing nightfall when Peter drew his sisters and brother to a halt.

"We should really stop for the night, and this seems as good a place as any," he said, hands on his hips in a position that indicated he wouldn't take no for an answer. He knew his siblings were anxious to find out what was going on, but he also knew it wouldn't do for them to exhaust themselves.

Edmund hesitated, but saw the fiery look he was getting and was actually glad for it. It was the most authority Peter had shown in a while. Edmund had noticed his brother was deferring to him more often than not and it was disturbing him. He would make a point to mention it when they settled down.

Susan and Lucy went about gathering twigs and brush for a small fire and Peter set it ablaze with matches he'd found in Edmund's pack. Edmund had gone to the nearby river, keeping his family in sight, and had somehow managed to catch a few fish for supper.

The four Pevensies enjoyed a hearty meal before three of them settled down around the fire. Edmund appointed himself first watch and leaned back against the tree nearest the fire.

He could see Peter looking up at the stars, his arms comfortably set under his head and his ankles crossed. But Peter wasn't asleep yet, so Ed decided to broach a few topics that had been swimming around in his head.

"Peter?"

The blonde shifted slightly so that his gaze was on Edmund. "Yeah?"

With a deep breath, Edmund said, "Why are you being so … docile? You usually jump in and take charge of everything, but you aren't doing that and I want to know why."

For a moment, he didn't think Peter would answer. The young man had turned his gaze back to the stars and it was a few moments before he did, suddenly, reply. "I guess I'm still stuck in Army mode, Ed," he said quietly. "I might have been a corporal, but I wasn't really allowed to make many decisions. At first it was hard, you know. Going from High King of Narnia to lowly foot soldier. Then I got used to it and it was routine. Now, it's sort of hard to go back, I think."

He once again shifted his gaze to meet Edmund's. "I'm sorry if you feel burdened trying to make up for my lack of leadership, Edmund."

The latter waved him off. "I don't mind, Peter, I just wanted to know what the reason was. And I can see what you're saying. I imagine it's a bit like going from a King to a ten-year-old in London was. I was hard-pressed to listen to adults around me, still feeling like I was one."

Peter nodded at that. Many a time during his short war service he had found himself wanting to give an order or change the battle plans when he knew they would fail or at least that they were faulty.

Now that he was back in Narnia, it was so easy to slip into that same mindset and let Edmund and Susan take charge of everything – follow blindly and not take responsibility for any decisions.

But he knew it couldn't stay so. When they met up with the Narnians, he was going to be looked to for decisions and for plans, whatever they might revolve around. He was the High King and as such, it was his duty. Even if he was vastly different from the man who'd rode off to hunt the White Stag with his siblings.

"I just need a little time, Ed," Peter said. "I'll be back to normal soon. You know I like giving orders, being bossy." He smiled at Edmund's little laugh. "There was something else you wanted to know," Peter continued. "And, I don't want to keep things from you, so I'll tell you why you mentioning Beruna bothered me so much."

Hoisting himself up until he was leaning on his left elbow and side, Peter met Edmund's gaze before his eyes lowered briefly to his brother's side. Looking back up, he said, "Do you know the first thing I thought when this" he gestured to his midsection "happened? I wondered if it was what you felt like at Beruna."

Ed sucked in a breath before he could stop himself and grimaced at the memory of the searing pain he'd felt that morning. "Pete…"

"No, lemme finish," his brother said. "I know I had my fair share of injuries over the years in Narnia, but aside from Ettinsmoor, few were serious," He plowed on despite Edmund's incredulous snort. "Nothing that would have killed me…" he amended, before continuing. "So I never thought too hard about what you must have felt that day. Until this happened."

He looked down at the ground, taking a moment to compose himself before looking up and asking his brother the question he had kept to himself for many years. "What did it feel like, Ed? I need to know."

Forgetting the need to stand watch for the moment, Edmund actually crawled to his brother's side and wrapped his arms around the older boy's shoulders. "Peter, you don't need to think about this, it's over and long done with."

He felt Peter shake his head and heard the murmured "please."

With a sigh, Edmund kept his hold firm and spoke over Peter's shoulder, since the latter had his head buried in Edmund's own shoulder. "I guess I'd describe it as white hot, searing. Sort of like that time I burnt myself on the stove, but so much worse. And it took my breath away, the surprise of it happening and all." He paused. "Once I fell though, I was sort of numb. Don't get me wrong, it hurt like the dickens, but thinking back on it I'm surprised it wasn't worse really. I remember every breath was harder and harder and that was even scarier than all the blood."

He felt Peter's breathing hitch and stopped speaking. His brother's hands were knotted tightly in his shirt and he could tell Peter must be having flashbacks of his own injury. With a small whimpering cry, Peter suddenly let tears fall and Edmund started in surprise. Peter rarely cried.

"Hey, none of that," he whispered, drawing back and wiping a few tears away from Peter's eyes. "I told you, it's over and done with. And I'm fine. And you're … relatively fine and will eventually be just fine."

Peter looked up at his younger brother through his tousled hair and shook his head lightly. "But Ed, I was supposed to protect you. I promised Mum I would and I let you get stabbed by that witch and feel something someone your age should never have felt."

Edmund sat back. "You blame yourself for that?" He suddenly did something that took Peter by surprise – smacked him in the back of the head. "You idiot!" Ed jumped to his feet and began to pace angrily. "You can't possibly think you were at fault for Beruna! Peter, I made the choice to disobey you and I would do it again, and again, and AGAIN. She was headed straight for you and I knew she meant to kill you."

He lowered his voice when Lucy stirred from across the fire pit.

"I know you wanted to protect me, Peter, but you can't do everything. I admit, I wish I never had to feel that…that pain, but it happened. And we got through it. How do you think I felt, opening that door to find two soldiers clutching a letter and just knowing they were going to tell me you were dead?"

He had to stop and catch his breath, but kept pacing. "Peter, the whole time you were gone all I could think was how I was always at your side, had your back in battle here in Narnia, and you were alone in Greece. I had nightmares about it, Peter. About you dying all alone, because I wasn't there to help you!"

Edmund was horrified to find tears falling down his face. "And that's exactly what happened! Don't you think, perhaps I always wanted to protect you? When we rode to battles, I felt it was my duty to protect you just as you felt it was yours to protect me. You were there when I was hurt, where was I when you were? At home. Warm and cozy!"

He slumped to his knees and then sat back, hugging his knees. Peter had silent tears falling now as he pulled himself to his brother and grabbed him into another hug. He was momentarily at a loss for words and the two brothers just held onto each other for a time.

Then he pushed Edmund back. "I never imagined you felt that way, Ed. I'm so sorry. I know you care just as much as I do and I'm sorry you felt like you'd failed me somehow. Actually, it was remembering you and Beruna that pushed me to fight so hard after I got hurt."

Edmund's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and a small smile graced Peter's tear-streaked face. "Yeah, believe it or not, thinking about how you held on – so young and all – gave me strength to keep fighting. I kept thinking, If Edmund survived Beruna, surely big, strong Peter can survive this. So see, you did help me and you were there for me, Ed."

A small smile crept up on Edmund's face. "You really mean that?"

Peter nodded. "I do."

Edmund let out a shaky breath. "Let's neither of us do that sort of thing again, though, right?" He chuckled lightly, wiping away tears, as Peter nodded emphatically. "And you should lie back down. I have a watch to finish and then it's your turn…"

Peter silently agreed and settled back onto the ground near the fire; poking it a bit to get it going more before drifting off into an emotionally exhausted sleep. Edmund swiped at his eyes and sniffled before returning his attention to their surroundings.

Please review!! Caspian appears in the next chapter, so stay tuned!!