Wow this story is getting a lot more complicated than I anticipated it being. But it's coming easily to me, so I might still have it done within the weekend. And I managed to actually get the Valentine's day scene in before the day was through. :)

Xavier ran up to Susan as she was leaving class.

"Hello, I was wondering if you could tutor me in history. I'm not too good at um…Britanian history, being Tel-Spanish and all," he said, smiling at her.

"I'd rather not," she said coldly, hoping he would go away.

"Please? I already spoke with your aunt that you live with, and she thought it was a good idea. Besides, I heard that you were the best in your classes at history."

"Fine. Whatever," Susan said crossly, annoyed that he had involved her aunt in this.

"Thank you," he said, taking her hand and kissing it, lingering far too long over it.

Susan pulled her hand away and said, "I didn't know kissing ladies' hands was still in done in Spain. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go to the library."

"Can you show me where that is?" he asked eagerly. Susan rolled her eyes and walked past him, but he followed anyways.

For months, it continued like this. Xavier somehow popping up everywhere in her life as much as Susan tried to avoid him.

For Christmas, he got her a doll, one that held a bow and an arrow in her hands.

"She reminded me of you," he said. "Have you ever tried archery? I think you would be very, very good at it."

"No, never," Susan said coldly. "I'm afraid I did not think to get you a Christmas present, seeing as we are not friends. In fact, I have no friends."

"You may not act like my friend, but I will always be yours," Xavier said softly. And sure enough, he always was around.

One day, Susan had finally had enough.

"Leave me alone!" she snapped at him. "Stop trying to be my friend, stop being around me. You are horrible at British or as you called it 'Britanian' history and will never understand it. Just leave me alone, you blithering nuisance!"

Xavier stepped back in shock. "I'm sorry if I overstepped in our…. acquaintanceship." He then did the oddest thing: he bowed to her. When he straightened up, Susan saw pain and … despair?... in his eyes and felt guilty.

"No, no, I overreacted. So, back to the War of Roses, okay?" she said.

"The war is rather like one in the game you used to play with your siblings, isn't it?" Xavier asked. "The second time you went back, and met Caspian that time?"

Susan snapped, "Get OUT! Get away from me! I NEVER want to see you here again!"

Xavier just stood there in shock, until Susan literally pushed him out of the house and went back in and locked the door.

Susan felt a twinge of guilt when she realized an hour later that Xavier hadn't left, but was sitting on the front porch.


"Go away!"

Susan woke up, confused. She got up and looked out the window and saw in the morning sunlight, Xavier and some blond guy outside of her house, arguing.

"No, I won't!" the blonde guy hissed back. "It's been months and all you've accomplished is her banishing you from ever seeing her again. So much for being able to handle it by yourself. I trusted that you'd be able to do it without our help. I trusted you!" He was angrily poking Xavier in the chest for emphasis.

Susan shivered. She could only expect that they were talking about her, but she did not know what they wanted with her.

"It takes time!" Xavier protested. "Give me more time! Have I ever failed you before? … wait, no don't answer that."

The blonde guy seemed oddly placated by his words. "No, you're right. You might have failed me before, but when it comes to saving her you've never failed."

Saving… me? Susan was growing more confused by the second.

"Thank you," Xavier said a bit brusquely. Susan thought that was rather rude of him, and apparently the blonde person seemed to agree.

"No need to be so rude about it. I meant it seriously. But since he let me come back, I might as well help you out now. This time, let's concentrate on only fighting together, not fighting each other, kay?"

Xavier nodded. "Fighting by each other's side as brothers... oh, speaking of brothers, is yours here too?"

"No, he only sent me. It took all of us to convince him even of that. Especially since someone might recognize me and ask too many questions. Susan should recognize the two of us, but her mind managed to push everything Narnian away and I'm sure she'll just think it's an extraordinary coincidence."

Susan frowned, trying to look more closely at the blonde boy. She couldn't quite see his face to see what he looked like. And .. Narnian? What did this boy know of their old games? Susan shifted to try to see better and accidentally knocked a picture off of her dresser. It was a picture of her two brothers. The boys below looked up at the sound. Susan had just seen the face of the blonde boy. It was the face in the picture. It was the face of her brother Peter. She screamed and fainted.


"She saw me," Peter said hoarsely. Caspian, for of course it was he, glanced at Peter and quickly looked back up at the window. Peter gestured for Caspian to follow him. Caspian shook his head no. Peter gestured again and said, "C'mon, I know a back way that'll be climbable so you can attend to her."

"You have a strange definition of climbable," Caspian said wryly, but already scaling the wall anyways. The two of them climbed the wall, and Peter lead him towards the guest room where Susan was sleeping.

Susan woke and saw Cas-Xavier by her side.

"Hush, you've been having nightmares," he whispered, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Xavier?" she whispered. "What are you doing here? In my bedroom! How dare –"

She got cut off by the sight of her deceased brother walking towards here.

"I'm Caspian, remember?" Caspian said with a grin.

"From Narnia," Peter added. "Of course, since Narnia is not real, logically, this must all be a dream."

"Yes, yes, that's the only logical explanation," Susan said, more trying to convince herself than anything.

"Susan, remember we love you. We need to go now, you need your rest," Peter said, taking his sister's hands into his own. Susan nodded, confused and happy and sad all at once.

"Peter, don't leave me. Even if this is a dream, don't leave me!" she cried. Caspian was hurt that she seemed to pay him no mind. Peter sat on Susan's bed and cradled her in his arms.

"Shhh, sweet sister, you were always so strong," Peter whispered.

"Because I had you, my rock to lean on."

"I'm still here. We all are. And Caspian. And Eustace misses you too. But we need you, our mother hen sister with us to be complete and to lean on too. We will leave, now, but will return to you soon." Peter nodded to Caspian as he stood. Caspian mouthed "one second" towards Peter. Peter frowned but said nothing.

"Remember, this is all just a dream," he said with an amused grin. He leaned in, placing his hand behind her head, and kissed her. Then he followed Peter out.

Susan laid back down on her bed, confused by all that happened. When again she woke, she could hardly believe what vivid dreams she had been having. But then she saw the smashed picture on the ground.

"Impossible," she whispered. "Impossible. I must have… I must have sleepwalked and knocked it over. Yes, that's the only logical explanation."


"So… any plan, genius?" Caspian asked.

"Wow, you have so much faith in me," Peter said sarcastically. "And yes I do. Monday is St. Valentine's Day."

"So?" Caspian asked. He had heard about it at school, but didn't really care or pay attention real well.

"So, it's your chance to make her fall in love with you all over again," Peter said.

Caspian chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day where you were encouraging me to be romantic to your sister."

"Eh, well desperate times call for desperate measures," Peter joked. "Plus, I've gotten too close to your wife the past few months, so we're even I guess."

"Ex-wife. So, how exactly does this Valentine's thingy work?"


Susan was tempted to skip school on Valentine's Day. She had already been receiving way more Valentines than she wanted. Which was to say, more than the 0 she wanted. And yet somehow she ended up with Valentines from over half the guys in her year. They did all realize they were commemorating the anniversary of a guy being beaten, stoned, and then beheaded?

"Susan," she heard a thick Spanish voice call. She recognized it as Xavier's and crossed her arms, refusing to turn to him.

"I brought you something. Or somethings actually," Caspian said, walking around so she'd have to face him or else make a scene. He held out cookies. Burnt, chocolate chip cookies with frosting on them. Caspian wasn't sure why Peter had made sure that they were burnt since that seemed rather counterproductive, but Susan started crying.

"It's just like when Lu used to try to cook…" she whispered.

"And a few other things…" he continued.

He pulled a box out of his backpack. Susan took it and pulled the wrapping off. It was a chess set, just like Edmund's.

"Oh… I don't play chess. Not anymore," she said stiffly.

"Oh, well then how about this one last gift?" he said, pulling out tickets to the opera. "Come with me tonight?"

Susan mulled it over, eating one of the rather disgusting cookies. She nodded.


During the opera, Caspian slowly inched as close as he could to Susan in his chair. Then he yawned and put his arm around her, like Peter had told him too. It had actually been really awkward, Peter telling him how to get his sister to fall in love with him. But it looked like Peter was right. Susan stiffened for a second, but then relaxed and seemed less tense than before. By the end of the opera, she had placed her head on his shoulder.


"Just you tonight," Peter told Caspian. "Although if you take advantage of that, I'll be after you. My sister better still be a virgin tomorrow."

"I'm hurt that you think I would do anything like that to her," Caspian retorted. He climbed the wall again and walked to Susan's room. She woke as he entered.

"Where's my brother? Is he not going to be in my dreams tonight?" she said sweetly. Caspian was reminded of the angels he had heard about in stories he had read in his literature class. Caspian climbed onto her bed and cradled her head in his hands.

"He'll be back tomorrow night. Tonight, it's just you and me," Caspian whispered.

"As if I could trust anything a dream tells me," she responded.

"So Narnia still isn't real?" he said softly.

"No, it's not… logical. It's not logical. It's impossible," Susan said.

"Nothing's impossible. Not with Aslan," Caspian said. "Narnia is possible, seeing your family again is possible, and us working out despite the 1300 year age difference is possible."

Caspian leaned in and kissed her. Susan tensed, and then relaxed, just as she had at the opera. She ran her fingers through his hair and he grabbed her hair and stroked it. They kissed passionately and long. Susan then ran her hands down his chest. Caspian shifted to cradling her on his lap. She leaned back and eventually fell asleep in his arms.

"I love you, Queen of my heart," Caspian whispered, carefully getting out from under her without disturbing her rest and walking out.

When Susan woke, there was no evidence that last night had been anything but a vivid, incredible dream.