Peter's POV
Song: Through it All by Colton Dixon

The next morning....

"But Peter, that's crazy! You can't just go around London digging in people's yards!"

The arguments and discussions had gone round and round for most of the night. Ever since the figure had appeared the speculation and planning had been ongoing. April had wearied of it and seemed to be glad to have Sabrina to take care of. Peter knew she trusted him to let her know if and when she was needed. He was so anxious to make a difference. It was obvious that Narnia was in trouble and his blood ran hot to rise to the occasion to do whatever was in his power to help.

Peter finally came to their bed with an adventure for her but not the one he had insinuated earlier.

He chuckled at her exasperation and kissed her slowly and deeply. It was the best way to refocus her. It had always worked to bring her around to some of his crazy schemes. She was practical and he loved that about her. He knew this world's laws better than anyone, but this was for Narnia, and he would do anything for his other country.

He had meant for the kiss to be quick, but it had been longer than he thought since they had connected and he got distracted for a couple of moments. Then excitement filled him again at their plan and he pulled away and started to explain.

"Yes, love, but you know about the rings, right?"

"Of course, that was how Polly and Digory got in and out of Narnia, or at least to the world with all the pools in the beginning. What was it called?"

"The Wood between the Worlds."

"Right. Continue, please."

"They buried them around the tree that grew from the apple core that saved his mother. The tree was in Digory's back yard. When the tree blew down in the storm, Digory had the wardrobe made from the wood—"

"Yes, Peter, I know all that. But how are you going to get the rings?"

"Professor Kirke gave us the address of the house. Edmund and I are going back to London and will wait until early in the morning before anyone is awake and dig them up. We will dress like workmen in case anyone asks questions. Once we find them, we will take the train to meet Eustace and Jill on their way back to school."

"Do we know for sure that Eustace and Jill can go back to Narnia?"

"Aslan has not told them they can't. They have to try, it is a risk they are willing to take. They are our only hope. It took us all night to come up with this plan."

"Okay. I understand you have to try. But Sabrina and I will need to go back to London with you. Will you take off work? It will be Monday morning by then."

"Yes. I can miss a day. I am glad you are going back with us. This is going to work. I can feel it!"

~~0~~

"April! April! We did it!"

Peter's excited voice called to her. She pulled herself out of bed and made it into the living room, blinking at the light.

"Shh... Peter, you'll wake the baby! And the neighbors. What time is it?"

"It's 5:30 a.m. April. Sorry about that. He is really excited though," Edmund chuckled.

"Look at you two! You are filthy. I assume you found the rings?"

"Yes, here they are."

Peter very carefully lifted the handkerchief out of his pocket and unfolded it. In the center gleaming against the white scrap of fabric was a glowing green ring. Edmund likewise showed her a yellow ring in his handkerchief.

"Please tell me each of you have the other color as well."

Edmund looked offended. "Of course, and they each are in separate pockets. That way if we accidentally slipped into the Wood Between the Worlds, we could get back."

"You hope," April mumbled. "So what's next?" she asked, a little louder.

April rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked between the brothers. They looked like excited children on an adventure. And...well, they were.

"The train that will take us to the rendezvous location leaves at 6:00 tonight."

"Tonight? Oh, Susan is coming over to give us our night off. We had tickets to the ballet, remember?"

"Oh, darling, I'm sorry."

Peter pulled her into his arms and he noticed Edmund moving into the other room. She snuggled in against his chest. He knew she wasn't really upset. It usually took her a minute to get used to a change of plan. Their lives had become based on routines since Sabrina had come.

"I understand," she said. "This is important. I am concerned about Narnia too. Once a queen... always a queen, I suppose. When will you all be back?"

"It will take a couple of hours to get there. We will meet them and then be back probably after midnight. Will you be all right here on your own?"

"Of course. We will be fine. Should I call Susan? Although I am not sure where she is working today."

"No, perhaps you can enjoy some girl time together tonight."

The day passed quickly. The anticipation running through Peter and Edmund made it impossible for them to sit still. The excitement was both catching and annoying. Sabrina was thrilled to have her Dad and Uncle to play with. When April couldn't get her calmed down for her nap, she chased the boys out of the apartment. They were gone for hours and April got a much-needed nap as well. They returned just as Susan arrived.

Susan was surprised to see both of them and April wondered what they would tell her.

"Edmund and I have to go meet some friends up North. Would you mind to stay and keep April company, Susan?"

"Oh, well, I suppose. But... why don't you go with them April? You look a little uptight. Sabrina and I will be just fine."

April looked up at Peter. She seemed unsure, so he stepped closer and grinned at her. She swayed toward him. He loved the way, even after all this time, her body responded to his, like a magnet. The doubt in her eyes cleared and his smile deepened.

"What do you say, love? Up for a little adventure?" He waggled his eyebrows at her and knew she couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, why not?" she sighed. "You know I can't resist that look."

"Great! Oh, Susan," Peter said, "before I forget, there is an envelope on the table with your copies of the signed papers. Thanks again for doing that."

"My pleasure."

As the sound of Sabrina's cooing reached them from the bedroom, Susan's face lit up and she moved to get her niece up from her late nap.

"You all run along now, and have a great time, whatever it is you are doing."

She paused for a second mid-step and then turned quickly and hugged each of them before skipping into the bedroom.

"Coming Beanie..."

Edmund and Peter exchanged a look. The hugs were unusual for Susan. April gathered her things, went in to cuddle her daughter, and they set out for the train station.

"What papers were you talking about Peter?" Edmund asked as they walked.

"We decided it was time to be sure that Sabrina had a guardian in case anything ever happened to us," April said sadly. "It makes me cry just to think about it, but it is much worse to think of her being alone."

Peter put his arm around her. "I hope you are okay with it Ed. We thought of asking you, but we weren't sure what your plans were after school. Susan seems to be settled here. She loves her job, and she has such a bond with Sabrina. Did you see the way she lit up when she heard her?"

"I have noticed that."

Edmund clapped Peter on the back. "I understand, brother and am fine with it. We may not see eye-to-eye with Susan about many things, but we all agree your little girl is very special!"

~~0~~

"Wow. There certainly is a crowd here," April protested.

The train going out of London had been full as well. Edmund groaned as he was jostled by yet another person. Peter knew how he hated crowds. They were pushed up close to the tracks at the very end of a small platform at this tiny out of the way station waiting for the train to arrive. The crowd was full of commuters from the nearby factories trying to get home to their families. The train was very late and everyone was disgruntled. It was chilly in the outside air. They were tired and ready to meet their friends who were on the delayed train.

"How late is it now Ed?" Peter asked, becoming impatient. He was sure it was his imagination, but the rings seemed to be tingling in his pockets.

"About 30 minutes, it's 11:00 now. Say, I think this is the same train Mum and Dad are on. They will be getting off as we are getting on. I wonder if we will see them. They had some sort of business at this stop." Edmund paused looking as if he were sifting through the files in his brain.

"Oh yes, I remember now, they are meeting one of Dad's friends from the war after their long weekend trip."

"Really? This late?" said Peter absently. "How curious."

April looked at Edmund, "Do you know if Polly, Professor Kirke, and Lucy were going with Eustace and Jill on the train? Will we see them too?"

"I'm sure they will. It's as if we all want to be as close as possible to this Narnian adventure and to each other for as long as we can."

April smiled and Peter put his arm around her waist, settling it on her hip. He loved how she felt under his hand. He was glad she had come with them, even with all the delays.

"Hey! There it is!" A voice called out.

They all turned and stared into the blackness of the countryside. A single white light was piercing through the light fog that had settled around them. The train was indeed coming.

Peter breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hmm," Edward muttered.

Peter turned to him in curiosity. "What is it?"

"Something's not right," Edmund said puzzled. "It's moving much too fast. It should have slowed, there, by that marker!"

The crowd came alive around them murmuring and pointing.

April pressed her body into Peter's and he tightened his arm to comfort her. He felt a frisson of fear run down his spine. All they could do was stare, the light bright getting larger, moving closer.

"Slow down, slow down. Now. Before you reach the corner," Edmund whispered urgently as if the train might hear his words and listen to him.

Peter watched, frozen in place by both the crowd and by fright as the train rounded the slight corner before the platform. Moving too fast it skidded off the tracks with a loud grinding, clanging noise that made him want to cover his ears. The crowd at once gasped and then started shouting. Panic ensued as people were screaming and trying to move around them.

The engine seemed to move slowly, but he knew only a second had passed. It was coming straight toward the platform where they were standing. In startling detail Peter could see the windows of the engine, the panicked face of the engineer, the color of the great engine billowing acrid smoke around them...it was red. He glanced down at April's wide eyes and moving forcefully, shoved her behind him bracing her with his arms as she flattened herself against him.

The noise was deafening and yet muted at the same time. He heard April scream his name, then a golden light burst into his sight surrounding the engine and blinding him. He felt the blunt impact slam into his chest much like the long-ago memory of a Narnian giant throwing him to the ground. Then all went dark.

Silent.

~~0~~

At the same time...back in London
(Susan's POV)

"Oh, what time is it?" Susan exclaimed sleepily glancing around the empty room feeling silly for speaking out loud.

A large book slid off Susan's lap. She must have fallen asleep reading. She really didn't know what possessed her to open the cabinet on the wall and poke around. She was never the nosy sort, that had always been Lucy. She smiled at the thought of her curious sister and felt a sudden longing to see her again. It had been a while and she missed Lucy's contagious laughter.

Life these days had lost a lot of its meaning for Susan. That was why she came and spent as much time as she could with her niece. Sabrina was more than meaningful. She brought a sense of purpose and hope to Susan's life that had become all work and an endless stream of parties afterward.

Susan glanced at the clock. Just after 11:00 p.m. She shivered even though the room was warm and realized it was Sabrina's crying from her crib in the bedroom that had startled her awake.

"Coming darling."

She picked up the toddler expecting her to quiet in her arms as she usually did when she realized it was her Auntie Sue. But Sabrina just screamed louder. Perhaps she had a bad dream and was missing her Mum and Dad.

"They will be home soon, lovey. Shhh, shhh. Auntie Sue's here. You're okay. You're safe with me. I'll take good care of you."

Susan kept murmuring reassurances and begin walking the floor with her inconsolable niece. Eventually, the screaming subsided to hiccupping silent sobs.

"There now, you're getting all better. Shhh. Let's read a bit shall we?"

She sat on the couch, still rocking the child, feeling some of the tension leave her body as Sabrina calmed a bit more.

She slid the book over. Strange that she had chosen it. Susan had not seen it in years. In fact, she had only the dimmest recollection of it being at April's parent's home in the New Forest while visiting there. It seemed her siblings were always pouring over it whenever they could. Stuff and nonsense, pure fairy tales, she had always said. But tonight, it seemed to call to her. The stories and the pictures of their pretend adventures as children amused her and it just felt right to look at it.

She shifted Sabrina in her arms and opened it toward the back and started to read to the shuddering child.

"And there, beyond the mountains, by the blue shimmering sea was a beautiful palace called Cair Paravel. And there were four thrones for the four kings and queens. I, Tumnus, would never have imagined adding to my book this final chapter, but I am very pleased to do so. Our beloved High King Peter the Magnificent has brought a new Queen to us. April, the Graceful, of dryad descendancy, (her heritage is outlined here), is truly a blessing to us all in Narnia. May the baby she carries bless and encourage all he or she meets and may they always keep Narnia close in their heart...."

"Mummee, Daddee..." Sabrina called out sleepily.

"Yes, baby..." she murmured.

Susan flipped through the pages, saw the drawings of a wedding, a celebration with the beavers, and others with both Peter and April in them. She blinked away tears for some reason. Then sat up straighter.

"Wait," she said, looking more closely at the figures clearly getting married, drawn as the others had been in the book.

"Your Mum and Dad?" she whispered wonderingly.

What was this? She thought. Why would Peter and April pretend in such detail? Would they have drawn themselves into the fairy stories book just for fun or perhaps for Sabrina? And yet, the words from Tumnus, the narrator they always used, about the baby?

She glanced down at the now sleeping girl.

Not this baby. No, the baby written about in the book would have been the baby that April miscarried years ago.

Her heart started to beat faster. That didn't make any sense to her. But she was suddenly curious and felt a strong yearning to know. She would ask April when they got back, or maybe she would call Miranda Treed, April's Mum, to ask. Surely Miranda would know what they had meant by April having dryads in her ancestry. Perhaps she wouldn't give her any make-believe story answers like Peter or April might.

Sabrina sighed a sweet baby sigh. Susan felt the precious weight of her niece her on her shoulder and sighed herself.

She whispered, "I love you, sweet Sabrina. So very much. You will never know how deeply your Auntie Sue loves you."

It was true. At times like these, she wanted a baby exactly like her. A rush of love stronger than ever came over her for this precious little girl. She was so happy to be in her life in such a real way. She rubbed Sabrina's back softly. The quiet in the room seemed to deepen and she felt a gentle breeze blow past them.

Had she left a window open?

She didn't think so, and yet there was something familiar in that soft breeze, something peaceful, full of promise.

Her eyes opened wide and tension filled her, as a thought, or maybe was it a memory, of a golden Lion blowing on her in a far off place, filled her mind. She glanced down at the book lying next to her on the couch.

Perhaps...there was more to this story than she remembered.

The End.

"And for us, this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they lived happily ever after. But for them, it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page; now, at last, they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before." -- Final paragraph of the Chronicles of Narnia Series. At the end of chapter 16 in The Last Battle, by C.S. Lewis.

A/N: Keep reading for the Epilogue.

You may notice that the earlier portion of this chapter follows the events in The Last Battle, the final book of the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. I tried to stay as true to the book as possible. I'm sorry if it was hard to read. It was difficult to write.