Peter's heart stopped beating a few moments later. His head shot down when he felt movement in his hand.
Peter's hand was resting on the bed, Edmund's hand lying in it limply.
He stared down in disbelief when he swore one of Edmund fingers moved. Peter's eyes went wide as he gasped.
Peter wondered for a moment if he had only been imagining it. But his wonder was short lived when Edmund moved another finger. Followed by the rest.
Tears welled in Peter's eyes as his brother weakly squeezed his hand.
Peter smiled slightly, before he hesitantly looked up at his brother. He was so afraid he was only dreaming, that he would wake up and find Edmund back in his previous state, lying as still as a statue. Or he would be gone - or worse.
"Edmund?" Peter asked slowly, and quietly. Aslan please don't let this be a dream.
Peter watched Edmund with bated breath, not even daring to blink.
About a minute later, Edmund's eyes slowly fluttered about halfway open.
Edmund slowly looked around him, his vision slightly blurry as he tried to figure out where he was, and what had happened.
Then he saw him. He was staring down at Edmund, tears in his eyes, on the verge of falling. His face was also red, and he had tear stains, as if he had already been crying.
"Pete?" Edmund choked slowly, his voice extremely raspy.
Peter smiled widely. He blinked as the tears finally began to fall. "Ed." He breathed, his voice was laced with pure relief and happiness. He then (very gently) wrapped his arms around Edmund, holding onto him as tightly as he dared. He never planned on letting him go again.
Edmund weakly hugged him back, using as much strength as he could manage. He smiled slightly, feeling happier than ever, and safe, in the warmth of his brothers arms.
It was at least five minutes, before Peter finally let Edmund go. He took a deep breath as he stared at him, almost expecting him to disappear right before his eyes.
Edmund smiled up at him, taking a slow, and steady deep breath.
Peter smiled back widely. He'd never felt so relieved in his entire life.
Thank you, Aslan.
You're welcome child.
"You alright ?" Edmund asked.
Peter chuckled slightly. Of course Edmund was worried about him, when he was the one who nearly died.
"Yes Ed, I'm fine." He said. "Not a scratch on me."
Edmund smiled at him slightly, before glancing around the room. "The girls?" He asked quickly.
"They're fine. Don't worry. They're alright. They just went to-" Peter stopped suddenly, when the door opened and his sisters walked in.
Susan sighed heavily as she turned around to close the door. "Peter, we brought you some-"
She was cut off by her sisters loud gasp, and quickly turned around. She was met with the best sight she'd ever seen.
Edmund was awake. Albeit, he looked weak, and exhausted, but his eyes were open, and he smiled weakly at his sisters.
"Edmund!" Lucy shouted, less than a second after she saw him. She immediately ran over to the bed, jumping on it and wrapping her arms tightly around him.
"Careful, Lucy." Susan said quickly, making her way over to her siblings.
"It's alright." Edmund breathed. "She's not hurting me."
Lucy slowly looked up at her brother, wide blue eyes, meeting dark brown ones. Her eyes were filled with tears, as she smiled up at him.
"Lucy's hugs are my favorite." Edmund said, a small, weak, smile on his face. "They always warm my heart, and make me feel happy. She could never hurt me."
Lucy beamed at him, her smile widening immensely. She held onto him even tighter (still being gentle of course). She then kissed him on the cheek. Edmund smiled down at her as she rested her head in the crook of his neck.
Edmund let out a warm sigh, gently kissing Lucy's head. He then turned to Susan, giving her a smile.
Susan smiled down at her brother, before gently wrapping her arms around him.
Edmund hugged her back weakly, a smile on his face.
Susan placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as she slowly pulled away.
"How you feeling?" She asked.
Edmund's smile widened slightly, as he looked up at Susan. Seeing love, and concern in her eyes. He leaned further into her gentle touch.
He then looked down at Lucy, who was smiling widely at him, her ocean blue eyes filled with nothing but joy, happiness, and love for her brother.
Then he looked over to Peter, who had moved from the chair, to the edge of the bed. He was smiling at Edmund, his face was filled with pure relief, as he held back his tears of joy.
How am I feeling? Edmund thought. Sure, he was in pain. But that was understandable, he didn't expect anything less. He was tired and weak, which was also to be expected. But, he was here. He was okay. And he was alive.
Not only that, but his siblings were here too. All of them. They were right next to him. With hugs, and smiles, and even tears. And he knew they would be right here the entire time. He knew he had a long road ahead, but they would take it with him. He knew they would. They always did.
He was alive.
His family was there.
They were happy.
He was happy.
Edmund took a deep breath, smiling as widely as he could manage at the moment. He looked at each of his siblings, sighing warmly. "I'm alright." He said, happily.
And it was true.
♕ ♕ ♕
"Are you warm enough dear?" Helen asked Edmund, as she tucked a third blanket around him."
Edmund chuckled slightly. "I'm fine mum." He assured her.
"Are you sure?" She asked. "Because I can easily get you another blanket-"
"I'm sure." Edmund said, smiling slightly. "If you give me another blanket, I won't be able to move." He laughed.
Helen smiled slightly at her son. "Oh dear, your pillow is crooked." She said, going to fix it.
"I got it mum. I got it." Peter said, standing from where he had been sitting on his own bed.
Helen nodded her thanks to Peter as he fixed Edmund's pillow.
"My pillow is fine." Edmund said, groaning slightly. "Really, you guys must stop fussing over me."
"Edmund you just got home from the hospital today!" Peter said. "We are allowed to fuss over you."
Edmund let out a sigh as he rolled his eyes.
"I really should get to work." Helen sighed. "But I hate leaving you so soon Edmund."
"Mum, you haven't left my side in weeks! Go to work. I'll be fine." Edmund said.
"But I feel terrible that I wasn't here when the accident happened. I'm so sorry. I came as soon as I got the news."
"Don't worry about it mum." Edmund said. "It's fine. I had Peter, Susan and Lucy. Trust me, they didn't leave my side for a second."
Helen smiled, looking at Peter. "You 3 have done a wonderful job caring for your brother." She said.
Peter nodded. "Thanks mum." He said.
Helen sighed, looking back at Edmund. "Are you sure you're alright? Because if not-"
"I'm positive." Edmund said, laughing slightly. "Peter's here, and so are the girls I'll be okay."
Helen sighed, but eventually nodded. "Alright." She said hesitantly. "The girls are making lunch now, so they should be up with that in a little while. I'll see you later. Call me if you need anything.
Anything at all."
"We will." Peter said.
"Bye you two."
"Bye, mum." They replied, as she left the room.
Peter let out a long sigh as he sat in a chair next to Edmund's bed. "Feel good to be in your own bed again?"
"You have no idea." Edmund said, chuckling.
Peter laughed. "How you feeling?" He asked a moment later.
Edmund groaned. "You ask me that every 30 seconds Peter! You shouldn't worry so much."
"I'm your brother." Peter said. "It's my job." He smirked.
Edmund glared at him before sighing. "I'm alright." He said.
Peter didn't look as if he believed him. "Ed-"
"Really, Peter." Edmund cut him off. "I feel okay. Much better than I've felt lately."
Peter nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Good." He breathed.
"You know, Ed." Peter said a moment later. "We haven't really had a chance to talk about what happened."
Edmund furrowed his brows in confusion. "Yeah we did." He said. "You told me about everything shortly after I woke up. Remember?"
"No, not that." Peter said.
"Then...what...?" Edmund asked slowly.
Peter sighed. "Edmund...you saved me that day."
Edmund stared at him. "Oh." He breathed. "That."
"Why'd you do it?" Peter asked after a moment.
Edmund's head whipped up to look at Peter, eyes wide. "Why did I do it?" He asked, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Hmmm I don't know. Maybe because I love you and didn't want you to get hurt."
Peter's eyes went wide. "But you got hurt, Ed!" He said. "You nearly died."
"But you didn't." Edmund said.
Peter's eyes went wider as he stared at Edmund.
Edmund sighed slightly, looking down. "I would much rather be the one to get hurt - or worse - than you, or the girls. I can't let anything happen to you. I won't let anything happen to you."
Peter was silent for a moment before speaking. "Why won't you let anything happen to us?" He asked slowly.
Edmund looked confused at this but opened his mouth to answer anyway. "Because I lo-"
"No." Peter cut him off. "Don't say because you love us. Of course you love us, Ed. Of course you don't want us getting hurt. We all feel that way about each other. This is deeper than that. You risked your life, to save mine, and you didn't hesitate for one second. You did the same thing countless times in Narnia. It's not just because you don't want us hurt, or because you love us. Why do you really do this?"
Edmund stared at him for about 30 seconds before sighing. "You're right." He choked, looking down.
Peter nodded, waiting for Edmund to continue. He was trying his best to be patient with his brother. Edmund didn't share his feelings very often, and it was a struggle to get him to when he did. Peter knew Edmund would talk. He just needed to give him a little time.
Edmund took a deep breath, about 5 minutes later.
Peter looked up at him, trying to hide how anxious he was for Edmund to talk.
"I made a promise to myself."
Peter slowly nodded. "What promise?"
Edmund sighed. "I made it after my time with - with The Witch. After we all reunited. I was so relieved you were all okay. The entire time, I had been terrified the wolves would find you and kill you. But, when I found out you were alive, I was so grateful, I thought I had gotten you all killed. It happened when I went into our tent the day I was rescued. As I laid down on the hammock, I realized that you all still cared about me. You still loved me. You forgave me, after everything I did. And in that moment, I knew, I never wanted anything to happen to you. So I said, I never will let anything happen to you. I promised that I would do anything to keep all of you safe. No matter what the cost to myself might be."
Peter stared at his brother in shock. That had not been the answer he was expecting. He was silent for a few moments before he finally found words.
"I had no idea you made that promise, Ed."
"Nobody does except for me. Now you." Edmund continued to look down at his bed, looking very interested in the sheets.
Peter smiled slightly. "So, is that what you were thinking when you pushed me out of the way that day?"
"No." Edmund said, looking up. "I was thinking, Peter could die, and I can't let that happen. So I pushed you out of the way. Sure, that promise is always there in the back of my mind. But in the moment, I was just thinking that I had to save you. That I couldn't let you get hurt."
"You don't think about getting yourself hurt?"
"I never really think that far ahead." Edmund chuckled slightly. "I usually don't realize I am going to get hurt until it's too late to do anything. But, if I get hurt, and you don't, it's worth it."
Peter sighed. "You know, Ed, it really, really scares me when you get hurt like that. No matter how many times these things happen, I'm still terrified. So are the girls. I was so scared you wouldn't make it this time."
Peter shut his eyes tightly, the unwanted memories of his dying brother flashing through his mind.
"You were underneath a building! There was a beam on top of you! For a considerable amount of time too. When we found you-" Peter took a deep breath, shaking his head. "I thought you were - dead. You were covered in blood, so, so much blood. I could tell you had broken bones just by looking at you. You were barely breathing." He swallowed hard before continuing. "I thought you were going to die out there Ed. I really did."
Peter had tears in his eyes by now, and he was fighting hard not to let them fall.
Edmund took a shaky deep breath, before slowly looking up at Peter. He stared at him for a few moments. Trying to figure out exactly what he needed to say. "I'm really sorry I scared you." He finally choked.
Peter sighed. "You don't need to apologize for that, Ed." He said gently.
Edmund shrugged slightly, before taking a deep breath. "Thank you." He said.
Peter looked utterly confused. "For what?"
"You saved me." Edmund said simply.
Peter looked even more confused. "Are you still healing from that concussion? Because you're the one who pushed me out of the way and fell through the floor."
Edmund smirked. "I'm not talking about that, Peter." He took a deep breath."There was one minor detail that you left out when you were telling me the story. Lucy told me about it. She said you were the one who first started searching for me beneath the rubble. Even when they told you to stop. You were the one who found me. You, and the girls, got that beam off of me. And you were the one who carried me away from the building. My injuries were grave, if I had been under there any longer, I probably wouldn't have made it. You saved me Peter. And I'm really grateful. So thank you."
A single tear escaped from Peter's eye. "It was the least I could do. You saved my life too."
"You're welcome." Edmund said with a nod.
"Thank you." Peter said, chuckling slightly.
"How about we call it even?" Edmund said with a smirk.
"Alright." Peter said, sticking his hand out for Edmund to shake. "We're even." He said, as he shook his brothers hand.
Edmund smiled before putting his hand on his lap again.
"But Edmund." Peter said.
"Hmm?"
"If you do anything like this ever again, I will kill you."
Edmund laughed. "I'd expect no less of you, brother dearest." He said, smirking.
Peter chuckled, shaking his head slightly.
The two looked up a moment later when they heard a knock at the door.
"Come in." Peter called.
A second later the door opened to reveal a cheerful looking Lucy, and Susan right behind her. She was smiling, but not as widely as Lucy; of course, nobody could smile as widely as Lucy.
Lucy's smile widened when she saw Edmund, sitting up in bed and smiling slightly. She quickly made her way over to him, putting her hands behind her back and stopping when she reached his bedside. "Hi Ed!" She said happily.
Edmund chuckled slightly. "Hey, Lucy." He said, smiling.
Susan smiled at her brothers as she walked over and stood beside Lucy. "How you doing?" She asked gently.
"I'm alright." Edmund replied with a nod.
"You sure?" She pressed, knowing Edmund had a tendency to hide the way he felt. Especially when he was sick or injured. He hated causing trouble, and being worried or fussed over.
Edmund chuckled. "I'm positive." He said with a smile.
Susan looked him over for a moment, before slowly nodding, her motherly instincts shining through. "Okay." She finally breathed.
"What ya got there Lu?" Peter asked, noticing her hands were behind her back. She also looked as if she was about to burst from anticipation and excitement.
Lucy smiled widely, before turning to Edmund. "It's a gift for you!" She said happily.
"You got me a gift?" Edmund asked, eyebrows raised.
Lucy nodded enthusiastically.
"Actually we bought you a gift." Susan said, smiling slightly.
"Well, yeah Susan helped too." Lucy said. "But it was my idea."
Edmund chuckled. "Oh, you shouldn't have." He said, but his siblings could tell he was just being polite. He actually looked really excited. After all, gifts were always his favorite thing about his birthday. Besides the cake of course.
"But I wanted to!" Lucy replied happily. "And so did Susan. She thought it was a brilliant idea."
Edmund smirked. "Well, if you insist." He said, anxiously waiting for Lucy to present him with his gift.
Lucy smiled widely before handing the gift to Edmund.
He smiled as he looked down at the box, seeing that it was a box of chocolates. His favorite food.
Edmund's eyes widened as he looked at the box, a smile making its way onto his face. "Chocolate!" He said happily, opening the box and immediately eating a piece.
"And it's your favorite kind." Lucy exclaimed.
Edmund closed his eyes as he swallowed, savoring the delicious flavor. He opened them a moment later. "I haven't had this kind in ages! I can never find it anywhere. Where did you get it?"
"I have my ways." Susan said with a smile.
Edmund let out a small chuckle.
"Do you like it?" Lucy asked, eyes shining with hope.
Edmund looked at her and smiled. "I absolutely love it Lucy."
Lucy beamed. Less than a second later she was in her brothers arms, hugging him tightly, (and gently).
Edmund chuckled before hugging Lucy back. Smiling as he buried his face in her hair.
Lucy smiled up at Edmund a moment later when they pulled apart. "Oh, I almost forgot. We all made you something too."
Edmund raised his eyebrows. "There's more?"
"Yup." Susan said, laughing slightly. She then handed him 3 pieces of paper.
Edmund smiled as he took them, "Get well soon cards." He said, smiling as he opened them up.
"We all made you one." Peter said. "Sorry mine isn't very good. I've never really excelled in art."
Edmund laughed slightly, looking up at his brother. "It looks great Peter." He then looked at all three of his siblings. "They all do. Thank you. I love them."
"You're welcome." They all said in unison.
"We're really happy you're okay, Ed." Susan said, sitting on the side of the bed.
Peter nodded. "We'd be lost without you." He said.
"Yup." Lucy breathed, resting her head on his shoulder. "We love you so much Edmund."
Edmund smiled at them, before gently kissing the top of Lucy's head. "I love you Lucy." He looked back up at Peter and Susan. "I love you all. So much."
"We love you too." Said Peter.
"But Edmund." Lucy said a moment later.
"Yeah?"
"Please don't ever do that again!"
Edmund laughed, giving Peter a glance, who was laughing as well.
"So I've been told."
❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀
A/N: Edmund's alive! Yay!!! Let's be honest, I'm sure y'all knew I wouldn't kill him 😂 I hope y'all liked this 3 shot! I worked on it for a VERY long time😅 I've had an idea for a Peter/Edmund one-shot for literally MONTHS, so that will be up next! 💗😘