A/N-Yes! I'm alive! And I forced myself to finish the chapter that's been sitting on my hard drive for almost two months. Thank You Caspian for being such an awesome beta!!!

The days following Eustace's change were days filled with work, stories, and ample worry. Eustace did a wonderful job at providing supplies, so much work was done to repair the ship. Sam continued to help the cook, and was delighted at the many edible plants they discovered on the island, as well as with the meat that the dragon often brought. For the first time in what seemed like forever (though it had only been a few weeks), everyone ate meals worthy of being served in the Shire.

At nights, Eustace provided a warm, comfortable place to sleep. Often great tales were swapped around the dragon's warm side. Lucy and Edmund told of things that had happened during the Golden Age of Narnia—some exciting; some moving; some funny; and most a combination of the three.

Caspian told about how the Telmarines and Narnians were adjusting to each other. Most of these tales were told in a humorous way, but there were a few that showed how much hate that had existed for so long had to be stamped out. Sam told of his journey with Mr. Frodo, along with some of the stories that he had picked up from Mr. Bilbo. It was around the "dragon hot water bottle" that Sam told for the first time in Narnia the whole tale of the venture from the Shire to Mordor. At many parts of the account, very few dry eyes were to be found from Lucy, to Eustace (Sam found out how big even the smallest of dragon tears were), to even the noble Caspian. Sam himself found it hard to tell some parts without having to stop and wipe his eyes at the memory.

When Eustace wasn't around, most of the talk was of the future, not of the past. No one knew what to do with their dragon. Sam tried not to think of it, for he knew that they couldn't stay on the island forever, but he didn't know how they would go on with a dragon. Of course no one would even think of leaving him behind. Sam decided early on to let the others decide what the best course of action would be. He knew little of how far a dragon could fly or how long they could go without eating, and he really didn't want to have to find out.

One set of adventures that Sam did not care to join was the flights that several select crew members enjoyed on the back of Eustace. After the dragon landed, the passengers told grand tales of what they had seen, but Sam was not easily persuaded to see them himself. He had flown once before in his life (though he did not remember it), and declared that once was more than enough for any hobbit. However, after one flight that had included Lucy and Reepicheep, Sam, after a very long talk in which the mouse got very excited and Lucy sighed a lot, was persuaded to go with on a short, very short, flight.

He nervously climbed on the scaly back the next day, along with Edmund and the mouse, clinging very tightly to Edmund. At the take off, Sam was scared out of his wits. He couldn't believe he had let Lucy talk him into this! He griped the scaly back as hard as he could, and closed his eyes as he felt the wind pick up. At last, when he got enough courage to open his eyes some, he saw that they were still very close to the ground and relaxed a bit, still holding on as hard as he could. Just as he was warming up to the thought of not being on solid ground (as in not wanting to scream anymore), the Dragon suddenly lifted up much higher, and flew out over the water. Sam let out a yell and held on even more tightly to the dragon's back, finding that he hadn't been holding on quite as hard as he could. But after a few moments of sheer terror, he heard Edmund speak.

"Isn't this fun!"

Sam was about ready to reply that, no, this was most certainly not fun, when he realized just how beautiful the scene below him was. He could see the island that they had left from a whole new viewpoint, and as Eustace came back to land, he noticed that the island looked very much like a picture on a map, only more real.

Soon the dragon landed, and Sam quickly leapt off. Lucy asked Sam how he had liked the ride, and he replied, most honestly and hobbit-like, "I'm not sure I could say I liked it, but I'll never forget it, Miss Lucy, never. I'm glad I went, though I never want to go again."