I always do this; I can never get either the beginning or the end, and this time it was the ending. Sorry about the wait, but between school, track, Legend of Zelda, and Remy Buxaplenty, I really struggled to focus on this.

Endless thanks go to those who stuck it out to until the end and reviewed. You are so, so, so very appreciated.

Disclaimer: For the last time, I do not own Chronicles of Narnia or its characters. You know the spiel.

A shriek from outside called her away from the stove and to the window. Outside, a boy of six sat on the trimmed grass. Susan noted that he was due for a haircut as he pushed his dark bangs out of his equally dark eyes, dark, but intelligent, and too serious for his age. He watched as his sister was picked up and swung around by her father before being pulled close for a kiss on her cheek. Susan opened the door and let herself out. The girl was passed to her outstretched arms, and he kissed her lips.

"Eww," the little girl said with a scrunch of the nose. Like her mother, she too had wonderfully curled hair, but unlike her mother, it was fair.

He caught her eye, and she couldn't help but smile back.

It was different than what she was used to, and in no way was it a replacement from what she lost, but she loved it anyways. She loved having something to come home to, and that her home is no longer a single-bedroom flat, perpetually silent and dreary. Even on the worst of days, not a single bone in her body ever wanted to go back to that. The house now always had sound of some sort, and despite the London drizzles, there was sun.

As for her husband, he wasn't what Jane Austen had made him out to be, the charming, elegant knight in shining armor who she'd planned to sweep her off her feet. In fact, he'd stammered so much at first that she hadn't been able to understand half of what he'd said. Yet something had told her to keep him around, that this one was different, and one day she'd seen it in his eyes, even his stance, that very look that Ed had given Marcia, different, but the same. She would have married him on the spot if he'd asked, despite the only five months of knowing each other.

Susan loved her life more than she ever thought she would. It had its moments, but she wouldn't have traded it for the world.

The rowboat gently beaches itself on the sandy shores, and Susan steps onto the pale sand, feeling more nimble and lithe than she had in years. She holds out her arms, and, finding them void of wrinkles and marks, smiles to herself, her curiosity aroused. She reaches for her once envious hair; her fingers meet long, dark locks.

The sand turns into grass a few feet away, and Susan makes her way over the hill. A monstrous house, though bright and inviting, looms ahead. It reminds her of the manor house where she'd spent her fifth anniversary, with its light stone walls and blue roofing. Two figures stand in one of the flower beds next to the door, wrapped up in each other, faces only inches away.

As she grows closer, she realizes the smaller is a girl, her companion a man, and Susan's heart starts to beat faster. She stops, unable to continue.

They release each other, and the girl lifts her head, her lips pulling back to reveal a radiant smile. He reaches for the hoe propped against the wall. A rolled bandana in her favorite purple holds her hair off her face, and gloves keep her manicured hands clean. The man, now leaning on his hoe, laughs at something she says, and she tips forward to kiss him. He nods at her and disappears with his hoe around the side of the house as she kneels down to work.

Susan doesn't know exactly how much time passes, but all she can do is stand and watch the girl garden. Eventually, Marcia turns her beautiful head towards Susan.

At first, she seems shocked, but her smile creeps back. "Edmund!" she cries, rising, shedding her gloves and bandana. "Oh, Edmund!"

Edmund, red in the face, rounds the corner quickly, wielding his hoe as if to use it as a weapon. He finds not an adversary, but Marcia sprinting across the neat lawn, her shoes kicked off in her wake, skirt flying up in a very unladylike manner. "She's home!" she calls behind her.

With that, Edmund drops his hoe and takes off after her, Susan now coming towards the both of them. He, too, takes up Marcia's mantra. "She's home, everyone! Susan's home!"

"Susan!" comes another voice, light, as she and Marcia meet; only moments later does she find Edmund's strong embrace around them. From over their shoulder, she sees through blurry eyes the two fair heads of Lucy and Peter. Like always, Lucy is laughing through her tears.

She escapes Edmund and Marcia and stumbles backwards as Lucy flings herself onto her sister. Sobs shake their shoulders, but Lucy finally releases to let Peter have his turn. Peter holds her tightly, petting her head as they both have their cry. He even still smells the same, and it's an altogether overwhelmingly powerful sensation. He pushes back, giving Susan a red-eyed, streaked-faced grin, cupping her wet cheek in his large hand, but it's still a wonderful sight.

Susan steps away to look at them, her beautiful family. Lucy's excitement gets the best of her, and she bounces on her toes, taking Susan's hands in her own. Peter motions for them to go inside, and Edmund places a hand Marcia's waist protectively. Lucy tugs Susan towards the house as Marcia, still with her fingers interlocked with Edmund's, links her arm through Susan's.

"We're so glad you came home," Marcia tells her, earnestness in every part of her expression.

"Home," Susan repeats, scanning over the house again.

In all honesty, it almost looks like a castle fit for a king. Or at least a baron, Susan thinks. The whole estate could have been paradise, if the rest compared to what she'd seen. And then she looks to the people with her: starry, glamorous Marcia; her level brother with the sharp eyes; her bubbly, sunny sister; and Peter with his bright charisma and strong hand; the people she so dearly loved and missed. She will always be grateful for those dreams, those last moments they had shared with her, their touches of caring wisdom. It's as if she's gone back in time scores of years.

Yet this time, something deep down tells her that it won't be only for a night.