PETER PEVENSIE + EDMUND PEVENSIE
MENTIONS OF KIDNAPPING | COMPLETE
Edmund hated hospitals. He hated being injured. Most of all, he hated being helpless and without information. His right shoulder ached, his left leg throbbed, and while he couldn't complain about the care he'd received in Medical, he did have quite a few questions about how the battle had ended and what had happened to his teammates, and particularly where his wife was. The fact that Reyna had not been in to see him was not a good sign. He'd tried to be polite to his sister and the rest of the medical personnel, but he was in pain and on edge, and anxious for more knowledge of what had happened.
When he saw the door open, he made an attempt to budge himself up in the bed, but between his injured shoulder and leg, he barely moved before settling back with a grimace.
“You probably shouldn’t be trying to move,” Peter admonished his brother as he stepped closer to the bed and tried to mask how worried he was. Every field assignment carried risks and every battle had casualties, he knew, but that didn’t make it any easier to see people he cared about hurt. Edmund seemed to be better off than Reyna, but that was hardly a comfort when they were both so badly hurt.
Edmund rolled his eyes. He'd realized that. “Yes, Magnificent,” he said. He was aware of being a bit testy, but the lack of knowledge was frustrating, and his leg felt hot and tight and swollen. Neither was conducive to good humor, and Edmund was tired of company manners. “Have they told you anything? I was heading back to camp when COS attacked.”
Peter shook his head. His team hadn’t been on the mission this time and he didn’t have the clearance to look at most of the reports of what had happened. What he knew had come from what others had told him.
“A number of injuries, but none dead,” he said, making a face but otherwise ignoring Edmund’s attitude for the moment. Neither of them had ever made very good patients. “They’ve sent a team after the group that was taken.” He knew that much, but that was as far as his knowledge went. It felt terribly selfish to feel grateful that Ed and Reyna hadn’t been among them, but it was hard not to feel that way anyway. Seeing them both hurt was bad enough.
Edmund reddened with anger at the mention of the kidnapped agents - not anger at Peter, of course, but at COS and at his own failure to protect his teammates. “It's like they're playing a game with us,” he said. “One from each team, just to prove they could.” For any previous successes they'd had in the war, it did not seem as if they were getting anywhere.
He rubbed his left hand over his face. “Are you going to sit down?”
Peter felt too tense to sit, but he nodded and settled into the chair anyway. “We’ll get them back,” he said firmly. Like many others, he was frustrated by letting others go after their people while he’d been asked to stay behind in Atlantis, but he understood the wisdom is sending a small team. Someone had to stay behind to defend Atlantis, if need be and a smaller group was less likely to be spotted by COS. It still wasn’t easy being left to wait.
“We will.” Like Peter, Edmund understood the strategy, just as he knew he would have been useless to the rescue effort in his current state, but that didn't mean he liked it. Despite his annoyance, a thought crossed his mind. “Milton,” he muttered under his breath. Aloud, he asked, “Can you see if you can find my tablet? It should be in that bag in the corner.” Maybe he could find someone able to tell him more about Reyna.
“Of course.” Peter nodded as he stood to retrieve Edmund’s bag from the corner. It only took him a moment to locate the device and return to his brother’s bedside, placing the tablet in his hands. Whatever Edmund had in mind, if it merely involved his tablet, there couldn’t be much harm in it, but Peter may have still looked at him a little suspiciously.
Edmund rolled his eyes at the suspicious expression. “I'm just looking for news,” he said. He prepared to tap in a message, but before he could, the alert from Reyna appeared. He breathed a sigh of relief. She may have been injured, but seeing she was able to post was a little bit of reassurance. He replied to her message and leaned back again, looking up at Peter. “I don't like coming back empty handed,” he said quietly.
They hadn't, quite. He knew one of the teams had retrieved the Camera, and that was one objective reached, provided COS had not stolen it in their attack. What Edmund really meant, was that he didn't like leaving anyone behind. It was something he knew Peter would understand without his having to say it.
There was a question, Peter knew, of whether they’d truly left anyone behind. The intelligence he had heard pointed to their missing friends actually being somewhere in Atlantis. “You didn’t come home empty-handed, Ed,” he tried to reassure his brother. “They think they’re in Atlantis somewhere, like the last time. Our team will find them and bring them home.” He know they both wished they could be on that team, but Edmund was hardly in any shape to mount a rescue right now.
“I know.” Edmund rubbed his face with his left hand. He thought of the poem that had crossed his mind earlier. “‘They also serve who only stand and wait,’” he quoted discontentedly. “I hate waiting.” Injured or not, he had a responsibility to his friends and teammate. He looked up at his brother expectantly. “Don't say it.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Peter replied, smirking slightly. His younger brother’s sour mood was obvious, but he could hardly blame him. If their positions were reversed, Peter would not be any happier to be stuck in a bed healing while others were still in danger. His empathy was not necessarily going to stop him from teasing a little, however.
Edmund scowled. “I can see it on your face.” In truth, he was glad to have his brother here - to have all of his siblings together again. He glanced at his tablet again. Apparently, Reyna did not believe his assurances of his condition. “Reyna and Su are coming,” he said aloud. That was a relief, in its way. Even if she needed assistance, the fact that his wife was up to a visit meant something.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Peter said, affecting his best innocent look. He wasn’t surprised when Ed announced the incoming visitors after a glance at his tablet. None of them were easily reassured by words. Peter had needed to see for himself, too, before he could be sure his brother was alright. “The doctors won’t allow all of us in here at once,” he pointed out. “I’ll get out of the way so you can visit with them.” A firm squeeze to Ed’s forearm might have suggested how worried Peter had been himself. He wouldn’t deprive any other member of their family the chance to get the reassurance he’d found or deprive Ed of seeing his wife.