Disclaimer: I own nothing. The canon characters and the general plot of Wicked belong to Gregory Maguire, and the OCs all belong to VinkunWildflowerQueen
AN: This is a companion piece to VinkunWildflowerQueen's "You've Got Mail" saga (which includes "You've Got Mail", "Come What May", "The Beginning of Forever", and "Days Go By". Read them if you haven't because they're good. But you will cry. A lot. So be prepared.) This just kinda came to me a while ago, and I did get permission from VinkunWildflowerQueen before writing it, so that's not an issue. So…enjoy!
It was a typical July day at the home of the Tiggular family. Elphaba and Fiyero had just finished with lunch and were now putting their two youngest children down for a nap when there was a knock at the door.
It wasn't uncommon for family and friends to drop by unexpectedly, so Elphaba called quietly into the playroom "Pelia, can you please open the door and take whoever it is into the living room? I'll be down as soon as your brother is asleep." The only response was the sound of small feet running past the nursery and down the stairs.
"We're lucky to have a daughter who likes to help us," Fiyero whispered fondly.
"I'm sure it'll wear off as she gets older," his wife replied, kissing Isak and setting him in his crib. "How's Essie?"
"She's fine. Go see who was at the door and I'll take care of her."
Just then, Pelia's face appeared outside the room, clearly waiting for her mother.
"Hey, Sweetie. Who was at the door?"
"I don't know."
"What?" Elphaba was very confused by this answer.
"I've never seen them before. There's lots of them!" This made the mother very concerned.
"Sweetie, why don't you go back to your room?" Without question, the request was granted.
She made her way hesitantly to the living room and was very surprised by the faces that greeted her.
The first was a woman with silky blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a simple, pale green dress that went to her knees. She was speaking happily to the woman next to her.
The next woman had dark brunette hair and pale skin. Her purple and black floral dress hit below the knee in an elegant fashion.
On the other couch, another pair sat talking. They seemed less excited than the first pair, and the girl actually seemed nervous.
"What if she doesn't remember us?" she said, wringing her hands anxiously and occasionally pulling at her long flowing blonde curls or adjusting her rose colored skirt.
The man she was talking to took both her hands in his own, forcing her to look at him. "She'll know us. She has to." He had auburn hair and a beard covering the bottom half of his face.
There was one more girl that Elphaba had missed, as she was sitting between the girls on the first couch, her full back to the door. Her long chestnut hair was all Elphaba could see, until she turned her head and-
"Shaira?"
Elphaba's surprised question got everyone's attention and all five people looked directly at her. Now that she could see all their faces, Elphaba knew all the people scattered around her living room. She hadn't seen any of them in over a decade now, and she hadn't expected to ever again. It was a pleasant surprise.
"Wow! You all look great!"
The whole group smiled shyly, a few girls gently touching the hair that most of them hadn't possessed last time they'd all been in the same room. Finally, Shaira spoke.
"Elphaba, you look amazing."
"Yes," Lilijana said "And your daughter is so sweet."
The whole room murmured in agreement; they all seemed much taken with little Pelia, and Elphaba promised that the whole family would be at dinner that night.
"Why are you guys here?"
"Well," explained Shaira, "We made a deal right after you left the group that we would see each other again, once we were all better."
"We all forgot about it," added Zofia.
"I saw an article in the newspaper about you and I remembered," continued Lilijana, "So, I managed to contact everyone, well, except Derryl, and we agreed to come here."
"Zofia told me," finished Derryl, "Anyways, how are you, Elphaba? What's your life like?"
"Okay. I'm married. You all knew that. And you've met Pelia. She's six. I have another daughter, Eszter, and a son, Isak. They're two and seven months respectively."
"And you're happy?" pressed Derryl.
"Yes, I'm happy. What about you?"
"I am. I got back from the other side of the Impassable Desert just last year. I have a great wife, and I have my life back."
"How was the desert?" asked Lilijana, surprised someone at all, let along someone she knew, had done it.
Everyone stared at Derryl expectantly, but Zofia answered instead. "It was so beautiful! There are mountains. Much bigger than the ones here, and there are lakes that you can't even see across!"
At everyone's confused looks, Derryl explained. "Zofia and I started dating after we were both in remission. She decided to come with my friends and me over the desert. We got married there."
Both Lilijana and Shaira squealed in excitement, while Hollei and Elphaba were too stunned to speak. When everyone had calmed down, many hugs and congratulotions were bestowed upon the couple, followed by plenty of stories about the world beyond the desert, and the wedding held there.
"I was in remission before he was," added Zofia, "And then I went back to college and got a teaching degree. While we were on the other side of the desert, I got to teach there and it was so much fun. I'm looking for a job here, but we've only been back for a few months."
When everyone was back on subject, Hollei shared "I finished high school about a year after I stopped coming to our meetings. I went to Shiz and got a degree in medicine. I'm a nurse now."
"Just like Michi," realized Elphaba.
"Yeah. She helped me so much and I wanted to be more like her."
Nobody had anything to say to that.
Shaira eventually continued the conversation. "I'm fine. I was the last of our group to stop seeing Michi, so it kinda went from a support group to a support counselor. I still have some paranoia issues about everything, but I'm doing pretty well. I'm seeing a guy. It's not that serious yet, but I think it might be getting there. What about you, Lilijana?"
"I'm working full time again. My cousin and I started an animal shelter, and it's been very successful. I've been married for a few years, and I have an adopted son."
When everyone was caught up, conversation flowed easily, much like it used to, when the door opened. Fiyero stood on the other side, carrying Pelia.
"Fae, do you remember if…who are these people?"
"Didn't you ever meet them? This is Hollei, Shaira, Lilijana, Zofia, and Derryl."
"Oh. Yes, I remember them," he turned to address his guests, "I can honestly say I am so glad to see you again. It's much better to see that you're okay than to constantly wonder."
After dinner that night, all six survivors gathered in the living room again while Fiyero put the children to bed. They talked for hours and it was just like their meetings had been.
Suddenly, Shaira exclaimed "We should do something to celebrate us."
"Us?" asked Lilijana, clearly confused.
"Yes! We're all okay. We're all here. And that makes us pretty lucky. Let's make something tangible to celebrate."
Hollei ventured "We could make a quilt out of our scarves. I still have mine. Do you?"
"Sure!" Lilijana added, "We can all go home and meet up next week."
Derryl stopped them. "That's a great sentiment, but I never wore scarves. I'm a guy. And if I remember right, Shaira didn't either."
"I had a few that I bought, just in case. But no. I never wore any."
"I have an idea actually."
"Yeah, Lilli?"
"Let's make a cake!"
"Did someone say cake?" came a call from the hallway, as Fiyero entered, almost on cue.
Elphaba laughed lightly at her husband. "You and your cake."
"I think cake is a great idea," added Zofia.
"Okay," Elphaba said, "We can make a cake. But we have to save some for my girls. They'll want some."
As the group-and Fiyero-ate their cake a while later, Fiyero brought up an answer to their earlier question.
"I have a huge piece of wood in the basement. I was wondering if maybe you would like to have it? You could carve on it, or do something with it."
Elphaba beamed, "I think that's a great idea. What do you guys think?"
"It's a great idea!" answered Shaira.
"Yes!" added Hollei.
"I've been carving wood since I was three," added Derryl.
The next morning, the group sat in the back yard around the piece of wood, each holding a knife in their hands. Fiyero had taken the children out for the day so that they wouldn't have to worry about them trying to help or questioning why they were doing this.
"I actually drew out an idea of what it might look like last night," volunteered Zofia, "But you guys don't have to use it if you don't want to." She ran inside, coming back very shortly after with a piece of paper. After she set it on top of the wood, everyone studied it carefully.
"I like it," said Derryl after a while, "And I'm not just saying that because she's my wife. It's really good."
"I like it too."
Zofia smiled shyly. "Thanks, Lili."
"Yeah, Zofia. It's pretty," added Shaira, and Hollei nodded in agreement.
"Sure. Let's do that," Elphaba smiled, turning to Derryl. "Since you already know how to do this, do you want to do the lines and the middle? We can all watch you and then we'll know how."
Derryl carefully used a chisel and a hammer to carve a rectangle in the middle of the board. Everyone else watched closely how he formed lines going from each corner of the rectangle to the corners of the board, and a line halfway across the top and bottom. Then, he picked up a knife. Inside the rectangle in the middle, Derryl then carefully carved an S, and then a U. He kept going until the rectangle had a full word in it: SURVIVE. "Okay. Now, you wanted us to each claim a section, right Zofia?"
"Yeah. Everyone pick a section and carve a sentence or so that is hopeful and inspiring. Then put your first name. Just your first name."
Everyone picked a section of the wood, and after a quick discussion to make sure nobody was planning to say the same thing, they began carving the wood with their knives. They didn't finish until late that afternoon, and all their hands were tired from carving.
The wood now had words in each section. Starting at the top and going around clockwise, it read "Even in your darkest hour, there is still hope. –Lilijana" "If you try hard enough, every situation has a silver lining. –Hollei" "The end will always be okay. If it's not okay, it's not the end. –Elphaba" "The great thing about tomorrow is that it can always be better than today. –Derryl" "There's only one way to live: Your way. –Zofia" "Be strong. Be brave. Be yourself. And never give up. –Shaira".
They all stared at their work, thinking so hard about it that none of them heard Fiyero come up behind them.
"That looks great. What are you going to do with it?"
"I didn't think that far ahead!" Zofia defended herself from the questioned looks of the group.
"Can I make a suggestion?"
"Sure, Hollei."
"We could give it to Michi to hang in her office."
Everyone was enthusiastic about that idea, all talking excitedly about how Michi would react and how it would send a great message to other people who were in the same position as they were just ten years before.
"Does anyone know if Michi's still working at the hospital in Shiz?"
"She was seven years ago."
"Has anyone seen her recently?"
"I haven't."
"Me either."
"Guys. Wait."
"What's up, Lili?"
"I still live within walking distance of that hospital. I'll take the carving with me and I'll ask when I go home. If she's not there, I can probably find out where she is and I can send it to her there."
"That's a great idea!" agreed Elphaba.
The door opened a crack and Pelia's face poked through. "Momma?"
"Yes, Sweetheart?"
"Can I meet your friends?"
Elphaba laughed. "You've already met them. Multiple times."
"I know. But can I meet them again? I'm tired of hanging around Daddy and Essie and Isak," Pelia said, climbing into Elphaba's lap, "So, when do you people go home?"
Elphaba looked around at the group; she didn't know when they were leaving. She hadn't thought to ask, but now it seemed like a pertinent question.
"Actually, we have to get out of here tomorrow morning," Derryl said, motioning to Zofia, who added "I have an interview on Wednesday."
"Actually, I should be leaving soon, too," said Lilijana, "I miss my son. And, I don't want to leave my cousin with the animals for too much longer."
The others agreed that it was best if they left the next morning. As they each went to their separate rooms to pack, they pondered the miracle that they were all okay, grateful they'd had these few days to catch up.