A/N - first off, I want to give a huge THANK YOU to vinkunwildflowerqueen for allowing me to write this story. Reading some of her older stories, "Ever Ever After", "Moments of the Ever After" and "In the After", I had an idea for a one-shot. However, instead of a one-shot, I ended up with six chapters.

As a lot of this story's elements are pulled from the three stories listed above, I do recommend reading those first. Note tat this story's title is taken from the title of Chapter 8 in "Moments of the Ever After".

Thank you so much for allowing me to write this, Carlie. :)

Disclaimer 1 - Wicked isn't mine but belongs to people much more talented than I am.

Disclaimer 2 - Aerin, Liir and Seraphina are not mine: they belong to phoenixgirl23/vinkinwildflowerqueen. :)

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Life has a funny way of twisting and turning - nobody can ever really know the future.

It was something Elphaba pondered as she sat out on her front porch watching the evening sunset.

One day, she's the daughter of the Governor of Munchkinland, destined to care for her sister for the rest of her life.

Next thing she knew, she was the most wanted fugitive in all of Oz.

Now, she is the wife of Fiyero Tiggular and the mother of three wonderful children.

For somebody who was green and was either tormented or outright ignored by small minded people, her new life was more than a dream come true.

When she and Fiyero fled Oz, it didn't seem that way in the beginning. She was nervous enough when Fiyero asked her to marry him; she was downright scared after finding out she was pregnant soon afterwards. No matter how many times Fiyero had reassured her he would love their children no matter their skin color, Elphaba worried her children would be born green. She did not want her children to be treated the way she was. Yet, once Aerin Galinda Tiggular was born with rosy pink skin, her fears started to subside. With the addition of Liir Dillamond and Seraphina Fae to the family, Elphaba finally settled into her roles of wife and mother.

During the summer break from school when Aerin was thirteen, Elphaba and Aerin grew really close. While Aerin always had a special relationship with her mother, it seemed this summer they were inseparable - especially after having "the talk" about her changing body, boys, babies, and "that time of the month". For Elphaba, it was a time for her to be there for her daughter as she entered her teenage years - something she wished she had with her own mother if she had survived.

When it came to fashion, however, Elphaba was more than happy to let "Aunt Galinda" take that one. Aerin didn't mind: she loved talking to Galinda about makeup and dresses.

As much as Glinda tried to get Aerin to wear pink, though, the young girl remained stubborn and refused.

"She gets it from you," Glinda complained during her visit that summer eliciting a cackle from Elphaba.

However, when Aerin turned fifteen, Elphaba noticed a change.

Aerin became more withdrawn and private, quite unlike the outgoing person she normally was. In addition, she started wearing more long-sleeved clothes even though it was quite warm outside and school was about to start. What worried Elphaba more than anything was that Aerin's mood seemed more sad and stressed than normal.

When she talked to Fiyero about this, he understood. "It's a normal part of growing up, Fae," he told her.

"Oh, and you know this…how?" she asked him slightly bemused.

"Trying to get a date with the girls at school," he replied receiving an eye-roll from Elphaba. "I remember watching the girls at school going through their mood swings and it used to drive me crazy. One clock tick, it's, 'get lost!'; the next clock tick, they want to be your best friend. I had no idea what was happening to them at the time. If I had to guess, now that Aerin is at that age, she's probably going through the same thing."

Elphaba sighed. "You're right, Yero. Being a teenager wasn't great for me either. Mind you, I didn't have anybody to talk to about this..."

"Well, it's a good thing Aerin has you," he interrupted as he took her in his arms.

"Sometimes I feel like I don't know what to do," Elphaba continued. "She just seems sadder lately and she won't talk about it."

"Give her time," he replied. "When she's ready, she'll talk to you."

In the end, he was right.

That day came one October evening. As Elphaba was a teacher for the younger grades, her classes usually finished earlier than her children's classes. On this particular evening, she came home early to prepare dinner as was the routine. While she was preparing dinner, Elphaba saw her oldest daughter walk into the house.

"Hey, sweetie. How was…"

She never finished her question as Aerin ran right into her room and slammed the door.

Elphaba's was worried by the scene that passed before her and she ran towards her daughter's bedroom door. She wanted to knock, but before she did, she could hear her daughter sniffling and it broke Elphaba's heart. Lightly knocking on the door, she called out:

"Aerin…honey…what's wrong?"

Her question was met with silence.

She tried again. "Aerin, please let me in - please talk to me. Whatever it is, we can deal with it together. OK?"

The silence was agonizing and time seemed to stand still, but after a few moments, the green woman could hear movement from inside the room. Slowly, the door opened and Aerin came into view. Elphaba saw that her daughter was wearing a light cardigan over her summer dress but one of the arms was torn at the shoulder. The young girl's eyes were bloodshot and swollen from crying.

Elphaba's heart sank at the sight before her. "Oh, sweetheart…"

At her mother's words, Aerin launched herself at her mother, tightly clinging to her as her sobs renewed. Elphaba held on to her daughter just as tight, trying to sooth her. It was after a few moments when Aerin's breathing steadied that Elphaba asked her, "What happened? Did something happen at school today?"

The young girl nodded. "Yeah."

Elphaba guided the young girl to her bed and the two women sat down. "What happened, sweetheart? What happened to your sweater?"

The young Tiggular woman hung her head, not even looking at her mother. "One of the girls at school was going around telling everybody that I got a tattoo or some other marking on my arms. She said I was trying to hide it with my sweater. So, we got into a fight on the way home after school and she tried to rip my sweater off."

While Elphaba comforted her daughter, something in Aerin's explanation clicked in her mind. She had been wearing sweaters in the warmer weather...

"And it was my favorite sweater, too!" Aerin lamented, pulling Elphaba from her thoughts.

Elphaba held her daughter as Aerin's tears renewed, soothing her as she cried. After a few moments, Aerin started to calm down. It was then that Elphaba decided to ask her for the truth.

"Aerin, I want you to be completely honest with me, ok?"

After feeling her daughter nod, Elphaba softly asked, "Are you hiding something?"

She felt Aerin's body stiffen under the question which told Elphaba that the answer was 'yes'. However, she wanted to approach this gently and not scare her daughter. Placing a finger under Aerin's chin and lifting her face so they were looking at each other, Elphaba then added, "What is it, sweetheart? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Aerin nodded slowly in response. Leaning back against her mother for comfort, she replied, "I know, Mamma, but I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

Elphaba watched as her daughter hesitated before pulling the torn sweater off of her. Shakily, she showed Elphaba her arm.

Elphaba was shocked at what she saw:

Aerin's arm had patches of green skin.

"Mamma, what's happening to me?" Aerin asked slightly panicked.

"I don't know, sweetheart," Elphaba replied carefully studying her daughter's arm. "When did this start happening?"

"A few weeks ago," Aerin replied. "It was small at first, but more patches started to grow..."

"...which is why you've been wearing sweaters - to hide them. Is that the reason?"

Aerin nodded in response.

"Are they anywhere else?" Elphaba asked her.

Aerin shook her head. "I don't think so. This is the only place I've seen of it."

In that moment, Elphaba's fears that she buried so long ago started to resurface just as her eldest daughter asked her:

"Mamma, am I turning green?"

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"What if she is turning green, Yero?" Elphaba asked her husband nervously. Fiyero watched in the candlelight as Elphaba paced back and forth nervously along the front porch. "This is my worst nightmare coming true."

"Fae, I told you that I would love our children no matter what color their skin was, and I still do. If Aerin is turning green, it doesn't change anything..."

"It changes everything, Yero!" she cried out. "It's not you that's the problem: it's everybody else! You don't understand what it's like having green skin. People look at you like a freak or...or some kind of monster! They treat you horribly and call you all sorts of names..."

Realization dawned on Fiyero. "So, you did care what people say about you?"

"Of course I did!"

Elphaba covered her face trying to fight the tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. "I tried not to show it - to pretend that it didn't matter. Oz, I would always tell you and Glinda 'I'm used to it' so you guys didn't make a big deal of it. But it still hurt, Fiyero. Growing up like that: that is something I never wanted to happen to my children."

She stopped and turned to look at her husband. Tears streaming down her face. "And now, here we are."

Getting up, he took his worried wife in his arms. As she leaned into his embrace, he continued, "Fae, I don't know what's going to happen to Aerin. I don't know if this is something that will only be on her arm or will spread. What I do know is that Aerin has something you didn't: she's got a family that loves her and a mother who knows what it's like to be green but still came out a strong, independent, loving woman.

"You're right - I don't know what it's like to have green skin, but you do. You and Aerin have a great relationship and she's going to need your help. If anybody can help her to cope with this, it's you."

She nodded in understanding. She knew that Fiyero was right but she still voiced her concern: "I'm scared, Yero. I'm scared for her."

"I know, Fae," he softly replied as he held her there in the evening air.

If he was honest with himself, he was a little scared too.

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Reviews are appreciated.