Hello, everyone! I'm posting this oneshot on a very special occasion. It's my birthday!

"Fae, I'm home!" Fiyero called as he walked in through the front door.

When he didn't get a response, he began to get worried. It had been two years since they ran away from Oz and ever since then, he had always been worried that they would be discovered. They ran away to Quox, since it was the farthest away from where they were last seen. They had deemed that it might be too risky to hide in the village right outside the forest since their faces were on 'Wanted' posters everywhere, so instead, they hid in the forest. They had found a clearing deep within the forest with very fertile soil and a river nearby. Fiyero had deemed it a good spot and built a medium-sized cottage.

Ever since their escape, the amount of Gale Force soldiers stationed everywhere had increased dramatically. Elphaba had been worried about being found, but Fiyero reassured her that they would be okay. After two years and still not being found, Elphaba seemed to relax a bit, but was always on her guard.

"Fiyero?" came a weak voice from upstairs.

The prince hurried up the stairs and into their bedroom, where he saw Elphaba laying on her side, her back facing him. They prince smiled softly as he walked into the room and climbed into bed next to her. "Hi, Fae."

"Hi," the green girl smiled, pushing herself up.

"Careful," the Vinkun said as he assisted her into a sitting position and gently placed his hand on her large abdomen.

Elphaba rolled her eyes, but the smile never left her face. "Did you find anything?"

"I found some more blueberries and checked on the garden. The pumpkins are doing fine and I watered your roses and poppies. I also got us more drinking water from the river."

"Thank you," Elphaba said, then suddenly inhaling sharply.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine. The baby just kicked really hard, that's all."

"Are you hungry?"

"A bit. Why?"

"I'll start getting lunch ready."

Elphaba nodded and tried to get up, but Fiyero gently pushed her back down. "Fae, I said I would do it."

"I want to help you," Elphaba said as she continued her attempts to get out of bed. "So are you going to help me up or not?"

"Fae, I really don't think you should."

"I've been stuck in the house for the past two months and I've been in bed all morning. Please, Yero. Just because I'm nine months pregnant doesn't mean I'm due to give birth any day."

"You actually are."

The green girl glared at him.

The Vinkun looked into his love's eyes and sighed in defeat as he helped her to her feet. Elphaba gave him a grateful smile as they slowly made their way down the stairs to the kitchen.

"I'll get more basil leaves," Fiyero said as Elphaba stirred the pot of pumpkin soup.

"Okay," the green girl responded as the prince kissed her cheek.

Fiyero walked out through the back door into the garden and went directly for their basil plants. He picked a few leaves and cupped his hand to hold them before turning to walk back inside. When he was halfway to the door, he heard Elphaba scream and quickened his pace.

"Fae, what's wrong?" Fiyero asked as he hurried to his wife's side, the basil leaves lying forgotten on the floor.

Elphaba was bent over, clutching her abdomen with one hand, and she clutched Fiyero's arm with her other. Her breaths were so quick that she couldn't formulate words, so she just squeezed his arm.

"Is it time?" he asked when Elphaba slowly loosened her grip on him, allowing his blood to flow again.

Elphaba nodded and the prince quickly pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. Everything's going to be fine."

Elphaba muttered something into his chest and the Vinkun kissed her hair. "Hey," he whispered, gently pulling away to look at her. "We're going to be parents in a few hours."

"I'm scared," Elphaba whispered. "What if something goes wrong? We can't ask anyone for help. If something happens –"

He cut her off with another kiss and cupped her cheek. "Everything will be fine. I promise."

"You can't promise things like that, Yero."

"I know. But I can promise that no matter what happens, we'll get through it together."

Tears streamed down Elphaba's face and Fiyero gently wiped them away before pulling her into another hug. "Okay?"

"Okay," he heard Elphaba whisper after a pause. He smiled and kissed her again, gently rocking her in his arms.

Elphaba's labor progressed at a steady pace. By that evening, her contractions were still more than fifteen minutes apart, which irritated the green girl a bit.

"I'm tired," she said after dinner that evening.

Fiyero got up, abandoning his half-eaten bowl of soup, and helped Elphaba to her feet. They were halfway up the stairs when the green girl experienced another contraction. She slumped against Fiyero, who caught her and simultaneously caught himself on the banister to keep both of them from taking a tumble.

"It's alright," he said in a comforting voice as he continued to lead Elphaba back to their bedroom and helped her into bed.

He laid with Elphaba for a few more hours, holding her hand when she experienced contractions, and wiping her raven hair away from her face.

It was late that night when the couple was awoken by voices outside. Fiyero was the first to open his eyes and quietly slipped out of bed. He went to the window and the sight before him almost made faint dead on the spot.

Gale Force soldiers.

They looked like they were wandering through the forest, looking for something… or someone.

"Yero?" Elphaba said softly. "What's wrong?"

Fiyero was about to lie and say it was nothing, but a knock at the door stopped him. They couldn't have known that they were there. They must be part of a unit that was stationed in the forest recently and must have been looking for supplies.

"Open up in the name of his supreme Ozness!" a soldier said from downstairs, knocking on the door.

Elphaba's eyes flew open. "The Gale Force," she said in a panicked voice. "They're here."

The prince did his best to stay calm as he began to try to think of a plan.

"Yero, we have to leave. Now," Elphaba insisted as she tried to get out of bed.

"Fae, you are in no position to try and run away from the Gale Force," Fiyero said, a hint of sternness in his voice.

"We can't just stay in here. They'll break the door down in a while."

"We can't leave!"

"I'll fly on my broomstick."

"Elphaba," Fiyero said, raising his voice, but not loud enough to be heard from downstairs. "You can't. We can't. You could quite literally give birth any minute."

"I'll be fine," Elphaba said, still trying to get out of bed. "Yero, help me up."

"Fae…"

"Fiyero, now! We don't have much time."

He knew it would be useless to try and argue with Elphaba, so he helped her up and watched as she waddled around the room as quickly as she could, gathering all of her things. She grabbed her black cloak and twirled it around her shoulders. Fiyero packed a small bag of food, a canteen of water, and the few medical supplies they had. They were about to leave when Elphaba had another contraction.

"We're leaving now, Yero," Elphaba said sternly when she saw the look he gave her.

Fiyero simply nodded as he grabbed Elphaba's broom for her and they crept down the stairs. They just got out the garden door when they heard the front door break down.

"There!" one of the soldiers shouted as he pointed to the garden door left open.

"Follow them!" another one shouted, running after the two shadowy figures.

Elphaba and Fiyero ran as fast as they could. Fiyero was surprised at how fast Elphaba was running, but he had realized a while ago that nothing was impossible with Elphaba. It was very dark and their vision was very limited. They only had the moonlight as their guide, trying to get them to safety.

"Fae!" Fiyero exclaimed when he heard Elphaba grunt.

"I'm… fine…" Elphaba huffed, clutching her abdomen. "Fiyero, keep running!"

The soldiers were catching up to them quickly, considering Elphaba could only run but so fast. One of them caught a glimpse of her green hand and gasped. "It's the Wicked Witch of the West!"

"Shoot her!" the other soldier shouted.

Bullets whizzed past the couple and they did their best to dodge them. Thankfully for them, this small group of soldiers didn't have the best aim.

"Keep running, Fae!" Fiyero said as he tightened his grip on her hand.

Elphaba's only reply was a grunt as she kept running, slowly down slightly. Bullets continued to whiz past and one grazed Fiyero's arm.

"Yero!" Elphaba cried when he let out a howl of pain.

"I'm fine, Fae. Just keep going!"

The couple ducked under a few trees and managed to lose the soldiers. They stopped to rest for a moment. Fiyero examined his arm and Elphaba fell to her knees, cupping her abdomen. Once he reassured himself that he would be fine, the Vinkun fell to the ground next to the green girl and gently placed his hand on the small of her back.

"Yero…" Elphaba breathed, her fingers digging into the forest ground. "I can't run anymore."

"It's okay, Fae. We lost them. We'll be okay for a while," Fiyero said as he pulled her into his arms.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded. "It's just a graze. I'll be fine. Are you okay?"

Elphaba nodded, then doubled over in pain.

"How much more time do you think we have?"

"Not… a lot…" Elphaba breathed, trying to focus on her breathing.

The couple tried to stay as quiet as possible, Elphaba trying to minimize the amount of noise she made, while Fiyero did everything he could, but their plan failed when a very hard contraction hit Elphaba and she screamed without warning.

The soldiers quickly followed the sound of her scream and found the Wicked Witch and the ex-Captain of the Royal Guard. "Freeze!" one of them said as all four of them pointed their guns at the couple.

"We have you surrounded. Freeze and surrender," another one said.

"I can't believe we finally found the Wicked Witch of the West and ex-Captain Fiyero," the youngest one said. "After two, long years…"

"You didn't think you could hide forever, did you, Witch?" the first soldier said, cocking his rifle.

Elphaba's only reply was a soft whimper as she gripped Fiyero's hand.

"It's okay, Fae," the Vinkun whispered.

"Silence!" the second guard said, pointing his gun at Fiyero.

The ex-Captain glared at the soldier. Elphaba screamed again and all four guns pointed at her.

"She's calling on an evil demon to help her!" the first guard shouted over her.

Fiyero rolled his eyes. "She's about to have a baby!"

The youngest guard slowly lowered his rifle. A baby? The Wicked Witch was pregnant? Was that even possible? He got a good look at her for the first time and realized that she was, indeed, pregnant. "A… baby?" he whispered.

"Yero, I need help now. I need a place to stay now," Elphaba whimpered, looking up at the Vinkun with pained eyes.

Fiyero kissed her forehead and rubbed her arm.

"We can take you back to our camp," the youngest guard said, earning him a glare from the other three.

"This could be some type of trap to kill all of us," the third guard said.

"How could you say something like that?" Fiyero growled. "Do you really believe everything the Wizard told you about her? I mean, look at her, she's just a girl!"

The guards looked at the green girl, who looked like she wouldn't be able to sit up without Fiyero's assistance. "Let's not forget, you used to hunt her, too," the first guard said to Fiyero.

"I was never going to hurt her if I found her, because I knew those stories about her weren't true. They couldn't have been. You don't even know her."

"We don't have to know her! She's the Wicked Witch!" the third guard said.

"She doesn't even look like a wicked witch," the youngest guard said softly, earning him a jab in the ribs from the second guard.

"Please, she needs help," Fiyero practically begged.

The other guards slowly lowered their rifles and stared long and hard at the witch. They had to admit, she didn't look like a witch; at least, not at the moment. "Fine. Come on," the first guard said, gesturing with his rifle for them to stand.

Fiyero knelt and carefully lifted Elphaba's into his arms. "It's okay, Fae. You'll be fine."

"Yero," Elphaba moaned softly as she clung him. "The baby is coming now."

"Just hold on, sweetheart," Fiyero said, kissing her forehead. "We'll get you some help soon."

Two guards led them to the camp while two guards stood behind them, reading to shoot if they tried to escape. The youngest guard had his gun pointed at the small of Fiyero's back, but he actually thought about the couple. The Wicked Witch was about to have a baby? And by the way it looks, the father is their ex-Captain. Was the green girl really the Wicked Witch she was made out to be?

The camp was only about a mile and a half away. When they got there, they were greeted with gasps from all the other soldiers. They began whispering amongst themselves and a few began cheering when they saw the witch in pain, not knowing the real reason.

"Doctor!" the second guard shouted as they approached one of the largest tents in the camp.

A middle-aged man stepped out of the tent and stared at the soldiers. "What's this?"

"She's about to have a baby," Fiyero said as Elphaba grunted loudly. "Please… help."

The doctor looked at the green girl and nodded. "Come in."

Fiyero carried Elphaba into the tent. He laid her on one of the beds and gripped her hand as she screamed.

"It's alright," the doctor said, a bit awkwardly as he put on his gloves and adjusted his glasses on his nose. He couldn't believe he was delivering the baby of the Wicked Witch of the West. "I can see the baby's head. Begin pushing!"

Elphaba grunted as she squeezed Fiyero's hand and pushed. The Vinkun wiped the sweat from her brow and whispered comforting words of encouragement into her ear. As she screamed, the light hanging from the ceiling of the tent rocked and flickered. It startled the doctor a bit, since he was not used to such a reaction, but he tried to focus on the task at hand. Soon, the baby's head was out, followed by the rest of its body.

"It's a boy," he said as he cleaned the baby off.

Fiyero smiled and kissed the new mother. Elphaba made a noise of relief and she leaned against him, tears spilling from her eyes.

"Um… congratulations," he said softly as he handed the baby to Elphaba.

The green girl gently took the infant in her arms and looked at him. He looked how she pictured Fiyero looked as a baby, but she could clearly see that he had her nose and ears. "He's beautiful."

"Because he came from the most beautiful woman in Oz," Fiyero said as he looked at his son.

Elphaba rolled her eyes and gently ran her finger over her son's cheek. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at his parents. Elphaba didn't even realize she was crying until Fiyero wiped her tears away. "Hi," she whispered softly, rocking the baby in her arms.

The prince was so taken by his son that he almost forgot that the doctor was still in the tent. He looked up and saw him staring at the baby as if he was preparing to take him away from Elphaba if he felt that she was a threat to him.

"He's our son," Fiyero said sternly, looking at the doctor. "She's not going to eat him."

The doctor seemed to snap out of his gaze and nodded as he slowly backed out of the tent. The Vinkun heard him talking to the guards outside, but didn't pay attention to what they were saying. He had more important things to think about at the moment.

The following day, Elphaba and Fiyero were moved into a new tent. It wasn't one of the larger ones, but it was decent, considering who and where they were. The tent was heavily guarded by soldiers at all time to make sure that they didn't escape. They would be taken to the Emerald City as soon as Elphaba was well enough to travel.

"I suppose I should be grateful for this," Elphaba said as she fed Huri. "At least they're letting us rest a bit. But I must admit, the guarding is a bit unnecessary. I don't need soldiers following me when I want to go to the bathroom."

"I know," Fiyero said as he sat down next to her. "I hate this as much as you do."

Elphaba looked down at Huri as he nursed peacefully. "This isn't the life he deserves."

"Fae, I have every confidence that everything will work out," Fiyero said gently.

"Yero, you don't understand. I heard the soldiers talking. The said that Huri would be taken away from us." She gently hugged her son closer once he finished. "They'll take him away before we leave for the city and we'll never see him again. I can't let them take away my baby."

Fiyero watched as Elphaba rocked the newborn in her arms as he drifted off to sleep. "I won't let them," he whispered to her.

Elphaba flashed him a small, yet grateful smile. "Thank you."

"I promised you that I would stand by you through everything, and I intend on keeping that promise. I knew what our future might hold for us, and I still chose to come with you. I love you, Fae. And I won't let them take our son away. We'll be fine."

"I love you, too, Yero," Elphaba said as Fiyero gently pulled Elphaba in for a kiss.

The night before they were due to leave for the Emerald City, Elphaba and Fiyero were awoken by a thud sound from right outside their tent. Fiyero sleepily rubbed his eyes as he sat up, helping Elphaba into a sitting position. The curtain entrance opened and the young guard took a step inside.

"Hi," he said softly.

"What's going on?" Elphaba said as she gently took Huri in her arms.

"You're leaving," the soldier said simply.

"You don't have to remind us," Fiyero frowned.

"No, I mean you're leaving, as in, escaping."

Elphaba blinked. "What?"

"Hurry! We don't have much time! The sleeping powder will only work for an hour. You have until then to get as far away from here as possible."

"But –" Fiyero started.

"Stop arguing and come on!" the soldier said, leaving no room for arguments.

Elphaba and Fiyero exchanged a look before getting up and preparing to leave. Elphaba grabbed her cloak and broom and found a blanket to wrap Huri in. Fiyero took one of the coats and made sure they had everything before leaving. Once they were ready, they walked out of the tent and the first thing Elphaba and Fiyero noticed were the sleeping guards all around their tent. The soldier led them out of the camp, knowing which tents to stay away from and where to and not to step.

"You don't have much time left," the soldier said as he walked them out of the camp and into the forest. "They'll be waking up soon."

"Thank you," Fiyero said, giving the guard a grateful smile.

The soldier nodded.

"What is your name?" Elphaba asked as she readjusted Huri in her arms.

"Meco," the soldier said.

"Well, Meco, thank you," Elphaba said, smiling at the guard.

"You're welcome. I don't believe you're really the wicked witch everyone made you out to be. You're just like everyone else… except for your green skin, of course."

Huri made a noise and Elphaba quickly shushed him. "We should probably get going now," Fiyero said as he wrapped his arm around Elphaba's waist.

"Will you be alright, Meco?" Elphaba asked, looking at the soldier.

Meco nodded. "I'll be fine. They'll never suspect me. No one ever suspects the newbie."

The green girl nodded and gently jostled Huri in her arms before turning to Fiyero. "Is it safe to fly?"

"Once we get out of the forest. We'll decide where we'll go from there," Fiyero said.

Elphaba nodded and turned towards Meco once more. "Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to us."

"Your child deserves the best possible chance," Meco said, sounding like he was speaking from a personal experience.

Elphaba smiled and stepped forward to give Meco a hug. She pulled away and walked back to Fiyero. The two intertwined their fingers and walked into the forest, disappearing from Meco's sight.

"Yero, where will we go?" Elphaba asked as they walked.

"We'll have to go past the opposite border of Quox, past the Jurdan Ocean, to Evabim. It's the only place where we will be truly safe," Fiyero said, taking Huri from Elphaba's arms.

Elphaba nodded as she took one last look. "We can never return to Oz, can we?"

"No, we can't. Not if we want to stay safe."

"So… Glinda can…"

"No, she can never know where we are. We have to stay safe, for ourselves and Huri."

"Okay," Elphaba said as she took one last look at her once-home and took Fiyero's hand. "Let's go."

Fiyero smiled and pulled her in for a kiss. "Let's."

Reviews make great birthday presents! And don't forget, voting for the Greg Awards closes on December 30, 2015 at 12:00pm EST.