Hello, everyone. So, I got some reviews on 'Blind Ambition' as to why I didn't make Elphaba receive her sight after her coma, and the answer is that I had planned out the story beforehand and having Elphaba regain her sight wasn't part of that planning. So, now you all are getting your wish. I would like to thank feathersnow for prompting me with this and for starting me off by writing a little bit and for all the reviews who reviewed saying that they wanted it.
"Dr. Montas! Dr. Montas!" Fiyero shouted, looking at his girlfriend.
The doctor ran into the room, panic written all over his face. "Master Fiyero, what is a matter?"
"It's Fae. She's awake!" Fiyero smiled, looking at the doctor.
Dr. Montas rushed over to the green girl and quickly examined her. A sigh of relief slipped past his lips as he turned towards the prince. "Yes, she is awake."
Nessa, Boq, Galinda and Frex all rushed the room, hearing Fiyero's screams. "Fifi, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. Elphaba's awake," the prince smiled.
"What?" Galinda asked, her eyes lighting with hope.
Fiyero nodded. "I was playing our special song on my guitar and she woke up."
"Is she alright?" Nessa asked, wheeling up to her sister and taking her hand.
"We won't know until she wakes up," Dr. Montas reported.
The blonde pouted. "But, you said…"
"Yes, Miss Elphaba is no longer in a coma, but she is asleep. Believe it or not, being in a coma can be very tiring."
"But… she'll live?" Frex asked.
The doctor smiled and nodded. "Yes, she'll live. With proper bed rest, she'll be just fine."
"Thank Oz!" the blonde exclaimed, hurrying over to her friend and wrapping her arms around her. "Don't you ever scare us like that again, Elphie. Understand?"
Everyone cracked a small smile.
"We should let Miss Elphaba get some rest now. I would like to run some more tests on her," Dr. Montas said, gently prying the blonde off of the green girl.
Galinda gave her friend a final squeeze before releasing her grip around her and leaving, with everyone else in tow.
"You have some very good friends, there, Miss Elphaba," Dr. Montas smiled, gently patting the green girl's hand. "Some very good friends, indeed."
A few hours later, Fiyero went back into the room. Elphaba was still fast asleep, and didn't seem like she had woken up while he was gone. Smiling, he quietly made his way up to her and sat down beside her. "Hi, Fae," he whispered, gently taking her hand.
The green girl moaned softly and wiggled her fingers. The prince smiled, preparing himself to see Elphaba beautiful, yet sightless, chocolate eyes. "It's me. Yero."
Another moan and Elphaba forced her eyes open, but something wasn't right. She shut her eyes again and slowly opened them again. Her world of darkness was slowly fading away into the light. Shocked, Elphaba opened her eyes again and looked up at the dark, shadowy, silhouette of a person sitting in front of her. The more she blinked, the more her vision cleared, until she was able to make out the basic facial features of the person.
Fiyero noticed, for the first time, that Elphaba's gaze wasn't unwavering, and her pupils were moving, as if she could…
"Fae?" he whispered.
Elphaba's eyes never left the prince's face as she slowly reached out her hand. Fiyero quickly caught it and gently placed it against his cheek. The green girl looked confused as she traced the outline of his face, the tips of her fingers dancing lightly against his skin. Slowly, a smile made its way onto her face. "Yero?" she asked with a choked sob. "Is that you?"
The prince gasped, grasping her hand. Could she…? "Fae? Can you see me?"
The green girl's smile widened and she let out a laugh. Pressing her hand against the mattress, she pushed herself up. Fiyero wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He choked back a sob as Elphaba's hand slowly trailed across his face. He placed his hand on top of hers as it rested against his cheek.
"Yero," Elphaba whispered, her eyes never leaving Fiyero's face. Tears of joy ran down her cheek and soon, she found herself sobbing.
The prince quickly pulled her into a hug and soothingly rubbed her back. A tear slid down his cheek and he quickly wiped it away. Once he sensed Elphaba's sobs dying away, he gently pulled away and wiped her tears from her cheek. He saw a big, beautiful smile on her face; a smile he had never seen before. "How much can you see?" he asked gently.
"I… don't know. It's weird. I don't know how to describe it," Elphaba said, blinking to clear her vision more. "I can see your face. You look beautiful, my prince."
"'My prince'," Fiyero repeated with a smile. "I like that. And you can be 'my princess'."
Elphaba chuckled. She looked around the room, not seeing anyone else in the room. "Where are Galinda and Nessa? I want to see them."
As if on cue, a knock came from the door and it opened, revealing the two people in question, with Boq pushing Nessa's wheelchair.
Galinda opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, seeing Elphaba looking directly at her. "E-Elphie?"
Elphaba laughed and reached out a hand towards the blonde. Galinda quickly rushed to her side and took her hand.
"Glin," Elphaba smiled as her hand traced the contour of Galinda's face.
"Elphie, you can see me?" Galinda asked as the green girl's hand rested on her cheek.
Elphaba smiled and nodded, her tears resurfacing. Fiyero gently tightened his grip around her and kissed her cheek.
Galinda's eyes widened as she tried to comprehend what was happening, but once it sunk in, she wrapped her arms around the green girl with a loud squeal. "Oh, Elphie!"
Elphaba returned the hug with a laugh. How could this be? What had caused her to gain her sight? She closed her eyes, burying her face in the blonde's shoulder. When she opened her eyes, she looked up and saw someone else by the door. She couldn't see their face, but saw their basic, shadowy outline.
"Fabala," the person whispered, their voice soft and angelic.
"Nessie?" Elphaba gently pushed away from the blonde and looked up at her sister. A soft sigh slipped past her lips as she reached out towards her sister.
The younger Thropp quickly wheeled up to her sister and took her outstretched hand. She smiled as her sister's fingers trailed over her face. Elphaba looked into her sister's eyes and smiled. "You're beautiful, Nessie."
The brunette's eyes filled with tears and she quickly wiped them away. "You are too, Fabala."
"Hi, El," Boq said from the door, awkwardly locking his hands behind him back.
Elphaba turned and smiled at the Munchkin. "Boq?"
The shorter boy nodded and walked into the room. Gently, he took the green girl's hand and brought it to his face, allowing the green girl's fingers to explore the familiar contour of his face.
A soft knock and the door opened, revealing Dr. Montas and Frex.
"Father!" Nessa smiled, gripping her sister's hand.
Frex smiled, but his smile quickly faded when he saw Elphaba looking directly at him. Her gaze wasn't unwavering, but directly on him.
Elphaba stared at the shadowy figure before her. Pulling her hand away from her sister, she reached out her hand towards her father.
Frex took a step forward, but stopped, staring at his daughter. Could she… no, it's not possible. She couldn't. She had been to the best doctors in all of Munchkinland and they had all said the same thing; that she would never be able to see.
"Father?" Nessa asked when Frex still hadn't moved.
The Governor blinked and silently gulped down the lump in his throat. He slowly approached his eldest daughter and, sitting down on the bed next to her, took her her hand. Elphaba grasped onto her father's hand and pushed herself up more, aided by Fiyero. She reached up to Frex's face, her gaze following her hand. "Father."
It took Frex a while to fully process what was happening. Choking back a sob, he quickly gathered his daughter into his arms and held her close. Elphaba didn't seem to mind as she clung to her father, not even bothering to fight the tears.
"Fabala," he whispered softly. "You can see me?"
Elphaba nodded against Frex's shoulder. "Yes, Father. I can."
"How?" he asked, though the question was more towards Dr. Montas.
"It could have been anything. The medicine we used to treat Miss Elphaba's illness… something in Miss Elphaba's brain… anything," the doctor answered, smiling softly at the scene in front of him.
Frex didn't respond to the doctor as his grip around Elphaba gently tightened. Tears of joy spilled from his eyes as he whispered thanks to the Unnamed God. Not a single eye in the room was dry.
"It's probably best that we let Miss Elphaba rest now," Dr. Montas said gently, beginning to usher everyone out of the room.
"We'll come back tomorrow, Fae," Fiyero promised his girlfriend, who was beginning to already fall asleep.
"M'kay," Elphaba mumbled as she fell asleep again, exhausted from what had just happened.
Fiyero followed the others out of the room and gathered in the hallway, where Dr. Montas was speaking to everyone.
"We must be careful not to overwhelm her. It is a big transition from going from total darkness into light. Most people, when they receive their sight for the first time, go insane."
"Insane?" Nessa repeated, biting her bottom lip.
"As long as we don't overwhelm her with too much information, she'll be fine. Let her discover things on her own time."
"How much can she see?" Frex asked.
"We don't know yet. When she wakes up, I'll run a few tests with her to determine what she can see."
"Will Fabala be alright?" Nessa asked, looking past the doctor at the closed door.
"She'll be fine, Miss Nessarose."
"We'll come back tomorrow," Frex said, shaking the doctor's hand and thanking him before stepping behind Nessa's wheelchair and pushing her out the room.
The next morning, everyone gathered in the waiting room bright and early. Galinda and Boq had gone to get breakfast, leaving Nessa, Frex and a pacing Fiyero in the waiting room.
"Fiyero, Fabala will be fine," Nessa smiled, watching the prince pace around the room.
"I know, Nessa," Fiyero said, though he didn't stop pacing.
"Then why don't you sit down?"
Fiyero wrung his hands and continued to pace.
"Master Fiyero," Frex said, glaring at the prince.
One look at the Governor and Fiyero knew that it would be in his best interest to sit down if he wanted to continue dating the green girl. He slowly sank into the nearest chair, his eyes wandering around the waiting room.
"Thank you," Frex nodded, returning to his morning paper.
Galinda and Boq quickly returned with bagels for everyone. They ate in relative silence, wondering when the doctor would come out to report about Elphaba. As soon as they finished, the door opened and Dr. Montas walked into the waiting room, a soft smile on his face.
"How's Elphie?" Galinda asked, rising to her feet.
"From the tests, she seems to have about sixty-five percent of useful vision. It's not the best, but it's better than nothing. With glasses, it should improve a bit more. Her depth perception is fairly good. She can see colors, but can't tell the difference between shades. In low light, she can't see anything at all."
"Can we see her?" Nessa asked hopefully.
The doctor nodded. "Yes, but not all at once. Remember, we don't want to overwhelm her."
Nessa nodded and decided that she was going to go in first. She had something she wanted to show her sister. She knocked on the door and slowly pushed it open and smiled, seeing her sister sitting up in her bed, her emerald hand a few inches away from her face, studying it. "Hi, Fabala."
Elphaba startled a bit, but quickly relaxed when she saw her sister sitting in the doorway. "Hi, Nessa."
"I wanted to show you something, if that's alright with you," the brunette said, wheeling into the room and closing the door behind her.
"No, it's alright. Show me," Elphaba smiled.
Nessa smiled at the eagerness in her sister's voice and wheeled up to her. Giggling, she reached behind her and pulled out a hardcover book. "Here."
Elphaba reached out and took the book from her sister. "A book?" Her fingers traced over the cover and she opened it to the middle. She gasped, seeing printed words for the first time. "Is this…"
"Yes," Nessa nodded. "It's print. It's what we read."
"How do you read this?" Elphaba asked, running her fingers across the words as if they were written in Braille. "It's just a bunch of squiggly lines."
"Well, Braille is just a bunch of tiny dots, and yet, you read it," the younger Thropp laughed, and her sister joined her.
"I can't wait to learn how to read this. Thank you, Nessie," the emerald girl smiled, pulling her sister into a hug.
"You're welcome, Fabala," the younger Thropp smiled, resting her head on her sister's shoulder.
Fiyero came into the hospital room to see Galinda sitting on the edge of Elphaba's bed, holding a pink cloth in her hand. Elphaba looked at the cloth as her rubbed it in between her fingers.
"You were right about pink," Elphaba smiled, looking up at the blonde. "It goes well with you. It's so… perky."
"I knew you'd love it," the blonde giggled with delight.
"How did I know that this would be the first thing you would show her?" Fiyero smirked, hiding something behind his back.
"Hey, pink goes good with green," Galinda defended herself. "And I've begun to teach Elphie some of the other colors, too. Watch." Smiling, the blonde jumped up and grabbed a book with a red cover. "Elphie, what color is this?"
Elphaba looked at the object her friend was holding and frowned. "R-Red?"
"Yup!" the blonde nodded, setting the book down and taking a blue cup. "And this?"
The emerald girl paused for a while. "O-Orange?"
Galinda shook her head. "Try again."
"Brown?"
"Nope. One more guess. I'll give you a hint; it's another 'B' color."
Elphaba stared at the cup and searched her memory for another color that started with 'b'. "Blue?"
"Correct! One more." Smiling, the blonde combed her fingers through her hair. "What color is my hair?"
"Yellow?" Elphaba asked, tilting her head to the side.
Galinda pouted a bit. "Close."
"What is it?"
"Blonde," the prince quipped.
Galinda whirled around and glared at the prince. "It's golden."
"There's a difference?" Elphaba asked, blinking in confusion.
"Yes!" the blonde exclaimed at the exact same time Fiyero said, "No."
Elphaba gave her friends a small smile and chuckled softly.
"Don't worry, Elphie. You'll get it in time," Galinda smiled, walking up to her friend and taking her hand. "I know it's a lot, and we don't want to overwhelm you…"
"You're not overwhelming me," Elphaba smiled, giving the blonde's hand a gentle squeeze.
"Are you sure, Fae?" Fiyero asked, sitting down on the bed next to his girlfriend, careful not to let her see what he was holding.
"I'm positive, Yero," the green girl smiled.
"Well, you did very well in our color lessons, Elphie. I'm going to see what Nessa and Biq are up to. I'll see you later," Galinda said, flouncing out of the door.
"Boq," Fiyero corrected.
"Same thing," the blonde waved it off as she closed the door behind her.
"I don't know how you put up with her, Fae," the prince smiled, taking his girlfriend's hand giving it a gentle squeeze.
"It's not so bad. Galinda was the first friend I've ever had. Well… my first true friend."
"I wasn't the first?" the prince pouted.
Elphaba chuckled softly. "No. I'm sorry, Yero."
"It's okay. I have something for you."
"Really? What is it?" Elphaba pushed herself up more and leaned back against the pillows as Fiyero revealed the flower he was hiding behind his back. "What is this?"
"Can you guess?"
Elphaba held the flower close to her face as her fingers ran up and down the stem and the petals. She smiled as she inhaled its sweet scent. "A poppy?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, Yero. I love poppies."
"I know. That's why I got the most special poppy, just for you. And now you know what they look like."
"I never thought I would ever know what anything looks like; this poppy, Galinda, Nessa, Boq, my father, you… myself."
"Now you know how beautiful you are," the prince smiled, cupping Elphaba's cheeks.
Elphaba looked down at her emerald hand and frowned slightly. "I… I am?"
"You are beautiful, my princess," Fiyero whispered, kissing her nose.
"I always heard that my skin wasn't normal, but no one ever told me if I was still beautiful or not. I just heard that my skin was the same color as grass, leaves, frogs…"
"Your skin doesn't make you ugly, Fae." The prince looked into his girlfriend's eyes and smiled, loving that she was looking directly at him. "It makes you different, yes, but certainly not ugly."
Elphaba smiled softly and Fiyero chuckled. "You'll get used to it, my princess. And you'll also get used to me calling you that. I'm so happy for you, Fae."
"Thank you. I'm glad I have you, Yero."
"I'm glad I have you, too, Fae."