I know, I have a lot of nerve starting a new story when I have four other stories to update. I'm having a little case of writer's block, but don't worry! I had this idea and just have to get it down before I forget it! Enjoy!

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" a man asked.

"She's green," the woman replied dryly.

"So is this entire city," the man protested.

"But –"

"Melena, she's the most perfect baby in the world."

"Wizard –"

"Hold her."

Melena opened her arms as the Wizard placed their new daughter in her arms. The small green child was wrapped in a blanket. Her features were sharp and clear. Small, thick ringlets of black hair covered the top of her head.

"She is beautiful, but I can't keep her," Melena confessed.

"Why not?"

"I'm engaged-to-be-married to a unionist minister named Frexspar. He can't know about her," Melena said, giving the baby back to the Wizard.

"Will you at least name her?"

"Elphaba. Her name is Elphaba. Her nickname can be Fabala."

"Elphaba. I like it. It fits her perfectly."

"I'm glad you approve."

"Will I ever see you again?"

"I don't know. Fate will decide," Melena said, giving the Wizard a quick kiss and running out of the Emerald City palace.

"Well, Elphaba, it looks like it's just you and me," the Wizard said, slowly rocking his daughter in his arms. "We're going to be just fine."

Elphaba slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her father. A small smile played on the ends of her lips. The Wizard smiled. "I see you're the happy one!"

Elphaba suddenly began to cough. The Wizard's smile quickly faded.

"Elphaba?" the Wizard asked. Elphaba's coughs sounded raspy and wet. "Help! Someone go fetch the doctor!" the Wizard screamed down the halls of the palace. One of the maids appeared, the best doctor in Oz close behind her. The Wizard quickly handed Elphaba, who was still coughing, to the doctor. He quickly took into the nursery to examine her.

"She'll live," the doctor said, after two intense hours of examining.

"Will she be okay?" the Wizard asked, standing up.

"I don't know. She has a rare condition, something only a few people have had."

"What happened to them?"

The doctor licked his lips and didn't answer.

"Please, I want you to do everything you can to save her life," the Wizard pleaded.

"I will do my best," the doctor nodded, returning into the room.

Three years past. Elphaba lived, but she didn't get any better. She was confined to her bed most of the time. The Wizard tried to make her happy by buying her everything a girl could want, but nothing seemed to work.

She was a very reserved girl. She didn't talk a lot, and when she did, it was never more than a few words at a time.

Because of her condition, she was very tired, sometimes sleeping through an entire day. Her muscles were always weak and her vision was shadowy. She didn't have any friends, so she had to find ways to entertain herself. She would sometimes sit on her bed and play with her dolls, or look at a picture book. Her father would try to visit her, but because he was the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, he was a very busy man, leaving Elphaba in the care of her nanny.

It was a dark and stormy night. Elphaba jerked awake from a nightmare. She looked around, realizing that it was still dark outside. Elphaba tried her best to go back to sleep, but she was afraid of her nightmare returning.

"Nanny?" Elphaba asked in the darkness. When no one answered, she assumed that her nanny had gone to bed. She slowly pushed the covers off of her, swung her legs over the edge of her bed, and pushed herself up. With her arms stretched out in front of her, she stumbled to the door and walked out. She placed one hand on the wall to guide herself to her father's room. She ignored her muscles telling her to go back to bed and continued on down the hallway. When she reached her father's room, she quietly opened the door.

"Daddy?" she asked, squinting in the direction of her father's bed. She slowly forced her legs to move forward, closer to the bed. "Daddy?" she asked again, shaking his arm.

The Wizard slowly opened his eyes and sat up. "Fabala, what are you doing up?" he asked, quickly scooping his daughter into his arms.

"I couldn't sleep," Elphaba whispered as she started to cough again.

The Wizard began to stroke her long, raven hair. "That cough sounds worse," he muttered to himself. "Come, let's get you back into bed."

"No," cough, "can't," cough, "sleep."

"Shh," the Wizard whispered, getting out of bed and picking Elphaba up. "Everything is going to be alright."

"Daddy," Elphaba said, recovering from the coughing fit. "Make the nightmares go away."

"You've been having nightmares?" the Wizard asked, thinking that this was only the first time.

Elphaba nodded. "Make them go away. You're a wizard! You can do anything!"

The Wizard chuckled. "Even though I'm a wizard, I don't have any magical powers. It's just a title. The only one who can make the nightmares go away is you."

"Me?"

"You."

"How?"

"By thinking good thoughts. Think about pretty wild flowers and presents at Lurlinemas. If you do, the nightmares will go away."

Elphaba looked up at her father with her large, chocolate eyes. The Wizard was convinced that his three-year-old daughter believed him.

"Can you try that, Fabala?" the Wizard asked, helping his daughter into bed.

Elphaba smiled. "I'll try that. Thank you, Daddy."

"Any time, pet. Now, go back to sleep," the Wizard said, kissing Elphaba's forehead and walking out of the room.

"I don't want soup!" Elphaba scowled the next day.

"Elphaba, you need to eat something," her nanny said, lifting the spoon closer to Elphaba's mouth.

"I'm not hungry!" Elphaba screamed, almost knocking the bowl out of her nanny's hands.

The nanny sighed. "Well, I'll leave it on your nightstand, in case you get hungry." She placed the bowl on the nightstand and left the room.

Elphaba sat up in her bed. She didn't mean to snap at her nanny. She actually enjoyed her company. She decided that it was best if she at least tried to eat. She patted her nightstand, looking for the bowl. When she found it, she gripped the bowl and lifted it into her lap. It was still hot. She slowly lifted the spoon to her mouth, blowing on the hot liquid, and eating it. She smiled when she realized that it was poppy seed soup, her favorite. She quickly finished the soup and placed the bowl back on her nightstand. She was about to get out of bed and find her father, when a blast of pain attacked her back. She bit back her urge to scream. Luckily, the nanny was coming back into the room to check up on her.

"Elphaba, what's wrong?" she asked, running to Elphaba's side.

"My back! It hurts!" Elphaba hissed.

The nanny lifted up Elphaba dress to examine her back. She gasped when she saw an angry rash, spreading through the middle of her back.

"The rash is back," the nanny sighed.

"Make it go away!" Elphaba commanded her.

The nanny quickly nodded and ran to grab the cream. The returned and began to apply it onto Elphaba's back. The cold cream calmed Elphaba down.

"Is everything alright in here?" the Wizard asked, stepping into Elphaba's room.

"The rash has returned," the nanny said, closing the cream and running to the bathroom to wash her hands.

"I thought we got rid of that?" the Wizard asked when she returned.

"Rashes can come back," the nanny whispered.

The two adults looked over at Elphaba and realized that she was fast asleep. The Wizard walked up to her and gripped her hand.

"Mmmmm," Elphaba quietly moaned.

"You'll be okay," the Wizard whispered, tears shimmering in his eyes. "I promise."