"I just wanted to say thanks."

Breena ground her teeth as Maeve's voice filled the guest house… again. The woman hadn't stopped talking since they got there.

"I know I've said it a thousand times already…."

She literally bit her lip to keep from saying, "Yes you have!"

"But I want to make sure you both know what this means to me."

Great, now she was going to launch into the whole 'Aunt Yackle is so hard to get along with but maybe she'll listen to you better than she listens to me' conversation for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Aunt Yackle can be so hard to get along with but she seems to respect the two of you. Maybe…"

Breena tuned her out, concentrating on cleaning the sideboard in the small dining room instead. Of course it had to be the only room in the house attached to the living room, where Maeve was cleaning. The others were cleaning too, they just scattered to the wind to get away from the human talking machine.

"And I just know I won't let you down."

She closed her eyes, willing away whatever smart ass remark the voice in the back of her head was working on. After all, it wasn't Maeve's fault she was in such a bad mood. It was Addy's.

Her hand curled into a fist at her side. How could she have been so insensitive? Didn't she realize how Leto's betrayal affected her? How just hearing his name made her blood boil? How much it made her want to…

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the sound of something shattering was quickly followed by Maeve screaming. She made it into the living room at the same time as Fiyero and Lion, who came running in from the kitchen.

"What?" Fiyero frantically looked around. "What happened? Is everyone all right?" He relaxed when he saw pieces of a lamp laying on the floor. "Oh, you broke a lamp."

"Is that all?" Lion had one paw on his chest. "You scared the life out of me."

"But…"

"Don't worry about it." Fiyero interrupted her. "Breena's not the type to get mad over something like that."

"Good because I didn't do it."

"She might not be as understanding if you lie." Lion clarified.

"I'm not lying!"

"Calm down." Fiyero gestured at her with his hand.

Maeve pointed at the feline. "Why don't you tell him to stop calling me a liar?"

"I never said you were a liar." Lion shrugged. "But you were the only one near the table."

"That doesn't mean I broke the lamp!"

"If you didn't than who did?"

Maeve shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?!"

"What's going on out here?" Elphaba spoke as she came down the hallway leading to the bedroom.

"Maeve broke a lamp." Lion answered.

"I did not." She growled.

"Well someone did." Fiyero spoke before either of them could say more. "Lamps don't just shatter like that on their own."

Elphaba was about to agree when she noticed Breena staring at the broken light fixture with what appeared to be a mix of awe and trepidation. Something was up with her sister and she needed to find out what it was. But she couldn't do that with everyone else around. "It's not a problem so it doesn't matter who broke it."

"It's not that it's broken." Maeve persisted. "It's that he keeps saying I did it."

"I'll tell you what, I'll finish up in here if you go put the finishing touches on the bedroom." Elphaba offered a compromise.

"Fine." Maeve grumbled, muttering, "But I didn't break it," as she went back the hall.

"I didn't accuse her of anything." Lion defended himself. "It just seems funny that she's the only one who was in the living room when it broke."

"It's all right." Elphaba patted him on the arm as she glanced at Breena again. "Why don't you two go finish the kitchen?"

"Three women in the house and we get stuck with kitchen duty."

"Yero." Elphaba raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm going, I'm going." Fiyero sighed as he started back toward the kitchen. "Come on Lion. The sooner we get back to it the sooner it'll be done."

"I don't know what you're complaining about." Lion followed him. "The kitchen is my favorite room in the house."

Elphaba made sure they were gone before turning toward her sister. "Bree?" She furrowed her brow when she didn't get a response. "Bree?" She walked over to her as she continued to stare. "Breena, can you hear me?"

Breena finally snapped out of her funk when her sister waved her hand in her face. She took a half step back to avoid the offending appendage. "What are you doing?"

"Bringing you back to the here and now." Elphaba watched her closely. "Are you all right?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"You were staring off into space and missed a whole argument over who broke a lamp."

"Argument?" Breena frowned. "Who was arguing?"

"Maeve and Lion. Apparently the lamp shattered and Maeve was the only one in the room so Lion said she did it but she insists that she didn't."

"She's right. She didn't."

Elphaba frowned. "Then who did?"

Breena sighed. "I think it was me."

"Were you in the room when it happened?"

"No."

"Did you cast a spell?"

"No."

"Then how could you have done it?"

"The same way you threw me across the room at Glinda's house without using your hands or saying a spell."

"But Glinda was…" Elphaba couldn't bring herself to say the word. "Let's just say I was really upset and leave it at that."

Breena nodded. "So was I. Over Addy mentioning…" She clinched her jaw. "You know who."

"Whoa!" Elphaba flinched as the matching lamp exploded too.

"Sorry." Breena gave her a sheepish look. "Apparently the trigger is…"

"Don't say it. Don't even think it. Just go to a happy place in your head until I can get you out of here." Her sister cut her off.

"What's going on?" Fiyero and Lion came charging back into the room, the former scarecrow instantly spotting the second broken lamp. "How in Oz does that keep happening?"

Lion narrowed his eyes as he looked into the living room. "Is she hiding in there somewhere?"

"No, I'm right here." Maeve's tone was smug as she reentered the room. "And I told you I didn't break the other lamp."

"And I said it doesn't matter who broke either of them." Elphaba snapped out authoritatively. "Now you three get back to work while Bree and I go find a broom to clean this up."

"Too bad you don't carry yours everywhere you go like you used to." Fiyero raised his eyebrows at the look he got. "Right. I'll just be shutting up now." He took Lion by the arm. "Let's go."

"Geez." Lion went along willingly. "She can be pretty scary when she wants to be."

Maeve's mouth popped open as the boys left the room. "It was you." She pointed at Breena. "You did it."

Elphaba sighed but the woman beat her to saying anything.

"You used magic didn't you?" She didn't give her a chance to answer before throwing her hands in the air dramatically. "My first time seeing you do magic and I didn't even realize what was going on. Way to go Maeve. You'll be of real help to them someday."

Breena looked at her like she was crazy as she continued to chastise herself by mumbling under her breath. "We're just going to go get that broom now."

"Wait!" The volume of Maeve's voice made all three of them jump. "I'm sorry. I know I've been acting like a lunatic today, but I really want this to work out. And it's pretty damn frustrating to know your family is meant to be involved with magic and you can't even spot it when it happens right under your nose."

"If it makes you feel any better, it snuck up on me too."

She seemed shocked by Breena's admission. "Really?"

Elphaba nodded. "It has a tendency to do that."

"I thought maybe you were taking pot shots at me. You know, to see how I would react."

"Neither one of us would do that." Breena sounded offended.

"Easy tiger." Elphaba patted her on the shoulder to try to calm her down. "Bree was upset when whatever happened with the lamps happened so we're just going to go for a little walk to calm her down so it doesn't happen again."

"Right." Maeve nodded. "There are a lot of breakables in here. I'll keep the boys in line while you're gone."

Elphaba grinned. "You do that." She started to lead Breena out of the house. "Oh, and Maeve," she looked over her shoulder. "Relax. Things with Yackle will work out."

"Thanks." The woman returned her grin.

"That was really nice of you."

"What?" Elphaba asked as she opened the door.

"Telling Maeve everything would be all right. She needs to know someone is on her side before Yackle starts giving her an even harder time." Breena took a big breath of fresh air as they stepped outside. "Oh yeah. This is what I needed."

Elphaba shrugged. "You're not the only one who knows her sister."

The corner of Breena's mouth turned up as they started to walk the path around the garden. They made a full lap before Elphaba spoke again.

"Better?"

"Much." Breena nodded. "I usually don't get that mad. But to hear Addy say something like that…"

"Don't get upset again." Elphaba cut her off. "And you know she didn't say it to be mean."

"Do I?"

"Yes. Addena would never intentionally hurt you Bree. She loves you."

"She had a funny way of showing it earlier."

"Do you want to know what I think happened?" Elphaba didn't wait for her to reply. "I think she got jealous of Maeve and was trying to get rid of her and didn't ever realize what she was saying until she had already said it. I bet she's at the house right now beating herself up about the whole thing."

"Jealous? Of Maeve?" Breena frowned. "Addena's not the jealous type."

"She's an Upland isn't she?"

"What do you mean? Glinda's not…"

"Are you kidding me?" Elphaba snorted. "Didn't you see the looks she was giving Fiyero when he asked me questions about the house? Or any other time depending on her mood."

"Really?"

"Really."

Breena shook her head in disbelief. "And here I thought you two had the perfect relationship."

"It's pretty close, but no relationship is truly prefect."

"Yours seems to be."

Elphaba grinned. "That's because we both work at it. We were apart for so long that now that we're back together, we're determined to make it last. Being head over heels in love with her helps too."

"I hope Addy and I can be like the two of you someday."

"You already are."

"Yeah right. All we seem to do is argue and disagree about things."

"Are you forgetting that Glinda and I hated each other when we first met? And I'm not exaggerating by using the word hate either. She thought I was an antisocial recluse and I thought she was an airheaded socialite. But then we got to know each other, just like you and Addena are doing now."

Breena chuckled dryly. "The getting to know you stage."

"It doesn't last forever Bree."

"It sure seems like it has."

"That's because you started to fall for her while we were all under stress thanks to Morrible. But now that she's out of the picture you've got to let yourself relax. You and Addena were made for each other."

Breena looked at her with unsure eyes. "Do you really think so?"

"I know so. It's hard to miss true love when you see it. Unless you're the one falling for someone, then you're completely blind." She knew her words had the desired effect when her sister grinned. "You're doing fine, Bree." She lovingly gripped her shoulder. "Just cut yourself some slack."

Breena pulled her into a hug. "Thanks for the pep talk, Elly."

"Anytime." Elphaba held her close for a moment before pulling away. "Now go make up. You've both been brooding long enough."

"You're right." Breena smiled. "I'm going to go find my woman."

Elphaba watched her walk away for a second before saying, "Try not to blow anything else up." She waited a beat. "And send Glinda over with that broom."

"It looks wonderful if I do say so myself."

"Yeah."

Glinda's heart sank at her sister's less than enthusiastic response. She had hoped using their combined magic to finish the repairs on the house would keep her mind off of the fact that Breena still hadn't made an appearance but it obviously wasn't working. She kept staring in the direction the witch had gone, a mix of fear and sadness in her eyes.

"She'll be surprised."

"If she ever comes back. Maybe she'll stay in the guest house and send her new best friend to stay here with the rest of us."

"Dena." Glinda touched her sister's arm, finding it hard to come up with anything that might make her feel better. She would react the same way if she knew Elphaba was upset with her.

"I think I'll take my wand back inside and…" Addena shrugged tiredly. "I don't know. Mope around some more."

She was watching her sister go, shoulders slumped as if she were carrying the weight of the world, when she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't stop herself from squealing when she saw Breena coming toward them.

"Dena look."

"Linny, I really don't feel like…"

"Look!" Glinda practically wiggled as she pointed in Breena's direction. "I told you she'd come back."

Addena swallowed hard as Breena got closer. She'd been watching for her for what seemed like an eternity and now that she was actually there she had no idea what she should do.

Her indecision only lasted a split second before she strode purposefully toward the witch, not stopping until they were toe to toe.

"Addy I…"

She cut her off with a kiss. And not one of their polite, someone is watching so we better keep it modest kisses either. She packed everything into the liplock, wanting Breena to know just how much she was feeling. She didn't let go until her lungs were screaming for oxygen.

She took a half step back, giving herself a second to try and catch her breath. "Bree I'm…"

This time it was Breena's turn to kiss her. She slipped her arms around the doctor and pulled her close as their mouths meshed in a tender caress. "I love you," she breathed against her lips once they parted.

"I love you too." Addena pulled back to look at her. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have said what I said."

"And I shouldn't have overreacted that way." Breena countered. "I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"No." Addena cupped her cheek. "I was…"

"I know." Breena grinned.

"You do?"

She nodded. "Elly had a pretty convincing theory about you being jealous of Maeve."

"She did?" Glinda piped in, clapping her hand over her mouth when she realized she spoke out loud. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"That's all right." Breena's grin became a smile. "But you should know you're busted as far as being jealous of Fiyero is concerned."

"Elphie figured that out too huh?"

"Yep. She's a pretty smart girl."

"Just like her sister." Addena stared into Breena's eyes for a moment before cuddling against her chest.

"Flattery will get you everywhere." Breena tightened her grip.

Glinda smiled at them. "I know you two need some time alone so I'm just going to go inside."

Breena spoke up before she could move. "Actually Elly could use your help at the guest house."

"Really?" Glinda looked intrigued.

"Not for that." Breena chuckled as she shook her head. "Fiyero, Lion and Maeve are there."

"Oh yeah." The blonde's intrigue turned to disappointment.

"She needs you to take a broom."

"Her broom?" She perked up again.

"No. I don't think it would appreciate being used to actually clean something up."

Glinda frowned. "You mean Elphie wants me to help her clean?"

"I didn't say that. I said she wants you to take her a broom. Maybe she'll do all the cleaning and you can watch."

"That sounds entertaining." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"It could be." Breena raised an eyebrow when Glinda gave her a doubtful look. "Think of all the bending over."

Glinda's face lit up. "Is there one in the kitchen?"

Breena smiled again. "There sure is."

"Have fun making up." Glinda gave them a little wave before hurrying into the house.

"It's so easy to make her happy." Breena looked down at the woman in her arms when she didn't get a reply. "Addy?" Her heart broke when she heard her sniffle. "Are you crying?"

"I can't help it." Addena pulled her as close as she possibly could. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Bree. You have to believe that."

"I do." Breena held her at arm's length. "And you need to accept that Maeve isn't interested in me."

Addena scoffed as her love wiped tears from her cheeks.

"Even if she was she wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of getting me. I'm already taken."

"Damn straight you are." Addena was quick to agree.

"And thanks for fixing the house." Breena admired the blondes' handiwork. "At the rate we were going it would have taken us until Lurlinemas to finish."

"It was Glinda's idea."

"Really? Remind me to thank her later." She looked at Addy adoringly. "But I'll thank you right now."

A ghost of a grin played across Addena's features as Bree closed the gap between them, drawing her into a deep kiss.