Sorry it took so long…I was on a trip and then school started *sigh*

"Sweet Oz," Elphaba whispered. Then a huge grin spread across her face and she threw her arms around Glinda. The blonde responded by latching onto her green friend with almost painful force, as though afraid she might disappear again at any moment.

"I..I don't understand," Glinda blubbered into Elphaba's shoulder. "You m..melted. I heard the screams. Why are you…? How are you…how are you alive? Am I dreaming?"

"No, you're not dreaming," Elphaba murmured through tears of her own. "It's a bit of a long story…" The witch's voice broke into a hiccup of emotion. "Oh Glin, I've missed you so much."

Fiyero and Boq, seeming to understand that they didn't belong in this moment, shuffled outside as the girls continued hugging. Eventually their need to hold one another subsided enough that Glinda could draw back to examine Elphaba's face.

"You look different," the petite woman observed quietly. "Younger almost." Elphaba's smile wavered sadly as she noticed the opposite in Glinda's face. The two friends stood looking at each other for a long moment, before the blonde whispered her essential question. "What happened?"

"I faked my death," Elphaba explained. "There was no way I'd ever be able to live in peace unless all of Oz thought I was dead."

"Even me?" Glinda whimpered, looking hurt.

"I wanted to tell you Glin," the green woman exclaimed fervently. "It tormented me, knowing my lies were causing you pain. But Fiyero was afraid that if I ever went back…" She sighed and grasped the blonde woman's hands. "I am so, so sorry."

Glinda's eyes searched hers for a moment. Then she drew a hand back and promptly smacked the Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba might've been upset if the gesture of violence hadn't been immediately followed by another tight hug from the blonde. "You should've told me, Elphie," she sniffled. "Your death haunted me every day. At night I dreamed about your dying screams. The guilt was agonizing." Glinda pulled back and hit Elphaba again for no apparent reason.

"Feel better?" the witch teased, gently stroking her friend's hair.

"Yes," the blonde snuffled. "I do."

Awhile later the girls settled onto a couch and told each other everything. Elphaba explained how Fiyero had become the Scarecrow and Boq the Tin Man. Glinda filled the green girl in on Boq and Fiyero's kidnapping plot.

"We really ought to thank them," the petite woman realized eventually. "Where are they anyway?"

"Probably avoiding our blubbering," Elphaba chuckled, smirking. Glinda couldn't help but smile too; she'd missed that cynical expression so much over the past year.

"Should we go find them?"

Elphaba's eyes lit with inspiration. "Yes…" she replied mischievously

/

"How long should we wait?" Boq wondered as he and Fiyero walked aimlessly through the snow.

"I'm not sure," the Scarecrow replied. They'd been avoiding the girls for almost an hour. "Maybe we should head ba…" Fiyero hesitated, cocking his head. "Do you hear that?" Boq listened and detected a faint but misplaced jingling noise.

"What in Oz is that?" the Tin Man queried. As if in reply a large, rectangular shadow passed overhead.

"Hello down there!" a high, excited voice shouted. The two Witch Hunters craned their necks to see a big, red sleigh hovering above them. Glinda's face smiled at them over the side.

"Sweet Oz," Boq gasped, stumbling backwards in surprise. Slowly the enchanted sled lowered. Elphaba, who sat in front, smirked at the Tin Man's stunned expression.

"What?" she demanded. "It's no odder than a flying broomstick."

"Where'd you get the sleigh?" Fiyero chuckled, hopping inside.

"Borrowed it from our Beaver neighbors," Elphaba shrugged. Boq continued gaping at his three friends as if they were insane. After awhile the green girl glowered at him. "It's just a levitation spell," she sighed. "Stop looking at me like I'm going to hex you into a newt." Glaring, the Tin Man heaved himself into the magicked sled.

Elphaba smiled in satisfaction. Then she made a clicking sound, much like one would use to urge horses forward, and the sleigh took off. Glinda moved to sit in front beside her friend, grinning from ear to ear. "This is so much better than my bubble!" she squealed, throwing her hands into the air.

Fiyero watched the girls happily. He hadn't seen Elphaba in such a weightless, girlish mood since…well since Shiz, really. Beside him Boq made the same observations about Glinda; the weight of the past year had seemingly lifted from her shoulders.

Elphaba guided the sleigh up towards the flawless blue of the badland sky. Then she let it level off and take them soaring over fields of sparkling, unblemished white below. It was chilly so high up, and the wind bit like a wolf, but the view was undeniably worth it. Though both girls were shivering by the time the sleigh landed outside their cabin, they were loathe to leave it behind.

Still, Glinda would've been happy doing just about anything as long as she could keep glancing sideways and seeing Elphaba's face.