Glinda sighed with relief when the cavern came into view. She wasn't quite sure why she let the others talk her into taking a walk in the first place. Yes she hadn't moved from Elphaba's side since she helped Betak get her settled on a bed of blankets earlier in the day, but it wasn't like she needed a break. She could sit by Elphie for days and never move a muscle if it meant being there when she woke up.

What if she missed it? What if Elphaba came to while she was gone and thought she was still mad at her? She quickened her pace, determined to get back to her friend.

"Where's the fire?" Lion ran to catch up with her.

"I just want to get back."

She hadn't argued when Lion chose their path, too lost in thought about Elphie to realize how far they had gone until her legs started to get tired and she asked if they could head back. Just like she hadn't argued when Leto insisted Lion go with her in the first place. At the time she didn't pay much attention to Leto's reasoning that someone could have followed them but now she had to wonder. If there was even the slightest chance that someone might see her, why would they let her leave the cavern at all?

A sinking feeling suddenly washed over her. What if they were keeping something from her? Betak had just checked on both Elphaba and Breena before she held her little pow wow with Leto and Milynn that resulted in them telling her she needed to get some fresh air. What if something was wrong with Elphie? What if she…

"No." She shook her head, willing the thought away as she broke into a sprint.

"Glinda?" Lion hurried after her. "Glinda, wait!"

It looked like she was going to run head first into a rock face but she passed through it instead. Breena enchanted the cavern entrance so no one would know it was there after Leto offered it up as a hiding place if they needed one when they fled the city. She almost ran right into Leto, Milynn and Betak, who were waiting for her as she burst in.

"Sorry." Lion's voice was breathless as he came in behind her. "I kept her away as long as I could."

Glinda frowned. "Kept me away? Why would you want to do that? What's going on?!"

"Glinda." Betak started toward her. "I'm sorry, but it didn't work."

"Didn't work?" Her frown deepened. "What are you talking about? What didn't work?"

"She…" Betak swallowed hard, obviously trying to keep control of her emotions. "Breena healed the part of the wound we could see but she must not have been strong enough to do the same to the internal damage the dagger caused."

"What are you saying?" Glinda's voice was frantic. "Is Elphie worse?" She tried to move past Leto and Milynn but they blocked her way. "What are you doing? I want to see Elphaba!"

"Glinda…" Leto reached for her.

"Let me see my Elphie!!"

"We can't keep her from her forever." Milynn gripped Leto's hand, pulling him out of Glinda's way.

It took a second for what she was seeing to register. And even after that it took another moment for her to realize why they would have pulled a blanket up over Elphaba's head.

"No." Glinda uttered the word. "No!!" She rushed to her friend, falling to her knees at her side. "Elphie?"

Her voice shook as she pulled the blanket back to reveal Elphaba's extremely pale face. She looked so peaceful, like she was asleep. "Elphie?" She said the name again as she put her hand on a cold cheek. "Oh Elphie."

She sobbed, tears cascading down her cheeks as she laid her head on Elphaba's still chest. "Come back to me." Her words were barely audible. "Please come back..."

Glinda bolted upright, her breath hitching as her heart hammered out of her chest. She instantly looked to her left to find Elphaba on her bed of blankets. But it was too dark for her to really see her.

"Elphie?" Her voice cracked as she shoved her own blanket aside and crawled toward her, almost chanting, "Please be all right," as she went. She swallowed hard before putting her hand over the green one at Elphaba's side. Relief shot threw her when she felt the warmth of the skin against her own. "Oh thank Oz."

She used her free hand to stroke Elphaba's cheek. "I'm right here, Elphie. Please wake up." The tears she had been shedding in her sleep started to fall again. "Don't leave me."

"She's not going anywhere."

Glinda bit back a scream.

"Shh!"

The shushing sound came from the general vicinity of the fire Leto had built earlier. In her rush to check on Elphaba she hadn't noticed the figure sitting there.

"I'll catch the wrath of Ozma if you wake either of them." Breena nodded toward Betak, who mumbled something in her sleep, and Milynn, who was curled against Leto's side. A loud roll of thunder sounded outside. "Of course that hasn't woken them up yet, but I'm not willing to risk it."

Glinda looked down at Elphaba. Her eyes had adjusted enough for her to see that Elphie's breathing was steady and even. She caressed her check again before getting up to join Breena.

A bolt of lightning flashed as she covered the short distance to the fire, making her jump.

"Not a storm person?"

"Hardly." Glinda answered as she sat down next to Breena.

"Don't worry. You're safe in here."

For the first time since Glinda met her she might have had to disagree if she had added 'with me' to her comment. She might have been up, but she still sounded exhausted. There wasn't any way she could have possibly slept off the effects of healing Elphaba yet. Not if the last time Glinda saw her was any indication.

As if to prove her point Breena tried to stand only to fall back down.

Glinda instinctively reached for her, stopping just short of actually making contact. "Are you all right?!"

"Peachy," was Breena's groaned response.

"Where were you going?"

"To get more wood for the fire. Give me a second and I'll…"

"You'll do no such thing." Glinda shook her head as she made her way over to the wood pile just inside the entrance, mumbling about stubborn people the whole time. She picked up a couple of pieces and was headed back when another clap of thunder sounded, making her jump again. The wood slipped from her grasp and flew through the air for what seemed like an eternity before landing in the fire, making it roar.

Breena chuckled. "I've never seen it done quite like that before." She tried her best to stop when she saw Glinda blushing by the light of the rejuvenated fire as she sat back down. "Sorry. You help me out and I laugh at you."

"It's all..." Glinda stopped short as the fire illuminated Breena's face. Even the soft light from its flames did nothing to dull the dark circles under her eyes or the paleness of her skin. "Should you be up?"

"Probably not." Breena grinned tiredly. "But unlike you, I'm a sucker for a good storm." She looked toward the entrance. "I've loved to watch them since I was a little girl."

"You couldn't see it well enough from your bed?" Glinda gestured toward the pile of blankets the woman had occupied all day. They put her and Elphaba closest to the fire to keep them warm, which meant she would have had the same vantage point from where she had been.

"It's not the same."

Glinda might not know her very well, but it was obvious something was bothering Breena. And she was in no condition to be pushed about whatever it was. So she dropped it, letting silence reign as Breena went back to watching the storm rage.

"Do I really look that bad?"

"What?" Glinda furrowed her brow.

"You're staring at me like I'm going to keel over any second now."

"Oh, sorry. I really didn't mean to. It's just…" She shrugged. "I was trying to come up with a way to say thank you."

"You just did."

"No I didn't." Glinda frowned at the idea. "Not properly anyway."

"I'm not very good at the mushy stuff, Glinda. Can't we just say I know you're grateful and leave it at that?"

"No. At least I can't." Glinda sighed. "You've done so much for me, Breena."

"Glinda…"

"I wasn't done." She raised the index finger of her right hand to silence her. "You joined the Gale Force to watch over me, saved me from Southstairs and risked your life to get me out of the city. Thank you doesn't even begin to cover it. Especially considering you don't even know me."

"Sure I do."

Glinda frowned again. "Do what?"

"Know you Miss Glinda Upland of the Upper Uplands. Youngest daughter of Maximillian Upland and Ginella Arduenna." Breena corrected her. "I did my homework before I went to the palace. I even met your parents when they came to visit."

"You did, didn't you?" She suddenly shot Breena a look. "Hey! Changing the subject isn't going to make me forget what I was saying!"

"Sorry." Breena grinned. "Note to self, don't mess with the blonde, it pisses her off."

Glinda returned her grin. "Yes, keep that in mind." She continued to look at Breena. "I really do owe you a lot. And not just for what you did for me. You saved Elphaba's life too."

"You're welcome. Now can we change the subject?"

"I'm making you uncomfortable."

"No, you're making me out to be some kind of saint. Trust me when I say I'm not." Breena sighed. "Like I said, I know you're grateful and that's more than enough for me."

Glinda nodded. "Then I guess it will have to be enough for me too." She waited a beat. "For now anyway."

Breena rolled her eyes. "I knew you were going to say something like that."

They shared a smile before Breena went back to watching the storm and Glinda stared into the fire.

"Was it a bad one?"

Glinda frowned at the question. "Was what a bad one?"

"Your nightmare." Breena answered. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you don't usually wake up like that."

"No, I don't." She looked at the ground, her heart racing at the thought of losing Elphaba again, even if it was in a dream. "And yes, it was. One of the worst I've ever had."

"About Elly?"

Glinda nodded, not trusting her voice to answer.

"I meant what I said before. She's not going anywhere, Glinda. And I'm not just saying that because I worked my magic on her. I can feel it right here." Her hand shook ever so slightly as she pointed at her chest. "She's too damn stubborn to let something like a dagger keep her down."

Glinda grinned. "She is, isn't she?" Her grin faded when she noticed Breena actually had a dagger in her hand. "Is that the…"

"Yep. One and the same. I just cleaned it up a little."

"Why do you have it?"

"Because I knew Milynn or Betak would get rid of it."

"And you want to keep it?"

Breena nodded.

Glinda looked disgusted. "Why in Oz would you want to do something like that?"

"Because I want to return it to its rightful owner." Her face hardened as she watched the reflection of the flames dance on the blade. "It's not Boq's you know. It's Nevin's. A not so standard issue Gale Force hand to hand combat weapon."

Glinda shivered at the intensity of her voice.

"I know it was Nevin's idea to hurt Elphaba. Don't get me wrong, Boq will get what's coming to him for actually carrying out the deed. But Nevin…" She gripped the handle, making her hand shake even worse. "He's going to pay."

You could almost see the light bulb appear over Glinda's head. "Breena, what happened to Elphie wasn't your fault."

Brenna frowned. "I didn't say it was."

"Didn't you?" Glinda probed, hoping she was doing the right thing. "Was it actually the storm that got you up, or were you having nightmares of your own?"

Silence was her only answer.

"You can talk to me, Breena. I know what you're going through."

"No you don't."

"Trust me, I do. And you can't keep these kind of things bottled up inside. What you said helped me. Maybe something I say will help you."

"No offense Glinda, but you don't understand."

"Try me."

Breena closed her eyes, looking even more worn out than she had before. "I'm supposed to take care of her. I promised."

Glinda looked confused. "Who did you promise?"

"And I tried, I really did." Breena was too lost in thought to hear her question. "I took her in after she met the Wizard and helped her work through how betrayed she felt. I agreed to go to the Emerald City to watch over you. But when it came right down to it, I failed." A single tear slid down her cheek. "I wasn't there when she needed me most."

"Oh, Breena." Glinda did what came naturally by putting her arm around the woman and resting her head on her shoulder, offering what comfort she could.

"She almost died, Glinda. She was closer than any of you realize." Her tears were falling faster now. "That's why I held on as long as I did. I couldn't let her go. I just couldn't." Her voice was little more than a whisper. "She's all I have left."

Glinda didn't say anything, but her mind was going a hundred miles an hour. What did Breena mean Elphaba was all she had left? What about Betak and Milynn and Leto? They all obviously thought the world of her.

Maybe Breena thought of Elphaba in a different way though. She said Elphie was with her after she fled the palace. Maybe they got close. Maybe Elphaba meant so much to her because the two of them had been… Maybe they were…

She couldn't even bring herself to think it. Elphie was supposed to be hers. Yes she was angry when she learned she was alive, but the instant she slammed the bedroom door she started fantasizing about what it could mean to her. About what they could mean to each other. About the life they could build now that they were together again. But what if Elphaba already had that life with Breena?

"I'm sorry." Breena pulled away from her. "That's not something I normally do."

"Don't worry about it." Glinda remarked distractedly.

"Thanks for not making a big deal about this." Breena wiped tears from her face. "Of course I'll be forced to deny the whole thing if you mention it to anyone else." She meant to get a laugh out of the blonde, frowning when she didn't. "OK, my turn. What's on your mind?"

"Huh?"

"I know you, remember? That's the 'something is eating at me' look. So spill."

Glinda stared at her, battling with herself. Breena wasn't looking so hot. What if she started asking her about Elphaba and she collapsed or something? On the other hand, she really wanted to know where she stood before Elphie woke up.

"Is it your nightmare? Do you want to talk about it more?" Breena tried to help. "It might not look like it right now, but I have pretty strong shoulders. You can lean on me if you need to."

Sweet Lurline was it any wonder Elphaba was drawn to this woman? Here she was half wanting to rip her to shreds and Breena was offering her her friendship.

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

Breena frowned. "Who?"

"Elphaba."

"I think we established that a minute ago. But we're not talking about me anymore. We're talking about you."

"Maybe talking about me is talking about you."

Breena frowned. "Either I'm more out of it than I realized or what you just said didn't make sense."

Glinda sighed, knowing it was now or never. "Are you with Elphaba?"

Breena quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'with'?"

"I mean are you two together."

"Yes."

"You are?"

Breena looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We have been since last night."

"No, that's not what I mean." Glinda growled. "Are you a couple?"

"A couple?"

"Yes. A couple."

"Wait a minute." Breena furrowed her brow. "Are you asking if Elly and I are a couple couple? Together as in…"

"Lovers." Glinda impatiently finished for her. "Are the two of you lovers?"

"Are we lovers?"

"Would you stop with the parrot routine and just answer the question?!"

Breena started laughing. Glinda frowned at her, which only made her laugh harder.

"I'm… I'm sorry." Breena gasped as she tried to get herself under control. "But that's the funniest thing I've ever heard."

"And just what's so funny about it?" Glinda was indignant. "Is she not good enough for you or something?"

"No, not at all." Breena shook her head. "I just can't believe you haven't figured it out yet."

"Figured what out?!"

"My relationship with Elphaba."

"What do you think I've been trying to do?!"

"Shh." Breena cast a glance toward Milynn. "Calm down, Glinda."

"Maybe I don't want to calm down. Maybe I just want to know what Elphaba is to you!"

"We're..."

"Because you're not the only one she's important to."

"I…"

"And you obviously mean something to her."

"Gli…"

"Because she seemed pretty comfortable with you."

"That's…"

"And she doesn't get close to just anybody."

"Would you…"

"So just tell me."

Breena looked at her for a second before raising her eyebrows. "Oh, you mean I get to say something now?"

"Breena." Glinda sighed.

"Don't get started again." Breena was quick to cut her off. "We're related."

Glinda frowned. That certainly wasn't the answer she was expecting. "You're what?"

Breena nodded. "Related."

"That's not possible. Elphie told me all about her family and she never mentioned you."

"As special as that makes me feel, it doesn't surprise me. I don't exactly run around announcing it to the whole world either. But it's true." She sighed when she saw the look Glinda was giving her. "I can prove it."

"How?"

Breena gestured with the dagger in her hand. "With this."

"What does that…" Glinda's eyes got big as Breena used her right hand to draw the blade across her left palm. "What are you doing?!"

"She's green, right?" Breena hissed as the blade bit through her skin. "Well take a look." She held her palm out for Glinda to see.

"Sweet Oz!" The blonde gripped the hand in both of her own, her mouth open in astonishment. "Your blood is…"

"Green." This time Breena finished for her. "Hers is on the outside, mine is on the inside."

"How…" Glinda continued to look at Breena's palm. "How is that possible?"

"We're cousins, Glinda." Breena finally supplied the answer she'd been looking for. "Elly and I are cousins."