Elphaba had carried Galinda on her back all the way through the dark, silent building and up to their dorm room. She set Galinda down gently on the pink monster that was her bed. The little blonde had calmed down considerably since she had been rescued, but was still crying a little and hiccupping. When Elphaba tried to go to the bathroom to get supplies to tend to the injured girl, she whimpered, frightened, and grabbed onto the green girls arm like it was a life line.
"Shh…it's okay, my sweet," she soothed, wrapping her free arm around the blondes shoulders and sitting down next to her, "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. I promise."
While Galinda did let go of her arm, she didn't let her move from the bed. She dropped her forehead to Elphaba's chest, still cradling her injured hand with her good one. "I don't want to be alone, Elphie." Galinda's words were barely a whisper, muffled too, but Elphaba heard them. Hearing the scared, defeated tone in the blonde's voice her heart broke.
"I 'm not going to leave you. I promise." Elphaba said, her voice cracking with emotion. She wrapped both of her arms carefully around the petite girl, who was now shaking, and held her close. Galinda buried her face deeper into Elphaba's chest, sobbing in earnest.
The green girl wanted to comfort her, take all the hurt away, but she had no idea how. She had never had to go through what Galinda had, and never been shown comfort, giving her a lack of skill to show it in turn. She was racking her brain for any instance in the past where she witnessed such an event. And then she began to remember, vaguely, a song she heard her mother sing when she thought she was alone. Nanny would sing it to a wailing baby Nessa to sooth her. Something about going over the rainbow, and happy little blue birds. Only she couldn't remember the words. Elphaba settled on humming the tune softly, raising one hand to stroke the severely mussed curls, and rocked her gently.
After a few minutes of this, the dark haired girl felt Galinda physically begin to relax. She smiled, placing a gentle kiss to the top of her head. Eventually, she sat back, hiccupping a little. "Thank you Elphie." She said in that same tiny voice.
Elphaba carefully removed her arms from around Galinda. "Anything for you, my sweet." She said softly, sincerely.
"Elphie? Why are we in the dark?" Galinda asked as she glanced around the room for the first time since their arrival.
Elphaba blinked, stammering; it hadn't occurred to her that they were sitting in darkness, save for the few shafts of moonlight filtering through the window. "I didn't even notice. I was more concerned with you." She blushed slightly, thankful for the shadows concealing her face.
The blonde leaned forward and kissed the green girls cheek. "You're sweeter than you let on, Miss Elphaba." She said playfully. She raised her hand to touch the other girls face, but was startled by the pain that shot through her wrist. Suddenly what had happened flooded back to her, and she remembered that she was still wrapped up in Elphaba's cloak, her skirts torn and undergarments long lost ideas. Heat flooded to her face, despite the pain all over that she was just beginning to feel. The
shock from it was beginning to wearing off and it all was setting in. Her head was throbbing, her body ached. Elphaba strained her eyes against the darkness, studying Galinda's face.
"What hurt's, love?"
"Everything." she replied weakly, sagging against the green girl.
Elphaba scooted off the bed and scooped the blonde up, bridal style, pausing briefly to gain a better bearing in the darkness. Blinking, she started towards the bathroom with slow, deliberate steps, careful not to jostle Galinda. Pushing the door open with one foot, she carefully shuffled through the door and set the blond down on the counter before lighting the room.
When she turned back to Galinda, she couldn't contain the gasp that escaped her lips; a dark purple bruise was blooming on her right eye, her jaw was swelling, and her lower lip was split, chapped with dry blood. Galinda immediately looked down at the sound, trying to hide. Elphaba raised her hand, lifting the blondes chin gently with her fingertips. Her face was impassive as her eyes moved over Galinda's face.
Galinda felt like she was being examined like an experiment or something. "What?" she said, almost defensively. She still hadn't looked in the mirror, afraid of what she might see.
Elphaba tilted her head slightly, the corner of her mouth twitching a little. "You're still the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." She stared a moment longer, locking eyes with Galinda briefly before turning around and moving over to the tub. She missed the faint blush cross the blondes face. Turning on the faucet, she adjusted the handles, trying to find the best temperature. Elphaba pushed her sleeve up and reached out to touch the water, but recoiled as Galinda made a noise strangely akin to squealing. Wheeling around, she looked over the other girl frantically, searching for the cause of such a noise.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"You were going to touch the water…"
"And…?" Elphaba raised an eyebrow.
"And… I thought you were allergic to it. I didn't want you to hurt yourself." Galinda looked down bashfully.
"I'm not. That's just some vile rumor that no one's bothered to ask me about." She cracked a smile and turned back to the tub. Once she found a suitable temperature, she put the stopper in the drain and turned around yet again, this time to rummage through the cabinet. Her eyes lit up victoriously when she found what she was looking for; a small bag of what appeared to be salt.
Galinda eyed the bag, more out of curiosity than worry; her Elphie would never hurt her. She watched as the green girl poured some of the substance into the water. It didn't bubble as it was mixed in by the running tap.
Elphaba turned back to the cabinet putting the bag back in its place.
"What was that?" Galinda asked, absently watching to tub fill up.
"Epsom salts." She replied while kneeling to unlace the blonde's snow boots.
"What is it for?" Galinda lifted her leg slightly so Elphaba could pull the boot off.
"For your aching parts." She pulled the other boot off. Galinda wiggled her toes.
"You're so thoughtful." Galinda said, scooting to the edge of the counter, her toes barely grazing the floor.
Elphaba turned the faucet off and helped Galinda slide the rest of the way off the counter. The cloak that had been wrapped around the blonde pooled around their ankles. She turned around. Galinda made a face at her back.
"You know, Miss Elphaba," she grunted with effort as she tried using her good hand to peel off her stockings, "I don't have anything you don't." As she tugged the fabric from her foot, she lost her balance, yelping in pain when she caught herself with her injured wrist.
"Help me, please?" she asked Elphaba, who had spun around at the sound.
She looked over the blonde. Reaching out, hesitantly, she began unbuttoning Galinda's coat. Galinda shrugged it off, wincing a little when it caught on her wrist. Galinda watched Elphaba's face as she unbuttoned her blouse; Elphaba was trying to keep her face impassive, though Galinda noticed a flush slowly settling over the green girls features.
"Elphie… about what happened out there…" Galinda started.
"You don't have to talk about anything if you don't want to." Elphaba said immediately, her eyes finally looking up from her own hands. "But we need to get you taken care of." She turned the blonde around gently, and slipped the blouse from her shoulders, and let it drop to the floor.
Galinda, who had been pointedly avoiding the mirror, finally saw what that beast did to her beautiful face. Her eyes welled with tears, choking back a sob. She reached up, gingerly touching around her battered eye. "I can't go to Morrible about this." she said quietly.
Elphaba's eyes flashed. "Why not?"
"Because we'll both get in trouble for breaking curfew." She said, reaching back and unsuccessfully trying to unclasp her bra. She made a face at Elphaba in the mirror.
"Galinda… even with what happened?" Elphaba asked, not entirely sure how to proceed. She undid the clasp without thinking about it.
"That old hag doesn't have a heart. She doesn't like me, and would probably say I was asking for it. She wouldn't care that you broke it to look for me, let alone rescue me." Galinda turned around with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Galinda."
"I'm serious Elphaba."
"What about your wrist? What about your bruises that are popping up all over?" A green finger poked the blondes shoulder where yet another bruise was beginning to bloom. Galinda winced.
"I just won't leave the room until I'm able to cover the bruises with make up." Galinda said defiantly, poking Elphaba back.
"What about going to class? Assignments, food?" Elphaba turned Galinda to the side, pushing the waistband of her skirts down. Galinda wiggled the rest of the way out and stepped out of them. She walked over to the edge of the tub and sat on the edge. She pouted at Elphaba, doing her best to cover herself with her arms. "You'll help me, won't you?"
Sighing, Elphaba nodded her head. Galinda smiled and lifted her legs over the edge, slipping into the water.
Elphaba turned to leave the bathroom, but Galinda's hand flung out and caught her wrist. "Stay with me?" she asked quietly.
She looked down at her wrist, then at Galinda's face, and nodded. Elphaba kneeled next to the tub, pushing her sleeves up. She dipped a washcloth into the water, wrung it out, and began to clean Galinda's face.