Elphieispopular: *Tosses hair over shoulder* I am the WICKED Queen after all.

Luna the Zekrom: Thanks for telling me. I went back and corrected that.


When Elphaba opened her eyes the next morning, Nanny wasn't there. She tried to sit up, but slumped back against the pillows as a sharp pain shot up her body. She moaned silently, shutting her eyes as she tried to force the pain away. A click and the door opened, but Elphaba felt too weak to turn her head and see who it was.

She heard soft footsteps padding across the floor towards her. A warm hand pressed gently against her forehead before wiping strands of hair away from her face.

"Na… Nanny?" Elphaba whispered, slowly opening her eyes.

The old woman smiled down at the green girl and kissed her forehead. "How are you feeling, Fabala?"

"Fine," Elphaba whispered.

The door opened and a nurse came in, carrying a tray of steaming hot oatmeal and orange juice. Nanny gently helped Elphaba into a sitting position as the nurse laid the tray next to the bed.

"Enjoy your breakfast, Miss Elphaba," the nurse smiled, giving the green girl a slight nod before leaving.

Elphaba moaned and turned away from the food, feeling nauseous. Nanny sighed and, carefully taking a spoonful of oatmeal, held it up to Elphaba's lips.

"N-Nanny?" Elphaba whispered, slumping back against the pillows.

"Yes?"

Elphaba's hand slowly rose and pushed the spoon away. "I… I'm not hungry."

Nanny frowned. "Why…" Elphaba's face suddenly went a deadly shade of a pale green. Nanny didn't have to think twice before quickly grabbing a nearby bucket and helping Elphaba sit up.

A moan and Elphaba emptied the contents of her stomach into the pail. Coughing, she shut her eyes, fighting her growing headache. She felt Nanny rub circles on her back, whispering words of comfort to her. A weak moan slipped past her lips as she leaned forward and threw up again.

"Fabala…" Nanny whispered as Elphaba slumped back against the pillows, taking deep breaths. Once Elphaba's breathing even out, Nanny helped her sit up and helped her drink the orange juice.

"Make… it… stop," Elphaba begged, looking up at Nanny, her voice raspy.

"Make what stop?" Nanny whispered, brushing a section of hair behind Elphaba's ear.

"The… pain," Elphaba whimpered as a sudden jerk of pain rippled through her body. Tears slid down her cheek as she clutched the blankets, fighting the pain in her legs.

"I'm sorry, Fabala," Nanny whispered, knowing that there was nothing she could do. All she could do was take Elphaba's hand and squeeze it gently.

"Please?" Elphaba begged, her large, chocolate eyes staring up at Nanny.

The old woman leaned forward and gently kissed Elphaba's cheek. She gently stroked the back of her hand until the green girl had cried herself to sleep. "I'm sorry, my little Melena."


After a week-long stay at the hospital, Elphaba was released with orders to stay in bed for the next week.

"I'm sorry, Fabala," Nanny whispered when she saw Elphaba wince as she helped her out of bed and into her wheelchair.

"It's okay," Elphaba whispered as Nanny fluffed her pillow.

The elderly woman signed the release papers and pushed Elphaba out the door into the sunshine. "It's a beautiful day," she commented, trying to cheer Elphaba up.

The green girl simply nodded and looked down. She winced as Nanny helped her up into the carriage and they were off.

They arrived at the Governor's Mansion half an hour later. Nanny stepped down and carefully helped Elphaba out of the carriage, producing a muffled noise of pain from the green girl.

"Fabala…" Nanny whispered, concern filling her voice.

"I'm alright," Elphaba said, forcing a smile.

Nanny could see the pain growing inside Elphaba's eyes, but said nothing. Instead, she gently patted Elphaba's shoulder and pushed her up the ramp to the house.

"Hello, Miss Elphaba."

"Welcome home, Miss Elphaba."

"Are you feeling better, Miss Elphaba?"

Elphaba smiled as the servants greeted her. They, along with Nanny, were the only people to treat her kindly.

"I am feeling better, thank you," Elphaba said, forcing a small smile onto her face, looking up at everyone.

"Your father and sister left a few minutes ago to go into town, but they should be back shortly," one of the maids said, briefly pausing from dusting one of the vases to address Elphaba.

Elphaba nodded and quickly wheeled herself to her room and closed the door behind her. Sighing, she wheeled over to her mirror and slowly lifted up her skirt. Deep, reddish-purple scars ran up and across her legs. She gingerly ran her fingers over them, wincing as the pain shot up her body.

A knock and the door opened, revealing Nanny. Elphaba let go of the ends of her skirt and looked away, but she knew Nanny had already seen.

"Fabala, are you alright?" Nanny asked, slowly approaching the green girl.

Elphaba was about to lie and say that everything was fine when she felt something wet slide down her cheek. The next thing she knew, she was wrapped protectively in Nanny's arms.

"Does it still hurt?" Nanny whispered softly.

Sniffing, Elphaba weakly nodded against Nanny's shoulder.

"It'll be okay," Nanny whispered, kissing her forehead.

"No, it won't," Elphaba muttered, her face still buried in Nanny's shoulder.

"Yes, it will," Nanny said, gently pulling away to look at Elphaba. Smiling softly, the old woman gently wiped away the green girl's tears. "I promise."

Unable to form words, Elphaba simply nodded and allowed Nanny to pull her into another hug.


A few days past and Nanny noticed something different about Elphaba. The emerald girl never ate a lot, but now, she wasn't eating anything at all. Nanny could count Elphaba's ribs through her dress. She had run up a fever and had grown very pale. The old woman quickly summoned the doctor who, after examining her, sighed as he gave Nanny the news.

"She's quite dehydrated and has a very serious infection," the doctor reported, looking directly at Nanny. "If her fever doesn't break soon, she'll die."

Nanny gasped softly. Melena's last words to her rang in her mind.

Please take care of Fabala for me.

"What can we do?" she asked softly.

"We need to break her fever. Make sure she drinks lots of fluids and stays in bed."

Nanny nodded and went in to see Elphaba. The green girl was shivering under the covers, sweat glistening her forehead. Her desperate moans reached Nanny's ears and brought tears to her eyes.

"I'm right here, Fabala," Nanny whispered, hurrying over to Elphaba and taking her hand.

The sound of horses' hooves trotting along the stone road and a carriage pulled Nanny from her thoughts. Kissing Elphaba's forehead, the old woman pushed herself up and walked out of the room. She found Frex in his office, sipping a cup of tea as he looked out the window over the gardens.

"Your daughter is ill," Nanny said, walking inside without knocking.

Frex jumped, not expecting the old woman to simply appear behind him. "Nessarose is perfectly fine," he said, returning his gaze towards the window.

"I meant Elphaba," Nanny sighed.

Frex stiffened. "That demon-possessed thing is not my daughter."

"Whatever you may think, she's your daughter. And she's ill."

"Then you go and tend to her," Frex said, waving Nanny off.

"If her fever doesn't break soon, she'll die," Nanny said, hoping to persuade Frex into helping take care of Elphaba for once.

"Once less thing for me to worry about," Frex grunted.

The old woman set her jaw and marched out of the room. Frex didn't even remotely care that Elphaba could die. It didn't surprise her, but it broke her heart all the more. She remembered how excited he and Melena had been when Melena found out she was pregnant with Elphaba. A light bulb went off in her head and she turned around and marched back to Frex's office.

"How would Melena feel right now?"

Frex jumped and whirled around. "Nanny, don't you knock?!"

"That wasn't my question. I'll repeat it for your hearing; how would Melena feel right now?"

"Melena's not here," Frex said, almost sadly.

"Melena loved Fabala with all her heart and soul. She meant everything to her. How would she feel if she heard you say those things about your daughter?"

"Melena is not here!" Frex shouted.

"Okay, Frex. I'll tend to your daughter, which is what I've been doing her entire life. But just remember this, if anything happens to her, it will be on your conscious." Nanny gave Frex a brief nod before leaving, gently closing the door behind her.