DISCLAIMER: The characters of Wicked that you recognise here are the property of Stephen Schwartz and the producers and creators of the show. I'm just borrowing them for my leisure.

AN. Considering the Christmas chapters were not very Christmas-sy, I think the New Year's chapter is much better!

Also, thank you to everyone who voted for me in this years Wicked Awards. The winner's are out, and I was very pleasantly surprised! Whoever would have thought any pairing with Frex in it would win Best Other Pairing?

Chapter 14: The Last Bit of Magic

October, 1935

Elphaba's due date was October twenty-second.

By October tenth, she was more than ready for this pregnancy to be over. By the eighteenth, she was already resorting to all the tricks the pregnancy books claimed would bring on labour. By the twenty-third, she was making deals with the baby, promising all sorts of bribes and negotiations if the child would just get out of her already.

She felt enormous; she hadn't seen her feet since July; she constantly ached from head to toe; and the baby apparently already had the life goal of being an acrobat and would take any opportunity to practice- at least it did until it ran out of room, and then it took it's frustrations out on her kidneys. And having to use the bathroom every ten minutes lost any humour very quickly.

Other than that, she'd read a thousand books on birth and parenting, there was a cradle and everything else the baby would need crammed into what little free space there was in her bedroom, and Nessa was so excited about being an aunt it made Elphaba want to cry.

There were parts of being pregnant Elphaba had enjoyed. The first time Elphaba had felt the baby move she'd cried; and even when her kidneys were being bruised, it was something that never quite lost its magic.

Three days past her due date, Elphaba was sitting in the living room with Nessa as afternoon faded to evening. She was thoroughly annoying her younger sister by her insistence of having every window in the room open. The fact summer was now over was something Elphaba was very grateful for, but she was still feeling the heat.

"It has to come soon, doesn't it?" Nessa asked her.

"Oz, I hope so," Elphaba sighed. "I really miss my feet. They're still there, right?"

Nessa laughed. "None of its helping? The walks, the spicy food?"

Elphaba shook her head glumly. "No. Although the spicy food gives me extreme heartburn, if that counts?"

Nessa made a face. "You're not making me look forward to doing this someday, Fabala."

"Sorry," Elphaba apologised.

Nessa leaned over and tentatively laid a hand on Elphaba's stomach, who looked at her in amusement.

"We've been over this, Nessa, it's not going to bite. What are you going to do when it's actually out?"

Nessa flushed slightly. "Do you have names picked out?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "For the millionth time, no."

"Any ideas?"

"No."

"Doesn't that worry you?" Nessa asked anxiously.

"Well, clearly it worries you," Elphaba teased, smirking slightly. "No, I'm not worried. I'll find a name."

Elphaba made her way up the stairs to her room at ten o'clock, she was beyond exhausted and her lower back was aching. But when she lay down to try and sleep, the baby was restless and wouldn't allow her to rest comfortably.

After an hour of fidgeting, Elphaba gave up and heaved herself into a sitting position.

"Alright, kid," she addressed her bump, turning on the lamp and reaching for a book on the nightstand. "Let's try this, shall we?"

The book of fairytales always seemed to help the baby relax, which Elphaba wasn't sure if it was a sense of irony, or if it just proved that this baby really was the child of her and Fiyero.

She started reading aloud, hoping the baby would settle quickly and allow her to get some sleep. However, tonight the baby continued to move restlessly, and apparently nothing would soothe it.

Elphaba resorted to pacing around her room whilst reading, and between the movement and the stories, it did seem to be working finally. The baby had stopped kicking her intestines at any rate, as she read story after story. She was reading Cinderella, the original version- the one that didn't involve the stepsisters cutting off parts of their own feet to fit into a shoe.

Even though Elphaba knew the baby could do no more than recognise the sound of her voice and could not understand anything she was saying, she still didn't particularly want to read that to her child.

"The next day the two sisters were at the ball, and so was Cinderella, but dressed even more magnificently than before. The king's son was always by her, and never ceased his compliments and kind speeches to her. All this was so far from being tiresome to her, and, indeed, she quite forgot what her godmother had told her. She thought that it was no later than eleven when she counted the clock striking twelve. She jumped up and fled, as nimble as a deer. The prince followed, but could not overtake her. She left behind one of her glass slippers, which the prince picked up most carefully. She reached home, but quite out of breath, and in her nasty old clothes, having nothing left of all her finery but one of the little slippers, the mate to the one that-"

Elphaba cut herself off mid-sentence as she felt something trickle down her leg.

"Ohh," she breathed quietly. "Really, kid? Now?"

Elphaba closed the book and eased herself back onto the bed, thinking hard. She glanced at the clock and saw it was just after midnight.

"You have a warped sense of humour," she muttered to her stomach. "I'm sure you get that from your father."

She wondered if her father was still up. Considering the fact that he tried to pretend her pregnancy didn't exist as much as possible and seemed to already resent the baby as much as he did Elphaba, she didn't particularly want to wake him up to send for the doctor. She slowly made her way down the hall to his bedroom and listened intently. There was no light under the door and she couldn't hear any sound (her father snored), so there was a good chance he was still in his study.

When she got downstairs, there was a light in the study, and Elphaba hesitantly knocked lightly on the door.

"Enter."

Frex was sitting in the armchair reading, he looked up at Elphaba as she stood in the doorway.

"What is it?"

Elphaba swallowed hard. "My water broke," she replied.

Frex stiffened and closed his book. "When?"

"Just a minute ago."

Frex got to his feet and offered her the chair. "Sit down," he said curtly. "I'll go for Dr Jardine."

The first contraction came a minute later as Frex was pulling on his coat, and the strength of it took Elphaba's breath away. Frex looked up sharply at her gasp.

"Are you alright?"

Elphaba nodded faintly. "I'm ok," she said, a little breathless still. "It just surprised me."

Frex hesitated and then nodded. "I'll be as quick as I can."

Sure enough, he was back in less than ten minutes, accompanied by Dr Jardine.

"Have you had any contractions yet?" was the first thing he asked her.

"Three," she answered.

"Alright," the doctor nodded. "Let's get you upstairs and we'll see what's happening, ok? The midwife will be along shortly."

Elphaba nodded and Frex followed them out of the study and to the stairs. Another contraction hit her halfway up the staircase, and Elphaba stifled a gasp, her grip on the banister tightening so her knuckles turned white.

"It's ok to make noise, Elphaba," the doctor reassured her, seeing her clench her jaw tightly.

Elphaba shook her head. "I don't want to wake up Nessa," she said hoarsely.

"I'm going to wake her now. She'll want to know," Frex told her and walked away before Elphaba could protest.

"Did you have any contractions before your water broke?" the doctor asked Elphaba once he'd examined her upstairs.

Elphaba shook her head. "No. My back hurt, but no contractions. Why?"

"No reason. You're just progressing much faster than I would have expected. You're five centimetres dilated and your contractions are three minutes apart. I'd say it'll only be another few hours at most."

Elphaba exhaled nervously. A few hours and she'd be somebody's mother.

"Great," she managed weakly.

She'd missed Fiyero dreadfully in the past few months, but she'd never wanted him with her more than she did in this moment. Instead, it was just her, Dr Jardine and the midwife. Elphaba didn't think she had ever felt more alone in a roomful of people.

By three am, Elphaba was glad Frex had woken Nessa up, because there was no way she could stop herself from making noise. At five am, the midwife said she could push.

"Wait," Dr Jardine said sharply, in a tone that stopped Elphaba mid-push.

"What? What is it?" she gasped, her heart pounding in her chest.

Dr Jardine met her gaze calmly. "Elphaba, it looks as though the baby's in a breech position. Now, everything is going to be fine, but I'm going to need your help on this, alright?"

Elphaba nodded numbly.

"Good girl. Now, on the next contraction, you're going to push really hard until I say stop, got it?"

Elphaba nodded again.

When the next contraction came, she pushed as hard as she could.

"Elphaba, nothing's happening, you have to push harder," Dr Jardine called to her.

Utterly spent, Elphaba dropped her head back and stared at the ceiling, blinking back tears.

"I can't," she choked out.

"You absolutely can," the doctor said firmly. "Big push, ok?"

Elphaba swallowed back a sob, braced herself with a deep breath, and pushed until she thought she might pass out from the effort.

"Excellent, Elphaba. Ok, now stop pushing."

Elphaba obeyed, collapsing back onto the pillow and taking desperate breaths, trying to fill her lungs.

Dr Jardine looked up at her and smiled. "You're almost there, Elphaba. The baby's coming. Now, I need you to give me little pushes- nice and slow."

Elphaba groaned softly as she did as instructed, her groan turning into a weak sob.

"It hurts," she wept.

"I know it does," the midwife said sympathetically. "You're doing really well, dear."

"Alright, the buttocks are out," Dr Jardine announced. "Keep doing those little pushes, Elphaba. Breathe through the pain."

Elphaba heaved a dry sob, as the next contraction seized her and her hand twisted in the sheets against the pain. She had never felt this much pain in her entire life and she just wanted it to be over.

"Elphaba?"

Dr Jardine's voice seemed to be coming from a long way off and Elphaba reluctantly turned her head towards him.

He smiled at her kindly. "Elphaba, it's a girl."

It took a moment for his words to register with her and then her eyes widened slightly.

"What?" she asked hoarsely.

"It's a girl," he repeated.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Give me a few more of those little pushes, and you can meet your daughter, ok?"

Elphaba nodded, her throat tight.

'Breathe through the pain' may have been the least helpful advice she'd ever received, and Elphaba vowed then and there that she was never going to do this again- not that getting pregnant again seemed likely to happen.

As the sun rose and its light filled the room, Dr Jardine and the midwife coached Elphaba and guided her daughter into the world.

When that first cry broke and filled the room, stronger than Elphaba would have expected, it simultaneously broke and filled her heart in a way she never knew was possible. And then the midwife laid the baby girl in her arms.

She was the most beautiful thing Elphaba had ever seen, it took her breath away. As the baby lay on her chest, she stopped crying. Her eyes opened, and although Elphaba knew from her books she couldn't really see anything, Elphaba would have sworn the little girl was looking right at her.

"Alright," Dr Jardine said gently. "Let's get you both cleaned up."

The midwife cut the umbilical cord and took the baby off a reluctant Elphaba to clean her up, while Dr Jardine cleaned up Elphaba.

When Elphaba was back in bed with clean sheets and a clean nightgown, she eagerly accepted the baby back from the midwife, also cleaned up and swaddled securely in a blanket.

"Is she ok?" she asked immediately.

"She's perfect," the midwife reassured her. "Nine pounds, three ounces."

Elphaba held her daughter almost gingerly, drinking in every aspect of her. The soft pink skin, the rosebud lips, the long almost translucent eyelashes.

"She is perfect," she murmured softly.

"We're going to hang around for a few hours, just to make sure everything's ok," Dr Jardine told her. "What we're going to do now, is see if she'll feed. I'll go down and tell your father and sister that everything's ok while the midwife shows you what to do; and then you can both get some sleep."

Elphaba nodded. "Thank you," she said gratefully.

Late that afternoon, after Elphaba had slept, eaten something and successfully fed and burped the baby, Dr Jardine and Frex helped Nessa upstairs to meet her niece. Neither she nor Frex had seen the baby yet.

"Oh. She's so beautiful," Nessa exclaimed softly.

"Do you want to hold her?" Elphaba offered.

Nessa hesitated. "Is that ok?"

Elphaba chuckled. "Of course it is, silly. She's your niece. Here."

She helped her sister hold the baby.

"Does she have a name yet?"

"No," Elphaba admitted. "I'm still deciding."

Nessa looked up at Frex. "Do you want to hold her, Father?"

Frex looked at his granddaughter and then to his daughters, and reluctantly lifted the baby into his arms. He held her for just a moment and then returned her to Elphaba.

"Congratulotions, Elphaba. You did well."

"Thank you," Elphaba said quietly.

Nessa swiftly moved past the awkwardness by suggesting several names to her sister, and Elphaba promised that she'd consider them all.

She had a list of names that she'd written in the past few months, but as she looked at them again, none of them seemed to suit the baby girl in her arms.

"I don't know how people do it," she mused to the sleeping baby once they were alone again. "How do people choose one name that you'll use for the rest of your life?"

Although, Elphaba supposed, most parents had someone with them to help make that decision.

"I'm sorry that your dad isn't here," she continued sadly. "And I don't know how to explain to you why he isn't. But I'll tell you what I can about him, ok?"

Elphaba didn't think she'd ever get tired of looking at her daughter. The more she looked at her, the more she could see traces of Fiyero in her- the nose, the ears. And whilst it made her heart ache, it also made her miss Fiyero less in a way. It helped somewhat to know she still had a part him here with her.

"You know what you are?" she asked the baby, smiling softly as the analogy came to her. "You're the glass slipper Cinderella gets to keep when the spell is over."

The baby fidgeted in her sleep, heaving a little sound that may have been the most adorable sound Elphaba had ever heard.

"You really did seem to like the fairytales, didn't you? You know, your dad's favourite is Sleeping Beauty. I used to think Rumpelstilskin was my favourite, but lately…"

Suddenly, Elphaba had an idea. "I can't make up for not telling your dad about you, baby girl. To you, or to him. But there might be a way to show how important he was to me. What do you think?"

The next day, after having gingerly made her way downstairs as the baby slept, Elphaba sat down at the dining room table to fill out the birth certificate.

"What name did you decide on?" Nessa asked curiously.

"Arora," Elphaba answered.

"Like in Sleeping Beauty?" Nessa asked in interest. "That's pretty. Arora Thropp… it is Thropp, isn't it?"

"I don't really have another choice, do I?" Elphaba replied, a note of regret in her voice. "No, it's Thropp. Arora Nessarose Ibra Thropp."

Nessa's face lit up. "Really, Fabala? Why? I mean, thank you, but why?"

"Because you fought for me to be allowed to stay," Elphaba said simply. "If you hadn't… I don't know where I'd be living right now."

Nessa beamed at her with tears in her eyes.

"What about 'Ibra'? Where did that come from?"

Elphaba took a deep breath. "It's the female form of 'Ibrahim'. It's for Fiyero's father," she explained quietly. "He and Fiyero were very close."

Nessa didn't know what to say to that.

Elphaba had told her that she and Fiyero had been in a relationship in the Emerald City, mostly because Nessa had been worried that Elphaba had been taken advantage of. She hadn't told them that they'd been engaged, however. And although Elphaba hadn't specifically told her sister that she'd loved Fiyero, Elphaba thought Nessa at least suspected that was the case.

"Does- does Arora look like him?"

Elphaba instinctively looked up at the roof towards her bedroom where her daughter slept even now.

"A little," she said softly. "She has his nose… maybe his eyes, if they stay blue."

Elphaba returned to the birth certificate, filling in her own details. When it came to the information on the father, however, Elphaba hesitated.

"It'll kill me to write 'Father Unknown'," she said quietly. "But I can't write his name, can I? If someone sees it…"

She didn't know exactly who or how someone would see it, but she didn't want to risk it. Arora would have enough to deal with without people knowing the identity of her father.

Nessa bit her lip. "Well… I don't know. Maybe Father will have an idea?"

"I'm sure Father would prefer to pretend none of this ever happened," Elphaba sighed.

Frex hadn't even held the baby since that first day she was born.

Nessa ignored her sister and went to ask Frex what to do, and to Elphaba's surprise, he was rather helpful regarding the situation.

"We can have the birth certificate sealed, and have a copy for the public records that conceals the identity of the child's father."

"Arora," Nessa corrected, and Frex startled.

"Excuse me?"

"Arora," Elphaba said quietly. "That's her name."

"Like the fairytale," Nessa chirped. "Sleeping Beauty, remember?"

"I thought the maiden's name was Briar Rose in the story?" Frex frowned.

"Depends on what version you read," Elphaba said.

She finished filling in the papers and then handed them to her father. She swore he smiled slightly when he saw the baby's first middle name.

"I'll have these filed for you," he said to Elphaba.

"Thank you."

Just then, a cry sounded from up the stairs.

"That's my cue," Elphaba said, and excused herself from the room.

AN. Happy New Year everyone!

It may please you to know my NY resolution is to try and write more, so hopefully that sticks!

I've also got a oneshot on the way, that I was hoping to finish writing and post today, but my Dad just bought a new bought so I'm heading out for a family day on the lake before I go home.