Sorry for the late update (again)! This week has been pretty busy. But in happier news, today was my school's RING DAY, the day when the seniors get their high school rings. I'VE BEEN RINGED!

Fiyero slowly walked up the stairs as if in a trance. He didn't fully realize what he was doing until his face was right in front of the closed door. Taking a deep breath, he slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. His eyes immediately went to Elphaba, lying motionless in the bed. The prince panicked, then remembered his mother's words. She wasn't dead. He slowly approached her side and sat down on the edge of the bed. He took her hand, which still felt warm, and slowly rubbed circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Fae."

A thin cry pulled the prince from his thoughts and he turned. The sound was coming from the little baby-bed next to Elphaba and Fiyero quickly realized that was his daughter. He quickly went over to her and gently picked her up. "It's okay. Daddy's here." He gently jostled the baby in his arms, taking in her features. He could immediately tell that she had his nose, ears and loud mouth, but she looked like Elphaba in every other feature. "Hush now."

The infant's crying slowly died down and she slowly opened her eyes. The prince smiled as he took in the baby's blue eyes, but he learned that they would probably change color as she got older.

"Hi," he said softly, trailing his finger over her peach skin.

His daughter continued to look up at him, her eyes never leaving his face.

"It's so nice to meet you, little Salmae," he whispered, using the name he and Elphaba had agreed on. "I think I'll call you Sal. How does that sound?"

Salmae let out a small, indignant cry and the prince chuckled. "It's better than what your godmother, Glinda, will probably come up with. She'll probably come up with something ridiculous, like Sallie or something."

Salmae yawned and slowly closed her eyes. The prince smiled as he kissed her cheek and held her close. "Mama will be okay, Sal. I promise."

He stayed in the room with his wife and daughter. His mother came in a few times and tried to convince him to leave, but once it became apparent that he wasn't going to, she simply sighed and brought in the bottle of formula for Salmae. The prince smiled as he fed his daughter, feeling like a father already.

"You're such a good baby," he said once she finished and he wiped the corners of her mouth. "Let's hope it stays that way."

Salmae whimpered softly and Fiyero gently rocked her in his arms. She quickly calmed and kept her eyes open for a few minutes before falling asleep again. Fiyero gently placed her back in her bed and went back to Elphaba.

"Our daughter is beautiful," he whispered to her, knowing that she couldn't respond, but hoping that she could at least hear him. "She's the perfect mixture of the two of us. I love her, and I know you will, too. I love you," he whispered, kissing her forehead before finally leaving the room.

The first week was hard for Fiyero, mostly because he was taking care of Salmae by himself. Of course Raal and Amalie were helping out, but they weren't the best at the midnight feedings, which made Fiyero question what they did with him and Lyle.

"We were younger back then, son," Raal had answered with a small chuckle. "It was much easier for us."

So the poor prince was on his own. "Good morning, Sal," he mumbled sleepily as he shuffled into the room with the bottle of formula. He gently lifted Salmae into his arms and looked at his wife. Her condition hadn't improved and it was beginning to worry the prince. What if she didn't wake up? He would be so distraught, he wouldn't know what to do with himself, just like when Lyle had died.

Salmae let out a cry, wanting to be fed, so the prince settled on the edge of the bed and fed her. She finished quickly and the prince was about to put her back down when he realized that she needed to be changed. He slowly changed her, half because he didn't want to do it wrong, and half because he was half-awake. Once he was finished, he put Salmae back to bed and dragged his feet out of the room.

By the end of the week, the prince was completely exhausted. If he wasn't tending to Salmae, he was sleeping. The prince had always had a talent for sleeping in places and times when he wasn't supposed to, such a in class or during dinners, but he now discovered that he had the talent for sleeping while standing up. Currently, he was sleeping on the couch, a thin layer of drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Fiyero!" Amalie called from up the stairs.

Startled, the prince jumped and fell off the couch and laid there for a few seconds before pushing himself up onto his elbows. "Yes?" he groan-shouted.

"Come up here quickly!"

Suddenly, Fiyero was fully awake and hurried up the stairs to Elphaba's room. He stopped in the doorway and the sight before him almost made his eyes bulge out of his head.

Elphaba was awake.

She still looked very weak and frail, but she was sitting up, probed against multiple pillows, smiling at the prince. "Hi, Yero," she said softly.

"Fae," the prince breathed, going to his wife's side and gently wrapping his arms around her.

Raal and Amalie smiled to each other and quietly left the room to give the couple some space.

"It's okay," Elphaba whispered as she ran her fingers through Fiyero's hair, feeling him crying against her. "I'm okay. I'll be okay, Yero."

"I was so scared I would lose you," Fiyero whispered, still not letting go of his wife.

"I know. I'm so sorry. And I didn't mean what I said before. I was…"

"I understand, Fae. I'm sorry for getting mad."

"It's okay."

The two stayed together in silence, enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms. "I've missed you," the prince whispered.

"I know. I've missed you, too. I know you were worried about me and that I would leave like Lyle, but…"

"But you're much stronger," the prince finished for her.

"I would never leave you like that, especially now that we had Salmae." She looked over into the bed where their daughter laid.

"I see you two have met," the prince chuckled, going over to retrieve her.

"I was confused at first, and I started panicking when I could see the baby bump anymore," Elphaba said softly.

The prince knew why and gently jostled a slightly fussing Salmae in his arms before leaning over and kissing Elphaba's wife. "I know. Nothing bad happened. Sal is perfectly healthy."

"I'm glad."

Salmae was now awake and Fiyero gently handed her over to Elphaba. "I know you're hungry, so spend some time with Mama while I get your formula," Fiyero said playfully, kissing his daughter's head before running off.

Elphaba smiled as she looked down at her daughter. She could immediately see the similarities they shared. She lightly traced her daughter's features and smile. "Hey, Sal," she whispered.

Salmae quietly watched her mother, taking her in as much as she was. She soon became fussy, wanting to eat, and Fiyero returned with the bottle. He smiled as he handed it to his wife and she began to feed her daughter for the first time.

"She's a hungry one," Elphaba laughed when Salmae quickly finished the bottle.

"She probably gets that from me," Fiyero said as his wife burped the infant. He took her to be changed and quickly brought her back, returning her to his wife's arms.

"She's beautiful," Elphaba whispered as Salmae fell asleep again.

"She is," the prince agreed. "Just like her Mama."

Elphaba smiled as she watched Salmae sleep, beginning to feel sleepy herself. The prince gently took Salmae and laid her back in her bed. "Do you want me to stay with you?" Fiyero asked, turning back to his wife.

Elphaba nodded sleepily and gave Salmae back to Fiyero before beginning to fall asleep herself. "Yero?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you stay?"

The prince smiled. "Of course, Fae." He climbed into bed and pulled his wife into his arms. Elphaba immediately wrapped her arms around Fiyero and sighed peacefully.

"Fae?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Elphaba simply snuggled closer to her husband and mumbled something sleepily. The prince smiled and kissed her forehead, just glad to have her back.

As the weeks wore on, Fiyero worked hard to help Elphaba get her strength back. It had been really hard a first, since Elphaba couldn't take more than a step without falling over. But she slowly got better with Fiyero by her side. They would take short walks through the garden, which usually ended in Elphaba getting tired and Fiyero carrying her back into the castle.

After three weeks, Elphaba finally got most of her strength back. She could stand for longer periods of time and took longer walks through the garden. She was so glad to be back to her normal self.

She looked out the window, with one month old Salmae in her arms, as the gardeners worked in the garden. She gently jostled Salmae in her arms and allowed her to grab into her finger.

"How are my two favorite girls?" Fiyero smiled as he came in, wrapping his arms around his wife from behind and kissing her cheek.

Elphaba hummed happily. "We're fine."

Fiyero nodded and looked down at his daughter. "Hey, Sal."

Salmae looked up at her father and reached up to him. Elphaba smiled and gently handed her to him. He spun her around in the air before settling her into his arms.

"Careful, she just ate," Elphaba warned.

As if she knew that her mother was talking about, Salmae made a noise and spit up.

"Oh, Sal," the green girl sighed, playfully shaking her head and gently wiping Salmae's mouth with a soft cloth.

"I can't believe it," Fiyero whispered.

"You can't believe what?" Elphaba asked, putting the cloth in the laundry basket.

"Everything. The fact that I have a lovely wife and daughter; the fact that despite that this wasn't what I wanted for myself at first, I grew to love it; the fact that after Lyle died, I didn't imagine that I could be anything more than the little brother who was still living in his shadow."

"Well, this wasn't exactly part of my dream life, either," Elphaba admitted. "I thought I would be graduating Shiz and taking care of my sister for the rest of our lives. But now, I have you. I never dreamed that someone could actually look past my green skin and see the real me, no matter how long it took."

The prince blushed slightly. "I never thought that someone could actually see potential in me."

"Well, aren't we so good for each other," Elphaba smiled, looking down at Salmae.

"Yes," the prince whispered, also looking down at his daughter. "Yes, we are."

The next chapter will be the final chapter. Sorry for such the short notice.