AN: This is going to be a long AN again.

First of all, a shoutout to musicalvampirelove for being my 200th reviewer! *does silly little Galinda dance* I've never had 200 reviews on a story before, and thank you all so much for helping me reach this milestone! (Yes, I'm exaggerating, but I'm just happy about it :P.)

Also to musicalvampirelove, the issue about Elyssah's powers you brought up was actually something I had planned on explaining (sort of, anyway) in this chapter, since it is indeed a bit confusifying and I thought it could use some explanation... and just now, you're telling me that it does. Do all reviewers read author's minds? (About Willemijn: if you ever feel like fangirling about her, just PM me. I could go on and on about her awesomeness for days :D.)

Failey... that song made me quite literally double over and snort and cry and choke with laughter. I was reading it while I was in my bed, and I was muffling my extemely stupid giggles and the even stupider very donkey-like sounds of laughter that came out of my mouth in my blankets. That was awesome and extremely funny :). (Especially 'we killed Frex with pitchforks, and now he kinda looks like pork'... xD) If you ever feel like doing more Frex Hunter parodies on songs... please do.

ChaoticSymphonyofDarkness: hey... that's not such a bad idea ^_^.

And finally, I want to dedicate this chapter to ComingAndGoingByBubble for her birthday. Yes, don't ask me how I know, you'll probably find out sooner or later... That's all I'm gonna say 3:). Anyway, happy birthday and I hope you like this :).

Elphaba looked as if she was about to jump the doctor if he wouldn't continue talking right this instant – not that Fiyero could blame her – but at that moment, the man's face broke into a smile and he nodded. 'I haven't got the faintest clue how this is possible, for I have never seen such a thing in my life, but your baby is fine, Elphaba. It's alive and healthy – or as healthy as can be expected after the ordeal you've been through, anyway.'

That did it. She burst into tears then and found herself unable to stop, even though she desperately tried to, because the doctor was eyeing her a bit worriedly and so was Fiyero, but she just couldn't. The tears kept pouring out of her eyes, tears of relief and joy, but also the tears that she had tried so hard not to shed until then, tears for the fear and grief and anger and helplessness and despair and all of the other emotions that she had been suppressing for weeks now. Fiyero just held her, trying to comfort her by whispering soothing words in her ear and gently rubbing her back. He was crying as well as he realised that his daughter was alive. Elyssah was alive and so was Elphaba, and in about five months, he was going to be a father after all. They were going to have a beautiful baby girl together, him and Elphaba, and he couldn't be happier.

Fiyero quietly assured the doctor that Elphaba was fine and the man nodded sympathetically and flashed them a smile. 'She's been through a lot. I understand. Try to get her to rest, will you, please? I'll come back in the morning to check up on her.'

Fiyero nodded and the doctor left the room. Elphaba was still sobbing, heart wrenching, broken sobs, and he closed his eyes for a moment and nuzzled her hair. 'Ssh… You'll be okay, my Fae, you'll be okay… We're all going to be okay.' He felt as if he had said those words a thousand times already in the past few months, but this, he realised with a slight shock, was the first time he actually believed what he was saying. 'You, me, Elyssah…' he continued. 'We're going to be fine. We're going to be a family, Fae.'

For some reason, that only made her cry harder, but Fiyero just continued to hold her and soothe her until her sobs died down a little. He pulled away and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. She pressed her face against his hand and closed her eyes, taking a few quivering breaths. 'I… I just can't believe she's alive,' she whispered, resting one hand on her stomach once again. Fiyero put his hand over hers. 'I know,' he said softly. A grin lit up his face. 'But she is.'

She nodded weakly. 'Yeah…' She yawned and quickly clasped one hand over her mouth. 'I'm sorry. I guess I'm just… worn out.'

He laughed and adjusted their position a little, so that they were both lying down, her with her head resting on his chest, as he pulled the blanket up to her chin to prevent her from getting cold. 'That's all right. You know I think it looks-'

'If you're going to say 'adorable', I'm going to break your nose,' she groaned without as much as opening her eyes.

He chuckled. 'I was going to say 'cute'.'

Now she did open her eyes – to glare at him. 'You're unbelievable.'

He bent down to kiss her nose. 'I know. Go to sleep, Fae. You need it.'

She woke up in the middle of the night, with a start, but without making any sound, from yet another nightmare.

They were still there, but they had changed. They weren't as clear and vivid as they were before – a sign that her earlier nightmares had probably indeed been some kind of visions. She hadn't recognised them at the time – or she hadn't been sure, anyway – but Frex threatening Galinda and shooting Fiyero, a month before, had been too similar to her dreams to be coincidental. She was glad it was over, however; her current nightmares she could deal with. They were just her unconscious' way to process everything that had happened.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, so she gingerly left the bed, careful not to wake Fiyero, and sat herself in the window sill. She wasn't sure why, but window sills were her favourite places to sit when she needed to think. She guessed it was because she could gaze up at the sky from there and dream about things she wouldn't otherwise let herself think of… things she had always thought would never happen to her. Things like falling in love, being popular, getting married… having a family.

She looked at Fiyero and smiled; then she put both hands on her stomach and closed her eyes, trying to feel her daughter inside of her, but there was no movement there. For just a moment, she dreaded that the doctor had been wrong, that Elyssah was gone after all, and she panicked a little. 'Elyssah?' she whispered. 'Lys? If you're there, please answer me.' Oz, I'm being stupid right now, she thought sarcastically. I'm asking my unborn baby to answer me. I'm going insane.

But just then, she felt the familiar nudge in her mind and her smile returned full force. 'Hi, baby girl,' she whispered, and before she even knew it, the tears were flowing again. She sniffled. 'I'm so glad you're all right!'

She gently poked her stomach and gasped as she could feel the fluttery feeling again, the feeling that indicated that Elyssah was, indeed, alive and moving. 'Please don't scare me like that ever again,' Elphaba whispered. 'I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I knew that you died because of… well, because of me. In fact, just don't use your magic anymore as long as you're in there. You need to save your strength and it's not like we'll need you to save me again, anyway. At least,' she muttered under her breath as her gaze wandered towards the night sky she could see through the window, 'I hope not.'

'There's one thing I don't understand,' she declared when she and Fiyero were alone in the room once again the next day. Elphaba, being Elphaba, was completely fed up already with having to stay in this one room all the time – or even worse, staying in the bed, which was what she was actually supposed to do – and she was extremely bored, but they wouldn't let her leave. The doctor didn't even approve of her leaving the bed for at least another week, but of course she did that, anyway. She was immensely grateful for Fiyero's company; he hadn't left her side for a clock-tick and as dreary as it was to be on bed rest, it gave them time to talk about everything that had happened and sort everything out.

Fiyero looked at her in mock disbelief at her confession. 'There is something Elphaba Thropp doesn't understand?' he exclaimed, exaggeratedly widening his eyes and clasping his hands together. 'Sweet Oz, that's a miracle! I have to write to the newspaper – no, to the Wizard himself! This has to be publicly announced! This has never happened before! For the first time in history, Elphaba Thropp doesn't understand something!'

She was looking at him with one arched eyebrow, an exasperated look on her face. 'Are you done?' She was trying to look irritable, but when he gave her one of those adorable lopsided grins, a smile crept onto her face and she whacked his arm. 'Stop it, you big oaf!'

He laughed and drew her into his arms. 'I was just kidding. What don't you understand?'

Her face grew serious again. 'Well… I'm a witch.'

'I noticed that,' he said drily and she whacked his arm again. 'And you're not.'

'I'm not?'

She glared at him and he grinned. 'What are you trying to say, Fae?'

'I was just wondering…' She chewed her bottom lip, as she often did when she was thinking about something. 'Elyssah is only half witch, right? I know it's possible that she is about as powerful as I am myself, if she has inherited my 'magical' genes, but I don't understand how she can be more powerful than I am. I mean, I'm pretty sure I didn't have powers in the womb.'

Fiyero thought about that for a clock-tick. 'Perhaps it has to do with the fact that you're a witch, too.'

She stared at him blankly. 'Huh?'

He hid a smile at that. 'What I mean is… didn't you say that she was channelling her own magic through yours? Or even tapping into your magic when she tried to use her own?'

She thought about that. 'Yes. Well, that was what it felt like, anyway.'

'So my guess is that she has her own powers, but she can only use them through yours – for the time being, anyway, probably thus enhancing them in the process. You know, using your powers to strengthen her own? Your mother – Melena – she didn't have powers, did she?' Elphaba shook her head and he nodded. 'So you had nothing to channel your own powers through. You probably did have powers in the womb, only you couldn't use them yet. So Elyssah is just as powerful as you are – or were, at that age – only because you're a witch as well, she can actually display her magic, while you couldn't. She'll probably be less powerful when she is actually born, because then she won't be able to tap into your powers anymore.' He looked thoughtful for a moment, then made a face. 'Did that make any sense at all?'

She smiled and nodded, looking at him in admiration. 'It did. It explains it perfectly, actually. When did you get so smart?'

He laughed and gently poked her swollen belly. 'I've always been smart!'

She shot him a sceptical look, but there was a grin on her face, and he pulled her to him. 'I guess I've just been hanging around you for too long.' He gave her an innocent look. 'I have even come up with another possible explanation,' he said in mock pride, and she chuckled. 'Do tell me.'

'Well,' he drew her closer to him, 'you and I are just so perfect together that together, we're magic, and so when we made love, which is about as together as we could be, we released all of that magic into a few of our combined genes, and that created Elyssah. So basically she's just the magical result of our magical relationship,' he declared smugly. She laughed and snuggled up to him. 'As sweet as that is, I think I'm going to have to go with the first explanation. That one sounds more plausible, you know,' she teased him and he pouted, then smiled and kissed her hair. 'I love you.'

She smiled, too. 'I love you too.'

At that moment, there were footsteps outside in the hallway and someone entered the room. The person was around Fiyero's neck before either of them even knew it and the prince blinked. 'Mom?' he asked in disbelief.

Lori pulled back a little to slap at Fiyero's chest. 'Fiyero Tiggular, don't you dare do that to me ever again! I was worried sick about you!' She slammed his chest again and he gasped. 'Ouch!'

Lori immediately backed up, realising that his bullet wound still hadn't fully healed. 'I'm sorry. But I think you kind of deserved it, too. Oz, Fiyero, if I'm going to die prematurely due to a stroke or a heart attack, it's going to be your fault! You could at least have left me a note!'

'You knew where I went,' he pointed out, but she just glowered at him. 'That's beside the point!' It was only then she caught sight of Elphaba and suddenly, there was a bright smile on her face. 'Oh, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're all right! That villager, Turin – he sent us a note, telling us that Fiyero found you… He also said something about you being hurt – are you all right? And the baby?'

'We're both fine,' Elphaba assured her with a smile and Lori hugged the green girl. 'Oh, I'm glad, sweetheart, I really am. I'm going to get you out of here and you're coming to the Vinkus with us,' she said. Elphaba opened her mouth to protest, but Lori cut her off. 'No. I won't have any of it. I'll take care of things with Madame Morrible, so don't worry about your school, but I will not let you out of our sight again. Sweet Oz, Elphaba, I can't even imagine what you've been going through!'

Elphaba merely nodded, not wanting to be reminded of all that. 'But Frex is gone now,' she insisted quietly. 'There's no danger for me anymore.'

Lori shook her head. 'Still. I'm taking you with me, whether you like it or not.' Fiyero chuckled at that – his mother and Elphaba shared a few personality traits, and incredible stubbornness was one of them. 'Besides, I talked to the doctor outside and he told me that you're not allowed to strain yourself until the baby is born, so returning to Shiz is not an option. Just let us take care of you for a few months. Galinda and Nessa are in the Vinkus, too, and we all just want to take care of you.' Fiyero noticed how Elphaba made a face at that – he knew she didn't like to be taken care of – and he gave her a stern look. 'Let them, Fae, or I'll tie you down to the bed to keep you from straining yourself.' He had intended it as a joke, but she looked away and fumbled with the blankets. 'I think I'm through with being tied up, thank you very much,' she said, but her voice missed her usual sarcasm and she was still avoiding his gaze.

Fiyero gaped at her. 'He tied you up?!' She had refrained from telling him that part and she wasn't planning to tell him much about it now, either. Instead, she just said, 'Never mind, Fiyero.' She looked back at Lori. 'Did you say Galinda is in the Vinkus? The last thing I heard was that she had taken off with Paro to look for me.'

Lori looked as if she wanted to say more about the previous subject, but seeing the plead in Elphaba's eyes, she cleared her throat and said, 'Yes, they have been looking for you. Hamold's search patrols came across them and escorted them back to the Vinkus, on Hamold's orders. He never wanted them to wander around by themselves in the first place, and he wasn't going to let them go again. Galinda especially didn't like that, but we didn't give her much of a choice,' Lori smiled. 'She'll be overjoyed to hear that you're all right. So will Nessa, Boq, and Paro, I'm sure – they were all so worried! And they were worried about you, too,' she added, glaring once again at her son. 'You agreed to stay in that hospital until you were healed, Fiyero.'

'I can't recall ever saying such a thing,' he said innocently, and Lori stared daggers at him. 'Yero, you could have gotten yourself killed. Especially in your condition. You were barely able to walk when you left!'

'I could walk just fine, Mom. You're exaggerating.'

Lori threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. 'You could have died!'

Fiyero went to stand next to Elphaba's bed and took her hand, still looking at his mother. 'It was worth the risk.'

'Yero…' the green girl began, but he cut her off. 'It was. Don't argue. I know you still don't believe that I would die for you, but I would.'

'You almost did,' she pointed out in a slightly quivering voice, and he squeezed the hand he was holding. 'Almost. But not quite.'

Elphaba stared at him for a while before declaring, 'You are impossible.'

'Yet another thing we can agree on,' Lori chuckled softly, and Elphaba flashed her a grin. Fiyero just sighed. 'I'm doomed.'

Lori patted his back in a mock attempt to comfort him before directing her attention back to Elphaba. 'All right. Elphaba, sweetheart, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to get that doctor to agree to transfer you to the Vinkus-'

'He'll never agree,' Fiyero warned her, but Lori shushed him. 'I'm the Queen of the Vinkus. He has to agree. You're going to stay with us at Adurin Iir, our castle, until well after the baby is born. We've got a few amazing doctors there and we'll make sure no harm will come to you, sweetheart, I promise you that. You've been through enough already. From now on, all you're going to have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy your pregnancy, got it?'

Elphaba had to smile at that. 'Thank you.'

'Of course, sweetheart, of course.' Lori came over to hug the green girl again before darting out of the room to go and find the doctor.