Chapter 25
Glinda and Elphaba were sitting on the couch that occupied the space between their bed and bathroom. Glinda was encased in Elphaba's strong arms while the raven-haired beauty ran her fingers through gold ringlets. Neither of the two was talking, they were just enjoying each other's company. It had been a couple of hours since the two had made love and neither one of them wanted to leave the security of their room just yet. It wasn't until a knock sounded at the door that all thoughts of the real world returned to them.
Glinda eventually removed herself from Elphaba's embrace and went over to see who it was. As soon as the door opened a two-foot, seven-inch blur rushed past the blonde before she had time to react.
"ELPHIE!" Ella raced towards the green woman and wrapped her little arms around one of Elphaba's legs.
Elphaba smiled at the child's happiness at seeing her awake. "Hey there Ella." Elphie responded and bent down to wrap the tiny girl in her arms.
"I missed you while you were sleeping!" The little girl looked up to meet the green woman's eyes while her mother closed the door.
"I missed you too." Elphaba smiled at Ella.
"Well hello to you too." Glinda chuckled as she took a seat back on her couch. "You don't see your mother in nearly three days and this is how you act?"
Ella looked sheepishly away from Elphaba and towards her mother. "Sorry mommy." Ella giggled and let go of Elphaba to go towards her mother.
Glinda gathered the little girl up in her arms and held her tight. "I'm sorry mommy was being a beast earlier." Glinda apologized to Ella.
Ella laughed as her mother used the term beast. "Don't do it again." She hugged her mother tighter.
Glinda was amazed at how well Ella seemed to understand everything so perfectly at her age. She was grateful that her daughter had not inherited Fiyero's smarts.
"I won't leave you ever again." Glinda let go of her daughter and turned towards Elphie.
Glinda had told Elphaba earlier that Ella knew of their relationship now. She might not understand it completely but she knew about it. Glinda still had one tough challenge to face though. She still had to tell Ella that they were now engaged and that Elphaba was expecting a child. Ella was going to have a baby sister.
Glinda reached over and grabbed Elphaba's hand in support. The green woman knew what Glinda was about to say and she gave the blonde's hand a tiny squeeze in reassurance.
Taking a deep breath Glinda found the words she needed to say to her daughter. "Ella sweetheart mommy has some exciting news."
Ella perked up and jumped up and down slightly. Elphaba let out a little laugh at how much Ella was like Glinda back when she was Galinda.
"Mommy and Elphie are going to get married." Glinda looked over at Elphaba and gave her a slight smile. "She is going to be my wife."
"What's married?" Ella was confused. She didn't know what marriage was.
Glinda was a little surprised at her daughter's reaction. She had thought that Ella had known what marriage was. She had been married before but Ella might have been too young to remember.
"Remember when I was married to that man before?" Glinda asked her daughter if she remembered. Elphaba's smile suddenly turned into a frown as she heard Glinda talk about her past marriage. Glinda was too focused on Ella to notice this happening.
"No." Ella stated. She had been too young to ever remember her mother having been in another relationship.
"Well marriage is when you promise to spend the rest of your life with someone. You both make an agreement to be with only the other person and no one else." Glinda tried to explain to her daughter.
"Then why are you getting married again?" Ella asked.
"What do you mean sweetheart?" Glinda asked her daughter unaware of the pale tone Elphaba's skin had now taken on.
"You said marriage is when you spend forever together. Why are you getting married if you were already married?" Ella asked her mother. She was smart enough to figure all of this out on her own. Why would her mother need to get married again?
"Some marriages don't last forever sweetheart. And I am no longer married to that man." Glinda tried to explain this to her daughter.
The whole time this conversation was going on Elphaba felt herself blanche and become nauseated at the thought of Glinda with another man. She wasn't sure if this nausea was attributed to Glinda's ex-husband or if it was morning sickness. The mere thought of Glinda having been married before irked the green girl in more ways than one. She knew that Glinda had been married before and divorced but hearing her actually talk about it was…? She couldn't find the exact word for it. It was almost sickening.
"How do you know that you and Elphie will last?" Ella hadn't meant to be so blunt with her question. She didn't understand that her question would cause so much distress.
Elphaba couldn't handle it anymore. She let go of Glinda's hand and in one quick motion flew to the bathroom.
Before Glinda had a chance to turn around to see where her lover had went she heard vomiting noises come from the bathroom. She figured it was nothing more than morning sickness and so she thought it best to leave her alone for now. She needed to get things all figured out with Ella first.
"Is she okay?" Ella asked her mother. There was concern in her eyes. She didn't want Elphie getting sick again and falling asleep.
"She is fine." Glinda waited until she saw the calm on her daughters face before continuing on with her explanation of marriage. "I know that me and Elphie will last because mommy loves her with her heart and soul. Mommy didn't love the other man I was married to." Glinda grabbed her daughter's waist and hoisted her up to sit on her lap.
"So you and Elphie will be together always?" Ella was delighted to be sitting in her mother's lap.
"Yes we will." Glinda smiled down at her daughter. "We will finally be a complete family."
Ella had always wished for a father so that their family could be complete. The addition of another female confused her however.
"We can't be a family." Ella stated.
Glinda looked at her daughter a little confused as to why she would say such a thing. "Why not sweetie?"
"Families are mommies, daddies, and kids." Ella pointed out. "Not mommies, mommies wife, and kids."
Glinda's jaw fell open at Ella's statement. Had her daughter seriously just said that families could only be families with a mom, dad, and kids?
"Ella families come in all forms. Not just mommies, daddies, and kids." Glinda tried to explain to her daughter.
"I want a normal family." Ella protested. She was unaware that her words were causing her mother such distress. She had always wanted a normal family and her mother was saying that she couldn't have one. Ella loved Elphie and wanted her around, but she also wanted a daddy. Elphie couldn't be a daddy.
Glinda felt as if someone had stuck a dagger through her chest. Her daughter was saying that she didn't want Elphie in their family.
"Don't you like Elphie?" Glinda tried to understand why her daughter was so reluctant to this new family idea.
"Yes. But I want a daddy. Elphie isn't a daddy." Ella tried to argue her point with her mother.
Glinda was at least relieved to hear that Ella liked Elphie. She wasn't relieved when she heard Ella say she wanted a daddy though. Elphie could be an extra mother to the child but that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted a male figure, not another female one.
"Elphie can try to be a parent to you if you let her." Glinda tried to get her daughter to understand that Elphie could be just as much a father figure as a real father would be.
"I already have a mommy." Ella pointed out.
"I'm not saying she is going to replace me. I'm just saying that if you let her she'd like to be an extra parent to you. Sort of like a father to you without her being a man." Glinda tried to explain to her daughter in words she might understand.
The blonde had never been more grateful for morning sickness. She was glad that Elphie wasn't out here to hear all of the things Ella was saying. It would have pained the green woman to hear Ella didn't want her in their family. Especially since she was carrying Glinda's child.
"She is not a man. How can she be a daddy?" Ella hated not being able to understand what her mother was trying to say.
"She may not be a man but that doesn't make her any less than a father figure." Glinda told her daughter and then an idea struck her. "What exactly is it that daddies do Ella?"
"They love their kids, they put them to bed, they play with them, they teach them stuff…" Ella continued her list for another minute before Glinda finally cut her off.
"And when has Elphaba not done any of those things for you?" Glinda asked her daughter.
Ella had to think for a few seconds before realization came to her. "Never."
"Exactly. Elphie can be just as much of a father as any other male." Glinda was proud that her little experiment had worked out.
"I guess you are right." Ella hung her head low. How could she have thought of Elphie as not being fatherly?
"Sweetheart don't let this upset you. I just wanted to show you that father and mothers don't always have to be males and females. The roles can switch up sometimes." Glinda brought her hand to lift her daughter's chin up.
"I'm sorry I hurt you before." Ella apologized.
"You did not know that you were so I accept your apology." Glinda hugged the little girl sitting on her lap.
She wondered how well Ella would take the next bit of news since she had taken the first so poorly. She decided now was probably not the best time to tell her, especially with Elphaba in the bathroom sick. It was more the green woman's news to tell than her own.
"Honey why don't you go to the kitchen and tell the cook to get you a snack. I want to check on Elphie to make sure everything is okay." Glinda picked her daughter up and off her lap before setting her on the ground.
"You won't leave me?" There was desperation in Ella's voice that caused Glinda heartbreak. She couldn't believe how long she had ignored her daughter before. She felt horrible.
"I won't leave you. I will be down as soon as I check on Elphie." Glinda smiled at her daughter.
"Tell her to get better." Ella smiled at her mother and left the room.
Glinda sat on the couch a couple of seconds after Ella left gathering her thoughts.
Sighing heavily she got up and made her way over towards the bathroom. The vomiting had ceased a while ago but Elphaba had still not come out.
"Elphie? Are you okay?" Glinda called into the bathroom.
"Fine." Elphaba weakly said. Her throat was sore from throwing up.
"Can I come in?" Glinda leaned her head against the door.
"Sure." Elphaba quickly scrambled to get off of the cold tiled floor before Glinda came in and saw her looking all pathetic hugging the toilet.
Glinda entered the room and saw Elphaba trying to stand. She rushed over and helped the green woman keep her balance.
"Morning sickness?" Glinda asked as she led Elphaba towards their shared bed.
"I think so." Elphaba groaned as another round of nausea took hold.
"Here sit down. Let me go get you some tea." Glinda helped Elphaba sit on her bed before going over to where she kept the tea containers. She poured some for the green woman and quickly hurried back. "Here drink this. It should help with the nausea." Glinda handed Elphaba a cup.
Elphaba accepted the cup and downed the warm soothing content in seconds.
"Thank you my sweet." Elphaba smiled at her love and handed the cup back to her.
"Are you still feeling sick?" Glinda took the cup and placed it back where the other teacups resided.
"A little." Elphaba admitted. She was unwilling to admit what brought on the nausea in the first place.
"I'm sorry." Glinda understood what Elphaba was going through. She had been extremely sick while carrying Ella.
"Don't worry about it. It will pass." Elphaba assured the blonde that everything would be okay in time. "How did Ella take the news?" She asked trying to change to subject.
"Eh…not so good. I didn't even get to tell her that you were pregnant." Glinda looked away.
Elphaba could tell that something had really upset the blonde during her and Ella's conversation.
"My sweet what's wrong?" Elphaba brought her hand up to stroke Glinda's cheek.
"It was just hard getting her to understand that's all." Glinda half smiled as she felt Elphaba rub circles with her thumb on the blonde's cheek.
"What was she having trouble understanding?" Elphaba spoke quietly.
Glinda paused for a second before turned her attention towards the green woman's eyes. "She couldn't understand that families don't always have to have a mom and a dad. I tried explaining to her that families are an assortment of moms and dads but she just didn't want to hear it."
Elphaba could hear the hurt in Glinda's voice as she spoke. Her heart broke at the sight of her lover becoming so distraught over something her daughter had said.
"Does she understand now?" Elphaba asked in confirmation.
"I think so." Glinda shrugged her shoulders. Who knew what her daughter was thinking?
"Well at least you managed to get your point across. That's all that matters." Elphaba tried to cheer her love up. She wanted desperately to do so with a kiss but refrained because she knew she didn't have the most pleasant taste in her mouth at the moment.
"I guess so." Glinda agreed but still sounded defeated.
"So she knows that we are going to be a mommy, adopted mommy, and kid? Not a mommy, daddy, and kid?" Elphaba tried to lighten the mood by using the terms Ella used.
This earned a small chuckle from the blonde. "Yes she know that we are a package deal now."
"Two for one special." Elphaba smiled at her love.
"Two peas in a pod." Glinda smiled back.
"You are the mustard to my ketchup." Elphaba laughed at her own silliness.
"Your are the peanut butter to my jelly." Glinda also allowed herself to laugh. Elphie sure had a way of lightening the mood.
"You are the pink to my green." Elphaba smiled. Glinda looked confused.
"Wait. What?" She laughed as she waited for Elphie to explain.
"You always said pink went well with green. Well you are the pink to my green." Elphaba provided a proper explanation.
Glinda finally understood and burst into laughter. She wasn't sure if the uncontrollable laughter was because of the pink and green comment or whether it was just from everything Elphie had been saying. She loved when her lover was silly with her. It helped her to not overanalyze thinks. It was what kept her grounded.
The two continued to trade sharp jabs at one another for a little while longer before Glinda remembered her promise to her daughter.
"I have to go meet Ella downstairs in the kitchen. Care to join us?" Glinda removed herself from the bed she shared with Elphaba.
"Sure. I think I've stayed hidden long enough." Elphaba smiled and followed Glinda out of the room.
"You'd be surprised how many visitors you actually had while in a coma. Who knew that in the few days you had been here you had become so popular?" Glinda half bounced as she called Elphaba popular. Something she would never have been able to say truthfully before.
Elphaba was more interested to see who had come and visited her and so she pursued that question instead of debating her popularity.
"Who all came to see me?" She questioned as she walked down the last couple of steps to the kitchen.
"Tahj, Leland, Ella, the guards that accidentally shot you, the doctors, and me of course." Glinda smiled up at her love.
"I would hardly consider that small crowd anything to be impressed with." Elphaba chuckled at Glinda's overstatement from before. She hadn't been Ms. Popular while in a coma. The only people to see her saw her because they either had to or it was out of guilt. The only exception was Tahj and Leland. Tahj she was sure had been there more for Glinda's sake than the green woman's. She was still unsure of Leland at this moment in time. He had said that everything between them was cool and he could be her friend and nothing more but something about him still bothered Elphie. She couldn't decide what it was though because Glinda interrupted her thoughts.
"Are you saying that I am unimpressive?" Glinda acted offended.
"I said no such thing my sweet. You are twisting my words." Elphaba chuckled and entered the kitchen with Elphaba in tow.
Before Glinda had a chance to argue anymore they had arrived at the kitchen to find Ella unchaperoned eating from a huge tub of ice cream.
Ella heard the intrusion and looked up to see her mother's angry eyes. She immediately dropped her spoon and tried to get away.
Glinda caught up to her daughter before she could get too far. "Ella Rosalie Upland!" Glinda said the girl's full name for dramatic effect. "When I said get a snack I did not say eat all of the ice cream in Oz!" Glinda let go of her daughter and picked her up placing her on the countertop so she was near eye level with her mother.
"I'm sorry." Ella apologized and looked away from her mother.
"Sorry will not cut it this time. I let it slide last time but I will not do the same this time." Glinda stared at her daughter trying to intimidate the little girl. She would never lay a finger on her to hurt her because she knew words were worse when it came to Ella.
"Where is the cook?" Glinda looked around the room. The only person she saw was Elphaba.
"I don't know." Ella honestly answered.
Glinda took a deep breath and removed herself from Ella's path to the door. "Go clean up. If I find one hair out of place on your head then you will be in deep trouble. You go find your nanny whatever it takes." Glinda pointed in the direction of Ella's room.
The little girl wasted no time in jumping down from the counter to go find her nanny.
"Harsh." Elphaba stated as she watched the retreating form of Ella.
"Not harsh. Necessary." Glinda replied before going over to clean up the huge mess Ella had made.
"Let me take care of this." Elphaba beat her to the mess and began picking up the carton of ice cream.
Glinda was a little too angry to put up much of a fight. She let the green woman clean up and she took a seat on one of the bar stools.
"I don't understand." Glinda huffed. "I give her one simple task and she disobeys me."
Elphaba wet a rag and took it over to where ice cream had melted and created a pool of white goop on the counter. "Glinda did you ever obey your parents when you were three and they gave you free reign to get a snack?" Elphaba wiped up the mess on the counter.
"Well no." Glinda let out a deep breath knowing where this was going.
"Exactly. She is three Glinda. She is going to do things like this." Elphaba brought the rag over to the sink and rung it out.
"But I have already told her a million times not to raid the kitchen." Glinda tried to defend her reasons for acting the way she did.
"Well you can't blame her. She inherited your appetite." Elphaba chuckled at the look Glinda gave her.
"Meany. That's what you are. You are just pure mean." Glinda stuck her tongue out at Elphaba.
"Now now what did I tell you about that tongue?" Elphaba chuckled. Glinda blushed a little as she remembered their earlier conversation.
"Do you think I was too harsh on her Elphie?" Glinda sighed and looked towards the green woman.
"Not exactly. You had your reasons. She was doing something she shouldn't have been doing. But you also have to keep in mind that you were the one who sent her down here by herself." Elphaba finished cleaning up and went to take a seat next to the blonde.
"But she was supposed to find the cook." Glinda pouted.
"That wasn't her job. That was yours." Elphaba pointed out. "You can't always tell Ella to do something and expect her to do it."
"I know you're right." Glinda sighed. "Since when did you become better at this whole parenting thing than me?" Glinda laughed a little.
"Not better." Elphaba pointed out. "We just have a different approach to parenting."
"Yes we do." Glinda agreed. "This is going to take some time isn't it?" She asked Elphaba.
"It will take a lot of time trying to come to an understanding about how to parent together. You have been doing this all by yourself for so long that it is going to take time to adjust. You won't always like what I have to say about situations concerning your daughter. There may be times when I am a lot hasher than you are, but know that I am doing it out of love. I would never intentionally mean to hurt you or Ella. We just have to deal with this whole parenting as a team thing when it comes along." Elphaba stated. She knew that this might be an issue in the future.
"I understand that when it comes to Ella I will be a little biased but know that I'm not doing it on purpose. It's just been the two of us for so long that we have to adjust to someone new. It is going to take some time so I apologize in advance if I do something without consulting you." Glinda needed to let Elphaba know that she would never intentionally not take the green woman's thoughts into consideration.
"We will have plenty of time to work on our parenting skills before little Elphie arrives." Elphaba patted her stomach.
"Little Elphie?" Glinda raised an eyebrow questioningly before chuckling.
"Well what else are we going to call her until she gets here? I don't want to just call her baby Upland or baby Thropp." Elphie chuckled.
"I guess so. We should come up with a name soon!" Glinda bounced in her chair. "That's going to be so much fun!" she squealed.
Elphaba laughed at the delight Glinda was taking in the whole situation. "Yes we will have to come up with a name. Which also leads me to another question…" Elphaba trailed off.
"What is it?" Glinda asked excitedly. She loved talking about baby stuff with her love.
"What last name will the baby have? I mean it's going to be just as much mine as it is yours." Elphaba stared at her love.
"Good question." Glinda chuckled. "We'll have plenty of time to think about that too. For now though you are carrying little Elphie." Glinda giggled as she used the nickname Elphie had given the child.
Elphaba also laughed and Glinda soon placed a hand on Elphie's stomach.
"I can't wait for you to meet your new mommies little Elphie." Glinda smiled and Elphaba reached down and placed a hand on top of Glinda's.
"Do you think she can hear us?" Glinda looked up into Elphaba's eyes.
"I think she can my sweet. I think she can." Elphaba smiled at her love and the two of them continued to hold onto each other's hand as they hovered over the green woman's stomach.
A/N: Okay so I have a challenge for you guys. What should the name of the baby be when it finally gets here? First name and last. Should it be Upland, Thropp, or a combination? If I like one of your answers then I will use that as the name. The baby is still quite a ways away so this allows you time to think.
Good luck with coming up with baby names! Haha.