1Glinda yawned as her eyes slowly fluttered open. She stared at the ceiling between lazy blinks, giving her sleep shrouded mind a chance to catch up with the rest of her. The first thing it registered was that something was pinning her to the bed, stopping her from the long leisurely stretch she usually indulged in before getting up each morning. But memories of falling asleep with Elphie soon followed, reminding her of the woman she held in her arms. She shifted ever so slightly to get a better look at the green girl, being careful not to jostle her enough to wake her.

Elphie looked so different when she was sleeping. There was no frown to mar those perfect lips or worry to crease her brow or reason for her to clinch her jaw. Just an innocence and peace that so few others would have expected from her. It almost made Glinda wish they could stay the way they were forever. But as tempting as cuddling with her sleeping love for eternity was, there were things Glinda would miss. Like Elphie's smile or the way her eyes lit up when they looked at one another or, best of all, the warm feel of Elphie's breath against her skin just before they kissed.

Yes, quiet moments like this were nice but every second she spent with Elphie was precious. The real world could impinge if it wanted because nothing really mattered as long as she was with her lover.

The thought made her smile. Never in her wildest imaginings would she have believed she would fall in love with another woman. She was supposed to marry a prince and move to a far away land where his subjects would love and adore her. Of course as she got older she realized those sorts of things only happened in fairy tales and decided to settle for a devastatingly handsome man who could keep her in the lifestyle she was accustomed to. The funny thing was it almost all came true. She was engaged to Fiyero, who was both a prince and devastatingly handsome, and Oz wasn't a far away land but the people certainly loved and adored her. She was living out her dreams. And yet the only thing she had ever truly wanted was Elphie.

Her eyes traced Elphaba's features. Wanted wasn't the right word. She needed her. Like oxygen or water or food she had to have her Elphie to survive.

"Why are you watching me sleep?"

"Because I can." A smile played across her pink lips. "Does it bother you?"

Elphaba grinned. "If it makes you happy, knock your socks off."

"Of course it makes me happy." Glinda stroked a green cheek as Elphaba opened her eyes. "But I'm not wearing any socks."

"Then I guess I'll have to see what I can do about knocking them off some other time."

"I'll hold you to that." All thoughts of teasing disappeared when Elphaba winced as she stretched. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." She stretched some more. "Just a little sore."

Glinda held her close as she tried to pull away. "Then stay here with me. You won't have to move at all. We'll just snuggle."

Elphaba's grin returned. "I know I've told you this before, but you're adorable when you worry." She brought her hand up, running it along Glinda's brow. "But don't frown. It causes unsightly wrinkles."

"Are you going to be one of those people who hate wrinkles?"

"No, I'll find them incredibly sexy. You, on the other hand, will sit in front of your mirror and sigh over them."

"I will not!" Glinda giggled as Elphie succeeded in pulling away to give her a look. "OK, so maybe I would. Does that make me shallow?"

"You are a lot of things, my love, but shallow isn't one of them."

Glinda grinned. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

"Like me?" Elphaba repositioned herself so she could look down into the blueness of her eyes. "Is that all I get? That you like me?"

"Let me see." Glinda pretended to think about it.

"Fine." Elphaba shrugged. "I'm sure there's someone out there who will appreciate my…"

"The only person who gets to appreciate your anything is me." The blonde cut her off before bringing their mouths together. The sweet embrace soon deepened into something more, encouraging Glinda to flip the green woman onto her back.

"Ow." Elphaba breathed against her lips.

"I'm sorry!" Glinda looked down at her with wide eyes. "Did I hurt you?"

"Not enough to stop." Green lips nipped at pink before hungrily capturing them again.

Glinda had just snaked her hand under Elphaba's shirt when they heard a noise next door. "What was that?"

Elphaba frowned. "I'm not sure."

"Damn it, Breena."

"Just get out of my way."

"Should we check on them?" Glinda asked.

"You have got to be one of the most infuriating people I've ever met!"

Addena's angry tone carried into the room as the door separating them opened.

"I don't think we'll have to." Elphaba watched as her cousin stormed into the room, Addena hot on her heels.

"Yeah, well you can't keep a simple promise, so don't talk to me about being infuriating." Breena glanced at them. "Good, you're up." Her brow furrowed as she got a better look at what they were doing. "But you'll have to finish later. We need to go."

"You're not going anywhere." Addena looked at them too. "Tell her she's not going anywhere."

"Don't drag them into this."

"I'm not the one who came busting into their room."

Glinda quickly removed her hand and scooted off of Elphie. "I have a feeling we missed something."

"Me too." Elphaba switched her attention to her cousin as gingerly she sat up. "What's going on?"

"We..."

"She's ignoring my advice, that's what's going on." Addena spoke over her.

Breena sighed. "I..."

"Don't even try it." She held up the index finger of her right hand to silence her. "I woke up to find her going through the castoff clothes, already half dressed. When I told her she shouldn't be out of bed she finished buttoning her shirt and told me to stuff it."

"I didn't say stuff it."

"I believe your exact words were, 'you can stick that bed where the sun doesn't shine.'"

Breena nodded. "That's stick it, not stuff it."

Glinda started to giggle but stifled it when her sister shot her a look. "Sorry Dena."

Her sister ignored her. "Breena, please get back in bed."

"I don't need to lie down. I need to…"

"Like hell you don't." Addena snapped. "You're white as a sheet, you can't even walk without holding her left side because it hurts and you ran a fever most of the night last night."

Elphaba was still looking at Breena, feeling incredibly guilty for the shape her cousin was in. "You have a fever?"

"No." Breena rolled her eyes.

"Yes." Addena corrected her. "It wasn't overly high, but it was still a fever. You're healing ability is amazing, Breena, but it doesn't make you invincible. You're weak right now. You need to rest."

"But…"

"If you're worried about Morrible coming back, don't be." Addena interrupted her again. "Linny and I cast a spell to protect these two rooms. No one can get to us."

"No offense Breena, but you really don't look good." Glinda spoke up before the other woman could reply. "Maybe you should listen to Dena."

Breena frowned at her. "I can't. I…"

"Elphie's staying in bed."

Elphaba frowned at Glinda's comment. "I am?"

"Yes." Glinda raised her eyebrows and nodded toward Breena. "You need your rest too."

"Oh." You could almost see the light bulb appear over Elphaba's head. "That's right, I am. I'm still a little rough around the edges from yesterday."

Glinda gave Breena a tight smile. "See."

"You two need to work on your routine." Breena deadpanned. "And you can't stay in bed, Elly. We need to…"

"Rest up so you can finish healing." Addena finished for her. "Now come on." She tried to put her arm around Breena's shoulders.

"Stop!" Breena shrugged her off, instantly regretting it when her body protested the movement. She pulled her left arm tight against her side and gritted her teeth in pain.

"Bree?" Elphaba forgot her own soreness as she climbed off the bed and went to her cousin's side, touching her shoulder out of instinct. Her hand wasn't even there a second before she realized what she was doing and pulled it away. She blurted out, "I think Addena's right," to try to cover her actions.

Breena furrowed her brow. "What?"

"You're obviously in no condition to be out of bed."

"But…"

"Don't argue, Bree." Elphaba's tone was stern.

Glinda was taken aback when she saw tears swimming in the woman's eyes. "Breena?"

"I have to be up." She emphasized the words. "I have to get to Munchkinland."

Addena threw her hand in the air. "There she goes with that Munchkinland stuff again."

"Milynn." Glinda whispered the name.

Elphaba mentally kicked herself. "Bree…"

"Know what, forget it." Breena shook her head. "I'll go by myself." With that she left the room again.

"Wait!" Elphaba hurried after her.

"Who is Milynn?" Addena growled in frustration as she watched them go.

"She is… was Breena's best friend." Glinda answered. "She was shot and killed by the Gale Force yesterday morning. Her grandmother, who was also traveling with us, wanted to have a traditional Munchkin funeral which means…"

"She has to be in the ground within 24 hours." Addena closed her eyes. "I feel like such an idiot. She was saying something about Munchkinland and Milynn last night but she wasn't really with it so I didn't pay much attention. And I didn't give her a chance to explain this morning. I just kept riding her about getting back in bed."

"You couldn't have known."

"I could have listened."

Glinda gripped her sister's hand. "Elphie and I didn't give her much of a chance either."

Addena shook her head. "Let's go do damage control."

Meanwhile Elphaba had caught up with her cousin. "I'm sorry, Bree."

"You don't have anything to apologize for, Elly. I mean, you put a hole in a wall with your head. Things are bound to be a little fuzzy. And it's not like we haven't had other things to think about. I just…" Breena sighed tiredly. "I have to be there."

"I know." Elphaba moved closer, longing to comfort her cousin but knowing she couldn't.

Breena looked at her. "Are you all right? You're acting strange."

"Elphie?" Glinda and Addena walked in just in time for the blonde to hear the comment.

"I'm fine." Elphaba continued to stare at Breena. "I just want to hug her."

Breena frowned. "Then do it."

"I can't."

"I know I'm not one for touchy feely displays of affection, but I never said you couldn't hug me." She frowned when Elphaba still didn't move. "Fine. I'll hug you."

"No!" Elphaba, Glinda and Addena yelled at the same time as Elphaba backed away from her.

Breena looked at them like they were crazy. "What's wrong with the three of you?"

"Your healing power was acting up after the fight yesterday." Addena tried to explain.

"Every time you touched Elphaba or she touched you, you started healing her. Even when you were unconscious." Glinda added.

"It was like you couldn't let go of me." Elphaba was still shaken by the whole thing. "They could touch you all they wanted and nothing happened, but as soon as I did I would get all tingly."

Breena's frown stayed in place. "That's just crazy."

"Personally I think it's weird that you can heal people by touching them." Addena shrugged when she felt three sets of eyes on her. "But that's just the doctor in me talking."

"It doesn't make sense." Breena said more to herself than anyone else. "My powers have never worked by themselves before."

Glinda said, "Well they did this time."

Breena was still close enough to Elphaba that she grabbed one of her hands before anyone could stop her.

"Bree!" Elphaba tried to pull free until she realized nothing was happening. She looked at her cousin with wide eyes. "I swear that's not how it happened yesterday."

"I believe you." Breena squeezed her hand. "But we can worry about that later. Right now we need to get to Munchkinland."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Addena raised her eyebrows. "We're at least a day away from…" Her voice trailed off as she pursed her lips. "I keep forgetting you two are witches. Breena appeared out of nowhere and you two rode in on a broom."

Glinda furrowed her brow as she looked at Breena. "How did you get here before us?"

"The mirror spell Elphaba and I came up with."

Addena looked intrigued. "Mirror spell?"

"I used it to visit my sister when I was in hiding." Elphaba supplied. "And to check on Glinda a couple of times."

"You did?" Glinda was shocked.

"I hate to ask, but could you two do the cutesy thing later?" Breena looked back and forth between them. "We're kind of pressed for time."

Glinda nodded, filing her other questions for Elphaba away until later. "How does the spell work?"

"You think about where you want to go, say an incantation and walk through the mirror," Elphaba answered.

"That's definitely a different way to use a mirror." Addena commented. "But will it work for all four of us?" She cocked her head when she saw Glinda looking at her. "What?"

"You're coming with us?"

"Of course I am. You three are still my patients. Especially that one." She pointed at Breena. "Besides, I can't let you have all the fun."

"It should work if we try it in twos. At least it did for Elly and I when we were testing it out." Breena was still all business. "Unless the Grimmerie has something else we could try."

Elphaba didn't miss the matching expressions on Glinda's and Addena's faces. "What's wrong?" Her stomach sank. "Did Morrible get the book?"

"No." Addena was quick to answer. "At least not all of it."

Breena furrowed her brow. "What does that mean?"

"We were fighting over it and she hand a hold of it and I had a hold of it and she pulled and I pulled and…"

"Glinda." Elphaba stopped her before she could go on. "Slow down and tell us what happened."

"The Grimmerie ripped in half." The blonde avoided her lover's gaze.

"What?!" Breena shook her head. "Let me guess, Morrible has part of it and we have the rest."

"How did you guess?" Addena's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry, Elphie." Glinda kept her eyes down. "I tried to keep it from her."

"I know you did." Elphaba pulled her into a hug.

Breena watched them. "Then I guess we're using the spell to go to the Emerald City."

"The Emerald City?" Addena echoed her words. "Are you crazy?!"

"No." Breena defended herself. "We have to get the book back from Morrible."

"Like either one of you is in any shape to fight her again."

"She's right." Glinda agreed with her sister as she pulled away from Elphie. "Morrible would eat you both alive right now."

Breena snorted. "I'd like to see her try."

"I want the book back as much as anyone, but they're right." Elphaba kept her arm around Glinda's waist. "We're no match for her right now. Besides, we need to be there for Betak and Milynn."

"Yeah. We do." Breena nodded sadly, giving herself a second before she spoke again. "So who's going first?"

"I say we all go at the same time." Elphaba raised an eyebrow to keep Breena from interrupting her. "You're not strong enough to take yourself through the mirror, let alone someone else. If we say the spell together it should be more than enough to get us there."

"Should be?" Addena didn't sound too sure of the idea.

"They know what they're doing." Glinda backed Elphie up. "I saw them make a whole Gale Force troop disappear. Getting the four of us to Munchkinland will be a snap compared to that."

"A whole Gale Force troop?"

"That's a story for another time." Breena stopped Addena from asking more questions. "Where are Elly's broom and the book."

"Over there." Addena pointed toward the closet. "I'll get them while those two put some shoes on."

Glinda half giggled as she looked down at her and Elphaba's bare feet. "I guess that would be a good idea. Come on Elphie."

Addena retrieved the broom, the book and slung a satchel over her shoulder while Breena opened the closet door. "I'm sorry to hear about your friend." The words were out of her mouth and hanging between them before she even realized she was going to say anything. "I..." She swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to..."

Breena stared into the full length mirror on the back of the close door. "You have nothing to apologize for." She turned ever so slightly when she heard Elphaba and Glinda walk back into the room. "Are we ready to get this show on the road?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." Elphaba took the broom from Addena, leaving Glinda to handle the Grimmerie. "I think you should go in first, Bree. You've got the strongest connection to Munchkinland. Addena can hold onto you, Glinda can hold onto her and I'll bring up the rear to make sure Glinda and Addena don't get lost."

"Lost?" Addena frowned. "We could get lost?"

"It's just a figure of speech." Breena fielded the question as she reached for Elphaba's hand. She nudged her when she didn't take it right away. "You're not going to hurt me, Elly."

Elphaba looked at the proffered hand for a second before hesitantly placing it in her own. "Leno hac itaque illac."

"Leno hac itaque illac." Breena joined in, their voices blending as they said the chant a third time before stopping.

"Did it work?" Addena looked at the mirror, obviously expecting to see something different in its place.

"There's only one way to find out." Breena gave her the hand Elphaba had been holding. "Are you two ready?"

Elphaba gripped the broom in one hand and wound the other arm around Glinda's waist, pulling the blonde close as Glinda grabbed her sister's free hand. "We're ready."

"Hold on tight." Breena laced her fingers with Addena's. "And whatever you do, don't let go."

With those words she stepped into the mirror, the other three close behind.