AN. Congrats to Drea, who was DETERMINED to be reviewer 350 (she really wanted to know the name) and succeeded :)

This chapter is dedicated to NuGirl, who sent me a really beautiful PM to lift my spirits.

WEEK 28

Your unborn baby's survival rate outside the womb increases as each week passes. If he didn't open his eyes last week, chances are he'll take his first peek this week. Your baby-to-be's skeleton and muscles are maturing quickly. This week he can turn his head from side to side. By your 28th week of pregnancy, most of Baby's lanugo has disappeared and he may have a full head of hair.

Fiyero winced as a door slammed shut, the sound echoing through the entire house.

That couldn't be good.

"Fae?" he called out tentatively, putting down the blueprints he was looking at for potential plans for the grassland townhouses as they were now being referred to until they came up with a better name.

When he received no answer, he rose from his desk and headed out of the library.

"Elphaba?"

He was sure the door slam had been his wife, it couldn't be anyone else. But he could see no sign of her.

Fiyero trotted through the house, slightly wary. When he came to the still mostly empty nursery, he paused in the doorway. Elphaba was sitting in the rocking chair, hands on her stomach and was staring out the window as tears ran down her face.

"Fae, what happened?" he asked gently, moving towards her.

Elphaba shook her head, her lips pressed together tightly.

Fiyero fought to keep his face straight, but inwardly his stomach dropped. This was so not good. Although he still wasn't sure if she was just upset, or specifically upset with him. If it was the latter, he was confused, because he hadn't even seen Elphaba since she'd left the house forty-five minutes ago.

He crouched down before her and took her hands.

"Elphaba? Talk to me, please? Is there something I can do?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. It's stupid. Just forget it."

"Well, that's not true. We both know who the dumb one is in this relationship," Fiyero joked lightly. "Come on, what's going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Elphaba insisted, wiping her eyes and struggling to rise to her feet.

Fiyero immediately went to help her, but she snatched her arm away. "I can do it," she snapped. "I'm not completely useless."

Fiyero held up his hands defensively as he took a step back. "Ok," he said hastily. "Of course you're not."

Elphaba glared at him. "Can you just stop placating me for two damn minutes?" she demanded.

Fiyero was completely bewildered. "Elphaba, just tell me what I can do to help," he practically begged.

"I don't need your help, because there's nothing wrong!"

Fiyero gave her a few seconds before following as she stormed out of the room, mostly because she couldn't really "storm" out as well anymore and he wouldn't put it past her in her current mood to blast him for ruining that for her.

When he got downstairs, she was in the kitchen, rummaging through the pantry for something.

"Where are the crackers?"

"I ate the last ones while you were out," Fiyero replied without thinking.

Elphaba looked at him and her face fell.

"But I am going to go out and get some more for you right now," he quickly backtracked and immediately left the room before he could see any tears fall.

Outside, Fiyero took a breath. Elphaba hadn't had a mood swing this bad in weeks and he knew something must have happened to set it off. He just couldn't think what it might be, and clearly, Elphaba wasn't going to be helping him figure it out.

As he strolled down to the market, he tried to think back in case he had done anything that could have upset her. But he kept coming up blank. He hadn't made any glib remarks about the size of her stomach, or jokes about her snoring she'd developed since being pregnant. He'd very much learned his lesson on those regards.

He picked up the crackers she'd requested, and also some chocolate, figuring that couldn't hurt. If it was anyone else, he would have gotten flowers too, but that had never worked with Elphaba before, he couldn't imagine it would start now.

"Fiyero!"

Fiyero turned and managed a half-hearted wave as he saw Anton approaching him.

"Hey," he greeted his brother-in-law. "What are you doing here?"

"Just grabbing a few things. You?"

Fiyero held up the crackers in his hand. "Elphaba asked for crackers. Well...kind of."

Anton regarded him closely. "OK, you look tired. How's Elphaba's blood pressure?"

When he saw Fiyero's surprised and confused look he explained. "Kas told me she'd been having issues with it. Is she okay?"

Fiyero nodded wearily. "It's been getting better lately, actually."

"So, then what's up?"

"I have no idea," Fiyero admitted tiredly.

Anton smiled. "Do you have time for a drink?"

"Sure," Fiyero agreed.

The two went to a bar and sat in a corner where they couldn't be overheard. Then, Fiyero explained what had happened that afternoon with Elphaba.

When he'd finished, Anton took a drink thoughtfully.

"In my experience, I think if they're upset over something you did, they have no trouble telling you," he told Fiyero honestly.

"And when your wife starts randomly crying, just hold her. Never try to fix the problem, because there probably isn't one to fix anyways."

Fiyero sighed. "But something's obviously upsetting her. How do I get her to tell me what it is?"

"You just wait for her to come to you. And then you just listen and reassure her."

Fiyero groaned. "This is hopeless. Half the time I always say the wrong thing, and then she either starts crying or yelling. I just feel so useless," he complained.

"You won't feel it that much once the baby comes," Anton reassured him. "And it is worth it, I promise you. But I know how you feel."

"You sound like all those pregnancy books," Fiyero muttered. "They all say the same thing. 'Be supportive'. That's all I can do!"

Anton looked at him with genuine sympathy. "You're in the home stretch now. Last trimester, right?"

"According to the books and Auntie Iz, yeah. This week," Fiyero replied, managing a slight smile at that thought.

He checked the time and sighed. "I should get home."

"Good luck. I'm here if you need to talk, Yero. Really, anytime," Anton said seriously.

When Fiyero returned home, he stood in the doorway and listened. He could hear the distant sounds of Elphaba snoring upstairs and let out a breath of relief. Then he felt slightly ashamed of his relief at not having to face his wife just yet, and resolved to suck it up and do as the books and Anton had suggested-just support his wife.

Elphaba slept for almost two hours, and Fiyero didn't even know she was up until she crept into the library and stood in the doorway for a few moments, just watching him work.

"Hi," she finally said in a quiet voice.

Fiyero looked up and smiled. "Hi. How are you feeling?"

"I'm sorry," she replied, not answering his question.

Fiyero softened, rising to his feet and holding out a hand.

"Come here, Fae," he urged her softly and Elphaba moved over to sink into his arms.

She rested her head on his chest and relaxed against him as he gently stroked her back soothingly.

She had woken up and felt much more refreshed and much calmer than before; and had been overcome with regret at her outburst earlier.

"Can we sit?" Elphaba asked him as she pulled away. Standing up was too hard on her back and swollen feet now, even for a short space of time.

"Of course," Fiyero replied immediately, and they went and sat on the sofa together.

"So, what's going on?" he asked once more, and this time Elphaba was calm enough to actually talk.

"It's nothing really," she shrugged. "I've just been having a bad day. I can't even see my feet anymore, and they're swollen and sore...my back hurts. And when I went out today, every single person I met just asked about the baby. And I know it's ridiculous, but I feel like that's all anyone cares about lately. No one asks me how I'm feeling, they just make assumptions. You must be so excited... I'll bet you're nervous... I suppose you can't wait to have another one. I'm still freaking pregnant with this one, why would I already be planning the next one?!" she demanded, and Fiyero supressed a smile.

"Every other person asks if I'm having twins, because I'm so damn fat, and I'm just sick of it. I don't appreciate random strangers in the street making me feel bad because I'm not loving every second of being pregnant. Because I can admit that some things really suck."

"I second that," Fiyero nodded, and then hesitated, wondering if Elphaba was in a mood to retaliate that this was all his fault for doing it, and he couldn't complain because she was doing all the work.

Thankfully, Elphaba instead appeared grateful for an ally in this instance.

"I just feel like... this pregnancy is just consuming me...us. I feel like I'm becoming a lack of a person, and I don't want to do that. But every time I say it out loud, it makes me sound like I'm a horrendible mother," she admitted, looking guilty.

Fiyero shook his head immediately. He didn't need any books or advice to tell him how to respond to this situation.

"Fae, that is not going to happen," he reassured her. "Just because you're becoming a mother doesn't change anything. You're still you, and you always will be, no matter how many kids we have. And do you really think I'd let it change us? I fought too hard to get you back after being such an idiot to let having a baby change who we are as a couple," he said firmly.

Elphaba managed a weak smile. "You think?"

Fiyero nodded. "Absolutely. I know the first few months will be rough, but then they'll settle into a routine and it'll be fine. We'll make sure we keep sometime for ourselves, just the two of us," he promised.

"How?" Elphaba asked.

Fiyero shrugged. "Well... I know you don't love the idea, but maybe we should talk about hiring a nanny," he suggested. "Just someone who can be around to help out and give us a break once in a while. She won't be raising the baby for us, she'll just be helping out," he added.

Elphaba bit her lip as she considered that. She really didn't like the idea of letting someone else take care of her child, but knew Fiyero had a point.

"Would she be a live-in nanny?" she asked finally.

"Not if you don't want her to," Fiyero replied quickly. "Besides, I like it just the two... well, soon three of us living here. And we could even hire her before the baby comes so you'll know her better by the time she's actually needed."

"I like that idea," Elphaba admitted.

Fiyero was feeling ridiculously proud of himself. He had done what Anton and the books had said and listened; but he also had been able to help.

"Kas will know people, I can ask her for some names and we can set up interviews for next week or something?"

Elphaba smiled and nodded. "Ok."

Fiyero leaned over and kissed her. "Don't worry, Fae. You won't lose yourself. And all those people who come up to you in the street? Ignore them. You have never let people's opinions define you before, and I know that as annoying as it is, you're not going to start now. It's one of the reasons I fell in love with you."

Elphaba was tempted to start crying by the end of that speech, but she managed to keep a hold of herself.

"I love you," she said softly.

Fiyero grinned. "I love you too."

Fiyero was still incredibly proud of himself. He'd done good.