BOW DOWN BEFORE THE WICKED QUEEN OF KILLING FEELS! *Cackle*
helsa (Guest): And interesting theory, but no.
"Hi, Fae," Fiyero said, sitting in the chair next to Elphaba's bed. "It's Fiyero. We miss you dearly here. Though I'm sure everyone's already told you that. I'm just here to keep you company, if that's okay with you."
Fiyero reached for her hand and gently held it against his heart. "I'm sorry if we seemed to be overreacting, but you did give us quite a scare. I was so scared. We all were."
He gently kissed her hand before continuing. "I read a book about people in comas being able to hear. It's good that we can still talk to you, even if you can't answer back, which may or may not be a good thing. It means that I can talk without having you interrupting me for something. Not that I don't like it, of course. You look cute when you interrupt me."
The prince chuckled. "Wow. That sounded really cheesy." He could picture his girlfriend rolling her eyes at him and calling him a dork.
A knock and Fiyero turned around, surprised to see Nelliee there with a bouquet of flowers in her hand.
"H-Hi, Nelliee," Fiyero said, looking at the girl. "Wh-What are you doing here?"
"I came back to visit Elphaba, if that's okay," the princess said, slowly tilting her head to the side.
Fiyero looked down at Elphaba and back up at Nelliee. She didn't sound sassy or sarcastic.
"O-Okay," Fiyero said, kissing Elphaba's cheek before standing up and leaving the room.
Nelliee smiled softly at the green girl lying in the bed and carefully set the flowers in a vase next to the bed. "Hi, Elphaba. It's Nelliee. Look, I know that we haven't really gotten off on the right foot. And… I know we'll never be best friends, but I don't want to enemies, so how about we meet in the middle?"
She gently took the green girl's hand. "Frenemies? I'd like that. Get well soon, okay?"
Fiyero burst back into the room, startling the princess. "You brought my guitar from Shiz?"
"And your school work," Nelliee frowned. "You've missed a lot and I thought you might want to catch up a little."
"Oh. Thanks… Nelliee. Wait… my guitar was in my room."
"Yeah? And?"
"You went in my room?"
"No. Avaric went in your room. I'm just the deliverer. You're welcome."
"Oh. Sorry. And thanks… again."
"You're welcome, Princey," Nelliee smiled, standing up and casting the green girl a small smile before leaving again.
The next morning, Frex, Nessa, Boq, Galinda and Fiyero were all in the waiting room, waiting to hear news about Elphaba. Dr. Montas came out with a grave expression on his face.
"Doctor?" Frex asked, the hope slowly fading from within his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Governor," Dr. Montas said gravely. "We did everything we could."
"No," Nessa whispered.
"If you would like to go in and say your goodbyes…"
"No," Nessa said, more sternly. "This isn't over. You have to do more."
"Nessa," Frex whispered, kneeling beside his daughter. "They did everything they could."
Everyone noticed how calm Frex was. They knew he was probably being torn apart, but was putting on a brave face.
"Well, it hasn't been enough, or else Fabala would be awake right now!" Nessa argued.
"Nessa," Galinda whispered, placing her hand on top of hers. "I know…"
"No! You don't know! You know nothing about the way I'm feeling right now!" Nessa snapped.
"Nessarose," Frex said, his voice stern, yet calm.
"She promised she would always be here for me. She promised!" Nessa cried as she wheeled out of the waiting room.
"I'll get her," Boq volunteered, running out after Nessa. "Nessa, wait up!"
"If you would like to go in…" Dr. Montas said, giving everyone a small smile.
"Thank you," Frex said, walking past the doctor and stepping into the room. "Fabala," he whispered, sitting in the chair next to the bed. A quiet sob slipped past his lips as he held his daughter's cold hand. She looked so pale. So fragile. "Oh, Fabala."
Carefully, he reached over and brushed some of her raven hair away from her face. "I love you, Fabala."
Kissing her forehead, the Governor regally rose to his feet and stepped out of the room, avoiding Galinda and Fiyero's worried gazes.
"You go next," Fiyero gently urged.
Nodding, Galinda abandoned the Prince's side and walked into the room. The sight of her friend lying helplessly in the bed was enough to make the petite blonde burst into tears.
Pulling herself together, she slowly approached the bed and sat down. "Elphaba, I know you can hear me. You have to come back. If you don't, I'll magically turn all of your clothes pink. I don't care if you think it's a perky color. Pink goes good with green. And… and… Ozdangit, Elphie! Just open your eyes!"
Closing her eyes against the tears threatening to spill, the blonde slowly turned away.
"I'm not saying goodbye. I refuse to say goodbye. Because you, Elphie, are not going anywhere. You are not going to die and that's final," Galinda said, giving the green girl a stubborn look before leaving.
Fiyero slowly peaked his head into the room and smiled softly at the green girl. "Hey, Fae." Smiling, he took the green girl hand. "How are you? I'm fine. You know, you look really cute when you're sleeping. Don't even think about rolling your eyes at me. Because that's what you are. Just sleeping. And you'll wake up soon."
Fiyero was surprised by the amount of confidence he spoke with. "You're strong, Fae. You're stronger than this. You can pull through. I know you can. Listen… I wasn't going to tell you this until later. Like, much later. Like… after we graduate 'later'. But… I love you, Fae. I know you already knew that. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I already have your father's blessing… sorta. At least, I think, and hope, it's a blessing. He seemed pretty okay with it. I want to take you to the Vinkus, show you around, and meet my parents. I know they'll love you. But I can't do that until you open those beautiful brown eyes of yours."
Leaning forward, Fiyero gently kissed the green girl's nose. "I'm not here to say 'goodbye' because there's really no reason to. You're going to be okay, Fae. You'll wake up, finish collage, marry me, move with me to the Vinkus and we'll have kids and… is it bad that I feel like you just jabbed my ribs?" Fiyero frowned, feeling the ghost pain from a non-existent jab. "Where was I? Oh yeah, having kids and living happily ever after. I want that, and I know you do, too. So, please, I'm begging you. Wake up."
Giving Elphaba's hand a reassuring squeeze, the Prince stood up and opened the door, surprised to see Boq standing there with a bouquet of flowers.
Smiling, Fiyero stepped aside and allowed the Munchkin to enter the room.
"Hey, El," Boq smiled once Fiyero had left. "It's Boq. I just wanted to stop by, see how your doing. I'm sorry I haven't visited much. I've been… with Nessa."
He sat down next to the bed. "She misses you a lot, El. This is harder on her than it is on any of us. Well… except your father, who has been holding it together. I admire him. I'd be a wreck."
Boq sighed, looking at Elphaba. "I know we're not the closest, but you're one of my best friends. And not just because I'm dating your younger sister. We grew up in the same country and… yeah, I sound stupid." Boq slowly shook his head. "You're caring, kind, thoughtful, smart, strong, fun, versatile…" Boq frowned. "Oz, that was such a bad adjective. What I mean is, your really good at adapting. Yeah, let's go with that. I know you're not going to die, El. You'll pull through. I know you will. I have faith in you. But you need to have faith in yourself."
The Munchkin smiled. "I'm going to leave now before I say something I'll regret later if you happen to remember any of this. See you soon." Boq stood up to leave and was surprised to see Nessa sitting in the doorway.
"N-Nessa," Boq stuttered, hoping the brunette hadn't heard much of what he said. "H-How long were you sitting there?"
"Versatile?" Nessa smirked, despite herself, raising an eyebrow.
"Not one of the best adjectives, I'll admit that," Boq said, stepping up to the younger girl and kissing her cheek. "I'll meet you outside in the waiting room."
"Boq!" Nessa said quickly, grabbing the Munchkin's hand. "Could you… stay with me?"
Boq smiled. "Of course, Nessa."
"Thank you," Nessa smiled as she wheeled over to her sister. "Hi, Fabala. I'm… I'm sorry about what happened the last time I was here. It's just… you promised. You've never broken a promise to me no matter what. I love you, Fabala. I feel like I haven't said that enough, even though I say it so many times, it's probably just a routine for you to hear it from me, but I mean it. I love you with all my heart and soul. I wouldn't be able to cope without you."
Nessa took her sister's hand. "You understand what it's like to be… different. When no one else understands, you do. You can't leave me here alone."
Sniffling, Nessa stubbornly wiped a tear from her cheek. "I love you, Fabala." Kissing her sister's cheek, Nessa turned and wheeled out of the room, avoiding Boq's gaze. Giving the green girl a small wave, Boq followed Nessa out of the room.
Fiyero went back to the hospital that evening, clutching the teddy bear he won for Elphaba at the fair only two and half weeks ago in one hand. In the other hand, he held his guitar.
"Hey, Fae," he smiled, walking into the room and closing the door behind him. He gently placed the teddy bear in Elphaba's arms. "I just thought I would come back and talk to you."
Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, he positioned the guitar in his lap. "Remember that day when we were sitting by Suicide Canal?" Fiyero asked. "I would really like to repeat that moment. And not just because a nameless, bubbly blonde interrupted it."
Placing his fingers on the neck of the guitar, Fiyero began to play, humming along with the music.
"If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea, I'll sail the world to find you. If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see. I'll be the light to guide you. Find out what we're made of when we are called to help our friends in need. You can count on me like one, two, three. I'll be there. And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two and you'll be there. 'Cause that's what friends are su'posed to do, oh yeah. Ooooooh, oooohhh, yeah, yeah. If you're tossin' and you're turnin', and you just can't fall asleep. I'll sing a song beside you. And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me, every day I will remind you. Find out what we're made of when we are called to help our friends in need."
Fiyero continued to play, occasionally looking at his girlfriend. Then, it happened. Her fingers moved. Fiyero stopped playing. Did she just… he wondered.
"You can count on me like one, two, three and I'll be there. And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two and you'll be there. 'Cause that's what friends are su'posed to do, oh yeah. Ooooooh, oooohhh yeah, yeah."
This time, he saw it as clear as day. Elphaba's fingers moved. She was waking up.
"You'll always have my shoulder when you cry. I'll never let go, never say goodbye. You know you can count on me like one, two, three. I'll be there. And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two and you'll be there. 'Cause that's what friends are su'posed to do, oh yeah. Ooooooh, oooohhh. You can count on me, 'cause I can count on you."
As Fiyero sang the last note, Elphaba's eyes slowly fluttered open. Fiyero's smile almost broke clear off his face.
"Hi, Fae," he whispered, taking her hand.
Elphaba's lips curled into a small smile before she closed her eyes again.
"Dr. Montas! Dr. Montas! Come in here! Quickly!" Fiyero shouted, jumping out of the chair and bolting to the door.
"Dr. Montas!"
Song Used: "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars
I am very proud of this chapter because I did research… and lots of it. Music, especially music that has meaning to the unconscious person, is proven to stimulate the brain (called salient stimulus), and help to awaken them. In other words, Fiyero played "Count on Me" because it had meaning in their relationship and it helped stimulate Elphaba's brain and wake her up.
