She had always heard that your life could change in the blink of an eye but she never really believed it. How could she? She'd spent her entire life in the same village where no one took her seriously. It seemed inevitable that she would be a glorified babysitter for the rest of her life.

Then fate threw her for a loop by giving her the idea to take the group of kids who spent more time with her than their parents on a nature walk. She should have realized something was going to happen when the community agreed that it was a good idea, saying the children needed to know life went on despite the trapper attacks. If she only knew.

Not only had she struck up a friendship with the legendary Breena Thropp, she was on speaking terms with the infamous Wicked Witch of the West and free to roam around the childhood home of Glinda the Good. Her family might have been proud if she wasn't an orphan.

"Hello there."

Penny nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the greeting.

"Sorry." The Wizard gave her a sheepish grin. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's all right." She was shocked to see both him and Lion sitting at the counter running down the middle of the kitchen. If someone had told her she would meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz someday, let alone run into him on her way to get a drink of water, she would have laughed in their face. "Hi back."

This time the Wizard smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She cast a glance at Lion as she walked by him. He was sitting with his chin in his paw, looking forlorn. "What's his problem?"

"He's just a little down because he can't go see Breena."

"What?" Penny was obviously shocked by his statement. "Why not? Did something else happen?"

"No, no." The Wizard was quick to assure her. "Maeve mentioned a spell she thought might help Elphaba locate Glinda but they couldn't find it in the Grimmerie. So they went upstairs to see if Breena could help."

"Oh," she nodded. "Well that makes sense."

"No it doesn't." Lion disagreed. "They could have at least let me see her."

Penny chuckled sarcastically. "I think finding Glinda is more important."

"All I wanted to do was say hi." Lion retorted. "Other people have been hogging her since she woke up."

"I'm sure she'll take time out of her busy schedule to visit with you later." Penny spoke as she started toward the sink again.

"Or not," Maeve mumbled, having walked in just in time to hear the tail end of their conversation.

Fiyero elbowed her. "Maeve!"

"What?" She snapped, rubbing at her now throbbing side.

"I thought we agreed that Mrs. Upland would handle telling him what happened." He spoke in a hushed tone.

"We did." She whispered back.

"Then shut up before they..."

"Don't tell me to shut up!" Maeve poked him in the chest.

"Ow!" Fiyero frowned at her. "That hurt!"

She grinned. "Good."

"You stay here and I'll go tell Mrs. Upland we found him."

"No way." Maeve grabbed his arm as he started to leave. "You're not leaving me here alone with them. I already have Addena mad at me."

Fiyero sighed. "She's not mad at you."

"Did you not see the look she gave me?"

The Wizard watched the scene unfold, his head going back and forth between them as if he were watching a tennis match, but couldn't for the life of him figure out what they were talking about.

"Well she's not so just get over it and…"

"Would one of you care to tell us what's going on?" Penny interrupted.

"What?" Maeve turned. "Oh, uh… Nothing." She shrugged. "Nothing at all."

"Yes there is." Lion contradicted her. "Fiyero only gets that look on his face when something's up."

Fiyero furrowed his brow. "What look?"

"Just tell us what's going on." Penny tried again.

"Yeah." Lion perked up. "Spill."

"There's nothing to spill." Maeve spoke before Fiyero could. "Because nothing's going on." She shrugged again.

Penny scowled. "Would you stop doing that? It makes you look like you're having some kind of fit."

"Only if you stop glaring." Maeve countered. "It looks like you're ready to pounce."

"Maybe she will if one of you doesn't come clean." Lion growled.

Fiyero was still frowning. "Why are you two ganging up on us?"

"We're not ganging up on anyone." Penny waved away his comment.

"Yeah." Lion agreed with her again. "You're the ones who came in here whispering and being all mysterious."

"Mysterious?" Maeve wrinkled her nose.

It was Penny's turn to frown. "Is there something wrong with that word?"

"No." Maeve shook her head. "I just would have gone with evasive or elusive or…"

"How about you go with telling us why you keep changing the subject instead of answering our questions?" Penny interrupted her.

"What's going on in here?" Ginny asked as she joined them.

"Ask Frick and Frack over there." Lion pointed toward Fiyero and Maeve.

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Frick and Frack?"

"I heard it from Breena." Lion continued to frown at the others.

"They're keeping something from us." Penny supplied.

"I'm afraid that's my fault."

Lion's jaw dropped at Ginny's comment. "What? But you weren't even in the room."

"No, but I asked them to let me talk to the Wizard."

"Why didn't you just say that?" Penny asked Maeve.

"We did." The brunette rolled her eyes.

"No you…" Penny shook her head. "Know what, forget it. Ginny needs to talk to the Wizard so why don't we leave them alone?"

"Actually you and Lion should hear it too." Ginny stopped the Lioness from shepherding people out of the room. "I didn't know you would be with the Wizard when we found him."

"Something happened, didn't it?" The Wizard finally spoke up. "To my girls?"

Ginny gave him a sympathetic look. "Yes."

"Again?!" Lion's face was a mask of disbelief. "Can't those two catch a break?"

"Let her talk." Penny snarled at him.

"Did it have something to do with the spell Elphaba wanted to try?" The Wizard asked.

"In a way." Ginny went to sit next to him. "Maeve, would you like to handle this part?"

"Breena helped us find the locator spell we were looking for." Maeve jumped right in. "Elphaba cast it and thought Glinda was in a series of caves not far from the house. They sent me to get Fiyero."

"When Addena and I went back up to the room with Fiyero, Elphaba was gone and Breena was unconscious." Ginny picked up the narrative.

"Gone?" The Wizard shook his head. "What do you mean Elphaba was gone? And how can Bree be unconscious again?" He frowned. "She was doing so much better!"

"We're not sure." Ginny put a soothing hand on his arm. "Addena seems to think Breena helped Elphaba with a spell and the strain was too much for her."

"I walked back in the room just in time to see Elphaba disappear and Breena pass out." Maeve tried to help.

"Disappear as in disappear disappear?" Lion swallowed hard when she nodded. "Oh man, this is bad. Elphaba's gone and Breena is out of it again." He looked at Penny. "What are we going to do?"

"Does Addena need my help?" Penny asked the older woman.

"No." Ginny pursed her lips. "She said she wanted to be alone with Breena."

"Then this is what we're going to do. Maeve, you saw where Elphaba thinks Glinda might be?"

Maeve nodded in response to the Lioness' question. "Yes."

"You're going to show Fiyero so he can get a group of guards there as soon as possible."

"What good is that going to do?" Fiyero was confused.

"Think about it." Penny didn't say it in a mean way. "Elphaba's top priority since she woke up has been getting Glinda back. If she used a spell to go anywhere, it would be where she thought she was."

"But why?" The Wizard was desperately trying to keep up. "Why wouldn't she have waited to tell Fiyero?

"That's the part we don't know." Ginny answered.

"And we won't until we either find Elphaba or Breena wakes up." Penny continued. "That's why I want to go out with the guards you send, Fiyero. The sooner we know what we're up against, the better."

"All right." Fiyero nodded.

"I want to come too." Lion climbed off his stool.

"Count me in." Maeve added her two cents worth.

Fiyero gave her a sidelong glance. "I don't think so."

Maeve frowned. "Why not?"

"Because you're a girl." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Penny is a girl too."

"Yes, but she's a Lioness."

"What about Elphaba and Breena? You'd let them go if they wanted to."

"They can handle themselves."

Maeve clinched her jaw. "So can I."

"Right."

"I'm going and that's final!"

Fiyero scoffed. "Over my dead body."

She put herself toe to toe with him. "That can be arranged."

"Why don't you continue your conversation on your way to gather the guards?" The sound of Ginny's voice got everyone's attention, allowing her to nod toward the Wizard, who was looking more than a little lost.

"Of course." Fiyero spoke too loudly, earning him a look from Maeve.

"Go." Penny gestured for the others to get moving. "Do you need anything?"

Ginny shook her head. "I think we'll be all right. If I change my mind I can always call for Bernice."

"If you're sure."

"I am." She gave the oversized cat a smile. "Thank you, Penny. You're a good girl."

Penny blushed, giving her a barely audible, "Thanks," before rushing after the others.

Ginny returned her attention to the man sitting next to her. "Would you like some tea?" She wasn't surprised when she didn't get a response. "Tea?" She spoke a little louder.

"What? Oh," the Wizard blinked. "Sorry. Did you say something?"

"I'm going to have a cup of tea. Would you like some?"

"No thank you." He started to get up. "I need to go check on Breena."

She put her hand on his arm again. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"But..."

"I know you're worried about her, but she's in the best possible hands right now. And you should take a moment to process everything you've just heard."

"I..."

"It's not every day you find out one of your daughters disappeared into thin air."

Some of the color leaked from his cheeks as he sank back down on his stool. "You're right, it's not."

"I'm sorry." Ginny felt horrible. "I shouldn't have said it like that."

"You're only trying to help."

"And not doing a very good job of it." She gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "Have some tea with me and then we'll go check on our girls."

He attempted a grin. "I'd like that."

"Good." Ginny went to the stove, making sure there was water in the kettle before turning the fire on under it.

"How do you do it?"

She turned when she heard his voice. "Excuse me?"

"This whole parenting thing." He locked eyes with her. "How do you do it?"

"It's not easy, is it?"

"I wouldn't know." The Wizard hooched his shoulders. "Every time I think I'm going to get to be a father to Elphaba and Breena something ends up happening. First it was Morrible and now it's this whole mess."

Ginny leaned on the counter opposite him. "I think you're selling yourself short."

"Oh really?" He scoffed.

"Yes. You have two incredible daughters."

"No thanks to me. I wasn't around when they were growing up."

"But you're here now. And whether you realize it or not, you've always been a part of them even if you weren't there physically."

What might have been silence between them was interrupted by the whistling of the kettle.

"Let me help you with that." The Wizard offered.

Ginny started to tell him that wasn't necessary but decided against it. "All right. You can get the cups, they're in the second cupboard to your right and I'll get the tea bags." She pulled two from a bin next to the stove before turning off the flame under the kettle. "And now all we need is the water and we'll..." Her voice trailed off when she turned around to find him with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"What if I lose one of them? What if Elphaba never comes back?" He gestured with the cups in his hands. "What if Breena slips away? What if..." He tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

"What ifs are a parent's worst enemy." She went to him, taking the cups and putting them on the counter before leading him back over to a stool. "It's easy to drive yourself crazy with them because they're such valid possibilities. And no one can tell you they won't happen." She sat him down. "That's when you have to hold on and hope for the best."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Ginny nodded. "I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's all we parents have to go on. My girls taught me that a long time ago."

"Great Oz." The Wizard mentally kicked himself as he wiped at his cheeks. "Here I am falling apart when you have a daughter out there somewhere too. I should be trying to comfort you, not crying like a baby."

"It's all right. We all process things in different ways. And like you said, you're still new to all of this. By the next time you'll be an old pro like me."

The Wizard's eyes got big. "There will be a next time?"

Ginny couldn't stop herself from grinning. "There's always a next time."

The Wizard gave her a genuine smile. "Somehow I knew you were going to say that."

"The secret is to make the most of the good moments and try not to dwell on the bad." She sat down next to him. "And to have someone to talk to."

"Like your husband?"

She chortled. "Hardly. When the girls were younger my sister lived here in the Upper Uplands with her family. We helped each other cope. And now that the children are grown and she and her husband moved away we write each other at least once a week."

The Wizard nodded. "So I need to find a confidant."

"I could be one." Ginny offered. "If you'd like me to be. Our daughters are in love so I think it's safe to say we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

"I'd like that." He gave her a grateful look as he offered her his hand. "Friends?"

She accepted, giving his hand a firm shake. "Friends."

He tightened his grip on her hand. "Glinda is going to be fine. She's a very resourceful girl."

"See, you're good at this already." Ginny used her free hand to cover their joined ones. "And you should know that Elphaba and Breena are going to be all right as well. I haven't known them long, but I can tell they're pretty resourceful too."

"Yes they are." The Wizard agreed. "Tea?"

Ginny smiled. "Tea."