A/N: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer! Glad you liked it. More on Elphaba helping Glinda ahead. Thanks!

Chapter 5

"Another long day, my love," Fiyero heaved a sigh as he collapsed onto his back on their bed. Elphaba was still getting her pajamas on over by the bathroom door, while he hadn't even taken off his uniform. After dinner he'd promised to be back in a little bit but then had been gone for three hours.

"Indeed, it was. Where have you been?" She asked.

"I went looking for Private Schultz. I'm worried that he might do something that we'll all regret," he admitted. Elphaba frowned and sat down on the bed next to him.

"You think he'd hurt himself?" She wanted to know.

"It is my worry. Private Roth has volunteered to be his shadow. I knew I liked that young man," Fiyero said before rolling over onto his stomach so he could look at his beloved.

"I feel helpless. I mean that poor young man has been through so much and to have his family just…" Elphaba shook her head and left the bed, heading to the window. Sleep would be elusive tonight; she could feel it. She could hear Fiyero's boots on the hard floor, they had been virtually silent until after he left the rugged floor around the bed. His arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her close, resting his head against hers.

"You have more than just the young Private on your mind. What is it?" He asked, his breath tickled the back of her neck and Elphaba involuntarily shivered.

"Glinda is really struggling. She has never been hard. She's a soft fluff ball and this… this is forcing her to be someone that she doesn't want to be. I have to help her become more like me. She has to be able to bury her emotions. I hate it, but if she shows weakness…" the green woman heaved a sigh.

"Lin has done a lot for the people of Oz and not showed much weakness," he said.

"Yero, you know that we didn't catch all of the Wizard sympathizers. The Munchkins are not cooperating and judging by today's meeting, the only ideas we have will result in isolating them even more than we already have. We're trying to rebuild, not cause more fissures and holes. If any one of those groups senses a weakness or Oz-forbid one of our enemies… women have struggled to gain equal footing in this society. Look at how easy it was for people to believe that the Wizard was running the country, when it was really Morrible. The fish woman has made it harder for all women leaders now, especially ones with magical powers," Elphaba reminded him. She could feel him nod and then he kissed the back of her neck.

"Tomorrow is another day my love. Let us try and get some sleep. The morning will be here before we know it," Fiyero suggested. This time Elphaba nodded and immediately felt cold as he moved his arms and body away from her. She turned and walked back to the bed while Fiyero stripped off his clothes.

Not far away, Glinda lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Bayram was not with her. He was spending the night in his quarters due to the early morning meeting. The Lieutenant told her to try and sleep in. Glinda's first meeting wasn't until ten am and the Munchkins were finally sending an envoy who was supposedly arriving at noon for a lunch meeting. Yet, here she was, not getting any extra sleep. Heaving a sigh, the blonde climbed out of bed and grabbed her bathrobe. Once that was on, she donned her slippers, and headed out into the hallway.

It was quiet at that time of night, only guards in the hallways. They said nothing to the ruler of Oz as she entered Doctor Talib's infirmary. The patient beds were empty, the wounded had finally returned to their families.

"Lady Glinda, I'm surprised to see you this late," the doctor said as he exited his office. All of his staff had gone home quite some time ago.

"I'm sorry Doctor but I can't sleep," she told him.

"Ah. Well, I have just the thing, but you really should take it when you're back in your quarters. It's fast acting," he explained before heading for his locked medicine cabinet. When he opened the door, he dropped the key from his hand. The cabinet was empty.

"That wasn't supposed to be that way, right?" Glinda asked.

"No, it wasn't," Talib told her.

"Sound the alarm. We need the guards searching everywhere for your medicines," the blonde ordered.

To Be Continued…