AN:

Hello, my loveliest of readers!

Feel like reading more about our two favourite idiots? Ok, cool! As it happens, I have a little update for you. You're welcome.
Minor content warning for not entirely PC healthcare staff... It's nothing major, but if you encounter this sort of behaviour in the wild and it bugs you, don't hesitate to change provider. You deserve better.

And that's it for now, I guess. As always, happy reading and take care!

xoxo
MLE (=^_^=)

Chapter Eleven

Sitting on her bed, reading through the printout draft of her history essay on the Great Drought, Elphaba found it difficult to get past the first two paragraphs. It was quiet, she realised. Too quiet. It was the Friday before mid-semester break and Galinda had gone out with Shennie and Phanphan and the rest of their annoying clique. That in itself wasn't unusual or bad. What really startled her was the sudden awareness of how awfully unaccustomed she'd become to solitude.

For the past two weeks, their cohabitation hadn't at all been the way it used to be before their big fight, but they'd somehow agreed upon an unspoken truce. They were cordial with each other, bordering on friendly, and Elphaba had taken up the chef's hat once again, shopping for and cooking their meals. Dinners were that one time of the day when their conversations, their banter, and all the small interactions between them felt almost normal again. At least until Elphaba eventually returned to her room, and Galinda stayed behind to clean the kitchen before also disappearing upstairs.

They hardly spent time in the living room these days, but ran into each other just often enough to not feel lonely. And in between, Elphaba would hear Galinda talking loudly on the phone or listening to music with her speakers on a volume high enough to suggest that it was not on accident. Occasionally, Galinda would find an excuse to poke her head through the ever open door of Elphaba's room and talk to her.

All in all, knowing and feeling that her roomie always was around and keeping tabs on her was shockingly comforting. Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if that, too, was intentional, and whether the blonde had deliberately put her social life on hold, solely for her benefit. Such a line of thought rather distressed than consoled her though, and she'd simply shake her head at her own overactive imagination and move on. Galinda had already done much more for her than could be expected, but even her benevolence and altruism had limits.

Thinking of extraordinary favours…

Elphaba put her essay aside and reached under the pillow, producing a blue envelope. She still remembered vividly how she'd unsuspectingly opened the loosely tucked in flap after finding it sitting on her desk. She'd been rather confused as she'd pulled out a wad of cash—certainly more than she'd ever physically held in her hands before. Only after hurriedly stuffing the money back whence it came from, had she paid any heed to the sticky note attached to the envelope.

'This is a gift, not a loan.

Don't thank me.

Don't ever speak of it.'

The message had astounded her more than anything, though at a second glance, it definitely made sense. Then, she'd noticed a small, folded piece of paper that seemed to have tumbled out along with the notes. Upon closer inspection, it had revealed the details of a private clinic. A recommendation, she'd supposed. Or an order perhaps, seeing as it was more or less tied to the necessary funds.

But she'd never ended up using any of the money. The initial consultation, as well as the cancellation fee, she'd paid out of her own pocket. After all, she'd accumulated at least some savings from working all those extra hours.

For a short while following her cowardly last minute cop-out, she'd told herself every single morning that she'd call the clinic sometime after school to make a new appointment; until she'd eventually realised that she never would, and that her change of mind that day had not been cowardly, nor a cop-out. It had been a decision she'd played with all along but never dared to entertain in earnest. The supposed delay had served as a necessary step on her way to accepting that this was what she truly wanted.

Well, mostly, that was. She wasn't entirely or passionately convinced that either option was the best to choose. In fact, both of them probably were the wrong decision to make, with no right path anywhere in sight. It had all gone haywire from the very point when she'd fallen pregnant, and that was something an abortion would not be able to erase. Because she'd never be able to forget, and never not feel like she'd miserably failed this test life had presented her with.

Her father would—with a mix of pride and horror, she imagined—declare that she'd chosen penance. He'd never kept it a secret that he considered his imperfect daughters a misfortune inflicted by the Unnamed God himself, a challenge he needed to rise to in order to atone for his debaucherous sins. To Elphaba, who'd lived through this horrendous experience and suffered disproportionally compared to her sister, the notion was pure nonsense, of course. She'd never make it a child's burden to personify her own transgressions. If anything, she'd see them as the one decent thing to have come out of the mess she'd created for herself.

Though she couldn't say that it was pure maternal affection that had persuaded her either. It had been more of a gut feeling, an intangible connection, perhaps paired with a bizarre and misplaced sense of curiosity. What had finally, irrefutably changed her outlook on the matter had been an unexpected bout of selflessness which she may or may not come to regret at a later time. It had followed then, that the impossibility of her situation as assessed earlier, wasn't quite as absurd after all, once ego and dreams had been set aside and priorities reevaluated. As she settled on smaller, more modest goals, integrating a child into her life was nowhere difficult enough anymore to entirely dismiss the possibility of carrying a little Thropp to term.

And so the decision had been made. From that moment forward, she'd avoided thinking about it as much as she could, and tried to focus on the future. But most of all, she'd tried to convince herself that she was allowed at least a small breather, a period of relaxation before she needed to seriously start reorganising her life and plan her next vital steps.

She hadn't discussed any of that with Galinda yet. Technically, she didn't have to, especially if she could find a way to secure a suitable living space for herself and the kid before their arrival in about seven months' time. Yet then again, she supposed the blonde was still left in a limbo of uncertainty, which was rather unfair. Maybe it was time she raise the issue. Maybe along with the other problem that had been bugging her?

Her thumbs brushed across the smooth paper of the envelope. Seeing as she no longer had to pay for the procedure, Elphaba had initially resolved to return the money to Galinda; yet every time she looked at the little sticky note, her doubts would flare. Insulting or offending her generous friend was far from what she had in mind, so keeping it for the interim had appeared to be the safer option. She'd symbolically sealed the flap, as she felt she had no inherent right to the money, which had been given to her for a specific purpose. But wouldn't Galinda be even happier for her to spend it on baby paraphernalia instead? Did she actually need to raise the topic? Should she?

"I'm baaaaaaack!"

Galinda's singsong voice struck Elphaba like lightning. Intuitively, she jolted up and concealed the envelope. Sure enough, the girl marched straight into her room barely ten seconds later.

"Elphie! How are you doing? Did you miss me?"

"Just—just been working on my assignment," replied Elphaba, picking up the pages and showing them off as proof.

"Oh, I should have stayed at home as well!" sighed Galinda dramatically before letting herself drop onto the bed next to her. "Shenshen found herself a boyfriend," she went on to explain. "You see, I'd be endlessly glad for her if he were a decent catch, but that boor of a man wouldn't keep his eyes off me all night! And can you believe it, she didn't do anything about it either! Now I don't know what to think! Should I feel bad for her or be outright furious? Needless to say, I couldn't be happier the evening is over and I'm back home—

"Elphie, why are you staring at me like this?"

"You're, uh, sitting on my bed," Elphaba said after a clock-tick, sending Galinda into a fit of giggles.

"Well, Elphie, it's not like this room has a couch."

The laughing stopped promptly, and Galinda looked at her with wide eyes.

"Elphie! Do you need a couch? I'm sure we could squeeze one in here. A small one at least. Wouldn't that make the room a lot homier?"

"Exactly how drunk are you?" wondered Elphaba out loud, one eyebrow quirked, her lips forming a lopsided grin.

"No, you're right," Galinda nodded, her expression immediately turning thoughtful. "We need to save space for the crib and all."

Elphaba's mouth opened and closed at its own accord, but she ultimately remained speechless.

"You haven't really thought this out yet, Elphie, have you?" said Galinda, smiling gently and reaching out to tuck a strand of raven hair behind a green ear.

Elphaba couldn't stop the heat that rushed to her cheeks.

"No, I have," she replied, though haltingly. "I just didn't think that you… We never even talked about my final decision."

"What is there to talk about? I thought it was all rather obvious. I didn't expect that you out of all people would bail out of your appointment for no good reason. You're one of the bravest people I know. And when you didn't ask for another ride the days that followed… Well."

Feeling dizzy at the rush of her friend's words, and even more so the intensity her gaze, Elphaba pushed herself off from the bed and relocated to the chair instead. The distance helped somewhat as she tried her best to re-organise her thoughts.

"I'm not that brave, actually. Nor as decisive as I'd like to be. In fact, a lot of this decision seems to be based in indecision."

"You shouldn't tell yourself that," admonished Galinda mildly. "It's my personal opinion that it's the exact opposite way around. You subconsciously felt pressured to get your life back on track and live it the way a modern, independent woman should. A noble intention. But deep down, you knew from the beginning that this path wasn't right for you. I think to consciously not make a statement in honour of progress is much harder for you than to go with the flow and make more conservative choices."

Drawing a sharp breath, Elphaba shook her head.

"You only believe this because it fits so neatly into your narrative. That doesn't make it true."

"And only because you are inclined to think badly of yourself, that doesn't make it true either," countered Galinda without missing a beat.

Elphaba recoiled as if she'd been insulted and turned up her nose.

"What do you know? We've been sharing this house for, what? Nearly two months? While I've been living with myself for—"

She was cut off by the pillow hitting her square in the face. She definitely hadn't seen that coming.

"You don't get to argue about this!" cried Galinda and snickered heartily while Elphaba, ruffled and anxious, combed her fingers through her hair to straighten it back out.

She watched Galinda leaning back and grinning in triumph, but her eyes quickly honed in on the newly exposed blue envelope. It didn't take long for the other girl to take notice and follow her gaze. The smile on her lips froze.

Elphaba fidgeted, slightly swinging her swivel chair left and right.

"I didn't know what to do with it," she offered after a long pause. "Do… do you want it back?"

Galinda swallowed hard.

"Of course not," she pressed out before grabbing the black jumper hanging across the headboard and tossing it on top of the envelope to cover it. Neither of them spoke for a while, until the blonde took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. "Would it be terribly naïve of me to hope that by facilitating your move towards the termination, I also indirectly facilitated your decision not to do it?"

Slowly scratching the back of her neck, Elphaba considered that for a moment. She'd never thought of it this way, nor could she come to a definitive conclusion on the spot. Looking back at Galinda, however, she realised that the truth was not important here.

"Ultimately, it all played into the outcome we arrived at."

Galinda seemed to like that just enough, as she rose to her feet and gave Elphaba a brief hug before murmuring a quiet goodnight and leaving the room.

The following morning Elphaba prepared a special breakfast—pancakes, accompanied by various fruit toppings, syrup, and cream. She'd planned this as an ice breaker before broaching the two big topics she needed to discuss with Galinda. Now that her roomie had already taken this unpleasant task out of her hands, she still reckoned that it would do their tarnished relationship some good if she went out of her way to show her appreciation.

As she laid the table an unwelcome flashback from their previous make-up breakfast crossed her mind and for a moment, she stood stock-still, staring at the bowl of mixed berries and feeling faintly nauseous. Luckily, she didn't believe in bad omens and all that jazz.

"Mornin', Elphie."

At the sound of Galinda's voice, she turned around and mustered a small smile. The blonde's hair was messier than usual, and the bathrobe hung loosely off her shoulders. The symptoms of a bad hangover? She rubbed her eyes as she drew closer, maybe wondering whether they were playing a trick on her.

"Breakfast?" she mumbled sleepily.

"You look like you should have stayed in bed a while a longer," cackled Elphaba softly.

Galinda gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Stop wisecracking and explain yourself, Miss Elphaba. What have you done this time?"

"Will you ever not be suspicious when I set out to spoil you?"

"So far you have given me no reason not to be. So? I'm listening."

Returning to the kitchen, Elphaba began to turn the batter she'd prepared into fluffy pancakes.

"Until last night I was slightly worried about how to bring up the extended stay of my little passenger," she admitted. She left out the issue of the money, remembering how poorly Galinda had reacted the previous time. "I know we kinda ticked that box now, but I reckoned you'd enjoy the breakfast anyway? I already bought most of the ingredients yesterday."

"That's sweet, Elphie," smiled Galinda. "Let me brew the coffee then while you do—"

"Actually," Elphaba interrupted her sheepishly, "I've only been drinking tea recently."

Galinda's lips pulled into a wide grin, and Elphaba was quick to return her attention to the pan on the stove, feeling a bit flustered at her response.

They sat in silence at first, helping themselves to whatever their hearts desired. It was Galinda who seemed most eager to strike up a conversation.

"So..." she began, making sure to catch Elphaba's gaze as she paused, reaching for her cup and taking a sip of her drink. "How do you feel these days?"

The green girl slowly finished chewing the food in her mouth while mulling over her answer. She had an inkling as to what Galinda might be trying to get at, but without asking more explicitly, she'd give her nothing but the bare minimum.

"Well, the nausea has subsided, thank Oz." She chuckled uneasily. "And I feel less fatigued, though I'd guess that has more to do with cutting back on my hours."

Galinda nodded along, then appeared to be waiting for something else.

"That sounds good," she replied belatedly and reached out to briefly squeeze Elphaba's hand. "I'm glad. Got any plans for the holidays then?"

"Don't call it that," scoffed Elphaba, amused. "It's a study break. As in, a break from lectures so that we can catch up on our studying."

Rolling her eyes, Galinda stood to load her plate with more pancakes, banana slices and a dollop of chocolate spread.

"Is that seriously all you're gonna do?"

"Uh… I suppose it's time I started with some proper antenatal appointments."

Visibly perking up at that, Galinda locked eyes with her again. Elphaba thought that she gave off a sort of expectant vibe, but was glad that she didn't end up venturing the question that seemed to be at the tip of her tongue.

"What are you going to do all week then?" she asked eventually to break their odd stalemate.

"Oh! Yes, um, studying," replied Galinda. "Lots of studying. And, uh, a quick trip back home to see my parents." She brightened at that. "Do you want to come with?"

Elphaba nearly choked on her food.

"Excuse me? No! I mean… no, I can't. All that antenatal stuff and… stuff. Right?"

"I'm just going away for the weekend, silly!"

Galinda's crystal clear laughter only made Elphaba feel more self-conscious.

"Yeah, okay. But… man, Glin, that's just weird."

The laughter stopped suddenly, and Galinda stared straight back at her, her face prettily flushed. Elphaba tried to figure out whether it was something she'd said, but came up empty.

A clock-tick later, Galinda cleared her voice and flashed her a wavering smile.

"I don't think it's weird. My parents would absolutely love to meet the person I share my place with."

"You told them about me?" asked Elphaba, somewhat alarmed.

"I hardly ever talk to them when I'm away from home, so no. But I'd probably tell them while I'm there? Does that worry you?"

Hiding her hands underneath the table and hunching over, Elphaba withdrew a little.

"They will ask you to get rid of me."

Galinda arched a well-groomed eyebrow at her.

"Let's just say, they know most of my friends and disapprove of pretty much all of them. Still, they never told me outright to sever ties. At any rate, I got a feeling you could be the first they might actually like."

"Unlikely," muttered Elphaba, shifting in her seat.

The grin on Galinda's face returned full force.

"Is that a yes?"

It was a strange, gut-wrenching feeling to walk through the revolving door of the community health centre again. The turbulent emotions evoked by the end of her last visit hit her especially hard the moment she set foot into the women's health clinic. She couldn't say that she still felt the same anger, but the lingering distrust and feelings of insult were enough to make her expect the worst.

"Uh, hi."

The woman at the reception briefly looked up and lifted a finger to indicate that she needed a moment to finish typing. Once she was done, she put on a stiff smile and asked for Elphaba's details.

"Thropp, Elphaba. I've got an appointment for three o'clock."

Tapping her index finger against her lips, the secretary found her name on the screen and clicked various boxes.

"Is this your first visit here?" she enquired, giving her an uncomfortably intense look.

Did she remember her? Elphaba couldn't for the life of her recall ever seeing her before, but she really hadn't paid much attention to anyone but her nurse and the doctor last time.

"I've been here before," she answered, stubbornly stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"Wonderful. So we already have your details. Just take a seat, the midwife will be with you shortly."

Elphaba was relieved and did as she was told. As per usual, the wait was fairly long. Long enough to survey the room in detail and watch the unfortunate souls who were waiting along with her. Some of the women were visibly distressed—either due to pregnancy complications or because they, like she herself once, had come to seek an abortion, she supposed. Strewn across the place sat a number of lovey-dovey couples. About half of them already showed clear signs of their reason for being here. Extremely preoccupied with herself, she hadn't noticed this diversity of patients before.

She didn't think she'd personally have minded, but; wasn't that rather inconsiderate to have all of these women gathered in the same place? Those who'd lost children, those who might, those who wished to, and those who were happily flaunting their big, round bellies. The rest, she guessed, were the neutral crowd, waiting for standard check-ups or birth control related appointments. She remembered how all of these had been different departments at the private clinic she'd been to at Galinda's recommendation. She could certainly see the value in that.

"Miss Elphaba."

A student midwife led her down the hall and through one of the doors to the right. They did at least seem to have dedicated rooms for the different purposes, as she recalled the last ones she'd been to having been much less embellished. This one featured anatomical models and was cluttered with posters and charts of all things related to pregnancy and foetal development.

"Vittolea will be here in a min," the student explained before taking her seat in the corner.

True to word, the actual midwife, a short, burly woman with thin, shoulder-length, grey hair soon marched through the door and extended her hand in greeting.

"Vittolea. Nice to meet you. And you're Elphaba, yes?"

Elphaba merely nodded.

"Good, good. Well, first of all, congratulations. First baby, is it?"

"Yeah."

"You don't seem very excited to be here. Not what you planned, eh?"

Staring at her blankly, Elphaba didn't quite know what to say. The woman chuckled and wrote something down on her clipboard.

"Gotta ask those kinds of questions," she supplied offhandedly before enquiring about things relating to Elphaba's mental health and her feelings about this pregnancy. "Okay. There will be plenty more questions in a minute, but if you could please hop onto that scale in the corner for me first? We need to take some baseline measurements.

After taking note of her weight, she took Elphaba's height.

"Eat a few more toasts for breakfast from now on," she remarked distractedly. "That baby won't grow from love and thin air alone."

She checked her blood pressure, then asked Elphaba to go to the bathroom across the corridor and come back with a used test strip. When that was all done, they began going through a long catalogue of questions.

"The green," she began, giving her a poignant look, "is that something hereditary?"

"A spontaneous mutation," replied Elphaba. "I'm very much the green sheep of the family. In fact, none of the doctors I ever spoke to knew of any other green people either."

"That should be interesting then," chuckled the midwife, and for the first time the idea that her child might turn out to look like herself crossed Elphaba's mind.

"Let's move on to the father," said the older woman before Elphaba could even begin to digest this unsettling thought. "I hope he has a good reason to be absent today?"

The tone of her voice suggested that the remark was not meant entirely seriously, but Elphaba couldn't help but bristle in reaction. With a severe scowl on her face, she didn't have to say anything for Midwife Vittolea to recognise her faux pas.

"Oh," she said curtly and pursed her lips. "Well, the good news is that this saves us a whole lot of time. On the flip side, not knowing anything about medical history and the like is definitely a disadvantage. It would be best if you could talk to the father and find out some of this information."

She opened a drawer and pulled out a thin booklet which she passed on to Elphaba. It was a form, similar to the one they'd been working on. Staring at the questions, Elphaba considered returning the form, given that it would be sheer impossible for her to ascertain any of these details. Keeping it, however, was the path of least resistance and easier, so she wordlessly stuffed it into her bag.

"And this is most of the work done already. Do you have any questions so far?"

Elphaba shook her head.

"Very well. I'll write you a referral for some blood tests, as well as a script for some supplements. Ideally, you would have started with folic acid before falling pregnant, but most vitamins and minerals should be taken throughout pregnancy to make sure baby has all she needs."

"She?" asked Elphaba.

"Or he, if you prefer. Just don't get your heart set on either sex. You won't find out for a while."

The green girl frowned and swallowed her retort.

"Now, for the dating scan—"

"I had one done already."

She produced the ultrasound picture she'd brought along just in case. The midwife looked confused at first, then the cogs inside her mind began to churn, until she nodded gravely and slipped the picture between the notes.

"Brilliant," she chirped, feigning cheerfulness while the friendly expression on her face had certainly taken a hit. "With that out of the way, I still need you to come in later this week anyway. At twelve weeks it's time we make sure you get a nuchal translucency scan done. That's to assess certain risk factors for birth defects, mostly trisomy 21 and 18. Are you familiar with those?"

"Yes."

"Good, good. So, I'll give you this cute little canvas bag with all the brochures, pregnancy diary and what not. Has a few free samples as well. All good stuff. Oh, and I'll pop your referral and your prescription in as well. No worries, these no brand supplements are cheap as chips.

"And you make sure to talk to reception about that appointment for the ultrasound on the way out. Just tell her that you need a twelve week scan. She'll know what to do with that. And I'll see you again in, let's say, eight weeks. Unless anything unusual pops up in your scan or your bloods—in which case I'll give you a ring as soon as possible."

They stood and shook hands. The student stepped forward to do the same. Elphaba was glad that she was finally able to get out of this oppressive building and away from the bigoted people within. She took a deep breath and let the warmth of the early spring sun caress her face, then headed in the direction of the bus stop with an optimistic spring in her step.

She knew what people would think of her, but as a green girl, that didn't bother her too much. What did worry her were the simple logistics of everyday life, yet those were things she had no choice but to simply tackle as she went. For now, she'd taken her first step forward, and it almost looked like she really could handle this.

Her cleansing routine was interrupted by a storm of impatient rapping on the bathroom door. She tried to ignore her roommate at first, but in the end, she knew there was no escape.

"What is it?" she shouted back as she put the lid back on her flask of oil and picked up a towel to wipe herself down with.

"What's taking you so long in there? We should hurry, Elphie. It's a three and a half hours drive up to Frottica. I don't want it to be night before we get there!"

She chuckled.

"I never said I was coming!"

Galinda did not immediately reply. She imagined her standing in front of the door, stumped and dumbfounded.

"You never said that you weren't coming either!" the blonde eventually shot back, and Elphaba grinned.

"Your assumptions are not my problem."

She was taken aback when Galinda simply stomped off. She'd expected her to put up more of a fight. With a shrug, she set aside the towel and got dressed.

"I hope you emptied your bladder sufficiently!" called Galinda from the living room when she finally exited the bathroom.

Craning her neck, Elphaba spotted her wrestling with her luggage. She walked up to her and cackled at the sight.

"This is all you need for the weekend? Are you sure? What about the other one hundred dresses you left upstairs?"

"I'm bringing presents," grunted Galinda as she struggled to zip up her glittery pink suitcase. Elphaba stepped in and pushed down on the top with both hands. Combining their strength, they finally succeeded. The blonde wiped at her brow even though there was no visible sweat to remove. "Thanks, Elphie. You're ready to go then? Been to the loo and all? I heard that's a thing with expectant mothers. I'm willing to make extra stops along the way, but not before we got out of Shiz."

Elphaba looked away and shifted from one leg to the other.

"What is it, Elphie? You're not embarrassed talking about this stuff, are you?"

"It's not that," she replied, biting her lower lip. "It just feels really weird... being called a mother. I'm not sure how maternal I feel. Or how female even. It's not something I usually give much thought, but it tends to come up more often nowadays, and it's strangely off-putting." She made a face. "Never thought I'd be one for identity crises, but maybe that's what this is?"

Galinda smiled sympathetically and covered her hand that was still resting on the suitcase.

"By all accounts, pregnancy hormones are bound to take you on a couple of rollercoaster rides. Maybe that's all it is. As a precaution, I can try and avoid triggering words like that. But if this turns out to be something that keeps you awake at night, don't hesitate to talk to me about it, okay?" She gave her hand a squeeze and her soft smile turned into a wide grin. "Which is exactly why I'm glad you're joining me this weekend! Can't leave you behind all alone here, can I? Who knows what gloomy thoughts you'd start pondering, wallowing in your loneliness, with no one to comfort you!"

Elphaba laughed it off, but certainly felt a tad more cheerful than before. She got up, grabbed Galinda's suitcase and pulled it down the hallway. When she took it outside to load it into the car, she found her own bags already at the very back of the trunk.

"Why am I not surprised," she muttered to herself and added Galinda's luggage.

By the time they left it was almost noon, but Elphaba was not the one to blame. It had been Galinda who'd suddenly realised that she didn't have her phone charger, then couldn't find it, even though she turned her entire room upside down. Bored of waiting, Elphaba had eventually pitched in, opening her bags one by one and searching them systematically. Sure enough, she'd found the thing in the large, sparkly suitcase.

Due to the delay, Galinda already felt peckish and demanded that Elphaba feed her one of the egg sandwiches she'd prepared.

"It's gonna make a mess," the green girl protested.

Galinda tsked.

"Fine. How about the avocado one?"

"Even worse."

"Cream cheese and alfalfa then!"

Elphaba grumbled but finally relented. Bread in hand, she awkwardly leaned over to navigate the food towards Galinda's mouth. Her friend took a bite and, still chewing, giggled.

"Oz, Elphie! You need to learn how to drive, because you're a dreadful co-pilot."

Sulking slightly, Elphaba frowned at the remainder of the sandwich.

"Well, not like I have a car."

"I'm obviously volunteering mine," replied Galinda, shaking her head. "If we go places together, that's a no-brainer. But seriously; if you ever need to get yourself somewhere, it would be good if you could do that without my help. And think of junior, too! Check-ups, immunisations… I think there are lots of random errands involved when you have a little one."

"Yeah. I'll think about it."

When they made it to Settica, a few kilometres past the halfway point of their journey, they stopped at a fast-food restaurant. They visited the bathroom and ordered two hot chocolates—one with skim and one with oat milk.

Back in the car, Galinda took a sip and sighed.

"Halfway there. You ready to keep going?"

Elphaba scoffed.

"Like I have a choice?"

Galinda manoeuvred the car back out of the parking spot and onto the road. Every now and again, she reached for her cup and took a sip, but Elphaba soon noticed that she remained suspiciously quiet.

"Is something wrong?" she asked after a while, furrowing her brow.

"What?" said the blonde distractedly as she risked a fleeting glance at her. "Oh. No, no. All good. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing important. Nothing but random thinking.

"Hey, I just realised I've been dictating the music all this time. Would you like to change it to something else?"

Elphaba took a moment to consciously listen to the sounds from the stereo.

"I don't actually care," she decided and noncommittally hiked her shoulders.

Galinda remained just as silent for the next ten minutes.

"Are you worried after all?" Elphaba ventured at length.

"About what?"

Something about her voice didn't sound right.

"Your parents? Them meeting me? Or you seeing them again? I don't know what kind of relationship you guys have."

"They—they're okay," answered Galinda. "They might ask all about my current relationship status and shit, but that's not too bad. They are less persistent than some."

Elphaba nodded, then paused and turned her head to stare back at Galinda.

"What?" the other girl chuckled uneasily.

"You're, uh, not gonna tell them, are you?"

"About…?"

"The baby. First of all, I don't think it's going to garner me any brownie points, and secondly, they'll be even more concerned about our whole living arrangement. And… we haven't even discussed this ourselves."

"Which part? Like where to put the play mat, the changing table, the baby swing? I mean, the bed is obvious, right?"

Elphaba gaped at her with her mouth half open.

"Oh, come on, Elphie! What did you expect? Of course, I'm not gonna kick you out. Haven't I earned at least a smidgen of your trust yet?"

Licking her lips, Elphaba ducked her head between her shoulders.

"It just seems like such a huge burden."

"Fiddlesticks! I—" She took a deep breath, then closed her mouth and simply smiled. "Anything you need, really. It's… It's gonna be alright. But I won't tell my parents. I'll even hide it from them later on if you prefer. Though I don't think it would be necessary."

"Thank you," said Elphaba with a breath of relief, though deep inside, the doubts and worries kept on churning. One thought in particular stood out, and even though she tried to dismiss it, she couldn't help but voice it. "I've been wondering the last few days… What if the baby turns out…"

"Green?" Galinda filled in helpfully when Elphaba found it too difficult to say the word out loud.

"Yeah."

"You know better than I how difficult that would be for them as they grow up. But until then, the best you can do is to spoil them with love and fortify them with confidence." Eyes still trained on the road, she knitted her brows. "You never told me anything about your childhood, actually. All I know, I got from Boq. How—how was your relationship with your parents growing up?"

"Not great," was Elphaba's taciturn reply.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

She wasn't sure what to do with Galinda's sympathy, but at least she sounded genuine.

"Strangely enough, I don't think I was particularly lacking in confidence. Rather I had enough of it to turn some into contempt for anyone who'd do as much as look at me the wrong way. It made things easier in a way."

"Hm. I'm not sure if that's a strategy worth teaching the little one though."

"Unfortunately, there aren't many parenting guides for green people," grumbled Elphaba. Even knowing that Galinda didn't really mean to criticise her, she felt the need to defend her tried and trusted coping mechanisms. For a long time, they'd been all she'd had.

Galinda looked like she had a thing or two to add to that, but graciously decided not to argue further.

Driving through Frottica proper, Elphaba found herself inexplicably curious about the town Galinda had grown up in. The buildings all looked rather old-fashioned, but in a boutique kind of way. Frotticans obviously loved their traditions and quaint lifestyle. Strangely enough, she couldn't picture Galinda fitting in quite as well as she'd thought she would.

Their final destination was situated another ten minutes out of town, among the lushest and gentlest of the Pertha Hills.

"Are you ready?" grinned Galinda before they made to take the next turn.

"For what? I swear, each time you ask me this I get more anxious about this whole affair."

Barely a minute later, the grand house of Galinda's girlhood years came into view. Unbeknownst to Galinda, Elphaba was more used to such sights than she let on, yet that didn't mean that she wasn't intimidated. Perhaps not by the building itself, but by its inhabitants, or at least her image of them. Boq had obviously been right about Galinda being of noble stock. Elphaba had some experience with the older generations of such heritage, and couldn't say that that that was a good thing.

"You're awfully quiet," quipped Galinda, unable to conceal her own unease.

"Big house," commented Elphaba flatly. "Do your parents live alone there?"

"We do have a small team of staff. But most of the house is not used for the family. We hire out rooms for short term rentals and tourist stays. Not like a hotel though. It all goes through an app and is much more hands off."

"Helps managing the costs for upkeep, I reckon?" remarked Elphaba, and Galinda gave her a surprised look.

"Yeah. That's pretty much it. Most people have no clue how costly it is to keep these ancient places afloat. They just see the fancy side and don't think too hard about it."

They pulled into the long white gravel driveway. A gardener tending to the still rather winter barren flowerbeds waved, then sprinted off towards the house. After stopping the car as close to the main entrance as possible, Galinda peered out of the window. Elphaba recognised her friend's parents the moment they stepped out of the stately front door. Galinda unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to look at her.

"You ready?"

"You're doing it again," sighed Elphaba and let herself fall back into the seat.

Galinda giggled.

"You'll be fine," she said and leaned in for a quick peck on her cheek before pushing her door open and rushing towards her parents, leaving behind a stunned Elphaba.