Title: Land of What-Might-Have-Been

Author: Aerohead

Email: in my profile

Website: In my profile

Pairing: Nessarose/Boq. Yeah, you saw right. Also Fiyero/Elphaba and Fiyero/Glinda

Rating: PG – PG13

Disclaimer/Dedication: For L. Frank Baum, Gregory Maguire, Stephen Schwartz, and Winnie Holtzman who own this idea that I'm extending. Thank you for giving me the first part.

Warning: I have gone past the point of sanity. That's the only real warning.

Genre: Romance, AU, and they really need an "Insanity" section here.

Summary: Boq stays with Nessarose, and learns to love her. They live a good life together…until their daughter turns seventeen.

Author's Notes: Well, blame kire elovi for yet another chapter of insanity. She wrote a chapter two for Muse, so I have to write a chapter two for this. Now, for those of you wondering, Maeve will be about Thane's age, so she's five years younger than Fabala. Yes, I'm using my own characters also. I'll also explain what happened to Dorothy throughout the story, but there is no Wizard. Also, the government set up in my others stories is not in this one. Instead of Glinda, Dorothy, and Ozma its Glinda, Elphaba, Nessarose, and Ozma rules as princess over all of them. Think of the witches as the vice presidents while Ozma is the president. (bad, bad analogy.)

Chapter Two: Birth

"Elphaba, I'm fine." Nessarose griped. Her elder sister glared down at her, before putting the small green bundle in her arms down.

"You're supposed to go into labor any minute, Nessa, you are not fine." Elphaba said pointedly. Nessarose sighed and allowed herself to be laid down on the bed. She and Boq had been living together for five years, and two years previous had gotten married.

She hated being pregnant, even if it were her first child. She had seen the birth of her sister's son only a week earlier, and she couldn't believe Elphaba was already up and rejuvenated. Of course, Elphaba had given birth before, so perhaps she was just…used to it? Nessarose had to suppress a giggle at that. She wouldn't be surprised if Elphaba didn't even register the pain of labor, and the screams of a week ago were just her sister acting.

"Does she need anything?" Glinda asked as she scurried into the room. Elphaba handed Thane to Glinda.

"He needs to be changed." She said.

"Oh…" Glinda stared at Thane for a moment, before nodding. "I'll get the staff right on it."

Elphaba glared at her younger sister. "Tell me again; why did we have to come to the Emerald City for you to give birth?"

Nessarose shrugged and made herself comfortable on the cot. "I don't know; I just wanted to come here." She said. Elphaba let out a blustery sigh and stormed out of the room. "Where are you going?" Nessarose demanded.

"To get a midwife. I don't know how to help. I've been on the giving end twice, never the receiving end." She said, turning to lean on the doorframe.

"What about when Glinda gave birth to Nissa?" Nessarose asked. The green woman shrugged.

"Well, that was because Fiyero wanted to be there. I didn't set foot into that room until it was over. It's bad luck."

Nessarose giggled. "You just don't want to watch." Elphaba stormed out of the room, and Nessarose sighed, falling back onto the bed. She stared at the ceiling for a few moments, before picking up the book Glinda had given her; it was her Book of Records. But it had names of every person in the world, and Nessarose thought it may be useful, as she and Boq still hadn't come up with a name for their child yet.

Nessarose found a name and smiled to herself, before ringing in the small bell next to her bed. Almost immediately, Elphaba, Glinda, Fiyero, and Boq, along with an assortment of servants. "Boq," she said, and the small man pulled through the rest of the crowd to Nessarose.

"What is it?" he asked, before his eyes widened and he jumped away suddenly. "You're not in labor are you? Really, I don't want to be here when you have the baby…I don't think I could handle it…"

"Boq, I found a name." Nessarose said slowly, as if Boq were an infant.

He stared at her, shocked, before blinking as his mind registered the comment. "Ah…you did? Well, that's…that's great! What is it?" he asked.

Nessarose handed him the book, and pointed to the name. "Well, I found a name if we have a girl." She said.

"Maeve?" Boq read. Nessarose nodded. Boq stared at the name for a moment, before nodding. "Maeve…Owe…Nessa, let go!" Boq said, trying to pry his hand out of Nessarose's as she suddenly squeezed his hand.

Nessarose pulled Boq close to her, her hazel eyes dark with pain. "Get…Elphaba…now." She said through grit teeth. Boq nodded quickly, thankful to be let go of. He picked up the bell and moved it onto a table across the room where an umbrella Nessarose would not throw away was lain, before looking at Nessarose once more.

He ran out the door, and leaned against the wall where Nessarose couldn't see him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm his frazzled nerves. "Is it always this hard to be the father?" he asked the Unnamed One.

"Yes, it is." Fiyero said as he came to stop in front of Boq, whose eyes opened wide. He let out a shuddering breath and shook his head, a small smile of relief as he laughed.

"I thought you were…" he pointed to the ceiling and the blonde Winkie raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. Boq shook his head and put his hand down. "Meh…never mind. Where's Elphaba?" he asked.

Fiyero shrugged, but pushed away from the wall. "I don't know."

"BOQ, GET MY SISTER NOW!" Nessarose screamed from the bedroom. Fiyero stared at the ajar door, before backing away. "I don't do well with pregnant women…let's find Elphie." He said, before tugging the shorter man away from the door.

"Is it really always this bad?" Boq asked, miserable.

"It can be worse, sometimes," he caught his companion pale considerably, and laughed. "You have Elphaba and Glin…you have Elphaba here to help. I had Chistery and myself when Fabala was born. Be glad you actually have one capable human helping." He scratched the back of his head. "And…well…Glinda…means well?" he tried.

"I suppose." Boq said as they entered the small sitting room the women had assembled in. Elphaba was holding Thane, trying to get the squalling boy to sleep, while Glinda was trying to braid her daughter's hair.

"Mommy!" Nissa cried, trying desperately to claw away from her mother. "I don't want my hair braided, not by you!"

Boq stared at the children in sudden realization. "Fiyero…have you ever considered celibacy?" he asked idly.

"Why?" Fiyero asked, before looking at the three children he had sired. "Oh…you mean…?" He coughed, before moving across the room towards Elphaba. "Boq wants to talk to you."

Elphaba nodded and walked over to Boq, while Nissa finally got away from her mother, and hid behind Fiyero's legs. "Daddy, Mommy wants to braid my hair and she can't do it right."

Fiyero squatted down so that he was Nissa's height, and cocked his head as he looked at her, obvious amusement in his eyes. "Really? Well, who can braid your hair right?" Nissa pointed mutely to the small black girl sitting in an armchair with a small Munchkin picture book. "Fabala can?" Fiyero asked, and Nissa nodded. "Well, why don't you ask her to braid your hair for you?"

"She says she's reading." Nissa said, disgust evident in the five-year-old's voice.

Fiyero laughed. "Well, did you ask her if she could do it when she was done?" he asked.

"No." Nissa crossed her arms and pouted in a similar way to her mother. Fiyero shook his head and stood, petting her blonde head lightly.

"So, you wanted to talk to me?" Elphaba asked. Boq jumped, not really paying attention, and caught the weary look of his queer childhood friend.

"Nessarose has called for you; she's in labor." He shook his hand. "At least that's what I interpreted when she nearly broke my hand off." He said, laughing weakly.

Elphaba let out a sigh. She turned to her companions, and nodded to Glinda. "Well, we're needed. Could you get the midwife while I go make sure Nessarose hasn't gotten…" The sound of a bell rang out into the air.

"I moved that bell." Boq muttered.

"…out of bed…" Elphaba let out a growl of irritation, and held out Thane. Boq looked at the infant blankly, and Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Take him, Boq, so I can go help your wife give birth to your child." She said.

"Oh…right." Boq said, taking the baby and holding him at arm's length. Elphaba rubbed her temples.

"Fiyero?" she turned, and her husband stood quickly.

"Yes, Fae?" he asked as he started over to her. She pointed to Boq.

"Show him how to at least correctly hold an infant while we're gone." She said.

"Right." He said, watching Elphaba and Glinda leave. He turned to Boq, and started laughing outright. "You look scared."

"Terrified." Said Boq, "Would you mind taking it from me?" he asked.

"It's not an 'it', Boq, it's a boy, like us." Fiyero said, but he went over and took Thane from Boq. He held the green baby boy gently and protectively. Boq blinked and stared at Fiyero, surprised. The man – the tall, blonde man who looked almost exactly as he had when they were seventeen – could not possibly both the same carefree prince and a protective father of three wrapped together.

"…and if I taught Lord Bromley," the name was said with a large amount of disdain, as if his ex-fiancé could have done much better than the Lord of Dixi House, "how to take care of children when Nissa was a baby, I should be able to teach someone I like…I never thought I'd be a teacher." Fiyero shrugged, not noticing that Boq hadn't been paying attention.

"Okay, so what do I do?" Boq asked. Fiyero looked down and smiled happily and he held Thane with one arm and played with the baby with the other.

"First and foremost, love them."

"That's easy."

Fiyero looked up, something rather blank there. "Not all parents love their children…" he looked back down, "Frex and Melena never loved Elphaba." He pointed out.

Boq bit his lip, before walking over to Fiyero. "Can I try?" he asked. Fiyero looked unsure for a moment, before nodding.

"Now, be careful…and, and hold him like you would anything delicate." He said. Boq laughed, holding Thane the same way Fiyero had been.

"You think I'm really stupid, don't you?" he asked.

"No, not really stupid." Fiyero said, not really paying attention. He crossed his arms and looked sternly at the girls. "Now, it's your bedtime." He said.

Nissa looked scandalized. "I don't want to go to bed!" She wailed.

Fabala also looked up from her book, her bright blue eyes wide. "I'm nearly done, Daddy." She said, "can't I stay up for just five more minutes."

Fiyero smirked. "Well, I guess five more minutes won't hurt. Just don't tell your mothers." He said. He turned to Boq, "Glinda I can handle, she's not my wife. It's Elphaba I'm scared of."

"I don't blame you." Boq said, sitting down with Thane.

Five minutes slowly ebbed away into five hours, when a flustered and unkempt Elphaba and a very pale Glinda retreated into the sitting room.

Boq jumped up and looked at Elphaba, almost scared by her quiet demeanor. "Well?" he asked.

"Fiyero, why aren't the girls in bed?" She asked. Fiyero jumped up; he had fallen asleep with his two daughters on the couch, where he had been conned into reading to them from a book about fairies that Fabala had found.

"Whu…hu…oh, Elphie…Well, they were being so good, and they were worried about Nessa and…"

"You fell for Fabala's 'five more minutes' routine again, didn't you?" Elphaba asked, deadpan.

"Miss Elphie? My wife? My baby?" Boq asked. Elphaba turned to Boq, surprised that he was there, and took Thane from him without answering. Boq shook his arm, trying to lose the feeling of pins jabbing up his arm. "Well?" he asked again.

Elphaba smiled. "It's a girl. Master Boq, you are now a father." She said.