Strength

A.N. Whoops! Forgot to put a disclaimer on the first chapter. Oh, well, here it is now.

I don't own these characters.

Also, thanks to asdf and Aerohead for reviewing and pointing out some detail errors. I realized while I was re-reading the first chapter about the whole Elphie/Elphaba thing. I tried to make all of the ones outside of dialogue "Elphaba" but I guess I missed a bunch at the beginning. Also, I knew that Melena died in the book, but I wasn't sure if she died in the musical too. Thanks for not completely shooting me down.

The next morning, Glinda woke up before Elphaba. As she got dressed, she debated whether to go find Fiyero and tell him what was going on. She was sure he could help Elphaba, but she didn't want to leave her alone. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Glinda answered it to find Fiyero and Boq standing in the hallway. Although she was less than thrilled to see Boq, she was relieved that Fiyero had come to them.

"Hi. What are you doing here? How did you get in?" she asked.

Fiyero laughed. "You girls have to get some better security here. Sneaking in here is a snap. Anyway, we came to see Elphie. We heard about her mother and

Confused, Glinda interjected with "How did you know?

"Well, Nessa was really upset last night and she showed us this letter saying thatÉ" Boq began.

"Yes, yes. I know. Isn't it terrible?" Glinda interrupted. She looked over to see Elphaba stirring in her bed. "Fiyero, you stay here and talk to her. Boq and I will go down to the dining hall and bring up some breakfast," she said. Boq, happy to go anywhere with Glinda, followed her down the hallway as Fiyero made his way to Elphaba's side. As he sat down, Elphaba opened her eyes.

She blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the morning light. As her eyes began to focus, she realized who was in the room with her.

"FiÉFiyero? How did youÉand where's

"Me and Boq snuck in to see how you were doing. But Glinda went down to get us breakfast and you know Boq. Wherever Glinda goes, Boq follows.

Elphaba nodded, and then the memory of the day before hit her. She started to feel tears welling up in her eyes again, quickly turning away from Fiyero. She didn't want him to see her like this. It was bad enough that Glinda had seen her like that, but Glinda was her roommate. It would have been impossible to keep this from her. Fiyero was different. She couldn't let him see her weak. She had to be strong. She blinked several times to fight the tears back. Her face still burned from the night before. "Thanks for coming, but I'm fine. Really, I am" she said.

Fiyero, however, wasn't buying it. He sat down where Glinda had been sitting the night before and began to gently rub her shoulders and back. "It's ok, Elphie. You're allowed to cry in front of me and in front of anyone else for that matter. A few tears never hurt anyoneÉ" Fiyero's voice trailed off as he remembered one important piece of information about Elphaba. He looked at her face and saw the burns from the previous night. Granted, they weren't third degree burns that would cause permanent damage. But he was guessing that the tears were hurting Elphaba's face. He quickly grabbed some tissues off of the nightstand and held them directly under Elphaba's eyes, making sure to cover any area where a tear might meet the skin. Some tears overflowed from her eyes, but were absorbed into the tissues rather than touching her face, preventing any pain.

Fiyero continued to massage her shoulders and back for a few more minutes before asking, "So when are you leaving for Nest Hardings?

Elphaba thought for a moment. She hadn't even given the memorial service any thought. "I guess today. I've only got two days for traveling, and it will be tight as it is. I just have to get Nessa ready and then we can go.

"Well, I guess I'll let you get ready, then. I've been up here too long anyway. Have a safe trip, Fabala.

Elphaba considered objecting to his use of her childhood pet name, but she decided against it. She was not in the mood to get into pointless arguments. Instead, she smiled as best she could, to prove to him that she was all right.

Three hours later, after getting herself and Nessa ready and packed, Elphaba waited with Nessa by the entrance to the Shiz campus for the cab driver. Suddenly, Glinda and Fiyero came out, each holding a suitcase.

"What's going on? Why do you guys have bags?" Elphaba asked, although part of her knew the answer.

"Well, we were talking and

"We're coming with you." Glinda interrupted Fiyero's explanation. Elphaba looked at them and said,

"Look, that's very sweet, but you really don't have to come.

"Oh, yes we do! After seeing Nessa last night and you this morning, I don't think either of you are in good enough condition to be traveling alone. Therefore, I'm coming along to protect you from whatever may happen on the road from here to Nest Hardings.

"And what is your reason" Elphaba asked, looking at Glinda.

"Well, I just want to make sure you're ok.

"Yeah, right. She just doesn't want to be alone with Boq for a week." Nessa said. It was the first time she had spoken that day.

Elphaba sighed. "Alright, you guys can come. Just don't expect me to be my usual peppy self" she said sarcastically. Glinda smiled as they got into the cab.

"Now that's the Elphaba we all know and love.

As the cab drove on to Nest Hardings, Glinda and Fiyero noticed that Elphaba wouldn't look at any of them. She stared out the window at the passing countryside, lost in her own world. When Glinda and Nessa both fell asleep, Fiyero decided to find out what was wrong.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly as he moved closer to her.

Elphaba nodded. "Yes. I just never thought this would happen.

Fiyero put his hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, I know. No one ever is completely ready for their parents to

"No, not even that. I knew that this was going to happen eventually. My mother was never a very healthy person, physically or mentally. I guess giving birth to one green child and one child who will never walk took a toll on her. I meant that I never expected myself to react like that.

"Elphie, it's called grief. It's an emotion most people associate with death. Why shouldn't you have reacted that way?" Fiyero hoped that his attempt at sarcasm would help; unfortunately that was not the case.

"Fiyero, I don't express emotions. Last night was the first time I've cried in, well, since I can remember." Elphaba looked at Fiyero's expression and continued, sensing he did not believe her. "Well, think about it. When I was a baby, one of the first things I learned was that water, and therefore crying, meant pain. So I guess as I grew up I decided that not expressing sadness was better than expressing it and having permanent burns on my face. I mean, I was ugly enough with the green skin, but burns

"You are not ugly, Elphie, and you never were. Anyway, so tears burn you. That doesn't mean that you're always going to be able to keep every emotion inside. It's not healthy, Elphaba

Elphaba shifted her position so that she was once again looking out the window. "I just always thought I was so strong. All my life, that's all I been is the strong one. Now, I don't even know who I am anymore. I don't do this. I don't sit here and openly discuss things like this. I don't lie on my bed crying at night. I don't let people hold me until I stop. And then I get this letter and it's like all that strength just, vanished.

"It did not vanish. You're still being incredibly strong" said Fiyero.

Without turning around, Elphaba whispered "Then why do I feel so weak?" She let her head fall onto Fiyero's shoulder. No tears fell from her eyes, but slowly she drifted off to sleep.

A.N. Ok, there's chapter two! Please review!