Note: I do not own any of these characters except for Leina, Jiana, Keahn, and Tar. They are the property of Gregory Maguire.

I apologize again for the delay. Here is the completed chap. Happy reading!

The morning sunlight warmed Fiyero's skin. He opened his eyes and looked at Elphaba. She was still sleeping soundly. Her breath sent goose bumps across his flesh. Fiyero sighed and held her closer. He wanted the moment to last forever, but he had to pick up Leina from Glinda's hut. Fiyero carefully removed his arm from Elphaba's waist. After a long stretch he walked out to the shower. The bucket of water was ice cold, and he shivered violently. He rapidly finished bathing and wrapped a towel around his waist. Once he was back in the hut, he dressed quietly so he wouldn't wake Elphaba. He finished pulling on his shirt, gave her a quick kiss, and walked out into the morning.

Elphaba reached out to find emptiness. She groggily propped herself up on her elbow. Fiyero was nowhere to be found. She yawned and flopped back on the bed. She was still exhausted from last night. It had been a long time since she and Fiyero had been alone. Her whole body ached, but she didn't care. She felt happy and content. Just as she was about to fall back asleep, she heard Leina babbling. "Shhh, Leina. Mommy's still sleeping," she heard Fiyero say. Elphaba smiled before sleep took over.

Leina sat on the bed staring intently at her slumbering mother. If anyone had been watching, they would have thought she was trying to will her mother awake. Her intelligent eyes searched her mother's face for any sign of movement. Leina reached out a chubby hand and placed it on Elphaba's cheek.

"Mama?"

Elphaba slowly opened her eyes. "Hello beautiful," she said softly. Leina smiled and giggled at her. Elphaba sat up and stretched, emitting a long yawn in the process. Leina yawned in return.

"Are you sleepy, baby?" Elphaba asked her. She scooped Leina up and cradled her in her arms. Leina snuggled closer to her mother. Soon her eyelids began to droop. Elphaba hummed softly to her. She stared at the sleeping baby in her arms.

"She tamed me just like Nessa did," she thought fondly. She looked up to see Fiyero watching her from the doorway.

"Come sit with me," Elphaba said, patting a spot on the mattress. He crossed over to the bed and sat close to her. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed.

"Is something bothering you, Fae?"

Elphaba pondered for a moment before answering, "I don't know. I just have this funny feeling. I must still be getting used to being a wife and mother. I never thought I would spend the rest of my life with someone who loved me for who I was, let alone raise children."

"I believe anything is possible. You just have to believe in yourself. Everything works out in the long run."

Elphaba patted his knee. "You're right, dearie. You always know how to make me feel better."

"It's in the How to Be a Good Husband manual."

"You're lucky I'm holding the baby right now," Elphaba teased. She rose from the bed and put Leina in her crib.

"That's better," she said.

"Why?"

"So I can do this."

Elphaba picked up a pillow and gave Fiyero a playful whack. He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her down on the bed. He pinned her arms above her head and stared into her face triumphantly. She tried to wrestle him off, but one kiss put a stop to that.

"Is that in the manual too?" she asked.

"First chapter," he grinned.

"You are impossible," she giggled.

A soft knock on the door broke their reverie. Fiyero released Elphaba, and she reached for her navy blue dress at the foot of the bed.

"Come in," Fiyero said when she was dressed. Jiana stood in the doorway looking very troubled.

"What is it?" asked Elphaba.

"It's Liir. I think he may have been kidnapped."

Elphaba felt her body go numb. Her heart seemed to stop beating. This couldn't be happening, not when everything was finally going right. Jiana began to look shaky, so Elphaba got up and helped her into a chair.

"Take a deep breath, and tell me what happened," Elphaba said, trying to maintain control over her own emotions.

"Last night Liir told me that he wanted to talk to me about something. We agreed to meet up this afternoon at his friend Tar's hut. I woke up in the middle of the night because I thought I heard voices. They were talking very low, so I couldn't hear what they were saying. It sounded like someone was sneaking around. I thought it was Liir and Tar trying to scare me. I went back to sleep. When I went to meet Liir earlier, he was gone."

Fiyero remained calm while he listened. Elphaba, on the other hand, paced worriedly around the hut.

"It's the Wizard. I should have known he would be up to something. He gave up too easily. I can't believe I fell for that 'let's be friends' crap!" She was furious. "I've had enough of this! I'm going after Liir."

She reached for her broom, but Fiyero put out a hand to stop her.

"Fae, you need to calm down. You're upset, and you're going to end up doing something you'll regret later. We'll look around the village first. If we don't find him we will confront the Wizard." Fiyero turned to Jiana. "Go get your father. Tell him to gather a search party." Jiana did as she was told.

The party searched for hours. There was no sign of Liir anywhere. Elphaba was starting to panic.

"I'm going for a walk. I need to clear my head," she told Fiyero.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No. I'll be fine," she replied tersely. "Thanks," she added more softly.

She slipped out of the hut like a shadow. The sun had long since gone to bed. The moon shone brightly, a jewel in the sky. Elphaba took a deep breath and sighed. She walked slowly, willing herself to remain calm. She concentrated on her breathing instead of Liir's abduction. She was about to head back home when a hand came from behind and covered her mouth. She was pulled behind a nearby tree. Her instinct kicked in immediately, and she fought back at her anonymous attacker.

"Take it easy. I'm not going to hurt you." The hand came away, and Elphaba wheeled around.

"Who do you think you…" She stopped dead when she saw who her attacker was. "I don't believe it. How did you find me?"

"You forget that I am an excellent spy."

"I can't believe it's really you, Shell," Elphaba said.

"You've changed so much, Fabala. I've missed you," replied Shell.

"Me too." They embraced and for just a moment Elphaba forgot Liir was missing. "It's great to see you again. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Shell sat and leaned against the tree trunk. "I know where your son is."