Unfortunately, everything did not turn out "wonderful".

It started with Elphaba being unable to find anyone in the hierarchy of her political group that was of high status enough to accept her request to quit. No one was around. The only people she found were people of her status within the group, and she couldn't officially quit just by leaving them a message to bring to one of the higher officers of the group. So she returned home mid afternoon dreary looking and depressed.

"Fae?" He saw that she was nearing tears from the moment she had walked in the door. "What's wrong?"

She sighed and explained her predicament.

"Well, you were going to and that's all that matters." Fiyero said decidedly. "I'm still taking you for dinner."

She smiled at him weakly. "Wait until tomorrow, when I've officially dropped out of my group."

"I made reservations." He grinned.

She shook her head. "You do too much."

"But we have an hour or two..."

She met the mischievous glance in his eyes and allowed him to push her onto the bed and remove her clothing. They made love for hours, and after Fiyero had bathed and Elphaba had oiled herself, they put the baby to bed and went to dinner.

Elphaba looked around nervously when they sat down and Fiyero asked, "What's going on?"

"Nothing. I'm just worried that someone from my organization will see me here, and we had a meeting tonight."

"Couldn't you have left a note with a friend explaining you were going out to dinner with your husband instead?"

"They'd come looking for me. That's why I'm worried now. We don't skip meetings for anything short of a natural disaster, Fiyero."

"What about a family disaster? Because we were close."

Elphaba hung her head. "They'd rather us not have families. It makes us less of a risk and less likely to back out. I'm ashamed to say this, but I told them I had no family."

Fiyero looked hurt. "Do you really wish it was that way sometimes, Elphie?"

"No. Not at all." She answered, upset that he could even think that way. "I love you and Mylana dearly, Fiyero. You know that. I'm quitting my..." She searched for a word, unsure of what to call her organization when referencing it with Fiyero.

"Terrorist group?"

Elphaba glared. "I guess we'll just called it an activist group, okay?"

"Whatever you want."

"Anyway, as I said, I'm quitting that for you. I wouldn't just give that up if I didn't love you."

"I know."

"I'm sorry," she began.

"I know you are."

"But it wasn't fair to you and it wasn't fair to Mylana, or anyone else. The type of person who should join that sort of activist group should have no family or be willing to give up their family, and I am certainly not willing to do that. I should never have..."

"You wanted to help a group of... citizens..."

"They're not even granted citizenship anymore," Elphaba corrected him.

"Well, a minority, and you were desperate to help. You got caught up in something you didn't mean to and I forgive you for that."

Elphaba wondered to herself if it was too late. What if she was too far in to ever truly get out? Her heart would never be out of it, even if her physical being was. The cause haunted her and she could not just let go. She'd give up fighting for Fiyero and Mylana, but she could not stop herself from caring. Instead of saying so, she only responded, "Thank you."

"Elphaba!" Called a voice from across the dining room.

Elphaba jumped and looked around. A Quadling woman came hurrying up to her. "Sliviria, what's going on?" She searched the room with her eyes, it seemed only her friend had found her, but the rest of the group could be anywhere.

"They're looking for you, and they are mad. Why aren't you at the meeting? They've adjourned the meeting just to look for you!"

"What?" Elphaba began to shake. "Shit. Do they have any idea that I'm here?"

"No. I just happened to pass by."

"Fiyero, we've got to get out of here." Elphaba grabbed Fiyero's hand across the table and began to rise. "We're going home."

"Just go to the meeting."

"Sliviria, I'm quitting. I couldn't find anyone today, but I'm still quitting when I get the chance."

The woman's face was horrified. "No!"

"What? Why not? I'm sorry I won't be there with you, but..."

"It's not that."

Shuddering, Elphaba turned to her friend, "Why shouldn't I quit, then?"

"You can't quit, Elphaba. It's not that easy."

"What do you mean it's not that easy?"

Whispering, the Quadling woman said, "I wanted to get out of this once. Did I ever mention why I'm a widow?"

"Oh, God." Elphaba gulped.

"They killed my family."

Fiyero squeezed Elphaba's hand and said loudly, "Mylana!"

"We're going." Elphaba whisked towards the door.

"If they find you..."

"I don't care if they find me. They can't find my daughter!"

Fiyero was still holding her hand tightly. "Out of here. Now."

Elphaba didn't even wave to her friend. "Right."

When they approached the apartment building, it was quite obvious they were too late. Fire was blazing from the windows of their third story apartment. Elphaba lost her footing and practically collapsed as they moved even nearer.

"I'm going to be sick." Elphaba's eyes began to fade in and out, like she was losing consciousness.

"Elphaba, stay conscious! She may still be in there." Fiyero pulled her along towards the building.

Elphaba tottered along, dizzy from the smoke as they, despite the shouts of the landlord, rushed into the burning building and up the stairs. "Fiyero, I feel faint..."

"Elphaba, not now!"

She brought a hand to her head and tried to see through the smoke. There was no crying from the cradle. Mylana would be crying, wouldn't she? "She's got to be dead, Fiyero." Elphaba said, giving up and almost dropping to the ground.

"No!" Fiyero snapped, holding her up. "You're not falling now. Don't just throw this away."

Her eyes began to water, from tears or smoke, she could no longer tell. Wrenching away from him, she moaned, "Go. Leave. I'll stay. I don't deserve to live."

Fiyero let Elphaba fall back into a chair, deciding he'd get her out once he'd assured to himself that Mylana was not alive and in her cradle. "Fae, she's not dead."

Elphaba stood again, "What?"

"She's not in the cradle."

"She's here somewhere. Maybe she... they kidnaped her!" The realization hit her quickly, along with the sudden will to live. "Fiyero, come on!" She began tugging on his arm, desperate.

He looked at Elphaba from across the cradle. "This is because of..."

"Me." She sighed. "Forget about that right now. We have to get out of here!"

His eyes narrowed. "If you'd told me..."

"Fiyero, it's too late for that! You can hate me later. I just want you to live through this, let's go!" Debris had begun falling around them and she was panicking.

"Fine." He said in monotone, allowing her to drag him towards the stairs.

"Fiyero, have some more will to live. She may be still alive." Elphaba shouted, tearing down the stairs, him just behind her.

As they exited the building, Fiyero tore his arm away from Elphaba and they stood in silence, not touching, as they stood outside with the rest of the tenants and watched the building collapse.

Elphaba felt tears streaming down her face and she knew they weren't just from the terror of losing her daughter, temporarily or not, they were for losing her husband, temporarily or not, too. She let them burn her cheeks, feeling that she deserved whatever pain she was being caused by the disaster, knowing it was her own fault.

After some time, the tenants simpered off to hotels, whining about lost belongings. No one had been hurt, which relieved Elphaba only the slightest bit. Fiyero and Elphaba continued to stand there in silence even after the landlord of the building had found a place to stay.

Fiyero turned to Elphaba, "So, what do we do to get our daughter back, Elphaba?"

"We find the people who did this."

"And where would we find them? After all you would know."

She was stung by his coldness, but understood. "Tomorrow, I'll take you."

"And what are you going to do? You can't quit now, or we're all dead."

"I don't have a solution right now!" Elphaba cried. "I don't know the answer to anything."

"Well, let's find somewhere to stay for the night."

He had not said sleep. He had said stay. Somehow that seemed colder. "Fiyero, I'm sorry."

"It's a bit late."

"Fiyero, please."

He whirled around and glared at her. "Our daughter is missing, no thanks to you, Elphaba, and all you can say is that you're sorry?"

"What else is there to say? If you hadn't made me tell you, I'd never have tried to quit and maybe they wouldn't have..."

"Don't even try blaming this on me, you sneaking little..."

"Don't!" She cried, unable to take his insult. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Can you start hating me after we find Mylana?"

"I don't hate you." He said after a moment.

"You sound like it." Elphaba replied.

"I'm just angry."

"You should be. I should be the one trapped with a bunch of cold hearted people." Elphaba said darkly. "I should be in that building, smoldering in the ashes."

"Elphaba..."

"Maybe if I'm lucky they'll kill me."

"If Mylana's gone, you're the only that I love left in this world, Elphaba."

"I don't deserve to be loved."

After taking a deep breath, he said, "You couldn't have known this would happen. And you're right. You were trying to quit, and they came after you. You were trying to get us out of danger, not bring us more. It just didn't work."

"I knew what I was getting into when I joined."

"How long ago did you join?"

"I..." She looked down.

"What?"

"I've been hiding this from you for longer than you think. It just got more demanding lately."

"When did you join this cult of yours?" He demanded.

"Before I met you." She admitted.

"You..."

"Didn't expect to meet the only person in the world who'd love me in a way I never thought possible." She finished. "Well, honestly, I wasn't expecting to love anyone."

"So when you got into it..."

"I didn't think I was putting anyone in danger. But I could've quit when I started dating you. I could've quit when we were married. I could've quit at least when Mylana was born."

"If you had, they'd have come after Mylana and I."

"Not if I was new. If I was new, they wouldn't have cared."

"Baby, to do that, you would've had to quit when we had just started dating. I don't think you exactly expected to marry me."

"I didn't."

"Then you're still innocent." He decided, telling himself and telling her.

"Please don't think I'm innocent. I'm guilty, ever so guilty."

"Guilty, red-handed, innocent, whatever it is you are, I still love you."

"You shouldn't."

He lifted her chin in his sooty hands and looked at her eyes. "But I do."