Chapter 42

I felt completely powerless, like a cat trying to catch it's tail. I was forever doomed to chase after the things I could never have for my own, like the safety and freedom that had been forever denied me, and also lately denied him I loved. I couldn't keep going on like this. I couldn't let him die, not after coming through so much. I had to get out, even if I'd only be caught again...just give me long enough to get to him, make sure he lives, if no one else...

Unless...

- but in this case magic was too risky to use in healing, more so when the amateur witch/healer was not in close proximity to her patient. And I'd never even attempted to heal by magic before. I'd be liable to make things worse.

Then again, there was always the transportation spell, and I still had that ragged scarf around my waist. The blood from his finger I'd pressed into the thing was still there, of course. It could work well as the focus - if I wasn't so drained of the energy it would take to perform the spell. Then there was the fact that now there was so much more of my blood saturating the scarf than there was his. It would be highly possible that if I did manage to enact the spell completely, it would react with my own blood instead of his. That would leave me not three inches from exactly where I now stood. Stranded, and weak, and helpless...and so scared. I had nothing left to my advantage.

::You have to try! You and Fiyero have come too far and gained too much for you to abandon him now! You know of a way to get to him, spell or not, so take advantage of it! You love him, Elphaba!:: That feminine shriek resounded through my head with urgency and horror, and I could've sworn I felt delicate hands push me closer to Liir. ::You know the spell that will take you there, so use it! And don't forget the boy - you can't leave him here, either!::

Mentally I thanked Glinda, and almost without thinking, I grabbed a fistful of Liir shirt. I wouldn't leave him here. As I started murmuring the foreign words the boy balked and tore himself away.

"Dammit, Liir, there's no time for you to question me! Fearing me will do you no good!"

He shouted in retaliation, desperately trying to get away from me. "What are you doing? How can you tell me not to fear you when I just watched you kill everyone else in this room? How can you say -"

"Oh, shut up!" I tried to snap, but the bite I'd intended the words to have was lost in their deliverance. I managed to get a hold on his wrist and gripped as tightly as I could, ignoring the way he tried to twist himself free. I would waste no more time in dealing with the boy, and began murmuring the strange words that just might save me.

Liir began to whine with fright when my grasp would not loosen itself, a sound uncharacteristic of a thirteen year-old boy, one that grew progressively louder as my feverish muttering continued. I was finding it extremely difficult to concentrate, the last of my energy was close to spent, and it was taking all my self control and then some to keep myself from lashing out at the whimpering puddle that was Liir.

How I managed to pull it all off in the end without killing both myself and the boy I haven't the slightest idea.

I landed, as always after using such a spell, dizzy and with the wind knocked out of me, my energies more hopelessly depleted than before, but this time remarkably on my feet. The first thing my eyes took in was the blood spattered darkly over the cold floor, then the ashen dust that filled in the cracks between the stones. There was just so much of it, that dust; I'd had no idea how far the terrible spell would carry at the time I performed the incantation. Exactly how many people had it killed? My heart nearly stopped for an agonizing half-second, but as my gaze traveled up Fiyero's body lying unnaturally still on the floor, they caught sight of a bandage wrapped around his right arm, the white cloth only slightly stained with his blood. I quickly glanced around, to see Liir clamber to his feet and throw his arms around a slight, young girl with dark hair in two long braids, whose dress and hands were darkened in places by blood not her own...

::Dorothy Gale -::

I sharply drew in a breath, so shocked I was by the scene. So she was still here, in Oz. Why did she help him? Did she know about him, about me? What would she do now that she knew I was still alive? If she turned me in, I'd have no chance left.

She heard the hiss of air and whipped around to stare at me, her eyes wide with fear, and also, remarkably, sympathy. Glancing from me to Fiyero and back again, she gave a tentative, nervous smile before turning back to take Liir's hand and look questioningly up at him. She fixed her eyes back on me, frightened and also perversely curious about me and what sort of connection I had with the man lying prone on the floor.

I made a small noise deep in my throat, half-shocked, half-grateful for the girl's presence, all hatred I'd harbored for her past offenses of me forgotten. Wordlessly I fell to my knees beside the form of my stricken lover, gently running my fingers over his bruised face, holding them just above his parted lips. I nearly collapsed with relief at the feel of the light stream of air over my skin; it wasn't the even rhythm of steady breath, but I could see the rise and fall of his chest and pressed my hand there to feel a distinct heartbeat. Still, it was far better than it would have been reaching Fiyero only to find that there was no breath or pulse left in him at all. I carefully eased his head off the stone and into my lap, stroking his hair as much for his comfort as my own, despite the fact that I doubted he could feel it. The relief washing through me was stronger and sweeter than anything I'd ever felt before; he was alive. I'd feared the worst, thought him lost to me forever, and somehow, impossibly, we were here. He was alive, and he was mine.

Dorothy made no move to intrude upon me and soon had to step in to prevent Liir from advancing and bombarding me with confused and frustrated questions. For that I owed her even more thanks than I already did for what she had done for Fiyero. There was nothing I wanted more at that moment than to be alone with my love, and I think she knew so. But I could not voice my thanks just then any more than I could force Fiyero to wake. My tongue was caught and my throat choked. I couldn't begin to fathom why the girl had chosen to step in and help him. Did she even know who he was, who was connected to him?

All I could do was turn and flash a tired, thankful smile toward Dorothy for saving him, and continue to caress his hair and his forehead. His sweat had formed a light film over his skin, which was lighter than usual from loss of blood. The anemic tinge his face had taken on was alarming, but as long as he still held breath in his lungs and I could feel his heart beating, there would be no room in my mind left for much more than sheer unbridled relief. I disregarded the sting of moisture; sensation in my fingers had been dulled by the blood that had come to coat them from brushing against damp fabric or skin that still ran red. I barely felt whatever blood still flowed from my so many shallow gashes. I had gone mostly numb from so much pain. There was no doubt in my mind that I would have many new scars once I healed from all this.

"Heaven, Fiyero, once all this is over I promise you I won't cause any more trouble." I murmured, not really believing it. As far as I was concerned, I was trouble incarnate. Not that it mattered then, anyway; I had my life and my love, and that was all I really cared about.

A few tears managed to eke their way past my eyelids, but as they traced themselves wetly down my cheeks I was met with a sensation more like mere warmth than the normal stinging pain. The feeling was fleeting, replaced by the usual burn by the time it registered in my mind. I wiped the droplets away and smiled, wanting desperately to cry and fighting the urge. Not in front of them. Not until I could be alone with him again. Not until we could be somewhere else with our days spent in Oz far behind us. I laid my hand once more upon his heart, just to feel him there.

I lost track of how long I spent sitting there with my hand pressed to Fiyero's chest. It was all I had to assure myself he was real. Time meant nothing to me. The only thing that alerted me to its passage was my growing weariness. The longer I spent by his side the more I wished I could let sleep claim me. I heard Dorothy delicately clear her throat, waiting to be noticed, and I turned my head to see her clearly. She was sitting on the floor with her legs folded underneath her, tucked under Liir's arm. She tried to speak, opening her mouth once or twice to begin but sucking back the sound, unsure of how to address me.

"I think - I mean, I, I...um, I'm sorry, I don't know what to - I don't know your..."

"Just Wicked - is fine." I said, my voice tired. It wouldn't be hard for her to put two and two together and realize just how much I wished she would remain quiet. I didn't want to have anything to do with this girl, be she my lover's savior or not. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to be able to curl up close to Fiyero and sleep myself into oblivion.

"That can't possibly be your -"

"No, it's not my name, but it might as well be. It's just a shortened version of the only title you already know me by." I interrupted. I would tell her my name if ever I felt the need to.

"Well, I was wondering, possibly, if you'd mind if I asked you to - to help me get him, what I mean is, both of you, out of this...place." Dorothy stammered, gesturing toward Fiyero and me. "Liir can help take him up, and I - I know a spell or two that might make the going a little easier. So...so you won't be noticed."

"Do you mean stay in the palace?" At least the talk was keeping me awake, if she insisted on talking. Besides, maybe there'd be something she had to say that I wouldn't mind knowing.

"No! No, not here. That's too risky. I have a little place not too far from here, right across from the soldiers' barracks. No one ever intrudes on me. I can take you there. You can stay as long as you need - for the two of you to heal."

Near the soldiers' barracks...where no one thought to look for me...until I fell in love...until Lurlinemas Eve...

"I used to live near there...years ago." I mused, my mind foggy with exhaustion. I mulled over Dorothy's offer. She was clearly wary of me if not actually afraid, and under normal circumstances would never be inviting me to stay in her home; this must be her way to make up for trying to kill me so many months ago. I absently glanced up and down her before answering. My gaze paused for a split second on her feet. She still wore those shoes.

"I - I think I'll accept."

I had no choice.

"I have a question for you." I said, fixing my eyes back on her face. "Have you heard at all of a Munchkin man, goes by the name of Boq, or of his wife Milla or daughter Clarinda?"

"Oh..." she began, averting her eyes. "The wife, Milla - she's dead now. The Commander, he - he used her too hard. She didn't live through her first night with him. The daughter is bruised and, well...anyway, at least she's alive. She should be set free once the news of Cherrystone's death gets out."

"You know about..."

"Yes. I could feel the power of your spell. When I heard that the Commander was going to kill another innocent, meaning that poor man on the floor -"

"Fiyero."

"Fiyero, yes," she went on, continuing more slowly, "I was going to try to save him before his time ran out; I - I'm sick of all the death. So many have died because of Cherrystone..." Her voice grew softer for a moment, and her face pained. "And Glinda..."

"What of Glinda?"

"She was my - my teacher - my friend - before... The Commander was the one who gave the word for His Ozness to kill her. I could never forgive him for that. If I could help it, I wasn't going to let him kill anyone else. I was just reaching the bottom of the stairs to the dungeons when the air seemed to prickle with just pure energy. I realized that something must have happened or you must have done something to save yourself. I didn't know what, only that it was hugely powerful. When I got myself in here and the only one there was Fi... Fie..."

"Fiyero." I repeated automatically.

"Fiyero, I realized that they, the guards, had been...eliminated." She was treading carefully, trying not to use words that might in the least way offend me. I found her to be the considerate type, and even slightly amusing. Who would've thought that my would-be murderer would be one to treat me like something other than a criminal?

"Can we please get out of here?" Liir cut in, "I really don't like being in this room. People just died in here, for one thing - " he motioned toward the corpse dust, "and...and if we keep standing around, he...he might not pull through as easily."

I nodded, gently squeezing Fiyero's limp hand. So, Liir did care a bit about him. I almost smiled at the boy.

"Um, the spell I'll use to get us out of here is almost the same as the one you just did, just better to accommodate more people. But I - I'll need more power to back it. If I could - I mean, if you'd be willing to -"

"Do what you must."

"Just to warn you, lending me the rest of your magic right now is almost certainly going to make you pass out for a few days at the very least. You've been so drained already, and -"

"That doesn't matter. As long as we live through it."

"May I?" Dorothy asked, tentatively reaching to lay a hand on my shoulder. "I need to be touching some part of whoever I'm borrowing the power from. You just have to keep a hold on Fiyero." I nodded, tightening my grip on his hand. Her fingers rested lightly on my shoulder before better settling themselves there. Liir wrapped an arm around her shoulders and once she made sure everyone was in close enough proximity to everyone else, I heard the first lilting syllables of her spell before fuzzy blackness began to darken, and closed my eyes.

I awoke with a start heaven knows how much later on a little overstuffed sofa of indeterminate color, covered with an old frayed blanket. My stomach was bothering me, which was understandable. I hadn't eaten in days. But the twisting, that was coming from someplace else. I almost laughed as I pressed my hand to my abdomen, delighted to feel that the twins were still alive. Their kicking wasn't as strong as I rememberer, but there. I couldn't remember feeling any sort of movement from them in what seemed like forever, but then again this was the first time in days that I was really able to pay attention to the feeling. My hand pressed a little harder, anxious to feel them move again. Like I said, I hadn't eaten in days. It would be a miracle now if they managed to develop without some sort of birth defects.

::What a surprise. I feel like an abusive parent already.:: I'd been afraid of not being a good mother from the moment I learned I'd conceived. I had no idea that the feeling would begin before they were even born.

Eager to get my mind off it, I looked over to the wall across from the couch I was lying on, taking in the doorless entrance to what passed as a kitchen. Dorothy was rummaging for something in a cabinet over her head. She looked over to me, afraid that the sound would break me out of sleep. The look on her face was one of nervous anticipation as she hurried to me and spoke in an anxious rush.

"Do you feel alright? You've been out for about a day now." She seemed to feel obligated to make sure I wasn't going to die on her. She seemed the type to blame it on herself if indeed I did die, not because she felt in any way connected with me, but probably because she would think of my death as her fulfilling the task she'd been set by the Wizard more than a year ago.

I wanted to sit up and get out of such a vulnerable position, despite the fact that I knew in the back of my mind that Dorothy wouldn't think of doing anything to hurt me further. Mostly I wanted to see Fiyero; that in itself was enough to get me to move, pain or no pain. Even still, I was almost afraid to move for fear my many little injuries would smart something terrible. Gingerly I stretched a bit, amazed when I felt little to no pain at all.

"Nothing hurts -" I carefully swung myself up into a sitting position, flexing my arms in disbelief. The cuts were still there, but all had at least begun to scab over, and some were no more than faint scars. "Rightfully I should be writhing in pain right now." I said a bit dryly. I ran my fingers over the long red line on my arm, already closed up, then shifted to better face Dorothy - the longest cut, one that ran down my back, stung viciously for a second as I turned, but other than that, nothing. "I don't know how this could conceivably happen - some sort of magic...?"

"No magic. Actually, I'm...this may sound a bit stupid, but...I'm deathly afraid to use magic to heal." She blushed, somewhat embarrassed to admit it.

"Really?" I asked, just a hint of sarcasm in my voice, and smiled a little, thinking ::Sounds like someone else I know.::

"I - my dog, Toto, well, one day I didn't have him on his leash, so he ran out into the street trying to chase a bird or some other little creature. He wasn't watching where he was going, and his little leg got stepped on by a horse pulling some cart. The horse shied away after that, so there wasn't any more damage done, but after I saw it happen I brought him home to try and magically fix the few bones that were broken, but somewhere I made a mistake with the words and the magic - it killed him." Her face flushed a little more, and the area around her eyes grew red. "It's been a long time since then, and I know I probably sound like a stupid, sentimental little girl, but...he was my pet...and I don't want to make the same mistake again."

"I know how you feel, believe me." I said. I'd seen enough of my own pets die, and the fact that I feared for the lives of those I loved prevented me from ever attempting the complicated magic that was healing .

Hastily she stepped in to change the subject, quickly swiping her hand across her eyes. "Your wounds are almost all closed up, except for some of the longer and deeper ones. They'll probably take another few days to mend completely."

"But how, exactly, did this happen and how, exactly, am I awake? If I didn't pass out from loss of blood your spell would've kept me comatose for another few days at least. What kind of twisted goings on...?" I was still somewhat disoriented from waking in a place I'd never seen, still drained of much of my energy, scared for my children, and even a little frightened of what I would do once Fiyero and I healed.

"This is what did it, actually." Dorothy said hurriedly. She turned her back to me and reached up to take something from a shelf across the room. When she faced me again, she was holding out two bottles, one green, one blue. I took them from her and studied the blue one. The thick-ish liquid only filled about a quarter of the bottle now. I tightened my fingers around the glass neck, wondering how this was possible.

"How did you get this?" I asked quietly, question in my eyes as I awaited her answer.

"When I got the two of you back here almost two days ago, I had Liir help me get Fiyero into my bedroom and you here. Once he left for the Palace, I came back in here and there was this scary old woman kneeling next to you."

Yackle again. So maybe she was my benefactress after all. She seemed to look after me well enough, but she could've done without scaring the girl. She seemed to be warming up to me some, and I to her the longer she spoke. Dorothy was quite open and earnest; I mean, what sort of person could look past my title and alleged crimes and see an innocent who desperately needed an ally? That girl was the last person in the world I'd have ever expected to do something like this for me, but yet she had.

And against all odds, I was beginning to find that I was forgiving her.

"She barked at me not to use your strength in my magic again; didn't I know you're carrying twins? I could've drained the babies of their possible magical inclinations before they were even born! Then she knocked her walking stick against my ankle and went off to work on Fiyero. When she came in she handed me the blue bottle and told me to watch what she was doing. All she did was smooth oil over your gashes and then use the stuff in the blue bottle on them and they just..." she bit her bottom lip, looking at me with eyes that told me how afraid she was of making herself sound crazy. She had no idea easily I understood.

"They seemed to almost fix themselves in minutes."

Dorothy nodded before going on. "It was sort of scary. She finished with you and told me to clean the cuts again with the oil and dress them every day with the medicine until you woke, and for Fiyero just change his bandages and redress his arm."

"And how is he?" I asked anxiously. I bit my lip, wondering what the extent of his damage would be. If he pulled through.

"He's doing well. He's still out, but his breathing is normal and his heartbeat is getting there. But according to that woman, there's a very good chance he'll lose feeling in that arm; he'd still be able to use it, but the nerve endings are probably dead all along the line of that gash, and maybe even in much of the rest of his arm. All that aside, he should wake sometime either today or tomorrow. If you'd like you can see him later today." I smiled and released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, glad that he was getting better, and anticipating the moment when I could finally hold him again. I needed him more than I could ever say.

"You don't happen to know who that woman was, do you?" Dorothy asked, curious about my lack of surprise regarding the subject.

"Yes, I do. I've run into her on many an occasion before. She calls herself Yackle."

"Whoever she is, she's a frightening person."

I nodded in agreement. "She is, but what's scary about her isn't so much who she is, her mannerisms and but how she does the things she can. Like how she appears out of nowhere, or how she seems to have these psychic abilities to know most anything about a person or situation, or how she's able to appear in dreams and give them physical embodiments in the waking world."

Dorothy shuddered. "I hope I never have to see her again."

"You might not always think so. She might surprise you with some of the things she does."

"Oh, and I have a few more things that belongs to you." she piped. "I - I think you'll be happy to have them back. They're over there." She pointed to the opposite corner of the room and I twisted around to see what she was getting at. There was a small chest of drawers pushed against the wall, my broomstick propped up against it and my Grimmerie lying atop it. And curled up on top of the huge tome was a deeply-sleeping tawny furred ball with wings.

I was confused and relieved and insanely happy all at the same time. How did she get my things? How did Chistery find his way here, to the City? And what was Dorothy doing with him? I set the two glass bottles aside, got up and let the blanket fall off me, tensing just a bit when the heavy fabric scratched over my back. Ignoring it as best I could, I scooped up my monkey and rubbed my cheek against his fur. He woke up and shook his wings out, somewhat disgruntled.

"Why'd you wake me up, Dorofy?" he groaned, rubbing his eyes and blindly swinging out a hand to whack whoever had disturbed his nap.

"Hello to you, to." I said my voice doing its best to sound sarcastic enough to conceal a laugh. The monkey's eyes sprung wide open and he broke into a grin, throwing his arms out to hug me.

"It's you! You're back! I missed you!"

"Chis, I missed you, too, little friend."

After he tired of hugging me, he pushed himself back a little, staring up into my face with a scowl spreading across his mouth, like he was suddenly realizing that he was mad at me.

"You left without me!"

"You explored too far away. We didn't know where you were and we ran out of time. We couldn't come looking for you."

"But...but you left without me!"

I laughed and kissed the top of his head before he climbed up to my shoulder, curling his tail around the back of my neck. His little monkey paws tangled themselves in my hair, and gently I reached up to keep him from pulling it.

"I'm just glad I have you back." I said, nuzzling my face against him.

"Dorofy, I'm hungry." Chistery piped after a little while.

"Oh, really?" she asked.

"You're always hungry." I said to him.

"So? Can I have a snack?"

"Alright, Chistery, you want to eat? I'll make you a snack." Dorothy said, coming over to take the monkey into the kitchen. "I'm sure you must be hungry after not eating in so long." she said to me. "I'll make something for all of us. Fiyero's in that room over there if you want to see him while I make something halfway-edible. I'll be there in a little while to dress his arm." She pointed to a closed door near the corner my broom was propped up against.

"I can do that for you." I replied as I handed her the monkey, "I'm no stranger to that sort of thing. Thank you." I took the two bottles from where I'd set them down a while ago and went to see my love.

The room was slightly dim, dark enough for someone to sleep but with enough light coming in through the large skylight for a person to read by. The sky was cloudy, lending just the right amount of light to serve the purpose the room was employed in, just enough to possibly be able to coax Fiyero into waking sometime soon.

I perched myself on the edge of the bed Fiyero slept on, running my hand from his left shoulder down his good arm to lace my fingers through his. I squeezed his hand, heartened when he squeezed back. I let him go, setting to work on untying his bandage. His wound was closing up well; the surrounding flesh had lost most of the unsightly inflammation that always accompanied such injuries, and his heartbeat had returned to a far more normal pulse. I opened the green bottle and poured some oil into my hands, rubbing it over his arm to clean it, then worked some of the medicine into it. Once I'd done up his bandages again, I slipped my palm under his cheek, running my thumb over the ugly bruise under his eye; it had turned a nasty shade of bluish black, but had receded a little since the last time I'd seen him.

"That hurts. Watch my eye." Fiyero moaned, his voice hoarse. I hadn't realized that I'd been putting too much pressure on the bruise. I drew my hand away and used it to smooth back his hair instead. His eyes labored to open and blinked themselves free of sleep, smiling brightly at me. I laughed, really laughed, leaning down to kiss his eyelids as he pushed himself halfway up with his good arm. "Where are we?"

"Still in the City, close to my old flat. We're staying with Dorothy Gale until we're healed." He looked at me with a confused expression on, about to open his mouth to inquire about it, but thought better of it.

"You know what, I'm not even going to ask." he said, shaking his head.

"How do you feel? Does it hurt much?" I asked,.

"Actually, it doesn't really hurt at all, but then again, there's no sensation in it at all, either. The black eye actually feels the worst."

"Don't use your arm for a while, until we can see if you're going to get feeling back in it at all. I asked Dorothy about you before and she told me she's afraid the nerves in that part of your arm have died from so much trauma."

"So, now you...and her...? But you hated - isn't she the one that tried to...?"

"She saved your life, and mine as well, now that I think about it. That's enough to make me love her like a sister."

"And you, you look...remarkable, for someone who was nearly slashed to ribbons. Everything's all closed up." Fiyero took a finger and traced it down one of my many new scars. "You feel okay?"

"I'm fine. We both have that Yackle woman to thank for all this."

"This stuff again, huh?" he said, pushing himself the rest of the way up and leaning his back against the headboard, then reaching out to grab the blue bottle from where I'd left it. "That woman is slightly disturbing, but I'd hate to see where we'd be if she wasn't looking out for you like she does."

"You hungry? I'll go see if Dorothy's done making something to eat." I said when I felt my stomach protesting it's being empty for days.

"I have something better for you to do first..." He captured my mouth with his, softly kissing and then releasing me, only to catch me again, gently biting at my bottom lip. I shifted to better reach his lips and laced my arms around his neck, enjoying myself. I'd missed this for too long. When he let me go he pulled me back to lean myself against his chest. He laid his hand against my swollen stomach and I covered it with my own, moving it until I found where one of the twins had been kicking me. His smile widened and he looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

"I love you, Fiyero." I murmured, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Oh, Fabala..."

The door creaked, startling the two of us. I relaxed quickly, knowing that the only one it could be was Dorothy. She pushed it open, peering around the door just in case she was inruding on anything.

"Oh, you're awake! That's always good. There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry; Chistery's been fed and is napping right now. I have to go to the Palace for now, you know, clear some things up with His Ozness."

That didn't sound good. Oz knew what she would tell him...I looked at Fiyero; his expression mirrored mine. Dorothy looked back and forth between Fiyero and me, blushing when she realized what we were thunking and hurriedly assuring me that she'd never betray me like that to His Majesty.

"I'm going to tell the king and his Force that Liir and I did take the two of you to our home and tried to save you, but you'd died anyway. They won't question me. I'm too valuable to them right now." She sighed, about to leave the room, but turned her head to speak over her shoulder; suddenly she looked far more like a child to me than she ever had. "I wish I were one of you right now. It'd be wonderful to pretend that I've died; I wouldn't have to put up with all the magic lessons and the politics and those horrible Gale Forcers. I hate them. I hate the whole disgusting murderous lot of them. Oh God, I just want to go home."

Before the door could click shut behind her I got up and followed, signaling to Fiyero that I'd be right back. I called to the girl from the doorway, catching her as she was pulling on a sweater.

"Dorothy?"

"Oh, yes?" She looked confused, wondering what I was doing.

"I owe you so much for what you've done for me. Once I've healed I'll see if I can't find a way to get you where you want to be."

She stopped trying to fight the sleeves over her arms, standing ramrod straight for an moment. Slowly a delighted, hopeful child's grin spread over her mouth and her eyes lit up her face.

"You'd do that...?"

I nodded.