AN: I'm putting up two... I don't know when I'll be back. House is in chaos...

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Gifts of a Lifetime

The moment the graduation ceremony ended, Elphaba, Fiyero and the few friends that they had invited headed over to the train station and began the three-day ride to the Vinkus. Glinda and Elphaba shared a compartment (for once) and Fiyero and Boq shared another. Crope and Tibbett, of course, shared one, as well. Boq, to everyone's amusement, was still in shock at the announcement of Elphaba and Fiyero's engagement and couldn't quite speak comprehensively. In high spirits, the ride passed quickly for everybody and they'd arrived at the castle in no time.

After each person had been assigned a guest room, Elphaba stood in hers and looked out the window, astonished at how the mansion looked since its beginnings. She was in the same room she'd been in every time she'd stayed at the castle, and it was starting to feel like her own. But it wasn't hers, and the room she'd spend her nights in was almost a mile away behind the castle, all five stories of the mansion glowing with light. "The night before my wedding," she murmured, sitting back on the bed, running her hands along the comforter. "Goodbye, little room."

Fiyero peered in at her from the hall as he headed to his room, the room that was his own, and would soon be empty and unlived-in for a long time coming. "Tomorrow I finally marry her," he mumbled aloud, beaming to himself. His father had come in earlier and given him "the talk", which he'd struggled not to laugh at. Elphaba was already his, in that way, and he didn't need to be concerned with it. On the other hand, she'd given him the oddest look when she'd snuck up on him reading The Big Guidebook of Sexual Positions. New Edition Including Bonus Chapter: 101 Ways to Please Her. In a way, he was glad he'd had that and the few other little books he hid from her sent over to the mansion earlier in the day. It probably wasn't the best idea to read them tonight.

Elyria walked into Elphaba's room. "Elphaba, honey, you should get to sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." She followed Elphaba's gaze out the window. "He can't wait for you to see the inside of that place. I don't think even the castle is quite so elegant."

Elphaba wondered to herself if he'd show her the entire place before bringing her into the bedroom. "I don't understand why he had it built."

"Privacy, probably. Here, I spoke to the midwife this morning. She gave me some of that potion I told you about." Elyria placed a small bottle on Elphaba's bedside table. "Drink it if you wish. If you don't, save it. After this next one comes," Elyria patted her stomach, "I think I'm going to use it."

"You're pregnant?" Elphaba asked, shocked.

"It's a miracle I've lasted as long as I have without being pregnant. Fertility runs in the females of my family. Children are wonderful, but I don't know how many more I can take." Elyria smiled wanly.

"I'm sure the new baby will be just as adorable as the others." Elphaba said. Shyly, she inquired, "Are you sure it's genetics and not, well, behavior?"

Elyria chuckled. "I'm pretty sure. But I won't burden you with details about that. You have your own love to think about." The woman hugged Elphaba. "I'll see you in the morning to help you get ready. Take care of my son."

"I will," Elphaba assured the woman as the door closed. She picked up the bottle on the bedside table, drank it in one gulp and then crawled into bed and attempted desperately to fall asleep.

Elphaba barely remembered saying "I do". She was outside, at the reception, in her white dress, walking arm in arm with Fiyero as various people (most of whom she didn't know) shook their hands and offered their congratulations. He eased her out onto the dance floor for their first dance and kissed her passionately when he dipped her at the end. Clinging to him, she laughed unabashedly and gazed at him sweetly. When, after they'd eaten and danced some more, Fiyero held out his hand to her to lead her down the long, winding stone path towards the mansion, she took it gladly.

Glinda stopped Elphaba. "Wait. I need to be with you to give you part of your wedding present." To Elphaba's horror, she got out her wand.

"Last time you chanted a spell, I was catatonic for three days." Elphaba teetered on her heels.

"Trust me on this one. I explain the details in the card."

Elphaba asked Fiyero if he could get Glinda's card for her, and he sighed and said he could not, everything was already in one of the rooms in the mansion. Gulping, she turned back to Glinda. "If anything happens to me, you're dead."

"Even if it's something wonderful?"

"You know what I meant. And how is putting a spell on me doing Fiyero any good?"

"It'll do you both wonders. You've got to read the card, really."

Fiyero stopped one of the servants who was headed in front of them to prepare the bedroom and told him to have Glinda's card set on the bed so Elphaba could read it immediately. The servant nodded and jogged off towards the mansion.

Elphaba squeezed her eyes shut. "I can't believe I'm trusting you."

"Fiyero, you can't be touching her," Glinda waited until Elphaba was standing solo. She waved the wand above Elphaba's head and towards her feet, reciting some incantation in old Ozian.

Elphaba shuddered, feeling her skin tingle and then die down. She let Fiyero take her hand again, apprehensively. With her free hand, she shook Glinda's hand. "Come visit after the honeymoon, will you?"

Glinda nodded, tears in her eyes. "Oh, you two, get going." Boq stood handy with a handkerchief that Glinda hid her face in.

Elphaba turned to follow Fiyero. He didn't move. "What?"

"I'm carrying you."

"Fiyero, that's almost an entire mile."

"I don't care. This is our first night as husband and wife and I am carrying you to the threshold of that bedroom whether you like it or not." He said fixedly.

"I… well, okay…"

He lifted her bridal-style and stole a kiss once more as everyone behind them cheered while he walked with her towards their new home. They were both silent until they reached the already opened door. Fiyero kept his grip on her. "The bedroom is just upstairs."

"Is that all you can think of? I don't even get to tour my new home before you trap me in the bedroom?"

"I'm carrying you over the doorway. Whatever happens after that is up to you."

She smiled. "I love you."

As he stepped into the bedroom, he laid her down on the bed. "This, my love, is ours. All of it."

She sat up and reached for the card that had fallen to the side of the bed. "I think we'd better read this." Elphaba opened the envelope carefully and read the card aloud. "It says, 'Dear Elphie and Fiyero, I wish you the best in life. I resent you for stealing my best friend, Fiyero. Anyway, if you're reading this, I've probably already said the spell and you're dying to know what it was. I don't know how I managed to find it, but as I was poring over sorcery books in the Crage Hall library the spell popped out at me. I couldn't believe there was a spell for such a thing, for it's not the sort of thing you see everyday. But every other spell in the book worked, Elphie, so I figure this had to, too.

"'It was an anti-allergy spell, and all I had to do was insert the name of whatever it was the afflicted was allergic to, and it would work. Notice Boq never has the sniffles anymore? Well, Elphie, feel free to go out in the rain without fear. You should no longer be allergic to water. You're probably wondering why this is my wedding present to both you and Fiyero. Here's an idea: tomorrow morning, or more likely afternoon, when the two of you wake up, you're going to want to clean yourselves up. Take a nice, long shower together. I'm sure you'll both enjoy that. I want details! Love, Glinda'."

"Mmm," Fiyero said, "that shower sounds nice."

Elphaba smacked him. "Forget that! There's no way…"

"Fae, there's only one way to find out." He led her into the master bathroom and ran the tap the lightest he could. "Just touch it with the tip of your finger. If it hurts, you don't have to do anything more."

She swallowed hard. "I'm afraid."

"Just a drop. If it hurts, I'll stay up all night and kiss it."

She rolled her eyes. Elphaba slowly brought her hand towards the running water, until her pinkie was dripping with water. Curiously, she turned the tap on heavier and rinsed her hands. "Oh, sweet Oz. She really did it."

Fiyero grinned. "How about that shower?"

"I'm not quite sure I'm ready to stick my entire body under the water yet, darling. Besides, aren't you going to give me a tour of the place, first?" Elphaba couldn't describe the new feeling of being wet. It had already been detailed in millions of ways by people who experienced it every day. She couldn't put words to it; it was incredible.

Fiyero took her soaked hand in his and turned off the faucet. "Well, let's head downstairs. We should start at the beginning."

She allowed him to show her around. The first floor contained a kitchen, dining room, formal dining room, sitting room, study, living room and more. The second floor was dominated mostly by their expansive bedroom, the bed adorned with blankets and sheets of silk, the mattress softer than anything she'd rested her body on, the pillows lighter than air. Also on that floor were, of course, their bathroom, a lazy room and a few rooms Fiyero had found the strangest but most logical uses for.

When they reached the third floor, Elphaba gasped. Fiyero stood there proudly and watched her wander around the two-floor library. "Do you like it?"

"Fiyero, it's better than the Crage Hall library! How'd you manage to get so many books?"

"I have my ways." He shrugged.

"What's the last floor?"

"Guest bedrooms, bedrooms for future children, things of the like."

"I love it. This is like a dream. You built me a heaven." She was dazed.

"It's only heaven to me when you're living in it, too." He told her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped into his arms. "Carry me to bed, Yero my hero."