A/N: You didn't expect to see me for ages, did you?

Elphaba stared at Nessa, who was still asleep, her mind reeling.

She couldn't stay here. She had to go – had to do something. But what? Returning to the clearing was impossible. It was too far, and her friends were being dragged away this moment.

That left only one option, and it wasn't much of an option at all. With only the most elusive idea of what she was about to do, Elphaba lurched for her broom which had fallen by the open window. Casting her leg over the handle, she stole a final glance at Nessa, who was starting to murmur in her sleep.

There was nothing she could do for Nessa now – not in the next few precious seconds, anyway. She leapt from the window before she lost her nerve.

The broom careened in the air, with none of the ease with which it had brought her here. It carted and battered her until she crashed somewhere in the trees by Colwen Grounds, her entire body feeling bruised. Through the tangle of branches, she could still make out Nessa's window.

Turning away with clenched fists, she pulled herself to her knees and forced back tears. She thrust her hands into the leafy ground, dragging them through the dirt to ground herself. Then she lifted them, circling them in strange, tremulous gestures that even she didn't understand. Would her magic be strong enough to save her friends? She didn't know, but she had to try. Words began to tumble from her lips, thick with withheld emotion. She continued until she almost sounded angry, yelling into the night. But her magic still didn't feel as desperate as she was. It remained a light tap-tap against her skin, as if mocking her, even though she needed her power now more than ever.

She felt she'd been shouting for hours, but even the sky, starless and gaping, didn't seem to be listening anymore. At last, Elphaba stuttered and collapsed on the ground, the effort of maintaining her magic having sucked all energy from her. She hadn't been enough. How could she have been? She was all this distance away from her friends right when they most needed her, but wasn't that a bargain she'd made with herself? She'd been about to stay with Nessa, at least until morning, or longer.

With suffocating loneliness, the full weight of what she'd done hit her. Nessa would have been fine – at least comparatively. But her friends could be hurt, even killed, and it would be her fault. She'd known that by flying off like that she was leaving them vulnerable, yet it was a risk she'd been willing to take.

Why had she been so desperate to return to Nessa anyway? Out of sisterly devotion? In part, she was positive. But if she was honest with herself – and this was the first time she felt truly honest – she'd returned more for her sake than for Nessa's. There was a part of her that was as dependent on Nessa as Nessa was on her. Physically, she could go anywhere she wanted, but emotionally, she needed to be needed. If there was one way she had always known she could receive love, it was by caring for Nessa. She had known that since the day her sister was born, delicate, dependent, and fiercely loved by Father. Elphaba, headstrong, hot-tempered and standoffish, was the opposite. Even if she had been born with normal-coloured skin, she knew she could never be Nessa.

But Nessa needed her, and it was the one claim Elphaba had on Frex's attention. If she couldn't please him with her beauty or manner, she could love his favourite daughter as much as he did. She lived in hope that one day, Nessa would appreciate her, even if she never really wanted her around.

And there was the rub. Elphaba had become the one thing she vowed she never would. She had been so desperate for love, she would abandon the Animals she'd promised to protect. Koa had condemned the people of Oz for perpetuating injustice – maybe she was no better than them, after all. What was it he had said?

"Don't ever follow the crowd, Miss Elphaba. You may think you're immune, but none of us are. It's those of us who overcome our own nature that ensure the survival of goodness in humanity."

Those who overcome their own nature… as if she could ever do that. Even realising what she had, she was positive she could never, never leave Nessa on her own. Not even for the greater good.

Elphaba lay on the ground, defeated.

For a time – it could have been minutes, or it could have been hours – she remained still, unable and unwilling to move. She found she didn't care if anyone found her here, even if Father came and dragged her back to her old life. At least then she would have some measure of security.

She heard muted voices. There was a shuffling sound, like leaves being turned up from the ground. Then someone appeared beside her and spoke. It was the last voice she expected to hear.

"Fae? Fae, are you alright?"

She was dreaming. She had to be. But the voice persisted, and she sat up, her head spinning.

Somehow, Fiyero was here, joined by Khanija and Cowper.

"Miss Elphaba!" Khanija looked frightened. "What happened?"

"Fae," Fiyero didn't allow her to answer. He grasped her arms. His grip hurt, but Elphaba couldn't care less. "What are you doing here?"

When he touched her she was convinced of his presence, and she crumbled. If only she could formulate words to explain to him, but all she could do was cry.

Fiyero looked bewildered, but he allowed her to cling to him tighter than she ever had.

I'm sorry, Elphaba wanted to say. She wanted to beg him for forgiveness, but she couldn't even comprehend the fact he was here. How was it possible? She had seen them being captured.

"Let's leave explanations for now," said Khanija. "We should go. It isn't safe here."

"No!" Elphaba burst. "Don't. You go, but please leave me here."

Fiyero gaped. "What?" He sounded furious, and Elphaba shrank from him. "We aren't leaving you here. Why would you suggest such a thing?"

"Because I left you." How pitiful she sounded in her own ears. "I… Nessa… and I left. And you could have been killed."

"You're not making sense." Fiyero's tone softened, but marginally. "Khanija's right. We should discuss this later. But you're mad to think we'd abandon you."

The way he said it brooked no arguments, and Elphaba was overwhelmed by a sense of her own unworthiness. "That's just it. You won't leave me, but I was going to leave you."

Fiyero was very quiet. "Leave it for later. Let's go."

He hoisted her up, and she was so tired she had no choice but to obey. How wonderful it felt to be in his arms again. If only she deserved it.

She leaned on him as they stumbled away from the mansion. With Fiyero's arm locked around Elphaba's shoulder, there was no way she could turn to glimpse Nessa's window again. But she realised she didn't want to anyway. She would have asked where they were going, but muteness had taken hold of her again. Where were the other Animals? Had Fiyero, Khanija and Cowper escaped alone, somehow? Her head hurt. It was all so confusing.

As it turned out, they didn't pull her far away. Fiyero turned to her. "Will we be safe here?"

Elphaba rotated her head around, examining her surroundings. She recognised this spot, she realised. This was the copse where they had met Khanija, though it seemed such a long time ago. "Yes," she said.

Fiyero expelled a breath. "Good." He raised his voice a little. "You can show yourselves now."

Elphaba frowned, but she gaped when dozens of Animals emerged from the thicket, wide eyes trained on them. How hadn't she noticed them?

"They were hiding here while we came to find you," Fiyero answered her unspoken question. "We were being attacked, but then suddenly we found ourselves here, and the men attacking us were nowhere to be seen. You must have rescued us again, Fae. Like you did at the Tower." His eyes gleamed for a second, then dulled. "Then we heard you screaming, and we followed your voice. But we weren't sure how safe it would be, so we left everyone here."

Her magic had worked after all. But how? It had seemed determined to work against her.

"And you're alright?" she said.

"Yes," Fiyero tried to smile, but he wasn't pulling it off. "I think so, anyway. But are you?"

"I… yes, but…"

"But what?"

"Aren't you going to ask me what I'm doing here?"

He looked grim. "I was just glad you were out of harm's way. But yes, I was coming to that."

"I left you. I wanted to go back to Nessa. That is, I saw her in the snow globe, crying, so I went back to her. I was going to come back before dawn, but then I almost didn't. And I… I…"

"You blame yourself for the attack, is that it?"

"Yes! But you don't understand. I wasn't going to come back."

Fiyero watched her silently for several moments. It looked like he was thinking, but otherwise, she couldn't interpret his expression. "You were leaving for good?" His voice was strained. He sounded… hurt.

Elphaba nodded, biting her lip until she drew blood.

Fiyero sighed. "I would say I'm surprised, but I'm not."

Elphaba stared at him. "You aren't?"

"No. I knew something was wrong when we talked earlier this evening. And I knew you missed Nessa – and your father, for that matter."

Elphaba swallowed what she'd been about to say. She couldn't deny it anymore.

Fiyero took a long, ragged breath. "It's alright, Elphaba. I understand why you left. But there is something I want to make clear to you, since it hasn't lodged into your brain yet." He took a step towards her, but his gaze was tender. "We love you. And if you'd rather have the love of your father and sister, I understand that. But the offer still stands."

He hadn't actually made an offer. At least, not in so many words. But she couldn't mistake what it was he was saying.

She thought for a long time. In her heart of hearts, she knew how she wanted to respond to him. Fiyero watched her closely, as did the others, though they'd been very quiet so far.

At some point, though she wasn't sure what caused the seesaw to tip, she made her decision. And she didn't cry, because she couldn't. She could only smile. "Yes."

Again, it didn't particularly answer Fiyero's question, but he didn't appear to need any more clarification than she had. His face split into a relieved smile, and he closed the distance between them. Elphaba jumped into his arms and kissed him.

This kiss couldn't have been more different than those they'd shared before. Before, whenever they kissed, she experienced a stomach-churning concoction of desire, fear and discomfort. In retrospect, she'd never fully accepted Fiyero, always looking over her shoulder, wanting to go back. But this kiss felt like drowning and bathing in the sun at the same time, in the best sense imaginable. Grinning against his lips, she tightened her arms around his neck, and he responded in kind, his hands welcoming against her back.

"Alright, that's enough," Cowper drawled, shattering the moment, though when Elphaba turned to look at him, his eyes were alight. "Affection, we can deal with in this family, but this is turning into something we don't want to see."

The Animals all murmured merrily in agreement, and Elphaba burst out laughing while inwardly skipping for joy. Cowper had called them a family. And, she realised, that was exactly what they were.

…

Once again, they set out on their journey with renewed energy, though they were virtually back where they had started. Elphaba hoped the others wouldn't be worried if they didn't reach Quox when expected. She held Fiyero's hand the entire time, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he kept glancing at her and smiling, not even bothering to turn away when she caught him. It was as if he knew something significant had changed. And something had.

Elphaba didn't know what she would do without Fiyero. It seemed he had more constancy than she did – she knew she could rely on him to keep pulling her along. It seemed she had never been the one dragging him along at all. She considered how he had demanded she bring him to the Tower for that first visit – and how he insisted on returning to Colwen Grounds to break things off with Nessa, before returning on his own terms. Now he was helping her face her own demons.

Fatigue caught up with them, however, and Elphaba remembered that everyone's sleep had been interrupted by the events of this evening. Elphaba hadn't slept properly for days. Finding a sheltered nook in the forest, they lay down to sleep, not caring that the sun was high in the sky. Elphaba intended to sleep soundly. But not before she ran her fingers down Fiyero's shoulder to gain his attention. She grinned when he rolled over to face her, his hand landing lazily on her waist.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"For what?" His voice was thick with sleep.

"For helping us."

Fiyero stroked her waist with his thumb. "You really need me?"

"I'm starting to think you've been our backbone all along."

"Hmm."

Elphaba almost laughed out loud. She could tell it wasn't a hum of disagreement, or insecurity, or even doubt, but quiet acceptance.

"There's something else."

Fiyero waited while she considered how to phrase her question.

"When I saw you… oh. I didn't tell you about that, did I?"

"When you saw us in danger?"

Elphaba puckered her lip. "How did you know?"

"I know you well enough by now. If your magic whips us out of danger at the last minute, it's most likely because your powers intervened to alert you in the first place."

Elphaba blushed. "Yes. Well, I suppose it worked. But when I was trying to save you, my magic didn't seem to be doing anything at all. I don't understand. I thought for sure I'd failed, and you'd be killed."

Fiyero thought for a moment. "Why did you think it wasn't working?"

"Because it felt different. Usually, when my magic takes over, it feels, I don't know… like it's trying to force its way out of my body. Even if I don't know what it's going to do, it always feels the same." She paused to collect her thoughts. "But this time, it wasn't like that at all. It was light, like a whisper against my skin. A mocking breath. I thought it was laughing at me. I thought… I was too late."

"Maybe it was a 'whisper,' as you put it. But does it have to mean your magic was mocking you? Could you have misinterpreted that?"

"I don't know." Elphaba picked her sleeve.

"I think your magic knew that a 'whisper' was all you needed. You've spent your life shouting-"

Elphaba gave him a withering glare.

"In your mind," he amended. "I know you rarely shouted out loud. But you know what it is to fight, don't you?"

Elphaba had nothing to say to that.

"You see?" said Fiyero. "Maybe your magic was trying to tell you something."

Could it be true? Was a whisper really all she needed? Would a whisper free the Animals? Perhaps – if it was the right kind of whisper. But what sort of whisper was that?

Fiyero chuckled. "I can almost see your brain working overtime. Relax, love. Sleep."

The tension left her shoulders to hear him call her 'love.'

"Okay," she murmured.

Fiyero kissed her forehead. She lay her head on his shoulder and fell asleep almost immediately.

They awoke later that afternoon and resumed their pace. They would have to travel via the warehouse; all the other routes to Quox were being taken by another group, and it would be too dangerous to travel close together in large numbers. With forty-four Animals in tow, plus Fiyero, Elphaba was already asking to be caught. But the thought of going back to the warehouse made her nervous. They'd been so careful to escape safely. Her heart started beating faster the closer they got.

And she kept thinking about Nessa. What she'd done was a big deal. This was the first time she'd ever turned her back on her little sister. Although, she reminded herself that she hadn't turned her back – she still loved Nessa as much as ever. But she had a job to do, and she couldn't do that if she was relying on her sister to fill a void. Maybe this turn of events would be better for Nessa too. Nessa had spent her whole life depending on Elphaba. Was it time she learned to go on her own? The thought brought a pang to Elphaba's heart, and she was almost tempted to look back, but she'd made herself a promise. No more running away. She watched Fiyero, engraving this promise into her mind.

At last, the warehouse came into view. They had been here so recently, and yet it felt like she hadn't seen it in a million years. The hair rose on Elphaba's skin, and she gestured for everyone to stop.

"We'll have to be careful going past here," she whispered to Fiyero. "There could still be people around."

Fiyero nodded. "What if we pass by in pairs, to test the ice, so to speak? If there's any danger, we can alert everyone."

Elphaba agreed, and she went first with one of the Animal escapees. They crept by the warehouse without incident, making it to a spot on the other side where they could safely guide the others past. Stopping for a moment to listen, Elphaba beckoned two more forwards. Khanija came out with her mother. Pair by pair, they managed to lead about half the group past, until one of the Zebras fixed his bulging eyes on Elphaba.

"There's someone inside," he said, barely loud enough for Elphaba to hear.

"What?" she stopped. "What do you mean?"

"A sound. There's a sound."

Elphaba inched past him, heading closer to the warehouse, keeping her tread as light as she could. She halted as she tiptoed towards the warehouse door; she thought she'd heard a scuffle. Could she have imagined it? Surely none of the Animals could still be inside.

She held up her palm in warning to Fiyero, then cautiously stepped closer to the door, inclining her ear. It could just be rats. It could even be a villager poking around. Or it could be something more dangerous.

But she couldn't let the possibility slide that someone had been left behind, despite her rigorous attempts to account for everyone.

Sweat ran down her forehead. Fiyero retreated with the others so they wouldn't be seen from the door. Guardedly, she pushed the door open, peering inside. It took her eyes some time to adjust to the dark.