Glinda sat with her back against the cave wall, her knees drawn up to her chest in an effort to make herself smaller. So far Mason had made good on his promise to keep Eadlyn away from her but she didn't want to take any chances by making her presence known. Eadlyn was already into his second bottle of the rot gut Mason referred to earlier and she had even less desire to deal with him now that he was well on his way to being drunk than when he was sober.

"Gregor was one hell of a guy, wasn't he?"

"A real peach," was Mason's less than convincing response.

Eadlyn didn't seem to notice as he took another swig from the bottle in his hand. "Do you remember the time he strangled that girl? He said it happened in the throes of passion, but I had my doubts. I mean, if I killed a chick while I was doing her I would at least finish what I started and then hide the body."

Glinda couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"But do you think he did? No." Eadlyn gestured with the bottle. "He ran away like a scared little baby and came looking for me. Left her right out in the open where anyone could see her."

Her stomach turned when he half chuckled and nostalgically shook his head. How could he laugh over a dead girl?

"My father was absolutely furious when he heard about it. But I have to give the old man credit. Gregor was like another son to him so he made the whole thing go away. The two of them were back to swapping hunting stories the next day." He chuckled again. "Remember some of the doozies they'd tell each other?"

"No." Mason answered. "Your father died before I met you."

"He did?" Eadlyn furrowed his brow. "Oh yeah." He pointed at Mason. "That happened when we were teenagers."

Glinda shuddered at the thought of anyone ever committing such an act, especially when they were little more than a child. Then again these weren't normal people she was dealing with.

She glanced at Mason, wondering yet again if she could trust him. Was he sincere when he said he wanted to redeem himself for being associated with someone like Eadlyn or were the two men playing some kind of twisted game with her? She wouldn't put it past Eadlyn to toy with her now that he thought he had her all to himself. And how was she to know Mason wouldn't go along with it?

Then again, what choice did she have but to put a little faith in him? Without his help she was screwed. It was one of those damned if you do, damned if don't situations. All she could do was stay on her toes and be ready for whatever came her way.

"All right, how about the time he..."

She tuned Eadlyn out as he launched into another Gregor story, turning her attention to the mouth of the cave instead. She half expected to see Elphie emerge from the blackness on her broom, a grim expression on her face as she rode in to save the day and rescue her lover. But then the image of Eadlyn standing over the green woman in a heap on the ground reminded her that Elphaba hadn't been in the best of shape last time she saw her.

How long ago had that been? They left the house midmorning and couldn't have been in the woods much more than an hour when Eadlyn went berserk. Who knew how long Elphie was chasing them through the woods before Eadlyn finally gained the upper hand, attacking poor Elphie and punching her to knock her out when she refused to leave her lover. It was dusk when she came to and they reached the cave. But now it was dark as pitch outside with only the occasional flash of lightning to break the blackness.

She sighed. Trying to put together a timeline made her head hurt even worse than it had before. Every second away from Elphie felt like an eternity so who cared how much time had actually passed? She might as well just accept that fact that no one was coming to get her anytime soon and get over it.

Oh how she wished Elphie was there to hold her and tell her everything was going to be all right. Maybe if she shut her eyes for a few minutes she would go back to wherever she was when she was unconscious and she could see her Elphie again.

"Glinda?"

She flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry." Mason was quick to let go of her. "Eadlyn went to get another bottle so I thought I would come and check on you." He pursed his lips and shook his head as he took in the driving rain outside. "I was hoping to get him good and plastered so he would pass out and we could make a run for it…"

Glinda's heart leapt at the prospect of escaping.

"But I don't think we're going to be going anywhere anytime soon."

And just like that she was right back where she started.

"I didn't mean to make that sound like I'm giving up. I gave my word I would get you away from him and that's what I'm going to do. I just don't think it's going to happen tonight."

"That's all right." Glinda's voice sounded emotionless, even to her.

Mason gave her a sympathetic look. "Look, there are no guarantees in life so I can't promise that I'm not going to let you down. But I can promise to do my best not to."

"Mason?"

He turned when he heard Eadlyn's voice. "I better get back to him before he comes over here. But I meant what I said, Glinda." He locked eyes with her. "I'm going to get you out of here. Now why don't you try to get some sleep? I'll make sure he leaves you alone."

She didn't say a word as he walked away.

"There you are." Eadlyn grinned at him. "Did I tell you about killing the Wicked Witch of the West?"

Glinda put her hand over her mouth to keep from gasping.

"All it took was a thick tree branch," he made a swinging motion with his free hand, half giggling when he threw himself off balance and nearly fell. "And crack! She went down without a peep."

Tears streamed down Glinda's cheeks as she buried her head against her knees. He was wrong. He had to be. Someone needed to come for her and tell her that Elphie was all right. Better yet, Elphie herself could stroll in and save the day like she kept imagining. As long as it happened sooner rather than later because she didn't know how much more of this nightmare she could take.

A bright light filled her senses, making her flinch.

"I think she's waking up."

The voice seemed to swirl through her, booming and sounding far away all at the same time.

"Should I go get the Wizard?"

"Yes!" her mind screamed. Maybe her father would be able to make some sense of what was happening to her.

"Not yet."

Not yet? What did they mean not yet? She needed someone to help her.

"Elphaba?"

A cool hand fell on her brow.

"Elphaba, can you hear me?"

Addena. That was definitely Addena. A hand gripped her own.

"If you can hear me, grip my hand Elphaba. Can you do that? Grip my hand?"

She followed the sound of the voice until she caught a glimpse of blonde hair. Hoping the blonde lock belonged to her lover gave her enough motivation to finally open her eyes.

"Glinda?" She croaked.

"No, Elphaba, it's me. Addena." The doctor looked down at her, relief stamped on her brow.

"She's talking this time. Does that mean she's going to stay with us?"

Addena sighed. "I hope so."

Elphaba's brow furrowed. "This time?"

"You've been teasing us for quite a while now, fluttering your eyes and groaning but not waking up."

Elphaba looked to the left when she realized someone other than Addena was speaking to find an older blonde looking at her. "Who…" She swallowed, trying to wet her dry throat. "Who are you?"

"Ginella, but you can call me Ginny." She smiled. "I'm Glinda and Addena's mother."

"Here." Addena lifted her head and helped her take a drink of water. "This should help with your voice."

"Thanks." Elphaba winced at the pain the movement caused in her head, glad when Addena lowered her back down on the pillows. "What happened?"

Ginny suddenly looked anxious. "You don't remember?"

Elphaba frowned at the change in her expression. "Should I?"

"Just give yourself a minute." Addena assured her.

"What if she doesn't remember?" Ginny stage whispered. "What if she can't?!"

"She can hear you, Mom." Addena gave her mother a look. "And she just woke up. Things are bound to be a little fuzzy."

"Breena!" Elphaba suddenly tried to sit up. "We have to find Bree!" She slammed her eyes shut when the room started spinning.

"Whoa." Addena put her hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down. "Bree is here, Elphaba."

"She…" She fought against the queasy feeling in her stomach. "She is?"

"Right next door." Ginny answered.

"Thank Oz." Elphaba relaxed again. "We went to look for her and…" She furrowed her brow. "No, we were tricking Eadlyn. He had her and we were tricking him into thinking we didn't know."

"She's confused."

"No, she's right." Addena disagreed with her mother.

"She is?" Ginny quirked an eyebrow. Things had been a little too hectic for her to hear the whole story before.

Addena nodded. "Eadlyn volunteered to help with the search to try to throw us off but I overheard him telling his buddy Gregor to go to the camp and tell them he would be there as soon as he could slip away."

It was Ginny's turn to nod. "For the gauntlet."

"Gauntlet?" Elphaba wrinkled her nose. "No one has gauntlets anymore."

"Well they were going to."

"But they didn't." Addena interrupted them before they could say more. "I stayed behind with Cade when the others left and we followed Gregor to the camp."

Ginny pursed her lips. "So that's how you found us?"

"Glinda!" Elphaba suddenly gripped Addena's hand. "Eadlyn took Glinda!"

Addena stopped her from trying to get out of bed again. "Elphaba, you need to calm down."

"Calm down?!" She winced in pain as she raised her voice. "Does he still have her?"

"He must." Addena hated her answer but it was the only one she had. "Fiyero said there was no sign of either of them when he found you."

"Then how am I supposed to calm down?!" Images raced through her mind. "Damn stupid vision. I might have been able to stop him if I knew what was going on."

"Vision?" Ginny frowned.

"Visions are part of Elphaba's magic powers." Addena explained as she stroked the green woman's arm, trying to soothe her. "They hit her hard and fast and she normally passes out afterwards."

"I did this time too." Elphaba refused to think about what she'd seen. "And Fiyero… Sweet Oz, Fiyero! Eadlyn shot him."

"He's all right." Ginny spoke up this time. "He got mad when we told him he needed to rest instead of sitting with you tonight but he's going to be fine."

"He is?"

Addena nodded. "Yes. I sent Lion to check on him a little while ago and Maeve told him Fiyero was sleeping like a baby."

"Maeve?" Elphaba looked confused. "What is she doing here?"

Ginny said, "She brought the Grimmerie."

"She did?"

Addena nodded again. "Apparently Yackle thought you might need it."

"Maybe we will." Elphaba closed her eyes for a moment to try and ward off the throbbing in her skull.

"Finish telling us what happened to Glinda." Ginny prodded.

"Mother!"

"It's all right." Elphaba licked her lips as she opened her eyes. "I went after Eadlyn and Glinda on my broom but I couldn't use my magic on him for fear of hurting her. She must have realized that because she..." She swallowed hard. "She threw herself off the horse they were riding to give me an open shot."

Ginny's eyes got big. "She what?!"

"Here." Addena handed her another glass of water. "Drink this."

Elphaba sipped the water before continuing. "She wasn't hurt too badly, mostly bumps and bruises. I was trying to check her over when Eadlyn came back. The horse got spooked when Glinda jumped off and took him into the woods." She explained when she saw Ginny was confused. "Everything gets hazy from there. All I remember is a tree branch."

"Which explains the knot on the back of your head."

A green hand went to the area in question, wincing when her fingers made contact with the knot. "How long was I out?"

"A good while." Ginny spoke up.

"Fiyero brought you here early in the evening and it's pretty late now." Addena tried to give her a better sense of time.

"Or early in the morning depending on how you look at it." Her mother added.

"I would say you have a concussion. A couple of days in bed and you should be as good as new."

"I don't have a couple of days." Elphaba argued. "I have to find Glinda."

"What you have to do is heal." Addena argued right back. "Mom, I think it's safe for you to get the Wizard now."

Ginny gave Elphaba a pat on the leg. "I'll be right back."

"Addena, I..."

"Stop being stubborn, Elphaba."

"But..."

"You're not in any condition to do anything but lay there so that's what you're going to do."

"I..."

"Save your breath. Glinda would never forgive me if anything happens to you."

"Glinda." Tears filled Elphaba's eyes.

"She'll come back to us, Elly." Addena took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Cade and a group of guards left a couple of hours ago. I don't know what they're hoping to accomplish in this storm, but he was determined to start searching for Glinda. He said he would send a rider back the instant they found something."

Elphaba wiped at her cheeks with her free hand. "He's a good man."

"Yes he is." Addena agreed, needing to change the subject before she started to cry too. "Are you strong enough to sit up for a little while?"

"I think so."

"Great." Addena helped her sit up, fussing with the pillows for a second before easing her back against them. "How's that?"

"Elphaba?" The Wizard's voice broke in before she could answer. "Elphaba!"

Addena flinched as he tore across the room and took his daughter in his arms. "Easy." She cautioned him. "She's still a little on the fragile side."

"But she's conscious." The Wizard pulled back to look at her. "She came back to us." He cupped her cheek for a second before throwing his arms around her again. "She came back."

Elphaba shared a look with Addena and Ginny when he started crying. "Dad?"

"I'm sorry... I just..." He let go of her to dry his tears. "You scared me, Elphaba. I thought..." He shook his head. "I wasn't so sure you were going to wake up."

"I'm sorry." Elphaba put her hand on his arm. "I didn't mean to scare you." She suddenly looked around the room. "Where's Bree?"

"She, uh..." The Wizard looked to Addena for help.

"What?" Elphaba followed his gaze. "Is she asleep or something?"

"Not quite." Ginny tried to help.

Elphaba frowned. "Then where is she?"

"She's..." Addena sighed. "She's sick Elphaba."

"What?" Her frown deepened. "How is that possible?"

"The men at the camp gave her something to bind her powers." Ginny fielded the question. "Some fighting broke out and she got hurt trying to protect me."

Addena put her hand on her mother's shoulder. "She was stabbed in the leg. The wound got infected and now she's got a high fever."

Elphaba was trying to process what she was hearing. "How high is high?"

"Very." Addena didn't want to elaborate more. "We're trying to bring it down."

"Trying?" Elphaba echoed the word. "Isn't it working?"

"Of course it is." The Wizard tried to reassure her. "Just not as quickly as Addena would like."

"When you told me she was here I just assumed she was all right. Why didn't one of you tell me?"

"You were already worried enough about Glinda." Addena shouldered the blame.

"So you were just going to keep it from me?" Elphaba looked disgusted. "She's my sister. I want to see her."

Addena shook her head. "Elphaba..."

"I want to see her." She repeated herself as she tried to get up again, making her head spin.

"I've got you." The Wizard was quick to steady her.

"I need to see her, Dad." Elphaba weakly begged. "Please."

"I don't know, Elphaba. You just woke up and..."

"You don't understand." Tears swam in her eyes. "I had a vision today. It was... She... We were at her funeral."

The Wizard's mouth popped open. "She was..."

Elphaba nodded. "Please take me to her." She switched her attention to Addena. "Please let me be with her. I want to be there if... I need to be with her if something happens."

"OK." Addena agreed, knowing she would want the same thing if the shoe was on the other foot. "I'll get Lion to take you next door."

"No." The Wizard was quick to speak. "I'll do it." He took Elphaba in his arms. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." Elphaba's voice was strained.

They started out of the room, the Wizard being extra careful not to jostle his daughter with Addena right beside them in case she was needed. Ginny followed close behind, the pillows from Glinda's bed clutched in her arms so they could make Elphaba as comfortable as possible.

"Addena, Penny says she needs you to..." Lion's voice trailed off as he met them at the door. "Elphaba." His face split in a smile. "You're awake!"

"What did Penny need?" Addena tried to keep him on track.

"Oh, she wanted you to come check on Breena but you're already on your way." He gave Elphaba another smile. "You're just what Breena needs."

Elphaba started to say she hoped so but couldn't form the words as they walked into Addena's room and she caught sight of her sister. She was nearly as white as the sheet covering her and covered in beads of sweat.

"Addena, her breathing is getting shallower. I wasn't sure if that meant she was getting worse or... Oh!" Penny was startled to see everyone walk into the room.

"Elphaba, this is Penny. She was with us at the camp." Ginny handled the introductions as she went to the bed and started making a place for Elphaba next to her sister. "She and Breena hit it off."

"It's an honor to meet you Miss Elphaba." Penny gave a slight bow.

The witch didn't seem to hear her as she continued to stare at her sister.

"I'll, uh.." Penny grabbed Lion by the arm. "We'll just leave you alone."

"Hey!" Lion frowned as she started to pull him out of the room. "What are you doing?"

"They need some time alone." The Lioness explained.

"But..."

His protest was cut off as Penny pulled him into the hallway and shut the bedroom door.

"Here you go." The Wizard gently lowered her to the bed beside Breena.

"Bree?" Elphaba instantly reached for her sister's hand, shocked at the heat she felt radiating from it. "She's so hot."

Addena looked down at her girlfriend sadly. "It's the fever."

Elphaba drank in her sister's features for another moment. "What are her chances?"

"Elphaba..."

"Just be straight with me, Addena." She blinked back tears. "Is she going to make it?"

"I don't know." Addena gave a frustrated half shrug. "If her temperature starts to come down or, better yet, her fever breaks completely, I think she'll be fine. But right now things aren't looking too good. I've given her all the antibiotics I had and tried everything I can think of to cool her down but nothing's working."

"It will." Elphaba kept a tight grip on her sister's hand. "It has to."

"It looks like it's going to be a long rest of the night. Why don't I go down to the kitchen and get us all a snack and something to drink?" Ginny volunteered. "Elphaba, do you think you could handle some soup?"

"I'm not..."

"You might as well tell her yes and get it over with because neither one of us is going to take no for an answer." The Wizard cut her off. "You need to keep up your strength."

"Fine." Elphaba sighed. "I guess I can try."

Ginny gave her a 'good girl' smirk. "And I'll bring you a sandwich, Dena."

"The same thing goes for you." The Wizard pointed at her when she started to protest. "Breena is going to need you both. Come on, Ginny, I'll help you."

"Nonsense." Ginny gestured at him with her hand. "You should stay here and..."

"It will only take a few minutes." The Wizard spoke over her. "Elphaba needs some time with her sister."

"He's right." Addena agreed. "I'll walk you to the door."

Elphaba didn't even notice them leaving. "None of this seems real." She sat up to get a better look at her sister. "You're not going anywhere, Bree, so just get that thought out of your head right now and start getting better." She didn't expect to get a response but paused for a moment just to make sure she wouldn't get one. "All right, I'll give you a little longer, but don't push your luck. I'm not in a very good mood."

She tried not to groan as she leaned in to kiss her sister's cheek. "I love you, Bree. And I'm right here."

She somehow managed to ease herself back against her pillows. Moving around and emotions had zapped what little strength she had. Her eyes started to drift shut as she tightened her grip on her sister's hand.

"I'm right here."