Addena's breath caught in her throat as she bolted upright, her eyes desperately scanning the room around her. "What? What's going on?"

"Sorry."

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard her mother's voice.

"I didn't mean to wake you." Ginny put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I was just trying to cover you with a blanket."

Addena frowned. "Why am I sleeping on my couch?"

"The Wizard brought you over after you fell asleep in the chair."

"The chair?" Her frown deepened as she echoed her mother's words.

"You always were a bit of a sleepyhead." Ginny grinned as she sat down next to her. "You dozed off with your head on the side of the bed. It looked extremely uncomfortable so we agreed he should bring you over here. Don't worry," she tucked her daughter's hair behind her ear, "I kept an eye on Breena while you were sleeping."

"Bree?" Addena's head snapped toward the bed, the last of the cobwebs leaving her mind when she heard her girlfriend's name. "I should..."

"You should stay right here until you're really awake." Ginny put her hand on her daughter's arm, keeping her in place. "I already told you I kept an eye on her for you. I might not be a doctor but I've taken care of sick people before." Her tone was teasing.

"I know but..."

"Her temperature even came down."

"It did?"

Ginny nodded. "She feels cooler to me. Which you can confirm for yourself in a few minutes." She stopped her from trying to get up again.

"Thank Oz." Addena relaxed against the back of the couch. "Those antibiotics the guards finally brought must have helped."

"I'm sure they did." Ginny looked toward the bed. "But I think you were right about Elphaba being able to help her too. She started doing better once they were together."

"It doesn't surprise me." Addena stretched. "Just wait until you see them in action Mom. It's almost creepy."

"So are you and Glinda sometimes."

"What?"

"Don't drop your jaw at me." Ginny gently closed her daughter's mouth. "It's all part of being siblings, darling. Especially sisters. Think about how close your aunt Gwendolyn and I are." She got a wistful look on her face. "We can still finish each other's sentences when we want to. And I bet she can sense something is wrong right now. I'll have a letter within the week."

"I never thought of it that way." Addena nodded. "But you're right. Glinda and I are still pretty close even though we haven't seen much of each other since I went off to school." She narrowed her eyes. "Do you think maybe it has something to do with our magic?"

"The magic of sisterhood perhaps, but not the abilities we have." She suddenly yawned. "Oh, excuse me."

"You're exhausted." Addena suddenly felt guilty. "Here I was sleeping when you were the one in that camp."

"Don't even start." Ginny warned her. "You're the one who's been on an emotional roller coaster. You never were very good at admitting when you needed someone to take care of you instead of the other way around."

"I get it honest." Addena cupped her mother's cheek, tears swimming in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're all right."

"So am I." Ginny had some tears of her own. "All I could think about was getting back to you and Glinda." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'm so worried about your sister."

"Me too. But if anyone can find a way back to us it's Linny."

"I know. She's always been a resourceful one."

Addena put her arm around Ginny, pulling her close so her mother's head was against her shoulder. "Is that what you call it?"

Ginny chuckled. "I'm sure there are a few other words we could use but that's the most ladylike."

They sat in a comfortable silence until Addena realized her mother was dozing off. "Mom? Why don't you go into Glinda's room and get some sleep?"

"I can't." Ginny yawned again. "I made the Wizard lay down a little while ago."

"Then go to your room."

"No."

"Mom..."

"I owe that girl my life, Dena." Ginny cut her off. "I want to be here for her." She nuzzled closer to her daughter. "And you."

The corner of Addena's mouth turned up. "Now who's not letting themselves be taken care of?"

"You said you got it honest."

"Will you at least stretch out here on the couch?"

"That I can do."

Addena got up and helped her mother get situated before giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too. You'll wake me if anything happens?"

"You're a light sleeper, Mom. You'll be able to hear everything."

"Addena."

"Fine." The doctor sighed. "I'll be sure to wake you if anything happens."

"With either of them." Ginny was already half asleep.

"With either of them." She agreed.

"Elphaba didn't wake up again."

"I'll be sure to check on her." Addena pulled the blanket up to her mother's chin, giving her another kiss on top of the head. "Now go to sleep."

She waited until Ginny's eyes drifted shut to walk over to the bed, stretching as she went. She was going to have to thank the Wizard for putting her on the couch. If her back was this knotted from sleeping on it she could just imagine what it would have been like if they'd left her in the chair.

She turned when she heard a gentle knock on the door.

"Hey." Penny whispered as she opened the door to peek around it. "Just thought I would check to see if you needed anything."

Addena gestured for her to come in. "Did you get any sleep?"

"A little." Penny joined her at the bedside. "Your mother made sure of that." She looked at the two women on the bed. "How are they?"

"I haven't had a chance to examine them yet, but Mom said she thought Breena's temperature had come down."

"Really?"

Addena grinned at her enthusiasm. "Mom wasn't kidding when she told Elphaba the two of you hit it off."

"Breena is everything I thought she would be." Penny blushed at the comment. "I mean from stories I'd heard about her. I can't wait to get to know Elphaba better too."

"They're two peas in a pod." Addena put her hand on Breena's brow, relieved beyond words when she found the raging inferno had cooled to more of a high flame. "Mom was right. Her temperature is definitely down."

"That's wonderful." Penny grinned, watching the doctor as she checked Breena's pulse. "Do you think we should wake Elphaba so she can eat something?"

"It probably wouldn't be a bad idea." She gripped the Lioness' shoulder when she started to go around the bed. "Why don't you let me do it? She might not react too well to a face she doesn't recognize."

"I didn't even think of that."

"Not that she'd hurt you on purpose or anything."

"I know." Penny shook her head. "But I saw Breena use her magic on some of the trappers before we were captured. Let's just say I wouldn't want to piss either of them off."

"Me either." Addena grinned as she made her way to the other side of the bed. "Elphaba?" She gripped the green woman's shoulder. Sometime during the night she had flipped onto her side so that she held Breena's hand with one hand and had the other on her sister's arm. "It's time to wake up." She frowned when she didn't get a response and gave her a gentle shake. "Elphaba?"

Penny frowned. "She won't wake up?"

Addena didn't respond as she rolled the witch onto her back. "Elphaba?" She tapped her on the cheek. "Elphaba, can you hear me? Damn it." She swore after putting her fingers against Elphaba's neck.

"What's wrong?"

"Her pulse is weak and thready. Elphaba." She raised her voice in the hopes of getting some kind of reaction.

"What's going on?" Ginny groggily sat up on the couch.

"She can't get Elphaba to wake up." Penny answered, knowing better than to try to keep the truth from the older woman.

"What?!" Ginny was instantly on her feet and headed for the bed.

"Wait a minute." Addena kept one hand on Elphaba's throat and stretched to touch Breena's with the other. "Now that's just weird."

"What?" Her mother looked at her anxiously.

"Their pulses are exactly the same."

Penny frowned. "Is that even possible?"

"It must be." Addena let go of both women and stood up to watch them more closely. "It looks like they're breathing at the same time too."

Penny concentrated, letting her eyes flick back and forth between the witches. "Sweet Lurline I think you're right."

Ginny swallowed hard. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Addena ran her hand through her hair. "It's like they're linked somehow."

"What if you pull their hands apart."

Addena frowned. "What?"

"Their hands." Her mother repeated herself as she pointed at the girls. "What would happen if you pulled them apart?"

"Let's find out." Addena leaned over Elphaba and tried to do as Ginny suggested. "I can't get them to budge."

"But they're both unconscious." Penny tried from beside Breena with the same results.

"What if you get a hold of Elphaba and Penny gets a hold of Breena?" Ginny threw out another idea.

"It's worth a try." Addena agreed. "Easy," she cautioned as they both took an arm and started to pull.

"Good..." The Wizard's voice trailed off as he walked into the room. "What are you doing?!"

"Trying to pull their hands apart." Ginny said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I can see that." The Wizard made a beeline for the bed. "The question is why are you doing it?"

"Because their heartbeats and breathing are exactly the same," Penny volunteered.

"They are?" The Wizard furrowed his brow. "How is that possible?"

"It has to be their magic." Addena shook her head, signaling Penny to let go of Breena. "Something like this happened before."

"It did?" Ginny was obviously shocked.

Addena nodded. "When they were fighting Morrible she managed to hurt them both at the same time. Whenever Breena touched Elphaba, her healing power would kick in. Even when she was unconscious. Yackle said it was their magic trying to make sure at least one of them was healthy enough to keep Morrible in line."

Penny stared down at the women. "Do you think that's what's happening this time?"

"It's not the same but it's the only thing I can think of." Addena reasoned. "Bree doesn't have her powers right now. And Elphaba's not healing per se. It's more like they're..." She tried to come up with the right word.

"Co existing." The Wizard offered. "Maybe their magic took some of Elphaba's strength to make sure Breena survived."

"That makes sense." Ginny nodded. "Her temperature has started to come down."

"It has?" The Wizard smiled when Addena nodded. "Thank goodness."

"Should I go get Maeve?" Penny asked. "Maybe she'd be able to tell us what's going on."

"No she wouldn't." Addena disagreed. "She's more of a magical advisor in training right now. The only one who might be able to explain this is Yackle and she's not here."

The Wizard looked at his daughters. "Then what do we do?"

"I guess we see what happens." Addena sighed when she felt everyone looking at her. "I don't like the idea any more than any of you, but what choice do we have? Their hands are practically welded together."

"Are they in any danger?" Ginny hated asking the question.

"I don't know." The doctor answered honestly. "Their pulses are a little on the weak side and their breathing is shallow but they're still with us."

The Wizard swallowed nervously. "So we wait?"

Addena nodded. "We wait."

"Wake up."

Glinda groaned as a foot nudged her leg.

"I said wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open when the nudge became more of a kick.

"There she is."

Her blood ran cold when she recognized Eadlyn's voice. She desperately tried to spot Mason but all she could see was her tormentor towering over her.

"Uh, uh, uh." He shook his finger at her. "No yelling for Mason. I'd hate to have to kill him for interrupting us." He fell to his knees next to her. "So keep your mouth shut."

"What..." She tried to keep the quiver out of her voice, not wanting him to know how scared she was. "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" He put his right hand on one of her breasts, giving it a hard squeeze. "I'm going to break in my new sex toy."

"No!" She tried to sit up only to find herself shoved harshly back to the ground with a hand thrust over the lower half of her face.

"What did I just say about keeping your mouth shut?" Eadlyn glared down at her. "I was serious about Mason. No one gets between what's me and mine." He used his free hand to start unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing. "No one." He chuckled when she tried to struggle. "The more you move around the rougher I'm going to have to be."

Glinda closed her eyes against her tears, willing her mind to shut itself off from what was about to happen.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard Mason's voice.

"None of your business," was Eadlyn's angry reply.

"You can't..."

"She's mine." Eadlyn spoke over him. "I can do whatever the hell I want."

"She's not yours." Mason contradicted him.

"Oh yeah?"

Glinda breathed a sigh of relief when she felt Eadlyn climb off of her but it was short lived when she opened her eyes to see him advancing on Mason.

"Yeah." Mason swallowed hard as the much more powerful man staggered toward him. "You're still drunk, Eadlyn. You don't know what you're doing."

"I know exactly what I'm doing." Eadlyn grinned. "Or should that be who I'm doing?"

"I..." Mason hated himself for stammering. "I can't let you hurt her."

"Let me?" Eadlyn laughed. "No one has ever 'let' me do anything. I've always done what I want when I want." He grabbed Mason by the throat. "And right now I want you to shut up so I can screw her in peace."

Glinda saw what little hope she still had fading as Mason struggled to breath. That's when a shaft of light coming into the cave reflected off of one of the bottles Eadlyn had emptied the night before. She quickly crawled toward it, being careful not to make any noise so she wouldn't draw his attention.

"Don't think I didn't see you being all chummy with her last night." Eadlyn practically spat the words in Mason's face. "Going over to have a nice little chat whenever I went to get more booze."

She kept her eyes on Eadlyn as her hand closed over the cool glass of the bottle.

"I was grieving for Gregor and you were eyeing my woman."

She climbed to her feet.

"I might have considered sharing her with you if you'd been patient. But not now."

She edged toward him.

"She's all mine. Do you understand?"

She raised the bottle as high as she could as she got closer.

"I said do you under..."

She swung it as hard, hitting him in the back of the head.

"What in the..." He turned to face her as the shock of the blow knocked the bottle from her hand. It feel to the ground but didn't break. "That hurt you bitch!"

Glinda's eyes got big as he dropped Mason and started for her.

"If you want it rough I'll give it to you rough!"

The sound of shattering glass filled the cave a split second before Eadlyn's eyes rolled back in his head. She had to back pedal to keep him from falling on her.

"Bastard." Mason croaked as he looked down at him.

"How..." Glinda was bewildered. "What..."

"I picked up the bottle when you dropped it." Mason's voice had a gruff quality to it as he used one of his hands to rub his neck.

Glinda stared at Eadlyn's prone form.

"Are you..." Mason tried to clear his throat. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Glinda switched her attention to him. "I'm fine." She repeated the words to convince herself just as much as him. "Are you?"

He nodded. "I'll live. I'm going to get some rope to tie him up." He reached down and picked up another empty bottle to hand to her. "Just in case he tries to wake up."

Glinda hefted the weapon, keeping a close eye on Eadlyn for any sign of movement until Mason reappeared with two pieces of rope.

"I can't believe I fell asleep." Mason chastised himself as he started tying Eadlyn's hands.

"It wasn't your..."

"I promised to keep him away from you." Mason interrupted her. "And look at what almost happened." He stopped making his knot long enough to gesture at her half open shirt.

"But nothing did." Glinda surprised herself when she said the words. Shouldn't she be falling apart right about now instead of feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders?

Mason shook his head as he finished with Eadlyn's hands and started on his feet. "That's not the point."

"Yes it is." She rebuttoned her shirt. "If you hadn't stopped him he would have..."

"Don't say it." He interrupted her again. "It makes me sick to even think about it." He clinched his jaw. "Not only did I let you down, you had to save the day."

"Me?"

"You're the one who cracked him with that bottle."

"For all the good it did me. You're the one who knocked him out."

"Maybe so, but only after you stunned him."

Glinda couldn't believe it when she grinned. "How about if we say we owe each other and drop it?"

"That sounds fair." Mason returned her grin. "I'm going to drag him to the back of the cave and gag him."

"Good idea." She agreed. "Do you want my help?"

"No." He was quick to reply. "You saved my life a few minutes ago. The least I can do is get him out of your sight."

"Thanks." Glinda watched him go, all doubt she had about the man gone. Even Eadlyn wouldn't take getting knocked out to toy with her. No, she could definitely trust Mason.

She sighed as she looked at the downpour outside. Now if the weather would just start cooperating maybe she could finally go home.