1Her eyes opened slowly, slamming shut again when pain seared through her skull. She gave her breathing a chance to even out a little after the quick jolt of misery before opening them again. The ache was still there but it was a little more tolerable.

Her brow settled into a frown as she looked around, trying to determine where she was. The room looked odd somehow. Skewered. Like everything was tilted on its axis. It took a good thirty seconds for her to realize it wasn't the room at all. It was her. She was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, leaning so far to her right that she was almost laying on her side.

A groan escaped her lips as she pushed herself upright. She closed her eyes again when the room started spinning. Maybe sitting up wasn't such a good idea. She definitely preferred the cockeyed view to the revolving one. But she had things to figure out, like where she was and how she got there and what happened to put her in the shape she was in.

"Calm down, Linny. Obviously that old cow was just trying to push your buttons. Don't give up on Elphaba until…"

"Elphie!"

She suddenly found herself with an armful of blonde.

"Thank Oz you're all right!"

The lingering kiss she received next brought part of it back. This was Glinda. Her Glinda. The love of her life.

"You are all right, aren't you?"

She couldn't help but grin as Glinda pulled back to look at her anxiously. "If you're here I must be."

Addena rolled her eyes as she knelt beside the two. "Judging from the Elphaba sized hole in the wall I'm going to have to disagree. Let me have a look at her, Glinda."

Glinda took her arms from around Elphie but kept one green hand in both of hers as she watched her sister go into doctor mode.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Addena held up her index finger.

"Three?" Elphaba asked.

"Uh huh." She gently probed the back of the green woman's head.

"Ow!"

Glinda gripped her love's hand tighter as she hissed in pain. "Dena?"

"She's got a nice sized goose egg back here."

"Is she bleeding?!"

Addena wasn't quick enough to conceal the blood on her fingers before her sister spotted it.

"Am I?" Elphaba frowned.

"Just a little." Addena reassured her. "You've got an abrasion on your goose egg."

Glinda frowned when her lover chuckled. "This isn't funny, Elphie."

"Yes it is. How many times do you hear something like you've got an abrasion on your goose egg?'"

Addena grinned. "She's awake and alert, Glinda. I'd say the worst she's got is a mild concussion."

"Mild?" Glinda frowned. "Is there such a thing were concussions are concerned?"

Addena ignored the question. Her sister had never been very good with someone she loved getting hurt. "Lean forward a little for me Elphaba so I can check your back and ribs."

"Do you think she might have broken something?"

"You mean besides the wall?" Addena mentally kicked herself for the comment. "I'm sorry, Glinda. I know you're worried about her but I really won't know anything until I finish looking at her."

"Then look away." Glinda watched for a moment before she couldn't take it anymore and decided to distract them both while her sister continued. "What happened?"

"I really don't remember." Elphaba gave a half shrug.

"That's not unusual after someone hits their head." Addena was quick to respond, hoping to ease her sister's frazzled nerves. "Everything should come back to her in time."

"Should?" Glinda swallowed hard. "You mean she might have amnesia?"

Elphaba chuckled again. "I don't have amnesia, Glinda."

"But she said…"

"Elly?!"

They all three jumped when they heard the voice in the hallway. Moments later Breena came staggering breathlessly into the room.

"Oh good, you're still in one piece." She grinned at her cousin. "That was one hell of a ride."

Glinda's frown deepened. "Where were you?"

"Outside." Breena said it like it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. "I flew out the window."

"Out the window?!"

"Well, what used to be the window." She waved off Glinda's concern. "A tree broke my fall."

Addena looked at her as she felt Elphaba's back. "Is that where you got the green stuff on your shirt?"

Breena frowned. "Green stuff?"

"Breena, you're bleeding!" Glinda's eyes were big as saucers.

"That's blood?" Addena was confused.

"Her blood is green like my skin." Elphaba supplied.

"Huh, I guess that tree branch got me better than I thought. How's Elly?"

Glinda opened her mouth to respond but her sister beat her to it. "She's got a mild concussion and she'll have some bad bruises, but I don't think anything is broken."

"She's bleeding too." Glinda pointed toward the back of Elphaba's head.

"Well I can fix that." Breena started toward them only to stop after a few steps.

"Are you all right?" Addena couldn't help but notice how pale she was.

"I..."

"Crap!" Addena abandoned Elphaba to hurry across the room when Breena's eyes rolled back in her head and she went down like a ton of bricks.

"Bree!" Elphaba started to follow only to have Glinda hold her in place. "What are you doing?"

"Dena's got her."

"But..."

"You need to stay where you are until we're sure you're all right." Glinda clinched her jaw when she tried to get up again. "Stop being so stubborn Elphie. She's in the best possible hands."

Elphaba sighed, hating to admit Glinda was right. "Fine. But only if you go make sure she's OK."

"Of course I will." Glinda caressed her cheek. "Stay put."

Their conversation was lost on Addena as she started examining Breena. She was white as a sheet and the front of her shirt was soaked in what Glinda and Elphaba said was blood, but she was breathing steadily. Addena carefully lifted the shirt to reveal a long, jagged cut running from the top of her belly button to just below her left breast.

"Is she… Oh!"

She looked up when she heard Glinda's voice, shocked to see her sister standing over them.

"Elphie wanted to come help but I told her I would since she really shouldn't be moving around and…"

"Linny." Addena cut her off before she could continue. "It's not as bad as it looks."

"Good." Glinda stared at Breena. "Because it looks awful."

"What looks awful?"

Glinda locked eyes with her sister when she heard Elphaba's voice, not realizing they were being loud enough for her to hear. "Dena's hair." She was surprised how easily the lie slipped out. Then again, could it really be called a lie when she was just trying to protect Elphie? The green woman wasn't in any condition to be worrying about someone else. And she would freak out if she knew how badly Breena was hurt. "The wind blown look really isn't for her."

Elphaba frowned. "I send you to check on Bree and you offer your sister fashion advice?"

"Well someone has to. Just look at her." Glinda gestured toward her sister. "She's in a bath robe for crying out loud."

"Let's change the subject, shall we?" Addena could appreciate what her sister was doing but they didn't have time for more. "We really need to get the two of you somewhere a little cleaner so I can treat you."

"You two are keeping something from me." Elphaba looked back and forth between the Uplands. "Bree's hurt worse than you're letting on, isn't she?" Some of the color leaked from her cheeks. "She isn't… She didn't just…"

"No!" Glinda practically screamed. "We wouldn't keep something like that from you."

"Then what is it?" Tears swam in her eyes. "Or should I ask how bad is it?"

"Elphie…"

"I know you're looking out for me Glinda, but don't. OK? Not when it comes to Bree. Just tell me what's going on." She waited for one of them to answer. "Please."

"She's got a cut on her stomach." Addena stepped in. "I won't know how bad it is until I can take a closer look but I don't want to do that here. There's a higher risk for infection. Let Glinda help you walk and we'll move to another room."

"What about Bree?" Elphaba looked in her cousin's direction.

"I'll take care of her." Addena nodded for her sister to go back to Elphaba.

"I'm sorry, Elphie." Glinda apologized as she helped her up. "I…"

"Was trying to protect me and I love you for it." Elphaba gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"So you're not mad?"

"Did that feel like an angry kiss?"

Glinda grinned. "No."

"Good." Elphaba returned the grin. "Just don't keep things from me where Bree is concerned. Next to you she's the most important person in my life."

Her grin faded as Elphie leaned against her. How was her love going to react to the news that she and Breena might be sisters? More importantly, how would she feel toward Glinda when she found she had thought so since she first saw them together?

"Ready?" Addena waited but no answer came. "Linny?" Still nothing.

"Glinda." Elphaba gave it a try.

"Hmm?" Glinda tightened her grip on Elphaba when she realized she had spoken. "What is it, Elphie? Are you in pain?"

"No, Addena asked if you were ready."

"Oh, sure." Glinda nodded. "Whenever you are."

Addena frowned at the response, hoping her sister wasn't suffering any ill effects from earlier. She was going to have to keep a close eye on her too.

She sighed as she slipped one arm under Breena's shoulder and the other behind her legs to pick her up bridal style. What a group they made. Glinda almost died from a lightning strike, Elphaba had a knot the size of Winkie Country on the back of her head and Breena lost a wrestling match with a tree. It was her in her filthy bathrobe and the walking wounded.

"What if Morrible comes back?" Glinda kept her arms firmly around Elphie as they followed her sister out of the room.

"We'll use the guest rooms with the adjoining door and cast the lock out spell."

Elphaba frowned. "What's a lock out spell?"

"A modified barrier spell." Glinda answered. "Dena and I came up with it when we were little to keep Mom and Dad out of her room."

"Why? Were you bad?"

"We were what, six and seven? Our parents had just paid a fortune to have some rare flowers planted out front and we thought they were pretty, so we picked them and gave them to our cook to use as a centerpiece on the table."

"Needless to say, Mom and Dad weren't too happy when they sat down to dinner that evening." Addena picked up the narrative. "As soon as we saw how angry they were, we ran up to my room and came up with a spell to keep them out."

"You were strong enough to cast a spell like that at that age?" Elphaba sounded impressed.

"Not really." Glinda shook her head. "Mom was so excited we were trying magic on our own that she convinced Dad to let us think they couldn't get in. We perfected the spell as we got older by using it on each other."

"You know how teenage girls get." Addena added. "Sometimes I think that spell is the only thing that kept us from strangling each other."

"So you were a handful growing up." Elphaba grinned at Glinda. "Imagine that."

"It wasn't me, it was her." Glinda nodded toward her sister.

"You do realize she knows you, right?" Addena teased as they reached the guest wing. She wasted no time going inside one of the rooms she had mentioned and laying Breena on the bed. "Keep an eye on them. I need to go get some supplies." With that she quickly left the room.

"Here Elphie, you can sit next to Breena while we wait." Glinda gently lowered her to the bed. "Look at the two of you, all battered and bruised."

"Which is she, battered or bruised?" Elphaba tried to keep her tone light but her eyes were somber as she looked at her cousin.

"Dena will take good care of her."

"I know. I just…" She shook her head. "I keep putting the people I love in danger."

Glinda frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You. Breena." Elphaba gripped the blonde's hand. "You almost died today, Glinda. And she still could."

"Breena's not going anywhere. And none of this is your fault. It's Morrible's."

"But I'm the one she's after."

"That's funny, I thought I was the one she and Nevin tried to send to Southstairs so they could rule Oz."

"And bring me out of hiding." Elphaba sighed. "Don't you see, I drug you both into this whole mess. I put you in danger by being your friend and I put her in danger by being her cousin."

"Yet we both keep coming back for more."

Elphaba frowned at Glinda. "What?"

"I said hop off the blame myself express and open your eyes."

"Bree?" Elphaba's face lit up when she saw her cousin was awake. "You're..."

"Don't change the subject." Breena's voice was weak. "And stop being such a nitwit."

Elphaba looked confused. "Did you just call me a nitwit?"

"Damn straight I did. We love you."

"What does that have to do with calling me a nitwit?"

"I think what she's trying to say is you didn't drag us into anything. We're here because we want to be." Glinda helped out. "We both love you and we're more than willing to face the consequences for it."

Breena nodded. "Exactly."

"But..."

"Take it for what it is, Elly. You're stuck with us." She winced as she shifted on the bed.

"Bree?" Elphaba's voice was full of concern.

"Just getting more comfortable." Breena reached for her hand. "Everything's going to be all right."

Elphaba swallowed tears as she took the proffered hand in her own. "I hope you're right."

"I'm always..." Breena's voice trailed off as her brow furrowed in pain.

"Breena?" Elphaba shifted closer to her. "What's..." She gasped as a familiar sensation fell over her.

"Elphie?"

She was too busy trying to pry her hand out of her cousin's to even hear the blonde.

Glinda's heart fell to her toes when she didn't get an answer. "Elphie, what's wrong?"

Elphaba continued to try to pull free. "Let go of me, Bree."

"I..." Bree's words were barely audible. "I can't."

"What's going on?" Glinda frowned.

"She's healing me."

"But she's too weak to..."

"I know." Elphaba was starting to panic. "Help me!"

Glinda tried to do as she was told, but the instant she touched them she felt the sensation too. She quickly let go of the two women.

"What are you doing?" Elphaba snapped.

"She was healing me too." Glinda gestured helpless. "What should I do?"

Breena chose that moment to pass out, her hand slipping from Elphaba's and falling to the bed.

"What..." Glinda's brow was stamped in confusion. "What just happened?"

Elphaba's heart hammered in her chest as she looked at Breena. "I have no idea."