AN: I'm sorry. As I said, I was going to a writing program and I was there for two weeks. I did have the internet, but I did NOT have the time/privacy to write this. I have another chapter, but it's pretty odd (it has to be, with the way I see it, but I'm going to talk to one of my betas first) so yeah. Anyway, I leave again for a different program July 16th for THREE. Maybe I'll have more privacy/time, maybe I won't. I hope to. But there should be at least another chapter to this and one more to "It All Started at Shiz" before I go, if not more.

Chapter Forty-Seven: Ignorance is Bliss

Glinda asked Elphaba to have another cot pulled in, not explaining exactly why she wanted to spend the night in the sickroom with Elphaba. Elphaba looked weak, which wasn't normal at all. When Glinda suggested a second cot, Elphaba admitted that she didn't sleep on the one that was already in there in the first place and so Glinda could sleep on it, since Elphaba didn't. Glinda gladly crawled into the cot and fell asleep quickly.

Elphaba woke, as usual, every few hours to check on Fiyero during the night; there were less than twenty-four precious hours left. After checking his pulse (and double checking, for she was sure she was dreaming when it had seemed faster), she didn't climb back into the sickbed immediately. She looked down at his face, tears streaming like they had almost too freely recently, and ran fingers through his hair. "I love you. Oh, Fiyero, I'll tell you every night for the rest of my life that you are my world, and I need you. There's nothing in Oz that matters more to me, darling. I promise, I'll spend more time with you. I love you. My sweet diamond boy, I love you so much. Yero my hero," she whispered.

He blinked then, before she'd crawled into bed next to him. She jumped and he smiled weakly. "So this is heaven?"

Elphaba laughed helplessly. She caressed his cheek. Biting her lip to keep from sobbing, she blinked rapidly, letting tears create burning rivers down her cheeks. "Yero?" Part of her was afraid to believe she'd been given him back.

"If you'd stop crying, heaven would be a bit better." He commented.

"Oh, Fiyero!" She cried, clutching his hand in hers and shuddering with relief.

This caused Glinda to wake and sit up, but neither of them noticed. The blonde crept closer to the side of the bed, not speaking. She knew they needed a moment.

"I didn't think heaven had yellow walls." Fiyero muttered.

Elphaba shook her head softly. "What's with all this talk about heaven?"

"Isn't that where I am?" He murmured.

He can't have gotten even denser, really, Elphaba thought. Instead of correcting him, though, she asked, "What makes you think that?"

"Because the only way you'd ever say those things to me and be here with me like this is if I was in heaven." He replied.

Elphaba closed her eyes slowly, feeling the guilt return to eat at her insides again. Opening her eyes again, she mumbled, "I see," and left the room tearfully, losing control of the sobs before she'd even opened the door.

Glinda now stepped right up to the side of the bed. "You are an idiot, you know that?"

"This is coming from you, right? I'm wondering why you're here, in my heaven. I mean, I understand why Elphaba is… oh!"

"What?" Glinda folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot.

"Well, when I was growing up, we were taught that heaven was all we'd ever wanted. All I've wanted is Elphaba, and for her to be happy. I guess you're here because you help her happiness." Fiyero realized.

The blonde struggled to remind herself that Fiyero had just come out of two and a half days of unconsciousness and that it would, therefore, be wrong to smack him. "Fiyero, you stupid creature, you are not in heaven! You just made your wife run out of the room crying because you don't seem to think she treats you right normally. This is not heaven, Fiyero. I don't know what makes you think you're dead, but you certainly seemed to wish it, before."

"What?" Fiyero blinked.

"Don't you remember taking the sleeping potion?" Glinda asked, stunned.

"I just remember something about the morning, and Elphaba getting a little mad. And then…" He only put his hand to his forehead. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, sweet Oz…" Glinda whispered to herself. She looked up at a noise from the doorway; Fiyero's parents must've somehow gotten the news out of Elphaba that he was awake. Allowing his parents time, she dashed into the hall and looked for Elphaba, finally finding her in the bedroom, her body almost convulsing against the sobs. "He doesn't remember."

Breathing heavily and sniffling, Elphaba turned her head. "What?"

"He doesn't remember anything after the morning you fought, Elphie."

Elphaba's breathing slowed. "Not even…?"

"Not even." Glinda confirmed.

"Sweet Oz," Elphaba said incredulously. "He doesn't remember trying to kill himself?"

"Not at all. He told me the last thing he remembers is getting you a little angry in the morning." Glinda told her.

"Great. As if I don't feel guilty enough."

"What do you mean?"

"The comment he made about heaven, Glinda. I thought it wasn't just that he thought I don't take care of him; I thought it was him being thankful that I wasn't with Kalendrio." Elphaba buried her face in her hands. "Was I that terrible of a wife?"

"I don't know, Elphie, I wasn't there. And different people define that different ways, you know that. Though, from the way you described it, it didn't sound like you were being very loving."

She nodded. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Make it up to him. That's all you can do, Elphie."

Elphaba sighed. "I wish this hadn't had to happen. It shouldn't have taken this much for me to realize I was wrong."

"Elphie?"

"What?"

"What are you going to tell him?"

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"About what happened. Are you going to explain to him what he saw?" Glinda pressed.

"And break his heart all over again?"

"Don't you think he needs to know?" Glinda retorted.

"Glinda, it would hurt him so much. Look at how he reacted! Why should I tell him?"

"He deserves to be told! You can't just not tell him just because you got lucky and he doesn't remember seeing it. And besides, you didn't end up having sex with Kalendrio, you realized yourself. Don't you think it would help a little to tell him that?"

"No, because he doesn't have to know I even considered it!" Elphaba argued, face flushed. She sat up straight on the bed and looked at Glinda. "I've been given another chance, Glinda. I can't just ruin it."

"No one's given another chance with a completely clean slate, Elphaba. It's unfair of you to just hide it from him when he would've known." Glinda insisted, hands on her hips. "He should have the right to decide how he feels with all of the knowledge he had."

"Don't you get this? It would kill him! I can't do that. Glinda, I love him. That's all he needs to know." Elphaba stood up, pushed past Glinda and rushed down the stairs, Glinda following regretfully.

Fiyero's mother was just exiting the sickroom. "He's doing all right," she informed Elphaba. "He just doesn't seem to be able to tell us what happened."

Elphaba nodded and walked through the door with Glinda behind her. Fiyero's mother stayed in the doorway. "Fiyero?"

Fiyero sat up and smiled at Elphaba. "Fae, I'm sorry."

Elphaba looked at him questioningly. "For what?"

"For what I said about heaven. I was a little out of it…"

"No, you're right. I'm sorry, Yero." Elphaba took his hand. "And I love you. It just worries me that you did something like this."

"I don't understand why I did it." Fiyero said. "I don't remember any of it."

"Maybe," Elphaba whispered, throwing Glinda a harsh look and then glancing lovingly back at Fiyero, "we might never know."