I don't own Wicked.

There is a clang of metal on metal, and suddenly Fiyero is standing in front of me, Liir's sword pressing down on the shaft of a Gale Force spear. "Don't you dare touch my wife," he growls, pushing Alaric back. As they begin to duel, I spin around. Liir!

Freidle's eyes shine with fury, and he draws his arm back, preparing to ram the dagger into Liir's throat. Then the door behind him opens and he falls face forward to the ground.

Glinda stands there with her arms still outstretched. She looks ridiculous in her pink nightgown, and I can't help but laugh. My amusement is short-lived, though, as Freidle leaps up and grabs his dagger again.

"Chistery!" As I call his name, the monkey happily leaps onto the rebel's head and starts screeching right in his ear. I grab Glinda (who looks completely shocked) and push her back into her room. "Stay there until it's safe!"

"Elphaba!" she cries, but I'm already off.

Chistery can't last forever. I scramble to recover the Grimmerie, and once I finally do it seems to take an eternity to find the page I need. But finally there it is:A Spell to Turn to Stone.I read it out as fast as I can, and when I look up, Freidle is solid rock.

My triumph, however, is short-lived. Alaric has driven Fiyero back against the wall. He swings with the blade, and although my husband is fast, he doesn't quite miss the whole blow. Alaric's elbow slams into his throat, and he drops to the floor, the spear falling from his grasp.

My heart twists, stops. I hear my own voice echoing back across time: "Since I could not succeed, Fiyero, saving you..." I can't lose him again!

As Alaric howls in success and rears his arm back for the kill, I leap at him, forgoing the Grimmerie and slamming into his side. He's huge, but I still manage to make him stagger. Growling with fury, he whirls and brushes me off. I drop to the floor, winded, and watch as he swings at me. I'm going to die...

But then a pair of arms fasten around his neck, and Liir is up and fighting, his heels kicking the giant's ribs. Alaric stumbles back, flailing to try and get him off. As he scrabbles vainly, I leap for the Grimmerie and read out another spell. Alaric begins to turn into a mouse.

"Nooo!" he shouts as he begins to shrink. "Don't!"

"Take me to the rebels and I will." I mutter a word, and the transformation ceases. "Well?"

As I expected, Alaric tries to bolt. I begin reading again, and he starts shrinking.

It takes several episodes of this before Alaric promises to be good and lead me to the rebel base. As Liir holds him firmly by the tail, I go over and gently kneel beside Fiyero. "Yero?"

He stirs weakly at my voice. His eyes slide open, and although his face is slightly bloodied, I can see he's not hurt. "Fae...?"

"Fiyero." I wrap my arms around him and pull him against me, nearly sobbing with relief. "Thank Oz you're all right."

"It'll take a lot more than that to finish me." He kisses me gently, and when I pull away his eyes are sparkling. "What? No scarecrow this time?" We both laugh before I shove him. "What are you doing here?"

"I woke up and learned Glinda was gone. When I saw your note, it wasn't hard to put two and two together." He shrugs unapologetically as I glare at him.

"You almost died."

"So did you." I'm about to reply when he touches a finger to my lips. "Elphaba, I wasn't going to let Glinda get hurt either. I care about her just like you. You can't yell at me for coming when you did the same."

"That's different," I mutter, but I know I've lost the argument. Fiyero smirks before motioning Liir over.

He approaches looking scared. "Dad? Are you okay?"

Fiyero smiles and reaches out to tousle Liir's hair. "I'm fine."

We hug for a while, and when we separate, Fiyero and I both glare at Liir. "How did you get here?"

He smiles sheepishly. "I, uh, slept outside. I knew she'd probably try to sneak off—I mean, she's not gonna tell you she's leaving or else you'd wanna go with her—so I staked out the house. When I saw her leaving, I followed."

"Liir, you are grounded!" we both growl.