Hours later, Elphaba woke up feeling refreshed, but not quite ready to move. That might be due partly (or mostly) to the fact that Fiyero was fast asleep beside her. This was puzzling. Fiyero never seemed the type to work himself to exhaustion. With some effort, Elphaba managed to roll onto her side so she could watch him.

In sleep he was but the spirit of the adult he was now. In consciousness he crawled into a shell and hid inside of it until everyone left. Now he had the sweetest smile playing at his lips and the crease between his eyebrows disappeared. This was the carefree Fiyero that Elphaba loved. The one she could unload all of her burdens onto. To do that to adult Fiyero would only hurt them both, so Elphaba would have to hold her tongue...to the best of her abilities.

He stirred and Elphaba moved slightly away from him. She hadn't been in contact, but it still seemed too personal.

"Well, I hope you enjoyed your rest, but aren't captains supposed to be setting better examples?" she teased.

Fiyero sat up and stretched his arms above his head. "Maybe the soldiers will learn to relax every once in a while then."

"You mean 'dance through life?'" Elphaba poked his chest playfully. Some could argue that he was bringing out the better side of her, but she remained firm that this was the worst possible, unfocused side at the worst possible timing.

"Maybe that's what we need. A visit back to Shiz when we were all a lot less...serious." Fiyero chuckled and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. He looked the same as he did when he used to take on that pose in Elphaba's dorm. "Although I can think of one person who'd object to that."

"Glinda?"

"Bingo." Fiyero enunciated the word carefully. "I tell you, she's one in a million, but sometimes I feel like I have to share her with the public domain."

"Why not opt for someone who doesn't exist?" Elphaba's hand flew to her mouth. "I mean- I didn't mean- not me."

Fiyero watched her closely through narrowed eyes. "You're not yourself. Should I blame it on the bloodloss?"

"Blame it on yourself, Master Tigelaar. Your presence is dumbing me down," Elphaba joked, covering for herself rather well. She couldn't believe she was actually this desperate.

"If you missed me so much, why didn't you come to visit?" Fiyero's voice betrayed his own distress. The question had been burning on his tongue for a while.

"You know very well why I couldn't."

"But the Rebellion failed you. Now you can come back with me," Fiyero offered hopefully, trying to convey the logic behind his suggestion. He was thinking. This was her very wish and she wasn't paying close enough attention.

Elphaba stared up at the ceiling. "Because I have other obligations to different people now and so do you."

"Glinda wouldn't mind."

"But I would. I couldn't possibly intrude on your hospitality, let alone your marriage." She spat out the word. To emphasize her point she pushed herself onto her other side and stared at the wall opposite the side he was on.

Fiyero noticed this and decided to make it known. He lay down on his side next to her and slid one arm over his waist so his hand was resting flat on the bed in front of her. "I think right about now would be excellent timing to introduce a third person into our home."

"Oh, so you're ready for children? I'd say, it's about time." Elphaba was rushing her words suspiciously.

He didn't seem to notice that. "Not exactly. You see, Glinda and I can't manage to conceive."

"Oh." Elphaba lapsed into silence. Fate seemed to get a sick thrill out of cruel irony. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"We're fine with it. It was just complicated at first."

"Complicated?"

"Well, you know..." Fiyero trailed off, as if remembering every detail for himself. "We'd deluded ourselves into thinking we were going to be the greatest parents ever."

By now, Elphaba wanted to kick fate and all of its irony where it hurt. Why stick poor little Rose with the woman that didn't want to love her, rather than the one that was more than ready to? "Actually, I'm glad you told me that."

"What?" Fiyero asked; insulted.

"It means that you trust me...still," she added as an afterthought.

"You've never given me reason not to."

"Oh," Elphaba laughed heartily, "you'd be surprised."

Fiyero didn't like the sound of that, but he didn't say anything. He had nothing to reply with.

"One more thing," she added. "Something I really have to know. Promise not to be offended, okay?" He nodded uncertainly. Elphaba looked down at the hand he had in front of her and carefully started tracing the outlines of his calloused fingers and the round edges of his nails. Her fingers rested on the simple gold wedding band around his fourth finger. "Do you really love Glinda?"

"Yes," he answered immediately, not a thought put into the answer. And it was the ease of the answer that hurt Elphaba more than the answer itself.

When Fiyero went to start whatever dinner he could throw together from the pantry's contents Elphaba lay in her spot. He hadn't allowed her to move, claiming that it was the doctor's orders. Well, the doctor must have treated her a good week ago. Maybe even more. Which also meant that she had wasted a precious week and a half of her limited time with Fiyero. But he loves Glinda, she told herself.

It didn't matter how much time she was here. She didn't have any impact. But maybe she did! Maybe he realized that he was too much like Glinda to ever blossom into something more with her. Elphaba could offer him things that Glinda couldn't. He could leave the influence of the Blunderful Bastard of Oz and they could run away. But he loves her.

And she wouldn't have to raise Rose on her own anymore. She would have someone to share those special moments with; someone to make them mean something to her. But children just seemed to be an added bonus to marriage for him. He didn't care that he couldn't have any. Because he loves her.

He was utterly devoted to her. Lady Glinda, as beautiful as ever, filling out with age instead of surrendering herself to the aches of society pressing upon her left and right. She tossed her blonde curls and blinked her blue eyes enticingly. Elphaba could tell that much from a few newspaper clippings. Glinda knew how to talk to people. She wasn't afraid of the spotlight. In fact, she opened herself up to it. She had nothing to hide, especially with her husband. And that's why he loves her.

That's why everyone loved Glinda. But Elphaba just couldn't make the connection. Fiyero had had no interest in Glinda at Shiz. None whatsoever. Elphaba was certain that the week she had spent with Fiyero seven years ago meant more than any university party ever could, but maybe she was wrong. He certainly had no desire to be with her now. None whatsoever. She was realizing now that the sweet hope she had kept on her tongue was turning bitter. There wasn't a chance that he was going to love her, but she still didn't want to stop trying.

"Dinner!" Fiyero called from the doorway.

Elphaba quickly blinked her eyes to rid herself of the evidence that the depressing train of thought had left.

"Are you alright?"

Elphaba nodded solemnly, maybe a little too obviously.

"No, you're not," Fiyero decided. He tentatively wrapped his arms around her, as she was able to sit up now. It seemed a pathetic attempt, so he pulled her right into his lap and pressed her head into his chest. Feeling her give over to her emotions entirely and begin to weep into his the folds of his shirt, Fiyero stroked her hair and murmured sweet nothings until she pulled herself together. But it disgusted Elphaba.

Pulling away, she stated, "I want to go."

"You aren't ready to."

"Get me the Grimmerie," Elphaba ordered.

Fiyero didn't move.

"Go get it!" Elphaba cried, erasing away the last of her tears; losing the first bit of emotion she had allowed herself in so long.

Forfeiting the argument, Fiyero pushed himself up and exited the room, returning a few minutes later with the book tucked under his arm. Elphaba held out her arms, with a slight wince, and collected it.

Without delay, she wrenched it open and started flipping through pages frantically, settling on one and then trying another. Finally, she seemed to clear her mind and began to recite jumbled, non-sensical phrases under her breath. It dawned on Fiyero that her sorcery skills weren't limited like Glinda's were. She could do almost anything with that book in her possession. In minutes, Elphaba was done and up. She had healed herself.

"I'm leaving," she decided. Reaching up to tie her hair back, Elphaba noticed for the first time since her awakening that she had been in good hands. There were no tangles in her hair and she was dressed much better than she had been before. She looked nicer after an injury than she did on a daily basis. "Thank you for your generosity."

Fiyero was rooted to the spot, still trying to absorb the fast paced events. "So...that's it?"

"I'll see you around." Elphaba began to gather the Grimmerie, but Fiyero gripped her arm before she could go.

"I thought we could spend some time together."

"What's the use?" Elphaba replied coldly, a steely look flashed across her eyes and set a veiled passion over them.

Hadn't she been crying not ten minutes ago? "Why don't you at least stay the night and then I'll call a carriage for you tomorrow?" It wasn't a suggestion, he made the authority clear in his voice.

Elphaba crossed the room and slammed the Grimmerie down on the desk. "Well, who am I to argue with the authority of a prince in his castle?" She left the room, probably in search of reading material.

"Aha," Fiyero said sarcastically, to himself. "Good one."

"Do you remember when Boq used to tutor me and then Avaric would start those endless debates of his?" Fiyero laughed fondly.

Elphaba nodded. "I could go for one of those right now."

The dinner plates were pushed to the side and they sat across from each other studying their hands and the patterns of the wooden table. The lamps around them gave off a pretty glow, creating an intimate atmosphere. Neither could tell how long they had been sitting there, but both could vouch for the feeling of contentment that swept over the castle. This was a different kind of rebellion. Instead of being marched and pushed around like the wartime soldiers they were in their hearts, they protested and caved into it all, savouring moments not defined by time.

"That's quite the commitment. Sometimes they went on for days."

"I could never decide which I found more riveting." Elphaba smiled. "Nessa and Avaric arguing over the meaning of life or Galinda and Avaric arguing over who was gifted with nicer hair."

"Galinda did make some very valid points about her curls," Fiyero agreed. "But I think Nessa and Avaric were a formidable pairing."

"You mean you agreed with Avaric that the meaning of life is food?" Elphaba asked incredulously. "Probably because in the hair debate you were afraid not to side with him, right?"

"No, actually. If I remember correctly, you were the one who sided with Avaric because you didn't want to admit that your sister was right," Fiyero shot back, absentmindedly twirling his fork around between his fingers.

Elphaba was at a loss, so she faked ignorance. "To be honest I don't even remember what Nessa's argument was."

Years of this, and Fiyero still got a kick out of besting the green woman. "She said that the meaning of life is to make the absolute most of it in preparation for the next."

The sister of the debater remained silent.

"Are you making the most of your life, Elphaba?"

The automatic answer was no, but Elphaba didn't voice it. She was a negligent mother, forced into hiding by the Rebellion. She didn't have a public voice, or even a private voice. There was never laughter or even a tear. "I could ask you the same," Elphaba retorted softly and simply. Rule number one of answering questions in the Rebellion: don't.

"I think I can actually say that I am."

"Then you're not."

Fiyero frowned. "Why not?"

"Because you had to think about it." She avoided his eyes. "Nessa has the satisfaction of doing everything in the name of her god. Glinda does charity work every single day. They don't have to think about it."

Fiyero didn't let the words sink in, so as to keep the conversation on a lighter note. "Glinda does enjoy her charity work."

"Well, when you think about," Elphaba joked, "I'm a charity worker too."

Fiyero smiled, looking down at the fork still in his hands and placing it to the side. "Charity workers tend to do their work in public."

Elphaba twisted a lock of hair around her index finger. "I guess I'm just that humble."

"And I guess I'm just attracted to the charitable." Elphaba's eyes widened and he caught himself and sputtered, "I mean- not in that way...charity is a very admirable-"

Cutting him off, Elphaba smiled. "It's perfectly alright, but as you just killed this discussion I believe I'll go take a bath." She carefully piled all of the dishes into one neat stack and set them on the counter.

As she passed by Fiyero, her fingers trailed along the back of his chair and brushed his shoulder. He felt a shiver make its way down his spine and bewilder him even further.

Elphaba sunk down into the warm water and propped her feet up on the edge of the tub. For once she was not thinking about anything. Her mind was blank and she wasn't worried. There was no anxiety and no loneliness. It was just one person surrounded by whatever was going on in the world around her.

Thirty minutes had passed at least and no one was yelling or demanding. It was so odd that it was uncomfortable. But at the same time she was on full alert and forced to control herself. If she had it her way a lot more than conversation would have happened before and after dinner. But the night was young and this was an excellent opportunity to test Fiyero.

Elphaba sat up straight. If Fiyero responded well to her plans then she would tell him everything. If he didn't, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. Or maybe she'd just have to burn it.