AN: Heheh, I'm glad to see you all liked my cliffy... good to know I have not lost my touch yet :P. Also, I have some thrillifying news - I found out today that I passed my final exam with an 8 out of 10, meaning I have got my Psychology Bachelor's degree in the pocket! :D :D :D I'm super happy about that - I've got a title now: Maddy, Queen of Cliffies, Bachelor of Science. Has a nice ring to it, right?

Broadwaygirl21: I'll tell you what - as long as I reign as your favourite author, you don't have to call me Queen. Deal? ^^

1katiemariee: Yeah, your review made me laugh *cackles*.

Emerald Minded Fictionist: Yes, that was intentional ^^ kudos for picking up on it!

Virtual cupcakes (unless you'd rather have pie?) to TheLilyReviewer for being the 100th reviewer of this story! *happily dances around*

Okay, so this is an extra long chapter, with some Fiyeraba fluff included (not yet the Fiyeraba you are all waiting for, because that might take another... um... seven or eight chapters... but still) and it is dedicated to my amazing non-biological twin sister's twenty-second birthday. CONGRATULOTIONS, ELIZABETH! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! :D

Chapter 7. To kill an artichoke

"Elphie, what is up with you and Fiyero?" Galinda asked the green girl one day, when the two of them and Nessarose were returning from their last lecture of the day. "Ever since I got back from the Emerald City, you two have been acting… strange."

"Yes," Nessarose agreed. "Fiyero's been avoiding her," she explained to Galinda, "because she's been acting… well… like herself."

Elphaba threw her sister an annoyed look, but didn't argue. Galinda just frowned at Nessa before turning back to her roommate.

"Did something happen?" she wanted to know. "Specifically, I mean?"

Elphaba shook her head.

"Not really," she said, not wanting to tell Galinda and Nessa about the Lion Cub. She wasn't even sure why. It just felt like something she wanted to keep to herself… a moment between her and Fiyero, and no-one else. "Not that I can think of, anyway."

"Huh," Galinda muttered, adjusting th strap of her purse on her shoulder. "Strange."

Elphaba looked down. "Maybe Nessa is right and he finally realised what I hassle I am to be around," she said bitterly, "and then he decided he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"What?" Galinda laughed incredulously. "Elphie, that's ridiculous."

"Is it?" Elphaba asked her seriously. "Is it really? I'm not exactly a pleasant person to be around, Galinda. I've been rude and sometimes even downright mean to him."

Nessa spoke up thoughtfully. "You can be awfully defensive and rude sometimes, Fabala."

Elphaba made a hand gesture. "See?"

"But despite what I said the other day… I don't think Fiyero would be fazed by that," Nessarose continued.

Galinda looked at Elphaba triumphantly. "See?"

Elphaba muttered something unintelligible under her breath.

"I mean it, Fabala," said Nessa. "He's gone through so much trouble to try and befriend you – he wouldn't throw that all away so quickly. If it had really been about you snapping at him, he would have come around by now. Something must have happened. Maybe it's not even something that has anything to do with you," she added. "Maybe something is going on in his personal life – he could have had a fight with one of his friends, or perhaps something happened at home in the Vinkus… there are so many possible explanations for his behaviour. Don't assume it was something you said or did."

"Exactly," Galinda agreed. "It'll be fine, Elphie, don't worry. Are you coming for dinner with us?"

The green girl shook her head. "No, I think I'm going for a walk," she said. "To clear my head, you know? I'll get some food on the way there. I'll see you both later." With a small wave, she started walking in a different direction, intending to pass through town to get some food and then walk through the forest and on past Suicide Canal for a bit. That would maybe make her feel a little bit better.

She was walking down the path near the canal a few hours later, still lost in thought as she made her way back to her and Galinda's shared dorm room, when suddenly a large hand covered her mouth.

Her first instinct was to scream – which didn't help much, given the fact that the sounds she made were muffled by the hand on her mouth.

Her second instinct was to bite.

"Ow!" a voice hissed and the hand disappeared; but before she could turn around or even move at all, both her arms were grabbed and forcefully yanked behind her back and someone punched her in the stomach, causing her to gasp and double over in pain.

"You still had that one coming, you little green bitch," Avaric hissed at her.

She clenched her jaw. "Should've known it was you."

His eyes were gleaming. "I wasn't kidding about Suicide Canal, you know." He cocked his head a little. "I wonder if vegetables can swim. Or do they just stay afloat?"

"Avaric –"

"Don't try to talk me out of it, green bean. It won't work, anyway." He looked around him. Dusk was setting in and most students had already left campus by now – either to go back to their dorms or to have dinner in town somewhere.

"No witnesses. Perfect." He grinned at her. "Maybe this'll teach you to keep your big mouth shut." He gestured to his friends and they lifted Elphaba up, one with his hands under her armpits while the other took her legs.

She started struggling. "Avaric!" she yelled. "Tell them to put me down!"

"Um, let me think." He tapped his chin. "No."

"Avaric!" Her voice rose in pitch as panic took over, the boys dragging her closer to Suicide Canal.

"Oh, relax, green bean," he said, scowling. "It's just a bit of water. You won't melt. You'll live."

"I can't swim!"

"Nice trick." He scoffed. "Everyone can swim, Thropp."

"No, I'm serious!" She struggled fruitlessly. "Avaric, please! I really can't swim!" She hated the fact that she was almost begging him, but she had no choice. If they threw her into the water…

"Do it, guys!" Avaric called. "And hurry up a little, so that we can still get a table at the OzDustfor dinner." He turned around, clearly intending to leave.

"Avaric!" Elphaba screamed, still struggling, but to no avail. The boys swung her back and forth a few times and in her panic, she tried to claw at their arms, their faces, anything; but it was of no use.

"One," they called, laughing as they swung her. "Two… three!" They let go. She sailed through the air for just a brief moment before hitting the water hard, disappearing beneath it almost instantly.

The boys laughed and joined Avaric, walking off as they chuckled and mimicked her panicked pleas, making fun of her.

Elphaba was splashing around in the water, arms and legs flailing in an attempt to stay afloat, but she was having trouble keeping her head above the water. She managed to make her way over to the shore, but it was too steep for her to be able to climb out. She grabbed a vine, trying to hold on as the stream pulled at her, nearly causing her to lose her grip.

"Help!" she shouted, even though she knew that it was probably useless. No-one was walking around this part of campus at this hour anymore – it was quickly growing darker and most people avoided this place at night, since there weren't any street lights around here.

"Help!" she yelled again. A cry escaped her when her fingers slipped away and she was pulled under by the stream again. She fought to get back to the surface, but she couldn't even distinguish up from down or left from right anymore, she was so disoriented. The water tossed her around and in her panic, she took in a gulp of water, choking on it. She managed to struggle her way back up, breaking through the surface and coughing her lungs out; but then she was dragged under again.

"Elphaba!"

She tried to blink the water from her eyes. She could vaguely distinguish a figure running towards her alongside the shore, but she couldn't see who it was. Black spots were blurring her vision as she struggled her way up once more, managing to grab onto the mud bordering on the shore, but unable to hold on.

Suddenly, however, fingers closed around her arm and started pulling her out of the water. She kicked her legs in an attempt to help move herself towards the person that was helping her until he managed to grab hold of her other upper arm as well and all but dragged her out of the water. She collapsed in the grass, coughing and wheezing with every breath, with tears pricking her eyes.

"Elphaba?" That same voice again. She could do nothing but moan softly in reply.

A hand gently smoothed some of her hair away from her forehead.

"Elphaba? Can you hear me?"

She forced her eyes open; but just then, she could feel bile rising in her throat and she pushed herself to sit on her hands and knees and retched, all the water she had swallowed forcing its way out of her system. She threw up for what felt like hours, but could not have been more than a minute at most. Then she collapsed again, her trembling arms unable to hold her weight for long.

Only now did she realise that someone had been holding her hair back as she vomited, and she looked up. Her vision was still blurry, but clear enough so that she could see Fiyero kneeling down beside her, his blue eyes dark with concern.

"Fi-Fiyero?" she croaked.

"It's me," he confirmed, his voice anxious. "Are you alright?"

She grumbled something under her breath.

He helped her sit up, allowing her to lean heavily against him when it became clear that she was too weak and dizzy to even sit up by herself.

"I saw you in the water," he explained without her even having to ask. "I was on my way to my dorm room when I saw Avaric and some of his friends heading here, and I had a gut feeling that they were up to something, so I followed them. Thank Oz I did." He stroked her hair. "Did they throw you into the canal?"

She was shivering violently as she nodded. "Th-they didn't b-believe me when I said I can't s-swim," she said, her teeth chattering.

"Sweet Oz, Elphaba…" Fiyero quickly took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, but she was still shivering. He attempted to help her to her feet, but her legs were too wobbly to hold her upright. When he realised that, he carefully slipped one arm under her knees and the other under her back and lifted her up in his arms, cradling her against him. Her arm instinctively wrapped around his neck and her head fell against his shoulder, her eyes closed again.

"Elphaba?" He sounded worried.

"I'm tired," she muttered. "And everything hurts." Her lungs were still burning, a very unpleasant feeling, and she was feeling nauseous. Her head was pounding, she had a disgusting taste in her mouth, and she felt weak and tired, her entire body aching. She hated it. She had no idea drowning could be this exhausting.

Immediately after that thought had crossed her mind, she mentally scolded herself for being so overdramatic. She hadn't drowned – she was still alive, after all. She was fine.

She must have said that last part out loud, because Fiyero said with a sigh, "No, you're not fine."

Too tired to argue, she kept silent, barely moving as he carried her across campus. It started raining, much to Fiyero's chagrin, though Elphaba barely even noticed. When they reached the courtyard, he hesitated for a moment before deciding on a direction to go in.

"I'm going to take you back to my dorm room," he told her. "It's closer, and I want to get you warm as quickly as possible, before you get sick. It's December, you're dripping wet, and this rain doesn't help, either."

The only reply he got was a round of coughing. She let her head drop against his shoulder again.

"Sorry for coughing all over your shirt," she murmured.

She could feel his chuckle vibrating in his chest and he shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

He dropped a kiss to her hair. She didn't protest and he carried her across campus to the boys' dormitories.

"Fiyero?" she mumbled when he pushed open the door with his shoulder and walked into a hallway to his right.

He looked down at her. "Yes?"

Her eyes fluttered open to look at him and she whispered, "I'm sorry."

He furrowed his brow, clearly confused. "What for?"

"For…" She sighed. "For yelling at you, and insulting you, and… well, for everything I did that day with the Lion Cub," she said, her voice smaller than he had ever heard it. "And everything before that, too, really. You were just trying to be nice and I was mean to you. And… I completely understand that you kept avoiding me afterwards," she mumbled, looking down. "You have every right to be angry with me and if you…" She swallowed. "If you don't want to be friends anymore… I understand."

He nearly dropped her, he was so shocked. "What?"

"I mean…" She let out a soft, mirthless chuckle. "I wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore, either."

"Oz, Fae…" He shook his head. "Is that what you've been thinking all this time?" he demanded. "That I was angry with you?"

She frowned a little. "I thought… I thought I'd chased you away by being so snarky and impossible all the time, and…"

He sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to give you that impression. You're not snarky and impossible, Elphaba. Not at all. It was just that… I mean, when we were in that clearing together…" He trailed off, then shook his head again. "Never mind," he said, "it's not important. As long as you know that I was not angry with you. I could never be angry with you, and I love being your friend."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "Did you really think I was going to put myself through so much trouble to get you to befriend me, only to give that all up mere days after we actually became friends?" That was exactly what Nessarose had told her only a few hours ago, she realised.

Fiyero shook his head. "No way," he said. "You're stuck with me, Thropp."

She smiled faintly.

He put her down momentarily, keeping a steady grip around her waist, to fumble around for his key. He opened the door to his room and scooped Elphaba up in his arms again, carrying her inside and kicking the door closed behind him. He took her to his bathroom and set her down on the edge of the bathtub, turning on the shower and testing the temperature of the water with his hand.

He looked at her over his shoulder. "Can you… I mean, do I need to…"

"Help me shower?" she finished for him, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I think I'll manage."

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Call me if you need anything, okay?" He went to fetch her a pair of pyjama trousers and a shirt and put them down in a corner.

"I'll make you something to eat and get a fire going," he said. "Just go take a hot shower now – you must be freezing."

He left the door open just a crack – just in case – and by the time she emerged again, dressed in a pair of pyjama trousers and a shirt of Fiyero's and with her hair still wet from the shower, he had managed to cook some hot soup and get a nice fire going. He helped her sit down in front of the fireplace and wrapped a towel around her hair. He then stripped his blanket off his bed to wrap it around her body and he sat down next to her, handing her a bowl of soup, which she accepted gratefully.

"Thank you," she said softly. "For… well, for all of this."

"You're welcome." He sat down on the couch behind her, unwinding the towel from her hair and using it instead to dry the dripping wet strands.

"I'm not a baby, though," Elphaba muttered as she ate her soup. "You don't have to take care of me."

Fiyero rolled his eyes. "Seriously, what is the matter with you?" he wanted to know, taking another strand of hair and rubbing it with the towel. "I'm only going to say this one more time, so listen carefully. I know you are capable of taking care of yourself. I know you don't need anyone – not a friend, not someone to help you, not someone to take care of you. You are independent and you can do it all by yourself. I know all that."

"So why are you constantly insisting on helping me and taking care of me, then?" she asked him. She didn't sound annoyed, which was a nice change. Instead, she sounded curious, as if she was genuinely interested in the answer to that question.

"Because I want to," he said simply, but truthfully. "Just because you are capable of doing it all by yourself, Fae, doesn't mean you have to."

She coughed a little and shivered, drawing the blanket tighter around her and cradling the bowl of soup between her trembling hands. Despite the hot shower she'd taken, the thick blanket around her, the fire, and the steaming bowl in her hands, she still felt cold all over.

"Where did that come from, by the way?" she asked, her voice hoarse. "The 'Fae', I mean?"

She felt him shrug. "I said I'd find you a nickname, didn't I? Why? Do you hate it?"

She hesitated for a moment. She didn't really hate the nickname in itself. It was more that she hated the feeling it gave her when he called her said nickname – annoying tingles and gooseflesh all over.

She finally settled for a muttered, "It's better than 'Elphie'."

Apparently Fiyero was satisfied with that, because he did not say anything else. When he had finished drying her hair to the best of his abilities and she had emptied the entire bowl of soup, he put the towel aside and slid down onto the floor next to her instead. She burrowed into his side, seeking his warmth; and he wrapped his arm around her as she buried her cold nose in his shirt.

He rubbed her arms, back and sides until he could finally feel her stop shivering. Then he rose to his feet and held out a hand to help Elphaba up as well.

"Come on, let's get you to bed."

She started spluttering protests, but he silenced her by holding up his hand. "Elphaba, you could have died!"

"Let's not get overdramatic," she muttered.

Fiyero stared at her in disbelief.

"You're calling me overdramatic?" He shook his head and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her a little. "Elphaba." He emphasised every syllable. "You told Avaric you can't swim. He didn't believe you. He and his friends threw you into Suicide Canal when you can't swim." He shook his head again. "So I don't think I'm being overdramatic when I say that you could have died. What if I hadn't been there and you hadn't been able to get yourself back to shore?" he asked her pointedly. "You could have drowned, Fae!"

"You make it sound like Avaric was trying to kill me," she mumbled. "He didn't mean to –"

"Please don't tell me you're defending him now. Are you crazy?" Fiyero clenched his fists. "I'll make him pay for what he did," he swore. "He's not getting away with this."

"I can do that myself," Elphaba said, scowling a little. "I don't need your help."

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer," he said. "Not after my little speech from not ten minutes ago. Did you not hear a word I said?" He scooped her up in his arms again and carried her over to his bed, making sure she was comfortable among the pillows before tucking the blanket tightly around her. He pulled another blanket from his closet and draped that one over her as well. "Are you warm enough?"

When she nodded, he went to close the curtains before sitting down on the edge of the bed again, moving his hand to smooth some of her soft, black hair away from her face.

"Just go to sleep," he whispered. "You're safe here."

Eyelids already drooping, she murmured, "Someone has to tell Galinda…"

"I'll send Boq to do it," Fiyero promised. He grinned. "That Munchkin will take any chance to see his precious Miss Galinda, no matter how much he really loves Nessa."

Elphaba smiled a little, even as she drifted off to sleep; and Fiyero leant down to press a soft kiss to her forehead before leaving her alone and moving to sit by the fire instead, lost in thought.

Review? *puppy dog eyes* Favourite lines?