AN: Because I felt a little bit bad for leaving you all on that cliffhanger and reading your reviews - just a little bit - here's another update :).

Musicgal3: Why, thank you. *curtsies*

No, guys, it's not the end. Yes, Elphaba'sGirl, I promise this will have a happy ending. You'll be okay after this chapter... sort of. Maybe.

Moreanswers24? *tries to coax her out from under the bed* Come on, come on out! I updated!

I loved all the sad, desperate, heartbroken reviews... but I think the one I loved most was from stagemanagertargaryen. I mean, everyone was like, "NOOOOOO, YOU KILLED MY FEELS, YOU CAN'T KILL ELPHABA, I'M CRYING" and then there's stagemanagertargaryen: "fantastic job". That was so dry it cracked me up.

Thank you for making me die with laughter at your reviews :D. Feel free to try and do it again :P.


Chapter 11. Healed

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, staring at her still body through the glass, his eyes pricking with tears. It could be minutes, mere clock-ticks, even; but it felt like hours. His thoughts were a mess – memories of him and Elphaba mixed with pain and grief and the realisation that it was over. She was gone and she wasn't coming back this time. He was absolutely sure that this must be what it felt like to die.

And then it happened.

She drew a breath.

Fiyero wasn't sure at first if he had imagined it. Maybe he wanted this so badly that he had just thought he was seeing it happening before his very eyes. Maybe he was starting to hallucinate.

But then the flat line on one of the machines, the one that indicated her heartbeat, suddenly wasn't flat anymore. It rose and fell, peaks and dales, and the doctor whirled around when he heard that. His eyes widened and he rushed over to the side of Elphaba's bed, pressing his fingers to her neck, then pulling off his stethoscope and listening to her heartbeat and breathing. He tossed the instrument aside and threw the door open. "I need a nurse in here!" he shouted into the hallway before disappearing inside the room again.

All this time, Fiyero was holding his breath. He felt dizzy and disoriented, he wasn't sure what was happening, but he desperately hoped that what he thought was happening was indeed actually happening.

A nurse rushed into the room and she and the doctor were talking heatedly for a few moments, with wide arm gestures, meanwhile checking all the machines and pushing another stethoscope to Elphaba's chest. Fiyero felt like he couldn't breathe. Let her be alive. Please, please let her be alive…

Finally, the doctor and the nurse both calmed down. The nurse stayed in the room, checking some more things over, while the doctor came out into the hallway.

Fiyero practically pounced on him. "What happened? Is she alive? Will she be okay?" He looked at the doctor anxiously, his heart hammering in his chest.

The man smiled and put a hand on Fiyero's shoulder. "She's alive," he confirmed. "I have no idea how this happened, but somehow, when we switched off her life support, her own body took over again. She hasn't woken up yet and she probably won't, not in the next few hours, at least – her body needs some time to recover first. But honestly? I think she's going to make it. I think she's going to be just fine. She's a fighter, that girl of yours."

That did it. Fiyero broke down, sinking down to the floor, sobbing his heart out. She would be okay. She was alive, she was still here… she hadn't disappeared, she had just returned to her body. She would be fine again.

The doctor seemed to be completely at loss as to what to do with the crying prince. Eventually, he just patted Fiyero's head sympathetically and hurried off. There were things that needed to be taken care of, people that had to be notified. He sent someone to find the green girl's family – Governor Thropp and his youngest daughter, Nessarose – and made some notes in Elphaba's file, peering over the paper every now and then to glance at the Vinkun prince still crying in the hallway.

After what felt like ages and clock-ticks at the same time, the door to Elphaba's room opened and the nurse came out. Her face softened when she saw Fiyero sitting there.

"She's not awake yet," the nurse said softly, placing one hand on his shoulder, "but would you like to see her?"

Her heart broke when she saw his tear-stained face and the hope in his eyes when she asked him that.

"Can I?" he asked her hopefully, and she smiled at him.

"As long as you promise me to try and stay calm and not make it too long," she warned him gently. "She needs her rest right now."

Fiyero nodded, wiping his nose with his sleeve, and scrambled to his feet and into the room. The nurse softly closed the door behind him and he sank down on a chair next to Elphaba's bed, taking her hand in his and softly stroking it with his thumb; then he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.

"I love you," he whispered, fresh tears brimming in his eyes. "I love you so much… thank you for coming back to me."

He held her hand, he kissed her lips and her cheeks and her hair and her forehead, but he still felt like he wasn't close enough to her. Eventually, he kicked off his shoes and crawled onto the bed next to her, lying down on his side next to her so that he could look at her face. She looked different than she had before. There was more colour in her cheeks and she looked… peaceful. He stroked some soft, raven hair away from her face, pressing a kiss to her temple, then burying his face in her neck, inhaling her scent. He thought she'd smell like hospital now, but that exotic scent so characteristic of her was still lingering around her, though a bit fainter than usual.

Even though the nurse had said that he could only stay for a little while, he didn't move. When the door opened, he braced himself, fearing that they were coming to take him out of the room; but then he looked up and he realised it wasn't the nurse or the doctor coming in. It were Galinda and Nessarose.

"The doctor sent someone to get me," the latter explained upon seeing Fiyero's questioning look. "They wanted to find Father, too, but I told them not to bother. It's not like he… like he cares." She swallowed, clearly finding it hard having to accept that. Galinda squeezed her shoulder.

"Is it true?" the blonde whispered, her blue eyes filled with tears as she looked at Fiyero. "Will she be okay?"

He nodded, a small smile spreading across his face. "Yes," he croaked. "I… they…" He took a deep breath. "She was here," he said, his voice shaking. "She tried to stop them, but they turned off her life support… Frex wanted them to."

Nessa nodded, tears in her eyes as well. "I know."

"Morrible was here," Fiyero choked out. "To see to it that Fae would really die… she cast a spell on the hospital room that prevented Elphaba from going in again. They turned off all the machines, and… we had to say goodbye…" He was crying again, and Galinda stepped forward to hug him gently.

He clung to her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done," he whispered brokenly. "Saying goodbye to her."

"I know, Fiyero," Galinda whispered, rubbing his back comfortingly. "I know."

"And then…" He took a shuddering breath. "And then she… she started breathing again. Her heart started beating…" His head was still spinning. "The doctor said that her body took over again… when the machines stopped breathing for her, she started breathing again herself. He said – the doctor, I mean – he said that she's a fighter."

Nessa smiled softly. She had wheeled herself to the other side of the bed and had taken her sisters hand in her own. "She is," she agreed. "If anyone's a fighter, it's Fabala."

"What about her spirit?" Galinda asked earnestly as she let go of Fiyero. "Is she still here, or how does that work?"

Fiyero shrugged helplessly. "I think… I hope it returned to where it belongs – inside her body," he said. "But I guess we won't know that until she wakes up."

"When will that be?" asked Nessa.

Fiyero shrugged again. "I don't know." He bit his lip. "The doctor said not for a few hours, because her body needs time to heal, but… it might be soon." He tore himself away from Elphaba, turning towards Galinda instead. "Let's… let's give Nessa a moment alone with her," he suggested softly, and Galinda smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

"That's sweet of you, Fiyero."

"You don't have to," Nessa said, turning around to face him. "Fiyero, I… I know how much you love her. Especially now, I can see it. And I hate to say this, but… but Father doesn't care about her. I know that now. He really doesn't. Fiyero…" She looked at him, her hazel eyes solemn. "How serious are you about her?"

He didn't hesitate. "More serious than I've ever been about anything in my life," he replied steadily. "I love her. I… I can't live without her."

Galinda let out a soft cry, clasping her hands together. "That is so sweet! Do you want to marry her? Will you live happily ever after?" she gushed.

Fiyero chuckled weakly. "Maybe," he said. "But yes, I do want to marry her. I really, really do."

"You should."

They all turned towards Nessa again. The girl sighed and wheeled herself closer.

"Listen to me, Fiyero," she said. "I never saw how Father treated her, how much he hates her, how unhappy she was with us… and I'm so sorry. But I see it now, and I just can't let her get back to that. I can't let Father treat her like a servant anymore, I can't watch her having to go back to Munchkinland with us and being unhappy again… she deserves better than that." She looked up at Fiyero through her long eyelashes. "Marry her," she said softly. "The sooner, the better. Take her to the Vinkus with you. Make her happy. She's been unhappy for long enough now."

Fiyero was completely baffled.

"Please?" Nessa added, her voice trembling. "She's my sister. I love her. Just…"

She was cut off when Fiyero suddenly swung her out of her chair and spun her around, then hugged her tightly. "Nessa," he declared, "I love you."

Despite everything, she giggled softly. He placed her back in her chair and then Galinda started squealing.

"Oh my Oz!" she said, her eyes shining. "You two should elope!"

Nessa smiled widely. "Yes!"

"There's a small chapel in Shiz," Galinda said enthusiastically. "The town, I mean. They do those kinds of things… It would be so romantic!"

Fiyero felt dizzy again; but this time, it was a good type of dizzy. "Are… are you sure?" he asked Nessa, who nodded vigorously.

"Absolutely," she said.

His smile was so big he felt like his face was going to split in two, but he didn't care. It didn't even disappear when the nurse finally came back and ushered them all out of the room – though it fell a little.

Elphaba would be okay. She was alive and she would be fine again… and they were going to be married.


Neither of them left the hospital that day. They stayed in the waiting room, sipping coffee and sitting quietly, waiting for any news. At some point, the doctor came into the room.

"Miss Nessarose?" he asked, peering over his glasses at the girl in the wheelchair. "Could you please come with me?"

Nessa looked anxious, as did Galinda and Fiyero. "Why?" she asked, alarmed. "What's wrong? Is my sister okay?"

The doctor smiled at her. "Your sister is perfectly fine, Miss Nessarose," he assured her. "She is regaining consciousness and we thing it will be good for her to see a familiar face when she wakes up."

Nessa held her breath in excitement, but then she looked at Fiyero. "Wouldn't you… wouldn't you rather go and see her?" she asked him a bit shyly.

He smiled at her. He was dying to see Elphaba, but he shook his head.

"You're her sister," he said. "You go."

She returned the smile and wheeled herself after the doctor and into a hallway.

Fiyero and Galinda had to wait again. He got up and went to get them some fresh coffee; she sighed and wiggled her foot, impatient for any news. Nessa returned about fifteen minutes later, her eyes shining, though she also looked a little sad.

"They kicked me out," she said when she reached her friends. "They didn't want me to stay any longer, because Fabala needs to sleep, but… she's awake. She's awake and responsive, she knew who I was, and she practically begged me to get her out of here as soon as possible because she hates hospitals and she is feeling, I quote, "completely fine"."

Fiyero's face broke into a grin and Galinda smiled widely. "Oh, thank Oz!"

Nessa then looked at Fiyero. "There's one thing, though," she said softly.

The look in her eyes made him wary and he asked a bit more harshly than he had intended, "What? Nessa?"

She sighed. "Fiyero, she… she's okay," Nessa said. "But… she doesn't remember."

Fiyero stared at her.

Nessa looked down. "I'm sorry," she said. "But she doesn't remember anything that happened after the accident."