She figured she must have looked cliché; sitting on a bar stool, lit by bluish light, staring at the giant bill in front of her and slowly sipping a scotch, enjoying the smooth, fiery liquid as it traced a path to her stomach and sending fumes back up her throat, causing her to cough. She had never been much of a drinker.

She looked around at her surroundings, uneasy about being with so many people after years of isolation. But it was a nice place with a bar, people chatting at tables and even a stage over looking a dance floor, all lit by dark, blue light in an attempt to give the place a club like feel. She couldn't help but to feel that people were looking at her, murmuring under their breath and glancing in her direction as discreetly as they could manage. It was like being a student all over again.

At least they weren't panicked by her presence like in other parts of Oz. The Vinkus was much more rural and folks were never connected enough to be manipulated. She continued to sip her drink, staring at the paper in front of her, adjusting her glasses.

Total: $500,000

The numbers seemed too ordinary, too plain to completely ruin someone's life – just black numbers on a piece of paper, numbers like the numbers printed in her school records, weather reports and all those random surveys in the newspaper. Just black ink on paper.

$500,000

She sighed and sipped her drink. How in hell was she supposed to pay that? She was nearly forty and was a Witch who didn't graduate college so hopes for employment were nearly out of the question….and here she was spending her money on liquor. But she knew she probably would have to get a job some time or other – of course it would be easier for now to get a loan from one of those back - street cooperation's but she'd have to pay them back eventually and with interest. It would be better if she already had some kind of profit – but who to turn to?

She thought for a moment, raking her brains for an ally, basically someone who wouldn't run away at the sight of her. Glinda – that traitor was employed by the Wizard and Madame Morrible themselves so that was out of the question and the same goes with Avaric…..and Boq had a farm and scared as hell of her. This was hopeless.

She groaned in frustration. There had to be someone or maybe an Animal like…Princess Nastoya! The Witch could have slapped herself. How could she have forgotten about the Elephant princess of the Scrow who had actually said she would help her? And had even given her crows.

But what kind of job could she get? A bounty hunter for her experience in the resistance, participating in exterminations? She didn't want to be an assassin. Or perhaps an assistant of some sort, taking notes for Animals with hoofs -

"Hey, it's you again." said a voice behind her, startling her for she wasn't expecting anyone to talk to her, being a Witch. But it seems he knew her.

"What – OH MY GO –" He clamped a hand over her mouth, glancing over his shoulder as people began pointing at them. She turned her head to dislodge his hand and looked up at him in astonishment. "Dr. Morri –"

"Fitz! Call me Master Fitz or Doctor or whatever you please but not…..that."

"You mean Morrible."

"No I meant don't call me 'Nephew of the Wizard's Press Secretary." He smirked at her with that boyish, playful smirk and she groaned and rolled her eyes, dropping her head to the bar counter. Even with their conflicts and accusations, there was still a lingering friendliness between them, they way they got to each other like siblings.

"Fine," she replied, looking up. "I'll stick with Morrible."

Dr. Morrible had abandoned his lab coat and was now wearing a plain white T shirt under a zip up sweater with a hood and black pants, allowing her to note that his well paying job had granted him the benefits of rest and exercise for he was quite lean for a man of his age and handsome as ever. But why the hell was he here? Did he come to capture her and bring her back to Munchkinland? She was on guard.

He shook his head at a loss and plopped down on a stool next to her, ordering them both a drink.

"Sooo…" he trailed off into silence as the Witch picked up her drink, tilted her head and gulped it down. "Um…how're you doing nowadays?"

Strangest way to start a conversation with a patient that ran away and she glared at him, her eyes narrowed while he grinned sheepishly. "What kind of question is that?" she demanded. "What do you think?"

"Well I thought…." people were looking at them, muttering amongst each other. It was making him self conscious and he leaned closer. "I just thought I'd ask."

"Oh that's rich - what are you even doing here? Have you come to capture me for further experiments?" It ended up sounding like a joke and he laughed out loud, causing other customers to chatter excitedly, pointing at them like gossipy teenagers.

"Nope, I've been recruited."

"Recruited." It was amazing how easily she could talk to him. He had just appeared out of no where and they were already having a conversation whether she wanted to or not.

"Yep, the Vinkus needs doctors and I happen to be a doctor so there you go."

"Well that is brilliant."

They sat there awkwardly, sipping their drinks with Fitz sending her curios glances. He found it amazing how quickly she had recovered, she had already removed the bandages around her head and eye and all that remained was the cast around her leg and forearm. But he couldn't get over the fact that she looked and was so incredibly normal. After all those years around his Aunt trying to get him to fear the Wicked Witch of the West and to think of her as those Witches in fairy tales, all messed up.

He smirked. If only his aunt knew she was almost like a parody of a Wicked Witch, young with sharp, pronounced features, a slim, long figure and smooth, emerald skin. The only things that could define her as a Witch was her pigmentation and her cone shaped hat that hid her face in shadows in a way that made her seem mysterious rather than…..he racked his brains for the word. Witchy he decided lamely. And then there were her glasses.

"You know, I never pictured the Wicked Witch of the West with glasses." he finally said. They were black, steel rimed glasses with modern looking rectangular lenses.

"I'm near sighted." She tapped the package of papers in front of her. He had been wondering what that was.

"You found a book of spells?" he teased.

She glared at him in annoyance. His cockiness was infuriating her, turning everything she said, however important into a joke. It was like he was trying to give her hell, with that godamned smirk of his. She looked away, resting her chin in her hand…

"WHEN YOU SEE MY FACE, HOPE IT GIVES YOU HELL, HOPE IT GIVES YOU HELL!"

She jumped in surprise and nearly fell off her stool. "What are you….." she trailed off in astonishment, looking up to see Fitz out of his seat pointing at her mockingly.

"WHEN YOU WALK MY WAY, HOPE IT GIVES YOU HELL, HOPE IT GIVES YOU HELL!" She could only stare at him, stunned into blankness. It had a strange instrumental unlike anything she had heard before. It was like construction site with instruments pounding, establishing the beat with strange sounding notes like an artificial acoustic guitar that was capable of holding notes and a loud drum cover.

"IF YOU FIND A MAN THAT GIVES A DAMN AND TREATS YOU WELL!" he was singing at the top of his lungs, moving animatedly according to the beat, his eyes glimmering and his mouth curled in a boyish smirk. "THEN HE'S A FOOL, YOU'RE JUST AS WELL, HOPE IT GIVES YOU HELL! I HOPE IT GIVES YOU HELL!"

He was right. The only man who ever treated her well was a fool to do so, a fool to fall for her mysterious ways that kept him coming, searching for answers she refused to give and he died for it. That had certainly given her hell; she had been driven into a muted depression for fifteen years, searching hopelessly for forgiveness in a selfish need to redeem her self. Fitz was singing her life! Was this even real?

"Miss?" said a voice she detected to be in front of her.

"TOMORROW, YOU'LL BE THINKING TO YOURSELF!" He came closer, bending his knees to point a finger in her face. "YEAH, WERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG? BUT THE LIST GOES ON AND ON!"

Were did it all go wrong? It went wrong from the beginning, from the moment she emerged and took her first breath. From then, it all just went to hell; every campaign had failed starting with her failure in the resistance all the way to freeing the Royal Vinkun family from the clutches of the Wizard. The list was endless, her whole life was nothing but a series lost causes.

"Hello? What's happening?" said the voice. She shook her head, trying to respond as the music blared in her mind.

"Well I…." she closed her eyes allowing the music to fade like a dream ending.

"TRUTH BE TOLD I MISSED YOU…." What was that suppose to mean? She opened her eyes and there was Fitz in his seat, looking at her questioningly, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed.

"And you're still seeing things." He said not disapprovingly but observantly.

"Um…." She couldn't think quickly enough of a way to deny it and looked at her hands pressed on her lap like a child being scolded.

"You should seriously get off the drugs, you know they kill brain cells and you could –"

"I don't need to hear this – and I am not on drugs!"

"Then what was that just now?" he leaned closer so their shoulders were nearly touching and she could see genuine concern in his brooding eyes or was it just curiosity? What if he was planning to blab all this to his horrible Aunt and make it public? She could imagine the headline: Wicked Witch of the West: Criminally Insane or Just High All The Time?

She glared at him from under the brim of her hat, her eyes narrowed with suspicion and he shrugged.

"You're not afraid of me." She said, keeping her tone level in order not t give anything away. If someone asked, she'd surely deny it, but she was hopeful. It would be nice to talk with someone under the age of 80 and who didn't constantly burst into episodes of adolescent drama or run away at the sight of her. But she had to be careful. This was the nephew of Madame Morrible.

"You haven't done anything yet." He suddenly pulled away and asked for the bill. He paid for their drinks before she could say anything then abruptly got up to leave. "But truth be told" he said before heading out. "I kinda missed you."

She was startled. "Why's that?"

"Life's less boring when you're around." He grinned and out headed out the door leaving her to gather her thoughts.

I LOVE hearing from you people so….what did you think?