-x-
After he opened the door, Timion's gaze fell immediately on the sleeping Elphaba. A memory from a long time ago flashed through his mind and he saw the little green girl that was restrained to a table in a lab, crying out in agony.
-x-
Timion stood in the doorway for a moment, trying to compose himself. That memory took him by surprise. He finally walked quietly into the room and over to Elphaba. He didn't want to wake his daughter yet because he wanted to use the time to get a better look on the green girl.
He was not surprised to see that Elphaba had received burns on almost every part of her body.
"How deep are the burns?" he asked the nurse quietly.
"She received second degree burns on most of her body, and third degree on her arms and shoulders. We hope that they heal properly, because we were at a loss on how to treat her, given the circumstances. The doctor improvised a lot in her case. We didn't even know if we could give her a infusion, so Dr. Bradburn decided to not give her one. Now we have the problem of supplying her body with enough fluid."
Timion was very glad to hear that the doctor had the foresight not to give Elphaba an infusion. The moment Nurse Clare mentioned it, the vision of the little girl writhing on the cold lab table briefly appeared before his eyes again.
"I happen to know that a normal infusion would indeed be very harmful to Elphaba; her veins react to watery substances too. She can't drink water either. Despite all of the obstacles, you handled the situation very well. I imagine that it is not easy to treat someone with such an unusual allergy, but I think I will be able to help. I happen to have some experience with treating burns from my work at the clinic that is cooperating with my lab."
"That is nice to hear. Doctor Bradburn is a competent man, but was afraid that he could not help Elphaba. We don't have her medical record and we were surprised that she was allowed to study here without it. It seems to me that she wanted to hide her allergy from everyone."
"I think that Elphaba had her reasons to do so," Timion said. But I think I know who wants to hide those record more than Elphaba herself...
"I will leave you with the girls now and will be back with Doctor Bradburn. We need to check on Elphaba's wounds again when she is awake."
"All right, I will see if I can wake my daughter."
Timion turned and looked at Galinda, who lay sprawled over the cot, her right leg escaping from under the blanked. He smiled and walked over to sit on the edge. Galinda shifted slightly but didn't wake. He reached over and began to stroke her tousled hair.
"Galinda my dear, wake up," he said softly and smiled when she unconsciously tried to bat his hands away. After a minute, Galinda opened her eyes and smiled broadly when she caught sight of her father.
"Popsicle you're finally here!" Galinda said, sounding very relieved and launching herself into Timion's arms. Timion embraced her lovingly and held her tightly.
"Yes my darling, I'm here. I got your wire when I was in the lab and thought that it would be best to come right away. Your roommate has special needs and not everyone knows how to treat her under those circumstances. I am positive that I will find some way to help Elphaba." Timion looked into his daughter's face and saw the insecurity in her eyes. "How are you doing my Galinda?" he asked gently.
After Galinda heard that question, she could no longer control her emotions and burst into tears, burying her face into her father's shoulder. All of the stress and fear she had felt since last afternoon overwhelmed her now.
Timion wasn't surprised to see his daughter crying, because she had always been very sensitive. He embraced his daughter tightly and held her until she stopped sobbing and there were only a few sniffles to be heard. Galinda raised her head from his shoulder and wiped the last tears from her puffy eyes.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Timion asked her gently when she seemed calmer.
"Oh Popsicle, I was so scared when I found her out there, lying under a stone bench. I didn't know at first that it was the rain that caused the burns and I thought that someone attacked her. She was so badly hurt and on top of that, she was absolutely terrified when the doctor was present. She had several panic attacks and I wish I knew what was haunting her whenever she sees a doctor."
Timion considered for a moment if he should tell her the reason, but decided against it. He was not sure how she would react. He also thought that Elphaba might want to tell her what happened in her past herself.
"Hmm, something must have happened, but I think she will tell you eventually. Have you befriended her?"
Galinda blushed and looked away from her father. "Uh... to be honest, we weren't really friends before that incident. We even fought for several months after the start of the term. I was a mean beast then," Galinda said, looking ashamed. "We started to accept one another two or three months ago, but I don't think that you could call it friendship yet."
Galinda took a deep breath and looked her Popsicle in the eyes again. "When I found her out there yesterday and saw how badly she was hurt when they examined her, it occurred to me that I couldn't lose her, because she is the most honest person I know. She tried to show me that I focused on the wrong things. All I did was humiliate her and she didn't deserve it. I really was not fair to her."
Timion was very surprised to hear Galinda's confession. He never thought that anyone would be able to change her mind about what was important. She had always had many friends wherever she went, but he never thought that Galinda had real friends. They all admired her for her looks and her wealth, but nothing more. He and her mother had always thought that there was more than a social butterfly inside their daughter.
"Galinda darling, everyone has to learn how to accept new people in their lives and it is not always easy. I am proud of you, because you decided to help your roommate and are trying to understand her more. I admit that I was a little bit surprised when I heard you practically never left her side yesterday."
"How could I? She has no one else to look after her."
"And it was absolutely right of you darling. Would you mind showing me Elphaba's oils? I need some basic information about what she normally uses."
"Of course Popsicle!" Galinda got up and quietly walked over to the dresser, where Nurse Clare had put the box. Timion looked over the assortment of oils and was not really surprised to see that she only had basic cleaning supplies.
"Okay, Elphaba's oils are indeed no use to us. I will confer with the doctor and hope that the first oil is ready tomorrow morning. They have to use the plain mineral oil one more time. I hope that it is not to late."
"Thank you daddy!" Galinda said and hugged him hard.
"I am glad that I can help darling, but now I need to go and find Doctor Bradburn. Just try and relax a bit," Timion said and went to the door.
"All right Popsicle, have fun in the lab."
After Timion was gone, Galinda lay down again and started to read a book about art. She wondered how long Elphaba would be asleep.
x
"What can I do for you Mr. Upland?" Nurse Nikota asked as Timion approached the front desk.
"I need to see Doctor Bradburn, concerning Miss Thropp. Would you please inform him?"
"Of course, I will call him immediately," the nurse said and hurried down the hallway to Dr. Bradburn's office. She came back with him two minute later.
The Doctor looked concerned. "Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Yes, yes everything is fine," Timion assured him quickly. " Elphaba is still asleep and I was able to have a little chat with my daughter. She showed me the oils and I decided that I should start creating new ones very soon. All I need is a lab where I can work properly."
Doctor Bradburn nodded. "I have a little lab for my own research here in the building; you may use it if you like. Do you have all of the necessary supplies with you?"
"Yes, the supplies should be with my luggage. I appreciate your offer, and I think I will be able to create something that should be ready by tomorrow morning."
"Very well. I will send someone to your room to fetch the supplies if that's all right with you. I can show you the lab in the meantime."
"That would be nice, thank you. Everything I need is in a big box," Timion said as he followed the Doctor out of the infirmary after the doctor sent a short note to Devin. They went up the stairs into another part of the building and down a short hallway. Doctor Bradburn took a key out of his pocket when they reached the lab. After they entered the room, Timion looked around and was astounded at how well equipped it was.
"You have a very nice lab here," Timion said and stepped further into the room. It was medium sized and had a front of windows on one side, which provided much light.
"Thank you. I made this room into a personal lab when it was offered as my office, but I wanted my office directly in the infirmary instead. So I had the idea to use it otherwise and this is the result."
There was a knock on the door and the doctor went to open it. It was Devin with the requested box. Doctor Bradburn thanked him for fetching it and handled the box over to Timion, who immediately began to unpack it. There was a big bottle of mineral oil and a wide variety of medical plants.
Doctor Bradburn was very curious about why Timion seemed to know what he has to use for Elphaba and decided to ask him.
"How do you know what you can use and what not? Has it something to do with you knowing Elphaba?"
Timion sighed. He was not sure if he should tell him the truth about his involvement in Elphaba's past or not. He decided to give the doctor minimal information to be save.
"Well, when I was young and made my apprenticeship after I graduated, I worked with a Professor who treated Elphaba at that time. During that time, I learned what harmed her and what didn't. I hope this will answer your question."
"Ah I see, I am very glad that you have this knowledge," Doctor Bradburn smiled.
I don't think that he would be so glad if he knew the whole truth Timion thought.
"All right, I will leave you with your work and return to my office. Don't hesitate to contact me if you require something."
"I will," Timion said and took the big oil bottle and poured some into a metal bowl. There was much work to do.
x
When Elphaba awoke, she had an incredible dry mouth and throat. When she tried to call for Galinda, she managed only a hoarse whisper.
Galinda heard her the second time she tried to call her. "Oh Elphaba, you are awake! What happened to you voice?" Galinda asked, concerned.
"My mouth and throat are very dry; would you mind handing me some milk?"
"Of course not, let me get you a big glass." Galinda went to the table and poured some cold milk that was in a little cooler into a glass. She quickly brought it Elphaba, who took it gratefully. As Elphaba tried to sit up more in order to drink, she became very dizzy and sunk back into the pillow.
"Is everything okay?" Galinda asked, looking alarmed.
"I just became very dizzy, that's all."
Elphaba made another attempt to sit up and was more successful this time, as Galinda supported her with a gentle hand on her back. When she was upright, the blonde placed a big pillow behind her.
"Thank you," Elphaba whispered and took little gulps of her milk. After she finished it, the uncomfortable feeling in her throat was slightly better.
"I hope you slept well. I am very sorry that you had a nightmare earlier.
"Yes I slept better this time, but I hate that I needed a sleep aid to fend off any nightmares at all," Elphaba said, annoyed. She started to fidget a little uncomfortably and looked over at Galinda, starting to blush deeply.
Galinda had never seen her roomie blush before and thought that something was wrong with her. "Are you okay? Your face is suddenly so, uh dark green."
"Oh, I am fine... I look like that when I blush, you know."
Galinda was a little embarrassed, because it had never crossed her mind that Elphaba couldn't get red like any other person would.
"Uh...Galinda? I really don't want to ask, but I... I have to go to the bathroom and I don't think that I can get there alone," she stammered and Galinda thought that it wasn't even possible for Elphaba's face to be darker than before.
"Should I get Nurse Clare to help you?"
"No! Please don't call the Nurse! It is hard enough that I need help to do something simple like going to the bathroom. Can you help me please?"
Galinda was not sure why her roomie was so hesitant to ask for help but remembered that she seemed to be very shy, because she never dressed herself outside the safety of their bathroom.
"Of course I will help you." This time it was Galinda's turn to blush slightly. "Uh Elphaba... actually there is another way to relieve yourself."
"And what would that be?"
"A... a bedpan," Galinda stuttered and blushed scarlet.
Elphaba looked at her incredulously. "I should use WHAT? Are you mad? Oh no, I will not subject myself to such humiliation!"
Galinda regretted her suggestion as soon as she saw the look on the green girl's face.
"Elphaba please calm down, you needn't use it, it was merely a suggestion. You can try to walk over to the bathroom with my help."
"I don't have to try it, I'll just do it, end of discussion," Elphaba said.
The little blonde went over to Elphaba's bed and held her arm out towards her roomie. Elphaba slowly moved to sit on the edge of her bed. She felt dizzy again and closed her eyes briefly against it. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, she thought, but the dizziness went away after a moment and she took Galinda's proffered arm and rose slowly to her feet, holding very firmly onto Galinda, as she was very unsteady. The bathroom was not far from the bed and they were both very happy about that fact. Galinda had one arm around Elphaba's waist and steadied her as best as she could while they slowly made their way towards their destination.
It went better than Galinda expected and soon both girls had to face a bigger problem: could Elphaba manage the rest alone, or did she need help? The blonde was afraid it would be too difficult, what with the green woman's shyness.
Galinda decided to let Elphaba try it alone; she always could assist her later if the need arose. When Elphaba was able to hold onto the wall near the toilet, Galinda let her go and discreetly turned around, hoping that she wouldn't be needed. Elphaba was relieved that her roomie seemed to sense that she was very uncomfortable with someone else present. She managed to lift her hospital gown and lowered herself slowly onto the toilet, stifling a groan.
"I think I can manage it alone from that point." She was still ashamed that Galinda had to see her so weak and wanted nothing more than to be alone.
"Okay I will wait outside, call me if you need help or something is wrong." Galinda was not sure if it was right to leave Elphaba alone. She waited just outside the door and hoped that everything was okay. After five minutes she grew nervous, fidgeting with her hands. When Galinda was just about to look after her roomie, Elphaba opened the door, looking relieved that she had manged it alone. Galinda attempted to support her again but she refused.
"Please Galinda, I am still capable of walking alone!"
"But you are very pale and I am afraid that you will fall should you got dizzy again,"Galinda said, but stayed a short distance behind her as soon as Elphaba started to walk back to her bed. When she was nearly there all went suddenly black and she swayed dangerously and her breathing got heavy. Galinda was at her side in an instant and held onto her as firmly as she dared, hoping she wouldn't hurt her.
"Oh my, Elphaba, see I told you that you shouldn't walk by yourself, you nearly fell! Do you think that you can walk the last couple of steps with my help?" Elphaba nodded and they managed to get there with some effort. The green girl was still breathing heavily and her hands were trembling. Galinda helped settling down again and covered her with the blanket. Due to all the movement, Elphaba was painfully reminded of her burns and it nearly took her breath away
"Thank you for helping me," Elphaba said quietly. "It was stupid of me to think that I could walk alone."
"You're welcome, are you feeling better?"
"I still feel a bit lightheaded and the burns are throbbing," Elphaba admitted.
"I think I know why you feel not well, you were asleep most of the day and didn't eat a lot. Just let me call the nurse, I am sure she will bring us some dinner." Galinda pulled the cord and Nurse Clare appeared shortly after.
"Hello girls! Have you had a nice nap?"
Both girls nodded. The nurse turned her attention towards Elphaba. "Are you feeling better dear? I hope that the nap was beneficial to you." She went over and took Elphaba's hand to feel her pulse and noticed that is was slightly irregular and the green girl's face was rather pale.
"I experienced some dizziness when I moved too fast, but otherwise I am okay for now," Elphaba said.
"I will give you some more medicine to stabilize your circulatory system then. Can you try to drink at least tree glasses of cider? It will help you a lot. Doctor Bradburn will look after you later, but first I will bring dinner for both of you."
"Thank you Nurse, can you bring us something without meat? I remember that Elphaba doesn't eat any." Elphaba looked surprised at Galinda; she didn't know that her roomie was paying such close attention to her.
"Oh no problem at all, I can bring you everything you want. I will be back in about twenty minutes," the nurse said and bustled out of the door.
Galinda chuckled lightly "I like her a lot, she is like a little storm that bursts through the rooms."
Elphaba winced at the notion of a storm and Galinda noticed it. "Oh Elphaba I am so sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned that word!"
"No don't apologize, it's okay. You couldn't know that I would react badly to the mention of a simple word like that. I don't want you to restrain yourself because of me."
Galinda nodded and settled down in the comfy chair beside her roomie's bed. It suddenly came to her mind that Elphaba didn't know about the arrival of her father yet. Galinda took a deep breath "There is something I need to tell you," she started a little afraid of how Elphaba would react "My father arrived earlier to help treating you. Apparently he wanted to be here so that he will be able to just get the right things for you." She exhaled and looked at the green girl, almost expecting her to be angry about it. But the green girl remained silent, looking very confused.
"Your father came all the way from Frottica to help me?" Elphaba said bewildered. She couldn't believe that someone would do such a thing for her, the ugly green girl who didn't deserve to be cared for. She had been told all her life that she was not worth it. "But why would he do such a thing? He doesn't even know me after all!"
"Oh Elphaba, my father likes to help people. That's why he is running his lab in Frottica. He loves science and wants to share his knowledge. I am happy that he is here, he will be able to help Doctor Bradburn a lot."
"All right, I don't think that I will make sense to dwell on it right now," Elphaba said, trying to put her confusion aside.
"As I know my Popsicle, he will already be in a lab on campus, happily mixing some oil or whatever he thinks they will need for you. He told me that he hopes to have the first oil ready for tomorrow morning. We were able to talk some while you was asleep."
Both girls were silent for a while, each one following her own thoughts. They didn't noticed how much time went by and were startled by Nurse Clare who knocked on the door and entered with a loaded down tray.
"Thank Oz you are back with food, I am starving!" Galinda said and jumped up from her chair. Elphaba had to stifle a chuckle- everybody knew that Galinda could eat for a entire army. She never understood why it doesn't affected her.
"Elphaba I think it would be best if you stay in bed to eat," Nurse Clare said and went over to her night-table which had an additional table to fold onto the side and helped her to sit up and settle against the pillows. Both had a plate with pasta with a vegetable based sauce and a salad.
"Thank you, you do a very good job caring for me," Elphaba said.
"Oh there's nothing to thank for my dear. Now eat your dinner and remember the drinking. You should feel better after a good meal. We need to look after your wounds after you finished dinner. Just call us when you are ready." The nurse was satisfied that her charge had anything she needed for now and left again.
While Galinda attacked her pasta with gusto, Elphaba ate only sparingly, as Galinda was looking at her and saw this, the blond narrowed her eyes and planted herself in front of her roomie.
"Elphaba now listen to me. You need to eat! Your injuries require a lot of strength from your body and right now I can imagine that there is not much left. So please try to eat at least half of your dinner."
Elphaba sighed "You are right of course, it is just that the thought of the Doctor being here soon terrifies me. I know that he is not out to hurt me." She picked up her fork and began to eat again and tried to forget what would happen later. As Galinda saw that Elphaba at least tried to eat, she was satisfied and returned to her own dinner.
"Galinda, may I ask you something?"
"Sure Elphaba, what is it?"
"It's just that you are here since you found me in the rain and I wonder if your friends wouldn't miss you. I don't want you to miss out any fun you could have, it is the weekend after all."
"Elphaba, honestly I am sure that some of my friends will wonder where I am, but as I told you before: I feel the need to stay with you and don't want to be anywhere else. The fact that it is the weekend is even benefiting, because now I have time to be there for you." She didn't want to tell her about Jennica yet, because she was afraid that it would upset her friend even more.
Elphaba sighed "Okay if you say so, I will believe you. But you need to go to class on Monday, you can't miss them, the finals are soon."
"I don't want to talk about me going to class right now, we can discuss that later. Now let me bring the tray with our dishes to the nurse, I think they will come for you soon anyway." She got up and collected the dishes on the tray and left. Nurse Clare saw her walking down the hallway and took the tray to a gathering spot. "I see that she ate all of her lunch, that it very good."
"Well I had to nudge her a little, she is very nervous about Dr. Bradburn examining her again."
"Understandable. Let me inform the doctor that you finished dinner, we'd like to do the examination and the changing of the dressings as soon as possible. Just wait a moment while I go into his office."
She knocked on Dr. Bradburn's office door and went inside. After to minutes they came out.
"Galinda I want to ask your father if he would like to see Elphaba's injuries too. He is currently in a lab right here in the building. Do you think that Elphaba is can handle another new person?"
"I don't know but she has to meet him sooner or later," Galinda said, hoping that her roomie was okay with her decision.
"All right I will go to the lab and ask him to join us. Nurse would you please prepare the new dressings and the medicine in the meantime?"
"Of course Doctor."
"Very good, I will be back shortly." with that he was gone.
"I hope Elphaba is okay with my father being here," Galinda said and entered their room with the nurse.
"Elphaba, I am happy that you ate your dinner. Dr. Bradburn went to fetch Mr. Upland, I am sure that he wants to speak with you. I will prepare your fresh dressings in the meantime."
Elphaba was not sure if she wanted to see Galinda's father yet. "Okay I suppose that he will need some information from me," she said warily. Just then both men entered the room and greeted the girls. Elphaba looked at Timion and had an uneasy feeling, he reminded her of someone. No Elphaba, he is Galinda's father, you are paranoid she thought to herself.
Timion was very nervous about speaking with Elphaba. He hoped that she would not recognize him and was relieved that she didn't.
"Elphaba this is Timion Upland, Galinda's father," Dr. Bradburn introduced him.
"It is nice to meet you , I appreciate that you came," Elphaba said extending her hand. That movement caused a stab of pain in her arm and shoulder, but she hid it well.
"Hello Miss Thropp, it is nice to meet you too. I am sure that I can be of help with your special needs. I know that it must be hard to find someone who will belief that you are allergic to water."
Elphaba nodded in response. She was glad that he didn't seem to be repulsed by her skin color.
Galinda has been observing the initial meeting between her roomie and her father. She thought that she saw some fear in Elphaba's eyes at first, but the green girl seemed to relax after a moment.
"Daddy how is it going with your first oil?"
"It is fine my dear, I am positive that it will be ready in the morning as I said earlier." He turned his attention back at Elphaba. "Galinda showed me your oils already, so don't be afraid that I will use something that will harm you. But I need to ask you if you ever used a oil based cream before?"
"No never," Elphaba said. "I always used oils and nothing else."
"We used some to treat her burns," Dr. Bradburn said.
"Okay, now I know that I can include it for your treatment. I already know some good creams to help you feeling better. Now we should have a look at your wounds, are you ready Nurse Clare?
"Yes I am." She came over and gently lowered the gown from her shoulders. "We will tend to the burns on your shoulders first since they are the worst." She started to remove the old dressing but it didn't came off as easy as it should because parts of it stuck to the wound. Elphaba yelped as the nurse tried to get it off as gently as she could. Galinda took her hand and lithely stroked it with her thump.
"I am sorry Elphaba, it is not my intention to hurt you, but I need to remove the dressing. I will get some oil and try to loosen it." She went over to the cabinet and retrieved the bottle with mineral oil.
After she soaked the fabric she was able to remove it almost painless for the green girl.
As all parts were removed Doctor Bradburn and Timion came over and assessed the current situation.
There was a big amount of serum on the surface of the wounds, which caused the fabric to stick onto it. Some blisters formed again needed to be punctured again in the morning when they had the antiseptic oil. But what worried the doctor most was the deep colour around the wounds. The skin looked even more inflamed since the morning.
"Elphaba are you experiencing more pain than before?" Doctor Bradburn asked.
"A little, but it is tolerable. The wounds are throbbing all the time and almost every movement causes more pain, but I know that it's normal."
"Alright then, we will proceed like this morning for now, tomorrow we will treat the burns with the new creams and oils."
Nurse Clare quickly cleaned the wounds and coated them thickly with the cream. Elphaba flinched every time when the cream was applied and gripped Galinda's hand tighter. After they finished with her shoulders, they quickly repeated the procedure on her back.
"It's okay Elphaba, they are almost finished," Galinda said soothingly as Elphaba started to whimper.
"Okay we are done, I am sorry that all of this caused you more pain," Nurse Clare said and handed Elphaba her new medicine.
"We gave you one of the analgesics which would make you drowsy again, because you still need to sleep a lot in order to regain strength," Doctor Bradburn said. "Now we will leave you two alone, it is still early but a good sleep will be good for both of you. I think you know what I want to say Miss Galinda," he added, looking sternly at the blonde. Galinda blushed and nodded. Elphaba was curious about what the Doctor meant with his remark.
"I will return to the lab and experiment, I actually have some ideas," Timion said. He went over to his daughter and kissed her on her forehead. "Sleep well you two, I will see you in the morning."
"Good night Popsicle!" Elphaba raised an eyebrow as she heard Galinda calling her father like that, but regretted it when that movement caused a flash of pain on her face.
After the adults left Elphaba let out a sigh of relieve. "Galinda, I don't know how long I can stand all of the fussing. I am not used to it."
"I know Elphaba, but they just want to make sure that you are okay."
"What did the Doctor mean with 'You know what I want to say' regarding sleeping?"
"Uh... I tell you later, it is not very important right now," Galinda said and hoped that Elphaba would drop the subject. "I will go into the bathroom and freshen up, I am rather tired. Call me if you need anything while I'm gone.
Elphaba settled herself onto the pillows and closed her eyes. She felt the now familiar drowsiness and wondered how long it would take her to fall asleep this time.
Galinda bathed quickly and attended to necessities. When she came out of the bathroom, Elphaba was sound asleep. "Good night my friend, I hope your sleep is untroubled."
She slipped under her own covers and was also asleep in no time.