Disclaimer- I don't own Wicked or Rent.
A/N- Thanks to those of you who reviewed! I love all reviews, no matter how long they are, so please take the time to review. I really appreciate them and I do read them all. Anyway, here's the next chapter.
Maureen finally gathered herself together and opened her arms to the girls. They both ran into her arms; she hugged them both deeply.
"Thank you, my babies. That was probably the coolest present I've ever had! You both rock! So, your angels…how long have they been singing to you?"
Emaurie looked at her mother and answered solemnly, "Always… Yeah, always."
Elfie shook her head. "Uh-uh. Two of them have-- the girl angels. But now there's another angel with them and he's a man. And he's very tall….taller than Daddy almost! He just came with them not long ago, but he has a really nice smile and he always makes me feel good when he smiles at me."
Emaurie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he has a nice smile. And he holds hands with one of the other angels a lot—the angel with shorter hair. But he always knew the song they sing to us. But when we were little, it was only the two girl angels. One of them has really long hair; almost as long as Aunt Faba's. And dark like hers too…but wavy. Why?"
Maureen looked at the girls with a small smile. "Because I think Mark, Joanne, and I know your angels. And one of them is named Angel."
Elphaba spoke up, "Angel first came here to help us keep Burzee free. I know her; I don't know the others, but I do know Angel. She's truly a beautiful soul."
From where she still sat on the sofa, Joanne let out a breath and spoke, addressing the girls. "I owe you both an apology. I got mad and yelled when I wasn't angry at you at all. I'm sorry I didn't treat you with the respect you both deserve."
Emaurie and Elfie glanced at each other before turning their heads to Joanne again.
"So you're not mad now?" Elfie asked.
Joanne gave it some thought and then looked the little girl in the eyes. "No, I'm not mad…just very confused. Where I come from, this sort of thing can't happen. So I think one of the reasons I reacted the way I did was because I was… scared, I guess."
Elfie stepped forward and took Joanne's hand, surprising the lawyer. "It's okay to be scared; Daddy tells me that all the time. He says that realizing you're afraid is the first step to being courageous. I want to be courageous just like Mama and Daddy."
Joanne could see from looking at the child that the only thing playing was innocence. She and her cousin had truly only done this out of love for Maureen.
Emaurie turned to Mark. "Sorry if we scared you; we didn't mean to. Oh, and thanks for making Elfie feel better; that was really nice of you, especially if you were scared."
A servant then entered through the doorway and announced that dinner was ready. Emrys turned to address him. "There'll be two more for dinner, and please see that two guest rooms are made up, and give them an adjoining sitting room." As the servant moved away, Emrys finished, "Thank you."
It struck Joanne that though he may be a king, Emrys was not in the least bit formal, at least not with his family and friends. No wonder Maureen was comfortable with him. Rules and borders had never appealed to Maureen. Imagining her being married to someone that formal would be incomprehensible. This man, however, was capable of being king, but also being a man.
They began to move out of the sitting room. Joanne smiled as she looked at Mark. He had a little girl holding each hand.
Fiyero and Emrys moved ahead and Joanne finally had a chance to talk with Maureen.
The diva looked at her as she approached. "So you grew your hair longer, huh? It works." Maureen continued, "It's good to see you. I missed you all a lot. It's not like I could send a letter or anything. I wonder all the time how the Boho's are. I knew about Mimi; I saw her and Angel at my wedding. From the girls' description, I guess their other angel is Collins?"
"I guess so. When he didn't come to Mimi's funeral, we wondered and we found out later that he had died in Boston. I'm glad he and Angel are together again." She continued after a small pause. "Roger's in California. He's singing again and he released a record."
Maureen shook her head and laughed. "It figures the boy would go and get famous when I wasn't around to sing backup."
Joanne looked at Maureen meaningfully. "You never sing backup. You were always front and center, even now. How much more front and center can you get than marrying a king?"
Joanne saw Maureen's face become serious. "I didn't marry a king. I married Emrys. Rys is…well, he's everything. Now there's Emmy. She's just the best. I think she's the best of Rys and me…and herself."
Joanne had to ask, but she did it softly. "Mo, why is she green? Why is your sister green?"
Maureen stopped walking and faced her. "Why is the sky blue? They just are, Joanne. Emmy's lucky; no one here judges her and she has Faba to look up to. It wasn't that easy for Elphaba. She's taken loads of crap for being green all her life. She's smart, though, and she's strong. Maybe a little like you that way. Anyway, green's not common, not even here. So don't make a big deal about it in front of Emmy. She's perfect just the way she is, and we made sure of that. Maybe Faba most of all."
Joanne smiled slowly. "I was angry, you know. You've grown, you're happy, you're comfortable in your own skin now. Where as I…"
Maureen stopped her. "You worry too much about the little things. Don't sweat them. You'll be fine the way you are."
A silence fell between the two as they continued walking. Joanne glanced sideways at Maureen, feeling the same attraction that she had always felt for her.
The feeling was obviously different now that Maureen was truly happy in her relationship with Emrys. The brunette used to flirt with every person in sight, but now she never gave anyone besides Emrys a second glance.
Joanne had moved on from her relationship with Maureen as well, but she knew that she would always feel some sort of attraction toward the current queen, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was or would be anything more.
As the two approached the dining room, they saw Emrys waiting outside the door for them. Maureen sprang forward and attached herself to his arm, pecking him on the lips. Joanne saw her whisper something in his ear, smirking seductively. He raised his eyebrows and smiled at whatever she had said.
Focusing on the dining room, Joanne took a look at the seating arrangement. Mark had been put in between Emaurie and Elfie on one side of the table, and across from them were Elphaba and Fiyero. Emrys and Maureen were now moving to sit at the ends, leaving a seat for Joanne next to Elphaba.
They all got settled and the food was soon put in front of them.
Elphaba looked across the table at the two little girls. "By the way, after dinner we need to have a talk."