AN: Hey guys. I was so touched by the wonderful reviews and kind wishes you all sent me after my author's note last chapter. It means a lot to me. Maybe one day, I'll write a bestseller and I won't NEED a job, lol. Once I can stop stealing other people's characters and start writing my own :-p. Also, I wasn't angry at the person who suggested I get rid of my other stories that aren't finished, I was just wondering if I should or not (which, considering all of the reviews, I will most definitely LEAVE those stories here). I can see both sides of that, and I was just wondering how the majority of you felt. Thank you for telling me. And there are a few that occasionally I think of finishing. And there are some that, I think, have already been dragged on too long and I need to find a clean ending. What I like about the past two stories I've written that has helped me come to an end quickly enough is the outline. Having a plan instead of just writing what I feel like is really helpful. It worked with "From Elphaba to Fae" and, considering how quickly I got to that ending and how much I have always loved that story, I think I might need to go through and write outlines, see what I can come up with. "Forced Love" will be the first for me to outline, because I think I had a fun idea, but I didn't know exactly where I was going with it, and that's important. I'm also totally open to ideas.

Also, as of this publishing, I am (writing-wise) only two or three chapters from writing the end of this story. I'm on chapter forty-two right now, and there should be forty-four or so. We shall see.

Again, thank you for all of the sweet comments and well-wishes.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: A Case of Need

Winter break came quickly after all of that. She felt like she'd barely had time to process everything that happened before she found herself back inside the walls of Kiamo Ko. Fiyero's parents even greeted her somewhat warmly.

"Miss Elphaba, we heard that you had a bit of an illness. We were quite concerned." Fiyero's mother said after hugging and kissing her son.

Madame Morrible must've written them. If she had written them about her supposed "fainting spell" she most certainly would've written them about Elphaba's other problem had she known. Elphaba nodded. "I'm fine. Did you hear exactly what happened?"

"All Madame Morrible told us was that you fainted and that you were then bedridden for two days of classes."

"Well, I can't exactly blame her for fainting. Mom, Dad, she found our professor dead. She was just lucky she forgot her notebook and," Fiyero paused and Elphaba shot him a look, "her roommate, uh, came to find her."

Elphaba raised her eyebrows at Fiyero. He had gotten pretty close to giving them away. She shook her head. "I'm fine now, though."

"What happened to your professor?"

"A lab accident," she lied. Well, that was the lie Morrible told, too. "I was going to help him with his research."

"Well, we are glad that you're okay." Fiyero's mother turned to her son. "Now, Fiyero, please, come sit in the living room with us and tell us all about your semester."

Fiyero gave Elphaba a sad smile and she nodded at him. He was off to relax and talk with his parents and she was to unpack and start working in the kitchens right away. So that's what she did.

That night he snuck into her bedroom after she'd changed into her nightclothes. She looked up when he entered, smiling. "We didn't discuss whether or not you visiting me was a good idea." But she didn't mind.

"Fae," he came up to the bed and cupped her cheek, "I can't go through what I went through this summer, barely able to see you. We don't even have to make love; just let me stay here with you."

They'd started making love again two weeks previously, and Fiyero felt the need to tell her that she "didn't have to" every single time, just in case she was uncomfortable after everything. She laughed. "Oh, Yero, you're ridiculous. Believe me, I'll tell you if I don't want to."

Afterwards, he kissed his way along her body softly. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She looked at him. "But we really should've talked about whether you sneaking in here was a good idea."

"Fae…"

"I'm not going to tell you not to." She wanted him there, but she hated giving in. But after everything, a small part of her needed him. That feeling would go away in time, she assured herself. It was only a temporary thing, a result of the miscarriage, of Dr. Dillamond's death, of what she'd found out about her family… all in one day. Once things died down a little more (more than they had in the past month), she'd be able to let go of him if she needed to – as she knew she'd need to. Just not right now.

"Good. I don't ever want to be without you."

But he'd have to. They both knew that. One day he'd have to marry Sarima. Even if she could handle it and stayed, which she knew she couldn't, they wouldn't have a lot of time together. Their time as it was together was limited. She didn't want to talk about that. In the past weeks when she'd thought about it, she'd caught herself almost tearing up, uncharacteristic as it was. She supposed she was still going through hormonal changes from the miscarriage.

He kissed her softly on the mouth. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. It's just late."

"Do you want me to leave?"

She wanted to tell him that no, she didn't want him to leave, ever. She wanted to beg him to hold her. But she knew she couldn't fool herself. "Maybe it would be best."

He seemed saddened by that, but nodded. "I'll be back."

"Next week, Yero, we can't…"

"I'll still be back." He smiled at her as he got up. "I love you. Have a good night."

"I'll try." As the door shut behind him, she rolled over in the bed and pulled the blanket over her eyes, squeezing them shut. It had become harder and harder to sleep. At some point, she drifted off.

Fiyero did sneak into her room quite often, but there was one night when she really didn't expect him.

"Fiyero, what are you doing in here? It's nearly morning and it's Lurlinemas, for Oz's sake. Your sister and brother will probably be getting up insanely early to open presents."

"Which is why I'm up earlier. You can't open this in the living room with the rest of us, but I wanted to be here when you opened it. Can you turn on a small light?"

She did. "Please tell me you didn't actually get me something, Yero."

His guilty look told her all she needed to know.

"I shouldn't have even bothered to tell you not to. You never listen."

"I listen when it's important. But this is just silly. You never let me do anything for you."

There was a reason for that. The more she let him do, the more accustomed to it she'd get. And it couldn't be that way always. She was not going to get into the habit of depending on him. But this was just a little gift. He'd never let her refuse it, anyway. "Fine."

He sat beside her on the bed and handed her a small box. Fiyero stared at her intently, waiting for her to open it. She hated him staring.

"Fiyero, don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

She didn't know how to explain it to him, so she sighed and opened the gift, trying to ignore his gaze on her. "Um, Yero…"

He looked at her, confused. "What?"

"I can't…"

"Don't tell me you can't take it, Fae. I had it made specially for you. I can't take it back, so you have to keep it."

She gave him a half smile. "That wasn't what I was going to say. You know I can never wear it, right? Not around here, not at Shiz."

"Why…?"

"You know why. Around here, everyone would wonder where a schoolmarm with no money got such an expensive necklace. And at Shiz, everyone knows I'm not well off, Yero. If someone asks who gave it to me, what exactly do I say?"

He frowned.

She kissed him on the cheek. "It's beautiful. It really is. And I love it. But…"

"I guess I didn't complete think that idea through," Fiyero sighed.

She saw the disappointment in his eyes. "I will wear it. Never here. But every night at Shiz, before I go to bed, I will put it on."

That seemed to brighten his attitude a little.

The gold felt so… fragile between her fingers. The chain was so thin, so smooth. And the small but elegant emerald heart that hung from the chain felt cold on her collarbone when he took it from her and placed it around her neck.

"I just wanted to see it on you." He smiled.

"And now you can take it off," she said. She caught him starting to frown again. "And perhaps you can take off my nightgown, too?"

That put the smile right back on his face. But he refused to let her take the necklace off until he left her later that morning. He had good timing, too, because moments later she heard Rienna running to his room and knocking on his door haphazardly, shouting that it was time to open presents. She smiled sadly at that.

She was really going to have to do something about the way she was starting to need him.