(A/N: Hullo! Sorry for the wait. Forgive me? Good. Moving on, thank you to all you LOVELY, and AWESOME reviewers. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this. I've decided not to make a sequal, at least for now, and just have a title that only covers half the story. Oh well, not everything can make sense. Well, I don't have much to say, so I hope you like this installment, and review!)

Fiyero felt his breath stop, his heart stop, the clock stopped ticking, he was frozen, time was frozen everything was frozen. All he saw was her, everything was frozen in that moment. She would be fine, she would not be in a permanent coma, she was awake, she had said his name with her beautiful voice, she was amazing. Fiyero could only stare at her. Slowly his breath came back, slowly his heart began to beat again and slowly the clock began to tick.

"Elphaba." he breathed. She looked back at him, but didn't say anything. Fiyero couldn't read her expression, but her silence was killing him, "Say something." he said desperately. Elphaba took this as an order.

"Something." she murmured. Fiyero breathed a huge sigh of relief and he felt warm liquid fill his eyes as he smiled at her. He brushed his hand along her face. She flinched, but didn't move away.

"I have missed you." he said.

"How long was I gone?" she asked in a flat tone. Her face remained expressionless and Fiyero felt worry creep back into him at her emotionless state.

"At least a week, probably more, I didn't want to count the days." Fiyero said.

"Are you going to send me back down there?" she asked softly, turning away from him, "I—I'm sorry I lied to you and your family, but I had no choice....I--"

"Fabala, no, I—I would never send you back down there!" he cried, horrified that she would think he would do such a thing, horrified that she was apologizing. Elphaba didn't say anything, just continued to look away from him. Finally she spoke.

"Then what are you going to do with me? What do you want with me?" she asked quietly, her voice weak, frightened, scared and sad, almost defeated.

"Elphaba," Fiyero began, "Are you—are you afraid of me?" he asked, his heart cracked. She didn't say anything and his heart shattered, "Fabala, I'm not going to do anything with you or treat you like a slave--"

"Then what do you want with me?" she asked, "Why did you save me from those men down there? Surely you must hate me, I am a slave and have lied and deceived you. What do you want with me?" She felt her heart breaking with every word spoken and every breath taken, with every glance in his direction. She had been happy, she had been happier with them then she ever had in her whole life. She had cherished those Sunday's with him, she would read the books he bought her over and over again and she could barely ever wait until those wonderful Sunday's. She had fallen in love with him, she'd lost her heart to him. Now look where she was, a slave to the man she loved, beaten and with a broken heart.

"Elphaba," Fiyero said, softly, taking her hand in his. She was surprised by the touch and looked at him. It was a mistake to do so. For once she looked at him, saw those eyes, that face, that man, she couldn't look away. She found herself trapped.

"Love me," Fiyero said, eyes locked with hers, "That's all I ask of you."

"So it wasn't a dream?" asked Elphaba breathlessly.

"What wasn't?" asked Fiyero.

"I dreamed that you said you loved me." Elphaba said, "Just before I woke up, I thought I heard you--"

"I did say that Elphaba. Do you want me to say it again? I love you." he said, "Could you ever find it in yourself to forgive me for the terrible things I've done? I—can't believe I let this happen. I thought it was out of my control and so I had to send you there, but I should've fought harder. And I can understand if you never want to see me again, you're free now and I just.....I just love you so much." He didn't know what else he could possibly to say to convince her. He brought his hands to his face and didn't say anything else. There was silence for a while.

"Elphaba, if there is anything I could ever do, ask for anything from me and I'll--" Fiyero began, his face still hidden from her sight by his hands. His voice was muffled beneath his hands. Elphaba touched his hands and he moved them from his face. She set her eyes in his.

"Love me," she whispered, "That's all I ask of you."

**********

Nessarose was in utter shock. She nearly dropped the little bottle. Wait Nessa, she told herself, you could just be jumping to conclusions, I mean, who's to say that Elphaba's bottle was rare, maybe it was just any old bottle that you found on the side of the beach or....Nessa stopped doubting as she caught sight of a picture of her mother, propped on the shelf just behind where the bottle had been. Melena Thropp was smiling in the picture, she was standing next to James and they both looked happy, smiling at the camera. They had been on the beach, Melena's hair flying in the wind and James had on sunglasses. Nessa quickly began to roll herself back to the balcony, carrying the photograph and bottle.

"James!" she squeaked. James and Fredrick both looked to her with confused looks on their faces.

"Yes?" asked James.

"These are you possessions?" she asked, holding up the bottle and photograph.

"Yes...." James said hesitantly, "Why?"

"What do they mean to you?" asked Nessa.

"Well, I—I once fell in love with the woman in the photograph, but I had to leave her. She said she thought she might be pregnant but she didn't know. She said if she was pregnant and she did have the child, she'd give the child a little green bottle just like that and send the child to me so I could be the child's father." said James, then he sighed forlornly, "But no such child has ever come and I received word a long time ago that Melena died."

"This is my mother!" Nessa shrieked, waving the picture. James and Fredrick's eyes both bugged.

"Does that mean that I'm your father?!" James asked.

"No," Nessa said, "Mother didn't give me the bottle." she said it almost jealously, "She gave it to my sister, Elphaba."

"You have a sister?" asked Fredrick and James.

"Yes," said Nessa, "I suppose she never came to you with the bottle because mother died before the message could be carried on. All she had time left to do was give Fabala the little bottle..."

"I—I'm a father?" asked James incredulously.

"I suppose." said Nessa, her mind spinning.

"How old is she?" asked James excitedly, "She must be about 16 by now right? Do you think she'd like to live with me? I've got to find her!"

"Last I saw of her, she was disguised as a boy servant working for the Royal Vinkun family." said Nessa, sighing deeply.

"A boy servant? What?" asked James.

"You remember Elias don't you Fredrick?" asked Nessa.

"That's your sister?!" Fredrick asked.

"Yes," said Nessa, and she suddenly became defensive, "And she was a wonderful sister, the best person with the biggest heart. I don't know why everyone insists on hating her, they shouldn't."

"Why would people hate her?" asked James.

"She....uh, just looks different than other people." Nessa murmured.

"I'd hardly mind." James said. He didn't care what she looked like. He was a father, he had a daughter, he thought he'd die of happiness, "But, why is she working as a servant, and dressed as a boy?"

"She ran away from home, there was no other choice for her." said Nessa.

"Why did she run away?" asked James.

"I don't want to go into that now." said Nessa, guilt bubbling to the surface, "Let's just say that Frex abused her because she was different and I was a selfish bitch."

"She was abused?" asked James, paying to attention to what came after the word 'abused', "MY daughter was abused?!" he felt angry now. He'd never met this daughter of his, but just the thought of any child, especially his, being abused was enough to make him angrier than a squirrel without its nuts.

"Yes." Nessa said softly, "And far too much."

"I must go to the Vinkus and bring her back, to her family, that's where she belongs, with her family. I'm her family. Dear Oz, I have a family!" James exclaimed, he nearly started crying with happiness. He was determined to show this girl, his daughter , the love that every child ought to get. He would be the father she never had, he'd care about her and if he ever hit her, by Oz, he'd shoot himself.