Elphaba gathered all of the dishes and called for room service to come back up and clear out the empty dishes. She heard Jessie get into the bath and felt guilty for how much she had gotten hurt. Honestly she feels like it is completely her fault that Jessie got hurt at all. She decided to do what she could to fix this when Jessie went to bed.
Elphaba laid down on the couch and pretended to sleep. She listened for Jessie to get out of the bathroom and go to bed.
Jessie slowly eased out of the tub wincing from the pain in her ribs. The ride tomorrow was going to be difficult, but she would make it work. She has been more beat up than this and rode for a longer distance. When she walked out of the bathroom she saw Elphaba sleeping peacefully on the couch. She smiled as she pulled a blanket over the other woman.
Jessie made her way into the bedroom and laid down on the large bed. She was asleep in a matter of seconds. Elphaba waited for five minutes after she heard Jessie lay down before getting up. She snuck into Jessie's room and looked over her. Hovering her hands over Jessie's body she silently says a healing spell as a faint green glow moves from her hands into Jessie's body. When Jessie wakes up all of her injuries will be gone. With a soft smile, she quietly leaves the room and settles back on the couch.
()
Jessie bolted awake, gasping from another nightmare. She was fully expecting the usual shockwave of pain that ran through her when she did that after a fight. To her surprise, it didn't hurt. In fact, nothing hurt not even the bruises on her sides. She shook off the weird feeling that thought produced and went to the bathroom. With a passing glance in the mirror her jaw dropped. She didn't have a scratch on her! How was that even possible? Jessie spent at least ten minutes inspecting herself in the mirror. She still couldn't believe what she saw and felt. Finally snapping out of her inspection she put on a tank top and sweats before walking into the living room, glad to see Elphaba still asleep. She had fully expected the woman to bolt at her first opportunity, and was relieved she hadn't. Going into the hallway she walked down to Marcus's room and knocked on the door. On the third knock, he answered.
"Jess, are you OK? It's four in the morning." Marcus said, yawning.
"Yeah, I'm OK. I'm better than OK in fact." She said, lifting her shirt. Revealing that all the bruises were gone.
His jaw drops when he doesn't see any marks on her, "Holy shit! How did that happen?"
"I don't know Marcus, I really don't. But since it is better, Elphaba and I are going to ride to LA."
"Elphaba and I?" Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, she's going to be my roommate until she gets on her feet." Jessie said, getting a deep sigh.
"Jess, this is turning into Pittsburgh, again."
"Don't start on me. I'm not asking you. I'm telling you she's coming with us."
Marcus begins to massage his temples, "Jess…."
"Don't Jess me Marcus. She deserves better, and she's never going to find it with that asshole cutting her off at the knees every chance he gets." Jessie stated.
"Jess, you don't know her. Think about it. She could be some psycho that'll chop you to death with an ax in your sleep. Or some junkie that will steal everything you own the first chance she gets. How do you know she doesn't want this life?" He isn't trying to be mean towards Elphaba, but he is more worried about Jessie getting in over her head…again.
"If she did, she wouldn't have agreed to come. She's my new personal assistant." Jessie informed him.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Marcus said, defeated. He had learned a long time ago that when Jessie made up her mind to do something nothing would stop her.
"Don't I always? By the way, when's the Martial Arts Monthly photo shoot?"
"Day after tomorrow." He was wondering where she might be going with this.
"Good, then I have time to ride." Jessie said, grinning.
"I'll have your bike ready for check out time." Marcus said, patting her shoulder, "I'm just looking out for you." Of course she would want to ride the bike. Now that she was healed he saw no reason to deny her riding the new bike.
"I know." Jessie said, before going back to her room. Once inside she settled into a comfortable chair and got the notebook computer out of her bag. She checked her social media sites and checked her email.
Jessie had a loyal fan base for a reason, because she was equally loyal to them. She personally answered every email, every tweet, and every post. Some days, that relationship with her fans was the only thing that got her through the day. Once she had her notebook warmed up and saw all of her emails, she got up to make a pot of coffee. She poured herself a cup before going on the balcony so she wouldn't disturb Elphaba.
Elphaba woke up when the sun rose, stretching she looked around for Jessie. She saw her sitting out on the balcony, smiling she gets up and pours herself a cup of coffee before joining Jessie outside. "Jessie?"
Elphaba's voice broke her out of her concentration, turning she gave Elphaba a wide smile. "Hi, sleep well?" She asked, getting up to pull out Elphaba's chair.
"Just fine. Yourself?" Elphaba asked as she sat down.
"Not really, but I rarely do. I woke up feeling better, though." She raised her shirt, revealing that all the bruises were gone.
Elphaba smiled when she saw the bruises were gone. "That's different."
"Yeah, it is. It wouldn't be the first time I've had miracles like this happen." Jessie said casually.
"Really?" Elphaba asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah but don't ask. Nobody believes me, I doubt you would." Jessie said dismissively, "Breakfast should be here in about an hour. I ordered everything on the menu, I wasn't sure what you liked."
"Thanks for ordering breakfast." Elphaba was still floored by Jessie's generosity; however, her curiosity about that previous comment got the best of her. "Try me."
Jessie looked at her for a few seconds, getting her thoughts together. Two doctors had already put her on medication for this story. On the other hand, Elphaba might actually understand.
"Well…a God healed me. I had a third degree burn all over my back. According to the doctors, it was a figment of my imagination. You see I was in a coma for two weeks from a beating. The doctors say it was all a dream." Before Jessie could go any farther, the doorbell rang. Grateful for the pause, she lets room service come in and deliver their breakfast.
Elphaba inwardly sighed, as she watched them set up the spread. At least she won't suspect me. Elphaba thought to herself. When they finished, Elphaba watched Jessie tip them and leave.
"That doesn't look like a figment of your imagination to me." She said, motioning to Jessie's side, as Jessie pulled out her chair.
"Yeah, but it can't be him." Jessie said as she sat down. Raiden wouldn't even know where to find her right now. If he did, he would've come for her. Then maybe Sonya wouldn't be a slave to Shang. When Elphaba sat down Jessie realized that she had forgotten something, "I'm sorry. I usually pull out the chair. Your comment just got me distracted." She was surprised when Elphaba laughed.
"You're the first person to do that for me." She said, honestly.
"Really? You've definitley been hanging out with the wrong people." Jessie said, making her two plates with some of everything. Elphaba looked at her with an inquisitive look, "What?"
"Do you do this for everyone?" Elphaba was genuinely curious.
"No, only ones that deserve it." Jessie said, a bit distractedly. Elphaba wondered what she meant by that, as she watched Jessie smear a bagel with Cream Cheese and Jelly.
"And what makes you think I deserve it?"
"I dunno, you just do. You're about to embark on a new life, away from whatever shit you were going through. I can't change it, as much as I want to. But I can tell you that whatever it was will never be your life again unless you want it to be." Jessie said, her voice calm and resolute.
As Jessie spoke, Elphaba had a flashback. It was a cold, dark night when she first arrived in this world from Oz. She had landed in a cornfield somewhere in the middle of Kansas. It had taken her a few days to fly to a city that was big enough for her to disappear in. The first thing she did when she got to the city was hide her broom and the Grimmerie in a bus locker. She spent weeks trying to find work, but nobody wanted to hire a green skinned woman. Well...no legitimate businesses did anyway. Every night, Elphaba would see women being led to street corners by men who looked like they were up to no good and left there. Some of those men tried to hire her for work, but Elphaba had no intention to work for any of them.
She almost got in as a bartender, but the owners didn't want to pay her the same wage as the other bar tenders. One weekend she had realized that the only way she would ever get a job would be to actually have legal documents saying that she is a citizen. That was the night that she was asking around in the dark alleys for anyone who might know how to get some documents like that. The men she found gave her a steep price of twenty thousand dollars. They also gave her the name of a man that would help her make that money, they promised that he wasn't a pimp but a manager. The flashback ends and Elphaba refocuses on Jessie.
"I think you've got the wrong idea. I'm not in a relationship with Tony. I worked for him, that's all. I was homeless when I arrived, and he gave me food, a job, and a place to stay. I do his little stripper shows, or the mud wrestling, and he gives me a percentage of what I made that night." The shame of that fact was obvious, both from her voice and her not being able to make eye contact, "So if that's what you think you're protecting me from, you can stop now."
"Who said I was protecting you from anything. A lady like you can handle herself." Jessie said, taking a bite of the bagel. She honestly thought it was something like that.
"So why are you doing this then?" Elphaba asked, sipping the coffee and gauging Jessie's reaction.
"Is this the life you want? Mud wrestling and stripping in some sleazy club?"
"Of course not." Elphaba scoffed.
"Then why are you trying to talk me out of helping you?"Jessie asked, point blank. Elphaba took a breath. Jessie was a little more acute than Elphaba had given her credit for.
"I'm not. I just want you to understand that I'm not in as bad of shape as you might think." She said, watching Jessie sip the coffee.
"Oh, really? I tell you what I see. I see a proud, strong woman that has been reduced to stripping just to survive. Not forever, but until she had enough to get away. I see a woman with big dreams of an honest life, far away from the sleaze she's dealing with now. I saw a way to help you on your journey. Nothing more nothing less." Jessie said, softly.
Elphaba shook her head. "Jessie, I …. I don't even know how to thank you for this."
"You just did. Do you have anything left in Vegas you need to get?" Jessie asked, getting a nod.
"Just two more things, and they're at the bus station."
"Good, we'll stop there first and eat. I've got to get my stuff together." Jessie said, going to the bedroom. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to make Elphaba so paranoid about accepting a hand up. She reminded her a bit of herself at one point in her life. Before Kathy and the doctor took her into the shelter. She started packing her luggage. If traffic was decent, this would be a memory for her new friend in a matter of hours.
()
The trip from Vegas was an uneventful one. After a quick stop at the bus depot, Jessie hit the interstate, and was in Los Angeles in a matter of hours. Elphaba was in shock, when they pulled in front of a run down brick building. Taking the helmet off, she looked at Jessie wide-eyed.
"You live here?" She asked, as Jessie unlocked the door.
"Yeah, Marcus and I own it. We went fifty fifty on it when we got here." Jessie explained, letting her inside. Elphaba breaths a sigh of relief once she sees that the inside was much nicer than the outside. Jessie took her up in the elevator to the third floor. It was spacious, and all Jessie had in it was a sofa, entertainment center, computer, and a desk. Her kitchen was large, and from the pans Elphaba could tell she loved to cook, "So what do you think?" Jessie asked, nervously.
"It's nice. Nicer than I've been in." Elphaba admitted, much to Jessie's relief.
"Let me show you your room." Jessie led her to the bathroom. Elphaba's eyes went wide, seeing a brand new king sized bed.
"Where are you going to sleep?"
"I usually sleep on the couch with the TV on. The background noise helps me sleep." She admitted, "The guys should be here any minute. Just make yourself comfortable. I'll be back." Jessie said, heading back downstairs. Elphaba collapsed on the bed, letting the softness engulf her. She was asleep in minutes.