Author's Note: see previous for disclaimer. Okay, sorry I didn't put this up earlier but I was working and nowhere near this laptop. Anyway, here it is, the next chapter following Elphaba's attack. Don't worry guys, no permanent severe damage done. Also, thank you so much for the reviews, I really appreciate them and I'm happy to read some of your shocked responses. There will be more of the same I can promise you that!

Enjoy! xx

Fiyero had been rushed out of Elphaba's ward as soon as her body had hit the sheets; he understood they were going to undress her but he wondered how willing a patient she would be after just having been attacked. If she wouldn't let him touch her he couldn't imagine that she'd stand for much more from them. He could hear nothing from the waiting room, which was sterile enough in itself to prevent any kind of happy thought. He had absolutely no idea what was going on in her room, but he felt panicked enough as it was and had no desire to dwell on what they would find. Fiyero's own imagination was running away with him already.

Sitting down impatiently on a barely cushioned chair, Fiyero held his head in his hands. He was not really comforted by the thought that the son of bitch who had hurt her . . . Mraic . . . was confined to a jail cell right now and receiving decidedly less treatment than his severely bruised neck probably deserved. A small and insignificant sense of justice filled him when he looked down at his red knuckles.

He heard a crash in the distance. There was no evidence that it was anything to do with Elphaba, but he suspected she was fighting their attempts to help her. Fiyero thought for a moment that her powers may have come back now that the danger had passed and he prayed for the medical staff. A rush of guilt filled him and he willed time to turn back; if he had not left Elphaba then this would not have happened.

The waiting room was spotted with other people, presumably in a similar position as he was; a close friend but neither female nor a relative and therefore not permitted into the bed area during examinations. Fiyero wondered what Elphaba was feeling and though there was no way he could possibly comprehend what she was going through, he knew he would do anything to make her comfortable. He knew Elphaba did have a female friend who would be allowed into her room. In his peripheral vision, Fiyero saw a line of pay phones on the wall and ran over to them, fishing in his pockets for change. Stuffing coins into the machine he dialled the number for Crage Hall and asked for Galinda. He could only hope she was there.

From the library to the infirmary, Elphaba did not lift her face to Fiyero. She had not even allowed him to help her into the carriage and she sat next to him in a cold silence. She had tried not to think about what had happened. It was too much. It was too soon. She just wanted her friends. As they sat, a strange and long-forgotten desire became known to her; she wanted her mother. Though she hoped it would not invite his pity, Elphaba let her fingers briefly touch his. Fiyero had needed no more encouragement and to her satisfaction, he clasped their hands together and made no more of it.

Elphaba had maintained her composure to the infirmary, all the while knowing she could very easily break down. It was terrifying to feel so breakable. It was a sensation she had never before felt in her life. She did not recall being checked in or checked over; Fiyero must have done it, but panic set in when she felt the cold pressure of the air around her hand and saw Fiyero being pushed out of the room. She had tried to persuade the nurses to let him stay but her words were not forthcoming. She saw his face as he left, telling her that he did not want to leave. Stunned into submission by her ordeal, Elphaba let them undress her for a few moments before her terror got the better of her. Mraic had tried to do the same thing.

Frightened, she kicked her orderlies away and cried out, knocking over tables as she did so. She had closed her eyes, not wanting to deal with her rational side. In the distance, she heard a matron dismiss several of her nurses from the room and Elphaba felt the bed sink at her side.

"Miss Elphaba, please look at me." A melodious voice came out and reminded Elphaba briefly of Galinda, another person whom she desperately wanted. A hand took hers and pressed it. "I know you're alarmed, but you need to change into a gown."

"I can do that myself." She hummed through her teeth.

The matron nodded slowly. "I know and you are welcome to now that you are conscious. We were only proceeding because you were unresponsive." Elphaba looked at the woman with confusion; she had not heard anyone speak apart from Fiyero. She did not have the energy to challenge anyone at the moment, and put it down to selective hearing under stress. "May I have your permission to give your clothes to the police?" Elphaba nodded, not needing to be told why she had been asked this; if there was one thing she remembered clearly it was Fiyero hitting her attacker. "He is remanded in custody without bail, my dear. You can rest for now."

But Elphaba didn't know how to rest. The information did nothing to comfort her. She assumed the nurse's words were a platitude she used every day, though they may very well have been said with good intentions. The woman stood inconspicuously in the corner whilst Elphaba continued to change and eventually she was left alone.

Elphaba worried she would grow anxious in her solitude so she distracted herself by taking in the unattractive qualities of her room. She was in a private room at least, but it was hardly very secure. Though she supposed it could be described as big, it was sterile and off-white, barely furnished with equally unfurnished chairs and one table at her bedside. A dim lamp did not light the room well. It reminded her too much of the study nook with less character.

"I don't care what your damn policies are, I am going in and he is coming with me!" Elphaba's hands flew to her face and her heart gave a very foreign and slightly nauseating leap of happiness when she heard Galinda's shrill tones come screaming down the hallway. The quick and determined steps of her best friend and Fiyero followed and Elphaba smiled hysterically in anticipation of seeing them again.

Galinda dramatically threw open the door and her eyes looked about the room for a millisecond before spotting Elphaba sitting up on the bed. She was in an absolute state. "Elphie!" Neither girl remembered Galinda's journey across the room, but Elphaba was thrilled to feel her friend's arms around her. Galinda's hug was a contradiction; it was fierce and protective but gentle and Elphaba was not suffocated by her as she usually was. Elphaba wondered if that was how Galinda's mother comforted her daughter. "What in Oz happened?"

Elphaba looked wildly at Fiyero. "You didn't tell her?"

He shook his head and approached the bed. "No, she's only just got here and I didn't want to tell her on the phone. I thought you would want to tell her. Besides, I'm not entirely sure what happened. I was only there to drag him off."

"Wait a minute, what? Who did you drag off? Why was there any need for dragging?" Galinda suddenly looked terrified and Elphaba sincerely hated seeing her face all contorted like that. "Elphaba?" But her green friend couldn't say anything; she couldn't do anything except look at her hands clasped in Galinda's. She felt embarrassed. Fiyero took the initiative, remembering how unwelcome his help had originally been and told Galinda in the most delicate way exactly what he and the Cat had found, hoping deductions could be made from that.

Elphaba listened to Fiyero and knew what his words implied. She also knew that they would assume certain things and she was almost happy to speak when Fiyero finished and Galinda looked at her. "He didn't rape me. He didn't do that."

"Elphaba," Fiyero sat next to Galinda and took one of Elphaba's hands. He looked at her and his expression begged the truth; he thought she was covering. "Fae, are you sure? How can you be sure?"

She frowned at him. "I was there, Fiyero. He did not rape me." Galinda released a tense breath and Fiyero nodded. "He couldn't."

Galinda frowned. "What do you mean?"

Elphaba smiled, almost happy, though the feeling did not reach her eyes. "He couldn't get it up."

Elphaba didn't want to close her eyes. Just to get her to agree to stay overnight they'd had to invoke the word of the chief of staff and just to get her to agree to sleep Galinda had to suggest she take a potion. Fiyero offered to persuade the nurses, partly because he knew they would succumb to his charm and because he knew Galinda would want to give Elphaba a chance to explain what Mraic had done. Until he heard it from Galinda or a nurse's report he was unwilling to believe that Elphaba had not actually been raped. The police would need a statement from her and if she could give it there would be no need to take it to the courts; it would save Elphaba a lot of humiliation.

"I want to go down to the station; see what's going on and you should talk to her. She's so reclusive and if she bottles it up it could get really bad." Fiyero and Galinda stood outside Elphaba's room as she was administered the draught.

"I know, I know. I don't think she'll do that, though."

"Why not? She didn't say much before."

Galinda rolled her eyes in a decidedly Elphaba-like fashion, forcing Fiyero to hide his smirk. "Yes she did." She lowered her voice and turned them away from Elphaba's open door. "She told both of us she wasn't raped, and the only reason she didn't say much more was probably because you were in the room." Fiyero looked crestfallen. "No, no. Fiyero, it wasn't because she doesn't trust you. It's just that . . . Fiyero, Mraic tried to take from her the most precious thing a woman has. It's the most intimate act and he . . . he . . . she's my best friend . . ."

Fiyero wrapped his arms around Galinda when he saw tears well up in her eyes. "I know. It's alright Galinda. She said he didn't actually do that." Galinda nodded against his chest, dangerously slipping into the memory of how he used to hold her. "Just talk to her. I have to go." He kissed her on the cheek and returned to Elphaba's bedside.

She felt the cold sting of his separation and her body flinched slightly forward towards him as he walked back into the sterile room. There was still a big part of her that wanted him to herself but she was beginning to wonder if she really would have been happy with him had they never broken up. If Fiyero had never realised he didn't love her, would they have drifted apart and eventually come to resent one another?

Galinda turned and watched him sit next to Elphaba; he held her hands and gently kissed her cheek. Elphaba's face was priceless and Galinda smirked at the idea that her green friend could be so schooled in the arts of academia and science and yet have no experience of love; it made her sad. Elphaba closed her eyes at his touch and smiled softly. Galinda noticed how Fiyero's lips lingered at Elphie's face and an idea suddenly struck her that she hadn't considered before. Like a bolt of blue lightening like they have in the Gillikin Forests at New Year the thought practically electrocuted her; Fiyero liked Elphaba and Elphaba liked Fiyero. Galinda flashed back to that moment before she had broken up with him; he had been gazing into the distance, a wistful and romantic look on his face as though he was looking at something he couldn't have.

Galinda gasped; he wasn't gazing into the distance. He was gazing at Elphaba.

"Okay, Gal." She was shaken out of her thoughts by Fiyero's sudden reappearance at her side. He chuckled when she jumped. "I'm gonna be back soon."

Galinda nodded and stood for a moment before catching him at the end of the hall. "Fiyero, just promise me you won't get yourself put in the cells, alright?"

"What are you talking about?"

Galinda sighed and tried to be as cool as possible. "Fiyero, I'm angry enough about what happened and I wasn't actually there. Elphaba should be kept as far away from him as possible in case her powers get out of control and she accidentally kills him." Fiyero laughed. "I'm serious. You know first hand what she can do." At her reference to his and Elphaba's escapade, Fiyero stopped smiling and blushed. Galinda continued, noticing for the first time how he reacted when Elphaba was mentioned. "You found her, Fiyero. I can't imagine what you saw or how it made you feel." She lowered her voice. "But I know how much you care about Elphie. I know how badly you want to protect her. I know that you want to take revenge on him for what he did."

Fiyero disliked her suggestion that there was something wrong with what he wanted to do. "Yeah? So what?" Galinda raised her brow. "Don't give me that, Galinda. Elphaba is a strong woman but you know as well as I do that her strength is precarious. That son of a bitch forced himself on her. She's hospitalised because of him. She might never forget this. She might never recover-"

"Fiyero, you're being ridiculous."

He was losing his temper, but Galinda was just glad he did so in front of her and not with Mraic. He hissed at her. "How the fuck would you know?"

"Don't you dare talk to me like that, Tiggular." Galinda pointed her finger in his face and Fiyero crumpled to the floor. "Fiyero, I'm her best friend and I'm a woman, too. I think Elphaba will get over this because she has us. I'm not saying that she won't be more distrustful, but it's our job to help her with that."

"It's my fault, you know."

"What? Elphaba's attack? No it's not, you saved her."

Fiyero's face was drained of colour; Galinda hadn't seen how tired he looked before now. "I left her in that study nook. She gave me a shelf number that had books I needed and I left to get them. I could only have been gone for about ten minutes, but when I got back he was lying on top of her. His trousers were at his feet and he was fumbling over her . . . all over her." His voice broke.

Galinda fought back angry tears. She breathed in deeply to calm herself down. When she could speak, her voice still contained a quiver that wouldn't go away for a long time. "What happened to her was not your fault. She sent you away, too. If she had felt in danger she wouldn't have done that. I don't have time to list the hundreds of other counter-arguments to your reasoning, Fiyero."

He looked at the wall in front of him and breathed in and out once. "I know. I know I need to think about Elphaba." He picked them both up from the floor. "They want my statement, so I have to go, and they'll want Fae's." Galinda found that she smiled at his nickname for Elphaba. "I won't go near him."

"Good. And for the love of Oz do it quickly before she walks out of here in her nightgown."

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