Chapter Forty: Eventually

She knew before she opened her eyes that she wasn't feeling well. Her throat felt swollen and achy. When she tried to breathe in, it was like broken glass tore through her windpipe and her nose was so stuffed that she couldn't possibly get air without opening her mouth. Elphaba groaned.

"Fae?" Fiyero had been awake. Of course. That was her luck. She'd been here a week and he almost always woke before her. Elphaba had always considered herself an early riser until she discovered that he rose much earlier than she.

She waved him away. "It's nothing." But her throat sounded clogged even as she spoke. Maybe he wouldn't notice.

"You don't sound right." Sometimes she cursed how well he knew her.

"I just have a sore throat. It's nothing."

He leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead. "You're warm."

"I'm fine."

"Oh, no you're not. You need rest and food. If you want a book, I can bring it to you, but you're staying in bed today." He got up and got a towel, gently wiping her face. "You're sweating like mad, you know."

She hadn't noticed. "Let me at least go downstairs for breakfast, Fiyero. Your parents will worry."

"I'll tell them you're ill. Maybe they'll even send a nurse up here." She could hear the playful threat in his voice.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Stay here and I won't. I'll get you some warm oatmeal; that should be gentle on your throat. Maybe some tea." He squeezed her shoulder. "I'll be right back."

"I'm not a child for you to take care of," she called after him, but he either didn't hear or he ignored her. She wasn't sure if she was angry at him or grateful. He always brought out things like this in her, confusing her mind. Elphaba knew she should be angry. Or at least she wanted to be. But she wasn't.

He came back in with a tray and a small box to prop it up so she could eat in bed. "Here you are, my love."

"You know you're going to catch this, too, right? I mean, with the amount of bodily fluid that gets swapped between the two of us, there's no way you're not infected." But she began eating, letting the warmth of the oatmeal soothe her burning throat.

"That's assuming that it's something contagious." He kissed her nose. "Or something I'm not already immune to because I've spent my life here. You probably just caught something because you're not used to it out here."

"You'd better hope so, because I am not going to pamper you if you get sick."

"Probably because you'd still be sick, too." He climbed back into the bed beside her. "I can leave you alone, if you want. I just want you to stay in bed."

She smiled at him. "I appreciate the thought, but you can stay, my love. You might get bored."

"I'll grab some books from the library. Do you feel up to reading? I think you should just go back to sleep, but I know you aren't going to listen to me."

She laughed. "I'd like to read for a bit. Maybe I'll fall asleep as I'm reading. My body will go to sleep if I need to. But right now I'm awake." Elphaba reached over to the bedside table where she was keeping her current book. "You don't need to get anything for me at the moment. I haven't finished this book yet."

"I can at least take the tray away so you can get comfortable." He grabbed it. "I'll leave the tea and grab a book. Please at least try to rest, Fae."

She shook him off and looked down at her book, but the words blurred before her and her eyelids began to feel heavy again. Elphaba was asleep before he reentered the room.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, looking up from his book as she stretched herself out.

"Fine. Like I was before."

"You were shivering."

"I do that when I have nightmares, too, you know."

"You had one?"

"No." She sighed. "Fine, maybe I'm just a bit off. But that's no reason for you to treat me like a child. I can take care of myself, Yero. I don't need you to do this."

"I know, but I like helping you. You're my… mine. I just want you to be comfortable and happy."

"I am happy with you, Yero. You don't need to do anything special." She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his arm. "Do you mind if I lie closer to you? I'm cold."

"I could get you another blanket," he offered.

"I like you better, though," she teased.

"I can't say I disagree," he laughed, brushing her sweaty hair from her face. "Go ahead. Go back to sleep. I'll keep you warm."

"I'm not sleepy," she told him.

"That's what you said hours ago and I came back after a minute to find you fast asleep."

"Well, I mean it this time." She grabbed the book that lay beside her pillow. "I'll just read." This time, she was able to focus a bit better, though her head ached. Occasionally, she'd look over at Fiyero and wonder at how they were able to just be. They could sit there, perfectly silent, doing completely different things and still she felt at peace with him. She'd lived with Glinda for years and never achieved that.

She was sick for several days, though by the second day she was so adamant about getting up and at least eating with his family that he gave in and allowed her to, though he insisted on keeping an arm on her waist when they walked. She hated feeling frail. It must be how Nessa felt all the time, and she pitied her sister for that.

"Did no one ever care for you when you were sick as a child?"

She shook her head. "Sometimes there was a plate left out for me if I missed a meal, but I was expected to just take care of myself. Why? What did your mother do?"

"She sat with me and read to me. And when my stomach ached, she'd rub it. When my head hurt and I was feverish, she'd put cold towels on my forehead. I was never alone when I was sick."

It sounded a little intrusive, but it also sounded nice. "Is that what you'll do for our child?"

"Our child?" He repeated with a smile.

Her face flushed and she hid herself under the blankets. "I'm sick. Let it go. It was a slip of the tongue."

"I rather like the idea," he told her.

"It's not… terrible. Eventually, perhaps…"

"So we have an eventually?"

"At the moment."

"You realize 'at the moment' completely contradicts the idea of 'eventually,'" he told her.

"I hate how smart you are," she said, peeking back up from the blankets. "Most people wouldn't notice that."

"Well, you wouldn't love me if I weren't smart enough to point that out, Fae."

"I told you we have a future. Just shut up and be happy about it."