Getting there, but Fiyeraba still has some hurdles to go! Glad you're still liking it. :)

And thank you all for being so sweet - especially Emerald Minded Fictionist, whose review, thanks to my emotional state at the time, actually made me cry. :3

35. Stay

Regardless of how much Elphaba loved Galinda and how happy she'd been to see her friend, she had to admit that she was glad the blonde had left again. Galinda was wonderful, but she was exhausting.

The PA, of course highly emotional not just because of what had happened to her best friend but also because of hormones, had been blubbering for literally an hour about how happy she was Elphaba was alive and how scared she'd been and was Elphaba really feeling okay and what had really happened and how were the twins coping and how was Elphaba herself coping and when would she be home again? Cohvu had tried to restrain his fiancée a little, but there'd been no stopping her. The twins, who had been sitting in a corner of the room playing, had giggled quietly at their aunt and even Oscar had been amused.

Galinda and Cohvu had eventually left for the hotel and Oscar, Fiyero, Fawn, and Xalo had gone with them. The twins had each given their mother a hug and a big kiss and Xalo had said earnestly, "I'm really glad you're all right, Mum."

She'd smiled and hugged him again. "So am I, my little monkey."

"It's over now, right?" Fawn had asked. "No-one will be trying to kill you anymore?"

Her heart broke at that and she'd pulled her daughter closer, meeting her gaze. "No, sweetie," she'd said quietly, stroking Fawn's cheek and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "No-one will be trying to kill me anymore. We're all safe now, okay?"

The little green girl had nodded. "Okay."

Now, Elphaba was alone once more and feeling a little lonely. Blanca had gone home for the night and although the night nurse was there in case Elphaba needed anything, she wasn't nearly as nice as the curly-haired nurse had been. When her room had still been filled with people, she'd wished for some peace and quiet; but now that everyone had left at once, the hospital room felt a little too quiet.

She read for a while and then decided to try to get some sleep. She really did hope she'd be allowed to go home on Monday; she didn't think she'd hold up very well if she had to stay here even longer. She had always hated hospitals, but now that feeling was worse than ever. She glanced at the closed door to her relatively small hospital room and tried to suppress the tight feeling of panic in her chest.

It's just a door, she told herself sternly. You're in a hospital, your stalker is gone, and no-one is going to hurt you now. You're safe. You'll be fine. You can handle a closed door.

She did fall asleep eventually, but it was a fitful sleep and she dreamt of guns, blood, and fire, with some small spaces with heavy closed doors mixed in for good measure. She startled awake and she had to blink a few times before she realised she was not still dreaming.

Sitting in the chair beside her, asleep with his arms on the edge of her mattress and his head on his arms, was Fiyero.

She must have jerked around in her sleep, because he was just stirring, yawning as his eyes opened. When he saw her looking at him, he smiled drowsily. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" she whispered and he shrugged.

"I hated the thought of you being here alone, you know, after what happened this afternoon," he said. "I wanted to make sure you were all right, so I sneaked in when the nurse at the nurses' station wasn't looking and I decided to stay until someone would come check up on you and kicked me out."

Tears pricked her eyes at that, but she blinked them away and instead took his hand and gave it a grateful squeeze. "Thank you."

They fell asleep like that not much later, their fingers still entwined, only to both be woken up when a machine beside Elphaba's bed started beeping and the night nurse came in to change one of the fluid bags on her IV. When she saw Fiyero, she paused, scowling.

"Excuse me, Mr Tiggular," she said sharply. "Visiting hours were over a long time ago. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

He and Elphaba both giggled a little, like teenagers being caught kissing in the back of the classroom, and Fiyero gently kissed her before pulling away.

"I'll be back tomorrow," he promised and she smiled.

"Looking forward to it," she murmured, already half asleep again. Fiyero chuckled and left before the night nurse would get really irritated.

Nothing much happened the next day. Elphaba slept a lot, ate a little, and was glad with all her visitors to distract her. Blanca didn't really mind them coming by outside of visiting hours and so they all took turns keeping her company. Cohvu and Galinda had brought her some of her own things from home – mainly books and clothes – and Elphaba gratefully accepted them. It felt so much better to be able to change into a pair of her own pyjama trousers with a T-shirt, rather than that horrible hospital gown. She spent some time reading and talked to Cohvu and Galinda about all kinds of things – mainly her friends' pregnancy and their wedding plans. She could use a cheerful topic of conversation and once Cohvu and Galinda realised that, they were all too happy to oblige and share all their plans and ideas with their friend.

The twins spent most of the morning playing in Elphaba's room, but that afternoon, Cohvu and Galinda took them out into a nearby city for some sightseeing and dinner. Elphaba thought that was a good idea. It was bad enough she had to be cooped up inside this hospital room all the time; there was no reason Fawn and Xalo had to, and some fresh air and a change of scenery would be good for them. They were accompanied by a couple of security guards, even though that wasn't really necessary anymore. Fiyero felt it was safer that way; he'd review all security measures with Elphaba's head of security once they were all back at the Palace and then they'd see if they could bring down the amount of security again now that Avaric and Duran no longer posed a threat.

Elphaba mourned Duran, regardless of the things he'd done. His ways of trying to get her attention had been twisted, but they'd come from a combination of love and despair and she could understand his reasoning. Despite everything, he'd still been her friend for a long time. He hadn't deserved to die like this. She was glad she'd at least be able to attend his funeral that Wednesday morning in the Emerald City – most likely, anyway, since Blanca had already cheerfully informed her that her test results had looked great, no sign of fractures or internal bleeding, and that Dr Irding expected her release the following day would not be a problem.

Oscar had spent a couple of hours playing board games with Elphaba and his grandchildren, and after that just with Elphaba, but he'd gone down to the hospital cafeteria for a while now to get something to eat. Fiyero had come back into Elphaba's room instead. She'd been reading when he came in and he'd just sat down and picked up a book of his own, not wanting to disturb her when she was enjoying some peace and quiet. She appreciated that more than she could say and despite the fact that they didn't speak and each did their own thing, she was grateful for his company.

She put her book away after a while and asked a question she'd been wanting to ask him for a while now, but she was a little afraid to hear the answer. "How are the twins holding up? Really?"

Fiyero exhaled slowly, putting his own book aside as well. "Good," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I mean… of course they've been sad, and scared, and upset, but they're doing pretty well, I think. Fawn had a nightmare the second night, but between me and Xalo, we managed to calm her down."

Elphaba smiled a little. "She likes you," she whispered. "They both do."

"Yes, well, I'm very likeable," Fiyero said with a straight face, which made her chuckle softly.

"You are." She looked at him. "But something's still troubling you and I can't figure out what it is, but I have a feeling it's something big." She sounded sad. "You're not going to stay with us, are you? Now that this is over."

He was always amazed at her ability to read him. He'd thought he'd been hiding his feelings well. "Fae…"

"Please stay," she said quietly. "I mean… I'd really like for you to stay. The twins would, too. We all would."

He shook his head. "My job here is done, Fae," he said gently. "It's time for me to move on."

She shook her head, too. "Just because the danger is gone now, doesn't mean we don't need you anymore."

He was quiet for a moment. He really did want to stay; that wasn't the problem. He'd love to stay at the Palace with Elphaba and her family, see where things went with their relationship. With just a bit of wishful thinking, he could see himself marrying her sometime a little down the line, maybe having another baby with her. He could see himself as Fawn and Xalo's father and Oscar's son-in-law. He'd find a different job, maybe just in security at the Palace so he'd always be close by. He could see them being happy.

Except he could never make her happy.

"Elphaba, listen," he said, heaving a deep sigh. "I just… I can't stay. Not because I don't want to, but because I don't want to put you in danger. Any of you."

She frowned. "Fiyero, you saved us from the danger, remember?"

He shook his head in frustration. "No, I didn't. I only put you in more danger, can't you see that? If Avaric hadn't seen you and me together, he wouldn't have planted that bomb and Fawn and Xalo would never have gotten hurt. If I'd just paid attention and done my job, you wouldn't have been shot, or trapped in that fire. I'm not good for you!"

She was staring at him as if he had turned into a different person, someone she didn't know at all. It unnerved him.

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she said finally and she actually sounded a little angry. "What kind of reasoning is that? None of that was your fault, Fiyero!"

"But it was!" He ran both his hands through his hair this time, frustration radiating off him. "Look at what almost happened because of me! Because you chose me!"

"I didn't get shot because I chose you," she argued fiercely. "I got shot because I didn't choose him."

He looked at her helplessly.

"And because Avaric was a psychotic maniac," she added, her dark eyes on fire. "If that's your reasoning, Fiyero, then I'd never be able to come near any man again because someone might be out there feeling jealous and wanting to come after me? Really? You can see how twisted that logic is, right?"

He bit his lip and she grasped both his hands, squeezing them tightly. "Don't leave," she almost begged him. "Especially not for a reason that stupid. I can understand if you're not sure how you feel about our relationship, about making this a long-term thing. That's fine. We can just see how it goes, we don't have to rush into anything – as you said before our first date, it's not a wedding. I do love you, and if you don't feel the same way I want you to tell me right now; but if you do, then I don't see any reason why you wouldn't stay with us for another while. If only to see if things could go somewhere between us."

He was quiet for another while, thinking about that, and he looked at her. He could see she was trying to be strong, but he also saw how much his answer meant to her and he softened. How could he ever say no to her? "I do love you, Fae," he murmured, lowering his gaze. "A lot. I just feel guilty."

"Well, don't," she said firmly. "You have nothing to feel guilty about."

He nodded, even though he wasn't really convinced of that. "It's not just that, though. I just…" He sighed. "I need some time. Is that okay? I mean… I'll stay with you guys, if you're sure you want me to…"

"Of course I'm sure."

He nodded. "But I do need to think about this. I want to stay, Fae, I do, but there are a lot of factors that play a role in that decision. More than you know."

"Then tell me," she said, but he shook his head.

"Not now," he said. "We'll see how things go, okay?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're such an idiot. Come here." She pulled him closer and kissed him. Not a soft, chaste kiss like the ones they'd shared since she'd come out of surgery; this kiss was passionate, almost hungry, and she clung to him like she was never going to let him go again. She allowed him to deepen the kiss and he half-crawled onto the bed with her in order to have better access to her lips.

The sound of a throat being cleared behind them made them jump apart and they both turned guilty eyes on Blanca, who was standing in the doorway, looking amused.

"This reminds me," she said drily. "I forgot to warn you about something, Elphaba. At the very least for the next week or two, it's not a good idea for you to jostle your stitches." She raised her eyebrows meaningfully. Fiyero took a step away from the bed and rubbed his neck, looking away awkwardly. Elphaba could feel herself flush dark purple.

Blanca just grinned at them and busied herself checking Elphaba's IV and the chart hanging from the end of her bed. She nodded, clearly satisfied. "Dr Irding will have another look at you tomorrow," she told the green woman, "but I don't expect there to be any problems." She smiled. "Prepare to go home, Elphaba."

Home. Elphaba forgot her embarrassment for a moment; she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. It felt like she'd been here in this white hospital room for months already. She wanted nothing more than to go home.

Blanca left and Fiyero tentatively sat back down in the chair beside the bed, clearing his throat. "So, um… no jostling your stitches for a while, I guess," he said and Elphaba looked at him, taking in the mildly disappointed look on his face and the fact that his cheeks were still quite a bit darker than usual, and burst into giggles.