A/N: Thanks for all the R/R. :)

Chapter 12

Sheldon and Tahj continued to walk for about a mile before coming to a dark and dilapidated house. The other guards followed closely behind at about a street length distance. After leaving the pub it didn't take the head guard very long to pick up the trail of the two patrons. Their drunken hoots echoed off of the nearby buildings drawing the guards strait to them. Tahj smiled at how easy this was.

"They're going in there." Sheldon motioned as the two figures entered what looked to be a shop. He was glad the strangers had been easy to follow.

Tahj looked towards the building and then looked back to his men. He motioned for them to join him. Once all the guards were in the same area Tahj laid out a game plan for them. "All right guys, it looks like a pretty standard shop. One door out front and one door in back most likely." Tahj pointed to the men on his right. "I want you all to surround the building from the back. No one leaves." The men nodded before quietly dispersing themselves around the exterior of the building. "Everyone left is with me. I'll go in first followed by Sheldon."

Sheldon smiled inwardly at the positive acknowledgement. He must have gotten on the Captains good side if he trusted him to be his first round of backup.

"Any questions?" Tahj looked at the faces of the men he worked with. He liked to get to know the men who he could potentially die for and vice versa. Once the plan was laid out and no one had any questions the Captain motioned for his men to follow at a safe distance.

"Ready?" Tahj whispered as he approached the door to the building.

"Ready." Sheldon whispered back before gripping his sword even tighter. His palms began to sweat.

Tahj didn't bother with knocking or with turning the door handle. The wood was decomposed enough that it was easy to knock down by force. With one hefty kick the head guard rushed into the small abode to see about this whole potion ordeal.

XXX

Glinda followed drowsily behind Elphaba as they walked towards their bedroom. My bedroom she had to remind herself now. A part of her was still so worried about Ella and didn't know if she would be able to sleep. Another part of her would gladly pass out until the morning came. The second half was beginning to win. She yawned as the green woman slowed in front of her bedroom door.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Elphaba asked as she turned around to face the blonde. The two hadn't said much to each other since departing from the kitchen. She was beginning to doubt herself and her intentions.

"Yes Elphaba." Glinda smiled weakly as she opened the door for them. "Let me just change into my pajamas." The blonde went towards the bathroom in their room before the green woman could protest.

Elphaba looked down at her own attire. She was still in her pajamas from before but it wasn't until now that she realized they weren't exactly moderate. Yes she wore a robe to cover herself while in the kitchen but that robe would soon be removed. She was dressed only in a nightshirt that cut a few inches above her knees and the straps were thin spaghetti straps. She usually wore more to bed but it had been unforgivingly hot these past few days. Suddenly she felt self-conscious. She knew this was silly since Glinda and her had been married for so long, but it still felt weird to be so exposed. Sighing she made her way over to the bed.

Before too long Glinda had changed into something similar to Elphaba's pajamas only pink. The blonde had always been more willing to expose her skin than Elphaba.

"If we go to sleep now we can get maybe three hours of sleep." The blonde half joked as she came out of the bathroom to walk towards her bed. She looked towards Elphaba who was laid down in bed already covered with the bed sheets.

The green woman smiled back at the blonde before folding back the comforter to allow the blonde to slip in. "Thanks for letting me sleep here tonight." The green woman blushed as Glinda crawled in next to her.

Glinda didn't say anything but she noticed that Elphaba was wearing fewer clothes than she usually did to bed. The blonde's lower abdomen twitched. "No problem." She tried to ignore the flutter in her abdomen again as Elphaba shifted so that fewer blankets were covering her. "Get it together." Glinda mentally scolded herself for such thoughts. She lay down and made sure to face away from the green woman next to her. She still felt the warmth from Elphaba and smiled inwardly as she closed her eyes.

Ten minutes passed between the two before Elphaba finally spoke. "Are you sleeping yet?" The green woman sighed tiredly as she shifted to look at the blonde. She was met with a view of curls. Glinda was facing the other way.

"No." Glinda sighed before turning around to look at the green woman. They both lay on their sides now facing one another. The only thing between them was the comforter that had somehow partitioned itself into a barrier.

Elphaba looked into Glinda's blue eyes for what seemed like a minute. She didn't quite know what to say but she knew that she should say something. "She'll be okay Glin." The green woman offered up some reassurances. She wasn't positive if it was true or not but she needed Glinda to think so. Even though they fought all the time and never agreed on anything anymore she still didn't want Glinda to experience any pain.

The blonde sighed before looking down. She knew what Elphaba was doing and it wasn't going to work. "How can you say that Elphaba? We don't know where she is or what's happening to her." The blonde's eyes began to water. "Ella is out there all alone and we don't know if she's okay." Glinda finished before the first tear rolled down her cheek.

It pained the green woman to see Glinda so upset. She was upset too and equally so. Their daughter had been taken and there was nothing they could do to find her. Elphaba wasn't sure what was acceptable but she reached out a hand to stall Glinda's tear. The blue eyes once again latched onto hers.

"Where did we go wrong?" Elphaba thought as she looked into the eyes of her former lover.

"I don't know." Came Glinda's response.

The green woman's eyes arched up in surprise. Had she actually just said that out loud? She had only meant it as a thought. Her hand that had been on Glinda's cheek returned to her side of the bed.

"There are some days that I feel like nothing has changed between us." Glinda admitted. "And then there are days where I just get so mad at you that I can't think straight." The blonde looked towards Elphaba's hand that had just left her space. Today was one of those days that felt like nothing had changed.

Elphaba shook her head slightly at the confession of the blonde. "Remember back in college when we first met? I loathed you." The green woman chuckled slightly. It was good to keep their minds occupied.

Glinda smiled at the memory. "Oh I remember perfectly. I had never met someone so hard headed and difficult to get along with."

Elphaba faked being offended. "And I had never met anyone so…blonde." The green woman smiled at the look on Glinda's face. It was good to see her smiling.

Their smiles died down almost as quickly as they had come. The past was the past and right now they were missing one child, had lost one child in a miscarriage, and were on the path to a divorce. Their lives had taken a turn for the worst somewhere.

"Do you ever blame yourself for losing the baby?" Elphaba dared to ask after a minute of silence between the two.

Glinda sighed. She didn't like talking about the baby that never came to be. Her heart hurt for the child every day of her life. "Yes." She admitted surprisingly. What was it about tonight that made her want to divulge all her secrets to Elphaba? She didn't feel the usual anger towards her anymore.

"Would it change anything if I told you it isn't your fault, that accidents and miscarriages just happen." The green woman frowned. She wanted Glinda so badly to see that she shouldn't handle the weight of this miscarriage any longer.

"You've told me that so many times Elphaba." The blonde sighed. "I still can't help but feel saddened." Glinda looked into Elphaba's eyes for understanding.

"I know you feel sad. I feel sad too Glinda." Elphaba disclosed. "But that doesn't mean that we should let the weight of this or the burden of this change how we interact with one another."

Glinda knew that Elphaba was right but still had a hard time absorbing the info.

"Let me ask you this." Elphaba queried after she could tell Glinda still wasn't letting this go. "If I had been the one pregnant would you blame me if I lost the baby."

"No." Glinda immediately answered before swallowing the knot that had formed in her throat. She couldn't hold her emotions in any longer. The tears that had threatened to escape before came rolling down the blonde's face "I'm sorry Elphie." Glinda cried for the loss of their child, she cried for everything that had gone wrong. She cried until she felt empty.

Elphaba gathered the blonde into her arms to let her cry it out. "It's okay Glinda. It's okay." The green woman rubbed a soothing hand over the blonde's back. It felt good to hold her like this again. After nearly fifteen minutes Glinda's breathing had slowed down and her crying had stopped. Elphaba looked down to see that she had fallen asleep in her arms. "Rest now my sweet." Elphaba leaned down to kiss the blonde curls before closing her eyes.

XXX

"Where is Miss Ella?" Tahj demanded as he slammed his first down on a dusty table. Once entering the store him and his men had quickly rounded up the two individuals that had been in the bar. The individuals were currently tied to chairs in the main entryway.

"Who?" One of the drunken men shouted as he looked over at his companion with wide eyes.

"Glinda the Good's daughter. Where is she?" Tahj didn't relent. He motioned for Sheldon to come forward with a bucket of water they had been busy procuring before. "Now you are going to tell me or you are going to take a little swim." Tahj smirked.

The man who had been questioned earlier gulped audibly as the water bucket was placed in front of him. "I don't know!" He screamed as he fought with the ropes tying his hands together.

"Are you sure about that?" Tahj leveled a glare towards the man's female companion. "Would you bet that answer on someone else's life?" Tahj motioned for Sheldon to move the bucket over towards where the female sat. The woman's eyes grew in size as she glanced at her partner for backup.

"I don't know anything about Ella!" The man screamed again as he spat at Tahj. The spit landed on the senior guards cheek. Tahj immediately wiped the spit off before returning the favor.

"Give her hell." Tahj motioned for his men to dunk the woman's face in the water. He never meant to kill anyone but this was a time sensitive matter that needed to be addressed.

The woman gasped as she spit out water. Before she could gain enough air to compose herself she was back in the water again thrashing around.

"Now do you know where Miss Ella is?" Tahj tested as the man in the chair slumped down in defeat.