"Glinda, what are you doing here? We told you to go to your parents!"
"I know, but Elphie you're not making much sense!" Glinda crossed the courtyard of Kiamo Ko to her best friend stopping a short distance away.
Elphaba sighed, setting her broom aside. "Glinda... Wait, how did you know to come here?"
"Fiyero told me about it in the note... didn't you read it?"
"No... I was busy... please, Glin, you have to go."
Glinda waved her arm dismissively and shook her head. "Oh, Elphie it's alright! Nobody knows I'm here. I was able to tell the Wizard I had a family emergency and he made Morrible give me time to go home."
"And how do you know he hasn't sent spies?"
"Because you released the flying Monkeys at my engagement party nearly five months ago."
The green woman flinched. "I... I'm sorry..."
The blonde sighed and shook her head. "No... I am." she walked closer to her friend, but Elphaba backed away. "Elphie..."
"You have to go, Glinda. I can't keep you safe here."
"Safe from what? Elphaba!"
"From me!" she snapped. "I have to... get rid of you... and I can't do that! My next task with the Resistance is to eliminate you. That's why you have to go to your parents."
"Because if you don't do it... someone else will..." Glinda gasped.
Elphaba sighed. "Since you're here..." she trailed off and walked inside, Glinda followed her to her bedroom.
"What is this place?"
"Apparently a castle Fiyero used to come to in the summer with his family." she shrugged and knelt on the floor, grabbing a book from under the bed and she stood up. "I want you to take this."
"Elphie... You know I can't read that... You know my magic is nowhere near as powerful as yours."
"Yes, it is. Glinda, You have power, you just haven't been given the tools to harness it and make it stronger. You can learn to read this book." She put the book into her friend's hands.
Glinda caught the slight tremors in her hands. "Elphie, you're shaking." She put the book on the bed and wrapped her arms around her tightly. "When was the last time you ate properly?" Did she look paler or was it the lighting in the room?
"About... three years ago?" she shrugged. "Trust me, I'm not shaking because of that..."
"Then what...?"
"Forget about it for now." Elphaba already had her suspicions about her own health, but she refused to dwell on it. "Glinda, it's important that nobody else gets their hands on this book. Promise me."
She paused. "I... I promise... But what will you do?"
"I have something to do tonight. And then... I guess I face a child murderer tomorrow."
Glinda burst into tears and hugged her again. "Elphie... you... you can't give up! You...-"
"It's gonna be alright... Glin, I know what has to be done. I know they're not gonna give up until the Wicked Witch is gone for good. Even if she never existed in the first place. You're my best friend... the only true friend I've ever had."
"Out of the many friends that I've had... there's only been one who ever really mattered."
Elphaba couldn't stop a tearful laugh escaping her and she sighed.
Glinda turned around at the soft tap on the door, launching herself straight at Fiyero, hugging him just as tight. "You better look after her..."
He nodded, glancing over at his green girl who was discreetly wiping away evidence of her tears. "I will. I'll keep her safe," he promised.
"Glinda. The book."
"Oh... right..." she let him go and moved to pick up the Grimmerie. "When this is over... I'm coming back to you." she had to believe that her friends would be alright.
"You'd better." Elphaba forced a smile to her lips.
"I'll send word to you when it's over," Fiyero told her as the three of them headed back outside. He looked up at the darkening sky. "Will you get home alright?"
"I'll get the train... I'll be fine." she nodded.
"At least let us walk you there," Fiyero suggested. "It would give us both peace of mind that you're alright."
"I was... gonna go by my bubble." Glinda shrugged. She didn't know if she could handle seeing them turn to one another for comfort, not so soon after he had broken up with her.
Elphaba felt her gut twist uncomfortably once more. "It's fine, Glinda. Go, before it gets too dark. And stay safe."
"You too. We will see each other again. I know we will."
She nodded, unable to say anything else and watched her friend float away in her bubble. Once the blonde was out of sight, she turned to Fiyero. "I'll try and be as quick as I can, and I'll come home."
He shrugged. "What exactly is your plan?"
"I know the nearest explosion point in that building, so, start the fire near there and run."
"If you get caught up in it, how are you going to get out?"
Oh, she knew she would. She wouldn't let Lysander burn to a crisp without letting him know exactly how she felt. "I won't. But... if there is a possibility, then I'll think of something. Yero, I will be coming home to you." Her fingers tapped a spot on the left side of his chest, where his diamond tattoos lay. "I'll come home and I'll not leave our bed forever if that's what you want."
He kissed her fiercely, putting every emotion he felt into it, and he rested his forehead against hers when they broke apart for air. "A week at least." he was breathless.
She giggled quietly, holding him close to her body.
"And when this is over, I'm shouting it to anybody who will listen that I love you."
She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Oh, Yero..." she scoffed fondly, brushing her thumb against his lips. "Yero my hero."
He smiled, he loved hearing that from her, even if he had no idea how the name had come about or the full meaning behind it. "Go, Fae," he told her gently.
She didn't need telling twice, she kissed him again before finally ripping herself away and she picked up her broom, getting on it and she took flight. She didn't dare look back, for she knew she'd never leave.
After hiding the Grimmerie in a tree near the castle, Glinda attempted to follow her best friend as quickly as her bubble would allow her. Honestly, if Elphaba thought she could take on that horrendible piece of work by herself she had another thing coming! She didn't know who was threatening her best friend, but she knew she didn't like it. How could Fiyero just let her go along with it? How in Oz is she so fast! Oh, right... Broom... Concentrate Glinda!
An hour later, Elphaba landed silently outside the place she had called home for the past three years. She could already hear the rumble of the witch hunters on their way to end her. "Now or never, Elphaba..." she muttered and walked inside.
The building seemed deserted, but as she made her way through, she knew better than to hope.
"I knew you'd be back, Thropp."
She glared in Lysander's direction and shook her head. "It's over, Lysander. It's finished, you're finished."
"We can start again. Build our team up again somewhere else."
"I'm done with all the fighting! You and I both know that I won't make it through tonight if those witch hunters have anything to do with it! And I don't want anything to do with you!" she snapped, and chanted a spell, a crash was heard and the roar of flames began behind her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm ending this. I'm doing what I should have done months ago."
"Stop this madness or you'll kill us both!"
"Maybe that's my aim!" she glared. "I meant what I said, you don't scare me anymore."
"Fae, see reason-"
"Don't! Don't you dare call me that! You have no right!"
"Only your lover can, eh?"
"He gave me that name when we were friends, and I stuck to it." the angrier Elphaba got, the more ferocious the flames became as they licked their way up and headed for them, the smoke climbing higher and the heat becoming more intense. At this point, Elphaba knew her magic would protect her... from the smoke inhalation at least.
By the time Glinda touched down outside, the whole building was up in flames with the two people still inside. "Elphie!" she screamed, though she probably wouldn't have heard her over the fire. She popped her bubble and ran inside, coughing as the wall of smoke hit her and she tried to cover her face. "E-Elphie!"
"I bet he doesn't know everything, does he?"
"Know what? How you used to beat me? He's already seen the recent bruises you gave me!" she faintly heard Glinda shouting for her, and silently swore to herself. Glinda, please leave...
Glinda screamed as the building started to collapse under the heat. "Elphie, where are you?!" She tentatively climbed the stairs, and she saw silhouettes in a doorway. "Elphie!"
"I'm assuming he isn't foolish enough to believe he was your first." he snarled with a dirty smirk on his face.
"Oh, he's aware. He doesn't know how many times you raped me though! He doesn't know that when I was pregnant because of said attacks that you made me get rid of both of those babies!"
"You're not fit to be a mother! You weren't then and you never will be! And if you think he's gonna touch you once he knows you're deluding yourself!"
"I was never given the chance!"
"You're damaged goods, Thropp! He'll despise you like everyone else in your pathetic life!"
That... that vile, twisted excuse of a man hurt my best friend?! Glinda felt anger and fury rising within her at an alarming rate, she'd never felt such intensity in her life. She stormed up the rest of the stairs to pull Elphaba away. "You did what to her?!"
"Glinda, you have to leave! You have to get out right now!"
"Elphie, I am not leaving you with him!" she coughed harshly, clinging to the green-skinned woman as the building creaked ominously.
"Glinda, go!"
"And what would I say to Fiyero?! He's expecting you home!"
"Nothing, because you're not supposed to be here!"
Lysander laughed wickedly. "Looks like you'll complete your last task after all. You're really stupid enough to die for each other, aren't you."
"You've never known true friendship or love, so how would you know?" Glinda snapped.
"Lysander, I could have learned to get over Fiyero. If I was treated better, if I was made to feel the way I do with him by you, I could have loved you too. I even forgave the first time you hit me because it probably was deserved! But the moment you... when you forced me on that bed, I... I couldn't forgive that. And then you did it over and over again and I knew you didn't really care."
"Aside from a blonde and a brainless Winkie, who could love you?! I'll bet they've got a single brain cell to share between them both! You're repulsive, Thropp. Unloveable. Disgusting. Of course, I had to take it, think I would have gone there willingly if I had the choice?!"
"So you left me with no choice?! That gave you the right to take me against my will?! I would rather have died a bitter maiden than be disgraced with...that!"
Glinda clung on to her friend, neither woman knowing who was shaking more. "Elphie... we need to go..."
The witch hunters froze outside of the burning building, wide-eyed. The cowardly Lion hid behind the Tin Man, trembling at the sight, and the Scarecrow backed away tentatively.
"Toto! No!" Dorothy gasped as the tiny dog wriggled from her arms and ran inside. "Oh, no! We must do something!"
"I'll fetch him, Miss Dorothy." the Tin Man told her and clinked on forward to the burning Resistance base. It didn't take him long to find the scrappy dog and he reached forward to pick him up.
Glinda had then dragged her friend from the room to another point of safety as the flames consumed the building at a rapid pace. "Elphie... Elphie, why would you do this?"
"Because I can't move on while he's still... there... he's in my nightmares, Glin... he's there when I go to sleep and... for the briefest of seconds... he's there in Fiyero's place when I wake up...That man systematically tortured and tormented me for the last three years and he's only stopped because I brought Fiyero back with me."
"I don't know how you've coped with this pain, Elphie..."
She scoffed, wiping her eyes. "I took it out on myself."
What happened next would become a blur to both witches. The fire tore through the building and it collapsed from beneath them, both women unaware of the Tin Man and the dog trapped also.
Dorothy let out a scream and turned away in fright, trembling as she clutched the Scarecrow for comfort.
Eventually, the Tin Man clambered out from the wreckage, Toto clutched in one arm and a charred broomstick in his free hand.
"Oh, Toto!" Dorothy heard the barking and ran forward to collect him. "Oh, you...you bad dog! But I'm so glad you're safe!" she hugged the animal close. "Mr Tin Man, are you alright?"
"Oh, sure. Didn't hurt me none. Just got mighty hot in there!" He nodded. "But the good news is that the Wicked Witch of the West is dead!"
The hunters cheered happily.
"W-wait!"
Dorothy looked up at the cowardly Lion curiously.
"J-just h-how dead is she? D-did you see a body?"
"Come now, Lion! The building collapsed, she couldn't survive that." the Scarecrow grinned. "And it means little old Dorothy here didn't need to hurt no one."
By the time Glinda awoke, she could feel the cold grass on her back and could see nothing but green and black. The voices of the hunters were long gone, cheering and celebrating the 'death' of the wicked witch. "Elphie..." She pushed her friend off her, no doubt an attempt to protect her from any falling debris.
Elphaba coughed and curled up on the grass and she moaned weakly.
Glinda sat up and looked at her friend, any visible green she saw was blackened by soot and ash or was visible by her ripped black dress. She was sure she didn't look much better if her tattered blue gown was anything to go by. She swiped at her. "Elphaba Thropp! That has to be the most dangerous, brainless plan you've ever had in your life! I could have lost you- Fiyero could have lost you!"
"I know, I know... but I knew the witch hunters were there and I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of ending him, I wanted- no, I needed to do it."
"By almost killing yourself?! How did we get out here anyway?!"
A cough. "We quite literally disappeared in a puff of smoke."
"A what?!"
"It was a little parlour trick I learned when I first ran away, helped get me out of a few tricky situations." she struggled to her feet and helped Glinda to stand.
"What about your broom? How will you get back to Kiamo Ko? Will that little trick help?"
Elphaba shook her head. "It's only good enough for short distances. And... I left my broom in there... It's most likely ashes by now." she shivered despite the heat from the fire.
"Come here..." Glinda hugged her tight. "I bet the adrenaline has gone now."
She nodded. "I'm tired."
Glinda conjured her bubble and she flew them both back to Kiamo Ko, the journey was a silent affair.
It was long after midnight by the time the women landed in the castle foyer, and Glinda had to keep Elphaba upright while they walked. "Elphie, come on, you need to stay awake so you can tell me where to go."
"No... let me sleep..."
"I think my brother would prefer that the bedroom didn't smell like a bonfire display. What in Oz happened to you?!"
"Elphaba Thropp, Oz's resident commotion happened!" Glinda glowered at her and Elphaba weakly waved a hand.
"So I set fire to a building, so what?" she coughed.
"While still inside it! And who are you?"
"Alright, ladies." The male laughed and shook his head. "Let's not wake the entire province. I'm Ambram. Fiyero's older brother." he reached out for Glinda's hand and lightly kissed the top of it. "And you must be...?"
"Glinda." she giggled and blushed, flicking her hair off her shoulder.
"Oh, sweet Oz..." Elphaba muttered. "Glinda! Slowly choking on fumes here?!"
"And whose fault is that?" the blonde gave her a pointed look. "Ambram, would you be so kind as to show me to the kitchens where I can get my darling best friend a drink of water?"
He chuckled and lead them both to the kitchens, and Glinda helped Elphaba into a chair while he got them both a glass of water each. "So, is either of you going to tell me why you both smell like a fireplace or am I going to have to guess?"
Elphaba rolled her eyes and gulped the water greedily before setting the glass down. She coughed again and sat back in the chair, not looking at him.
"Miss Fae?"
"I went back to the resistance base and I burned it to the ground."
"What were you doing inside? Surely it would have been more effective to be outside?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now."
"Maybe we should wait and talk to Fiyero first..." Glinda spoke gently.
Elphaba nodded. "Uhm... A-Ambram, can... can you please show Miss Glinda to a guest room so she can shower? I have to..." she trailed off and stumbled out of the room.
"Elphie!"
"It's been a long evening, Miss Glinda. Perhaps it would be best for you to wash up and get some rest."
Elphaba made her way to the bedroom she and Fiyero shared, peering inside, smiling a little when she heard the soft snores travelling out of the open door. She silently walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower, slowly peeling off the ragged remains of her dress while she waited for the water to warm. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and flinched, looking away as the disgusting sight of green met her eyes. Tomorrow... when the spells would be lifted, and Fiyero would see each scar, both self-inflicted and given to her, would he also look upon her with disgust? Would he recoil in horror as she bared her true self to him? She was already annoying him with her night terrors, already frustrating him with her constant evading his questions.
She shook her head and tested the water, satisfied with the temperature, she stepped inside, closing her eyes at the steady rhythm of the hot water hitting her skin. Shame it's not hot enough to burn it off... she thought, washing her hair at least three times.
A hot shower, for once, did not soothe her, instead, it spurned on those hateful thoughts as she scrubbed herself clean of the dirt and the grime and the ash that clung on to her like a second skin. She rubbed at her arms and her torso and her legs as if she were trying to scrub the green off with it, getting more and more agitated with herself when she realised that of course, it wouldn't come off. Of course, she'd be stuck with the horrendible, disgusting skin colour. Eventually, she resorted to taking her frustrations out on the bathroom tiles as she punched them, her quiet sobs drowned out by the running water.
Once the water started to turn cold, Elphaba realised she had to get out at some point, she wearily turned off the water and grabbed the nearby towels, wrapping herself in them, the distant sound of a grandfather clock chimed two. She shivered and hurried to the bedroom and got herself dried and dressed for bed. Muttering a quick spell to dry her hair she slowly climbed into bed and she closed her eyes, sleep claimed her fairly quickly.
When she awoke the following morning, her whole body felt heavy, and she barely lifted her head at a rattling sound in the room. "Mm... too much noise..."
"I thought I would bring you breakfast."
She smiled at Fiyero's voice and she sighed. "Thank you..." she rolled over and he helped her to sit up, propping her up with pillows.
"My brother said you got in late last night." he put the tray on her lap. "Fae, do you want to tell me why Glinda went with you?"
Elphaba distracted herself with buttering a slice of toast, formulating an answer in her head. "She didn't... she wasn't supposed to," she said after a moment and bit into her toast.
"Okay. What happened?"
Another delay while she chewed. "She followed me. She is obviously more observant than we give her credit for."
He nodded. "So... what time did you get in?"
She shrugged. "Sometime around one? I know it was just after two when I went to sleep..."
"Why so late? I thought it was gonna be a quick set fire and run job?"
"Yero... can I wake up first? Please, my head isn't right at the moment."
He nodded and kissed her lightly. "Sure... I'm sorry."
She smiled a little and nodded. "It's alright."
"I'll go and check on Glinda," he smiled a little and left the bedroom, leaving Elphaba to eat her breakfast in peace.
Fifteen minutes later, her blonde friend came into the room, followed by Fiyero.
"How did you sleep?"
"Elphie..." Glinda raised an eyebrow.
She sighed. "Sorry... but I didn't need you to play the hero yesterday. I would have got out."
"What exactly happened yesterday?" Fiyero looked at them both.
"Later, Yero. Later when everyone has gone home, I'll tell you everything."
"No, Elphie, you'll tell him now."
"Glinda, not right now. Please, it's too soon for me right now to even think about it." she looked at her. "Fine, I wanted to make sure he didn't escape, so I went inside to start the fire."
"Why?" she looked confused.
"Did he try and hurt you again, Fae?"
Elphaba shook her head, rubbing the heel of her hand against a scar on her chest that had started to itch. "No... not physically anyway... He tried to get inside my head."
"Again? You mean he knows? And you still let her go off?"
"It was something she said she had to do, what was I meant to do?"
"You should have stopped her going near her r-"
"That's enough, Glinda." She cut her off. "Please, let me deal with this."
"Her what?" he looked between them. "Glinda?"
"I..."
"Fiyero, please... I can explain everything later."
"What else did he do to you, Elphaba?"
"Not right now. A few more hours... please, just give me that. You want your mind on whatever it is your brother wants you for, remember?"
He nodded, falling silent as his brain conjured up scenarios inside his head and he shivered.
Elphaba bit her lip, watching him, knowing that he could never imagine the full extent of what she had been through. "Go, my love, Glinda and I will be fine and this time I'll make sure that she leaves."
"At least I can go back to the Emerald City!"
"Won't that be suspicious? You've only been gone a day?"
"It'll still be a days travel back there... besides I'll think of something."
Fiyero nodded and walked out, still silent.
"What?" Glinda looked at her friend with wide eyes when the green woman threw a pillow at her. "It's not my fault you didn't tell him about-"
"I was gonna do it today!" she hissed.
"I'm sorry!"
Elphaba sighed. "Don't worry about it now."
Glinda paused and sat on the be next to her. "I know we haven't seen each other for a few years, but I do remember your obsession with coffee... which you've left to go cold."
"Huh?" she looked over at the table. "Oh... must've forgotten about it..."
"You never forget coffee. Spill."
"I... I don't think there's anything to tell... it's not like it would be possible anyway because..."
"What?"
"I was sure he had found a way to make sure it would never happen again."
"What? Elphie you're not making sense."
She cut short her ramblings. "I think I could be pregnant." she blurted out.
Glinda paused, her jaw dropping in disbelief. "H...when did you last...?"
"My periods have never been regular but... never as late as this... Not even when..."
"So if you had to guess...?"
"I last saw one four months ago..."
"Elphie..."
"But... but it's impossible... because the last procedure went wrong and the doctor did something down there and..." she cut herself off before she could panic. "I... I can't be. A-any day now, it's gonna come, and all this worrying will be for nothing. And those weeks of being sick was just stress-related just like I explained to Fiyero when he asked."
"Elphie."
Wide, scared dark eyes turned to look at her best friend. "Why... why are you being nice to me?"
"Because you're my best friend. Because I love you. Because despite everything you've been through, you deserve every chance of happiness."
"But I took Fiyero from you..."
"He was never mine to keep, Elphie... he was always yours... and I'm okay with that."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am. And if I get sad, one day I'll learn not to be."
Elphaba sighed and shook her head, wringing the blankets between her fingers.
"What are you afraid of?"
"That it's real... and he's right..."
"Elphie... look at me." she paused. "You will make the most amazifying mother in all of Oz. You cared for your sister when you were a kid yourself-"
"I had my brother's help when my father wasn't around."
"You still did it. You took care of me when I came down with the flu."
Elphaba scoffed. "You'd been out in the rain without a coat! It was your own fault. And just who exactly were you with? Because Fiyero and I were in the library that day!"
"I... well..." Glinda broke off, giggling.
"Glinda Arduenna Upland!"
"What?! Fifi was moodified and distant so... I had fun elsewhere. How was I to know he'd leave me high and dry and caught out in the rain?!"
"Who was it?"
"I don't remember now... one of Avaric's friends maybe."
"Oh, well that explains it! Avaric, you dumb blonde!"
The friends glared at each other for a second and then collapsed into giggles.
"Oh, Elphie... I'm going to miss you."
"I know... I'll miss you too."
"You'll keep me updated, won't you? About...?"
Elphaba nodded. "Yeah... I'll tell you everything when I can..." She took a sharp intake of breath and shook her head. "Don't do that, I don't need or want pity, Glin. He doesn't deserve the satisfaction!"
"He tried to keep you isolated from the people you love and who love you. Even when you found us again he still tried to pull us all apart."
"And now he's dead. Good riddance to him."
Glinda smiled a little and hugged her friend. "I'll clear your name one day..."
"Glinda, you can't... I can't go back there. There are too many painful memories there, I just..."
"Okay... alright, okay I won't say anything..." she whispered. "I'll leave you to get dressed and I should go."
She nodded and watched Glinda leave her alone.
Later that afternoon, Elphaba waved her best friend off again and Ambram left once he had made his final finishing touches on a room before he left them for the weekend.
Fiyero eventually found Elphaba in the library curled up with a book. "Are you done avoiding me?"
She jumped and closed the book quickly, hiding its title from him. "I wasn't... avoiding you..." she shook her head when he made a face at her. "I wasn't!"
"Hmm." He shrugged and sat beside her. "So, what are you reading?"
"Nothing important... I was just bored."
He nodded, wrapping his arms around her when she leaned against him.
"Yero... I need to tell you something," she spoke after a long silence.
"About last night?" she shook her head. "Then what?" he looked at her when she sat upright to face him and he gently touched her face.
"I... I have a feeling that I might be pregnant..."
"Wh-what...?" he blinked rapidly, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards, not wanting to get his hopes up. "Are... are you serious? How sure?"
"Not entirely... I had it when we... in the forest and I haven't bled since."
"That was four months ago, Fae."
"I know, I know..." she sighed heavily. "I... It's also not the only time we've slept together..."
"We should get seen by a doctor," He told her.
"Yero, I don't think that's wise. What if-"
"Nobody here will out you to the Wizard, Fae. The Arjiki's hold no loyalty to him." he reminded her. "Don't you think my brother would have already?"
She sighed and looked down at her fingers in her lap.
"You can't go through another five months without knowing."
"Then it would be real..."
"What in Oz are you talking about?"
She shrugged. "If we go... and the doctor confirms it, that means it's going to be real, that there really is a small person growing in there, and I have to be someone's mother..." she looked up at him nervously, cringing when she saw the hope in his eyes. "What if I'm not good enough? Or... or it turns out green? Or-" her rambling was cut short again, this time by a kiss.
"Fae... My Fae, look at me." he caressed her cheek. "My beautiful girl... Our child is gonna be the luckiest kid in the world, because with you for a mother they are gonna know just how loved they are. You're gonna love and protect them with everything you have because that's what you do, that is who you are." he told her, and kissed her firmly when he saw the doubt in her face. "I mean everything I just told you, and more. And if our baby turns out green, so be it. It'll be just another-"
"Fiyero, my parents couldn't even bear to look at me when I was born. What...?"
"You couldn't reject that child even if you'd wanted to. And I'm not going anywhere. Because if that child does come out green, I'm still gonna love them just as much as I love you."
It... he hasn't referred to the baby as 'it' once... she thought, and a small smile crept to her lips and she started to cry, crushed under the weight of her emotions and the overwhelming feeling of being loved and safe and protected.
He laughed quietly at the absurdity of it all and hugged her tightly to him. "Fae, you're going to make the most amazing mother."
"And you... you're going to be a great father." she smiled tearfully.
He grinned and kissed away the tears. "I'll ask my brother to make the appointment after the weekend,"
"Okay..."
"Does Glinda know? Is that why she-"
"No... No, I only told her this morning. She figured something because I forgot my coffee this morning."
He nodded and thought back. "Hey... you've done that a few times recently."
She shrugged. "At first the smell of it made me sick, and I didn't get why then with everything going on I guess I just forgot to mention it."
"It's alright, Fae. We can deal with things now. You know, if it wasn't for my brother, my sisters wouldn't believe you exist." he smirked. "They want to meet you, only when you're ready."
She nodded. "But first, there's something I need to do." She looked up at him.
"What's that?"
She smiled and she kissed him. "I need to make good on my promise about not leaving the bed for a few days."
He laughed and stood up, picking her up in his arms. "If it's what the lady wants." He all but ran with her back to the bedroom, her laughter echoing down the halls.