Over the past week, Elphaba's nightmares had become more frequent and heartbreaking for Fiyero to witness, now that he had an idea of what would be plaguing her. He cursed the dead man to hell and back, silently screaming every imaginative name and swear word he could think of as he held the hysterical girl close to his chest as they lay in the bed together. The first time he had seen her scars, he almost broke down, he had kissed every single one of them and had understood when she felt like she couldn't explain them to him.

"What was it this time?" As if he even needed to ask. It was virtually the same every morning.

Elphaba sniffled and clung to him tightly, the initial terror long gone. "He... this time he got to both of you..." she shook her head.

He raised an eyebrow. That was a change. "Well, if that bastard ever finds a way to come back from the dead, I'll end him myself before he comes anywhere near you or any children we have, and he won't get the chance to do anything to me." He lifted her head and lightly kissed her. "Miss Fae, your brain is getting far too imaginative for my liking, and yours for that matter." he wiped her eyes again.

"I know, I'm being ridiculous..."

"Don't do that. Don't invalidate your feelings like that. Fae, my beautiful girl, you went through a horrific time, you were subjected to things you should never have been exposed to."

She shook her head. "How are you so calm...? Even after what you went through, I don't think I've seen it affect you..."

I'm better at hiding it. he scoffed inwardly. "Your friends help me process a few things." he chose to say. There must have been something in his face which caused her to disbelieve him. Or maybe she was always able to see through him with just a simple look. "I haven't... fully processed it yet." he reluctantly admitted.

She bit her lip. "Fiyero, you have to."

"Let's just concentrate on you for now. I can deal with whatever they threw at me, and I'd do it again if I had to." I'm not going to break while you need me. he thought. "When is your appointment?"

"Three-thirty..."

He slowly sat up and pulled her up with him.

"What are you doing?"

"We have spent far too long crying and getting upset and letting him win." he kissed her nose. "I'm going to draw you a bath, and then we're going to have a late lunch, and then we're going to confirm what you've known for the past couple of weeks."

"You seem so sure that I am..."

"And so do you. Well... that mind of yours does anyway if these dreams are anything to go by." he smiled. "Who knows, maybe my brother will come out of hiding to come and see you."

"Oz... I really freaked him out, didn't I...?"

He chuckled quietly and shrugged. "He's a big boy, he'll get over it."

"He shouldn't have snuck up on me like that." she couldn't help but laugh.

"I tried to tell him." he looked at her before laughing again. "Alright, no, I didn't. I just wanted to see his reaction coming face to face with an actual witch. A witch with anger issues. Ouch!" she had elbowed him. "A witch with anger issues and very pointy elbows." He complained and jumped up before she could react and he left the room with a grin.

As soon as he was out of sight, her smile dropped and she sighed, her hand coming to rest on her stomach as if willing the life she knew was inside to make itself known. There was no doubt in her mind now, she knew even without the blood test. She knew she was pregnant. She was only too thankful that the father of her baby was in the next room and not strung up and left to die. "You're gonna come into this world with a bang. I just know it."

Fiyero stayed in the doorway a little longer, watching her finally accept it and he smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes and he crossed the hallway to the bathroom. Of course, he was thankful to the alchemist who didn't ask questions when his brother brought him the sleeping potions, given Elphaba's current mental state, it wasn't fair to have her deal with his nightmares too. It wasn't a good idea for him to break too, and he shuddered every time he closed his eyes and saw his men, people he had considered friends, he felt every hit, every jab with a knife, a bone breaking upon the impact of the butt of a gun. And yet, he didn't break, not once.

He gripped the edge of the sink, trying to calm his breathing. No! No, he would not sink into a state of panic now. Fae still needed him. Sweet, kind, sarcastic, wonderful Fae, who had done nothing to deserve the persecution she had suffered over the years. He forced himself to remember the advice his brother had given him, tricks to deter panic attacks, and he took a deep breath and slowly counted down from ten. After about a minute he felt his heart rate slow down and the bad thoughts fade away. For now at least. He turned to prepare the bath for Elphaba. He knew he had to talk to her at some point, but right now, Ambram seemed good enough to listen and to help him. As much as he loved and adored her, he knew her guilt over the situation would not help matters, and the last thing they needed was two very broken people very much in love with each other at war with each other.

Suddenly he heard a shrill, high-pitched voice shouting his name. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought it was Glinda, but he already knew it was one of his sisters. Mariyan knew exactly how to irritate her little brother, and often took great pleasure in doing so. He groaned and left the bathroom, passing Elphaba as she left the bedroom wondering what the noise was. "I'll be back up in a few minutes," he'd told her. "It's just one of my sisters. If I'm not, your bath will be ready in ten minutes."

"Just as obnoxious as you, then," she smirked.

"Quiet, woman."

"Make me."

"When I've got rid of her," he smirked and then made his way to where his sister was still shouting for him. "Oz, Riya, if your voice gets any higher we'll have a pack of wolves running around the place! What do you want?"

The woman in question turned to face her brother with a grin, bright yellow skirts swishing around her legs as she moved. "Well hello to you too." she rolled her light blue eyes at him, taking in his appearance. "Old habits of sleeping in late difficult to break?"

He paused and then shrugged. "Something like that. Was there something you needed?"

Mariyan gave him a look and shook her head. "You asked me to track someone down?"

Another pause. "Oh! I forgot about that." he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Did you find him?"

"It wasn't easy, he's a difficult man to find." She told him, handing him a piece of paper. "But yes, Shell Thropp has been found in the southernmost part of Quadling Country where he works in the ruby mines. He was last seen in the Greater Kells before that about two years ago. He has changed his last name from Thropp to Tighearnán. Why did you want to track him down?"

"For Elphaba. He's her brother and they haven't seen each other in years."

She smiled softly and nodded. "How is she doing? And when do we get to see her?"

"She's just... surviving for now." he shrugged. "And when she feels up to it. Ambram told you she'd been through a lot?"

She nodded.

"It's... she needs to process a few things. There are things that she's been through that no one should have to be put through."

"And what about you? We'd heard about you putting your life on the line for her."

He shrugged again. "He's helping me. I'll talk to her when I decide to."

She sighed and hit him across the back of the head. "That's from mum for being a brainless idiot."

"Fine, I guess I deserved it. But I'd do it all again if I had to." he pouted, rubbing his head.

"Don't tell our parents that, you may just send them into early graves," she smirked and they both laughed. "Oh, before I forget," she reached into her bag and pulled out a small box. "I was able to get this. Ambram told me everything, how serious you are about her, so I thought it was only right."

Well, they're gonna need to know when I'll make it all legitimate eventually. he thought, and stopped himself from saying it outright. "Thanks." he smiled.

"How is it that he gets to meet her and we don't?"

"Because he can keep a secret." he gave her a look. "Come on! Glinda is better at it than you! And she can't even keep a surprise party a secret!"

"First of all, rude. Second of all, alright you have a point."

He laughed again and hugged her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. We all did. You know you don't have to stay in this rotting old place."

"I know, but we want to. It looks better now than it did before."

"That's only because if our dear brother wasn't to be king, his job would be in interior design."

"Yeah... good point."

"Are you sure you're okay here?"

He nodded. "Doesn't seem so bad now I'm a grown-up." he grinned and shrugged. "It's close enough to home and we can still have our privacy, and it's close enough for Glinda whenever Elphaba needs her."

"At least she gets to keep her friend. One good thing has come out of the whole thing."

"It's okay. You can call it a trainwreck. Because it is."

She laughed and nodded. "You're right. Anyway, what's your plan today?"

"I was gonna prepare a late lunch and then we have to do something else."

Mariyan smiled. "Let me do it. It will give me a chance to see the woman who changed my baby brother."

"Fae doesn't do well around strangers... Are you sure?"

"Fiyero, I won't be a stranger for long will I? And you don't want to overwhelm her with the whole family at once do you."

"I guess so..." he sighed.

"If it helps, I won't stay for long. Okay? If she doesn't feel comfortable, I'll go back home. And yes, our brother did confirm she has green skin and no, I won't mention it."

"Fine. Fine, but only because you won't give up."

She grinned. "You do realise that mum would already be up those stairs making sure she's being looked after and that this place will not fall down around your heads before you can give her grandchildren, don't you?"

She wouldn't have to wait long. He cringed. "Oz, I know. But I would love to see her face if she asks Fae when it would happen. She'd have a few choice words and none of them polite." he smirked.

"I've already had that conversation with her. I've told her it'll happen when it does. Ambram won't get that for obvious reasons, so you're next."

He groaned. "Well, I'm not going to put that pressure on her."

She rolled her eyes. "Go back up there to her. I'm sure there's something in that rusting old kitchen I can make without burning it to the ground."

He laughed and nodded. "I haven't even had the conversation about getting household staff in here to help out. Elphaba isn't used to that."

"Isn't used to it?! She was the daughter of a governor for the love of Lurline."

"And she wasn't treated like it."

"What...? Oh." she shook her head and walked to the kitchens.

Fiyero rolled his eyes again and walked back up the stairs. "Fae?"

"Still in the bathroom."

He peered around the door with a smile, seeing her surrounded by bubbles in the bathtub, a contented look on her face.

"What was it your sister wanted?"

"To annoy the living hell out of me like normal."

She laughed at that. "You know you wouldn't be without her."

He shook his head. "No... I wouldn't." he acknowledged. "She wants to prepare lunch for us and to meet you. Will you be alright with that?"

She went quiet for a moment, thinking over her answer. "I think that will be okay," she said finally. "Does she know...?"

"She knows about your skin but she doesn't know about the appointment today. My brother, for all of his faults, can keep his mouth shut when he needs to."

She smiled. "We need to find him a boyfriend. He's spending far too much time here."

"Glinda? Is that you?" He laughed when she flicked water and bubbles at him. "Are you bored of him already?"

"Shut up, you know what I meant." she giggled.

He grinned. "You make a good point, but you'd need to find someone who could put up with his dramatics. If you think I'm bad you should see him."

"Yero, I'm sure if I can put up with you, then we will find someone for him."

"Trust me, I doubt you'll find a man patient enough," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes at him and then pointed to the towel on the door, which he handed over and helped her out of the bath. She softened as the pained look in his eyes returned. "Don't think about them, Yero... Don't even look at them."

"Fae, he did this to you. It may not have just been him but he still had a hand in it."

"And now he'll never hurt anyone again. I have no regrets about ending him, it was the only thing I did have control over."

"You're still beautiful."

She scoffed at him.

"You are," he told her, lifting her head slightly and kissed her. "You are."

"Maybe one day I'll believe that."

"I hope so."

After she was dried and dressed into one of the only loose-fitting dresses she could find in the closet, which to her disappointment was a light shade of blue that Glinda would be proud of, she braided her hair to keep it out of the way, she would have pinned it to the back of her head as if she were putting on her hat, but Fiyero had stopped her.

"It's sad enough you have to tie it back." he had told her.

"And why is that?"

"Because your hair is one of my favourite things about you. Always has been."

She rolled her eyes at that and walked with him down to the dining room for food and to see his sister.

"Fae, this is my sister, Mariyan, but we always call her Riya."

Mariyan grinned as she looked up, hearing movement across the room and her brother's voice. She walked forward and stopped a respectable distance away, leaving Elphaba the choice to approach her or take her seat. "Miss Elphaba, how wonderful it is to finally meet you." She couldn't help but curiously look the woman over.

Elphaba smiled nervously and found it difficult to complain about the blatant inspection. "It's good to meet you too, Mariyan," she answered.

"Well, I can see why my brother never shut up about you in his letters home," Mariyan grinned, a pointed look over at him, and Elphaba looked around at him.

He shrugged. "Everything I said was true."

"What did you say?"

"That you were smart, very opinionated, spiky and beautiful. And quite possibly the biggest heart of anyone I know."

She rolled her eyes and looked back at his sister. "Well, he's right... On everything but-"

"Don't even think about it." He put his hand over her mouth to silence her with a smirk. "You, dear Fae, are going to sit down and eat. And we're not going to talk negatively today. Are we."

His sister watched with a smirk of her own. "Want me to slap him for you?"

Elphaba removed his hand and shook her head. "No, I'll get him later." she laughed. "If you turn into a patronising, hovering mess, I will leave you."

He huffed and dropped down into a chair. "Protective, not patronising."

"Patronising is the right word, my dear Yero." She smirked, rolling her eyes when he dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "I thought you told her that the green wasn't contagious."

Mariyan looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, I... I wasn't trying to-"

He laughed and shook his head. "Don't panic. She's just being her delightful sarcastic self," he smirked and Elphaba nodded.

"It's nice that you're not overcrowding me, but you don't need to make it look like you're avoiding me." she smiled.

"Really? Because our mother won't hesitate to hug you on the spot." Mariyan smiled back and hugged the girl anyway and they both sat to eat. "The rest of the family are glad to have him back home, and they'd love to meet you, but it's okay if you want to take that slowly. It can't have been easy not being able to feel safe anywhere and always looking over your shoulder..."

Elphaba shrugged. "It wasn't," she admitted, but only Fiyero knew that there was more to it, and he kept his mouth shut. "I'm not used to a big family, either."

"You're a... Munchkinlander?"

She nodded. "Unfortunately. I was never able to get rid of the accent." she smiled a little. "Growing up, I had a brother and a younger sister. But... she died recently. And my brother hasn't been seen or heard from in years."

"Oz, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be." Elphaba shrugged. "She changed far too much and not for the better. Nothing I ever did was good enough."

"Well, she certainly made her feelings known after you left," Fiyero spoke in disapproval.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she blamed me for the entire thing, Yero. She didn't pull any punches when she told me I was the cause of my father's death. Died of shame, indeed." she scoffed.

He nodded, confirming her suspicions. "Glinda and I tried to make her see reason, but she was too angry. Eventually, she turned it on Boq and by the time we realised it, it was too late and suddenly we were graduating. I think I saw him once after we left Shiz."

"And even that was only because he went to Munchkinland to find you or to get an idea of where you might be. Even the best trackers in the Vinkus couldn't find you."

"I didn't want to be found. By associating with me, it would have consequences, and none of them good. I couldn't put the people I loved in that kind of danger."

"The main thing is that you're safe now, and no one is in any danger." he smiled.

At what cost? she thought and sighed. "I guess so." And if anyone outside of this part of Oz finds out about this baby then it will have been for nothing...

"Ms Thropp. Stay out of your head."

"Is that an order?" she smirked.

"Yes. Yes, it is."

"Look me in the eye and tell me."

"No thank you."

"Coward."

"I love you too, Fae."

Mariyan shook her head in amusement at them and she smiled. After they had all eaten, she cleared the plates, said her goodbyes and left.

"She seems nice," Elphaba spoke after a while.

He nodded, smiling. "She means well most of the time."

The carriage ride to the hospital passed in nervous silence, and now Elphaba fidgeted and picked at her nails as they sat in the waiting room.

Fiyero gently put his hand over hers to stop her and he smiled when she looked up at him with wide, scared eyes. "No matter what happens today, it will be okay," he told her. "We will be okay."

She nodded numbly and looked at the floor.

"I'm scared too," he admitted. "Oz, I'm absolutely terrified."

She giggled quietly at that and sighed. "This is where it becomes real, isn't it."

He nodded. "But we'll get through this together."

"What if I get it wrong?"

"Fae, we have no idea what we're doing. We're bound to get things wrong along the way." he sighed. "And that's alright."

"Ms Thropp?"

They looked up at the voice. "Come with me?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Of course." He kissed her gently and stood up with her and they both walked to the doctor's office.

Ziva Vanhanen smiled upon seeing them enter. "It's good to see you again, Elphaba. Did you work through your anxieties from last week?"

She smiled a little and nodded. "With a bit of help..." she admitted with a look at Fiyero.

He smiled and put his arm around her.

The doctor nodded. "That's good. It's progress."

"Do you have the results?" Fiyero had asked once he realised that Elphaba still felt too nervous to talk.

She gave a knowing look to the silent green woman and she nodded again. "I do, and congratulations are in order."

"You... y-you mean I...?" Elphaba had already known the result, it still didn't help her shock, however.

She couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Yes. We would estimate around fifteen weeks, going by our last conversation. You are a little on the small side, but that shouldn't be anything to worry about."

"I... I've always been thin."

"Not this much though, Fae." he pointed out with a thoughtful look on his face, and suddenly Elphaba couldn't wait for the shock to wear off for him.

"Nevertheless, I'd like to have regular appointments with you. Just to be sure that everything is as it should be. I've no doubt with some rest and recuperation things should get back on track quickly. At your next appointment, I should be able to estimate a due date for you both and you'll need to be booked into the hospital a week before it."

Fiyero paused again, trying to process the information.

"But how could I have gone so long without realising...?"

"It happens. First-time mothers don't always know the symptoms, a missed period when you're not regular is easy to overlook. The first flutterings could be mistaken for stress or anxiety if you're in that situation."

She nodded and took the piece of paper with her results on and she and Fiyero left the hospital and waited for their carriage.

"Did that..." he shook his head. "Was that real?"

She held in a laugh while she waited for his brain to catch up with them.

"Fae... Did she say we... that you were...?"

"I dunno. Did she?" she smirked.

"Don't play with me, Fae!" he pouted.

She laughed and her heart melted at the hope and wonderment in his face.

He shook his head several times and looked at her again. "Really?"

She nodded. "Really."

Their laughter rang into the air as he gathered her up and spun her around a couple of times before setting her back on the ground, and his hands came to rest on her stomach. How had he not noticed the small curve before? Did she even realise it was there?

"Are you happy?"

"What? Of course, I am." He kissed her. "Fae... this is just... I'm still trying to get my head around it."

She smiled, keeping her arms around him. She could allow him that, after all, she had a week to process the information, He had had all of ten minutes. They both got into the carriage as it turned up and they headed back to Kiamo Ko. "I think I want Glinda to be the next to know..."

He nodded. "And then we can slowly introduce you to the rest of my family." he grinned.

"I think that would be good. As long as I don't get overcrowded, I think I'll be okay." she smiled. "Don't even think about treating me like I'm made of glass, either."

"I've no idea what you're talking about." he shrugged nonchalantly.

She raised an eyebrow at him with a smirk. "I mean it. If you start to hover-"

"Okay, okay fine." he laughed.

"I'm going to the library."

He nodded and kissed her, and watched her walk away. He sighed and rushed a hand through his hair. He suddenly felt very nervous and worried about her and the pregnancy. Keeping her safe was the biggest priority for him, what if he couldn't do it? What if the Wizard and Morrible realised she wasn't dead and they came looking for her and their baby? What if he mentally couldn't cope and his past trauma became too much for him to cope with? He shook his head and walked back outside, breathing deeply, trying to keep himself calm, he held himself upright on the wall.

"Fifi? Oz, what's wrong?" Glinda popped her bubble as she landed and rushed over to him. "Fiyero? Fiyero! Answer me! Oh..." she sighed and helped him to sit on the stone step.

He heard a woman's voice, but it was muffled and sounded too far away for him to recognise her, he only slowly started to come around when he was sat down and he blinked, looking up into the face of his former fiancee. "Glin...? What are you...?"

"I don't have time, I have to get back before someone notices me missing... but I have some good news. I couldn't write just in case it was interswiped."

Interswiped? "What...?" he paused, his sluggish brain still playing catch-up from an hour ago. "I don't understand."

"Oz, what's happened to you today?" Glinda put her hands on her hips, giving him a look.

"Nothing... what are you talking about?"

"The Wizard and Morrible. They're gone! Well, not gone... at least not Morrible, she's being locked up... but I told the Wizard to leave, and he left poor Dorothy stranded. She got home though. I made sure of it. And the little dog... Dodo, too. Anyway... I'd better go. Give my love to Elphie!" she conjured her bubble and drifted away again, leaving Fiyero more bemused and lost than he'd been before she came.