"They're probably torturing her right now." Elphaba was sitting in a lazy chair staring out the window at the darkening violet sky.

"They'd torture a baby?"

"I don't know. I've never seen them in action when it comes to violence."

"You've been part of this for years..."

"But only recently have I been considered mature and loyal enough to participate in the darker, more secret parts of the organization."

Fiyero nodded, sitting comfortably on the hotel bed. "My parents are probably panicking about the fire. I sent a letter home."

"Did you tell them it was your wife's fault?"

"Elphaba, it was not your fault. You wanted out, they didn't want to let you out. How could you have known what you were getting into when this began? And how could you have known that you'd have a daughter to be responsible for, too? As you said, you didn't expect to marry me." He was desperately grasping to make her as innocent in his mind as possible. It was obvious that he was helpless to love her. He couldn't simply hate the direction she'd gone in and hate her for it, too; he loved her too much.

Elphaba hugged herself and whispered, "I'm scared."

"Look, it's getting late and we have an important day tomorrow if we're going to save the baby, so come to bed."

What she saw when she looked into his eyes surprised her. "You still want me?"

"I need you." He replied, taking off his clothes.

"Really?" She walked, hesitant, towards the bed.

"Really." He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto him, laughing. "Now, let's drown our sorrows in an excessively wild and passionate lovemaking session."

"I think I need this, too." She moaned as he ran his hands along her body, removing her dress with his teeth. "Oh, yes."

He'd begun to make love to her already and he felt sweat begin to drip down his body. "Is that the right spot?"

"Just a little further," she cried, losing herself in the feel of his body, the feel of their bodies against one another.

"Like that?"

"Yes!" She screamed, and was lost in his loving as his movements weakened her further.

It was an hour later and twice she'd cried out in ecstacy beneath him, but he was not through. Though the bliss had begun to rise again, she felt herself begin to cry. This alarmed him, and he stopped, worried that perhaps he had hurt her. "Elphaba?"

"What?"

"Are you all right?"

"Fine."

"You're crying." He said.

"Just keep going, love."

"But you're crying."

"Just do it, all right?"

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not. You think making love for this long hurts me? You know I'm not that weak. We've had nights of more intense passion than this."

He sighed and continued moving until her voice rose, along with, finally, his, for a third time, and they pushed and pulled at each other until the magic was worn out and they were lying side by side, eyelids drooping. "I know you think I hate you, but I do love you, you know. Even after what's happened, I will always love you." Fiyero reminded her.

She closed her eyes, pretending to sleep, for she was not in the mood for pillow talk or sweet talk. It was too much for her, that he still loved her. It was too much that she wasn't dead. Everything that was left was too much. In her life, she'd had so very little to hold on to, that when she lost one thing, she'd lost everything. But this time it'd been different, for the man she loved was still beside her, even if her daughter was not sleeping peacefully in the cradle. This was unlike what she was used to, and talking would only reveal her incredulity.

Fiyero knew she wasn't sleeping. He considered bothering her until she talked, at last, but he thought she looked so beautiful when she faked sleep that he kissed the top of her head and only hugged her, not surprised to feel her settle her body in next to his the way she only could do if she was awake. "I love you," he whispered again.

The sleeping beauty smile came back again.

The morning was cold and Elphaba was awakened by her own shivering. Fiyero woke on his own, as well, and the two stared at each other, unable to speak, recalling the disaster and simultaneous love that had occurred the previous night. Elphaba blushed lightly when Fiyero looked at her, almost embarrassed by the way she had acted the night before, though he was her husband. He laughed, noticing her unease and kissed her, ready to climb onto her again. "I love you."

She resisted his obvious excitement and gently pulled away. "Get dressed. We have somewhere to go."

He understood at once and dragged himself from the bed, dressing in the clothes he'd worn the day before, for everything else had burned in the fire. It was a good thing his parents would be sending money as soon as they could, for he would need it, as would she, though she didn't require much. "Are we going to retrieve Mylana?"

Elphaba shook her head. "We're going to talk to Sliviria. They took our daughter. They killed her family. Why is our situation different? What did she do? Maybe she knows something that can help us."

Though he was disappointed, he saw her logic and agreed to go along. The woman lived only blocks away, it turned out, and she lived in a house by herself. When Elphaba and Fiyero entered, it was obvious that more people had lived there, once.

Elphaba commented, "Well, I see they didn't burn down your house when you wanted to quit."

"They did what?"

"They kidnaped our daughter and burned down our apartment building."

Sliviria's mouth hung open. "How do you know they didn't...?"

"We made it back to the building in time to run in, dangerous as it may have been. She wasn't there."

"So you think they have her?"

"I would assume so."

"What would they do that for?" The woman wondered aloud. "They have no use for her. What could they threaten you for? There's nothing you have that they want."

"They want me to stay."

"Well, yes, but killing her would have done as much good as kidnaping her, if not more. If they'd killed her, you'd have had nothing left."

"But that's not true. I would still have had my husband." Elphaba pointed out.

"Perhaps that's it."

"So, what exactly happened that you lost your family?"

"I had a husband a two twin boys." Sliviria began. "And I loved them dearly."

Elphaba squeezed Fiyero's hand. "I can imagine."

Sliviria gave them a slightly pained smile and continued. "After a while, I began to miss spending more time at home with my boys. I wanted to get out of the organization and be with my family."

"I guess that's the reason for most people." Elphaba said.

"Anyway, I told leader Yackle that and she seemed to take it very well. She asked me to come to one last meeting so I could, you know, say goodbye. When I got home..." The Quadling woman began to cry.

"Oh, don't." Elphaba patted her shoulder comfortingly. "It's hard, I know."

"I'll never forgive myself."

"You didn't know." Fiyero said, helpfully.

"I didn't, but I should've. I knew what they were like. I should've known better."

Elphaba sighed. "Me, too."

Fiyero looked at both women and simply shook his head. "You women just can't get rid of guilt, can you?"

Elphaba smiled weakly and turned back to Sliviria. "Did they leave the bodies?"

"They'd been stabbed repeatedly. They'd died slowly. There was no doubt of that, not at all. They didn't want there to be. They wanted to make it clear that it would be me next if I didn't come back."

"And what choice would you have? There was nothing left." Elphaba realized.

"Exactly."

"Why do they need us so much?"

"It's not that they need us, Elphaba. Don't let that even cross your mind. It's that they can't risk us turning to the wrong side."

"Even if we hate the 'wrong' side?"

"If you're tortured..."

She nodded. "And the 'wrong' side could do the same thing to us that our side has done. They could kill our families to make us give things up."

"Right. And I guess our organization is too smart to risk that. It's too dangerous."

"That's too dangerous? Joining this damned organization was too dangerous!" Elphaba said heatedly.

"I know." Sliviria said solemnly.

Elphaba and Fiyero looked at each other and then Elphaba said. "So, what will I have to do to get my daughter back?"

"I have no idea. They'll probably make you promise to stay."

"There's no getting out of this."

"None."

Elphaba shivered and Fiyero slid his arm around her. She turned to him. "We have no choice. I have to stay."

Fiyero was unhappy with this, but saw that there was no other solution. "We'll find a way to work this all out, Fae. We will."

She sighed. "I hope so."

Sliviria said. "I hope so, for your sake. I don't want to see you lose what I lost."

"How long ago did this happen? I mean, Sliviria, you're not much older than I."

"A year."

Elphaba shuddered, feeling the woman's pan. "I am so sorry."

"Don't be sorry for me. It's my own fault."

"Don't say that." Fiyero said, knowing that another round of guilt would do no one any good at all.

"I can't help but feel that..."

"I know." Elphaba said quietly.

"You have a chance to get your daughter back. Save her. But from there, I don't know what to tell you to do."

"Would they try hard to find us if we ran?"

"I don't know, it's never happened before."

"Never?"

"Not that I know of."

Fiyero watched Elphaba's face change. "We could run to Kiamo Ko." He suggested.

"You'd never finish college, nor would I." Elphaba said sadly.

"We'd be safe."

"We can't guarantee that." Elphaba argued.

"But the chances are better for us."

"Can we finish college first?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know? Fiyero, if you don't finish college, you might not be able to run the economy of Kiamo Ko anyway."

"By then, though, you'll be so immersed in this, you may want to stay."

"I could never choose anything over you, Fiyero."

This cheered him considerably. "Then a year from now, we run."

"We can't tell our plans to anyone." Elphaba looked at Sliviria as she said this.

"Don't worry. I will keep this quiet."

Elphaba hugged the woman. "Thank you."

"At least I'll have you around for another year or so."

Fiyero tugged Elphaba towards the door, waving at Sliviria. "We've got to get our daughter back."

"Yeah," Elphaba agreed, "we should do that about now."