A/N: Apparently, I needed a bum chapter to get back into this. Thanks for the reviews, I love you! edit; also don't try to edit two fics at the same time... you get them mixed up!

Glinda walked the streets of the Emerald City, smiling and waving at the people who acknowledged her. As much as she loved the attention, she longed for just one day where she could walk into a store and be as inconspicuous as everyone else. Maybe this is how Elphie felt when we first came here... She thought wistfully. It didn't take her long to find her favourite dress shop and she walked inside.

"Your Goodness! What a pleasant surprise! What can I do for you today?"

The young blonde smiled at the tall, fuzzy grey-haired, dark-skinned woman and simply shook her head. "Nothing today, Miss Annesha. I'm just looking... I was thinking of getting my friend something."

"A special occasion?"

"An emergency, I think. Bless her, she doesn't have the best style and her colour choices are a little bland... But she's expecting and she's running out of dresses that fit her."

"Oh, how wonderful! The gift of life is such a precious thing! Does she not have family who could help?"

Glinda paused before she shook her head. "I am, regrettably the only family she has that can help her. Her husband has no clue and he would just let me deal with it." she giggled.

The old woman gave her a knowing nod, a smile of her own. "Very well, I think that's what most men around here do. Oh, I've seen many a blissful young couple in these walls and the boys all have the same bored, glazed look on their faces and wince when their beloved asks for their card."

Glinda remembered all too well that same scenario with herself and many of her suitors. Only Fiyero hadn't seemed to mind when handing over his money. "I know it well." she chose to say.

"Now, is your friend able to come in for measurements? I can book an appointment if you'd like."

"Oh, no! I'm afraid she doesn't live near the city. But I do have them here, I measured her myself." she took the piece of paper from her purse and handed it over. She wondered how she got talked into this when all she came in for was to browse, but then again, this always seemed to happen, and she didn't mind one bit. "Besides, she doesn't know I'm doing this for her, I'd like it to be a surprise Lurlinemas gift."

"Of course, Your Goodness. Now, how far along is she? I'll see what I can rustle up in time for Lurlinemas." Annesha bustled through to the back of the store, Glinda had followed her.

"She will be coming up to six months. She's due in February," she answered. "I know I've left it late, but she's been rather lucky in being quite small up until recently where she's just starting to show more," she added with a giggle. "Ooh! That blue looks divine!" she gasped, reaching out for a reel of royal blue fabric. "Yes, I can just see Elphie in that!"

Aneesha looked upon the young woman like she would her granddaughter and smiled. "Tell you what, you pick out the colours, since you know your friend's taste, and I'll do the rest. No need to worry about payment this time."

"Oh, don't be foolish! Of course, I'll pay-"

"Now let's not quarrel. I've made my decision."

Glinda paused and bit her lip in a thoughtful manner. "Are... are you sure? I don't mind-"

"Yes, I'm sure. May I speak frankly?"

"Of course!"

"Miss Glinda, you have been coming here for years now, ever since that first trip you made to the city while you were still in university, and I have always enjoyed your company and your custom. I'd like to do this for you as a thank you for all of that. I admire you greatly for finally standing up for what you believe in, I know it can't have been easy under the circumstances."

Glinda nodded as she listened and she sighed. "Alright." She smiled. "Alright, you win."

Aneesha grinned smugly and went back to her tasks.

Fiyero grinned as he walked into the bedroom to find Elphaba throwing another dress to the floor, her black slip ruffling over her curves as she moved in apparent frustration. "I don't know who exactly you're trying to fool, but the minute you hug him you're going to give the game away."

"If you're not going to help, leave me be." came her irritated voice from behind the closet door.

He simply laughed and crossed the room to her, spinning her around and planting a kiss to her lips. "First of all, you need to stop stressing, your brother is not going to be that bothered by seeing a pregnant woman. I imagine he saw your mother in that same situation twice and probably more than just that in his life." He reached over her shoulder for a purple coloured dress. "And secondly, this one suits you better."

"But we haven't seen or spoken to each other in years, this is a lot to drop on someone." Elphaba sighed and took it from him. "I know, but it fits too much... I've already had to let some of them out at the waist."

"Fae, I'm sure it will be fine." he smiled. "If you would just let me-"

"Don't even think about it. No, as soon as I can I'll pay for my own dresses, thank you." she huffed, pulling the dress on. "Now, be a love and tie the corset?" she smirked, moving her long dark hair to the side.

He scoffed and shook his head while she turned her back to him, and yanked the ties sharply with a smirk of his own as she yelped and laughed.

"Yero, don't do that!"

"You, Miss Fae, are getting way too mouthy." he teased before he tied it up.

"You like my mouth," she commented and turned back to him with a smug glint in her eye and she quickly pecked his cheek.

He nodded, leaning her against the door. "I do." He acknowledged. "But this attitude right now is dangerous."

"Hm? Why is that?"

"Because if you carry on like this, I'm afraid I can't let you leave this room and I won't let you leave our bed." He smirked. "And right now, we don't have the time for that."

She giggled and shook her head. "Fine, I'll behave. For now." She stood straighter and reluctantly pushed him away from her so she could leave the closet.

Fiyero chuckled softly and pulled out a coat for her while she tied her hair into a ponytail and studied herself in the full-length mirror beside the window. The dress itself covered most of her green skin, the neckline rested at her collarbone and the sleeves cut off just below the elbow, the fabric was heavy and would keep her warm enough for her to venture outside, and the skirt ended at her feet. He smiled, walking up behind her, draping the coat on her shoulders and covered her hands with his as they curved over her bump.

Elphaba smiled softly, leaning back against him. "I love you."

"I love you too." he smiled. "Come on, it's almost time."

She nodded, putting the coat on properly and they left their room, making their way through the castle and outside into the cold. The recent snowfall meant that a walk to the nearby flower park was out of the question, at least from Fiyero's perspective. Elphaba, on the other hand, felt that being pregnant did not hinder her walking abilities, but decided that it wasn't a fight they needed to have.

He helped her into the carriage and they were soon on their way.

"How will you sleep tonight?" she studied him for a moment. Five nights ago he'd made the decision to come off the sleeping tonics, which had had a drastic effect that very night, and neither of them slept well.

He shrugged. "I dunno."

"It's okay if you want to keep on it tonight. Stopping like that clearly isn't good for you."

"But I already had to give in last night, and that was only because you're seeing your brother."

"It's not giving in, Yero, it's accepting when you need help. I think after today we should speak to a doctor. It's not going to happen overnight, love."

He sighed. "I know... Maybe you're right. But let's not go into that now. We don't need to be screaming at each other when you see him."

"I'll talk to Riya... see what she thinks." she decided, and Fiyero said nothing to that. It would be pointless to argue it because he knew she would do it anyway. "We're only looking out for you." She held his hand.

He sighed softly and nodded, raising her hand up and kissing it before lowering it to his knee. "I know."

Ten minutes later the carriage pulled to a stop and the door opened. "We're here, Your Highness." the footman stated.

Elphaba cringed slightly behind Fiyero while he got out, and then helped her out after him. "Thank you."

"You'll wait?" Fiyero asked him.

"As you wish." he nodded.

"I don't like when he says that," Elphaba grumbled in his ear as they walked away.

Fiyero laughed, he didn't need to ask what she meant. "You're gonna have to get used to it at some point, Fae."

"Well... do I have to?" she pouted.

"Yes. Unfortunately for you." he wrapped his arm around her as they entered the gated archway into the park.

She huffed and leant into his embrace while they walked. Moments later they arrived at a small teahouse, heading inside out of the cold.

"Good afternoon, may I get you anything?" the server greeted the pair with a smile that Elphaba suspected was forced.

"Two hot chocolates, please," Elphaba answered with a fake, sweet grin of her own.

"Very well, there's a table just in the cor-"

"No, if you don't mind, we'll take the window seat. We're expecting company and I'd like to be able to see them." she cut him off.

Fiyero bristled and his eyes darkened with annoyance at the server's attitude, a smirk tipping his mouth at his fiancee's bite. "That won't be an issue, will it?"

"Well, you see, Your Highness, your companion is..." the male finished awkwardly.

"What?"

"Well..."

"He means to say I'm unsightly and would probably scare away his customers." Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Oh, trust me, if I could do something about the green skin, believe me, I would have done by now. Unfortunately for us both, that hasn't happened yet. Now, are you going to make a pregnant woman stand all day or are you actually going to be a decent human being and allow her to sit?" She turned on her heel, skirts twirling around her feet as she did so and she stalked over to her chosen table and defiantly dropped into the seat beside the window.

"Is there a problem out here?" an older man came out from the backroom behind the counter.

"Well, I was just about to ask for his name," Fiyero told him. "He needs reporting for his discriminatory behaviour."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Your Highness, whatever young Dimitri here has done, I'm sure I can try to resolve it."

"An apology for insulting my fiancee would be a start-"

"Fiyero, just leave it! It's a headache I don't want or need!"

He ignored her and carried on. "He's just tried to offer us a table hidden away just so we wouldn't scare away the customers, and then would have most likely said something about her had I not been there."

"But look at her!"

"That's enough! You're on your last warning, Dimitri. Why would you be foolish enough to be rude to our customers, especially any member of the royal family? I'm sorry, Prince Fiyero, accept my sincere apologies and I will deal with him as I see fit."

Fiyero nodded and headed over to Elphaba, sitting opposite her. He winced when she stamped on his foot. "Ouch! What was that for?!"

"I didn't want you to do that for me."

"We've had this discussion already, I'm not standing by and allowing anyone to insult you. You're used to it, I know, but you shouldn't have to be."

"It won't change anything, Yero. I'm not helpless."

"I never said you were! But I am!"

"How?!"

"Because all I want to do is prove to you that it doesn't have to be like this. I want everyone to see you how I see you, and not the perceived notion."

"But that's never going to happen. Fiyero, I've made my peace with that, I'm okay with that. You don't have to be, but it's fine, I don't want anyone else to see me the way you do anyway."

He sighed and shook his head, running a hand through his hair. It wasn't fine, but he wasn't about to argue with her, it wouldn't be good for her or their child. "If you say so."

"Which is code for 'we'll discuss it later'." she smiled a little and rolled her eyes. "Honestly! I'm fine."

Soon their drinks were brought over by the reluctant server and he scurried away before anything else could be said.

"Don't you dare rise to it."

Fiyero scowled slightly before picking up his cup.

"Remind me, which one of us is pregnant?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your mood swings are worse than mine!" she laughed.

He scoffed and laughed, shaking his head again. "I won't apologise for it."

She rolled her eyes again. "Fine. But don't get us thrown out of here before I've had a chance to warm up." she took a sip from her own cup.

They sat in silence for a moment until Fiyero spoke again.

"I'm sorry for overreacting."

She smiled and reached across the table for his hand. "I know. I get why you do it."

"Just... take it down a notch?" he suggested with a grin, holding her hand in his.

She giggled and nodded. "Exactly. Just remember that not every fight needs to be fought."

"Fine. I'll try and remember, but don't forget there's still a lot of straw up there!" he teased, wincing again when she kicked him. "I'm going to have very bruised shins if you keep doing that."

"I still have that spell committed to memory."

"Alright, alright!"

She laughed. "You're hopeless."

He leaned across the table to kiss her with a grin. "I know." he laughed when she shoved him back down. He took that moment to look over her head to the doorway. There was no mistaking who had just walked in. Shell looked almost exactly the same as his sisters. "Fae."

"What?" she tilted her head, and turned in her seat when he nodded over her shoulder and she froze. She couldn't quite believe the sight before her, that her brother had finally come back to her. Had he grown taller? His brown hair was certainly lighter... Those hazel eyes that were given to him from their mother... "I... Shell?"

Shell looked over in the direction he heard his name. The siblings had locked eyes for a mere clock-tick before Elphaba leapt from her seat and straight into the arms of her brother, and almost immediately his arms locked around her in the biggest bear hug he could manage, his hands gripping her arms almost as fast as they'd held her and he pushed her back a little. "Wait, you're-?"

"Maybe we should sit down first." She told him quietly, feeling anxious and overwhelmed. She wanted to cry and she blamed it on her hormones rather than the reunion. She led him over to the table where Fiyero now stood. "Shell... This is Fiyero."

The older Thropp nodded his head. He had heard of Fiyero, but most of it had been rumour and speculation, none of it appeared to match up to the letters his sister had been writing. He held his hand out. "Wonderful to meet you." he smiled.

Fiyero grinned and shook his hand. "You too."

The three of them sat down at the table.

"Well... When you said you had something to say to me I didn't expect this." Shell laughed awkwardly. "I could swear you're still ten!"

Elphaba giggled and shook her head. "It's a shock to me too..."

"How is everything? You're okay?"

"We're both fine. At first I was a little on the small side, but over the last couple of weeks I seem to have doubled in size." she smiled, her hand resting on the bump. "Fiyero keeps freaking out every time I pick something up I probably shouldn't."

"I do not!" he prodded her lightly when she responded with a scoff. "I just..."

"Hover? Freak out? Act like a drama queen?"

"Sometimes you just don't know when to stop, that's all."

Shell laughed again, watching them both. "Sometimes it's best to leave her to it. She's always been the same, even as a kid. Too proud to admit she needs help sometimes."

"Where are your bags?" Elphaba asked, changing the subject. "Surely you didn't travel without them?"

Shell shrugged. "I left it by the door on that shelf," he told her. "How about we walk and you can tell me everything I missed?" he grinned.

She nodded with a smile. "We'll be out there a while," she warned.

"Okay, maybe not everything?" he amended and they both laughed. "It would probably be better to be in your home for the heavy stuff."

Fiyero nodded, planting a kiss on her head and he stood up. "I'm going to take the bag to the carriage and I'll leave you to it for a bit," he spoke and held his hand out again for Shell. "If she starts looking tired, don't take no for an answer and get her back to the carriage."

The elder Thropp nodded, shaking his hand again, smirking at his sister rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Got it."

"Oh, for goodness sake! I don't need babying!" she complained.

"No, but you do need stopping sometimes." Fiyero grinned and left the table before she could kick him, sticking his tongue out when she rolled her eyes.

"Oz, you're so childish." she couldn't help but laugh when he left them to it, taking her brother's case with him. "Don't ask."

Shell chuckled softly. "You're both in love, it's expected. It's actually good to see you like this." He stood up and held his arm out for her.

Elphaba shrugged, a slight blush darkening her cheeks. "I guess so. It took some time for us to get to this point." she sighed as she too stood up and linked her arm with his and they left the warm teahouse.

"I almost hate to ask... but what happened to our sister? I mean... I know how she died-"

"She blamed everything on me. It's not her fault, of course. It's all she knew. If father said I was to blame then it must be true."

Shell winced. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you out..."

Elphaba shrugged. "Doesn't matter. It happened, and all that matters is now."

He shook his head and fell silent, only the crunching of the snow beneath their feet could be heard. It did matter, he had unwillingly broken his final promise to their mother. Look after Fabala. You think I don't know what he does to her behind that door? Get her and yourself out.

"Shell? Honestly, I'm alright. Or... at least I am now."

"If the old man wasn't already dead-"

"Fiyero would have beaten you to it, I'm afraid." she smiled and then grunted as her baby placed a well-timed kick to her stomach.

He looked at his sister with an air of concern before realising what had happened. "How long have you been together?"

"Six months..." she said slowly and then her eyes widened. "Now, don't jump to conclusions! My time on the run didn't exactly leave room for relationships of any kind!"

"But... I don't understand. So you have one night with him and-"

"No! Well... yes, but it wasn't like that. Oz, I hate explaining this..." she sighed, feeling her face burning with embarrassment against the icy wind. "Okay... so, I told you we went to school together. He was dating Glinda at the time and then we... sort of had a moment. Are you following so far?" He nodded. "Good. That moment led to feelings that neither of us knew what to do with or how the other felt. We didn't want to hurt Glinda so... we never did anything about it... and then the trip to the Emerald City happened... fast forward three years later and... he announced that he's leaving with me and then the rest is history."

"So... you left with your best friend's boyfriend?"

Fiance at that point... "It's not like he gave me a choice and it's not for want of trying to make him see sense." she shrugged. "He saw right through it and knew I loved him too. He risked everything to be with me and I was trying to keep him safe. So yes, that one night when we gave in to it was the night this happened. And no, I don't regret it." she smiled.

He nodded, listening and smiled. "Alright. Okay, I believe you. But he better not hurt you."

She laughed and rolled her eyes, choosing not to say anything to that. "Okay, that's enough about my part... Why did you end up in Quadling Country? And the name change?"

He shrugged. "Work, mostly. And my wife." he answered. "The name change came from what happened with Nessa. Your actual name was mostly erased from knowledge and I had no idea for a while that it was you... or maybe I just didn't want to believe it... I got word from someone that our father died, and she had to drop out of school to take his place."

Elphaba nodded. "I didn't even know that until six months ago..."

He looked over at her. "What?!"

"I went to her... I saw her and thought she took over because he stepped down or he was sick... I wanted her to talk to him, try and get him to help me for once in his sorry life. And she told me he was dead. That he died of shame and it was my fault. She was probably right. He wasn't exactly proud of me when I was growing up."

"Fabala, no-"

"Shell, stop. You know it as much as I do. You know he took his aggression out on me no matter how many times you tried to step in. You know I was looked at with contempt."

He shuddered, he could still hear a six-year-old Elphaba's crying and pleading. It frightened him more when she fell silent. At least when she was making noise, he knew she was still alive. "I know... so he was dead for... what... two years and you had no idea?" he swore under his breath when she shook her head.

"Even in the face of death, he couldn't even acknowledge me as his, he couldn't even find it in him to care that he had two other children out there and-"

"It could be that none of us are his."

"I guessed that about me... but I don't understand...?"

"I found out about me by complete accident. I was sort of... drifting between sleep when I remember our mother talking to someone... whoever she was talking to said Frex wasn't my father, but someone she met during their courtship. Of course, when they found out she was pregnant, they had to rush through a wedding so it wouldn't be suspicious, and it worked." he shrugged. "I don't think that she was ever truly happy with him after that."

She nodded slowly. "And me...?" She almost didn't want to know the answer.

"You... you're a complete mystery. I remember there was a lot of parties being held... most of them for no apparent reason, at least to my childish brain. There was always one man who kept showing up to every single one and he kept giving her drinks. I'm sure they fell into bed together even with Frex under the same roof. If not a bed then... well you get the idea."

She coughed slightly at that. "Yeah... forest floors are not comfortable..." she muttered.

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "And Nessa was a result of an affair with a stable hand." he finished. "Of course, there is no physical proof but... her actions speak for themselves."

"I... wow... I always knew she wasn't exactly shy about herself but..."

The siblings continued their conversation as they walked around the snow-covered park and eventually came back to the carriage. Shell assisted his sister in first where she sat beside Fiyero, and he climbed in after her.

The prince woke up from his nap when he felt the carriage jostle with the new movement. "Hey..." he yawned.

"Sleep well then?" her tone was teasing but her question was genuine.

"Mhm." he hummed and tipped his head to kiss her.

She smiled softly and nodded, resting her head on his shoulder. "We talked a lot while we were out there..."

"But there's still a few things we have to work out." Shell added, glancing out of the window as the carriage started to move.

"There's still time for that." Elphaba reminded him with a tired look. She knew where he was headed, and she didn't like it and didn't have the patience to deal with her abused past.

Shell knew when to keep his mouth shut, even now, years later, he remembered her temper, and he wouldn't put her under any further stress. "I know... I'm just saying that you don't have to carry it alone, that's all."

She nodded again and closed her eyes. "Shell?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, but please shut up."

He chuckled then. "Fine."