AN: I'm so sorry for leaving you in suspense for so long! Lack of inspiration + awfully busy university schedule + horrendible cold = no updates. I'm sorry. But here it is, the very final chapter of this story. I'm not sure if I ended it well, or perhaps too soon, but I didn't feel there was much left to write. I mean, I could do the wedding and stuff, but I did weddings in my other stories... Perhaps that will sneak its way into the sequel (which I won't be writing yet, just so you know).

Ahem... So... um... Wicked4Life? I think I need protection. I think someone just cut off my legs and many other someones want to kill me. Gulp.

Nah, that won't be necessary after this chapter anymore - I hope.

So I hope you like this, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, don't forget to leave me one last review, and buh-bye!

P.S. Yes, I looked it up :3 since I don't know the slightest thing about childbirth... it can actually take that long. I hope no such horrors will be awaiting me if I ever give birth.

Strangely enough, it was Galinda who saved the day.

Mimika started working on Elyssah, trying to get the newborn baby to breathe, and Lori ran outside, calling for a doctor with the panic clear in her voice. Fiyero was merely trying his hardest not to cry or break down; instead, he searched for a heartbeat in Elphaba's neck, and he nearly cried again with relief when he found it. It was faint, it was weak, but it was there. He looked over at Mimi, who was trying frantically to revive Elyssah, but with no luck at all.

Galinda, in the meantime, had crouched next to him on the bed, looking at her friend worriedly, but not panicky. 'Is she…'

'She's alive,' Fiyero told her. His voice broke. 'But barely.'

Galinda nodded, seeming unusually practical for her doing. When she jumped from the bed and pushed several frantic servants aside to get to Mimi and Elyssah, Fiyero thought for a moment that she was completely panicking; but then she gently pushed his aunt aside and carefully started to work on Elyssah, the way her father had taught her to. She had never practised on a baby before, but she knew she had to at least try. She carefully blew air into Elyssah's lungs, then placed two fingers on the baby's chest and gingerly pushed in a heartbeat's rhythm. Fiyero watched in awe and even Mimi, who had delivered and even revived many babies in her life, stood back and let the petit blonde do whatever it was she was doing.

Suddenly, a weak, but very audible baby's cry filled the room. Galinda exhaled slowly, releasing the breath she hadn't realised she had been holding, and leaned back a little. Mimi fussed over the baby, examining her, then cleaning her and wrapping her in a blanket. The servants, completely awestruck, applauded for Galinda. Meanwhile, Fiyero had finally started crying.

It wasn't over yet, though. The palace doctor came rushing in and quickly examined both Elphaba and the baby; he decided that Elyssah was fine and that no permanent damage was done, but that they needed to get Elphaba to a hospital now because she had lost way too much blood. Without hesitation, Fiyero scooped his fiancée up in his arms and followed the doctor. Mimi handed Elyssah over to Galinda, who, despite everything, beamed with pride and let out a small squeal at that. The blonde looked after the baby while Mimi and Lori went to wake the others and tell them what had happened. It wasn't before long that they all went after the couple towards the hospital.

When Elphaba's eyes fluttered open, the first thing she could see was Fiyero's face. She blinked a few times and he watched her anxiously. 'Fae?'

She blinked again. 'What… what happened?' she asked, feeling slightly confused. Fiyero's face broke into an immensely relieved smile and he carefully wrapped his arms around her and clutched her to him. 'Thank Oz.'

She was feeling weak and dizzy and disoriented. What had happened again, exactly? She remembered being in labour, Mimi telling her she was worried because she was losing too much blood…

She wrinkled her nose. 'Am I dying?' she asked rather matter-of-factly.

He chuckled faintly – more because of the tension than because her question had been so funny. 'No, Fae, you're not. Thank Oz you're not. I would have probably looked slightly more upset if you were.'

'Oh. Okay.' Her mind was working way too slow. 'Good.' Then suddenly, everything came rushing back to her and her eyes widened. 'Elyssah!'

'She's fine,' Fiyero reassured her immediately and she relaxed again. He smiled down at her and moved a little, so she could see what was behind him. There was Galinda, sleeping soundly in one of the hospital chairs. And lying against the blonde's shoulder, also in deep sleep, was Elyssah.

Elphaba's eyes filled with tears at the sight and when she looked back at Fiyero, she saw that he was crying, too. 'She's perfect,' she said in a choked voice, and Fiyero held her close again. 'She almost didn't make it,' he said softly. 'She wasn't breathing when she came out. Galinda saved her, the way she saved me before – you know, when I was shot.'

Elphaba pulled back a little to look at him with huge, dark eyes. 'Is she really okay?'

Fiyero nodded, smiling. 'She is. She's perfectly fine, Fae.'

At that, the raven-haired girl sighed and leaned back against Fiyero, suddenly feeling exhausted. 'Can I hold her?'

'Of course you can. You're her mother.' Fiyero got up and carefully took Elyssah from Galinda's arms. The baby fussed a little and made some indignant little sounds, but when she opened her eyes and saw the face of her father, she calmed down. Fiyero handed his daughter to his fiancée and tears filled his eyes all over again when he watched them together.

Elphaba gently stroked her daughter's hair. 'Hi, baby,' she whispered, tracing Elyssah's features with her index finger. 'You're perfect, you know that?' She looked up at Fiyero and returned his smile, her eyes mirroring the wonder and amazement he knew must be visible in his. 'She's just like my vision.'

Fiyero studied his daughter's face. Elphaba's silky black hair, but Fiyero's bright azure eyes. And she wasn't green. Not that he cared; he just noticed it.

Elphaba now looked at her friend, who was still sleeping, curled up in the uncomfortable hospital chair. 'She really saved Elyssah?'

Fiyero nodded. 'She did.'

The green girl gazed up at him, eyes unreadable. 'We should thank her. She helped save you, too, and now she saved our daughter…' She hesitated. 'Would you mind if… if she would be Elyssah's godmother?'

Fiyero kissed the tip of her nose. 'Fae, you can thank Galinda any way you'd like. She did save us, and in my opinion, no 'thank you' would ever be enough. Thank her in any way you see fit.'

She kissed him back. 'Thank you, Yero.' She looked at him solemnly. 'I also heard you saved me again by taking me to the hospital.'

'Anyone else would have taken you to the hospital if I hadn't been there,' he protested, but she shook her head. 'Perhaps. But it was you who did it.'

He smiled down at her. 'So I'm still Yero your hero, then?'

She leaned up and kissed him slowly. 'You'll always be Yero my hero.'

She was lost in thought for a moment, staring down at her newborn daughter's face. 'Seems like everyone has been saving everyone for the past nine months.'

Fiyero made a face. 'It almost seems like a conspiracy, doesn't it? I hope it's over now, though,' he told her sternly. 'No more giving me near heart attacks, all right? You've scared me enough for a lifetime.'

She chuckled breathlessly. 'I'll try my best.'

Galinda stirred in her chair, moaned softly, then opened her eyes sleepily. 'Elphie?'

'I'm here,' the green girl said, smiling at her friend. Galinda was on her feet instantly and hugged her former roommate. 'How are you feeling?'

'Far too weak and wobbly for my liking,' Elphaba grumbled truthfully. 'But I'll be fine.'

Galinda giggled, then cooed at the little girl in Elphaba's arms. 'Hi, Lyssie!'

'Lys, say hello to your godmother!' the green girl said with a beaming smile and Galinda drew in her breath with a sharp hiss. 'Really, Elphie?'

Elphaba smiled at her. 'Really. You saved her, Lin. You're her godmother – that is, if you want to be.'

Galinda beamed like the sun. 'Oh, Elphie, Fiyero, thank you so much! So very very very much! I'd love to be!' She bent forward to kiss Elyssah's forehead and tickle her under her chin. 'You hear that, Lyssie? You're my goddaughter!' The blonde looked up then. 'Have you decided on a middle name yet? You should name her after Fiyero's mother, you know – or after Nessa, perhaps, since she's your sister and all… or after your mother, Elphie!'

'I have to admit we have considered all of those,' said Fiyero. 'And though my Mom is the best, Nessa is a sweet girl and Melena was a wonderful mother to Fae, however short she had a chance to be… Elphaba found someone even more deserving to be named after.'

'Who then?' Galinda asked curiously. Elphaba laughed. 'You, silly!'

Now the blonde looked ready to faint. 'You chose Galinda as her middle name?!'

'Elyssah Galinda Tiggular,' Fiyero said proudly, looking down at his fiancée and daughter. 'I think it's perfect.'

Elphaba smiled and looked at Elyssah's face as well, then at her best friend. 'It is.'

'Oh, thank you!' Galinda hugged them both, nearly squashing the baby in between them, and sniffled. 'Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!'

'You deserve it, Lin,' Elphaba said, still smiling. Galinda tried her hardest not to cry, but tears were rolling down her cheeks anyway. 'Oh, Oz, now I'm ruining my make-up!' she complained, making everyone laugh. She giggled. 'This is all so amazing! I'm so glad everything worked out in the end!' She hesitated for a moment. 'You know, um… there's this… really long line of people waiting outside your room until they can see you. The doctor says it's okay with him if it's okay with you, but if you're tired…'

Elphaba shook her head. 'I'm fine, Lin, thanks. You can send them in.'

'One by one,' Fiyero added, and Elphaba scoffed at him. 'There won't be that many people, Yero.'

Galinda grinned. 'Well… actually… I think I finally managed to make you popular, Elphie.'

Elphaba's eyes widened. 'Oh sweet Oz.'

Galinda left the room and the first to come in was Lori, followed by Hamold. Both of them were simply infatuated with Elyssah and were very happy that both Elphaba and the baby were okay. Next was Nessa, who was a little annoyed that no one had told her anything until hours ago, but she, too, melted when she laid eyes on her niece. Boq was a little awkward around babies, but he was genuinely happy for them. Mimika apologised for not having been able to be much of a help, at which Elphaba assured that on the contrary, she had been a great help, and that she couldn't have done it without her. Paro was beaming, calling himself 'Uncle Paro' already. Moss and Laoyar did a silly little dance to try and make the baby smile, at which Fiyero pointed out drily that babies don't smile until they're at least one month old. Fiyero's uncles, Kor and Jerro, congratulated them both. Even Doctor Dandaron, the Thropp's old family doctor from Munchkinland, had heard the news and had shown up to see for himself that Elphaba was okay. He couldn't stop smiling when he saw her with her daughter. 'I'm so, so sorry, Elphaba,' he apologised for what must be at least the fifth time. 'I should have just ignored Frex and help you right away.'

'You couldn't,' Elphaba said simply. 'I don't blame you. And it all turned out well in the end, didn't it?' She smiled down at her baby and Dandaron, seeing how truly happy she was right now, smiled as well. 'Yes. Yes, thank Oz it did.'

Then Galinda appeared again, looking slightly bewildered. 'There are more people outside, Elphie – do you believe this? I don't know any of them, but Paro says they're just the Vinkuns wanting to congratulate their Crown Prince and his fiancée with their baby.'

Fiyero groaned. 'I'm not even king yet and they're going crazy already.'

'They love you, that's all,' Galinda defended the people. 'You just do that. You go crazy for the people you love.'

Elphaba and Fiyero exchanged a significant look.

Elphaba and Elyssah's coming back home was a huge happening – and an excuse for yet another feast. Elphaba, still tiring easily, didn't take part in much of the festivities; she just spent time in her room with her newborn daughter and was perfectly contend doing so. Fiyero tried to socialise for some time, but since he couldn't take his mind off his family anyway, he just left and went to sit with them after a while. 'How are you feeling?'

'Physically, I've been better,' replied Elphaba. 'Emotionally… well, I don't think I've ever been better.'

He smiled at that and kissed her. Then he took her hand. 'Come with me.'

'What?' She looked slightly baffled. 'Where?'

'Just come,' he said, and she shook her head. 'What about Elyssah?'

'I'll take care of my godchild for a while!' Galinda chirped, as if on cue, and danced through the room to take Elyssah from Elphaba's hands. 'I'm going to show her off at the party. Don't worry, she'll be fine, as soon as she gets tired, I'll take her back,' she reassured her friend before hopping off with the baby in her arms.

Fiyero, having planned all this, lead her through the castle and outside, into the gardens. It was a beautiful summer evening, still warm, even though the sun had set already, but not too hot. The gardens looked breathtaking; there were colours everywhere, flowers and bushes and fountains galore. They walked for a while before Fiyero motioned for her to sit down on a blanket. He went to sit next to her and a servant, appearing from what seemed out of nowhere, handed him a basket before disappearing again. Fiyero pulled out a bottle of champagne, a bowl filled with small pieces of fruit, and a pot with melted chocolate. 'We've had so little privacy lately,' he explained, 'and things have been crazy, of course… I just thought we could use this. Just you and me together, you know?'

She threw her arms around him and hugged him. 'It's perfect, Yero. Thank you so much.'

He poured them two glasses of champagne and they toasted. 'To love,' Fiyero said.

'To family,' Elphaba added.

Fiyero finished with a clink of their glasses. 'To a perfect life.'

They drank a little and then Fiyero started feeding her pieces of fruit dipped in the chocolate, which was absolutely delicious. When the food was gone, she lay down with her head in his lap and he played with her silky strands of raven hair as she watched the stars. 'I love you.'

'I love you, too,' he said, kissing her forehead. He went to lie down next to her and they watched the stars together for a while, until Elphaba spoke up. 'Do you remember our first date?'

He laughed softly and she felt his chest vibrating. 'How could I not?'

'This is actually quite like it,' she said quietly. 'Watching the stars together… I would point out the star constellations to you, but you already know them – I told you about them then. Or, well, I think you remember them. You seemed very interested.'

'I was interested, but I didn't hear a word you said,' he confessed with a slight chuckle. 'I think I was entranced by the sound of your voice.'

She poked his ribs. 'Ha, ha.'

'Actually, I was being serious,' he told her and she looked at him with those huge dark eyes. 'You're such a moron.'

'That sounds as if we're back in the infirmary at Shiz again,' he murmured in her hair, and she relaxed against him. 'I remember.' She wrinkled her nose. 'I spent way too much time in infirmaries and hospitals lately, you know that? I hope it's not going to be a habit. I hate hospitals.'

'I won't let you go near one ever again. Unless your life is in danger, of course.'

She laughed softly. 'Ah, well…' She stared up at the stars again. 'If this was really like our first date, I would start yawning right now.'

'And I would tell you it looked cute.'

'I would laugh at you.'

'And you would fall asleep against my shoulder.'

She shuddered. 'Don't bring that up. I don't think I've ever done anything more embarrassing in my life. What girl falls asleep on her first date with the boy she loves?'

He kissed her hair. 'You do. Because you're not like other girls. And that's what I like about you.' He paused for a clock-tick. 'Plus, that was adorable as well.'

She smacked his arm. 'You're being an idiot again.'

'In that case, let me do something idiotic.' He got up suddenly and she followed his example. 'What are you doing?'

He cleared his throat. 'I don't feel I got to do this properly. I mean, we agreed to marry, but my proposal wasn't really… romantic, or anything. I mean, you were half sleeping and so was I. So I felt like I had to do it over. For real, you know?'

She was struck speechless. 'Yero…'

He went down upon one knee and took her hand. 'Elphaba… Fae. I love you so much, more than I can ever express to you. We haven't been together for all that long, but I knew right from the start that you were the love of my life, the only one for me, my soul mate. We've been through so much together, but we're still standing, and we came back better than ever. I'm the happiest man in the world and the only thing that could possibly make me even happier is if you would agree to marry me and let me spend the rest of my life with you.'

She looked into his eyes, those sparkling, azure depths that told her everything she needed to know. 'Yes,' she said softly. 'Yes, Yero my hero, I do.'

His face broke into a grin and he kissed the engagement ring she was wearing on the ring finger of her left hand. Then he sprang to his feet, lifted her up and twirled her around in the air, both of them laughing, before he put her down again and pulled her to him for a long, loving kiss. He didn't know what more horrors might await them in the future. He didn't know for how long they would be together before something – or someone – would come along again to try and break them apart. What he did know, however, was that he would do anything to protect his family. They were going to stay together. Always. Him, his amazing fiancée and their beautiful daughter. Elphaba deserved her happy ending, and he was determined to give that to her.

They went back to lying down again, her with her cheek pressed to his chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling his chest rising and falling. Sometimes it still all felt like a dream to her, but if it was, it was a dream she never wanted to wake up from. She couldn't believe she had this, that Fiyero, the most amazing man in Oz, was hers, and that they had a baby girl together. She closed her eyes and thought of the vision Elyssah had shown her, the vision of the future, their future together as a family. A smile graced her lips and she snuggled closer to Fiyero, feeling him wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him. 'Are you happy?' he whispered softly.

She smiled and lifted her head a little to kiss him, before telling him in all honesty, 'I couldn't be happier.'