A/N: A late Mother's Day story. I actually had it finished a few days before Mother's Day, but completely forgot it was Mother's Day until it was too late? So...um...yeah. Sorry.

The lyrics of the lullaby are from "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling (but Charlene Soraia's version fits much better here.)

Nessarose was only a baby when her mother passed. She'd never really known, or formed and emotional bond with, her mother, so she didn't really suffer much emotional pain from the loss. Her sister, Elphaba, on the other hand, appeared to be hit hard by the sudden loss.

Occasionally, Nessa would wake up and notice Elphaba crying very rare silent tears. She'd go back to sleep when this happened, but she'd feel horrible later about it.

One night, long after their father went to bed and was assumed to be asleep, Nessa whispered to Elphaba, deciding to finally ask a question that had been eating away at her for a long while.

"Fabala , can I ask you something?"

A few moments later, Elphaba was sitting on Nessa's bed, awakwardly trying to hug her still lying down sister.

"Go ahead," Elphaba's monotonous voice urged Nessa to continue.

"What was mom like?"

Elphaba stoppd breathing for a few seconds. Her muscles tightened and she bit back an uncharacteristic whimper. Nessa regretted her question and began to take it back, but Elphaba began answering it.

"Mom was...she was really pretty, Nessa. Her eyes sparkled and they were hazel - sometimes they looked dark green. Her hair...it was curly, long, and dark brown, similar to yours. She was smart too...smarter than a lot of women I've met," Elphaba paused and let out a shaky breath. She shifted and helped Nessa sit up before unconsciously beginning to rub circles on Nessa's back - something her mom did once or twice when she was still young.

"She was strong too. Not physically, but emotionally. She only broke down a few times that I know of...father said she was still strong and beautiful, even during the birth and shortly before she...shortly before her passing. I remember, about a month before she gave birth to you, the nurses cut her hair off - most of it was gone. It was short, and she and father were not too happy about it, but she was still very pretty - "

Another question popped up in Nessa's mind. Elphaba's struggling to continue describing their mom fueled the need to ask the question.

"You really remind me of her...you have her hair and eyes, Nessa. Long, slightly curled dark brown hair...big, innocent eyes..."

"Do you miss her?" Nessa blurted out. She frowned at her own inability to bite her tongue.

Elphaba's face twisted in discomfort and confusion. It was very obvious that she didn't ever really think about her own feelings on the matter. Nessa's heart broke at the realization.

"No," Elphaba answered. She closed her eyes and sighed softly. "Yes...? No. Maybe. I don't quite know."

"Why don't you know?" Nessa asked, looking up at her sister. Elphaba opened her eyes and frowned.

"I've never...thought about my feeling about our mother...mom..." Elphaba admitted softly.

Nessa frowned. "You cry at night sometimes," she whispered. "Do you miss her, Fabala? I'm sure she misses you too, even if you don't miss her."

Elphaba inhaled sharply. "I miss her a lot. I was never really close to her, but she is...was my mother...mom...and...I miss her...I..."

Before Nessa could reply, Elphaba rested her head on top of Nessa's and began crying. Nessa wrapped her small arms around Elphaba, attempting to comfort her like she did so many times before. The fact that Elphaba didn't sniffle or whimper while she cried confused Nessa, but she shoved that fact to the back of her mind, not wanting to make Elphaba feel worse.

"She misses you, Fabala," she repeated softly. "Even if it doesn't seem like she would, she does."

Elphaba inched away, a small smile on her face. "She misses you much more. You are the child both she and father wanted from the start. Do you miss her?"

"It doesn't matter if I do. I didn't know her very well," Nessa replied honestly. Another question formed in her brain, and she approached asking it a bit more cautiously. "Fabala, can you tell me what a mom's supposed to be? I mean...I know what a mom is but...I..."

"A mom is a friend," Elphaba began, smiling warmly at Nessa, who was on the verge of tears. "She's someone that can make the cloudiest and darkest days bright and clear. Someone that will hold you when you're lonely or sad and sing a lullaby when you're scared or lonely. A mom is someone that will point out rainbows in the grey skies," Elphaba paused. Describing a mom - what one was supposed to be - to Nessa was harder than she'd originally expected. Biting back the urge to cry, she continued.

"She's someone that reads you stories or sits with you in bed because you can't sleep or you had a nightmare."

When Nessa was sure that Elphaba was finished speaking, she spoke. "You're my mom," she said, leaving no room for argument.

"Nessa, I'm your sister..."

"You're my mom," Nessa argued. She was getting sleepy and didn't quite want to argue about this at the moment. "You...my mom...you are..."

Elphaba smiled and nodded, deciding that it was well past time for Nessa to go to sleep. "Time for sleep," she whispered before kissing Nessa's forehead and helping her lie back down. "We'll talk in the morning, rest now."

She started to get out of Nessa's bed, but Nessa grabbed her arm and shook her head. "No...sing me a lullaby, please, Fabala," she whispered. "Sing me to sleep."
Elphaba hesitated, but decided to sing a lullaby that she remembered their mom had sang a few times. She smiled at Nessa, who returned the smile sleepily.

"Okay, one lullaby - it's something mom sang a few times..." Elphaba whispered. "Especially when you were fussy for the first two weeks after you were born." She left out the fact that their mom had only stopped singing it because she was too tired and weak to do so.

Nessa yawned softly and tightened her grip on Elphaba's arm. She was trying to stay awake, really wanting to hear the lullaby. Elphaba gently pushed some of Nessa's hair out of her face and inhaled slowly before she began.

"If I could, then I would. I'll go wherever you will go. Way up high or down low, I'll go wherever you will go," she began shakily. Memories began to flood her mind as she forced herself to continue. "And maybe I'll find out the way to make it back someday to watch you, to guide you through the darkest of your days. If a great wave should fall, it would fall upon us all. Well I hope there's someone out there who can bring me back to you."

She paused to watch Nessa for a minute. It was very obvious that Nessa was about to fall asleep. Elphaba repeated the first verse again, and was cut off by Nessa.

"Mommy," Nessa murmured before falling asleep. Elphaba smiled and kissed Nessa again before going back to her own bed.

"Yes, Nessa. Mommy."