Raincheck

Galinda stood near the balcony door wrapped in a cable knit blanket—Elphaba's blanket, she'd come to think of it—gazing at the sleeping girl in her bed. She felt a shiver work through her body, and she pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, sniffling, mulling over what to do. It had taken hours for Elphaba to slip into a deep sleep. While her chest was no longer worryingly tight and heavy, her cough and congestion persisted, and it was wearing on her. Between her lingering symptoms and her new concern for Galinda's well-being as the blonde's illness progressed, the older girl wore herself down. There had been a shine to her eyes this evening as they settled into bed that had Galinda biting her lip, worrying endlessly over whether or not Elphaba’s fever would return in the night or if her chest congestion would progress to that scary Winter Fever she had learned about from Fiyero. 

A tickle worked through Galinda's sinuses, and her breath hitched once. She quickly rubbed her nose to rid herself of the urge to sneeze and decided on her next move for fear of waking Elphaba again this evening. She turned and carefully opened the balcony door, quietly stepping out into the cool night and closing the door behind her. 

Galinda sat and brought her knees up to her chest so she could wrap herself completely in the blanket. She laid her head on her knees and closed her eyes, reflecting on the day. 

~

After Elphaba's earlier soak in the tub, the two of them had laid down together, and Galinda dozed off once more while Elphaba read. The blonde had been startled partially awake late afternoon to Elphaba caught up in an adorable fit of sneezes. She had her head angled to the side, the book partially closed in her hands, and she sneezed against her right shoulder and away from Galinda. 

“…tschh! tschh!…tschhh!…hh’iiTschieww!”

"Bless you, Elphie," Galinda whispered, reaching out to run a comforting hand down an emerald arm. Elphaba sheepishly smiled at her. 

"I'm sorry I woke you. How are you feeling?" Elphaba asked, sniffling and rubbing her nose. Galinda rolled onto her side and curled toward the older girl. 

"S'alright… 'm alright, Elphie," Galinda mumbled, turning her head so she was facing down and yawning toward the mattress. She heard Elphaba chuckle and felt a warm hand run across her shoulder blades. 

~

Galinda felt another sneeze building and scrunched her nose, knowing she probably couldn't stop it. Her breath hitched again, and she turned her head to stifle her sneeze into the blanket wrapped around her. Once, twice… and the third lingered frustratingly, keeping her on edge and hitching uncomfortably until it finally bloomed and had her burying her face deeper into her blanket with a muffled "Hh'hh… heh'pshhh!" 

A sharp pain shot through her forehead again, and she whined, already preparing for the next series of cluster headaches that would plague her for the night. She rested her right cheek on her knees and looked out toward the courtyard. 

Galinda had first gotten out of bed almost an hour ago when she heard Elphaba lightly snore, relieved that the other girl had fallen asleep so quickly after the last disturbance. The poor thing had been woken up by Galinda a half dozen times in just the few hours they had been in bed after eating the bland dinner Fiyero had brought to their room. Between Galinda's tossing and turning, sneezes, and whimpering from her headaches, Elphaba had trouble staying asleep, and Galinda couldn't be more upset with herself. 

~

"I'm so sorry, Elphie." Galinda had cried to her, taking in Elphaba's exhausted eyes and drawn face. This was the fourth time she had accidentally woken her, and it was because she had tried stifling a set of sneezes into her pillow, only to be caught off guard by the intensity and shaking the bed a bit more than she expected, jostling the other girl enough to wake her. 

"Shh, Galinda.. it's alright," Elphaba had hoarsely whispered to her. "You can't help it. It's alright." The older girl had opened her arms, inviting Galinda to snuggle closer. Galinda sniffled as tears continued falling from her eyes, her exhaustion overwhelming her and pushing her to accept Elphaba's offer of comfort. 

But as she settled into Elphaba's arms and pressed her face to the girl's neck, she heard a slight wheeze to her breath. "Elphie, you're wheezing…" She observed, tearfully. Bringing a hand up to rub gently back and forth across Elphaba's chest, Galinda felt more frustrated. Tears began to fall, wetting the other girl's neck and shirt.

"Galinda, I'm fine. I promise. You're going to make yourself even more sick worrying so much." She gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Try to relax. I'm fine, my love."

My love. 

Galinda nodded against her, willing her tears to slow. "I'll try."

~

But now, here she was. After two more instances of her sweet Elphie being rudely woken up by Galinda, the older girl's face growing more pale and her eyes more red with each interruption to her sleep, Galinda had had enough. She waited for Elphaba to fall asleep again and carefully slipped out of the bed. 

The blonde stayed on the balcony for a few minutes longer, letting the evening air clear her mind while deciding what to do next. Unwrapping herself from her knitted cocoon and standing carefully on trembling legs, Galinda quietly reentered their room, tip-toed to Elphaba's side of the suite, and crawled into the girl's smaller bed. The clean scent of freshly laundered sheets swirled around Galinda, and she was thankful she had made it a point to change the linens of both beds the other day. She shivered slightly, thinking she was just chilled from outside, unaware her fever was climbing. Pulling the cable knit blanket under the sheets and quilt rather than leaving it on top for added warmth, Galinda felt herself slowly begin to drift off. There, she thought. With Galinda over here, Elphie could now get some much-needed rest. 

~~~

"Fabala, come here!" 

Elphaba woke from a restless sleep, groggy, nose unbearably stuffed, and her throat feeling hot. She heard her father's stern voice calling her from the main sitting area in her chamber and scrambled as best she could to get out of bed and into the other room. She stumbled a little on her way out as lightheadedness overwhelmed her. 

"Yes, father?" She croaked, rubbing her eyes with both fists, having forgotten her glasses on her nightstand. 

"Your sister is sick now because of you, so you will help to make her feel better and make sure she has everything she needs." 

He reached for her and grabbed her hand to pull her toward the door, but stopped abruptly as she stumbled in her efforts to follow him. He stared at her hard, but Elphaba was having trouble making out his expression without her glasses. Suddenly, she felt a hand press against her forehead, and her father hissed. 

"For the love of…" he sighed, angry and frustrated, before swiftly picking her up and carrying her down the hall. Elphaba was shocked. She couldn't recall any other time her father had held her. The sensation was odd, making her lightheadedness worse, so she laid her head on his shoulder for a moment. He seemed to startle at that but brought his other arm up to wrap around her, pressing a hand to her back to steady her against him. 

"…Governor?" 

Elphaba peeked from where her head lay against her father's shoulder to see Dulcibear exciting Nessa's chambers. 

"What's going on? Is Miss Elphaba alright?" Dulcibear seemed just as startled to see Elphaba in Frexspar's arms as Elphaba was to be in them. 

"I've brought Elphaba to tend to Nessa since it is her illness my poor darling has been afflicted with." He pushed past and into Nessa's room, heading straight to the bedchamber and to the foot of the bed, where he sat Elphaba down. "Go, Fabala. Be with your sister, and if she needs anything, you are to help. Is that understood?"

Elphaba nodded, sleepily rubbing her eyes again, blinking and squinting at his looming frame. "Yes, Father." She then turned and crawled up the bed, coughing lightly. She scooted close to Nessa under the blankets, reaching out to hold her baby sister, who fussed and snuggled into her side. 

~~~

Galinda startled awake. She was panting, her breath coming in harshly. The air was too cold against her burning throat, irritating her lungs and sinuses. She coughed before bringing her blanket up and over her face. 

Oh, Elphie. Galinda craned her neck to see if Elphaba was awake yet or if she was still stuck in that dream—that memory. Galinda's heart clenched. She was still asleep and looked peaceful at that. But, that dream… Galinda slumped further in the bed. Elphaba always had to care for someone—her sister, herself, now Galinda.  

The blonde blinked back tears as the heartache settled deep in her chest. Little Elphie, rubbing her eyes and laying a feverish cheek on her father's shoulder. Opening her little arms to hold her sister close with no one ever opening theirs to hold her. Galinda sniffled and rubbed her nose into the blanket wrapped around her. 

This wasn't fair. As Galinda lay curled in Elphaba's much smaller bed, her guilt and heartache swirled together, leaving her with a new determination. She was never going to let Elphaba sleep over here, alone, in this tiny bed, ever again. She wanted to hold Elphaba every night and make sure she felt cared for, safe, and loved. Galinda couldn't understand how someone who was so neglected—feeling so unworthy of love or care—could end up as sweet, loving, gentle, and good as Elphie. Galinda shivered fiercely again, snuggling deeper into the blankets and closing her eyes. No. No more Friday night snuggles and maintaining a respectful boundary the rest of the week. Galinda wanted Elphaba to fall asleep safely in her arms every night, forever. There were many years to make up for. 

~

Elphaba woke comfortably as the morning sun hit her face, stretching languidly and yawning wide. Despite the few times she and Galinda had woken while the younger girl struggled to navigate the early, miserable stages of this illness, she felt reasonably well rested. Her breath caught in her chest a little quicker than she anticipated at the tale end of her yawn, and she made a mental note to spend a little longer in the steaming tub later and resigned herself to visiting the infirmary to get checked out now that she felt well enough to leave their room if the catch persisted. 

An emerald arm reached across the bed for Galinda, only to find it empty—and Galinda's side of the bed, cold. Elphaba opened her eyes and did not see the blonde anywhere. The bathroom door was open, and the light was off, so she didn't appear to be there. She lifted her head to peek toward the balcony but didn't see Galinda there either. At this point, Elphaba got up to use the bathroom while letting her brain wake up a bit. As she reentered their room, she finally caught sight of the younger girl. 

There, across the room, bathed in golden morning sunlight and curled into the tightest ball possible in Elphaba's bed, was Galinda. Elphaba could see her shivering from where she stood. 

"Galinda," she said loudly, alarmed, quickly making her way over. The blonde was curled tightly, shivering, her face flushed, and her hair sweaty but sleeping soundly. 

Elphaba placed a hand on Galinda's burning forehead. "Galinda, wake up," she urgently whispered, voice breaking and hoarse. She ran a hand over the girl's forehead and hair, sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching across to pull her into her arms. 

Galinda gasped as she was suddenly pulled upright. "What—" she began to ask before being caught off guard by tickly coughs as the cold morning air assaulted her throat and sinuses. Elphaba rubbed her back gently and held her tightly against her, so Galinda found herself coughing against the older girl's shoulder. Despite Elphaba's growing worry, she allowed herself a moment to roll her eyes fondly. Is this what love is like for everyone? How is it possible that even Galinda's coughing is cute? When Elphaba is caught up in a fit, it sounds like something is clawing its way out from the depths of her soul. Galinda's coughing sounded like she was faking it—dainty, shallow little bursts of air that couldn't possibly accomplish anything. Ridiculous. 

"Shh, you're alright." Elphaba continued rubbing her back while she settled, wincing at how damp the girl's clothes were. Why was she over here? Elphaba couldn't help but begin to fret. If Galinda had stayed in bed with her, Elphaba likely would have caught her escalating fever much sooner. How long had the poor thing been suffering over here?

"Elphie," Galinda finally managed to say, voice raspy and weak. "What's going on?" The blonde pulled back and struggled momentarily to get hazy brown eyes to lock onto Elphaba's deep green. "Are you okay?"

Elphaba barked out a disbelieving laugh. "I'm fine, Galinda. You, on the other hand—" she stopped, seeing Galinda's face fall. "What is it, what's wrong?" Elphaba frowned immediately, worried as the blonde's demeanor shifted strangely.

"Galinda, what's been going on with you?" Elphaba asked as gently as she could manage through her worry, keeping an arm wrapped around Galinda to help her sit upright since there was no headboard or mountain of pillows for her to lean back against. Elphaba brushed away tears that had escaped during the younger girl's brief coughing fit and cupped her cheek, brushing her thumb along the flushed surface. 

Galinda closed her eyes, clearing her throat carefully, wincing. She was far too tired and her mind too fuzzy to dodge answering Elphaba honestly. "I just feel bad,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. Elphaba frowned, moving her hand from Galinda's cheek to run through her sweaty hair. 

"How so?" She asked as gently as before, ensuring she maintained a calm, even presence for fear of scaring Galinda away from whatever confession she seemed to be unconsciously working up to. 

"You've been so sick…" The blonde's bottom lip began quivering, and she quickly pulled it into her mouth, biting down to gain control. "And I just… you shouldn’t have to deal with this." Galinda weakly gestured toward herself, tears falling again down her cheeks. "You're always having to take care of someone…and I just…I didn't want you to have to do that. With me.” She sniffled weakly. “Especially not after everything that's come out these last few days…"

Galinda pulled slightly away from her and covered her face with both hands, breath trembling, before quickly wiping her cheeks and dropping her hands to look at Elphaba. "I had the most wonderful, kind, loving…nurturing parents. For Oz's sake, Popsicle once stayed up and held me in his lap through an entire night when I couldn't sleep because of a truly horrendible headache." She sounded almost frustrated at the realization. "And you…" Galinda couldn't finish. She took a minute to slow her gulping breaths while Elphaba watched her. "I didn't want you to have to—"

"Galinda," Elphaba said firmly, grabbing her hands tightly and squeezing, encouraging her to look at her. "Enough." 

Galinda's eyes widened slightly at Elphaba's tone, and her chin trembled slightly. "Enough," Elphaba said again, softer this time. "I love you." A silent sob shook Galinda. "I love you, and I love that you love me enough to want to spare me from…whatever you think you're sparing me from." She leaned closer to Galinda, her breath ghosting across the other girl's chapped lips. "But, I want nothing more than to be the one you go to for comfort, or to be held, or looked after..." Elphaba brushed the back of her hand across Galinda's cheek and finally—finally—leaned in to press her lips softly against the other girl's, relishing in the sound of the quick inhale, heart clenching at the sob Galinda let out against her mouth before she pressed her lips against Elphaba's for another kiss. 

"Elphie…" Galinda whispered again, pulling back from their brief kiss and gazing at her. Elphaba was taken aback by how beautiful Galinda appeared at that moment—hair, messy and wild. Her cheeks flushed, eyes shining and watery, nose adorably pink, and lips parted slightly as she took labored breaths. Seeing the bubbly blonde look so sick and defeated made her heart hurt, but her vulnerability at this moment was real and raw—Elphaba was smitten. 

"Will you let me take care of you now, my sweet?" Elphaba asked, giving her a teasing little smile as she felt the last of Galinda's walls crumble. "You need to bathe."

"Elphaba!" Galinda exclaimed, voice still hoarse and unable to reach the shriek Elphaba knew it should have. She huffed but looked down at her damp clothes and sadly fingered the damp sheets around her. 

Elphaba chuckled, but her worried frown remained fixed. "Let me grab the thermometer before we do anything. You're burning up. We might need a healer to come by..." she trailed off as Galinda opened her mouth in protest but quickly waved her off. "I said might." As she was already on her side of the room, Elphaba quickly stepped toward one of her chests and lifted a small apothecary bag from inside. She withdrew a glass mercury thermometer, tapped it once, and brought it to Galinda. "Open." 

While Galinda sat with the thermometer under her tongue, Elphaba continued sorting through what may have been happening in Galinda's head over the last 24 hours. 

"Did you sleep in my bed last night because you didn't want to disturb me?" she asked softly, looking at Galinda sadly. She continued to touch her lovingly—brushing a hand along her cheek, running her fingers lightly up and down her arm. Galinda's eyes watered a little as she nodded. 

Elphaba checked her timepiece and reached for the thermometer, holding it to the window to check where the mercury landed. "39.3," She sighed, standing again and pulling the sheets back entirely so Galinda could stand. "That's not good at all, sweetness. We need to try and cool you off—come on." Elphaba offered a hand to Galinda and helped her stand, slowly guiding her to the bathroom. She began running a lukewarm bath and pointed the blonde toward the toilet. "Go take care of business. I'll grab fresh clothes for us both." 

Elphaba grabbed a comfortable set of loose shirts and shorts for each of them, and her froat, before returning to the bathroom. As she approached the doorway, she felt a tickle rapidly work its way behind her eyes and through her nose, prompting her to duck down to the side before entering the bathroom. "Hh'tschh!…tschhh!" She sniffed sharply and straightened, continuing into the bathroom. Galinda stood near the slowly filling tub with a tired smile. "Bless you," she mouthed silently, eyes twinkling in amusement. Elphaba rolled her eyes, silently mouthing "Thank you" back to her. She placed their fresh change of clothes on a small teak table near the door—paused for a moment, considered her next move—and began to take off her own clothes. 

Galinda squeaked, prompting Elphaba to look up, thinking she had sneezed. Oh. Galinda was staring at Elphaba’s hands, which were fumbling with her clothes as she shyly continued to removed them. 

"Are you… getting in with me?" Galinda whispered hoarsely—hopefully. 

Elphaba blushed, a little embarrassed, but still in a playful mood. "I was considering it. If that's alright?" She teased the girl, pleased to visibly see her spirits lift. 

Galinda was already working on peeling off her damp sleep clothes, nodding as vigorously as possible without setting her headache again. "Yes. I'd like that very much."