Of Love and Loathing, Part 7/? by elphies_galinda, G
Title: Of Love and Loathing, Part 7/?
Author: elphies_galinda and galindas_elphie <3
Rating: G (I guess we could bring it down here :P)
Pairing: Gelphie
Summary: What is this feeling, so sudden and new? My heart is pounding, my head is spinning, and all I can think of is you…. The morning after the fight, Galinda wakes up feeling not so well…and Elphaba is in charge of helping her blonde roommate.
Disclaimer: Wicked is Mr. Maguire's...sadly. :(
A/N: Sorry! D: We’ve been so caught up in the past couple of weeks that we both kinda neglected our fic…. But now that the chaos (and the beauty) has passed, we are ready to update OLAL more regularly than we have been! :D
Links:
Part 1 Part 4~PART 7~ Part 2 Part 5 Part 3 Part 6
Fire.
Galinda lay bound on her mattress, her eyes shut tight, as the incessant flames licked at her skin. She wanted to scream, to call out for help-where is Elphaba?-but her throat felt tight and swollen. Surely her roommate would be able to see what was going on, see that their room was ablaze and that Galinda was rendered immobile….
Unless Elphaba had already escaped without her.
The blonde jumped, her eyes flying open and her body jerking upward as she finally broke from her dream. She flinched as the bright sunlight assaulted her eyes; she shut them as a means to avoid it. But then her body revolted, bringing forth the details of her nightmare along with pain….
It was then when she realized that this wasn’t a dream. A dull throbbing blossomed in her head and began to throb; her stomach felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly; her throat was burning; and her body…. Galinda curled into a tight ball, whimpering at the pain her joints experienced. The fire that consumed her grew to unreasonable heights, making her shiver. She pulled the covers tighter around her, pondering how heat could make her act like she was freezing. “Elphaba,” she rasped; a thousand tiny needles pricked the inside of her throat. She coughed soon after, which made the sensations so much worse.
She couldn’t remember the last time she felt like this. She didn’t think she ever felt like this. Karma, the voice in the back of her head whispered, and Galinda glanced over to where her green roommate slept. Instead of feeling hatred toward the girl, she felt nothing but deep shame for the way she had treated her.
If I had treated her better, maybe this wouldn’t have happened….
While Galinda wasn’t religious or even remotely superstitious, she did rely heavily on the holy doctrine of “what goes around comes around,” and right now she felt as miserable as ever.
The pain in her stomach and head grew to an agonizing crescendo. She whimpered, pulling herself tighter. “Elphaba,” she whined, wincing at the pain in her throat. “Please wake up…?”
Elphaba groaned softly, rolling onto her back. She often slept lightly in the morning, when she knew her alarm was about to go off, but this morning was different… she felt like she had barely gotten to bed. Why…?
Then she remembered. She had been… out… most of the night.
The green girl nearly returned to sleep when Galinda’s voice came again, quiet and raspy. Her fuzzy brain realized that it must have been her roommate who woke her. She stretched, noting that it was almost time to get up anyway, and began to quickly regain consciousness. It could definitely be said that Elphaba was a morning person.
“What is it?” she asked softly, their recent fight forgotten for the moment.
The blonde coughed again, this time harder. Ugh, she hated this! Couldn’t the Unnamed God or whoever was in charge of bad luck curse her with a bad hair day? Maybe even a worse day at school? Something else to teach her a lesson?? This was much too painful!
She swallowed thickly, whining quietly at the sharp pain that resulted. “I don’t feel too good,” she responded, her voice barely a whisper. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. This was so frustrating!!
Elphaba’s chocolate eyes opened, a slight frown pulling at her mouth. She regarded the blonde carefully, and a sort of protective, motherly instinct came over her. Needless to say, she and Galinda weren’t at all close, but she was her roommate… Besides, Elphaba had seen a side of her that perhaps no one else had. She knew that person - the real Galinda - was in there somewhere. And that girl needed her help.
She sat up, stretching again before stepping into her slippers and crossing to the blonde’s bed. She sat carefully on the edge, pressing her palm, and then the back of her hand, to Galinda’s forehead. She felt like an oven, and sweat had beaded on her brow.
“What hurts?”
Galinda sighed at the feel of her roommate’s hand on her forehead. Compared to her feverish skin, Elphaba’s hand felt like Heaven-cool but not freezing, and soft…. The blonde all but arched toward her touch, aching to find the relief that had momentarily reached her. “Everything,” she answered in a small whimper. She fought to keep her tears at bay-she heard of the damage that water did to her roommate-but she found that she wasn’t too successful. She bit her lip. “Make it stop….”
Elphaba’s frown deepened, hearing the quietness and strain in Galinda’s voice. She pressed her hand to both of the blonde’s cheeks in turn, feeling heat from there as well. Galinda’s entire face was flushed, and Elphaba could see her throat work to swallow. She tilted her head, pulling her hand away. She had a pretty good idea of what was going on… She and Nessa had both had strep throat chronically. Her roommate was the perfect reflection of everything that Elphaba had felt during those times, and how Nessarose had looked when she was sick.
“Open as wide as you can, and try to keep your tongue pressed down so I can see your throat,” the green girl instructed calmly. She went to the nightstand between their beds, where she often kept a book light.
Galinda frowned when Elphaba pulled away from her--she almost pulled the green girl’s hand back. But she let her roommate go to her side of the room to look for…whatever it was she was looking for. She’ll be back, she told herself, though Elphaba’s departure brought on a strange frustration and loneliness. She’ll be back. She’s not leaving you….
The blonde huddled closer in her covers, shivering violently, before the intense heat returned and she was forced to kick them off. Galinda whimpered at the ache in her joints and was sorely tempted to curl into a tight little ball to escape from everything…. She lay still nonetheless, pouting and with light tears running down her cheeks.
I don’t like this….
Galinda glanced over at her roommate, silently wondering about her sudden dependence on the other girl. No longer did she feel an intense hatred toward her. Frustration, yes, but not hatred. In fact…the way she felt about Elphaba was stronger and more meaningful than what she felt toward all of her friends combined. How strange….
Elphaba silently retrieved her book light, returning to her place at Galinda’s side. It was odd how that had suddenly become her place, but whatever had come over her - instinct, perhaps? - was very strong. She assumed it was because of all the times she had cared for her sister when Nessa had strep, and because at one point, however short it was, she had seen the true Galinda. Plus, it wouldn’t surprise her if she was the only person in all of Oz who had seen the blonde like that.
She flicked the light on, resting her weight on one hand next to Galinda’s own while she leaned over her.
“Open up,” she said softly, poising the light over the rose-colored lips. “And remember to keep your tongue down.”
Galinda eyed the light carefully, then glanced back at Elphaba. The patience and knowledge that overflowed from the green girl’s eyes calmed her. She worked out the tension in her jaw and slowly opened her mouth, whimpering softly as her throat momentarily burned. And, like Elphaba instructed, she kept her tongue down.
The green girl shone the light expertly into her roommate’s mouth, wincing at what she saw there. The blonde’s tonsils were bright red, and nothing short of humongous. She was surprised the girl could even swallow. She pulled back, turning off the light. It was exactly as she suspected.
“Strep throat,” she said, getting up from the bed. She went first into the bathroom, wondering for a moment how she would get a cold compress onto Galinda’s head without burning her hands… someone else had always been there to do it for Nessa, but now she was on her own.
After a moment’s consideration, she retrieved a washcloth and Galinda’s shower cap. After running cold water onto the cloth, she carefully wrung it out and folded it through the cap, careful not to get any of the toxic fluid on her skin. She smiled softly at Galinda while she came back into the bedroom, brushing blonde curls away from her forehead before lying the washcloth there.
“I’ll go down to the café and get you some hot cocoa, Miss Galinda. I’ll bring back Nessa’s nurse as well; she’s diagnosed strep throat many times before. She can get you the antibiotics that you need.” Elphaba rose to grab her cloak, folding it over her arm.
The blonde sighed softly at the feel of the cold compress bring placed on her forehead. She could just barely make out what Elphaba was saying. Something about hot cocoa and…Nessa’s purse…? Anti-bionics…?
Galinda began to feel dizzy all of a sudden. She closed her eyes and let out a weak moan. “Mmkay, Elphie…,” she sighed, her throat grating against the sound. Her strength was fading…. She had never felt so sleepy before….
Elphaba paused abruptly, her verdant fingers frozen on the doorknob. Elphie? Was that what Galinda had just called her? She looked back at the exhausted blonde, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. The green girl couldn’t help but allow a tiny smile creep onto her face. The smaller girl looked so adorable when she slept… but she was currently very sick. The smile faded while Elphaba left the room. Galinda needed her help more than she had before.
Elphaba took one last look at the blonde before stealing out of the room, donning her cloak while she hurried down to the café, and to Nessarose’s room.