Chapter Text
“...Fiyero, I swear to Oz if you don’t call me back. This is your son and he’s been asking for you. The boy goes and breaks his arm and suddenly you're AWOL? I don’t think so. Call me back or so help me. I will make the rest of this separation as miserable for you as possible.” Elphaba Thropp growled in frustration, ending the voicemail with as much force as she could manage without breaking a nail. She’d called her husband–her ex-husband, she reminded herself–at least four times already. Seeing as it was the middle of the day and he was still unemployed, Elphaba doubted the man had anything better to do than pick up her call.
They’d signed the paperwork and the divorce was finalized. Child-support was meant to be coming in, but couldn’t be collected until Fiyero managed to find a job. Knowing him, he was putting in the least amount of effort in that regard. The man was no doubt couch surfing with some of his drinking buddies, watching the game or passed out on the sofa without a single care in the world. Meanwhile she, who now had full custody of their son, was in the hospital, trying to get her no good ex-husband to answer. So far, no dice. Pocketing the phone, Liir waited patiently on the ER stretcher, his black and blue arm in a sling.
“Did he answer?”
“No. He’s probably just busy,” Elphaba responded, reaching out to ruffle the six-year-old’s dark hair. “But eventually I’ll have to explain to him that you tried rolling down a hill in a tire.”
“It looked like fun!” The boy insisted, his bright, green eyes sparkling with mischief. There were still tear tracks on his cheeks from earlier; he’d been wailing uncontrollably, after all. Seeing as his arm was broken in no less than two places, Elphaba wasn’t all that surprised. “It was fun!”
“Until it wasn’t,” Elphaba argued, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and rubbing the place between her eyes. She’d been so ready for her weekend. Spending Saturday in an overly humid, packed to the brim waiting room full of sick people wasn’t part of the plan. And where was the Doctor? She wanted to leave already. As if on cue, the privacy curtain was pulled aside. It wasn’t the Doctor she was hoping for, but one of the attendants who already looked guilty. “What’s taking so long?”
“All of our specialists are currently dealing with other emergencies,” the man told her, half-hiding behind a plastic clip-board as she groaned in irritation. Great.
“Ok. How long is it going to take?”
“Well, seeing as Liir has two severe fractures, a non-invasive surgery can be performed tomorrow morning…”
“Tomorrow?” Elphaba huffed. “I can’t take my son home in nothing but a sling. He’ll break something else before we make it there.”
“I understand Ms. Thropp. Unfortunately all of our rooms are full, so we’ll need to move you upstairs for the time being.”
“Is that the only option?”
“Afraid so.”
“Fine. But I want this done first thing in the morning. I can’t waste another day waiting for your specialists. I have to get back to work on Monday.”
“I understand, ma’am. If you’d follow me?”
Urging Liir back to his feet, the boy grumbled a bit in discomfort but said little else. He was still groggy from the pain medication he was on, but once it wore off, Elphaba had a hunch the only word in his vocabulary would be ‘mom’. Thankfully, upstairs was much less confined than downstairs. The hallways were wide and bright, painted with various animals or scenes of the wilderness. Liir liked the tiger painted outside the room they were escorted to, though Elphaba didn’t fail to notice that there was a name already on the door.
“Is this someone else's room?” She asked.
“It’s only temporary,” the nurse explained. “This is the only room with another full bed.”
“I see. Will they mind the intrusion?”
“I don’t think so. From what the nurses in this ward said, she’s about the same age as Liir.”
“Oh.” Entering the room, Elphaba was instantly struck by how lived in it was. There were posters on the walls and stuffed toys on the bed, as well as a yellow blanket with sunflowers printed on it spread across the stale hospital mattress. The second bed was empty, just as expected, though there was a pile of luggage pushed into one corner.
“Go ahead and get settled. I’ll let the nurses in this ward know you’ll be spending the night.”
“Thank you.” Helping Liir get into the bed, the boy took it all in before scrunching his nose.
“This is all girly stuff.”
“We’re sharing this room, Liir,” Elphaba chided, wagging a finger in the boy's face as she removed his shoes. “Be on your best behavior.”
“Yes, ma’am. Did you at least bring Chistery along?”
“I have him right here.” Reaching into her bag, Elphaba removed the plastic flying monkey toy, passing it over to her son. It was his favorite; he took it everywhere. Fiyero had gotten it for him on their day trip to the Emerald Fair, and had Elphaba failed to dig it out of the mud where her son face-planted into the grass, he would’ve been devastated. Seeing as the boy was six, breaking his arm seemed like the least of his worries compared to everything else. No doubt he’d be asking her about lunch soon once he regained his appetite.
Settling into one of the chairs, Elphaba groaned in exhaustion. She didn’t want to spend the night in the hospital, but ever since separating from her husband, Liir had the worst nightmares imaginable. He wouldn’t do well alone in a place like this, meaning she would be sleeping sitting up tonight. Rubbing her forehead and raking a hand through her braids, Elphaba cracked an eye open as clattering rushed down the hall. It sounded like a machine, but as the door handle jiggled and flew open, a little girl about her son’s age flew into the room. She all but galloped on a pair of metal crutches, her pretty yellow sundress and golden blonde tresses bright compared to the bulky black braces on her legs. She didn’t seem to notice them at first, only to skid to a sudden stop when she did.
Her dewy, bulbous blue eyes widened. Her face went slack and her jaw opened, but no sound came out. Not a peep–not even a squeak–as she turned tail and rushed back out, swinging as naturally on her crutches as one might on their legs.
“...what? What’s wrong?”
The girl eventually reappeared, all but dragging a woman behind her. She was tall and willowy, with creamy pale skin and the same honey blonde curls as her daughter. Elphaba didn’t fail to notice the dark rings under her eyes; like she hadn’t slept in weeks. “Oh.” The woman—this girls mother, Elphaba assumed—stopped, her face matching the expression her daughter had made only a moment ago. She straightened and bristled, anger and discomfort flashing in her dark eyes. “I think you’re in the wrong room,” she told them, though her tone was icy and her demeanor unfriendly.
“No, we’re in the right room,” Elphaba replied, rising to stand and folding both arms across her chest. “They had no more rooms downstairs.”
“This is supposed to be a private suite.”
“Yeah, well, we can’t always get what we want.”
The blonde woman glared, huffing in irritation. But she was immediately distracted by the little girl at her hip who gave her pink skirt a tug. She still didn’t speak, using an array of hand-signs instead. The blonde woman responded the same way, though whatever was said looked hesitant at best before she rolled her eyes, groaning a bit in her throat.
“This is my daughter Peaches,” the woman introduced, still signing as she addressed both Elphaba and Liir. “She wants to know what your names are.”
“I’m Liir!” Liir announced at a volume that was entirely inappropriate. “I broke my arm.”
“I can see that,” the woman mumbled, signing back to her daughter, who nodded and said something in return. She then turned to Elphaba and pointed at her. “And you?”
“Elphaba.”
“El…” the woman’s eyebrows scrunched. “Can you spell that?”
Having never had to spell her name for a stranger before, Elphaba did so hesitantly, watching the woman communicate back to Peaches letter by letter what her name was. The little girl responded oddly, her face wrinkling as she shook her head. Her mother just rolled her eyes again, notching a hand on her hip. “She says it’s too long. She wants to call you Elphie instead.”
“It’s kinda perky,” Elphaba complained, only to be instantly silenced by Peaches dazzling and expectant smile. “But I guess. Who are you?”
“Galinda,” the woman introduced, signing her own name as though it was second nature. “It’s…well…fine to meet you, I suppose.”
“Not too keen on sharing?” Elphaba wondered, pulling back the blanket on Liir’s bed as he kicked his feet to get underneath it. Galinda scowled, putting down her white leather handbag by the end of Peaches bed.
“No. I’m paying a lot of money for this suite and I will be filing a formal complaint. But thanks for asking.”
“Hey, we don’t want to be here either,” Elphaba argued, stepping back as Galinda sneered at her.
“Then we’re in agreement. Now, it’s been a long afternoon and I’d like to not be disturbed. Excuse me.”
With a swish Galinda pulled the curtain, blocking off Peaches' side of the room. Elphaba blinked at the rudeness of this stranger, her own skin bristling unhappily. Liir didn't seem to notice the tension, too busy running Chistery down the plastic rail of the bed and making explosion noises.
“It’s just for tonight,” Elphaba whispered to herself, returning to her chair and falling into it with a huff. “Just one night.”