Accidents Will Happen

Chapter Twenty-Four

This was unusual. Highly unusual. Stirring awake, Galinda did not find Elphaba sitting up next to her, with her aquiline nose deeply buried in some book. Neither did she wake to an empty bed, which was the second most common occurrence. Instead, the lanky, green thing next to her was still sound asleep: her breathing even, her mouth slightly parted, her hair a wild, beautiful mess. Galinda was glad she'd distracted her enough the previous night to prevent her from tying it up as she normally did, for the sight was so gorgeous and alluring that she already knew that she'd miss it the following morning. Beyond that, she realised that even savouring her entrancing scent, a combination of her natural aroma and the fragrance of her oils, was a lot easier when Elphaba remained blissfully unaware.

Turning onto her side properly and propping her head up on her arm, Galinda continued her observations, determined to make the most of this rare opportunity. Elphaba hardly ever let her guard down completely, even when they were lazily making out or just cuddling. In sleep, Galinda reckoned, she had no command over her self-restraint, or her inhibitions. Seeing her like this, she was one step closer to understanding the enigma of her.

Was that why she slept so little? So that she would't accidentally expose her inner self? Was she afraid of what Galinda might find while she herself took no note of what was happening around her? Why should she be so worried thought? All Galinda could see was a girl. A beautiful girl, in her specific, extraordinary way. She was her very own green girl, and she loved her. Her quiet, sleeping form could not reveal anything that she didn't like.

She did notice, however, that even as motionless as she seemed now, Elphaba was not a peaceful sleeper. She'd kicked her blanket off, and her impossibly long legs were exposed all the way up to her boxer briefs. Her pillow, which she'd begun to stick between her knees at night to alleviate some burgeoning back pain, was nowhere to be seen. Most likely, it had tumbled to the floor. Elphaba's oversized, old shirt had ridden up a fair bit, too, leaving her rounded tummy bare.

For a minute or so, Galinda watched out for any signs of the life within, without much success. Knowing that Elphaba would feel self-conscious about this if she opened her eyes suddenly, only to find her awake and staring at her, Galinda pulled the shirt back over her bump. Cautious as she was, she barely touched her, but when her hand did brush, ever so gently, over the soft skin, it began to ripple just a bit. Already a clock tick later, Galinda couldn't say for certain that she'd really seen the baby move.

Unfortunately, the sweet moment couldn't last forever. It wouldn't have surprised her at all if Elphaba had started to twitch and stretch and crack open her eyes right when she was looking at her in the most compromising way. Maybe she would have been embarrassed, maybe annoyed; yet as it happened, Elphaba actually barely moved a muscle throughout all of it.

No, the cause for the eventual interruption was a very hungry, very grumpy Malky.

The tom came skulking through the half-open door, seeming both casual and aloof at first. But once he realised that at least one of his caretakers was awake, he jumped onto the bed and began to cry and caterwaul as if he intended to bring the whole house down.

"Shush, you, shush!" Galinda reprimanded him gently, picking him up from where he was half standing on Elphaba's rump. "Don't you wake her, you silly cat!"

His answer was a resounding howl.

Sighing, Galinda resigned herself to the fact that she had no choice but to abandon her comfortable position. Pressing Malky to her chest, making sure that he could neither escape, nor pester Elphaba any further, she clumsily scooted out of bed, dragging the blanket with her. She clicked her tongue, annoyed with herself, then managed to free one hand to drape the duvet over Elphaba, after a fashion at least.