Father Figure

Elphaba sighed miserably as she slammed the door shut behind her. She and her father, Frex, had just gotten into another argument. The green girl just couldn't understand why Frex didn't love her. What difference did it make that she had green skin? Was that really a flaw that was so hard to love? Would Frex have loved her if she had been born with skin like his or Nessa's? And speaking of which, Nessa was proof that Frex did in fact have the capacity to love, so it wasn't that Frex just didn't love anyone at all. That was entirely untrue! Anyone who saw him with Nessa, even if only for a few seconds, could easily tell how much the two adored one another. Frex definitely played up the "doting father" role when it came to her, so why did he never even make an attempt with Elphaba? By this point, however, Elphaba wasn't necessarily craving Frex's love, she just wondered what it might've been like to have a parent that actually loved her. She wondered what her life would've been like if she could've had a father figure that actually gave a darn about her and wasn't constantly arguing with her or bringing her down. And for what? Green skin? Nessa wasn't exactly a physically perfect daughter either... These bitter thoughts continued to swirl in Elphaba's mind as she sat in her room and stew, Frex sighing angrily right outside her bedroom door.

But Elphaba finally received her answer to her silent wish for a better father figure when she enrolled in Shiz University. One of the professors, a Goat named Dr. Dillamond, had taken Elphaba under his wing (or hoof, rather) and become something like a father figure to her while, in return, she became his protégée, assisting him not only with preparing for lectures, but for helping him fight for Animal Rights.

"Dr. Dillamond, I'd like to help in your Animal research," Elphaba had told him after one particularly invigorating lecture about science, equality, and how science could sometimes be manipulated to manipulate equality.

"Really?" he raised his horned head, genuinely amazed at any of his students actually coming to him with a areal, keen interest to learn about life instead of just another question about the next test or essay. Oh, he still welcomed those questions of course! But to hear someone actually prove that they had listened to his speeches and wanted to help seemed impossible.

"Yes, really!" Elphaba nodded earnestly and Dr. Dillamond smiled at her, totally unbothered by her green skin.

"I'd be glad to have you on board, Miss..." he trailed off, a bit embarrassed that he didn't know her name.

"Elphaba, sir, and I won't let you down!" she promised, totally unbothered by him forgetting her name. She shook his hoof excitedly.

From that day on, the two spent all of their free time together, studying and discovering and, without even meaning to, bonding. Elphaba began to see the old Goat as something of her father figure and he reciprocated the feeling, having been able to weasel a rather upsetting truth out of the green girl during one of their late-night experiments. He had discovered that, while Elphaba did indeed have a father, he was not very loving towards her and had neglected her physically and emotionally. Hearing that had burned Dr. Dillamond's soul, or whatever it was that Animals had, and he had, from then on, vowed to be the man that Frex never was. It was the start of a beautiful friendship!

"You did it Dr. Dillamond!" Elphaba had practically sung one night when their tests had gone exceptionally well. She couldn't be happier. Finally, she had a father figure and he was proud of her. He actually enjoyed spending time with her! And Elphaba could not remember a time when Dr. Dillamond had ever gotten cross with her. Very different from Frex... Dr. Dillamond might've been an Animal, but he loved her more than Frex ever had. She continued to cheer him on, but he shook his horned head bashfully.

"It was only with your help," he replied warmly. He hadn't planned on having kids, he hadn't even planned on a mate, but then this strange but devoted green girl took the scene. Dr. Dillamond loved her as much as any father loved a daughter and he patted her on the back with a hoof.