Work Text:
Elphaba had been away for eternity!
Well, that’s what it felt like for Galinda, who was very upset and very little.
In reality, Elphaba and Nessarose had gone to Colwen Grounds for the weekend to visit their father and Dulci.
Galinda didn’t want to go, so Fiyero, Crope, Tibbett, and Milla had been put on babysitting duty.
It was Friday, Elphaba had only been away for a mere few hours. Galinda had been in a great mood all morning, holding Milla’s hand as they looked through different little shops in town. She was fully expecting to return to Elphaba later that day, who would take care of her as normal. It wasn’t unusual for the group to babysit her every now and then, even if they weren’t the best with children, or littles for this matter.
But, when they arrived back to an empty dorm room, Galinda’s heart sunk.
She looked around, eyes already shimmering with tears, a small sniffle escaping her.
Then—
In the sweetest, most earth-shattering little voice ever—
“Mama?”
The group almost collectively burst into tears with her.
Fiyero stood in front of her, tucking stray curls behind her ears. “Mama is with Auntie Nessie for a few days. She’ll be home on Sunday. We get to have a sleepover—”
“No!” She shrieked, dropping herself off the floor with a huff. “No, Yero. Want Mama cuddles.”
The four of them looked at each other anxiously, Milla stepping forward.
“Here, why don’t you give Elphabear a big squeeze!” Milla knelt down, handing Galinda her most favorite stuffed bear, the fur green, of course.
Galinda clutched it to her chest, running her fingers along the fur, soothing herself.
“There’s a good girl. Would you like to play dolls with me?”
Galinda turned, looking up at Milla with a shy smile, before nodding slowly.
The boys sighed in relief, their first meltdown was over and done with.
Little did they know.
———
Trying to get Galinda down for the night was… painful.
She had been sobbing for two hours, shouting at everyone and babbling through her tears.
The group huddled close, muttering ideas, when Galinda moved.
Nobody noticed, too engrossed in finding a solution.
She toddled over to Elphaba’s bed on unsteady legs, her stuffed bear and blanket clutched in her hands.
She climbed up, curling into a ball and nuzzling against Elphaba’s pillow. Taking a deep breath, she hiccuped, thumb slipping into her mouth.
Tibbett smiled, walking to sit beside her, the bed dipping slightly with the added weight.
“Go to sleep, Galinda. You’re safe here.”
And, that was it.
She was out like a light.
Fiyero gasped, “What just happened?”
“I don’t know, but keep your voice down, will you?” Crope’s brow furrowed, setting up his sleeping bag on the floor.
They had decided collectively that all four of them had to stay in the dorm. Galinda was a whirlwind at all hours, and they needed as much backup as they could get.
———
They had hope for Saturday.
They thought Galinda would have gotten used to the idea of not having Elphaba around.
Oh, how wrong they were.
She had woken up in a mood, stomping around and barking orders at people.
She repeated the phrase, “You aren’t Mama,” every time she was asked to do something.
She was currently sprawled out across the floor, pop-up book in hand, entertaining herself. Her cheeks were still flushed from a recent meltdown. She was whispering the words in the book, giggling when she turned the page and something popped out at her.
After the morning, it ran much smoother. Galinda was happy, playing with the friends who were looking after her.
Fiyero had the idea of taking a walk through the fields surrounding Shiz, Galinda all but jumped up to follow him.
The girl had been skipping ahead, following butterflies which had been flying around her.
Crope was talking to Milla, Fiyero was talking to Tibbett, everyone was distracted.
Until—
Thud.
Galinda fell forward, she had tripped on some foliage.
She froze for exactly two seconds, before bursting into tears.
Milla sprung forward, lifting her into her arms. “Oh, darling. What happened?”
“I-I falled down!” She cried, “My dress!”
“That’s okay, Galinda. We can fix it,” Crope tried, but Galinda only sobbed harder.
“I want Mama.”
“I know. I know, sweet pea.”
They took her back to the dorm, Tibbett crouched in front of her with an alcohol wipe.
“This is going to hurt a tiny bit, can you be brave?”
Galinda nodded, her lower lip trembling. The moment it touched her, she screeched, wriggling away.
“Hold tight, little one,” Tibbett reminded her, placing a pink bandaid over her wound. “There, all done!”
Galinda whined, rubbing her eye. She outstretched her arms for Tibbett to pull her into a hug, melting into his embrace.
———
Sunday was much easier. Elphaba would be back that night. Galinda had woken up smaller than she’d ever been, almost baby-like.
She woke up whining and whimpering, limbs flailing. When Fiyero had rocked her, she settled, cooing and smiling up at him.
“She’s so little today,” Crope whispered, running a hand through her curls.
“She’s adorable.” Milla set out some toys for her to play with, yet Galinda wasn’t super interested. Instead, she stuck her fingers in her mouth, eyes tracing the movements of her temporary carers.
It was a much calmer day, no screaming or shrieking. She wasn’t even talking, although she still understood the words spoken around her. She kept suckling on her bottom lip, and nobody knew what that meant, so they ignored it.
She was curled in Tibbett’s lap, fingers playing with the chain around his neck, when her eyes grew heavy.
She still tried to fight it, of course, but when Tibbett slowly swayed her, she adorably yawned and dozed off.
The group cleaned up the room while Galinda napped, making sure it was up to Elphaba’s standards before she got home.
Then, they left, opting to spend the day in town again. It was a good way to keep the blonde distracted.
Galinda slept on Fiyero’s shoulder the whole walk there, only when she heard talking and busy streets, did she groggily blink her eyes open.
She squealed when she recognized her surroundings, already pointing towards the toy shop.
Fiyero grinned, gesturing for the group to follow them.
“Okay, Galinda. You can pick out just one toy.”
They came back out with two bags filled to the brim. But, the sweet little smile on her face was better than her sobbing.
They wandered around town for some hours, buying things they didn’t really need, and some presents for Galinda and Elphaba.
On the walk back to Shiz, Galinda started getting fussy. She was scowling, wiggling in Fiyero’s arms.
“What’s wrong little bug?”
And yet, words still seemed too much for her. Instead, her lower lip jutted out, eyes filling with tears.
“Hey, it’s all right. We’re almost back.”
That didn’t reassure her. She cried and sniffled and tried her hardest to form words, but she just couldn’t do it, her attempts coming out as random strings of sounds.
At the dorm, she hid herself in a corner of the room, tears still flowing. Nobody could figure out why.
They were all surrounding her, not hearing when the door clicked open.
Elphaba had been worried about leaving Galinda with their friends. However, Galinda absolutely despised Frexspar, so she decided not to take her on the trip.
When she arrived back, she heard Galinda screaming from down the hall. It made her giggle, shaking her head.
She gently pushed open the door and walked towards her bed, setting down her bags and kicking off her boots.
Then—
“Galinda, darling. Why are you on the floor?”
Everyone froze, Galinda’s head whipped around to lock eyes with Elphaba.
“Mama?” She whispered, shifting onto her knees to crawl over. She moved quickly, scurrying across the floor over to where Elphaba stood.
Once she reached her, she lifted her arms, Elphaba bent at the waist to scoop her up. Galinda’s arms locked around her neck, legs tight around her waist.
“Hi, my baby. Mama’s got you.”
Galinda shoved her face into Elphaba’s neck, her shoulders lowering as she relaxed into her hold.
Elphaba’s eyebrows furrowed, confused when she saw Galinda sucking in her bottom lip. “Where is her pacifier?”
“What pacifier?” Crope asked hesitantly.
“She has a whole box full… Oz, please tell me you used them.”
Fiyero shook his head, rubbing his temples.
Elphaba cracked a smile, snorting. “They help her to fall asleep. And when she’s this small, she gets antsy without them.” She walked over to the top drawer of her bedside table, and there they lay.
She plucked out the pink one, Galinda’s favorite, and offered it to her. The blonde took it immediately, her breath hiccuping once as she settled.
Elphaba took a seat on the couch, Galinda straddled her, happily suckling on the pacifier as she played with the buttons on Elphaba’s dress. The group followed, sitting around them.
Galinda sighed softly, curling into Elphaba’s chest, her eyes beginning to grow heavy. Elphaba waited for her to drift off before speaking.
“How was she?”
“…A nightmare,” Milla smirked, earning laughter from the others.
“She just missed you,” Tibbett tried to reason.
“I think she burst my eardrums. She screamed for three days straight.” Crope rolled his eyes, but he was grinning.
Galinda became extra clingy after that weekend. If she wasn’t by Elphaba’s side, she’d shriek and cry until she came back. She glared at her friends, too, as if it was all their fault.
They were in Doctor Dillamond’s lecture when she started getting wiggly. She’d began with twirling loose threads on her skirt, and now she was whining, doodling on the table, fussing with anything she could get her hands on.
“Do you need a break, honey?”
Galinda sighed as her eyes scanned the room. “Yes, please, Mama.”
“That’s all right. Can Crope take you?”
Galinda’s brow furrowed, but Elphaba held strong, she really couldn’t miss this lecture. After a moment, Galinda whispered, “Okay.”
Crope excused them from the room and took Galinda to get a snack, which quickly cheered her up.
They had been gone for twenty minutes when Elphaba also left the room, finding them on a nearby bench.
“Come along, you two. We need to get back to class.”
“Mama! I got cookies!”
“That’s lovely, my sweet. You can finish them in the lecture hall,” Elphaba extended her hand, and Galinda happily took it, being pulled away by her caregiver.
Later that night, Elphaba was behind Galinda on her bed, brushing through blonde curls, before tying them up into a braid.
They snuggled up together, Galinda clutching her stuffy and Elphaba, pacifier held firmly between her teeth. She just looked so cute!
She shifted once, then muttered, “I love you, Mama.”
In turn, Elphaba held her tighter, kissing her forehead. “I love you, Galinda.”
“No go ‘way again.”
“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. Not again.”
Galinda smiled, her eyes drooping as sleep pulled her under. Elphaba kissed her head once more, looking down at her with the softest eyes.
No. She was never going to leave her baby again.