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Fic: Follow You Home - California Tin (26/42)
Title: Follow You Home - California Tin (26/42)
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Cain and DG, but if you saw 'em in the miniseries, they're here or mentioned. Plus some OCs
Rating: PG
Summary: Cain stayed in LA. But can he survive on the Other Side?
Warning: post-series, directly after California Queen. Blame n_e_star, for she fed Steve. ;)
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The rest of 'em are mine.
Prologue | California Queen
California Tin: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve | Part Thirteen | Part Fourteen | Part Fifteen | Part Sixteen | Part Seventeen | Part Eighteen | Part Nineteen | Part Twenty | Part Twenty-One | Part Twenty-Two | Part Twenty-Three | Part Twenty-Four | Part Twenty-Five | Part Twenty-Six | Part Twenty-Seven | Part Twenty-Eight | Part Twenty-Nine | Part Thirty | Part Thirty-One | Part Thirty-Two | Part Thirty-Three | Part Thirty-Four | Part Thirty-Five | Part Thirty-Six | Part Thirty-Seven | Part Thirty-Eight | Part Thirty-Nine | Part Forty | Part Forty-One | Part Forty-Two
California Sun
Five | Waking Up (CaliSun 20.2) | Almost Like Being in Love (CaliSun 24.5) | An Hour and 45 Minutes | Hava Nagila | Unexpected
Monday morning, after both Cain and DG had been quizzed by Jeanie as to their packing abilities and Simon had been warned to drive safe, they headed north to the park. "I don't think she believes you," Cain said to DG as Simon turned onto California Boulevard. DG turned to look at Cain.
"Who?" she asked, not following him.
"Jeanie," he said with a nod toward Simon, who laughed. DG turned to look at Simon and then turned back to Cain.
"Where does she think we're going? Detroit?" Cain breathed a laugh and shook his head. DG gave him a dirty look and looked back at the dashboard. As the knot in her stomach tightened with each mile, DG ran through the list of baking instructions from Jeanie in her head, trying not to focus where they were headed.
Or how they were getting there.
-*-
Cain pulled the bags out of the back of the truck and Simon waved DG over to the front of the truck. "You sure you're gonna be okay?" DG smiled and gave Simon a hug, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"Yes, we'll be fine. We will be back on Sunday." Simon gave her a fatherly look and glanced to Cain, who'd moved toward them. The men nodded to each other and Simon held a hand out for Cain.
"Wyatt, take care of our girl." Cain gave DG a grin and took Simon’s hand.
"With my life," Cain replied, rather calmly. DG rolled her eyes and Simon nodded to Cain, approving of the vow. As Cain moved away, toward the trailhead, DG gave Simon another quick hug and then turned to look at the mountains in front of her. It had been much easier the last time.
Taking a deep breath, DG hurried after Cain and, when she reached his side, turned to give Simon a wave and a smile. Simon waved again and waited for the two of them to disappear from his view before shaking his head and getting back into his truck.
Starting up the truck, Simon laughed as the thought of following them up the hill crossed his mind.
-*-
"I feel bad," DG stated as she and Cain followed the trail.
"How's that?" Cain asked, looking at the landscape, retracing his steps from the last time.
"Well, it would only be fair to let Simon see the travel storm. Show him we're not kidding."
"I told you... Simon's not the one you need to convince," Cain said, stopping at a fork in the trail. DG gave him a look and waved to their right, continuing on ahead of him.
About half an hour later, DG stopped Cain so that they could have some lunch. DG set her bag down and dug into the main pocket, where Jeanie had placed two turkey sandwiches and some water.
"I'm not hungry, Kid," Cain said with a huff.
"Neither am I," DG stated, twisting the cap off one of the water bottles. "But, if we eat later, the food won’t have time to settle. Now," she said, unwrapping one of the sandwiches and holding a half out for Cain. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not put myself in the position to throw up."
Cain grumbled and took the offered half a moment later, remembering that he'd come through on an empty stomach and he’d nearly heaved in the few moments between the Zone and the Other Side.
DG smirked into her sandwich at the look on his face and couldn't stop herself from thinking about her words. Thinking about the twister, she flinched slightly and shook the thought away, focusing on the sandwich. Cain, of course, caught every move she made.
"You okay, Kid?" DG put on a smile and looked up.
"Yeah. Just wondering if I can make this thing last all week," she said with a smirk and waved the sandwich around slightly.
"I think you’ll survive," Cain nodded and motioned for them to continue. DG reached for her bag and heaved herself up, then took a bite of her sandwich.
-*-
Cain huffed to himself as he realized that it hadn't taken him this long to get up the mountain the last time; and as he considered that it had taken him even longer to get down the mountain, he realized DG wasn't right behind him.
"Hey, Expert Tracker!" Cain stopped walking and turned to see DG a few yards behind him, standing with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.
"I'm not carrying you," he stated loudly, so that she could hear him. DG breathed a laugh and dropped her arms.
"Do you have any idea where you're going?" Cain rolled his eyes and walked back toward DG. As he neared, she raised an eyebrow again and pointed to her right. Cain glanced in that direction and did a double-take when he realized the small clearing nearby was where they had stood almost six months prior. Clenching his jaw slightly, Cain refused to look at DG.
He didn't need to see the smirk on her face to know it was there.
-*-
Cain made final preparations for the trip by checking that the straps on the bags were secure. DG, realizing that there was no escaping what was next, began to panic slightly. Cain happened to glance up and see her looking down at the ground.
"You all right, Kiddo?" he asked in a worried tone. DG nodded and pulled back as Cain reached for her arm. She held up a hand and looked away, which caused Cain to frown. "You don't want to go," he guessed.
"No," DG stated, shaking her head. "I do. I just-" She took a deep breath and looked up to Cain. "It's not the destination," she assured him. She wanted to go. Hell, it was her idea. She noticed a log a few steps away and moved over to sit down.
"It's the transportation." Resting her forehead in her palm, DG shook her head. "Just give me a minute." She should be able to handle a stupid travel storm. After all, there was nothing that scared the legendary Princess DG of the Outer Zone.
Everything would have been fine had she not grown up in Tornado Alley.
"You've done this twice before, Kiddo," Cain said quietly, not trying to offend her. He could see she was truly distressed.
"I didn't really have a choice the first time," DG half-laughed. Mom and Popsicle had pushed her off the roof, after all.
"And the second time?" Cain asked, nodding his head just enough to try and catch her eye. 'The time you went on your own.' Of course, she was staring at his boots. DG laughed and lifted her head.
"I found some courage." Cain tilted his head slightly, not sure he understood. DG frowned, fairly disgusted with herself; she didn't want Cain to know about that part of her great escape. "I got really drunk," she said with a nod then looked away from him. Cain breathed through his nose and moved to sit next to DG.
"I was having a bad day," she started, not caring if he wanted to hear it or not; and knowing that he was going to sit and wait for her to tell him everything before they left. "-which was preceded by about five also-bad days. I figured: couple of drinks, I'd get a buzz and go to bed and that's that. Only problem was... it didn't work." She took a deep breath and looked at Cain for a moment.
"The whole time, I was so busy trying to fix everything that I didn't realize I was circling the drain. And when I crashed, I just-" She swallowed and took another deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.
"Zone alcohol is-" Cain started, knowing he'd had a few rounds with the grog in his day.
"I knew exactly what I was doing, Cain," DG stated, looking him straight in the eyes. She blinked a moment later and turned away. "At first, I was just going to take off for a couple of days. Go to Milltown and see my folks, or somethin'," she said with a shrug. "And then stupid kicked in," she said with a single nod.
"I packed a bag, I wrote a letter to my parents, and the next day... I ran. Stopped at the liquor cabinet first, of course,” she added with a nod. "There was no way I was goin' sober," she said with a nervous laugh. Cain simply nodded. He'd had those days, as well.
DG slowly let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I failed," she whispered. The inflection in her voice made Cain sick to his stomach. "My parents, my sister, the Zone... all of you." He pushed up from the log and moved in front of DG, kneeling to look up at her.
"If anyone failed, it was us," he stated, reaching out a hand to each of her shoulders. "We all were so busy needing your help... none of us even considered that you might need ours. No one blames you." DG frowned slightly and Cain squeezed her shoulders. "I've known some tough... amazing people in my life." He nodded his head slightly to catch her eye and gave her a smile.
"And you blow 'em all out of the water, Kiddo." She gave Cain a slight smile and he shook his head. "Now... You gonna let a stupid little travel storm prove me wrong?" DG shook her head and sniffed slightly. Cain let go of DG and held a hand in front of her.
"We've got a party to crash. Are you with me?" He never looked away from her. DG put her hand in his and nodded.
"Always."
"Okay," Cain said with a smirk and heaved himself up, pulling on DG's arm once he was standing. A few moments later, the travel storm grew in front of them and Cain's hand found DG's. He gave her a grin and looked at the funnel cloud. "On the count of three," he said with a wink and pulled her toward the storm.
DG breathed a laugh at the memory of him pushing Raw and her off the cliff years before and her eyes went wide and she remembered what she had wanted to tell Cain about her plan. As the wind whipped her hair, DG tried to pull Cain back, but he - and the storm - was pulling harder.
"Cain! Wait... I have to tell you-"
_____
*raises hands*
Talk to Steve, yo...
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Cain and DG, but if you saw 'em in the miniseries, they're here or mentioned. Plus some OCs
Rating: PG
Summary: Cain stayed in LA. But can he survive on the Other Side?
Warning: post-series, directly after California Queen. Blame n_e_star, for she fed Steve. ;)
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The rest of 'em are mine.
Prologue | California Queen
California Tin: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve | Part Thirteen | Part Fourteen | Part Fifteen | Part Sixteen | Part Seventeen | Part Eighteen | Part Nineteen | Part Twenty | Part Twenty-One | Part Twenty-Two | Part Twenty-Three | Part Twenty-Four | Part Twenty-Five | Part Twenty-Six | Part Twenty-Seven | Part Twenty-Eight | Part Twenty-Nine | Part Thirty | Part Thirty-One | Part Thirty-Two | Part Thirty-Three | Part Thirty-Four | Part Thirty-Five | Part Thirty-Six | Part Thirty-Seven | Part Thirty-Eight | Part Thirty-Nine | Part Forty | Part Forty-One | Part Forty-Two
California Sun
Five | Waking Up (CaliSun 20.2) | Almost Like Being in Love (CaliSun 24.5) | An Hour and 45 Minutes | Hava Nagila | Unexpected
Monday morning, after both Cain and DG had been quizzed by Jeanie as to their packing abilities and Simon had been warned to drive safe, they headed north to the park. "I don't think she believes you," Cain said to DG as Simon turned onto California Boulevard. DG turned to look at Cain.
"Who?" she asked, not following him.
"Jeanie," he said with a nod toward Simon, who laughed. DG turned to look at Simon and then turned back to Cain.
"Where does she think we're going? Detroit?" Cain breathed a laugh and shook his head. DG gave him a dirty look and looked back at the dashboard. As the knot in her stomach tightened with each mile, DG ran through the list of baking instructions from Jeanie in her head, trying not to focus where they were headed.
Or how they were getting there.
-*-
Cain pulled the bags out of the back of the truck and Simon waved DG over to the front of the truck. "You sure you're gonna be okay?" DG smiled and gave Simon a hug, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"Yes, we'll be fine. We will be back on Sunday." Simon gave her a fatherly look and glanced to Cain, who'd moved toward them. The men nodded to each other and Simon held a hand out for Cain.
"Wyatt, take care of our girl." Cain gave DG a grin and took Simon’s hand.
"With my life," Cain replied, rather calmly. DG rolled her eyes and Simon nodded to Cain, approving of the vow. As Cain moved away, toward the trailhead, DG gave Simon another quick hug and then turned to look at the mountains in front of her. It had been much easier the last time.
Taking a deep breath, DG hurried after Cain and, when she reached his side, turned to give Simon a wave and a smile. Simon waved again and waited for the two of them to disappear from his view before shaking his head and getting back into his truck.
Starting up the truck, Simon laughed as the thought of following them up the hill crossed his mind.
-*-
"I feel bad," DG stated as she and Cain followed the trail.
"How's that?" Cain asked, looking at the landscape, retracing his steps from the last time.
"Well, it would only be fair to let Simon see the travel storm. Show him we're not kidding."
"I told you... Simon's not the one you need to convince," Cain said, stopping at a fork in the trail. DG gave him a look and waved to their right, continuing on ahead of him.
About half an hour later, DG stopped Cain so that they could have some lunch. DG set her bag down and dug into the main pocket, where Jeanie had placed two turkey sandwiches and some water.
"I'm not hungry, Kid," Cain said with a huff.
"Neither am I," DG stated, twisting the cap off one of the water bottles. "But, if we eat later, the food won’t have time to settle. Now," she said, unwrapping one of the sandwiches and holding a half out for Cain. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not put myself in the position to throw up."
Cain grumbled and took the offered half a moment later, remembering that he'd come through on an empty stomach and he’d nearly heaved in the few moments between the Zone and the Other Side.
DG smirked into her sandwich at the look on his face and couldn't stop herself from thinking about her words. Thinking about the twister, she flinched slightly and shook the thought away, focusing on the sandwich. Cain, of course, caught every move she made.
"You okay, Kid?" DG put on a smile and looked up.
"Yeah. Just wondering if I can make this thing last all week," she said with a smirk and waved the sandwich around slightly.
"I think you’ll survive," Cain nodded and motioned for them to continue. DG reached for her bag and heaved herself up, then took a bite of her sandwich.
-*-
Cain huffed to himself as he realized that it hadn't taken him this long to get up the mountain the last time; and as he considered that it had taken him even longer to get down the mountain, he realized DG wasn't right behind him.
"Hey, Expert Tracker!" Cain stopped walking and turned to see DG a few yards behind him, standing with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.
"I'm not carrying you," he stated loudly, so that she could hear him. DG breathed a laugh and dropped her arms.
"Do you have any idea where you're going?" Cain rolled his eyes and walked back toward DG. As he neared, she raised an eyebrow again and pointed to her right. Cain glanced in that direction and did a double-take when he realized the small clearing nearby was where they had stood almost six months prior. Clenching his jaw slightly, Cain refused to look at DG.
He didn't need to see the smirk on her face to know it was there.
-*-
Cain made final preparations for the trip by checking that the straps on the bags were secure. DG, realizing that there was no escaping what was next, began to panic slightly. Cain happened to glance up and see her looking down at the ground.
"You all right, Kiddo?" he asked in a worried tone. DG nodded and pulled back as Cain reached for her arm. She held up a hand and looked away, which caused Cain to frown. "You don't want to go," he guessed.
"No," DG stated, shaking her head. "I do. I just-" She took a deep breath and looked up to Cain. "It's not the destination," she assured him. She wanted to go. Hell, it was her idea. She noticed a log a few steps away and moved over to sit down.
"It's the transportation." Resting her forehead in her palm, DG shook her head. "Just give me a minute." She should be able to handle a stupid travel storm. After all, there was nothing that scared the legendary Princess DG of the Outer Zone.
Everything would have been fine had she not grown up in Tornado Alley.
"You've done this twice before, Kiddo," Cain said quietly, not trying to offend her. He could see she was truly distressed.
"I didn't really have a choice the first time," DG half-laughed. Mom and Popsicle had pushed her off the roof, after all.
"And the second time?" Cain asked, nodding his head just enough to try and catch her eye. 'The time you went on your own.' Of course, she was staring at his boots. DG laughed and lifted her head.
"I found some courage." Cain tilted his head slightly, not sure he understood. DG frowned, fairly disgusted with herself; she didn't want Cain to know about that part of her great escape. "I got really drunk," she said with a nod then looked away from him. Cain breathed through his nose and moved to sit next to DG.
"I was having a bad day," she started, not caring if he wanted to hear it or not; and knowing that he was going to sit and wait for her to tell him everything before they left. "-which was preceded by about five also-bad days. I figured: couple of drinks, I'd get a buzz and go to bed and that's that. Only problem was... it didn't work." She took a deep breath and looked at Cain for a moment.
"The whole time, I was so busy trying to fix everything that I didn't realize I was circling the drain. And when I crashed, I just-" She swallowed and took another deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.
"Zone alcohol is-" Cain started, knowing he'd had a few rounds with the grog in his day.
"I knew exactly what I was doing, Cain," DG stated, looking him straight in the eyes. She blinked a moment later and turned away. "At first, I was just going to take off for a couple of days. Go to Milltown and see my folks, or somethin'," she said with a shrug. "And then stupid kicked in," she said with a single nod.
"I packed a bag, I wrote a letter to my parents, and the next day... I ran. Stopped at the liquor cabinet first, of course,” she added with a nod. "There was no way I was goin' sober," she said with a nervous laugh. Cain simply nodded. He'd had those days, as well.
DG slowly let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I failed," she whispered. The inflection in her voice made Cain sick to his stomach. "My parents, my sister, the Zone... all of you." He pushed up from the log and moved in front of DG, kneeling to look up at her.
"If anyone failed, it was us," he stated, reaching out a hand to each of her shoulders. "We all were so busy needing your help... none of us even considered that you might need ours. No one blames you." DG frowned slightly and Cain squeezed her shoulders. "I've known some tough... amazing people in my life." He nodded his head slightly to catch her eye and gave her a smile.
"And you blow 'em all out of the water, Kiddo." She gave Cain a slight smile and he shook his head. "Now... You gonna let a stupid little travel storm prove me wrong?" DG shook her head and sniffed slightly. Cain let go of DG and held a hand in front of her.
"We've got a party to crash. Are you with me?" He never looked away from her. DG put her hand in his and nodded.
"Always."
"Okay," Cain said with a smirk and heaved himself up, pulling on DG's arm once he was standing. A few moments later, the travel storm grew in front of them and Cain's hand found DG's. He gave her a grin and looked at the funnel cloud. "On the count of three," he said with a wink and pulled her toward the storm.
DG breathed a laugh at the memory of him pushing Raw and her off the cliff years before and her eyes went wide and she remembered what she had wanted to tell Cain about her plan. As the wind whipped her hair, DG tried to pull Cain back, but he - and the storm - was pulling harder.
"Cain! Wait... I have to tell you-"
_____
*raises hands*
Talk to Steve, yo...