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Fic: Cookie Jar
Title: Cookie Jar
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: DG, Ahamo, Az and the Queen (mention of Cain, Glitch, Gulch, Carter and Evie)
Rating: G
Summary: DG's memories are like an empty cookie jar...
Warnings: post-series *Inspired by THIS post at characteraday. It's a little random, I know... but Steve gets what Steve wants...
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.
In an effort to try and remember something... anything, from her life before Kansas, DG had taken to spending entire days in one of the various rooms of the palace at Central City. She would stare at the books, the paintings and the knick-knacks, trying to will the memories.
With no magic of her own left, there was nothing the Queen could do to reverse the magic - not that anyone believed the theory would have worked, even if she still had the power. Fifteen years was a long time for the magic to settle within DG and had probably done more damage than good.
She wanted them to think she had remembered things, of course, so she would tell them that she remembered something about a purple flower in the garden, or eating a piece of cake off a white plate. Really, she just took in the details of the palace and cobbled together a possible idea.
Whether any of them believed her or not, she didn't know. But to have just one memory that was hers. Not something she remembered after hearing the story enough times or something she saw in a mirror or recording. Glitch had uncovered a collection of holo-images while trying to piece his own memories back together, but DG couldn't watch them.
It wasn't that she wasn't curious... they just freaked her out. Cain disappeared for two days after Glitch uncovered the crate of TDESPTL discs, and DG couldn't blame him. That was probably the last thing he ever wanted to see.
It was either a Thursday or a Friday - she still wasn't sure on the 'time change' - when DG spotted the large, silver container. She stared at it in awe, taking in the delicate details of the images running around the sides. Very carefully, she reached up and took the thing with both hands and pulled it off the shelf.
Moving over to the table in the middle of the room, DG carried the thing like it was a watermelon and prayed she didn't trip. The carved bunch of grapes that made up the pull on the lid came to a rather sharp point and would most definitely end a life. Heaving the container onto the table, DG was surprised at the lack of weight; it was more awkward than heavy.
She pulled a chair over to the table and stared at the shiny surfaces for a moment. Running a finger along the embossed leaves of the lid, DG noted some scuff marks and scratches to the surface. This heirloom must have some stories, she assumed. Maybe she could use magic to get the people in the relief to talk.
That would make her history classes a bit more exciting, she figured. Very carefully, DG turned the container to the left and ran her fingers over the grape vine. It looked like the figures told a story of some sort, so she turned it back.
'Wine cellar,' she noted then leaned to the right. 'Who uses a pitchfork to pick grapes?' she wondered, shaking the thought away. She wasn't exactly an expert when it came to wine production, so maybe there was a reason. She twisted the container and noted the other two images and turned it one last time, bringing the image of the wine cellar back to face her.
DG stared at the image for another few seconds and then sat back with a huff. She wanted chocolate chip cookies, of all things. When in doubt, bad day or just ehh-day, she went for the cookies. She didn't even like cookies, which was the funny part. Sighing, DG pushed up from the chair and turned toward the door.
A moment later, she stepped back to the table and picked up the container. She didn’t know why, exactly, but there was something about it. As she moved down the hallways of the palace, DG wondered if she'd have better luck at Finaqua. Most of the memories she'd been shown were from time spent at the other palace.
She'd have to ask if they spent more time in Finaqua than Central City. Of course, why they went to the Northern Island after Az's possession was something she didn't understand, and her mother wouldn't talk about it. She'd have to just live in mystery, as Carter used to say.
For the first time in a while, DG wondered what was going on at the Hilltop. Was Carter freaking out because of the lunch rush? Was Evie leaving again to take care of her kid? Was Gulch still ordering apple pie and cheddar cheese? That had to be the nastiest combination of food, ever, DG thought, then laughed.
Probably Cain's favorite meal.
DG ambled into the kitchen and set the container down on the large work surface and moved over to the cupboard, looking for anything that resembled cookies. She found a tray of desserts and figured it would have to do for the time being. Setting the tray down next to the container, DG turned back and pulled out two small plates, and set those next to the tray.
It took her a second to realize she'd done it, but shrugged it off and left the second plate where it was. Perhaps someone would stop by and want a snack. A moment later, DG had a thought: Maybe she could find all the ingredients and make her own cookies.
Popping something that looked like shortbread into her mouth, DG moved back to the cupboard and started pushing items around. Hopefully, whatever house staff was around wouldn't have a coronary at the idea of her pawing through the cupboards. She probably should ask permission instead of acting like she owned the place.
DG managed to find sugar, flour and knew there was butter in the icebox - she'd thrown all of them for a loop when she told the family she'd put a glass of water in the fridge to get cold. Which proceeded to spark a three-hour debate about the proper names for items in the Zone.
Luckily, Ahamo was on her side for many items, so she didn't feel that out of place.
She knew that there was chocolate in the Zone, but to find the right kind was going to take some work. Maybe she could get out of the house, with an escort, of course, and find a bake shop or something similar in the city.
DG reached for something that looked like a brownie and glanced up as her father moved into the room. He glanced from her to the container, then the tray, plate and the pile of ingredients and smiled. DG pointed to the container and swallowed the bite in her mouth.
"Found that thing in the library and it's kinda freakin' me out," she said, raising an eyebrow. Ahamo smiled again and moved around the worktable, reaching for one of the shortbreads on the tray. He stepped around her and stuck his head into the pantry, pulling back a moment later with a box of something and tossed it onto the pile.
"So you brought it to the kitchen to hoard dessert?" he asked with a grin. DG shook her head and finished the brownie.
"I wanted chocolate chip cookies," she informed him, waving to the pile. "This was best I could do." Ahamo smiled and nodded, turning again to find a bowl and a spoon. Part of him wanted to tell her just why the thing was making her crave cookies; and part of him wanted to bask in the knowledge that she's remembered something without having anyone tell her.
"I could go for some cookies," he said with a wink, offering her a large spoon and nodding to the bowl. DG smiled and pushed the container back, clearing a space.
"Where's Az?" she asked as he reached for the flour. Ahamo glanced up again and smiled.
The Queen breezed into the kitchen in search of her husband and her daughters, having been informed that they'd been spotted making a royal mess. As she cleared the doorway, she smiled at the sight of the three of them, covered in flour and bowls and spoons and trays all over the place.
"What's going on in here?" she asked with a smile, wishing she had a way to capture the moment in a photograph.
DG looked up from the far side of the counter and grinned. "We're making you cookies," she announced as Az pulled a tray from the oven.
"Don't touch this, Deeg," she warned. "It's really hot." DG nodded and went back to scooping spoonfuls of cookie dough from the bowl and placing them in messy piles on the tray in front of her.
"Done," she announced a moment later, pushing the tray toward Az. Ahamo moved around the girls to kiss his wife.
"We were going to surprise you," he offered quietly. "The girls know how busy you've been." The Queen smiled and closed her eyes for a moment, leaning into him as he kissed her forehead.
"You can put these ones away, Deeg," Az said, setting a tray of cooled cookies next to her sister. DG nodded and reached for the lid of the large, silver container currently housing the afternoon's yield, minus the cookies taken for 'product testing.'
The Queen's eyes went wide at the sight of the vessel in front of her daughter and she pulled away from Ahamo. "What are you doing with that?" she asked the three of them. Az and DG looked up at their mother, eyes also wide, as Ahamo stepped behind his wife.
"Is there something the matter, dear?" he asked, not sure what she was talking about.
"That-" she stuttered, pointing to the silver container, now filled with cookies. "That was a gift from the miners of the West-" she breathed. "It was given to-" Az stepped next to DG and pulled her hand away as her sister began to tremble.
She glanced down to the big bucket, with the pictures of grapes and leaves and people and leaned back into Az. She'd done it now. Ahamo laughed and pulled his wife into a loving embrace. "It's not the end of the world, dear. They're just cookies."
She took a deep breath and looked up to him in shock. It had been presented to her mother, as thanks for helping the Western Guild reclaim the mines. It was placed on a high shelf and revered as an honored gesture of peace and friendship.
And, now, it was holding cookies.
"I’m sorry, Mommy," DG sputtered, tears streaming down her face. "I thought it was pretty and it was big enough to hold all the cookies and-" she spilled out. The Queen jumped slightly and rushed over to DG's side.
"It's all right, my darling. Forgive me," she asked, smoothing DG's hair and pressing kissed to the top of her head. "It's quite all right," she said again. It's not like the thing was getting any use sitting on a shelf in the library.
And her mother wasn't going to be coming back from the grave to check on its use.
Az and the Queen walked together, having heard a rumor that Ahamo and DG were in the kitchen. The women could hear the two of them laughing about something that involved at least one "Bork!" and one "Bam!"
Stopping in the doorway, both of them watched as DG dumped a tray of cookies into the silver container and they both smiled. Realizing they weren't alone, DG glanced up and waved to her sister as Ahamo and the Queen shared a look.
Memories or not, DG would be fine.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: DG, Ahamo, Az and the Queen (mention of Cain, Glitch, Gulch, Carter and Evie)
Rating: G
Summary: DG's memories are like an empty cookie jar...
Warnings: post-series *Inspired by THIS post at characteraday. It's a little random, I know... but Steve gets what Steve wants...
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.
In an effort to try and remember something... anything, from her life before Kansas, DG had taken to spending entire days in one of the various rooms of the palace at Central City. She would stare at the books, the paintings and the knick-knacks, trying to will the memories.
With no magic of her own left, there was nothing the Queen could do to reverse the magic - not that anyone believed the theory would have worked, even if she still had the power. Fifteen years was a long time for the magic to settle within DG and had probably done more damage than good.
She wanted them to think she had remembered things, of course, so she would tell them that she remembered something about a purple flower in the garden, or eating a piece of cake off a white plate. Really, she just took in the details of the palace and cobbled together a possible idea.
Whether any of them believed her or not, she didn't know. But to have just one memory that was hers. Not something she remembered after hearing the story enough times or something she saw in a mirror or recording. Glitch had uncovered a collection of holo-images while trying to piece his own memories back together, but DG couldn't watch them.
It wasn't that she wasn't curious... they just freaked her out. Cain disappeared for two days after Glitch uncovered the crate of TDESPTL discs, and DG couldn't blame him. That was probably the last thing he ever wanted to see.
It was either a Thursday or a Friday - she still wasn't sure on the 'time change' - when DG spotted the large, silver container. She stared at it in awe, taking in the delicate details of the images running around the sides. Very carefully, she reached up and took the thing with both hands and pulled it off the shelf.
Moving over to the table in the middle of the room, DG carried the thing like it was a watermelon and prayed she didn't trip. The carved bunch of grapes that made up the pull on the lid came to a rather sharp point and would most definitely end a life. Heaving the container onto the table, DG was surprised at the lack of weight; it was more awkward than heavy.
She pulled a chair over to the table and stared at the shiny surfaces for a moment. Running a finger along the embossed leaves of the lid, DG noted some scuff marks and scratches to the surface. This heirloom must have some stories, she assumed. Maybe she could use magic to get the people in the relief to talk.
That would make her history classes a bit more exciting, she figured. Very carefully, DG turned the container to the left and ran her fingers over the grape vine. It looked like the figures told a story of some sort, so she turned it back.
'Wine cellar,' she noted then leaned to the right. 'Who uses a pitchfork to pick grapes?' she wondered, shaking the thought away. She wasn't exactly an expert when it came to wine production, so maybe there was a reason. She twisted the container and noted the other two images and turned it one last time, bringing the image of the wine cellar back to face her.
DG stared at the image for another few seconds and then sat back with a huff. She wanted chocolate chip cookies, of all things. When in doubt, bad day or just ehh-day, she went for the cookies. She didn't even like cookies, which was the funny part. Sighing, DG pushed up from the chair and turned toward the door.
A moment later, she stepped back to the table and picked up the container. She didn’t know why, exactly, but there was something about it. As she moved down the hallways of the palace, DG wondered if she'd have better luck at Finaqua. Most of the memories she'd been shown were from time spent at the other palace.
She'd have to ask if they spent more time in Finaqua than Central City. Of course, why they went to the Northern Island after Az's possession was something she didn't understand, and her mother wouldn't talk about it. She'd have to just live in mystery, as Carter used to say.
For the first time in a while, DG wondered what was going on at the Hilltop. Was Carter freaking out because of the lunch rush? Was Evie leaving again to take care of her kid? Was Gulch still ordering apple pie and cheddar cheese? That had to be the nastiest combination of food, ever, DG thought, then laughed.
Probably Cain's favorite meal.
DG ambled into the kitchen and set the container down on the large work surface and moved over to the cupboard, looking for anything that resembled cookies. She found a tray of desserts and figured it would have to do for the time being. Setting the tray down next to the container, DG turned back and pulled out two small plates, and set those next to the tray.
It took her a second to realize she'd done it, but shrugged it off and left the second plate where it was. Perhaps someone would stop by and want a snack. A moment later, DG had a thought: Maybe she could find all the ingredients and make her own cookies.
Popping something that looked like shortbread into her mouth, DG moved back to the cupboard and started pushing items around. Hopefully, whatever house staff was around wouldn't have a coronary at the idea of her pawing through the cupboards. She probably should ask permission instead of acting like she owned the place.
DG managed to find sugar, flour and knew there was butter in the icebox - she'd thrown all of them for a loop when she told the family she'd put a glass of water in the fridge to get cold. Which proceeded to spark a three-hour debate about the proper names for items in the Zone.
Luckily, Ahamo was on her side for many items, so she didn't feel that out of place.
She knew that there was chocolate in the Zone, but to find the right kind was going to take some work. Maybe she could get out of the house, with an escort, of course, and find a bake shop or something similar in the city.
DG reached for something that looked like a brownie and glanced up as her father moved into the room. He glanced from her to the container, then the tray, plate and the pile of ingredients and smiled. DG pointed to the container and swallowed the bite in her mouth.
"Found that thing in the library and it's kinda freakin' me out," she said, raising an eyebrow. Ahamo smiled again and moved around the worktable, reaching for one of the shortbreads on the tray. He stepped around her and stuck his head into the pantry, pulling back a moment later with a box of something and tossed it onto the pile.
"So you brought it to the kitchen to hoard dessert?" he asked with a grin. DG shook her head and finished the brownie.
"I wanted chocolate chip cookies," she informed him, waving to the pile. "This was best I could do." Ahamo smiled and nodded, turning again to find a bowl and a spoon. Part of him wanted to tell her just why the thing was making her crave cookies; and part of him wanted to bask in the knowledge that she's remembered something without having anyone tell her.
"I could go for some cookies," he said with a wink, offering her a large spoon and nodding to the bowl. DG smiled and pushed the container back, clearing a space.
"Where's Az?" she asked as he reached for the flour. Ahamo glanced up again and smiled.
The Queen breezed into the kitchen in search of her husband and her daughters, having been informed that they'd been spotted making a royal mess. As she cleared the doorway, she smiled at the sight of the three of them, covered in flour and bowls and spoons and trays all over the place.
"What's going on in here?" she asked with a smile, wishing she had a way to capture the moment in a photograph.
DG looked up from the far side of the counter and grinned. "We're making you cookies," she announced as Az pulled a tray from the oven.
"Don't touch this, Deeg," she warned. "It's really hot." DG nodded and went back to scooping spoonfuls of cookie dough from the bowl and placing them in messy piles on the tray in front of her.
"Done," she announced a moment later, pushing the tray toward Az. Ahamo moved around the girls to kiss his wife.
"We were going to surprise you," he offered quietly. "The girls know how busy you've been." The Queen smiled and closed her eyes for a moment, leaning into him as he kissed her forehead.
"You can put these ones away, Deeg," Az said, setting a tray of cooled cookies next to her sister. DG nodded and reached for the lid of the large, silver container currently housing the afternoon's yield, minus the cookies taken for 'product testing.'
The Queen's eyes went wide at the sight of the vessel in front of her daughter and she pulled away from Ahamo. "What are you doing with that?" she asked the three of them. Az and DG looked up at their mother, eyes also wide, as Ahamo stepped behind his wife.
"Is there something the matter, dear?" he asked, not sure what she was talking about.
"That-" she stuttered, pointing to the silver container, now filled with cookies. "That was a gift from the miners of the West-" she breathed. "It was given to-" Az stepped next to DG and pulled her hand away as her sister began to tremble.
She glanced down to the big bucket, with the pictures of grapes and leaves and people and leaned back into Az. She'd done it now. Ahamo laughed and pulled his wife into a loving embrace. "It's not the end of the world, dear. They're just cookies."
She took a deep breath and looked up to him in shock. It had been presented to her mother, as thanks for helping the Western Guild reclaim the mines. It was placed on a high shelf and revered as an honored gesture of peace and friendship.
And, now, it was holding cookies.
"I’m sorry, Mommy," DG sputtered, tears streaming down her face. "I thought it was pretty and it was big enough to hold all the cookies and-" she spilled out. The Queen jumped slightly and rushed over to DG's side.
"It's all right, my darling. Forgive me," she asked, smoothing DG's hair and pressing kissed to the top of her head. "It's quite all right," she said again. It's not like the thing was getting any use sitting on a shelf in the library.
And her mother wasn't going to be coming back from the grave to check on its use.
Az and the Queen walked together, having heard a rumor that Ahamo and DG were in the kitchen. The women could hear the two of them laughing about something that involved at least one "Bork!" and one "Bam!"
Stopping in the doorway, both of them watched as DG dumped a tray of cookies into the silver container and they both smiled. Realizing they weren't alone, DG glanced up and waved to her sister as Ahamo and the Queen shared a look.
Memories or not, DG would be fine.