Catalyst
Rating: M
Pairing: DG/Cain
Summary: She really needed to put a better lock on her door because Cain was definitely violating her personal space. Then again, knowing him, he’d shoot the lock off and then where would she be? Probably in a room that had a door with a smoking hole in it… She needed to make some friends that didn’t pop out of cramped and questionable materials, but she digressed.
Disclaimer: Tin Man does not belong to me.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!” She complained vigorously as Raw and her father moved her around so the viewer could see her easier. “I like being down!”
They let her ease back the way she’d been laying as she repressed a moan. “Sorry, Spitfire.”
“Hey, no worries.” She patted Ahamo’s hand. “Other than the massive amount of pain, I’m good. Honestly.”
“I do distinctly remember teaching you not to rough house on the stairs.” Her father teased her gently as his eyes sparked with concern.
“I blame magical amnesia for losing the lesson. Plus, you know, I never listen.” Raw was running his hand over her rib cage carefully as she and her father bantered. Ahamo was taking this better than Cain was, which was actually calming her down. The tin man, who had tried to help her sit up about ten minutes into waiting for someone else to get here, had gone into a near panic when the jostling made her scream. Now he was hovering anxiously in the background watching the triage operation.
The tin man so rarely showed any type of fear that it was freaking her out. He’d sat next to her on the landing and run his hand over her hair to try to calm her down while they waited for help. The thing was, while she was in pain she wasn’t really upset. But he was. She knew once Raw go there everything would be fine. Cain wasn’t sharing that opinion. So she let him comfort her because it comforted him.
She kind of wished he would sit back down with her though. She had no idea what was the matter with her but every time she moved a bolt of pain tore from her lower back down her left leg. Raw spoke for the first time since he came. The viewer had been letting her father and Cain reassure themselves that she was alive for the last few minutes as he used his gift to scan her like an x-ray machine. “DG?”
“Yeah, Raw?”
“Broke hip.”
“Oh, that’s stellar.” She took a deep breath. “Explains the pain though.”
Cain looked at the viewer. “Can you heal the break?”
“Should be able to. Not bad. Small crack.” He said calmly. “But not what Raw worried about.”
She almost started to laugh, at the sheer ridiculousness of this situation, but it would have hurt. Ahamo asked the question first. “What are you worried about?”
“Insides.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Cain asked in tense, clipped syllables.
“Bleeding inside. Must stop quickly. Will take much care. Will need Kalm to help. Tin man should go get.”
He shifted momentarily, then nodded sharply. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Get med kit from room.” Raw continued. “Need things out of it.”
“Where is it?”
“Kalm will show.”
He nodded again, looked at her meaningfully, and then turned and went down the stairs quickly. When he was out of ear shot Raw patted her hand. “DG will be fine. Do not worry. Too much for tin man today. Needed something to do. Not good for him to stand and watch. Cain no good at standing and watching.”
She caught his gloved hand and squeezed it. She was grateful for his understanding even if her anxiety rose when Wyatt left her sight. “Good idea.”
“Too much?” Ahamo asked as he slid gracefully to the ground next to her. He had decided to dig in while she was being taken care of.
“Son attacked in city, office booby trapped, DG with him then hurt. Too much. Standing here watching. Not helping. Better when has something to do.”
“Jeb was attacked?” Her father asked with obvious surprise and anger.
“He was with Olivia and Sam. Someone was in their apartment. One of the men from the suites was waiting for them to come home. I don’t think he was expecting Jeb to be with them.”
Ahamo tilted his head as he took her other hand and began to rub her fingers gently. “Who are Olivia and Sam?”
“Jeb’s girlfriend and her nephew.”
“He’s got himself a squeeze? Good for him.”
“A squeeze?” She smiled at him as she teased him. “You are so old. Who even says that anymore?”
His eyes twinkled down at her. “I’ve been gone thirty years. Cut me some slack, DG.”
“Bah, you’d run me in circles if I did that.”
“True enough.” His fingers were loosening her stiff hands methodically. She hadn’t realized her hands were stiff until just now. It must have been the magic overload. She was really sore all over. She’d thought it was the fall but maybe the magic wasn’t helping either. “How bad are you hurting, Spitfire?”
She was honest with him. “It’s pretty bad but I’m not going to freak out on you.”
“DG strong. Will be fine. Raw wants to numb hurt before heal. Otherwise not going to be easy as could be.”
“Thanks, Raw. I know it’s going to wear you out.”
“What Raw’s gift is for. Glad to have been blessed with such power. Raw likes to help.”
She smiled at him through the pain. Now that she stopped moving it had leveled out a little. She could manage this. “You’re sweet.”
The viewer’s eyes reflected his affection for her. “So is DG. All will be fine soon. Must be patient.”
“Because that’s what I’m good at.”
Both of them laughed and she did her best to stay still. “This getting attacked thing is getting old. I’d like to go to bed feeling secure again.”
“All will be well soon.” Raw assured her.
“Psshhh.” She responded. As the sound left her she heard footsteps and turned her head slowly. Ahamo was on his feet with two knives out in the time it took her to blink and Raw moved in front of her protectively. But it was only Cain with Kalm trailing behind him. Cain had his gun in his hand and Kalm was carrying the med kit so the tin man’s hands were free in case of a surprise attack.
Raw extended his hand and waved the young teen forward. “Kalm come. Must help.”
The thirteen year old set the case down and crouched next to her. Kalm was quiet even for a viewer. He rarely spoke but he was sweet and utterly patient. His ability to set nearly anyone at ease was a huge asset. So was his gift. Raw told her he’d never met a viewer with sight like his. He hadn’t fully manifested yet, his power was still growing, but Raw seemed convinced that he was some sort of viewing savant. She wasn’t about to argue with him even if he was biased toward his nephew. What did she know about it?
Kalm took a deep breath as Raw opened the leather case. “Kalm cannot heal this.” He said this with easy acceptance of his own limitations.
“Kalm not need to.” Raw assured him as he filled a syringe with a pale green liquid. “Raw need Kalm to watch and direct. Do not have enough energy to do both at once.” With that her friend rolled up her sleeve and carefully injected her.
“Kalm can do that.” The young viewer agreed calmly. Sitting down a foot or so away he crossed his legs under him and closed his eyes. His breathing evened out quickly and she knew he’d fallen into a trance. Raw touched her arm lightly where he’d stuck her and the small hole the needle had made vanished as if it had never existed. Her head started to spin almost immediately and the sensation freaked her out even as the pain began to diminish.
Her hand tightened over her father’s hard. “Raw, what did you put in me?”
“Pain killer.”
She twitched all over as it started to work. Her whole body felt strange. It wasn’t pleasant. She wasn’t entirely sure this was all that much better than the pain. “I don’t like this.” She began to tingle all over and she had the strangest sensation that there was an ice cube sliding around in her brain. This was really not okay with her. “The pain was better than this.” She jerked as if it would get the drug to stop working.
“Kid, stop movin’.” The tin man sat back down next to her head, taking up the small space there was left on the now very crowded landing. “You’re goin’ to make it worse.”
She jerked again despite what he said and Ahamo leaned over her so their faces were close. “DG, it’s like LSD. You need to calm down or you’re going to have a bad trip.”
She understood what it was as soon as Ahamo said that. “You dosed me with vapors?” She nearly wailed. That was just so wrong.
“What’s LSD?” Cain asked.
Raw took her hand again. “Only drug Raw could give and still be able to heal right. Other things would have made numb. Cannot fix if cannot feel with you. Azkadilla make some for Raw. Very good at alchemy.”
It was so great Az had mad skills making magical narcotics. Such a handy ability when you got right down to it. “Am I going to start seeing little green fairies?”
Ahamo chuckled as he sat back as Raw and Cain exchanged a confused look. The tin man cracked first. “Why would they be green? Fairies are the same color as-”
“Nevermind!” She interrupted before he could get started. She did not want a lesson on what real fairies looked like at this very moment.
“Spitfire, you need to relax.”
Her emotions swung from anxiety to near panic in an instant. “I’m all floaty and my head has ice in it! I was just hurled down a staircase by an explosion and apparently I have internal bleeding! I’m not relaxed!”
“Well, at least it’s workin’.” Cain muttered under his breath. Then he reached out and pulled her slightly. A moment later her head was resting on his thigh, which was a lot more comfortable than the tile, and he had his hand on her forehead. “Take a breath.”
She shifted to rage without warning. “Don’t get practical with me right now, Wyatt Cain! I don’t want to take a breath!” She snarled.
“I can see that. Next few hours are goin’ to be fun I see.” He started running his hand through her hair in a familiar pattern. He always touched her this way when they were relaxed. Usually after they made love or were simply sitting together on the couch. The ease of it, the affection, had her rage flowing away. She relaxed all over he smiled down at her warmly. “That’s better, Darlin’.”
Raw shifted closer as Cain spoke soothingly. Her attention turned to her furry friend and she caught sight of her father looking directly at Cain with the strangest expression she’d ever seen on his face. Before she could processes it the viewer had her attention, or as much attention as she could manage at the moment. “Will heal now. DG must be still. May feel strange. Trust Raw and do not fight.”
“Alright.” She said agreeably. Now affection was all she could feel for anyone and everyone. She wondered what emotion the vapors would call up in her next and then decided it didn’t matter because things were all nice and fuzzy. A lot like her old teddy bear that she used to drag around with her everywhere.
Raw pushed her shirt up to the bottom of her bra and set his hands over her exposed stomach. It was dotted with dark spot and she could see her left side was nearly black with a large bruise. She figured it was a pretty good guess that it was the area that had the viewer so concerned. Heat began to build under the viewer’s palms and Kalm spoke again. “Deeper inside.” The heat extended as Raw’s eyes went blank. They were open but whatever he was looking at wasn’t in front of him.
Suddenly her insides tightened as she sucked in a surprised breath. It didn’t hurt but it felt like someone was tightening a string around her. Her untroubled acceptance of the entire world vanished as dread nearly choked her. “Okay, this is weird.” She was sure if she clamped down any harder on Ahamo’s hand she would snap something.
Raw didn’t respond to her but Cain’s free arm snaked over her clavicles to hold her down. “Be still. It won’t take as long if you don’t move.”
The hand she wasn’t holding Ahamo with came up and locked around Wyatt’s wrist as he held her down. Her knuckles were white as fear rolled over her. She didn’t think it was entirely to with the drugs. Raw was literally messing with her major organs, or maybe her minor ones. Either way it wasn’t good. She would have shut her eyes but all that would have done would be to increase the sensations going on in her body. Kalm’s voice was a steady cadence beside them. “To the left. Follow veins toward heart.”
The sensation shifted and she sucked in a breath. “Easy, Deeg.” The tin man’s hand never stopped stroking through her hair.
She began to pant fearfully as she lost control of any calm she had. “If this happens again please knock me out. Just, smack, dead across the face.”
“That’s not funny.” The tin man said.
“I’m really not kidding.” Her nails started digging into Wyatt’s wrist and she was sure he was thankful for the cuff on his shirt. Otherwise she would have been drawing blood for sure. “This is the worst thing ever.” It really was. She would have preferred the pain to feeling so utterly out of control. She could handle pain. Right now she couldn’t even get hold of her own emotions they were shuffling so fast. “Don’t do this to me again!”
“It’s not as bad as you’re making it, Spitfire-“
“Shut up, Ahamo!” Her panic was cresting. “I feel like I’m on a rollercoaster from hell! I can’t get anything to stop!”
“Deeg, look at me.” Wyatt stopped stroking her hair as he spoke. She tried to wiggle and his arm pressed her down. “Look at me.” He was utterly calm in the face of her reaction to this and she did what he said.
He started stroking her hair again when he had her attention. “You know Raw won’t hurt you.” That penetrated some part of her higher brain function and she nodded as much as she could with the grip he had on her. “And I wouldn’t let anyone do anything to you either.” Okay, she was getting behind his argument. Mentally she shoved at the drug hard and felt a little clarity returning. He felt her relaxing and his fingers tickled her scalp. “Ignore the vapors and focus on me.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He agreed as they stared at one another. “Tell me how you shoot.” She made a sad noise and he raised an eyebrow. When he’d been teaching her he’d made her do the same drill five million seven hundred and sixty eight times. Give or take three times in either direction. She had never been so sick of anything in her life. It wasn’t even worth getting touched by him as he continually moved her hands and shoulders with easy acceptance of their proximity. “I’m waitin’.”
“Hold the butt with my right hand and steady it with my left.” Something twinged and she sucked in a breath.
“Keep goin’.”
“Spread my feet at shoulder width and keep the left one back for balance.” The heat intensified and she felt another crash of emotion. This was pure euphoria and she closed her eyes tightly as she tried to get a grip. “Aim and breathe. Take my time.”
His hand tickled her scalp. “Eyes open.”
“Yeah.” She forced herself to follow his instructions. “Both eyes open.”
“And then what?”
“Pull back the hammer.” Her grip on him tightened farther. “Squeeze the trigger slowly. No hesitating or the barrel will jerk.”
“Good. What do you do after?”
“Same thing.”
“Until?”
“Until I kill whatever’s after me or run out of bullets.”
“What do you do if you run out of bullets?”
“Run like hell.” She repeated that instruction back verbatim and his lip twitched.
“Good to know you pay attention.” Ahamo commented with amusement.
“Can’t forget after he drones the same instructions over and over until I’m ready to bash my head against a wall.” She replied.
“Did you learn?” The tin man asked.
“Apparently.”
“Then the dronin’ paid off. Quit you’re grippin’.”
“I’ll grip as I see fit.” She retorted.
“At least-“ The heat intensified further and she swore she felt something snap inside her. Pain penetrated through the vapors and she screamed and jerked. Even Cain’s grip on her barely kept her down. As quickly as the intense sting hit it vanished and she slumped limply to the tile.
She whimpered rather pathetically. “Are you done Raw?” The viewer continued to stare ahead without expression. She looked at Cain pleadingly. “Is he done? Can it be done now? Please?”
“Shhh.” The tin man was clearly more than a little upset over her pleading. “It’s almost done. Everything’s okay, Deeg.” A tear tracked down her cheek when she realized he wasn’t going to make the viewer stop and he brushed it away as sorrow seeped through her like quick moving smoke.
“It’s not.” She insisted.
“It is.” He tucked the hair that had escaped in her struggle behind her ears. “Vapor’s have you all mixed up. I promise it’s okay.”
“Make it stop.” She begged as her head spun in circles around itself. She started to loose a grip on everything. Even direction. She wasn’t sure if she was up or down even though she knew she was on the floor.
“Only a little longer, Darlin’.”
Giving up at his stubborn hold she went still and quiet. That seemed to alarm both the tin man and Ahamo. Her father squeezed her hand when she hadn’t spoken for over a minute. “DG?” She turned her head away apathetically and stared at the wall. Her father shook her arm slightly. “DG!”
“Tired.” She said emotionlessly. “Go away.”
“Don’t fall asleep!” Wyatt snapped at her suddenly. He turned her head back so she was looking up instead of at the wall. “You fall asleep and Raw won’t be able to finish. He has to feel with you. If you pass out he can’t do that.” Feeling that was terribly unjust she tried to get away from him. He held her as tightly as he ever had. “Stop wigglin’.”
“I want up!” She shouted loudly as she flipped to another emotion. Indignation radiated out of her. “Now!”
Kalm spoke calmly despite her screaming. “Farther right. Be careful or will miss tear.”
“Glinda’s left slipper.” The tin man growled, ignoring the boy as he pressed her down. “She’s worse than Glitch was with half a brain.”
“Go to hell!” She yelled. “Let me go, Wyatt!” She started to jerk her leg up and Ahamo caught it and held her down. Pain sparked briefly and it only pissed her off more. She screeched at the consort. “I hate you!” No sooner had the words left her mouth then she switched again. “I’m sorry.” She was close to tears in a heartbeat. “I didn’t mean that, daddy.”
The consort’s eyes flashed up to her face in shock. She had never once, in any of the memories she had, called him daddy. While she was sure she had, it hadn’t been in at least fifteen years. Since she got here she’d been calling him Ahamo. Twice he’d managed to get a dad out of her. But never daddy. Not once. Az was the one that called him that. She swore the consort was either about to melt or break down at that name. “I know you didn’t, Spitfire.”
Raw shuddered and blinked rapidly. He pulled his hands away from her stomach as he let out a long sigh. He rocked back as he gathered himself together. “Fixed. Harder than thought. Will have to stop when done with hip. Will not be able to heal bruises until rest.”
“Whatever you have to do, Furball.” The tin man jerked his head toward her still broken bone. “Just get her patched up as best you can so we can get her to a bed. She’s goin’ to end up hurtin’ herself if you don’t finish this fast. We’re lucky she’s out of magic or she would have already fried us.”
“Yes.” Raw agreed. He put his hand over her left hip and then it was hot too. In contrast to whatever he’d done to her stomach this took almost no time. He had the break fixed in less than three minutes. Of course in that time she’d cycled through another six extreme emotional states but at least it was over. The viewer slumped against the wall. “Done.”
“Can she walk without hurtin’ anything?” Wyatt asked cautiously.
“Might hurt tin man if get’s angry.” Raw observed as another spike of rage rolled through her.
“I meant is she goin’ to hurt herself?” He said with exasperation.
“Will not hurt self. Might take moment to regain balance.”
“This should be fun.” Ahamo commented as the tin man carefully loosened his hold on her. “No fighting, DG.”
She blinked at him in bafflement. She loved her father. “Why would I fight you?”
The tin man got up and reached down. He hooked his arms under hers and hauled her up. She clutched at his shoulders as her body tilted to the left but she corrected herself quickly. When she was steady on her feet she let him go and he put a wary hand on her back. “Let’s get to your rooms, alright?” With a shrug of disinterest she started down the stairs. She was hit with a wave of vertigo and lurched dangerously. Wyatt let out a shout as she teetered but Ahamo had her in an instant and held her up.
“I think one tumble is enough for the day. Let me help.” The trip to her room was interesting to say the least.
Author Note: I hope you guys enjoyed DG on drugs. She was a blast to write this chapter.
Pairing: DG/Cain
Summary: She really needed to put a better lock on her door because Cain was definitely violating her personal space. Then again, knowing him, he’d shoot the lock off and then where would she be? Probably in a room that had a door with a smoking hole in it… She needed to make some friends that didn’t pop out of cramped and questionable materials, but she digressed.
Disclaimer: Tin Man does not belong to me.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!” She complained vigorously as Raw and her father moved her around so the viewer could see her easier. “I like being down!”
They let her ease back the way she’d been laying as she repressed a moan. “Sorry, Spitfire.”
“Hey, no worries.” She patted Ahamo’s hand. “Other than the massive amount of pain, I’m good. Honestly.”
“I do distinctly remember teaching you not to rough house on the stairs.” Her father teased her gently as his eyes sparked with concern.
“I blame magical amnesia for losing the lesson. Plus, you know, I never listen.” Raw was running his hand over her rib cage carefully as she and her father bantered. Ahamo was taking this better than Cain was, which was actually calming her down. The tin man, who had tried to help her sit up about ten minutes into waiting for someone else to get here, had gone into a near panic when the jostling made her scream. Now he was hovering anxiously in the background watching the triage operation.
The tin man so rarely showed any type of fear that it was freaking her out. He’d sat next to her on the landing and run his hand over her hair to try to calm her down while they waited for help. The thing was, while she was in pain she wasn’t really upset. But he was. She knew once Raw go there everything would be fine. Cain wasn’t sharing that opinion. So she let him comfort her because it comforted him.
She kind of wished he would sit back down with her though. She had no idea what was the matter with her but every time she moved a bolt of pain tore from her lower back down her left leg. Raw spoke for the first time since he came. The viewer had been letting her father and Cain reassure themselves that she was alive for the last few minutes as he used his gift to scan her like an x-ray machine. “DG?”
“Yeah, Raw?”
“Broke hip.”
“Oh, that’s stellar.” She took a deep breath. “Explains the pain though.”
Cain looked at the viewer. “Can you heal the break?”
“Should be able to. Not bad. Small crack.” He said calmly. “But not what Raw worried about.”
She almost started to laugh, at the sheer ridiculousness of this situation, but it would have hurt. Ahamo asked the question first. “What are you worried about?”
“Insides.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Cain asked in tense, clipped syllables.
“Bleeding inside. Must stop quickly. Will take much care. Will need Kalm to help. Tin man should go get.”
He shifted momentarily, then nodded sharply. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Get med kit from room.” Raw continued. “Need things out of it.”
“Where is it?”
“Kalm will show.”
He nodded again, looked at her meaningfully, and then turned and went down the stairs quickly. When he was out of ear shot Raw patted her hand. “DG will be fine. Do not worry. Too much for tin man today. Needed something to do. Not good for him to stand and watch. Cain no good at standing and watching.”
She caught his gloved hand and squeezed it. She was grateful for his understanding even if her anxiety rose when Wyatt left her sight. “Good idea.”
“Too much?” Ahamo asked as he slid gracefully to the ground next to her. He had decided to dig in while she was being taken care of.
“Son attacked in city, office booby trapped, DG with him then hurt. Too much. Standing here watching. Not helping. Better when has something to do.”
“Jeb was attacked?” Her father asked with obvious surprise and anger.
“He was with Olivia and Sam. Someone was in their apartment. One of the men from the suites was waiting for them to come home. I don’t think he was expecting Jeb to be with them.”
Ahamo tilted his head as he took her other hand and began to rub her fingers gently. “Who are Olivia and Sam?”
“Jeb’s girlfriend and her nephew.”
“He’s got himself a squeeze? Good for him.”
“A squeeze?” She smiled at him as she teased him. “You are so old. Who even says that anymore?”
His eyes twinkled down at her. “I’ve been gone thirty years. Cut me some slack, DG.”
“Bah, you’d run me in circles if I did that.”
“True enough.” His fingers were loosening her stiff hands methodically. She hadn’t realized her hands were stiff until just now. It must have been the magic overload. She was really sore all over. She’d thought it was the fall but maybe the magic wasn’t helping either. “How bad are you hurting, Spitfire?”
She was honest with him. “It’s pretty bad but I’m not going to freak out on you.”
“DG strong. Will be fine. Raw wants to numb hurt before heal. Otherwise not going to be easy as could be.”
“Thanks, Raw. I know it’s going to wear you out.”
“What Raw’s gift is for. Glad to have been blessed with such power. Raw likes to help.”
She smiled at him through the pain. Now that she stopped moving it had leveled out a little. She could manage this. “You’re sweet.”
The viewer’s eyes reflected his affection for her. “So is DG. All will be fine soon. Must be patient.”
“Because that’s what I’m good at.”
Both of them laughed and she did her best to stay still. “This getting attacked thing is getting old. I’d like to go to bed feeling secure again.”
“All will be well soon.” Raw assured her.
“Psshhh.” She responded. As the sound left her she heard footsteps and turned her head slowly. Ahamo was on his feet with two knives out in the time it took her to blink and Raw moved in front of her protectively. But it was only Cain with Kalm trailing behind him. Cain had his gun in his hand and Kalm was carrying the med kit so the tin man’s hands were free in case of a surprise attack.
Raw extended his hand and waved the young teen forward. “Kalm come. Must help.”
The thirteen year old set the case down and crouched next to her. Kalm was quiet even for a viewer. He rarely spoke but he was sweet and utterly patient. His ability to set nearly anyone at ease was a huge asset. So was his gift. Raw told her he’d never met a viewer with sight like his. He hadn’t fully manifested yet, his power was still growing, but Raw seemed convinced that he was some sort of viewing savant. She wasn’t about to argue with him even if he was biased toward his nephew. What did she know about it?
Kalm took a deep breath as Raw opened the leather case. “Kalm cannot heal this.” He said this with easy acceptance of his own limitations.
“Kalm not need to.” Raw assured him as he filled a syringe with a pale green liquid. “Raw need Kalm to watch and direct. Do not have enough energy to do both at once.” With that her friend rolled up her sleeve and carefully injected her.
“Kalm can do that.” The young viewer agreed calmly. Sitting down a foot or so away he crossed his legs under him and closed his eyes. His breathing evened out quickly and she knew he’d fallen into a trance. Raw touched her arm lightly where he’d stuck her and the small hole the needle had made vanished as if it had never existed. Her head started to spin almost immediately and the sensation freaked her out even as the pain began to diminish.
Her hand tightened over her father’s hard. “Raw, what did you put in me?”
“Pain killer.”
She twitched all over as it started to work. Her whole body felt strange. It wasn’t pleasant. She wasn’t entirely sure this was all that much better than the pain. “I don’t like this.” She began to tingle all over and she had the strangest sensation that there was an ice cube sliding around in her brain. This was really not okay with her. “The pain was better than this.” She jerked as if it would get the drug to stop working.
“Kid, stop movin’.” The tin man sat back down next to her head, taking up the small space there was left on the now very crowded landing. “You’re goin’ to make it worse.”
She jerked again despite what he said and Ahamo leaned over her so their faces were close. “DG, it’s like LSD. You need to calm down or you’re going to have a bad trip.”
She understood what it was as soon as Ahamo said that. “You dosed me with vapors?” She nearly wailed. That was just so wrong.
“What’s LSD?” Cain asked.
Raw took her hand again. “Only drug Raw could give and still be able to heal right. Other things would have made numb. Cannot fix if cannot feel with you. Azkadilla make some for Raw. Very good at alchemy.”
It was so great Az had mad skills making magical narcotics. Such a handy ability when you got right down to it. “Am I going to start seeing little green fairies?”
Ahamo chuckled as he sat back as Raw and Cain exchanged a confused look. The tin man cracked first. “Why would they be green? Fairies are the same color as-”
“Nevermind!” She interrupted before he could get started. She did not want a lesson on what real fairies looked like at this very moment.
“Spitfire, you need to relax.”
Her emotions swung from anxiety to near panic in an instant. “I’m all floaty and my head has ice in it! I was just hurled down a staircase by an explosion and apparently I have internal bleeding! I’m not relaxed!”
“Well, at least it’s workin’.” Cain muttered under his breath. Then he reached out and pulled her slightly. A moment later her head was resting on his thigh, which was a lot more comfortable than the tile, and he had his hand on her forehead. “Take a breath.”
She shifted to rage without warning. “Don’t get practical with me right now, Wyatt Cain! I don’t want to take a breath!” She snarled.
“I can see that. Next few hours are goin’ to be fun I see.” He started running his hand through her hair in a familiar pattern. He always touched her this way when they were relaxed. Usually after they made love or were simply sitting together on the couch. The ease of it, the affection, had her rage flowing away. She relaxed all over he smiled down at her warmly. “That’s better, Darlin’.”
Raw shifted closer as Cain spoke soothingly. Her attention turned to her furry friend and she caught sight of her father looking directly at Cain with the strangest expression she’d ever seen on his face. Before she could processes it the viewer had her attention, or as much attention as she could manage at the moment. “Will heal now. DG must be still. May feel strange. Trust Raw and do not fight.”
“Alright.” She said agreeably. Now affection was all she could feel for anyone and everyone. She wondered what emotion the vapors would call up in her next and then decided it didn’t matter because things were all nice and fuzzy. A lot like her old teddy bear that she used to drag around with her everywhere.
Raw pushed her shirt up to the bottom of her bra and set his hands over her exposed stomach. It was dotted with dark spot and she could see her left side was nearly black with a large bruise. She figured it was a pretty good guess that it was the area that had the viewer so concerned. Heat began to build under the viewer’s palms and Kalm spoke again. “Deeper inside.” The heat extended as Raw’s eyes went blank. They were open but whatever he was looking at wasn’t in front of him.
Suddenly her insides tightened as she sucked in a surprised breath. It didn’t hurt but it felt like someone was tightening a string around her. Her untroubled acceptance of the entire world vanished as dread nearly choked her. “Okay, this is weird.” She was sure if she clamped down any harder on Ahamo’s hand she would snap something.
Raw didn’t respond to her but Cain’s free arm snaked over her clavicles to hold her down. “Be still. It won’t take as long if you don’t move.”
The hand she wasn’t holding Ahamo with came up and locked around Wyatt’s wrist as he held her down. Her knuckles were white as fear rolled over her. She didn’t think it was entirely to with the drugs. Raw was literally messing with her major organs, or maybe her minor ones. Either way it wasn’t good. She would have shut her eyes but all that would have done would be to increase the sensations going on in her body. Kalm’s voice was a steady cadence beside them. “To the left. Follow veins toward heart.”
The sensation shifted and she sucked in a breath. “Easy, Deeg.” The tin man’s hand never stopped stroking through her hair.
She began to pant fearfully as she lost control of any calm she had. “If this happens again please knock me out. Just, smack, dead across the face.”
“That’s not funny.” The tin man said.
“I’m really not kidding.” Her nails started digging into Wyatt’s wrist and she was sure he was thankful for the cuff on his shirt. Otherwise she would have been drawing blood for sure. “This is the worst thing ever.” It really was. She would have preferred the pain to feeling so utterly out of control. She could handle pain. Right now she couldn’t even get hold of her own emotions they were shuffling so fast. “Don’t do this to me again!”
“It’s not as bad as you’re making it, Spitfire-“
“Shut up, Ahamo!” Her panic was cresting. “I feel like I’m on a rollercoaster from hell! I can’t get anything to stop!”
“Deeg, look at me.” Wyatt stopped stroking her hair as he spoke. She tried to wiggle and his arm pressed her down. “Look at me.” He was utterly calm in the face of her reaction to this and she did what he said.
He started stroking her hair again when he had her attention. “You know Raw won’t hurt you.” That penetrated some part of her higher brain function and she nodded as much as she could with the grip he had on her. “And I wouldn’t let anyone do anything to you either.” Okay, she was getting behind his argument. Mentally she shoved at the drug hard and felt a little clarity returning. He felt her relaxing and his fingers tickled her scalp. “Ignore the vapors and focus on me.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He agreed as they stared at one another. “Tell me how you shoot.” She made a sad noise and he raised an eyebrow. When he’d been teaching her he’d made her do the same drill five million seven hundred and sixty eight times. Give or take three times in either direction. She had never been so sick of anything in her life. It wasn’t even worth getting touched by him as he continually moved her hands and shoulders with easy acceptance of their proximity. “I’m waitin’.”
“Hold the butt with my right hand and steady it with my left.” Something twinged and she sucked in a breath.
“Keep goin’.”
“Spread my feet at shoulder width and keep the left one back for balance.” The heat intensified and she felt another crash of emotion. This was pure euphoria and she closed her eyes tightly as she tried to get a grip. “Aim and breathe. Take my time.”
His hand tickled her scalp. “Eyes open.”
“Yeah.” She forced herself to follow his instructions. “Both eyes open.”
“And then what?”
“Pull back the hammer.” Her grip on him tightened farther. “Squeeze the trigger slowly. No hesitating or the barrel will jerk.”
“Good. What do you do after?”
“Same thing.”
“Until?”
“Until I kill whatever’s after me or run out of bullets.”
“What do you do if you run out of bullets?”
“Run like hell.” She repeated that instruction back verbatim and his lip twitched.
“Good to know you pay attention.” Ahamo commented with amusement.
“Can’t forget after he drones the same instructions over and over until I’m ready to bash my head against a wall.” She replied.
“Did you learn?” The tin man asked.
“Apparently.”
“Then the dronin’ paid off. Quit you’re grippin’.”
“I’ll grip as I see fit.” She retorted.
“At least-“ The heat intensified further and she swore she felt something snap inside her. Pain penetrated through the vapors and she screamed and jerked. Even Cain’s grip on her barely kept her down. As quickly as the intense sting hit it vanished and she slumped limply to the tile.
She whimpered rather pathetically. “Are you done Raw?” The viewer continued to stare ahead without expression. She looked at Cain pleadingly. “Is he done? Can it be done now? Please?”
“Shhh.” The tin man was clearly more than a little upset over her pleading. “It’s almost done. Everything’s okay, Deeg.” A tear tracked down her cheek when she realized he wasn’t going to make the viewer stop and he brushed it away as sorrow seeped through her like quick moving smoke.
“It’s not.” She insisted.
“It is.” He tucked the hair that had escaped in her struggle behind her ears. “Vapor’s have you all mixed up. I promise it’s okay.”
“Make it stop.” She begged as her head spun in circles around itself. She started to loose a grip on everything. Even direction. She wasn’t sure if she was up or down even though she knew she was on the floor.
“Only a little longer, Darlin’.”
Giving up at his stubborn hold she went still and quiet. That seemed to alarm both the tin man and Ahamo. Her father squeezed her hand when she hadn’t spoken for over a minute. “DG?” She turned her head away apathetically and stared at the wall. Her father shook her arm slightly. “DG!”
“Tired.” She said emotionlessly. “Go away.”
“Don’t fall asleep!” Wyatt snapped at her suddenly. He turned her head back so she was looking up instead of at the wall. “You fall asleep and Raw won’t be able to finish. He has to feel with you. If you pass out he can’t do that.” Feeling that was terribly unjust she tried to get away from him. He held her as tightly as he ever had. “Stop wigglin’.”
“I want up!” She shouted loudly as she flipped to another emotion. Indignation radiated out of her. “Now!”
Kalm spoke calmly despite her screaming. “Farther right. Be careful or will miss tear.”
“Glinda’s left slipper.” The tin man growled, ignoring the boy as he pressed her down. “She’s worse than Glitch was with half a brain.”
“Go to hell!” She yelled. “Let me go, Wyatt!” She started to jerk her leg up and Ahamo caught it and held her down. Pain sparked briefly and it only pissed her off more. She screeched at the consort. “I hate you!” No sooner had the words left her mouth then she switched again. “I’m sorry.” She was close to tears in a heartbeat. “I didn’t mean that, daddy.”
The consort’s eyes flashed up to her face in shock. She had never once, in any of the memories she had, called him daddy. While she was sure she had, it hadn’t been in at least fifteen years. Since she got here she’d been calling him Ahamo. Twice he’d managed to get a dad out of her. But never daddy. Not once. Az was the one that called him that. She swore the consort was either about to melt or break down at that name. “I know you didn’t, Spitfire.”
Raw shuddered and blinked rapidly. He pulled his hands away from her stomach as he let out a long sigh. He rocked back as he gathered himself together. “Fixed. Harder than thought. Will have to stop when done with hip. Will not be able to heal bruises until rest.”
“Whatever you have to do, Furball.” The tin man jerked his head toward her still broken bone. “Just get her patched up as best you can so we can get her to a bed. She’s goin’ to end up hurtin’ herself if you don’t finish this fast. We’re lucky she’s out of magic or she would have already fried us.”
“Yes.” Raw agreed. He put his hand over her left hip and then it was hot too. In contrast to whatever he’d done to her stomach this took almost no time. He had the break fixed in less than three minutes. Of course in that time she’d cycled through another six extreme emotional states but at least it was over. The viewer slumped against the wall. “Done.”
“Can she walk without hurtin’ anything?” Wyatt asked cautiously.
“Might hurt tin man if get’s angry.” Raw observed as another spike of rage rolled through her.
“I meant is she goin’ to hurt herself?” He said with exasperation.
“Will not hurt self. Might take moment to regain balance.”
“This should be fun.” Ahamo commented as the tin man carefully loosened his hold on her. “No fighting, DG.”
She blinked at him in bafflement. She loved her father. “Why would I fight you?”
The tin man got up and reached down. He hooked his arms under hers and hauled her up. She clutched at his shoulders as her body tilted to the left but she corrected herself quickly. When she was steady on her feet she let him go and he put a wary hand on her back. “Let’s get to your rooms, alright?” With a shrug of disinterest she started down the stairs. She was hit with a wave of vertigo and lurched dangerously. Wyatt let out a shout as she teetered but Ahamo had her in an instant and held her up.
“I think one tumble is enough for the day. Let me help.” The trip to her room was interesting to say the least.
Author Note: I hope you guys enjoyed DG on drugs. She was a blast to write this chapter.