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Fic: Genuinely, the Real Thing
Title: Genuinely, the Real Thing
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: DG, Evie, Stephen, Natalie, Miles, Eva, Frank and Cain (mention of Carter, Robo-Mom, Popsicle, Tutor, the witch, Lonot and the waitress *who I named, for the sake of the story*)
Rating: PG
Summary: A Tin Man, a princess and a doctor are standing in a diner...
Warning: post-series. Kinda. Some time after 'Half Life' for Medical Investigation. Thanks to buffybot76 for brow-beating me one paragraph, and moony_blues for the mustard.
Disclaimer: The original characters belongs to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. Medical Investigation and the characters belong to NBC and their respective actors.
The Genuine Thing | Really, the Genuine Thing | Genuinely, the Real Thing
Evie handed the receipt over to Natalie and moved along the counter, disappearing into the kitchen. Just as Natalie turned away from the counter, the little bell over the door rang, once again announcing someone’s entrance. She automatically looked to the new entrant, then from Stephen and Frank, to Eva and Miles, and straight back to-
The stranger caught her eye and nodded just as DG came back out into the dining room with a tray of silverware and a stack of paper napkins. He let out a deep breath and moved swiftly past Natalie - who turned as he passed, still staring - and over to the opposite side of the counter from DG.
“There you are, Kid,” DG heard. Dropping the tray to the counter, the silverware tinkled as DG’s eyes went wide and she raised her head slowly toward the voice. Natalie noted that the look on her face must match the one on the young waitress, except that the young girl had actual shock, whereas Natalie was more confused.
“No!” DG said, pointing and stepping back. “No, no no...” she stated with a nervous laugh, shaking her head vehemently. “You are a figment of my imagination,” she stated with a sharp nod. Wyatt Cain rolled his eyes and sighed.
Stephen looked away from Frank as he heard the girl speak - Frank was watching Miles and Eva argue the proper tip - and noticed Natalie’s expression. His brow furrowed slightly and he moved over to her side and reached for her elbow. “Nat?” he asked quietly. She heard Stephen, but wasn’t able to take her gaze off of the man who’d just walked in. She reached blindly across herself for his arm and ended up swatting at him, somewhere in the vicinity of his jacket’s pocket.
Stephen looked down at her hand and snorted lightly, then narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of her. She flinched as Stephen’s face came into focus in front of her and shook her head slightly. He gave her one of those ‘You okay?’ looks, to which she responded by reaching up and taking his face in her hands. She next turned his head in the direction of DG and... well... Stephen.
Stephen looked at the man standing there and pulled away from Natalie and turned back to her. A split second later, realization kicked in and Stephen straightened. Natalie simply nodded and Stephen turned slowly. Natalie’s hand moved to cover her mouth in awe and they both simply... stared.
“Look, Kid. I told you that messing with a Travel Storm was-” Cain stopped as he noticed DG wince at the mention of the meteorological anomaly. DG’s head was suddenly throbbing. She tilted her head slightly - as if the motion would actually do something - and closed her eyes. Leaning back against the rear counter, DG forgot that her hand was wrapped and set her hand, palm open, down the edge of the countertop harder than she’d intended. Pain coursed through her hand and up her arm and she bit her lip as tears began to well up in her eyes.
This really wasn’t her day.
Eva tapped Miles and pointed toward Stephen and Natalie. Frank and Miles both looked to their bosses and noticed their gaze was locked on the man who’d just entered. Frank moved over to Stephen slowly and turned just enough to look at the man, really interested to see what had their attention. At the same time, DG raised her bandaged hand and took a few deep breaths. Her eyes shot open when Cain asked her: “What happened?”
Glancing quickly from her wrapped hand up to Cain, DG’s eyes went wide and she turned to Stephen and Natalie. It was rather obvious that they could see Cain, as well. As Cain could feel two sets of eyes on him, he turned to see who DG was looking at as Frank turned his own head.
“Holy-” Frank said, jumping back slightly. Eva and Miles looked at each other then back to Stephen and... Stephen.
Wyatt Cain and Stephen Connor could only stare at each other.
Their gaze was finally broken when Stephen turned to Natalie as she hit him, one time too many. “Yes, Natalie. I can see,” he said with exasperation. Natalie was still looking at Cain, and Eva and Miles were looking from Stephen and Cain to each other and back. Frank, on the other hand, was trying not to laugh. DG took two steps along the aisle, moving toward the register. She was going to take the entire bottle of aspirin, this time.
Natalie snapped out of her daze and looked over to DG, who looked decidedly unwell all of a sudden, and saw the bandage slowly turning red. She grabbed Stephen’s arm and nodded to the girl. “Stephen!” As they were at the edge of the counter, Doctor Connor took over and Stephen darted around the counter to catch DG as she stumbled toward him. Frank automatically stepped in front of Cain and held up a hand.
“It’s okay,” Stephen said to DG and nodded to Natalie. “Frank, can you go grab my case?” he asked as Natalie stepped over and helped him walk DG to the table they’d just been occupying and put her into the seat. Frank nodded and headed outside to the truck while Stephen knelt down in front of DG and checked her eyes, allowing her to focus on his very blue ones.
“Miles,” Natalie said, her hand still on DG’s arm. “Paper towels,” she said, motioning to the small restroom at the other end of the building.
“Must’ve hit my head harder than, uh-” DG stammered, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
“Hey,” he asked, giving her the slightest shake. “Where’d you put that first-aid kit?” DG swallowed and pointed toward the counter.
“Under the register,” she said, wincing again. Stephen’s nose scrunched slightly and he turned just enough to see Eva out of the corner of his eye.
“Eva. First-aid kit, under the register.” Eva nodded and moved around the counter. Miles came back into the dining room with wet paper towels in one hand and dry in the other as Frank pulled the door open and passed Stephen’s medical case over. In one swift motion, Stephen moved the case to the floor, popped the lid open and pulled out a fresh set of gloves.
Carefully, he pulled away the bandage that was now a darker red. DG shook her head, cursing herself, as she watched the doctor once again take care of her clumsiness. Stephen felt bad for the girl, as she looked like she’d been through the ringer; and that was just in the few minutes since his... twin... entered the restaurant.
Nudging her knee with his elbow, Stephen tilted his head toward Cain and smiled. “Usually, when someone says ‘You remind me of-’” He let a small laugh slip. “They aren’t being quite that literal.” DG breathed a small laugh and rolled her eyes toward Cain.
Cain didn’t like the idea that there was a strange man with his hands on the Princess. Or that the man looked exactly like him. Or that the man was making her laugh and smile like that. He also wasn’t too happy that DG seemed disturbed by his presence. However, realizing that she was in the care of medics, Cain took a moment to glance at the space where DG had spent her day; it was much brighter than any mess hall he’d ever experienced.
He told Glitch, DG and Tutor that they shouldn’t be messing around with Travel Storms, but no one would listen. It had taken four days to figure out what had gone wrong with the process - the witch had installed a failsafe in the program as soon as General Lonot failed in his mission. She must have figured that anyone traveling between the O.Z. and the Other Side shouldn’t remember where they had been or how they got there. It seemed, however, that due to the magic in DG, the plan backfired and spat her back in time. Once repaired, it took another three days before they were able to successfully awaken a Storm and pass through.
The part the disturbed Cain even more - almost - was that DG’s Nurture Units had been adversely affected, as well. They’d agreed to travel back with her, in case something went wrong, and seemed to have had their memories altered. When he’d shown up at the farmhouse looking for DG an hour before, they had no idea who he was or what he’d been talking about. Or that they were Nurture Units.
Granted, he’d only met them for a whole minute-and-a-half in Milltown. Remembering that DG had said something about trouble with the law before traveling to the O.Z., Cain informed them he was an officer and needed to speak to her regarding the trouble. To which they informed him that DG was at work; which brought him to this small dining hall.
Natalie stood up from the huddle around DG and looked to Cain with a raised eyebrow. She was reluctant to hold eye contact, but stepped over to him and nodded in DG’s direction. “She apparently took a pretty good smack to the head last week,” Natalie recounted. “And another one about half an hour ago.” Cain’s brow furrowed. “She live far from here?” Cain shrugged; it had been just over two miles, he guessed. Unless, of course, she was referring to the palace, which was decidedly further.
Realizing she was staring at him, Cain smiled slightly and Natalie looked away, blushing. “Y’know,” he started. “I’ve seen some strange things... But-” he nodded toward Stephen and Miles, who were still talking to DG. “That’s new.” Natalie smiled and turned back to the group for a moment, then back to Cain.
“Oh, sorry,” she said with a slight jump and stuck out her hand. “Doctor Natalie Durant. National Institutes of Health.”
“Wyatt Cain,” he responded with a nod to DG, and shrugged. What was he, exactly? Friend? Bodyguard? “She gonna be all right?” he asked as his eyes narrowed. Natalie looked over her shoulder and sighed.
“Well, knowing Stephen, he’ll drag her to the hospital...” She took a moment to look Connor’s twin over. “I’m guessing you’re not from here,” she said with a raised eyebrow. Cain raised an eyebrow back - which Natalie found odd, because as much as this man looked like Stephen, they were quite different.
Natalie nodded to the firearm on his hip and leaned closer. “Apparently she was trying to convince everyone she was in Oz,” she stated, inferring that the girl might have more than just a bump on the head to deal with. Cain moved his eyes away and clenched his jaw, pondering the best way to respond. Natalie opened her mouth to respond and shut it again.
This day couldn’t get any weirder.
“So,” Stephen asked as he pulled a bottle from his case and raised his eyebrow slightly. “Tell me about this Cain fellow.” DG sighed and watched Stephen shake the bottle’s contents into a cotton ball. ‘That’s gonna sting,’ she noted before responding:
“Um... he’s, uh...” Should she tell him the story? Or make something up. “He’s-” DG frowned and looked up to Stephen. “How did you know his name is Cain?” Stephen smiled and nodded to DG’s hand.
“You called me ‘Cain,’” he stated, nodding toward the counter behind him. “Took a stab at-” He winced at the bad pun and DG laughed slightly. Stephen nodded to her hand again and slowly moved the cotton ball down to the cut.
“He’s a Tin Ma-” DG rolled her eyes slightly at the slip as she winced at the pain from the contact. “Cop,” she amended, blinking back the tears and taking a deep breath. Stephen smirked, her earlier comment about his being the Tin Man suddenly making sense. Sort of.
Miles and Eva had swapped duties and the young doctor was currently cutting a fresh gauze pad to size while Eva passed one of the wet paper towels over to Stephen. Frank continued to stare at Natalie and Cain, and Eva and Miles were constantly gazing between the identical men. Stephen rolled his eyes at Miles and pulled the pad out of his hand. DG smiled slightly; she’d seen that look on Cain’s face more than once when Glitch was glitching.
Her gaze moved to Cain for a moment, and she frowned. She wasn’t sure what was real anymore. Other than the pain in her head and hand, anyway. Stephen noticed the look and cleared his throat. Dropping his voice down to a whisper as he began rewrapping her hand, Stephen asked: “You sure the wind...?” he trailed off, giving her a pointed stare.
DG shook her head and dropped her shoulders. “I’m sure.” She gave him a smile and tilted her head toward Cain. “He may look like a hard-ass, but,” she tapped Stephen’s chest - just above his heart - with her uninjured hand. “Teddy bear.” Finishing up the wrap, Stephen nodded to Miles, who was standing by with the tape.
“I’d really like you to go to the hospital, DG. Get this tended to properly,” he said, nodding to her hand. DG leaned back and frowned.
“Are you saying you didn’t tend to it properly?” Stephen made a face and pulled his gloves off.
“I’m saying that a hospital will have better supplies than a first-aid kit and my case.”
“You’ll also want to make sure you get this first-aid kit refilled,” Miles said automatically. Eva gave him a shove and DG laughed lightly before meeting Stephen’s gaze. She was suddenly very thankful she’d driven the truck to work today; not that she was about to try and drive home now. Not with a possible head injury and her breaking hand wrapped in gauze. Cain seemed to be able to handle DeMilo’s van rather well. Here was to hoping he could handle a Chevy.
Realizing that Stephen was waiting for a response, DG nodded to him and he smiled. She just had to get home and lie down. Carter was going to freak when she asked to get off early. But with a gunslinging-Tin Man and a team of doctors on her side, he just might back off.
“Good.” He planted his hands on his knees and pushed himself up, giving Cain a straight view of DG; she looked terrible. Natalie stepped aside and waved Cain along. He and Stephen gave each other a polite nod as they switched positions. Natalie gave Stephen a smirk as Cain nodded to DG.
“Ambrose... is at the farmhouse,” he said carefully, giving her a look. DG blinked and let out a breath. “Resetting the... units.” Well, that scratched out calling Popsicle. DG reached up to take Cain’s offered hand and let the former Tin Man pull her up. “Are you okay?” he asked, bending down so that they were at eye-level with each other. DG nodded and sighed heavily.
“Years of insanity have finally made me crazy,” she stated with a big grin and a nod. Another wave of nausea hit and she grabbed Cain’s arm to help steady herself. Staring at one of the buttons on his duster, DG leaned close and whispered: “Have I lost my mind?” She stared at his chest for a moment then looked up into his also-very blue eyes. Cain smirked and looked at the top of her head.
“Don’t see a zipper.” Stephen overheard the comment and gave his ‘twin’ a look.
Timing being everything, Evie entered the dining room and looked up to see the crowd near the door. She’d only gone out back for five minutes to call home and check in with the babysitter. Carter had also taken advantage of the break in customers to check the freezer’s stock and take out the trash.
“Deej, you look terrible,” she said with wide eyes. DG shrugged and opened her mouth, but Evie continued talking. “We’re gonna be slow today, and Maggie’ll be here in a bit,” she said with a wave. “Go home.” DG’s shoulders dropped in relief. “And stay away from anything that you can injure yourself with,” she said with a distinct snap.
Stephen and Natalie smiled at each other and Stephen looked over to DG, who had closed her eyes again. “Hospital,” he said, pointing to her, then to Cain and nodded. Both nodded in response. Cain wasn’t sure what or where the hospital was, but would get DG to the palace medic as soon as they returned to the O.Z.
“Come on, Princess,” Cain said, putting an arm around DG and pointing her to the door. “Let’s get you home.” DG shook her head and pulled away.
“I need to get my stuff,” she said, pointing over her shoulder. Cain huffed and let her go as Eva moved over to the counter with the first-aid kit.
“We kinda stripped it bare,” she said, smiling to Evie, who waved it off and tossed the box back under the counter.
“I’ll pick up a new one tonight.”
DG reappeared and moved along the counter, stopping at Stephen’s side. Cain grumbled as he watched DG lift up on her toes and give Stephen a small peck on the cheek. “Thank you,” she murmured. Natalie forced back a smile as she saw Cain flinch. She could tell by the look on his face what he was thinking.
'DG shouldn't be going around, kissing strange men,' he thought bitterly. 'Especially strange men who look just like me.' Then, an errant thought added itself to his mind: 'Strange men who... aren't... me?' Cain blinked. ‘Wait... What?!’
Natalie faked a cough so that she could raise her hand to her mouth, hiding the grin, as Stephen gave DG a wide smile and nodded. Cain’s arm automatically moved to DG’s back as she passed and he led her to the door, giving everyone another nod. As he held the door open for DG, Cain turned back and nodded to Natalie. “By the way... we call it the Oh Zee.” With that, he exited the diner and everyone looked from Natalie to the window and watched the two figures move across the parking lot.
Eyes wide, Natalie nodded, accepting that the day could, in fact, actually get weirder.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: DG, Evie, Stephen, Natalie, Miles, Eva, Frank and Cain (mention of Carter, Robo-Mom, Popsicle, Tutor, the witch, Lonot and the waitress *who I named, for the sake of the story*)
Rating: PG
Summary: A Tin Man, a princess and a doctor are standing in a diner...
Warning: post-series. Kinda. Some time after 'Half Life' for Medical Investigation. Thanks to buffybot76 for brow-beating me one paragraph, and moony_blues for the mustard.
Disclaimer: The original characters belongs to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. Medical Investigation and the characters belong to NBC and their respective actors.
The Genuine Thing | Really, the Genuine Thing | Genuinely, the Real Thing
Evie handed the receipt over to Natalie and moved along the counter, disappearing into the kitchen. Just as Natalie turned away from the counter, the little bell over the door rang, once again announcing someone’s entrance. She automatically looked to the new entrant, then from Stephen and Frank, to Eva and Miles, and straight back to-
The stranger caught her eye and nodded just as DG came back out into the dining room with a tray of silverware and a stack of paper napkins. He let out a deep breath and moved swiftly past Natalie - who turned as he passed, still staring - and over to the opposite side of the counter from DG.
“There you are, Kid,” DG heard. Dropping the tray to the counter, the silverware tinkled as DG’s eyes went wide and she raised her head slowly toward the voice. Natalie noted that the look on her face must match the one on the young waitress, except that the young girl had actual shock, whereas Natalie was more confused.
“No!” DG said, pointing and stepping back. “No, no no...” she stated with a nervous laugh, shaking her head vehemently. “You are a figment of my imagination,” she stated with a sharp nod. Wyatt Cain rolled his eyes and sighed.
Stephen looked away from Frank as he heard the girl speak - Frank was watching Miles and Eva argue the proper tip - and noticed Natalie’s expression. His brow furrowed slightly and he moved over to her side and reached for her elbow. “Nat?” he asked quietly. She heard Stephen, but wasn’t able to take her gaze off of the man who’d just walked in. She reached blindly across herself for his arm and ended up swatting at him, somewhere in the vicinity of his jacket’s pocket.
Stephen looked down at her hand and snorted lightly, then narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of her. She flinched as Stephen’s face came into focus in front of her and shook her head slightly. He gave her one of those ‘You okay?’ looks, to which she responded by reaching up and taking his face in her hands. She next turned his head in the direction of DG and... well... Stephen.
Stephen looked at the man standing there and pulled away from Natalie and turned back to her. A split second later, realization kicked in and Stephen straightened. Natalie simply nodded and Stephen turned slowly. Natalie’s hand moved to cover her mouth in awe and they both simply... stared.
“Look, Kid. I told you that messing with a Travel Storm was-” Cain stopped as he noticed DG wince at the mention of the meteorological anomaly. DG’s head was suddenly throbbing. She tilted her head slightly - as if the motion would actually do something - and closed her eyes. Leaning back against the rear counter, DG forgot that her hand was wrapped and set her hand, palm open, down the edge of the countertop harder than she’d intended. Pain coursed through her hand and up her arm and she bit her lip as tears began to well up in her eyes.
This really wasn’t her day.
Eva tapped Miles and pointed toward Stephen and Natalie. Frank and Miles both looked to their bosses and noticed their gaze was locked on the man who’d just entered. Frank moved over to Stephen slowly and turned just enough to look at the man, really interested to see what had their attention. At the same time, DG raised her bandaged hand and took a few deep breaths. Her eyes shot open when Cain asked her: “What happened?”
Glancing quickly from her wrapped hand up to Cain, DG’s eyes went wide and she turned to Stephen and Natalie. It was rather obvious that they could see Cain, as well. As Cain could feel two sets of eyes on him, he turned to see who DG was looking at as Frank turned his own head.
“Holy-” Frank said, jumping back slightly. Eva and Miles looked at each other then back to Stephen and... Stephen.
Wyatt Cain and Stephen Connor could only stare at each other.
Their gaze was finally broken when Stephen turned to Natalie as she hit him, one time too many. “Yes, Natalie. I can see,” he said with exasperation. Natalie was still looking at Cain, and Eva and Miles were looking from Stephen and Cain to each other and back. Frank, on the other hand, was trying not to laugh. DG took two steps along the aisle, moving toward the register. She was going to take the entire bottle of aspirin, this time.
Natalie snapped out of her daze and looked over to DG, who looked decidedly unwell all of a sudden, and saw the bandage slowly turning red. She grabbed Stephen’s arm and nodded to the girl. “Stephen!” As they were at the edge of the counter, Doctor Connor took over and Stephen darted around the counter to catch DG as she stumbled toward him. Frank automatically stepped in front of Cain and held up a hand.
“It’s okay,” Stephen said to DG and nodded to Natalie. “Frank, can you go grab my case?” he asked as Natalie stepped over and helped him walk DG to the table they’d just been occupying and put her into the seat. Frank nodded and headed outside to the truck while Stephen knelt down in front of DG and checked her eyes, allowing her to focus on his very blue ones.
“Miles,” Natalie said, her hand still on DG’s arm. “Paper towels,” she said, motioning to the small restroom at the other end of the building.
“Must’ve hit my head harder than, uh-” DG stammered, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
“Hey,” he asked, giving her the slightest shake. “Where’d you put that first-aid kit?” DG swallowed and pointed toward the counter.
“Under the register,” she said, wincing again. Stephen’s nose scrunched slightly and he turned just enough to see Eva out of the corner of his eye.
“Eva. First-aid kit, under the register.” Eva nodded and moved around the counter. Miles came back into the dining room with wet paper towels in one hand and dry in the other as Frank pulled the door open and passed Stephen’s medical case over. In one swift motion, Stephen moved the case to the floor, popped the lid open and pulled out a fresh set of gloves.
Carefully, he pulled away the bandage that was now a darker red. DG shook her head, cursing herself, as she watched the doctor once again take care of her clumsiness. Stephen felt bad for the girl, as she looked like she’d been through the ringer; and that was just in the few minutes since his... twin... entered the restaurant.
Nudging her knee with his elbow, Stephen tilted his head toward Cain and smiled. “Usually, when someone says ‘You remind me of-’” He let a small laugh slip. “They aren’t being quite that literal.” DG breathed a small laugh and rolled her eyes toward Cain.
Cain didn’t like the idea that there was a strange man with his hands on the Princess. Or that the man looked exactly like him. Or that the man was making her laugh and smile like that. He also wasn’t too happy that DG seemed disturbed by his presence. However, realizing that she was in the care of medics, Cain took a moment to glance at the space where DG had spent her day; it was much brighter than any mess hall he’d ever experienced.
He told Glitch, DG and Tutor that they shouldn’t be messing around with Travel Storms, but no one would listen. It had taken four days to figure out what had gone wrong with the process - the witch had installed a failsafe in the program as soon as General Lonot failed in his mission. She must have figured that anyone traveling between the O.Z. and the Other Side shouldn’t remember where they had been or how they got there. It seemed, however, that due to the magic in DG, the plan backfired and spat her back in time. Once repaired, it took another three days before they were able to successfully awaken a Storm and pass through.
The part the disturbed Cain even more - almost - was that DG’s Nurture Units had been adversely affected, as well. They’d agreed to travel back with her, in case something went wrong, and seemed to have had their memories altered. When he’d shown up at the farmhouse looking for DG an hour before, they had no idea who he was or what he’d been talking about. Or that they were Nurture Units.
Granted, he’d only met them for a whole minute-and-a-half in Milltown. Remembering that DG had said something about trouble with the law before traveling to the O.Z., Cain informed them he was an officer and needed to speak to her regarding the trouble. To which they informed him that DG was at work; which brought him to this small dining hall.
Natalie stood up from the huddle around DG and looked to Cain with a raised eyebrow. She was reluctant to hold eye contact, but stepped over to him and nodded in DG’s direction. “She apparently took a pretty good smack to the head last week,” Natalie recounted. “And another one about half an hour ago.” Cain’s brow furrowed. “She live far from here?” Cain shrugged; it had been just over two miles, he guessed. Unless, of course, she was referring to the palace, which was decidedly further.
Realizing she was staring at him, Cain smiled slightly and Natalie looked away, blushing. “Y’know,” he started. “I’ve seen some strange things... But-” he nodded toward Stephen and Miles, who were still talking to DG. “That’s new.” Natalie smiled and turned back to the group for a moment, then back to Cain.
“Oh, sorry,” she said with a slight jump and stuck out her hand. “Doctor Natalie Durant. National Institutes of Health.”
“Wyatt Cain,” he responded with a nod to DG, and shrugged. What was he, exactly? Friend? Bodyguard? “She gonna be all right?” he asked as his eyes narrowed. Natalie looked over her shoulder and sighed.
“Well, knowing Stephen, he’ll drag her to the hospital...” She took a moment to look Connor’s twin over. “I’m guessing you’re not from here,” she said with a raised eyebrow. Cain raised an eyebrow back - which Natalie found odd, because as much as this man looked like Stephen, they were quite different.
Natalie nodded to the firearm on his hip and leaned closer. “Apparently she was trying to convince everyone she was in Oz,” she stated, inferring that the girl might have more than just a bump on the head to deal with. Cain moved his eyes away and clenched his jaw, pondering the best way to respond. Natalie opened her mouth to respond and shut it again.
This day couldn’t get any weirder.
“So,” Stephen asked as he pulled a bottle from his case and raised his eyebrow slightly. “Tell me about this Cain fellow.” DG sighed and watched Stephen shake the bottle’s contents into a cotton ball. ‘That’s gonna sting,’ she noted before responding:
“Um... he’s, uh...” Should she tell him the story? Or make something up. “He’s-” DG frowned and looked up to Stephen. “How did you know his name is Cain?” Stephen smiled and nodded to DG’s hand.
“You called me ‘Cain,’” he stated, nodding toward the counter behind him. “Took a stab at-” He winced at the bad pun and DG laughed slightly. Stephen nodded to her hand again and slowly moved the cotton ball down to the cut.
“He’s a Tin Ma-” DG rolled her eyes slightly at the slip as she winced at the pain from the contact. “Cop,” she amended, blinking back the tears and taking a deep breath. Stephen smirked, her earlier comment about his being the Tin Man suddenly making sense. Sort of.
Miles and Eva had swapped duties and the young doctor was currently cutting a fresh gauze pad to size while Eva passed one of the wet paper towels over to Stephen. Frank continued to stare at Natalie and Cain, and Eva and Miles were constantly gazing between the identical men. Stephen rolled his eyes at Miles and pulled the pad out of his hand. DG smiled slightly; she’d seen that look on Cain’s face more than once when Glitch was glitching.
Her gaze moved to Cain for a moment, and she frowned. She wasn’t sure what was real anymore. Other than the pain in her head and hand, anyway. Stephen noticed the look and cleared his throat. Dropping his voice down to a whisper as he began rewrapping her hand, Stephen asked: “You sure the wind...?” he trailed off, giving her a pointed stare.
DG shook her head and dropped her shoulders. “I’m sure.” She gave him a smile and tilted her head toward Cain. “He may look like a hard-ass, but,” she tapped Stephen’s chest - just above his heart - with her uninjured hand. “Teddy bear.” Finishing up the wrap, Stephen nodded to Miles, who was standing by with the tape.
“I’d really like you to go to the hospital, DG. Get this tended to properly,” he said, nodding to her hand. DG leaned back and frowned.
“Are you saying you didn’t tend to it properly?” Stephen made a face and pulled his gloves off.
“I’m saying that a hospital will have better supplies than a first-aid kit and my case.”
“You’ll also want to make sure you get this first-aid kit refilled,” Miles said automatically. Eva gave him a shove and DG laughed lightly before meeting Stephen’s gaze. She was suddenly very thankful she’d driven the truck to work today; not that she was about to try and drive home now. Not with a possible head injury and her breaking hand wrapped in gauze. Cain seemed to be able to handle DeMilo’s van rather well. Here was to hoping he could handle a Chevy.
Realizing that Stephen was waiting for a response, DG nodded to him and he smiled. She just had to get home and lie down. Carter was going to freak when she asked to get off early. But with a gunslinging-Tin Man and a team of doctors on her side, he just might back off.
“Good.” He planted his hands on his knees and pushed himself up, giving Cain a straight view of DG; she looked terrible. Natalie stepped aside and waved Cain along. He and Stephen gave each other a polite nod as they switched positions. Natalie gave Stephen a smirk as Cain nodded to DG.
“Ambrose... is at the farmhouse,” he said carefully, giving her a look. DG blinked and let out a breath. “Resetting the... units.” Well, that scratched out calling Popsicle. DG reached up to take Cain’s offered hand and let the former Tin Man pull her up. “Are you okay?” he asked, bending down so that they were at eye-level with each other. DG nodded and sighed heavily.
“Years of insanity have finally made me crazy,” she stated with a big grin and a nod. Another wave of nausea hit and she grabbed Cain’s arm to help steady herself. Staring at one of the buttons on his duster, DG leaned close and whispered: “Have I lost my mind?” She stared at his chest for a moment then looked up into his also-very blue eyes. Cain smirked and looked at the top of her head.
“Don’t see a zipper.” Stephen overheard the comment and gave his ‘twin’ a look.
Timing being everything, Evie entered the dining room and looked up to see the crowd near the door. She’d only gone out back for five minutes to call home and check in with the babysitter. Carter had also taken advantage of the break in customers to check the freezer’s stock and take out the trash.
“Deej, you look terrible,” she said with wide eyes. DG shrugged and opened her mouth, but Evie continued talking. “We’re gonna be slow today, and Maggie’ll be here in a bit,” she said with a wave. “Go home.” DG’s shoulders dropped in relief. “And stay away from anything that you can injure yourself with,” she said with a distinct snap.
Stephen and Natalie smiled at each other and Stephen looked over to DG, who had closed her eyes again. “Hospital,” he said, pointing to her, then to Cain and nodded. Both nodded in response. Cain wasn’t sure what or where the hospital was, but would get DG to the palace medic as soon as they returned to the O.Z.
“Come on, Princess,” Cain said, putting an arm around DG and pointing her to the door. “Let’s get you home.” DG shook her head and pulled away.
“I need to get my stuff,” she said, pointing over her shoulder. Cain huffed and let her go as Eva moved over to the counter with the first-aid kit.
“We kinda stripped it bare,” she said, smiling to Evie, who waved it off and tossed the box back under the counter.
“I’ll pick up a new one tonight.”
DG reappeared and moved along the counter, stopping at Stephen’s side. Cain grumbled as he watched DG lift up on her toes and give Stephen a small peck on the cheek. “Thank you,” she murmured. Natalie forced back a smile as she saw Cain flinch. She could tell by the look on his face what he was thinking.
'DG shouldn't be going around, kissing strange men,' he thought bitterly. 'Especially strange men who look just like me.' Then, an errant thought added itself to his mind: 'Strange men who... aren't... me?' Cain blinked. ‘Wait... What?!’
Natalie faked a cough so that she could raise her hand to her mouth, hiding the grin, as Stephen gave DG a wide smile and nodded. Cain’s arm automatically moved to DG’s back as she passed and he led her to the door, giving everyone another nod. As he held the door open for DG, Cain turned back and nodded to Natalie. “By the way... we call it the Oh Zee.” With that, he exited the diner and everyone looked from Natalie to the window and watched the two figures move across the parking lot.
Eyes wide, Natalie nodded, accepting that the day could, in fact, actually get weirder.