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Fic: Back for Good
Title: Back for Good
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Kenna, Wyatt, and Jeb (mention of Adora and Zero)
Rating: PG
Summary: Wyatt wants to know what happened to Adora.
Warning: post-series, promptly follows Loss *Written for Round Three of love_bingo. Prompt: back for good Original titles are wholly unoriginal.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
The Girl at Camp | Loss | Back for Good | Bedtime Kiss I | Bedtime Kiss, Part II | Finding Home, Part I | Finding Home, Part II | His Little Girl | Moving Day | The Girl Who Left Camp | Panic Attack | First Snow | Her Wishing Star | Gingerbread
Jeb moved over to where his father and sister were, just in time to hear Wyatt telling the seven-annual-old about the ring on his finger. "Your mother gave this to me," Wyatt said, smiling as Kenna's finger traced the shiny gem in the middle.
"Hey," Jeb said, standing behind his sister. His hands went to her shoulders and he leaned down. "Miss Sadie needs your help." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head then turned his head to look her in the eyes. "Lots of extra mouths for dinner, tonight," he added with a wink.
Kenna's smile was back, which made him very happy, and she twisted to look at Wyatt. "Are you gonna stay?" she asked him.
Jeb raised his eyes to his father and nodded. "Of course he is," Jeb answered. "Go, before she starts yelling at me." Nudging Kenna back toward the camp, he nodded. Wyatt gave Kenna a smile and both men watched as she hurried off. "Three, two.." Jeb counted. Wyatt started to turn toward him, but saw Kenna stop, turn, and wave.
"Couldn't leave if I wanted to, could I?" Wyatt asked, waving back to her.
"Nope," Jeb replied with a grin, as he also waved to his sister. Once she ran off again, Jeb turned. "Do you want to leave?" he asked. It was a lot for a man to take in, after all.
Wyatt watched Jeb for a moment then shook his head. "No." He'd been alone for too long. And, while his recent traveling companions made him miss the quiet, Wyatt also knew that he hadn't had quiet in his life since before Zero showed up at the cabin.
"It's not going to be easy, y'know," Jeb said. "Readjusting," he added.
"It never is," Wyatt agreed, shaking his head.
With a nod toward his father's ring, Jeb asked: "How far did you get?" Wyatt followed Jeb's gaze, then looked up in confusion. "Ken likes to ask a lot of questions." Wyatt smiled and nodded.
"I think I asked more of her, actually." Jeb motioned for them to move back toward the log Wyatt had been sitting on earlier. "We covered full names, and she saw the ring. Oh, and I learned that it snowed when she was born," he added with a smile, before groaning as he sat. Sitting was hard, simply because he'd been doing so much walking and standing.
Jeb nodded. "It was snowing. Quietest night I can ever remember." He looked at Wyatt for a moment then smirked. "Then she was here and screaming and it was never quiet again." He laughed for a moment then nodded again to the ring. "Not sure she's ever seen anything so fancy."
Wyatt looked up and saw the look on Jeb's face. "We needed medicine... and food was running low," he admitted. "Many of those in the camp tried to collect what they could, but Mother knew the ring would bring the most in trade." Wyatt noted Jeb's frown, but nodded.
"I didn't speak to her for three days, when she did it," Jeb added quietly. Raising his eyes, he shrugged and forced a smile, though he knew tears weren't far behind. Taking a deep breath, Jeb cleared his throat and clapped his hands to his knees.
"All right," he stated, as if giving orders to his troops. "Enough of that." Nodding, Jeb pointed to Wyatt. "First thing we need to do is get you some clean clothes." Hitching a thumb over his shoulder, he continued: "Ken can stay with Sadie. You can have our tent. It hasn't been used in a while, since I've been away, but it's stocked."
He didn't add that it was stocked with most of the items they had managed to salvage from the second cabin.
"Jeb, I don't want to put you out, here." Wyatt shook his head and gave his son a look.
"You're not. I have far too much to do to even consider sleep, right now." He rarely slept, anyway, between Kenna's nightmares and his own. "Besides, if anyone needs rest, it's you." Jeb's eyebrow quirked as Wyatt rolled his eyes, which got a laugh out of Jeb. Wyatt forced a smile, truly glad to hear that sound, but something was still troubling him.
"Jeb..." Wyatt took a breath and looked up at his son. "The suit, near..." Jeb glanced in the direction of the cabin. It wasn't that far from where they sat, but far enough that Kenna wouldn't stumble upon it if she went wandering. Wyatt watched Jeb for a moment, until Jeb looked back. "How long?"
Jeb stared at his father. "About half a day," he replied to the mostly unasked question. His eyes shifted to the ground and his body stiffened slightly. Wyatt knew that even an hour inside the suit was enough to change a person, from the noises, the chemicals, the sensory deprivation... "We were too far from the camp. By the time Kenna found someone to send for help-"
"She was there?" Wyatt interrupted, shocked by the admission. Jeb nodded.
"She hid in the trees, until the Longcoats left. She couldn't reach the pins, and she couldn't see me..." Jeb trailed off, staring at the ground as a burst of anger started to boil. His fists clenched and his leg shook slightly. The anger hadn't crept up on him in a while, aside from facing Zero in the tent, a few days before.
"Jeb," Wyatt repeated in a calm tone. Jeb looked up, seeing that his father had moved closer. Shaking his head, Jeb took a breath and moved back. "Please, Jeb. I need to know what happened." Jeb leaned forward and nodded, taking in slow breaths. He knew that his father would ask, but he hadn't expected to feel so much, so quickly.
At least Kenna wasn't nearby, for which he was thankful.
"They found Mother. Kenna and I were coming back from the camp, and we-" Jeb took another breath. "I sent Ken back to the camp, to get help. I went to help Mother." Glancing up, Jeb gave his father a look and shook his head. "They let me sit with her. I thought it was mercy, but it turned out to be a cruel..." He sucked in another breath. "They hauled me up and into the suit, facing her. It took them almost an hour to leave, and I had already screamed myself hoarse."
"They waited for the suit to start working," Wyatt mumbled. Jeb nodded.
"I could feel the clouds forming," he said, "but the more I tried to stay awake, the more I thought my head would explode." Wyatt nodded again. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious after first going into the suit. "Then I could hear Ken," Jeb continued, "but I couldn't see her. So I kept hitting the side of the suit, so she could hear me."
"Next thing I remember," Jeb said after a short silence, "was the noises from the men trying to open the suit. I managed to get enough focus to see that they'd covered Mother with one of the blankets from inside. I tried to yell, but..." he shook his head. "They had fused the pins in place, so even if Kenna could reach them, she wouldn't have been able to remove them."
Wyatt nodded. "I noticed the suit opened from the hinge side."
Jeb nodded and took another deep breath. "As soon as that door opened, I moved as fast as I could for Ken. Picked her up and took her as far away from there as I could before my legs gave out." Wyatt's eyes moved in the direction of the tents. He could see Kenna's head appear every few moments, clearly focused on her task.
She had been alone in the woods, with her brother in a suit, Longcoats in the area, and her mother dead on the ground. Wyatt's jaw locked and he stood straight. "Father?" Jeb asked, leaning back slightly at the sudden movement.
Wyatt pointed toward the path. "I'm going back to that other camp, and I'm going to kill him with my bare hands," the older Cain fumed. Jeb noticed his father's face had turned a shade of red, and he stood up.
"You can't," Jeb said through gritted teeth. Staring silently at his father, Jeb waited until the anger cleared from his father's eyes. "Your friend, the Viewer. He already told the Queen about Zero. She ordered my men to deliver him to her." He left out the part where the Zero would be told the orders came from Azkadellia, of course.
"Besides," Jeb added, catching Wyatt's arm in a strong hold, "You already agreed to stay for dinner." With a slight nod toward the tents, Jeb raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to make a liar out of me?"
Wyatt watched Jeb for a moment, wondering just when his son had become the adult of the family. With a heavy sigh, Wyatt's chin dropped and he nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry." He took another deep breath and blinked as Jeb's arms went around him.
"Now you know how I felt the other day," Jeb said with a slight smile.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Kenna, Wyatt, and Jeb (mention of Adora and Zero)
Rating: PG
Summary: Wyatt wants to know what happened to Adora.
Warning: post-series, promptly follows Loss *Written for Round Three of love_bingo. Prompt: back for good Original titles are wholly unoriginal.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
The Girl at Camp | Loss | Back for Good | Bedtime Kiss I | Bedtime Kiss, Part II | Finding Home, Part I | Finding Home, Part II | His Little Girl | Moving Day | The Girl Who Left Camp | Panic Attack | First Snow | Her Wishing Star | Gingerbread
Jeb moved over to where his father and sister were, just in time to hear Wyatt telling the seven-annual-old about the ring on his finger. "Your mother gave this to me," Wyatt said, smiling as Kenna's finger traced the shiny gem in the middle.
"Hey," Jeb said, standing behind his sister. His hands went to her shoulders and he leaned down. "Miss Sadie needs your help." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head then turned his head to look her in the eyes. "Lots of extra mouths for dinner, tonight," he added with a wink.
Kenna's smile was back, which made him very happy, and she twisted to look at Wyatt. "Are you gonna stay?" she asked him.
Jeb raised his eyes to his father and nodded. "Of course he is," Jeb answered. "Go, before she starts yelling at me." Nudging Kenna back toward the camp, he nodded. Wyatt gave Kenna a smile and both men watched as she hurried off. "Three, two.." Jeb counted. Wyatt started to turn toward him, but saw Kenna stop, turn, and wave.
"Couldn't leave if I wanted to, could I?" Wyatt asked, waving back to her.
"Nope," Jeb replied with a grin, as he also waved to his sister. Once she ran off again, Jeb turned. "Do you want to leave?" he asked. It was a lot for a man to take in, after all.
Wyatt watched Jeb for a moment then shook his head. "No." He'd been alone for too long. And, while his recent traveling companions made him miss the quiet, Wyatt also knew that he hadn't had quiet in his life since before Zero showed up at the cabin.
"It's not going to be easy, y'know," Jeb said. "Readjusting," he added.
"It never is," Wyatt agreed, shaking his head.
With a nod toward his father's ring, Jeb asked: "How far did you get?" Wyatt followed Jeb's gaze, then looked up in confusion. "Ken likes to ask a lot of questions." Wyatt smiled and nodded.
"I think I asked more of her, actually." Jeb motioned for them to move back toward the log Wyatt had been sitting on earlier. "We covered full names, and she saw the ring. Oh, and I learned that it snowed when she was born," he added with a smile, before groaning as he sat. Sitting was hard, simply because he'd been doing so much walking and standing.
Jeb nodded. "It was snowing. Quietest night I can ever remember." He looked at Wyatt for a moment then smirked. "Then she was here and screaming and it was never quiet again." He laughed for a moment then nodded again to the ring. "Not sure she's ever seen anything so fancy."
Wyatt looked up and saw the look on Jeb's face. "We needed medicine... and food was running low," he admitted. "Many of those in the camp tried to collect what they could, but Mother knew the ring would bring the most in trade." Wyatt noted Jeb's frown, but nodded.
"I didn't speak to her for three days, when she did it," Jeb added quietly. Raising his eyes, he shrugged and forced a smile, though he knew tears weren't far behind. Taking a deep breath, Jeb cleared his throat and clapped his hands to his knees.
"All right," he stated, as if giving orders to his troops. "Enough of that." Nodding, Jeb pointed to Wyatt. "First thing we need to do is get you some clean clothes." Hitching a thumb over his shoulder, he continued: "Ken can stay with Sadie. You can have our tent. It hasn't been used in a while, since I've been away, but it's stocked."
He didn't add that it was stocked with most of the items they had managed to salvage from the second cabin.
"Jeb, I don't want to put you out, here." Wyatt shook his head and gave his son a look.
"You're not. I have far too much to do to even consider sleep, right now." He rarely slept, anyway, between Kenna's nightmares and his own. "Besides, if anyone needs rest, it's you." Jeb's eyebrow quirked as Wyatt rolled his eyes, which got a laugh out of Jeb. Wyatt forced a smile, truly glad to hear that sound, but something was still troubling him.
"Jeb..." Wyatt took a breath and looked up at his son. "The suit, near..." Jeb glanced in the direction of the cabin. It wasn't that far from where they sat, but far enough that Kenna wouldn't stumble upon it if she went wandering. Wyatt watched Jeb for a moment, until Jeb looked back. "How long?"
Jeb stared at his father. "About half a day," he replied to the mostly unasked question. His eyes shifted to the ground and his body stiffened slightly. Wyatt knew that even an hour inside the suit was enough to change a person, from the noises, the chemicals, the sensory deprivation... "We were too far from the camp. By the time Kenna found someone to send for help-"
"She was there?" Wyatt interrupted, shocked by the admission. Jeb nodded.
"She hid in the trees, until the Longcoats left. She couldn't reach the pins, and she couldn't see me..." Jeb trailed off, staring at the ground as a burst of anger started to boil. His fists clenched and his leg shook slightly. The anger hadn't crept up on him in a while, aside from facing Zero in the tent, a few days before.
"Jeb," Wyatt repeated in a calm tone. Jeb looked up, seeing that his father had moved closer. Shaking his head, Jeb took a breath and moved back. "Please, Jeb. I need to know what happened." Jeb leaned forward and nodded, taking in slow breaths. He knew that his father would ask, but he hadn't expected to feel so much, so quickly.
At least Kenna wasn't nearby, for which he was thankful.
"They found Mother. Kenna and I were coming back from the camp, and we-" Jeb took another breath. "I sent Ken back to the camp, to get help. I went to help Mother." Glancing up, Jeb gave his father a look and shook his head. "They let me sit with her. I thought it was mercy, but it turned out to be a cruel..." He sucked in another breath. "They hauled me up and into the suit, facing her. It took them almost an hour to leave, and I had already screamed myself hoarse."
"They waited for the suit to start working," Wyatt mumbled. Jeb nodded.
"I could feel the clouds forming," he said, "but the more I tried to stay awake, the more I thought my head would explode." Wyatt nodded again. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious after first going into the suit. "Then I could hear Ken," Jeb continued, "but I couldn't see her. So I kept hitting the side of the suit, so she could hear me."
"Next thing I remember," Jeb said after a short silence, "was the noises from the men trying to open the suit. I managed to get enough focus to see that they'd covered Mother with one of the blankets from inside. I tried to yell, but..." he shook his head. "They had fused the pins in place, so even if Kenna could reach them, she wouldn't have been able to remove them."
Wyatt nodded. "I noticed the suit opened from the hinge side."
Jeb nodded and took another deep breath. "As soon as that door opened, I moved as fast as I could for Ken. Picked her up and took her as far away from there as I could before my legs gave out." Wyatt's eyes moved in the direction of the tents. He could see Kenna's head appear every few moments, clearly focused on her task.
She had been alone in the woods, with her brother in a suit, Longcoats in the area, and her mother dead on the ground. Wyatt's jaw locked and he stood straight. "Father?" Jeb asked, leaning back slightly at the sudden movement.
Wyatt pointed toward the path. "I'm going back to that other camp, and I'm going to kill him with my bare hands," the older Cain fumed. Jeb noticed his father's face had turned a shade of red, and he stood up.
"You can't," Jeb said through gritted teeth. Staring silently at his father, Jeb waited until the anger cleared from his father's eyes. "Your friend, the Viewer. He already told the Queen about Zero. She ordered my men to deliver him to her." He left out the part where the Zero would be told the orders came from Azkadellia, of course.
"Besides," Jeb added, catching Wyatt's arm in a strong hold, "You already agreed to stay for dinner." With a slight nod toward the tents, Jeb raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to make a liar out of me?"
Wyatt watched Jeb for a moment, wondering just when his son had become the adult of the family. With a heavy sigh, Wyatt's chin dropped and he nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry." He took another deep breath and blinked as Jeb's arms went around him.
"Now you know how I felt the other day," Jeb said with a slight smile.