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Fic: Follow You Home (1/2)
Title: Follow You Home
Author: Erin (erinm_4600 )
Characters, Pairing: Cain and DG, but if you saw 'em in the miniseries, they're here or mentioned. Plus some OCs
Rating: PG
Summary: n_e_star wanted a fic where DG goes back to the Other Side and Cain follows her. I'll get a better summary later.
Warning: post-series. This is really just the Teaser. It's in two parts.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The rest of 'em are mine. Title comes from song of same name by Nickelback.
Prologue: Part One . Part Two
California Queen | California Tin | California Sun
Five | Waking Up (CaliSun 20.2) | Almost Like Being in Love (CaliSun 24.5) | An Hour and 45 Minutes | Hava Nagila | Unexpected
Wyatt Cain was in a rather foul mood when he finally arrived in Central City. But, it wasn't the drive in the old, beat-up truck that had him steamed; nor was it the bad weather that had held them up for two days. It wasn't even that he'd been recalled from the field and it wasn't that DG had disappeared.
It was that no one had told him sooner.
The former-Tin Man nearly kicked the door open as he caught the handle and pushed his way out of the truck. He looked up to the entrance of the royal residence and saw Glitch and Raw standing in the doorway. Glitch gave his old friend a nervous wave and Raw frowned as Cain's anger radiated up from the street.
"I don't see why he's mad at us. We didn't run away," Glitch mumbled quickly to the Viewer as Cain started up the stairs, two at a time. "Hi, Cain," Glitch said with a forced smile. "What brings you by today?" Cain breezed past the both of them and Glitch glanced at Raw then shrugged. Together, they turned and moved back into the palace.
"Mister Cain," Ahamo said with a hint of surprise as Cain burst into the study. The Queen was sitting at her desk, looking over some documents while Ahamo was pouring her a cup of tea. Cain forced himself to remember that he was still in the presence of the Queen and gave her a polite nod after removing his hat.
She stood gracefully and moved around the desk. "Mister Cain, you did not need to come back-" Cain lurched forward slightly and shook his head.
"Beg your pardon, ma'am," Cain said, forcing himself to remember his manners, even if they were all practically the same age. "But, if the Princess is missing..." The Queen shook her head lightly and gave him a royal smile.
"DG is not missing, exactly." Cain blinked and cocked his head slightly. He was confused then, as the message he’d received said that she was gone and no one knew where she'd gone. To him, that meant missing. Of course, in the first five minutes after receiving the message, his mind had conjured every possibility from a kidnapping to drowning in the lake to a mine collapse.
Of course, why DG would be in an unstable mineshaft was beyond him. But it was DG.
"Where exactly is she then?" he asked slowly, his temper beginning to rise again. The Queen glanced at her husband and then to the floor before turning back to face Cain.
"She's gone back to the Other Side," Ahamo said pointedly. He threw another glance at his wife and moved to her side, still holding the teacup. Setting it down on the desk next to her, Ahamo turned and held out his hand toward the two sitting chairs near the window.
Cain moved across the room with Ahamo and took a seat. Ahamo adjusted his jacket and shifted around in his chair for a moment, trying to get comfortable, while Cain was sitting still as a statue, back straight and not blinking.
"Seems our girl figured out how to hijack a travel storm," Ahamo said with a chuckle. He cleared his throat and shifted again when his wife and Cain didn't laugh.
"How did this-" Cain started, but closed his eyes for a moment and focused on the floor. "When?" Ahamo glanced back to his wife and bit his cheek. They had forgotten just how long Cain had been away. And news from Central City didn't exactly get to where he had been quickly.
Cain took their silence as his opportunity to think about when he'd last heard from DG. Granted, in the last few annuals, she'd had royal things to attend to, and he needed to stay busy, so he volunteered to help the Resistance members repair the damage done by the witch and her Longcoats. It had also given him time to reconnect with Jeb.
When Cain realized he couldn't even remember when he'd last spoken to DG, he became worried. Forcing his anger away - because the last thing he needed to do was yell at the Queen of the Outer Zone, especially when he was not responsible for DG or her actions - he asked again: "When?"
Glancing up to catch Ahamo's eye, Cain realized that he seemed to be more upset at her being gone than her parents. And that bothered him a great deal. The Queen moved over to his side and placed a hand on Cain’s shoulder. "Nearly seven cycles," she said quietly.
Cain sucked in a breath and looked to the floor again.
"Seven?" he breathed out. There was no holding back the anger, so he did the only thing he could think of, which was to get as far away from the Queen as possible. He shot up from the chair and moved to the other end of the desk, pacing a few times before looking up her parents.
"Seven cycles? Seven!" he said incredulously. Shaking his head, Cain's hands moved to his hips and he couldn't help but laugh. "What did you tell the people?" he asked with a wave in the direction of the city. "That she's locked up in a tower and being guarded by a dragon?" he spat out, thinking back to one of the bedtime stories he used to read to Jeb.
The Queen dropped - rather gracefully, Cain noted - into the chair he'd just been sitting in and frowned. "We thought she would have returned by now," the Queen said, reaching out for Ahamo. "Get it out of her system..." Ahamo patted his wife's hand and looked up to Cain.
"When she didn't come back, we-"
"Sent for me," Cain finished for him. Ahamo nodded and let go of his wife's hand. Standing up, he took a few steps toward the desk and explained.
"We didn't realize she- She never let on that there was a problem. If we had known she was having..." Ahamo sighed and looked back to his wife. Cain noticed that her eyes were watering and realized that they were just as in the dark as him.
"Seven cycles," he repeated. Both of them looked up guiltily. "Why did you wait?" The Queen rose and moved behind Ahamo and pulled open the top drawer of her desk. She pulled out a yellow envelope and passed it across the desk to Cain. He looked at it for a moment before lifting the small flap and removing the folded page inside. Cain gave the page a quick glance before he started reading, noticing that the handwriting became shaky about halfway down.
I can't bear to use the whole "It's not you, it's me" break-up speech.
Unfortunately, it's the only excuse I have. I am a coward, because I can't bring myself to tell you this face-to-face.
I am so sorry. I tried. I really really tried, but... You've done so much for me and I have failed you.
I've got nothing against the Zone, but there are certain luxuries on the other side that I'm just used to, and... and I really thought I could adjust.
I just need some time.
Please, just give me some time.
And don't tell Cain, because he's finally... Please don't tell Cain.
I love you.
Cain dropped his hand and let the letter and envelope fall to the desk. The Queen moved around the chair and leaned on the desk. "I will not force her to return." Cain blinked and faced the Queen with a look of disbelief. "If she wants to come back-" The Queen swallowed and took a deep breath. "But if she wants to stay," she paused, looking over to her husband. "I will respect her decision." Ahamo nodded and let his eyes fall to the letter.
"I just want to know that she's all right," the Queen directed to Cain. Their eyes locked and he nodded once. She wasn't ordering him to go; she was asking.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600 )
Characters, Pairing: Cain and DG, but if you saw 'em in the miniseries, they're here or mentioned. Plus some OCs
Rating: PG
Summary: n_e_star wanted a fic where DG goes back to the Other Side and Cain follows her. I'll get a better summary later.
Warning: post-series. This is really just the Teaser. It's in two parts.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The rest of 'em are mine. Title comes from song of same name by Nickelback.
Prologue: Part One . Part Two
California Queen | California Tin | California Sun
Five | Waking Up (CaliSun 20.2) | Almost Like Being in Love (CaliSun 24.5) | An Hour and 45 Minutes | Hava Nagila | Unexpected
Wyatt Cain was in a rather foul mood when he finally arrived in Central City. But, it wasn't the drive in the old, beat-up truck that had him steamed; nor was it the bad weather that had held them up for two days. It wasn't even that he'd been recalled from the field and it wasn't that DG had disappeared.
It was that no one had told him sooner.
The former-Tin Man nearly kicked the door open as he caught the handle and pushed his way out of the truck. He looked up to the entrance of the royal residence and saw Glitch and Raw standing in the doorway. Glitch gave his old friend a nervous wave and Raw frowned as Cain's anger radiated up from the street.
"I don't see why he's mad at us. We didn't run away," Glitch mumbled quickly to the Viewer as Cain started up the stairs, two at a time. "Hi, Cain," Glitch said with a forced smile. "What brings you by today?" Cain breezed past the both of them and Glitch glanced at Raw then shrugged. Together, they turned and moved back into the palace.
"Mister Cain," Ahamo said with a hint of surprise as Cain burst into the study. The Queen was sitting at her desk, looking over some documents while Ahamo was pouring her a cup of tea. Cain forced himself to remember that he was still in the presence of the Queen and gave her a polite nod after removing his hat.
She stood gracefully and moved around the desk. "Mister Cain, you did not need to come back-" Cain lurched forward slightly and shook his head.
"Beg your pardon, ma'am," Cain said, forcing himself to remember his manners, even if they were all practically the same age. "But, if the Princess is missing..." The Queen shook her head lightly and gave him a royal smile.
"DG is not missing, exactly." Cain blinked and cocked his head slightly. He was confused then, as the message he’d received said that she was gone and no one knew where she'd gone. To him, that meant missing. Of course, in the first five minutes after receiving the message, his mind had conjured every possibility from a kidnapping to drowning in the lake to a mine collapse.
Of course, why DG would be in an unstable mineshaft was beyond him. But it was DG.
"Where exactly is she then?" he asked slowly, his temper beginning to rise again. The Queen glanced at her husband and then to the floor before turning back to face Cain.
"She's gone back to the Other Side," Ahamo said pointedly. He threw another glance at his wife and moved to her side, still holding the teacup. Setting it down on the desk next to her, Ahamo turned and held out his hand toward the two sitting chairs near the window.
Cain moved across the room with Ahamo and took a seat. Ahamo adjusted his jacket and shifted around in his chair for a moment, trying to get comfortable, while Cain was sitting still as a statue, back straight and not blinking.
"Seems our girl figured out how to hijack a travel storm," Ahamo said with a chuckle. He cleared his throat and shifted again when his wife and Cain didn't laugh.
"How did this-" Cain started, but closed his eyes for a moment and focused on the floor. "When?" Ahamo glanced back to his wife and bit his cheek. They had forgotten just how long Cain had been away. And news from Central City didn't exactly get to where he had been quickly.
Cain took their silence as his opportunity to think about when he'd last heard from DG. Granted, in the last few annuals, she'd had royal things to attend to, and he needed to stay busy, so he volunteered to help the Resistance members repair the damage done by the witch and her Longcoats. It had also given him time to reconnect with Jeb.
When Cain realized he couldn't even remember when he'd last spoken to DG, he became worried. Forcing his anger away - because the last thing he needed to do was yell at the Queen of the Outer Zone, especially when he was not responsible for DG or her actions - he asked again: "When?"
Glancing up to catch Ahamo's eye, Cain realized that he seemed to be more upset at her being gone than her parents. And that bothered him a great deal. The Queen moved over to his side and placed a hand on Cain’s shoulder. "Nearly seven cycles," she said quietly.
Cain sucked in a breath and looked to the floor again.
"Seven?" he breathed out. There was no holding back the anger, so he did the only thing he could think of, which was to get as far away from the Queen as possible. He shot up from the chair and moved to the other end of the desk, pacing a few times before looking up her parents.
"Seven cycles? Seven!" he said incredulously. Shaking his head, Cain's hands moved to his hips and he couldn't help but laugh. "What did you tell the people?" he asked with a wave in the direction of the city. "That she's locked up in a tower and being guarded by a dragon?" he spat out, thinking back to one of the bedtime stories he used to read to Jeb.
The Queen dropped - rather gracefully, Cain noted - into the chair he'd just been sitting in and frowned. "We thought she would have returned by now," the Queen said, reaching out for Ahamo. "Get it out of her system..." Ahamo patted his wife's hand and looked up to Cain.
"When she didn't come back, we-"
"Sent for me," Cain finished for him. Ahamo nodded and let go of his wife's hand. Standing up, he took a few steps toward the desk and explained.
"We didn't realize she- She never let on that there was a problem. If we had known she was having..." Ahamo sighed and looked back to his wife. Cain noticed that her eyes were watering and realized that they were just as in the dark as him.
"Seven cycles," he repeated. Both of them looked up guiltily. "Why did you wait?" The Queen rose and moved behind Ahamo and pulled open the top drawer of her desk. She pulled out a yellow envelope and passed it across the desk to Cain. He looked at it for a moment before lifting the small flap and removing the folded page inside. Cain gave the page a quick glance before he started reading, noticing that the handwriting became shaky about halfway down.
I can't bear to use the whole "It's not you, it's me" break-up speech.
Unfortunately, it's the only excuse I have. I am a coward, because I can't bring myself to tell you this face-to-face.
I am so sorry. I tried. I really really tried, but... You've done so much for me and I have failed you.
I've got nothing against the Zone, but there are certain luxuries on the other side that I'm just used to, and... and I really thought I could adjust.
I just need some time.
Please, just give me some time.
And don't tell Cain, because he's finally... Please don't tell Cain.
I love you.
Cain dropped his hand and let the letter and envelope fall to the desk. The Queen moved around the chair and leaned on the desk. "I will not force her to return." Cain blinked and faced the Queen with a look of disbelief. "If she wants to come back-" The Queen swallowed and took a deep breath. "But if she wants to stay," she paused, looking over to her husband. "I will respect her decision." Ahamo nodded and let his eyes fall to the letter.
"I just want to know that she's all right," the Queen directed to Cain. Their eyes locked and he nodded once. She wasn't ordering him to go; she was asking.