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Fic: Follow You Home - California Sun (04/26)
Title: Follow You Home - California Sun (04/26)
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: Between the football team, his family and a final exam, Cain's feeling the pressure. And he thought all his trouble was simply falling for his best friend...
Warning: post-series, directly after California Tin. Blame n_e_star, for she fed Steve. ;) *with thanks to ALL the fandom for the love*
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.
Prologue | California Queen | California Tin
California Sun: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve | Part Thirteen | Part Fourteen | Part Fifteen | Part Sixteen | Part Seventeen | Part Eighteen | Part Nineteen | Part Twenty | Part Twenty-One | Part Twenty-Two | Part Twenty-Three | Part Twenty-Four | Part Twenty-Five | Part Twenty-Six
Five | Waking Up (CaliSun 20.2) | Almost Like Being in Love (CaliSun 24.5) | An Hour and 45 Minutes | Hava Nagila | Unexpected
Cain and DG were still sitting at the table with Lisa and Trent, watching Josh and Amanda on the dance floor. "So, is it going well?" Cain asked DG, reaching for a beer from the bucket.
DG watched him for a moment and shook her head slightly before looking over to Josh. "It would be going better if Mike would stop giving him alcohol." Cain nodded his head and took another drink. "You do remember you have class tomorrow," DG stated.
"You know how many of these it would take to equal one glass of Zone alcohol?" Cain asked, his eyes still on Josh and Amanda.
"Oh, do I," DG said with a forced smile. Cain smiled and sat up as Josh and Amanda moved back toward the table.
"I'll be fine, Kiddo." He set down the bottle and pushed himself up as Josh and Amanda arrived at the table, offering his seat to Amanda. "This one, however," Cain said, putting his hands on Josh's shoulders. Josh frowned, not knowing what they were talking about and turned to Cain, then flinched at Cain's stare.
"What?"
"I think it's time to go home," DG said with a nod.
"Party pooper," Josh said, making a face.
"I have to agree with her one this one, Josh," Cain said, squeezing his shoulders slightly.
Josh huffed and pointed from DG to Cain. "Party pooper and the wife." DG raised an eyebrow to Cain and shook her head, throwing a look to Amanda.
"Do you need a ride?" Amanda smiled and shook her head.
"I'm their ride, actually," she said, nodding toward Diana and some of her other friends who were on the other side of the room with Randy, his girlfriend and Scooter-Mike. DG looked to Trent.
"We'll get Randy and Mike," Trent said, also shaking his head.
"Amanda," Cain said, holding out a hand. "It was very nice to finally meet you. We should do this again... somewhere else," he said with a half-smile.
"Agreed," she smiled back and pulled DG into a hug. "Thank you for a very interesting night." DG smiled and nodded toward Josh, whose eyes were beginning to glaze over. Amanda moved next to him and smiled. "I had a wonderful time, Josh." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and threw another wave to DG, Trent and Lisa before leaving them for her friends.
Josh watched her disappear into the crown and turned back to Cain and DG with a smile. Cain leaned toward Trent and threw his hand out. "Don't let them push you around," he instructed Trent, hitching a thumb toward Randy and Mike. He gave a nod to Lisa and then looked up to DG.
"Who has the bill?" she asked, looking between Trent and Josh.
"Randy," Trent said with a nod.
"Is he gonna be okay?" She'd been stuck with a bar tab on more than one occasion. Trent nodded and pushed up from his chair and held out a hand for Lisa. "Well, thank you for the invitation," she offered both of them. She hadn't been out in quite a while and actually had fun.
"Eighties night!" Trent said with a grin, giving them a wave and following Lisa toward Mike and Randy.
"That could be fun," Josh said with a nod, swaying slightly. DG moved over to Cain and Josh and put a hand on Josh’s cheek.
"You're lucky you're so freakin' adorable, you idiot. Keys," she stated, pulling her hand away.
"I can drive," Josh said, making a face. Cain and DG both laughed at him and Cain squeezed Josh's neck just a bit tighter and gave him that look. DG forced herself not to smile, happy to not being on the receiving end for once. Josh fished his keys out of his pocket and handed them to DG, who gave him a smile and pushed the both of them toward the door.
As they moved across the street to where Josh had parked, Cain asked: "If we take him home, how will we get back?" DG shook her head and opened the passenger door.
"Oh, we're not taking him home. He can sleep on the floor, but I'm not explaining this to his mother," she said with a wave to Josh. She moved around to the driver's side and got in while Cain made sure Josh was in the back seat before shoving the seat back and climbing in.
-*-
DG drove around the block and parked Josh's Jeep in one of the spaces behind the apartment building and let Cain haul Josh out of the back seat. She held the back door open for the two of them and Cain half-pushed and half-dragged Josh down the hall toward the mailboxes and the stairs.
Once they got him into the apartment, DG waved Josh into the kitchen and made him take a couple aspirin and drink a full glass of water before she waved him away. She was really starting to wish she'd had a beer after all, instead of sticking with water. Cain picked up Josh's collection of shirts and moved them to the stools at the counter as DG offered him a glass of water.
Shaking his head, Cain watched as she reached for her neck and shifted slightly, stretching out a kink and then moving around the counter. As she reached Cain's side, they both looked at Josh and stopped. Josh was sprawled out on the couch, face-down.
Cain grumbled slightly and DG sighed. "One night won't kill ya," she said, nudging his elbow and moving past him to the bathroom. Even she was too tired to care that Josh had just forced them to share her bed. Unless Cain was heart-set on the floor. She didn’t care; she had to be up for work in about five hours.
Cain moved over to the couch and pulled his pillow out from between the wall and the arm of the couch and set it on the table. He then reached for the blanket and shook it out, covering Josh and then shook his head. He'd smack the boy around when he was sober, but he had to get some sleep before work.
DG was still in the bathroom when Cain moved into the bedroom and tossed his pillow on the bed. He moved over to the dresser and pulled his drawer open, pulling out a t-shirt and a pair of pants. He kicked his shoes off and turned as DG opened the door from the bathroom and moved to the bed.
As she pulled the covers back and moved Cain's pillow up with the others, Cain stopped at the end of the bed and pointed toward Josh and the living room with his shirt and pants in hand. "Am I being really mean if I forget to wake him up tomorrow?" He wasn’t even going to bother trying to get Josh up and about before he had to go to work.
DG breathed a laugh and climbed into the bed, pulling the sheet and blanket up and pressing her head into her pillow. Cain nodded and moved into the bathroom, flipping the light off before he closed the door.
-*-
The next morning, Cain and DG were going through their usual pre-work routine, having breakfast in the kitchen and trying to remember all the things to do for the day. As Cain held the fridge open, she ducked under his arm and reached for a bottle of water from the door; she passed him a cup of coffee while he pulled out a plate for her pecan roll and they both ignored Josh as he began to move around, rather groggy.
DG looked at Cain's watch and jumped slightly, passing the plated roll back to him and grabbing the water bottle again. He watched as she picked up her bag, patted her pockets for her keys and threw a glance to Josh.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." When Josh looked up to her, she tossed the bottle of water his way, which he caught rather expertly with one hand. She threw a half-salute to Cain and pulled the door open. Josh winced as she pulled the door shut and Cain laughed.
"How much did I screw that up last night?" Cain finished chewing the last bite of DG's roll and tilted his head.
"I'd say you fared better than Scooter," he said as a small yawn caught him by surprise. He put the plate in the sink and let the water run for a moment, rinsing off the crumbs. He glanced up to Josh, who'd stood up and moved toward the counter with the bottle still in his hand.
"Where did you sleep?" he asked, pointing back to the couch. Cain pointed toward the bedroom and tried to get a wayward pecan unstuck from one of his teeth with his tongue. Josh nodded slowly and turned away, raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah, well someone stole my bed. So I had to improvise," Cain said, moving around the counter and picking up his backpack.
"I'm sure it was very difficult for you," Josh responded with a smirk. Cain shot him a glare and slapped Josh upside the back of the head. Josh reached for the water bottle again, suddenly a little frightened of Cain.
"You gonna make it to class today?" Cain asked with a raised eyebrow. Josh nodded and turned away, yawning. Shaking his head, he threw a glance to the pile of clothes.
"Good thing I don't have to go home to get dressed." Cain help up his key and pointed to Josh.
"Don't leave a mess. You'll have to deal with her. She put towels out for you," Cain stated, glancing at his watch. He gave Josh a nod and pulled the door open, just as DG had done minutes before.
_____________
For those following the plotting drama... this part would include my favorite paragraph of the entire story.
Okay: paragraph and a sentence...
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: Between the football team, his family and a final exam, Cain's feeling the pressure. And he thought all his trouble was simply falling for his best friend...
Warning: post-series, directly after California Tin. Blame n_e_star, for she fed Steve. ;) *with thanks to ALL the fandom for the love*
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.
Prologue | California Queen | California Tin
California Sun: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve | Part Thirteen | Part Fourteen | Part Fifteen | Part Sixteen | Part Seventeen | Part Eighteen | Part Nineteen | Part Twenty | Part Twenty-One | Part Twenty-Two | Part Twenty-Three | Part Twenty-Four | Part Twenty-Five | Part Twenty-Six
Five | Waking Up (CaliSun 20.2) | Almost Like Being in Love (CaliSun 24.5) | An Hour and 45 Minutes | Hava Nagila | Unexpected
Cain and DG were still sitting at the table with Lisa and Trent, watching Josh and Amanda on the dance floor. "So, is it going well?" Cain asked DG, reaching for a beer from the bucket.
DG watched him for a moment and shook her head slightly before looking over to Josh. "It would be going better if Mike would stop giving him alcohol." Cain nodded his head and took another drink. "You do remember you have class tomorrow," DG stated.
"You know how many of these it would take to equal one glass of Zone alcohol?" Cain asked, his eyes still on Josh and Amanda.
"Oh, do I," DG said with a forced smile. Cain smiled and sat up as Josh and Amanda moved back toward the table.
"I'll be fine, Kiddo." He set down the bottle and pushed himself up as Josh and Amanda arrived at the table, offering his seat to Amanda. "This one, however," Cain said, putting his hands on Josh's shoulders. Josh frowned, not knowing what they were talking about and turned to Cain, then flinched at Cain's stare.
"What?"
"I think it's time to go home," DG said with a nod.
"Party pooper," Josh said, making a face.
"I have to agree with her one this one, Josh," Cain said, squeezing his shoulders slightly.
Josh huffed and pointed from DG to Cain. "Party pooper and the wife." DG raised an eyebrow to Cain and shook her head, throwing a look to Amanda.
"Do you need a ride?" Amanda smiled and shook her head.
"I'm their ride, actually," she said, nodding toward Diana and some of her other friends who were on the other side of the room with Randy, his girlfriend and Scooter-Mike. DG looked to Trent.
"We'll get Randy and Mike," Trent said, also shaking his head.
"Amanda," Cain said, holding out a hand. "It was very nice to finally meet you. We should do this again... somewhere else," he said with a half-smile.
"Agreed," she smiled back and pulled DG into a hug. "Thank you for a very interesting night." DG smiled and nodded toward Josh, whose eyes were beginning to glaze over. Amanda moved next to him and smiled. "I had a wonderful time, Josh." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and threw another wave to DG, Trent and Lisa before leaving them for her friends.
Josh watched her disappear into the crown and turned back to Cain and DG with a smile. Cain leaned toward Trent and threw his hand out. "Don't let them push you around," he instructed Trent, hitching a thumb toward Randy and Mike. He gave a nod to Lisa and then looked up to DG.
"Who has the bill?" she asked, looking between Trent and Josh.
"Randy," Trent said with a nod.
"Is he gonna be okay?" She'd been stuck with a bar tab on more than one occasion. Trent nodded and pushed up from his chair and held out a hand for Lisa. "Well, thank you for the invitation," she offered both of them. She hadn't been out in quite a while and actually had fun.
"Eighties night!" Trent said with a grin, giving them a wave and following Lisa toward Mike and Randy.
"That could be fun," Josh said with a nod, swaying slightly. DG moved over to Cain and Josh and put a hand on Josh’s cheek.
"You're lucky you're so freakin' adorable, you idiot. Keys," she stated, pulling her hand away.
"I can drive," Josh said, making a face. Cain and DG both laughed at him and Cain squeezed Josh's neck just a bit tighter and gave him that look. DG forced herself not to smile, happy to not being on the receiving end for once. Josh fished his keys out of his pocket and handed them to DG, who gave him a smile and pushed the both of them toward the door.
As they moved across the street to where Josh had parked, Cain asked: "If we take him home, how will we get back?" DG shook her head and opened the passenger door.
"Oh, we're not taking him home. He can sleep on the floor, but I'm not explaining this to his mother," she said with a wave to Josh. She moved around to the driver's side and got in while Cain made sure Josh was in the back seat before shoving the seat back and climbing in.
-*-
DG drove around the block and parked Josh's Jeep in one of the spaces behind the apartment building and let Cain haul Josh out of the back seat. She held the back door open for the two of them and Cain half-pushed and half-dragged Josh down the hall toward the mailboxes and the stairs.
Once they got him into the apartment, DG waved Josh into the kitchen and made him take a couple aspirin and drink a full glass of water before she waved him away. She was really starting to wish she'd had a beer after all, instead of sticking with water. Cain picked up Josh's collection of shirts and moved them to the stools at the counter as DG offered him a glass of water.
Shaking his head, Cain watched as she reached for her neck and shifted slightly, stretching out a kink and then moving around the counter. As she reached Cain's side, they both looked at Josh and stopped. Josh was sprawled out on the couch, face-down.
Cain grumbled slightly and DG sighed. "One night won't kill ya," she said, nudging his elbow and moving past him to the bathroom. Even she was too tired to care that Josh had just forced them to share her bed. Unless Cain was heart-set on the floor. She didn’t care; she had to be up for work in about five hours.
Cain moved over to the couch and pulled his pillow out from between the wall and the arm of the couch and set it on the table. He then reached for the blanket and shook it out, covering Josh and then shook his head. He'd smack the boy around when he was sober, but he had to get some sleep before work.
DG was still in the bathroom when Cain moved into the bedroom and tossed his pillow on the bed. He moved over to the dresser and pulled his drawer open, pulling out a t-shirt and a pair of pants. He kicked his shoes off and turned as DG opened the door from the bathroom and moved to the bed.
As she pulled the covers back and moved Cain's pillow up with the others, Cain stopped at the end of the bed and pointed toward Josh and the living room with his shirt and pants in hand. "Am I being really mean if I forget to wake him up tomorrow?" He wasn’t even going to bother trying to get Josh up and about before he had to go to work.
DG breathed a laugh and climbed into the bed, pulling the sheet and blanket up and pressing her head into her pillow. Cain nodded and moved into the bathroom, flipping the light off before he closed the door.
-*-
The next morning, Cain and DG were going through their usual pre-work routine, having breakfast in the kitchen and trying to remember all the things to do for the day. As Cain held the fridge open, she ducked under his arm and reached for a bottle of water from the door; she passed him a cup of coffee while he pulled out a plate for her pecan roll and they both ignored Josh as he began to move around, rather groggy.
DG looked at Cain's watch and jumped slightly, passing the plated roll back to him and grabbing the water bottle again. He watched as she picked up her bag, patted her pockets for her keys and threw a glance to Josh.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." When Josh looked up to her, she tossed the bottle of water his way, which he caught rather expertly with one hand. She threw a half-salute to Cain and pulled the door open. Josh winced as she pulled the door shut and Cain laughed.
"How much did I screw that up last night?" Cain finished chewing the last bite of DG's roll and tilted his head.
"I'd say you fared better than Scooter," he said as a small yawn caught him by surprise. He put the plate in the sink and let the water run for a moment, rinsing off the crumbs. He glanced up to Josh, who'd stood up and moved toward the counter with the bottle still in his hand.
"Where did you sleep?" he asked, pointing back to the couch. Cain pointed toward the bedroom and tried to get a wayward pecan unstuck from one of his teeth with his tongue. Josh nodded slowly and turned away, raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah, well someone stole my bed. So I had to improvise," Cain said, moving around the counter and picking up his backpack.
"I'm sure it was very difficult for you," Josh responded with a smirk. Cain shot him a glare and slapped Josh upside the back of the head. Josh reached for the water bottle again, suddenly a little frightened of Cain.
"You gonna make it to class today?" Cain asked with a raised eyebrow. Josh nodded and turned away, yawning. Shaking his head, he threw a glance to the pile of clothes.
"Good thing I don't have to go home to get dressed." Cain help up his key and pointed to Josh.
"Don't leave a mess. You'll have to deal with her. She put towels out for you," Cain stated, glancing at his watch. He gave Josh a nod and pulled the door open, just as DG had done minutes before.
_____________
For those following the plotting drama... this part would include my favorite paragraph of the entire story.
Okay: paragraph and a sentence...