Fanfiction: Tin Man (G)
Title: The Road Less Traveled
Pairing/Characters: 'Ambrose', 'Lavender Eyes', Ahamo, Wyatt Cain, 'Adora' Cain; 'Lavender Eyes'/Ahamo, Wyatt/'Adora'/'Ambrose'
Rating: G
Fandom: Tin Man
Word Count: 1,629
Spoilers: Whole miniseries
Summary: The new journey encounters a dip in the road.
Notes/Warnings: AU! lionille wrote The Curious Case of the Mysteriously Missing Lady-in-Waiting In Training and andrealyn wrote The Path Not Taken and the two fics together gave me the idea of writing a fic where Ambrose/Glitch is born a woman and stays one. *grin*
Beta and plot-hole-poker: umbralillium
Sounding board: unicorn_catcher
Previous Chapter(s): 1. Rocky Beginning, 2. Smoothing the Way, 3. Hidden Bumps, 4. Getting Over the Bumps, 5. Roadwork Ahead!, 6. Repairing the Road, 7. Good Road, 8. Hairpin Bend, 9. At a Crossroads, 10. Choosing a Road, 11. Changing Direction, 12. The New Journey Begins
The Road Less Traveled
13. Dip in the Road
Wyatt and Adair watched Amber Rose sleep for a bit before they left the room to rejoin Wyatt's brothers. No sooner had they reached the ground floor than they were assaulted by twin missiles. "Uncle Wyatt! Uncle Adair!"
"Hello, Matty!" Wyatt caught his ten-year-old nephew in a warm hug while Adair caught the other. "Hello, Benji!" He looked up with a smile to see his thirteen-year-old niece approaching, blue eyes annoyed as she shook her head at her brothers. "Hello, Susie."
She smiled as she hugged him. "Hello, Uncle Wyatt."
"Hello, Susie," Adair added when she hugged him in turn.
The men set the twins on their feet as she answered, "Hello, Uncle Adair." She frowned as she looked around. "Mother said something about a new aunt?"
"Amber Rose was tired after the journey," Wyatt explained as the twins each took hold of a hand and tugged to get him to follow them. "She's lying down right now, but you'll get to meet her at dinner, hopefully."
Susanna nodded, looking a little disappointed. "All right." She turned her attention to her brothers. "Stop that. Mother only let you come in long enough to say 'hi'."
"What were they doing before?" Adair asked as the two boys began to show signs of pouting.
The redheaded girl firmly detached her brothers' hands from Wyatt's and began herding them toward the front door. "They were mucking out their horses' stalls."
"Horses, huh?" Wyatt asked, following them out into the yard. "Was that Howard's idea or Roberta's?"
She arched her eyebrow at her uncle as the two boys reluctantly trotted across the yard to the stables. "What do you think, Uncle?"
"Howard's." Wyatt chuckled fondly as he thought of his younger brother. "Though I bet it was Roberta's to have them take care of the horses, too."
She chuckled and nodded. "You'd win that bet. Excuse me, I have chores to finish."
"See you later, Susie." Wyatt waved, watching her go.
He was just about to follow them to the stables when Howard exited the frame house and waved to them. "Wyatt! Adair!"
"I wondered how long it'd take him," Adair commented dryly as they obediently crossed to Howard's house and followed him inside.
Wyatt chuckled as they made their way to the kitchen, where Howard and Roberta sat waiting for them. "I'm glad to see you both."
"Please have a seat," Howard requested as Roberta got up to prepare drinks for them. "Where's Amber Rose?"
Adair answered as they took seats across from Howard, "Resting. She hasn't done this much riding in some time."
"I suppose it would help to talk with you separately anyway," Howard mused as Roberta placed drinks in front of the other two men: coffee for Wyatt and tea for Adair.
Wyatt asked the next question as Adair prepared his tea and took a sip of the almost-scalding hot brew. "I take it you want confirmation that we're not lying about our feelings?"
"In a word, yes," Roberta replied, sipping her drink. "At least, Fred does. Howie and I don't think you have it in you to joke about something like this."
The blond brother smiled wryly. "Fred's the patriarch now; he has to act in the best interests of our family, which includes doubting sincerity in unusual circumstances."
"He could have been more polite about it," Howard grumbled, resting his arm across the back of his wife's chair.
Wyatt shook his head. "No, I'd rather he be direct about his skepticism."
"This doesn't answer the question about the sincerity of our feelings," Adair interjected, and then showed Howard his left hand. "Look at the ring."
Howard frowned as he studied Adair's ring, and then Wyatt's. "If I remember correctly, you used to have just one stone."
"Exactly," Adair nodded. "You'll notice the new gem on our rings is the same, even though the original is different."
The dark-haired brother nodded. "Yes. I take it the amethyst represents Amber Rose?"
"Yes, and she has a matching ring, with our gemstones," Wyatt replied, covering Adair's hand with his. "Not only that, we are now all living together."
Roberta arched an eyebrow at that. "She moved into your flat? It's barely big enough for two people, let alone three."
"No, we're living in a cottage now," Adair explained. "We'd have needed to move anyway, since we intend to start a family."
Howard stared at them. "What about the paternity of the children? Won't it matter?"
"Not in the slightest," Wyatt answered this stoutly, his hand tightening on Adair's. "Whether the children are mine or Adair's, I will love them all equally."
Adair nodded, returning Wyatt's squeeze. "And the same goes for me."
"I'm relieved you both feel that way." The new voice startled them into looking at the doorway. Amber Rose stood there, one slender hand resting on her stomach.
Wyatt and Adair both got up and hurried to her side, helping their wife to a seat at the table. "We thought you were asleep."
"I don't sleep as well without you two," she admitted, kissing Wyatt's temple and Adair's cheek. "And I always have trouble sleeping at a new location anyway."
Adair smirked. "Perhaps if we exhausted you, that won't be a problem."
"It's a possibility." Her eyes twinkled as she looked from one to the other. "We can have the fun of trying at least."
The two men laughed, taking turns kissing her, and then each other. By the time they finished and turned back to their hosts, Howard had a crooked grin on his face and Roberta was leaning her head on his shoulder with a soft smile. "Well, there's no doubt as to whether your feelings for each other are genuine or not."
"Thank you." Amber Rose smiled demurely, nestling comfortably between her two husbands.
Wyatt and Adair exchanged relieved glances over her head. Now Frederick just needed to give his blessing.
* * *
Amber Rose wasn't surprised to find that she was alone when she woke up. Both of her husbands were early risers and she'd been sleeping in more than usual lately. Not to mention this was as much a vacation as a chance to visit Wyatt's family. Since it was a vacation, she took her time in getting up, showered, and dressed. Just as she finished dressing, there was a knock on the bedroom door. "Aunt Rose? Are you up?"
"Yes, I'm up," Amber Rose opened to door to find her oldest niece standing on the other side, brown hair pulled back into a braid very like her mother's, blue eyes puzzled as they met Amber Rose's brown ones. "Why do you ask, Dinah?"
The teenager shrugged her shoulders. "A Royal Messenger arrived and he insisted on seeing only you. He wouldn't say why."
"Something must have happened," Amber Rose murmured, lengthening her strides so she could take the stairs two at a time as she descended. "Where is he?"
Dinah's boots clattered on the stairs as she caught up with her aunt. "He's waiting for you in the sitting room."
"Right." Amber Rose nodded, unconsciously straightening her posture. "Let Uncle Wyatt and Adair know that I may need to return home sooner than we planned."
"Yes, Aunt Rose." The brunette nodded as she acknowledged the order, eyes wide with surprise, presumably at the change in her aunt's manner.
As the girl headed for the front door, Amber Rose went to the sitting room. The young man waiting there quickly jumped to his feet when she entered and bowed deeply. "Royal Advisor."
"Yes, yes, stand up straight, please." It always bothered her when the other royal servants bowed or curtsied to her. "Why did the Queen send you?"
The Messenger opened the satchel that was slung on one hip and pulled out a scroll of paper. "She wished me to give you this."
"Very well, have a seat." Amber Rose gestured to the chair he'd jumped up from, noticing that a cup waited on the table beside him. She offered refreshments. Good.
As he resumed his seat, Amber Rose walked over to the window to use the sunslight to read the contents of the scroll. What she read there made her heart clench in her chest. She didn't even move until she felt familiar hands on her back and shoulder, Adair's voice in her ear. "Amber?"
"What's wrong?" Wyatt asked the question as she turned to them with wet eyes.
Clearing her throat, she looked from one to the other. "DG is very sick. Violetta would like me to return to be with them."
"Not a message for the Royal Advisor, but for the Godmother," Adair mused as Wyatt took the scroll she held up.
The blond finished reading the message and handed the scroll to the brunette. "We'll go back with you."
"This is your vacation, too, Wyatt," she objected, surprised and pleased that he'd made the offer. "I don't want to cut it short for all of us."
Adair finished reading the scroll and gently tilted her head up so her eyes met his. "We're your husbands, Amber. That makes us DG and Az's uncles."
"Meaning we're family and we should be there anyway," Wyatt finished the explanation. "If any of my nephews or nieces were sick, you and Adair would come with me, right?"
She nodded, not even thinking about it. "Yes, of course."
"Same principle." Adair smiled and tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. "We're together for the bad as well as the good."
Amber Rose nodded, tears welling up in her eyes again. "Thank you."
They enfolded her into such a tight hug that she almost disappeared from view. Rather than feeling smothered, she only felt loved and secure. It was a wonderful feeling.
End Chapter
A/N2: For the record, if people want a visual image for Adair, picture Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. For lots of pictures of him and the actor in other roles, go here. I have a hair fetish, so this picspam made me very happy. I especially like the season two hair. That's about how I visualize Adair's hair. Amber Rose is pretty much Alan Cumming with longer hair and boobs. I made a series of "dolls" of Amber Rose that you can find here.
Pairing/Characters: 'Ambrose', 'Lavender Eyes', Ahamo, Wyatt Cain, 'Adora' Cain; 'Lavender Eyes'/Ahamo, Wyatt/'Adora'/'Ambrose'
Rating: G
Fandom: Tin Man
Word Count: 1,629
Spoilers: Whole miniseries
Summary: The new journey encounters a dip in the road.
Notes/Warnings: AU! lionille wrote The Curious Case of the Mysteriously Missing Lady-in-Waiting In Training and andrealyn wrote The Path Not Taken and the two fics together gave me the idea of writing a fic where Ambrose/Glitch is born a woman and stays one. *grin*
Beta and plot-hole-poker: umbralillium
Sounding board: unicorn_catcher
Previous Chapter(s): 1. Rocky Beginning, 2. Smoothing the Way, 3. Hidden Bumps, 4. Getting Over the Bumps, 5. Roadwork Ahead!, 6. Repairing the Road, 7. Good Road, 8. Hairpin Bend, 9. At a Crossroads, 10. Choosing a Road, 11. Changing Direction, 12. The New Journey Begins
The Road Less Traveled
13. Dip in the Road
Wyatt and Adair watched Amber Rose sleep for a bit before they left the room to rejoin Wyatt's brothers. No sooner had they reached the ground floor than they were assaulted by twin missiles. "Uncle Wyatt! Uncle Adair!"
"Hello, Matty!" Wyatt caught his ten-year-old nephew in a warm hug while Adair caught the other. "Hello, Benji!" He looked up with a smile to see his thirteen-year-old niece approaching, blue eyes annoyed as she shook her head at her brothers. "Hello, Susie."
She smiled as she hugged him. "Hello, Uncle Wyatt."
"Hello, Susie," Adair added when she hugged him in turn.
The men set the twins on their feet as she answered, "Hello, Uncle Adair." She frowned as she looked around. "Mother said something about a new aunt?"
"Amber Rose was tired after the journey," Wyatt explained as the twins each took hold of a hand and tugged to get him to follow them. "She's lying down right now, but you'll get to meet her at dinner, hopefully."
Susanna nodded, looking a little disappointed. "All right." She turned her attention to her brothers. "Stop that. Mother only let you come in long enough to say 'hi'."
"What were they doing before?" Adair asked as the two boys began to show signs of pouting.
The redheaded girl firmly detached her brothers' hands from Wyatt's and began herding them toward the front door. "They were mucking out their horses' stalls."
"Horses, huh?" Wyatt asked, following them out into the yard. "Was that Howard's idea or Roberta's?"
She arched her eyebrow at her uncle as the two boys reluctantly trotted across the yard to the stables. "What do you think, Uncle?"
"Howard's." Wyatt chuckled fondly as he thought of his younger brother. "Though I bet it was Roberta's to have them take care of the horses, too."
She chuckled and nodded. "You'd win that bet. Excuse me, I have chores to finish."
"See you later, Susie." Wyatt waved, watching her go.
He was just about to follow them to the stables when Howard exited the frame house and waved to them. "Wyatt! Adair!"
"I wondered how long it'd take him," Adair commented dryly as they obediently crossed to Howard's house and followed him inside.
Wyatt chuckled as they made their way to the kitchen, where Howard and Roberta sat waiting for them. "I'm glad to see you both."
"Please have a seat," Howard requested as Roberta got up to prepare drinks for them. "Where's Amber Rose?"
Adair answered as they took seats across from Howard, "Resting. She hasn't done this much riding in some time."
"I suppose it would help to talk with you separately anyway," Howard mused as Roberta placed drinks in front of the other two men: coffee for Wyatt and tea for Adair.
Wyatt asked the next question as Adair prepared his tea and took a sip of the almost-scalding hot brew. "I take it you want confirmation that we're not lying about our feelings?"
"In a word, yes," Roberta replied, sipping her drink. "At least, Fred does. Howie and I don't think you have it in you to joke about something like this."
The blond brother smiled wryly. "Fred's the patriarch now; he has to act in the best interests of our family, which includes doubting sincerity in unusual circumstances."
"He could have been more polite about it," Howard grumbled, resting his arm across the back of his wife's chair.
Wyatt shook his head. "No, I'd rather he be direct about his skepticism."
"This doesn't answer the question about the sincerity of our feelings," Adair interjected, and then showed Howard his left hand. "Look at the ring."
Howard frowned as he studied Adair's ring, and then Wyatt's. "If I remember correctly, you used to have just one stone."
"Exactly," Adair nodded. "You'll notice the new gem on our rings is the same, even though the original is different."
The dark-haired brother nodded. "Yes. I take it the amethyst represents Amber Rose?"
"Yes, and she has a matching ring, with our gemstones," Wyatt replied, covering Adair's hand with his. "Not only that, we are now all living together."
Roberta arched an eyebrow at that. "She moved into your flat? It's barely big enough for two people, let alone three."
"No, we're living in a cottage now," Adair explained. "We'd have needed to move anyway, since we intend to start a family."
Howard stared at them. "What about the paternity of the children? Won't it matter?"
"Not in the slightest," Wyatt answered this stoutly, his hand tightening on Adair's. "Whether the children are mine or Adair's, I will love them all equally."
Adair nodded, returning Wyatt's squeeze. "And the same goes for me."
"I'm relieved you both feel that way." The new voice startled them into looking at the doorway. Amber Rose stood there, one slender hand resting on her stomach.
Wyatt and Adair both got up and hurried to her side, helping their wife to a seat at the table. "We thought you were asleep."
"I don't sleep as well without you two," she admitted, kissing Wyatt's temple and Adair's cheek. "And I always have trouble sleeping at a new location anyway."
Adair smirked. "Perhaps if we exhausted you, that won't be a problem."
"It's a possibility." Her eyes twinkled as she looked from one to the other. "We can have the fun of trying at least."
The two men laughed, taking turns kissing her, and then each other. By the time they finished and turned back to their hosts, Howard had a crooked grin on his face and Roberta was leaning her head on his shoulder with a soft smile. "Well, there's no doubt as to whether your feelings for each other are genuine or not."
"Thank you." Amber Rose smiled demurely, nestling comfortably between her two husbands.
Wyatt and Adair exchanged relieved glances over her head. Now Frederick just needed to give his blessing.
* * *
Amber Rose wasn't surprised to find that she was alone when she woke up. Both of her husbands were early risers and she'd been sleeping in more than usual lately. Not to mention this was as much a vacation as a chance to visit Wyatt's family. Since it was a vacation, she took her time in getting up, showered, and dressed. Just as she finished dressing, there was a knock on the bedroom door. "Aunt Rose? Are you up?"
"Yes, I'm up," Amber Rose opened to door to find her oldest niece standing on the other side, brown hair pulled back into a braid very like her mother's, blue eyes puzzled as they met Amber Rose's brown ones. "Why do you ask, Dinah?"
The teenager shrugged her shoulders. "A Royal Messenger arrived and he insisted on seeing only you. He wouldn't say why."
"Something must have happened," Amber Rose murmured, lengthening her strides so she could take the stairs two at a time as she descended. "Where is he?"
Dinah's boots clattered on the stairs as she caught up with her aunt. "He's waiting for you in the sitting room."
"Right." Amber Rose nodded, unconsciously straightening her posture. "Let Uncle Wyatt and Adair know that I may need to return home sooner than we planned."
"Yes, Aunt Rose." The brunette nodded as she acknowledged the order, eyes wide with surprise, presumably at the change in her aunt's manner.
As the girl headed for the front door, Amber Rose went to the sitting room. The young man waiting there quickly jumped to his feet when she entered and bowed deeply. "Royal Advisor."
"Yes, yes, stand up straight, please." It always bothered her when the other royal servants bowed or curtsied to her. "Why did the Queen send you?"
The Messenger opened the satchel that was slung on one hip and pulled out a scroll of paper. "She wished me to give you this."
"Very well, have a seat." Amber Rose gestured to the chair he'd jumped up from, noticing that a cup waited on the table beside him. She offered refreshments. Good.
As he resumed his seat, Amber Rose walked over to the window to use the sunslight to read the contents of the scroll. What she read there made her heart clench in her chest. She didn't even move until she felt familiar hands on her back and shoulder, Adair's voice in her ear. "Amber?"
"What's wrong?" Wyatt asked the question as she turned to them with wet eyes.
Clearing her throat, she looked from one to the other. "DG is very sick. Violetta would like me to return to be with them."
"Not a message for the Royal Advisor, but for the Godmother," Adair mused as Wyatt took the scroll she held up.
The blond finished reading the message and handed the scroll to the brunette. "We'll go back with you."
"This is your vacation, too, Wyatt," she objected, surprised and pleased that he'd made the offer. "I don't want to cut it short for all of us."
Adair finished reading the scroll and gently tilted her head up so her eyes met his. "We're your husbands, Amber. That makes us DG and Az's uncles."
"Meaning we're family and we should be there anyway," Wyatt finished the explanation. "If any of my nephews or nieces were sick, you and Adair would come with me, right?"
She nodded, not even thinking about it. "Yes, of course."
"Same principle." Adair smiled and tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. "We're together for the bad as well as the good."
Amber Rose nodded, tears welling up in her eyes again. "Thank you."
They enfolded her into such a tight hug that she almost disappeared from view. Rather than feeling smothered, she only felt loved and secure. It was a wonderful feeling.
End Chapter
A/N2: For the record, if people want a visual image for Adair, picture Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. For lots of pictures of him and the actor in other roles, go here. I have a hair fetish, so this picspam made me very happy. I especially like the season two hair. That's about how I visualize Adair's hair. Amber Rose is pretty much Alan Cumming with longer hair and boobs. I made a series of "dolls" of Amber Rose that you can find here.