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: 1,713
Spoilers: Whole miniseries
Summary: Our star trio comes across a surprise detour.
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, 13. Dip in the Road
The Road Less Traveled
14. Surprise Detour
The journey back to Central City didn't take as long as the journey to the Cain family ranch. Of course, they were in more of a hurry this time. Wyatt and Adair made a point of making sure Amber Rose ate and slept, since she was too worried about her adopted niece to take proper care of herself. They could only hope that she wouldn't make herself as sick as Princess Dorotheagael before they got back.
Normally, Wyatt and Adair insisted on caring for their horses themselves. Upon their return to the palace, however, they handed their reins over to the stable hands and followed their wife inside. They were too worried about her and Princess Dorotheagael to take the time, just this once. After months of intimacy with the Royal Family, neither man hesitated to follow Amber Rose into the private sitting room. They found Ahamo seated on one of the sofas, Azkadellia curled up half in his lap as he stroked her hair soothingly. The Royal Advisor headed straight for the King Consort and Princess. "How is she?"
"No change yet," Ahamo replied as his daughter pulled her feet up so Amber Rose could sit down if she wished.
She did sit down and Adair perched on the arm of the sofa beside her while Wyatt leaned on the back of the sofa behind her. Folding her hands together in her lap, she asked, "Do we know what's wrong?"
"It's like pneumonia on the Other Side," Ahamo explained, still stroking Azkadellia's hair, "except it specifically targets magic users."
Amber Rose nodded, looking worried. "I take it Violetta is in with DG, then?"
"Yes. She said she had it when she was ten, so she's safe." Ahamo nodded as Azkadellia seemed to curl up into an even tighter ball.
Before anyone could ask, the princess whispered, "I want to help Mother and Raw."
"Raw?" Wyatt asked, puzzled.
It was the King Consort who explained, "The Viewer who's been helping us with DG."
"Az hasn't had this magical pneumonia?" Adair asked, leaning over slightly from his position.
Amber Rose nodded. "Yes, and DG being sick will be quite enough."
"If Az could be inoculated, she could help," Ahamo commented thoughtfully.
All four of them stared at him in silence. In the end, Amber Rose asked the question on all of their minds, "Inoculation? What's that?"
"Inoculation is the practice of deliberately infecting a person with a milder form of a disease that could kill them if they catch it naturally," he told them, glancing down at Azkadellia with a fond smile. "They still get sick, but it's not life-threatening and they never have to worry about catching the more severe form."
Amber Rose looked intrigued by the idea. For his part, Wyatt couldn't quite understand why anyone would deliberately make themselves sick. The Ozians who lived and worked on the farms and ranches were too busy tending to crops and livestock to lose even a day of work. As for those who lived in Central City, it cost so much to live there that the residents couldn't afford to miss a day of work.
The Queen entered from Dorotheagael's bedroom just then. Wyatt was surprised by the lines of worry that had formed around her eyes and mouth, not to mention how they seemed to have aged her. When she saw her friend, however, a tired smile erased some of those lines. "Amber Rose. Thank you for coming back early."
"As if I could stay away with DG sick," Amber Rose stood as the Queen crossed the room. The two women embraced tightly and the Royal Advisor asked quietly, "Is it worse than when you had it?"
"Unfortunately, yes." The Queen nodded sadly as Amber Rose urged her to sit down beside her husband. She leaned against him gladly, closing her lavender eyes as he stroked her back. "Since DG is so much younger, she's in much more danger than I was."
Adair leaned forward, lightly resting his hand on Amber Rose's shoulder for balance, and asked, "Was the Viewer able to help?"
"Raw only do so much." The strange voice startled them into turning towards the bedroom door once more. The Viewer in question stood there, looking drained. "This fight for Princess to win."
Ahamo smiled faintly as the Queen summoned a footman to escort Raw to a room where he could rest. "If anyone's a fighter, DG is."
"We'll be cheering her on," Wyatt added seriously.
Azkadellia had squirmed her way across both her parents' laps, nestling her head against her mother's neck. "I miss Deege."
"We all do, Azkadee." Amber Rose sighed as she leaned back against sofa. "We all do."
* * *
There was no question of Amber Rose going to the cottage. She wanted to be nearby in case of any sudden changes Dorotheagael's condition. Wyatt and Adair refused to go without her, so all three went to Amber Rose's suite of rooms to retire when it grew late. Despite her worry about her adopted niece, she was amused when her husbands saw that the bed in the bedroom was identical to the one in the master bedroom of the cottage. "Did the Queen move it here?"
"No, Adair," she explained as she moved to the bureau to pull out a nightgown. "Three of these were made once I'd finalized the design."
Wyatt paused in the midst of changing into his pajamas. "Three? Where's the third one?"
"At the summer palace in Finaqua," she told him before pulling the nightgown on over her head. "If you like, a fourth one can be made to be sent to your family's ranch."
The two men glanced at each other, surprised. Eventually, Wyatt shook his head. "Not right now, but thank you for the offer, Amber."
"Do you always think ahead like that?" Adair asked, amused, as he lay back across the bed.
She climbed onto the bed beside him, lounging on one hip. "Like what?"
"Thinking of making three beds instead of one," he said, shifting onto his side to gaze at her. "If it'd been us, we'd only have thought of having one made at first."
She smiled as she gently smoothed a strand of hair out of Adair's eyes. "The Royal Family has always had multiple residences. It makes sense to have something that important at each of them instead of one that's transported from residence to residence."
"It's been awhile since I've had to think of having more than one place to live," Adair murmured, reaching up to play with one of Amber Rose's curls.
Wyatt settled behind Adair, resting one hand on his shoulder. "Have you ever regretted it?"
"Never." Adair twisted around to kiss Wyatt softly. "I don't care what my family says. I love you and I'm not giving you up." He turned back around to face Amber Rose. "Either of you."
She smiled and leaned in to kiss his throat, making him tilt his head back with a moan. It was soon muffled by Wyatt's lips on Adair's. As pleasant as it was to be the center of attention, there were times it was just as pleasant to double-team one of her husbands. Though, as she drifted off to sleep, Amber Rose wasn't surprised to realize that she'd been maneuvered into the middle of the bed, with both men holding her tight in hopes of comforting her.
* * *
Wyatt was the first to wake up in the morning. Amber Rose was cuddled between the two men, lines of worry creasing her forehead even in sleep. Stifling a sigh, Wyatt kissed her forehead and carefully slipped out of bed. The only reaction from Adair and Amber Rose was to move closer to each other and settle back to sleep. Pleased, the Tin Man dressed in a clean shirt and trousers, not surprised to find that the closet and bureau had clothes for him and Adair as well as Amber Rose. He padded barefoot into the sitting room and stopped short. The Queen was seated on the settee, obviously waiting. Wyatt hastily bowed. "Your Majesty."
"Rise, Wyatt." She sounded tired and worn out. "I'm here as a friend, not the Queen."
A little hesitantly, he straightened up, not quite meeting her eyes. "Amber Rose is still asleep if you wanted to speak with her."
"Let her sleep. If I know her, she didn't get much rest on the trip back here," the Queen replied, sounding tiredly amused. "I want to thank you and Adair for loving her. I worried for a long time that she would not find someone to love her as she deserved."
He smiled, slowly sitting down on the settee. "She hinted that she's been pursued romantically more because of her connection to you rather than because the pursuer was actually interested in her."
"It happened more than once." The Queen folded her hands together in her lap. "I was pleasantly surprised when she began courting you, and then Adair. She'd never done that before, but it obviously worked."
Wyatt nodded, smiling. "It certainly did."
"What did?" The sleepy voice drew their attention to the bedroom doorway. Amber Rose and Adair stood there, both looking sleep-tousled. He wore a shirt and trousers while she wore a blouse and skirt.
When he saw the Queen, Adair bowed deeply. "Your Majesty."
"Rise, Adair." She sounded exasperated as Amber Rose crossed to sit on Wyatt's lap, nuzzling her head under his chin.
The warehouse manager did so and moved to perch on the arm of the couch behind Wyatt as Amber Rose asked, "How is DG, Violetta?"
"She's improved a little, but now Azkadellia is sick."
* * *
Amber Rose sat quietly nearby as Raw examined Azkadellia. "Not as dangerous for her," he pronounced, "older, stronger."
"Thank you, Raw." She offered him her hand, reassured that both of her goddaughters would survive the illness.
He took it, but didn't release it directly after shaking it. He frowned and held it tighter as his eyes briefly closed. After a few moments, he opened his eyes to meet her gaze with a smile. "Congratulations."
"For what?" She frowned at him.
He lightly rested his hand on her stomach. "For baby."
"I am pregnant?"
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: 1,713
Spoilers: Whole miniseries
Summary: Our star trio comes across a surprise detour.
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, 13. Dip in the Road
The Road Less Traveled
14. Surprise Detour
The journey back to Central City didn't take as long as the journey to the Cain family ranch. Of course, they were in more of a hurry this time. Wyatt and Adair made a point of making sure Amber Rose ate and slept, since she was too worried about her adopted niece to take proper care of herself. They could only hope that she wouldn't make herself as sick as Princess Dorotheagael before they got back.
Normally, Wyatt and Adair insisted on caring for their horses themselves. Upon their return to the palace, however, they handed their reins over to the stable hands and followed their wife inside. They were too worried about her and Princess Dorotheagael to take the time, just this once. After months of intimacy with the Royal Family, neither man hesitated to follow Amber Rose into the private sitting room. They found Ahamo seated on one of the sofas, Azkadellia curled up half in his lap as he stroked her hair soothingly. The Royal Advisor headed straight for the King Consort and Princess. "How is she?"
"No change yet," Ahamo replied as his daughter pulled her feet up so Amber Rose could sit down if she wished.
She did sit down and Adair perched on the arm of the sofa beside her while Wyatt leaned on the back of the sofa behind her. Folding her hands together in her lap, she asked, "Do we know what's wrong?"
"It's like pneumonia on the Other Side," Ahamo explained, still stroking Azkadellia's hair, "except it specifically targets magic users."
Amber Rose nodded, looking worried. "I take it Violetta is in with DG, then?"
"Yes. She said she had it when she was ten, so she's safe." Ahamo nodded as Azkadellia seemed to curl up into an even tighter ball.
Before anyone could ask, the princess whispered, "I want to help Mother and Raw."
"Raw?" Wyatt asked, puzzled.
It was the King Consort who explained, "The Viewer who's been helping us with DG."
"Az hasn't had this magical pneumonia?" Adair asked, leaning over slightly from his position.
Amber Rose nodded. "Yes, and DG being sick will be quite enough."
"If Az could be inoculated, she could help," Ahamo commented thoughtfully.
All four of them stared at him in silence. In the end, Amber Rose asked the question on all of their minds, "Inoculation? What's that?"
"Inoculation is the practice of deliberately infecting a person with a milder form of a disease that could kill them if they catch it naturally," he told them, glancing down at Azkadellia with a fond smile. "They still get sick, but it's not life-threatening and they never have to worry about catching the more severe form."
Amber Rose looked intrigued by the idea. For his part, Wyatt couldn't quite understand why anyone would deliberately make themselves sick. The Ozians who lived and worked on the farms and ranches were too busy tending to crops and livestock to lose even a day of work. As for those who lived in Central City, it cost so much to live there that the residents couldn't afford to miss a day of work.
The Queen entered from Dorotheagael's bedroom just then. Wyatt was surprised by the lines of worry that had formed around her eyes and mouth, not to mention how they seemed to have aged her. When she saw her friend, however, a tired smile erased some of those lines. "Amber Rose. Thank you for coming back early."
"As if I could stay away with DG sick," Amber Rose stood as the Queen crossed the room. The two women embraced tightly and the Royal Advisor asked quietly, "Is it worse than when you had it?"
"Unfortunately, yes." The Queen nodded sadly as Amber Rose urged her to sit down beside her husband. She leaned against him gladly, closing her lavender eyes as he stroked her back. "Since DG is so much younger, she's in much more danger than I was."
Adair leaned forward, lightly resting his hand on Amber Rose's shoulder for balance, and asked, "Was the Viewer able to help?"
"Raw only do so much." The strange voice startled them into turning towards the bedroom door once more. The Viewer in question stood there, looking drained. "This fight for Princess to win."
Ahamo smiled faintly as the Queen summoned a footman to escort Raw to a room where he could rest. "If anyone's a fighter, DG is."
"We'll be cheering her on," Wyatt added seriously.
Azkadellia had squirmed her way across both her parents' laps, nestling her head against her mother's neck. "I miss Deege."
"We all do, Azkadee." Amber Rose sighed as she leaned back against sofa. "We all do."
* * *
There was no question of Amber Rose going to the cottage. She wanted to be nearby in case of any sudden changes Dorotheagael's condition. Wyatt and Adair refused to go without her, so all three went to Amber Rose's suite of rooms to retire when it grew late. Despite her worry about her adopted niece, she was amused when her husbands saw that the bed in the bedroom was identical to the one in the master bedroom of the cottage. "Did the Queen move it here?"
"No, Adair," she explained as she moved to the bureau to pull out a nightgown. "Three of these were made once I'd finalized the design."
Wyatt paused in the midst of changing into his pajamas. "Three? Where's the third one?"
"At the summer palace in Finaqua," she told him before pulling the nightgown on over her head. "If you like, a fourth one can be made to be sent to your family's ranch."
The two men glanced at each other, surprised. Eventually, Wyatt shook his head. "Not right now, but thank you for the offer, Amber."
"Do you always think ahead like that?" Adair asked, amused, as he lay back across the bed.
She climbed onto the bed beside him, lounging on one hip. "Like what?"
"Thinking of making three beds instead of one," he said, shifting onto his side to gaze at her. "If it'd been us, we'd only have thought of having one made at first."
She smiled as she gently smoothed a strand of hair out of Adair's eyes. "The Royal Family has always had multiple residences. It makes sense to have something that important at each of them instead of one that's transported from residence to residence."
"It's been awhile since I've had to think of having more than one place to live," Adair murmured, reaching up to play with one of Amber Rose's curls.
Wyatt settled behind Adair, resting one hand on his shoulder. "Have you ever regretted it?"
"Never." Adair twisted around to kiss Wyatt softly. "I don't care what my family says. I love you and I'm not giving you up." He turned back around to face Amber Rose. "Either of you."
She smiled and leaned in to kiss his throat, making him tilt his head back with a moan. It was soon muffled by Wyatt's lips on Adair's. As pleasant as it was to be the center of attention, there were times it was just as pleasant to double-team one of her husbands. Though, as she drifted off to sleep, Amber Rose wasn't surprised to realize that she'd been maneuvered into the middle of the bed, with both men holding her tight in hopes of comforting her.
* * *
Wyatt was the first to wake up in the morning. Amber Rose was cuddled between the two men, lines of worry creasing her forehead even in sleep. Stifling a sigh, Wyatt kissed her forehead and carefully slipped out of bed. The only reaction from Adair and Amber Rose was to move closer to each other and settle back to sleep. Pleased, the Tin Man dressed in a clean shirt and trousers, not surprised to find that the closet and bureau had clothes for him and Adair as well as Amber Rose. He padded barefoot into the sitting room and stopped short. The Queen was seated on the settee, obviously waiting. Wyatt hastily bowed. "Your Majesty."
"Rise, Wyatt." She sounded tired and worn out. "I'm here as a friend, not the Queen."
A little hesitantly, he straightened up, not quite meeting her eyes. "Amber Rose is still asleep if you wanted to speak with her."
"Let her sleep. If I know her, she didn't get much rest on the trip back here," the Queen replied, sounding tiredly amused. "I want to thank you and Adair for loving her. I worried for a long time that she would not find someone to love her as she deserved."
He smiled, slowly sitting down on the settee. "She hinted that she's been pursued romantically more because of her connection to you rather than because the pursuer was actually interested in her."
"It happened more than once." The Queen folded her hands together in her lap. "I was pleasantly surprised when she began courting you, and then Adair. She'd never done that before, but it obviously worked."
Wyatt nodded, smiling. "It certainly did."
"What did?" The sleepy voice drew their attention to the bedroom doorway. Amber Rose and Adair stood there, both looking sleep-tousled. He wore a shirt and trousers while she wore a blouse and skirt.
When he saw the Queen, Adair bowed deeply. "Your Majesty."
"Rise, Adair." She sounded exasperated as Amber Rose crossed to sit on Wyatt's lap, nuzzling her head under his chin.
The warehouse manager did so and moved to perch on the arm of the couch behind Wyatt as Amber Rose asked, "How is DG, Violetta?"
"She's improved a little, but now Azkadellia is sick."
* * *
Amber Rose sat quietly nearby as Raw examined Azkadellia. "Not as dangerous for her," he pronounced, "older, stronger."
"Thank you, Raw." She offered him her hand, reassured that both of her goddaughters would survive the illness.
He took it, but didn't release it directly after shaking it. He frowned and held it tighter as his eyes briefly closed. After a few moments, he opened his eyes to meet her gaze with a smile. "Congratulations."
"For what?" She frowned at him.
He lightly rested his hand on her stomach. "For baby."
"I am pregnant?"
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.