Note From The Author-- So I've already done something along these lines I suppose; at least there are definite similarities between this and Fairytale Endings. Either way I couldn't get this out of my head, so here it is. It's shaping up to most likely be a two shot, three at the most.

Disclaimer-- I don't own the characters of Tin Man

The sky was dark and ominous when they came to find her. DG had known when it all went wrong; a part of her could feel it. She didn't know what happened, she didn't know how bad it was, but her chest ached and her magic flared the minute things went south.

It was supposed to be routine; after word had reached them that Zero had been sprung from his metal prison only to have been beaten to death by former members of the resistance Cain and Jeb had insisted on going with the recon team that Glitch organized. The only plan was to bring the suit back to Central City to be destroyed and decide what was to be done with Zero's body. Still, both of the Cain men wanted to be there, if only to see with their own eyes that their tormentor from long ago was really dead.

DG, of course, hadn't liked it. From the very beginning something told her that there was off, that it wouldn't go as planned. But Cain had been adamant, and Glitch assured her that it would be simple in and out. So she tried to shake it off, said goodbye, and worked on finding a way to ignore the feeling that the man she was deeply in love with wouldn't come home in one piece.

She'd been dealing with that feeling for weeks, past the moment she knew something had gone wrong, and well past the time that the party was supposed to be back. She thought she was prepared for anything, but when they came to find her she felt her heart seize in her chest. Az came first, then Glitch; but no Jeb, and no Wyatt.

"DG…"

She held up a shaking hand before Glitch could say anything else. "Don't, just don't. How many times did I tell them not to go? How many times did I beg him to stay behind?"

It was Az who spoke then. "You couldn't have stopped him, little sister."

"Obviously," she whispered. She tried to keep her royal air about her as she stood and smoothed out her dress. "What happened?"

Glitch knew the question was directed specifically at him, so he tried not to mince words. "It should have been simple," he told her. "We got there, we found the suit, got the body from the villagers, and we started back. We were halfway here when a rogue faction from the village we'd just left caught up with us. They said that after what Zero had done to their friends and family they deserved to decide what happened to him in death. They wanted him drawn and quarterd, Doll. Didn't seem to matter much to them that he was already dead."

She shook her head as her hands fisted at her sides. The eyes she turned back to them were hard as ice. "You know exactly what I'm asking, and you're deliberately ignoring it. What, happened?" Each word was emphasized.

"We don't know. They had some sort of magic; not as strong as yours but still potent. We all went completely blind but Cain had hung back and he came in after the spell had been cast. He tried to fight back, we could all hear him but we couldn't see a thing and we couldn't stop anything."

DG's magic flared out with her emotions, and sparks crackled from her fingers as she spoke. "You're still avoiding, and I'm getting really sick of it."

Glitch just shook his head. "When we could all see again Zero's body was gone, and so was Cain. We found his hat in a pool of blood."

"How much blood?" she questioned.

Glitch shook his head. "Too much."

Everyone stepped towards her but she just held a hand out. "Just give me the bottom line, please."

He looked her straight in the eye and said the words she'd been dreading. "We can't find him, and there was just too much blood. Jeb stayed behind with some of the men to look, but as far as we know, he didn't make it DG."

She thought she was prepared for anything, or that sensing something had made her ready for all of the possibilities; it simply wasn't the truth. Hearing it and dealing with the reality of it shattered her heart into a million pieces. A ragged sob broke free before she could stop it and she turned to her sister with wide terrified eyes. "Az…"

"He could still be found Deeg, this isn't the end."

"Unfortunately the likelihood of that isn't really…"

Azkadellia whirled around, showing Glitch the fullness of her anger and fear for her sister. "Keep your mouth shut Ambrose. Deeg don't listen to him, it could all turn out right."

She shook her head. "You don't know him. If there was a way, any way, to get back here he would be home. Oh God." Her body began to shake as sobs overtook her. "Oh God," she keened.

The elder princess couldn't do anything more than catch DG as she collapsed under the weight of her grief. Together they sank to the floor, Az cradling her baby sister in her arms as she wept. She knew there was nothing she could possibly do to make this better, so she just held on and prayed to the gods that she was right.

Two weeks went by, and they didn't hear a word. Jeb hadn't made contact, and with every day that went by DG felt what little hope she had begin to die. She hadn't broken down since that very first day with Az; she knew it wouldn't do any good. If Cain was really and truly gone there wasn't anything she could do. So thought she went through every day with her heart fracturing, she did her duty. She refused all public appearances, but she made decisions and went to fittings, constantly doing the work of a princess; but she didn't say a word other than what was absolutely necessary. DG knew that if she opened up or really let herself feel that she would completely lose control, and that she couldn't afford. So she closed herself off, and she began to accept the fact that she would never see Wyatt Cain again.

The sky had been dark and gloomy for those two long weeks, the suns barely shining. Still, there had been no relief, and the whole of the OZ waited for the downpour that would cleanse and finally bring the sunshine. There seemed to be no end in sight when almost three weeks after Cain's disappearance the sky opened up and the rain began to fall. Before long it had become the worst storm anyone had seen in years, and DG watched it all from her window seat.

Azkadellia hadn't seen her sister all day, and when she found her she wasn't surprised to see her resting with her forehead leaning against the window. "How are you feeling baby sister?"

DG shook her head. "I don't know, Az."

The elder princess took a seat next to her sister, reaching out to take her hand. "DG, you never know what could happen."

"It's been so long," she whispered brokenly. "I haven't let myself feel, not really, but there's only so many days that we can hold out hope. I've accepted it."

Az shook her head, hard. "You don't know that. You know Jeb; he could still bring him back."

Their eyes met, and DG knew that her were shining with tears, and every emotion she was feeling at that moment. "He could, but we both know what the odds are."

"Deeg…"

"Az, listen to me. I've been thinking about this for weeks. Do you think I like knowing that it's entirely possible that I'm never going to see him again? That I'm never going to touch him or hold him again?" She stood and walked away from the window, twisting the ring on her left hand. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way; we've been married for five months. I'm supposed to have more time with him than this. We're supposed to have a house full of kids and get old and obnoxious together. I don't like thinking about it, or knowing that I may never have any of that; but I have to face it. If I don't I'll completely lose control."

"DG…"

There was urgency in Az's voice, but DG really couldn't find the strength to care. "Az, at this point I really think it's better for you to just save all of the reassurances," she sighed.

"No, Deeg, listen to me."

"Az… just give it a rest okay," she requested, tears thickening her voice. "I just don't know what else…"

She surged to her feet, practically sprinting over to grab her sister's arm and drag her to the window. "Deeg look."

It was hard to see anything through the downpour; but slowly, fuzzy shapes began to take form. The figure at the head of what she could see was a group looked startlingly familiar, and she thought her heart would stop. "Oh my God," she whispered, pressing her hand to her heart.

"Oh my God," Az quietly agreed.

Maids, assistants, and various other staff members hit the walls and stared in amazement as the two princesses of the OZ bolted through the palace as fast as their heavy royal garb would allow them. A cry went up through the palace and it wouldn't be long before the King and Queen joined in the strange dash.

DG was panting for breath by the time they reached the entrance hall, tears pouring silently down her cheeks as she pushed through the double doors. The group was small, consisting only of five or six men; but it was the man who lay prostrate on a stretcher that had her attention.

She could dimly hear Jeb's voice and Az's mingling, but she didn't care what they were saying. Soaked to the bone, she slid to a jarring stop in the mud, falling to her knees next to the stretcher. Wyatt was clearly unconscious, terrifyingly pale, and she could see several obvious wounds, most of them seeping blood. "Raw!"

The healer fell to his knees beside her and reached out to lay his hands on the Tin Man. His face contorted as he worked, but other than noticing a little less blood, DG couldn't see any change in her husband's condition. The look she saw in Raw's eyes when they opened again gave her little hope. "Much damage."

DG nodded. "Okay, so we'll fix it," she said desperately. "Get me a healer!" she cried.

It took some time, too much time; and as she waited her hand stroked over his face. She didn't know what she said to him in those moments, it didn't matter. They were some of the longest moments of her life. When a healer finally arrived he began barking out orders, but stopped short of requesting that the princess leave his side. He valued his life too much.

"Can't we get him out of this rain?" Ahamo asked.

"I'm not prepared to move him, not until I can heal some of the damage."

So he went to work in the pouring rain, with the entire royal family looking over his shoulder and an overwrought wife at his side. The healer and Raw effectively tag teamed, doing all that they could.

When both men pulled back, DG felt her heart speed up. "Why are you stopping, you can't be done with him."

"We've done all we can," the healer told her regretfully. "There's only so much…"

For the second time in weeks uncontrolled magic crackled off her hands. "You do not have an option B."

Raw's hand touched her shoulder heavily. "Nothing else to do. Too much damage."

Her breathing hitched as her heart went wild. "I can't breath." She clawed at the fastenings on her corset, feeling lightheaded and desperate. Hands were suddenly at her back, easing the stiff garment away from her under dress and she tossed It behind her as she leaned over Wyatt, hands outstretched.

"DG what are you doing?" her mother questioned, stepping up behind her daughter.

"Exactly what you think I am."

Ahamo was quickly present at the Queen's side. "Your magic isn't naturally tuned into healing like Raw's, you don't know what could happen."

The young princess turned her thunderous gaze to her parents. "You heard them; they've done everything they can, and it isn't enough."

"He could die, doll," Glitch said quietly.

"He'll die either way," DG whispered. "If Raw can't heal him, and medics can't heal him, this is the only way. He definitely dies if I don't try this, and I won't let him go without trying every last thing."

She turned again, focusing her full attention on Wyatt. "Heart," she whispered to herself, feeling her magic pulsing to full life. "If you don't have heart…"

Az heard her sister's words, whispered like a prayer. She and Jeb shared a glance, and the fear and grief in his eyes coupled with DG's sealed her coming actions. With a chaste kiss she stepped out of Jeb's arms and fell to the ground on the other side of the stretcher. "Let's do this baby sister," she said quietly, their eyes locked.

They joined hands, pressing them over Cain's heart. Magic flared and pulsed around them, bathing everything in an ethereal glow that glinted off the falling rain. Az's breath began to come quick as the magic swept through them, and quickly understood DG's earlier plight. "Jeb!" she cried.

"What do you need?" he questioned as he dropped to his knees next to her.

"Get me out of this damn corset," she requested.

His hands worked fast, but even without it she couldn't breathe properly, not with the magic that was coursing through them. DG seemed to be having the same problems, but she couldn't care for her own well being. Her chest was heaving with breath but her focus remained only on Cain. "Damn it this has to work, it has to."

Magic flared even brighter as both princesses pushed everything they had into Wyatt Cain's body. Neither of them knew how long they stayed there; time didn't work the same way there. But before long they were both exhausted, Az resting back against Jeb even as she kept her hands on his father's chest. "Deeg, what else can we do?"

The younger princess shook her head. "One last thing."

Az realized seconds too late what DG was planning. She cried out as her little sister pushed her away, and all any of them could do was watch in horror as DG screamed in pain with a blinding light surrounding her.

"What the hell is she doing?" Jeb cried.

"She's trying to give him some of her life force," she sobbed. "I can't stop her, I can't get close enough."

Glitch felt his eyes well with tears. "We'll lose them both."

DG didn't hear any of it. Everything was lost to the rushing of magic in her head and the pain that seemed to be tearing her apart. Her magic was raging out of her control, taking more from her than she had intended. She couldn't stop it, couldn't save herself from what was happening.

As spots began to dance at the edge of her vision she felt her body giving out. She couldn't help but think it would all be worth it if she succeeded in bringing Wyatt Cain back. Moments later, it was all rewarded when beautiful ice blue eyes met hers. But the joy was short lived for all of them. Before Cain could manage to get all the way through her name the world tipped. The last thing she registered before she fell to the ground was that ice blue.