Saving Him
By: SilverLunarStar
Disclaimer: I've been writing so many Tin Man fics these past few months; I might as well own it! Sadly, I don't…
Author's Note: Wee~! This is the last of them. Of this weird, doesn't-have-to-be-related fics. It can be a sequel to "Unexpected," "Taken," "What to Do?" "Not the Same Man," and "Anchored" but doesn't have to be. Although, this does take place at the same timeframe as "Anchored." And, unlike most of these, we actually have DIALOGUE!
Jeb Cain knocked on Princess Dorothy Gale's door.
"Cain! If that's you, I'm going to kick you in the-"
Jeb cleared his throat. "Uh, Princess, it's me."
A pause. A few seconds later, he came face-to-face with DG's sheepish face. "Sorry, Jeb. I thought it was your dad, you know how he is about being on time, but I told him this time he could expect me to be fashionably late."
He smiled, understanding. His father could be very…strict about certain things.
"Did you need something?"
"Yes, I wanted to speak to you for a bit, if you don't mind."
"Of course not!" She gestured. "Come in." As he entered, she explained, "I'm just trying to get these damn pins in my hair."
"Don't you have maids to help you?" He laughed when he saw her scrunched up face in the mirror; he knew she hated getting help for petty things. She was such a refreshment from most of the officials he had to deal with every other day. He could see why his father cared deeply for this young woman and, after an annual; he finally understood why his father had loosened up considerably. Not enough so others wouldn't call him a hard ass, but enough so it was almost impossible to tell the man had spent eight annuals in an iron suit, watching his family get tortured over and over again. With that thought in mind, he blurted out, "Thank you, DG."
"Huh?" Surprised, she turned to face him.
"I should have said this a long time ago, but I wanted to thank you for everything you did and have done for my dad. Without you, he wouldn't have been released from the suit and if it weren't for you, he would have been nothing but a heartless man bent on revenge. He wouldn't have stopped me from killing Zero and his death wouldn't have meant anything for us because the damage was already done. You helped him acknowledge he wasn't that person. Even after the Eclipse, you helped him move forward, you gave him something to fight for, you-"
"You're a big part as to why he continues to live, Jeb. You don't have to thank me for anything. You know of all the times your father saved my life. He-"
"I know. I know I'm part of the reason as to why he decided to help reinstate the Tin Men, especially when a certain someone told him it was my dream as a child."
She had the grace to blush.
"But he'd be an emotionless husk without you DG. Even before the suit, he was always careful with revealing his emotions. I'm not saying he's announcing them now, but he expresses his care more easily. Without you, I don't know how he would have continued to approach me after the Eclipse. We were both so awkward around each other."
"I know, it was too painful to watch. I had to do something."
"That's just it, you didn't. You didn't have to get involved. You'd saved him, he returned the favor, and you could have left it at that. Not many people would do what you did. You had already saved the whole Outer Zone, the relationship between my father and I didn't have to concern you, but it did."
"Of course it did! I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was when I found out you and Cain had found each other."
"I think that hug I received expressed your exuberance well enough." He laughed. "I wasn't so sure then how I felt about everything. Those two days shocked me; when I first saw my father, I didn't know how to react. Once I got used to the idea, I had to deal with seeing him with someone else. I wasn't certain for a while, but I am now. Just make sure he doesn't kill any of the politicians so I don't have to clean up his mess and we're good."
DG stood in shock and her eyes widened when she was enveloped in a hug.
Jeb secured the last pin in her hair. "I'm just glad I don't have to worry about having an evil stepmother." With that, he left.
Red-faced (she was certain she could complete with Red Hat's face paint), she exited her room, immediately encountering the older Cain. She shrugged as he raised a brow when he saw his son's retreating back. Thankful he let it go (for now; she was sure to be interrogated later) and let him lead her to the Ball.
Sometime during the night, she danced a set with Jeb and commented offhandedly, "Glad you're behaving, wouldn't want to give you a timeout."
He laughed and said, "Wouldn't dream of misbehaving."
She grinned evilly. "Good because I could always send you to your dad for a spanking."
Jeb's horrified face had her laughing for annuals on end whenever she reminded him of her 'threat' when did something 'bad.'
Jeb embarrassed DG, she had to get him back; she demanded it.
Many thanks to Emily for reviewing Anchored the other day; it reminded me I hadn't updated this one. I'm SO sorry, I know I said it was going to be up last week, but I completely blanked. X.X
Emily, if you're reading this, the reason why I named the other story Anchored was because the story was basically about Cain removing the last anchor to his past life. I didn't even notice I had repeated an annual so much. Anyway, thanks for your review!
And thank you to everyone who has reviewed (thanks again Emily for the review AND unintentional reminder ^_^) these small, interconnected-but-not-really (except for the last two) one-shots, especially: KLCtheBookWorm, LittleMender, and tardisinthesgc.
Look for more Cain and DG stories coming soon (or soon-ish, depending on my memory…)!
Thanks again!
~*Eli