Happiness never seems to last in the O.Z.. Our fair heroine is once again pulled from her life and all that she knows.

Today was a great day for the royal family. Queen Dorothy Gale III knelt at one end of the room, eyes shining, bottom lip caught between her teeth in an expression of excitement and trepidation. King Ambrose I stood off to one side, gangly arms clasped around his middle, watching the proceedings like a lanky hawk. At the opposite end of the room was Grand Duke Wyatt Cain, bent at the waist, preparing his pupil for this momentous test; a soft smile played at his rosy lips.

"Go on," he coaxed gently. "Go to Mama."

Prince Wyatt Ambrose smiled widely, showing off all four of his teeth and pulled away from his father's supporting grasp. He toddled forward quickly, almost too quickly, nearly losing his balance. DeeDee opened her arms, beckoning her beautiful son come to her.

"C'mon, Button," she cooed. "Come to Mommy."

The child giggled happily and waddled into his mother's embrace. She hugged him close and nuzzled his ear and neck with soft kisses, his downy blonde hair tickling her cheek. Wyatt Ambrose squealed with joy, pressing his forehead to DeeDee's chest. Her heart felt ready to burst with the love she felt for her darling son. She could barely look at the boy without getting misty. And the mushy sentimentality of it didn't bother her one bit.

"Such a big boy!" she exclaimed proudly.

"Let's see if he can make it back," Glitch said, from his place not far from Cain. He had dropped to one knee and held out his hand. DeeDee turned the young prince in her arms so that he faced his dark haired father.

Glitch opened his mouth to speak, but Cain beat him to it. "Come to Dada, Wyatt," he called gently, now kneeling as well. Glitch's moth pursed in annoyance as he glanced at the fairer man.

"No," he said firmly and turned back to his wife and son. "Come to Papa."

The prince toddle forward a few steps before pausing, looking between the two men with a huge grin.

"Come on, Wyatt," Cain cooed with a grin of his own, pretending to ignore the other man. "Come to Dada."

"Come to Papa," Glitch insisted. DeeDee bit her lip again, this time to keep in the giggles that threatened to spill forth. Her husbands were never more adorable than when they competed over the attention of her son. Wyatt Ambrose squealed with delight and hurried forward. Unfortunately, he did not head for either Glitch or Cain, but instead shot straight towards the open door. Both men scrambled to their feet to catch the youngster before he could make his escape.

Cain got to him first and swung the babe into the air, drawing another shriek of joy. He then held his son out as Glitch pulled the child's shirt up and blew raspberries on his little round belly. It was the most wonderful thing DeeDee had ever seen. She had never been happier in her life, she thought, than at this moment.

The entire day had been utterly perfect, as a matter of fact. She had woken up to Glitch nuzzling her neck softly. Cain had risen early and gone to see to their child, leaving the King and Queen alone. Once DeeDee's eyes had opened, Glitch made slow, sweet love to her until she saw stars. Then, he had gone down to see to some kingly affairs and left her -with a loving kiss to her temple- to sleep a bit longer. She'd stirred and managed to force herself to crawl out of bed about an hour later. The shower had been hot and invigorating, but never more than when Cain found is way under the spray with her. He made her see stars as well, chuckling when she asked if it was her birthday and she'd forgotten.

And now, she knelt, watching the three men in her life - true Wyatt Ambrose was a little smaller than the other two, but still - and felt happy and whole and utterly contented. Not for the first time, DeeDee thought about her as yet unconceived second child. A boy, preferably. With dark hair, like herself and Glitch. She could almost see the child in her mind. A sweet faced little angel with raven locks and blue eyes. No, tawny. In her mind's eye, the boy grinned impishly at her, one eye Glitch's honey brown, the other her own sapphire blue. She smiled at the fanciful notion.

"You little sneak," Cain admonished his son with a chuckle, passing him to the other man. Wyatt Ambrose gurgled happily, kicking his feet at the air. A soft breeze ruffled his pale, pale hair. For a moment DeeDee didn't notice something off about that. Then it struck her. They were in an inner room in the palace, there were no windows. There should be no breeze.

"Glitch," she began. The dark-haired man looked to her, but whatever either of them might have said was lost as the soft breeze suddenly blasted the room like a hurricane. Glitch fell back against the wall nearest him, clutching the now screaming prince protectively. The wind blew around the room violent, tearing paintings off the walls, upending furniture. The roaring was so loud it hurt. All at once DeeDee felt a tug. Her eyes went wide with shock and fear. It was as though a giant hand had reached into her body and taken a firm grasp on her very soul. She gasped, reaching out for the man that had saved her time and again. The blonde forced his way towards her, fighting against the wind that tried to throw him back.

She felt the tug again, harder this time, and knew she could not fight it. Panicked she lurched towards her husband. "Cain!" she cried, pitifully. He reached for her, but the great invisible hand snatched her back and away.

"DeeDee!" the tin man roared. It was the last thing she heard, his shocked blue eyes the last thing she saw before crushing blackness overwhelmed her and that awful hand pulled her down into oblivion.

More to come soon. Dunno how soon, but soon. Promise. But you know.. it'll come faster if you make with the feedbacks.