Disclaimer: Tin Man is not mine, has never been mine, and will never be mine. I don't think… I'm leaving my options open.

Tossing his pack in his room he rolled his neck as he tried to work out the kink that had developed over the course of the drive. After a few slow rotations it popped and he grimaced at the sound. Either he was getting old or he was getting soft. After ten years in an enchanted suit without being able to move more than an inch in any direction he should be able to sit in a car for seven hours without a problem. He turned his mind away from the path it was trying to travel down and focused on putting his things away. He'd learned the hard way that if he thought about the suit, the cabin, or anything relating to either, that he would inevitably be plagued with nightmares. He'd prefer to get a good nights sleep tonight and shook out one of his shirts before hanging it up in his closet.

He would have rather been with Deeg than putting his things away at the moment but the second they'd walked into the lower levels of the palace she had chased him off. When he told her he needed to report what happened to her parents she told him, very bluntly, that she was more than capable of telling them what happened herself. Her jaw had been set and he thought she was trying to prove something to herself. When he told her she didn't have to do that she told him it wasn't his job to take care of her and he should be relaxing as best he could seeing as he was still technically on vacation. With that she had ordered him to his rooms as if he were an errant child. Seeing that she'd dug her heels in he left knowing she was as stubborn as a damn mule when she set her mind to something. He wasn't going to fight her on this. He'd go ahead and save his energy for something more worthwhile.

Picking out another shirt he grabbed a hanger and set it next to the first. He sighed a bit when he realized he hadn't even managed to wear all the clothes he brought with him and he wasn't exactly a heavy packer. And while the palace staff would have taken care of such a mundane task for him he preferred to take care of his own things. Not only was it something he had grown up doing and was drilled into his head, he was afraid that someone would try to slip some sort of poison, magical device, or other dangerous mischief into his things. If that made him paranoid then so be it. The only thing he allowed to be done was have one of the maids come through and clean the carpets and windows once a week.

Even that poor woman had undergone severe scrutiny before he let her inside. He had a feeling she'd worked for other paranoid people in the past and had let him investigate her without complaint or comment. When he was satisfied, and he had checked to be sure she'd stayed away from his things, he allowed her to invade his sanctuary when he wasn't there. He did this mostly because it was expected now that he was living in the palace, but also because he genuinely preferred a clean environment. He was neat by nature. He liked things orderly. It helped him think and clear his head when the rest of the world tumbled into chaos around him.

Setting his pack on the shelf he kept it on he shrugged out of his duster and hung it up as well. It was followed by his hat, which he placed on the shelf next to his pack. Once he was satisfied that things were back in place he stood and glanced out the window as he gathered his thoughts. He'd been trying to figure out how to talk to Jeb for the last two days and still wasn't sure where to start. It didn't help that now that the idea was in his head he couldn't escape it. If he didn't take care of this now he wouldn't be able to get anything else done. It was like a dog nipping at his ankles. He needed to kick the thing in the head to get it to go. After ten minutes of fruitless thought over how to go approach the subject he simply left his rooms and went to Jeb's. He would just go at this head on. He was a straightforward person. It was the way he was. He didn't know why he was trying to be subtle about anything.

Stopping a few doors down from his own, he knocked on the wood paneling. He heard Jeb muttering then a small thump. "Coming."

A few seconds later and his son opened the door. He glanced at him then around the hall as if he was expecting someone else to be with him. "Dad?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." He moved out of the way and shut the door behind them. His eyes darted around the room out of habit and he noted, once again, that Jeb was more scattered about things than he was. While the room was clean, it was cluttered. He had stacks of books piled haphazardly around and he knew the boy's bedroom was in worse shape. Jeb generally had company and kept this part of his suite clear to entertain them and keep them feeling comfortable. After living in camps and the woods for so long he was a bit surprised Jeb was this clean. He had a sneaking suspicion he had Adora to thank for drilling a few chores into his head with everything else going on. She had always prided herself on cleanliness. "Did you need something?"

"I want to talk to you."

Jeb shifted his weight and shrugged. "About what?" He turned about and went to a table standing next to the door. There were a number of envelopes and folders sitting on it. He had his own stack waiting for him to read in his own rooms. They were full of reports and various information on troop movements, supply lines, and the state of several branches of the military he was in charge of. His son began sorting through the pile and stacking them in some sort of order. After seeing Jeb in meetings he was betting it was by priority rather than subject matter. His son was the model of efficiency.

"Jeb, look at me." His head came up at the request. There was a sudden wariness about him and he thought Jeb was trying to come up with escape routes or attack strategies if necessary. He told himself this was why he was here to begin with and braced himself. Then, with an internal sigh, he charged into the conversation. "We can't keep this up much longer."

"Keep what up?" His son straightened up from bending over the table.

"This." He waved his hand between them. "We barely talk. I don't see you for days on end and we live less than a hundred feet from one another. This isn't what I want."

Jeb's eyes flashed angrily. "Well, maybe its what I want."

He was taken aback by the anger in his voice. He also felt a deep sadness overtake him. He wouldn't retreat though. He'd made his mind up about clearing the air. He wanted to know where his son stood and why. "Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Jeb turned back to the table and went back to sorting mail. "We have nothing to talk about. We have nothing in common. There's no point in this."

"Jeb, we're family. You're my son. I don't want to spend the rest of my life feelin' like we're strangers to each other."

"You are a stranger. I hardly remember you." He never looked up as he flipped through the papers. "All I have are a few hazy snippets. That's it. Mom raised me, not you."

Guilt, sadness, and anger rolled over each other in a fight for dominance. He did his level best to keep his temper and get through this. He had known coming in that this would be hard. "I know, son."

"Yeah, you know, but you weren't there."

"I can't change that."

"No kidding."

He sighed. "Jeb, I'm sorry about what happ-"

"What does that fix?" He threw a report down and turned to face him. "What does sorry really fix? It doesn't change anything! You were trapped, we were alone, and then mom was murdered! That's all there is! Mom's dead and I never went looking for you!"

He realized, in a flash, that Jeb was as angry at himself as he was with him. He went after the anger Jeb was directing at himself first. He knew from experience how that could eat away at a man. He'd rather have Jeb angry with him than himself. He could live with his son being angry at him, he thought he deserved it. What he couldn't handle was knowing Jeb was blaming himself for things he couldn't have prevented or had a choice in. "You thought I was dead-"

"You weren't dead!" His son's blue eyes, that looked so very much like Adora's, were flickering with so many emotions that he could hardly keep track. "I left you there! I never even went to see!"

"Jeb-"

"I could have gotten you out years before you did! You could have been with mom! She wouldn't have cried herself to sleep every night after she thought I was asleep! She wouldn't have gone to bed hungry or cold because she gave me all the food and the blankets! Damn it!" Jeb had completely lost control. He suddenly saw his very scared little boy standing in front of him shouting instead of a general of the Ozian army. "I was supposed to take care of her! Instead I let that rat bastard get his hands on-"

Reaching out he grabbed his son and yanked him to his chest. "Stop." Jeb shoved at him and he tightened his arms. He pressed his cheek to the side of his son's head in an effort to comfort him. "Stop, Jebadiah. It wasn't your fault."

"It was." His voice cracked and he knew he was crying and trying to stop. "I'm sorry."

"No, it wasn't. We got swept up in this storm the same as everybody else." His voice was gruff as he held his son. "No one was safe. I should have hidden us better. It was my job to keep you safe. I was young and I was headstrong. I thought I could do that and help the resistance at the same time. I was damn stupid. I should have taken you both far away where you were safe from everything. I promised Adora I would keep you both safe. I promised no one would get to you. It was my fault. You never should have had to take care of anyone. That's not how it's supposed to work."

"I should have done better."

"Better than what?" He held him back and Jeb looked away as tears ran down his cheeks. "You led the strongest branch of the resistance when you were fifteen." He shook him slightly. "You were fifteen. The only thing you should have been worried about were your studies and some pretty thing that had your head spinnin' while she drove you crazy. You did what men three times your age couldn't do. Don't you dare feel ashamed of what happened. I'm damn proud of you. No one could have done better than you."

"You could have."

He shook him again. "Jeb, I got myself locked in an iron maiden. I think it's pretty obvious I couldn't have. You're smarter than me. You may have gotten that level-headedness from me but you sure as hell got that brain from your mother. She was always the smart one. Look at me." Jeb finally met his eyes after he wiped the tears away with his sleeve. "This wasn't your fault. I don't want you thinkin' that anymore. What happened, happened. I can't go back and change it for us and I'm sorry that I can't. You did a lot more than anyone else did, or should have had to. Do you understand what I'm sayin'?"

"Yeah."

"Do you believe me?" There was a long pause before he nodded slightly. "I'm not lyin' to you."

Jeb searched his eyes for a second. "It wasn't your fault either."

"In a way it was." He sighed and put his hand on the side of Jeb's head. "I made some stupid decisions. I'm not about to deny that. I was a damn fool. I'm sorry you had to pay for the mistakes I made."

"You did what you thought was right. Not many other people can say that. They ran and hid or let it happen."

"You don't need to get understanin'. I'd rather you go ahead and get angry with me so we can have this out in the open."

"I haven't been angry with you in a long time."

"But you were?"

He let his hands drop to his sides as Jeb shrugged. "For a while. When I was younger. When we first ended up in the resistance camps. Then I realized nearly everyone there had lost at least one parent or sibling. I wasn't angry with you after that. I was proud people knew who you were. They helped us because of the things you did. We were treated better than we had been anywhere else even if we were out in the middle of nowhere."

Well, at least that was something. He sighed and Jeb seemed to have regained control of himself again. "I'm glad you managed to find a place for yourself."

He nodded. "It wasn't bad once we got there. Except when we lost someone it was all right. We took care of each other." His eyes flicked to the window before coming back to him. "Mom was better once we got settled there too."

He felt more settled now that all of this was out. Only one more thing to cover. This would be the hardest part for him. "Jeb, I want us to be a family again. I want to be a part of your life and I want you to be a part of mine. I don't like what we are to each other. I want you to be happy. What do you need from me to make that happen?"

Jeb's attention shifted to the window again. Something was causing his internal sensors to come up. "What are you lookin' at?"

His son caught himself. "Nothing."

"Why do you keep lookin' at the window?"

"I'm not."

Now his son was lying. He tilted his head. "Yes, you are. What's so interestin' about the view?"

He could see Jeb was both distracted and thinking very hard about what he had said a few seconds ago. He stared back out the window and he saw him making some sort of decision. After several long seconds he seemed to agree with himself and turned now clear eyes back. "I want that too." Relief coursed through him in a rush. It was so strong he swore his knees almost gave out from under him. Then Jeb asked him a question that he knew was leading somewhere. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

His eyebrow quirked up. "Nothin' of any importance unless an emergency crops up. We weren't supposed to be back for another week. All my meetings have been pushed back."

"Would you come down to the city with me?"

"If you want me to. What's in the city?"

"I have a friend I'd like you to meet."

"A friend?"

"She was in my cell. She's apprenticing under a mid-wife in the city."

He was now under the suspicion that 'friend' might not be the correct term for Jeb's…Friend. Call it an instinct. "What kind of friend are we talkin' about?"

His son shrugged. "An important one. Would you like to meet her?"

Realizing this was a sign that Jeb did want them to have a better relationship he agreed immediately. "I would."

His son nodded sharply. "Good. I need to go if I'm going to catch her. We can leave tomorrow at about eleven. She's off on Tuesdays. We can get lunch."

"I'll be ready."

Jeb nodded and grabbed his jacket off the back of a chair. He saw that it was one of his nicer ones and that his son had changed at some point between their arrival and the time he'd knocked on the door. He had probably interrupted him seconds before he slipped out of the palace. He exited the room and Jeb shut and locked the door behind him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right. Goodnight, Jeb."

"Goodnight."

Then his son turned and trotted down the nearest staircase. As he headed back to his suite parental worry rolled over him. He thought it might be best not to dwell on exactly what his son's activities for the evening might be involving. He was still trying to banish that thought from his head when he went to unlock his door. It was already unlocked. His eyes narrowed and he pulled his gun from its holster. When it was secure he took a breath and threw the door open. It banged off the wall and the kid jumped in shock as the book she was reading tumbled out of her hands.

She blinked at him then raised her arms in the air. "Geez, Tin Man. I give up."

He pressed his lips together and shoved his gun back in the holster. "What have I told you about sneakin' in here?" He shut the door with a snap.

"I knocked!" She defended staunchly as she scooped her book back up. "How was I to know that you would blatantly ignore your normal routine? I don't feel I can be held responsible for your deviation. Although I am curious as to what had you deviating in the first place."

He huffed at her as his anger drained away. "I was talkin' to Jeb. And how could I hold you responsible for pickin' the lock? My fault." He wasn't really annoyed but she deserved some gripping for scaring him. Going to the chair across from her he sat down. "Aren't you supposed to be with your parents?"

"I am." She found her page and flipped to it.

"Kid, you're sitting in front of me. Unless you have Ahamo hidden behind the curtain and Lavender under a rug, you aren't with your parents."

"Ok, I'm not technically with them, but the next best thing is." He stared at her unblinkingly and she pouted.

"Explain."

She sent him a look that told him she had him pinned down to something. "Like the illusion thing Az taught me was really hard. I saw you watching me. You knew I could do it if I wanted."

He pushed aside that he had been caught watching her and focused on the more interesting bit of information. "That better not mean what I think it means."

"What do you think it means?" She asked as she swiveled and stretched out along the couch as she got comfortable.

"That there's a third princess that looks identical to you walkin' about."

"Not identical." She grinned cheekily at him. "I didn't see a point getting too detailed when the copy was wearing clothes. I mean really, no one is going to see my birthmark." She seemed to contemplate that. "At least I hope not. You don't think it's going to start doing a strip tease do you? I wouldn't put it past my double. Especially when I made her."

He wasn't sure what about that statement bothered him more. That there was another Deeg on the loose, that he was starting to wonder where her birthmark was, or how much of her clothing she would have to peel off before he got to see it.

Author Note: So… about the update time. All I can say is that I went into hibernation. I feel much more rested now. I hope you guys liked this chapter. It won't be a whole month before you get another.