The characters and setting are owned by the Sci-Fi channel and L. Frank Baum.

You readers really know how to make a girl blush. I never expected the overwhelming response to this story and I'm absolutely ecstatic.

To those of you who expressed concern with it becoming a Jeb/DG fic…no worries! I'm a hard and fast believer in Cain & DG even though I don't think that was how the writers wanted their relationship to come across. I figure, DG already has 2 fathers, a third is a bit much :)

And to C.M.Bryans, I completely agree about the quote.

So, without further ado, here is the seventh installment.

Let me know what you think.

As always, thank you for reading!

Chapter 7: Coin Toss

Cain wasn't gone for just a few minutes. He didn't return until the sun was sinking down over the horizon, nearly two hours after he left. DG had slept, a deep exhausted sleep, one in which she didn't turn or twitch or move a muscle. It was as if her entire body had succumbed to the fatigue. A gentle patting on her leg pulled her out of her slumber.

Eyes fluttering open, she observed Cain with the healer, viewer, and for a moment she thought he was Raw. The patting of her leg had not stopped and glancing over her shoulder she looked up at Jeb to see him glaring at his father. She sighed and turned her gaze back to the front, shifting into a seated position. As she moved, Jeb's arm dropped from her thigh to the small of her back, pressed between her back and the sofa. He made no attempt to remove it.

The healer shimmied forward to assess her injury. He was almost as hesitant as her memories of Raw. "Too much fabric," he said, fingering the empty right sleeve of the robe she never placed her arm through.

Without saying a word she rose and went to her dresser. Removing some clothing after careful consideration, she withdrew to the bathroom to change. When she had reemerged she was wearing a short-sleeved, button down blouse and cotton shorts, her arm still draped in the sling. The button down shirt had been easier to put on than anything that would require being pulled over her head and the fact that it was short-sleeved made viewing her injury much easier. As for the shorts, well, they were just to piss off Cain. He hated it when she wore revealing clothing, especially around other people. DG returned to the sofa, not once chancing a glance in his direction.

The healer ran his furry fingers over the inflamed skin of her upper right arm. "Heal begun," he stated. She sighed in relief at the report. The healer, noticing her change in both posture and emotion, clarified his statement. "No good," he started. "Wrong."

DG's heart sank. She knew it had been too good to be true, but before she could question the healer, Cain beat her to it. "What do you mean, wrong?" it was full of curiosity and concern that made DG stiffen.

The healer turned his gaze to the large man. "Bad," he said. "Bones heal wrong."

Cain still looked confused. DG took a deep breath and decided to explain the situation to the men. "The bones are healing in the wrong way. They probably aren't aligned right meaning it will have to be re-broken," she visibly winced, "so it can heal properly." She had seen enough doctor shows to know it was going to be painful, but necessary. Focusing her eyes on the healer, "Right?" she asked; sweat starting to bead at her hairline. The healer nodded mutely in response.

Her stomach churned again with the thought of her arm breaking, this time on purpose. She wondered aloud, "Who's going to break it?" eyes traveling between the two Cain men, knowing the healer would never be able to accomplish this task. Both looking stricken at the prospect, neither spoke up. "Ok," she groaned, "I can't do it myself so it has to be one of you." She stared pointedly at them in turn. Both pale and open mouthed. "Why don't you flip a coin if neither of you is going to be man enough," she ground out. DG had little sympathy for the men since she was the one that the pain was going to be inflicted upon.

When neither of them had budged, or looked anywhere other than her mangled limb, DG had had enough. "Oh, come on!" she cried angrily, standing and walking briskly to the closet door. "I just want to get this over with," she huffed, more to herself than her entourage. Opening the door she stuck her hand in the pocket of the leather jacket she had worn during the eclipse mission and pulled out a few pennies. Practically stomping back to the sitting area, she placed all but one penny on the table.

"Jeb," she stated, looking at the young man; she wasn't about to face Cain. "Call it in the air," she declared as she pitched the penny upward. When she had caught it she recognized that Jeb had not said a word. Now she was beginning to lose patience. Holding up the penny she started again. "This side is heads," showing off the prominent profile of Abraham Lincoln. "And this side is tails," disdain dripping from every word as she displayed the Lincoln Memorial.

Flipping the coin around with her thumb and pointer finger she looked blatantly at Jeb. "When I throw this in the air, I want you to call heads or tails," slow and staccato. "Who ever gets it right gets out of breaking my arm." She threw the penny up for the second time and before it reached its peak Jeb had whispered a frightened "heads."

After it had landed in her palm she realized her mistake. At this point she would have normally flipped her hand placing the penny on the back of the other. However, given the circumstances that was out of the question. Thinking fast she slammed the penny onto the table, quickly removing her hand and averting her eyes. She didn't know which she wished for most.

If it came up tails, Jeb would have to break her arm meaning she would have to endure sympathetic looks from Cain. That is, if he even bothered looking in her direction. Where as if it turned out to be heads, Cain would have to touch her and physically "assault" her. She groaned inwardly at the futility of the situation.

Both men had leaned forward to get a better view and the moan elicited from Jeb made DG sure, without even looking, that he had lost the coin toss.

DG sat down, stock still on the sofa putting Jeb to her right. Removing the sling she placed her useless hand onto her thigh and turned to grab a pillow to place in her mouth. She didn't look at Jeb, didn't think she could take it. Since looking at Cain was out of the question, she glared defiantly at the floor as if it had offended her in some way.

Quickly she thrust the pillow into her mouth and clamped down hard with her teeth. She held firm to the side with her free hand when she felt Jeb place one hand just below and one just above the break. Still looking sharply at the floor, she swore she saw Cain take a few steps in her direction, but she ignored him. This was going to be the most painful thing she ever experience since she knew what was coming, the last thing she needed was for her heart to hurt more.

In an instant her head was reeling in the shockwave of pain that shot out of her arm. Her screams were barely contained by the cushion and her hand clenched so tightly around it that it would have been a miracle for someone to take it away. Swaying, she was only stopped from completely toppling over left by a strong hand on her shoulder.

She was vaguely aware of resuming her sleeping position from earlier as her head hit a second pillow and her hair was being soothed by large, clammy fingers. Everything went black.