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"Well that's just awesome!" She snapped at her empty room. "The places I considered home? I'm going to have to go back to freaking Kansas!" She was fuming and would admit it. Chucking cloths in an old pack she was finding it hard to forgive her mother for this one.

After the talk with her parents it had been decided that it would be more efficient to start looking for herself on the Otherside first. It would be less likely for the people of the realm to notice she was gone if they made it a fast trip. Yes they. Apparently Cain was going to come to. He had insisted on it actually and her parents had whole heartily agreed, she had glared but said nothing.

At least her Roborents made frequent trips back and forth between the O.Z. and Earth. At first it had been to get her things but the royal couple thought it might be a good idea to have a safe spot on the Otherside just in case anything unfortunate happened while they were stabilizing the realm. At least they would have a place to stay.

Finished stuffing cloths in her bag she tossed it and a jacket on her vanity chair. She was about to turn when her eyes landed on the box Cain had made her. She couldn't bring herself to leave it behind. What if someone missed it before they destroyed the tower? She placed it carefully in the pack and closed it.

"Are you packed Kid? We have to leave for Milltown at first light." Cain walked into her room without preamble. He had taken on his usual no nonsense traveling persona. It actually soothed her nerves despite the fact that whenever he acted like this they were running for their lives. He set his own pack, duster and hat next to her stuff and turned to regard her.

"Yeah I'm ready to go." She said miserably.

"Don't sound so excited DG." His eyes were laughing at her.

"Oh shut up. I'm not down with going to the Otherside. I spent most of my life trying to get away from Kansas and now I have to back… So not cool."

He sighed. "You don't have much choice. Unless you'd rather fade out of existence?"

She walked to her bed sitting on the edge of it exhausted. "No, I don't want to fade away. I'm just tired and grumpy. Sorry."

Cain sat next to her pushing her until she was fully on the bed. "I think I'd be tired and grumpy if I hadn't slept in a month too DG. Try to sleep, I'll be next door."

He wasn't staying? There was no way she would sleep if he wasn't there. "You're leaving?"

He glanced at her, his walls up. "I didn't seem to help much last night Princess. I didn't think you'd want me with you again."

"Cain that was the most I've slept in two weeks all together." Her voice had a hint of pleading in it. "Please stay?"

His eyes flickered but he nodded. "Move over then."

She scrambled to the other side of the bed afraid he was going to change his mind. He got up and her heart sank when he went to the door but he just locked it before turning off the lamps. He came back to the bed and removed his boots and holster before lying down next to her. His arm snaked gently around her waist and she let herself spoon against him telling herself this was about sleeping and nothing else.

She felt herself relax slowly. His steady breathing at her back sent her to that twilight state between wakefulness and sleeping. As she drifted off she wondered what it was about Cain that always made her feel so safe. Thinking back she'd always felt that way, even when he wasn't particularly interested in helping her. When Raw had first jumped out at her in the Papay Fields she had instinctively moved to him instead of Glitch, and she liked Glitch a lot more than him at the time.

Then again she had connected with him in a different way than her other friends in the O.Z. And for some reason even after they had stopped the witch he had still wanted to stay with her. Deep down she had expected him to leave after the battle. He had his own life and most of the time they had traveled together she felt more like a nuisance to him than anything else. Right up until they were about to break into the tower. When he refused to shake her hand something between them had shifted for good, although what that something was she wasn't entirely sure. Still she had never been as happy as when he promised to come back.

She fell asleep more easily than she had the previous night. Having a game plan made her feel better even if she knew that what was wrong with her was potentially fatal. But whatever, she'd done fatal before. Her dreams came to haunt her again and she felt herself begin to shiver as the cold from the Ice Palace seeped into her. She woke with a start pressing back into Cain's body heat. He mumbled something in his sleep tightening his grip on her.

She lay still not wanting to wake him. She figured he only had another thirty minutes at any rate. Her body felt so much better after two nights of sleep. She could kiss Cain. Her waking mind stuttered to a halt. No, no, no. Seriously bad thoughts that would lead to other bad thoughts, that would eventually lead to her doing something completely stupid. This was Cain, her friend and protector. What was wrong with her?

It wasn't like she had a chance at any rate. She yawned gazing down at the arm wrapped around her in a tired sort of way. After all he was still wearing his wedding ring… She narrowed her eyes in the predawn light. The silver band was not on his finger and judging by color of the skin where it had been, it had absent for some time. How in Ozma's name had she missed that? She could not have been that tired. Cain chose that moment to wake up.

His voice was thick with sleep and he shook her softly. "Time to wake up Princess."

She stretched out pretending he had woken her and mumbled an affirmative into her pillow. He grunted sitting up and squeezing her arm as he got off the bed. "Get up Kid. You need to say your goodbyes before we leave."

She rolled over and crawled off the bed snatching a set of cloths out of the wardrobe and heading to the bathroom. She hated goodbyes they were so depressing. She took a quick bath and got dressed. At least she would get to see Momster and Popsicle tonight. That was always a treat. Cain was waiting for her when she came out. She walked to her vanity and ran a brush through her hair before adopting the same hairstyle she had the day before. She could have sworn Cain smiled when she put the comb in her hair but when she turned to grab her pack his face was impassive.

She threw on her jacket and headed out. They were going to meet everyone in Glitch's recovery room. That way he wouldn't miss them. They were the first one's to arrive and she had fun scaring the living daylights out of a sleeping Glitch. When they walked in he was asleep propped up among his pillows with a book open on his chest. She turned to Cain winking and holding a finger to her lips. He shook his head setting his pack down.

She crept close to Glitch, just out of his reach, she'd seen what he could do and wasn't interested in getting smacked down. She let her magic out and the book started to slowly hover away from his body. The pale hand that had been resting on it slid off and landed on his hip, he twitched slightly. Positioning the book in front of his face she clapped her hands together and the book slammed shut mimicking her actions with a loud snap.

Glitch jumped awake gangly arms flailing. She began to laugh doubling over in glee. Cain snorted but made no move to protect her when a barrage of pillows suddenly assaulted her. "Doll that was plain cruel!"

She held up her arms in defense still laughing. "Yeah but it was funny! You should have seen your face!"

Her parents and Az walked in as the last of Glitch's ammunition hit the side of her head. They looked at the pillow strewn floor in confusion and she snickered at the advisor. He crossed his arms eyes alight with mirth saying nothing.

"Spitfire you do seem to find trouble wherever you go." Ahamo's voice was laced with exhaustion. It didn't look like either of her parents had slept the night before. She could sympathize with them. Az was studying the mess with confusion as if she didn't understand the point of it. Her sister needed to learn to have some fun. Judging from the way Glitch's gaze was slipping over her she figured she'd learn as soon as he was out of bed.

Her mother walked over and embraced her. "Be safe my Sweet. I'm sorry this happened."

She patted the woman's back. "It's ok we'll fix it."

Her father was quick to follow suite and she was left facing Az. Her sister's dark eyes were a little lost. She pulled her into a hug and whispered to her. "No worries Az. I'll be back as soon as I can, promise." She lowered her voice even further until she was sure only her sister could hear her. "Until then I think Glitch will be more than happy to keep you company."

Pulling back she saw that Az's eyes had widened. She grinned and gathering the fallen pillows plopped them on the bed next to her friend. She leaned over and hugged him tightly. "See ya soon Glitch. You'd best be out of bed by the time I get back."

With that she stepped back toward the door. Cain grabbed Glitch's hand and shook it firmly and tilted his hat at her family. "I'll keep her safe."

Her father smiled wanly. "You've done an excellent job so far Mister Cain. We have no reason to doubt your abilities. Be safe on your journey."

She gave one last wave to the room in general and went out. Cain grabbed his pack and they headed silently to the stables. Entering the large semi circular area Cain retrieved the two horses he had selected the day before and saddled them quickly, securing their packs behind the saddles.

She mounted the mare he had chosen for her hoping she was as docile as he promised. She was a beautiful animal, chestnut brown with a white sock on her front leg. Cain's horse was a darker brown that had a smattering of white spots along its flanks. Both horses trotted out of the stables obediently and they were on their way.

While she may not have been the best rider in the world she could hold her own on a well-trained animal. Cain was without a doubt and excellent rider. He was completely at home in the saddle and moved like he was an extension of the horse he rode. He made her feel ungainly. It didn't help that as soon as they made it to the woods he guided them in.

"Cain what are we doing?" She liked the road. It was flat and easy to maneuver on.

"Were staying under cover. I don't trust the roads, there are too many people that might want to get their hands on you." His voice made it clear that this was not up for discussion. She sighed glancing up at his back. She understood his reasoning but this was going to be a long day.

She was right about that. They didn't make it to Milltown until well past sunset and she was sore all over. At least her horse was nice to her and was rather skilled at picking her way through the underbrush. What she wanted to know was how Cain managed to emerge from the endless sameness that was the forest directly in front of Milltown. A person shouldn't be able to do that.

He dismounted his horse easily as she toppled off hers with a groan. "I don't want to ride anymore ever."

He snorted at her grabbing her horse's reins and leading them toward the center of town keeping a sharp eye out for trouble. She limped after him thinking that a massage wouldn't go wrong at this point. They were greeted ten feet inside the city limits by the floating major.

"Welcome to Milltown Princess. We are honored by your visit but what brings you here?"

"Hello Father Time. I need to talk to Momster and Popsicle. It's an emergency."

He hovered nervously but motioned for them to follow him. Another robot, a young woman with yellow hair walked out of a nearby doorway and took the horses from Cain after he removed their packs. They were lead to nearby house and Father Time gave her an odd bow before departing. "Thank you!" She called out as he floated away.

Turning she knocked on the door Cain standing at her shoulder his eyes traveling up and down the small road that cut the town square in two. A few moments later she heard Popsicles voice call out before the door was opened. He stood staring at her blankly for a moment before a huge grin spread over his face and he caught her up in a hug.

"Peanut! What are you doing here?" He grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the small wooden house Cain following closely behind and securing the door.

"Emily! Guess whose here!" Her foster mother came around a corner and smiled happily when she saw her.

"DG! What a nice surprise. Come in and get comfortable, you to Mister Cain."

This was nice and all but they had to leave, like now. "Sorry we can't. We need to get to the Otherside and figured it would be smarter if you two came with us. So if your not busy do you think you could be ready to go, ummm, five minutes ago?"

Her Roboparents stared at her. "I know short notice, but this is way up there on the DG freak out meter. I need to call a travel storm before anyone knows I'm here. Can you come or not?"

Emily gave her a very serious look. "How far up on the scale Pumpkin?"

"An eleven, fatality imminent." Thank god Momster understood the system. "Now we gotta go. I swear I'll explain when we get to the farm house."

Her foster parents went into an efficient packing frenzy no more questions asked. Cain gave her the oddest look she'd ever received from him but she just shrugged. Explaining the DG freak out meter would take to long. Her Roborents were ready in five minutes. They all walked out the door and she headed to the edge of the small town as Popsicle told Father Time that they were going to visit the Otherside for a few days. The old robot simply bowed his head to her.

She stood at the edge of the small clearing surrounding the village. She hated travel storms. "Everyone ready?"

Hearing no dissent in the ranks she called on her light and her magic flared out around her. The wind began to pick up as a twister slowly began to form in the center of the clearing. Travel storms took a lot of magic to summon and even more focus to get them to work properly. Splitting her focus between forming the tornado and their destination was not easy.

Soon the twister was raging before them. Her hands continued to pulse as she held it in place. It wanted to spin away but that was so out of the question. She wasn't going to let it destroy Milltown again. Fighting back her own semi-irrational fear of the storm she turned her head and jerked it toward the doorway to the Otherside not sure her companions would be able to hear her.

"Lets go!" She shouted out but her voice was blown away in the wind. She spun back around and before she could loose her nerve she held her breath and leaped into the storm. She refused to open her eyes until she felt herself hit the ground.

The wind continued swirl powerfully around her as three lightning bolts hit the field near her. Her parents stood unfazed at the edge of the storm and Cain was in a crouch holding his hat to his head. Through the dust and grass that had been picked up she could see her childhood home several hundred yards away. She let her spell go and the wind died down almost at once. She sat down her magic having drained away her energy.

Cain was behind her almost immediately helping her to her feet. "You alright Princess?"

Her lip twitched as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah there's no place like home."

Author Note: Don't you just have to know what kind of trouble these two can get into in Kansas? Oh this is going to be fun… Leave me a review!