You're wishin' you weren't here
You don't try to make a go
It's all on video and he's smellin' the fear
He's your worse dream comin' true
You got trouble times two
A trooper with an attitude
38 Special – Trooper With An Attitude
The newly wedded couples were eager to start their honeymoons but knew they would at least have to make an appearance at the grand wedding reception Regina planned at the newly expanded Town Hall. Rumple and Belle planned to spend theirs at Rumple's cabin in the woods. It had been completely remodeled while they were recovering from their magical drain and Bae and Zelena had just finished turning one of Rumple's storage rooms into a nursery for the baby.
The Darlings, deciding to stay on in Storybrooke, were now working for Rumple at the pawn shop. In the week prior to the wedding Rumple, Belle and the Darlings discussed expanding the shop to start selling antiquities purchased at auctions and estate sales as well as making half of it into a bookshop. Belle was thrilled with the idea of having her own bookshop that she could hold story time in when she wasn't working at the library.
Although he knew Rumple would probably rake him over the coals for it, Archie was still determined to take Az on the road in his bus for their honeymoon. He also wanted to open his own shop when they returned where they could start selling Az's sculptures, DG's artwork and his DIY lawn creations. It was a hobby he'd picked up the OZ and carried over with his cursed persona.
Three days before the wedding a large meeting was called at the town hall and many were surprised when Emma announced that she was stepping down as Sheriff.
"Why?" Ruby asked.
"Because since the curse was broken there are at least half a dozen people who've come here that are more qualified for the job. The only experience I had was as a bail bonds person. We need a real cop to head the department and after conducting interviews with all the experienced officers I have found the best candidate for the job. People of Storybrooke, I'd like you to meet our new Sheriff….Wyatt Cain!"
A nervous Wyatt rose from his chair and walked up to the podium. "Ummm….thank you," he said when the applause died down. "All I'm gonna say is that I'm gonna do my best to keep law and order in this town and I'll be countin' on my fellow deputies to give me a hand with that. And I wanna thank Emma for doing a good job while she's been in office."
"I have decided that we are now going to make the Sheriff's position a lifetime appointment. If, at any time Wyatt decides he wants to step down, HE will be the one to choose his successor," Regina announced.
It was agreed that Emma would remain Sheriff until Wyatt and DG returned from their honeymoon. She would stay on with the department as a Deputy and in Wyatt's absence she would start interviewing refugees from the realms to try to expand the department.
"They need to get a room," Bae remarked to Jeb, Xenia and Ambrose and Raw, the newly married couples still kissing amidst a shower of rose petals. They laughed.
"I think they are," Xenia said as they watched Wyatt lift his bride into his arms and carry her into the woods. They were still kissing. Archie picked up Az and started following them, laughing.
"Now? Can't they wait till after the reception? We have all those guests waiting!" Ambrose protested. "Tell them they need to wait till after the reception!"
"I'm not going to tell them. You go ahead and do it and watch how fast my dad follows through with his threat to make that zipper show up on your mouth," Jeb warned.
Ambrose threw up his hands. "I give up. You're all impossible."
"Not impossible just don't want to make Tin Man and DG mad," Raw pointed out. "Commander even worse when he gets mad."
"Oh boy….DO NOT call him that to his face, Raw," David pleaded. "He hates it. But what the heck are they doing?"
Rumple and Belle vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Now there THEY go!" Ambrose shook his head.
"Ummm….you think we should delay the reception a few hours?" Emma inquired of Regina. "Food seems to be the last thing the newlyweds have in mind."
It would be the last thing I have in mind too, she thought.
"Where did everybody go…off to make tacos?"
"H…Henry…what….?" Emma choked. Snow and Charming snickered. "Oh, shut up! YOU started him on that because you didn't WARN me what you were up to before I came home that day!"
"Well I woulda said they were off to make babies Mom but they already did that."
"Oh my God, my kid is corrupted for life!" Emma moaned and buried her face in her hands.
"Maybe Az is gonna sculpt Archie like one of those French girls again."
"WHAT? WHAT? Henry Mills Strogoff, you'd better explain that one right now!" Regina ordered.
"Whoa, calm down Mom. Ummm…remember when Cora was gonna come to Storybrooke. Grampa sent me to find Archie and I did…but ahh….I kinda dropped in at a bad time."
"And just WHAT did you drop in on Henry Mills Strogoff?"
"Ummm….Az was sculpting Archie and ummm….he was naked…"
"Oooh when I get my hands on him I'm gonna….."
"Hey, Mom it was my fault. He didn't know I was gonna drop in. Besides, I walked in on you before!"
"Well I guess we don't have to have The Talk with him. He already knows enough," Bae quipped. "Yeeouch! If looks could kill…" He backed away from Emma and Regina.
"You'd be dead," Emma growled. "So do yourself a favor and shut it, Gold!"
He nodded and wisely held his tongue.
"Well we might as well start the reception without them then. No sense letting all that good food go to waste. Come on."
The party was already in full swing when they arrived at the Town Hall even if the guests of honor were missing.
"I'm going to beat them all with my rolling pin! Skipping out on all this good food!" Granny ranted.
"I say we hunt 'em down and make 'em come here!" Leroy bellowed. "C'mon boys!"
"Oh crap…I think there's gonna be an increase in the snail population," Bae muttered when a group of residents raced out of the diner. "Zee! Where do you think you're going!?"
"I'm joining the mob!" she cackled. "Come, caro mio!"
Angelo threw up his hands. "I never argue with her. It's pointless." He hopped on the back of Zelena's broom and the flew off into the woods.
"…Rumple…it's beautiful!" Belle cried as they stood outside of his new newly remodeled cabin. "When did you have this done?"
"Oh, while we were sleeping." He scooped her up in his arms.
"Rumple, your leg…"
"Oh, I may hae been given my limp back but that doesna mean I cannae enchant it not to pain me for a bit to carry my wife over the threshold. After all, tis how it's done in this land."
"Have I told you how much I love your native accent?"
"Ye can tell me indoors," he murmured. The door swung open when he stepped onto the porch and slammed shut once they were inside. He carried her down the hall to the master bedroom and laid her down on the bed. As he crawled into bed with her they heard a commotion outside.
"HEY GOLD! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE. YOU HAVE A WEDDING RECEPTION TO ATTEND!" Whale yelled through a bullhorn.
"I am going to turn him into a whale if he doesna get out of here in two minutes!" he growled.
"RRRRumplestiltskin, Belle…come out come out wherever you are," they heard Zelena giggle after she and Angelo emerged from the fireplace covered in soot after climbing down the chimney.
"Zee, why couldn't we just come in the front door," he groaned.
"He would have it warded." She rapped on the bedroom door. "Are you decent?"
"Ye won't be if ye dinna get yer arse outta here, cousin!"
"Well you shouldn't have deserted your guests. It's rude."
"Git out or by the goddess I'll turn ye green!"
"Bring it on, cousin. Bring it on!"
"All right, Ye asked for it!"
Angelo howled with laughter. "Oh my God…Zee….look in the mirror!"
She walked over to the mirror above the mantel and smiled at her new appearance. "Not bad, not bad." She waved her hand over her face. "I might actually use this look for our next Halloween party."
Henry slammed the tip of his dragon's head staff into the ground when he saw a window being opened in the rear of the cabin.
"Sorry Grampa," he chuckled.
"Henry Mills Strogoff, ye release those wards right now!"
"Let's make a deal Grampa. You come to the wedding reception for two hours and I'll release the wards. You can teleport anywhere you want after that. Do we have a deal?"
"Dammit, ye sound like me!"
"Well, do we have a deal?" Henry floated over to the master bedroom window and hovered there using his staff. Belle was sitting on the bed laughing hysterically.
"He's a spoke off the old spinning wheel, isn't he darling?"
"Aye, he certainly is. Well lad, ye hae a deal 'cause ye won't be leaving us in peace otherwise!" He reached out and shook his grandson's hand. Minutes later he emerged from the cabin with Belle.
"One couple down, two to go! Come on boys!" Leroy hooted.
"Commander and Tin Man not going to be easy for them," Raw remarked. Jeb nodded in agreement. They searched the forest for over an hour but no trace of the other two couples could be found.
"We should've just run off like they did," Rumple grouched. "Ah well. Come on sweetheart. We'll amuse them for a bit."
Though there were still two couples missing from the reception, the guests were more than happy to make do with one. Bae stood up and held up his champagne flute.
"Papa, Belle, you've crossed realms, crossed time and fought so many battles to be where you are today, and I just wanted to say that I love you both and I couldn't ask for better people to be my parents. Belle, you may not have given birth to me, but you have loved me and treated me like I was your son from the day we met. I wish you both a long life with much joy…and lots of brothers and sisters for me to spoil and send home! To Papa and Belle!"
"To Rumple and Belle!"
"Well dearie, ye could be returning the favor to me and giving me more grandchildren to spoil and send home to ye!" Rumple retorted, smirking over the rim of his glass.
Granny and had staff had prepared a wonderful feast for their guests of honor and though she was disappointed four of them would not be attending, the one couple that did stay behind was pleased that she'd added their beloved hamburgers to the menu and Zelena and Angelo had prepared several of their favorite dishes from Italy and Russia.
"And now we invite our bride and groom to come to the floor to share their first dance as husband and wife," Regina announced and 'After All' began to play.
"I can't help it," Belle murmured. "I still feel like this is all a dream and I'll wake up in Regina's castle a prisoner…"
"It's real sweetheart. Feel it," he encouraged, lifting her hand and pressing it against his chest. "Do you feel our hearts beating Belle. We're one now…in every way. No one is ever going to take you away from me again."
Suddenly she was yanked out of his arms.
"But I'll die trying…BEAST!" Maurice roared.
"Papa! Rumple, he's laced his hands with squid ink!" she cried.
"Oh, has he?" His eyes narrowed to slits. "Ye dinna wanna go a round with me, mon. Father-in-law or no. Now release my wife!"
Henry, Bae and Emma moved forward, all armed with anything they could find.
"Stand down! He's mine!"
"My daughter doesn't love you. You seduced her with that dark magic from your bastard bloodline. And now I'm taking her back."
A group of cloaked figures marched into the hall.
"Impossible! I thought they were all dead!" Xenia gasped.
"What the hell are they?"
"The Sons and Daughters of Shadows," Rumple spat. "Her disciples. Well versed in dark magic. Where were ye when we were sending yer mistress back to her cage, dearies?"
The leader drew a sword. "Biding our time Strogoff scum. Now we will break the circle and our mistress shall reign in this land. Take them all!"
"You wanna fight? Bring it on," Regina challenged.
One of the figures tossed a travel storm token at the wall and a glowing vortex appeared. The ones holding a still immobile Bellle began to drag her through it.
"I think not!" Rumple snarled and blasted them. "I'm at full strength now so dinna think ye can escape me THAT easily."
"Blue, clear the hall! Now!" Regina bellowed. The fairy waved her wand and the rest of the guests vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Emma and Regina still in the hall with Maurice, Rumple and the disciples.
Emma summoned her sword and began dueling with two of the monks while Regina slammed three others against the wall and summoned vines to bind them.
"Where are the others?" the leader demanded.
"Somewhere you can't find them." Rumple taunted. One of the men holding Belle attempted to tear out her heart and was blasted back. She laughed as she began to recover her strength.
"A heart that's divided can't be taken," she reminded them with a smirk. She spotted her father trying to sneak away and slammed the doors shut. "You're not going anywhere, Papa!"
"Belle, please…see reason!"
"Did you think I wouldn't recognize them, Papa? Their faces have haunted my nightmares for years! WHAT DID THEY PROMISE YOU?"
Rumple howled with rage and teleported himself over to where they were standing while Emma and Regina finished off the others.
"YOU ARE ONE OF THEM!" he roared.
"Papa, why? Why?" Belle sobbed.
"You made a deal daughter…and so did I."
The Enchanted Forest
Twenty-eight years ago
The deal had been stuck. His lands and his people had been saved but his daughter was lost to him forever, or so he thought.
"You can get your daughter back."
His hands gripped the arms of his chair. "Who are you?"
The woman lowered her hood. "My name is Ekaterina Zero and I am the High Priestess of Shadowlands, Surely you have heard of us."
"You…you serve her….the dark goddess," he whispered fearfully. "No, no. We have done enough deals with those of your ilk."
"Your own goddess seems to have abandoned you, Lord Lavalliere. We have our own interest in your daughter. She must be removed from Rumplestiltskin's side and we can make that happen for you…if you become one of us."
"I cannot…"
"What choice do you have? Leave your daughter with the Dark One? He will lie with her and breed his monstrous heirs upon her innocent body. My mistress's vessel he may be, but he does not serve her, He serves himself. He must be destroyed!"
"You can destroy him and free my daughter?"
"If he has already taken her, her body must be cleansed," Katia informed him. "We must be certain their copulations do not bear fruit."
The thought of his precious daughter rutting with the beast horrified him.
"Do you consent?" Katia pressed.
"I consent," he murmured.
Katia waved her hand and a group of cloaked figures appeared in a circle around her.
"Come forward and kneel," she commanded.
Maurice's knees knocked when he rose from his chair and walked slowly toward the circle, the figures chanting in the Ozian language, a language his daughter had been studying prior to her being taken. Had her summoning him been part of the Dark One's plan all along? He knew no other woman in the realm would have the beast. Once Maurice was inside the circle Katia placed her hands upon his shoulders.
"Into the Shadows I come
Your will be done
Recite!" she ordered, her nails cutting into his flesh.
"Into the Shadows I come
Your will be done!" he recited.
"Rise and take your place in the circle." A black hooded cloak appeared in her hands. Maurice took and put it on, moving to his place in the circle.
Storybrooke, Maine
Years later
"…Bastard! They were USING you! They knew what your daughter was, what I was! They were using you to defy the will of the OZ. But you've failed…" he sneered, grabbing Maurice by the throat and shoving him against the doors. "Your goddess is imprisoned, the circle complete. All magic comes with a price dearie and now you pay!"
"Mistress, do not forsake us! Destroy them!" one of the women pleaded.
"It's over bitch," Emma pointed the tip of her sword at her throat. "Your mistress is locked up tight and you're gonna be joining her."
Henry appeared in a puff of smoke.
"The East Guardian summons thee
Ozmalita Diosa, appear now before me!"
A puff of silver smoke appeared in the hall revealing a tall, ginger haired woman wearing a white lab coat.
"You're not Ozmalita," he growled, the eyes on his staff glowing.
"This is my new form Henry," Adora said softly and knelt. "What is your will?"
"Take them to Ephesis," he commanded. "They are the surviving disciples of the Temple of Shadows."
"They are not the only ones. There are others in the five remaining realms."
"We will find them," Rumple said through gritted teeth. "This one…" He held Maurice out. "I ask that he be sent to the Realm of Retribution for his crimes against his flesh and blood!"
"What…what do you mean…what?" Maurice babbled.
"You're going to Hell, dearie and I've heard the accommodations can be quiet…painful."
A small pendant appeared in Adora's hand. She began chanting in Greek and Ozian, the disciples screaming while white mists emitted from their mouths and into the emerald in the pendant's center, their bodies disintegrating.
Maurice looked at his daughter with pleading eyes. "Belle…"
"Your bondmate has called for a judgement against your father, Belle. I cannot take his soul unless it is your will as well."
Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Take him," she croaked.
"The words, dear Belle. You must speak the words."
"I loved you Papa. I loved you so much. I sacrificed my freedom to save you, to save our people all those years ago. I never expected to love Rumple or for him to love me, but we DO love each other and NOTHING will come between us again. Not even you," she sobbed. "I ask that he be sent to the Realm of Retribution for his crimes against his own flesh and blood. "
"NO!" he yelled. "You cannot do this! Belle!"
"It's been decided," she said flatly. "Take him."
"I curse the day your dear mother bore you!" he yelled when he began to disappear. "YOU ARE NOT MY DAUGHTER!'
Belle spun around and buried her face in Rumple's shoulder, weeping brokenly.
"Your loss dearie," he murmured, stroking her hair. "It's all right sweetheart. It's over. It's finally over…"
The guests returned to the hall now wondering if there was anything left to celebrate. They took their seats in silence, shocked when Belle flicked her wrist and the music started playing again.
"NO!" she cried through her tears. "I will not give them the satisfaction. Get up, dance! This is my wedding day and I will have nothing else spoiling it!" She grabbed Rumple's arm and dragged him out onto the dance floor. He made a face.
"Ye dinna expect me to dance to disco, do ye sweetheart?"
She turned to him, hands on her hips. "Are you honestly going to stand there and tell me you don't like disco?"
"It's bloody awful! Play something else."
"You get out here mister or you'll be spending your wedding night on the couch!" she threatened.
"Are ye gonna make me?"
"I'm going to count to three. One…"
David and Beth Molk were already on the floor dancing toYou Should Be Dancing, David imitating John Travolta's moves from Saturday Night Fever perfectly.
"Go Molky!" the former SFPD inspectors hooted, saluting them with their glasses.
"You gonna stand there and let us be upstaged or get out here and dance, you oaf? TWO!"
"I bloody HATE disco!"
"THREE!"
"Agh, fine!" he growled and joined Belle on the floor. "I'm gonna look like a bloody fool. How d'ye dance this crap, dearie?" he demanded of David.
"Watch and learn," David grinned and began teaching the groom the dance moves. "Didn't you ever watch the movie?"
"If I hate disco, what makes ye think I'd bloody watch anything with it in it?"
"Come on Belle," Beth laughed.
Rumple waved his hand and he and David were wearing the trademark white polyester suit from the movie.
"I might as well look the part," he said and laughed.
"Boogie down, Papa!" Bae chuckled. Seconds later he was on the floor beside him.
"Now ye can look as foolish as me, lad!"
"Come on, Papa. Let's us show 'em what the Gold men can do. You know any Van Halen?"
"Does the Pope wear a hat?" he countered. "Why? What're ye planning?"
Bae leaned forward and whispered in his father's ear. Rumple grinned and gestured again. This time he was dressed in a leather jacket, jeans and white t-shirt.
He sauntered over to where Belle was standing strumming his cane like a guitar to Van Halen's 'You Really Got Me.'
"Girl, you really got me now
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin'
Girl, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
Girl, you really got me now
You got me so I don't know where I'm goin', yeah
Oh girl, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
You really got me…" he sang.
"Who knew Gold was a Van Halen fan," Emma mumbled.
"I didn't but I think it's cool. Alright Grampa!" Henry shouted.
"Reminds me of our wedding," Beth giggled.
Belle went into her husband's arms, smiling. "I didn't know you could sing."
"There's a lot ye still dinna know about me, sweetheart but ye've got a long time to find out," he murmured, picking her up and spinning her around.
"Can we leave the party early," she whispered.
"Aye."
"And can you do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"Talk to me like that tonight. I love that accent."
"As ye wish," he whispered and kissed her hotly.
An hour later the music was turned off and the couple walked over to the dessert table to cut the cake. It was a three tiered marble cake with white and grey icing to represent the snow capped mountains and the topper a replica of the Dark Castle. They held hands and cut two slices together. Belle picked up her piece and mashed it in her husband's hair.
"Ohhh ye asked for this dearie!" he giggled and mashed his on her backside.
"Ha ha, Miss Belle gots cake on her butt!" Roland Hood giggled.
"And now I would like all the single ladies to gather around. I'm tossing my bouquet!" she announced. "Oh no you don't Emma Swan!" She cast a come-hither spell when she caught Emma trying to make a break for it.
"Damn!"
It's going right in her hands. Do you get my meaning Rumplestiltskin Strogoff-Gold.
I'll do my bit, dearie.
She closed her eyes, the bouquet glowing slightly before she tossed it over her shoulder. Emma stood at the back of the line, trying as best as she could to avoid one of the most dreaded of wedding traditions.
Don't let me catch it again please, she prayed. It seemed that no matter whose wedding she went to she always ended up catching the bouquet but she was never the next person to get married.
She could see Regina moving her way through the line.
Good, Let her get it.
"What? No!" she groaned when the bouquet fell into her hands.
Belle winked at her husband. Snow brought a chair out for her and she sat down. Rumple, using his cane to balance himself knelt at her feet and reached under her skirt for the elusive garter.
Use your teeth.
Dearie! There are children here!
Oh damn! I forgot.
Later, darling, later.
Is that a deal?
It's a deal.
He stood up, the scrap of blue lace dangling from his finger. "All right ye men get yer arses in here," he ordered, pleased to see his son at the front of the line. He turned his back, counted to three and tossed the garter over his shoulder. There was a brief scuffle and a triumphant Bae stood up. Tinkerbell lowered her head. Regina patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"There's still a chance. Emma won't give him the time of day."
"And how are things progressing with you and Robin."
"Slowly. He loved Marian so much…"
The fairy nodded, looking away as Emma took Belle's place in the chair.
The moment Bae's hand touched her thigh he was taken back to those many nights they'd spent in cheap motels in the backseat of her Bug and across the room she could see the living reminder of those nights.
I can't think about it. I can't, she told herself. He'll just abandon me again. Bae's eyes met hers when he rose to his feet with the garter in his hand.
"I'm not giving up on us Em," he said before he returned to his seat.
"Regina, Belle and I will be leaving after we have the bridal dance," Rumple informed her. She nodded.
Ruby stood by holding a white silk purse for the guests to toss their dollar fee in to dance with the bride and groom. Rumple and Belle would be using the money to support the Nonestican refugees.
"Have a good time on your honeymoon." Bae kissed Belle's cheek. "And make sure Papa behaves."
She laughed. "I'm going ton have to keep myself out of trouble first."
"Where are you going?"
"Back to our cabin and we're not to be disturbed this time unless it's a dire emergency!" He waved his hand and teleported them back to their cabin.
Belle took his hand and started pulling him toward the bedroom. "Now what did you say you wanted to do with your teeth?" she asked.
"Well sweetheart allow me to show ye…" He scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed, nibbling on a sensitive spot on her neck. "And that's just the start…"
Topeka, Kansas
"So this is where you grew up?" Wyatt asked DG once they stood in front of her old farmhouse in Kansas. The travel storm that took her to the OZ did some damage to the house, but it was only minor. DG waved her hand and used her magic to repair her broken bedroom window and missing pieces of the roof.
"Reminds me of my old cottage."
"I figured it would. Are you ready to go in?"
"Yeah."
There was still more damage inside from the Longcoat invasion. Even as she repaired the damage DG couldn't help thinking about Hank and Emily. Ambrose was still trying to erase the coercion virus Alemedia's Longcoats had given them but he wasn't having much success because their circuts were rejecting all his counterattacks. He promised her he would keep trying or try to repair them with new circuts. He warned her there was a possibility they would no longer remember her, but she was willing to live with that as long as they survived since they were all she had left of Ahamo.
Wyatt studied the living room, fascinated by all the modern gadgets that seemed to make life much easier for other siders. DG took him to each one and explained what it was. The telephone wasn't strange to him; he'd used one when he lived in Central City but an older model.
"We should have had stuff like this in the OZ," he murmured.
"Az was planning on that when she was a child. Have a seat, Tin Man. We're gonna watch some TV."
He'd been terrified of the TV at first because it reminded him of the time loop and the viewing tank back at the tower but as DG explained that the TV was not able to show anything about him he started to relax.
"Now make yourself comfortable and I'll cook us some dinner," she said softly.
"You can cook now? I had to do all the cooking when we were living together in Elba."
"That was before I started working at the Hilltop and your kitchen was fifty years behind the times. I was learning how to be a cook before I went back to the OZ. That, beauty school and self defense classes took up most of my time here."
"Dottie you've been away from here so long there's probably nothing edible in the house."
She smiled. "That's when being a demigoddess comes in handy."
Wyatt took off his duster, vest and Fedora and put them on the coffee table and put his boots under the table then stretched out on the sofa that barely accommodated his tall frame. He used the remote control and started changing the channels, finally settling on a program where the people lived like he did in Elba.
In the kitchen DG had used her magic to fill the cupboards and refrigerator with enough food for several weeks. She stood in the doorway and watched Wyatt as he lay on the sofa watching a western movie, a loving smile on her lips. There were still some moments when she feared she was only dreaming again, and she would wake up and have to try to find him. Hearing the stove's timer buzz she hurried over to the oven and took the roast out.
"Something smells good in here," she heard Wyatt say from behind her and felt his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him and tilted her head back as he kissed the side of her neck. "What is it?"
"Roast, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and gravy."
"Need any help?"
"No, I'm good. You just keep watching TV. Are you liking it so far?"
"Yeah I am but I hate just sitting around while you do all the work."
"You're probably one of the few men I've known who would say that."
"From what you've told me the men on this side don't seem to know how to treat a woman."
"Some don't, no," she admitted. "Everything should be done in ten minutes."
"Okay," he said as he reluctantly retreated to the living room. The movie ended and he pressed a button on the remote. Silence. "Damn...what the hell did I do? Ummmm…Dottie, can you come in here for a minute?" he called out.
"What's wrong?"
"I think I broke the TV. I can't hear anything," he grumbled.
"What button did you push?" she asked him. She already knew what the problem was but she wanted him to learn how to fix it himself if he did it again. He pointed to the button. "Okay...here's how you fix it," she said as she showed him how to return the sound back on.
"I feel like an idiot," he complained.
"Don't worry, baby. Everything here will just take some time to get used to, that's all," she said softly as she kissed him.
"I hope we can stay long enough for me to learn a good bit. Fall and winter in Storybrooke is probably gonna be a lot easier for us that it would've been in the OZ. Remember the hell it was for us to get through the Northern Island?"
"You're not exactly the best driver," DG said with a smirk. "That's one thing you're going to learn to do better on this side. Popster's truck should still be here and so should my bike unless that prick Gulch impounded it."
"He's an officer of the law Dottie and deserves respect. You broke the law by speeding and he was well within his rights to give you a ticket," her husband reminded her.
"I should've known I wouldn't get any sympathy from you Tin Man," DG muttered.
"Nor will you if you get caught again, me being the law and order in the town or not." While they were eating dinner they both felt as if they were living like a normal couple again.
"I wish it could've been like this two years ago," DG said wistfully as she reached across the table and covered Wyatt's large hand with her small one. "I wanted to touch you so much but when I tried all I felt was air."
"It wasn't easy for me either," he confessed. "You were still young and I thought you deserved more than I could give you. Sometimes I still feel that way."
"I'm the one who should feel that way. You've been through hell in both of your lives, worse in this one because I can't stop being an idiot. Before you get mad at me, just hear me out. How often do you have to keep me on the straight and narrow? More times than I can count and if you aren't doing it, Az is. I'm done being immature and foolish because I don't want our kids to be like that. I want you to promise me we'll bring them here and as much of this world we can. They need to know how to survive in all the realms."
"We will Dottie," he said softly. "Are you ready to go upstairs?"
She held out her arms. "Come and get me, Tin Man!"
He laughed and threw her over his shoulder like a sack.
"Oooh I didn't mean that way but I like the view!" She swatted his backside while he carried her upstairs.
Portland, Maine
Az rolled down the passenger side window to allow the cool breeze to caress her face while Archie drove down the highway, a compilation of their favorite 60s and 70s songs playing on the stereo. A small smile played across her lips as she recalled their first venture into this realm they'd known as the other side when she was still a young girl. Now they were on another adventure, this time as husband and wife and soon they would have their lost daughter back in their arms. It was more than she could've hoped for.
Archie reached across the seat and took her hand in his. "What are you thinking about?"
"How happy I am. I have you, I have my sister, cousins, new friends….and soon we'll have our baby back."
"No one's gonna take her away from us this time. Do you regret not staying for the wedding reception? We still have time to turn around."
"I just want to be with you, I don't care where we are but don't drive too long or you'll get tired."
Not wanting Az to be sitting in the bus too long in her condition, they pulled off at a rest stop to stretch their legs and eat the lunches they'd packed.
"Everyone is staring at us," she said worriedly.
"I don't care. Let them but if one person says one word outta line…"
"Archie, please. No brawling on our wedding day."
"You know I don't like when anyone insults you." He sighed. "All those years I missed…"
"Don't, please. You knew our being apart was the will of the OZ."
He tossed a stick into the grass. "That didn't mean I had to like it!"
"It's over now. Let's not think about it anymore." She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. "Think about the future. We're having our baby. We can build a new life here." She lay back on the blanket. He lay beside her, his head propped up on his elbow.
"Do you remember all the times we used to sneak over here by ourselves," he murmured. She nodded, eager to return to her father's childhood home to unearth the secret she'd buried there years before. She'd never expected the confession she'd spoken into an enchanted stone as a young girl of nineteen to ever see the light of day nor that she would make the same confession a week later.
"Promise me we'll see more of this world, Archie."
"We'll go anywhere you want to go." He stood up and helped her to her feet. "We should find somewhere to stay before it gets dark."
An hour later he pulled into the parking lot of a motel he'd spotted. He unlocked the door and went inside, his hands on his hips.
"Honey?"
"Dellia, go out to the van."
"But…"
"Go on," he said firmly and stormed back to the front office slamming the key on the table. "I'd like my money back please."
"Sir, there are no…"
"Did you hear what I said? I want my money back. NOW!"
"What's the matter?"
"What's the matter? What's the matter? Have you smelled that room lately? And when was the last time the linens were washed? Do you really expect my pregnant wife to sleep in such, such…filth?" he ranted. "I should report this place to the Health Department. As matter of fact I will….AFTER you give me back my payment!"
"You paid…."
Archie took out his phone. The clerk yanked the money out of the drawer and thrust it at him. "Here, here now go!"
"Glad to," he muttered.
"Honey, what was the matter?"
"Dellia, did you smell that place? It was like…I can't even describe it. There's no way in hell I was letting you sleep in that filth!" He started the engine and sped out of the parking lot, wanting to get away from that place as quickly as possible.
It was getting late and Archie had been driving for miles with no other motels in sight. He found himself nodding off several times and rolled down the window to keep himself awake while Az dozed in the seat beside him. Finally he pulled the bus over into a field and cut the engine. "Dellia?" he whispered in her ear.
"Did you find a motel?" she asked sleepily
He shook his head as he helped her to the back of the bus. "I know…I know it's not how you planned on spending our wedding night but…." He waved his hand and a shield formed over the bus and crawled onto the makeshift bed he made for them. "I had this wonderfully hippie honeymoon planned out and it's not going very well, is it?"
"It's just getting started," she murmured and began unbuttoning his shirt.
"You're not too tired?"
"Archie Jiminy Ozopov Hopper, it's our wedding night and I don't intend to spend the rest of it sleeping…not yet anyway," she whispered and pulled him down to her.
Topeka
DG was eager to show Wyatt the town but he immediately objected when he realized what their mode of transportation would be.
"Out of the question! We are not going to town on that...thing!" he said as he glared at her motorcycle. "And you are not riding it while you're with child either."
"Don't start bossing me around Tin Man!" DG snapped.
"Honey, I'm only being..."
She sighed. "I know you are. We'll take Popster's truck. I hope it still works."
They found the truck in the garage but when DG turned the key on nothing happened. "Dammit. Here, you get in the driver's seat," she ordered her husband.
"What are you doing?" he asked her as she climbed out of the cab and lifted the hood. "Dottie, get out of there!" he cried.
"What?" she asked as she poked her head out from behind the hood. "Oh, wipe that look off your face. This ain't the first time I've had to fix this piece of shit."
"You can fix trucks?" he asked incredulously, realizing for the first time that he didn't really know everything about his wife.
"And turbines...not to mention any other mechanical thing. Been doing it for years," she mumbled as she worked. "Try to start it up!" she called out.
"How the hell do I do that? This thing has more knobs on it than that crazy truck Demillo had!" Wyatt grouched.
"Just turn the key but keep your foot off the gas," she instructed. "I said keep your foot off the gas!" she yelled when she heard the engine revving and the strong smell of gasoline. "You're gonna flood it!"
"Well, back home you had to push on the gas to get it to run!"
"Not here. You'll flood it if you step on the gas while you're starting it if it's fuel injected."
"Does she really expect me to know what the hell 'fuel injected means'?" he grumbled.
"I heard that," DG said as she stood in front of the ajar driver's side door with her hands on her hips. There were streaks of grease on the side of her face and on her shirt.
Wyatt burst into laughter. "That's a new look for you."
"This coming from a guy who doesn't know how to start a truck?"
"I know how to start a truck!" he protested.
"Oh yeah, one from the Stone Age," she taunted.
"Smartass."
"Well it's not my fault our world is a bit behind the times. I need a shower...care to join me?"
"In the shower? Why would I do that?"
"Oh Tin Man are you in for a surprise," DG said as she grabbed his arm and pulled back toward the house.
Two hours later DG was driving them into town. She glanced over at the passenger seat and giggled. Wyatt took off his Stetson hat several times, scowled at it then put it back on his head.
"I don't know why I have to wear this damned thing. Nothing wrong with mine," he grumbled.
"A fedora was in fashion years ago around here. These hats are more up to date."
"Looks like I'm wearing a plate on my head."
"Oh stop it. You still look sexy to me," she said softly.
"You've been nothing but surprises today...making me change my hat and...about the shower..." She could see his face turning crimson under his hat. "I feel like I'm twenty again."
"You didn't sleep with anyone until then?"
"Adora and I messed around a bit but never did the deed til our wedding night," he admitted. "Her folks didn't believe that though because I was Sam Cain's son and my pa ran around a lot so her pa showed up at our house with a shotgun and told me I wasn't going to sire a bastard on his daughter like pa did on my mother."
"Your mother got pregnant with you before she married your dad?"
"Yeah...and took off on him. She actually went to Lurline's temple to try to give me to Alana to raise but Pa showed up and they got married there right after she had me. She never let me or pa forget how much she hated both of us for ruining her life."
"As if she didn't play a part in it!" DG cried. "The bitch. No wonder she looked the other way when your stepfather beat you. She used him as her instrument of revenge." She reached across the seat and patted his hand. "And now I know why it was so hard for you when you lost Adora. She was one of the only bright spots you had in your life."
"I owe her a lot, Dori. Had she not straightened me out I'd be worse than Alemedia."
"As long as we're here we should go up to Maryland."
"I'm not flying in one of those damned planes. I'm telling you that right now. It reminds me too much of the suit. I'll open a portal and we'll get there that way."
"I have something I want to ask you...and please don't get mad at me...but would you be willing to see a doctor here about some of the problems you have? Archie, maybe."
"I'm not a headcase!" he shouted, slamming his first down on the dashboard. DG slammed on the brakes and brought the truck to stop.
"No, just a stubborn asshole!" she croaked as she got out and slammed the door.
"What the hell are you doing?" he cried as he rolled down the window.
"Walking home!" she yelled.
"Are you out of your mind? We're miles away from the house. Get back here!" he ordered as he hurried after her.
"You go to hell! I'm not of your deputies so you can't order me around."
"No but I am your husband..."
"And I'm your wife!" she cried as she turned around and faced him. "A wife who loves you and wants to help you but you won't let me!"
"Dottie, there's nothing wrong with me," he insisted.
"Isn't there? Then why do you still wake up sometimes scared to death you're locked in that suit or toss and turn in your sleep calling out my name, Jeb's, Az's or Adora's thinking something has happened to one of us. And if worrying about us isn't what your nightmares are about, then I hear you begging your stepfather not to hit you anymore. You've been too busy helping me forget my past that you've forgotten yours still haunts you and it tears at my heart to watch you go through that," she sobbed and wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest.
"I know you're worried about me and I love you for it but I'm gonna be fine."
"Stubborn man," she mumbled.
"You still mad at me?"
"A little bit but I'll get over it," she said as they climbed back into the truck. DG started the engine and turned on the radio, tuning in to her favorite rock station. As Guns N Roses' 'Welcome To The Jungle' came on Wyatt nearly jumped out of his seat.
"Damn, does he have to scream like that!" he cried.
DG giggled. "Yeah. Actually a lot of the songs I listen to fit you pretty well."
"I don't see how," he mumbled.
"You will," she said with a smirk.
"Isn't there any music you play that doesn't require screaming?" he asked.
DG opened the storage compartment in the middle of the seat and took out her favorite CD. It was a collection of Sarah McLachlan's hits. She put it in the player and skipped to the song 'Possession'. She replayed it in her mind so many times when she began having feelings for Wyatt again and it seemed to describe her emotions perfectly. She began to sing along.
Wyatt was amazed that she was able to concentrate on driving when she was singing that strange song with such passion.
"This is where I used to work," she said as they pulled into the parking lot of the cafe. "Better brace yourself baby...they're gonna be asking me a lot of questions about where I was."
"How are you gonna explain me?"
"Easy. You're my husband," she said with smile. "C'mon."
Phoebe was the first person to see her and dropped the tray she was carrying. "Oh my God DG! We...we all thought you were dead!" she cried.
"Phoebe, what's going on out there?" Carter barked from the kitchen. He pushed the metal door open and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw DG standing there. "D...DG?!"
"I know my being here is a bit of a shock," DG began.
"You ain't kidding!" Carter mumbled. "We all saw the damage the twister did to your house. It was enough to kill an army. Where are your folks? D...Did they survive?"
"Carter, why don't we wait till closing time before I go into details," DG suggested. "Right now my husband and I need a good breakfast."
"Husband?" Carter and Phoebe asked in unison and looked at Wyatt.
"Yep. This is my husband, Wyatt Cain."
"Hi," Wyatt said nervously. He didn't have to read their minds to be able to tell what they were thinking. He was old enough to be DG's father and they probably knew a number of men closer to her age that would probably suit her better.
Stop it, he heard her voice in his mind scolding.
I should've stayed home, I stick out like a mobat in a deserted forest.
Only because that hat, shirt and jeans make you look like a cowboy the women want to take a ride on.
Ozma's ghost, Dottie! The mouth you have on you...
Ummm hmmm. When we get home I've got more interesting things I can do with it.
He cleared his throat and led her over to an empty booth.
Behave yourself!
I will...for now.
"You're determined to drive me crazy, aren't you?" he asked her aloud.
"It's been in my job description for ages," she replied.
He picked up a menu and started reading through it. Phoebe approached them with her pen poised over her order pad. "You gonna have your usual, Deege?"
"You bet."
"And you uh...Mr. Cain? What will you have?"
Get the special. It's more like what you usually eat for breakfast.
Wyatt smiled at DG. "The special looks good. Can I get some coffee with it?"
"Sure. Regular or decaf?"
Regular. If you tried the decaf you'd hate it.
"Regular, please."
I just hope it hasn't been sitting out for hours or it's gonna taste like shit anyway.
Probably didn't sit out any longer than mine usually does.
"You having coffee too, Deege?"
"Yeah, thanks Phoebe."
When she returned with their plates Wyatt was relieved to see the special was just eggs, toast and pancakes, exactly what he did like to eat for breakfast.
"Now that I'm on my break," Phoebe began as she slid into the booth beside DG. "You can tell me how you went from 'men are pigs' to the wife of this cute cowboy."
This woman is sick.
DG tried not to laugh as she heard Wyatt's voice in her head again.
How dirty are her thoughts, Tin Man?
Very. My advice is to not read them because you'd probably end up doing something to her you'd hate yourself in the morning for.
"Well...ummm..." DG stammered as she fought back the stab of jealousy she felt watching her co-worker eying up her husband like he was a piece of meat.
"I'm an old friend of the family," Wyatt answered.
"How come we've never seen you before then?" Phoebe inquired.
"He means my birth family. I've been in witness protection since I was five."
"Really? Were your parents gangsters or something?"
"No, but they're important political figures back home and someone was trying to kill all of us. They sent my sister and me away so we'd be safe from the people hunting my parents."
Phoebe laughed. "Oh, come on Deege! You've made up some wild stories in your day but this has to be the best one."
"She's not lying," Wyatt said in his firmest voice as he stabbed his egg with his fork. "I spent years trying to find her because that was my job."
"Oh, so you were supposed to be her bodyguard?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"So how did you...?"
"He finally found me four years ago," DG explained. "I remembered little of him from when I lived back home but he told me who he was and that he as here to watch over me but he couldn't stay away from his wife and son for long. He was who I was with after Mike tried to rape me out at Porter's Glen. His wife passed away and well, we kinda grew on each other until the people who were after me found us again. He got caught and I ended up being found by Gulch."
"Who said you were babbling a lot of crazy stuff about witches and dragons," Phoebe reminded her. "And why didn't he tell your parents where you were?"
"We couldn't. They were being followed too."
"Everything's okay now, isn't it?"
"We got a long way to go but our country's getting back on its feet," Wyatt answered.
"Are you going to move back here or go back home?"
"We'll probably just come here to visit once in a while," DG said. "I need to spend time with my sister. My parents are dead."
"Oh honey I'm so sorry."
"It's alright. I have Wyatt now and soon we're going to start our own family."
As they were walking out of the diner an hour later they heard laughter behind them.
"Gee Deege, you must really be getting desperate if you're robbing the graveyard to get a man."
Her grip on Wyatt's hand tightened.
Wyatt spun around to face their antagonist, his blue eyes now red as fire as his darkness took control. DG grabbed his hand, attempting to use her light to push back his anger but it was no use. His darkness was at its full strength when he was in a blind rage and no amount of her light could push it back.
"What did you just say you son of a bitch?" he demanded.
Storybrooke, Maine
The scents of French Toast, eggs, bacon and freshly brewed coffee roused Belle from a deep sleep early the next morning. She opened her eyes to find her husband standing beside the bed, a tray in his hands.
"Good morning Mrs. Strogoff-Gold."
"Mmmm, Mrs. Strogoff-Gold….I love the sound of it," she murmured and sat up. "I hope this isn't all for me!"
He grinned. "I've already had my breakfast."
"Oh you!" she laughed and threw a piece of toast at him.
"Now dinna be wasting good food love," he scolded gently. "Now look what ye've done. Ye've gotten syrup on me and now ye'll have to clean it up."
"Oh, will I?"
"Mmmm hmm…"
"And how do you propose I do that?"
"Do you have to ask?" he inquired breathlessly.
Later that afternoon they went for a walk in the woods, Rumple having to stop and rest several times when his leg began to pain him.
"You can't fix it?"
He shook his head. "Tis my price for surrendering to the darkness as is this," He pointed to the scar on his chest. "But it was all worth it."
Belle lifted his leg onto her lap and began to massage it. "I'm hoping we can have some peace now that all the curses have been broken. Rumple, I've been doing some thinking about the baby…and I…I'd like to name it Hope if it's a girl."
"That's what I was thinking too sweetheart. Sometimes I think she might have been my mother's spirit watching over me."
"I wish I could've known her."
"So do I sweetheart, so do I. She gave her life for me and with the years I have left I am going to prove myself worthy of the sacrifice she made. Now if we have a boy…"
"Nathaniel…for Nathaniel Hawthorne."
He laughed. "How did I know ye would want to name our lad after one of your favorite authors?"
"Because we read his works together for hours in the Dark Castle. You knew about this world's culture before anyone else did."
"No. Az and Archie did too. They accessed his construct's memories and Az's father was from this side. Ah, that feels wonderful sweetheart."
"I don't know much about being a wife but I'm going to learn."
"Never leave me. That's all I ask of you."
"I would never do that, Rumple!" she cried and kissed him. The tumbled onto the grass. "Rumple, are you alright?"
"I'm just fine sweetheart," he murmured into her hair. "I just want to lie here and hold you for a while."
"You won't hear me complaining."
Portland, Maine
A loud tapping on the window woke Az out of a deep sleep. She lifted her head, her heart in her throat when she saw a man in a police officer's uniform looking in on them.
"Archie, Archie!" she cried, shaking his shoulder and pulling the covers over them to shield them from the prying eyes.
"Mmmm what is it, Dellia?" he groaned into her hair.
"Archie, wake up! There's a police officer standing in front of our van.
"You're just dreamin' honey."
"No, I'm not! Come on, wake up!" She shook him hard. He groaned again and fell back to sleep.
The officer pounded on the window. "Step out of the vehicle please!" he commanded.
"Commander Ozopov, YOU GET UP RIGHT NOW!" she yelled in his ear in her Sorceress voice.
That did the trick. He sat up and glanced over at the window. "Okay, okay give us a minute."
"Step out of the vehicle NOW!"
"All right, you asked for it!" Archie grumbled, crawling over to the door and sliding it open.
"Archie you can't go out like…"
She pulled her dress on and crawled out of the van while the trooper was talking to a still naked Archie trying his best to cover himself with his hands.
"Oh, for Heaven's sake we're not drunk, and we certainly were not doing drugs!" he protested. "You wanna do a sobriety check on me, go right ahead but you're not gonna find anything. Now, could I at least put some clothes on?"
Az glanced over at his squad car and to her horror she could see one of those dashboard cameras her brother-in-law talked about recording every second of their encounter that would probably end up on one of those social media sites.
A few minutes later another highway patrol car arrived.
"Lurline's underdrawers!" Az cursed under her breath. The second officer guarded them while the other started searching the van. He brought out Archie's wallet and her purse and started copying everything from Archie's driver's license and her state identification card.
"There's a motel ten miles up the road. Why didn't you pull off there?" the other trooper was asking Archie while the one that woke them seemed to be undressing Az with his eyes, Archie giving him his 'Commander' glare that meant he was going to find out how feeling small felt like…literally. She elbowed him in the ribs. They were giving them enough of a show without throwing magic into the mix!
"Because it looked like a place I wouldn't even let my dog sleep in."
The trooper ripped a piece of paper off the pad he was holding and held it out to Archie. He looked at it and shook his head.
"This could've been avoided if you'd just given me time to get dressed. Officer, I understand you need to be cautious, but this is a little umm…extreme."
"I'm letting you off easy but if you wanna go to jail…"
"Forget it! I'll pay the fine!" he cried and snatched the ticket out of the trooper's hand. "Are we allowed to go now or are you planning on letting me give every car that drives by a free show?"
The troopers grinned at each other.
"Hilarious. And let me guess; you've got it all on your dashboard cam and it's gonna wind up online. My brother is a cop and believe me, I've heard all the stories."
"Gotta say this stop has been the funniest one we've had in months," one laughed.
They couldn't help laughing themselves.
"David is going to laugh himself when he hears about this," Archie chuckled and crawled into the van to get dressed. The troopers were still there, apparently ready to take a break. Now the couple didn't mind their company. Archie brought their lounge chairs out of the bus along with the cooler. The ice had melted overnight but the drinks were still cold.
"You said your brother was a cop? State or local?" the trooper named Kleinfelter asked. The other's name was Turchetta.
"SFPD. Homicide and vice before he transferred to Maine. He was looking for me. We're twins but we were raised apart. He'd been looking for me for a while and finally found out where I lived so he moved his family to the town I live in and got hired as Sheriff's deputy."
"What do you do? Besides drive around in a hippie bus and sleep naked?"
"I'm a psychiatrist and an environmentalist plus I dabble in a little gardening. My practice is small, so I spent most of my time gardening and making things, mostly out of stuff people throw away. Another person's trash is my treasure you could say."
"I'm a sculptor and we're on our honeymoon," Az added. "Archie thought it would be romantic for us to take a trip up the coast but we didn't see a hotel for miles after that last one and he was getting tired…so we stopped off to sleep."
Among other things.
Archie!
"You do know how dangerous that is these days, right?" Turchetta demanded. "We don't wanna have to get called out here to find you dead somewhere."
"Officers, we're well aware of the dangers of the open road these days but we're not completely helpless." Archie opened his wallet and handed him his weapons permit. "My brother's already given me enough of a lecture on it."
"If you go twenty more miles there's another motel that's pretty clean. I would stop off there if you get too tired. Any idea where you're headed?"
"Topeka. We're gonna meet up with my-in-laws."
"Well have a good trip…oh and make sure you pay your fine," Klinefelter added and chuckled. "You know it's gonna go on your record."
"Yes, I know!" Archie groaned. "And I know I'm gonna hear about it from David before I get back."
They were back on the road twenty minutes later. They had another few days of driving before they reached their destination.
"I can't wait to see Daddy's house again."
"DG warned us it is probably going to be a wreck after that travel storm Lannot's men dropped on it."
"She'll fix it. I wonder if it's still there."
"If what's still there honey."
She smiled softly. "That last trip we took…I….I made a confession stone. I'd started having feelings for you as soon as I turned thirteen. They frightened me…but excited me at the same time. I buried it in the field, promising myself that if nothing ever happened between us it would stay there."
He reached across the seat and raised her hand to his lips.
"Now you have a reason to find it again."
Topeka
"Need a hearing aid old man? I said: DG must be desperate if she's robbing the graveyard to get a man."
"You have no idea who you're dealing with boy," Wyatt growled.
"What'cha gonna do, old man? Beat me with your cane?"
"Wyatt...don't..." DG pleaded.
"He's got this coming."
"It's not worth it!"
"It is to me!"
"Go ahead old man. Do your worst," Mike challenged.
"With pleasure," Wyatt sent a powerful windburst at the younger man that shoved him through a portal into Porter's Glen, manifesting a set of iron chains that bound his wrists and ankles to the ground beneath him. Mike screamed and struggled to free himself. "Yell all you want. No one's gonna hear you." Wyatt said as he and DG appeared in front of him.
"What th…get me out of here!"
A zipper appeared over his mouth.
"That's better," Wyatt said as he knelt beside the now terrified man and pointed his pistol at him. "You don't know how much I'd love to tear you to pieces for what you did to my wife. Let's see what else you've done." He reached into the other man's chest and ripped his heart out, the memories within it making his blood boil even hotter.
"Wyatt...he's not from our world. We can't do anything..." DG said.
"He deserves to be punished for what he's done...not just to you but to other women." The younger man started screaming as intense pain spread through his groin.
"I'm sorry...I won't do it again I swear only make it stop!" he pleaded. "Jesus, what the hell are you?"
"I'll make it stop...if you swear to me that once you get back to town you tell the cops what you did. If you don't, you'll be seeing me again and there'll be more than pain next time. Do I have your word?"
"Yes...Christ yes only make it stop."
"I'll be watching you to be sure you make good on it."
"Wyatt, pull it back. He's been punished enough," DG said softly as she laid a hand on Wyatt's shoulder. His eyes turned back to their normal color again. He formed a portal in the ground and shoved the injured man into it. "Where did you send him?"
"To the county lockup," he answered.
"What did you do to him?"
"His family jewels won't useful for anything except going to the bathroom from now on. You're not the first woman he tried to rape Dottie and you weren't the last. When he didn't get you, he went after another girl a year later, but they couldn't make the charges stick. They won't have any trouble now."
"He won't talk."
"He will unless he wants to be in pain constantly."
She pressed her palm against his chest. "Can you put the dragon back to sleep and give me back my Tin Man?" she pleaded.
"That damn Alemedia. I can't stand having this dark magic in me and I hate myself for you having it too."
She kissed him. "Now stop brooding."
"We should get back to the house."
"Why?" she asked.
"Huh?"
She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. "I don't want the only memories I have of this place to be Mike trying to attack me and being separated from you. The memory I do want to have is the two of us out here alone...sort of camping out. Like we did while we were trekking across the OZ."
"This place has as many dangers as the OZ, Dottie."
"Nothing can hurt us as long as we're together."
Using their magic they created all of the supplies they would need for an overnight stay although it tired them easily. "Now some people actually have a home on wheels...we call em RVs or campers but I always liked pitching a tent," DG explained as they were setting up their tent.
"Sitting in a tin box is not my idea of camping," Wyatt muttered. "If you're going to camp out, do it the right way or don't do it at all. These other siders seem like they're too pampered by their modern gadgets. When my pa and I went on long hunting trips we sometimes pitched a tent, other times we just slept outside. I wanted to take Jeb on a camping trip but never got the time..."
"Don't worry, you will one of these days. And I expect you to take our children out in the wild to get a feel of it. I don't want them growing up pampered brats," she added as they huddled by the fire he'd built for them. Wyatt took out his pistol and checked the chamber. When he realized it was fully loaded, he reattached it to its holster.
"Just making sure. We've got to keep the magic use to a minimum sweetheart or we'll drain ourselves to the point where we won't be able to protect each other if we get in a jam."
They heard a car approaching. Wyatt stood up, pulled his gun out and pushed DG behind him. The driver turned off the headlights and walked toward them.
"You better have a permit for that!" the officer shouted.
"Dammit Denny, what the hell are you doing out here!" DG yelled back, recognizing one of her former classmates who gave her as difficult a time as Gulch.
"You and that husband of yours have some explaining to do," he said as he approached them. "Wanna tell me why Mike is in a cell at the county jail ranting about how your husband's some kind of warlock who can shove him through glowing holes in walls and squeeze his balls without even touching him?"
"He's drunk, stoned or both. He ambushed us outside the Hilltop and started making fun of us, but we told him to leave us alone," DG lied. "Whatever else he thinks happened was just in his mind."
Denny suddenly smirked at Wyatt. "I'm not the kind who advocates prairie justice, mind you but in some cases I'm willing to make exceptions. Camping out huh? Not a bad idea."
"Aren't you supposed to be out on patrol?" DG inquired.
"As of now I'm officially off duty."
"Oh how nice," DG said sarcastically. "Well then why don't you go home?"
"Dottie, do we have to have our little talk about you respecting an officer of the law again?" her husband countered impatiently. Denny smirked when he noticed her sudden docility. He never thought he'd see the day when the little hellion would finally learn to take some orders. He was starting to like this husband of hers.
"No, we don't but he's still a pain in my ass," she grumbled. "Like Gulch."
"Believe me the feeling is more than mutual. Gulch said he moved to where you were just to keep an eye on ya."
"Do I have to put you two in separate corners?" Wyatt asked.
"Nah, I was just leaving but can you do me a favor and not cause any more chaos while you're here? That wife of yours causes enough."
"I'll try not to but I won't have anyone insulting my wife," Wyatt said firmly.
"Guess that'll have to do. See you in town," Denny said as he tipped his hat toward the older man and walked back to his car. The moment his car was well out of sight, DG pulled her husband into her arms and kissed him again.
"Bring the sleeping bag and pillows out," she whispered.
"Why?"
"Because Wyatt Cain, we're going to make love under the stars," she informed him. Before he could say anything, she jumped into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck and her legs around his waist.
"Dottie, gonna be kinda hard to bring the sleeping bag out when I've got my hands full with you..."
"Well then use your mojo and bring it out here," she murmured.
It was difficult to concentrate when his wife's body was pressed against his still he managed to focus long enough to make the sleeping bag and blankets materialize in front of them. She tackled him to the ground and began unbuttoning his shirt.
"You're always gonna keep me on my toes, aren't you Dottie?"
"I sure am," she murmured and kissed him.
And he wouldn't have her any other way.