Chapter Seven

To say that the kitchen staff was scandalized when the youngest princess blew in to the kitchen with her husband in tow was an understatement. When she merely waved their offers of assistance off and went about searching through the cold box on her own had more than one of the staff bristle. She all but ignored the head chef when he stalked over to inquire, politely of course, just what the hell she thought she was doing.

Her husband merely kicked back against a counter and watched with mild amusement as she disrupted their routine by pulling out a hunk of uncooked bread dough that had been left to rise on the counter. Next, she pulled out a red sauce from the cold box and gave it a sniff, then a shrug and put it next to the dough. A wedge of cheese came next, after being tasted to make sure it suited her mysterious needs.

Then, to the horror of the baker, she took a knife and hacked a piece of the bread dough, rolling it into a ball and setting the rest aside. None of them would admit the little bit of awe they felt when she tossed the circle she'd made out of the dough over her head. The low whistle from the Tinman said it all. The princess blushed a little after she caught it and tossed it again.

"I used to work in a pizza parlor when I was in high school. Much better than my last job. But it closed down when the owners moved." None of this save the last bit made much sense to anyone else in the room. Whatever this 'pizza' was, the process of making it was fascinating.

She tossed the dough a few more times, stretching it until it got a little cumbersome for her tiny hands. Then she laid it flat on the counter and went in search of something. When she found the paddle used to pull the bread out of the oven she let out a triumphant 'aha' and slid the dough onto it. She took the sauce, which she didn't know was made out of a savory fruit indigenous to Finaqua, she slathered it on the dough. Next, she went to work on the cheese and with a knife that looked dangerous in her hands, she hacked it into thin slices. She arranged the slices on the 'pizza' then dusted her hands off and looked at her creation with a satisfied smile.

"Now, it's just twelve tiny minutes to cheesy goodness." She sounded so excited it was hard to hold onto the resentment that the royalty had invaded the kitchens. For most of them, anyway. It was impressive that she even knew what to do in a kitchen, to begin with. None of them would bet whether or not Princess Azkadelia or even the Queen would know where to find even a fork in the massive space.

A dozen minutes later, she used the paddle to pull the pizza out of the huge brick ovens that dominated the back wall. She slid it onto a clean worktable then used that wicked looking knife again to cut it into wedges.

"Come here, Tinman and have a life changing experience." She drawled, pulling a wedge free and twirling the stringy cheese around a finger before breaking it off. The connotations behind that comment came to life as she put that finger in her mouth and sucked the cheese off, a look of pure rapture on her young face.

Now, everybody in the kitchens knew the Princess was pregnant. And everyone also knew that her husband wasn't the father. But the way he looked at her right then, his clear blue eyes smoldering with want and hunger that had nothing to do with the pizza, made it hard to believe he wasn't.

Everyone paused in their work and held their breath as he pushed away from the counter and walked over to her, his gait easy and slow. The Princess swallowed and gave him a saucy smile as she held the slice out to him.

He quirked a brow and looked at the pizza, reaching out to grip her wrist to bring it to his mouth. The observers would have said, that the young princess watched this action with rapt attention. Her smile didn't slip as he took a bite, chewing hesitantly at first then with more relish once the flavor of the food proved to be good.

"That's good, DG. Damn good." He confirmed, taking another bite.

"Hey, that's mine. Get your own." She teased, trying to pull her wrist free from his blunt fingers. He grinned, the look completely changing the Tinman in the kitchen staff's eyes. There was something about these two. A comfortable friendship that had heat simmering underneath to make the staff think that maybe this marriage wasn't such a joke after all.

It seemed that the couple didn't remember or care about the eyes watching them. With one motion, the Tinman had pulled the Princess against him, steadying her with a hand to her back. He then guided her hand back to her mouth, offering her the bite with a smirk. She laughed, a sound that many didn't associate with the royal family, as it sounded so free, so full of life. She was a special one, this little princess. And it wasn't entirely because of her saving the OZ.

"Good, isn't it?" She took a huge bite, talking around her food in a very un-princess-like way.

"Yeah. It is." The Tinman answered, wiping sauce off the side of his mouth. It looked like the moment was going to turn more serious, and before that could happen to embarrass the married couple, one of the dishwashers dropped a glass. The sacrifice earned him a glare from the Tinman, and sent the dishwasher scampering to clean up the glass and escape the look.

The Princess let out a laugh that held neither nervousness nor embarrassment. She laid a sloppy kiss on her husband's cheek, smearing more sauce, laughed again and wiped it away. "Here, everyone. Try this." She looked around the room and waved a hand over the pizza. "You will thank me. Oh! Ice cream!"

She walked away from the Tinman and over to the freeze box, peering inside to the annoyance of the head chef. He didn't' say anything, though. He waved a hand himself to let his staff try the princess's creation, mainly because of the eyeball he was getting from her husband. A few took a piece, and then urged a few more to do so. Within a few minutes, the pizza was gone, and a new dish had been added to the palace menu. Even the head chef had a bite.

"God, this is wonderful." The Princess was diving head first-or spoon first-into a container of ice cream.

"You might want to slow down a little, there DG. You haven't eaten anything real substantial in at least a week."

"Try a month." A huge spoonful of ice cream made it's way into her mouth and she sighed with contentment. "Food, how I've missed you." Several workers snickered and the Princess giggled around the ice cream. "Come on, people. Take a break."

If they had been scandalized before, they were down right appalled at that. The head chef piped up again, his eyebrow drawn up in a very condescending way. "There are no breaks. We have work to do."

"Sorry." She mumbled, shoving in another spoonful to hide her pout. Some of the staff glared at their boss, behind his back of course. But the Tinman saw it and nodded his head slightly in approval.

"Come on, DG, time for that walk. I think you've caused enough trouble for one day." The Tinman walked over to her and took the spoon and ice cream from her, handed them both to a passing worker then started to pull her out of the kitchen.

Before they walked out, the Princess turned and grinned at the staff and waved. "Thanks for letting me invade your space." When she was gone, more than one person in the room was a little enamored with the princess.

"Glitch!" DG laughed and ran to her friend, leaving Cain to saunter behind. She landed in his arms and Glitch gave her a little twirl.

"DG." He squeezed her once, a huge grin on his face. He pulled back to look at her. "You still look like hell."

"Gee, Glitch. You sure know how to make a girl feel good." She gave him a light punch in the arm but she was smiling.

"Yeah, well…Cain. Hi." Wyatt tapped his hat and settled himself on a bench in the garden. He knew DG would like to get off the palace grounds all together, but he couldn't allow that. Not without a major security detail that would irritate the hell out of her and leave the palace without much needed protection.

"Hi Glitch." He said as DG took a seat next to him. Glitch dropped himself down onto the edge of the fountain and took one of his dreamy sighs.

"My surgery is next week. The healers and tech meds figured out how to put my brain back." He was practically bouncing, he was so excited. Wyatt felt DG tense for just a hair of a second before she replied with enthusiasm.

"Oh Glitch, that's wonderful." Underneath her smile and just behind the light in her eyes Wyatt could see her sorrow at losing her friend. He could see it, because he felt it a bit himself. Would Glitch still be Glitch after the surgery? Or would Ambrose find himself above being friends with a Princess that acted common and a broken down old Tinman?

"I know. I've been beside myself." He laughed at his own joke. DG smiled and Cain snorted, even though he had no clue what the Headcase meant. "When I'm all put back together, I'm sure I'll be back advising the Queen."

"God help the OZ." Wyatt said, grinning as Glitch huffed indignantly.

"I think the first thing I'll tell the Queen is to banish all annoying Tinmen from the castle." Glitch amused himself with that for a moment.

"That won't work to get rid of Wyatt, Glitch. Remember, he's my husband?"

"He is?" Glitch's brows drew together as he searched for yet another lost memory. "Oh yeah. I was there." He snickered at his glitch and shook his head. "I can't wait to remember all this stuff at once. And for more than five seconds. I think I've had a very entertaining life. Would be nice to remember it."

"You will," DG patted his hand and smiled. Silence descended and the three settled into it comfortably. It had been a while since they had all been together. There was one glaring absence. Raw was back with his people for a time, trying to settle them back into the life they'd once lived. Cain stretched his legs out in front of him and cursed leaving his hat back in the room. Damn, those suns were hot. DG shifted next to him, settling herself more comfortably on the bench. She wasn't quite tucked against him, but he could feel the heat of her body across the small distance.

He figured it was a testament to how long he'd gone without a woman that his body reacted almost instantly to her proximity.

It had been hard, telling her about the problems in the country. He knew it probably had something to do with his need to protect her. He also knew she'd been right to call him on it. He hadn't treated her like that before and he shouldn't have started now. Despite everything, their marriage, the baby, she was still DG. And he wouldn't have tried to keep her in the dark if she wasn't now his wife.

Wyatt sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying sitting in the sun with this woman and his friend. Such moments were few and far between. There had been almost none when he and Adora had been married. It seemed the resistance had started almost over night, leaving little time for sitting in the sun with his wife.

He had to admit, it was nice.

The day hadn't started out as good. Not with the briefing about the current situation with the outlying nobles. The Queen had all but told them that war was inevitable at this point. The idea made Wyatt sick. He didn't think he could do it again. To fight for something he wasn't sure he believed in anymore. That was something he wouldn't admit to DG. He didn't want to seem disloyal to her family. But maybe it was time for a new way.

His fight with DG had made his day even worse. Wyatt knew that pregnant women were touchy. He'd dodged a frying pan or two during Adora's pregnancy. But that had seemed mild compared to this. Making DG that upset by not being himself, that had been a strange thing to realize. She'd called him on it. He'd realized the error of his ways. And hey, no frying pans had been involved.

He vowed, to make it a point, to kiss her everyday. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it until she'd said something. The way she'd pinked up and stuttered at her own boldness had a significant affect on him. Hell, if he were honest, everything about her was having a significant affect on him. Sleeping next to her was slowly becoming torture. Hearing her breathe, her scent surrounding him, her warmth right there, begging him to touch. He had promised to be patient, but damn…he was only a man. But he knew, that nothing would make him take up residence in the second bedroom.

And then she'd dragged him down to the kitchens to make this mysterious pizza. The fact that it was actually good paled in comparison to how much fun she had making it. And how beautiful she looked. He was noticing that more and more. Her teasing when she offered him a bite had him wanting to use those counters in the kitchen for much more than food preparation.

"Oh my god." DG's shocked gasp brought him out of his thoughts. Surprise widened his eyes when he saw what had stunned her so. There was Jeb, his Jeb, walking with Azkadelia. They were moving through the garden, oblivious to anything around them and Az had her hand tucked comfortably in Jeb's arm. And they were laughing.

Well, he thought. And that was really it. He looked over at DG and saw her smile, apparently happy that her sister was having a walk with a young man. Glitch, however, didn't.

At first, he thought the narrowed eyes and slight nostril flair was due to a residual fear leftover from the witch. It took a minute to realize that Glitch wasn't looking at Azkadelia at all. No, that look-which he now recognized as jealous anger-was directed at Jeb. His Jeb.

Well, damn.

He was still debating whether or not he should say something to the Headcase, when a sound reverberated through the garden that nearly stopped his heart.

"Get down!" Jeb yelled, pushing Az toward the ground and pulling out his revolver. Wyatt pulled DG off the bench and pulled his own weapon, looking at Glitch who was now shielding the young Princess.

"Get the girls inside. Stay down and don't get shot."

"Great advice there." Glitch moved toward Az, urging her toward him as Jeb hunch-walked toward the direction of the shot.

"Wyatt! Where the hell are you going?" DG reached for him, her hand just brushing his cuff since Glitch was trying to tug her as he moved away. Another shot rang out, hitting a tree very close to Az, who shrieked despite herself.

"Go on, DG." Wyatt's voice left no room for argument, but DG looked ready to do just that. "Dammit, DG. Get inside so I don't have to worry about you and the baby."

And the baby seemed to snap DG into submission. She might be willing to do stupid things with her own life, but not the baby's. Satisfied, Wyatt reached out and pulled her in for a searing kiss, then he moved with son towards the source of the shooting.

DG could only allow herself to be led away.

A/N-so, there's this little blinking thing in Word that seems to be mocking me on Tinman and the Runaway Princess. It's saying 'you're blocked, you can't think of anything, you suck!' So, I flipped it off and wrote this chapter. :p Hope you enjoy. Hopefully, I can get the groove back on TM&RP soon. If not, we might get more of this for a while. LOL. Anyway, REVIEWS make the muse happy and the fingers clickety clicking. Enjoy.