"You still brooding over there?" DG asked and heard him let out an annoyed grumble.

If only he knew how adorable that was he'd probably stop doing it…

"I am not brooding." He said shortly and she struggled not to laugh.

It had been nearly a half an hour since she'd stumbled upon his blanket-clad ass and she had thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it, no matter how much pouting he was doing over there.

Bottom line? She had a front row seat from her perch on a fallen tree to the best show in the OZ. She'd taken full advantage of that time to reflect on things such as her sudden attraction to chest hair, since at one point she hadn't been able to understand why women found it appealing. On Wyatt it was devastatingly sexy.

She wasn't going to let him know that over the past few months she'd learned a lot about what she was capable of doing with her magic. In all honesty she could have dried those clothes inside of two minutes. However, that would be a risky proposition. If she messed up, who knew – sneezed or something – and burnt his clothes to a crisp he'd think she'd done it on purpose to prolong his nudity…

And the fact was that was precisely the second reason she was keeping her mouth shut. The faster those clothes dried the faster he was going to cover up. She was in no rush to be through with her private Tin Man review.

"Well can you at least stop treating me like I've got cooties?" She said with a laugh and he turned to her with a look of confusion on his face reminding her yet again of the language barrier. "Right, sorry. No cooties in the OZ. Got it." She said with a sigh, swinging her legs back and forth beneath her.

He was standing at least twenty feet away from her, hand firmly holding that saddle blanket in place to prevent anything from an unexpected breeze to Wrath's sense of humor from stripping him of it.

It was probably for his own safety, she had to admit the thought had occurred to her to use a little discrete magic to send that thing sailing.

Wyatt reached over and felt his clothes again, damning them for taking so long. They were still damp to say the least, but he decided once the worst of the moisture had dissipated he was going to dress to put an end to this awkwardness.

"Hey!" DG said as a thought occurred to her and he turned to find that familiar smile on her face as she hopped down off the tree. "I almost forgot. I got you something." She said, digging a hand in her pocket as she approached and ignoring the way he eyed her up as if he was considering bolting in the other direction.

But curiosity got the better of him and he wracked his brain trying to figure out firstly, what she could have gotten him, secondly, when she could have done it, and thirdly, why she would do something like that.

She smiled at the intrigue that was on his face now instead of a scowl and answered the questions she could see in his eyes. "That day when my mother had to go into Central City and made me tag along…"

Ah yes, he remembered that one. He was still pissed about it, too.

He'd been off duty and no one had informed him of the little trip until after the fact. He'd instead had to hear about it from Jeb, who had been given about two minutes notice of it with no time to tell his father.



Wyatt had been livid. It was stupidity like that which resulted in kidnappings, assassinations…it didn't matter if it was his scheduled shift or not, when DG was leaving the safety of the palace he should always be notified. He'd had a few choice words regarding the matter with the head of the Queen's security…and needless to say it wouldn't be happening again. DG was his charge, not theirs, it wasn't a package deal.

DG smiled at the sudden flaring of his nostrils, knowing he was still ticked off and hoping she would be able to distract him from it.

Truth be told she'd been tickled pink by his alpha male tirade regarding the fact that she was his responsibility. Like having your boyfriend deck a guy in the face for disrespecting you, seeing him so angry and speaking in such a low threatening tone to people he felt had put her in danger made her heart flutter.

"Anyway, she was yapping with some politician for like an hour before the actual ceremony we had to sit through so I went in a few of the shops…" His brow shot up and she added quickly, "with several guards following me…" knowing his outrage at the idea of her wandering the city alone. "I saw this and thought of you, and I'm sorry if it's not customary for men to wear these here because I couldn't ask anyone if it was an appropriate gift for my secret friend the Tin Man…"

She was stalling, averting her eyes, unsure of herself suddenly and he had to smile, no matter how naked he felt.

"So let's see it." He said and she sighed.

"Alright, but like I said I don't want you getting all huffy with me or think I'm attacking your manhood or something…"

Wyatt laughed and she looked up at him, seeing the genuine smile on his face she started to relax again. She pulled a little velvet bag from her pocket finally, shaking a necklace out into her hand and draping it across her fingers for him to inspect it.

A small silver pendant was dangling at the end of a leather throng, simple and beautiful, not feminine in any way and he leaned in for a closer look. DG tried to breathe normally in the sudden close proximity to his bare chest, but it was difficult.

"I really like it, DG…what does it mean?" He asked as he traced a fingertip over the symbol, it was almost mesmerizing to him. He could understand why she'd picked it as he was so distracted by staring at it that he barely noticed how close he was standing now.



It was all she could do to keep standing hearing his low voice so near to her ear.

"It's the symbol for 'Protector' in the ancient language. I thought it was funny that it reminded me of you before I even knew that." She said back in a similar soft voice and Wyatt fought the urge to lean in closer to the sound. His entire body was begging him to.

He stood back from her slightly with a great deal of effort and smiled. "Thank you, sweetheart. You didn't have to do that."

Sweetheart?

She nearly fainted.

"Well it was going to be a 'thank you for being so great to me' present, but I guess now it's an 'I'm sorry I pulled you into the water' present instead." She said quietly, trying to use humor to steady her quivering nerves as she gazed up into those eyes of his.

Something was behind them now that she'd never seen before; she studied it for a moment trying to figure it out and he arched a brow, turning and clearing his throat as he smiled to himself. Damned kid is getting too good at reading me…

If she looked any closer she would recognize the unfamiliar burning in his eyes for what it was.

Lust.

"Alright, I'm going to get dressed in my damp clothes now so that I can be uncomfortable for the rest of the day…" He teased and she smiled. "You get down there to the water and stay put this time. And for the love of God, if you see a snake don't come running back here."

DG burst out laughing at that one, the image of him just beginning to step into his pants and having her leaping on to his bare back screeching about another snake was priceless. Oh and she could so picture the look that would be on his face, too.

She turned to walk away but stopped when she heard him clear his throat purposefully, looking over her shoulder at him in confusion.

"Umm…DG? Aren't you forgetting something?" He held out a hand and she grinned.

So he wasn't just pretending to appreciate the gift…it made her stomach flip-flop.

"Wyatt Cain…" She said in a formal tone as she approached and he studied her face, unsure of what she was up to. She held up the necklace and motioned for him to lower his head. Wyatt slowly complied and she placed the throng around his neck, trying not to let her hands linger too long as she brushed against his warm skin. "Trusted guardian and secret friend of the Princess of the OZ, I dub thee…my Protector."

Wyatt looked at her in astonishment, that sweet smile on her face belying the gravity of her words…

And neither of them noticed the small flicker of magic that passed over the symbol as she said it.

"Princess…" He breathed and she stood on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek before bouncing away toward the waters edge as he'd asked.



He stood in shock for a long time, staring at the place where she had disappeared into the trees and clutching the silver pendant in his fist.