Disclaimer: I beg you not to sue me because, because, because, because, BECAAAAUSE…because-I-don't-own-any-thing.
--------
SHOUT OUTS!
SSGryffindorgirl7 – HEHEHE! Awww, the cliffy is so sad now. It was trying to be suspenseful! –pets it– Thanks for the review!
Ginny Lovegood – DG seriously is a magnet for trouble! But that's what makes her so fun!
shippergirl25 – That's what I thought! Poor Cain is always catching the bullets. I figured it was DG's time.
Dr-who-4-u – DG definitely has a quirky personality! I love that about her, LOL! And Merry Santa-Time to you, too! –hugs–
PandylBas – Well, of course! I don't do uninteresting cliffies! Look below and you'll see what happens next!
heathenseyes – I'm a very wicked person, hehe. I like to leave people hangin'! Thank you so much for the offer to be my beta! I might just take you up on it on the next chapter. I'll send you a private message about it. Sound good?
musicahumana – Well, thank you for reading it and reviewing!
Glitter4Ever – HAHA! Psych! Here's your next chapter! You'll see in my author's note at the end why I ended up posting this today instead of waiting. –winks–
scrawn – I'm trying my best! As long as the Muse is fed, chapters should come out as fast as my fingers can type! As for my MX stories, we'll see!
Liz-Bathory – LOL!! Ok! Ok! Breathe! Thanks for the review!
anon – Well, when you can't move because your rear end hurts too much, you tend to write more out of pure boredom! LOL!! Thanks for the support!
K. A Zerlang – HEHEHE I'm evil, aren't I? This is as fast as I could get the next chapter out. And thanks! It's been quite painful to sit around, but I've managed! Thanks for the review!
Mirgonus – I'll catch you! You can quit waiting now! And here's your next chapter!
Transgenic-girl – Interesting is what I do! LOL! –Pulls up from cliff, hands over a blanket, and sends Flipper after the sharks to scare them away–
christa33 – YAY!! Glad you love it! Thanks SO much for the review!
Sanela – HEHEHE I like being evil sometimes, but I'm also glad that you enjoyed the chapter despite the evilness! –hugs–
jypzrose – Thank you! –huggles–
Vince – Well done on the quote…even though you had to look it up! He can hide his feelings just fine. And this is supposed to be a DG/Cain story. That means there will be sap. HEHE But you will read it regardless because you love me! –grin– And you know why I like shooting people. I'm a character masochist! Duh! HEHE! Ok, next one, "Second star on the right…"
safarigirl83 – Oh, I can be that mean, but I could never do that to DG! I love her! So yes, our dear, sweet, hot Cain is just gonna have to save her life! YAY!
Litwolf – HEHE Your wish is my command…Well, it might be past Christmas for you given I don't know what time zone live in, but regardless, here's the next chapter! And to answer your question, I think we find out when we meet Demilo, cuz he's all "Wyatt-freakin'-Cain!" But I could be wrong! LOL I'd have to watch it again to be sure.
Takara-chan – No dying! Dying is so NOT allowed! LOL! Thanks for reviewing the first chapter and the third! And I'm SOOO flattered that I've been able to draw you in and keep you interested! Rock on!
Jacqueline Roget – Welcome back!! And yes, deaths are bad, but if I say anything more, I'll spoil the chapter you're about to read so you'll just have to find out for yourself what happens!
jwdisney – YAY! I'm glad you love it! I swear when you're riding, you're trying to remember to do a million things at once and when you don't think about it, your heels just slip up! But eventually it becomes second nature. –shrugs– And the bum wasn't too bad. It gave me reason not to move off of the couch and have everyone else get everything for me! HAHA! And OMG, I totally know. I seriously want my own Cain.
--------
CHAPTER 4
"I'm not going to let you die, DG," Cain stated forcefully so that she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was telling the truth. There was just no way in the O.Z. or beyond that he was going to let the woman he loved die, not on his watch.
The man suddenly faltered at the thought. The woman he loved? He tried to digest the word. Had he really just thought that? Was that what he had been feeling all this time? Was it love? Could it be?
Yes.
The silent answer rocked him to the core and his heart began to beat faster than he thought possible. He gazed deeply into DG's eyes, past the pain, past the fear, and saw something that took his breath away. There, rightthere, settled deep in those beautiful blue orbs reflecting back at him was the same exact look he had in his. Love.
Without reservation, Cain suddenly reached up and cupped DG's face with his hand, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb. "I promise."
DG's eyes glistened with tears and she nodded, unable to find her voice to reply.
With a resolute nod in return, he rose to his feet and walked back over to the supplies to see what could be used to treat DG's wounds. There was a small portable gas stove, rations and cooking equipment, a small supply of clothing, and finally, a medium sized box of what looked to be medical supplies. There was also a small spring of water than was feeding into the cave by way of some makeshift grooves that had been chipped into the rock. The water pooled in a wooden basin before it overflowed and disappeared between a large crack in the between the far wall and the cave floor.
Cain knew what he had to do, but it made his heart physically ache at the thought of it. Glancing over his shoulder, he made sure that DG was still awake before he turned back to the stove. It turned it on, relieved that there was some gas left to use, before he grabbed a tin pot and filled it with water, sticking it over the stove. When it began to boil, he put some bandages into the water to make them as clean as possible.
"Why do I feel like I'm in a John Wayne movie?" DG murmured as she watched Cain work.
"A what?"
She blinked. "Right," she said in remembrance. "No idea what I'm talking about. Never mind."
Letting the bandages boil, Cain got up and moved back over to her. He cut the sleeve off of the shirt she had been wearing underneath the coat and then cut along the seam toward her neck, allowing the fabric to drape away from the wounds. "DG…" he started slowly. "Pressure isn't going to stop this bleeding. So, there are two things I can do stop it until we get back to the palace and to a healer." He sucked in a breath. "One is fast, one is slow, both are gonna hurt…a lot"
"Spit it out, Cain," DG said as she tried her best to contain the fearful quiver in her voice.
His jaw clenched for a brief second before he replied, "Either I stitch it up or I cauterize it." He watched as she visibly paled even more if possible.
She had no idea what to say. On the Other Side, there was such thing as pain meds and anesthesia so you didn't have to feel anything while you were being patched up. But then again, the Other Side didn't have people like Raw who could heal with a touch of the hand. Oh, how she wished he was there at that moment. "Well, uh," she swallowed hard, "you're the bullet wound king. Which is, uh,…better?"
Cain licked his bottom lip, taking a breath. "Cauterization would hurt more, but it's a lot quicker and more sterile…But it's up to you, Princess."
A single tear escaped from DG's eye and slid down her cheek. She was so scared. "Don't call me that," she half-whispered, half whimpered.
He would have smiled has his heart not been breaking. A hoarse, "Sorry, kid," was the best he could do.
A few more tears escaped before DG sucked in a breath and nodded, trying to steel herself for the pain she knew was coming. "Just do it," she choked out.
Cain nodded gravely and then moved back over to the supplies. He pulled some of the bandages out of the boiling water to let them dry and then after making sure they weren't too hot, squeezed most of the excess water out of the others and walked back over to her. He cleaned the wounds on both back and front, trying his best not to close his eyes and just hold DG tightly to his chest every time she cried out in pain.
Task complete, he gave her a gentle look before he took his knife back over to the small gas stove. He put the blade in the flame until it had turned a blistering red. He pulled it out and inspected it for a moment before he finally moved back over to the crying girl. He paused a beat to roll up a bit of her jacket and handed to her. "Bite down on this," he told her, voice just strained enough for her to notice. The scream he knew this would pull from her could potentially be loud enough to attract the attention of any wandering Longcoats that could be nearby.
DG was next to sobbing now, but complied. She placed it in her mouth and then shakingly nodded.
Cain brushed away a few of her tears with a calloused finger before he softly said, "Keep you eyes on mine and don't look away." When her tear-filled eyes met his, he moved quickly, pressing the burning hot steel against her skin.
An agonizing scream was torn from her throat and was just barely muffled by the fabric in her mouth. She could hear the sizzle of her skin being burned closed and the smell of scorched flesh assaulted her senses; nausea churning violently in her stomach. Shadows began to creep into her vision.
She was left shaking and gasping, and trying beyond anything to stay tough like she always tried to be, but the moment Cain returned with the reheated blade, her face crumpled. She took the gag out of her mouth and shook her head at him, sobbing pathetically. She couldn't let him do that to her again. "No, Cain, no," she whimpered breathlessly.
The man knelt before her and without pause, gently pulled her up and to his chest. He held her tightly against him, stroking her hair with one hand. "Shhh, DG," he soothed. "I'm gonna take care of you." He allowed her a few moments to cry into his shoulder before he pressed her tighter to him and without warning, quickly removed the part of her coat and shirt that was still stuck to her wound in the back and then pressed the blazing steel against her skin.
Another scream was ripped from her throat, but his hold on her head made sure that it was done into his shoulder, again muffling it. He held the knife there until he was sure the wound was sealed before be finally let it drop and pulled DG fully into his arms. "Shhh, shhh, it's over, sweetheart. It's all over," he whispered into her ear as he gently rocked her, not even noticing the term of endearment slip from his lips.
She cried into his shoulder for a little while before she finally allowed her body to be overcome by the need to be unconscious. She slumped in Cain's arms as the darkness claimed her.
Cain continued to hold her, now more for himself than for her. He closed his eyes and buried his face into her hair, allowing a few silent tears of his own to escape. He had done what needed to be done. Without it, she would have bled to death. He knew that, but to cause her so much pain…It was almost too much for even a "Tougher-than-nails" Tin Man to handle.
TO BE CONTINUED…
--------
(A/N's: Ok, so I lied. I said I wouldn't post 'til after Christmas, but as my family has the weirdest tradition of waiting until after like our early Christmas dinner to open the main presents under the tree, I had nothing better to do that finish chapter four, lounge on my Boppy Pillow so not to put pressure on my bruised tailbone, and listen to Rob Dougan. Oh, and take Advil every 4 hours!
So, anyway, here is my Christmas/whatever-holiday-you-celebrate present to you…even if it's past Christmas for some of you now since it's 10:30PM EST! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a bit shorter than the others and a little sap-ridden and angsty, but we all love it, don't we?...The sap and angst, that is. HEHE! Yeah, anyway. HAPPY HOLIDAYS –HUGS– TO ALL! Oh yes, and you know the two words that come next. CLICKY CLICKY!)