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Fic: Follow You Home - California Tin (06/42)
Title: Follow You Home - California Tin (06/42)
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Cain and DG, but if you saw 'em in the miniseries, they're here or mentioned. Plus some OCs
Rating: PG
Summary: Cain stayed in LA. But can he survive on the Other Side?
Warning: post-series, directly after California Queen. Blame n_e_star, for she fed Steve. ;)
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The rest of 'em are mine.
Prologue | California Queen
California Tin: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve | Part Thirteen | Part Fourteen | Part Fifteen | Part Sixteen | Part Seventeen | Part Eighteen | Part Nineteen | Part Twenty | Part Twenty-One | Part Twenty-Two | Part Twenty-Three | Part Twenty-Four | Part Twenty-Five | Part Twenty-Six | Part Twenty-Seven | Part Twenty-Eight | Part Twenty-Nine | Part Thirty | Part Thirty-One | Part Thirty-Two | Part Thirty-Three | Part Thirty-Four | Part Thirty-Five | Part Thirty-Six | Part Thirty-Seven | Part Thirty-Eight | Part Thirty-Nine | Part Forty | Part Forty-One | Part Forty-Two
California Sun
Five | Waking Up (CaliSun 20.2) | Almost Like Being in Love (CaliSun 24.5) | An Hour and 45 Minutes | Hava Nagila | Unexpected
Cain was listening to the guys in the office talk about Christmas presents while he checked the stock of poinsettias they were planting that afternoon. There was a small tree sitting on top of the file cabinet and someone had strung a line of twinkle lights around the corkboard with the layouts of various plant beds around campus.
"The kids want bikes, but I’m not sure if I'm ready for that kind of responsibility."
"They make training wheels, y'know." Cain laughed as his coworkers continued to discuss various gifts and decorations. He knew that Simon had pulled the tree down from the attic a few days earlier, because he mentioned the fact a few times - rather loudly - in Jeanie’s presence.
But DG hadn't made any mention of decorating anything and he hadn't asked. There were still three weeks before the holiday, and he'd noticed that some decorations had gone up even earlier than those at the school. DG had made a comment that there was a conspiracy to remove the fall altogether, as most decorations were on shelves as soon as the school supply-run ended.
"Hey guys," Cain heard. The three of them looked up to see the girl with the mail walking through the garage.
"Hey, Kid. Anything exciting today?" Ron asked. She shrugged and set the pile of envelopes and magazines on the edge of the desk.
"Outgoing?" Ron shook his head again and she nodded, giving Cain and Mario a wave. Cain nodded to her and turned back to Ron and Mario, who were both looking at the stack of mail.
"Class schedule? We don’t need that," Ron said, tossing the thin catalog back to the desk. Cain stepped over and reached for the book, flipping through it.
"Can we take a class?" Ron and Mario looked at each other and shrugged.
"Don't see why not," Ron said, looking back to the mail. "You wanna go back to school there, Wyatt?" Cain shrugged and flipped through the book.
"Just curious." Ron abandoned the mail on the desk and pointed to the cart of red and green plants.
"Well, we should get these started." Cain and Mario nodded and followed Ron over to the truck. As Mario climbed into the back of the truck to make sure the plants were secure, Ron nodded to Cain. "If you really want to take a class, go for it."
"But-" Cain nodded to the plants. Ron shook his head.
"I think we can spare an hour without you, man." He smiled and climbed into the truck as Cain moved outside the garage to check for any oncoming vehicles.
-*-
"Hey, Kid," Cain said to DG as he pushed into the apartment. DG looked up from the magazine she was reading and gave him a nod. Cain took his coat off and swung his arms as he moved into the kitchen.
"How was work?" DG asked as Cain filled a glass with water.
"Fine. The guys were discussing the appropriateness of a bicycle as a gift." DG breathed a laugh and closed the magazine.
She turned to look at Cain and leaned against the arm of the couch. "What was the final decision?"
Cain took a swig of water and shrugged. "Barbie?" DG laughed and pushed herself up from the couch. Cain looked around the apartment as she moved over to open the fridge and he turned to her with a frown.
"Do you not do this decoration stuff?" he asked, waving to the room in general. DG sighed and gave him a tired smile.
"No, I just..." DG said, shaking her head. "It's tradition. Decorations go up on the eighth."
"That would be today." Why was the eighth in his mind? DG breathed a laugh and patted Cain's arm.
"That it is. Is the diner okay with you?" Cain looked down to DG and wondered if she was all right. He nodded and she patted his arm again before moving out of the kitchen and around the counter. As she disappeared around the corner, Cain went back to wondering about the date.
'December eighth... Twelve eight... Twelve-oh-' Cain's eyes widened and he looked up to the wall as he remembered Glitch's words: "Twelve-oh-eight! The Queen's birthday..."
Ten minutes later, Cain and DG strolled down the sidewalk, heading for the diner. The temperature had dropped quite a bit since he'd been at work, and the jacket Hank and Emily had given him wasn't doing much to keep him warm at the moment. But he wasn't about to let DG know he was cold.
They hurried across the street before the light changed and she heaved the door open and shivered as she stepped inside. "Holy crap, it's cold out there," she said, blowing hot air into her hands and rubbing them together. Cain motioned for an empty booth and DG glanced over her shoulder.
"We really need to get you another coat, Cain." Cain gave her a smile and nodded to the waitress, who held up the coffee pot from across the restaurant. She moved over with the steaming pot and two cups. Setting the cups down, she smiled to Cain and DG.
"Gettin' cold out there?" DG nodded and watched the woman fill both mugs. "You need a minute?" Cain shook his head and looked at DG, who nodded. "I'll be right back, then," she smiled again. DG reached for the menu and frowned.
"You okay?" Cain asked quietly, wondering if it was the weather that was bothering her. DG nodded and shrugged.
"Just thinkin' about things..." Cain took a deep breath and forced a smile. She yawned and put the menu back without looking at. "So..." DG started, looking across the table to Cain. "What do you want for Christmas?"
"Do you even have any decorations?" he asked, knowing that he was about to open up a box he may not be able to close. DG's eyes shot to the table and she bit her lip. Luckily, she was saved by the return of the waitress. Cain nodded to DG, who glanced up to the waitress.
"Can I get a grilled cheese and tomato soup?" DG asked, double-checking the soup-of-the-day menu quickly. The waitress nodded and looked to Cain, who nodded.
"The same, please." She nodded and headed back to the counter to place their order. Cain looked to DG and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Kiddo?" DG sighed and glanced out the window for a moment.
"Today is-"
"I know," Cain interrupted. "Is that what's bothering you?" DG blinked and shook her head.
"No, it's just..." DG scratched her forehead and took a deep breath. She looked up to Cain and nodded. "My entire life," she nodded and rolled raised her eyebrows slightly. "-on December eighth, we go out for dinner, we go home... we put up the tree. That's the tradition." Cain nodded.
"And then I realized that we were actually celebrating my mother's birthday, which is fine," DG said, quickly throwing up a hand. "It's just that... I don't know," she said with a shrug.
"It's okay to miss your family, Kiddo," Cain said with a nod. DG nodded and sighed. She picked up her spoon and tapped the base of it to the table gently.
"I love my parents, I love my sister and I love you guys," she said with a sad smile. "But, sometimes... I really just want my mom and dad. I miss my old, boring-" Cain reached across the table, grabbed her hand and pulled the spoon from her grip. He then reached for her other hand and looked her in the eye.
"I know," he said simply. DG looked down to the table and wanted to kick herself. Cain had a good life before, too. Taking a deep breath, DG squeezed Cain's hands and they both let go quickly as the waitress stopped at the table with a tray.
"You didn't get curly fries. You feelin' okay?" DG asked, looking down to their matching plates after the waitress set them down, then up to Cain.
Cain frowned and turned to look up to the waitress, who had a smile on her face. "You two need anything else?"
DG nodded. "A water, please." Cain nodded and the waitress smiled again. Glancing back to DG, Cain raised an eyebrow as she dunked her spoon into the bowl of soup. "What?" DG asked, feeling his eyes on her.
"Nothing," Cain said with a smirk. DG let go of the spoon and looked up to Cain. He shook his head and stated: "I am... intrigued."
"By?" she asked, her eyebrow rising slowly. Cain nodded to the bowls in front of them.
"You won't eat a tomato, but you'll... drink one?" DG’s face scrunched as she reached for the spoon again.
"You have to have tomato soup with grilled cheese, Cain."
"It's still a tomato."
DG sighed and looked back up to Cain. "It's all in the presentation."
"Mm hmm," Cain said quietly. "So... about this tree," he said with a nod. DG let a smile creep up her face.
-*-
"This is your tree?" Cain asked in disbelief. She had to be kidding.
DG looked at the tree and motioned to it. "What? It's the ultimate tree. It's perfect," she responded forcefully.
Cain turned, giving her a look that said he thought she was crazy. "It looks dead."
DG frowned and shook her head. "It's supposed to look like that, Cain. That's the point." Cain opened his mouth to respond but turned instead to look at the small twig DG was calling a tree. Tilting his head to match the one bending branch, Cain turned to look at DG and shook his head. As he turned and stepped around her, DG threw up her hands.
"It's not my fault you're ignorant to Charlie Brown," she whined then looked back to the sad little tree and smiled.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Cain and DG, but if you saw 'em in the miniseries, they're here or mentioned. Plus some OCs
Rating: PG
Summary: Cain stayed in LA. But can he survive on the Other Side?
Warning: post-series, directly after California Queen. Blame n_e_star, for she fed Steve. ;)
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The rest of 'em are mine.
Prologue | California Queen
California Tin: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve | Part Thirteen | Part Fourteen | Part Fifteen | Part Sixteen | Part Seventeen | Part Eighteen | Part Nineteen | Part Twenty | Part Twenty-One | Part Twenty-Two | Part Twenty-Three | Part Twenty-Four | Part Twenty-Five | Part Twenty-Six | Part Twenty-Seven | Part Twenty-Eight | Part Twenty-Nine | Part Thirty | Part Thirty-One | Part Thirty-Two | Part Thirty-Three | Part Thirty-Four | Part Thirty-Five | Part Thirty-Six | Part Thirty-Seven | Part Thirty-Eight | Part Thirty-Nine | Part Forty | Part Forty-One | Part Forty-Two
California Sun
Five | Waking Up (CaliSun 20.2) | Almost Like Being in Love (CaliSun 24.5) | An Hour and 45 Minutes | Hava Nagila | Unexpected
Cain was listening to the guys in the office talk about Christmas presents while he checked the stock of poinsettias they were planting that afternoon. There was a small tree sitting on top of the file cabinet and someone had strung a line of twinkle lights around the corkboard with the layouts of various plant beds around campus.
"The kids want bikes, but I’m not sure if I'm ready for that kind of responsibility."
"They make training wheels, y'know." Cain laughed as his coworkers continued to discuss various gifts and decorations. He knew that Simon had pulled the tree down from the attic a few days earlier, because he mentioned the fact a few times - rather loudly - in Jeanie’s presence.
But DG hadn't made any mention of decorating anything and he hadn't asked. There were still three weeks before the holiday, and he'd noticed that some decorations had gone up even earlier than those at the school. DG had made a comment that there was a conspiracy to remove the fall altogether, as most decorations were on shelves as soon as the school supply-run ended.
"Hey guys," Cain heard. The three of them looked up to see the girl with the mail walking through the garage.
"Hey, Kid. Anything exciting today?" Ron asked. She shrugged and set the pile of envelopes and magazines on the edge of the desk.
"Outgoing?" Ron shook his head again and she nodded, giving Cain and Mario a wave. Cain nodded to her and turned back to Ron and Mario, who were both looking at the stack of mail.
"Class schedule? We don’t need that," Ron said, tossing the thin catalog back to the desk. Cain stepped over and reached for the book, flipping through it.
"Can we take a class?" Ron and Mario looked at each other and shrugged.
"Don't see why not," Ron said, looking back to the mail. "You wanna go back to school there, Wyatt?" Cain shrugged and flipped through the book.
"Just curious." Ron abandoned the mail on the desk and pointed to the cart of red and green plants.
"Well, we should get these started." Cain and Mario nodded and followed Ron over to the truck. As Mario climbed into the back of the truck to make sure the plants were secure, Ron nodded to Cain. "If you really want to take a class, go for it."
"But-" Cain nodded to the plants. Ron shook his head.
"I think we can spare an hour without you, man." He smiled and climbed into the truck as Cain moved outside the garage to check for any oncoming vehicles.
-*-
"Hey, Kid," Cain said to DG as he pushed into the apartment. DG looked up from the magazine she was reading and gave him a nod. Cain took his coat off and swung his arms as he moved into the kitchen.
"How was work?" DG asked as Cain filled a glass with water.
"Fine. The guys were discussing the appropriateness of a bicycle as a gift." DG breathed a laugh and closed the magazine.
She turned to look at Cain and leaned against the arm of the couch. "What was the final decision?"
Cain took a swig of water and shrugged. "Barbie?" DG laughed and pushed herself up from the couch. Cain looked around the apartment as she moved over to open the fridge and he turned to her with a frown.
"Do you not do this decoration stuff?" he asked, waving to the room in general. DG sighed and gave him a tired smile.
"No, I just..." DG said, shaking her head. "It's tradition. Decorations go up on the eighth."
"That would be today." Why was the eighth in his mind? DG breathed a laugh and patted Cain's arm.
"That it is. Is the diner okay with you?" Cain looked down to DG and wondered if she was all right. He nodded and she patted his arm again before moving out of the kitchen and around the counter. As she disappeared around the corner, Cain went back to wondering about the date.
'December eighth... Twelve eight... Twelve-oh-' Cain's eyes widened and he looked up to the wall as he remembered Glitch's words: "Twelve-oh-eight! The Queen's birthday..."
Ten minutes later, Cain and DG strolled down the sidewalk, heading for the diner. The temperature had dropped quite a bit since he'd been at work, and the jacket Hank and Emily had given him wasn't doing much to keep him warm at the moment. But he wasn't about to let DG know he was cold.
They hurried across the street before the light changed and she heaved the door open and shivered as she stepped inside. "Holy crap, it's cold out there," she said, blowing hot air into her hands and rubbing them together. Cain motioned for an empty booth and DG glanced over her shoulder.
"We really need to get you another coat, Cain." Cain gave her a smile and nodded to the waitress, who held up the coffee pot from across the restaurant. She moved over with the steaming pot and two cups. Setting the cups down, she smiled to Cain and DG.
"Gettin' cold out there?" DG nodded and watched the woman fill both mugs. "You need a minute?" Cain shook his head and looked at DG, who nodded. "I'll be right back, then," she smiled again. DG reached for the menu and frowned.
"You okay?" Cain asked quietly, wondering if it was the weather that was bothering her. DG nodded and shrugged.
"Just thinkin' about things..." Cain took a deep breath and forced a smile. She yawned and put the menu back without looking at. "So..." DG started, looking across the table to Cain. "What do you want for Christmas?"
"Do you even have any decorations?" he asked, knowing that he was about to open up a box he may not be able to close. DG's eyes shot to the table and she bit her lip. Luckily, she was saved by the return of the waitress. Cain nodded to DG, who glanced up to the waitress.
"Can I get a grilled cheese and tomato soup?" DG asked, double-checking the soup-of-the-day menu quickly. The waitress nodded and looked to Cain, who nodded.
"The same, please." She nodded and headed back to the counter to place their order. Cain looked to DG and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Kiddo?" DG sighed and glanced out the window for a moment.
"Today is-"
"I know," Cain interrupted. "Is that what's bothering you?" DG blinked and shook her head.
"No, it's just..." DG scratched her forehead and took a deep breath. She looked up to Cain and nodded. "My entire life," she nodded and rolled raised her eyebrows slightly. "-on December eighth, we go out for dinner, we go home... we put up the tree. That's the tradition." Cain nodded.
"And then I realized that we were actually celebrating my mother's birthday, which is fine," DG said, quickly throwing up a hand. "It's just that... I don't know," she said with a shrug.
"It's okay to miss your family, Kiddo," Cain said with a nod. DG nodded and sighed. She picked up her spoon and tapped the base of it to the table gently.
"I love my parents, I love my sister and I love you guys," she said with a sad smile. "But, sometimes... I really just want my mom and dad. I miss my old, boring-" Cain reached across the table, grabbed her hand and pulled the spoon from her grip. He then reached for her other hand and looked her in the eye.
"I know," he said simply. DG looked down to the table and wanted to kick herself. Cain had a good life before, too. Taking a deep breath, DG squeezed Cain's hands and they both let go quickly as the waitress stopped at the table with a tray.
"You didn't get curly fries. You feelin' okay?" DG asked, looking down to their matching plates after the waitress set them down, then up to Cain.
Cain frowned and turned to look up to the waitress, who had a smile on her face. "You two need anything else?"
DG nodded. "A water, please." Cain nodded and the waitress smiled again. Glancing back to DG, Cain raised an eyebrow as she dunked her spoon into the bowl of soup. "What?" DG asked, feeling his eyes on her.
"Nothing," Cain said with a smirk. DG let go of the spoon and looked up to Cain. He shook his head and stated: "I am... intrigued."
"By?" she asked, her eyebrow rising slowly. Cain nodded to the bowls in front of them.
"You won't eat a tomato, but you'll... drink one?" DG’s face scrunched as she reached for the spoon again.
"You have to have tomato soup with grilled cheese, Cain."
"It's still a tomato."
DG sighed and looked back up to Cain. "It's all in the presentation."
"Mm hmm," Cain said quietly. "So... about this tree," he said with a nod. DG let a smile creep up her face.
-*-
"This is your tree?" Cain asked in disbelief. She had to be kidding.
DG looked at the tree and motioned to it. "What? It's the ultimate tree. It's perfect," she responded forcefully.
Cain turned, giving her a look that said he thought she was crazy. "It looks dead."
DG frowned and shook her head. "It's supposed to look like that, Cain. That's the point." Cain opened his mouth to respond but turned instead to look at the small twig DG was calling a tree. Tilting his head to match the one bending branch, Cain turned to look at DG and shook his head. As he turned and stepped around her, DG threw up her hands.
"It's not my fault you're ignorant to Charlie Brown," she whined then looked back to the sad little tree and smiled.