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Fic: Follow You Home - California Tin (07/42)
Title: Follow You Home - California Tin (07/42)
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
WENN last we met: 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.
"Turn this on," Cain semi-begged, forcing DG to spin on her heel and look at him. "Please," he added, rolling his eyes. DG smiled again and moved over the few feet to the TV. She pulled the case from Cain’s hand and bent down to turn on the small DVD player.
"I should cut you off," she said pointing up to him. Cain frowned and moved over to the couch. Two weeks before, as soon as dinner was over, DG bolted for the Lowry's television and turned it on. She'd flipped through all the channels twice, mumbling that she knew it was on somewhere; it was a Thanksgiving-night law.
Jeanie started collecting plates and yelled out a channel number before she disappeared into the kitchen. DG cheered as she found the movie she was looking for and Simon moved over to the couch, waving for Cain to sit down. DG turned the volume up a few bars and then headed back to the table to help Jeanie clean up, leaving Cain and Simon to sit and watch White Christmas.
By the third commercial, Simon had given up and dug out the DVD. Three days later, Cain asked Simon if he could watch it again. Jeanie offered the DVD and the player up, because Simon wasn’t using them, and the two men took over DG’s living room, hooking it up.
This would be Cain's eighth viewing.
As the movie started, DG moved back to the box of decorations she'd retrieved from Kansas and looked through it to see if there was anything else worth pulling out. Mom couldn't understand the humor in the tree when DG brought it home, especially when the family had a perfectly good tree in the living room.
At a break in the dialogue, DG looked back over her shoulder. "What do you want for Christmas?"
Cain's eyes moved from the television to DG and he blinked. "Will it get colder?"
DG turned back to face the wall with a grin then turned around and leaned against the bookcase. "Probably."
Cain stared at her for a moment then glanced back to the TV. "Gloves." DG smiled and nodded. Actually, she already knew what she was getting him for Christmas, but asking never hurt.
But if Wyatt Cain wanted gloves, then gloves he would get.
The next night, when DG got home from work, she and Cain went out to find him a decent winter coat. And gloves.
Of course, Cain tried asking DG what she wanted for Christmas, but she refused to tell him anything other than that all she wanted was for him to have a good Christmas. He didn't buy it, of course.
After the third coat was tried on, DG stepped up behind Cain and rested her chin on his shoulder. Looking at Cain through the mirror, she asked: "You like this one?" Cain moved his arms slightly to test his range of motion and shrugged. "I mean, I know it's not your coat, but-" she waved and backed away.
Cain turned and caught DG's shoulders. "What do you want for Christmas?" DG breathed a laugh and shook her head. "Look, Kiddo... I don't know much, but I think I've got this holiday-thing figured out." He gave her that look and DG narrowed her eyes.
"My motorcycle," she said seriously, trying to think of something utterly ridiculous. "Or, Muppet Family Christmas," she added with a nod, knowing that the movie was out of print.
"Muppa-what?" Cain asked. DG laughed and helped Cain pull the coat off.
"It's a movie. It's another tradition: Christmas morning... Muppet Family Christmas and stocking. Then, once Mom and Dad got up, presents." DG returned the coat to its hanger and reached for the same coat, one size up. Hanging the smaller one back up, she pulled the larger coat off its hanger and helped Cain into it.
"Had it on tape, but the books and movies all went to the library when-" she trailed off, giving Cain a look in the larger coat. "Too big?" Cain shrugged and turned back to the mirror. Frowning, he turned to DG a moment later and they both shook their heads. DG reached for the smaller coat while Cain shrugged the coat off and traded with DG.
Hanging the coat back on its hanger, DG returned the hanger to the rack and turned to Cain. "Now gloves. And a hat," she added with a nod.
-*-
Before Cain knew it, Christmas Eve had arrived. Simon and Jeanie had left a few days before to spend the holiday with their son and his family, and had prepared a great deal of food before leaving because Jeanie was sure that neither Cain or DG would eat if it wasn't for her feeding them.
Neither of them would admit that was probably true.
DG asked Cain if he wanted to watch his movie again, but he passed. She found a radio station playing holiday music and they sat on the couch, flipping through magazines. At one point, Cain gave up on the reading material and leaned back, closing his eyes. After about five minutes, he could feel DG looking at him, so he opened one eye.
"You don't have to stay up Cain," she said, glancing back to the article she really wasn't interested in.
"I'm just... thinking," he said with the slightest smile. "Besides... you're on my bed."
"I offered to get you a real bed, but no..." DG shook her head and tried not to smile.
Ten minutes later, DG nudged Cain and he jerked awake. "Come on, Tin Man. Santa won't show up long as you're awake." Cain blinked and yawned as DG pushed him to lie down. He reached blindly for his pillow, which - for whatever reason - had been shoved between the couch and the wall, and he let out a good yawn as DG covered him with a blanket.
Cain was up early the next morning and moved into the kitchen to pull Jeanie's pecan rolls out of the freezer. He had decided, after the first one, that if he ever found himself back in the Zone, the pastry would be the one thing he missed the most from the Other Side.
A while later, DG appeared - looking still asleep - and gave him a smile. "Merry Christmas," she said with a yawn. Cain laughed and held up a plate with one of the rolls on it for DG. "Yummy," DG stated, reaching for the plate. Setting it down on the counter, DG turned and moved to the couch.
After a minute, she managed to pull the box out from underneath the couch and stood up. Turning back to Cain, she gave him a cheery smile and held up the gift. He reached across the counter and took the box from her, but set it down, as she had done with the plate.
"You're supposed to-" she pointed to the box as Cain moved around the counter and stepped past her. She turned with a frown as he passed, which turned into a smile as Cain produced a stocking.
"Simon helped me pick it out," he said with a nod toward the stocking. DG raised an eyebrow as she took it from Cain. As she reached into the stocking, Cain added: "Can't have you breaking tradition..." Her breath caught as she pulled out the DVD case and realized what it was.
DG bit her lip and blinked a few times, really not wanting to start crying in front of Cain. "How did you-" She took a deep breath and looked up to Cain. Opening her mouth to speak, DG realized she had no words and laughed. Taking a deep breath, DG nodded once and looked up to Cain.
"I'm going to hug you now." Cain rolled his eyes dramatically, smiled and nodded. She took the few steps between them and put her arms around Cain. "Thank you," DG whispered. Cain breathed a laugh and returned the hug.
"I didn’t get you anything else," he said matter-of-factly.
DG laughed into his shoulder and pulled back. "This is perfect," she stated with a nod. Motioning to his gift, DG set the stocking down on the table and began pulling the plastic wrapper off the DVD case. Cain picked up the box and considered the ribbon while DG looked at the back of the case of her movie and gave a silent cheer.
She glanced up to see Cain's progress and moved over to the DVD player to turn it on. Cain got the lid off the box and pushed aside the tissue paper. As he lifted the fabric out of the box, DG put the disc in the tray and pushed it shut, then tapped the button on the TV. Cain held up the blue sport coat and raised an eyebrow in DG's direction.
"What?" she asked, waving at the coat. "One of these days, you're gonna meet a girl, and you're gonna want to take her out to dinner." She ignored the look on Cain's face and pointed toward from the jacket to the closet. "That, with the striped-" DG gave Cain a thumbs up and clicked her tongue. Cain's eyes narrowed as DG turned to the TV and he gave the jacket a look.
It wasn't a bad shade of blue, he noted. Shaking his head slightly, Cain decided to try the coat on as DG moved back to the counter quickly and grabbed the plate with the pecan roll before plopping down on the couch. The jacket didn't exactly go with the black jeans and t-shirt he was wearing, and the sleeves were a little long, but it wasn't a bad fit.
Shrugging out of the jacket, Cain laid it back in the box and moved over to sit down next to DG. "Thank you, Princess," he said as he sat, taking the pecan roll off her plate. DG gave him a smile and returned her focus to the TV, not even registering that Cain had just eaten her breakfast. Cain glanced at the screen and blinked. There was a... frog? And a... whatever the blue thing was. Not to mention, what looked like a bear... driving a truck.
He was never going to fully understand the Other Side.
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
WENN last we met: 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.
"Turn this on," Cain semi-begged, forcing DG to spin on her heel and look at him. "Please," he added, rolling his eyes. DG smiled again and moved over the few feet to the TV. She pulled the case from Cain’s hand and bent down to turn on the small DVD player.
"I should cut you off," she said pointing up to him. Cain frowned and moved over to the couch. Two weeks before, as soon as dinner was over, DG bolted for the Lowry's television and turned it on. She'd flipped through all the channels twice, mumbling that she knew it was on somewhere; it was a Thanksgiving-night law.
Jeanie started collecting plates and yelled out a channel number before she disappeared into the kitchen. DG cheered as she found the movie she was looking for and Simon moved over to the couch, waving for Cain to sit down. DG turned the volume up a few bars and then headed back to the table to help Jeanie clean up, leaving Cain and Simon to sit and watch White Christmas.
By the third commercial, Simon had given up and dug out the DVD. Three days later, Cain asked Simon if he could watch it again. Jeanie offered the DVD and the player up, because Simon wasn’t using them, and the two men took over DG’s living room, hooking it up.
This would be Cain's eighth viewing.
As the movie started, DG moved back to the box of decorations she'd retrieved from Kansas and looked through it to see if there was anything else worth pulling out. Mom couldn't understand the humor in the tree when DG brought it home, especially when the family had a perfectly good tree in the living room.
At a break in the dialogue, DG looked back over her shoulder. "What do you want for Christmas?"
Cain's eyes moved from the television to DG and he blinked. "Will it get colder?"
DG turned back to face the wall with a grin then turned around and leaned against the bookcase. "Probably."
Cain stared at her for a moment then glanced back to the TV. "Gloves." DG smiled and nodded. Actually, she already knew what she was getting him for Christmas, but asking never hurt.
But if Wyatt Cain wanted gloves, then gloves he would get.
The next night, when DG got home from work, she and Cain went out to find him a decent winter coat. And gloves.
Of course, Cain tried asking DG what she wanted for Christmas, but she refused to tell him anything other than that all she wanted was for him to have a good Christmas. He didn't buy it, of course.
After the third coat was tried on, DG stepped up behind Cain and rested her chin on his shoulder. Looking at Cain through the mirror, she asked: "You like this one?" Cain moved his arms slightly to test his range of motion and shrugged. "I mean, I know it's not your coat, but-" she waved and backed away.
Cain turned and caught DG's shoulders. "What do you want for Christmas?" DG breathed a laugh and shook her head. "Look, Kiddo... I don't know much, but I think I've got this holiday-thing figured out." He gave her that look and DG narrowed her eyes.
"My motorcycle," she said seriously, trying to think of something utterly ridiculous. "Or, Muppet Family Christmas," she added with a nod, knowing that the movie was out of print.
"Muppa-what?" Cain asked. DG laughed and helped Cain pull the coat off.
"It's a movie. It's another tradition: Christmas morning... Muppet Family Christmas and stocking. Then, once Mom and Dad got up, presents." DG returned the coat to its hanger and reached for the same coat, one size up. Hanging the smaller one back up, she pulled the larger coat off its hanger and helped Cain into it.
"Had it on tape, but the books and movies all went to the library when-" she trailed off, giving Cain a look in the larger coat. "Too big?" Cain shrugged and turned back to the mirror. Frowning, he turned to DG a moment later and they both shook their heads. DG reached for the smaller coat while Cain shrugged the coat off and traded with DG.
Hanging the coat back on its hanger, DG returned the hanger to the rack and turned to Cain. "Now gloves. And a hat," she added with a nod.
-*-
Before Cain knew it, Christmas Eve had arrived. Simon and Jeanie had left a few days before to spend the holiday with their son and his family, and had prepared a great deal of food before leaving because Jeanie was sure that neither Cain or DG would eat if it wasn't for her feeding them.
Neither of them would admit that was probably true.
DG asked Cain if he wanted to watch his movie again, but he passed. She found a radio station playing holiday music and they sat on the couch, flipping through magazines. At one point, Cain gave up on the reading material and leaned back, closing his eyes. After about five minutes, he could feel DG looking at him, so he opened one eye.
"You don't have to stay up Cain," she said, glancing back to the article she really wasn't interested in.
"I'm just... thinking," he said with the slightest smile. "Besides... you're on my bed."
"I offered to get you a real bed, but no..." DG shook her head and tried not to smile.
Ten minutes later, DG nudged Cain and he jerked awake. "Come on, Tin Man. Santa won't show up long as you're awake." Cain blinked and yawned as DG pushed him to lie down. He reached blindly for his pillow, which - for whatever reason - had been shoved between the couch and the wall, and he let out a good yawn as DG covered him with a blanket.
Cain was up early the next morning and moved into the kitchen to pull Jeanie's pecan rolls out of the freezer. He had decided, after the first one, that if he ever found himself back in the Zone, the pastry would be the one thing he missed the most from the Other Side.
A while later, DG appeared - looking still asleep - and gave him a smile. "Merry Christmas," she said with a yawn. Cain laughed and held up a plate with one of the rolls on it for DG. "Yummy," DG stated, reaching for the plate. Setting it down on the counter, DG turned and moved to the couch.
After a minute, she managed to pull the box out from underneath the couch and stood up. Turning back to Cain, she gave him a cheery smile and held up the gift. He reached across the counter and took the box from her, but set it down, as she had done with the plate.
"You're supposed to-" she pointed to the box as Cain moved around the counter and stepped past her. She turned with a frown as he passed, which turned into a smile as Cain produced a stocking.
"Simon helped me pick it out," he said with a nod toward the stocking. DG raised an eyebrow as she took it from Cain. As she reached into the stocking, Cain added: "Can't have you breaking tradition..." Her breath caught as she pulled out the DVD case and realized what it was.
DG bit her lip and blinked a few times, really not wanting to start crying in front of Cain. "How did you-" She took a deep breath and looked up to Cain. Opening her mouth to speak, DG realized she had no words and laughed. Taking a deep breath, DG nodded once and looked up to Cain.
"I'm going to hug you now." Cain rolled his eyes dramatically, smiled and nodded. She took the few steps between them and put her arms around Cain. "Thank you," DG whispered. Cain breathed a laugh and returned the hug.
"I didn’t get you anything else," he said matter-of-factly.
DG laughed into his shoulder and pulled back. "This is perfect," she stated with a nod. Motioning to his gift, DG set the stocking down on the table and began pulling the plastic wrapper off the DVD case. Cain picked up the box and considered the ribbon while DG looked at the back of the case of her movie and gave a silent cheer.
She glanced up to see Cain's progress and moved over to the DVD player to turn it on. Cain got the lid off the box and pushed aside the tissue paper. As he lifted the fabric out of the box, DG put the disc in the tray and pushed it shut, then tapped the button on the TV. Cain held up the blue sport coat and raised an eyebrow in DG's direction.
"What?" she asked, waving at the coat. "One of these days, you're gonna meet a girl, and you're gonna want to take her out to dinner." She ignored the look on Cain's face and pointed toward from the jacket to the closet. "That, with the striped-" DG gave Cain a thumbs up and clicked her tongue. Cain's eyes narrowed as DG turned to the TV and he gave the jacket a look.
It wasn't a bad shade of blue, he noted. Shaking his head slightly, Cain decided to try the coat on as DG moved back to the counter quickly and grabbed the plate with the pecan roll before plopping down on the couch. The jacket didn't exactly go with the black jeans and t-shirt he was wearing, and the sleeves were a little long, but it wasn't a bad fit.
Shrugging out of the jacket, Cain laid it back in the box and moved over to sit down next to DG. "Thank you, Princess," he said as he sat, taking the pecan roll off her plate. DG gave him a smile and returned her focus to the TV, not even registering that Cain had just eaten her breakfast. Cain glanced at the screen and blinked. There was a... frog? And a... whatever the blue thing was. Not to mention, what looked like a bear... driving a truck.
He was never going to fully understand the Other Side.