Disclaimer: The Lady owns no rights to Tin Man, but owes much inspiration to the creative talents of the writers and to Mr. McDonough and Mr Cumming.

Cold Feet

The queen tapped her ruby-encrusted slipper nervously on the mosaic floor of the royal cathedral as the bewildered organist flipped her sheet music to start the wedding march over again. The invited guests were murmuring, especially on the other side of the aisle. Several soaring musical cues had passed with no sign of the princess bride.

While over 1,000 pairs of eyes continued staring at the arch at the back of the cathedral, Azkadellia shot the queen a worried look. The queen lightly shrugged, maintaining a serene smile as a breathless Glitch clumsily slipped into the pew beside her.

"We've got a problem, Your Majesty," Glitch panted. He gave a happy wave to the puzzled groom.

"Where is she?" the queen asked with her plastered-on grin still intact.

"She's crying on a bench in the foyer," Glitch reported. "Cain is kneeling at her feet."

"Of course he is." The queen started to step into the aisle. "My baby girl has that Tin Man wrapped around her little finger."

"Wait." Glitch touched her elbow. "Give Cain a few minutes alone with her. I mean, it's not like we're all going anywhere, what now with the curiosity factor and all. This is the biggest event in the OZ since you married a commoner. And there's a free bar. Oh, please don't tell me it's a cash bar..."

Out in the foyer, Cain tried consoling the princess, who had plopped down on the bench in a billowing puff of snowy taffeta and tulle.

"You're just having a few butterflies in your stomach, Kiddo." Cain affectionately massaged the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Butterflies?" The princess dabbed her cheeks. "They feel as big as mobats down there! Tell you what: push me and this dress through the front door and I am out of here."

"It's not your style to cut and run," Cain chuckled. "Besides, the queen would be all over me like stink on a Papay."

Cain grinned as he shifted from his knee to a seat beside the blue-eyed beauty. Wrapping an arm around her, he drew her into an embrace. She snuggled against his black dress uniform.

"Tell me the truth, Sweetheart." He tipped her face up. "Do you love him with all your heart? Because if you don't, I'm not letting you walk down that aisle."

With blue eyes as big as the lake at Finaqua, she quietly confessed, "I love him so much that it scares me."

Cain looked away as he tried to keep his composure. He was losing her to the handsome young suitor, a prince in his own right, who was probably wondering where his beloved was right now.

"I've been so wrapped up in wedding plans, cakes, flowers, who can't sit next to who, that I've forgotten about what I'm leaving behind," she admitted. I'll miss Mother, my big sister, Jeb and the rest of our eccentric, extended family..." Cain smiled. "But most of all, I'll miss you and the mysterious sense you have when I'm in trouble. When I've looked back, you've always been there behind me."

"Your husband will protect you, Sweetheart," he promised in a hoarse whisper. "I'll see to it."

"I'll miss the way you laugh at my goofy jokes when no one else gets them," she continued.

"Well," Cain admitted, "once you've traipsed the OZ with Glitch babbling at your side, you learn to appreciate goofy." It was her turn to laugh.

"And you never mind baiting my hook..."

As she poured out her feelings, Cain put her bouquet of pink teacup roses in her hand and escorted her to the arch leading into the sanctuary. He saw the queen and Glitch turn as an "Awwwww" went through the crowd. The bride was a fairytale vision standing beside the dashing Tin Man.

"The fish will always be there for you and so will I," Cain said. "Are you ready, Princess?"

The lovely blonde nodded, standing on tiptoes to kiss his damp cheek.

"I love you, Daddy."