Disclaimer: For the last time in this story I have to tell you I don't own Tin Man. Not even a little bit.

Opening the wardrobe she picked out two of her dresses she deemed worthy of packing and turned to the suitcase on the bed. Setting one of them down she began to fold the other and heard the door downstairs open. She didn't need to extend her magic to sense the Tin Man anymore. She had started to think that he was affecting her the same way Kara's gift had. He was simply a part of her. "Deeg?"

"Up here!" She placed the folded dress in the suitcase and started on the second one. Cain pushed the door open and took the scene in. She saw the look in his eyes and dropped the second dress before putting her hands on her hips. "Don't even try to start this again."

His jaw set and she huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't see why you can't wait to go back to the coast. It's been over a year. I don't think another five months is going to matter."

"I refuse to have this argument again. We've already gone through this sixteen times."

He rolled his eyes. "That's an exaggeration."

"Really?" She pointed to the bedside table. "I've been keeping a tally."

"For the love of Ozma!" He was getting angry. "You're being ridiculous!"

She snapped the suitcase closed and used her magic to shimmer it on top the dresser. "Wyatt, I'm going to the coast. You can come with me or stay here. At this point I don't care."

"You're not traveling by yourself! Especially not now! You shouldn't be traveling at all!" He moved farther into the room, his eyes flashing blue fire. "Why are you being so stubborn about this? It's not like Furball wouldn't come here if you asked!"

"Raw is hardly the only viewer in our pack!"

"Who else do you want to see?" He was beyond baffled and she felt herself getting more irritated by the moment. Apparently a flat out offensive wasn't the greatest way to deal with the Tin Man. She could have sworn she already knew that.

"The females!" He quirked an eyebrow and she turned back to the wardrobe as she began searching distractedly for her favorite blouse. "Unlike you I've never done this before! It's not like I can ask my mother anything!"

"Sweetheart." His anger vanished and he was suddenly behind her and wrapping his arms around her. "You didn't tell me you were worried about this."

She shrugged. "Because having you worried about me being worried would have made me feel so much better."

"Come here, Deeg." He backed them to the bed and sat down, placing her in his lap. "I don't want you to be nervous about anything."

She sighed and pressed her head under his chin. It was amazing that having him hold her had never gotten any less comforting, had never gotten old. "I'm just afraid something is going to happen. I've never been this happy before. I feel like it can't last." He kissed her head reassuringly. "I know it's ridiculous but I'll feel better with someone who's actually been through the whole process, at least my side of it. Not that you haven't been wonderful but I want to be near other women."

"Deeg, you're past the point where you might loose her."

She shook her head into his shoulder. "There's other stuff that might happen and I want to be near Raw and the others in case it does."

"Ok." His fingers rubbed her stomach gently.

She leaned back and eyed him skeptically. This was too far out of character for it to be real. She thought he had been protective of her before she told him she was pregnant. He had gotten downright ridiculous in the last month. Looking back she was amazed she had been worried he wouldn't be happy about it. That was one of the reasons she had waited so long to tell him. "You're not going to fight with me about this?"

He slid her to the middle of the bed and laid her out with exceptional care. "Nope." He was already on his elbows and hovering over her stomach. "If you'll feel better on the coast then we can leave in the mornin'. Best get there before you get any rounder." She rolled her eyes at him as he pushed her shirt up and ran his hand over the skin above her hips. He ignored her piqued glare and turned his attention away from her. "And how are you today?"

She laughed quietly at his crooning, forgetting he had called her round. Really she only had a bit of a bump. Ok, maybe it was more than a bit. Yup, definitely a plain old bulge now. "I don't think he can hear you."

He tickled her ribs. "Of course she can."

Running her hands through his hair she smiled down at him. "You are going to be so disappointed when Raw tells you it's a boy."

"Nonsense." He kissed her stomach while his blue eyes flicked to her face. "There is no possible way I could be disappointed." She placed a hand on his cheek as he tickled her skin with his nose. "Besides, Raw would never tell me such a thing since she's a girl." He stared straight down and grinned. "Isn't that right, Kiddo?"

"Stubborn man."

"Shhh, Deeg. You don't want her thinkin' you don't love me."

She laughed breathily at him. "I doubt he'll ever think that."

He continued to talk to her stomach. "You're goin' to be as pretty as your mama and what am I goin' to do? I'll have to shoot all the boys that come tryin' to court you."

She rolled her eyes. "That's rather extreme, Wyatt."

"I don't think so." He kissed her stomach again. "Especially with you teachin' her magic. I'll hardly be able to keep up."

She stopped running her hand through his hair as unease hit her. She really didn't want to think about this, and certainly didn't want to upset him, but it was important and they needed to before she had the baby. "Wyatt?"

He heard the change in her voice and looked up at her. "What's the matter, Sweet thing?"

She met his eyes seriously. "If anything happens to me you need to take the baby to Az so she can train him. He's going to have magic. He'll hurt himself if he doesn't know how to use it and she won't try to keep him at court when he's done learning."

Cain moved up on the bed and held her against him. "Nothin' is goin' to happen to you."

Snuggling against him she tossed her leg over his hip as she met his eyes. She didn't want to skim around this issue no matter how either of them felt about it. "Promise me?"

His eyes searched hers and he finally nodded. "I promise." She caught his face and kissed him gratefully. After a long minute he pulled back. "Now you need to promise me you won't do anything crazy so I'll have to do that."

"Geez, you drive a hard bargain." He chuckled as she teased him. "You act like I get in trouble all the time."

He shook his head and kissed her. She bit his lower lip and he growled as he tickled her ribs. She squeaked and batted at his hands. "You're a bad man! Stay back!"

He did anything but stay back as he pulled her closer against him, though he did stop tormenting her. Cradling her back against his chest he buried his face in her hair and sighed contentedly as he started stroking her abdomen. "Our baby's lucky to have such a good mother."

Smiling she held his hand in place and looked over the bulge that had started forming there. "He's lucky to have such a good father. At least he might be. Call me round again and its over for you."

He chuckled and kissed her shoulder. Twisting her head back she caught his eyes and saw contentment there. His hand drifted lower and she sucked in a sharp breath as her own tranquility was replaced with a wave of lust. In the last few months she had been a lot more prone to that than she usually was and that was saying something. For the most part she had been very lucky. She had practically no morning sickness if she avoided certain foods, something she had been grateful for, mostly because Wyatt hadn't noticed. Her mood swings hadn't been all that bad either, at least not in her opinion, but the first time she had swung wildly out of control the Tin Man stared at her as if she were insane.

It probably hadn't helped that the whole thing was over the fact that she had lost a button on one of her shirts. She had nearly torn the house apart searching for it after work and he had come home an hour later to find the study in shambles and their bedroom looking like a travel storm had torn through it. When he had asked her, with the strangest look in his eyes, why the house had been pillaged she had glanced over the bedroom and burst into tears. She was pretty sure that not having told him she was pregnant yet had exacerbated the situation.

He had panicked, thinking someone had come in and tried to hurt her. When she shook her head he had lost patience and demanded to know what had happened. She had told him through her completely irrational tears that she couldn't find a button. He stood there staring at her for a long minute. "What?"

"My button!"

"You can't be serious." Annoyance laced his tone, which only upset her more. She'd never had him annoyed with her before. "You ripped the house apart because you lost a button? Are you sick or just plain crazy?"

She went from downright distressed to righteously angry in a second. "I am not crazy!" She wasn't all that scary sounding when she was hiccupping between gasping breaths.

"Then what is the matter with you?" Frustration was vibrating off of him. "You've been acting strange for days!"

She had stormed out of the room in a huff and slammed the door to the bathroom shut with a resounding bang. She heard him muttering angrily in the hallway before he went into the study and began to straighten things up rather violently. Ten minutes later and she felt perfectly normal again, except for the massive amount of guilt over getting into an argument with him for no apparent reason. Cleaning her face with a cool cloth she straightened her hair and walked out of the bathroom in search of the Tin Man. When she made it to the doorway he glanced up at her as he snapped one of the drawers of the desk closed, his eyes still flashing.

She shifted nervously. She'd known for a while, nearly six weeks, and she was tired of fretting over what he was going to do. Raw may have told her the general time this was going to happen but she hadn't been prepared for what her body was going to do to her or the massive amount of anxiety she was going to experience. Blurting out the secret she had been keeping she prepared herself for all the worst scenarios she had envisioned this news would bring.

"I'm pregnant." The Tin Man froze and she began to fidget as she dropped her eyes to the carpet. "Sorry about the mess."

Then she found herself wrapped in his arms while he swung her in a circle and he let out a loud whoop. Screeching in shock she grabbed his shoulders and held on for dear life. The second he set her on the ground he was kissing her like crazy as he laughed breathlessly. "How long, Deeg?" His hands were moving to her stomach as he dropped to his knees and pulled her shirt up so he could kiss her there too.

She couldn't even describe her relief over the fact that he was happy about this. "Six weeks. Maybe seven."

His eyes flew from his inspection of her abdomen to her face. "And you didn't tell me?" He rubbed his stubbly cheek against her skin as he watched her.

"I was afraid you…" She trailed off and stared down at his ridiculously happy face. "I guess that was silly."

"Very silly." He kissed her stomach again before standing up and scooping her into his arms. "But you're pregnant. You're allowed to be as silly as you want." He had carried her back to their ransacked bedroom and promptly started talking to her tummy.

That had been a good day. And now that he'd agreed to go with her to the coast, and the way his hands were moving down her body, she thought this one was pretty good too. Flicking the button of her pants open he dipped his hand under her panties and began to rub her firmly. She cried out immediately as heat swamped her. "You're awfully responsive today, Darlin'." She whimpered and pressed into his hand harder. "Do you need to come, Sweet thing?"

"Yes!" Her hips jolted forward to add to the pressure he was creating as she began to pant. "Don't stop, Wyatt!"

He chuckled into the back of her neck. "Have I ever stopped before?" She whimpered pathetically and he dipped two of his fingers into her wet heat. A yes hissed between her teeth and he growled as she pressed her bottom back against his hips. He withdrew his hand and she cried out in frustration before she felt him grasp the top of her pants and shove them down. She kicked them off as she heard him fumbling with his zipper. Then he had pulled her leg back over his hip and slid into her from behind. A satisfied moan fell from her and he began to rock in and out of her at a steady pace as he held her hips against his.

So close that she could barely contain herself she tried to get him to topple with her. "So good, Wyatt. I always feel so full with you in me." He groaned into her ear as she tightened around him. "Come with me."

Her gasps filled the small room and he rumbled into her ear. "Next time. Let go, Deeg." He said that as if she could stop herself. Letting out a loud moan she shuddered as an orgasm rolled over her. Behind her Wyatt's hand snuck down and began to stroke her center again as he continued to move. Unable to catch her breath as she came back down she was practically right on the edge again and began to whither and whine against him.

"Wyatt!" Her hand shot down to cover his as she shoved back into him. "Tin Man, please! I can't take much more!"

With an excited growl he pinched her a little roughly and she yelled out his name as her vision went dark for a few moments. He pulsed inside her with his own groan of completion and unexpected aftershocks of stars began to dance across her vision as she continued to let out soft mewls. Hearing her over his own reaction his fingers teased her center to keep her going as he panted against her neck. After a nearly painful amount of time she went limp as her body gave out on her.

"That was sexy as hell, Darlin'." Her dark curls muffled his voice as his hand moved up to cradle her against him. Her leg went slack and fell back to the bed as she sighed, completely spent. "Never seen you break apart that fast."

All she could do was hum and twist toward him so she could rest her head under his chin. "Love you."

"Love you too." His hand rested over her bulge. "Love both my girls."

Lip twitching she murmured into his neck. "I want to name him Liam."

"That's a right funny name for a girl."

Shoving herself up on her arms so she could touch her nose to his she eyed him. "It's a boy!" It's not that she didn't want a girl. The truth was she already knew the baby was a girl. Between Kara's gift and the type of magic she could already feel coming from their baby she had known for well over a month. It was just too much fun keeping this argument going.

He was grinning up at her. She thought he had as much fun arguing about this as she did. "Alexis."

That name actually stopped her affectionate bickering. "Alexis?" She tilted her head back and forth as she let the name roll around her head. His smile grew when he saw that she more than approved of his choice.

His hand came up to tangle in her hair and he whispered in her ear. "Lexi."

"That's a really pretty name." He chuckled and kissed the spot below her ear that made her sigh. "Too bad it's a boy." Groaning he flopped back down on the bed. He had really thought he had won. He was cute.

Her fingers were running through his hair as she started thinking about the rest of the things she needed to pack when her magic tingled. She sat up abruptly as her head snapped around. "Someone's coming."

His eyes snapped open at her sharp tone. "What?" Hissing slightly as her protective instincts kicked into high gear she didn't bother to pinpoint who it was as her arms covered her baby and she started to glow defensively. "Deeg?" Straightening his clothes with amazing swiftness he was off the bed with his gun in hand in seconds. "Who is it?" His voice was hard as steel as he reacted to her anxiety.

Closing her eyes briefly she felt for the source of the magic and her light dimmed slightly. "Az is here." That was disquieting. She hadn't seen her sister in well over a year. She hadn't thought Az knew where she was.

He relaxed slightly and put his gun back down as she frowned. "Clothes, Sweet thing." He opened the wardrobe and handed her a clean blue dress that she changed into quickly. Wyatt was tying the ribbons that held it closed when there was a knock on the door. Finishing, he kissed her cheek and headed for the stairs while adjusting his holster.

She followed him more slowly, feeling skittish and abnormally paranoid. She knew it was related to both her feelings toward being contacted by anyone in her family in combination with her need to keep their baby safe. The Tin Man opened the door as she made it to the doorway on the far side of the sitting room. Seeing the advisor behind her sister's shoulder she hovered in the background, trying to keep her stomach hidden from view. Both of them were dressed very simply and she knew they were doing their best to go unnoticed on this visit. "Deeg?" The heir had spotted her past Cain and a smile lit up her pretty face.

"Hi, Az." She didn't smile and her sister frowned as Wyatt ushered them in. She was afraid this might be part of the summons she had ignored when they had first returned to Central City so many months ago. She wasn't going to go to the palace no matter what Az wanted.

Ambrose smiled sincerely at her. "We've been waiting for you to come to us but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen so we decided to come to you."

"Why?" Her voice was sharper than she meant it to be but she was starting to panic slightly. Wyatt was wound as tight as a bowstring and looked about ready to toss them both out. Similar thoughts were running through his head she was sure. They had talked about this after they had decided what to do with the inheritance he had received.

They had both agreed that they weren't going to have anything to do with the courts or her family again. She knew she would miss her sister, she had, but Az came with too many complications. Her parents scared her. They could still make her leave the Outer Zone if they managed to get a hold of her. She wasn't leaving. She wasn't going back to court. She wasn't letting the queen or consort near Wyatt, Jeb, or her baby.

Ambrose saw that they had erred by coming and shifted his gaze between her and her husband. Az, on the other hand, was focused on her. "Deeg? What's wrong?"

"What are you doing here?" Her magic began to flicker.

"I…I wanted to see you." Her sister edged toward her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too but you shouldn't have come."

She'd never seen her sister look so hurt before. "What? Why?"

"Who else knows where she is?" Wyatt walked around their unexpected guests as he made his way toward her.

Ambrose pressed his lips together as her sister wilted. "No one."

"Keep it that way." He stopped next to her and rubbed her back as he whispered in her ear. "If you want them gone just say so."

"This is hardly the reunion we had imagined." The advisor was less than pleased that her sister was being stone walled.

"What did you expect?" The Tin Man moved to partially block her. "If anyone followed you her parents could hunt her down! We've been keeping a low profile for a reason! I'm not going to let them order my wife out of the O.Z.!"

"Wife?" Az asked quietly.

"No one is going to make her leave." Ambrose cut in.

The Tin Man narrowed his eyes. "No? They know what happened. Their track record speaks for itself."

"I'm not going back to the palace." She was starting to feel slightly sick and pressed against Wyatt.

He turned back to look at her and concern flashed over his face. "You should leave. You're upsetting her."

"Doll, honestly, no one is going to make you leave the O.Z. Your parents want to talk to you. Ahamo especially. We've been worried about you."

"I'm sorry I worried you Az but I'm not going to talk to them. I'm not going back to the palace, and if you bring them here, or tell them where I am I swear I'll use my magic to make them leave." She flashed erratically as her voice hardened.

Wyatt put his hand on her as he tried to sooth her. "Deeg, you need to calm down." Turning his back to the other two he rubbed a slow circle over her stomach. "This is bad for Lexi." She heard Ambrose and Az shifting in confusion even as she nodded. Cain ignored this as he continued to touch her. "Deep breaths." He kissed her forehead as she complied and her magic faded away. "Good girl." Turning his head over his shoulder he glared at the advisor. "You upset her again and no amount of magic or fighting skills are goin' to keep you safe."

"We didn't mean to upset anyone." Her sister sounded depressed. "Deeg, I swear I just wanted to visit. If you don't want to see our parents then I promise I won't tell them anything. I've been worried. You vanished and Glitch said you were hurt and he thought the Tin Man might be dead. Then you never answered my letter even though uncle Liam's holdings shifted. I didn't know what happened."

She looked at her sister seriously. "Do you promise? I have a new life, Az. I'm happy here."

"I promise, little sister." Beside her the advisor nodded in agreement.

"Ok." She sent her sister a small smile and the tension drain out of Wyatt. "How are you? What happened after we left?"

Ambrose shrugged as the Tin Man waved at the couch. Glitch followed as Az sat down gracefully. "Nothing that should surprise you. We imprisoned the men that lived and came back. We had the funeral and when we got the duke's will I thought the police station would be the best place to send it seeing as we didn't know where you lived or if you would be back." Wyatt put his hand on the small of her back and guided her around the chair she had been standing behind. "Your parents got into a fight about what happened but they settled it after…"

The advisor trailed off and Az blinked as her whole body came into view. Even with the loose dress she was wearing it was clear that she was now sharing her body with someone else. Wyatt made sure she was comfortable in the cushioned chair before kissing her temple and asking her a question. "Do you need anything?" She could see in his eyes that he was still worked up over how stressed she had gotten and smiled up at him.

"No thank you." With a nod he dragged the old rocking chair next to her and sat down.

"Oh, Deeg." Her sister had gotten up and was crouched down next to her in the blink of an eye. Her hand came up and hovered over her stomach before the heir flashed her an uncertain look and began to pull it away. Catching her sister's slim fingers she dragged them back and placed them over the bump. A soft, joyful smile appeared on Az's lips as they stayed like that. Her sister's hand pressed between hers and her belly. "When are you due?" A much smaller hand than she was used to rubbed her stomach and she found a different kind of warmth filling her.

"The first month of spring." Az's smile was radiant and she saw her fiancé approaching them slowly. Wyatt was simply sitting still as he watched them and she wondered if the men were afraid to break the moment between them.

"Can I come and see the baby?"

"If you promise not to let anyone follow you."

Az nodded vigorously. "I promise, Deeg." She rolled her eyes as the advisor edged closer, curiosity evident, and reached out quickly to grab his hand too. He laughed softly as she put it on her stomach and gave her his inventor's grin. After that an easy camaraderie settled over the room and they caught up for a few hours before the advisor was forced to point out that they would be missed if they stayed away any longer. Apparently their presence was needed when there was only a week left before their wedding. After telling them goodbye and all of them silently acknowledge that they would be gone for the ceremony she and Wyatt were left alone again.

His arms wrapped around her as they stood in the middle of the room. "I'm glad we're leaving tomorrow. If they let anything slip we'll be gone."

"I don't think Az or Ambrose will do that." She kissed his jaw before grabbing his hand and dragging him back upstairs. "She wants to see Liam when he gets here."

"Lexi." She heard the smile in his voice as she headed back to her suitcase. "Do you need help packin'?"

"Nope." She smiled rather giddily at him as she tossed her socks in the bag. "Do you think Raw will be happy to see us?"

Chuckling at her he began to rummage around as he pulled out his own things. "He'll sure be happy to see you."

Sneaking up behind him she caught him around the waist and kissed his back. She hadn't seen Raw since the wedding and she was really excited. He rumbled out a quiet laugh and squeezed her arms. "You are all belly, Darlin'."

"Hey!" She jumped back and poked him. "This is not-" She felt a strange fluttering sensation and dropped her head away from his amused expression. It continued and she sucked in a soft breath before catching his hand and putting it on the side of her bulge. The baby had never moved before.

Wyatt must have felt it too because he stepped closer and flattened his hand over the spot as she stared down disbelievingly at her body. "She's excited about something." His voice had dropped tenderly as he rubbed her neck with his other hand. A soft laugh bubbled up and she pressed her forehead against his chest as the fluttering died down and the baby went still again.

"She must want to see her uncle Raw too."

The Tin Man chuckled for a second before catching her chin and tilting her happy face up. "She?" She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing and he narrowed his eyes and accused her of treachery. "You already know it's a girl!"

"Maybe." He let out an indignant exclamation and caught her up in his arms before plopping her gently back on the bed. His hands were tickling her like crazy and she thrashed as she laughed.

When he finally stopped she simply grinned up to find him beaming at her. "You are so mean to not tell me." There was only pleased amusement in his tone.

"I figured you wanted to be surprised. I didn't mean to let it slip."

Catching her lips he kissed her slowly and she sighed into his mouth. When he pulled back so he could see her eyes his voice dropped and he pushed her hair back as he cupped her face. "Do you really like Alexis?" She could tell he did but wasn't going to push the issue any farther if she didn't. The thing was she really did.

"I do." Leaning forward she kissed him again. "And if she's even half as pretty as the name her daddy picked out you really are going to have to shoot all the boys that come after her."

His lip twitched like crazy as he knelt between her legs and wrapped his arms around her hips. "Consider it done, Sweet thing. Jeb'll help me."

"That's because you raised him right." Pride sparked in his eyes and she leaned forward so their foreheads were pressed together. "I'm really glad you found me in that garage."

His thumb brushed her cheek. "I would have found you one way or another."

"But then things would have been different."

His lips brushed hers. "The end would have been the same."

She considered that as she stared into his blue eyes. "I think you're right." He smiled softly at her as she took the hand that had been on her cheek kissed his palm softly. "Now, do you want to take the truck or should I call a travel storm?"

"The truck!" He rolled his eyes. "The last thing you need to do is get spun around like one of your yo-yo's. Come on, Deeg, let's finish packin' so you can see Furball." Glowing with delight she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him enthusiastically. Setting her on her feet he grinned and directed her toward the dresser. "None of that. We won't ever leave the bedroom."

Winking at him she started pulling out her clothes and briefly wondered what would have thrown them together if it hadn't been for that mage. It probably would have been something a lot less exciting. Catching sight of him moving confidently around their room she smiled with contentment. Things would have been different. She brushed her stomach briefly. But he was right. In the end it would have been exactly the same.

Author Note: The End! You know that may be my favorite story. Thanks for going on the ride with me! As promised I will start back up on Emerald Shield as soon as I can. Hopefully a chapter will be up next week. Let's have one last round of reviews!