Disclaimer: Tin Man does not belong to me.

"Cain, come on! We can't stop!" Her urgent whisper had the man moving forward as best he could as they broke cover. His breathing was ragged and she knew they needed to find a place to hide, like, now. Searching the dark woods with her eyes all she could see were a few sparse trees and leaves in every direction. They were out of places to run to. An idea sparked and she gathered the last of her magic. "This way!"

The sounds of men shouting and the stomp of horse's hooves followed them as she practically dragged the tin man to a small break in the trees. He let out a grunt of pain as his leg gave out. Falling to the ground he accidentally dragged her with him when she refused to let go. Grabbing her arms he shoved her up. "Princess, you need to run! I'll hold 'em off for as long as I can!"

Staying on her knees she caught his wrist. "I'm not leaving you!" Then she let her magic flare and concentrated as hard as she could. She'd never tried to do anything like this before but right now that didn't matter. She would make this work or die trying. The wind began to pick up to roaring speeds and soon the leaves and dirt from the forest floor were whipping around them. Turning her attention to the sky she saw the vortex forming and locked her eyes on Cain's. She had to shout to be heard. "I don't know where we'll land!"

The tin man had caught on to what she was doing and his arms snapped around her and dragged her against his chest so they wouldn't be separated by the storm. He hid her face in his shoulder and shouted. "Stay focused, Kid!"

A shot went off a millisecond before the twister caught them and then they were being tossed about in the wind. She clutched desperately at Cain's duster as the last of her magic was ripped from her and then they were falling. Hitting the ground in a heap she was thrown out of Cain's arms and bounced over the ground until her shoulder hit something hard and sharp. Letting out a shout of pain she lay still for a minute as she tried to get her bearings. The world was still whirling around her at sickening speed.

Putting her hands under her she pushed with her arms and managed to get a few inches up before falling down again. She had landed on unforgiving stone and her head was spinning from the drain and the vortex. "Cain?" She heard the sound of waves lapping nearby and tried to get up again. The tin man hadn't answered. Her voice rose in alarm. "Cain?"

Staggering to her feet she saw him lying on his side in the darkness a few feet away and fell to the ground beside him. Rolling him to his back she put her hand to his neck and held her breath. His pulse beat slowly under hers. "Oh, thank god." Relief like she never felt coursed through her briefly before fear set in. He could still die. Ripping off her shirt she began to shiver in the thin tank top she had on immediately and didn't care. A cold would be an acceptable compromise for his life. Scooting down to his leg she ripped the shirt into strips.

As soon as she was done she began to wrap them around the bullet wound below his knee after a quick but thorough examination. Tying the fabric tightly she crawled back to his shoulder as she tried to sort out where she had thrown them. The moon broke out from behind the clouds and she saw a disjointed pile of logs fifty yards down the lakeshore. She knew where they were. This was better than she could have hoped for. They were still in the Outer Zone and near a safe place. Now all she had to do was get a badly wounded man down a ladder and into Ahamo's old tepee before he bleed to death. No problem. She just needed to get him up.

Putting her hands on either side of his face she turned his head up to hers. "Cain." He didn't twitch. "Cain? Please, Cain. Wake up." Nothing. She felt tears pricking at her eyes. If he didn't wake up she couldn't get the to the safety of the hut. If she couldn't get them in the hut she couldn't help him. If she couldn't help him he would bleed to death before her eyes. In her panic she used his first name. The name she only dared to use in her own head. "Wyatt? Wyatt, wake up." She stroked his face in distress. "Wyatt. Wake up. Please, I need you to wake up for me." He groaned and she nearly sobbed in relief. "Wyatt?"

"Kid?"

"Yeah, it's me." He opened his eyes slowly and she ran her fingers over his skin. "Come on, Tin Man. You need to wake up for me. Just for a few minutes."

"Where are we?"

"The middle of nowhere. I need you to help me. I'm sorry. You're too heavy for me to lift and my magic is gone."

"What happened?" Shoving her arms under his she helped him sit up slowly. The last thing they could afford was for him to get dizzy from moving too fast and pass out again.

"The travel storm set us down outside of Ahamo's secret lair. You were unconscious. That's about it."

"Are you ok?"

"Drained. Tired. Scared to death. Other than that I'm great."

He grunted out a laugh over the pain and she looked at him. "Cain, we need to get to the house."

His head swiveled around as he leaned into her. "What house?"

"That big pile of wood." She pointed.

"You're kiddin'."

"Not even a little. It's better inside but you have to go down a ladder." She looked him over critically. "Can you do that?"

"Can you?"

"We're about to find out." The tin man nodded and bent his good leg under him and pushed up. When he was stable she counted to three and heaved. They got up in a rush and then she was wrapping her other arm around his waist as he swayed. "Steady!"

Hopping slightly he caught his balance and she began to lead them toward the hut. They had to stop twice for Cain to rest and then again when they reached the woven logs. Helping him sit on the edge she collapsed next to him and pulled in a few gasping breathes. Twisting tiredly she gazed down the dark hole and sighed quietly. This would be the hard part.

His hand found her shoulder and patted it gently. "We can do this."

She couldn't believe he was trying to encourage her in this situation. "I know." Crawling to the top next to him she swung one of her legs over and considered their options. Cain was in no shape to defend himself if something was down there. She could at least move around. That only left them with one choice. "Give me your gun."

"What?"

She looked up at him tiredly. "I have to go first. Please, my light's gone." She held out her hand and waited patiently. After a long moment where his eyes darted between her and the darkness below he took it from its holstered and placed it in her hand grip first.

His hand snapped out to catch her jaw. "You shoot to kill. Understand me?"

"Yes." To keep Cain safe she could do that. Besides, she'd already killed at least three men tonight. What was one more on her conscience?

He must have seen the conviction in her eyes because he nodded and let go of the weapon. Swinging her other leg over she found the first rung of the ladder and started down into the hole. The tin man's eyes followed her until he simply couldn't see her anymore. Reaching the dirt floor she dropped into a crouch and tried to let her eyes adjust.

Something glimmered in a corner and her head swiveled around. A soft glow began to pulse more brightly and she edged cautiously toward it. She knew better than to handle anything with magic lightly. Frowning in confusion she saw two poorly made ceramic dolls lighting up in pulsing waves. She didn't really want to know. At least they lit up the table they were sitting on well enough for her to spot an oil lamp.

Setting the gun down long enough to light it with a nearby match she lifted the lantern in her left hand and held the gun out with her right. There was nothing in the main room to worry about but Ahamo had appeared from a connected hallway. Heading that way quickly she found a small bedroom and a very primitive bathroom that were also empty. Walking out to the main room she called up to Cain. "It's safe. Do you need help?"

There was no answer just a creak of wood as he lowered himself down. Positioning herself at the bottom she set the lamp down and watched him anxiously. Going slowly and using his arms he managed an awkward hop-slid down the rungs. Reaching for his shoulders she helped him balance when he got to the ground. "That was awesome, Cain."

"Never impressed anyone by goin' down a ladder."

She put his gun away in his holster where it belonged. "Yeah, well, no one ever saw you do it with a bullet wound." Sneaking under his arm again she dragged him slowly to the bedroom. It helped that the walls were narrow and he could use his free arm to push himself forward on them. His leg bent unexpectedly when they were in and he let out a shout as they fell. Twisting quickly she used her shoulder to shove him toward the mattress. He fell on his back across an old quilt as she tumbled to the floor next to the bed. That was going to leave a bruise. Blinking she saw his legs hanging near her and levered herself up.

Cain was twisting his neck around to look for her when her head popped up. "Deeg?"

"I have good aim." At her remark he let his head fall back and closed his eyes. Most of the color had drained out of his face and she knew she needed to look at his leg more closely. Spotting another lamp she lit it with the first one and suddenly she could see the room a whole lot better. There was a small fireplace dug into the earth wall and a trunk wedged into a corner. Moving to it she flipped the lid up and found a bunch of spare clothes and a pair of worn black boots. She doubted any of these things would fit Cain. He was bigger than the consort was.

"You're bleedin', Kid."

"What?" She began to hunt around and found an old grey shirt that would suit her purposes.

"Your shoulder." The tin man's voice was laced with pain.

Turning her head she spotted a shallow gash surround by and assortment of scrapes from where she had landed and shrugged. It wasn't that bad. "I'll live. We need to focus on making sure you do." Closing the trunk she put the old shirt on top and stood quickly. "Stay there." Like he could actually get up.

Then she was breezing out into the main room. Heading straight for the cluttered table she began rummaging around for what she needed. Ten minutes of hunting later and she was next to Cain and setting down her supplies. Going over what she needed to do in her head she started a fire and began cutting the shirt into even pieces with a knife. When she was done she dropped the lot of them and several towels into a small iron pot she had filled with water before hanging it over the fire on a hook.

Grabbing the small med kit she put it on the edge of the bed before helping the tin man into a sitting position. "Good news or bad news?" She lifted his leg enough to shove a dry towel under it so he wouldn't bleed all over the only blanket they had.

He clenched out an answer between his teeth. "Bad."

"The bullet tore through the muscle in your lower leg. It went through both sides and the bleeding isn't going to stop with just pressure from a bandage. I have to cauterize it or you could bleed to death before an infection had a chance."

"Alright." His eyes flickered to the fire and I knew what he was thinking. This was going to hurt like a mother. "Good news."

"I know how to do this and I have everything I need. As an added bonus Ahamo has a painkiller is his first aid kit. It should numb your leg a bit so you won't hurt as much as it could." It was still going to hurt like hell. Her stomach turned at having to do this to him but she refuse to let him see it. "Are you ready to start?"

"Yes."

Nodding she went into a fast set up. The bandages were starting to boil as she pulled out the small syringe and glass vile of a substance that worked the same way a low dose of morphine did. Holding him still she injected him above his knee in the hopes that his bloodstream would carry it down his leg. It would take a few minutes to kick in which gave her time to finish everything else.

Lifting the pot off the now blazing fire she used the knife to fish out the strips of the shirt and the towels. Sucking in a breath she held her hand out over them and forced a small spark of magic into the bandages. She nearly screamed at the sensation that shot out of her but held it in. She had only reached this level of magic loss one other time but Tutor had told her if she pushed beyond this stage she would literally be ripping light from her life force. It could kill her if she tried to do too much. Carrying the now disinfected and dried bandages next to him she turned and cut his pants open from the knee down before putting the knife over the flames to heat up.

Pulling in a steadying breath she looked into his blue eyes as calmly as she could. "Is it any better?"

"It's only throbbing now." She could tell by the tone of his voice that the pain had fallen to at least manageable levels.

"Ok. I know this is going to hurt but try not to move. I'll go as fast as I can but I have to do it right." Untying the remains of her now blood soaked shirt she tossed them away and quickly opened a bottle of alcohol. Pouring it over the entry wound she cleaned it carefully being sure to get out every speck of dirt and sand that was clinging to it. She repeated the process on the exit wound and pressed another towel around his leg before standing up.

Picking up the knife she sat down again. "You may want to close your eyes."

The tin man simply raised his eyes to the ceiling and gripped the blanket. Ripping the towel from his leg she clamped her arm over his thigh and pressed the flat of the glowing blade over the first hole. Cain let out a muffled scream and she fought not to react. Moving as quickly as she could she flipped the blade over and pressed it to the second hole. He jerked involuntarily and she held on firmly with her body weight until it was done.

Tearing the knife away she threw it in the empty pot and reached for a salve. Spreading it over the new burns she finished and started wrapping him up. The tin man was shaking badly and a sheen of sweat covered his white skin. At least he didn't look like he was going to throw up. Securing the wrapping she moved next to his shoulder and caught his hands so he could squeeze her instead of the blankets. "I'm so sorry, Wyatt. It's over. You did so great."

Nodding mutely with his eyes closed he rasped out a request. "Water?"

"Anything you want." Without thinking she kissed his cheek before slipping off the bed. Another three minutes later and she had found dishes and a clean bowl. She filled both with cold water from the pipe in the bathroom and returned to Cain. He was panting but his eyes were clear if pain filled. Handing him the water she helped him sip it slowly before she wet one of the remaining towels and rung it out.

Lifting the material to his face after he was done drinking she cleaned the sweat off his skin gently. The tin man watched her tiredly, not even trying to stop her, and she knew how bad he must be hurting. Keeping her worry out of her face she moved down to his neck and gave him a small smile. "We really need to stop pissing people off."

With a grunt of amusement he let his head flop back against the wall. "You make a valid point."

"Right?" Putting the towel and the water on the floor for a moment she began to unhook his holster. At least the leg band was around his uninjured leg. His eyes opened again a he watched her.

"Thank you."

"For what? Making you hurt even worse?" She shook her head and dragged the leather away from him. "For getting us chased? For getting you shot?" Getting to her knees she started on the buttons of his vest. He needed to rest and he couldn't do that in all these layers. Well, he probably could but she'd rather he be as comfortable as he could get.

"How about for saving my life? Twice?" He touched her knee. The closest part of her body to his limp hand. "Those things weren't your fault."

"If you say so." The last thing she wanted to do was get in fight with him right now. He was hurting, a lot, but she knew this was her fault. If she weren't a princess those ex-longcoats never would have chased them. Cain wouldn't have had to fight them so they could run out of that little town they had stopped in for gas, the truck wouldn't have been taken, they'd still have their gear, and he really wouldn't have been shot. This was in every way her fault.

The next time he offered to be her bodyguard she was going to say no. She couldn't take seeing him hurt like this. In fact, when this was over, she was firing his ass. He could take that job as head of security his son had been pushing him to take. If he didn't want to do that she would get him a job any freaking where he wanted as long as it didn't mean he would be hurt like this again.

Finished with the buttons she urged him to sit forward for a second and peeled the vest and his duster off in a go. When she was done she helped him lay down. Covering him with the blanket she began to straighten the room up after she tossed a couple more logs on the fire. It was chilly in here and the temperature was only going to drop as the night wore on. Fall was dangerously close to becoming winter. She was nearly done when Cain called to her in a raspy voice. "Deeg."

Setting the bloody bandages in the pot to soak she turned her head to see him. "Do you need something?" She waited anxiously for his answer and he crooked his finger at her.

Hurrying to him she bent over the bed, and in a surprisingly agile move considering his condition he wrapped his arm around her. She found herself falling through the air and then she was on the bed with him. "You need to sleep."

"I'm not done-"

"Deeg, you're shaking so bad I can see it across the room. Enough for now. The mess won't go anywhere."

Too tired to protest she nodded and turned so her back was to him. Cain tossed the blanket over her and then she snaked her arm out to turn off the lamp. Firelight flickered over the small room and his breathing slowed as he either fell asleep or passed out. Once she was sure he was out she scooted closer so her back was pressed securely against his side. It made her feel infinitely better to touch him but she was usually too shy or insecure to even try something like that. The tin man twitched then went still and her eyes fell closed. Sleep overtook her quickly as her body gave out and her last thought before she gave in was tomorrow they both needed to take a shower.

Author Note: Has anyone used this location yet? I hope not. I'm excited about it.