A/N: I had originally planned on this being as long as my first two World stories. However, I'm finding that the plot I have blocked out is not developing the way the first two did. Therefore, I have decided to divide the plot into several shorter stories. So here is the last official World story. The other stories will follow as stand alones. I cannot give you a time schedule, but I hope you enjoy them as they come along.

Title: Their New World
Characters/Pairings: DG/Cain, rest of the cast, O/Cs
Rating: NC-17
Warnings/Spoilers: Adult content. Smut
Summary: Taking place following my After His World Stopped & When Her World Didn't Stop, almost a year has passed since the eclipse. Cain and DG continue to learn about each other and work to rebuild the Outer Zone that they now rule.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, anyone or anyplace.

Chapter 1

Cain handed his horse to a stable hand and hurried into the back door of the palace.

"Hello, Rebecca," he greeted the Head Cook as he entered the royal palace kitchen.

"Now how do you do it?" she responded.

"Do what?"

"You've been gone a week and you show up 15 ticks after I take bread out of the oven."

With a smile she handed him a thick, buttered slice.

"Thanks, Cook. Are you privy to the palace gossip today?" he asked as he took a big bite.

"DG should be in the front garden. Today's the graduation day for the Tin Men."

"That's right." He dropped a kiss on the cheek rosy from the oven heat. "Something special for first meal tomorrow?"

"And I suppose you want it served in your suite."

He grinned at her.

"Get out of here! I've got work to do," she ordered.

"Will you ask someone to take my gear upstairs?" He put his gear down on the floor by the back door.

"Don't I always?"

With a chuckle, he moved through the palace to the audience balcony off the throne room.

Looking out on the garden, his first instinct was to rush down to protect DG. Fifty strangers stood in the formal gardens. He knew the row of men standing in front of her was the graduates from the Tin Man Academy. The rest were their family and friends. He knew his son would never let anyone within the palace enclosure that had not been carefully screened. But he never liked his wife exposed to people he hadn't personally cleared.

His eyes swept the garden but he did not see DG. On a platform that had been erected for the ceremony Cain spotted two of the few men he knew from his days with the Tin Men. The Head of the Tin Man Academy, Matt Decker, called out a name. The young man from the end of the row marched onto the platform. He stopped in front of the Chief of the Tin Men, Zachary Beckett. Becker handed the man a certificate and then took a half step backwards.

The Queen of the Outer Zone stepped from between the two large men and up to the young graduate. She smiled and reached up to pin a Tin Man badge on his chest. She was fumbling slightly as she chatted with the cadet.

Cain smiled. He knew that DG could pin his badge on his shirt one handed in the blink of the eye. Her feigned awkwardness gave her a chance to spend a few moments talking to the young man. He knew she had done the same thing with every one of these new officers, allowing each one to spend a special moment with the young, beautiful queen they had just sworn to serve with their lives.

Cain watched in amazement as DG completed her duties. This elegant and graceful woman bore little resemblance to the immature, impulsive woman-child that had come into his life just one year ago next week. His lips curled into another smile as he remembered his first glimpse of her. After all that time locked in the iron suit, he thought he had finally lost his mind. He had stared in amazement when he had seen her charging into the center of what she thought was a squad of Longcoats with nothing but a stick for defense.

Below, as the graduation ceremony concluded, DG strolled into the palace between Beckett and Decker. Cain hurried from the throne room into the entrance way.

"Can't I leave for a week without you two making moves on my wife?" Cain called as soon as the trio came through the entrance.

"Cain!"

DG's face lit up with pleasure as she ran across the floor so she could throw herself into Cain's arms.

He hugged her tightly, lifting her off the floor as he swung her around. This was his DG. She had been so young when they had met. He had known she would change as she matured. But he prayed their delight in each other would never diminish.

His hand wrapped in her hair as he tilted her face so he could kiss her.

Someone cleared his throat. Reluctantly Cain released DG. He turned to see his son standing at the foot of the stairs. He broke into a smile.

"Son! It's good to see you," he crossed to Jeb.

The two men hugged each other.

"How was the trip?" Jeb asked.

"Let's get Glitch and then he'll only have to tell us once," DG interrupted.

"Sure," Jeb agreed.

DG&C – DG&C – DG&C – DG&C – DG&C

A footman had been sent to find Glitch as they all moved into DG's office. While they waited, Jeb had told Cain what had been happening around the palace and in the Army while he had been gone. As Consort of the Realms, Cain was in charge of all military and security issues. He answered only to the Queen herself.

Jeb, Decker and Beckett sat in chairs around the small table. DG had taken Cain's hand and led him to the couch so they could sit side by side. As the men talked, she held her husband's hand tightly. Periodically, her fingertips would stroke his arm. During the briefing, his eyes kept returning to gaze into her eyes.

After a few minutes, there was a tap on the door and then Glitch entered the room. Reluctantly, DG released her hold on Cain as he moved over to the table with the other men.

"Let's get the bad news out of the way first," he informed them. "There isn't a sign of Zero anywhere," he scowled.

The other men made various faces of frustration. DG sighed. She rose from the couch and moved to stand behind Cain. She placed her hands on his shoulders. One of his hands came up to pat her hand.

"So what's the good news?" Beckett asked.

"It would appear that every single being in the Outer Zone is coming to Central City for the anniversary of the eclipse. Your new Tin Men are going to get broken in real fast."

Everyone chuckled.

"How are the plans coming?" Cain inquired.

"We chose to table this subject due to its ability to cause the Queen to have a stroke," DG told him, humor and frustration battling for controlling emotion.

Cain looked at Jeb who gave a humorous twist of his mouth and a short nod.

"I saw that," DG told him.

Now Jeb beamed openly.

"And now that the Consort has returned, you can … what do you call it? … vent to him," Jeb told her.

Everyone laughed. Unconsciously, DG stroked Cain's hair, warming the hearts of the battle hardened men that attended her.

"What about the real purpose of your trip?" Jeb asked.

"I met with the Northern Ice Guild like they requested," Cain told them. He looked up at DG. "They're really pissed about you allowing the Eastern Guild mining rights to that newly discovered pocket of minerals."

"Did you explain that we don't even know what we're going to find there?" Glitch asked. "And the Munchkins are much better suited for a wide variety of mining procedures."

Cain nodded. "Yeah, I told them the whole spiel you gave me."

Glitch looked a little miffed. "Spiel?"

Cain gave him a crooked grin. He sighed and looked back at DG.

"They're willing to wait but depending on what's discovered, they want the right to renegotiate their claims."

"I assume you agreed to that," she stated.

He nodded. She patted his shoulder.

"Okay, that's enough," she said. "Glitch, will you prepare a report for the Ministers?"

"Of course. I'll see they get it tomorrow."

She nodded. Her fingertips had strayed to Cain's cheek. Jeb smiled indulgently.

"I don't know about you guys," he said to the rest of the table, "I feel completely unneeded at this moment."

Cain and DG had been looking at each other again. With smiles, they turned to their advisors.

"Father, you really need to time your arrival for after business hours," Jeb stated standing up.

Laughing, the other men rose from the table. A few parting sentences regarding upcoming issues and soon the royal couple were alone for the first time since Cain had entered the palace.

DG&C – DG&C – DG&C – DG&C – DG&C

After their few brief moments alone in her office, their duties had kept them apart the rest of the day. As the suns began to set, Cain had retired to their suite while DG had final meal with her parents.

She had been unpleasantly surprised that her mother had invited members of various eclipse celebration committees to join them. She had tried to be gracious to the people who had been invited. She knew they had no knowledge that she and Cain had been apart for a week. With rising anger, DG knew that Lavender did.

Two hours after final meal, a footman had knocked on the door of the dining hall. Bowing he brought DG a message.

"Is there a problem?" Ahamo asked easily, quickly guessing the nature of the missive.

DG looked up.

"If you'll excuse me," she said.

"We still have to make a few decisions about the eclipse celebration," Lavender stated tentatively. "Perhaps you can stay a bit longer?"

"I'm really not prepared to make final decisions since I didn't know we were going to be having this meeting," DG stated.

Her parents did not miss her tone of displeasure but it was so subtle the others did not perceive it.

"Thank you all for your thoughts," DG continued. "The Queen Mother will be notifying you tomorrow of these final choices. Thank you all for your hard work. Now I'm needed elsewhere."

She stood up. Everyone rose to their feet.

Murmurs of "Your Majesty," followed her as she left the room.

She was steaming by the time she reached her suite.

"You didn't have to rush," Cain told her coming out of the bedroom.

He had obviously cleaned up and was wearing only a pair of loose, baggy sleep pants. A bathrobe hung open exposing his muscular chest.

"I was just a little concerned that you were so late," he went on. "You could've just sent a message. What took so …"

His voice trailed off as he finally caught her mood. Her expressive mouth contorted into shapes.

"Why don't you just get out of those clothes and take a long hot bath?" he suggested with a slight smirk. "You want me to run the water?"

She looked at him blankly, blinked twice and then shook her head. Her mouth twisted in answer to his amusement.

"Just give me a few minutes by myself." She stopped and kissed his cheek as she headed for the bathroom. "And thanks for the rescue. Next time I'm that late coming back from Lavender, send the messenger sooner."

She heard him chuckle as she left the room.

As first moon rose, DG emerged from the bathroom and looked around for Cain.

"In here, Sweetheart," he called from the sitting room. "I've lit the fire."

She came out of the bedroom. Cain cocked an eyebrow. She smiled and turned around slowly so he could see the floor-length black lace night gown she was wearing. He moved over to her and swept her into his arms.

"Now this was worth coming home for," he murmured as he pressed his lips into the curve of her neck.

"I'm glad you like it," she told him. "The royal seamstress was scandalized. I don't think she's recovered yet."

Her tone was flat instead of the humor he would have expected by her words. He pulled back and looked at her.

"What's been going on?" he asked.

"Nothing."

He looked at her a long moment.

"I'd think you'd know by now that you can't lie to a Tin Man."

She sighed. Taking his hand, she moved over to the couch. They sat down and she cuddled against his side.

"I thought you'd be excited about the celebrations for the anniversary of the eclipse," he stated.

"I am," she said flatly.

He hugged her.

"That doesn't sound very excited. It couldn't be your event planner, could it?"

She banged her forehead into his shoulder. "I'm thinking of exiling my mother to the Otherside for 15 years."

He chuckled. "Well, it's not as if your family hasn't tried that with trouble makers before. And personally, I'm very happy with the outcome." He kissed her hair. "And if you do that, she might get some of your jokes when she gets back."

DG&C – DG&C – DG&C – DG&C – DG&C

DG's first instinct had been to have a very simple, low key memorial ceremony to celebrate the first anniversary of the eclipse. But it soon became evident that the entire Outer Zone was determined to turn the day into a national festival.

While Lavender constantly insisted that the Queen must lead her people, DG was determined to take the mood of her people into consideration before she made any ruling. When she realized how important this day was to the Ozians, she agreed to set her personal feelings aside and make it an official holiday.

Since she had made the decision, DG and Lavender had spent a portion of every day in some form of argument.

The morning after her tension-filled final meal with her parents, DG had requested that her mother come to the Queen's office first thing in the morning. Her temper had not improved overnight, even with Cain's attempts to distract her. The fact that Lavender sent back word that she would not be available for two hours had not helped DG's disposition.

When Lavender finally entered the office, she arrived with three footmen carrying items. DG was silent as her mother directed the footmen to set up the various displays and samples. Lavender turned to face her.

"I believe these will …"

DG held up her hand to stop Lavender from speaking. She looked over at the footmen as they stood along the wall.

"Philip, James, Marcus, thank you. I won't keep you from your duties. Please return at the end of the day to remove these items."

The two women were quiet as the men left.

"You should not address staff by their first names," Lavender told her.

"You shouldn't be wasting the staff's time with this kind of production. The holiday is barely two weeks away. We aren't adding anything to the schedule."

"There must be some adjustments to the program," Lavender insisted.

"Like what?" DG sighed.

"There is currently no point in the schedule where my release is being remembered. Also, you do not have your father's name on the list for the medal awards."

"That's because Ahamo is not being awarded a medal."

"But his contribution must be recognized."

DG looked at her mother for a long moment. "The Ministers stated that if Ahamo is awarded a medal for his part in the eclipse, they'd recommend that he be tried for treason for his actions after the eclipse. Cain and I have decided not to test their determination to carry out the threat. Even if we don't act on the recommendation, it'll just make sure that everyone in the Zone knows what happened … if there was anyone who missed it the first time around."

Lavender looked stunned as she sank to a chair.

"But you are the Queen. You don't allow your Ministers to dictate your actions," Lavender stated.

"I am the Queen," DG emphasized, "and I'll do what I consider to be best for the O.Z. It's too soon to be dragging all of this up again. This year Ahamo will not be honored. In fact, the schedule is set. There's not going to be any more changes. If you'll help with the things that are planned, I'd appreciate it. If you feel that you can't, let Az know so she can get someone else to handle your duties."

The two women stared at each other for a long time. Finally, holding herself very erect, Lavender rose to her feet. She curtseyed to DG.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Lavender mumbled before she left the room.

TBC