Disclaimer: I really wish I owned Tin Man, but I don't. The characters should be relieved.

Author's Note: I wrote this a few months ago, when I was brand-spankin'-new to the Tin Man fandom. Therefore, I wasn't as comfortable with writing the characters as I am now, but oh well. It's still decent. (At least, I think so!)

Haha…I couldn't help wondering how Cain gets the job of DG's bodyguard in all those fics (and some of mine, yet to be posted), so here's a general version for mine. The idea got in my brain and wouldn't let go, then begged to be posted, so here it is!

It was a warm, sunny day in the Outer Zone, and DG wanted to be outside. She'd settle for taking a walk with her sister or, if she got lucky, fixing one of the Central City Police's patrol cars. Her hands practically itched for the tools waiting in the garages at the police station—the cars were severely lacking in maintenance. It wasn't the police force's fault, seeing as the Longcoats had locked the cars away for years. But really, someone should teach the CCP how to fix the engine if it wasn't running properly, let alone—

"DG?"

She broke out of her reverie and shook her head to clear it. "Sorry, Dad. What did you say?"

Ahamo's expression was as stern as he could make it when looking at his daughter. "I asked if you thought that last boy was any good."

"That's the problem—he's a boy. He's younger than me, so how can he guard me?" DG protested. When her father sighed, she added, "Look, he seems perfect for the job on paper, but he doesn't seem like he's up to a real-life situation."

"Now there's a valid concern," Ahamo remarked, setting Royce Merore's papers into the 'no' pile. DG resisted the urge to groan and settled for grinding the heels of her hands into her eyes. It helped the headache a little but did little for her boredom. She wanted to be outside, not stuck in here interviewing various men who claimed they could be her bodyguard. At least her father was there to supervise and approve.

"Who's next?" DG asked tiredly, propping her chin on her hand.

Ahamo rang the bell and another young man entered. He handed his papers to DG's father, who began skimming through the pages with interest.

"Good afternoon, Lord Consort, Your Highness," the man said, bowing to both before taking the proffered seat.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Wheatley," Ahamo said, still perusing the file with a slight frown.

"Hello to you, too, Mr. Wheatley," DG said dryly. "You got a first name?"

"Yes, I do, Your Highness. My full name is Veran Wheatley."

"How old are you, Mr. Veran Wheatley?"

DG's question seemed to throw him, but he replied, "Ah…twenty-five annuals next week, Highness."

"Good." She turned to her father. "See, he's older than I am. Automatic maybe." DG glanced at the 'maybe' pile and all two applicants in it.

"What's your background, Mr. Wheatley?" Ahamo asked, eyes intent on the young man as he finally flipped the packet back to the first page.

Veran cleared his throat. "Well, I grew up with weapons for hunting, guarding livestock, and the like, so I know how to use them for defense. I did even more of that whenever the Longcoats came by my village, so they wouldn't take everything and leave us without food."

Ahamo was nodding in approval at Veran's familiarity with weapons. There had been a few men earlier who had flat-out refused to touch a gun. They said they could guard DG well enough with just hand-to-hand fighting, and either didn't notice or ignored DG's attempts to keep a straight face.

"Did the Longcoats come through often?" DG asked sympathetically. For all that the stories were often tragic, she wanted to hear from the people of the O.Z. It was the only way she could help them, by giving them what they needed based on what happened during the Witch's reign.

"Only sometimes. Mostly when they were chasing some resistance fighters that hid there the night before," Veran told her. "That only happened every few months because our village is in the middle of nowhere."

"Hmm." DG tapped a finger against her cheek. "When the resistance fighters came through, did they ever stay in your house?"

Veran fidgeted. "Well, no. My mother said it was too dangerous and wouldn't have us help. We always stayed away from the Longcoats, though, and stayed loyal to the Gales."

"I'm sure you did. Thank you, Mr. Wheatley, someone will be in contact with you soon on whether you've been selected to come back for a firearms test."

"Have a nice day," Ahamo murmured absently. As soon as Veran was gone, he turned to DG. "Is there any reason you turned him down so quickly? 'Someone will be in contact with you soon' always means you didn't get the job."

"Just because that's true on the Other Side doesn't mean it's true here, Dad," DG teased. "But seriously…he didn't turn in the resistance fighters, but he didn't help them, either. That means he's a decent person, but not really brave. A decent bodyguard has to be brave."

"Any 'decent bodyguard' potential in the nineteen we've seen so far?" Ahamo asked.

DG gestured to the thin pile of papers on the desk. "Just those. Have you seen any other ones you thought would work?"

He took her hand and smiled. "No others. If I see one, I'll tell you, I promise." Ahamo placed Veran Wheatley's file in the 'no' pile and rang the bell for the next candidate.

"Good afternoon, Lord Consort, Your Highness." The tall, bulky man set his papers on the desk. DG eyed him—if there were such things in the O.Z., she'd suspect him of being on steroids. His muscles were certainly impressive, not to mention imposing.

"Your name?" DG asked.

"Lieutenant Parry Erus, Highness," the man said as he sat down.

DG raised her eyebrows. "Lieutenant, really? Of what?" She had a suspicion based on how straight he held himself, even when sitting. Certain things didn't change, no matter what side of the rainbow you were on.

"Royal Army. I worked with the Royal Guard for a few years, then went into the army until the Witch took over. I'm waiting to see if the army will have me back now or if I'm too old."

Ahamo frowned. "How old are you? You don't look too old to rejoin."

"Forty-two, sir. As I understand, they don't usually take anyone back if they're over forty."

"I think they might make an exception in your case, Mr. Erus, especially considering the long disruption the Witch caused for the army."

"I certainly hope they do, Lord Consort."

"Say they do but you got this position," DG began slowly, head tilted to the side as she watched him for his reaction. "Which would you take? I think they will accept you, by the way."

"I would probably take this, if you picked me because I was the most qualified. I think everyone agrees the safety of the royal family is the top priority."

"But you would enjoy the army more, wouldn't you?" DG asked softly.

Lieutenant Erus glanced sideways at her. "Yes, I would. I felt comfortable there."

"I'll be honest with you, Lieutenant Erus. You're one of the best candidates we have so far, so we might end up picking you. If we don't…" DG shrugged. "I'll personally speak to the person in charge of recruitment and make sure you get a position."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Erus said respectfully, looking a little surprised. "I appreciate it."

DG smiled. "You're welcome. You'll find out in a few days at the latest whether you got the job or not."

Once Lieutenant Erus closed the door, Ahamo turned to DG with a gentle smile on his face. "That was awfully nice, DG. I'm proud of you."

"It's the princess' job to be good to people as a general rule, isn't it? Besides, after being gone for fifteen years I want to help people."

"Annuals, DG," Ahamo corrected.

She waved off his concern. "I know. But it was fifteen years, too."

"Ready for another?" Her father rang the bell for the next applicant to enter as DG groaned, closing her eyes and leaning against the back of the chair.

"How many more are there? I can't go outside after we're done if it's midnight."

"Complaining already, princess?"

Once she opened her eyes to confirm it was Cain, DG's face lit up and she ran to give him a tight hug. Cain returned it, feeling less awkward than he had several months earlier. Exposure to DG's tendency to hug her friends was helping him get used to it.

"I haven't seen you in weeks! Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, all healed." Cain patted his leg where he'd been shot three weeks earlier. A member of the Central City Police had pulled his gun as a man from the street approached Azkadellia, but the man shoved the officer. His gun had gone off and nearly hit DG before Cain, anticipating trouble, knocked her out of the way and earned himself a bullet in the thigh. It was that incident that convinced the queen and consort that DG needed a personal bodyguard in addition to the Royal Guard.

"Good. It doesn't still hurt?" DG looked at him anxiously, her big blue eyes wide.

"Kid, it was just a flesh wound. I've had worse."

Ahamo cleared his throat. "DG, didn't you want to get through these soon? We should start the interview soon, then."

DG didn't bother worrying; her father didn't look affronted in the least. "Fine. Cain, you can sit if you want."

"I'll stay standing, if that's okay." The response was automatic, and DG bit back a smile as she slid behind the desk.

"Your experience, Mr. Cain? I know DG and I already know, but we have to ask officially," Ahamo said apologetically.

Cain shrugged. "I don't mind, anyway. I worked as a Tin Man for ten years. I spent six on the Central City streets, the other four as one of the personal guards assigned to the Mystic Man. Then a few months back I unofficially guarded one of the princesses, which was probably my hardest job." DG couldn't help grinning at that. No, guarding her certainly couldn't have been easy, especially when she was amnesiac and discovering her magic the whole way.

"Why did you apply for this, Mr. Cain? I'm honestly curious." Ahamo waited for Cain to respond, leaning forward in his chair.

"I'm going to be protecting DG anyway," Cain said bluntly. "I might as well make it official so I don't get problems from whoever else is guarding her."

"Gee, thanks. Is that all?" DG said dryly.

His eyes flickered to her. "No. There's no one more likely than you to get into trouble. You need a bodyguard badly, princess. And to be honest, I don't think those boys could keep up with you."

Ahamo listened carefully and considered Cain for a minute before saying, "I agree, for most of them. You're probably the best option. Besides, you know her and what she's likely to do."

DG felt relieved—she liked Cain. The same couldn't be said for some of the others. Then, to her dismay, Ahamo asked, "Would you take a bullet for my daughter?"

"I already have." Cain's eyes locked on DG as he spoke, though his words were addressed to Ahamo. "I'd do it again without hesitation. You've got a girl worth protecting, and I aim to protect her."

After a minute, DG asked, "What would you do if I wanted to punch someone? Would you stop me?"

"DG!" Ahamo rebuked. "What sort of question is that?"

"A valid one. A couple of guys have been rude to me before, so I slapped 'em. I only punched a guy once, but still." She looked up from where she'd been tracing a design on the arm of her chair. "So, Cain?"

He considered a minute, then shrugged. "If you'd be satisfied with the person just getting punched, I'd do it for you. If you wanted to be the one to punch them, I'd make it very clear what'd happen if they hit you back, then I'd let you have at them."

Ahamo looked like he didn't like the idea of his daughter getting involved in any fights but chose not to comment. "Thank you, Mr. Cain. We'll inform you if you get the position."

"Bye Cain!" DG called, and he turned and waved before leaving.

Ahamo sighed. "You've made up your mind, haven't you?"

"Unless you have any objections, yes. I'm sure I'd learn to trust some of those other guys eventually, but I already trust Cain. Saves a step, you know?"

"I don't have any objections. At least look like you're considering the decision until tomorrow night, could you?"

"Sure, Dad." DG stood and stretched. "Can I leave now?"

"You can. Are you heading outside?"

"Not yet. I have to talk to the head of army recruitment, remember? I'm heading down to the gardens afterwards."

Ahamo shook his head as DG left. At least he'd get some peace of mind with Cain as her bodyguard.

Poor Ahamo...mwahaha. I'm sure DG will get in trouble anyway. :)

Thanks for reading!

~ange