Aqua was sent out of the office shortly after setting up a care plan for Jackson Overland Frost. She wanted to weep in despair. This wasn't what she wanted. But now, she wouldn't be able to dig her way out of it. By doing the mob boss one forced 'favor' she would now be his go to girl for these situations. She had no choice. Manny had seen to it. No one would believe her if she claimed he was Manny – the head of the Guardians. There was a reason his gang had done so well and it was because no one knew the identity of the Man in the Moon. Which was why he was so confident in reaching out to her boss.

"Don't look so glum my dear. I know Jackson will be ecstatic to hear he'll be in your care," Manny said.

Now that her boss wasn't there, Aqua didn't hold back her glare for the man. Other women would have held back. Aqua, however, had learned from a young age, that she had to stand up for herself or be stepped on. No one was going to defend her. Fellas like Manny took one look at a dame and deemed she was too delicate for hard work. She was already pinned down by the new 'job' he had made sure was hers. She didn't have much else to lose aside from her miserable existence she called a life. Now, if he had threatened her family, she might have cowered more appropriately.

"We said never again."

"Yes, but this is just you finishing your work, Miss Clark."

Aqua shivered. He knew her family name too? What else did this creep know? He seemed fully ready to use any of that information to his advantage. Her entire life was fair game. Her work, her boss, perhaps even her home. She feared what would become of her and her roommates if she refused the man. If he could reach her boss and her… there wasn't anything he wasn't capable of. And that was frightening enough. She was really in no position to fight back or negotiate.

"If that is all, I must be on my way," Manny said. "You should make the most of your day off."

He smiled at her before leaving. Aqua bit her lip. She had to go home. If Yen Sid caught her lingering then he might reconsider the whole firing thing. She took a deep breath and headed home. Perhaps she would catch Elsa before her shift at the club. She could reassure her that she was still alive. She should have been home last night. Normally, Aqua looked after Ven while Elsa worked. She never really had to do much but with Ven's health compromised, it was nice having someone there.

Home had never been a more welcome sight. She all but sagged in relief when the familiar apartment stood before her. At least this hadn't changed. The last 24 hours could blur into obscurity until she was forced to confront them. It was how she would cope. But all she wanted to do was drop into a dead sleep. She wouldn't get to until she had spoken with -

"Aqua!"

"Where have you been?"

Her roommates Ventus and Elsa weren't far from the door when she had walked in. She barely had time to shut the door behind her before she was caught in a tight hug by them. She took a deep breath before hugging them back just as tightly. She had thought for sure she would never see them again. That her life was up. She felt her eyes start to water in sheer relief. She was alive. She had made it home after her ordeal.

"Aqua, what's wrong?"

"It… It's been a long night," she said.

"Did you have to stay late?" Ven asked. "Normally you let us know if there was an emergency."

"It… It wasn't work."

"Then what was it?" Ven inquired.

Aqua bit her lip. How could she explain it to them without creating panic? How could she recount what had happened without her having a panic attack? Her hesitation seemed to cause concern. She was ushered to a seat as Ven and Elsa exchanged looks. She wondered what she looked like if she was getting that sort of reaction. She had to be a mess. Ven took her hands in his. Somehow, by squeezing her hand, she felt like she was anchored to that spot. She needed it to help keep herself there and prevent her from falling apart.

"Aqua, what happened?" Elsa asked.

She sat down with an exasperated sigh. Perhaps it was a good idea that she sit because her knees had been shaking. Her shoulders slumped. She was aware of an acute ache in her shoulders. The adrenaline was starting to wear off. She could almost cry. She needed to sleep sometime soon. Otherwise, she might fall over from exhaustion. Ven gave her hand another squeeze, reminding her that she couldn't just ignore them. She closed her eyes tightly, willing back the weariness, just a little while longer.

"Aqua, what happened?"

The repetition made her come back to herself. Despite feeling like her head was splitting open. She was weak and scared and trembling. Curling up into a little ball to cry sounded like a good idea but there was Elsa and Ven to think about. They wouldn't stop stressing until she told them what happened. But she wasn't sure what she had to say was reassuring. She was having a hard time processing it and she had been the one it had happened to. Taking a deep breath, she steeled her nerves once more.

"I had a run in with the Guardians," she breathed.

"You… what?"

Elsa stared in horror. Ven had gone visibly pale. That was her reaction in a nutshell. They had a silent reaction to shock. They had learned that nothing good ever came from screaming in agony or shouting in indignation, though Aqua had a harder time with it. She was one of those direct dames that tended to get herself in trouble because she spoke her mind, despite the idea that dames should keep silent and know their place. At least no one had fainted or had started screeching like a banshee. It wouldn't do to have the police called on them because of a ruckus the neighbors heard. The three of them had always been quite levelheaded.

"On my way home from work, they snatched me up."

"How did you get away?" Ven asked.

"I didn't. They let me go."

They blinked owlishly. Like they could hardly believe it. She couldn't either. Honestly, Aqua herself was shocked. She was still scared. As if she expected the Guardians to kick in her door and kill all three of them. She could feel a lingering dread in the pit of her stomach. Though, if she had tried to escape, she doubted things would have ended up the same way. Now, she was just surprised she wasn't floating at the bottom of a river with iron bracelets weighing her down for how lippy she was with the mobsters.

"Let you go?" Elsa echoed.

"Sort of? I was going to speak with Doctor Yen Sid and… and the Man in the Moon was there," she uttered. Once she had started, she didn't think she could stop. "They made me tend one of their people. Now I'm his personal nurse."

"No!" Elsa cried.

"What about your job?"

Aqua carded a hand through her hair. She felt an edge of hysteria creeping in. Anything would have been preferable but there just wasn't any way around it aside from changing her name and skipping town, fleeing to the other side of the country. She didn't even think she could leave town and the Guardians not know. They seemed to know everything else about her. The overwhelming helplessness weighed her down like iron weights.

"I'll be 'compensated'. I can't say no."

Elsa clasped a hand over her face, taking a deep shaking breath. Ven looked away, out of the window. He sighed heavily. Nothing they said or did could stop what was happening. They couldn't save her. All they could do was support her throughout the ordeal and prepare for whatever might happen at the end of it. They were just as helpless as she was. Though, their concern was touching. She knew that if they could, they would have tried to change things for her.

"Are you okay? They didn't hurt you?" Ven asked.

Aqua shook her head. Despite being hit once, they hadn't hurt her. Just blustered and threatened her. She hadn't expected to come out unharmed. But they hadn't caused her any lasting damage. They could have made her regret getting smart with them. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. She really needed to learn to watch her tongue better. One of these days, it was going to get her into a lot of trouble.

"Just a lot of show," she said. "They wanted me to patch up one of their men and leave."

Ven gave a low impressed whistle. He looked just as relieved as her. Elsa looked nauseous. She didn't seem as relieved as the other two were. The situation was far from ideal. Aqua was walking alongside some dangerous men. Anything could set them off and she would either be ruined as a person and never be able to work again in her life or they would kill her. Reputation was key. People would say whatever they wanted of her if they found out she was helping the Guardians. Not only that, it would paint a target on her back. The enemies of the Guardians would want her dead.

"What are you going to do?" Elsa inquired.

"Be his nurse," Aqua sighed. "I can't stop them. They know my workplace, my boss, my name… What if they come here?"

"What if they hurt you?"

Aqua had considered it. She couldn't do anything to stop the Guardians. She had to play along. She had no way to stop them. Such was the life of people like them. They didn't have the muscle of an entire crime syndicate to back them up. They were nothing more than wisps on the path of the crime lords. She couldn't put on a show of strength and scare them off, not like they had scared her. She was helpless and they knew it. They were counting on it, even. People like them had intended to exploit it.

"I have no choice, Elsa."

Elsa opened her mouth to protest, however, closed it. She couldn't argue any more than Aqua could. Even Ven looked resigned to it. They could argue about it until they were blue in the face, but what was done, was done. As they all hated the 'sit and wait' game, they could only hope that things wouldn't end poorly for her .Aqua didn't want to harp on it any longer. She was tired and on the verge of tears. She needed to sleep this off like a long night of dancing and be ready to face it come the next day.

"El, you have to prepare for work."

"Aqua! You were just kidnapped and-"

"And I'm fine. If you don't go, you'll get fired." Aqua insisted.

Ven nodded. "I can watch Aqua."

Aqua almost laughed. She was normally the one who took care of Ven. It was funny that Ven had offered to look after her. The tables had been turned. At least it would give him a sense of purpose. He seemed to glow at the opportunity to prove he could help around the house as much as the girls did. They never wanted him to feel like he was useless or a burden. Other people would have thrown him out of their home because of his medical dependencies. They wouldn't have been able to afford to keep him alive, but that was why the girls lived together. To pool their resources together.

Elsa looked distraught. She didn't want to leave them. But she knew they needed the money. Aqua made only 15 munni a week. She was lucky to even have a job. There were some nurses that had struggled after the economy crashed. People who used to be able to afford live-in nurses, could no longer afford to do so. Which was why Aqua knew that the Man in the Moon was throwing some serious cash to Yen Sid to make it so Aqua was going to be Jackson Frost's personal day nurse at the hospital.

"If you needed me, you'll let me know?" Elsa asked.

"Of course, Elsa." Aqua reassured her. "Be careful out there."

Aqua got to her feet. She reached out to Elsa, putting a reassuring hand on Elsa's thin shoulder. She appreciated Elsa's concern. They were like a family. If they lost one, there would be pain. The thought of losing either of them made it hard for her to breathe. She would do anything to keep them safe. She was certain they would do the same for her. Together they would escape this awful town and start over somewhere new. Somewhere they could be safe and happy. It was a pipe dream, but the only hope they had.

Elsa sighed and went to get ready. Ven looked over to Aqua. His bright blue eyes showed a sort of wisdom that shouldn't be in someone so young. Their hard lifestyle had aged him beyond his years. This also made him much more empathetic than most men that Aqua knew. He seemed to realize when someone was in a tough spot and he would do whatever he could to help. Which could also get him into trouble. More than once, Aqua and Elsa had to drag him home after he tried to fight someone who was trying to beat on another little guy. Ven failed to see that he was a little guy himself.

Elsa worked at a club as one of their singers. She hated the job. She had to sing in a club – a speakeasy. The job wasn't legal. But it was hard to get a job in other places. In the club she sang while men drank, smoked, gambled ad and hurled innuendos at her. They treated her like she was nothing more than a shiny toy for them to break. Aqua and Ven wanted her to quit but if they wanted to keep their home, they had to work. That was one cycle they couldn't break, no matter how hard they tried.

When Elsa left, she was dolled up in a sparkling blue dress that always made her feel uncomfortable because it was much too short. And enough makeup to make her look like a street girl. But she needed that to look like an actual performer on the stage. Ven and Aqua put on a smile for her as she headed out the door. When she left, Aqua moved over to the window to watch her leave the building. The sky looked like a mottled purple bruise, threatening a hazy rain to come soon. She hoped Elsa made it to her work before it rained and hailed a cab to get her home that night.

"I hate that she still works there," she said.

Ven raised a brow. "You're working for a crime boss and you're worried about her?"

"I don't want to work for him, Ven," she said. "If I found another way, I'd do it."

She wrapped her arms around herself. What else was there for her to do? The weather seemed to reflect her mood. Dour. She felt at least twenty years older than she had been the day before. Like the evening's events had aged her. No wonder people never tended to live long in this city. They were lucky if they saw it to their 40s. Violence in the city was just that intense. No one was spared. Not man, not woman, not child.

"And you're sure you won't get hurt?"

"I can't be sure of anything…" Aqua whispered.

She didn't understand the minds of mobsters. Nor did she care to. If she understood them or even sympathized then, she would lose a part of herself. Would she even be herself? Certainly she would have changed. But… it hadn't happened. She was determined to keep this as 'business' as possible. She would not let the Guardians have power over her. No more than they already had.

"You'll be careful?"

"Of course, I will."

"Hey Aqua?"

Aqua turned to look at Ven. He was such a sweet boy. Seeing him and Elsa had been a balm that she hadn't known that she needed. She certainly felt more relaxed despite the circumstances. Like she could finally sleep easily knowing that no one had targeted them while she was away. That her loved ones wouldn't be held hostage so she would do a job right. She gave a nod.

"Want me to make you some breakfast? You look like you need a nap." Ven teased.

Aqua laughed. "That sounds amazing!"