Jack was looking in the mirror. He was trying really hard to ignore the three sets of eyes on his back. They knew Jack worked odd hours sometimes only they also knew that Manny had no such work for him that night. His down time was normally theirs to dictate. However, convincing Aqua to let him take her out onto the town was such a surprise he hadn't even considered the repercussions of his actions. He leapt at the chance. Sure, he had that bet with Bunny about getting Aqua to drop her guard but he actually liked spending time with her. When she wasn't accusing him of being the scum of the earth that was.

"Where are you going, Jack?" Emma asked.

Jamie's reflection was in the mirror, eyeing him with smug amusement. A look he must have perfected by watching Jack himself. Only Jack was irked that it was being turned against him. The brunet boy was standing there, with his arms folded like he was some disapproving father figure. Jack was the adult there. It wasn't like he did stuff like this regularly.

"Out."

"You're awful dressed up for going out," Emma said.

He looked over his shoulder to see Emma. Her long brown hair was pulled up into a bun. Freckles dotted her face. Her eyes were warm like melted chocolates and very much like their mother's. She too eyed him with suspicion. She wore a black and white plaid dress with a peter pan collar. Gone were the days of the cute little outfits. Jack could no longer pick out her outfits for her. She was picky and wanted things she saw girls at school wearing. Developing a more mature sense of clothing tastes.

Beside her, dressed in a little nightgown and rubbing her eyes was Sophie. The small blonde gave a sleepy yawn and blearily blinked up at them all. Perhaps wondering why she was still up. She normally went to bed sooner than her siblings. She was, after all, the youngest. She wasn't used to staying up past her bedtime.

Jack put aside his tie and picked her up. Jamie and Emma followed him as he walked into Sophie's room and laid her down in her bed. She promptly rolled over so she was face down in her pillows and her little butt stuck up. Amused, Jack grabbed one of her stuffed animals and threw it onto the bed with her and covered her with a blanket. She immediately snuggled down.

"Sandy is coming over to mind you three," Jack said. "So be good."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Sophie's head and made sure she was comfortable. He supposed it wouldn't be long before she rolled over, off the bed and onto the floor. She did it almost every night no matter what sort of barriers around the edges of the bed she had. Jack had opted to line the area around her bed with pillows. To make her fall a little less… harsh. Because it was inevitable.

"This isn't about work stuff?" Jamie asked.

Jack sighed. His siblings were too smart for their own good sometimes. They always saw through whatever he told them - learning to read through the lines to get at his true meanings. He put a hand on their shoulders and guided them out of Sophie's room. If she didn't get enough sleep, then she would be grumpy the next day and be a terror for her teachers. Which Jack would hear about. One way or another.

"No, this isn't work stuff."

"Then what is it?" Emma inquired.

Jack closed the door behind them so they wouldn't disturb Sophie. When he turned around, both Emma and Jamie were looking up at him expectantly. Jack knew he wasn't going to be able to weasel his way out of this one. Besides, he knew better than to keep secrets from his siblings. They were just as clever as he was. If there was something they wanted to know, they would find out.

"I'm meeting someone tonight," Jack said.

"Who?"

"A dame."

A silence fell over the three of them. Jack had met plenty of dames, but never on a night when he had off. That time was reserved for family. For him to spend a night off with someone who wasn't family, was a big deal for them. A big deal for him especially. He might have fooled around a bit with other dames, but this was the first time he had actually gone on a date (at night) with any of them.

"Do you like her?" Jamie asked.

Jack took a deep breath. Sooner or later he would have to face feelings. Sure, things had been a bet with Bunny before, but when Aqua had let her guard down around him, actually smiling and relaxing, he knew he was starting to weaken around her. But she would never look at him that way. Not when she still saw him as an evil manipulator holding her to a contract. The worst part is, no one even thought twice when she stopped paying her protection fees. The other Guardians hadn't even noticed less money coming in.

He supposed that was the worst part. She still saw him as a monster. The demon plaguing her every step. He knew she was still scared of him. He wasn't even sure if he would ever be able to convince her otherwise. This was an exercise in futility. One he knew that he shouldn't keep encouraging. He supposed after this, he would have to figure out a way to let Aqua go. Because this simply wasn't working out. But that smile of hers… When she actually laughed… He knew it was going to be harder than he hoped.

"It's complicated, bud," Jack said.

Emma came up to him and straightened his tie for him. He smiled down at her. She gave him a small slap on the cheek and then stepped back. In retaliation, he ruffled her hair. At least Emma wasn't mad at him for leaving them with Sandy for the night. However, as Jack looked over his shoulder, he saw that Jamie didn't look all that impressed. Jack knelt down in front of him.

"Tell you what, I'll take you three to a picture show to make up for it," Jack offered.

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

With that, Jamie seemed to relax. Or at least forgive him enough because Jack was bribing him. Clearly, Jamie knew how to play the game to get what he wanted. A trait he had picked up from Jack most likely. Jack couldn't even be mad at him for it.

"I'm holding you to it."

Jack rolled his eyes and ruffled Jamie's hair as well. The doorbell rang and he stood straighter. Sandy was the only one Jack would trust with this. Not only because of Sandy's chosen silence, but because he understood the need for Jack to have a life. Jack had to do a lot of things that most people his age wouldn't have even dreamed of doing, mostly because those things were more like nightmares.

He walked to the front door to let Sandy inside. His smaller friend grinned up at him and flashed him two thumbs up. Jack assumed Sandy meant that about his attire. Relief flooded through him anyways. Impressing Aqua was on his list of things to do after all. Otherwise, he would have to follow through with his plans to let her go, as much as that would hurt.

"Okay Sandy, you're in charge. If the kiddos give you any hassle, you know what to do."

Sandy's grin was almost vicious in return. Jack knew Sandy would never hurt his siblings, or scare them for that matter. He had a way about him with kids and they always seemed to fall asleep. Jack once teased him that it was because he was boring but the next time he was on an op, he felt extremely fatigued and sleepy. He never joked about it again after that.

Both Emma and Jamie came over and hugged him before he headed out the door. He squeezed them back tightly - an automatic habit for whenever he worked a job. Sure, kids helped out sometimes, but only in non-dangerous assignments. Jack's work was always dangerous. There was always a chance he simply wouldn't come back one day. The small family always made sure to give one last hug before they left in case it was the one where Jack took the Big Sleep and never came back.

"Love you," he said.

"Love you too!" they chorused.

He smiled and slipped on his jacket. In his breast pocket were the keys to the car he would be driving. After all, he wanted to pick Aqua up in style. Even if it was one of the last times he would do so. He would have to see how she reacted to their night out to see if there was any potential for a future for them.