Arthur had been a hot and sweaty mess for the next couple of days. However, things seemed so much brighter with the love of his life, Francis sitting by his bedside and holding his hand.

"I can't do this!" The Brit cried as he tightly squeezed his partner's hand just to hold on to something.

"Yes, you can, Arthur. You've gone through it once before, and you can do it again. I am not going to give up on you and I will not allow you to give up on yourself. Nurse!" Francis called as he found one of the main floor nurses just passing by. "Nurse, he needs more of that… special ingredient. Please."

The nurse giggled, knowing full well what the secret ingredient meant. "Alright. I'll be back in just a moment with another chocolate bar."

"Thank you." Replied the French gentleman with a smile.

The nurse kept to her promise. She was back in the room exactly two minutes later with a full-sized chocolate bar in her hands. "Here you are, Mr. Bonnefoy. Let me know if there is anything else you need."

The man nodded and opened the chocolate bar wrapper. "Thank you, miss. We are good for now, but as you are our favorite nurse, I will not hesitate to ask you for help again."

The young woman giggled again before leaving. She was a small, perky thing. Full of life and could not have been any older than twenty -two. Of course, she and some of the other nurses had a small crush on the blond Frenchman, even though he tried in vain to get the young girls to believe that he was, in fact, engaged to the man he had been sitting beside for days.

"Francis?" Asked the bedridden man with a hint of excitement in his voice. "Is that –"

"Why, yes, it is." Answered Francis with a chuckle. "It is your beloved chocolate bar. Although, I am starting to believe that you love chocolate more than you love me." He said with an exaggerated pout.

"Of course, I don't, don't be ridiculous." The Englishman promised with a laugh. "It's just, chocolate at least subsides my cravings from the drugs and stuff. And, thank you for staying here with me the past couple of days, I owe you a lot when we get home." He winked.

Francis offered his fiancé a wink of his own as a reply. "Yes, you do, and don't you forget it."

Arthur smiled and squeezed Francis' hand tightly. "I'll be fine here for another day. If you really want to help me… please make sure that Alfred doesn't kill himself with this stupid plan of his."

The blue – eyed man reached over to kiss Arthur's lips. "Okay. Call me if you need anything. I love you."

"I love you, too." The other said with just barely an audible whisper, as though he was about to fall asleep again.

Francis gazed fondly at Arthur before closing the door to his room. "I'll be back as soon as I can tomorrow to pick you up."

The group consisting of Arthur, Francis, Alfred and Gilbert all met up together at a burger restaurant the next evening to better construct their plan.

"Do you know what time Natalia is most likely to be out on the street?" Alfred asked as he tried to multi task speaking with chewing his food.

"She's usually out by eight. She once told me it's the time that married men have all put their children to bed and have the time to look for a quick fix, and don't talk with your mouth full." Replied the ever well – mannered Brit, who used the corner of a napkin to wipe the edge of his friend's mouth.

"Ah, thanks, mom!" The American responded with a wink.

His green – eyed friend, however, was not amused. "And sit up straight. We are in public, after all."

Feeling mischievous, Gilbert had transformed one of his napkins into a paper airplane and aimed it towards Alfred's head, who had cried out loudly in protest.

Poor Francis, who's temple has been pounding the entire time, gave a stern warning too his overly hyperactive friend. "Gilbert. If you do not start behaving this instant, I will not hesitate to lay you over my knee and give you a well – needed discipline right here in this restaurant."

Just like that, order was retained once more. The friends finished their meals quickly, as they were meeting a couple of police officers later on that night.

At eight o'clock, Alfred made his way over to the alley that Arthur once did when he purchased drugs from either Natalia or Ivan. Of course, they wouldn't leave the blond American alone, for Francis, Gilbert, and Arthur were all watching closely nearby in case there was an interaction that night.

As predicted, the strange woman made her appearance at fifteen minutes after the hour. The sun had long gone down, and her slim figure and bowed dress only made her look even more terrifying in the shadows.

It looked as though Alfred was going to back out for a moment. The poor man looked around in fear as sweat drops covered his face.

"Don't you dare back out now, boss." Whispered Francis from a listening device behind Alfred's ear. "If you don't do this, hundreds of more people can die, but you could save thousands if you seal this deal. You want to be a hero, don't you?"

"Y-yes…" Croaked the other blond nervously.

"And don't talk to yourself!" The Frenchman reminded. "That's her. Just act cool like you are one of her customers. You're doing very well, don't blow this now."

"Good evening." Greeted the woman that Alfred was now very terrified of. "Do you know who I am?"

Alfred swallowed one final gulp and tried to nod with as much confidence as he could muster. "Yes. You're Natalia. I've… come to you for business." He said as he tried to control his now trembling hands inside his pockets.

"He's gonna die in there." Arthur said with a heavy sigh. "He's too innocent to do something like this all alone. If he doesn't get help soon, Alfred will crack underneath all the pressure."