The man and woman had walked down the darkened streets, headed for the Hughes' residence.

Soon, it started to rain, very lightly. "We might want to-" Roy couldn't even finish his sentence before turned into a hard downpour. Luckily, they were near the Center of town now. It wouldn't be that far to walk before they arrived at her house.

Roy pushed them under the awnings of shops, rushing from one to the next as they neared her apartment. He glanced toward her, sighing slightly. This look was an upsetting one, as he realized that they had to get across the street, and once they got there, there would be no protection from the rain until they got inside of her building.

She smiled at him, and together they fast-walked across the soaking wet street for what seemed like forever. He hated the rain, and he was completely soaked from head to toe. It was rather uncomfortable.

Opening the door for her, Roy let her in the large building. She nodded in happy appreciation and walked in, with him not more than a few steps behind her. His black military boots squeaked on the tile floor, and they strolled up the stairs.

Finally, they got to her door, and the brown haired woman stood out in front of it for a moment. Gracia turned to look up in Roy's onyx eyes with her bright green, cat-like colored ones.

"Thank you, Roy. I'm glad I met you there today." She spoke with sincerity and a small smile. "And...thank you for walking me home."

"I'm glad I visited." The wet Colonel smiled back. "It seemed the least that I could do was walk you home. It's been a long afternoon, I'll see you again soon, I hope." Which, was extremely true. Thhey had had some sort of a connection this evening, and he enjoyed her company.

"You're welcome anytime you want to visit." She laughed softly. "Goodnight, Roy."

Her next gesture caused Roy his eyes to widen with shock, caused him to feel utter confusion. With a kiss on his cheek and a quick loving embrace, she smiled once more, and went inside.

The shock caused Roy to stand there for a few seconds. He soon headed back down the hall, through the building, and back out into the cold, wet streets of Central.

"Hm," The man shrugged the thoughts off about Gracia, and focused on the long walk home he had. Eventually, he made it home. The Colonel was completely drenched, his military uniform was so entirely uncomfortable that when he walked up to his bedroom and immediately started stripping off his clothes. All of his hardwood floors that led to his room were most likely slippery wet. As he began stripping off his uniform, there was a knock at the door. "This late? Hm..."

He pulled off all his wet clothes, putting a white shirt and a dry pair of pants on. Almost slipping down the stairs, he caught himself on the wall, went to the door and answered it."...Lieutenant? Why are you here this late?"

***Meanwhile***

As the door closed and Roy left, Alphonse Elric walked over to the woman in front of the door.

"Thank you, Alphonse." Gracia smiled. "It was nice to visit him alone."

"Don't worry about it!" Al grinned. "We had fun! But I better go, brother probably needs something."He walked toward the front door.

Gracia nodded and opened the door. "I don't think I can thank you enough."

Elicia then came out of her room to stand by her mothers' side. She waved out the door after Al had started walking down the hallway. "Bye!"

"Goodbye, Alphonse."

The boy waved, and quickly vanished out of the building.

As soon as Al was gone, Gracia picked up Elicia. She walked back in and shut the door, hugging her daughter tight. "I'm glad to be back home with you." She sniffled.

"Mommy? Are you alright? Mommy, don't cry...Not again." The little three year old frowned. Her mother had tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm fine, Elicia." She wiped her tears and smiled as genuinely as possible. "Let's get you to bed, it's late."

The little girl undressed, changing into her nightgown. Gracia tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, my little darling."

"Mommy?" The small child asked.

"Yes?"

"When will daddy be home? He's still at work, right?" She questioned.

"Oh, Elicia..." With a loving hug and another kiss on the cheek, the woman walked out. "Go to sleep, I love you."

Finally, after Elicia had been in her pj's and sleeping, Gracia had some alone time. She herself changed into her own night gown, and she lay in bed staring up at the ceiling.

"Oh, Maes...I miss you.." She said softly, tears sliding down her cheeks. Pictures of his happy face flashed in her memory, and more tears spilled over.

Silent tears turned into small, quiet sobs which were muffled by a pillow. She cried softly until she brought herself together. It wouldn't exactly be a smart thing if she woke up her daughter. Then she'd be bombarded with more questions that rubbed salt in the wound. It wasn't Elicia's fault that she didn't understand, but it still hurt when she asked her mother questions about her father..

Her eyes closed shut, and her thoughts ran wild until she could fall asleep.