Hello everyone! Thank you so so much for the amazing reviews, I'm glad you guys are liking where I'm going with this fic. Kimblee's my favorite badass from the series, as well. Boy do I have plans for him! Hahahaha. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! I wrote it in just a few hours, it was actually very easy to write. This thing is starting to write itself, it's great. ;] Enjoy!

Chapter Nine:
Breaking the News

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The train carrying the military's top warrant officers, led by Vato Falman, along with their handful-of-a-transferee, arrived early in Central the next morning. As they exited the train, Zolf J. Kimblee was surrounded with guards on all sides and his hands were locked in wooden handcuffs, so he wouldn't be able to clap his hands together and create his terrifying alchemy. The officers escorted the man to his car and only two officers took a seat on each side of him once inside.

"Howdy." Jean Havoc greeted the man like he was an old friend. Kimblee just sat there, his eyes straight forward with a menacing smirk strung accross his face.

Havoc shrugged and mumbled something under his breath, then turned around to put the vehicle into gear and began driving. Kimblee looked to the left and then to the right of him, he was stuffed into the small car with two huge men on each side of him and was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic. Remembering that it was crucial to keep himself under control, he sunk back in his seat as the car began moving and did not say a word to anyone.

The group arrived at the prison and Havoc got out to open the door for Kimblee and his escorts. More guards were waiting for his arrival at the front gate and a small crowd of people, all adults, were gathered around the prison too see that the psychotic killer has indeed arrived in Central. Alphonse was among the crowd, his arms were crossed in front of his chest, glaring at the man with fire in his eyes.

"He better not try anything. I'll be right here to cave his face in if he does." he muttered under his breath. After seeing the man enter the prison and the doors close behind him, he stood there for a few more minutes, then headed back to town.
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"Sir, we just received conformation that Kimblee's transfer was a success, he's in his cell now and on full time watch." Sergeant Kain Fuery informed from the doorway of Mustang's office. The Fuhrer put him in charge of Kimblee's transfer, showing just how much trust the man really had in Roy.

"Good, now I can relax." he let his shoulder's drop and rubbed his temples. Riza entered the room with two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Sorry, if I knew you were stopping by, I would've grabbed one for you, too." she sait to Furey, placing the hot cup on Roy's desk and moving to stand in her place beside him.

"No, no. It's fine, I should get back to work. We're gonna try and get a radio or some sort of listening device hooked up inside Kimblee's cell somewhere or just outside of it, out of sight, so we can hear him incase he ever causes a commotion." he explained, walking towards the door and stopping before he exited. "Havoc should be back any minute, I'll have him come report to you when he is." he said, then left the room.

"So what do you think about him being here?" Riza asked. Roy sighed and sat back in his seat, taking a sip of his coffee on the way and flinching when his lips and tongue met the steaming, black liquid. "I told you it was hot when I sat it down." she reminded in monotone. He sat the cup back on his desk and rested his elbows on the desktop.

"You know I don't like it. That bastard should just be put back on death row." he said. Riza nodded and remained standing at his side with a thin, black leather binder in her folded arms that were resting accross her chest. The binder caught Roy's eyes and he looked up at her, then back at the black book.

"What's that?" he asked, aware of the fact that whenever Riza had work for him, she'd pull it out of her book and place it on his desk. She normally didn't carry it around with her if there was no purpose for it.

"Just some files." she stated calmly.

"What files?" he asked again.

"It's nothing, Sir."

"Show me the files, Riza." he demanded.

"It's nothing that concerns you." she stood firm. The man stood up to face her with a stern look on his face, then grinned as he snatched the leather book from her grasp.

"Roy!" she laughed and began fighting him for it, jumping up when he held it high, out of her reach. He turned away from her, still blocking her attempts to retrieve was was taken, and began unzipping the binder.

"What the hell are you hiding from me, woman?! We're supposed to love eachother and loving eachother doesn't involve secrets!" he cried, overdramatically. His eyes then widened when he saw just what she was hiding. A magazine was tucked into one of the side pockets and a model wearing a puffy white dress was on the cover.

"Wedding dresses?" he asked softly, turning back to her. She blushed, but had a look of disappointment on her face and nodded. "What the hell? We're engaged for God's sake, why were you trying to hide that from me?" he asked, sitting the book down and wrapping an arm around her waist. She sighed and leaned into his sideways hug to hug him fully.

"I just didn't want you to think I was rushing you if I started looking for a dress. I know how busy you've been lately and I'm sure a wedding is the last thing that's on your mind." she said, trying not to make Roy feel guilty, but she did. He sighed, hugging her again and kissing the crown of her head.

"I'm sorry."

"Please, you should know me better than that, Roy. I'm fine. I just thought it would be fun to start looking. Winry was looking through this magazine one day and I sat down to talk to her, then she got me looking at it. She let me have it, so it's not like I went out and bought it." she explained.

"You don't have to explain yourself and if you really don't feel bad, you should. I've been such a workaholic lately and I've been paying barely any attention to you." he said.

"No, it's fine. Trust me." she smiled.

"It's not fine. A man should always be ravishing his woman!" he purred, picking her up and placing her on his desk. He began to kiss her, immediately slipping his tongue past her lips. Riza melted into the kiss, kissing him back just as hard and playfully biting his lip. He unbuttoned her uniform shirt and untucked her black undershirt from her pants, he snuck his hand up her shirt and squeezed her left breast as they began kissing more passionately. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled his face closer, pressing their lips together harder.

"Uhh, guess I'll come back later then." Havoc chuckled, casually ighting a cigarette like it was a scene that was carried out ever day. Riza gasped and pushed Roy away, immediately pulling her shirt down and buttoning her uniform back up. Mustang glared at the man and the couple collected themselves, returning to their earlier spots. "Okay now." Havoc cleared his throat and took a seat in one of the chairs facing Roy's desk. "So, Kimblee's locked up and Falman along with a few other men are there on guard right now. I heard Kain say he was trying to hook up a listening device somewere in there?"

"That's right." Roy nodded.

"Hm, guess that would be pretty useful." the man shrugged, letting out smoke as he exhaled. They sat there for a minute or two in silence, none of them not knowing what to say next. Havoc shifted a bit and Roy turned to the side, in his chair to look out the window. "Alright, well I'm off." he said, standing up and heading for the door. Roy waved at the man and Riza nodded.

"I'm gonna go get another cup of coffee." she picked up the empty cup, then stopped when she reached the door. "Do your paperwork, Roy." she reminded the man, leaving him alone in his office to pout over the ever growing stack.

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Winry tossed and turned for a few minutes, trying to fall back asleep. It was early, probably around seven, she guessed by the amount of sunlight that was peeking through her curtains. She was still tired, but the fact that she needed to tell her grandmother about her pregnancy was keeping her up. She laid there a little while longer, thinking over her thoughts on how she would tell Pinako the news. Her thoughts ceased, however, when that nagging feeling in her stomach arrived for it's morning debut. Sneaking out from under the covers quietly as possible, trying not to wake Ed, she made her way to the bathroom with her hand over her mouth...just in case. She hated throwing up, more than anything, but was quickly becoming used to this new daily routine. She would puke, lay on the floor for a while, puke some more, try to get up, but standing would make her feel nauseous again, then puke for the last time. When she felt that it was out of her system for at least a little while, she'd wash up, brush her teeth, and stand there for a few more minutes in case her stomach decided it was ready for an encore.

She stumbled back to her room, snooping around her droors and in her closet, looking for something to wear for the day. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a shirt, threw them on, then headed down the stairs. As Winry predicted, Pinako was already up and outside for a morning smoke while watching Den run around. She smiled at her dog and grandmother through the window and went to the kitchen to fix herself some breakfast. Looking through the small pantry and then the fridge, she decided nothing at all looked appetizing. 'I need to eat or I'll throw up again.' she reminded herself, then opened the pantry for a second time. Nothing. She let out a sigh, then her eyes spotted the breadbox on the counter. 'Duh, that's perfect!' She opened the glass container carefully and pulled out two slices, then stuck them in the toaster.

"What are you doing up so early?" Pinako asked when she saw Winry waiting by the toaster.

"Couldn't sleep." she replied, then grew nervous when she remembered the reason why.

"Hm, well are you planning on helping me out later on today? We've got one order to make by tomorrow and a maitenance appointement around three." the small woman informed, taking a seat at the table after fixing herself a cup of coffee.

"Sure, you know you don't have to ask me that, Granny." she said, spreading a light layer of butter on her toast so it wouldn't be too dry. She took a seat accross from her grandmother and carefully ate the first piece of bread. "Granny?"

"Yes?"

"I, um, have some news for you." she stated quietly, trying to hide the nervousness in her tone.

"I already know, Ed asked for my blessing right before the three of you left. Never thought I'd see the day." she chuckled to herself, taking a sip.

"Oh, not that," she shook her head. "It's funny and kinda sweet to hear that he asked though." she paused and took another small bite of the toast.

"What is it then? Is everything going okay with you two?" she asked, a little confused.

"Yea, everything's great, perfect actually. It's just...well, something happened and you know how one thing leads to another and...um."

"Just get on with it." Pinako's head was tilted to the side, she was even more confused now.

"I'm pregnant." she finally said, looking away from her grandmother in shame. She forced her eyes over in the woman's direction a few seconds later, when she realized that she wasn't being yelled at. Pinako was smiling, her understanding eyes were soft and shining. "You're...not mad?" Winry asked.

"I know I should at least be a little disappointed about it, because the two of you aren't married yet, but I'm just so damn happy and excited that I can't help it." she cried, standing up to go and hug her granddaughter. "Don't worry, kid. Everything will be alright." she comforted, rubbing her back and squeezing her tight before letting go. Winry was relieved. "Have you been to a doctor yet?" she asked.

"No, not yet. I just figured all of this out a few days ago and I told Ed yesterday on the train." she answered.

"Why didn't you tell him when you first found out?"

"I thought he'd be mad, or maybe even leave me for some stupid reason. I don't know what I was thinking. When I told him, Granny, he had that look. You know the look he gets when we talk about him getting Al's body back?" The woman nodded, picturing the rare expression of an overjoyed and proud Edward. "I know he would never do that, I just got scared." she said.

"You should know by now that he's a trustworthy young man. I know you are going to be just fine, Winry." Pinako soothed. The two women looked over when they heard a creak in the floorboard, a sleepy-eyed Edward entered the kitchen, in search of Winry.

"Good morning." he greeted them, kissing Winry's forehead, and grabbing a coffee mug. Pinako just smiled and left the couple alone, deciding that she needed to get started on the automail order for the next day. "What's she smiling about?" Ed asked. Winry stood up and offered him her extra piece of toast, but he was fine with just coffee. She threw her plate and the bread away and poured herself a large glass of water, then took a seat next to Edward.

"I told her." she simply said, kissing him on the cheek. "She's happy for us, Ed." she smiled. He sighed in relief and kissed her, then returned to his cup.

"Are you working today?" he asked.

"Yea, I'm gonna work whenever I feel up to it. I feel okay right now, so I better get working while it lasts." she stood up and kissed Edward again. Before she was out of his reach, he pulled her onto his lap and hugged her.

"I love you." he whispered, his automail hand was resting on her belly.

"I love you, too, Ed." she said, kissing him one last time before heading to the little shop attached to the Rockbell home.

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Ringggg!

The school bell had rung, dismissing all students and teachers for the day. Abbie grabbed up her teaching books, her purse, and a few other things that she needed for the night and flew out the door and down the hall. She saw Al waiting for her, in his spot, through the window by the door and kicked it open since her hands were overflowing with her belongings. Alphonse laughed when he saw her, greeted her with a sweet kiss, and took some of the load from her.

"How was your day?" he asked as they began walking.

"Great, I love teaching. It's so much fun, I don't even feel like I'm working sometimes." she laughed. "What did you do today?" she asked Al, looking over in his direction.

"Nothing really, just hung around headquarters." he answered, shifting his hands around to get a better hold on Abbie's things.

"Did you go see that guy? The one who's a prison transfer from the East?" she adjusted her arms to catch a stray book that she was about to drop, but Al reached over with a laugh and took it.

"Yea, I saw him." he sighed.

"What's wrong?" Abbie asked. She could tell that Al was worried.

"I'm just not comfortable with the fact that he's in the same city as us. He's a killer, Abbs, he killed hundreds, maybe thousands of people for no apparent reason." he said, clenching his fist when picturing all the innocent lives Kimblee took just for his entertainment.

"Well, The Fuhrer's got him locked up pretty tight. I heard a few other teacher's talking at lunch today about how they're guarding him around the clock. I don't think you need to worry, Al. There's no way he can break out." she tried reassuring, but Al didn't budge.

"No. He's gotten out of prison before, he can do it again. It's just a matter of time, I'm telling you. When that happens, no one is safe. I don't like the idea of you walking to and from work, either." he exclaimed. "Or anywhere for that matter."

"Come on, I'll be fine! Walking every day like this keeps me in shape!" she grinned, trying to change the mood, Al smiled.

"Yea, just promise me that you'll never walk by yourself, alright?"

"Done. You always walk with me anyway." she giggled, flashing her deep blue eyes at Al's golden ones.

They made it to Abbie's apartment and dropped everything on her dining room table. She sat down and began sorting through the pile, organizing her lesson plans, stacking books, and hanging her purse up on the back of the chair.

"I've been talking to Roy Mustang lately about a job for me." he said to her. She looked up at him, surprised.

"A job in the military? I don't think Ed would like that, Al." she mentioned.

"Yea, I know, but it's my life. I'm gonna do what I think is gonna be best." he said. "I haven't really been offered anything yet, we've just been talking here and there. I'm not sure if I want to have a military based career, either. I'm just saying that I've been exploring my options. It's not gonna hurt anything." he explained. He opened up her small fridge and pulled out the pitcher of iced tea to make a glass for himself and Abbie. Just as he sat down, the phone began ringing and Abbie took a quick gulp of her tea, then darted to the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Abbie, it's Ed." the elder Elric was sitting on the couch at the Rockbell's, twisting the phone line around his flesh finger.

"Hey Ed! How are you guys doing?" she asked, looking over to Al. His face lit up when he heard that his brother was on the line.

"We're doing great, I'll give the phone to Winry in a minute. I just wanted to talk to my brother about what's going on, is he there? You haven't told him have you? Winry told me you knew."

"Oh, no, I haven't. I had a feeling that you or Winry would've wanted to." she said quietly. "But, yea he's right here with me, hang on one second." Ed thanked her and she motioned for Al to come over to the phone.

"Hey, Brother!" Al happily greeted his older brother.

"Hey, Al, how are you doing over there?" Edward asked, realizing how much he missed his younger brother, his best friend.

"We're doing pretty good. How are you and Winry? How's Auntie?"

"Auntie Pinako's fine, she and Winry have been working on an order for a client all day and I guess they've got a customer coming in soon. Winry on the other hand, that's why I called, actually." his tone changed and Al could hear the excitement in Ed's words.

"What is it?" he asked, rolling his eyes with a big grin on his face. You never know what to expect when it comes to Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell, so Al couldn't imagine what kind of trouble they could've possibly gotten themselves into now that they were together all the time. The excitement was bubbling up higher and higher in Ed's stomach and he just couldn't hold it in any longer.

"She's pregnant! I'm gonna be a dad!" he exploded into the phone.

"Really? Congratulations, Brother! That's amazing!" Al shrieked.

"Thanks! I'm so excited, Al!" He kept going on about his happiness, not realizing that his volume was getting louder with each word. Al had to hold the phone a few inches away from his ear, afraid that he was going to get a headache. Pinako yelled from the workshop that the whole town could hear him and he yelled right back at the poor old woman. Al laughed and calmed his brother down.

"Really, Ed. That's so cool! How is she doing?" he asked.

"She's been sick a lot, like throwing up on and off the entire day. She's exhausted, too. It sucks, but Auntie said it should get better soon." he explained.

"Oh, well I hope she does, it must be tough." he admired his childhood friend's strong nature.

"Me too, Al." Ed agreed. "Alright, well I'll let you go, Winry wants to talk to Abbie. I'll call you tomorrow sometime and see what you're up to."

"Okay, Brother. You take care of them, you hear me?" he said and called Abbie over to the phone.

"I hear you, Al. I'll do my best." Ed answered. "I'll call you soon, alright?"

"Ed?" the younger brother called one more time.

"Yea?" he brought the phone back up to his ear to hear what his brother had to say.

"Everything is gonna be alright. Be strong." Al encouraged. A wide grin spread accross Edward's face and he nodded.

"I know."
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