Top Note: Sorry for the delay everyone. Yard work needed to be done. So...yeah. Anyway, here's a chapter to show how everyone's doing after Ed's leave and how the usual schedule goes.

TWO MONTHS LATER…

"You can't be serious," Havoc said, baffled.

"I'm not kidding. I'm going to do it."

"Sister! You can't possibly do all of that on your own," Amy tried to reason.

"Ames, I'm not going to change my mind," Erika persisted.

"You should listen, Erika. Amy's right. You can't stop a war on your own," Havoc said, coming to Amy's defense. Erika sighed.

"I bet if Ed was still here you two would be supporting me." Erika slumped in her seat, pushing her tray of pastries away from her. They were bought to help cheer her up, but it wasn't working. After a few close incidents, Havoc was assigned to be her guard. He didn't argue over it, seeing as though every guard Erika had quit the next day. It was her sharp tongue and her unreasonable actions that made them quit. It wasn't that she hated them, it's just that they didn't understand her and always misread her as unwilling to cooperate. She was still upset over Ed's leave and that just added to her resolve.

Havoc sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. He was the only one brave enough to face her too. And the only one close enough to understand her tendencies. They had grown to be good friends, therefore making his job a little easier. He glanced at Erika and then at the ignored pastries in the middle of the table.

"Are you going to eat those? Because you're wasting my money," Havoc said as he grabbed a small chocolate cake from off the tray.

"That's a small truffle éclair you have there. If you bite the center of it, you'll be met with a soft milk chocolate mousse," Erika said offhandedly and sat up straight.

Havoc took a bite, and sure enough, the center of it was filled with a light mousse. He blinked his eyes out of confusion. "How did you know?"

Erika sighed as a small smile tugged on her lips. "I've experimented with a truffle éclair from time to time. If you look closely, you'll see the slight hole where the nozzle was plucked into it to insert the mousse," Erika explained. She watched in amusement as Havoc searched the small pastry for the hole she was speaking of. "And the weight of it indicates that it had to be something thicker than mere custard to fill it."

Havoc rose an eyebrow. "Wow. I didn't know you knew so much about baking, Sparky." He watched in amusement as she rolled her eyes at the nickname.

"Great. Now I have you calling me that," Erika said.

Havoc smirked. "Then what should I call you, sweetheart?" Havoc asked innocently.

Erika rose an eyebrow as she shook her head. "That doesn't suit you either."

"Whatever you say, honey," Havoc replied, getting a roll of Erika's eyes again. Havoc chuckled. He turned to Amy who had just bit into a white chocolate brownie. "How about you? What do you plan on doing?"

Amy put a finger on her chin in thought. She looked up as she tried to find the right words. "I don't really know. Since Sister won't allow me to join the military, I can't help her with her that…" Amy pondered a bit before she came to a solution. "I guess I could become an intern at the military. You know, do paperwork, organize files, fill out reports. That sort of thing."

"I happen to know that the library is hiring. They need a secretary." He looked Amy up and down, a smile on his lips. "How old are you again?"

Erika shot him a look. "She's sixteen. If you ask her out, I'll kick your ass and you'll be known as a pedophile," Erika remarked, glaring at him. He sweat dropped.

"Oh, come on, Erika! I was just asking how old she was because of the job! Honest! I had no other motives," Havoc said putting his hands up in surrender. Erika glared at him again.

"Sure you were," Erika said. "I'm keeping my eye on you."

Havoc smirked. "I see. You want me all to yourself, huh?"

Erika rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Like I'll ever."

Amy giggled. "I'm flattered, Havoc. But if you were asking me out, I'd have to decline."

Havoc fell anime style while Erika snickered. "Why?" he asked.

"I'm in a relationship with Alphonse, remember?" Amy asked.

"Oh."

Erika smirked. "See? She's already taken. Al's got her covered," Erika said. "I know my little sister is a grand prize to uphold, but you'll have to suck it up and let her be with Alphonse."

Havoc tipped an invisible hat as he winked at Amy. "Shoot. And she's such a cutie." Amy's cheeks burned pink but smiled nonetheless.

XoXoXoXoXo

Amy gripped her suitcase as she double checked if she forgot something. Erika smiled as she adjusted her little sister's scarf and coat. The snow was biting at her hands, but she gave her gloves to Amy anyway. She'd need it more if she was going to Risembool. Havoc waved goodbye as Amy stepped onto the train.

Erika waved. "Make sure to tell Al and them 'hi'," Erika said. Amy nodded, a small smile on her lips.

"I'll make sure to give Edward your best regards," Amy said and smiled at her sister's blush. Erika turned her head to the side as she stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"I never asked you to do that…" Erika muttered.

Amy giggled. "I'll call you later, okay Sister?" Amy said as the train whistle sounded. Erika nodded. "Havoc, I'm expecting you to keep Sister company. She's not exactly being social at the moment…"

At Amy's soft glare, Erika turned completely around. Havoc chuckled. "Sure, no problem."

The two military soldiers watched as the train pulled off into the horizon. As the train was no longer visible, Erika sighed.

"Great. My sister had a boyfriend for almost a year and I'm still single…" Erika grumbled as she and Havoc walked to Central HQ.

Havoc looked at Erika and chuckled at her disheveled mood. From sarcastic to this, it surprised Havoc on how she could change demeanors so quickly. She wasn't bipolar, just was able to change moods. Which made her almost unpredictable or predictable, depending on the situation. The frost bit at Erika body again, and Erika shivered slightly. She pulled her mothers coat around herself tighter, making some warmth come to her again.

Havoc was about to take off his coat and put it over her shoulders, but remembered what happened when he first did that. He was fixed with a fist hit over his head. He thought of it more, began to take off his jacket, thought better of it, and kept it around himself. She'd just give it back to him anyway, saying that he needed it more. Havoc saw Central HQ in view and sighed with relief. The snow's killing him.

They soon made it to Central HQ and walked to their designated dorms. Erika's was still 72 while Havoc's was moved to 80 from 108. He claims it was so he could look after her better, but she knew it was so he was closer to the girl's locker room. Erika reached into her pocket and pulled out her key. She stuck it in the door knob and twisted it open.

Erika retired to her bed. She fell onto the soft mattress with a grunt and kicked off her boots. After taking off her boots, she worked her way out of her mother's coat and hung it up neatly. To get more comfortable, Erika took her key necklace out from underneath her shirt and pulled her hair down from its ponytail. Her chestnut hair fell down her back and some wavy strips of hair framed her face.

After a few minutes of humming, the phone rang. Erika reluctantly got up from her warm bed and picked up the phone. She pressed it to her ear, a tired look in her eyes.

"Hello? This is Erika Evans," Erika greeted.

"Hey Sister. It's Amy." came the sweet voice.

Erika smiled. "Hey Ames. Get in Risembool already? That was fast."

"Yeah, it went by a lot quicker than I expected," Amy said.

"So, you arrived at Winry's safely?" Erika asked, letting her protective older sister side come out. Amy laughed.

"Yes Sister. I got here safely." There was a long pause before she spoke again. "It's been two months. I know you're still depressed over Edward's leave."

Erika sighed. "I'm not depressed, Ames. I'm just….not used to it yet." Erika could practically see Amy wrinkling her nose at her reply.

" 'Not used to it?' You've been walking around with your head in the clouds for weeks! You kept running into things!" Amy protested.

Erika groaned. "Amy, I'm fine…Really." Erika had to suppress her voice from going shaky, so she changed the subject. "So you're okay? You're not too cold are you?"

Amy sighed. "I'm fine, Sister," she said. "I think you'll feel a whole lot better if you spoke to someone."

"I'm speaking to you," Erika shot back.

"I don't count," Amy retaliated. "Please just talk to Edward. Here. I'll get him for you."

"No! Ames don't-!" Erika protested.

"Hello?" a male voice asked.

Erika sighed dramatically. She face palmed herself as she stared at the phone in her hand. She slumped her shoulders in defeat and then pressed the phone to her ear. "Hey, Shrimp."

"Would you stop calling me that, Hot Head!" Ed shouted.

Erika chuckled. "Then stop calling me Hot Head and we have a deal," Erika offered. There was a long moment of silence as Ed contemplated it in his mind. He chuckled.

"No way, Klutz."

Erika shrugged. "Have it your way, bean sprout."

"I heard you've been running into stuff more often than usual. What's up?" Ed asked, worry etched into his voice.

Erika's cheeks were blown over by crimson as her face flushed. Amy hadn't told Ed that she was still upset over his leave, but did tell him about how she was acting. Erika paled. What should she say? She can't tell him that she was still upset about him quitting.

"I-I just had something on my mind is all…" Erika replied.

"Really? What?"

Erika cursed under her breath as she changed the subject. "Nevermind. How've you been? It's been two months."

Ed groaned. "Winry's got me working like a dog! I'm always fixing stuff around the house and she's constantly adjusting my automail."

Erika smiled. "She's only making you do that because you get all fidgety when you're not doing anything," Erika said. "Face it. If she didn't make you do all those things, you would have done it anyways."

There was some grumbling on the other line before a huff came. "….Shut up…."

Erika laughed.

"So how are you doing? I heard it's getting a bit rough in the military," Ed said.

Erika nodded. "Yeah. I have to go through training once a week. And I have miles of paperwork I still haven't caught up on since I was gone on the other side of the Gate," Erika said. "I also have a guard now. According to military files, I'm too reckless to leave on my own."

Ed laughed. "Well, after your Gate stunt it's only natural they'd put you on surveillance. Besides, you tend to almost kill yourself on a regular basis."

Erika narrowed her eyes. "Don't you mean that you almost get killed on a regular basis? How about all those actions back when you were in the military, eh?" Erika shot back. Ed laughed nervously. Erika rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I'm going to get rid of my guard soon enough. I'm going off to train with Casey in a couple weeks. I have been out of alchemy in five months. I need to get my skill back up."

"That's nice. Make sure to tell Casey I said 'hi.' " Ed said.

Erika smiled. It's been forever since she's just had a nice conversation with Edward. Without the near death experiences, the arguments, or painful topics. It's never really been just her and him talking. Erika wished it could be this way all the time, but that can't happen. With the war at hand, the military's on edge. Ed, Winry, and Al don't know about it yet. She didn't tell Amy about it until today. Erika wished that Ed could be here in person, but he left. He has his brother now; there's no need for him to stay.

"I've got to go to bed. Mustang wants me up early and I have a meeting in at noon tomorrow," Erika said reluctantly.

"Oh…" Ed said. "Sorry to keep you up. You should get some sleep. If I know Mustang, he'll give you his paperwork to do on top of your own."

Erika smiled. "Goodnight, Ed."

There was a long pause before he answered. "Goodnight."

BN: Filler chap. Wait no. It's nto a filler chap. It's kind of plot deepening. Wait. Romance deepening? Wait...STORY DEVELOPEMENT! That's what this chapter was. OK, this story will contain A LOT of time skips, because, well...It's how the story goes.

Anyway, next chapter will take place a month after this day. Hey. I warned you about the time skips!

Until next Chap! =:D