A/N: Finally chapter 10!

After class was over, Annelise came bouncing out of the room, her golden blonde bun bouncing up and down.

"Daddy!" Annelise squealed, her eyes wide with excitement. She rushed towards her father, practically jumping into his arms. Edward felt as though his face could break he was smiling so hard, he just loved his little girl so much.

"Hi sweetie!" Edward replied, picking her up and twirling her around. Her little blue skirt spinning around her waist, her eyes shut tight in delight as she giggled. Soon the spinning stopped, and Edward held his little girl

"I'm so happy you watched Daddy!" Annelise said with a wide grin on her face, "Uncle Al never gets to watch!"

Edward smile, albeit sadly, "I know, but Uncle Al has to work a lot." Edward replied, "but today Daddy got to stay and watch!"

Annelise smiled, before burying her face in the crook of Ed's neck. Edward wrapped her up in a tight hug, cradling her petite body close to him. He knew what she was thinking but was too afraid to vocalize, Edward knew she wanted her Mother to see her dance. "I know baby," Edward whispered, "I wish she could see too."

Roy was watching from afar, and was about to go over and say hello. But something inside him told him not to so he stopped himself.

It was then Roy turned his attention to the older kids, watching as Elysia walked out of the class room. She had her dance bag on her shoulder and was carrying a piece of paper in hand. She smiled when she saw Roy, "Uncle Roy!" She called excitedly, before rushing over to him.

"Look!" She squealed excitedly, pointing to the paper in her hand. "We have a fall recital coming up!"

Roy smiled, "Well, I'll definitely have to come to that." He replied, taking the paper from her and folding it as he placed it in his back pocket. Elysia grinned, loving that her favorite Uncle would be coming to s

"I'm going to change really quick." Elysia said, before turning the corner to go back into the dressing rooms.

Roy turned to look at Edward, who was talking to Annelise. Annelise wore a bright smile on her face, standing on top of the bench as she showed her Dad the same flyer Elysia had given Roy. "You and Uncle Al can come!" Annelise said with a slight squeal, "And Miss. Noah said we are going to wear pretty costumes!" she continued, showing off a little twirl and watching as her silky ballet skirt spun. Roy had to smile, Edward's daughter was just far too cute.

Edward smiled, and for once it looked like he was actually truly happy. "That's wonderful baby," Edward said, "Uncle Al and I will definitely be there to see our little princess."

Annelise just giggled, "Are we gonna go home now?" She asked, "Cause Uncle Al and I always go to the store after dance and he lets me get a treat but always says not to tell you." Annelise said, before she realized she had just ratted her uncle out. "Oh no!" She cried, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I wasn't suppose to tell you that!"

Edward let out a chuckle, "Well now I know Uncle Al's secrets!" He said, a grin spreading across his lips, "We are going to lunch with Mr. Roy and Elysia, how's that sound kiddo?" Edward asked, getting down to Annelise's level.

Annelise nodded in agreement, "Ok." She said, "But I've got to change first, Uncle Al says I can't wear my tutu anywhere else but at dance class b'cause it could get dirty." She reached for the pink dance bag that sat beside Edward, "I'll be right back!"

"Wait!" Edward called, "do you need help? Daddy can help if you need it."

Annelise shook her head, "Boys aren't allowed in the dressing room, even if they are daddies." She sent Edward a smile, "I'll be right back!" She called before skipping off towards the back of the dance studio.

Edward felt a little bit shocked, "She seems so big now.." he mumbled to himself.

Roy chuckled slightly, "It's hard to get use to, before you know it she'll be able to do the dance bun thing all by herself." Roy replied as he walked back towards Edward. "I've been bringing Elysia here for a couple years, and at nine she barely needs my help anymore."

Edward shook his head, "Yeah but she's nine, Annelise is fuckin' four and is just starting to figure out how to brush her teeth by herself." Edward said, "I'm all for her gaining some independence, but this is going to take some getting used to."

It was then that Elysia popped out, changed out of her bright dance clothes into a perfect outfit for early September. Denim shorts, a coral t-shirt that had a shimmer to it, and a pair of grey converse with her hair up in a tight pony tail still. "Ok, I'm ready Uncle Roy!" Elysia said as she walked towards him, "where are we going today?"

Roy smiled, "We are going to lunch with a friend of mine today," Roy answered, he gestured over to Edward, "That's Mr. Edward, he just moved here not too long ago and we are going to lunch with him and his daughter." Roy continued, "Is that okay with you?"

Elysia nodded, walking towards Edward with a bright grin. "Hi!" She said, stretching her hand out towards Ed. "My name is Elysia, it's nice to meet you!"

Edward took Elysia's hand with a smile, shaking it gently. "Nice to meet you Elysia, I'm Edward." Ed replied, dropping her hand after a moment. "I hope Annelise is doing ok, who knows what the hel-, heck, I mean, Alphonse put in that bag for her to change into."

Roy chuckled, "She's fine I'm sure, Ed." Roy said, "And lots of other girls will be back there to help if she needs it."

Elysia nodded, "Yup, there are lots of teachers that help too."

It was then that Annelise popped out of the class, "Daddy! Daddy!" She whined, "Help!"

Edward rolled his eyes a little, "There, that's how she sounds at home." He said, "What's wrong, Annie?"

Annelise let out a soft whine, "I can't get my shoes done! Uncle Al packed the silly shoes!" She said, hobbling over to Ed with her heels popping out of the backs of her shoes. Edward let out a chuckle at the sight, before walking towards the tiny girl and picking her up and placing her on the steps in front of him.

Al had packed her a pair of black converse shoes, and Edward had to let out a chuckle. "Guess Uncle Al forgot that these shoes are hard for you to put on all by yourself." Edward replied, gently taking the shoes off Annelise and stretching out the laces so they'd be easier to get on. Aside from the shoes, Al had done okay on the outfit. It was a simple white t-shirt that said "'hi' on it in cutesy letters, and she wore some simple denim shorts like Elysia had. Edward worked on getting the shoes back on Annelise and gave her a smile as he tied the laces. "There we go!"

Annelise smiled, "Ready to go!" She said with a grin, eyes drifting to see Roy and Elysia standing nearby. "Hi Mr. Roy!" Annelise called excitedly, "Did Elysia dance too?"

Roy sent the blonde a wide smile, Annelise's happiness was contagious. "Hello Annelise! Yes Elysia had her dance class today too, she's with the big kid class." Roy replied with a smile, "Did you have fun at dance class today?"

Annelise grinned, "Yup!" She said, "Miss. Noah let us do flips today!"

Edward smiled, turning his attention to Roy, "So where're we going for lunch?" He asked, "I literally only know where the school is and that coffee shop we went to on Thursday." With the thought of Thursday and its events, Edward realized he still had his hospital bracelet on. He ran his thumb across the thick plastic-y material of the bracelet, biting his lip slightly.

Roy turned to Elysia, "Where do you want to go?" He asked, he knew a couple of places he'd like to take Edward to eat but none of them were for you average lunch with kids sort of event. They were more black tie formal, and for romantic dates, nine of which were the type of restaurant that was appropriate for today.

"To Martel's cafe!" Elysia said with ease, "it's perfect 'cause Annelise and Ed probably haven't been before."

Roy chuckled, "I had a feeling you were going to say that." Roy turned to Ed, "Ok we are going to a little cafe downtown, only takes about 10 minutes to get there and they have the best lunch in town. Let me get you the address, and you can just follow us."

Martel's Cafe was actually called 'Dolcetto' and Edward briefly wondered if they sold Dolcetto liquor at said cafe. But it was a nice urban cafe, and definitely not somewhere Ed would have picked on his own. Annelise twirled around beside him as they walked in, humming a soft tune and Edward's smile was so wide he felt his face could break.

Roy stood in front of them, and Elysia drifted between Ed and Roy as she chattered on about what Ed and Annelise should order. "And they have these really yummy sandwiches, and they have lavender lemonade.." she trailed on, "and actually, everything on the menu is super tasty."

Roy chuckled as he opened the door, "I think they get the idea, Elysia." He replied.

Inside the cafe, the floors were a deep shade of brown and the walls were brick and had colorful layers of words in graffiti. The windows were big, letting in lots of light, and there was a big chalkboard wall on the far end of the building. It was unique, and made Edward think of a place he had been before when he traveled and enjoyed exploring downtowns of big metro cities. He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking around the place, "This looks cool." He said softly, "What do you think, Annie?"

Annelise's eyes were wide with curiosity, looking all around the cafe. "Neat." She said, grabbing onto her Dad's arm and hugging it. Edward knew she liked it, but she was just being a little shy. He didn't know much of what she did when she was with Al, he knew Al took her places and such, but Annelise had become far more reserved during this whole ordeal. "bet they have yummy food."

Elysia bent down towards Annelise and smiled, "Wanna go pick out a table with me?" She asked, "the grown ups can order our food and stuff."

Roy looked over at Elysia, "What do you want to eat, 'Lysia?" He asked, "the usual?"

Elysia nodded, "Yup!"

Roy nodded, "Now why don't you go pick out our table and let Mr. Edward help Annelise pick out what she wants to eat." He said, "Remember they've never been here before."

Elysia nodded and slipped off to find them a table, "Tell Miss. Martel I said hello, ok!" She called off as she ventured to the tables.

Edward just chuckled from behind Roy, "She's got a lot of energy, doesn't she?"

Roy merely nodded, "Been like that from the time she was born, but she's a great kid." Roy started, "she's actually my god-daughter, so I've helped take care of her since she was a newborn, from the time she was a month old she's spent every Saturday with me so her Mom and Dad can get some work done."

"Well aren't you Mr. Mom." Edward said with a chuckle, "But no really, that's really cool of you. To not be related to a child but love them like they were your own, that's special." Roy noticed something warm in Edward's eyes, a sort of fondness that he had only seen in his late wife's eyes. It stirred a warmness inside of him that he hadn't felt in a long time, and he liked it.

Roy was next in line, and he greeted the cashier with a smile, "Hey Darius, is Martel in today?" Roy asked.

"Of course she's in, can never get her and Dolcetto to leave." Darius said with a chuckle, "Let me go get her for you." He then ventured off to the kitchen, calling out Martel's name a few times. "Ay, Mustang's here!"

A minute or so passed by, and a petite girl with a blonde hair in a pixie cut popped out. She had a thick purple tattoo on one shoulder, and was dressed in what Edward would consider urban street wear. "Hey Mustang, how you doin' today?" She asked, "You want the usual?"

"Nice to see you too, Martel, I'm doing good." Roy answered, leaning his elbows on the counter. "Elysia and I just got out of dance class and needed a bite to eat before we got the boys." Roy said, "But today I brought some friends." He gestured towards Edward and Annelise. "They are new to Central and needed to learn about the best cafe in town!"

Martel peered over to take a look at Edward and Annelise, Edward smiled and Annelise quickly ducked behind his leg. "Hey! Newcomers!" Martel said with a grin, "Come on up! What can I help you with?"

Edward slowly moved towards the counter, practically dragging Annelise behind him. "Annelise, I don't know what's gotten in to you." Edward mumbled, "But I need you to tell me what you want to eat."

"I'm Martel, by the way." Martel introduced herself, stretching her hand out.

"Edward, nice to meet you." Edward replied, shaking her hand, "And the leech clinging on to my leg is my daughter Annelise, she's just being super shy."

Martel chuckled, "No worries, what can I get for you guys?" She asked, fingers ready to key it in on the ipad. "I know Mustang and Elysia are going to have their usual."

Edward eyed the menu, knowing what he wanted but trying to think of what Annelise would want. She wasn't a picky eater, but she was still four and therefore unpredictable. "Two lavender lemonades, a turkey club sandwich, and… crap, don't know what to get the kid." Edward replied. "Annie, you need to tell me what you want." In response, Annelise only gripped tighter to his leg, and Edward sighed. "I apologize, she's normally not like this." It was then that Roy dropped to his knees, making sure he was eye-level with Annelise. "Annelise, can I help you pick out your lunch?" Roy asked with a smile, "I know all the best things they serve here!"
Annelise peeked out from behind her Father's knee, she looked slightly scared. She was quiet for a minute before she nodded, and Roy sent her a smile and held his arms out for her. The little girl quickly ran into them, a soft smile gracing her lips. Roy lifted her up, and softly read the kids menu to her.

"And I bet, if you ask Miss. Martel really nicely, she'll cut them into flower shapes for you." Roy said, Martel sent Roy a look but he knew she was only teasing.

"Miss. Martel, can I please have the turkey sandwich but can it please be cut into little flowers, please?" Annelise asked softly.

"Alright, but only because you asked so nicely." Martel said with a wink, keying everything into the tablet. "Is that all?" She asked.

Edward and Roy nodded.

"Is this separate or together?" Martel asked, trying to figure out the bill.

"Separate." Ed answered.

"Together." Roy quickly countered, "And he can't argue because I already have my card out." Roy said with a smirk, still holding Annelise in his arms. She had a wide grin on her face, and Edward was so happy to see his little girl smiling. She liked Roy, and that made Edward happy because they didn't really have any family around Central for her to grow close to.

"I'll go get us some straws and napkins." Edward said, excusing himself from seeing how much money he was going to owe Roy for this.

But as he walked away, he watched as Annelise clung to Roy in a way far different from how she was with Al and him. It made him happy in a weird way, it was like similar to how she was with her Mother in a sort of way. Despite only knowing him for a few weeks, Roy had somehow wormed his way into their lives.

And Edward, he wasn't exactly upset about the fondness he felt he was growing for Roy.

But, something was different. It wasn't just fondness he felt for Roy, it was something that caught his heart and made it skip beats when he was around Roy. Something he hadn't felt in a long time, it was different than how he felt about other friends, or how he felt for Winry. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it didn't make him upset.

Whatever it was, it made him feel warm inside.