As promised, chapter eleven. Thankyou to all of you awesome reviewers, you're really great :D I hope you like this!

Not really any Envy in this, but I hope you can forgive me after the last chapter, which hopefully made you happy on the romance-note :P

Blush

It was a bit late, so Erica was a little surprised to see Hughes sitting in the kitchen, a newspaper folded out in front of him. There was a steaming mug of coffee by his side. He looked tired and worn out, but still flashed a smile as she entered.

"You've been out late." He said in a teasing tone. Erica mumbled something, trying to hide the smile that immediately wanted to overcome her face. She shrugged out of her jacket and hung it up, before kicking off her shoes and walking into the kitchen.

"Sorry." She said as she got nearer. "Time ran out for me."

"You don't have to apologize." Hughes said. "I just came back myself – Gracia left you some food in the fridge."

Erica nodded and walked over to take it out. As she turned on the stove to heat it up, she cast a glance over her shoulder, looking at Hughes. He really looked tired, even more so than she'd ever seen him before, and he'd had some pretty rough business the last couple of weeks.

"Are you getting anywhere with the case?" Erica asked, trying to sound casual. Hughes turned around, watching her over the rim of his glasses.

"I could say we were, but then I'd be lying." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his cheek. "That bloody Scar is a cunning one: just when we think we've got him, he's already gone."

Erica frowned. "But I heard rumors about him being in Lior?" She slowly asked, not wanting to let it slip that it was Havoc that had given her the information.. She didn't think Hughes would say anything about it, seeing as he himself filled her in, but she didn't want Havoc to get in any trouble because of her. Better being careful than careless.

"And there haven't been any recent attacks, has there? At least according to the news." She said, shooting a look to the paper on the table. Hughes followed her gaze and shook his head.

"There has been a few, but nothing has been leaked to the papers. The Fuhrer is handling this with a hard hand; he doesn't want anyone to panic over this."

Erica lifted an eyebrow as she poured her food into a bowl and grabbed a spoon. She would never think of King Bradley as someone who would care that much about the well-being of other people, but perhaps she was just being unfair. And if she was right, not being able to catch a crazy serial killer probably didn't look too good for the Fuhrer's image. Yeah, that seemed more like it.

She sat down across Hughes with her food, slowly eating and trying to read the newspaper upside down. She used to do that with Abraham, whenever they would eat breakfast together. He didn't like her reading it, always saying that the news was corrupt and not to be trusted. When she'd asked him why he read it himself, he'd just chuckled darkly and said that you had to know how your enemies thought. He'd stated that one day she would understand what he meant. Erica figured that whole incident should have been her first clue not to trust the Military. Unfortunately, it was too late now.

"So… Erica." Hughes slowly started, and she could hear something in his voice that immediately made her suspicious. He sounded both teasing and curious, mixed with something else.

"Hughes." She responded in a dead-pan voice.

"Have you had a good day, walking that long?" He asked, trying to sound casual and failing brilliantly at it. Erica squinted her eyes, looking at him closely.

"It was lovely, thank you very much." She said. "How was your day?"

Hughes laughed. "Not that good, as you can probably guess." He returned to his newspaper. "The weather is nice. Did you go to the park?"

Erica bit her lip to keep from laughing as she dropped the spoon in the bowl and leaned back in the chair, her arms folded over her chest.

"Yes I did." She answered. "How did you know?"

"Know?" Hughes said, his voice innocent. "I didn't know. I just guessed. You meet anyone there?"

She couldn't help a smile from breaking out on her face. "I did. The Elric's and Havoc, Heymans Breda and Kain Fuery."

"Ah." Hughes said, the light from the lamp blinking in his glasses. "I thought so. They must have kept you for some time, what with you coming home so late."

Erica mentally shook her head, reminding herself that Hughes was an experienced investigator. He was certainly ripping her for information while verbally walking around her like a kitten in a nice, warm basket.

"It got a little later than any of us expected." She said, reaching for the spoon again.

"Yeah. I saw the others at the office. You must've had some fun with Edward and Al."

Erica choked on the mouthful she'd just taken, nearly inhaling the spoon down her throat. Hughes reached a hand over and thumped her back, a silly smile still plastered on his face. When she'd finished coughing she shot him a dark look, pushing her food aside.

"Hughes, what do you want to know?" She said. "Come on, just ask, I know what you're doing. I was raised by a military-man after all."

Hughes nodded, looking very serious though there was still laughter in his eyes.

"Erica." He inhaled deeply, and Erica suddenly got the feeling that he was about to tell her something very important. She leaned a little forward, watching him closely.

"Since Elysia is still so little, I haven't had the chance to do this yet." He slowly began, clearly choosing his words carefully. "And I know that you don't have any parents or a guardian to… well, come to in situations like this."

Erica frowned. What the hell was he getting to?

"And I must admit, that in the span of time you've stayed her, I have come to think of you somewhat as a daughter."

That revelation hit her completely off-guard. Erica could feel tears rise to her eyes and warmth shoot through her heart like an arrow made of sugar and cake. She was at a loss for words, desperately trying not to start crying like some silly teenager.

"I… I… Hughes… Thank you." She choked out, coughing into her hand to hide the moved part of her voice. "I feel the same about all of you." Dammit, why wasn't she better at this? She had no idea what to say, but Hughes seemed to understand, because he just nodded, still smiling. Erica shouldn't have been surprised – this was just how he was.

"Therefore." He slowly continued. "I also find it my duty to… inform you… about the… well, should I say risks', erh… certain relationships between a man and a woman can lead to…"

Erica's eyes widened as realization hit her full force. Her mouth fell open, and she was left gaping like a fish as Hughes continued.

"I do think you're quite young to take care of something like that, though it is amazing being a parent! Just look at this picture I took of Elysia yesterday…" He trailed off and started searching through his pockets, as Erica finally found her voice again.

"ARGH!" She screamed, making Hughes jump high in the air and look bewildered at her. She clasped her hands hard over her ears, fighting the urge to start whistling loudly.

"Hughes, please, please, tell me you're not trying to have sex-talk with me!!" She shouted, her voice shaking in fear. Hughes slowly raised an eyebrow.

"But I am. Erica, if you're indulging in a sexual relationship, you have to know how to be safe…"

"STOP! Hughes!" Erica yelled, her face turning red. "I am not involved in any kind of… of relations like that!"

Hughes looked surprised. "Really? I mean, I thought Edward was a little young for you, but one of the inn-keepers also saw you with some boy the other night, so I thought that might be why you've been sneaking out and stuff."

Erica's eyes widened. She wondered if she'd ever been so shocked in her life. Both about the thing with Edward and the thing that people where clearly spying on her all the time. It made her angry, but that wasn't her top priority right now.

"Edward?" She said, her voice turning slightly hysterical. "Edward Elric and me? In a… in a…" She couldn't even say the word. Hughes nodded.

"In a sexual relationship, yeah. You two are more alike than you think."

Erica fought the urge to scream. "But I… no… I eew… Hughes…" She made a face. "No. Not ever."

"Not your type?" He asked.

"I guess Edward is… very attractive." Erica said, picking her words carefully so that Hughes wouldn't jump to conclusions again. She still felt like someone had slapped her very hard with a brick-wall after the last revelation. "But… I hardly know him and… no…" She shook her head. "Not ever."

"And the other boy then?" Hughes said, interrupting her as she opened her mouth to protest again. "Because I could imagine that he would be one of those boys that would just leave you at the first sign of pregnancy…"

"HUGHES!!" Erica flew out of the chair, her face even redder than before. "STOP!! I am not involved with anyone!" She shrieked, trying to calm herself down as to not wake up the whole neighborhood. "I… appreciate your want to help, but it is truly not necessary! I'm eighteen Hughes, even if I was involved, my unc… my father already got to me about this!" She looked at him sternly as if to emphasize her point. She wondered if her face would ever return to its normal color after tonight.

Hughes squinted his eyes at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Erica said, nodding wildly, her short hair flying everywhere. "I'm very sure!"

"Alright then." He said, smiling good-heartedly. "I guess that means I have to wait until Elysia's old enough." His expression suddenly turned dark, and Erica felt a little bad for the poor girl; if all her boyfriends had to get past daddy, she wouldn't get much luck with any of them.

She shook her head, mumbled an embarrassed thank-you to Hughes and went over to the sink, silently rinsing the bowl and spoon. She could hear the rustling of the paper as Hughes continued reading, a low whistle coming from his mouth.

As she stood there, she had to bit her lip again, this time to keep from laughing. She shouldn't be surprised she guessed; Hughes was exactly the kind of man who would try to have a sex-talk with a person he cared about if he thought they were involved with someone. Hell, he was probably the kind of man who would walk over to complete strangers and strictly warn them to 'be safe in bed'. She shook her head in amusement, but it quickly faltered as her traitorous thoughts strayed back to earlier that night.

Had people really thought that her and that gorgeous, angel-boy were involved? Erica snorted at the thought. She knew she wasn't ugly in any way, but before Rafael, she'd never had any feelings for any of the boys she'd met. They were all either immature or plain stupid. Furthermore, even if she did find love (Rafael's face came into her mind again, but she swiftly ignored it), she couldn't imagine any man or woman for that matter, wanting to keep up with her, and deal with her issues. Despite her friendship with Havoc, Hughes and his family as well as Edward and Al and all the others, she really wasn't very social. People would grow tired of her and her problem-filled life if they hung around her enough.

She guessed she was too much like Abraham in that matter. As soon as she'd finished that thought, she was bombarded with everything else about his life. The way Hughes and Roy, and everyone else always spoke about him with such respect and warmth. The way even the Fuhrer seemed to take a step back and at least admit that this was something worth his attention.

How come she had never known about that side of her father before? Sure, she knew he was respected and could lead an army, hell a country if he wanted to, but the man they spoke of wasn't a leader who simply inspire fear and demanded respect. It was a man that sounded like he would lay his life down for his men, as well as they for him.

It wasn't a man she'd known, and she wondered what could have changed him, or what could have made him act so different at home. Was it because of her mother?

And then she remembered that even Abraham had found love. Erica smirked humorlessly, putting the bowl and the spoon in place.

"I think I'll retire for the night." She said, turning around to face Hughes. He lifted his eyes, nodding slowly.

"Goodnight." He said.

"Night."

She was at the brink of the stairs, when his voice suddenly reached her again.

"Erica… that boy."

Erica slowly turned around, hoping this wasn't another sex-talk.

"Hmm?"

"Who is he?"

"Oh… just someone I met." Erica said, knowing that if she gave Hughes his name, he would start looking through Military files to see if he could find him. While a part of her wanted to know more, the bigger part didn't want to have her judgment clouded, even by something terrible about him. "Don't worry, I won't get into anything stupid." She promised, hoping that he understood the double meaning of her words. If the inn-keeper had described Rafael properly, Hughes had probably gotten the same impression as she had the first time she met him: that Rafael Estrin was trouble.

And despite the fact that every inner alarm-clock she had was going off in her head, she didn't care. As long as she could get close to him, talk to him, watch him…

As she reached the end of the stairs she stopped short, realizing how infatuated she'd become. She shook her head, mumbling a curse to herself. She'd gotten soft and silly and stupid. The three S's Abraham would have probably warned her against had he stuck around long enough to. She sighed, fighting her hateful thoughts away. It seemed they were coming full-circle against her again, and just when she'd felt like she was starting to understand him.

She felt like too many thoughts were building a home in her mind: the research, her father, Ed and Al, Rafael… especially him at the moment.

She couldn't for the life of her figure him out, and maybe that was what had made her form a crush on him so quickly. Erica had always liked challenges, puzzles that couldn't be solved with a simple twist of a hand. He was interesting, always acting against what she most expected, always questioning everything they both did. In the matter of two meetings, she'd seen so many different sides, so many different faces of him. He didn't seem like any other human she'd ever met. Erica wondered with a wry smile if he was even human, but that made her think too much about the ouroboros on his shoulder, and she started shaking in subconscious fear.

Erica sighed, forcing herself to clear her thoughts and think of something that wouldn't make her lie awake and wonder all night. She stepped into her room, and stopped short at what she saw.

Her room looked exactly like it did as she'd left it, the bed neatly made and a bunch of clothes folded in a pile on the chair. But the window was opened, and she was absolutely sure she had closed it before she left.

Slowly walking closer into the room, her eyes fell on something on her pillow. Surprised, she walked over and picked it up.

It was a small tube, the long ones used in a lab or a hospital or something. Inside a white lily stuck in, resting upside down with the head in the water. It already looked a bit withered and also like it had been stomped very violently down the tube, but it was sparkling with a natural beauty that made her very thank-full for whoever had put it there.

She was sure it definitely wasn't anyone in the house. But who then?

Setting the tube aside and slipping into her night-clothes, Erica figured she probably would lie awake and wonder all night. But as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell into a deep slumber, the soft light of the moon shining through the still open window and lightening up the white, ghost-like flower.

*

She was dancing through the field, the grass as green as her eyes. Her long blonde hair was flying everywhere, before she suddenly threw herself into the grass, calling out for him to come over to her. He did, lying beside her and staring into the sky.

"That one." She said, pointing towards a cloud. "It looks like a snake."

He frowned, his brown eyes taking in the shape. "You're right it does." It was his turn to point. "And that one looks like a flower."

"It does!" She laughed, reaching out a hand and plucking something from the grass. "It looks like this one." She held it up for him to see. "William, what kind of flower is this?"

William huffed.. "It's a lily. Don't you know?"

He turned his head, met her eyes, and everything inside him melted away, his blood turned warm and his heart stopped beating. There was nothing about him, nothing besides her.

She was laughing. It was beautiful. Mesmerizing.

"I'm so terrible at remembering names." She said, running the tip of the white flower over the bridge of his nose, over his cheek-bones and chin. It made him blush.

"But you'll remember mine, right?"

She laughed again. "Of course. I could never forget any part of you William." She smiled at him, a smile meant only for him, and nothing else mattered. Nothing else.

Before everyone goes for my throat, I would like to add that Envy has a very specific reason for doing the flower-thing, which will be revealed in the next chapter which – le gasp – is not from Erica's POV :) Until then, reviews make me happy, so very happy ^^