I apologize for the amount of waiting you all are enduring! No wonder there aren't many reviews. I do this to myself. But, I'm in college, so I'm super busy. I guess I shouldn't make excuses though.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think! I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 11 Wounded Hearts

***Mustang's POV***

I sat stock straight in the waiting room chair with Hughes, though he was at the receptionist's desk trying to get some information out of her, my hands limp in my lap, my legs crossed. I was perfectly still, unable to let anyone know how worried I actually was. I was scared on the inside. Scared for Lara's safety, scared of what she had learned while in the laboratory.

I honestly hadn't meant to join Hughes in his recovery mission to get the boys and Lara, but at the last moment, Maes had showed up at my place and insisted I come along. I didn't argue. I hopped into the car, and together, we stormed the compound. I had prayed the ride over that they wouldn't even be there, that this would just be a false alarm, but no. Prayers never seemed to be answered. Especially not mine. But, could I truly blame anyone? I had so much sin, so much blood on my hands. I didn't think I would ever be able to look at Lara the same again after finding out I was the one who had killed her parents.

"The nurses said that Ed and Al are doing fine. More psychological damage than anything, I think," Hughes broke through my thoughts as he took a seat beside me. "The boys are back in their rooms at a hotel with Maria Ross, Armstrong, and other soldiers keeping watch."

I nodded, not saying anything. What was there to say? I stared at the clock. We had been here for a few hours. Why was Lara so much worse off than the boys? What had happened down there? She had a lot of explaining to do once she woke up.

"I'll have to interrogate her," Maes told me.

I nodded again. It couldn't be helped.

"Look, Roy. She'll be fine. The doctor said she's just resting. She got a couple broken ribs, a few gashes, and a lot of blood loss. She's fine," Maes was trying to be a caring friend at the moment, and I liked it compared to his usually hyper self. Maes got up again to go ask more questions.

I got up and stood against the wall. I kept replaying everything I had seen when I had entered that compound. Lara had been far beyond powerful. Her alchemic power had been intensified so much that she could have been seriously hurt from all the raw power that was flowing throughout her body. I wasn't able to grab her otherwise, my own alchemic power would have reacted with the red water.

Hughes grabbed her, handing her off to me. I hadn't meant to hug her. But, she had clung to me so hard, I felt as though I didn't have a choice. She needed me in that one moment. I carried her out of the compound and we drove her and the Elric boys to the hospital.

My train of thought was interrupted when the doctor came around the corner. He walked into Lara's room, shutting the door behind him. He was probably just going to check her vitals. My gaze was transfixed on that door as I waited for the doctor to come back out and grant me passage through the door. I didn't have to wait much longer. Just as Hughes had joined me, the doctor came back out and headed over to us.

I waited for him to speak first. He gave a small nod before saying, "She's awake, so you can go see her. I suggest one visitor at a time. She's pretty out of it with all the drugs in her system at the moment, so we don't want to get her worked up for any reason."

Hughes turned to me, "I'll go see what the Elric's know on their end. We can meet up in a few hours."

I nodded in agreement as I opened Lara's door and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. I made my way to the side of the bed. She turned her head to face me. Her face was pale, but otherwise unscathed. I knew the damage was done below her neck, and I wanted to reach out and see what kind of horror she had endured.

She forced a smile, her eyes were heavy and droopy. "Hey," she croaked. Her voice was soft from lack of use. She looked so groggy; so out of it.

I forced a smile as I stared down at her. She wanted to shift, to sit up, but I insisted she didn't. "How good are the drugs helping?" I asked. I thought asking how she felt would be a dumb question. If she was doing good, she wouldn't be here.

She chuckled. "Pretty well. I hardly feel anything." She paused for a moment, licking her dry, chapped lips. "I'm not going to lose my job because of this, am I?"

I started, "For searching for the truth? No. But, I'm not going to lie. I'm a little hurt you didn't tell me about this."

She closed her eyes for a moment. "I tried to, but we were interrupted, remember?"

I stopped short. Of course I remembered that moment in my office. It was hard to imagine that yesterday, we had been sitting in my office talking, and today she was in the hospital, barely able to keep up with what was going on. Time was funny that way. "There were other opportunities," I finally said, though I didn't really want to start a fight.

She took a breath, "I know I am at fault here. If I had told you the truth, maybe Ed and Al wouldn't be in as bad a condition as they are in. This is all my fault, so please go easy on them," she pleaded with me, closing her eyes and breathing heavily. She was getting worked up, which was my fault.

"We can discuss the matter when you are back at work," I told her, sitting in the chair beside her bed. "It's not your fault. Those boys chose to go to that laboratory, just like you did. It's no one's fault." I sighed and wondered how she viewed my caring personality at the moment, as it was definitely different than anything she had dealt with before.

"You hugged me," she said suddenly. My head snapped up, a slight blush forming in my cheeks. "I felt you loved me."

I was taken aback. How could she tell that? What the heck? Was it the drugs talking, or was it really Lara? "I was just there for you when you needed me, that's all," I tried to explain.

She shook her head, "There was more to it; I could feel your love, and I returned it."

I glanced away, wishing that someone would walk through the door and interrupt us. "Look, Lara, I-" When I turned to her, her eyes were closed, and her chest was moving up and down in a slow rhythm indicating that she was asleep. I sighed. It wasn't that I didn't like her; it was just that I wasn't sure on where I stood, and how closely I wanted to get involved with her.

Sighing, I escaped from the room, knowing she needed her rest. I made a few phone calls and placed two soldiers in front of the door to only allow hospital staff and him or Hughes into the room, unless otherwise noted by me. I had a feeling that there were people after Lara, and I wasn't going to let them get her.

~.~3rd Person POV~,~

Glancing around the corner of the hospital hallway, the man saw the two soldiers and Mustang hovering around the door that was his objective. There was no way he was getting into the room looking the way he did now, with his current face. But, that could easily be fixed.

With a smile, he stepped around the corner, wearing a pretty nurse's appearance. Clipboard in hand, she gave a dazzling smile to the two young men guarding the room and slipped inside, shutting the door behind her. It was convenient that the shades were already drawn so she didn't have to look suspicious doing so.

Heels clacking on the tile as she made her way to the side of the bed, she glanced at the IV that was pumping fluids into the girl's body. Right as Envy was about to do something to wake her up, Lara opened her eyes, looking the nurse in the eyes.

"Relax Miss Bradford, but I just want to talk with you," Envy told her. Lara looked up at her expectantly, waiting for Envy to continue. Instead of continuing, Envy grabbed the oxygen pump and pinched the cords together so Lara had a harder time breathing. "I can make this easy or hard." Leaning in real close, Envy whispered, "You better keep your nose out of places where it doesn't belong. Otherwise, things might have to take a sudden dip for the worse."

Lara gasped, but this just caused her to cough as there was little oxygen beign pumped into her system. Leaning in closely to Lara, Envy smirked. "It's too bad I can't kill you. You are still useful to us. But, I might not be the one to kill you. Your condition might do it for me, which would be all too welcome."

Eyes going wide, Lara swallowed, breathing heavily. "I'll kill you with my bare hands," Lara vowed softly.

Envy laughed. "You little brat, I hope you just try it. Just because I can't kill you, doesn't mean I can't hurt you. Take that Colonel you seem to be so fond of. And him for you." Envy sneered when Lara caught her breath. "Do you really think he cares for you like you do for him? From the look on your face, you seem to be expecting something of him. You will always come in behind work and his coworkers. You will never take a front seat to the military. Not to Mustang. You are just an insect on the windshield."

Lara closed her eyes, refusing to let Envy get to her. She couldn't allow this person to get under her skin. "That may be, but I don't like him in the way you are describing."

"Now who is kidding themselves?" Envy asked with a grin. "You know as well as I do that you practically love this guy. You are barely a speck in the big picture that is his life. You can't tell me that doesn't sting a little bit."

Lara looked away, not allowing herself to look him in the eyes. Sure, he may be right, but Lara was not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. She didn't really love Mustang. She just really really really liked him!

"You are just a naive little girl who keeps on wishing and hoping for a happily ever after. After you killed your two fellow comrades, do you think that God will allow you even a tiny bit of happiness? Do you really think you deserve it after all the pain and suffering you caused the families?"

Lara looked away. Why did she have to let Envy get to her? She had thought what Envy had said many times; it had kept her awake at night- making her have insomnia. But, she had thought she had moved on, finding comfort in Roy, thinking that he was her second chance. However, Envy was making her have second thoughts. There was no way she deserved true happiness. She killed off two lives prematurely. Mustang was better off without her.

***Mustang's POV***

It had been nearly twenty minutes since Lara's nurse had disappeared inside her room- longer than anyone else had been in there, but I bet that they were just chatting, as Lara didn't seem to have any girlfriends to talk to. I glanced at the clock and saw it was getting late. I was glad I had gotten a hold of Second-lieutenant Hawkeye to make sure everything was still running smoothly down at the office, and I had been assured it was, and I didn't dare doubt her.

Hawkeye was a good subordinate and, above all, a good friend. She had called me first to make sure I was doing ok, which was a pitiful way of asking if I was coping. But, I had responded with a curt yes and sent her on her duty. She had told me there would be a stack of papers awaiting me when I got back, which I was not looking forward to signing and going through.

A pretty little receptionist made her way to my side and informed me that visiting hours were over. I nodded and told her I'd be back tomorrow at some point. She smiled secretly, shoving a piece of paper into the palm of my hand. I smiled devilishly towards her as I made my way to the elevator. Only once I was safely inside the confines of the elevator and going down to the lobby did I open the paper to read the set of numbers staring up at me.

Shaking my head, I chuckled to myself as the doors opened. I swiftly threw the paper into the trashcan without even thinking about it. I hesitated for a moment. I had never given up on a woman like that before. What did that mean? Was I maturing a bit? That had to be it.

I waved at the desk as I headed for the doors when I noticed that Lara's nurse was at the desk talking to the lady. She had beaten me down here? She must have slipped out of the room while the receptionist had talked to me. I decided to go see if there was any news.

"So, what can you tell me about Lara's condition?" I asked her, grinning down at her.

She blushed ever so slightly. "Nothing more than I have already told you."

I frowned, "But, you were just in there. There has been no new developments?" I leaned on the counter. This made no sense to me. She had been in the room for a long time, surely something new had come along.

It was the young nurse's turn to frown. "I haven't been in Ms. Bradford's room for hours. I am not due to check on her for another hour. I have been down here helping Judai with the patients."

I started backing up. "But, I saw you." I shook my head; nothing was adding up.

"You must have mistaken the nurse for me. An honest mistake." The nurse looked confused, thinking that I was overreacting.

Something was wrong, I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. Running for the elevators, I pressed the button furiously, but it wasn't quick enough for me, so I headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. I jogged down the hallway, pushing the soldier to the side so I could go by.

Whipping the door open, I stepped through and found the nurse leaning over Lara's bed pinching her IV and holding a knife to her throat. "Lara!" I cried as I moved forward, ready to do whatever it takes to save her. But, the fake nurse backed away from her and jumped out the window. I ran and looked out the window.

But, the nurse was gone. Many civilians milled about below. Whomever it had been could obviously change appearances, so I would never be able to pick then out in a crowd such as that one. I had to let it go, for now.

Lara! I turned and looked her over. "Lara, are you ok?" She didn't seem to be injured any more so than she already was. Her breathing was a little labored, however. But, other than that, she seemed to be fine. I took a few steps forward and stood over her.

Lara shook her head slightly, her hair spilling out onto her shoulders. "I'm fine. She didn't do anything to me." I noticed that she refused to look at me. I could press her about that later; for now, I was just thankful that she was ok.

"I'm not leaving this room. With that psycho shift changer out there, we can't take a chance of whomever it is coming back and trying to finish the deal." I realized I hadn't even needed to think about it. "Is there anything you need? I'm going to have Hawkeye bring some things for me."

"No, I'm ok," she replied, her voice softer than what it had been minutes before. Was she going to cry?

I sat on the side of the bed. She probably needed to get through whatever it was by herself, alone. But, I wasn't about to let her suffer alone. I didn't want to push her, so I stayed silent, staring at the tiled floor.

"Roy," her voice quivered slightly. "I have a very serious question to ask you."

I glanced over at her. "Ok. Shoot." My face reflected the seriousness in which the situation was.

"Does someone like me… a murderer. Do I deserve happiness?" she started sobbing, her shoulders quaking as she tried not to totally lose it.

I was taken aback, not expecting to hear something along those lines, and I wasn't sure what to say. "Ah- what did that nurse imposter say to you? Of course you deserve happiness. Maybe even more so than most people. You didn't kill your friends from back home. It was an accident, something that you couldn't have avoided. Scar killed them, not you."

She shook her head, grabbing my jacket with her small, weak hand, pulling me into her. I was so shocked that I couldn't even retaliate. She wrapped her arms around me and cried into my shoulder; I found my arms snaking around her body letting her cry her sorrows away.

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