On the Wrong Side

Kat moaned softly as she woke up, her head feeling like someone took a sledge hammer to it. She went to rub her head with her hand, and then she noticed that there was some unknown weight resting against her chest.

She looked down in the best of her ability and saw an arm, which happened to be attached to a shoulder, which happened to be attached to the one and only Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang who was lying there next to her, sleeping, practically dead to the world.

Kat's eyes widened comically as her brain registered the following things in order: 1… She was in the same bed as Roy. 2….. she was devoid of any cover save for the bed sheets. 3…… the same thing applied to him. Resisting the sudden urge to scream and completely freak out, Kat gently moved Roy's arm, trying her best not to wake him up, and then he decided that he liked her as a cuddle buddy and pulled her flush up against his exposed body under the blankets the two were under and burying his face in her neck forcing her to turn as red as a tomato. He was still asleep, so she figured it just to be a reflex or something with him pulling her up against him like some kind of pillow.

Kat gulped and after a few amazing and seemingly impossible twists, bends, and other moves that need lots of flexibility, she was free! But…she couldn't find her clothes! "Dangit!" she whispered harshly to herself, pulling a sheet off the bed and wrapping it around herself. She sighed as she looked around the room, trying to find her clothes, but failing miserably.

"Good morning sunshine," a soft voice came from the bed startling Kat. Roy was sitting up in the bed looking at her with confusion. "Is there something wrong?" he asked quietly.

Kat slowly turned to look at him and then immediately wished she hadn't. She couldn't keep her eyes from gobbling up the sight of his chest. She forced herself to look elsewhere. "Um… where am I?"

"I figured you'd know the answer to that after having me for a husband for 7 years," he said with a smirk.

"S-seven years?" Kat stuttered, almost dropping the sheet covering her. "How is that possible?"

"I know what you mean, hard to believe it's been that long. But you know what they say. Time flies when you're having fun."

"Who ARE you?" Kat asked him. He sounded like Roy, he certainly looked like Roy, and yet, something was different.

He raised an eyebrow trying to figure out what she was talking about and then his eyes lit up with comprehension. "Oh I get it, you're role playing again. You should have just told me, it's not easy getting into it right after I wake up."

"Huh?" Kat said not comprehending what he was talking about.

"Oooh you're good at this. Alright then I'll play it your way. 'clears throat' I am Lieutenant Roy Mustang of the Munich Fire Brigade and I've kidnapped you and brought you here to make you mine," he said puffing out his chest and putting on a macho voice.

'Look away… Look away. LOOK AWAY,' Kat's mind screamed over and over again. She didn't think she could take much more of this. Suddenly her vision swam before her and she heard a voice in her head. 'Who are you? What's going on?' She teetered a bit feeling as though she might faint.

Suddenly Roy was by her side holding her upright, "Are you feeling okay? You don't look so good…I think you should lie back down before you hurt yourself."

"No, I'm fine…honey," Kat murmured, managing to clear her head avoiding looking down at all costs. She was slowly beginning to realize that she was in another person's body, living their life. How, she wasn't sure. But for now it was best just to play the part until she found Elly again.

"Well, perhaps some breakfast will help clear your head a little," Roy suggested.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Kat said as she straightened up. "What would you like for breakfast?"

In one quick movement Roy was on top of her with both hands pinned on either side of her head, grinning down at her. "You." Stare…..stare……stare….. WHACK! Kat managed to grab a pillow and smack Roy across the face with it before taking her blanket and running to the bathroom and locking herself inside. "Well, that's new," Roy said blinking in confusion.

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An hour later the two managed to leave their room in order to get breakfast. On the way Kat heard a soft tired voice from behind her. "Mommy…I'm hungry. What's for breakfast?" a little girl who looked like a calmer version of herself asked.

"I know let's have eggs…or French toast," a little boy said running out of his room excited and ready for the day. He looked like a hyperactive miniature version of Roy.

'They're so cute,' Kat said with little hearts bubbling from her. 'But wait, did she just call me… mommy?'

"Now now, Troy, Calli," Roy said ruffling both of their heads. "You're mother is feeling a little off this morning so we're going out to eat. Are you both ready for school?"

"Yep I'm ready. I can't wait to get there and show my friends what Mom helped me make last night," Troy said with lots of enthusiasm.

"I guess I'm ready…I'm scared of how I did on that test though," Calli exclaimed sadly.

"They're so beautiful," Kat thought. Now she could understand the love and pride that her brother had for his daughter.

Roy noticed Kat's expression and he told the kids to go ahead and go to the car before going over to her and rubbing his hand up and down her back. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Fine… everything is just fine," Kat said with a smile.

"Alright, but if you start feeling not right you'll tell me right?" Roy asked giving her a hug. "I'm worried about you."

Kat swallowed and she half hugged him back. "Of course, but don't worry. I'm a tough nut to crack."

"Don't I know it," Roy smirked giving her neck a playful nip before taking her hand and leading her out to the car where the starving kids were waiting.

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There was a loud thud as Elly slid off her bed waking up as her body landed on the floor. She sat up and looked for her alarm clock which she just couldn't find so she stood up, stretched and walked out her bedroom door heading for the kitchen. "Morning sleepyhead, you've been out a long time. Did the two of you really stay up that late?" a familiar voice asked her.

"Yeah we stayed out a lot longer than I thought," she mumbled without looking and scratched the back of her head.

"You feeling all right?" a female voice asked nearby.

"Yeah…though my head does feel like a truck ran over it," Elly answered with a small laugh.

"That's not good who was driving?" a male playful voice asked. This time she looked up and was shocked to see Kimbley standing in front of her with playful concern on his face.

"Um…no one was," Elly answered completely shocked.

Then to her surprise he walked up, pulled her close and pecked her on the lips, "Well at least you aren't damaged," he replied with a smile before walking past her.

Elly was so stunned that she might as well have been a statue for all the life she showed. Her brain was registering too many emotions at once, shock, horror, happiness, anger, and utter confusion. Was this all just a dream? "Elly, you're pale, a deeper voice told her and she felt two strong hands on her shoulders.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," the female voice said.

She spun around quickly and saw her older brother and Solaris standing there concerned. "B-brother….is that really you?" Elly choked out tears coming to her eyes.

"Of course it's me…who did you think I was?" Scar asked raising an eyebrow.

"Oh dear I guess she hit her head harder than we thought. She must have lost some of her memory," Solaris said while placing a hand on Elly's forehead.

"Huh? Hit my head?" Elly said in confusion.

"Yes, in the middle of your tight rope act you just suddenly fell. Thankfully nothing was broken but… we were all concerned. I know Kimbley especially was worried about you."

"Why would he be worried about me?" Elly asked.

The woman gave a small chuckle. "Well, he is your performance partner, and boyfriend."

Elly's mouth fell open and she sat there stunned for several minutes. "Wait….so Kimbley's my boyfriend….you two are my brother and sister….and I'm a tight rope walker?" she managed to get out with her eyes bulging.

Solaris looked up at Scar and they both exchanged worried looks. "Perhaps she needs to stay in bed a little longer," Solaris suggested. "She shouldn't be moving around while she's like this."

Scar nodded. "You're right, I'll go find a doctor. Perhaps we should have Kimbley help look after her and that might jog her memory a bit…"

Elly put her hands into the air in protest. "No I'm fine, really," Elly said hastily.

Suddenly her head began to swim and their faces went in and out of focus. "Who are you and what do you want with me?" a voice asked in her head.

"Huh? Who are you?"

"This is my body so I'm asking the questions," the voice answered angrily.

"Hold on, my name is Elly but I don't…"

"Your name is Elly? That's what my name is…this is completely impossible."

"Look, help me get out of this mess and I'll explain to you what I know," Elly told her quickly.

"Deal."

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"Daddy, is mommy gonna be okay?" Troy asked after Kat had finished her third cup of coffee.

Kat had been enduring the shouts and cursing of her other self for a while now. "Get the hell out!"

"I already told you I don't know how," Kat thought wearily.

"I'm sure she's just fine Troy," Roy replied his arm around Kat's shoulder. He watched her with worry in his eyes seeing jut how tired she was already. "Kate you have to go to work tomorrow…would you like to lie down so you're well rested for then?"

"Look, just work with me until I figure this out, okay? I'm not enjoying this anymore than you," Kat thought to herself. She had already explained that she was from a different world than this one where she was also known as Kathleen.

"…Fine. But I swear if you do anything to screw up what I've worked for I'll make sure you don't live long to see it."

"Okay… so where do you work?"

"I'm a doctor at the hospital," Kate answered.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, and I worked damn hard for it too."

"Gotcha… so what would your normal response be?" Kat looked over at Roy. "Haven't I told you not to worry so much about me? I'm not some damsel in distress."

"I know you're not…but you're not acting like yourself and the kids and I are getting worried about you," Roy replied quickly. "I love you and I really don't want to see you in such pain."

As if to emphasize his point Calli placed her hand on Kate's shirt and looked up with scared eyes. "Mommy….do you have a bug in your tummy?"

'She's so cute,' Kat thought fighting the urge to squeeze the girl in a breathtaking hug.

'She gets it all from her father,' Kate thought with a sigh.

'Are you always so cold?' Kat asked.

'If I'm not then I'll only be treated like every other pushover woman in this city. I refuse to be anyone's doormat,' Kate asserted.

'…' Kat smiled down at Calli and gave her what she thought was a motherly pat on the head. "No sweetie, mommy's just got a lot on her mind right now." Roy stared at her in surprise. Kat surmised that Kate wasn't one for PDAs of any sort, even with her children.

"Okay," Calli replied with a big smile on her face.

"Calli why don't you go play with Troy for a bit…daddy needs to talk with mommy alone okay," Roy told her sweetly. Calli nodded and ran off giggling to look for her brother.

Once the two of them were alone, Roy repositioned himself so that he was looking directly at Kat. There was a staring contest for a while and Kat almost looked away but Kate shouted at her not to be so weak and stare the man down. "Yes?" Kat asked him after what felt like several minutes had passed.

"I know you don't like me worrying about you but there something different and I want to know why," Roy began slowly. "You never show them that much affection…and with that last comment I'm sure you're going to start confusing them, I don't want that."

Kat was about to apologize but Kate told her apologizing was the last thing she would do. "What do you want me to say? Is there something wrong with me being nice to my own daughter? She's my kid too, you know." Kat didn't want to say such harsh things to Roy, but Kate assured her that it was the only way for Roy to think that everything was normal.

"Look everything's fine…I just did that to get her off my back for now," Kat told Roy, every word hurting her inside.

"I see…so I guess I'll leave you to yourself then," Roy replied with a little bit of hurt in his eyes. He stood up without meeting her eyes and left the room, probably to find his children.

Kat watched him go with an aching heart. "He'll be fine," Kate assured her. "He's always like that." This did nothing to sooth Kat's guilt.

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"You sure you're okay?" Kimbley asked concerned. "You must have hit your head harder than I thought if you don't remember your way around the camp."

"I'm fine….no worries. I just…um," Elly tried to convey to him that nothing was wrong and was feeling very strange about it.

"Um…maybe you should tell him you're still not feeling well?" the voice said in her head.

"You sure Elinora? I'm not quite sure what's going on here just yet and I was hoping he could explain things to me," Elly thought quickly.

"I guess you could…I mean you kind of are in control," Elinora replied sadly.

"Oh brother….look this is your life. Do you want me to tell him that or not?" Elly asked exasperatedly.

"Um…it might give us a chance to talk a bit," Elinora conceded.

"Okay then," Elly thought decidedly. "Um…Kimbley…my head throbbing a bit…maybe I SHOULD go lie down," she mumbled out loud.

"You think you're going to be ready for the show tomorrow night?" Kimbley asked her.

"Wait, there's a show tomorrow?" Elly thought in despair.

"Yep," Elinora replied. "We have a show at least two or three times a week."

"You have got to be kidding... and what's your performance?"

"Tightrope acrobatics," she said happily.

"Oh great," Elly thought.

"Elinora?" Kimbley asked again.

"Yeah?" Elly asked holding a hand to her head.

"Um….maybe you should take a break," Kimbley said putting an arm around her shoulder and walking her back to her brother's tent.

"Okay," Elly said legitimately feeling sick to her stomach. She allowed him to lead her to her bed and only after lying down and muttering a goodbye to Kimbley did she mutter to herself, "Why me?"

"Don't worry, just rest and I'm sure you'll feel better in no time," Kimbley told her giving her a kiss on the temple before leaving the tent.

Elly's cheeks were flushed red. "So… he's your boyfriend."

"Yes… is there a problem?"

"Not so much of a problem as an inconvenience. You see…" And Elly explained that she came from another world where people look the same but they acted differently.

"Okay….so in your world you're dating Jean Havok and Kimbley killed your brother?" Elinora asked.

"Yeah…it's because of that that this feels so bizarre," Elly expressed.

"Well there's a Havok here too," Elinora told her uncertainly.

"Really?"

"Yeah…but I don't think…"

"Great where is he?"

"Um…Elly?" Suddenly there was a loud crash and somebody screamed right outside their tent. "What was that?" Elly demanded sitting up fast and looking toward their door.

"It sounds like another raid," Elinora said sounding frightened.

Elly stepped outside the tent and saw to her horror a group of men going through the camp and trashing the place. "What are you doing!" she shouted at them.

"No… Elly, don't," Elinora told her.

"They have no right to do this," Elly thought fuming.

"That's just how it is here," Elinora said sadly.

"Yeah, but…" Elly stopped when she spotted to her immense relief, Havoc standing off at a distance, watching the scene with a grim expression.

A smile spread across Elly's face and she started making her way toward Havoc. "Elly I really don't think you want to…." Elinora started.

"It's Havoc…this is perfect. He'll help put a stop to this I know it," Elly thought joy spreading through her body. When she reached him glanced down at her and a look of disgust filled his features.

"What do you want, gypsy?" he asked disdainfully. Elly was nearly knocked for six. Never in all the time she knew the man did she ever hear him speak like that to anyone, let alone her.

"Havoc… it's me, Elly."

"I don't know how you know my name, but I certainly couldn't care less what yours is," Havoc said stepping away from her. "Now get away from me or I'll report you to the authorities."

"Havoc… what…?" Elly began, feeling her heart contract in pain from his words.

"Elly… he's a gypsy hater. He loathes us," Elinora told her delicately.

"He's a what?" Elly thought feeling her eyes fill up with tears.

Elinora repeated what she said but Elly barely heard her, she was still staring at Havoc hoping against hope that she had heard him wrong. Another shout behind her brought her back to her senses and she turned to do what she could to help stop the chaos.

At the moment all the women were trying to escape the disaster while the male gypsies were attempting to fight off the men. Elly saw her brother protecting Solaris and rushed to help him, but two men blocked her way.

"Heh, this one's young but whoo….she's sure got a body," the tall bulky one said with an evil grin.

"Yeah…maybe we should take this one…I doubt she'll put up much of a fight," the smaller blonde haired man said with a snicker.

"Elly run," Elinora said worriedly.

"I can take these guys easily," Elly thought drawing a circle on her hand behind her back. Elinora protested but the moment the circle was finished Elly started pushing her energy into it: but nothing happened.

"Crap… there's no alchemy in this world," Elly cursed.

"What are you doing?" Elinora shouted in panic. "If these guys catch you…"

Elly's distraction had given the two men enough time to grab a firm hold on her. "I never thought we'd get this lucky," one of them chuckled.

Suddenly there was a loud cracking noise and one of the men crumbled. Elly looked to see Kimbley holding half of a splintered two by four. Taking advantage of the second assaulter's surprise, he swung the shaft of wood, striking the man across the face. "Keep your hands off my girl," Kimbley stated with vindication.

"Kimbley," Elly breathed relieved to see him, much to her surprise.

"Elinora, I want you to stay by me. Don't leave my side okay," Kimbley said pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Okay," Elly said finally listening to Elinora's whisperings.

"Elly…we can't stand up to them on our own. We need my brother and Kimbley to help us," Elinora said in a quaking voice.

"I know how to fight Elinora…the problem is that I've gotten so used to using alchemy in my world that I forgot you can't here," Elly explained quickly. "If something like this happens again I'll make sure that I don't fail."

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The next day, Kat was at a loss for what to do. Kate obviously had a set life that she didn't want changed/ruined. When Roy showed her affection she was supposed to 'keep her cool', a feat that Kat found nearly impossible. And she wasn't supposed to be too nice to her children for fear of them growing 'too soft'. Kat just wanted to find Elly and the Elric brothers and go home to her own life, but she didn't even know where to begin looking and Kate had work at the clinic.

"We got a new patient who has Tuberculosis," one of the doctors said reading off a clipboard. "And one who is suffering from gangrene on his leg which must be amputated."

"I know…why don't we have miss Kate take the amputation…I know just how much she enjoys taking on the more difficult cases," another doctor said with a chuckle.

"Very well…you will take the Tuberculosis case then."

"Certainly. HEY KATE….you got a new case."

"What's WITH these guys?" Kat wondered.

"They're all chauvinistic bastards who think that a woman doesn't belong in the medical field. But they can't get rid of me because they KNOW I'm too good to lose," Kate thought bitterly.

"Wow, this world must be tougher than I thought."

"You have no idea. That's why I vowed to myself that I would never be ruled by ANY man, not even my own husband."

"Still though…" she started to get nauseous when the doctors said she would be given the amputation operation.

"You're a soldier and you can't even stand the sight of blood?" Kate thought incredulously. "What kind of officer are you?"

"A peace loving one," Kat thought weakly. "Plus I have no idea how to do surgery."

"Get a hold of yourself! If you show any weakness here these doctors will leap on you like vulture," Kate snapped. "Just keep your breakfast down and I'll walk you through it step by step."

"Sure thing…" Kat thought. She took the clipboard from her associate with thanks and was about to try to locate the room in question when she saw, to her immense surprise, her brother walking down the hall towards her. "Bro?" she whispered in amazement and her heart burst with joy. "Oh great, what the hell is he doing here?" Kate thought but Kat wasn't even listening. She rushed forward. "Big bro, you're alright!"

"Oh so you're talking to me now? I figured I was too chauvinistic to even be considered by you," Hues replied sharply.

"W-well y-you're my brother….aren't you?" Kat stuttered, utterly surprised.

"Yes…but since when have you cared about that? I thought that you were too independent to have anything to do with your family…especially when you married that easy going Roy Mustang."

"I'll show you easy going you…" Kate started but another voice interrupted.

"Oh, Maes is this a friend of yours?" Kat turned and saw a smiling Gracia.

"Gracia, you're here too?"

"Yes… but how do you know my name miss?" she asked in confusion.

"Um… medical records," Kat said quickly.

"Oh that makes sense," Gracia said with a smile. "How do you know Maes though?"

"Well he's my…" Kat began.

"She's my main doctor," Hues quickly interjected. "She's the one who usually gives me my checkups."

"Oh that's nice….well it's nice to meet you miss," Gracia said with a warm smile.

"Yes indeed…now let's get you home Gracia," Hues muttered quickly moving Gracia away from Kat. "Go wait around the corner and I'll be there soon." As soon as Gracia was around the corner Hues turned to Kat. "Look she doesn't know that I have a sister and I really don't want you to mess this up for me. So I need you to avoid her as much as possible alright."

Kat was hit hard by his words. "Bro…"

"And would you stop calling me that?" Maes hissed. "You stopped being my sister the moment you walked out that door and left the family for that degenerate."

"Roy is not a degenerate," Kat said started to get a little irritated. And for once Kate agreed with her. "And you'll always be my brother whether you like it or not."

Hughes stood there fighting with himself as a voice called out cutting through his thought. "Oy, Kate, you're supposed to be in surgery right now. What are you doing?"

"Oh right," Kat muttered looking at Hughes one more time.

"Your job awaits you as my wife awaits me. After this moment…I'll probably never see you again. So have a good life….I hope you're happy with what you ended up with," Hughes said before turning around and going after Gracia.

"Kate the guys leg is only going to get worse the longer you wait…or would you rather have us men take care of it for you," the doctor called out pulling Kat back to reality as she stared off after the retreating back of her brother.

"I can take care of it just fine," Kat said in defiance getting down to earth and heading to the medical room. She had dealt with chauvinists before and wasn't going to let them think of her as inferior to them. She stopped short outside the designated room, took a deep breath, and went inside.

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That night Elly found herself walking down a dark alleyway alone as she had been training in secret for her upcoming performance. Unfortunately she had stayed longer than expected and was now trying to get back to camp as soon as possible without running into anyone unpleasant. As she was coming around the last corner before reaching her camp she spotted a familiar blonde figure in the midst of three other men in poor looking clothing who were all holding a weapon.

"Havoc," Elly whispered to herself.

"Elly he won't care either way and there's three of them…how can you do anything?" Elinora asked frightened.

"Well I'm not about to just sit back and let him get mugged," Elly declared. "Good thing I practiced my hand to hand in a dress….I'm pretty sure that they won't stand a chance." With that she left her hiding place and jumped into action.

She managed to take out the first one by surprised and gave him a swift chop in the base of the neck. The second one turned in time to get a palm thrust right in the nose. There was a cracking noise followed by the man's scream as he clutched at the broken nose blood poured down his face. She used that distraction to sock him good in the gut, completely winding him. The third one was alert and ready for her.

Elly turned and faced off against the third one refusing to give him an opening. She had a smirk on her face at the surprise and anger that was shining through his eyes. "You messed with the wrong guys, gypsy. Now you're going to wish you had stayed in your hiding place," the man hissed brandishing his knife.

Elly didn't respond but she kept her eye on the knife ready for his inevitable attack. Moments later he dove at her driving the knife toward her stomach. Elly waited until the last possible moment before spinning to her right, grabbing onto his wrist and driving her knee into his gut. He bent over in pain and then collapsed to the ground as Elly followed up with a hammer blow to his back.

She looked up at Havoc who was staring, dumbfounded. "You alright?" She asked him.

He shook his head taking a step back. "You… you're not normal."

"No duh, the girls you're used to will fall down to anything a guy says," Elly said with a small roll of her eyes.

"Geez, it's another Kate," he muttered.

"What was that?" Elly asked.

"Nothing," Havoc said quickly and attempted to leave but Elly ran in front of him.

"No, wait. What did you say?"

"I said you act almost as badly as Kate does," he snapped.

"Who's Kate?"

"Why does it matter?"

"I'm looking for my friend, Kat…" Elly began.

"Well, I don't know anyone who associates with gypsies so if you'll excuse me," and he walked past her once more, obviously wanting to leave.

"Elly please let it go," Elinora pleaded but Elly wasn't through yet.

Reaching forward she grabbed onto Havoc's wrist making him spin around again. "What do you want?" he demanded angrily.

"Wow I've never seen him get mad like that," Elly thought sadly. "I….I just wanted to see if you were okay or if those thugs hurt you at all," she said quickly.

Havoc glared at her before marching away in a very angry manner. Just before he reached the end of the alleyway he stopped and muttered softly, "I'm not hurt…thanks."

Elly's face broke out into a grin. "I can't believe you got him to say 'thanks'," Elinora thought in amazement.

"Well, he'd have to be a complete jerk not to," Elly thought back.

"Let's just go home, before those men wake up," Elinora said dismally.

"Good idea," Elly thought and quickly headed back to the camp.

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"Come on."

"I don't wanna."

"Just do it!"

"I can't!"

"You're a shame to the medical field."

"Which is exactly why I didn't go into it." Kat was battling with Kate while she stared at the syringe she was supposed to be drawing blood with in absolute despair. She HATED needles, almost as much as she hated blood.

"It won't take more than a few seconds if you just do it," Kate said quickly. "Just put it in there, pull out the blood and then you're done."

"I already told you I ca…" Kat started to dispute.

"Kate…you're not going to like this but we've got a new patient that you may want to see," a doctor shouted crashing through the door to the room. He was a young doctor who had only joined up about a week before that and his baby face was twisted with worry. To Kat, he looked just like Kain Fury from her world. "I know you're in the middle of something but I'm sure you'll want to know about this."

"Who…?" Kat began.

"That's Artie, my assistant. He joined up recently. Though he's not the best in the field, which is probably why they put him under my supervision. But he's an okay kid."

"You sound rather attached to him," Kat thought slyly. "You're not as hard as you put off are you?"

"Shut it."

"Alright, Artie. Just take a deep breath," Kat said though she herself was heaving relief at not having to do a blood draw. "What's happened?"

"I don't think you'll believe me unless you see it yourself," Artie answered shaking his head.

"Artie just tell me," Kat said kindly.

"Okay…well…a firefighter was just brought in with a busted shoulder and third degree burns. It's…Roy Mustang…Kate."

For once, Kat's head was completely silent. She started at the young assistant in shock. But thanks to her military experience she was quick to recover. "Artie, I need to tell doctor Van to take over this patient's blood draw. I'll attend to Ro… to the injured firefighter."

"Yes ma'am," Artie said quickly before running out the door to look for Dr. Van. In the meantime Kat headed for the area where they treat burns. Upon entering the room she found two other doctors standing over a heavy breathing Roy who had a white cream on his dark red shoulder that covered the somewhat visible blisters.

"The damn idiot," Kate hissed inside her head. Kat could feel that she was angry, but also worry stricken.

"Kate, you shouldn't be here," one of the doctors told her seeing her standing there.

Kat looked up at him, frowning. "I work here, do I not? I have every right to be here. Now stand aside and let me do my job."

They glanced at each other for a moment before stepping back and allowing Kate to get into position. She noticed that Roy was unconscious, probably because of the hit to his shoulder and dehydration from the fire so she gave the order for the other doctors to get some wet cloths to help him get hydrated.

Then she placed her hands on either side of his shoulder and after finding where the break occurred she set it back in place. Next she held the shoulder in place while some plant fluid was rubbed all over his shoulder. Then she carefully wrapped his shoulder and put it in a handmade sling to keep his shoulder from moving too much.

All this took several hours, but once Kat was finished, Roy was patched up and, as far as she knew, resting soundly and comfortably. "Impressive, how you managed to keep your head despite the fact he's your husband," one of the doctor's said. "Most women would have gone into hysterics."

"I can finish up here," Kat told them in clipped tones. She was really starting to get into Kate's act, granted she wasn't AS aggressive. "You two can go attend to any businesses you might have granted your testosterone level doesn't impede your abilities to do so."

They glared at her but left anyway feeling that they'd get fired if they tried to make her pay for it. Kat ignored their glare and sat down next to Roy's bed and held onto his hand. "I can't believe this happened," Kat whispered sadly.

"He's such an idiot…he really shouldn't have done anything to get himself hurt like this," Kate muttered in Kat's ear.

"Um… Mrs. Kate?" Kat looked up to see Artie standing timidly in the doorway. "I'm sorry but… the school called about your children. No one has come to pick them up."

"Damn," Kate muttered, as she remembered. "Tell him to contact Leo and have him pick them up."

"Can you call Leo for me please?" Kat asked Artie without any pretense, feeling that Kate knew what she was doing.

Artie nodded. "Of course, right away ma'am. I'll let you get back to, uh… I'll just go."

Kat watched him leave with a smile. "He's so sweet."

"He does have his moments," Kate admitted grudgingly. A low groan sounded loudly in the silent room and Kat turned her attention to the man in the bed who was moving his head from side to side. Moments later his eyes flickered open and he looked over at Kat sitting next to him.

"How are you feeling?" Kat asked him quietly, as if afraid that speaking too loudly would injure him in some way.

He thought for a moment before saying, "I feel like a building fell on top of me."

Kat stared at him. "You're not serious are you?" He didn't answer. He looked rather uncomfortable. "What happened?" Kate and Kat demanded at once.

"There was a building fire. A kid got stuck and I was carrying him out. When the building collapsed. I managed to make it out the door but some timber caught me at the last minute. Luckily, the kid was fine." Kat stared at him in wonderment.

"Tell him he's such an idiot and should have been more careful," Kate ordered Kat.

"You idiot you should have been more careful," Kat repeated out loud.

"I was being careful, if I hadn't grabbed the kid I wouldn't have been hit…the kid would have instead," Roy told her seriously.

Kat shook her head in disbelief. She had remembered a time when HER Roy had pulled a kid out of a burning building, and the kid hadn't even been alive. That was how he ended up with the terrible injury that left him half blind. Kat stood up taking several deep breaths as she put a hand to her head. "You really are unbelievable," she murmured. She had meant it as a compliment but apparently Roy took it the wrong way.

"I wasn't going to leave the kid Kate, it would have felt like leaving our own son in there," Roy replied with a touch of frustration.

"That's not what I meant," Kat began but Roy interrupted her.

"Look I want this to continue to work; I don't want my children to grow up without a mother. But with the way you keep treating them like they're less important than the people you take care of here. I'm tired of trying to cheer up the children when their mommy ignores their gifts like they're only a hassle. If this keeps up I might just leave you alone so that we won't bother you any longer."

Kat felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. She wasn't the only one. Kate was also shocked into silence. But not for long. "That ungrateful lowlife!" Kate practically shrieked. "I work hard to pay bills and make a good living so that he and my kids can eat good food and have a good home! Fine then, tell him he can leave if he wants."

Kat, however, was deaf to her ranting. "No," Kat told him, almost choking on her voice. "No. Don't you ever tell me something like that ever. What makes you think you're a bother to me?"

"The fact that you never accept help nor do you ever act like we're married. We have our nights but even those have it where you are in control. Sometimes I feel like I've become the woman of the house."

Kat was at a loss for what to say. Did Kate not realize how good she had it? How much Kat envied her? And she was willing to throw it all away? No. She wouldn't let that happen. She sat down in the chair by his bed once more and took a deep steadying breath. "Look… I know I've been selfish and I've said some terrible things to you. I guess I just never realized just how lucky I am, that I have a husband, two beautiful children, and a brother I know is alive and safe, even if he does despise me. And you're right, you and the children should be more important than anything else."

She didn't want Roy, no matter what world he was from, to think that she didn't care about him. Even though she knew he wasn't HER Roy, she couldn't help but still care deeply for him. "So please, don't leave me. I need you. I love you and the children more than anything." Kat hadn't realized it but she was crying, partly because of her emotions, and partly because her head felt like it was being pulled apart from the inside.

Roy stared at her in surprise and a smile spread across his face. Leaning forward he pulled Kat into a one armed hug. "I never thought I'd ever hear you say that. I finally see the woman I fell in love with all those years ago," he whispered into her ear.

Kat marveled at just how much like her Roy this Roy was. He even smelled the same, a mixture of smoke and cologne. She couldn't help but melt in his arms as she heard his voice in her ear and his breath on her skin. Kate could feel everything that Kat felt and her yelling died out in almost an instant. "Have I…. really changed that much?" She thought quietly.

"You have no idea how lucky you are, how much I wish I had what you have," Kat thought. She let out a shuddering sob at the thought.

Roy heard her sob and pulled back enough to see her face and then reached up and brushed a tear from her eye. "Kate dear…what's wrong?"

"I almost hate myself for how lucky I am to have you," Kat said sadly.

"I love you Kate. I don't want you to feel hatred for yourself because of a choice you made. It's not a mistake until you refuse to fix what was ruined."

"Roy…" Both Kat and Kate thought. "Don't say ruined. I'll do anything I can to fix what was damaged."

"I'll hold you to that," Roy said before lowering his lips onto hers and kissing her passionately. Kat was taken by surprise but shock soon turned to infatuation Kat almost lost all coherent thought then and there, but she remembered….With great difficulty she pulled away from him.

"You need to get your sleep so you can recover quicker," Kat said quickly. "Maybe when you get better we can all go out for some much needed fun."

"I'll have to heal quickly then won't I," Roy said smiling. "Get back to your job and I'll make sure to get my sleep." He lay back down and whispered, "I love you…very much."

Kat smiled at him in response before standing up. She was about to leave but… "Wait," Kate said. "Let me… let me kiss him one more time."

Kat closed her eyes. "You do realize this is torture for me. I don't think I can keep up my self control forever."

"Please. I know it's selfish of me to ask but… just once more."

"…Okay," Kat consented.

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CM: Okay, now I know what you all are probably thinking. How the heck did they manage to land themselves in THIS situation? Well, trust me, you're gonna find out, next time on FMA Arctic Wind! So stay tuned! ^_^