Dani woke up the next morning feeling quite nice. She couldn't stop thinking about the boy she met last night. Despite that, she wanted to respect his wishes and keep it a secret. That didn't mean she wasn't curious though. Why did he need to stay under the radar? Was there someone who wanted to hurt him? Why was he just out in the alleys in the middle of the night? Dani knew there she was being kept in the dark about a lot of things regarding the world they were journeying through. All she could do at the moment though was keep looking for answers. Dani decided to go check on Elise and see if she was awake.

…

Elise was restocking her baby supplies angry at herself for being so careless. Thankfully, she was able to get Dani off her tail, but now she knew her true self existed. Did this mean Dani was going to unveil who she was in reality? How would she react knowing the truth? Did it really matter? The goal was to expose Tucker's true nature and save Al. Perhaps Dani needs that dose of reality. Not everything is as it seems after all and she needs to learn that. But is it cruel to think that way? Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock on the door.

"Yeah?" Elise answered groggily. Could you blame her when she'd been up most of the night no thanks to her nightmares and other night activities?

"Are you awake?" Turns out it was Dani who knocked. Good thing it wasn't Randal or Elise probably would've pounded him in the moment she answered the door.

"You can come in if you want." Elise replied.

With that, Dani opened the door and shut it behind her. Elise always felt calmer when talking with Dani. It felt like talking to Al. She was always so kind and respected when she didn't want to talk about something. Was she trusting Dani too much? They only knew each other for a few days. Then again, when most of the others want to know everything about her life in one day, Dani's a pretty refreshing change.

"Hey, Monica! Look who's here!" Elise gently called out to the infant who looked in response.

"Nice to meet you, Monica," Dani cooed, "My name's Dani."

Thankfully, little Monica seemed to take a liking to Dani and wanted her to pick her up. Elise didn't see the harm in letting Dani hold Monica. She wasn't going to hurt her…right?

"Good morning, Monica!" Dani laughed with Monica.

Watching Dani play with Monica made Elise feel sad. It reminded her of the joy that Tucker had robbed Monica of. The joy of having a mother that loved and cared about her. The wonderful feeling of a happy family. It also made her think of the family she no longer had. Their beloved mother…the one that she and her brother ruined their lives to try to bring back…Monica wouldn't even remember her mother's face thanks to that monster. She began to feel sick remembering some of the threats Tucker would make to keep her silence.

"You wouldn't want to lose the brother you worked so hard to protect all over a silly secret, would you?"

Elise cringed thinking about it.

"Take your brother and leave if you want. But know that when you do, I'll make sure to tell them about your human transmutation."

She wanted to scream out for the whole world to hear.

"Who'd believe a boy who can barely get by on his own over a State Alchemist with the reputation and skills to back it up?"

She couldn't hear anything else…just him…just his taunting whispers…

"You can't escape, Edward. No matter where you run, the military will find you. Just stay where your secret is safe."

Elise didn't realize she was crying until she felt Dani hug her. She noticed those awful whispers died down a bit when Dani did that. Against her better judgement, Elise returned the hug. It was one of the few times she was allowed to show her suffering to someone. Why couldn't she have at least this?

"Are you okay, Elise?" Dani asked with concern written all over her face.

"These past couple of months have been hell." Elise choked back tears as she said this.

Dani took Elise's hand into hers and asked, "What's wrong?"

Elise finally broke down in tears. She hated looking so pathetic, proving to that madman how weak she was. But damn it was so hellish keeping up this façade and pretending to be fine.

"I miss him," Elise sobbed, "I miss my little brother…"

Elise cried some more, and Dani just let her. No one's ever let her show weakness before. She never really got a chance to be vulnerable unless it was around her brother. Damn her if Tucker took advantage of her weaker side. She was the older one. She was supposed to be the one looking out for her brother, not the other way around. Elise was sure about one thing. She was a terrible sibling for leaving. She needed to stay. She never should've left. She should've been protecting him. Even with Dani there, she couldn't help scolding herself.

After that whole fiasco, Dani and Elise agreed to keep this moment between the two of them. Elise decided to stay in her room and play with Monica who was so innocent and unaware of her weaknesses. Was her secret on the decline? Maybe. But perhaps she'd finally gain a little freedom to be herself and be honest. She knew better though. Elise knew she needed to stay like this for her brother. The last thing they needed was for the military to find out about their sin and send Al off to a lab. Tucker could make it happen if she wasn't careful.

Monica began to tug on Elise's pocket watch out of purehearted curiosity. The older girl began the giggle at her shenanigans.

"You wanna see?" Elise smiled.

She then proceeded to open it up and show the words engraved…

A/N

Took a short break from writing because school was kicking my butt for a bit. But I'm back now. Elise is seriously fighting tooth to nail to keep her brother safe. But she finally allowed herself to cry which is good.

I'm writing late and need to sleep soon lol.