Warnings: Language (mild), shonen ai

Spoilers: None in this chapter

Feedback: Constructive feedback is very welcome

Notes: Filler chapter...:grins: Oh, and a note to a reviewer - yep, I've read everything by Child/Preston I could get my hands on, and I probably read more than Ed too...:guilty look: It's a terribly bad habit of mine, but one I find hard to break. LOL...

Felis Catus: Circle Eleven

"How did you know?" Hughes asked Edward later, as Ed was getting bandaged up in a proper manner from the hospital bed.

The group had wearily let the military take control of the chimera's remains, before retiring to the hospital as another patrol group replaced them in First District. Major Armstrong's arm had needed many stitches and the attention of a healing alchemist to repair the torn tissue and arteries. Luckily, they'd gotten him medical attention in time to save his arm. However, he wasn't going to be using it anytime soon.

"The bones worked for it as well as against it," Edward explained tiredly. "Spitfire gave me the idea, when he tore out the chimera's eye and it was the only thing that really hurt it. I kept thinking how we could get to the brain if we couldn't break the skull, before Spitfire reminded me of the eyes. They're directly connected to the brain, and by firing that shot, the bullet ended up ricocheting inside the creature's impenetrable skull and pretty much mashed up the brain to a pulp."

"Brilliant," Hughes murmured admiringly.

"Good shot," Edward said, turning to Riza Hawkeye. She smiled back at him, nodding her head briefly in acknowledgment.

"Good idea," she returned.

"See, the cat did bring you luck, Ed," Havoc grinned, puffing away furiously on a cigarette.

"Could you NOT smoke in the hospital?" Hawkeye said tartly.

Havoc snorted, but threw away the cigarette. "My nerves are shot to hell," he complained good-naturedly.

"Yeah, Ed - the cat's the reason you're here and not chimera food," Fury laughed.

"Stupid cat," Edward muttered affectionately, reaching up to his shoulder to scratch his cat's ears, where Roy was perched once more, giving himself a bath to get rid himself of the grime from the battle.

Hey. Don't call the hero stupid, Roy informed him snootily, not looking up from his washing. Ick. Ick. Brick dust. Blood. Chimera gunk on his beautiful claws...oh he could cry! Disgusting, corpse flesh on his claws...and he had to LICK it clean...

"I'll give you a real bath when we get back home," Ed said comfortingly.

Bath? Oh hell no! A cat's only bath is his tongue! Roy hissed automatically, never mind the thoughts running through his head only moments before.

Edward glared at him. "You stink. You're getting a bath. That's that," he stated flatly, in a tone that booked no argument.

We'll see about that, Roy informed him, turning his head away.

The rest of the group was laughing. "I think you're gonna have trouble washing furball there, Boss," Breda said nervously. He still wasn't too comfortable having the cat around, but heck - the cat was the reason they were all alive and okay, so he figured it would be okay to tolerate the animal's presence. For a while, at least.

"Don't worry about it," Ed said calmly. "He'll get a bath one way or another."

Roy did NOT like the sound of that.

"So how did the hunt in the other districts go?" Farman cut in, curious.

Hughes readjusted his glasses thoughtfully before answering. "Well, Second and Third Districts didn't report a thing out of place, but there were three more disappearances," he said somberly. "So we know chimeras are still active in those districts. Fourth District was being patrolled by Basque Gran's group, and they managed to capture and destroy the first chimera, the griffin-like one."

Edward looked up, interested.

"I don't know how they did it though, sorry," Hughes added to head off Edward's incipient question. "Gran wouldn't say; he just looked really smug about it. Bastard," Hughes muttered. "They had a really high casualty rate though, and there are still three chimera at large."

"So that leaves Bug and Snake, eh?" Havoc said thoughtfully. "Oh, and Spider Lady."

"'Bug' and 'Snake'?" Hawkeye said skeptically. "'Spider Lady'?"

"Fine. We'll name them. Happy?" Havoc grinned, sticking a straw in his mouth to gnaw on since he'd been told off for the cigarettes.

"Ecstatic," Hawkeye said dryly.

"Never mind," Hughes informed them. "We're being rotated to Third District tomorrow night to try and capture that area's chimera."

"How does one jump from First to Third?" Edward wanted to know.

"Diagonals and idiots in charge, Edward my friend," Hughes said promptly, with an impudent grin as he quickly checked the door to be sure no one could hear him. Everyone laughed.

Roy's tail swished in amusement. Aptly put.

"So we have a day to recuperate?" Ed said, annoyed. "That's not even enough time to plan! My rib is bruised and Major Armstrong's arm is out of commission..."

"Never fear!" came a booming voice from the doorway. Everyone gave an internal jump and turned around to the sparkling face of Major Armstrong. "I am as good as new! The kind healers have repaired me!"

The group looked pointedly at his heavily traumatized arm. Armstrong waved it at them negligently.

"This is nothing! It would take more than this to bring down an Armstrong! Why, in my family..."

"Major Armstrong, you're going to tear your stitches!" a sharp voice cracked from the corridor. Armstrong jumped guiltily as the head nurse walked in. "And you! All of you! OUT! There are patients in this hospital! If you're not sick, then OUT!"

"Yes ma'am!" everyone chorused, snapping a salute. She nodded sharply and went back out.

Everyone looked at each other with a grimace.

"That's one scary lady," Farman said solemnly. Everybody nodded in agreement.

"Guess we should go home then," Edward yawned. "It's almost 2400 hours..."

"See you tomorrow night then, Ed, everyone," Hughes waved jauntily. "My family awaits!"

"Third District clock tower, same time!" Armstrong called after him. "We'll need to plan out a strategy for the remaining chimeras!"

Hughes held up two fingers in acknowledgement without turning around.

Everyone else also waved good night and left. Edward carefully tested his arm, wincing briefly at the small twinge of pain that shot up his side. At least the hospital had done a good job of binding his ribs. He still had quite a bit of maneuverability and the rib was only bruised, not cracked - although his jumping around after it got bruised really didn't help matters much.

"Well, it's just you and me again, cat," Edward said smiling. "Let's go home."

Roy gave him a grin that would not have looked out of place on a human face, and leaped up carefully into Edward's outstretched arms, trying to avoid jouncing against the bandages around Edward's chest.

Home. He'd never thought of that small, empty apartment as home, but somehow when Edward said it - it sounded...right.

Yes. It would be good to go home.

To be con't...