Later that evening, Amy sat in her barracks, packing up the last of the things she would need while staying in Ishbal. As she dug through some of her dresser drawers, she found a stack of envelopes that she had forgotten was there. They were all obviously fairly old, tied together with a rubber band, and she ran her fingers over them gently, knowing what each one contained.

Figuring she had some time to just relax, she took the letters over to her bed, where she sat down and removed the rubber band. She pulled her legs up on the bed and crossed them in front of her as she carefully opened the first one, hoping it didn't fall apart in her hands. The familiar handwriting that stared back at her made her almost instantly nostalgic, and suddenly she longed to hear his voice again, just to talk to him. It was like he was right there with her as she read:

Dear Amy,

It sure has been a while, hasn't it? I don't think I've gotten to see that beautiful face of yours in at least a year. I know you've been wondering where I wandered off to after the war was over, and the truth is that I've been a little bit of everywhere since I left what used to be Ishbal, but is now really just a bunch of ruins of old buildings. I can imagine children traveling there with their parents…years from now, just to see the old Ruins of Ishbal. And the children will ask their parents, "What was this city?" Then the parents will reply, "A once grand and beautiful capital that was devastated and destroyed." How sad, the children will think. How said, indeed.

But enough of this. I want to know everything that you have been doing since you returned to Central. During my travels I was told that you had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and your older brother that you told me about was promoted to Colonel. Congratulations! I can think of no one more deserving.

You know, this may sound a bit corny and cliché, but I miss you, Amy. I miss the talks we used to have every night when the rest of the camp was asleep. I miss looking at you. I miss your sweet nature but hard determination. I certainly hope that that night we said goodbye was not the last I will ever see of you, but just in case, let me go ahead and say that I enjoyed what little time we had together as such good friends. You were the closest thing to a best friend I ever had, and I was more than grateful.

To say that I "enjoyed" our time together really doesn't even do it justice. You made me happy just by being there and by talking with me, Amy. That was more than enough for me. But now I'm digressing once again, aren't I? I suppose that's my exit cue. It will be light soon, and I'll have to keep moving to a new city. It seems that's all I do these days. When next you write me, send your letter to Westar. I should be there for the next little while. Until next we meet, I love you. Goodbye, my good friend.

Sincerely,

Scar

She smiled as she read through it a few times, memorizing each and every word. It was hard not to remember what good friends they had become during and after the war, even though at the time it was a serious social faux pas. But then she remembered Scar's recent fate, and her heart broke anew. It had been so hard to accept his death, but she was getting there. Slowly but surely, she was getting there.

Fortunately for her, she had her friends there every step of the way, and some of them had even been there with her when she witnessed it happen. She had been standing with Armstrong, Havoc, Breda, Fuery, and Falman just outside the city of Liore, none of them going in because of a letter they had received from Edward Elric earlier that day, warning not to enter the city no matter what.

They watched as the soldiers stormed the city, and in one huge sweep of a bright red light, they were all gone. The soldiers standing on the outskirts of the city, including Amy and her subordinates, had been thrown backward because of the impact, and when they opened their eyes once again, they saw that in place of Liore and their fellow soldiers was nothing but level sand.

Amy's eyes had widened in surprise when she realized that Scar had given up his life to kill all of those people and finish the Philosopher's Stone. She had simply sat there in the sand, too shocked to speak for several moments. Eventually, a small sound escaped her lips before she began screaming out, "No! Scar, you couldn't have done this! Please, gods, no!"

Being the closest one to her, Havoc had hurried to her side, pulling her tightly into his arms as he said gently, "It's okay, Amy. It's all right. Please don't cry. Shh. It's okay."

The others had also quickly joined them, and before they knew it, all five of them were holding her comfortingly at the same time, whispering words of solace to her. She had never liked to show weakness to her subordinates, thinking it would tarnish their image of her, but in this case, she was more than willing to make an exception. She was far too heartbroken to care that they were witnessing her emotional breakdown.

Now as she sat there staring at the letters in her hands, she smiled and thought about what wonderful friends they really were. After she had cried there in the sand for almost a half an hour, Armstrong had picked her up and helped the others carry her back to the temporary base they had set up. Then on the train ride home, Havoc had kept a constant arm around her shoulders and let her rest silently against him. Yes, they were all such wonderful friends.

Suddenly, breaking her train of thought, there was a soft knocking at her door, and she called, "Coming! I'll be right there!" She stuffed the letters into the bottom of one of her bags and hurried to the door, and when she opened it, there before her stood none other than the newly promoted First Lieutenant Jean Havoc himself.

"Hey, boss lady," he said jokingly as he smiled that usual smug grin. "I just finished up all my last minute packing, and I was wondering if you needed any help. We're going to have to be helping each other a lot on this little trip, so I thought I may as well start now."

Amy laughed and replied, "Well, I'm almost done packing everything, but you're more than welcome to come in and keep me company while I finish up."

"Don't mind if I do," he said, stepping in and shutting the door behind him. He then glanced around the spotless room except for a few little bags and things on the bed, and he suddenly felt very out of place. "Wow! My packing was nowhere near this neat. Of course, I should have expected nothing less out of our fearless leader."

She just rolled her eyes and tossed a bag out of one of the chairs as she said, "Make yourself at home. I just have a few more things to do here."

He did as he was told and took a seat at the little table in her kitchen area as he watched her finish her packing. While keeping his eyes on her, he couldn't help but remember several weeks ago on their return from the desert in the West how he had held her closely while she tried to erase the terrible memories of that trip from her mind.

There was one moment in particular that had made him almost forget that there was anyone else in the compartment with the two of them, but he never would have admitted that to anyone else. As he continued to keep one arm around her and stare out the window, he felt her adjust herself in her sleep. He turned to look at her as she moved her head on his shoulder and put her arms around his waist.

She had moved her head in just such a way that the indentation between her eyes and nose was resting against his neck, and he could feel her gentle breathing on his skin as she slept. And then the feel of her arms so securely around him, as though she trusted him completely, almost made him never want to let go of her. He had wanted so badly in that instant to just ever so gently brush his lips against hers, but realizing first of all that there were others in the compartment and second of all that she was his commanding officer, he restrained himself.

Deciding that it was better to make polite conversation than sit there in this awkward silence, Havoc leaned back and said, "So what are the Ishbalan people like? I mean, you've spent time with a lot of them, and you've even been to their city. So is there anything I should know about them before we go?"

Amy smiled as she continued packing and said, "Well, let me see. Really, they're no different from us, except that they worship a different God and have a few different customs. For example, when we get there, you will meet the High Priest. Bow to him and introduce yourself. If he bows back, shake his hand. You must be very respectful of the women, especially the married women. They are considered to be the wisest of the Ishbalan female community. As for the children, each Ishbalan child I have ever met was perhaps the sweetest I have ever known. They are all great children, and I'm sure you'll love them."

"Do the Ishbalan people know you very well?" he asked. "You seem to know a lot about them."

"The ones who don't know me personally know of me because of my friendship with Scar and the High Priest. That fact right there is perhaps the only reason they are letting me come and help them rebuild the city with alchemy. I'm one of the few outsiders they trust, and I'm certainly the only State Alchemist they trust…at least for now. Hopefully the reversal of the Ishbalan Policy will strengthen the bonds between us."

Havoc smiled as well, thinking that Amy had a great image of the future, and he suddenly felt very proud that he was going to have the opportunity to help make it a reality. Hearing her talk that way about rebuilding the Ishbalans' lives made him wonder what had made him hesitate to take this assignment in the first place.

After about another hour of just sitting there and watching her pack, he finally arose and said, "Well, I guess this is my exit cue. We both better get some sleep for in one more day we head out to the wilderness. Just you, me, and sand. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Amy laughed and replied sarcastically, "Tons. Now get a move on, soldier. Get back to the men's barracks and get some sleep. I'm going to drop by and see my brother tomorrow afternoon, and then I'll meet you outside Headquarters if that's all right."

"Well actually," he said. "I'd kind of like to come with you to see the Brigadier General, tell him goodbye and all. I haven't seen him since his battle, and I'd also kind of like to congratulate him on turning the whole system upside down. He really did us all a favor."

She nodded. "He's certainly a hero." She then led him to the door and said, "Goodnight, Havoc."

"Goodnight, Amy," he said, having gotten used to calling her by her first name when he had been comforting her after Scar's death. The odd thing was that she didn't really seem to mind at all. "I'll meet you tomorrow outside Central Command say…noonish? Then we'll go tell that stubborn ass of a leader goodbye together."

She nodded again and closed the door behind him, hoping that her racing heart hadn't been showing the entire time he was there. For gods' sake! He was her subordinate! How inappropriate would that be?