Thank you for not hurting me for doing this to Ed! Or making Inu look like the bad guy! I made up for it! Yea me!

"Yeah, who'd you think it was, Cousin Mel?" Jessica said casually walking in the kitchen as though she lived there. Ed just stood in a daze almost, until Winry spoke up.

"What are you doing here?"

"What, can't a girl visit an old friend?" She asked, sitting down expectantly, as though she was going to be waited on.

"Key words," Inu said, walking in behind Ed. "Old friend."

She looked over at him as though trying to remember who he was. Ed shook his head quickly.

"What happened to Naraku?" He asked coldly.

"Wouldn't you know it? He went off with that girl Kagura, then ran off somewhere!"

"Sounds familiar." Winry said coldly. "Cheaters never change."

Jessica looked at her, then at Ed and back. "Oh, I get it. You two hooked up after we left, right?"

"That," Sesshomaru said, "Is none of your concern. You are not wanted here, and I suggest you leave."

She glared at him then asked Ed, "Can we go somewhere and talk without the peanut gallery?"

At first, Ed didn't say anything. He just wanted her out. But he didn't have to rely on them to tell her that.

"Fine."

She walked out the door. Ed started to follow her, but Winry grabbed his arm. "You don't have to." Ed looked at her, and she could tell what he wanted to say.

Yes I do.

She let go of him, and saw that he and Jessica were walking towards a small hill next to the barn. After a few minutes, Winry looked over at Inu.

"Ready to be useful?" She asked, then before he could answer, added, "Good. Go sit on the roof of the barn, and if that...bitch starts something, wave at us. Got it?"

"Yeah." Inu said. I got the fact that if I don't you'll kill me.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ Back with Ed ----------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, how's life been here, Ed?"

"Better. I don't need to worry about who or what is holding me back." He replied, with a hinting note in his voice.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Jessica replied, completely missing the point. "After Naraku left, I wondered around for a while like a lost duck. Then I realized, 'I got to stop acting like this. I can be perfectly happy without him. Not like he cared about me.' So I thought I'd come visit someone who does cares about me."

"I might have once, but if that's who your looking for, maybe you should leave." Ed said coldly.

"C'mon Ed, don't be like that."She said, laughing almost." You still care about me, I know you do. You're the kind of person who can't help but not care about people they once loved."

"I can," He said, raising his voice slowly, "If the person didn't 'love' me back, and stabbed me in the back!"

"Oh, and I suppose that girl from the kitchen won't ever stab you in the back either? Friends always do."

"No." He said in a voice that commanded silence. "Friends stab you in the back, yeah. But best friends are beside you, so they can't stab you in the back. And if they do betray you, they stab you in the front, so you know the truth. And true friends," He said, looking her in the eye, "The ones that care...They don't carry knives."

They stared at each other for a minute, while Inu (who's on the roof remember) debated on getting Winry. Because, well...technically Ed started it, but still...

"Well," Jessica said, lightly, "I hope that Winfred or whatever makes you happy, Ed. Because you bet that when she stabs you, it'll go right through your heart."

"Her name is Winry." Ed said, stepping towards her with every sentence. "And you would know exactly how to do that, wouldn't you? Well, I got news for you: my heart isn't any of your business. The hole you put there healed. I don't care about your problems, I don't care about what happens to you," He was an inch from her face.

"Truthfully, I don't give a damn about you."

That settled it for Jessica. She walked away from him, and didn't stop until she was too far away for Ed to do anything when she said, "Right. Whatever helps you sleep at night. The real reason I left you, by the way, is because I needed a man, and you were, and obviously still are, a childish boy."

"And I suppose Naraku is a man, even though he cheated with you and then on you?" Ed laughed. "Get out. If you come back, I--"

"We." Inu said, jumping down. He looked over at Ed, and nodded.

"Right." Ed said, telling Inu he was forgiven for accidentally poisoning Shippou. "Next time, We won't be as nice."

And I can truthfully say, as the author of this story, that Jessica walked away, and never came back. Last I wrote, she was arrested for attacking someone because they said she needed to get a husband. I think it was Hughes. By the way, he will be in this story. Eventually.