Hey all! So in this chapter, there's going to be some flash back type stuff mixed in with current events. The flash backs will be left on Italic, so you can tell the difference. Hopefully I made it easy for you to tell what was what. If not, just let me know and I'll try to fix it! HOPE YOU ENJOY!

VII

"Guys...I'm worried about Abby." I heard Fuery whisper ever so slightly to the others. I had just entered the office and with an over exasperated sigh, laid my head down on my desk. Not only did I barely get any sleep, but I was running errands all day. Everyone in headquarters was shouting orders left and right. Major Lovington do this! Major Lovington do that! Major Lovington, why are you sulking in the corner? I hurried as quickly as possible back to Mustang's office before anyone else could spew more demands. If I hear someone call my name one more time, I'll have to change it and move to the East.

I remained lifeless at my desk as Fuery, Breda and Falman continued to discuss my welfare. Hawkeye and Havoc were in Mustang's personal office, doing or talking about God knows what. Havoc hadn't returned last night. When I awoke this morning all of his things were gone. It left a hole of guilt in my stomach. Mustang must have fired him from being my bodyguard. I was wanting to talk to both of them about it, but it seemed they were avoiding me, especially Havoc. He didn't even greet me when I arrived earlier this morning. Even if I was able to get Havoc's attention, what would I say? I unwillingly made a miserable groan as my thoughts drowned me.

Someone came barging into the room and headed straight for Mustang's personal door. I lifted my head to see what was going on better.

"Reporting in, sir! We've just received word of an explosion occurring on the Marl River." The soldier stayed at attention as everyone in the room was quickly gathering their things. Mustang was the first one out, followed by Hawkeye as she was trying to gather his coat in her arms. He would be so lost without her. I quickly stood up and hustled out the door myself with everyone else in front of me. Scar really was putting everything in chaos. Just another reason why I wanted him caught. The sooner we do it, the sooner we can all rest!

We were now at the scene of the explosion. It had happened right by the Marl Bridge, the wall as completely dismantled and even the building right above it was destroyed. Everyone was murmuring about the cause of the wreckage as Mustang and his team were more down by the water, trying to find any hint of Scar. Hawkeye had found some clothing, looked like a jacket, in the water.

"There's no mistaking it. This was definitely Scar's jacket." I couldn't help but feel a slight sliver of hope. After all the searching we had done in the sewers, we finally found some evidence of his existence.

"Have you found the body?" Why was he asking me? I've been by his side the whole time; he should know I haven't found anything.

"Not yet, but we're still searching." I hadn't realized Havoc was now standing behind me. He seemed troubled that Scar's body wasn't found.

"Either way, he can't be in good shape after losing this much blood." Hawkeye was still examining the jacket.

"Yah...but we do this by the book. We need to find hard proof that he's dead. Alright, Lieutenant Havoc."

"Yes sir?"

"You and your men will workday and night to clear out this debris. I want his body found. Don't take so much as a coffee break until that's done, do you understand?" Sheesh. Tonight, was going to be rough.

"Come on Colonel, can you cut us some slack? At this rate, you're gonna work us all to death."

"Shut up! I don't get to relax until I've seen his body and that means you don't get to either." I can understand where both of them were coming from. The past couple of days have been tough, but I wanted to catch Scar just as much as the next guy.

"I guess we'll get to work then." Havoc turned around and started shouting orders at all available personnel. Everyone broke off into groups, working on different ends of the rubble. Things would go much faster if I had some chalk. Just do a couple of hand claps, transmute some concrete and we'd have our answer in just an hour. The only problem is that I didn't have chalk...I didn't even know where to buy some. Maybe a grocery store?

"Hey Fuery!" I stopped him when he was running past me. "Do you know where to find some chalk?" He thought about it for a moment.

"Yah, I have an idea. Why? Do you need some?"

"I think things would go a lot faster if I was able to transmute this mess...but I don't have the proper circle. I would need to create it with chalk."

"Oh, I see!"

"I don't suppose I could convince you to run and get me some, while I stay and help out?" I felt sort of bad. Fuery always seemed to be doing the running around for all of us. He never complained about it, but I always tried not to ask.

"No problem! I'll be back in a jiffy!" He started running back up the stairs to the upper part of town. I walked over to a group that was having a bit of difficulty lifting a rather large piece. I made room for myself and started lifting with them. It was pretty heavy, but with my help we were able to move it to the side so we could continue with the smaller pieces. I hoped Fuery would be as quick as he thinks. I didn't want to do a whole lot of lifting.

By the time Fuery returned with a whole pack of chalk, we had moved several big pieces and a couple of piles of medium sized rocks. It was almost pointless for the chalk, but it would give everyone a nice break.

"Sorry, the store was a bit further than I thought." I felt so bad seeing Fuery bent over, trying to catch his breath.

"Thank you, for getting this for me Fuery, and for making it quick." I took the pack from him as he slides down the wall, trying to slow his breathing. I went back to the rubble and started marking all the rocks I wanted to transmute with a circle. Everyone else was taking a break, something they all deserved. When I was done with all the circles, I started transmuting each one, one by one. It took me several minutes, but I was finally able to get to an opening.

When the light from my last transmutation subsided, I was horrified by what I saw. I didn't have a lot of time, but I was able to move out of the way to throw up.

"Abby?!" Fuery was at my side in an instant. "What's wrong?" I couldn't speak. It was too much for me to process. Fuery leaned back to look inside the opening and was also shocked to see them. Several men lay dead, but the part that had me wrenching, was their bodies. They were so decomposed, I never smelt anything so putrid. How did they get down there? Were they just more victims from Scar?

"Gather the bodies and bring them outside! I need sheets ready. We don't need civilians seeing this." Havoc started shouting orders again. I never felt so weak in my life. I was a soldier. A soldier who has never seen death. I was beginning to question my state title. There's a possibility that you'll need to strike to kill. I know you've never done anything like that, and I need to be able to count on you. Mustang's words started to haunt me. "Go home Lovington. You've done enough." His words. They seemed so patient, but they only made me feel worse. Why were they all being so kind with me? They should be disgusted by my weakness. I stood up, feeling nothing but defeat, and started walking back to the office.

I had informed the Colonel of our finding before he had sent me home with an escort to drive me. With how things were going with Scar, I no longer needed 24/7 surveillance. He had reminded me about the military's annual ball and gave me my ticket. I had completely forgotten about it with all that's been going on. I was somewhat surprised that it was still happening. The Military Ball happened once a year and only high-ranking officers were able to attend. It was something that only the Eastern Headquarters held, but other high rankers from different headquarters came for the festivity. Even the Fuhrer graced us with his presence one year. Mustang was always able to score extra tickets and gave them to Havoc and me. I always went with Fuery, but this year...I wasn't sure anymore. I always hoped Havoc would ask me one year, but I was starting to figure out that it probably won't happen.

I now lay in bed, looking at my shiny gold trimmed ticket, and pitying myself. Something I never do. What's worse is I was starting to get mad at feeling sorry for myself. It only made me feel more pathetic. I brought myself out of bed and slapped my face a few times, trying to snap myself out of this funk. It wasn't doing me any good just sitting here. I needed to get out. I hopped right off my bed and did a quick change into some normal cloths. I figured I would go visit Breda, since I was the reason he had to take today off. The hospital took some precautions and ordered him to stay in. Maybe I'll buy a cake, or maybe some cookies as an apology. What was Breda's favorite snack? Did he even like sweets? I ran downstairs and slipped on my work boots, since they were right in front of the door, and locked the door behind as I continued to talk to myself as to what to bring to Breda's.

The trip to Breda's was good. I decided to get him a cake, and asked the baker to put a message, 'Sorry I beat you up', on it. He didn't want to laugh, but really couldn't help it. I didn't stay too long because he was a bit tired, but he said he would be back to work tomorrow. I was now on my way to Marl Bridge to check on how the progress was going. They were still pulling bodies out of the tunnels. Just how many people has Scar killed? Did he even kill these men? I had noticed that Havoc wasn't around anymore. When I asked Fuery, he didn't seem too happy that Havoc had up and left.

"He left about an hour ago. Said he had some business to attend to."

"Did he happen to mention what kind of business?"

"No, but he seemed to be in a hurry." I was planning on trying to talk to Havoc, about everything that's happened the past few days. Mainly to apologize about yesterday. After wishing good luck to Fuery I decided to stop by Havoc's place and see if he was still home. He didn't live that far away from Mustang's, so walking home in the dark wouldn't be that much of a problem. He lived on a busier street, that had lots of shops on it. Some vendors where trying to bring in customers to buy their products. Things would be closing pretty quickly. The sun had just set, but there was still a soft glow coming from the sky. The streetlamps were just starting to come on when I reached Havoc's. He lived in a decent apartment building. I had been over once with everyone else when we were all helping him move in. It had been a rough time, especially when trying to fit his couch through the door. He had thanked us by treating us to the bar, and we didn't come cheap. I climbed the two flights of stairs and went down the hallway to the door I remembered him being in. I did a cute rhythm knock and rocked on the soles of my feet. It was kinda weird, I didn't feel nervous in the slightest. The door opened a bit slowly, but I was surprised to see a cute woman on the other side. She had beautiful golden hair that went down to her shoulders. She was a few inches shorter than me, which only made it that more adorable when her ocean blue eyes looked up at me.

"Hello, can I help you?" She seemed uneasy by my starring. I glanced away feeling slightly embarrassed. I must have confused the hallway and picked the wrong door. Was I even on the right floor?

"I'm sorry! I must be at the wrong apartment." I couldn't help but laugh at my stupidity.

"Oh well, who are you looking for? I'm quite familiar with this floor." She's so cute! I wonder how old she was?

"Um, Havoc, Jean Havoc?"

"Oh! No, you have the right place." She gave me a small smile. What? I was a bit confused. "He's in the shower now, but I'll tell him you're here to see him. What was your name?" She stepped to the side to let me in, but I just stood there, still trying to process everything.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit confused. Are you his...sister?" The woman started to laugh playfully, like I just said the funniest thing she ever heard. I knew the answer wasn't going to be good.

"No." She made a few more giggles. "Everyone seems to think that I guess we do have some similar features. I'm his girlfriend, Emily." I don't know what happened. I couldn't explain this sudden feeling that came over me. Part of me wanted to scream and demand answers. The other, just wanted to run back down the hall. "And what was your name?"

"Uh..." I could feel them coming. I had to get out of here before I started crying in front of this stranger. It would only cause Havoc trouble. "I'm just a fellow soldier. I work with Havoc, and I sort of got him in trouble the other day." I started laughing uncontrollably, trying to keep the tears back. "I just wanted to come over to apologize, but I see he's busy..." I couldn't finish the sentence. They were coming and I couldn't stop them anymore.

"Oh well, let me get him-"

"No!" I startled her when I shouted. I quickly put my head down, hoping she wouldn't see the water in my eyes. "No. I'll see him tomorrow and apologize then." I had to move, and I had to move now! "Sorry." That's all I said before darting down the hall and down the stairs. I didn't even slow down when I got to the front door. I busted right out and continued to run down the street. The tears just kept coming, there was no stopping them. I had to farther away. The more distance I had from there the better. I accidentally ran into someone standing on the sidewalk, and we both went down. It was an older woman, who was not pleased in the slightest

"I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry." I kept apologizing as she was helped up by, what I assumed, her husband. People extended their hands to help me, but I just ignored them. I wanted to stay here on the ground. I felt hidden. I was trying so hard to stop the tears, but they wouldn't stop so long as I felt like this. It was like someone was pressing on my heart and lungs.

"Abby?" This was a different voice, but still familiar. I looked up to see Earl stand just a few feet away. He looked even more concerned when he saw my face. "Abby, what's wrong? What happened?" He started to walk to me, but I beat him to the punch. I don't know why, but I got up and ran into his arms. I stood there and let him hold me as I cried, like Havoc did for me when Nina died. "It's okay." He started to pet my head, trying to get me to calm down. "Let's go to the bar and get you inside." He started to guide me by the hand as I continued to sniffle all the way to the bar.

It only took a drink and a half before I finally calmed down. Now I was playing with my straw's paper tube while starring into the abyss. I had explained what I could to Earl. He was headed to work when I ran into him, and he wouldn't stop apologizing for dragging me along. I didn't care about that. It was nice of him to not leave me crying on the street alone. I was trying to figure out why I had reacted the way I did. It's not like it's the first time Havoc's had a girlfriend, and it won't be the last. I knew this. Maybe it's because for once, I actually felt like I was getting closer to him. Like I finally stood a chance to be with him. I got my hopes up. Typical. I quickly shook my head and took another big gulp of my drink when I felt the tears coming back to surface.

"Okay, lets slow down a bit. I don't need to get in trouble again." Earl set a glass of water in front of me. I only glared at him. Was he really going to cut me off? I just had my heart broken!

"Not tonight Earl. I need to forget." I finished off my second drink and motioned for a refill. Earl only sighed in defeat, knowing that I needed it.

"So..." I only lifted my eyebrows to his unfinished question. "I feel the need to ask, when did you know?" I just stared at him in confusion. Know what? I didn't even know what we were talking about anymore. Were we still on Havoc?

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...when did you realize you loved him? By your reaction, it seems to me like you've loved him for a long time. I was just curious as to when you actually noticed." I never really thought about it. When did I realize I had feelings for Havoc? I gave it some thought when I knew exactly the moment I fell for him.

"I had joined the Military Academy, left my mom and everything in my hometown and swore to never go back. I had nothing to go back to..." I was starting to get into a whole other story. I quickly got back on topic before Earl could ask any more questions. "Cliques were formed, and everyone kind of stayed with their group. I made friends with some girls, they tended to flirt a lot with the guys... Actually, now that I think about it, everyone flirted. It was like a disease."

"You didn't?"

"No. I've always had the tendency to have tunnel vision. I could only ever see what was in front of me, which at the time, was getting into the military. I stayed to myself for the most part." I paused for a moment, recollecting the memory. "There was this group of guys, I thought they were all tools, especially this one guy. He would bounce from one girl to the next. He was in his last year at the academy, so he thought he was the king. I was completely disgusted by him."

"Did he ever try a move on you?" Earl was amused by my story.

"Yes! Several times." I started laughing remembering all the ridiculous things he would try to pull. They would never work.

"Was this guy Havoc?"

"Yah..." I took another gulp of my drink. My mind started to take me back to those memories.

"How many times do I have to tell you no, Havoc? Just leave me alone!" I was storming down one of the corridors in the Military Academy, trying my best to ditch Havoc. He was putting up a good fight, it seemed effortless for him to walk my pace. Apparently me practically running to get away from him wasn't sinking in. Why couldn't he get the hint?

"As many times as it takes to get the yes." He was such a womanizer! Nothing pissed me off more than him. He had just started going out with another senior a couple of days ago. Did they already break up?

"Why don't you go ask someone who actually wants to be in the same breathing space as you?"

"They're no fun! You're the only one making it a challenge." This guy didn't make any sense. I thought guys liked easy? If only he would give up easily.

"Hey Havoc!" He stopped in his tracks, finally giving me my freedom. I didn't stop with him. I knew it was another female who grabbed his attention, which means I had plenty of time to get away. It felt like I could breath for the first time since he started tailing me, which was breakfast!

"It got to the point where he stopped trying with all the other girls and just I became his main target!" I'll admit, I enjoyed it. Just a little, being bothered by a man in such a way. "He was the best shot in the whole academy and his confidence matched! I've never been so annoyed by a man than him." Earl couldn't help but laugh as I continued. "Once a year, the academy would bring all the classes together in the gym. They would pair all the girls with guys, they would do it anonymously. They then told us that we would be sparring, hand to hand combat, with our partner. It was meant for the men to get use to not seeing women as women, but as the enemy. To get them use to hitting women. It was also a way for the women to get use to the blow of a man. They tend to hit a lot harder than us. Of course, with my luck, I got partnered with the guy who had the most muscle."

"Lovington! You'll be sparring with Ellis!" It was just my luck. I looked over to the group of guys. Ellis' smile couldn't be any bigger. All my friends were trying to pump me up, but it was useless. That man was practically all muscle. Even if I were to get a punch, or even a kick, he would probably only giggle. Not to mention he was a year ahead of me. "Take your places." I slowly made my way to the mat, trying to think of a strategy to survive.

"Kick his ass, Abby!" Most of the gym was cheering me on, crossing their fingers that I would still have a beating heart in the end. The others, they were rooting for Ellis to put me on my back for good. It kinda pissed me off, which got me pumped. I had to have some kind of chance. Granted he was a brick wall, but everyone has a soft point. I had to at least try and not have all my alchemy training come out for nothing.

I zoned in and started going through my strategy. Ellis cracked his knuckles, trying to intimidate me. It didn't work. The drill sergeant stood in between us, to the side, with his arm lifted in the air.

"Both opponents, are you ready?" Ellis started chuckling, while I only glared at my target. Sergeant took our response as a yes and quickly dropped his hand down. It took no time for Ellis to charge me. I wasn't expecting someone of his size to move so quickly. I almost didn't get out of the way of his first punch. I knew I had to be the one to deliver the first blow. If I didn't, the match would be over, before it even began. Ellis didn't let up. He kept coming at me, becoming more and more agitated with every dodge.

"Stop running and fight like a soldier!" He finally did it. He left an opening for me to swoop in and land a hard punch under his chin. I couldn't help but feel proud of myself, but when he started laughing, my heart sank. I looked up at him, with my fist still contacting his chin. He smiling down at me, knowing he had me. I couldn't move away fast enough, and he landed a blow right in my stomach. I went right down to my knees, trying to desperately to find my breath. Ellis didn't give me a chance. He landed yet another hard blow to face, making me fly a few feet and landed on my back. I've never felt so much pain. I've sparred with my teacher plenty of times. I've never won a single match with her, but this was different. Ellis wasn't letting up. He continued to throw punch after punch. I could hear everyone around me start to protest, demanding the drill sergeant to end the fight. The sergeant responded to the pleas by grabbing Ellis' wrist before he went down for another blow. I couldn't stop thanking God that it was over, but I couldn't move. I was in too much pain, and I swear I was coughing up blood.

"He-he almost killed me." Earl was intently listening. "The exercise was to get us use to fighting the different gender, but...he took it too far. I was rushed to the hospital, and I stayed there for a few weeks. My friends would come to visit, kept me updated, but one day they came barring good news. They told me that someone had almost beat the life out of Ellis."

"What?" I couldn't believe what I just heard. My friends were in my hospital room, and they just told me that Ellis was only a few rooms down from mine. Someone had jumped him and almost beat the life out of him.

"Yah! We stopped by his room really quick before coming here. Let me tell you, Abby, he looks A LOT worse than when you were first admitted here." Jessica snickered loudly.

"Who did it?"

"No idea, but there's a rumor going around that it was revenge for you!"

"What?! Me?"

"Well, it makes sense. Why else would anyone want to risk their life with Ellis?"

"I heard it was Havoc." Amy quietly put in her two pieces. I starred at her in disbelief. I almost couldn't wrap my mind around it.

"What? Where did you hear that, Amy?" Sophia didn't seem to believe it either.

"Some people were talking about it. I overheard the conversation."

"So, in other words, it just people spouting nonsense." Sophia wasn't impressed with Amy's source.

"I guess...but I think it's true. After all, he has been interested in you lately." Amy was really defending her theory.

"Havoc's interested in anything that moves and has breasts." I couldn't help but laugh at the truthfulness of Jessica's statement. The three of them continued to go back and forth with the rumor being true or not. I didn't know what I thought about the information. Personally, I just wanted to get checked out of the hospital.

"Is that when you knew?" There was hope in Earl's voice.

"No." I couldn't help but chuckle when Earl gave me a disappointed look. "I mean, not really. I did feel something, but it wasn't anything strong. It wasn't until Havoc had visited me in the hospital for the first time."

I only had one more night to spend in this hospital, and then I would be back at the Academy, in my own bed. The swelling in my face was almost completely down, and the bruising around my eye was hardly noticeable. It felt nice to be able to use both my eyes.

"Abby, I know you've had a long day, but you have a visitor." Nurse Lucas popped his head in my room.

"I'm always up for my ladies!"

"Actually, it not the three stooges this time." Nurse Lucas seemed very relieved. I, on the other hand, was confused. Who else would be visiting me? Just then, Havoc came walking into the room, looking a bit sheepish. "Let me know if you need anything." I assumed Nurse Lucas was talking to me, since I was the patient.

"Hey Havoc..."

"Hey." He took a chair and pulled it up to my bed. "You look a lot better than what your friends are telling everyone."

"What?"

"Well, according to them, your eye is just barely hanging out of your socket, and you're in a full body cast."

"No, they're not!" There was no way I would believe that. Who did he think I was? He started laughing when I tried to throw some punches at him.

"Why do think I'm here? I had to see for myself." Now that I think of it, why was he here? There was one question, however, I wanted to ask. That way I could clear the rumor once and for all.

"Hey Havoc...about Ellis, did you-"

"Abby..." Nurse Lucas popped his head back in, looking defeated. "The three stooges are here." He wanted to cry so badly when Jessica started demanding beverages from him.

"There's 500 yen, that should be more than enough to get us all something to-" Jessica's eyes landed on Havoc, which seemed to put her in confusion. "What the heck are you doing here?" She knew he wasn't my favorite cup of tea. Havoc seemed to be lost for words.

"Just wanted to check in and see her for myself, since you three can't stop exaggerating her condition."

"The hell- we've never exaggerated! You just made that up! Probably an excuse to stalk her again?"

"Stalk? I've never stalked Abby!" Havoc had to get up to dodge some of Jessica's combat moves. "Alright, I can tell when I'm not wanted." He ducked when Jessica threw my file chart at him. "Abby, I'll see you when you're back." I almost didn't catch it, but he looked disappointed before he left.

"The next day, I woke up to a new vase of flowers in my room. When I asked my nurse if I had any visitors after I fell asleep, he mentioned that Havoc had stopped by again. Of course, he was informed that visiting hours were over, so Havoc gave him the vase to leave in my room. The vase was full of Yarrow Tulips." I remembered how beautiful the arrangement was. They filled my room with the loveliest smell. "Do you know the specific meaning behind a Yarrow Tulip?"

"Tulip? Doesn't it mean forgiveness?"

"No." I made a small chuckle. "My mother is a flower fanatic. She had so many books on them, and when I had nothing better to do, I'd read them with her. A Yarrow Tulip meaning is for good health. That's when it happened. Of all times, that's when I fell in love with him." I started tearing up again. "Anyway, I never heard from him after he graduated, but I never got over how I felt about it. I would catch myself thinking about him throughout the days. A couple years later, after graduating the academy and becoming a State Alchemist, I was moved here. To the Eastern Headquarters, on Mustang's team, where I ran into Havoc once again. He had changed, completely. He wasn't the womanizer he was back in the Academy. He seemed more serious. Which only made me fall for him all over. I never thought, in my wildest dreams, that I would ever see him again. Let alone be on the same team. Crazy how it works sometimes."

"What happened when you joined? Did he still seek you out?" His question only made me laugh.

"No. He actually forgot me. I had to reintroduce myself all over again, like it was the first time ever meeting him."

"That's kinda weird. You would think he'd remember the girl he almost killed a man over."

"Well, I never found out if he actually did it. For all I know, it's still just a crazy rumor someone started." I quickly finished my third drink. I was debating to ask for another one. I was starting to really feel the first two. I did have the next couple of days off. I pushed my glass to Earl no longer giving a crap. "One more for the road!" ~

END OF CHAPTER 7

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There will be more coming! Don't be afraid to leave a review! I don't mind helpful criticism or even just letting me know you enjoy reading! ^-^

THANKS FOR READING!