XI

~ The sun had been up for a couple hours now. There was still that hint of a new day glow outside, looked like it was going to be nice. I sat alone at the dining table that is rarely used, my hands were placed around the clean, empty coffee mug that I had pulled from the cupboard. The house was completely silent. All I could hear was the ticking of the clock as it reached mid-morning. I focused on that sound as I stared blankly at the liquor bottle that was just a quick reach away. Mustang had left earlier this morning. He and Riza had boarded the first train to Central, to help Gracia at her time of most need. I had begged Mustang for me to go with, but he had ended up ordering me to stay behind. Something about I was needed here, to keep things in check. He had given me "permission" for a day of leave to gather myself. Right before walking out the door, leaving me to myself. He also ordered no alcoholic consumption. Bastard. He honestly thought he could leave me all alone, to my torturous thoughts and not try to subdue them? The last few hours had been the worse. From frantic denial, to finally accepting the unimaginable. It took a while before Mustang had regained his composure, then he went back to his usual self. He even ended up calming me down. I shot up from my chair and threw the mug across the room, having it shatter against the wall. I couldn't sit here any longer. I was about to go insane from my own thoughts. I grabbed a light jacket from the coat closet, assuming there was a nip in the air, and stormed out of the house.

The walk to Headquarters had done me good, but it only wasted a good hour of the long day that was a head. I hesitated before marching up the stairs and into the building, I wasn't so sure other parties in the facility would appreciate my attire. Especially when I was planning on being here to work. I was still in the cloths I wore last night when dress shopping with Hawkeye and Emily. It was weird to think how different things were such a short time ago. I did get a few looks as I walked through the halls, but for the most part people were too busy with what they were doing to even notice me. Without missing a step in my stride, I opened the door to Mustang's office and shut it behind me as I continued into the room. I didn't bother greeting anyone, even though all eyes were on me. Mustang had called them all before leaving this morning, informing them what had happened, and where he would be.

"Abby, what are you doing here? The Colonel said to take the day off." Fuery carefully stepped towards me.

"There's too much to be done here for me to take a day off. Besides, I finished all my chores in the house, so I'd just end up bored." I sat down at my desk and grabbed the top paper.

"Yah, but…" Fuery's voice trailed off as he looked around the room for support from the others. They only remained quiet.

"How are you?" Breda pulled up the seat next to me. I was really hoping no one would ask that. I could feel all their eyes on me, carefully analyzing me.

"I'm fine." I continued my paperwork without looking up or pausing. I know it was obvious that I was anything but fine. I had cried enough to last me a lifetime last night. Not to mention I was running on little to no sleep. The few moments of shut eye I had were ruined by terrorizing nightmares.

"Well…if you want, we're all planning to go out and honor a few drinks to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." My hand stopped writing at the sound of his name. I tried to brush it off and continued to finish writing my sentence.

"Can't. Sorry."

"You sure?"

"I promised the Colonel that I wouldn't drink. I guess I'm still on probation. Besides…" I hesitated a moment, choosing a different way to word what I wanted to say. "A few shots of liquor to honor Hughes wouldn't help." It still sounded harsh. I slammed my pen down to the table, only becoming more annoyed with myself. A tension of silence filled the room. No one moved, no one spoke. What scared me the most now was knowing that sooner or later I would run out of things to do here. Which meant I would have to go back to that house, alone.

"When is the Colonel supposed to be back?" Falman asked behind me.

"Tuesday. They bury-" My voice gave out at the thought of it. "The funeral…is Monday. Mustang plans on being on the first train Tuesday. He should be back early evening." Which meant I was going to be alone for the weekend.

"How about this…" Sounded like Havoc had a plan. "Instead of going out, we all go over to Colonel's place, have a few drinks to honor the man, play some cards and try to have a good time? I know the guys were wanting to have another home cooked meal from you." Everyone's gaze shifted back to me. There seemed to be a bit eagerness in their stare. It was a bit intimidating, but I thought it was a brilliant plan. Anything sounded fabulous as long as it didn't end up with me being alone.

"Sure. Sounds good, just as long as you bring your own booze. I don't need to get a lecture from the Colonel when he returns." Even if he would believe I didn't drink any of it, I would still get hounded for letting these goons touch his prized collection. Everyone seemed to perk up a bit with the new plan in motion. Even I felt a bit better, knowing that I could count on my team to be there even when they didn't realize they were.

It was dark. Not so dark that I couldn't see what was in front of me, but just dark enough to make me second guess where my foot was landing. I was hunched over trying to catch my breath, my body completely covered in sweat.

"Come on, we have to keep moving!" A hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward. I didn't want to go. It felt like my legs were going to fall off any second, not to mention my lungs didn't seem like they were working anymore. It hurt to breath. Our footsteps echoed frantically in the dark tunnels. I think we were underground somewhere?

"I can't." I forced myself to my knees. I just wanted the hand to let me go. I was only becoming dead weight. The grip around my wrist only tightened. They knelt down beside me just so they could help me back up to my feet. I wanted to cry.

"Keep moving. It's catching up!" My stomach dropped hearing those words. It was coming. My fear once again fueling my legs to move. We were running what seemed like eternity, twisting, and turning every corner we came at, not pausing too long for fear every second we gave it only gave it that much more time to catch up. My legs had gone numb, which caused me to trip over my own feet this time. The hand still didn't let go. I felt it only trying to get me back up.

"Just go! I'm done. The way out has to be close; you can still make it." It was so hard to talk. Every breath was painful.

"I'm not leaving you!" The hand only pulled harder.

"Damn it Havoc! Just do what I say! For once in your life!" His face was clear for the first time. It held sheer terror as he kept trying to desperately get me back up.

My eyes slowly opened as I came back to reality. I was taking in my surroundings, trying to figure out where I was. I think I was in Mustang's personal office, on one of the couches. When did I move here, and more importantly, when did I fall asleep? The last thing I remember I was helping with the paperwork with Falman. Havoc and Breda went out to get lunch, while Fuery ran to the bathroom. I don't even remember laying my head down. I propped myself up and felt a little extra weight on my body. I flipped around on my back and sat up to look at what was on me. A uniform jacket? Must be one of guys. It was pretty big. Covered more than half of my body. It's probably Breda's. It was all too weird. I've never passed out like that before, and the dream…What was that about? I brought my hands up to rub my eyes. They felt so dry and there was a good twinge in my head. A quiet knock was at the door, followed by a slow door opening.

"Abby?" Havoc's face peeked in.

"I'm awake." My voice had a good frog in it. I tried to clear my throat but with little luck. I was going to need some water.

"How are you feeling?" He opened the door all the way and walked towards the couch to sit by me.

"Confused?" I guess that's the closest to what I'm feeling at the moment. "I'm trying to figure out how I ended up here. I don't even remember falling asleep."

"Oh, well, when Breda and I came back from lunch you were passed out on your desk. Falman said your head literally hit the desk and you didn't budge one bit. Even when he tried to get you up." That explains the head pain. "So, I carried you in here, and Breda lent you the coat, since his gave you the most body coverage." I looked back down at the jacket with a small smile. "So, I guess his extra love does come in handy." Havoc's smile was a bit quirky. A quick scoff escaped my mouth.

"His what?" I wasn't sure if I was still half asleep or if I just heard him wrong.

"His extra love. That's what he calls his, well…extra fat. Says there's just more of him to love. He claims the ladies really dig it." My laughter was a bit loud and rough for my taste. I tried my best to quiet myself down by closing my mouth. It helped a bit. I just started shaking my head in disbelief. Leave it to them to get me to laugh at a time like this. "Seems like you're a bit better?" There was hope in his voice. I didn't know how to respond. It was still hard to accept the truth. I could still feel the small void in my heart, but maybe, I was a bit better.

"I'm fine." We sat there in silence until Falman came into the room.

"We're all ready to head out."

"Oh, alright. Do we need to stop anywhere first?" I stood up from the couch and made my way to Falman.

"Well, we were all wanting to stop and get some beer…do you need to get anything for dinner tonight?" Good question. Not only did I not have clue what to make but I couldn't even remember what we had stocked at the house.

"Maybe. I guess we can all go shopping. Where are the other two?"

"They're in car, waiting." With that, we all exited the room, making sure Mustang's office was locked up behind us.

I picked up a few things at the grocery store since I got an idea what to make there. I was just hoping that I was correct and had the other ingredients here at the house. I placed the few grocery bags on the floor in the kitchen while the men brought in the alcohol. They went a bit crazy with it. They couldn't agree what beer they wanted, and then they got in an argument about beer hogging, so they all ended up getting their own case. I tried to get them to reconsider, but they were adamant that they were going to drink it all. I guess even if they didn't, they could always save it for another rainy day.

"Hey, Abby, where do you want to put all this?" Fuery was trying his best to hold up his case of beer.

"We can just put it by the fridge so it's easier to stock through the night."

"Okay." The rest of them lined up, stacking up their cases by the fridge. When they exited the kitchen, I saw them all pause at the door. I glanced up, trying to see what they were doing. They were just standing there. I walked over to see they were staring at something. My broken mug from this morning. Crap! I forgot to clean it up. I pushed past them and started carefully picking up the pieces. Luckily it broke in big chunks, with just a few small fragments. Just as I predicted, when I turned around, they were all staring at me with concern. Now I was going to need to convince that I'm fine, again.

"No need for those faces, I just had an accident this morning." I tried my best to give them a small smile. They didn't budge. "Why don't you guys go set up the table and start your gambling? I'm gonna get dinner ready." I moved past them to the kitchen again, and threw away the glass, cursing at myself for not picking it up before I left today. I sighed with some relief when I heard the boys setting up the dining table. They were even jabbing at each other about who was going to lose. I started loading the fridge with a few beers of each, while I waited for the oven to warm up. Even though I knew they were going to be worried about me all night, I couldn't help but be grateful they were here. I'd be much worse if they weren't.

Everyone was sitting around the table, now happily full from dinner. They all even had happy smirks on their faces. I admit it wasn't my best dish, but on such short notice, I did pretty good.

"Man, Colonel is one lucky guy. I'd kill to have this kind of cooking every night." Breda said while rubbing his stomach. It made me think of what Havoc said earlier today. Extra love. I snorted at the thought. I started to gather the dishes to put in the sink to soak for the night. Fuery even started to help.

"All right boys, where did we leave off?" I asked as I took the dishes to the sink, with Fuery right behind me.

"I think you were about to lose, Lovington." I hear the cocky smirk on Havoc's face. It pissed me off. Fuery and I entered the dining room after we placed the dishes in the sink.

"I guess we'll find out." I said as I sat down, and everyone picked up their cards. I wasn't doing too bad. I was in third place, but soon, I would beat Falman. I could feel it! Poor Fuery was losing just about every time, he just didn't have a poker face. Falman's poker face was decent, he was even second best from Havoc. Breda, however, just couldn't get a good hand. Then again, the more drunk Breda got, the easier it was to read him. Whereas the more drunk Falman and Havoc got, the harder it was to read them. Havoc put his cards down to light his cigarette that he had in his mouth for a while.

"I'm out." Fuery set his cards down in defeat once again.

"Me too." Falman followed. It was down to us three. Breda has a decent hand, but real question is, how decent? I had no idea what Havoc might have. It irked me that I couldn't ever get a good read on him.

"I raise." Breda said throwing in an extra $10.

"I call." I threw in another $10. Havoc matched, while giving me a nice big smile. Bastard! The three of us eyed each other before flipping our cards over. My head hit the table when I saw Havoc's hand. He had a great hand! Breda was mumbling something under his breath as Havoc gathered up his loot. Probably calling him a dirty bastard, because that's what I was doing.

"Alright, keep them coming!" Havoc's smile couldn't be any cockier. If I continued to play I wouldn't have any pride left. I stood up and headed back into the kitchen.

"Whoa! Lovington, where are you going? We have another round!" Havoc protested my disappearance. Everyone else seemed to be up for it. It was like they were determined to beat Havoc.

"I'm done for the night. I don't need to fuel your ego anymore." I started to the stove and placed my tea kettle on the fire. I'd probably be having a more enjoyable time throwing my money away if I was able to drink something with a little more kick to it. I guess I'll just have to settle with my calming chamomile tea. I made my way back into the dining area while I waited for my water to start boiling only to see two empty seats. "Where did Breda and Havoc go?" Havoc's been smoking inside all night, so I found it odd that he would suddenly be going outside now, and Breda disappearing with him only made me more suspicious. Falman and Fuery didn't even look up from their cards, they just pointed in the direction of the liquor cabinet. My mind filled with panic when I saw two bodies standing there with the cabinet door wide open. "Hey!" I ran over to try and squeeze myself in between the two of them.

"Oh, good you're here! Now you can help us choose!" Breda seemed excited.

"We're not choosing anything! This is Mustang's special collection, if he finds out we drank even a drop from ANY bottle, my ass is ash!"

"Wow! I can believe he has this! It's a good year too!" Havoc was examining one of the best Scotch Mustang had. Even he barely drank any of it. He only opened that bottle when things were really bad, like last night. I quickly snatched the bottle away from Havoc, seeing how much Mustang drank last night. I placed the bottle back where it was and tried closing the cabinet doors. Havoc's hand was in the way, and he didn't want to budge.

"I'm serious Havoc, you're not getting your hands on this!" We were now having a tug-of-war with the door, and I was unfortunately loosing.

"We're just going to have one shot Lovington. No reason to lose your cool." It only upset me more hearing him say that. I started pulling on the door even harder. Havoc's other hand gently covered both of my hands that were on the door. I realized for the first time that he's only been using one hand this whole time, while I've been using both of mine with all my might. Talk about having upper strength. "It's for Hughes." I stopped pulling then. I never understood taking an alcoholic shot in "honor" of a fellow comrade. Mustang seemed to take the gesture to heart, and if it helped to put ease to everyone else's hearts, then why should I stop them? I'm sure Mustang would understand, as long as it was only one shot from each of us, and if we used one of his lease favorite bottles. I slipped my hand out from under Havoc's hand and grabbed one of the bottles up front.

"Just one." I held the bottle up to Havoc without looking at him. Just then I heard the kettle start to whistle violently. I ran back into the kitchen and placed the kettle on a different, cooler burner.

"Hey, Lovington, when you come back in here, can you bring five shot glasses?" Breda's shouted from the dining room.

"I'll bring in four. I'm not-"

"Yes you are." Havoc cut me off. Apparently I no longer had reign in this house. I prepared my cup of tea and left it on the counter as I went back to the dining room with the five glasses. I figured I'd let it steep while I broke my promise to Mustang. I laid out all the glasses in front of Havoc as he poured in the liquor. I passed out the full shot glasses to everyone, making me being the last to receive mine. Everyone just stood around, as if debating what to do. Were we waiting for someone to say something? Someone should say something. I cleared my throat quickly and slightly raised my glass. Everyone's eyes fell on me. I didn't know what to say. What could I say? There were no words that I could use to describe how much I was going to miss Hughes. No words could describe the pain I felt in my heart, but I had to say something. For Hughes's sake.

"To Hugh-" I remembered then, the last conversation I had with him. A smile slowly crept on my face as I cleared my throat again before I corrected myself. "To Maes. A man who will be greatly missed, and always remembered." I took my swig and slammed my glass on the table as I fought the tears back. I know I should have said more, but I couldn't. Fuery was now coughing from the liquor. He normally stayed away from the hard stuff. "Alright…so, where were we?"

The night was getting late, and the boys were running out of money. Except Havoc of course. Fuery was doing a little better, since I started to team up with him. I think he won half his back. I was curled up in my chair right next to him, with my cup of tea. I would lean in sometimes to help him arrange his cards and every time we would get nasty glares from the other three.

"Ok fellas, I think this will be the last game, and then we call it quits." Falman said after a big yawn. My stomach sank a bit thinking I would be left alone here again.

"You know, it's pretty late. I'm pretty sure the taxi services are closed, and you're all too drunk to drive." I was hoping I didn't sound desperate. Everyone glanced up at the clock to see the time. It was just a bit after 3:30AM. "Why don't you guys just crash here for the night?" Their eyes seemed so tired when they went back to the cards.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Breda said as he put his cards face down and took a nice stretch. Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.

"Where are we going to sleep though?" I almost couldn't make out what Fuery asked. He definitely needed to call it a night and sleep all this off.

"Well, I still have the cot that I bought for Havoc when he was staying here, and someone could take Mustang's bed."

"Dibs." Is all Havoc said.

"Me too." Breda chimed in.

"I don't think so." Apparently Havoc didn't want to share.

"What? Why not! It's not like we both can't fit."

"I'm not sharing a bed with you ever again." Havoc discarded some of his cards and pulled from the pile.

"Are you still holding a grudge from the Academy? I didn't do it on purpose!"

"You better not of done it on purpose! Besides, I'm not giving you another chance." That's right. Breda and Havoc were roommates back then. I remember hearing rumors of someone catching them in bed together. Apparently, Breda's a sleepwalker and crawled right in bed with Havoc. It took Havoc weeks to get the rumor to clear.

"Fine, then I get the cot." Breda mumbled as he shuffled his new cards in his hands.

"Sorry Breda, but I'm giving the cot to Fuery." I said before taking a sip of my tea.

"What!? That's not right! Why does he get it?"

"Because he's my favorite, and I'm not going to have him sleep on the floor!"

"Well, were are am I supposed to sleep?"

"Yay! I'm Abby's favorite!" Fuery threw his cards in the air and turned to hug me.

"Fuery! You had a really good hand." I said in between giggles. He started to rub his cheek against mine.

"Hey, you two, get a room if you're gonna do that!" Havoc stood up and tried his best to pull Fuery away from me. Falman's arm that was holding his cards fell off the table causing all his cards to fall to the floor. He started snoring away immediately. I think poker was over. Fuery finally let go of me, and I stood up right away to run into the kitchen. I set my teacup in the sink and giggled to myself as I heard Fuery and Havoc argue, with Breda trying to put in his piece about the cot. I couldn't help but sigh when I saw the mess I had to clean in the morning. I guess it would keep me busy through the weekend…if I took my sweet time. "It's good to see you smiling." Havoc was somehow next to me. I didn't even notice him coming him. He didn't even seem to be drunk like the rest of them. Just how much would he need to drink? "We were all worried about you."

"Sorry." I didn't want them to worry about me. I was going to be fine. I just needed to make it through this night, and I should be fine.

"You know it's okay to cry, right? We wouldn't think any less of you."

"I know? I'm fine. Honest." I tried my best to smile. It suddenly became hard to do. Why was he saying this? It was making me uncomfortable. I didn't want to cry anymore. I've done it enough to last me a lifetime already.

"Okay, and just know that if you need anything we are always going to be here for you…" I couldn't hear him anymore. I was getting so frustrated by his words that all I could hear was my blood pumping in my veins. I didn't want to hear another word about how everything was going to be ok, or who was there for me. I already knew everything he was saying to me. I just didn't need to hear it. I didn't want to talk about Maes. I didn't want to discuss how broken I felt or how I was trying my best to keep it together. I just wanted everyone to ignore my pain just like how I was trying to.

"I SAID I'M FINE HAVOC!" My hand slammed on the counter, cutting him off before he could say another word. We both stood there in shock. I didn't mean to snap. I just wanted him to stop talking, but that was no reason to yell at him like that. He was only expressing his concern. "Sorry." I quickly turned around and walked out of the kitchen. He didn't follow. Breda seemed to have heard the commotion. He was cautious with me. Falman was still passed out and Fuery was trying his best to stand up. "Breda, help me get Fuery to the couch until I'm able to set up the cot for him."

Everyone was tucked away in bed, snoring away. I had lit a fire in the fireplace to keep Breda, who chose to sleep on the floor next to Fuery, warm. Breda and I decided to leave Falman where he was, and he could move himself if he ever woke up. Havoc had snuck away into Mustang's room without saying another word to anyone. As for me, I was able to fall asleep a lot easier than I thought I would. I passed out pretty much as soon as my head hit the pillow, but I was restless in bed. My body was shifting all over and low whimpers escaped my mouth as my nightmare from later continued…

We were still running with all we had, and we didn't have much more in us. It would only be a matter of minutes before we would fall from exhaustion. It seemed like no matter how far we ran the monster was right on our heels. Then we saw it. Daylight! It was glowing out of the door right in front of us. Havoc's hand that was already holding mine tightened as he picked up his pace. I tried my best to keep up without stumbling. I could feel the tears of relief seeing the light come out of the door. We didn't slow down when we reach the door, we just slammed our bodies and fell right in. We were both panting hysterically on the floor, trying to desperately catch our breath before our lungs exploded. We were also taking in our surroundings, noticing that there were no surroundings. I propped myself up on my arm to try to get a better look at the room.

There was nothing. It was a pure white, empty room. I couldn't even tell if there were walls or if it ever ended. Havoc stood up and started walking more into the room, trying to figure out what this place was. I followed him as my breath slowly started to come back. It was so bright, it kinda of hurt my eyes. Then, almost in an instant, a shiver went down my back, paralyzing me. My body started to shake as I slowly turned around to the door we entered. All I could see was darkness. Then, there were these beading red eyes, glowing in that darkness. I had lost my breath all over again and couldn't seem to catch it. Havoc didn't realize the danger we were once again in. He was still facing the other way, analyzing the room.

"Ha-Hav-Ha-Havo-" I was trying so hard to get his attention, but my voice was so small, and I couldn't seem to form the words I wanted. He was only just a few feet away, but it felt like more. My body only started to shake more when I couldn't call for help. Then I heard it. It wasn't like a gun shot, but it was the closest thing I could describe it as. Havoc's body went very still, as did mine. My eyes widened in horror as I turned to look at Havoc to see blood running down his back. He fell to his knees, and then hit the ground with his full body. My breathing only quickened more as I watched him bleed out. Fear and anger overwhelmed my body as I quickly looked back at the beast, but they were too fast. I didn't even have time to think of what to do before something had stabbed me right in the throat. I too fell to the ground and saw my own blood rush out of my body and onto the floor. My eyes then found Havoc's lifeless body, once more. I reached out to him, trying to desperately erase the distance between. This isn't how I wanted it to end….

"NO!" I shot up in bed, covered in sweat and tears. My body was shaking like it was in the nightmare. I was shaken badly. It all felt real. Was it real? I had stopped breathing as I remember seeing Havoc's body, lifeless and covered in blood. I shot out of bed and very clumsily ripped my door open as I ran down the hall to Mustang's room. I started to bang on the door, with no consideration of who was all trying to sleep. I stood there for a few seconds before banging on the door again. I wasn't hearing any type of life on the other side. My body started to shake even more with the thought of my dream being real. Just as I was about to open the door myself, it finally swung open. Havoc was leaning on it, as if to support his still bed ridden body.

"What the hell is going on?" He was rubbing one of his eyes, trying to wake himself up. He obviously didn't sound happy. I could feel the instant relief of my nightmare wash away, but it didn't stop the shaking. Havoc opened his eyes a bit more to see who was staying silent at the door. When he saw the condition I was in, his eyes shot wide open, and I could tell he was fully awake now. "Hey, what's wrong? Did something happen?" He was hesitant to reach out and touch me. I didn't care. I didn't know how to answer. I could feel the tears start to fall down my cheek, and I didn't care. I knew there was no stopping them, nor was I in the right mind set to try and stop them. There was only one thing that I knew at this time.

"I'm…I'm not fine." I whimpered out before I ran into his body, his one arm wrapped around me while his other hand braced the door frame to balance us out, so we didn't go falling down on the floor. I tried my best to muffle my sobs in his bare chest, but I had a feeling I wasn't succeeding very well. Havoc only held onto me tighter, letting go of the frame once he knew we wouldn't tumble, to place his hand on top of my head.

"Did you have a nightmare?" I couldn't answer his question, because to me, it wasn't just a nightmare. It was real. It was so real.

"Is everything alright?" My body stiffened a bit when I heard Breda behind me.

"Yah, I think she had a bad nightmare. I'm gonna take her back to her room when I settle her down." Hearing that only started my panic all over. I didn't want to go back into that bed. I didn't want to have another nightmare. My grip on Havoc tightened greatly.

"No. Please. I don't want to be alone!" Havoc pressed on my head slightly while he gently shushed me.

"It's okay. It's alright." I could tell he was debating what to do. It was wrong for me to be in the same room as him for more than one reason. First and most important reason, he has a girlfriend. Second, this was Mustang's room, and he was very conservative about bedroom morals. I just didn't care. I know it was wrong of me to be asking this, but I needed him. Not Breda, not Fuery, and definitely not Falman. "Come on." Havoc started to guide me into the bedroom without closing the door. I was fine with that. To be honest, it made me feel a bit better about the whole thing. He tucked me in where he was just sleeping. The bed was still warm from his very living body. I could hear both Breda and him mumbling in the doorway. I noticed that Havoc was still in his jeans from today. Was he sleeping in them? I guess if I was sleeping in some other person's bed, I wouldn't want to sleep in just my underwear. It would be a bit rude, and probably unsettling. Then again, he could have just put them on before he answered the door, considering they were unbuttoned and unzipped.

My mind was fixating on how the bed smelt. It was a perfect mixture of Havoc and Mustang. I couldn't feel safer now. My body even started to settle down with the shaking. Breda had finally turned back around to head back to bed. I could see the concern in his eyes before he disappeared. Havoc also turned around and grabbed his under shirt that he was wearing earlier today from the floor. He slipped it on before hopping on the other side of the bed, zipping up his jeans.

"You know you could use some of Mustang's pajamas."

"Thanks, but I don't think they'll fit." Havoc said as he made himself comfortable.

"Oh yah, you're taller than him. Sorry." He wasn't going to get under the covers? In a sense I was fine with it, except that I felt guilty that he had no covers. "If you want, I can get my quilt from my room for you?"

"I'll be fine. It's a bit too hot for covers anyways." I still couldn't help but feel guilty, but I was more at ease. "Do you want to talk about it?" He was watching me carefully now. I suppose I should explain why I was so worked up. I started to explain everything. I didn't inform him that he was also in the dream. I merely stated that I couldn't see the face, but knew the person was dear to me. Which wasn't all a lie. At first I didn't know it was Havoc. When I finished, he patted my head few times, but as he stopped he didn't remove his hand.

"Try and get some sleep now. Things will be better in the morning." He said as he yawned. I slowly closed my eyes and let myself drift off to a dreamless, what was left of the night, sleep.

As I slowly opened my eyes I could see the sun shining brightly through the window. I couldn't tell what time it was. Everything that happened last night seemed distant. I could hear some commotion downstairs. It sounded like someone was cleaning. As I tried to shift my body to lay on my back, I felt a small weight on my body. I realized that one of Havoc's arms was lying on me. I tried to gently lift it off and put it to the side, but it only stirred him to pull me in closer. Clearly he wasn't awake, but it didn't stop my heart from pounding.

"Hey, Havoc?"

"Hmm?"

"Sorry to wake you, but…I'd like to get up." He took a deep breath in and shifted a bit.

"Okay." He didn't budge. Was he even awake?

"Havoc?" I felt him lift his head then, and almost immediately, he unwrapped his arms and pushed himself up in bed.

"Sorry." I looked over my shoulder to see him rubbing his face with his hands. There was a crash sound from downstairs. It sounded like a plate. "What's going on?"

"Not sure. I think someone's cleaning, or I guess I should say, trying to clean." I pushed myself out of bed and walked to the still opened door. I paused before leaving, remembering what I was wearing. My robe was in my room. I didn't really want to take the chance of running to grab it and having someone see me in my nightie. I didn't know who was all still here, or where they all were. I checked behind Mustang's bedroom door and sighed with relief. He left his robe behind. Thank God! Now I can use it! I slipped it over my body and walked out to the stairs. As I made my way down I could see everyone was still accounted for in their beds, everyone except Fuery. I decided to check the kitchen first, since that's where all the noise seemed to be coming from.

"Fuery?" There he was, already more than halfway done with the dishes from last night. He seemed embarrassed when he saw me coming in.

"Sorry. Did I wake you with all the noise?"

"No, your fine, but you didn't have to clean."

"Don't be silly! I wasn't just going to leave all this mess for you to clean." Yah, except I was planning on this mess to keep me busy for the whole weekend.

"Thanks, but honestly Fuery, I'll be fine. It'll help me keep my mind off things." He stopped with his scrubbing and seemed a bit troubled by my words.

"Sorry, I guess you're right."

"You don't need to apologize. I do appreciate you trying to help." I was standing by him now and gently bumped my body with his. He gave me a small smile, to match mine and bumped me back.

"You know if you run out of things to do here, you can always give me call. Maybe you can help me with my poker skills." I started to giggle, remembering last night.

"Sounds good to me. I haven't had a challenge in forever!" I gave him a hug from the side. "Thanks, Fuery." He gave my arms a small squeeze.

"Aren't we just getting chummy." Havoc was now in the kitchen. He pulled up a seat at the island.

"No need to be jealous." There was playfulness in Fuery's voice. It surprised me.

"Who said anything about being jealous? Besides, I got enough love last nigh-" Havoc cut himself off when he realized what he was saying. Our eyes met, and we both had to look away, blushing. Fuery seemed confused.

"Anyway! Who wants breakfast?" I needed to change the topic before question started to fly. Also, I wanted to make the dishes Fuery just washed dirty again. I was kinda hoping that the smell of bacon would force Breda and Falman to wake up.

"Oh! Can you make french toast?" Fuery asked as he pulled some milk out of the fridge.

"Maybe…how many eggs do I have in the fridge?" Fuery opened the egg carton and started to count. Judging by the small pause for his counting, I had enough.

"8. Is that going to be enough?"

"Of course." I then stopped and thought about who it was I was about to feed. We ran out of food very quickly last night. Fuery and Falman had a good appetite, but between Breda and Havoc, they were like an army of their own when it came to feeding. "Or I guess I should say, I hope so." Fuery pulled out the eggs and set them by the stove. I grabbed the bread, that was a little more than halfway full. "Fuery, could you also pull the bacon?" I guess they could always fill themselves up with bacon. Mustang and I don't really ever eat the stuff. Every once in a while I would treat Mustang to it, but that was it. Plus, there was some fresh fruit, so either way they would be leaving with full bellies! I cracked open the first egg and dropped it into a bowl while I waited for my pan to warm up on the stove.

"Oh, good morning Breda." Fuery welcomed our newly awakened guest. Breda was shuffling his feet on the kitchen floor and plopped his butt next to Havoc. His eyes were still more than halfway closed.

"Wow, I'm impressed. I didn't even start the bacon and you're already up?"

"Was that a compliment?" His voice sounded so rough.

"Only if you want it to be."

"Where's Falman? I thought he was a light sleeper?" Havoc chipped in.

"Usually he is, but he practically drank himself to death last night. I don't think even a fret train could wake him up now." Breda made a big yawn.

"Hmm, well more food for you guys then." Breda seemed more cheerful with that. Even I was feeling a bit better. Everything that happened yesterday didn't seem real. Like it was just one bad dream, but I knew better. I know thinking and pretending anything different wasn't going to help, but having these guys here with me, to help me forget even if it's just for a moment, makes me grateful beyond belief.

"Hey, you guys, knock it off!" I glanced behind me to see Breda and Havoc looking bored as they slowly pile everything that was on the island in front of Fuery's spot. The more Fuery tried to put everything back, the faster they started to pile. Fuery ended up giving up and left the kitchen. I shook my head and laughed quietly to myself as I went back to preparing the food. If there was ever a moment I wanted to freeze and keep forever, it would be this one, but nothing's meant to last forever. ~

END OF CHAPTER 11

THANKS FOR READING! :D

Alrighty, so to be honest I had no idea how to end this one...and I think it shows lmao I could've kept writing to where I wanted it to actually end but I think it would've just been dragged out, you know? It's not like I left anything important out. Just some more casual goings. So I don't know. If you think I should continue on with the chapter or you think it's fine where I left it, let me know what you think! :) THANKS AGAIN!