(( Thank you, reviewers, for bringing up a few points I would have surely missed. There's no denying there will probably be some typos or grammar mistakes in here. My computer's killing off my files and refusing to save over documents. It hates me. I'll try to get the next chapter up more quickly, though, and I will be sure to fix as many flaws as possible. Please keep up the reviews! They help, they truly do!))

Shortly after Maes had died, Gracia had started the small flower shop by herself, about three blocks away from Central headquarters. The original flower woman, Grace, had gotten married to a petty officer and went with the fellow when he was stationed in the East. Beyond that, there were only a few changes that occurred in Riza's absence.

It had been raining that day. It was a Tuesday in the last week of November, and the flower shop's cheerful looking awning was little help against the wet, moody winds. The duo that had scurried under the awning in an effort to evade the rain pounding on the sidewalk interested her. The pair consisted of a woman and her son. From the get-go, they seemed a peculiar pair, but as she approached the glass door to offer them the dry and cozy inside of her shop, their antics only peaked her curiosity. The woman had originally carried her son under the awning. Gracia had seen her from across the street, scooping him up and running to seek what meager sanctuary the street shops could offer. In her valiant dash to screen her son from the cold, relentless downpour, the bun beneath her hat had come loose and the flaxen tresses that had fallen upon her gently sloping shoulders were in mere moments drenched to the point that they stuck to her clammy skin.

She set her son down on the somewhat dry pavement beneath the awning, speaking to him.

" I'm so sorry, mommy forgot to bring an umbrella. And you were late to school as it is…" she was speaking gently to the child, whose face was turned away from the shop window. It didn't help that Gracia could only see their backs. The woman stuck a hand into one of the deep pockets of her coat, drawing out a familiar clip.

"Tch, it's going to rust, with my hair soaked like this. Maes, when this rain lets up, we'll go home and change first. Or I can buy you a towel or something. I don't know…"

"There's a souvenir store next to the ice cream parlor, mom," Maes suggested somewhat helpfully, hope shining through his voice.

"It's too cold for ice cream," the mother replied, then with a start looked at the child, "Did you remember to feed Hayate this morning?"

The child didn't get a chance to respond. Gracia, who was at this point running to the door, flung it open and with an exclamation interrupted their conversation.

"Riza?!" She was finally allowed a chance to see as the woman turned, shock breaking across her familiar, reserved features, and surprise gleaming in that pair of amber eyes.

Gracia's shock was greater as her gaze fell upon the boy. The rain had matted his thick black hair and, like his mother's, it stuck to his pale face. It did not impede, however, on the two clear, intelligent, amber eyes that gazed at the flower tender quizzically.

Riza looked somewhat nervous. Not scared, Riza Hawkeye had never seemed to be scared, not even six years ago, but nervous.

"Gracia?" she inquired, taking up the hand of her child in her own.

Mrs. Hughes smiled, though words left her. Finally, she managed to string together a few sentences. "It's been a while. Come in, before both of you catch cold."

Hours later, the two women sat with mugs of tea, watching Maes juggle orchid bulbs to amuse himself. The rain hadn't let up, and Gracia was insistent that they stay put, if not to enlighten her as to what the former lieutenant had been doing the past six years, then to keep them out of the rain.

"He's never even had a date since I left?" Riza asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. It's rather sad, really. Everyday for the past four years, he'd stop by and ask if there was any news of you. From what I've heard, it seems he'd asked Ross that too."

"Lt. Ross?" Riza responded.

"No, she retired about a year ago. She married Denny," came Gracia's answer.

Riza smiled. She should have known.

"But he stopped asking about me after a while?"

"Yes. I still think he tried to find you these past couple years, but the generals began to suspect something."

"I had hoped my leaving from the start was clear-cut enough to annihilate suspicion."

"I gathered that. Everyone else did, too. Well, we all did, but Roy questioned it. You did a remarkable job at covering your tracks, though," Gracia remarked, some vague traces of bitterness in that final statement.

"I'm so sorry, Gracia. I thought that if I stayed, and word got out, his reputation would be shot down in an instant." Riza said sincerely.

"I know. I forgive you. At first, I admit, I was a little hurt. Everyone was smarting from your resignation. But I understand why. I take it he's six?"

"Yes. Elysia's ten, now, isn't she?" inquired Riza politely.

Gracia nodded in assent. "She looks more like her father every day."

Maes dropped one of the orchid bulbs into a vase at the top of a shelf lined with very colorful lilies. Gracia stood to retrieve it for him. She looked back at Hawkeye, who was staring intently into the rich brown liquid in her cup. She looked close to tears.

"Roy's promotion brought you back, didn't it?"

"Yes," Riza answered. A quiet laugh followed. "News of Führer Mustang's rise to power was brought to Aquroya last week. I had to come here to see for myself."

"Aquroya? So that's where you were. That's interesting. That's where they spent the most time looking for you. It was you that shot the bullets into the wall then, all those years ago?"

"Mmhmm. I hadn't meant to. The guy attacked me out of nowhere trying to steal my purse."

"Yes, Roy was convinced you had been hurt after that. He chased that case like a rabid dog. It was Havoc who shook him out of it. He had been promoted to First Lieutenant to fill in for you. But they all still work directly under him, now that he's Führer. Are you going to see Roy any time soon, Riza? Now that he's at the top, you're free to tell him."

Riza looked out the window. The rain was falling, lighter and lighter. It was almost a drizzle now.

"I hope to," she answered solemnly, "but I think it's rather naïve of me to ask him to take me back."