lostmoonchild: Okay, here's chapter seven. Since I figure that Ross had his depressed moments, I was going to make him sound a bit less depressed for the rest of the story. Let's face it, grief comes in several stages and now it's time for acceptance. Since I haven't been told that I'm going to die (other than typical threats on my life that some people insist on making just cause I'm not exactly the most observant person alive), I'm simply thinking that he'll be planning how he wants to go out and I personally am for the whole "going out with dignity" thing although I don't know if I'd try to get someone to help me kill myself. With that said, let's get this chapter started.

Author's Note: I don't know if anybody's actually reading this but I'll be knocking my updating sessions down to once a week since I'm feeling that these chapters have been rushed and haven't quite gotten the attention that they need.

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or anything else unless I say otherwise.

Chapter Seven

Karma was a bitch. Whenever someone did something, it always found a way to come back. Most of the time it just came back and bit whoever did something wrong right back in the ass.

Ross was silent as he stared out the hospital window, knowing exactly why the nurses looked so solemn. He had found the person behind the whole mess, but at what price? In a year or so he'd be lying in his grave right next to his brothers and sisters. "Well, you look cheerful." A familiar voice said lightly.

The young man looked towards the door, seeing Ed grinning at him. "I take it that somebody's giving you guys hell." Ross said patiently.

Ed shrugged a bit as he sat down. "Well, Mustang's obviously irritated cause you noticed something that the higher ups didn't so they're catching hell." Ed grinned slightly.

"So sorry to be causing trouble."

"And of course all alchemists are being watched just incase."

"Really sorry to be causing trouble."

Ed shrugged again before answering, "Well, nobody really blames you. I mean, anybody who actually saw how you and Rose acted know that it was just a matter of time before you started hunting for the son of a bitch that got her sick to begin with. With what happened to the kids, well, nobody's willing to stop you."

Ross raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" Ross questioned. "Wow, I was under the assumption that Rose had pissed off everybody in the military and nobody was willing to find her killer."

"Your sister won over a bunch of guys. Some of them had been working up the nerve to ask her to go out with them."

The gray-eyed man started coughing, clearly shocked. "What?! I demand to know their names." Ross said sternly. "Seriously, I want to know."

Ed cracked up laughing before looking serious again. "Well, I personally looked into what they were saying about your sister's grave being dug up."

"And?"

"They were spilling a bunch of bullshit. There was apparently an attempt at some point in time but that much was a failure."

"So how would they know about the genetic markers being a negative reaction?"

"I don't know. Maybe somebody managed to get some of her blood and did a test with that."

Ross sighed as he laid back against the pillows, his eyes flickering towards the window. "I don't want to die like my sister did." Ross told the blonde. "I watched her die and I don't want to die the same way."

"Ross…" Ed murmured, his eyes showing pain. "You're not killing yourself."

"I don't plan on dying right away. When the bastards that killed my family are finally dead, then I'll go peacefully."

"If there's a way to stop it, then we'll find it. You just have to have hope."

The man shook his head slightly before replying, "Ed, you and I both know that I'm fucked so let's stop pretending that there's a way to stop it."

Ed shrugged a little as he leaned back against the chair. "Okay, so how about we have a discussion on the next step you're taking. That's bound to be interesting."

"Or we could have a discussion on a rumor that I recently heard."

"Which rumor would that be?"

"That you're going to be a daddy again. Baby bumpkin number two, eh?"

Ed's cheeks turned slightly red before answering, "I don't know how you know that stuff."

Ross looked amused. "So it's true," he stated.

He nearly laughed at the look on Ed's face, watching as the blonde moved his shoulders as if weighing whether or not to tell. "Yeah, I'm hoping for a girl this time." Ed confided in him. "Our boy's pretty good."

"Girls are a royal pain in the ass to raise. Boys, no problem. They don't get upset over the littlest of details."

"Bullshit."

"Seriously. You stick a little girl in a nice outfit, she freaks if she gets a speck of dirt on it. Put a boy in a nice outfit and he gets a speck of dirt on it, he hunts down the nearest mud puddle and jumps in it. Very rarely are boys harder than girls."

Ed laughed at his friend's logic. "So boys are easier then girls, huh. You should tell Winry that one. She wants a girl too." Ed laughed.

"Dude, look at how my sisters acted. My own mother was having trouble with them until she started to waste away. Then Rose stepped up to the plate and started threatening to knock any one of the girls that acted up while Mom was sick into next year."

"Did they act up?"

"Hell no. They each knew full well that Rose would do it and didn't dare find out how she was going to knock them into next year."

Ed smiled a bit and nodded. "Well, when that time comes around, Winry says that you're more than welcome to stay with us. Even I'm agreeing with her." Ed told the other man before frowning. "But I know that you aren't planning on living that long."

"Of course not. I want to die with some dignity."

"Right. So what are we talking? Lethal injection?"

Ross raised an eyebrow. "You're willing to talk about how we're going to end my life as soon as those bastards are dead." He laughed. "I thought that I had heard it all."

"Just want to make sure that I know and understand your wishes."

"Bury my ass while I'm still warm if possible."

"Got it. Anything else?"

Ross looked thoughtful. "Yeah, put me next to my sister if you can. I'm insisting on that one."

"Got it. Any other requests?"

"No, not really. If I think of something, I'll let you know."

"Deal?"

"Deal."

lostmoonchild: Yeah, there was a bit of imagination on my part with that. I've already had that discussion with my family and made it painfully clear that if I get put on life support, they are allowed to keep me on it for six months tops and that all of my organs are to be donated, bone marrow included. The burial thing, well, I'd rather not get cremated so they can just stick me in a wooden box and let nature take its course cause there's no way in hell anybody's stuffing me full of preservatives. Kinda sad that I'm twenty and already making those choices. Oh well, read and review, flames will be accepted.